As I tweeted Thursday (retweeting the good folks at RadioInsight.com), Emmis has flipped local (Austin) translator K274AX to a comedy format, ending a ten-month simulcast of 93.3 KGSR (as originally reported, back when that simulcast started, here). The new format, Comedy 102.7, is actually the HD3 feed of KGSR, so those lucky few who have HD radios won't be hearing anything new.
Over the last few days, I have checked out Austin's newest terrestrial radio station. It is an affiliate of the 24/7 Comedy Radio Network and, as such, is one of the few HD subchannels that I have heard (that isn't an AM talk format simulcast on FM) that actually runs commercials. From what I can tell, the commercials aren't too terribly obtrusive, though. Mostly, the station/network seems to consist of short (3-5 minute) clips of different comedy shows (so don't expect to hear a full routine), with the comedian identified at the end of the clip (so that the listener spends the first minute or so of each clip trying to determine who the comedian in that clip is before, in my case most of the time, giving up).
Because this is a translator, its signal is not protected as full-power stations' signals are, and so those people living in south Austin (south of William Cannon, from what I can tell) will have the occasional morning (such as today was) in which Comedy 102.7 is overpowered by Jack FM out of San Antonio. This isn't really anything new, which may be one reason why this translator has had more format flips than any other in town in the last five years (remember when it was oldies KITY?).
As for the comedy format itself, for the most part it kept me laughing for most of my commute to/from work (Comedy 102.7 may be a very good stress relief for those people stuck in traffic on I-35 or Mopac). You will find the occasional hostility toward Christianity (it didn't take me long to find that), and I'm sure that eventually everyone listening will be offended by something. You've been warned. But, by and large, the only warning is that you might be laughing too hard to pay attention to the road. It's worth a listen.
Check out Comedy 102.7's web page here (such as it presently is...current quote: "We're for real, but this website's a joke!").
Check out Comedy 102.7's Facebook page here.
Check out Comedy 102.7's Twitter feed here.
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