A Change Coming to KGO

[Mediafrog+]

If Prop 27 passes in November, I could see a major force in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or Kentucky embracing sports betting

A lot of conservative business people will support sports gambling because it is so lucrative. They are not going to let any traditional notions of morality get in the way of raking in the dough. It’s the same thinking that killed off blue laws in many states…they were missing out on $$$$$ by keeping the stores closed on Sunday.

 

[davideduardo]

Sounds like the "Radio Reloj" stations I used to hear on shortwave from Cuba and, IIRC, Costa Rica.

There was a Radio Reloj in just about every country in Latin America, from Peru to Guatemala to Puerto Rico. Some gave the time every minute, even over songs. Others just after each song. But they all played music with the time checks.

XEQK in Mexico City had 11 5" spots and one time check each minute. You could buy a spot every minute, one every two minutes or one every 4 minutes. That was the whole thing. It was automated. XEQK used its call letters to identify, and was not called "Radio Reloj".

 

[Bongwater]

If....and I really don't understand sports or betting, so sports betting is.....well, anyway...IF there's enough spot or NTR money in the new format, combined with lower overhead, to improve the bottom line, then I think Cumulus doesn't care about the ratings, even if it's hash marks.

What's the benefit of getting gambling addicts going so they don't have money to buy advertisers products?

I don't have any personal moral problem with gambling in general. But for some people, putting it on the radio/online is like opening a discount liquor store in a sobriety house; It's not helping.

The iceberg is when someone lays a sizable bet on a team/player who's been doing great. But had a bad day. The gambler loses all their money (and they can't borrow anymore) and they go off on the deep end. With a gun. Threatening the team/players (It can happen.) I wouldn't want that hanging over my station.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

That football betting pool at work and penny ante stuff are not immoral, but they may be like a gateway drug. When radio has declined to this dystopian level on legacy stations like KGO, that they resort to such formats, it's just plain sad.

 

[tvnut]

I'm retired. Fired once, downsized once. The firing was from my first job, because management (little newspaper in the South) wanted a hometown guy to be sports editor for less pay. My boss told me in the morning after I'd finished that afternoon's paper, but asked me if I could stay on for a month, as it was December and the new guy wanted to have the holiday season off before starting full-time. I had nothing better to do, so I agreed, even did some of my best work that month thinking I could change their minds. Nope. I was gone on Dec. 31, said my goodbyes to everyone and rode off. They tried to deny me unemployment benefits by making up some performance BS after I was safely back in New England, but I quickly gave an oral deposition that they didn't even bother challenging. The first check came a whole week late.

Second came the downsizing, after 32 years. The copy desk was being slashed, and because I was the least social media and technology savvy of the bunch, I was one of the five total newsroom employees to get the bad news. But, deja vu! The managing editor asked me to stay on for another month (July this time) because one of the copy desk survivors was going to be busy learning the new editing/layout software that was going to be installed on July 31 (for the next morning's paper). Again, I said yes. Dead man walking for a month, even watching from an "old" computer terminal a few feet away as my former desk had two new screens installed and my phone removed and replaced on that final day. That was great fun. So was the dog-and-pony show I was asked to endure that afternoon, when the editor and publisher both came into the newsroom and made a big deal about how it was time to say goodbye to five great employees. I even got to give a little speech, as the M.E. had confidence that I wouldn't go rogue. I didn't, until the very end. I had said all the right things, a few funny anecdotes, then wound up with, "You know, I don't want to leave, never have. I could say a lot more, but (agonizing dramatic pause here) ... I won't. Goodbye and thanks." The M.E. took me aside afterward and thanked me profusely for not saying what I wanted to say. Of course, I never intended to say any more, just wanted to make them squirm a little after they handed me my parting gifts of wine glasses inscribed with the paper's logo. I told him, "Thanks. But if you notice blood stains leading back to my desk, that's from how hard I was biting my lip just then." We are still on cordial terms. Well, at least I am because it's on his conscience, not mine. He doesn't understand why I still check in with him from time to time. It's because he's a good guy and I enjoyed talking with him on the job for years when he was a reporter working his way up the ladder.

There you go, my story and I'm stickin' to it. Was I initially stunned to be told I was no longer needed? Of course. But it only took a couple of hours to realize that it wasn't the end of the world and I might as well leave them with a positive impression.

