WJOX announces major changes to morning lineup, axes regular programming

“The Opening Drive” has long held the morning drive slot on WJOX FM out of Birmingham, Alabama. The show is hosted by former Alabama QB Jay Barker, Tony Kurre and Al Del Greco.

However, according to news that broke on Wednesday, the show will no longer continue to air on the popular radio station.

WJOX confirmed on Twitter that a new show, “JOX Roundtable,” would air from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. instead:

Starting Monday, March 5 – the @JoxRoundtable will start at 6 am.

— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) February 28, 2018

WJOX GM Davis Walls said “The Opening Drive” hosts would not be retained by the station moving forward (via AL.com):

“They will no longer be with us,” Walls said. “We’re going to move in a new direction.”

“I talked to them this morning. Those guys are class acts. They are great guys. Obviously, they took it well, but they wanted to be here. They are really class guys.”

Ryan Brown, one of the hosts of “JOX Roundtable” tweeted some information about the move, saying nothing will change except the time:

Ha! Not banned at all. Can't answer a lot of questions, here are some we can:
1. Show is moving 6-10
2. Will be replayed 10-2 initiallly
3. New show 10-2 soon
4. No change to the show
5. All of our regular guests you love (or hate) will keep coming on plus an old one you love. https://t.co/XDxN2xikZK

— Ryan Brown (@RyanBrownLive) February 28, 2018

It’ll be interesting to see how this change is received, but it’s a big one for WJOX and its listeners.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.