I've noticed during weekend evenings there are less specialty shows than there used to be, but there still are some. There are things like Backtrax, Throwback Nation/Throwback 2K. There is also Most Requested Live, but it has fewer and fewer affiliates each year? But it seems like more and more stations just opt for regular programming. Is there a downside to these programs that make stations not want them anymore?
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Weekend/off hour specialty shows or syndicated shows.
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
Probably the fact that they have to air the syndicated show's commercials, which means they make less local money.
Most of those specialty shows are syndicated, not local.
There were a few reasons for these shows originally.
1. They could provide appointment listening. Getting someone to tune into Casey Kasem before and after Sunday services couldn't be a bad thing.
2. They alleviated the need to find a decent, reliable jock to work 6pm-midnight on Saturday or 6am to noon on Sunday.
3. The syndicated show might get some artist interviews or behind the scenes material that a station in Omaha couldn't get on its own.
All of these are pretty much irrelevant now.
1. There aren't very many radio stars anymore.
2. Voice tracking means no one has to physically be there at 11:30pm on Saturday night
3. That kind of info is mostly on Instagram now, no need to wait for Saturday night to hear a reaction to your favorite artist winning a Grammy the previous Sunday.
1. They could provide appointment listening. Getting someone to tune into Casey Kasem before and after Sunday services couldn't be a bad thing.
2. They alleviated the need to find a decent, reliable jock to work 6pm-midnight on Saturday or 6am to noon on Sunday.
3. The syndicated show might get some artist interviews or behind the scenes material that a station in Omaha couldn't get on its own.
All of these are pretty much irrelevant now.
1. There aren't very many radio stars anymore.
2. Voice tracking means no one has to physically be there at 11:30pm on Saturday night
3. That kind of info is mostly on Instagram now, no need to wait for Saturday night to hear a reaction to your favorite artist winning a Grammy the previous Sunday.
Good points. And you can add in that those shows are / were run so that people with diaries would remember the show and, later when they filled in the diary pages, they would remember the show and write it in.
But 50 of the biggest markets don't use diaries. And if a syndicated show can't show lots of Top 50 markets, they won't succeed. So the PPM definitely reduced the effectiveness of these shows.
But what about shows that debuted these last few years, like Throwback Nation Radio? They were created after PPM and launched in the 2020s, though they don't have too many affiliates.
Key words "not too many affiliates". PT and I explained some of the possible reasons.
One more thing I'll add is that Sirius XM still does specialty shows. As do the curated music channels on Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.
But they're all commercial free because those platforms are subscription based.
You're also likely to hear specialty shows on non-com broadcast stations, but once again, they're commercial free.
For example: SiriusXM does specialty shows around Coachella and Stagecoach. Amazon Music is actually broadcasting live from Stagecoach this wknd.
But they're all commercial free because those platforms are subscription based.
You're also likely to hear specialty shows on non-com broadcast stations, but once again, they're commercial free.
For example: SiriusXM does specialty shows around Coachella and Stagecoach. Amazon Music is actually broadcasting live from Stagecoach this wknd.
Stagecoach is next weekend. This one is the second Coachella weekend, and I can hear it now from my home office... without Amazon Music or satellite radio!
They have two affiliate in PPM markets, as far as I can tell, which are Cleveland and Columbus Ohio, and both of which only take the Saturday edition.
So as David said, the program basically doesn't exist in PPM markets, which will really limit their ad sales. Keep in mind that about half of Americans live in the top 50 markets, and generally ad buyers are more interested in reaching Nashville, TN than the tiny town of Nashville, Illinois (population 3100).
EDIT: Also, Throwback Nation launched as a replacement for a similar show on Westwood One that was cancelled when the host retired.
Mike Harvey Relinquishes His Nightly Westwood One Show.
After more than 35 years, Mike Harvey will step away from hosting his nightly classic hits show, “The Mike Harvey Show,” and the “Saturday Weekend Party with Mike Harvey” on
I’m watching Young Thug on the Coachella main stage on Youtube right now!
Getting back to specialty shows, Liveline is live on Saturday and weekday evenings depending on the station, but that’s the newest “weekend” syndicated show I can think of.
Liveline is almost extinct on radio. I'm not even sure why he gets op-eds on Radioinsight, but lance would know. Looking at affiliates, very small markets, and Canadian markets.
My Sunday school teacher was always late because he wanted to listen to Casey Kasem.
There are still hundreds of Classic Hits and AC affiliates for AT40 70s & 80s, CHR and Hot AC affiliates for AT40 with Seacrest. Other shows that are 100+ affiliates and are in quite a few PPM markets include Time Warp with Bill St. James, Flashback with Matt Pinfield, House of Hair, Backtrax, Sammy Hagar's Top Rock Countdown, Underground Garage, American Country Countdown, Country Top 40.
The shows are still out there and there are stations that see value in running them over an automated playlist.
The shows are still out there and there are stations that see value in running them over an automated playlist.
