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50,000 watt KTRB flips to sports

KTRB-AM 860, which has been struggling as a right-wing talk station since it went on the air in 2007, will flip to all sports on Monday. After KRTB picked up the rights to the A’s games, it has been gradually adding syndicated sports-talk programs such as Ron Barr’s “Sports Byline USA,” which originates from San Francisco.

The station’s strategy will be to focus on East Bay teams or those that don’t get much attention. It’s also the home of Stanford sports.

Right-wing syndicated talkers getting the heave-ho include Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Laura Ingraham and Jerry Doyle.

As for sports talk, the station is initially beginning with syndicated hosts but promises to add more local shows.

KTRB was previously located in Modesto, but its owners, the Pappas family, relocated it to San Francisco in 2007. The station has two advantages — a powerful 50,000 watt signal (same wattage as KNBR, KCBS, KGO and KFAX) and the fact that it’s five notches from market-leader KGO. But the owners have so far not been able to parlay those advantages into any significant ratings.

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