Air America Loses Madison, WI Affiliate to Fox Sports Radio

[bigtalkradiofan]

Air America loses Madison, WI affiliate to Fox Sports Radio - the AAR affiliate was getting pretty decent ratings (especially prior to elections).


http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,53909.0.html

This statement is linked to 92.1 The Mic's homepage:

http://www.clicktocurecancer.com/wxxm/index.html

November 10, 2007

Statement: The change in formats on WXXM 92.1FM to FOX SPORTS RADIO 92.1:


http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=106922

Plug is pulled on 'The Mic'
Liberal talk radio dumped for Fox Sports

By Rob Thomas
The Capital Times
Published: November 10, 2006
E-mail: [email protected]

"The Mic" is getting disconnected.

Clear Channel Radio's Madison division announced today that talk radio station WXXM/FM 92.1, "The Mic," will drop its progressive talk format at the end of the year, including shows on the liberal radio network Air America. Effective Jan. 1, the station will be part of the Fox Sports Radio network.

In a statement posted on the station's Web site this morning, Clear Channel Madison Vice President Jeff Tyler said the new Fox Sports station will complement Clear Channel's other local sports talk station, WTSO/AM 1070 (ESPN Radio), by focusing more on high school and collegiate sports. ...

[Click link above for the complete newspaper article.]

 

[raccoonradio]

The station's site has a countdown to how many days Bush has left in office but the station's progtalk
format will be gone long before that...Darn capitalist system...a station actually has to make money?

As a certain Madison-based national quiz/talk show's host would say, well, Whad Ya Know? (not much...you?)

 

[raccoonradio]

more info from a Madison paper which notes that WXXM actually got half decent ratings.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=107021&ntpid=4

"beginning on Jan. 1, one of the most liberal cities in the country will be without a commercial radio network of the same tilt."

 

[FightingIrish]

more info from a Madison paper which notes that WXXM actually got half decent ratings.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=107021&ntpid=4

"beginning on Jan. 1, one of the most liberal cities in the country will be without a commercial radio network of the same tilt."

92.1 The Mic got very good ratings, considering the format wheel that was 92.1 hasn't been a force in years (they did well as a modern rocker for awhile until CC bought them, then flipped them to a disastrous Hot AC format before becoming The Mic). Ratings were very good for this station (#2 talk station in a rather crowded market behind sister WIBA, rival WTDY - which also has a considerable amount of liberal talk programming, two public radio outlets and talk stations from Milwaukee and Chicago that often show up in the ratings books). The Mic was definitely a success, coinsidering what they did with a rather unknown format that's been slow to grow elsewhere. Their worst books were still in the low-mid 2's, with their highs all the way up into the 4's.

The station's site has a countdown to how many days Bush has left in office but the station's progtalk
format will be gone long before that...Darn capitalist system...a station actually has to make money?

As a certain Madison-based national quiz/talk show's host would say, well, Whad Ya Know? (not much...you?)

That's a Clear Channel thing. They put it on the sites of many of their liberal talkers.

Though I imagine it must be a shocking site to freepers regardless.

 

[raccoonradio]

Well the Bush countdown clock isn't shocking, and neither are the 1.20.09 Bush's Last Day bumper stickers
I've been seeing. Again, you have to wonder if CC is changing the format of a station that's doing WELL
with AAR-progtalk, what would happen to lesser-performing stations like the 2 in the Boston area? (One
of which will be getting a slightly better signal next year due to a long delayed tower move). Sports
seems to be eating up some of AAR's stations (format swaps to weaker stations in Cincy and Burlington VT,
or stations dropping Franken for the likes of ESPN or FoxSports...)--maybe more attractive to advertisers.
The AAR bankruptcy and list of creditors doesn't help their cause...

 

[FightingIrish]

Well the Bush countdown clock isn't shocking, and neither are the 1.20.09 Bush's Last Day bumper stickers
I've been seeing. Again, you have to wonder if CC is changing the format of a station that's doing WELL
with AAR-progtalk, what would happen to lesser-performing stations like the 2 in the Boston area? (One
of which will be getting a slightly better signal next year due to a long delayed tower move). Sports
seems to be eating up some of AAR's stations (format swaps to weaker stations in Cincy and Burlington VT,
or stations dropping Franken for the likes of ESPN or FoxSports...)--maybe more attractive to advertisers.
The AAR bankruptcy and list of creditors doesn't help their cause...

