Scotty Kay and Mega returning to Atlanta radio but how and where?

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, AJC Radio and TV Talk blog, originally filed Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Seven months ago, Power 96.1 inexplicably dumped Scotty Kay and his producer Bret Mega despite the fact they were pulling in great ratings. 

They were recently hired by a Dallas top 40 radio station Hot 93.3 owned by Atlanta-based Cumulus Media. That's a great move for them although they have to compete with the well-established Kidd Kraddock show on Kiss 106.1 and the syndicated Bert Show on 102.9 Now.

But then I saw the image above on Facebook from Scotty Kay this morning, effectively saying they are coming back to Atlanta.

What does that mean exactly? They aren't saying and neither is Cumulus. I doubt this means they are physically moving back to Atlanta. The best I could get out of Scotty Kay was: "We were just as surprised when they asked us. Can't wait to share Friday."

In all likelihood, it means they are placing Scotty Kay and Bret on a Cumulus Atlanta radio station. Let's go over each Cumulus station before we come to the most obvious place.

• NewsRadio 106.7: Unless there's a format change coming, that's not happening.
• Country station Kicks 101.5: These two are known in this town for working in pop so this would be an odd fit.
• Classic hip-hop OG 97.9: Plausible since the station has no air talent and might want some. But Operations Manager Rob Roberts already told me this is a no go.
• Rock 100.5. Placing Scotty Kay and Bret on a classic rock station would be even stranger than putting them on a country station.

So that leaves Q100, a top 40 station that has seen had some ratings challenges recently. (In the latest Nielsen Audio four-week ratings book, Q100 drew the fewest listeners among the four pop stations.) Maybe the bosses want to shake things up by adding a couple of radio personalities that have built some equity in this market.

One thing's for sure. They are not taking the Bert Show's slot. Bert Weiss is under a long-term contract and is Q100's primary revenue driver.

They could possibly voicetrack (as in pre-tape) a show for later in the day. While doing their Dallas show live, they could throw in pre-taped bits for Atlanta during commercial and song breaks. Or they could do it after their Dallas show is over.

Right now, Q100 has three other shows besides Bert. Rachel Ryan was hired in April for mid-days. Johnny O has been their steady hand in afternoons. Adam Bomb is the night guy. Would Q100 cut one of them?

Another less interesting possibility: give them voice-tracked slots on the weekend.