Kevin and Sonia out at The Peak

[radiofan]

From Kevin Lim's Facebook page ...


This is a difficult update to write but we’ve always prided ourselves in being honest with you. Today we learned that the station is moving into a new direction and this was our last day on 102.7 The PEAK (and Q103.1).

Despite the unexpected loss, today we feel grateful. Grateful to have had this opportunity and for you, our radio family. We want you to know just how much your support has meant to us, whether you’ve been with us for many years, or recently discovered us. We know you have many choices, and the fact that you took time out of your day to spend some of it with us means the world.

A special thank you to the talented group of people we've been fortunate to call co-workers and friends. It's been a pleasure.

We’ve worked very hard building this show and while it may no longer fit the new direction of the station, we look forward to seeing what’s next. We’ll be sure to keep you updated here on this Facebook page. For now, we’ll be enjoying some time to sleep in with an alarm time that doesn’t start with a “3”.

Love,

-Kevin and Sonia


https://www.facebook.com/kevinlimradio

[sparky]

I'm wondering if Kevin and Sonia will be returning to Kelowna and taking over mornings at Q 103? It's only been a little over two years since Pattison wooed them away from SUN FM in Kelowna
and moved them down to Vancouver basically just to get them out of Kelowna where they ruled the morning airwaves.

A May 2014 post on this site pretty much sums it up.

No matter what they do, it's going to be a long hard climb to get any traction. No fault on Kevin and Sonia's part, the non mass appeal of the station will be the culprit.

Rogers and Sonic haven't exactly set the market ablaze with the million dollar Kid Carson show, and they're playing the hits, not a stack of unknown material that has limited appeal.

Pattison hired the very successful SUN FM Morning team of Kevin & Sonia because they were kicking the shit out of Pattison's stations in Kelowna, and they wanted them out of the market.

I'm sure Pattison's underperforming Q 103 in Kelowna has been on their radar for some time now and plans were laid down long ago to find an actual PD and a Morning Show.

Would it not have made more sense to keep Kevin & Sonia in a market where they are very successful and their audience would likely follow them rather than ship them off to the big city
where at best they might get mediocre ratings?

I guess decisions like that are made by the same folks who decided Kelowna isn't a Country town. I guess Newcap wrecked that theory.

Some free advice. Before Newcap scoops you in Calgary and blows up AMP, it might be time to kill off KOOL, flip it to Country (105 could use some competition). Move Dan Freeman back to Kelowna
and reunite him with Susan Knight at the revamped Q 103 (they had quite a successful Morning Show at Sun FM prior to Kevin & Sonia).

I'd bet SUN would love to have Kevin and Sonia back, but maybe this is Pattison's chance to finally get a winning morning show on Q 103.

Let's see how the dice roll on this one. Kevin & Sonia's deal with Pattison had to be longer than 27 months.

[Aaron]

If they were going to Q it would have been announced with some kind of positive spin.

[Doug]

If they were going to Q it would have been announced with some kind of positive spin.

Agree 100% here. This is actually a sad bit of news. When I heard Kevin & Sonia's show on "The Peak," also a Pattison station, would be syndicated on Q103.1 in Kelowna to fill the spot vacated by Nancy Mack, whose Twitter feed seems to indicated she's moved to the U.S., I thought - "what a great idea." They'd be leveraging their top-tier talent, well-loved in the Kelowna market and not have to pay to have externally-syndicated content to fill the spot. It was a "win-win" for all involved and likely even some cost savings. Plus, Q103.1 was arguably the best format station in Kelowna - great hosts, great music, nice logo and website, everything was top-notch. I'd switched away from it at midday because I wasn't fond of Nancy Mack's way of speaking - wasn't really my "cup of tea," so to speak. This duo, Kevin and Sonia, would be terrific re-additions.

This leads me to wonder...is something afoot with "The Peak" in Vancouver, a reformat perhaps? How's it doing in the ratings? I haven't followed lately. And, more broadly, is something afoot with Pattison's broadcast group, a sale perhaps? He is aging and I imagine it'd be prudent to sell some of the assets prior to all going into Estate and being divided among his heirs and beneficiaries.

Cheers,
Doug

[thedriveyyc]

And, more broadly, is something afoot with Pattison's broadcast group, a sale perhaps?

Considering Pattison just bought up a bunch of Rawlco's stations (both the Edmonton properties and all of the small-market Saskatchewan stations) I don't see any Pattison sales in the future...

[Doug]

Considering Pattison just bought up a bunch of Rawlco's stations (both the Edmonton properties and all of the small-market Saskatchewan stations) I don't see any Pattison sales in the future...

Me either, for the reason you cite and others. However, I'm just saying, once Jim Pattison passes on and his Estate is settled to its heirs & successors, one has to wonder on their commitment to keeping a unified group. I suspect they'd keep the grocery stores, the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not," the News Group, and the Automotive businesses as well as some others, perhaps different heirs will assume ownership of different businesses, but I can't see Radio being in the cards.

Cheers,
Doug