KEZO Syndication Adds StationsIn Wichita, Kan., and Springfield, Mo.

How will Omaha's most popular morning radio duo get its new listening audience up to speed when KEZO (92.3 FM) begins syndicating the "Todd & Tyler" show?

"When we first came on the air 13 years ago, we asked our listeners what they wanted to know about us," said co-host Mike Tyler. "As we re-establish this to a new audience, hopefully our Omaha audience will play a big role in that. They'll help the new listeners figure out that Todd (Brandt) is this type of guy, that Craig (Evans) is like this and that Jeremy (Campbell) is gay."

That response was typical of the free-wheeling, we-don't-give-a-damn attitude the show takes on each morning from 5 to 10 a.m. It's a formula that has made "T-n-T" No. 1 among adults in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Arbitron ratings since the summer of 1996.

The program has flourished while evolving from a format that initially relied on scripted bits to a cast of running "characters" (regulars who phoned the show) to an unscripted, roundtable discussion that sounds more like lockerroom or water cooler talk than a morning radio show.

Show's Content Will Change Slightly
Tom Land, Director of Radio Programming for the Journal Broadcast Group, said syndication will not change the core content of the show. However, some minor tweaking will be needed to accommodate new listeners on Journal-owned stations KRZQ (106.7 FM) in Springfield, Mo., beginning Monday, and KICT (95.1 FM) in Wichita, Kan., beginning Nov. 13.

Gone will be the duo's regular bashing of the Nebraska football program - to be replaced by talk of Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conference sports, as well as the NFL.

"We're going to cut back on hammering them (Husker fans) because people in other cities don't care," Tyler said.

The switch to more generic, national topics was already evident last week when the pair discussed Rush Limbaugh's controversial remarks regarding Michael J. Fox, the topic of gay marriage and stem cell research and Mark Foley's rehabilitation.

Several people posting to the "Todd & Tyler Unauthorized" message board www.tntu.net speculate the change will water down the show, making it "sound like every other syndicated morning show."

Land disagrees.

"These guys are news and pop culture junkies," he said. "From politics, to sports to entertainment, men's health with Doctor Ed (Dominguez) and relationships, listeners in Omaha have learned to tune to Todd and Tyler for a unique, amusing and entertaining take on what is going on locally, nationally and even on the world level."

Syndication Was In The Works For Some Time
Land said Evans, who reads news on the program, and sports director Travis Justice will remain integral parts of the show. New to the "Todd and Tyler Radio Empire" (as the syndication is being dubbed) will be interviews with more "A-List" celebrities, who Land said typically reserve their time for radio stations in the top 20 or 30 markets. Omaha is the 72nd largest radio market in the country, Wichita is No. 95 and Springfield is listed as 145th.

"The syndication gives us the ability to go to some agents with stars on the pop culture side or television or movie industries who would not normally do an interview on Omaha radio," he said.

Land would not disclose how much a station pays to carry T-n-T. However, he said the decision to syndicate the show was not "done overnight" and he did not rule out adding even more stations to the "Empire."

"We've been discussing syndication for a couple years and some other markets and even non-Journal stations had expressed interest," he said. "But we weren't ready from an infrastructure standpoint. What we don't want to lose is the local impact of the show. For the past 13 years, they've gathered this tremendous fan base. We've been looking for the right markets and right stations to expand to."

About the Affiliates in the 'Empire'
In Springfield, T-n-T will replace Mancow Muller, a Chicago-based syndicated program, in KRZQ's 5 to 10 a.m. slot. In Wichita, listeners on "T-95: Wichita's Pure Rock" will no longer hear the locally-produced "Phil and Hank Show."

Known as "The Ozarks' Pure Rock" station, KRZQ ranked in the bottom half of the last Arbitron ratings survey among all listeners ages 12 and older, while KICT was rated in the top half of all stations in Wichita.

KRZQ can be heard as far south as Branson, Mo. and as far west as Joplin, Mo. KICT's signal stretches about 90 miles: north to Salina, Kan. and south to Arkansas City, Kan.

In conjunction with the syndication, Journal installed four additional phone lines to handle greater call volume and launched a new website www.tntradioempire.com as this story went to press.

While syndication might take T-n-T to a higher level of visibility in the Midwest, it will not come without hard work, Brandt said. Todd and Tyler, whose compensation is rumored to be in the six figures, will not be getting a bigger paycheck, either.

"It's going to be a lot more work," Brandt said. "But that's not a negative. We're stressed, but the audience will benefit from this."