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Yikes…97.1 😱

I think The Fan could work. I probably would’ve resurrected The Beast branding. I just think that stands out more than The Fan. They’ve got good talent. I just think it should be three man shows with Jim Rome live in middays. I’m not calling for anyone to be fired. With what they have now, especially after several breaking NBA stories, I don’t trust to hear their voices over veterans like Petros and Money or anyone 570 has
 
I also think Audacy read too much into the fact that Jim Rome is an older white male, and the assumption he wouldn’t “connect” with today’s audience in L.A. Colin Cowherd is in his 60s. Dan Patrick is 70. Gil Brandt was on Sirius XM at 93. Sports is the only format where the audience doesn’t give a rip on how old the host is. If I were KABC I’d scoop him up out of spite.
 
Loverofradio said:
I also think Audacy read too much into the fact that Jim Rome is an older white male,
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I have no reason to believe that's true at all. I think it was about money and commitment.

Both of those things may change in a year. They may have more of a budget, and he may be more willing to do things.

Here's what the PD said about Jim Rome:

“One hundred percent it [Jim Rome] was part of the conversation. I had a giant spreadsheet with talent and shows. Obviously, with our relationship with Westwood One Sports, it was brought up,” explained Williams. “I wanted all our people in this building. They are in this studio and conversing around the halls. That means something in the sense of trying to build something brand new.”

Another element surrounding Rome’s potential inclusion involved the difficulty of removing syndicated programming later if the station wanted to pivot toward a local voice.

“In my mind, if you go down that route, it’s very hard to go ask if we could take this off and get to a local voice that may make more sense,” said Williams. “I want us to all build something special together.”
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Nowhere in there do I see anything being said about Rome's age.
 
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I believe the decision to not carry Rome (as mentioned in the article quoted above) is simply because they want to be local while all the other sports talk options are national, so much that they actively promote and mention the fact on 97.1 during that daypart
 
Jstnpspck said:
I believe the decision to not carry Rome (as mentioned in the article quoted above) is simply because they want to be local while all the other sports talk options are national, so much that they actively promote and mention the fact on 97.1 during that daypart
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They will soon come to an understanding that a good national show beats a crummy local show.

There may be a discussion that a good local show is better than a good national show, but that is not an issue that is relevant for The Fan at this point.
 
ChannelFlipper said:
They will soon come to an understanding that a good national show beats a crummy local show.

There may be a discussion that a good local show is better than a good national show, but that is not an issue that is relevant for The Fan at this point.
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You need MAJOR names to sell a new station. The GLARING name missing is SoCal’s very own Jim Rome. The midday show is absolutely atrocious. It’s just not good. Zero chemistry and it sounds like a high school podcast project. I expect Chris Olivero to adjust in 6 months and pivot to Rome. Find a replacement for Derek Fisher, maybe bring in Michelle Beadle to work with her former partner Kody Decker although he’s nothing to clamor for but maybe better with familiarity. I’ve soured on Bill Reiter as his shtick has already worn thin and I can hear it on DMack. DMack could do mornings. He’s the most LA sports knowledge person on the station and doesn’t come across as a know it all. The night show is coming along as well. But ultimately without any sports rights yet, they need a HOOK and that’s Jim Rome. Syndicated or not, LA sports news is MAJOR news so it’ll be talked about as if he is local.
 
iDontHeartRadio said:
You need MAJOR names to sell a new station. The GLARING name missing is SoCal’s very own Jim Rome. The midday show is absolutely atrocious. It’s just not good. Zero chemistry and it sounds like a high school podcast project. I expect Chris Olivero to adjust in 6 months and pivot to Rome. Find a replacement for Derek Fisher, maybe bring in Michelle Beadle to work with her former partner Kody Decker although he’s nothing to clamor for but maybe better with familiarity. I’ve soured on Bill Reiter as his shtick has already worn thin and I can hear it on DMack. DMack could do mornings. He’s the most LA sports knowledge person on the station and doesn’t come across as a know it all. The night show is coming along as well. But ultimately without any sports rights yet, they need a HOOK and that’s Jim Rome. Syndicated or not, LA sports news is MAJOR news so it’ll be talked about as if he is local.
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I wonder if what is holding up the Rome show is that his people are insisting on a non-cancellation clause in the agreement. It is understandable why they would want it because Rome has come back on other LA stations and been burned before, 980 "The Beast" as an example, and Audacy is nervous about making that kind of commitment.
 
