Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester/O&A Out

[SirRoxalot]

Let the Yipping Begin

Gee, thanks for all the details... O&A are down to less than ten terrestrial affiliates.

R&R says that O&A were replaced this morning by "Evil" Jim Kurdziel, the PD. Their response?

At one point Monday morning O&A played back what they said was one of Kurdziel's breaks were he talked about how he was less than thrilled with being on the air so early in the morning.

Citadel has also cut O&A in Syracuse and replaced them on 95X with a music-intensive morning show.

Sounds like Citadel is cutting expenses. Whether "Evil" Jim is interim or not will tell us more about how much Citadel values mornings on The Edge.

 

[x13thfloorrand]

Yes, coupled with the drive time personality change @ Mix 104.1, changes a brewin @ 50 james e casey.

All access mentions a new morning show will be launched shortly. OandAradio.com mentions they heard it was a lack of being 'local enough'. If anything, they sounded a little too "k-rock"... a LOT of NYC references, both direct and subtle. Theres a time/place for all types of shows, both national and local.

Question remains; what's the next step? Does the station essentially have "two" S/R type shows, more talk based, personality driven? Another syndicated show?
Maybe even Wease-alicious outta the Roch?

A WAY of a reach... but Humble/Fred, formerly of Edge 102? The B-Low aint exactly the T-O....

Definatley a case of "do more with less"

 

[SirRoxalot]

O&A Out

All Access quoted "Evil" Jim as saying that he was in, "only for a few weeks. We’re going to put together a local show and launch it soon."

I guess that they're going to wait to see if there's any backlash from dropping O&A before they put the "new show" on.

 

[NeedsMoreCowbell]

I smell Country....big changes comin'....

 

[ThePickleReport]

Interesting timing because the forum was just speculating how much longer O&A would last in Buffalo after losing Syracuse. That was faster than expected.

 

[SirRoxalot]

What's That Smell?

Shredd & Ragan in cowboy hats and sh*tkickers? I don't think so.

I don't see Citadel in any position to throw away a #1 position in men 18-34, which combos nicely with 97-Rock's 35+ men, for an entirely new format.

O&A inherited S&R's audience because that audience had no where else to go. If they put on any semblance of an entertaining morning show targeted at 18-34 men, they'll have about the same numbers as O&A, with more local avails, and less static from local advertisers. With Bills season coming, and Bills football simulcast on The Edge, I wouldn't be surprised to hear something a bit more sports-oriented for the Fall book. That would probably mean moving Bull to mornings, and going music-intensive, and likely VT, in mid-days.

If it doesn't work out, they can always go country when they don't have any audience to lose anyway.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

A WAY of a reach... but Humble/Fred, formerly of Edge 102? The B-Low aint exactly the T-O....

Humble and Fred are pretty much retired as a team, but I could see Fred being swapped up for sports coverage, if the need is there...

Humble would be the afterthought.

--->Adding to this, a reminder that it wasn't just Edge they worked at. They were also hired at sister station AM 640 in Toronto to do mornings for a short lived "Talk radio for guys" format.

I'm not saying that worked, but I am stressing that they would still have it in them to draw men to the radio without a problem.

 

[Element9]

Discussing radio is a helluva lot more fun than debating progressive and right wing talk. With my usually jaded perspective, I don't see WEDG flipping to Country. Please, take that lunatic fringe idea off the table.

The Edge does very well Men 18-49 and as has been ably pointed out by the sages of the board, fits quite nicely with 97 Rock when it comes to delivering ratings points and shares for Men, cradle to grave.

Developing a morning show? Hmmmm. No offense to the back bacon and Molson contingent here, but I don't see the Edge importing a morning show from the great whire north. The economic conditions at Citadel, witnessed by Mix replacing its PM drive diva from within, suggest that Edge will seek to replace Nopie and Ainthony in similar fashion.

The logical solution is to move Shred & Ragan back to morning drive, but apparently there are contract issues and egos to deal with to make that happen.

Wonder if Citadel part-timers like Cindy Chan or Anita West are in play... Slick Tom to morning drive on the Edge? I'm just throwin' stuff against the wall. Bull and Val in mornings? Uh, no, she's on her way to the hallowed halls of academia and Bull sounds comfy in middays... although he'd probably sound just as comfy in morning drive.

