Talk shift ahead for country station

Local sports fans and radio buffs on Internet message boards are all frothy over WCMC 99.9 FM's imminent changeover from country to sports talk.

You might even say there's a "buzz" in the air.

"That's the wrong word," says 99.9's new program director Dave Shore, half-jokingly.

OK -- try this: There's a lot of "bull" going around.

Nope. That doesn't work for him either.

Kidding aside, Capitol Broadcasting's recent decision to back out of a three-way country-music battle with WQDR FM 94.7 and WRDU 106.1 FM has inspired a lot of radio-geek chatter.

From now on, 99.9 FM will be taking the fight to AM sports stations 850 The Buzz and 620 The Bull, both owned by McClatchey Broadcasting. It can't hurt that Capitol Broadcasting has broadcast rights to Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State games.

So when will the new battle begin? It seemed like 99.9's format flip was coming any day now when, in the middle of last week, CMC's Web site went down for reconstruction.

Tut, tut -- not so fast.

Shore, 41, just drove in from Dallas two weekends ago to start his new job on Labor Day. As of late last week, he was living out of boxes in a Raleigh hotel room.

He says he can't be sure when the new format change will be on the air.

"It's not gonna be for another few weeks," he says. He's in the process of hiring, and trying to find a local show host. That means sorting through huge piles of resumes and CDs from people who want to work in this market.

"It's very well-known across the country that this is a great place to live," he says. "And you can tell that by me leaving Dallas."

Shore, who has nine years of sports talk experience, comes to the Raleigh-Durham market from 103.3 ESPN FM in Dallas-Fort Worth.

He was assistant program director there for 6 1/2 years, as well as a talk show host and reporter for Cowboys and Mavericks games. Prior to that, he was a TV sports anchor in Lexington, Ky., where he covered three NCAA basketball Final Fours.

"So you take that, you amplify it, you magnify it, and that's what you have here, and that's what I like," Shore says of the Triangle. "It's a fabulous sports market. It has fans who are passionate."

Sticking mostly to his role as program director, Shore won't have his own regular program but adds: "I will be on some shows. I am an on-air guy. You'll hear me in many situations."

Hey! That's my show you're messing with!

A reader wants to know why NBC-17 decided to pull a repeat episode of "The Office" from the Thursday-night lineup on Aug. 30, in favor of running its own news/public affairs special "Your Life/Your Pets."

Triangle fans of "The Office" were undoubtedly disappointed about not being able to catch an encore broadcast of the "flasher" episode of the popular sitcom. And the previous Thursday, a repeat episode of "30 Rock" was pre-empted for an NBC-17 hurricane special.

So why does NBC-17 seem to be dissing NBC's Thursday-night comedies?

Maryann Balbo, NBC-17's director of marketing and community connection, says the station decided to run the pet special now because people are starting to return from vacation, and Thursday seemed to be a good night to run it.

"People are getting back into their routines, including their pets, and with all this heat," she says. "We thought that would be a good night to air a program that would be of value to our viewers. We find that people really respond when we do stuff on pets."

Not everyone, though. Balbo says she made sure to respond to e-mail from disappointed "Office" fans and to apologize.

She says the decision had nothing to do with the more convenient 7-to-8 p.m. block being taken up with NBC-17's local news.

It may have more to do with an opportunity to pull a roughly equivalent ratings number. According to information supplied by NBC-17, "Your Life/Your Pets" on Aug, 30 pulled a 2.6 rating and a 4 share of the audience.

That put NBC-17 in fourth place for the half-hour among local affiliates, with a repeat episode of "CSI" on WRAL leading the pack with a 9.3 rating and a 14 share.

"Your Life/Your Pets," however, pulled its weight pretty well compared to the previous week's episode of "The Office," which had a 2.8 rating with a 4 share in the 9-to-9:30 p.m. slot.

So now, here's a forewarning for "Scrubs" fans: A repeat episode of that daffy doctor show will be pre-empted Thursday at 9:30 p.m. for NBC-17's "Severe Weather/Hurricane Special." The good news is, you'll be able to catch the "Beach Games" episode of "The Office" at 9.

CW22 and MyRDC throw block party

Saturday, WLFL-TV CW22 and WRDC-TV MyRDC celebrate their first anniversary as two new networks with a block party at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.

The festivities take place at 200 Martin St. from 5 to 11 p.m., and include a concert from Crush, an 8:45 p.m. screening of the film "RV" and a kids' corner with face painting, inflatables, clowns and karaoke.

Musician/actor Christopher "Play" Martin, is scheduled to appear as well as TV stars Dawnn Lewis from "A Different World" and Chico Benymon from "Half & Half."

Steve Daniels and Tisha Powell of "ABC 11 Eyewitness News" will help raffle off prizes to raise money for the Heart of Carolina Food Drive.