I see this as an attempt to generically and whitewash KBLX so they can eventually have an excuse to flip the format of 102.9 frequency. KISQ and KMEL needs competition because they will become very complacent without it and at the moment KMEL is at its best because it is competing with KBLX and vice versa.
Since when do station owners need to "whitewash" ...or otherwise tinker with an existing format - before changing formats altogether?
And does KBLX really compete with KMEL? I work in a large company in Oakland. KBLX is definitely the favorite station in the office, and in our satellite locations. But our average employee is probably 45 or more years old, predominantly African-American. Most of them dislike Hip-Hop and Rap music, and the influence they are worried that it has on their kids. Conversely, I can't magine many 22 year olds (black or white) spend much time listening to "soft and warm" old school.
You might want to research what the predecessors of present-day Clear Channel has done in a number of markets east of the Mississippi with urban stations prior to flipping then in the late 1990s after Telecom Act of 1996. They tinkered with these stations and then suddenly flipped it to overnight. It has happened numerous times in the past.
On the competition between KMEL and KBLX, they both compete for 25-34 year old adults. KMEL spends large sums of money hosting events like "House of Soul" and concerts with contemporary and established R&B and soul artists, and the majority of their attendees are within this demographic. You would be surprised how many 25-34 year olds listen to 80s & 90s R&B like what you hear during the day on KBLX, so I wouldn't be so quick to discount and assume what are their listening patterns. This demographic are more than likely to hold down full-time office jobs as well and be college educated, so their tastes may vary from hip-hop to soul music.
