Ben Marcotte apparently looked at the Midwest, looked at the Pacific Ocean, remembered that January exists and made a programming decision even the research department could understand. The veteran iHeartMedia programmer is heading west, leaving his senior programming responsibilities across Indianapolis and St. Louis for San Diego, where he’ll take the programming reins of two very different pieces of rock-radio real estate: heritage 101.5 KGB-FM and Rock 105.3 KIOZ.
That’s not just a change of ZIP code.
THAT’S A WHOLE LOT OF ROCK RADIO TO PUT ON ONE DESK.
And for Marcotte, whose career has bounced through Alternative, Classic Rock, Adult Hits and some of iHeart’s most interesting music brands, San Diego might be exactly the kind of assignment his résumé has been preparing him for.
WELCOME TO SAN DIEGO. HERE ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RADIO STATIONS.
This is where the assignment gets fun.
101.5 KGB and Rock 105.3 may both live underneath the giant umbrella labeled ROCK, but these are not interchangeable products.
Not even close.
KGB is currently selling itself to listeners as “San Diego’s 80s, 90s and more,” with a playlist that can move through The Police, R.E.M. and Billy Idol and a personality lineup that includes Big Rich, TD & Fletch, Aly, Clint August, Chad Tyson and Stacy.
Rock 105.3?
Different animal.
The station remains “San Diego’s Rock Station,” with a musical center that includes bands such as Metallica, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day.
One station can play Billy Idol.
The other can punch you in the face with Papa Roach.
SAME PROGRAMMER. DIFFERENT TOOLBOX.
That requires discipline.
Because the quickest way to screw up a multi-station programming assignment is to start programming everything toward your own personal taste until every station in the hallway becomes the same radio station wearing different T-shirts.
Marcotte’s job is the opposite.
Protect what makes KGB KGB.
Protect what makes Rock 105.3 Rock 105.3.
Then figure out where both brands go next.
AND THESE AREN’T TWO RANDOM FREQUENCIES
Let’s talk about KGB for a minute.
Those call letters matter in San Diego.
This is a heritage brand with decades of history in Southern California rock radio. You don’t walk into a station like that and start moving furniture simply because somebody gave you the office keys.
Heritage stations come with something wonderfully complicated:
MEMORIES.
Listeners remember personalities.
Promotions.
Concerts.
Morning shows.
Songs.
Bumper stickers.
Things that happened 20 years ago that nobody currently employed by the station remembers—but a listener absolutely does.
KGB also continues to demonstrate a strong community footprint. iHeart has historically documented the station’s involvement with military-family initiatives and other San Diego causes, while its current personality structure remains heavily connected to the market.
That means Marcotte isn’t inheriting a blank canvas.
He’s inheriting a painting people already care about.
DON’T PAINT OVER THE GOOD PARTS.
THEN WALK DOWN THE HALL TO ROCK 105.3
And now change your brain.
Rock 105.3 is considerably more aggressive.
Its current music mix moves through Green Day, Three Days Grace and Papa Roach, and its identity is anchored by The Show in mornings with Eddie, Sky, Thor and Emily.
That’s a completely different programming proposition.
Different texture.
Different attitude.
Different music architecture.
Different expectations.
And probably a different listener reaction if you suddenly play Phil Collins.
PLEASE DO NOT TEST THIS THEORY ON THE AIR.
The station also remains active in San Diego’s concert and community ecosystem, currently promoting major rock events while maintaining the kind of personality-driven morning franchise that gives a rock station something streaming services still struggle to duplicate:
PEOPLE.
Not algorithms.
Not playlists.
People.
That matters.
MARCOTTE HAS BEEN TRAINING FOR THIS
The career path makes considerably more sense when you look backward.
Marcotte joined iHeartMedia in 2012, initially working in Spokane as an Assistant Program Director and Music Director across multiple brands.
Then came bigger programming assignments.
Seattle.
Portland.
Spokane.
Alternative.
Adult Hits.
And eventually Indianapolis.
In November 2020, Marcotte helped launch Indy 103.3 WOLT, the Classic Alternative station where he would also handle afternoons.
That’s an important piece of the résumé.
Classic Alternative requires understanding nostalgia without making the station sound embalmed.
You need familiarity.
Texture.
Era balance.
Artist architecture.
And enough surprise to keep the station from becoming a museum exhibit.
Sound familiar, KGB?