CC station decisions are made at the local level. My theory is that they have sponsors lined up to finance high school baseball, UW Volleyball, intramural basketweaving and whatever other crap they want to put on WXXM. Believe it or not, advertisers are actually willing to pay for stuff like this, and while the conventional wisdom is that nobody will listen, companies will throw a lot of money at it.

WTLX is the current FOX Sports affiliate in Madison, but it's a rimshot with spotty reception in some parts of the market. WTLX, however, is working on moving the COL to neighboring Menona in Dane County, which will allow them to move the stick to Madison. Perhaps CC is making a pre-emptive move to protect what seems to be a modestly successful sports station.

It doesn't look like this is based on ratings, and with the new format for 92.1, I don't think CC will really care about ratings so long as they can line up sponsors for this.

As for Boston, keep in mind that there are a ton of stations in this market, not to mention talk stations. That's a lot of slices in the pie. Small AM peashooters have a rough time competing here, as in other over-radioed markets like Washington, L.A. and San Francisco. Too many choices, too much established competition, and in some cases, too much ground for a little AM station to cover. In Boston, It's a possibility that WXKS could break away once WKOX's new powerful signal debuts, though I wonder what they'd put on the station anyway.

And the whole sports thing cuts both ways. Quite a few sports talk stations have switched to progressive talk, even CC-owned FOX Sports affiliates in Miami, Denver, Albuquerque, Akron and other places. The signal switch in Cincy worked out well for them, since the bigger signal on 1530 lends itself to carrying regional sports and WSAI can program 24.7 without the overnight religious obligations on 1530. Ratings have agreed with it. As for Burlington, VT, who cares? Those stations are weak mom-and-pop peashooters.

And furthermore, the AAR bankruptcy doesn't make a lot of difference. There's a lot of progressive talk product out there being offered by other syndicators. AAR is not as dominating a force in the format as it once was. Many stations have spread out their programming choices, with Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz coming out strong. Thom Hartmann's show has been doing very well in a few markets (he beats Limbaugh in Seattle), and while AAR syndicates him, Hartmann owns the show and is not affected by AAR's problems.

Incidentally, I've even heard that Stephanie Miller ranked #1 in Madison in some breakdowns. Likely, another station could step in and pick up some of The Mic's programming. Not many stations here, but I'm sure the success of WXXM has raised a few eyebrows in this market. My guess would be WTLX or WSLK (another rimshot that simulcasts another station in the market, and is co-owned with WTDY, which originally aired Miller and Schultz in the market).

 

[Radio_Realist]

92.1 The Mic got very good ratings

But did those ratings translate to good airtime sales billings? Everyone seems to forget that you can't put ratings points into your checking account. You can only deposit dollars. Ratings points are nothing more than a means to an end. You can have the best ratings in the world, but if not enough people will buy your spots, then those ratings don't mean diddly.

And whether liberals like to admit it or not, most people with a liberal political attitude aren't all that interested in hearing liberal political talk on the radio. In order to be a liberal, one has to believe in sitting back and letting the government take care of your needs, while you enjoy your bread and circuses. It makes perfect sense that liberal listeners would prefer to ignore politics and listen to sports talk.

Which means that the liberal talk stations were being listened to by masochistic conservatives who tuned in so that they could scream invectives at the radio as they heard things that they disagreed with. That's hardly an audience that people with things to sell would want to reach.

 

[FightingIrish]

92.1 The Mic got very good ratings

But did those ratings translate to good airtime sales billings? Everyone seems to forget that you can't put ratings points into your checking account. You can only deposit dollars. Ratings points are nothing more than a means to an end. You can have the best ratings in the world, but if not enough people will buy your spots, then those ratings don't mean diddly.

And whether liberals like to admit it or not, most people with a liberal political attitude aren't all that interested in hearing liberal political talk on the radio. In order to be a liberal, one has to believe in sitting back and letting the government take care of your needs, while you enjoy your bread and circuses. It makes perfect sense that liberal listeners would prefer to ignore politics and listen to sports talk.

Which means that the liberal talk stations were being listened to by masochistic conservatives who tuned in so that they could scream invectives at the radio as they heard things that they disagreed with. That's hardly an audience that people with things to sell would want to reach.

