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Could We See This Trend Really Happen?

R

Retro

In speculating over all the consolidation of radio during the past decade, it has occurred to me more than once that the big colgomorates could do the following legally:

  • Take an existing format, and syndicate it on one of their stations in every market that they are in.
  • Have unprofitable stations in markets go dark.
  • Remove all DJ's from their stations.

I can see this happening, is truth stranger than fiction?
 
Retro said:
In speculating over all the consolidation of radio during the past decade, it has occurred to me more than once that the big colgomorates could do the following legally:

  • Take an existing format, and syndicate it on one of their stations in every market that they are in.
  • Have unprofitable stations in markets go dark.
  • Remove all DJ's from their stations.

I can see this happening, is truth stranger than fiction?
Click to expand...

1 & 3 they can do now. 1 would be no different than a national radio network. Almost a return to radio of our parents and grandparents day. When big corporations owned most of the stations. Oh wait... Much like TV. The one that is not an option is 2. That would get your license taken away and given to someone else. You'd be far better off selling it even at a loss. Now stations going dark because no one wants the license has happened. And some would argue that it would have happened more in small markets if the national companies didn't move in. But that is the only way that a particular frequency would go dark is if no one wanted to make a go of it. And anyone could at anytime petion for the license and would probably be granted it to try again.
 
Sure why have live DJs when you can put together a syndie DJ, like this:

(song ends)
(drop in fired up from computer: Johnny Deejay): 1230, WJOY...
(Johnny Deejay live from who knows where): with the Beatles and a classic, there, the Yellow Submarine...
y'know we were just talking over here at the radio station, and...

on another station, far away:
(song ends)
(drop in fired up from computer: Johnny Deejay): 1090, KADJ...
(Johnny Deejay live from who knows where): with the Beatles and a classic, there, the Yellow Submarine...

Do a network of classic country, oldies, country, hot AC, etc.
Talk stations that are totally or almost totally syndie. Yeah, Imus, Beck, Rush, Hannity,
Mark Levin, then a ballgame then Coast to Coast...cheap cheap!
 
Imus is not cheap. You could easily hire a morning guy with benefits (at least in a small market) for what stations pay to run it AND you need a board-op/local host. Far easier to sell than a local show so there's profit there. Local sports teams especially baseball also have hefty rights fees. Even Howie gets a good chunk o'change.
I don't know if Premiere charges cash for Rush on top of the barter commitment.

raccoonradio said:
Do a network of classic country, oldies, country, hot AC, etc.
Talk stations that are totally or almost totally syndie. Yeah, Imus, Beck, Rush, Hannity,
Mark Levin, then a ballgame then Coast to Coast...cheap cheap!
Click to expand...
 
I would not be surprised if one day, Clear Channel syndicates Z100 to all CHR's east of the Mississippi...and KIIS to all CHR's west of it.
 
raccoonradio said:
Sure why have live DJs when you can put together a syndie DJ, like this:

(song ends)
(drop in fired up from computer: Johnny Deejay): 1230, WJOY...
(Johnny Deejay live from who knows where): with the Beatles and a classic, there, the Yellow Submarine...
y'know we were just talking over here at the radio station, and...

on another station, far away:
(song ends)
(drop in fired up from computer: Johnny Deejay): 1090, KADJ...
(Johnny Deejay live from who knows where): with the Beatles and a classic, there, the Yellow Submarine...

Do a network of classic country, oldies, country, hot AC, etc.
Click to expand...

Networks like Transtar/Unistar, Westwood One, etc... were all doing that with analog equipment over 20 years ago, and they had/have all those formats. All the affiliates had the DJ drop-ins on carts (remember tape cartridges?), which were "fired" remotely by sub-audible cue tones over the network, then the DJ would chime in live over the satellite. It was up to the local board-op or producer to make sure the right carts (uptempo drop-ins, mellow drop-ins, generic liners, legal ID, etc...) were loaded into the right cart machine to be "fired" at the right time.

I board-opped the Transtar/Unistar "Oldies Channel" on 1150 WMEX with that kind of setup over two decades ago.
 
To play devils advocate here (and PLEASE keep that in mind)...why not? CHR stations aren't that different from each other and play pretty much the same 150 records anyway so why reinvent the wheel? A mainstream and a rhythmic CHR format would be all you need. You could argue this would give you the budget for top-tier talent and killer promotions. Imagine "Million dollar Monday" where you give away a million in cash weekly.
National music formats already exist like K-love from EMF and of course Radio Disney. Most CHR listeners don't know or care where the music comes from as long as they can hear "Love Song" a few thousand more times.
As much as certain people scream "local local local" I'd rather listen to a good national show than a locally voicetracked one. Some local jocks are so generic they might as well not even be there.
Outsource your news and weather functions and why hire jocks at all? Just sales weasels and a street team.


iknowpeople said:
I would not be surprised if one day, Clear Channel syndicates Z100 to all CHR's east of the Mississippi...and KIIS to all CHR's west of it.
Click to expand...
 
Let's not forget covering and recording the closed circuit feeds. When the cart decks didn't get cleaned they wouldn't recue, so you'd hear the jocks "magic calls" repeating over the bird feed until the board op woke up/left the bathroom/hung up the phone/made coffee.

[/quote]

Networks like Transtar/Unistar, Westwood One, etc... were all doing that with analog equipment over 20 years ago, and they had/have all those formats. All the affiliates had the DJ drop-ins on carts (remember tape cartridges?), which were "fired" remotely by sub-audible cue tones over the network, then the DJ would chime in live over the satellite. It was up to the local board-op or producer to make sure the right carts (uptempo drop-ins, mellow drop-ins, generic liners, legal ID, etc...) were loaded into the right cart machine to be "fired" at the right time.

