What’s up with KNBR 680? Radio home of 49ers and Giants makes drastic changes

The realities of a tough business hit one of the biggest brands in Northern California sports media this week.

KNBR 680, the long-time flagship radio station of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, made waves by letting go of two hosts of key shows as of Thursday: Paul McCaffrey of the “Murph and Mac Show” on weekday mornings and former major league baseball player F.P. Santangelo, who hosted the evening show on weekdays from 6 to 10 p.m.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported executive Lee Hammer, morning show producer Erik Engle and four members of the station’s digital team providing written and social media content were also let go. McCaffrey had been with Brian Murphy on the morning show for 18 years.

KNBR, which calls itself “The Sports Leader,” for decades had been one of the most popular sports radio stations on the West Coast with a 50,000-watt signal that reached much of the western United States, including Sacramento, and as far as Hawaii.

The station around the turn of the century took advantage of the deep regional interest in the Giants, who had one of sports’ most polarizing figures in Barry Bonds while he navigated home run chases and performance enhancing drug allegations. It became the perfect sports radio topic of its time — well before the Giants won three World Series in five years from 2010 to 2014.

Changing sports media landscape

But KNBR’s dominance of the country’s 10th-ranked sports media market devolved with the changing landscape. It’s believed that these decisions were made largely at the corporate level. KNBR is run by Cumulus Media, which owns 446 radio stations in 90 markets throughout the country.

The pandemic meant fewer people in the Bay Area were commuting to work, which aligned with the rise of podcasts as one of the few growing mediums in the sports marketplace. There was also the growth of former little brother sports station, 95.7 “The Game,” which began in 2011 and has since increased its cut into KNBR’s market share.

Additionally, the station’s reliance on the Giants hasn’t been nearly as fruitful as the Bonds days. The Giants have missed the playoffs in seven of their nine seasons since the 2014 championship run. That came two years before the Golden State Warriors jumped to “The Game” in 2016, in the middle of their dynastic run to four championships, ending their 32-season run with KNBR.

Up in the air

Brian Murphy, McCaffrey’s former co-host on the morning show, remains, but their last show together was Wednesday. Bay Area News Group Dieter Kurtenbach, a sometimes guest host, had the awkward duties Thursday of explaining the circumstances while carrying on. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was a guest and preceded his 49ers-Eagles preview by acknowledging the “unusually difficult circumstances” and expressed his gratitude to the previous hosts. Kurtenbach concurred.

“All we can really do is keep on with the business of the day,” concluded Kurtenbach.

But what’s next for KNBR remains unclear, although the station did make an addition in light of firings. Sacramento native John Dickinson jumped from “The Game” to KNBR under the title of “Warriors Insider” who will host a new show following Warriors games, presumably filling much of the space vacated by Santangelo’s removal.

Adam Copeland, who co-hosts “Tolbert and Copes” in the afternoon with former NBA player Tom Tolbert, was recently made program director, had pointed words on Thursday afternoon when the show signed off.

“It’s been an extremely difficult day, in a lot of ways at KNBR,” Copeland said. “It’s an awful thing to have part ways with people who have been at the station for a really, really long time.”