Uhh... better go back and read my post.

And WXXM did well in sales, partly due to being co-sold with another talk station, WIBA. This is a common arrangement with co-owned talk stations. I've listened to The Mic, as I live in Wisconsin, and they had a full ad schedule as far as I could tell. Not many sponsors are going to turn away from a successful station with a dedicated audience. And WXXM does indeed have a pretty devoted following.

My guess is that CC-Madison want to go sports-heavy with ad selling, and WIBA and WTSO allow them to do this.

As for the political mumbo-jumbo, that really has nothing to do with this thread, and should go to the OTA board. But with you, I'm not at all surprised.

And many conservatives don't seem to give a hoot about talk radio either, unless only 5-6% of the country are conservative. And liberals do also listen to conservative stations. As a matter of fact, conservative talk radio listening was pretty entertaining this week, as it was fun watching Rush, Hannity, etc. in total meltdown mode over the elections.

 

[jh]

Clear Channel isn't the only one dropping Air America. Entercom just dropped it on WSMB in New Orleans, replacing it with "WWL On Demand" reruns of programs previously on WWL.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>CC station decisions are made at the local level... advertisers are actually willing to pay for stuff like this, and while the conventional wisdom is that nobody will listen, companies will throw a lot of money at it.

Well, that's good--at least they're making money and producing local programming...sports...

>?As for Boston, keep in mind that there are a ton of stations in this market, not to mention talk stations. That's a lot of slices in the pie.

True...in talk alone there's WRKO, WTKK, WBZ, the 2 Air America stations, and Salem's WTTT. The last one
doesn't even show up in ratings (conservatalk--most people listening to 'RKO or 'TKK...) Plus public
radio talk shows, religious talk shows, female talk shows (WNSH Beverly)--lots of talk, with much
fragmentation, and lots of other formats in the radio pie chart too.

And yes, I guess I agree about Burlington VT--just mom-and-pop peashooters as you say. Though
certainly progtalk fans in Burl. must have been upset when the daytime-only ESPN outlet switched
with the fulltime Air America station...


>>There's a lot of progressive talk product out there being offered by other syndicators. AAR is not as dominating a force in the format as it once was.

True and I think I was mostly focusing on AAR though I'm sure they were (WXXM) running some
Jones stuff like Miller and Schulz.

 

[Radio_Realist]

Uhh... better go back and read my post.

I did. You didn't indicate that the station was setting the world on fire with airtime sales, or that it was doing poorly. You only said that it might do better with sports talk.

that really has nothing to do with this thread, and should go to the OTA board.

The factors that cause people to tune in to a particular format on the radio has everything to do with this thread, and the threads in this category. If we were discussing a dance music format, then observations about the musical taste of people who like to listen to dance music would be totally on-topic. Since we're discussing a form of news/talk radio (which is a euphemism for "political talk radio"), then observations about the political taste of people who would be likely to listen to this format are equally as on-topic in here.

 

[kaufcom]

And whether liberals like to admit it or not, most people with a liberal political attitude aren't all that interested in hearing liberal political talk on the radio. In order to be a liberal, one has to believe in sitting back and letting the government take care of your needs, while you enjoy your bread and circuses. It makes perfect sense that liberal listeners would prefer to ignore politics and listen to sports talk. Which means that the liberal talk stations were being listened to by masochistic conservatives who tuned in so that they could scream invectives at the radio as they heard things that they disagreed with. That's hardly an audience that people with things to sell would want to reach.

[EDIT] This makes your incessant argument about the differences between "liberal" and "progressive" talk radio make sense. FI makes an intelligent post attempting to explain why CC is changing some of their lib talk stations to sports talk and you come up with this off the wall comment. You probably think you're so clever don't you?


[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[Radio_Realist]

You probably think you're so clever don't you?

Not clever enough to pick a nickname with 3 o's in a row.

First, "FI makes an intelligent post attempting to explain why CC is changing some of their lib talk stations to sports talk". That doesn't mean he succeeded, only that he attempted. Second, unless he has some sort of secret insider information, what he presented was his personal opinion. Maybe he's correct, maybe he isn't. In the absence of any posting of his credentials, I don't think I'll kowtow in his direction as being the ultimate fountainhead of insider information. At least, not just yet.