The rising star on the Edge staff is the night guy, Paul Brennan, but he's a bit too green to do morning drive at this point. Still, the format is Active Rock, and green works well in that format, which explains "Evil Jim" doing morning drive these days.

 

[ThePickleReport]

Re: What's That Smell?

With Bills season coming, and Bills football simulcast on The Edge, I wouldn't be surprised to hear something a bit more sports-oriented for the Fall book. That would probably mean moving Bull to mornings, and going music-intensive, and likely VT, in mid-days.

I totally agree with Bull's connection to local sports it make complete sense. He needs to be paired with someone though. Is there anyone they could promote to middays or possibly keep Evil Jim on the VT?

 

[x13thfloorrand]

Bull reverts back to Rich Gensler on Bills coverage and returning back from friggin Oakland after a 415 game MAY be a challange for mornings Since the NFL season stretches a bit these days,

If im not mistaken, EDGE did hire former Kiss MD "Brian B Wilde", who's quite decent on the production side of things...

 

[SirRoxalot]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Hmmmm. "Bull & Brian" in the morning? Add some Bills guests, throw in a couple of Sabres when their training camp starts, and you might have something to work with. BBW is a lot less annoying than Jeremy White.

That leaves Evil Jim to track mid-days while handling PD duties. Gee, I could be a consultant! Where do I send my bill?

 

[ThePickleReport]

Bull reverts back to Rich Gensler on Bills coverage and returning back from friggin Oakland after a 415 game MAY be a challange for mornings Since the NFL season stretches a bit these days,

Agreed, but that's only a couple of days a year though. It might be amusing to hear him on with NO sleep!

 

[OneDaySale]

Where to begin....While some would like to think that the Edge has good Male numbers...those numbers only extend to the two talk shows...S&R and O&A. The music is harder to follow than the lyrics to a Wesley Willis song. So unless the Edge finds a competent MD, or PD, they are in some serious ....

So who to put on. I would not doubt for a second that (given the WEDG's penchant for copying the defunct WBUF rock/talk slop) that someone over there thinks it's a good idea to bring Wease back to buffalo. Don't give me the non-compete thing, we all know the status and that if he was pursued he would win in court. Hell they could even syndicate Stern, he's been proven in this town.

To stay the course or to change

Bull should be on a sports talk station...so what's next, 103.3 buffalo's fm talk?? He could do a great sports talk show, and really the Edge is only a loveline away from being the BUF-talk clone, ...Yeah I mean you could leave Paul Breenen on at night with music..., but really everytime I hear him I think he's imitating Bull, am I the only one?, plus he's a chatty cathy just because there is a minute of music before lyrics doesn't mean you have to talk the whole thing up...I once timed a talk break at 3 plus minutes, the only reason I stayed tuned was to time it. I'm sure he'd make a fine local (tom) leykis.


Learning from the Epic Failure that was 92.9, what they should do is blow the thing up. Go Adult Alternative, put S&R back on mornings or cut'em. I mean if they switch formats, they could just let them go...then say well we could have you on in the morning...have Bull join the show as sports guy/producer, vet the rest of the staff and find some real air talent who can relate to a Coldplay/REM fan. You might think its funny, but it's exactly what they did when they found a young Rich Wall and put him in charge

 

[Radknowski]

I would not doubt for a second that (given the WEDG's penchant for copying the defunct WBUF rock/talk slop) that someone over there thinks it's a good idea to bring Wease back to buffalo.

Wease in Buffalo is a non-connect. He sucked possum on WBUF. He's a Rochester delicacy for whom Buffalonians have shown little taste. You're likely inferring the LeGrett-Rochester connection regarding Wease. It's always a possibility, but given that WEDG is supposed to be an Active Rock station and Wease is 74 (only a slight exaggeration), Citadel might just as well put Imus on the air.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Not Sold

ODS, what are you smokin'?

While some would like to think that the Edge has good Male numbers...those numbers only extend to the two talk shows...S&R and O&A.

WEDG is consistently in the top 3 18-34 in mid-days, which is better than O&A's performance in the morning. O&A have dropped back to 4th. They beat 18-34 "powerhouses" like Kiss, Star, and 'BLK. Since The Edge's female numbers aren't anything to write home about, they must be KILLING in men.

S&R have been #1 18-34 in PM drive, and show increasing strength 25-54 as well.

