DALLAS — A legal dispute between the parent company of KTCK 96.7 FM/1310 AM The Ticket and former talk show hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp has been resolved, the company announced in a statement Tuesday.
The two sides were "pleased to announce a mutually agreed resolution of their litigation," according to a statement from Cumulus Media/Susquehanna Radio, which is The Ticket's parent company.
"They each appreciate one another's sincere efforts to resolve their differences so that everyone involved can move forward," the statement said. "The parties wish each other well."
McDowell and Kemp also read the statement on the latest episode of their podcast, "The Dumb Zone," on Tuesday.
"We're glad it's all settled," McDowell said. "We're happy this thing is behind us. We're happy for our friends at The Ticket."
The dispute between McDowell and Kemp and their former employer centered on non-compete clauses in their contracts, which had expired before they left the station, and whether or not their new podcast was considered competition for The Ticket.
The situation drew industry-wide attention, but also rose to some level of national attention this past week, when The Washington Post profiled McDowell and Kemp: "How a podcast called 'The Dumb Zone' could transform U.S. labor law."
The Post story detailed how McDowell's and Kemp's case could have potential implications on non-compete language in contracts.
Now, apparently, the dispute is settled.
McDowell and Kemp shared on the brief episode Tuesday that they were planning to release a longer episode Wednesday.
The pair had hosted the early-afternoon show, "The Hang Zone," on The Ticket for the last three years. And both McDowell and Kemp had worked for The Ticket for years before they were paired up in 2020. But they ultimately resigned from the station in mid-July, unable to reach a new contract agreement with their longtime employer.
They began recording and publishing a new podcast called "The Dumb Zone" on July 20 after initially releasing a goodbye video to The Ticket on YouTube.
In the wake of that move, Cumulus -- The Ticket's parent company -- filed suit against McDowell and Kemp on Aug. 4, seeking an temporary restraining order to stop them from recording new episodes.
A judge denied the request, but Cumulus re-filed it, and the two sides entered litigation.
McDowell's and Kemp's attorneys had filed an official response to Cumulus' suit, saying that the company's allegations of anyone violating their contract agreement were false. The response to the Cumulus suit had also revealed McDowell and Kemp have filed complaints against The Ticket with the National Labor Relations Board.
