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93.7 The Rock And Orange & Blue 760 Denver Stunting Their Way To Freedom

MarkW said:
Hey, let's gut a station that's a routine top 5 or 6 ratings performer (and BY FAR the highest rated AM radio station in the market) and backfill the open dayparts with programming from a 0.1 share radio station. Brilliant!!!
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This may come as a shock, but the goal isn't 6+ ratings, but revenues. There's more money in sports than conservative talk.

They own all three stations. So if they shift some audience around a bit, the money goes into the same pocket. We see this in other markets like Austin, where iHeart owns two country stations, and they alternate at the top of the chart.
 
There are plenty of news/talk & conservative talk stations that bill well, and there are plenty of sports radio stations that bill poorly.

Again, 760 has been earning a 0.1 share with sports talk. iHeart has a TERRIBLE track record locally with that format. This will prove to be an ill-fated programming shake-up.
 
MarkW said:
There are plenty of news/talk & conservative talk stations that bill well, and there are plenty of sports radio stations that bill poorly.

Again, 760 has been earning a 0.1 share with sports talk. iHeart has a TERRIBLE track record locally with that format. This will prove to be an ill-fated programming shake-up.
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The problem with news/talkers is that the immense majority are seeing declining revenue, particularly in markets with lots of transactional business. The average age of listeners is increasing, and those stations need to find a way to get more 35-54.

iHeart has some well performing sports stations, such as KLAC, where the signal is good and the format is established.
 
MarkW said:
Again, 760 has been earning a 0.1 share with sports talk. iHeart has a TERRIBLE track record locally with that format. This will prove to be an ill-fated programming shake-up.
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You keep talking about 6+ numbers, as though that means anything. It doesn't. KOA has shuffled its line-up several times in the last few years, and it hasn't made much difference. They've had several afternoon drive shows. People listen to the station because of its heritage. The biggest change here is moving Rush. That will be a big positive for them, by putting all the controversial programming on 760. This will be a net gain for KOA financially. That's why they're doing it.
 
Oops. My bad. 760 was probably earning a massive 0.4 share in demo!!!

Again, explain to me again why money demo male listeners are going to leave crystal clear 104.3 KKFN to listen to team-run sports talk on Grandpa's radio station on either (a) the AM band ("what's that?") or (b) an FM translator with a lousy signal?

This will be a net gain for KOA financially. That's why they're doing it.
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It won't be once local advertisers see how terrible the ratings turn out to be.

See KGO, WABC, WLS, KABC, KTTH, WPHT, WGST, Randy Michaels-era WGN...

It is difficult to tinker with programming on a heritage news/talk AM station and reap big rewards for doing so. The one recent instance where it's worked is KFI in Los Angeles.
 
MarkW said:
Oops. My bad. 760 was probably earning a massive 0.4 share in demo!!!
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And KOA was on a nasty decline in 3 PM to 7 PM, underperforming mornings and middays by about 25%.

Again, explain to me again why money demo male listeners are going to leave crystal clear 104.3 KKFN to listen to team-run sports talk on Grandpa's radio station on either (a) the AM band ("what's that?") or (b) an FM translator with a lousy signal?
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Afternoons on KKFN beat KOA, and they also beat KKFN's mornings and midday. A conclusion could be made that sports is the bigger magnet in PM Drive.

It won't be once local advertisers see how terrible the ratings turn out to be.
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Local direct buys results, not ratings. If the station gets results it will be successful.
 
MarkW said:
It is difficult to tinker with programming on a heritage news/talk AM station and reap big rewards for doing so. The one recent instance where it's worked is KFI in Los Angeles.
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As I said they've gone through three different afternoon shows in less than 5 years. I'm sure they discussed this move with advertisers prior to making it.
 
Re:

Afternoons on KKFN beat KOA, and they also beat KKFN's mornings and midday. A conclusion could be made that sports is the bigger magnet in PM Drive.
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..and I predict the vast majority of those KKFN listeners are going to stay put.