Paul Brennan was tied with Kiss for #2 at night in the Winter book, behind 'BLK.

If there's a PD/MD issue at The Edge, it may be that they're beginning to creep up 25-54, which means they're infringing on 97-Rock territory. Since 97-Rock is starting to look a little TOO good 35-64, they may need to begin skewing their music a little younger - which means that The Edge would have to follow suit. I have to say that hearing AC/DC on The Edge sounds out of place to me if they're truly an Active Rock station.

There's obviously a revamp coming on The Edge, and Citadel isn't going to spend any money. That means either replacing the old morning syndication with different morning syndication, or bringing the morning show in-house. If you don't pay any new salaries, and create more ad avails, the fiscally conservative move is to bring it in house.

If you bring the morning show back in house, there's only one choice on the staff for mornings, and that's Bull. If you put Bull on mornings, and give him a chance to talk more, I'm guessing that sports will figure in the conversation - especially during Bills season. Give him a sidekick, and you're off.

Fill the mid-day hole with Evil Jim, who's essentially free, and he has a chance to stand or fall on his own merits. If it works, OK. If not, S&R are still the core of the station, and give you something to rebuild off a year from now.

 

[ThePickleReport]

I'm wondering what's with the timing of O&A's departure (besides the ratings sucking) and the fact that WEDG didn't have a new morning show ready to roll. 95X in Syracuse is in the same boat. Seems odd.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Vacation Time

According to Pergament, O&A's contract was up. Now, I know that it's hard to believe that corporate might not communicate their intentions to local management in a timely fashion, but...

 

[OneDaySale]

Re: Not Sold

WEDG is consistently in the top 3 18-34 in mid-days, which is better than O&A's performance in the morning. O&A have dropped back to 4th. They beat 18-34 "powerhouses" like Kiss, Star, and 'BLK. Since The Edge's female numbers aren't anything to write home about, they must be KILLING in men.

S&R have been #1 18-34 in PM drive, and show increasing strength 25-54 as well.

Paul Brennan was tied with Kiss for #2 at night in the Winter book, behind 'BLK.

Top 3, they should be 1. I mean what other station other than 97 rock is male driven? Star hasn't done anything lately anyways, blk is weighted, and kiss is for tweens. I don't think settling for #3 is a great way to look at things if the demo your going for is 18-34....they should be killing...but the imaging is flat, the music is incoherent, and the jocks talk to much.

Of course Paul Breenan has decent numbers he's got the best lead in...Shredd and Regan. Even if the Edge's numbers dropped by half he'd still kill at night cause no one's listening! Tied for #2 with a writers strike on tv in the dead of winter in buffalo....something to be proud of ;D tell me his spring numbers and we'll see how he does this summer.

This is exactly what WBUF had going with Stern in the Morning and O&A in the afternoons...same set-up...same numbers...

 

[SirRoxalot]

What we've got here is a failure to communicate...

ODS, the numbers I refered to were 18-34 persons, not 18-34 males. WEDG is #1 men 18-34. I don't have the exact numbers handy at the moment, but if they're in trouble at #1, then everybody else in the market is in REAL trouble.

The Edge is undergoing some changes. Maybe they'll be more to your taste when they're done. It sounds to me like you're bucking for a PD or MD job. Well, send your package to Citadel and see if they're impressed. Then maybe you'll have access to actual numbers. You'll also find out that WEDG is far more successful than WBUF was when they tried "hot talk".

 

[x13thfloorrand]

Frame of Reference

Since i've wandered the former halls of Buffalos Rock and Buffalos FM Talk, ...EDGE had local and went national, not the other way around. BUF went national, then tried to go "ghetto-local" and pipe in Wease, then toss him under the bus when he returned from surgery. But others have accuratley stated that he's too Rochester... which is fine when you want to be local.

Correct on the lead-in and other factors; it's no secret others benefit from the lead-in of others.

The EDGE has local history that BUF didnt have, they were mostly a music driven station before talk kinda snuck in through the back door; they inaccuratley went after the big kahuna @ Citadel, 97 rock, instead of smaller prey such as the EDGE for competition sake. Nothing wrong with taking a home run swing everytime, but only Joe Dimaggio's hit over 40 percent in his career over the past 60 plus years. Sometimes better to get a few hits first.