Courtesy photo
910AM Superstation owner Kevin Adell posing next to a water tower bearing his name in Novi.
About 29,000 listeners tuned in to 910AM Superstation on the first week that it transitioned to conservative talk radio, a significant increase over its previous Black talk format, according to Nielsen ratings.
The 50,000-watt station was only drawing 2,100 listeners a month when the owner, Kevin Adell, pulled the plug on Black talk radio. At the current rate, 910AM Superstation is on pace to attract nearly 125,000 monthly listeners who are tuning in for a lineup that includes conservatives like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Jesse Kelly, Bill O’Reilly, and Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.
Nielsen ratings typically come out once a month, but a radio industry executive who saw the weekly numbers shared the data with Metro Times. Adell confirmed the ratings, which cover Sept. 7-13.
The station premiered its new lineup on Sept. 5.
In a boastful interview with Metro Times, Adell says the boost in ratings demonstrates that the growing political divide in the country is a money-making opportunity.
“The more divided we are, the better it is for radio,” Adell says. “It comes down to one thing — show business. If we live in a utopia, we have nothing to talk about.”
Adell says he expects the ratings to jump to 200,000 a month as he continues to promote the new lineup.
Adell, a millionaire who also owns The Word Network, a global Christian television network featuring Black pastors, faced criticism for pulling the plug on Black talk radio in August and alerting his unpaid hosts in a terse email that they were fired. While building the conservative lineup, Adell played non-stop ESPN Radio.
Adell purchased the station from Radio Disney in January 2015 and launched the talk show format, pitching it to a Black audience. He blanketed the region with billboards promoting 910AM, which he dubbed, “Detroit’s only urban talk station.”
Adell acknowledges his brash style for putting profits ahead of people makes him unpopular, but he makes no apologies.
“I have more critics than fans,” Adell says. “Birds eat together, chirping on seeds. I’m a lion. Lions eat alone. I know a ton of people hate me. It’s not a popularity contest. It’s a Benjamin contest.”
Adell says he has no qualms with featuring a lineup that promotes right-wing outrage and division. There’s money to be made in the growing polarization of Americans, he says.
“Fox News is a winner. They go all the way to the edge,” Adell says. “CNN goes to the middle. No one wants the middle.”
Adell, who describes himself as apolitical and hasn’t voted since the 1990s, says he doesn’t pay to air the new syndicated lineup. With a boost in ratings, he’s now in a position to make a fortune on ads.
“I’m carrying all of this national programming on a great signal, and it wasn’t like I changed anything,” Adell says. “I didn’t change the towers. I didn’t increase the power. I didn’t change the studio around. It’s still 910AM Superstation. In one month, I didn’t change anything but the programming.”
To promote the format change, Adell bought 32 billboards, ran seven spots on Fox News, and so far has 800,000 impressions on social media, he says. In November, he says he’s launching another campaign to gain new listeners.
“I’m making a great station based on the programming, and I’m going to reach a larger audience than my AM counterpart because I have national voices,” Adell says. “They are top notch.”
Adell says he plans to buy an FM translator so he can take his conservative format to the more popular dial. He says he sent notices of intent to buy translators from Beasley Media and Salem Media.
Adell is no stranger to controversy. In October 2019, Adell admitted he sent an offensive meme to a North Carolina pastor who hosted a show on The Word Network. The meme depicted Adell draped in a white fur coat and fur hat with four Black pastors and a Lamborghini behind him.
In April, the IRS alleged Adell owes $17.8 million in unpaid estate and gift taxes from his inheritance. The federal government is seeking a court order to sell his $3.7 million home.
And last month, his cousin sued him in federal court, alleging he committed fraud and racketeering when he allegedly stole a prime, 25-acre commercial site in Novi from his family members. Adell calls the lawsuit a frivolous “shakedown” and says he plans to seek sanctions against his cousin’s attorney.
Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