Glad it ended reasonably well for you. Likewise me, laid off from a newspaper on the seventh round of cuts a bit over a decade ago. A 15-person section is now down to one. Me, I proofed pages for my latest book the day I was laid off. Several have followed since.

 

[asugeorge1]

You can't even engage in sports betting in CA (or WA, for that matter). What a waste of 50,000 watts. How much is that power bill, Cumulus?
Even selling it to an Asian buyer would be better for SF as a whole, than this waste of a format.

I agree with you. It’s almost as if Cumulus doesn’t care anymore what happens to KGO. Putting a sports betting station on a 24/7 50,000 watt station in a state where sports betting is illegal and will remain illegal after November makes zero sense. There are a ton of other formats they could do that would be more successful than this. But, this is coming from the company that ruined KGO. If they would have stuck with the live and local talk format back in 2011, they would still be successful, similar to KFI in LA. As pointed out by David and others, AM listenership is higher in San Francisco than other metropolitan areas so that is not the issue. It’s ownership screwing up the format.

 

[Cityguy76]

It's "sports betting." It will be "hash marks."

If they would move 1050's format to 810 and put the betting on 1050, 810's numbers would still be marginal, but not -.-

Would not be surprising if they move Jim Rome Show from 1050 to 810 or any mix of ESPN radio programming mixed in with sports betting shows...

 

[Cityguy76]

Wonder if they would make 1050 a regular talk station with syndicated programming if ESPN radio does move to 810...

 

[Cityguy76]

No offence, but your attitude seems a little harsh. Yes, the AM band is dying, we all know that. Yes, radio stations flip formats and nothing lasts forever. It’s notable that KGO would qualify as a heritage station, therefore I completely understand people being disappointed by this decision.
From my perspective, I see 810 as being a signal that is one of the more viable ones on AM, so it shocks me somewhat that this is the format that landed there. This format feels more like something I’d expect to see on a signal that is not viable at all.

Possible ESPN radio programming from 1050 could move to 810 along with sports betting programming too...

 

[fordranger797]

I agree with you. It’s almost as if Cumulus doesn’t care anymore what happens to KGO. Putting a sports betting station on a 24/7 50,000 watt station in a state where sports betting is illegal and will remain illegal after November makes zero sense. There are a ton of other formats they could do that would be more successful than this. But, this is coming from the company that ruined KGO. If they would have stuck with the live and local talk format back in 2011, they would still be successful, similar to KFI in LA. As pointed out by David and others, AM listenership is higher in San Francisco than other metropolitan areas so that is not the issue. It’s ownership screwing up the format.

I think sports betting is one of those formats that could still, somehow, generate some revenue because people will still care about it despite betting remaining illegal. With that being said, this type of format doesn’t strike me as the highest and best use of a signal like 810 that covers the entire market.

 

[Loverofradio]

Or KABC?

USC Trojans contract

 

[Loverofradio]

According to a tweet from RadioInsight, it will indeed be affiliated with Audacy's BetQL network (got the title wrong in my previous post, BetMGM is the title of one of their shows)

sorry if this has already been asked. But how does a competing company put content on a competing company’s signal?

 

[Yabadabado1]

There are plenty of stations with low or no ratings that make money due to serving desirable but small or unmeasurable audiences.

Bloomberg's business news station in NYC is one. The Asian language (Chines, Korean, Tagalog, etc.) stations in LA, San Francisco, Houston and quite a few other markets including even DC and NYC and Chicago are also examples. Or Kreyol stations in South Florida, A Farsi station in LA, Polish in Chicago and lots of other specialty stations.

Many sports stations are not in the total audience top 10, yet are often the leading revenue producer in their market.

Years ago in one market I worked in there was a station that only gave the time, once a minute plus 11 5 second spots in the rest of each minute. It made lots of money.