I board-opped the Transtar/Unistar "Oldies Channel" on 1150 WMEX with that kind of setup over two decades ago.

[/quote]
 
Waitt radio networks in Omaha already does this. They have like 4-5 formats last i checked, and a handful of stations in each format. I think they own 2 in NH, one used to be Alt, but I think they flipped it at one point.

But regardless, it's all one format, with the same DJ, they do like 4 generic breaks an hour "hey it's johnny DJ on 'total alternative' or whatever they call that format...blah blah blah" and then do one localized break an hour to give it a local feel "hey it's johnny DJ, on new hampshire's total alternative" kinda deal. All voice-tracked, and timed out in advance so it all fits in. So if you were DJing there you'd do like 4 live breaks an hour, but then have to VT 4-5, one for each station on that format.

Kinda lame if you like a real local feel to your station, but smart from the purely biz sense.

Oh, looks like they've added a couple formats since I last checked them out, and got bought by Triton. And it sounds like they are letting other stations (or hoping other stations) will pick up their streams instead of just keeping on their owned stations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitt_Radio_Networks
 
thetheo said:
Waitt radio networks in Omaha already does this. They have like 4-5 formats last i checked, and a handful of stations in each format. I think they own 2 in NH, one used to be Alt, but I think they flipped it at one point.

But regardless, it's all one format, with the same DJ, they do like 4 generic breaks an hour "hey it's johnny DJ on 'total alternative' or whatever they call that format...blah blah blah" and then do one localized break an hour to give it a local feel "hey it's johnny DJ, on new hampshire's total alternative" kinda deal. All voice-tracked, and timed out in advance so it all fits in. So if you were DJing there you'd do like 4 live breaks an hour, but then have to VT 4-5, one for each station on that format.

Kinda lame if you like a real local feel to your station, but smart from the purely biz sense.

Oh, looks like they've added a couple formats since I last checked them out, and got bought by Triton. And it sounds like they are letting other stations (or hoping other stations) will pick up their streams instead of just keeping on their owned stations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitt_Radio_Networks
Click to expand...

What sets Waitt apart is their ability to customize their feeds. You can have them insert just about anything into your feed on about ten minutes notice. Their satellite format(s) can be made to sound completely local-right down to the (national) DJ doing local, timely traffic reports. The trick is their STORQ automation system, which integrates the satellite feed with custom feeds that are fed to each station via FTP (over the Internet). If you put a decent amount of effort into it, the Waitt feed can sound so live and local that it's scary. It can actually sound more 'live' then voice tracking ever could. On the other hand if you do nothing, it will sound like the satellite feed (that) it is.

In my opinion, Waitt is the best of the satellite program producers.
 
Yes, this system is slick.

We all tend to suffer from selective memory when we look back in the past.
Back in the day, the talent pool was 10 miles long and 1 inch deep.
Now the cream can rise to the top.

Return to the days of yester-year.
A few crappy radio stations, 3 or 4 TV channels offering mostly crappy programming.
Listen to those classic airchecks or watch those black & white reruns. YUK
No internet, no cell phones, no microwaves, dangerous cars, dirty air and lousy roads.

Today, even the smallest of markets can present good quality programming at a fraction of the cost.
Content always wins!
 
Content always wins!
Click to expand...
Since deregulation, content NEVER wins...profitability ALWAYS wins! If you think otherwise you either aren't in radio or haven't been paying attention.
 
Return to the days of yester-year.
A few crappy radio stations, 3 or 4 TV channels offering mostly crappy programming.
Listen to those classic airchecks or watch those black & white reruns. YUK
Click to expand...

The days of the 7-7-7 rule also produced the finest radio broadcasters ever to sit behind a mic as well as a "minor league" so to speak for folks trying to break into the business and make a career of this.

The pay was lousy, hours long, but playlists were up to the individual station, content was up to the station. Those that gave listeners what they wanted survived, those that didn't learned quickly. Today? Just look at the Dale Dorman thread and wonder who are they going to bring in that can even come close to matching Dale's talent? "crickett noise"

Content always wins!
Click to expand...
Since deregulation, content NEVER wins...profitability ALWAYS wins! If you think otherwise you either aren't in radio or haven't been paying attention.
[/quote]
 
Retro said:
In speculating over all the consolidation of radio during the past decade, it has occurred to me more than once that the big colgomorates could do the following legally:

  • Take an existing format, and syndicate it on one of their stations in every market that they are in.
  • Have unprofitable stations in markets go dark.
  • Remove all DJ's from their stations.

I can see this happening, is truth stranger than fiction?
Click to expand...

Not a question of if.....but WHEN. And based on the answers above with simulcasts of one radio station to other stations, add voicetracking, etc., along with radio stocks taking hard hits on Wall Street, what you're sensing is happening now. It's on a small scale but will only grow in the not too distant future.

Z-100 in the East? KIIS in the West? Voicetrack it, make it "local" for certain markets....can happen.
 
Just one more thought on this subject. Not only can it happen, IT IS happening!

I have heard a substantiated rumor that another major radio station in this market is losing another live and local air shift to syndication!

With every syndicated show there are fewer jobs for local in-market broadcasters. For every small and medium market station (these days even large and major market stations) that add syndication there are fewer places for up and coming broadcasters to learn the profession and develop into good and eventually great broadcasters. The industry has cut its own throat!

CONSOLDIATION and the elimiationg of the 7-7-7 rule is killing Radio, TV and IMHO threatening democracy by eliminating the past diversity of news and opinon leaving it in the hands of a few syndicators and corporate owners.

I have been asked by dozens of hopefuls what I think of a future in this business and I tell them all the same thing. New Media has a brighter future than getting into radio or TV.
 
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