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The “Kevin & Sluggo Show” was noticeably missing Friday afternoon on Los Angeles’ KLOS-FM, as hosts Kevin Ryder and Doug “Sluggo” Roberts were given their walking papers. The decision to eliminate the afternoon drivetime slot at KLOS comes as owner Meruelo Media has made drastic cuts at several of its local radio stations, which also include KPWR-FM “Power 106,” KDAY-FM and KLLI-FM “Cali 93.9.”
Meruelo had earlier this year eliminated all of the midday hosts at all four of its L.A. stations, as well as some part-timers and off-air staffers. At KLOS, that included midday jock Marci Wiser, who had been there since 2015. Also in February, Meruelo let go of Power 106 afternoon host DJ Felli Fel (real name James Andrew Corrine), who had been at that station since 2000.
Ryder revealed the news of his and Roberts’ departure on Friday via social media, noting that earlier that day KLOS had strangely announced a “Where’s Kevin?” marketing campaign with Honda… right before letting him go.
It’s been rumored for some time that Meruelo has been looking to sell the stations, just as it sold its ownership of pro hockey team the Arizona Coyotes and recently sold its L.A. TV station KWHY-TV (Channel 22) to the Church of Scientology.
Ryder, who confirmed his and Roberts’ exit to Variety, said of KLOS, “I hope they sell it to somebody who cares about it.”
Ryder and Roberts launched “Kevin & Sluggo” on KLOS in 2021, a year after KROQ owner Entercom shocked the radio biz by yanking Ryder’s morning program, “Kevin in the Morning with Allie & Jensen” (the successor program to three-decade staple “Kevin & Bean”).
Before that, Sluggo had been working solo in the afternoon drive shift on KLOS, having joined that station in summer 2019. (Roberts continues to also host shows on SiriusXM.)
The pairing of Ryder and Roberts had been a KROQ reunion of sorts, as Roberts spent decades doing shifts at KROQ (as “Doug the Slug,” “Sluggo” and various variations of his persona) while Ryder and Gene “Bean” Baxter joined KROQ in the mornings at the start of 1990. “Kevin & Bean” eventually led as No. 1 in the L.A. market during part of the 2000s, and the duo was inducted into both the NAB Hall of Fame and Radio Hall of Fame.
Ryder has known Roberts for years, even before their time at KROQ. They both also worked in the 1980s at Phoenix’s top 40 KZZP (where Baxter and former longtime KROQ program director Kevin Weatherly also worked). At KZZP, Roberts ran the board while Ryder and Baxter hosted the “Saturday Night Party Patrol.”
At the time of Ryder’s hiring, Meruelo Media President and CEO Otto Padron had made a point of the company’s commitment to live and local fare: “We’re doubling-down on ‘live and local’ with one of the very best in our craft,” he said at the time. “Bringing Kevin Ryder on-board was a no-brainer, as this is the type of bold and disruptive move that delivers compelling voices and relevant content to our very deserving listeners.”
Disclaimer: This reporter had regularly guested on “Kevin & Sluggo” to discuss TV, and was scheduled to appear on the show next Wednesday. Now, it appears that he won’t be.
