The Infinite Dial

For the last few weeks, there have been rumors in the Phoenix market that CBS was getting ready to flip that market's Free-FM affiliate, KZON to some form of Hip-Hop/R&B. Those rumors are finally coming to fruition with today's expected unveiling of the new 101.5 Jamz. It's not such a surprising move when you consider the success of Clear Channel's Mainstream Top 40 KZZP (Kiss 104.7) and the recent move of longtime Hip-Hop outlet KKFR (Power 92) from its longtime home to 98.3.

What's interesting here is KZZP's redeployment last Monday of its HD-2 multicast channel from Spanish Oldies to Hip-Hop as 104.7-2 Da Block, "Commercial Free Hip Hop." KZZP's move was hardly a deterrent. KKFR's vulnerability, if any, is being on a lesser signal and KZON announced its move three days later. But it's still curious to see a major broadcaster deploying an HD-2 multicast channel in the same way that a cluster owner might re-deploy, say, a Class-A FM on the main band.