KROQ'S Bean To Leave

[TheBigA]

Wow! The most successful duo in alternative radio is breaking up.

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...los-angeles-shocker-morning-co-host-bean-to-c

We've discussed how this station has been needing a bit of a jolt. Maybe a new morning co-host will help. Kevin Klein?

 

[leethalweapon]

We've discussed how this station has been needing a bit of a jolt. Maybe a new morning co-host will help. Kevin Klein?

Don't try and make something new out of something old. Clear the deck. Bean has indicated that he could stick around a while, so why not use that time to search and research a show that best fits the KROQ audience?

 

[hotpatrick2004]

I think Randy Wang of kabc be a good pick. He is very funny. He deserves to be on a good station which kroq is.

 

[Brian Bowers]

Are morning shows still the most listened to part of the radio day?

 

[rosariorose9]

I think Randy Wang of kabc be a good pick. He is very funny. He deserves to be on a good station which kroq is.

That's a great idea.

 

[davideduardo]

Are morning shows still the most listened to part of the radio day?

Morning shows are generally needed in the majority of formats to get morning ratings. But Middays and Afternoons actually have higher listening levels in the PPM markets. But mornings attract more sales dollars.

 

[TheBigA]

But mornings attract more sales dollars.

Kevin & Bean were huge money makers. They're the reason why KROQ billed so well. And they were well compensated as a result.

It will be interesting to see how the station reinvents itself now.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Kevin & Bean were huge money makers. They're the reason why KROQ billed so well. And they were well compensated as a result.

It will be interesting to see how the station reinvents itself now.

This will soon be a discussion of how radio reinvents itself now. The days of long-tenured morning show hosts that drive a station's personality (and sales) seem to be coming to an end fast because the audience is no longer captured to just a few choices on the AM/FM band as they were in the past. Satellite, online, and on-phone options combined with the (ahem) much more limited attention spans of the millennial generation make the idea of a new legion of station-defining, long-term hosts such as Mark and Brian, K&B, and even Howard Stern seem to be far-fetched.

Radio guys are still telling us that radio usage is still 90% blah, blah, blah. I guess you guys are still convincing your corporate buyers of that, but my anecdotal evidence of my nephew and niece plugging in their phones as soon as they get in their cars and bringing up their Spotify lists says otherwise. I am quite sure they are very representative of what is going on in their generation. Every now and then I ask them questions about the local over the air radio stations and what I get mostly back are blank stares (although my niece does (reluctantly) admit to tuning in to sports talk on AM 570 when the Lakers are good). I was surprised she even knew HOW to tune in the AM band in her car.

 

[TheBigA]

This will soon be a discussion of how radio reinvents itself now. The days of long-tenured morning show hosts that drive a station's personality (and sales) seem to be coming to an end

Ironically it's happening just as many of those hosts are about to exit the target demo. So what some of these stations are doing is bringing in a new generation of hosts. One of the best known is Bobby Bones. He's a millennial country radio personality who iHeart has syndicated on about 50 or so of its country stations. They have also apparently made an arrangement with ABC to have him on a number of their reality shows. He won Dancing With The Stars last year. So that appears to be a likely template for the future. Of course that change immediately alienated the boomers, who are sticking with the heritage hosts as long as they hang around.

I was surprised she even knew HOW to tune in the AM band in her car.

Keep in mind that while this generation grew up with computers and phones, they also grew up listening to your car radio. So they know the radio, although they associate it mainly with you. That can be either good or bad, depending on how they view you. They listen to their Spotify list, which is usually a smaller playlist that a typical radio station. It may last for an hour. They listen to that because most of the radio stations are aimed at people older than them. A day will come when more of the people on FM will be from their generation, and will play more of their favorite music. It will come at a time when they will have less time to create personal playlists, so hearing someone else's list will save time. The main attraction, though, still will be those on air people.

 

[radiojomo]

I listened to Kevin & Bean this week after almost a decade of not listening to them.

I always thought some of the bits were really hacky and the show was pretty boring. The new cast (featuring Jensen Karp and Allie McKay) has really done a nice job of revamping the show - focusing more on topical news issues and fun discussions, instead of impersonations and Hollywood gossip. I personally think Karp has added some much needed zip to the show.

I still think there's room for improvement - but I had a really nice time listening to the show and will likely continue to tune in. I don't think they really need a replacement for Bean.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think they really need a replacement for Bean.

I have a feeling there won't be.

 

[davideduardo]

I have a feeling there won't be.

My guess is that there will not be a partner, but perhaps maintaining the recent configuration of a participating producer and such. One star, one or more contributors.

That solution keeps the talk a little more controlled and focused. The show has been averaging around 7th or so in 25-54 in the morning, while the rest of the dayparts are 10th to 20th. So a lot rides on keeping morning outperforming, as the music dayparts are not stellar (neither are KYSR's, either). But the KYSR morning show is creeping up on them.

 

[MarkW]

The ratings are proof positive that the current state of so-called "Alternative" is flimsy. The music format works well in a handful of markets (Seattle, Portland, Denver to name a few) and that's about it.

Let 98.7 handle the girly side of the format.

