Kevin Brown Exits KBLX, Replaced by Steve Harvey
Posted: April 30, 2012 at 2:31 am
Entercom’s purchase of San Francisco‘s only urban leaning station KBLX comes with a major change in programming as well as the morning show. Entercom purchased the rights from Inner City‘s creditors earlier this month and they will begin operating the station this Tuesday, May 1 via a Time Brokerage Agreement. Industry vet Kevin Brown has probably been at KBLX for 20 years (or more). This would be considered five lifetimes for most urban radio people. The changes that have taken place at the station involve letting the Kevin Brown morning show as well as his PD duties go and Steve Harvey will take over. Harvey’s HUGE mass appeal and second week with a number 1 movie give the former comedian carte blanche to just about anything he wants in media right now and it puts him miles ahead of former competitor Tom Joyner who lost his position in the Number One market last week when WRKS folded the format ending their deal with The Tom Joyner Morning show and merging resources with WBLS where Harvey is already winning in mornings there.
I have started my day with Cousin Kev for more years than I can remember. I loved listening to his jokes and his booming laughter and what about the Hollywood Minute?? First thing I do in the ams is switch on the radio to KBLX; not sure that I will continue with this new format.
I agree with most of the sentiment today, I awoke with a startle and could not believe what I heard that Steve Harvey syndicated show will be replacing our beloved Kevin Brown! How can this be??? Entercom doesn’t know the bay area, we don’t do syndicated shows. I like Steve Harvey ok, but not enough to listen to his show, I don’t like his humor that much. He’s grinding on the ears. I watched Family Feud and was not really impressed with that show either. The problem with the entertainment world today, is they do what I call is “overkill”. They will use one entertainer to death for everything, radio, movies, game shows, talk shows…we like certain entertainers in certain settings. NOT EVERY setting is appropriate for everyone, plus we are all different people and have different needs. Plus I’m sure I speak for many, don’t oversell. This will end up biting Steve in the ….as we will get over his loud, obnoxious, sneeky sounding laughter. I’m sorry I think he is good but NOT ALL THE TIME FOR EVERYTHING aspect of my life. I see him on TV, on comedy shows, now I have to listen to him during my quiet, relaxing morning time!! No thank you! I’m going to go to internet radio and possibly Siri radio. Bay area radio you have now pushed me out as a consumer!
I’m a huge fan of cousin Kev. I am very dissapointed that he will not be apart of my mornings. Steve Harvey is great, very funny. However, his morning show just will not be as personable as Kevin Brown’s Morning Show.
Cuz Kevin Brown and the morning show have been sacrificed for the all mighty dollar. There is no appreciation for individuality when generic vanilla saves money. No more KBLX for me.
CC
Sorry Steve Harvey… YOU’RE EC and NOT WC!!! Cousin Kev is local flavor and and you just can’t bring that to KBLX OR the Bay Area at-large!! I will continue to listen (for a minute) to see what’s what but I just see this venture as slippin’ and yes you will make money off this Corp branding BUT you just don’t have that WC flavor brother!! Having lived on BOTH Coasts, EC has its own flavor, that is VERY different from WC love. KB had this and he knows this! Not hatin’… just sayin’!!! Good Luck!
I am a 41 year old Latino who has listen to Kevin and the morning crew for 20 years. I don’t know why but I felt that a very important piece of the bay area is gone. I remember him doing the battle of the sexes and women always lost. I hate it and i will not listen to the radio in the morning due to the morning show gone. Today is a very sad day for the corporate whorl. Kevin I hope you come back on another station.
Waking up with cousin Kev and the crew in mornings was the best.To start your day with laughter and smiles can’t be beat. As I listened today,where is the Old School Lunch Hour? Don’t think I’m liking this New R&B format. If it’s not broke…..
Kevin Brown will truely be missed in my life, although he’s gone I hope to hear from him in the near future.
In my opinion big business is fracturing what was once considered radio into what has become who can own the largest piece of the pie. I was very unhappy as a radio listener when KRE was puchased by a New York company, called ” Inner City Broadcasting Corporation. KRE focused on local issues as well as national and international affairs, educating their listeners with an unbiased approached. KRE’s music selection as I remember was everything from jazz, R&B to the hardest Rock, giving their public quite a ride musically, creating a real appreciation for various genre’s.It was a real adult contemporary radio station, Younger liseners got more of a complete musical diet.
I think it was in 1979 when KRE became KBLX and called inself an adult contemporary radio station, but somewhere down it’s road it became urban. That was a mistake. Now we have KBLX under new ownership, with a new focus. Who doesn’t like Steve Harvey? He’s a very good perfomer and talk show host. Can he replace Kevin Brown? No! Kevin Brown can hold his own with the best of them. With the company of Joe McConnell and Nikki Thomas, the bay area had something very unique. But there again business as usual feels letting talents like Kevin Brown and Joe McConnell go, is going to save the day, or should I say be a better business decission. Can the salaries of those two talents really be that significant?
