That's a very common problem. Everyone loves to complain about radio. Nobody (other than Buddy Shula) is willing to put up their own money to make it better.
It's always someone else's problem.
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Hannity Out at WBEN
- Thread starter Long Time RadioFan
- Start date
That's a very common problem. Everyone loves to complain about radio. Nobody (other than Buddy Shula) is willing to put up their own money to make it better.
It's always someone else's problem.
More likely you'd end up with something like 88.5 KCSN.
No, it's the current owners problem. If the product fails, then it's up to the ownership to fix it...
You're making a subjective judgement.
Quarterly profits. That’s all the matters to big corporate companies. Ratings do not matter. It’s all about how much profit that’s it.
I care about other things than that. I feel radio is important to our community, and I especially think catering to boomers and seniors are important.
These corporate companies are teetering on something very bad. Many of their assets have been frozen.
I can only hope that some of these stations locally can be peeled off for me to consider to purchase. It will happen, but not sure when.
A question to my fellow board members....what format do you think is needed in Buffalo? If you owned a station, what would it consist of? Just curious. That’s it.
I care about other things than that. I feel radio is important to our community, and I especially think catering to boomers and seniors are important.
These corporate companies are teetering on something very bad. Many of their assets have been frozen.
I can only hope that some of these stations locally can be peeled off for me to consider to purchase. It will happen, but not sure when.
A question to my fellow board members....what format do you think is needed in Buffalo? If you owned a station, what would it consist of? Just curious. That’s it.
You also have the fact that the money invested in your station is your own and not a bunch of Wall Streeters demanding better ROI every quarter.
I'm not going to defend DJF but I can say that ETM was a much better company to work for before January 1999. I'll leave it to the board to figure out the significance of that date.
That date is when ETM took over from Sinclair. I worked at ETM for 21 years. From 99 to 2017. I am personal friends to this day with David. We still communicate.
ETM was an incredible company. Once I heard that CBS was getting involved, I bought WECK. While everyone at ETM thought it was great, I knew it would be a disaster.
I left three months later. Best move I ever made.
It’s gonna get worse too. Every station will be homogeneous
It's also when Entercom went public. IPO price was $22.50 a share. IOW, the beginning of the end.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Entercom did the IPO in January 1999. It raised $236M. In July 1999, Entercom agreed to buy 46 Sinclair radio properties for $824.5M, WBEN, WMJQ, WGR, WWKB, WWWS and WKSE were among those 46. Four stations in Kansas City, MO and one in Wilkes Barre, PA at first were not part of the initial sale. Entercom closed on 41 Sinclair stations for $700.4M on December 16, 1999. The Kansas City and Wilkes Barre stations later joined Entercom, at $124M.
Ugh. So, why is that? Laziness? Change resistance? Consumer demand? Is WECK considered to be "non-homogeneous" so-to-speak? And, if so, could that be executed with other types of stations... or is there something unique about the so-called older demographic that lends itself to diversity?
How will that be different than what it is now?
it's not all homogenous now. It will be worse
You mean they'll start praising Obama on WBEN? Because right now, the views expressed are very homogenous not only from show to show, but as you go from one news talk station to another around the country. Rush on WBEN sounds just like Rush on WHAM. Savage sounds the same on WBEN as he does on WHAM. It's all the same. You listen to Star and it sounds like an AC in any other town. You listen to WYRK and they're playing the same songs as WBEE in Rochester. What's different?
Well, if you're talking about Entercom or iHeart stations, it's getting more homogenized every day because they're firing people and replacing them with syndication and regional VT.
If you're talking about WYRK and WBEE, there are significant differences because the personalities are different in several dayparts and focus on their individual markets. Local content still matters to many listeners. Even on WBEN, there are significant local dayparts that aren't Rush and Hannity - as there are on WHAM. In radio, with local sponsors providing most of the money, local content still means something. As failed corporations descend into bankruptcy, that differentiation disappears. Owners who believe in serving local audiences have the opportunity to carve out their own audience, and in some cases thrive (see WDKX). iHeart has gotten spanked in Rochester in the past. Unfortunately, Entercom is now following the iHeart model. We'll see how that turns out in the long run.
If you're talking about WYRK and WBEE, there are significant differences because the personalities are different in several dayparts and focus on their individual markets. Local content still matters to many listeners. Even on WBEN, there are significant local dayparts that aren't Rush and Hannity - as there are on WHAM. In radio, with local sponsors providing most of the money, local content still means something. As failed corporations descend into bankruptcy, that differentiation disappears. Owners who believe in serving local audiences have the opportunity to carve out their own audience, and in some cases thrive (see WDKX). iHeart has gotten spanked in Rochester in the past. Unfortunately, Entercom is now following the iHeart model. We'll see how that turns out in the long run.
"The cream always rises to the top." Except when homogenized.
But were the people who are getting fired distinctive or recognizable in an identifiable way? Remind me why the local airstaff made a difference at WLKK.
And do the 30 million people who pay for Sirius care that they're listening to homogenized radio?
Shouldn't we be more interested in whether or not the talent is entertaining? I was listening to Rob & Shari, the new national night show on WBEE, and they're more entertaining than the evening show they replaced. Isn't that important?
Oh, you tune into WBEE regularly? Just how often do you listen? Are you a P1, a P2, or a "I listened once and formed an opinion." Maybe Rob & Shari are more entertaining to you because you don't live here, and don't get local references anyway.
Will WLKK get better ratings now that they have NYC personalities on air? Maybe it wasn't the fault of local talent. Maybe it was the homogenized playlists sent down from corporate, a lack of promotion, or simply that they were getting their ass kicked by a better radio station with heritage personalities and a better signal.
People pay for homogenized radio on Sirius because they don't like commercials, and in many cases like a much wider playlist than you'll hear on commercial radio. Sirius has replaced their record/CD/mp3 collection as much or more than their radio. BTW, Sirius isn't A radio station, it's a LOT of radio stations. What's the local cume and TSL on any one of their streams? How does it compare to local radio?
Ugh. Thanks for the downer. LOL
So, do you expect that as this homogenization occurs there will be any general demographic, geographic region/municipal area, or general socio-economic community that will balk more than others at that issue? And, if so, wouldn't that be good for folks like you that want to fill "smaller" niches? Also, do see that there - in the future - would be any community that will be essentially void of traditional OTA radio?
Entertainment value isn't a function of geography. Either you're entertaining, or you're not. Steve Harvey doesn't live in Buffalo, but he gets great ratings on WBLK. The people of Buffalo understand that. Rush and Savage don't live in Buffalo, but listeners are entertained. That's all that matters. Buddy says Rush is #1 in his daypart. Not bad for someone who doesn't live in Buffalo.
That's a funny question. If you go to any small town, far from a large market, you're likely to hear mostly satellite-delivered formats. Thousands of radio stations run that way. And most of the stations that run those national formats are locally owned. But their local owners don't make enough money to pay local staff. The markets were over-licensed by the FCC in the 1980s, so there are more radio stations than the ad market can support. With ad rates dropping, and more local businesses getting replaced by national chains, it will be harder for local radio to exist. You can complain about "homogenous" radio, but what about homogenous retail? When was the last time you shopped in a locally-owned store?
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