As for my comments about general characteristics of the audiences of liberal news/talk programming, why should that format be treated differently from any other radio format?

Let's first face the fact that "news/talk" is a euphemism, just as I stated earlier. The hosts on news/talk shows don't talk about news, they talk about politics. If they do talk about news, they talk about political news. When is the last time you've heard any conservative, liberal or progressive talk show host discuss fires or bank robberies? They all talk about politics.

No one seems to get all up on their high horse if someone who works in any music format on the radio acknowledges that the various musical genres that stations specialize in tend to appeal to specific market segments. No one gets in high dudgeon if someone observes that there are certain lifestyle characteristics that those who prefer certain types of music tend to share in common. In fact, music format radio station programming is based on the premise that one can conduct testing of songs by gathering together a few hundred people who share common lifestyle characteristics and measure how that sample reacts to songs in order to determine which songs get played on the air, and which ones do not. The reactions of the small audience sample can be extrapolated to the entire audience segment.

If your brethren in broadcasting who work the music side of the street can get away with such gross stereotyping of their audiences, why should those who work in political talk radio be any different? You wouldn't get so personally insulting if someone on one of the music format forums said "people who like this kind of music also tend to like ...". So why do you get so worked up about the exact same kind of market descriptions when they are applied to political talk format radio?

It is impossible to articulately discuss political talk radio without some acknowledgement that politics exists. Even the moderators of this forum surely understand that fact.

A liberal is, by definition, someone who has liberal political views. It is not insulting, demeaning, or off topic in a discussion of liberal political talk radio format programming to observe that the definition of "liberal" includes a certain set of political beliefs. If someone does not have liberal beliefs, guess what? They aren't liberals! Belonging to a political group that is defined by possessing a shared set of beliefs means one believes in those shared beliefs. Duh! Even someone with 3 o's in his nickname should be able to see the obvious truth in that observation. Even someone who can't tell the difference between a liberal and a progressive should be able to accept that liberals are those who believe in those things which are classified as "liberal", while "progressives" believe in those things which are classified as "progressive".

The things I listed as being what liberals believe are, in fact, the beliefs that make a liberal a liberal. Someone who does not believe in those things which are the foundations of liberal thinking is not a liberal. It's that simple.

 

[kaufcom]

Let's first face the fact that "news/talk" is a euphemism. The hosts on news/talk shows don't talk about news, they talk about politics. If they do talk about news, they talk about political news. When is the last time you've heard any conservative, liberal or progressive talk show host discuss fires or bank robberies? They all talk about politics.

What does this have to do with with anything discussed on this thread. You must know that everyone who posts on this board is a aware that "news/talk" is political talk.

You wouldn't get so personally insulting if someone on one of the music format forums said "people who like this kind of music also tend to like ...". So why do you get so worked up about the exact same kind of market descriptions when they are applied to political talk format radio?

Listen, I got worked up because you made a very outrageous statement. Here's what you said
"And whether liberals like to admit it or not, most people with a liberal political attitude aren't all that interested in hearing liberal political talk on the radio. In order to be a liberal, one has to believe in sitting back and letting the government take care of your needs."

 

[1q2w3e]

more info from a Madison paper which notes that WXXM actually got half decent ratings.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=107021&ntpid=4

"beginning on Jan. 1, one of the most liberal cities in the country will be without a commercial radio network of the same tilt."

WOW is that misleading......

1670 WTDY is a liberal talk station in Madison, though they done constantly beat the "Bush Sucks" drum quite as often. There are RUMORS that WTDY may pick up a few of the WXXM "left" overs.

 

[Darrel M]

more info from a Madison paper which notes that WXXM actually got half decent ratings.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=107021&ntpid=4

"beginning on Jan. 1, one of the most liberal cities in the country will be without a commercial radio network of the same tilt."

WOW is that misleading......

1670 WTDY is a liberal talk station in Madison, though they don't constantly beat the "Bush Sucks" drum quite as often. There are RUMORS that WTDY may pick up a few of the WXXM "left" overs.

