Sacramento Radio History - KROY Becomes KSEG, 96.9 The Eagle

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Sacramento Radio History
KROY 1990s
by Alex Cosper

see also American Radio History

see also KZAP, KROY, KSFM, KWOD, KRXQ, KNDE, K108, index

The Eagle takes off

The amazing resurgence of KROY in the late eighties was thwarted by a takeover that drove ratings into a downward spiral. KROY had topped KSFM and KWOD at a time when stations all over America were confused as to the direction the mainstream was headed, as some stations leaned to beats while others sounded more pop/rock. KROY had remained steady playing the biggest crossover hits and jumping on the latest beat-oriented music.

When Great American took over in 1989, PD Sean Lynch made sweeping changes to the music, which included a lot of pop/rock "gold" from the eighties. It didn't work - it was probably too much identity change for a station that had been working. KROY's ratings sank and never recovered.

In November 1990 Great American Broadcasting dropped the legendary KROY call letters and flipped the station to classic rock as KSEG (The Eagle 96.9 FM) with Jeff McMurray as the new PD. According to Dave Diamond, who worked on-air for both KROY and then The Eagle, the first song played on the new classic rock station was "Fly Like An Eagle" by The Steve Miller Band.

Dave went on to do middays at Mix 96. The Eagle was part of the beginning of the end of the KZAP story as they stripped away their "upper demo" audience. In the late nineties The Eagle was programmed by Station Manager Larry Sharp, who went on to program classic rock station The Bone (107.7 FM) in San Francisco. The Eagle was usually among the top ten stations in Sacramento throughout the nineties, many times making the top five.

History of KROY

KROY's Early Years
Musical chairs between KROY and KXOA
KROY Spends 6 Years at the Top
Analysis: Inside the KROY Machine
70s mark the end of the AM top 40 giants
Tony Cox tells how FM took over
Whatever happened to KANDIE and KROY?
KROY veterans advance nationally
The return of KROY
Late 80s: KROY Shifts, FM 102 Drifts
The Eagle takes off