OMG!!! Can they do this??

[CHRles]

Kent, your recollection of past battles in different markets is amazing and spot on. Great analysis overall, and this has definitely made for some good reading from you, as well as of course several other posters 

[michaelshiloh]

And when I was at KILT-FM during it's great rivalry with KIKK, I was told we were forbidden to start a music set by saying "Kicking off another 12-in-a-row..."

[concept4141]

What about in the late 70's in Houston with the two rock stations? FM 100 & FM 101. I was too young to know how competitive those two were. Obviously the old KLOL won that battle, but it was nice to not have to move the tuning dial very far on my super deluxe JC Penny jam box.

[Chuck Tiller]

What about in the late 70's in Houston with the two rock stations? FM 100 & FM 101. I was too young to know how competitive those two were. Obviously the old KLOL won that battle, but it was nice to not have to move the tuning dial very far on my super deluxe JC Penny jam box.

However, in the long run, KILT won the battle by switching to country. KILT is still here and KLOL is no longer broadcasting English programming.

[CW]

What about in the late 70's in Houston with the two rock stations? FM 100 & FM 101. I was too young to know how competitive those two were. Obviously the old KLOL won that battle, but it was nice to not have to move the tuning dial very far on my super deluxe JC Penny jam box.

Ahh the old FM100.....before country.....it was a laid back AOR station...(like the jocks were really smoking...it)....
KLOL won because it had been on earlier and was much more established....then Rosenfield(sp?) decided to take KILT in a whole new direction....(both the AM and FM)....FM100 never really caught on with its AOR format.....but I remember it.

[Chuck Tiller]

Actually, FM-100 was doing quite well before the switch. (I know this because I was a time buyer for the "Space & Time" Ad agency.) Jolly and Jay in the morning and Larry West in the afternoon were commanding some very decent numbers. Dickie Rosenfeld, like his mentor Gordon McLendon knew it was time to seize the moment. Country music was accelerating in audiences at a very high rate. The urban cowboy craze was in full swing. KIKK-FM had the ballpark to itself. KNUZ 1230 had a 1000 watts and KENR 1070 although having 10,000 watts, was limited in coverage. Dickie saw the long run success on the horizon and switched the format.

The 1st night of FM-100s existence was felt immediately. I was on the air at KNUZ that night. Normally, the phones rang pretty good. The phones died! A similar incident was happening at KENR. Within 2 years, both KENR and KNUZ changed formats. By November 1984, I was at KILT for a long enjoyable as well as successful run.

[WillTX]

CW's right.  It's not illegal, it's just stupid.  Mentioning the competition directly, whether it is good or bad, is just another plug for them.  No matter if it is good or bad, you don't give free publicity.  Also, you don't make yourself look better, by making your competition look worse. 

I doubt it...
Examples 96rock "Kiss Sucks" -- Kiss flipped from oldies to rock, and Inner City sold 760am to Clear Channel in 1993 Urban AC was hot in the early 90s so bye bye 96rock.

KZDC "995 kiss sucks, KZDC rocks" --Lasted until sold to BMP radio

Several slogans from K-rock 102.7 -- Lasted until CBS flipped it due to Sterns leaving CBS.
977 Rock- Kiss keeps talking blah blah blah blah blah and we rock

Point
If was not successful, they would not do it. I guess if more than 2 stations due it, it must be successful.

That is a funny question "is it legal?"  I wonder if the OP has ever watch polictal ads and debates. Legal yes, moral probally not but we are not tallking about a religious station here are we?
And, 93Q is still mentioning KILT.