By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, September 9, 2016
Classic rock station 97.1/The River is moving English Nick from evenings to mid-days starting Monday, September 12.
This will be the first time in the station’s 11-year history it will have a DJ during the time slot covering 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. That time period usually draws the highest ratings for the station without a jock.
English Nick, whose real name is Nick Parsons, joined evenings full time earlier this year. Before that, he was a reliable utility player on the Atlanta airwaves over the past 17 years. He had various roles on 96rock, 80s station 105.3/The Max (under the pseudonym Simon), 99X, Rock 100.5 and for the past five years, the River. His only previous full-time on-air gig was a night jock job at Rock 100.5 in 2008 and 2009.
"Change is awesome and excited to be on in a better day part," English Nick texted me.
Chris Eagan, the River's director of branding and programming, said in a press release: "Nick is a well-known name in the market who is loved by the River audience, and! I'm thrilled to bring him and his English accent (yes, it's real) to middays!"
This move happens just two weeks after the station swapped Kaedy Kiely and Steve Craig. Kiely is now afternoons and Craig is mornings.
97.1/The River is consistently a top 10 station in town. In the most recent four-week Nielsen Audio period, the River ranked 8th place with a 4.6 rating. Among 25-to-54 year olds, the station ranked 7th. In the mid-day slot that English Nick is taking, it's ranked third with a 6.1 rating.
The River and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
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