When The Mic debuted a couple of years ago, WTDY started to bill themselves as a progressive talk station, going so far as to purchase the 921themic.com domain name (forcing CC to use themic921.com for WXXM's website). WTDY's move seemed less of becoming left-wing as it was to just thumb their nose at CC. In essence, they're still thumbing their nose with its all-local daytime lineup, as opposed to the national shows heard on The Mic and WIBA-AM. (Side note: I wouldn't call WTDY entirely a liberal station when their schedule features Bill O'Reilly and Michael Medved; it's just that their local hosts may have some opinions that are left-of-center, or at the very least not as right-wing as the hosts on WIBA-AM.)

As for whether WTDY might pickup any shows The Mic will drop... that could be nothing more than rumors. Judging from the PD's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal article linked above, my guess is that WTDY is content on being a locally-oriented station. They could pick up shows like Miller or Schultz, but they may put those on a tape-delayed basis. That's just my guess.

 

[FightingIrish]

more info from a Madison paper which notes that WXXM actually got half decent ratings.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=107021&ntpid=4

"beginning on Jan. 1, one of the most liberal cities in the country will be without a commercial radio network of the same tilt."

WOW is that misleading......

1670 WTDY is a liberal talk station in Madison, though they don't constantly beat the "Bush Sucks" drum quite as often. There are RUMORS that WTDY may pick up a few of the WXXM "left" overs.

When The Mic debuted a couple of years ago, WTDY started to bill themselves as a progressive talk station, going so far as to purchase the 921themic.com domain name (forcing CC to use themic921.com for WXXM's website). WTDY's move seemed less of becoming left-wing as it was to just thumb their nose at CC. In essence, they're still thumbing their nose with its all-local daytime lineup, as opposed to the national shows heard on The Mic and WIBA-AM. (Side note: I wouldn't call WTDY entirely a liberal station when their schedule features Bill O'Reilly and Michael Medved; it's just that their local hosts may have some opinions that are left-of-center, or at the very least not as right-wing as the hosts on WIBA-AM.)

As for whether WTDY might pickup any shows The Mic will drop... that could be nothing more than rumors. Judging from the PD's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal article linked above, my guess is that WTDY is content on being a locally-oriented station. They could pick up shows like Miller or Schultz, but they may put those on a tape-delayed basis. That's just my guess.

WTDY snapped up Schultz and Miller prior to WXXM's debut, likely to scare away potential competition.

Over time, they shifted toward the mostly local approach they do now.

WTDY's PD was interviewed yesterday, and said that they plan on keeping with this approach.

 

[evnlee]

It is impossible to articulately discuss political talk radio without some acknowledgement that politics exists. Even the moderators of this forum surely understand that fact.

so true.

 

[raccoonradio]

I don't know how much Air America they had or if other syndicators' shows popped up, but another
prog talker bites the dust. Fybush's North East Radio Watch reports WYOS AM 1360 (admittedly a
weak signal) changes today from prog-talk to ESPN.

 

[bigtalkradiofan]

When The Mic debuted a couple of years ago, WTDY started to bill themselves as a progressive talk station, going so far as to purchase the 921themic.com domain name (forcing CC to use themic921.com for WXXM's website). WTDY's move seemed less of becoming left-wing as it was to just thumb their nose at CC. In essence, they're still thumbing their nose with its all-local daytime lineup, as opposed to the national shows heard on The Mic and WIBA-AM. (Side note: I wouldn't call WTDY entirely a liberal station when their schedule features Bill O'Reilly and Michael Medved; it's just that their local hosts may have some opinions that are left-of-center, or at the very least not as right-wing as the hosts on WIBA-AM.)

As for whether WTDY might pickup any shows The Mic will drop... that could be nothing more than rumors. Judging from the PD's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal article linked above, my guess is that WTDY is content on being a locally-oriented station. They could pick up shows like Miller or Schultz, but they may put those on a tape-delayed basis. That's just my guess.

Darrell,

A timeline issue regarding WTDY - I remember it a little differently:

Late 1990's - hosts O'Reilly, Sly and Krok - competed against right-talker WIBA and morning hot talk on the FM.

Early 2000's - I remember WTDY promoting itself as progressive-liberal talk at least a year or two before WXXM came along - it had Sly in the morning and Lee Rayburn in mid-morning, O'Reilly (some people see him as independent), and Schultz.

Then WXXM came along, WTDY tried to compete to be the premier P/L T in the market - WXXM stole Schultz, WTDY lost the battle and tweaked format again to a more "center-middle" format they have now.