10 WAYS SYNDICATION SET TALK RADIO BACK 20 YEARS

[TheBigA]

Bob Grant at EIGHTY would do better locally than Hannity is doing now. Guaranteed.

Not an option. And he's 82.

 

[jas2525]

Bob Grant at EIGHTY would do better locally than Hannity is doing now. Guaranteed.

Not an option. And he's 82.

HA!

I could actually give you a dozen names of just conservative guys who are far more interesting than Hannity, but you'll crap all over every one of them with "oh, that guy's in so-and-so city---that won't work in NY" etc. etc. Not falling for that. Sorry.

Fact is, WABC has the ability to get who they want and sign them contractually in a way that precludes any syndication---and if you think, especially with all the talent on the beach, that they couldn't get soembody solid who's willing to JUST be local in NYC and take less than a mil in salary, you're being naive...or maybe just characteristically contrarian.

 

[TheBigA]

Fact is, WABC has the ability to get who they want and sign them contractually in a way that precludes any syndication---and if you think, especially with all the talent on the beach, that they couldn't get soembody solid who's willing to JUST be local in NYC and take less than a mil in salary, you're being naive...or maybe just characteristically contrarian.

No, I'm being realistic. The goal in radio is to make money. They're doing that now. No need to change.

 

[jas2525]

Fact is, WABC has the ability to get who they want and sign them contractually in a way that precludes any syndication---and if you think, especially with all the talent on the beach, that they couldn't get soembody solid who's willing to JUST be local in NYC and take less than a mil in salary, you're being naive...or maybe just characteristically contrarian.

No, I'm being realistic. The goal in radio is to make money. They're doing that now. No need to change.

Like I said, it's a rotten shame that the most recognized call letters in the biz has programming far less unique and local than stations that used to not be able to hold a candle to it.

If that's the way radio is to be, than radio deserves to lose audience to other media. There's nothing about that station that will attract or breed loyalty in any locals at this point. Unlike the last decade, there is nothing special about WABC any longer.

That's the problem with all of these repeater type stations.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Malzberg on WOR beats Hannity in PM Drive. He's not 100% local, but he's on far fewer stations than Hannity. This allows Malzberg to be a bit more "local" since he doesn't have to tailor himself for an audience in middle America.

Malzberg is under contract to WOR. They aren't giving him up. Who could WABC hire that would beat him? For less money than Hannity?

The other side of the coin is WABC gives up Hannity, and they will have to compete against him AND Malzberg.

Rush and Sean are not under contract to WABC. Their shows are owned by Premiere.

 

[TheBigA]

Rush and Sean are not under contract to WABC.

I never said they were.

 

[TheBigA]

If that's the way radio is to be, than radio deserves to lose audience to other media. There's nothing about that station that will attract or breed loyalty in any locals at this point. Unlike the last decade, there is nothing special about WABC any longer.

Just like to point out that over a million people disagree. This station is just 1/10th of a point behind WCBS and WINS in the ratings.

And if radio is losing audience to other media, it's not because they have local talk. You're not going to hear local talk on Pandora or an iPod.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Like I said, it's a rotten shame that the most recognized call letters in the biz has programming far less unique and local than stations that used to not be able to hold a candle to it.

Unlike the last decade, there is nothing special about WABC any longer.

The two best talk stations in the country IMHO are KGO San Francisco and WGN Chicago. WABC was never as good as either of those, even when they had a fair complement of local programming.

Even WLS Chicago, under the same ownership as WABC, offers more local programming. Rush Limbaugh is live on WLS, but Hannity is tape delayed to early evening. WLS does not pick up Imus.

 

[jas2525]

If that's the way radio is to be, than radio deserves to lose audience to other media. There's nothing about that station that will attract or breed loyalty in any locals at this point. Unlike the last decade, there is nothing special about WABC any longer.

Just like to point out that over a million people disagree. This station is just 1/10th of a point behind WCBS and WINS in the ratings.

And if radio is losing audience to other media, it's not because they have local talk. You're not going to hear local talk on Pandora or an iPod.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that they still have a massive cume. Heritage does that for you. But how long can you hold on to them? The point is they have done and could be doing a lot better, but they have painted themselves into a corner that for now, doesn't seem like a big deal, but in 10 years most assuredly will be.

The audience (and cume) that was built over the years while they were relating directly to and reflecting NYC, will gradually evaporate due to attrition. There will be very few "new" listeners to that station.