Bring real radio back to the bay. Bring it back to the east bay, KRE’s building with it’s towers are still there off Interstate 80 in Berkeley. It just needs a little face lift. We need real radio!
I like Steve Harvey, but Kevin Brown is so much more and is like part of the famiy. I always looked forward to his being there to bring a smile and a chuckle to my morning. Whoever made this decision SERIOUSLY SUCKS!!! I will miss you Kev…
At first, when KBLX announced a new format, I thought, okay…great! At first I thought maybe Kevin Brown was on vacation and Steve Harvey was just filling in – but now, hearing that Kevin Brown was let go…that’s it!!! You have lost a loyal fan of KBLX morning show. Even if the radio station is under new management, the Kevin Brown show should “not” have changed its time or staff. The Steve Harvey show could have come on after Kevin Brown. Oh well it’s your loss. To Kevin Brown: you were and always will be the best host KBLX had. I’m going to look for your blog and see what you are up to AND if you host another show, let us know.
I deleted KBLX from my car dial about a week ago but this morning I decided to go and give the Steve Harvey show a change. When I was living in Virginia I listened to his morning show because there was nothing else to listen to and it was funny. So I tuned in this morning and was pleasantly suprised. Surprised that that country ass show even appealed to me when I was in Virginia. I left that mess on for about two – minutes. In VA, we had no alternatives so shows like Steve Harvey, Russ Parr and Michael Baisden are the norm. In Richmond, VA, there are no home grown morning shows. KBLX made the worst decision when they fired Kevin Brown. KISS FM and Renel’s morning show still have not recovered from the Tom Joyner incident and obviously Entercom did not do their research regarding the radio stations and the Bay Area. Had they, they would have realized that we have too much culture, history, sports and all around going on to be fooled or placated by the Steve Harvey show. When the new KBLX looses all it’s listeners, don’t be surprised when Entercom sells it and it turns into something else.
I also thought Kevin was on vacation when I heard Steve on the morning show. I tried it and couldn’t get through two minutes of it without shaking my head in disappointment. Wow, you DON’T know the Bay Entercom. We like our radio original AND homegrown. KBLX has gone from number 1 on the dial to a quick delete. You’ve lost a dedicated listener. Kev, you cracked me up every morning on my way to work. Let us know where you land.
I have nothing bad to say about Steve Harvey however, syndication is not really a bay area thing. This was tried with Renell and we all know how that ended. His style streched across all generations I could actually listen to the Kevin Brown show with my mother and my daughters. I miss him reminding us to drive carefully, to kiss our babies and the love doctor. I miss you Kevin…
If you want me to listen, bring Kevin back and I’ll catch Steve on the next movie, stand up comedy run or by reading his next book.
I can’t believe what KBLX has done. Are you kidding me Cousin Kevin was replaced with a syndicated Steve Harvey. OMG! I am annoyed with his voice his silly Strawberry Letter 23. I gave it a shot and I’m sorry it does not have the pizzazz that the Bay Area requires. Hello—-It’s Syndicated come on, REALLY? In addition, what’t the deal with the new music that’s in rotation. If I hear one more Monica/Keisha Cole/Tyrese from the old days, I’m gonna loose it. We miss the Ole School lunch hour, the team of 3 in the morning: Joe/Kevin/Nikki. Nikki trying to hold it together but it’s NOT Working!!! Sorry NEW URBAN KBLX I tried to give it a chance but this new station is BLAND and LEFT NO TASTE IN MY MOUTH, Nor anything to ponder on.
Disappointed former listener
I have listed to KBLX virtually my entire life. I brought both of my adult children up on KBLX. I and my children now consider ourselves former listeners of KBLX. I am broken hearted that the only station “We” as black people had here in the Bay Area that represented the last stand of classic R&B has gone the way of the almighty corporate dollar just like everything and anything of quality for black folks, historically. I can’t believe but then again, I guess I can that KBLX would sell to a company that would change the direction of the programming from the beautiful, endearing, uplifting, and saving grace of classic R&B to this raggedy, ignorant, purposely misleading, genre they call music today. If you don’t give the people anything else but what you think we want, then we’ll never know we want anything else. KMEL did it and now, here come KBLX with the okey-doke. One-two punch. How do you know that we want to listen to Usher and Alicia Keys? That’s cool but I can listen to them on KMEL. I’d rather hear the Spinners, DeBarge, Jeffrey Osbourn, Aretha Franklin, the O’Jays, Michael Jackson….good music to feed my spirit and intellect. Chasing the almighty sponsorship dollar is what I’m told targets the 20-40 yr old demographic but don’t forget, some of us are thinking individuals who might not want that Denali or that Sleeptrain bed because you force feed the announcements to us all day every day. Some of us want and require real music for the sake of real music for the sake of living! But I digress.