I doubt very much it's making money. I think iheart changed the format to basically throw it in as a "loss leader" for people/companies buying ads for their Cleveland/Akron stations that have sports. Sorta like "Look, buy ads on our 5 other stations and we'll throw your ads on this one for free!" My house is well within the contour for its signal but it comes in like crap day and night and I'm only 15 miles from their tower. Strangely enough, I'm about 15 miles west and 3 miles south of my place right now and I hopped in my car to tune it in and it's coming in like gangbusters. When it was WSLR with a country format and a very popular host, Jaybird Drennan, it had ratings even when FM was dominating the market. After he retired, it went downhill fast and changed call letters and format to an soft urban R&B called The Touch....which I thought was great but it was too little too late.. [Weirdly, the studio was located next to a laundromat and had a shared brick wall. When all the dryers were rumbling away, you could hear them whenever they cracked the mic open. They kept the talking short and fast when that happened]

 

[Miss Tuned]

Genuine question - what happened in the studio at that point? I heard the recording on the Format Change Archive site - Mark Thompson sounded a bit distracted while he was talking about whatever issue he was going on about, and then suddenly trailed off and said "things are transpiring in the studio" and gave the legal ID.

Did someone just walk into the studio and tell him to end his program, or what?

 

[Jstnpspck]

sorry if this has already been asked. But how does a competing company put content on a competing company’s signal?

Someone mentioned that while Audacy produces the BetQL content, Cumulus distributes it via Westwood One (presumably similar to their CBS Sports Radio agreement)

 

[semoochie]

The reason the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose market is still a relatively strong one for AM radio has nothing to do with compelling programming or personalities.

It has to do with geography.

San Francisco is a very hilly area and in at least parts of that market, FM signals don't have as strong reception as they should.

In much of the Bay Area, AM radio reception is better than FM. Perhaps today, it's not as much a difference as it was in the 1960's and 1970's.

Although I'm not from the area, I would think that has far back as the late 1960's, top-40 powerhouse KFRC-610 (which I understand fought neck and neck with KGO-810 for the title of the Bay Area's most popular radio station from 1966 through the seventies) probably had at least one challenger on the FM dial. But thanks in part to San Francisco's hilly terrain, KFRC continued to dominate top-40.

The question being: "Why didn't KFRC continue to dominate if hilly terrain was the reason for their dominance?" Also, I thought they were #4 or 5 when they added "The Game Zone".

 

[Bongwater]

Genuine question - what happened in the studio at that point? I heard the recording on the Format Change Archive site - Mark Thompson sounded a bit distracted while he was talking about whatever issue he was going on about, and then suddenly trailed off and said "things are transpiring in the studio" and gave the legal ID.

Did someone just walk into the studio and tell him to end his program, or what?

He probably saw the station PD holding his pink slip backed by security waiting outside in the hall and figured it out.

He probably expected it sooner or later. (This is modern radio.) But it always sucks that way.

 

[asugeorge1]

He probably saw the station PD holding his pink slip backed by security waiting outside in the hall and figured it out.

He probably expected it sooner or later. (This is modern radio.) But it always sucks that way.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Mark does his show remotely from LA? He joins Tim Conway Jr. in studio every Tuesday night and Mark often talks about living in LA so I doubt he was actually in studio up in San Francisco when this happened. I could be wrong though!

 

[CTListener]

What's the benefit of getting gambling addicts going so they don't have money to buy advertisers products?

Because a good sports bettor will more than keep his head above water and then some, avoiding the long losing streaks that others encounter when they respond to a tough beat by increasing the size and frequency of their subsequent wagers. Horse bettors are the same way. What they're betting on aren't purely random events. When the Jets play the Bills, there isn't just as much of a chance that the Bills will win as there is that the Jets will, or just as much of a chance that the game will end with the Bills ahead by 9 points (or whatever the spread is) as there is that the Jets will make it close. This is too much "inside baseball," so suffice it to say that not all sports gamblers are addicts and only a small percentage of them are perpetually low on cash. They're just as likely to have money to buy advertised goods than anyone else, and are prone to being absolutely flush with cash at times after a huge win or two, which makes them increasingly likely to buy a lot of stuff afterward. Don't equate sports bettors with the down-and-outers furiously scratching stacks of $1 lottery tickets between nips of Fireball.

 

[michael hagerty]

From my perspective, I see 810 as being a signal that is one of the more viable ones on AM, so it shocks me somewhat that this is the format that landed there. This format feels more like something I’d expect to see on a signal that is not viable at all.

It's had lousy ratings for the past 11 years. If it's viable, what DO you put on it?

And putting any format on a non-viable signal only guarantees failure.