ChannelFlipper said:
I wonder if what is holding up the Rome show is that his people are insisting on a non-cancellation clause in the agreement. It is understandable why they would want it because Rome has come back on other stations and been burned before, 980 "The Beast" as an example, and Audacy is nervous about making that kind of commitment.
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I believe that anything can be negotiated. Plus wouldn’t be the first time Rome has had his show axed in a market. Audacy is cheap. It’s cheaper for them to run Rome than pay local talent. It’s a need/want situation. Rome WANTS to be on in LA. IDGAF the number of platforms and blah blah, he wants that LA affiliate. I think when some time is given, it’s going to happen. The perfect combination of a bad local show giving opportunity for a good national show from the local kid Rome.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment regarding Brock & Alex, but is a guy who's the third tier in syndication when it comes to the timeslot the answer? Genuinely- how washed is Rome at this point in his career? What impact does he offer? CBS didn't even want to keep him around as filler on their bottom-tier cable sports channel. With changes in habits and transplant turnover in a city like LA, how viable is Jim Rome as an alternative compared to whatever his zenith was? I doubt these sentiments toward change would be as strong with a better local offering compared to B&A.
 
Jstnpspck said:
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment regarding Brock & Alex, but is a guy who's the third tier in syndication when it comes to the timeslot the answer? Genuinely- how washed is Rome at this point in his career? What impact does he offer? CBS didn't even want to keep him around as filler on their bottom-tier cable sports channel. With changes in habits and transplant turnover in a city like LA, how viable is Jim Rome as an alternative compared to whatever his zenith was? I doubt these sentiments toward change would be as strong with a better local offering compared to B&A.
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But Rome is a voice with major weight in this industry. He’s the best Audacy has got that compares to Cowherd or Eisen. He needs to be utilized more
 
If you guys can string together all the things you're bitching about, the jigsaw puzzle starts to come together:

There is no budget for this. Corporate wanted a sports station on FM in Los Angeles outside the budget cycle, so the L.A. cluster gave them 97.1.

Syndication rights to Jim Rome might be cheaper than paying a local host (they also may not---you have no idea how little some people on Los Angeles radio work for), but they also may involve commitments of time or promotional spends that Audacy might be trying to avoid.

And if I'm Jim, and would like to be cleared in my hometown of L.A., I'd like for this not to be a repeat of The Beast---gone in 18 months without making a dent. Eventually the message becomes that you're not a draw. No disrespect to Jim, but you know what the highest-rated, highest-billing sports stations in Los Angeles the past decade have in common?























They've been doing it without Jim Rome.
 
michael hagerty said:
If you guys can string together all the things you're bitching about, the jigsaw puzzle starts to come together:

There is no budget for this. Corporate wanted a sports station on FM in Los Angeles outside the budget cycle, so the L.A. cluster gave them 97.1.

Syndication rights to Jim Rome might be cheaper than paying a local host (they also may not---you have no idea how little some people on Los Angeles radio work for), but they also may involve commitments of time or promotional spends that Audacy might be trying to avoid.

And if I'm Jim, and would like to be cleared in my hometown of L.A., I'd like for this not to be a repeat of The Beast---gone in 18 months without making a dent. Eventually the message becomes that you're not a draw. No disrespect to Jim, but you know what the highest-rated, highest-billing sports stations in Los Angeles the past decade have in common?























They've been doing it without Jim Rome.
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Rome is not the magic solution nor is the market wailing because he is not in it. In fact, Rome has been out of the market for so long it is not even a sure thing that his stature will be recognized or even desired by the sports format audience, who tend to skew young. Young people have a natural aversion to an older generation foisting its own stars and heroes on them, and that may very well be the perception here.

What I have said is The Fan rollout has been poorly conceived and probably even more poorly executed. They have brought nothing to the table, no play by play, no name talent, no connection to a national sports entity such as ESPN, and their "shows" sound like they are based on Wayne and Garth's, with production values to match. At least Rome would be a name talent that they could actively market. He could possibly provide some professional guidance and tutoring the rest of the staff which desperately needs it. No offense, but nobody is tuning in to get DFish's takes.

I won't be surprised if the ratings needle hasn't moved much from its first nine days when the first full book comes out.
 
Jstnpspck said:
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment regarding Brock & Alex, but is a guy who's the third tier in syndication when it comes to the timeslot the answer? Genuinely- how washed is Rome at this point in his career?
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For me, he was washed up the instant he provoked Jim Everett (ex-Rams QB) to lunge at him after calling him "Chrissie." Middle-school level "humor" coming from a guy his age was creepy then. It's borderline obscene now.
 
michael hagerty said:
If you guys can string together all the things you're bitching about, the jigsaw puzzle starts to come together:

There is no budget for this. Corporate wanted a sports station on FM in Los Angeles outside the budget cycle, so the L.A. cluster gave them 97.1.
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You may have hit on the main issue.

This is a corporate demand and perhaps the local cluster resents it, wants to prove that it won't work so corporate will pull the plug after 18 months, and they can go back to what they were doing before, or more likely, compete with a new, easier to manage music station that is more to their liking and skill sets. They accomplish this goal by putting on an obviously inferior product to what is already in the market and let time and missed budgets do the rest.
 


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