After 38 years on Charlotte airwaves, The Big Show with John Boy and Billy will air its final broadcast on 99.7 The Fox (WRFX) today, marking a sudden end to the show’s run on its flagship station. The station announced the news in pre-recorded messages earlier this week.
The show’s hosts – Johnny “John Boy” Isley and Billy James – have been tight-lipped about the change, and there has been no word as to whether the cancelation is tied to recent iHeartMedia layoffs and restructuring.
What is known is that The Big Show will continue to be syndicated with iHeart’s Premiere Networks across more than fifty Country and Rock stations after extending their contract in September.
John Boy and Billy aren’t the first syndicated radio program to be let go from its flagship this year. In April, The Dana Cortez Show lost its flagship station in Phoenix, preceding the owning company’s sale to Zelus Media in August. The show secured a new flagship at Audacy’s Mix 96.5 (KHMX) in Houston, which started earlier this month.
In September, The Ace & TJ Show faced upheaval when the longtime duo announced their split. Subsequently, the program was dropped from its Charlotte flagship station, K104.7 (WKQC). Most recently, San Antonio’s WOAI canceled Joe Pags’ talk show as part of the iHeart RIF, but his nationally syndicated program with Compass Media Networks will continue.
