© Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle Via Getty Images

After not-so-subtly hinting at it over the weekend, Bay Area news radio stalwart 810 AM completed its switch to a sports gambling station Monday. 

Longstanding programming was abruptly canceled by owner Cumulus Media on Oct. 6, leaving hosts stunned. The slow death of KGO, the former name of the station, was a familiar story for legacy media, though. “KGO has been in steady decline for years, and that’s unfortunate, but that’s kind of the industry overall,” longtime reporter and writer David Lazarus told SFGATE last week. Lazarus, who worked for KGO from the late 1990s until the early 2010s, is now a reporter for a Los Angeles television station.

On Monday, the station formerly known as KGO officially rolled out as “810 The Spread.” If its early programming is any indication, the switch is more of a cost-cutting move than an aggressive investment in sports gambling. As of 7:45 a.m. local time, The Spread was airing “BetQL Daily,” a syndicated podcast with two guys named Joe. The Spread’s weekday lineup appears to be three syndicated betting shows and The Jim Rome Show, followed by CBS Sports programming overnight, according to Barrett Sports Media.

The new station touts itself as “The Bay’s Best Bet on Sports.” But its own biggest bet — on sports gambling becoming legal in California — might not hit. California has been slow to legalize betting on sports since the floodgates opened with a 2018 Supreme Court ruling. There are two sports gambling propositions on the ballot this fall, one to legalize casino and racetrack wagers and another to allow online gambling. Both appear likely to fail, as a UC Berkeley poll shows California voters opposing them by double-digit margins.