Then Marcotte added Classic Rock Q95 WFBQ to his responsibilities in late 2022.
Sound familiar again?
Eventually his responsibilities expanded beyond individual stations, and by the beginning of 2025 he had moved into senior programming oversight involving both Indianapolis and St. Louis.
Now comes San Diego.
FROM MANAGING MARKETS TO PROGRAMMING BRANDS
There is something else worth noticing here.
A Senior Vice President of Programming assignment across multiple markets is a significant corporate responsibility.
But sometimes programmers want to PROGRAM.
Not spend Tuesday afternoon on the 14th Teams call discussing expense reports.
Not review six markets’ PowerPoints.
Not become professional administrators who occasionally remember there are songs coming out of the speakers.
Actually program radio stations.
Marcotte’s move puts him directly against two major brands in one extremely competitive Southern California market.
And there’s something refreshing about that.
Because the best programmers generally got into this business because they loved RADIO, not because they dreamed of approving vacation requests.
SAN DIEGO IS A GREAT RADIO TOWN — AND A WEIRD ONE
San Diego is also one of those markets where geography, lifestyle and Southern California culture influence the radio product in ways that don’t always translate neatly to another market.
This isn’t Indianapolis with palm trees.
This isn’t Seattle with better weather.
San Diego has its own rhythm.
Military.
Beaches.
Mexico right next door.
Tourism.
Surf culture.
Rock history.
An enormous outdoor lifestyle.
And a radio audience that has had decades to develop relationships with some very established brands.
iHeart’s San Diego portfolio alone stretches from Channel 93.3 and Star 94.1 through KGB, Rock 105.3, JAM’N 95.7, KOGO, Sports 760 and The Patriot.
That means Marcotte isn’t simply programming against competitors across town.
He’s also responsible for making sure his own brands have clearly defined jobs inside one of radio’s largest cluster portfolios.
That’s programming chess.
AND DON’T UNDERESTIMATE PERSONALITY
Both stations already have human beings audiences recognize.
KGB’s morning lineup features Big Rich Ohrnberger, Travis “TD” Dale and Ben Fletcher, with Ohrnberger bringing his former NFL career and San Diego State connection into the show.
Rock 105.3 has The Show, followed by Chris Booker, Theresa and Jaime Martinez.
That’s a major advantage.
Marcotte doesn’t have to manufacture personalities from scratch.
He gets to work with existing shows and talent while asking the more important question:
How do we make these people matter even MORE?
Because in 2026, playing Metallica isn’t proprietary.
Playing Green Day isn’t proprietary.
Playing Billy Idol isn’t proprietary.
Every listener has those songs in their pocket.
What they don’t have in Spotify is San Diego.
That’s where personalities, community, experiences, digital content and local attitude become the product.
NOW BEN HAS TO KEEP THE TWO ROCKS FROM BECOMING ONE
That’s the assignment I’d put on the wall.
MAKE KGB MORE KGB.
MAKE ROCK 105.3 MORE ROCK 105.3.
Not more corporate.
Not more generic.
Not more similar.
MORE THEMSELVES.
Because when you’ve got two rock-derived brands under the same roof, differentiation isn’t some academic branding exercise.
It’s survival.
The listener should know within seconds which station they’re hearing.
The music should tell them.
The imaging should tell them.
The personalities should tell them.
The attitude should tell them.
Hell, the way somebody says the weather should probably tell them.
That’s how brands become brands.
FROM INDY TO THE OCEAN
So congratulations, Ben Marcotte.
You survived Spokane.
Seattle.
Portland.
Indianapolis.
St. Louis.
Corporate programming responsibilities.
Alternative radio.
Classic Alternative.
Classic Rock.
Adult Hits.
And probably enough music meetings to permanently damage a human nervous system.
Your reward?
SAN DIEGO.
Not bad.
But don’t get too comfortable staring at the Pacific.
You’ve got KGB.
You’ve got Rock 105.3.
You’ve got heritage.
You’ve got personalities.
You’ve got two distinctly different rock audiences.
And you’ve got one of the more interesting dual-brand programming assignments in the iHeartMedia system.
So unpack the boxes.
Find the music logs.
Meet the morning shows.
Learn where everybody gets tacos.
And then get to work.
Because San Diego just handed Ben Marcotte two sets of keys.
The fun part is going to be hearing where he drives them.
— On The Dial
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