Did the KGO ratings decline coincide with departure of Bernie Ward?

[HCochet]

I don't follow or have faith in the accuracy of Arbitron ratings. But we've been told KGO's ratings had been falling for a few years. Well, Bernie Ward left a few years ago. Any connection? I think so.

 

[LKellerIII]

I don't follow or have faith in the accuracy of Arbitron ratings. But we've been told KGO's ratings had been falling for a few years. Well, Bernie Ward left a few years ago. Any connection? I think so.

I doubt it. Why would the 9:00 PM to Midnight (or was it 1:00 AM?) host have such a big influence on ratings? Only a fraction of listeners are tuned in during those hours compared to the daytime (Ronn Owens) and afternoon (Pete Wilson, Gil Gross) hours.

As great as KGO may have been, remember that it was the Bay Area's only talk station for many years - without competition - until KSFO went talk in the mid (?) 90s. Then Disney bought KSFO and brilliantly counter-programmed co-owned KGO. A couple of years later, 910 and 960 added a bit more competition (though low rated). IMO - the growing popularity of NPR (primarily KQED) also took some of KGO's audience.

I'm no expert, but from what I read here from the real experts (David Eduardo, etc.), it was the Portable People Meters (PPMs) that brought in more accurate (real time) measurement of listening habits, and that really put the hurt on KGO.

 

[coppersmom]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

 

[LKellerIII]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

I didn't say Bernie wasn't popular, I'm sure he was. My mother-in-law swore by Bernie's show (Ray, too) and listened nightly - but she was a night-owl suffering from advanced macular degeneration, so she could no longer read or watch TV. Being a died-in-the wool liberal Democrat (she had portraits of JFK and RFK in her living room), there was no way she was listening to right-wing talk radio, or any silliness like Art Bell.

But the radio audience is comparatively small during those hours. My point was - Bernie's leaving KGO probably had little or nothing to do with the decline in ratings. The older demographics of KGO listeners, and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.

 

[HCochet]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

I didn't say Bernie wasn't popular, I'm sure he was. My mother-in-law swore by Bernie's show (Ray, too) and listened nightly - but she was a night-owl with macular degeneration, so she could no longer read or watch TV.

Most people are not listening to radio during those hours. My point was - Bernie's leaving KGO had little or nothing to do with the decline in ratings. The older demographics of KGO listeners, and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.

If it had so little to do with it, then why did it happen at the exact same time? I was a big fan of his, but I admit that maybe it's not just that he left, but why he left that some listeners were lost.

 

[HCochet]

and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.
[/quote]

Well then that proves I was right about Arbitron ratings being very inaccurate.

 

[LKellerIII]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

I didn't say Bernie wasn't popular, I'm sure he was. My mother-in-law swore by Bernie's show (Ray, too) and listened nightly - but she was a night-owl with macular degeneration, so she could no longer read or watch TV.

Most people are not listening to radio during those hours. My point was - Bernie's leaving KGO had little or nothing to do with the decline in ratings. The older demographics of KGO listeners, and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.

If it had so little to do with it, then why did it happen at the exact same time?

Coincidence? If I break my ankle, then catch a cold a few minutes later, it doesn't mean the broken bone caused my sniffles, right?

Things happening simultaneously does not imply causation.

 

[lolbrat]

Heard Christine Craft say on the air that Bernie lost a 100 pounds in federal pen.

He won't be out for nearly another 2 years.

Anybody know if his family was able to keep the house from foreclosure?

 

[HCochet]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

I didn't say Bernie wasn't popular, I'm sure he was. My mother-in-law swore by Bernie's show (Ray, too) and listened nightly - but she was a night-owl with macular degeneration, so she could no longer read or watch TV.

Most people are not listening to radio during those hours. My point was - Bernie's leaving KGO had little or nothing to do with the decline in ratings. The older demographics of KGO listeners, and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.

If it had so little to do with it, then why did it happen at the exact same time?
Ma'am, that's not a very good analogy. Bernie left and the ratings went down. IMO, it was very damaging to KGO. KGO isn't as good without Bernie. A chain store gets bought out by a bigger chain. They make a lot of changes and sales go up or maybe down. It might be the new changes. But that's not why the Dunkin Donuts next door had a broken window. A football team gets a new coach and they start winning. Maybe it's the coach. But that's not why someone got a flat tire in the parking lot. To write that getting a broken bone doesn't have anything to do with getting a cold? Come on, you can do better than that.

Coincidence? If I break my ankle, then catch a cold a few minutes later, it doesn't mean the broken bone caused my sniffles, right?

Things happening simultaneously does not imply causation.

 

[LKellerIII]

I remember Bernie getting 14 and 15 ratings.....and that's the truth.

I didn't say Bernie wasn't popular, I'm sure he was. My mother-in-law swore by Bernie's show (Ray, too) and listened nightly - but she was a night-owl with macular degeneration, so she could no longer read or watch TV.

Most people are not listening to radio during those hours. My point was - Bernie's leaving KGO had little or nothing to do with the decline in ratings. The older demographics of KGO listeners, and the new PPM ratings were what made the difference.

If it had so little to do with it, then why did it happen at the exact same time?
Ma'am, that's not a very good analogy. Bernie left and the ratings went down. IMO, it was very damaging to KGO. KGO isn't as good without Bernie. A chain store gets bought out by a bigger chain. They make a lot of changes and sales go up or maybe down. It might be the new changes. But that's not why the Dunkin Donuts next door had a broken window. A football team gets a new coach and they start winning. Maybe it's the coach. But that's not why someone got a flat tire in the parking lot. To write that getting a broken bone doesn't have anything to do with getting a cold? Come on, you can do better than that.

Coincidence? If I break my ankle, then catch a cold a few minutes later, it doesn't mean the broken bone caused my sniffles, right?

Things happening simultaneously does not imply causation.

OK- perhaps it wasn't the best analogy. And to paraphrase Leslie Nielsen: Don't call me "ma'am." We've never met, but trust me - I'd make a very ugly woman.

It's certainly possible that Bernie's Ward's departure cost some loss in listeners. But at the risk of belaboring the point, I doubt his audience was anywhere near as large as Ronn Owens, or whoever was in afternoon then (Pete Wilson, I think), or even Gene Burns in the early evening.

Again - the diary Arbitron ratings probably exaggerated KGO's popularity, and as the years have past, both the KGO hosts and their audiences have grown older. From what I understand, it was not so much the size of KGO's audience that doomed it in the PPM world, but the older demographics of that audience.

I remember listening to Ronn Owens many years ago when I was in my late 20s and he was in his 30s. I'll be 60 next month, and Ronn's pushing 70.