Real Country

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the syndicated Australian radio program, see Ben Sorensen's REAL Country.
Real Country
Type Radio network
Country United States
Availability National; also distributed in Canada, Europe, Armed Forces Radio
Founded by Buck Owens, Michael Owens, and Larry Daniels
Slogan "It's All About The Music!"
Owner Cumulus Media Networks
(through Cumulus Media)
Key people Kris Wilson, Music Director
Launch date 1988, Jim Murphy as Operations Manager. In 1993 David Nicholson joined as General Manager. When network was sold to ABC in 2000 Nicholson became Director of Country Operations for ABC Music until 2007.
Official website realcountryweb.com

Real Country is a 24-hour radio format produced by Cumulus Media Networks. Real Country, originally one of the Satellite Music Network stations, is marketed at the 18 to 54 demographic in rural areas of the United States. Its programming consists of a fairly broad playlist of "Today's Stars and the Legends." Classic country is the station's primary core, with frequent airplay of artists such as George Jones and Johnny Cash, while the station also plays newer hits, particularly by established artists such as George Strait. Real Country's playlist also tends to skew toward more male artists than many contemporary country music stations.

More contemporary artists can be heard on Cumulus' other country format, Best Country Today.

Its direct competitor was "True Country" by Dial Global.

Schedule

Although stations that program "Real Country" use it for a majority of their programming, affiliates -- like most others who use satellite programming -- will often replace the network feed at certain points of the day for local programming, most often news, sports and markets (depending on the station).

Up to six minutes are given to affiliates at the top of every hour for news or commercials. In addition, at least one block of one to three minutes is provided for local commercials every ten minutes. After each commercial block and 14 seconds before the top of the hour, time is provided for affiliate station identification.

Hosts currently heard on the network include 24 year Real Country veteran Kris Wilson, Jim Casey and Jacy Shepherd.

Former hosts

  • Darlene Dixon- Hosted middays for a period in the early 1990s, later at WLWI-FM in Montgomery, Alabama.
  • Mike Farell- Hosted the overnight show seven days a week until 2007. He referred to himself on the air as "The Friend of the Friendless".
  • Steve Lewis- Hosted the evening show Monday-Friday and Real Country Saturday Night until 2009.
  • Jerry Walker- Replaced Steve Lewis on the Monday-Friday show until November 12, 2009.
  • Richard Lee- Hosted the afternoon show for over a decade and was also program director until November 12, 2009.
  • John Calhoun- Morning show host from 2007 until November 12, 2009.
  • Sage- Occasional overnight and fill-in DJ, referred to herself on the air as "Sage, your real spice of life".

Affiliates

This is a partial list.

External links

Programming
News/Talk
Music and entertainment
Radio networks
See also
Defunct
1 = Co-produced with Premiere Radio Networks.
2 = Distribution only; produced by another company.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.