25 years and still going strong: The Ticket has tapped into the rarest of radio gold

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/ot...rarest-radio-gold-sustained-loyalty-listeners

"The Ticket" legacy as sports/talk station in the Dallas Radio Market

The top sports talk radio station in D-FW is now 25 years old. The station's original lineup consisted of Skip Bayless, Curt Menefee, Mike Rhyner and Gregg Williams, Chuck Cooperstein, and George Dunham and Craig Miller.

The Ticket (a SportsDay content partner) has a loyal fan base for a reason — it feels like family to its listeners. They call themselves P1s, a moniker that has made its way into the Urban Dictionary.

It all started on a legal pad in a Lakewood restaurant. Mike Rhyner, known as the 'Godfather of The Ticket,' talks about the origins of the station:


Station Manager

Jeff "Cat" Catlin has been the station manger for 16 years but has worked at the station for nearly 25 years. He talked about some of the reasons for the success of the station:


Ticket factoids

The station is continually ranked No. 1 in D-FW radio ratings among all stations in the demographic of men 25-54.

The Ticket has won many awards over the years, including three Marconi Awards for Sports Station of the Year.

Each individual show — The Musers, Norm Hitzges & Donovan Lewis, BaD Radio and The Hardline — ranks No. 1 for its time segment.
The Musers

Also known as Dunham and Miller, the morning show is heard weekdays from 5:30-10 a.m., hosted by George "Jub Jub" Dunham, Craig "Junior" Miller and Gordon "The Great Gordo" Keith. They are the longest-running morning show (with the same crew) in D-FW and have been the top-rated show in the market since 1995.

Also it features the staff who have been with the Ticket for 25 years.

 

[317C50KW]

Obviously the talent at the little Ticket is well compensated and have an incredible amount of on-air freedom. But, they are all getting OLDER.

Will the line up be the same at the 30 year watermark?

 

[TheBigA]

Will the line up be the same at the 30 year watermark?

Ask Mike Francesa at WFAN in NYC. He keeps trying to retire, and they keep calling him back.

 

[davideduardo]

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/ot...rarest-radio-gold-sustained-loyalty-listeners

"The Ticket" legacy as sports/talk station in the Dallas Radio Market

Also it features the staff who have been with the Ticket for 25 years.

And a bit exaggerated in saying it is "continually #1 in the demographic of men 25-54". It is actually one of several that flip around in the top 3, the others being KEGL and KLNO (occasionally KZPS, KHKS and KSCS join the top 3, but not consistently).

 

[ThePowerCow]

And a bit exaggerated in saying it is "continually #1 in the demographic of men 25-54". It is actually one of several that flip around in the top 3, the others being KEGL and KLNO (occasionally KZPS, KHKS and KSCS join the top 3, but not consistently).

Still not bad for an AM, with help of a rimshot FM.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Still not bad for an AM, with help of a rimshot FM.

I'd be curious to see a breakdown of how many listeners the FM has versus the AM, and how age correlates to that. With The Ticket's two competitors being on FM, I would think 96.7 would have the edge over 1310. However ramping up the AM power to 25kw (days) in recent years has probably helped keep the AM somewhat relevant.

 

[Triple Fake Jerry]

Obviously the talent at the little Ticket is well compensated and have an incredible amount of on-air freedom. But, they are all getting OLDER.

Will the line up be the same at the 30 year watermark?

They're already planning for the eventuality that Norm will phase out with the partnership with Donovan from 10 to noon (Norm used to do this shift solo with nary a phone call). By the 30-year mark Norm will be north of 75. Used to think they'd haul Norm out of the studio in a body bag, but sounds more and more like Norm is looking forward to enjoying retirement.

Other than that, the only way there's any change in the lineup is a completely unexpected health issue or an unfortunate arrest (watch Gordo for this). I will add this: The Ticket bench is deep and there is no shortage of familiar voices (Sean Bass, Ty Walker, weekenders, etc.) to drop in at any point.