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Curtis Sliwa... Mornings On AM 970... 1.11.10.

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

The NYRMB has been reporting that Curtis Sliwa will land at 970 The Apple at some point, this after leaving his longtime home of WABC. And yesterday, a listener confirmed after watching an Internet TV show hosted by Sliwa that he will start at The Apple on January 11th.

Interestingly, the NYRMB moderator commented that with this move, Sliwa has the potential to "drop off the radar," now that he is no longer on a New York talk station with either the call letters WABC or WOR. And in fairness, the same moderator proved his point when he broke this news last week (giving credit where it is due) and referred to the station in his post as "WWDJ."

What's more, AM 970's signal is a dog compared to those of 710 or 770. Yet 970 did increase their power recently. Still, does anybody think this is a good move? Was a major daypart that important to him, that he left a leading talk station to get it? And how will this sit with New York listeners of the current Bill Bennett morning show - all five of them?
 
The question is does Curtis want to be a small fish in a big pond (WABC) or a big fish in a small pond (WNYM). All career moves involve risks. Curits is hoping he can win back many of his WABC listeners who don't like Imus. It would be be an asset if he could get Ron Kuby to join him again. WNYM is hoping that a strong morning show will lure listeners to the station in other day parts. Time will tell.

Bruce
 
Well at least WNYM is a Salem station putting on something local like sister station WIND in Chicago. Salem stations never fare too well in the 12+ ratings at least, always in the bottom often right below a 1.0. The vile Gallagher use to be a WABC persona in the 90s perhaps Sliwa will bring in some new cume with the right amount of promotion. Then again, I wonder why Salem never flipped WMCA to talk instead. Better signal.

As for Sliwa well like so many other longtime radio vets I guess they still want their show! Heck Barry Farber still has a show on the CRN Digital Networks. Sliwa is a name but I don't think he'll be bringing 100,000+ new listeners to WNYM with the move.
 
Trying not to repeat what was posted on the NYRMB, when a well known taqlk show host or personality leaves a powerhouse radio station to join another station, they usually don't take their listeners with them. A good example of this is when Cousin Brucie left WABC 35 years ago in August, WNBC didn't get a major boost.

As for Salem moving the talk format to 570 and the religious format to 970 remains to be seen.




Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
You are all writing your posts as if Sliwa left WABC voluntarily. I was under the impression that he left involuntarily, am I wrong?
 
Salem will *not* move it's Conservative Talk programming to AM 570.

Salem's first and foremost priority is it's religious programming. That is their prime product, their bigger-budget, and their bigger money-maker. I would guess 12+ numbers don't matter here since the station is able to deliver a consistent (though perhaps quantitatively small) audience to a select group of advertisers looking to target those exact people.

The Conservative Talk is a complimentary product to their Religious Talk format. They sell the Conservative Talk as an added extra to many of the religious advertisers. It is not their focus, and it is not their priority. That is why, in every market they operate within, the Religious Talk format is on their bigger, better signals.

Curtis is probably looking for a change, having being given the shaft by Citadel for no reason. He might find moderate success at WNYM. Success, of course, is a relative term. At this point in his life and career, Curtis doesn't have much to prove. He may be very happy to collect a decent paycheck to do a show at a smaller station - perhaps bringing some of his audience and some of his advertisers along with him.
 
DToTheJ said:
The NYRMB has been reporting that Curtis Sliwa will land at 970 The Apple at some point, this after leaving his longtime home of WABC.

Was a major daypart that important to him, that he left a leading talk station to get it?

Still, does anybody think this is a good move?
Click to expand...

Was this a good move? Well, it's better than the unemployment line...which was his only other option. :-(

I think if Curtis was going to succeed in syndication, (or succeed more than he has), he had to get out of the time slot he was in.

There always has been less money from ad agencies after 7PM...but now it's even worse!

If Curtis' game plan was to get out of that time period....maybe moving to something like WNYM will be a relaunch for a syndicated effort. (Salem has a syndication arm, and likes conservative hosts.) Maybe he's thinking that some stations will be looking for a morning show once Imus goes away.




Kevin L. Sealy said:
Twhen a well known taqlk show host or personality leaves a powerhouse radio station to join another station, they usually don't take their listeners with them. A good example of this is when Cousin Brucie left WABC 35 years ago in August, WNBC didn't get a major boost.
Click to expand...

Well, that was 35 years ago. ;-) Will all of his audience move over to the new spot. Obviously not. But WNYM's ratings are so low (esp in the AM), that some will come...and he might give WNYM a "bump" in the morning.
 
Don Juan said:
Maybe he's thinking that some stations will be looking for a morning show once Imus goes away.
Click to expand...

