Originally posted Thursday, March 13, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
92.9/The Game this week got rid of mid-day hosts Rick Kamla and John Michaels.
Kamla, a long-time fixture on NBA TV, was one of just two original hosts who was still there from the station's launch in 2012. The other is Carl Dukes, who remains as an afternoon host. Kamla started in mornings in 2012, then moved to mid-days with Jamie Dukes, who left in 2015.
Michaels, who worked at the now defunct 790/The Zone from 2004 to 2014, joined Kamla in mid-days in 2016. When reached for comment, he declined.
But he did end up posting a note on social media. In it, he said he was told “many different reasons” why the show was ending. One was “not connecting with the audience.” He added: “Judging by the response from listeners, friends or former co-workers before I made an official announcement, I think that thought was completely incorrect.”
Michaels added that this also means he will no longer be a sideline reporter for the Falcons Radio Network. “I’ll be back somewhere eventually,” he added, “maybe in Atlanta, maybe somewhere else like Miami. Thank you to all of you that made the mid-day party so much fun.”
Terry Foxx, the program director of the Game since day one, did not respond to a text about why the station made this move or whether he has particular plans for replacements. (He hasn't communicated with me in any way since 2015.)
The station’s weekday lineup went through a cavalcade of changes its first four years but had been relatively stable the past three until the latest move.
Despite steadily improving ratings in recent years, the Game has struggled on the revenue side and has run through multiple sales managers. In fact, the general sales manager position for the Game and Star 94.1 was posted within the past month on LinkedIn. The most recent one Dave Deemer recently lost his gig.
The Game in January ranked No. 12 overall with a 3.7 share, well ahead of rival 680/93.7 The Fan with a 1.9. But among 25 to 54 men, the difference is much smaller.
Andy Bunker, who has an evening show on the Game, is now in an excellent position to get a day-time slot.