As I said, there is no longer anything special or unique about a once-great talk station.

 

[TheBigA]

The audience (and cume) that was built over the years while they were relating directly to and reflecting NYC, will gradually evaporate due to attrition. There will be very few "new" listeners to that station.

Huh? That makes no sense. If I go to a restaurant and they no longer make my favorite dish, I go someplace else. Anyone who has followed the ratings knows that they go up and down, and have been much lower than they are now. So they clearly have acquired new listeners, or maybe won back a few old ones.

As for they could have done better, I addressed that earlier. AM talk stations are weakening in the ratings, and they are being hurt by the PPM system. That's a common problem in lots of markets, not just New York. Ten years from now, AM radio will be gone completely.

 

[radioguy39nj]

It shouldn't surprise anyone that they still have a massive cume. Heritage does that for you. But how long can you hold on to them? The point is they have done and could be doing a lot better, but they have painted themselves into a corner that for now, doesn't seem like a big deal, but in 10 years most assuredly will be.

The audience (and cume) that was built over the years while they were relating directly to and reflecting NYC, will gradually evaporate due to attrition. There will be very few "new" listeners to that station.

As I said, there is no longer anything special or unique about a once-great talk station.

As I mentioned earlier, WABC still wins because there is no viable competition. And as you point out, they do have heritage. That won't last forever. A well-programmed, promoted and executed FM talker relating to and reflecting the Greater New York Tri-State area would definitely impact WABC. Such a station could even take listeners from the two all-news stations. Spoken word formats such as news, talk and sports are headed for FM. It's happened in many markets already.

In its later years as a music station, WABC thought nobody could beat them. Then an obscure FM station, WKTU then at 92.3, put on a disco format and WABC's days as a music station were numbered.

 

[radioguy39nj]

And pinning the 2.2 of WPHT on their latest changes is ridiculous and you know it.

WPHT went from a 2.2 in March to a 3.6 in April to tie WHYY. WPHT dropped Beck and Hannity to go more local. Looks like it's working! Phillies' baseball helps, but they don't play during the time slots Beck and Hannity once occupied.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Both Rush and Hannity started with local WABC shows.

Oh, sure, we all knew about Sean's stint as a local PM driver on WABC until syndication, but Rush also had a (separate) local show when he started on WABC in the summer of 1988.

It was by design, not because WABC wanted a local show out of him...but because his contract at KFBK specified he could only end the deal if he got a show in a top 10 market.

Since it said nothing about syndication, WABC gave him an extra hour or two of local talk, which didn't last long...eventually, only his syndicated show aired.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Both Rush and Hannity started with local WABC shows.

Oh, sure, we all knew about Sean's stint as a local PM driver on WABC until syndication, but Rush also had a (separate) local show when he started on WABC in the summer of 1988.

It was by design, not because WABC wanted a local show out of him...but because his contract at KFBK specified he could only end the deal if he got a show in a top 10 market.

Since it said nothing about syndication, WABC gave him an extra hour or two of local talk, which didn't last long...eventually, only his syndicated show aired.

Rush's local show on WABC must've been so short-lived I don't even remember it! IMHO, Joe Crummey is being groomed for syndication, not because WABC wants a local show. Once the deal with Cumulus is in place, I think Crummey will go national.

WABC is a waste of a 50 kW blowtorch signal!

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Rush's local show on WABC must've been so short-lived I don't even remember it!

You're right. I'm not even sure the WABC local show (an hour or so right next to his syndicated show) lasted into 1989.

It was purely a contract device to allow Rush to terminate his KFBK contract, which had an out dealing solely with taking a top 10 market job (and did not mention syndication). And of course, Rush's newly syndicated show continued on KFBK at 9 AM PT (noon ET) as soon as he launched from NYC.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

And Rush himself confirms it in this article on RushLimbaugh.com from 2008, when the show was celebrating its anniversary:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_080108/content/01125122.guest.html

...it took some contractual maneuvering to bring that about (and it would not have happened if I had not secured a clause in my contract saying I could leave for an offer in the top-ten market). So the deal was put together that I would go to network and do a local show from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. I would not be paid for that show, but WABC would run our national commercials so that we could tell our advertisers we were in the number-one market.

Sponsors didn't really care. They just wanted their spots to air in a number-one market. I then did a national show from noon to 2 p.m.