This is just an example of yet another purposeful dismantling of the black America. Anything or anyone that would contribute to our enlightenment is bought out, shot out, written out, and taken away. We are force fed music that the majority of us don’t want to hear. Didn’t anybody hip you to that? We are force fed negative images of ourselves on television and in every single medium. We are constantly and still auctioned off like the days of old and America wonders why the monster is loose. “We” no longer control our music, our image, our finances, or our education and until “we” take control over our “image” and say no more, we will constantly subject ourselves to the force fed corporate and American agenda until we are completely wiped out of the history books and from the face of America. We built America. It is our music and our likeness that American loves to hate but cannot do without and we willingly laydown for the steamroller. Have mercy.
Well today, my former friends, I say no more. I will not eat from your spoon. You will not force feed me and spoil my household with ignorant musical programming direction. I know better and I’m not the only one. If you wanted to promote the Steve Harvey show here on the west coast, then you should have chosen another station with the same target demographics and killed two birds with one stone….we’d then at least had some variety here in the Bay Area which we’ve so desperately needed. Those of us who didn’t want to listen to KMEL listed to KBLX and then talk radio for political interest. Now, what do we have? Nothing. So now, I guess I should start up a campaign to round up Cousin Kevin and a good music director and programmer to see if we can somehow get real music back on the air cuz we need it like we need air. I think most corporations and governments know that about us. But then isn’t that the agenda, to suffocate us? Thanks for nothing.
*rant end*
I gave it a try for a week but I can’t stand the new format. I miss Kevin Brown in the morning and I miss knowing when to tune in for the traffic report during my commute. All I hear on KBLX now is commercials. Sirius/XM for news in the AM and 98.1 KISS FM for traffic for me from now on.
THe KBLX morning show SUCKS!!!!!!!!! CORPORATE AMERICA WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US???
I am one of the original listeners of KBLX from it’s beginning in 1979. I Have attended the very first Stone Soul Concert when it was called the Stone Soul Picnic. I Will be attending the concert on 5/27/2012. But as far as listening to the Steve Harvey morning show – that’s not happening. You guys are really out of touch with the Bay Area and how loyal the listeners were to the Kevin Brown morning show.
I have nothing against Steve Harvey, but his morning show is not want I think the Bay Area likes cause it’s not personal to the needs of the Bay Area.
When you start loosing loyal listeners, then you may realize what you lost in Kevin Brown.
You just lost a 33 year Listener. Good luck in your ratings.
without Kevin Brown . Nikki and Joe there is nothing but boring chatter on the “new” KBLX.
Kevin and his crew were energetic, funny and very likable. Steve Harvey….boring.
and you fired Antoine , too??? Apparently the new owners do not listen to their own programs if they had paid attention and listened to Kevin and his crew in the morning they would be fans and never would have made this ridiculous change. You have lost a listener and a person who has always told people that KBLX was the best. Not anymore. Bring Back the original Kevin and his crew , including Antoine. and i will come back with enthusiasm. Sad
So sad about cuz Kevin Brown leaving (fired) at KBLX. My sister and I have been listening to him for 20 years. The morning show, the humor, the bay area local flavor (not a syndication), the battle of the sexes, strange but true bits were great. KBLX had a very loyal following and losing Kevin Brown is a sad loss and will be very much missed. I hope Kevin Brown continues on another radio show as he and the KBLX morning crew made a big impact in the bay area. A big loss for the “new” KBLX.
Cousin Kevin’s laugh was infectious. I know people would be looking at me laughing to what they thought to myself!! Mornings will never be the same without Cousin and the crew. Steve is a good comedian, BUT now a good radio host!! I just hope another Bay Area radio station pick up our Cousin……..
The Steve Harvey format does not fit the San Francisco Bay Area. We are a unique buch of folks. I like Steve Harvey ok, but he annoys me on the radio. Kevin was just cool.
I am so disappointed and disgusted with the Steve Harvey morning show! S/Bay Area does not need the ‘ghettoese’ in the morning. As a Black Woman, I cannot tell you how embarassed I am when I hear the ‘country bumpkin’ chatter from Steve Harvey. He may be a great comedian, but he does not appeal to a radio audience in this area. He is annoying and isn’t a good fit to replace Kevin Brown. Shame on you KBLX… you have lost a loyal listener!