The RadioInsight piece introducing the new Classic Hits format on KYRV in Sacramento also mentions the station is the 600th affiliate for Classic AT40. It's not specified if that means there are 600 active affiliates or this is the 600th affiliate sign on since the current Classic AT40 syndication package launched in 2006/2007.
radioinsight.com
KYRV Flows To Classic Hits; Becomes 600th Affiliate For Casey Kasem’s American Top 40
iHeartMedia has completed the shift of Classic Rock "93.7 The River" KYRV Sacramento CA to 1980s based Classic Hits. Now
radioinsight.com
Sometimes, being a bit of a daydreamer, I'll plan out the schedule for a small town station in the middle of nowhere that runs every single syndicated show that anyone will send it (for barter, at least.) Talk about a format-buster!
There is some solid content out there; I'm a fan of The Yacht Club with Meredith Marx and the Original Country Gold with Rowdy Yates is well done. And, though I can listen anytime, I never miss Classic AT40 on Sunday night. A tradition with me.
There is some solid content out there; I'm a fan of The Yacht Club with Meredith Marx and the Original Country Gold with Rowdy Yates is well done. And, though I can listen anytime, I never miss Classic AT40 on Sunday night. A tradition with me.
Yacht Rock Radio with Captain Adam is a Sunday night staple here. My Five Fave will be one of the most unusual he's ever heard, I promise. I haven't decided when to send it in.
You also have Sunday Night Slow Jams with R. Dub which is on many dozens of radio stations from Alamogordo to Boston and everywhere in between. Aforementioned Country Gold, the Nina Blackwood '80s show is still on (I think?), Live in Concert which has rock concerts (often archived), and yes, there are a handful of FMs that still air the Dave Koz Radio Show on weekends (like 102.5 BAZ on Long Island, and of course, WSBZ).
You also have Sunday Night Slow Jams with R. Dub which is on many dozens of radio stations from Alamogordo to Boston and everywhere in between. Aforementioned Country Gold, the Nina Blackwood '80s show is still on (I think?), Live in Concert which has rock concerts (often archived), and yes, there are a handful of FMs that still air the Dave Koz Radio Show on weekends (like 102.5 BAZ on Long Island, and of course, WSBZ).
Be interesting to see the breakdown between the remaining syndicated shows on who is free/barter and who is cash.
Another thread mentioned an issue with AT40 The 70s having a problem with the late 78 and 79 shows going for 4 hours instead of three - surprised Premiere haven't got the editor's razor out and cut out the long distance dedications in the show, as well as the repeat of the previous week's Top 3 - that would help get it back to three hours.
In Australia, the company that had the most syndicated shows (excluding talk networks) was MCM Entertainment. They had Take 40 Australia (our version of AT40), Barry Bissell's Weekly Countdown (Top 20 AC), My Generation (Classic Hits), Planet Rock (Rock chart countdown, then later a Classic Rock show), The Hot Hits (another countdown show) and then they were also the local syndicator for Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and Little Stevie's Underground garage.
As a PD for an AM and a FM in a small market I took just about everything MCM Entertainment could give me because they were barter and a great way to make weekends sound more unique than the normal weekday programming.
Sadly, they went bust about 10 years ago. I remember going into their headquarters one time and the room they not only kept their old shows, but hundreds and hundreds of old interviews - wonder who has them now?
There were some other companies like Grace Gibson. They had the local rights to Wolfman Jack, but wouldn't do barter (cash don't work in a small market).
We loved a little independent company that use to produce The Outback Club, a weekly one hour country music show. They had Toyota as their backers and Toyota would PAY US(!!) to air the show.
Another thread mentioned an issue with AT40 The 70s having a problem with the late 78 and 79 shows going for 4 hours instead of three - surprised Premiere haven't got the editor's razor out and cut out the long distance dedications in the show, as well as the repeat of the previous week's Top 3 - that would help get it back to three hours.
In Australia, the company that had the most syndicated shows (excluding talk networks) was MCM Entertainment. They had Take 40 Australia (our version of AT40), Barry Bissell's Weekly Countdown (Top 20 AC), My Generation (Classic Hits), Planet Rock (Rock chart countdown, then later a Classic Rock show), The Hot Hits (another countdown show) and then they were also the local syndicator for Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and Little Stevie's Underground garage.
As a PD for an AM and a FM in a small market I took just about everything MCM Entertainment could give me because they were barter and a great way to make weekends sound more unique than the normal weekday programming.
Sadly, they went bust about 10 years ago. I remember going into their headquarters one time and the room they not only kept their old shows, but hundreds and hundreds of old interviews - wonder who has them now?
There were some other companies like Grace Gibson. They had the local rights to Wolfman Jack, but wouldn't do barter (cash don't work in a small market).
We loved a little independent company that use to produce The Outback Club, a weekly one hour country music show. They had Toyota as their backers and Toyota would PAY US(!!) to air the show.
The solution has been to just make the first hour available, but optional. When a 4 hour 70s show is offered the default delivery of the show is just the last 3 hours. If a station wants to go into the ftp site they can access the first hour (which doesn't have national spots) and manually make changes to their log. The AT40 Fun & Games forums have a list of stations showing which ones will take the 4th hour.
And of course there are even some affiliates of the 80s version that only take Hours 2-4, since Hour 1 over there is automatically included in the default delivery but also offered without the national spots for stations that don't want the bottom 10 songs and/or only want 3 hours of the show.
Very few syndicated commercial radio shows are acquired on cash-only terms these days.
Some programs/services are cash plus barter. Last time I knew, ESPN Radio required cash, plus 3 minutes per hour of network ad inventory, but that understanding was from quite a few years ago.