Would be nice if a station that uses the phonetic version of the word "ROCK" in its moniker would actually play more in the way of real rock music.

 

[TheBigA]

The ratings are proof positive that the current state of so-called "Alternative" is flimsy.

One of the biggest problems with the format is there's no real consensus music any more. The harder music narrows the audience. This genre is the one that uses personal devices more than traditional radio, because the music is more individual. The one big draw these stations have is their morning show. In LA you have Kevin & Bean vs The Woody Show. They each have their favorites. Each station is getting a 2 share. Losing Bean may hurt but the show has added more "friends," and that interaction is what the demo likes. Same with Woody. Two very good morning shows.

 

[MarkW]

I agree with two of your three main points - the "interaction" being good for ratings and the impact of personal devices making development of "consensus" music more difficult.

I disagree about harder music narrowing the audience. Look at KROQ's ratings over the past 20 years and then look at the points in time where their ratings were strongest.

 

[Doctah]

I listened to Kevin & Bean this week after almost a decade of not listening to them.

I always thought some of the bits were really hacky and the show was pretty boring. The new cast (featuring Jensen Karp and Allie McKay) has really done a nice job of revamping the show - focusing more on topical news issues and fun discussions, instead of impersonations and Hollywood gossip. I personally think Karp has added some much needed zip to the show. .

I used to like the impersonations -- it was something no other morning show was doing, partly because no other morning show had the voice talent of Ralph Garman. The show was topical then too -- the difference was, they would read a news story and then "call" the subject of the story -- which would always actually be Ralph, doing a voice in the other room. It was clever at times, a bit dumb at other times, and always silly. But the absurdity of it was what made it so much fun to listen. And then, of course, Ralph's celebrity voices were spot-on too. But things change, and you're right, this new focus also works, although they've lost a bit of the silliness. It's still a show that doesn't take itself seriously, and is the first to mock itself. In a world of radio blowhards and obnoxious personalities, that has always been refreshing.

 

[leethalweapon]

The ratings are proof positive that the current state of so-called "Alternative" is flimsy. The music format works well in a handful of markets (Seattle, Portland, Denver to name a few) and that's about it.


Would be nice if a station that uses the phonetic version of the word "ROCK" in its moniker would actually play more in the way of real rock music.

The direction of "Alternative" is very pop focused, at the moment. However, having said that, the format in its purest form isn't genre specific. Going forward it will keep evolving and I dare say that Rock may have a bigger place in it. At the moment, the corporate Alternative stations are mostly aging with the audience that grew up with it in the 90's.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

The direction of "Alternative" is very pop focused, at the moment. However, having said that, the format in its purest form isn't genre specific. Going forward it will keep evolving and I dare say that Rock may have a bigger place in it. At the moment, the corporate Alternative stations are mostly aging with the audience that grew up with it in the 90's.

Some of us grew up with KROQ in the 70s and 80s. As you say, it is aging with those that came of age in the 90's, and sadly doesn't speak to people like me anymore and really hasn't for most of the last 20 years.

 

[leethalweapon]

Some of us grew up with KROQ in the 70s and 80s. As you say, it is aging with those that came of age in the 90's, and sadly doesn't speak to people like me anymore and really hasn't for most of the last 20 years.

There are very few Alternative stations that actually speak to the audience that it was originally designed for. I hear some iHeart Alternative stations, and they sound like they are aiming at someone my age, 46, not someone 18-24...

 

[dominimmiv]

Ironically it's happening just as many of those hosts are about to exit the target demo. So what some of these stations are doing is bringing in a new generation of hosts. One of the best known is Bobby Bones. He's a millennial country radio personality who iHeart has syndicated on about 50 or so of its country stations. They have also apparently made an arrangement with ABC to have him on a number of their reality shows. He won Dancing With The Stars last year. So that appears to be a likely template for the future. Of course that change immediately alienated the boomers, who are sticking with the heritage hosts as long as they hang around.



Keep in mind that while this generation grew up with computers and phones, they also grew up listening to your car radio. So they know the radio, although they associate it mainly with you. That can be either good or bad, depending on how they view you. They listen to their Spotify list, which is usually a smaller playlist that a typical radio station. It may last for an hour. They listen to that because most of the radio stations are aimed at people older than them. A day will come when more of the people on FM will be from their generation, and will play more of their favorite music. It will come at a time when they will have less time to create personal playlists, so hearing someone else's list will save time. The main attraction, though, still will be those on air people.

I think that is way too optimistic. I have a 14 year old and he doesn't listen to terrestrial radio. I don't even think he knows what it is. We have SiriusXM in all vehicles and subscribe to Pandora and he listens to Spotify. He also does not watch OTA TV; like his parents he streams everything without commercials. That is the key- no commercials on streaming media. It would never occur to him to tune in and listen to jabbering morning DJ's when he can listen to a podcast. Of course there are people who listen to terrestrial radio just like some people still receive a morning paper. But those people are aging out of that type of media. Unless there are some radical changes to terrestrial radio in the long term it cannot compete with unlimited data plans and calling up what songs you want to hear verbally on your phone and playing it via Bluetooth to your car stereo.