That reminds me, isn't this move on the heels of WABC bringing in Doug McIntyre from L.A. for certain duties? Message board chatter suggested he would be the heir apparent to Imus should he step down. Maybe Curtis saw the writing on the wall after that transaction and made a break to 'NYM.
 
NewsStud said:
Salem will *not* move it's Conservative Talk programming to AM 570.

Salem's first and foremost priority is it's religious programming. That is their prime product, their bigger-budget, and their bigger money-maker. I would guess 12+ numbers don't matter here since the station is able to deliver a consistent (though perhaps quantitatively small) audience to a select group of advertisers looking to target those exact people.

The Conservative Talk is a complimentary product to their Religious Talk format. They sell the Conservative Talk as an added extra to many of the religious advertisers. It is not their focus, and it is not their priority. That is why, in every market they operate within, the Religious Talk format is on their bigger, better signals.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Only their "Fish" CCM format does remotely decent, ratings-wise, in certain markets (Cleveland, for one). Which is an added bonus for that format, especially with selling it to potential advertisers. The conservatalk format is only meant for one thing: ideology. Ratings be dammed.

Out of all the personalities that are syndicated by Salem... they are pretty much third-and-fourth-tier hosts. Only Micheal Medved, by virtue of Sneak Previews and his long-ago stint as a Rush Limbaugh fill-in, has ANY significant name recognition. Anyone else would probably look at Hugh Hewitt or Dennis Prager and not know who in the world they are. Some of them, in the past, have aired in late nights on Salem's religious stations that don't have a conservatalker.

Usually non-SRN hosts (like John Gibson or Jim Bohannon) are pushed to the overnight hours, but for the longest time, most of their talk stations cleared Laura Ingraham, exiling Gallagher to the overnights. One station (IIRC, it was KNUS in Denver) actually cleared Hannity!

I'd even throw this out: perhaps SRN could try to syndicate Sliwa's morning show.
 
I've seen only one article about Curtis's new show by David Hinckley in the Daily News.
Let's hope Salem spends some money on print ads or some TV, otherwise most people won't know he's returned to radio.
 
Signal_Faded said:
Everyone loves an underdog...go get em' Curtis!
Click to expand...

Well IMO this underdog is too weak to carry his own show all by himself.
 
Salem is not known for it's ratings...period. In Chicago they brought a well known Chicago personality to their Conservative Talk station to do mornings, along with a sharp co-host from another well known station. After three year that morning show was still wobbling around the mid 30's ranking out of 45 market stations.

Salem does Christian brokered programming well (financially) but even with various outside consultants they can't format in a way that attracts listeners. The Atlanta and Dallas Fish stations are the exception, as they have a strong bible belt audience.

I give Curtis 3 years and then he will move on.... ::)
 
970 has a problem Curtis can't solve for them, and that's its signal.

The 970 signal, even with 50,000 watts daytime (which it will have soon) is going to be too directional to cover the same ground that WABC or WOR can cover. The pattern is too sharply directed eastward, to protect stations to the west, southwest and north in Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Canada on the same channel, to adequately cover north Jersey and the Hudson Valley. Then, there's that drop to 5,000 watts nighttime and pre-sunrise, which cuts the coverage still further (and affects it in morning drive during the winter months).

WMCA, even at its current 5,000 watts on 570, will give Salem better consistent coverage if they move the general-appeal talk over to that signal and consign the God Squad (which basically buys for market presence rather than numbers) to 970. And they can always re-activate that CP for higher power for 570 from their current TL (and probably get a little $$$ help from WNYC, which shares that plant and could also increase their signal on 820 with a couple extra towers).
 
The Salem Chicago News/Talk covers that market very well and the station still has very poor ratings. It's really not the coverage as much as the format that hurts them.
 
Bob1370 said:
970 has a problem Curtis can't solve for them, and that's its signal.

The 970 signal, even with 50,000 watts daytime (which it will have soon) is going to be too directional to cover the same ground that WABC or WOR can cover. The pattern is too sharply directed eastward, to protect stations to the west, southwest and north in Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Canada on the same channel, to adequately cover north Jersey and the Hudson Valley. Then, there's that drop to 5,000 watts nighttime and pre-sunrise, which cuts the coverage still further (and affects it in morning drive during the winter months).

WMCA, even at its current 5,000 watts on 570, will give Salem better consistent coverage if they move the general-appeal talk over to that signal and consign the God Squad (which basically buys for market presence rather than numbers) to 970. And they can always re-activate that CP for higher power for 570 from their current TL (and probably get a little $$$ help from WNYC, which shares that plant and could also increase their signal on 820 with a couple extra towers).
Click to expand...

In Cleveland, Salem has their brokered stuff on 50kw 1220 WHKW, while the news/talk is on 1420, which has a horrible 5kw signal. I don't know why, they must be making some good money from WHKW, the buyers probably like the big skywave at night, that's why WCKY can still sell airtime at night.
 
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