Detroit's 910 AM Superstation abruptly changes formats, lets hosts go via email
WFDF-AM, better known in Detroit as 910 AM Superstation, has abruptly switched its format from local talk radio to sports and shown the door to its former hosts.
The station’s owner, Kevin Adell, let the hosts of its usual programming know that their services no longer would be needed via email on Friday.
Adell’s spokesman, Mort Meisner, confirmed to the Free Press that the station has moved permanently to an all-sports format, adding that there will be at least “one local hire.”
The station was airing syndicated sports content as of Monday morning.
Axios Detroit’s Samuel Robinson posted Saturday on X (formerly Twitter) a copy of the email sent to hosts. It thanked them and wished them “the best of luck,” while informing them they were no longer allowed on the premises of the station’s location in Southfield.
Here’s the email 910 AM Superstation hosts received informing them that they are “no longer allowed on the premises” due to a format change happening to the longtime Metro Detroit talk radio station. pic.twitter.com/FqDCFDdw30
— Sam Robinson (@samueljrob) August 12, 2023
The station, which brands itself as 910 AM Superstation, has targeted Black listeners across metro Detroit, and was described as Detroit's urban talk radio station. It has earned low ratings and was not included in a July 2023 ranking of Detroit's top 30 radio sources done by Nielsen.
Its lineup as of Friday included a show hosted by Detroit News columnist Bankole Thompson and Al Sharpton's syndicated radio program.
Some current and past hosts — such as former Detroit city council member Monica Conyers, former Michigan state Rep. Jewell Jones, former Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree and former Kwame Kilpatrick chief of staff Christine Beatty — have been involved in various widely reported public scandals.
In 2016, a year after Adell purchased the station, he told the Free Press he was fine with courting controversy through his hosts, who were not paid by the station.
“If I just took a normal person and put them on the air, it would be boring. We’re the go-to station for controversy. And there’s no shortage of scandals,” he said.
In May, the Free Press reported that Adell had sold his local TV station, WADL-TV, to Mission Broadcasting Inc., a Texas-based media group, for $75 million.
The federal government alleges Adell owes property taxes to Oakland County and $17.8 million in estate and gift taxes from his inheritance of his late father’s estate. In a civil action filed in April, the federal government also sought a court order to sell Adell’s $3.7 million Bloomfield Hills house. Adell has disputed the charges.
Adell also owns the Word Network, a cable TV station with a religious theme. He told the Free Press through a spokesperson in May that the Word Network and 910 AM Superstation were “absolutely not for sale.”
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture columnist Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 910 AM Superstation radio in Detroit abruptly changes format
