Steve Rivers

Steve Rivers was a legendary radio programmer and executive known for transforming Top 40 stations across major U.S. markets. He came to prominence in the mid‑1970s as an on‑air personality at 96X in Miami.   He quickly earned a reputation for creativity and talent development.  In the 1980s and early ’90s, Rivers held programming leadership at powerhouse stations including KMEL-FM in San Francisco, KIIS‑FM in Los Angeles,  KISS 108 in Boston.  In every case, he led the stations to ratings and cultural successes through compelling formatting and research‑driven strategies, often including high profile radio personalities to affect an engaged audience connection. 

As the corporate program director and later, the Senior VP of Programming for CBS Radio and AM/FM Inc., he oversaw and coached programming teams across multiple clusters with an emphasis on fundamentals and creativity.   In 1999, he joined RadioCentral, an early branded internet radio venture, helping build high‑consumption custom streams for brands before the venture ended due to high costs despite listener success. It proved to be another example of his early adaptation and understanding of how music listeners chose to receive their music.

Known for nurturing future radio leaders, many of whom credit him with teaching them how to "program with purpose”, Steve Rivers passed away in 2012.

In 2023, Steve Rivers received a Legends Induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.