As I said they've gone through three different afternoon shows in less than 5 years.
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...which probably means they should've never dumped the programming that originally aired in that time slot. Evidently, replacement #1 and replacement #2 failed to achieve decent results.
 
Not too surprised, but kind of sad the independent station didn't make it. They gave it a good go.

Too bad almost all of the stations have to belong to the big companies.
 
MarkW said:
...which probably means they should've never dumped the programming that originally aired in that time slot.
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Easy for you to say, without giving the specifics about the status of what was originally dumped. Status quo is not always the right thing to do at the time.
 
I find The Hunt's selling to IHeart interesting.

Several months ago, I was tuning across the dial and heard the afternoon DJ, Jimmy Rock talking trash about IHeart on the air, saying IHATE Media has ruined radio. Not knowing that was James hunt, the co owner.. I emailed them and saying while I didn't necessarily disagree to some extent, what they did was incredibly unprofessional and uncalled for. Jimmy more or less told me to pull my head out of the sand and in a polite way, told me to eff off and change the channel.

The AM is now for sale for $600,000 I heard. Theyve been unable to keep sales managers in there... had over 25 I'm told.. and cant keep billing up where it needs to be.
 
FM_Listener said:
Too bad they are then, if that sounds better.
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Somebody has to be willing to foot the bill. There was a time when insurance companies and electronics companies owned radio stations. There was a time when the TV companies like NBC, CBS, and ABC owned radio stations. They all got out of the radio business. A day will come when the current owners get out too. We'll see who'll be willing to pay all the costs and deal with all the regulations involved in running a radio station. My expectation is the list will be very small.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Jimmy Rock talking trash about IHeart on the air, saying IHATE Media has ruined radio. Not knowing that was James hunt, the co owner..
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He can say what he wants, but the fact is iHeart is just playing by the new rules, and this guy is still thinking its the 1970s. It's like all the brick & mortar store owners complaining about Amazon. If they don't come up with a way to compete, they'll all be out of work.
 
TheBigA said:
If they don't come up with a way to compete, they'll all be out of work.
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funny you use that analogy.. 'cuse guess whats gonna happen to 1510? Theyre trying to sell it, Janice and Jimmy will be out of a job. Theyre huge playlist, throwing spaghetti to the wall, playing what sticks.. and inability to keep sales going..... well, look what they got now?
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
funny you use that analogy.. 'cuse guess whats gonna happen to 1510? Theyre trying to sell it, Janice and Jimmy will be out of a job. Theyre huge playlist, throwing spaghetti to the wall, playing what sticks.. and inability to keep sales going..... well, look what they got now?
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There are people who are doing that, but they're doing it as a hobby. You have to go into it knowing that you're doing it for love, not profit.
 
Or file bankruptcy every few years. LOL. Seriously, not many people are willing to enjoy the hobby of radio without the better enjoyment of profit. It's a tough gig and it's no different than the bricks and mortar comment, BigA. I know of only one owner who truly loves radio the way radio should be loved. Jimmy Whiteaker in northern FL. Old fashioned is an understatement. But my guess is he actually makes a small living off his decades old station. Not many people find owning a radio station to be that impressive anymore. The coolness is pretty much long gone. Jimmy walks his walk. Most owners just hope they can cover most of their expenses. There's much less painful ways to listen to music you like than owing a station.
 
Tibbs4 said:
Most owners just hope they can cover most of their expenses. There's much less painful ways to listen to music you like than owing a station.
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There was a time when railroading was a very profitable business. Railroad stations were grand, marble and brass buildings with vaulted ceilings. Now some of those buildings are hotels. What happened? The government came in and over-regulated the railroads. Then when personal automobiles came along, the government financed interstate highways. They also financed airports. So where did that leave railroads? Sound familiar?
 
I'm on a trip to South Dakota and I'm picking up 1510 very clearly tonight.

Not even getting 850 up here. Kind of interesting propagation.
 
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