Does CBS want more voicetracking?

[calguy]

Don Barrett is following the story. Apparently CBS is in negotiations with AFTRA to facilitate more voicetracking. I'm thinking that this could be something that Roy is bringing to the CBS LA Cluster from his experience at Clear Channel. I'm wondering if this is just in LA or for more stations that they own outside of LA that are union? Pretty sad. KRTH and the WAVE are already tracked overnight and if I'm not mistaken 94.7 is tracked in the evening as well. Could this extend to KROQ too?

I personally think that if radio wants to set itself apart from and above the ipod, they must give the listener what an ipod or some guy's basement internet station can't and I'm thinking that's a real "live" person communicating with them around the clock, if not why bother? If you want to save money there are other places to cut, why is it always the airstaff which really is part of your product? And if you don't think I'm right, ask CC about the mistake they made last year by cutting well known and beloved personalities. Like I've said before, radio is killing itself...

 

[oldiesfan6479]

This morning laradio.com has published the high points...no, that
should be low points...of the C(BS) proposal.

One item, for several formats including classic hits, allows VTing for
evenings and overnights, plus one another five-hour max daypart
(read: middays). Can you say "Tom Kent comes to KRTH"? :

Then there's the N/T format proposal, which if taken to its extreme
would voicetrack overnights during the week and all of weekends
except 12-6pm Sat/Sun. Oooh, nothing like canned news on KNX.

 

[romer979fm]

Can you say "Tom Kent comes to KRTH"? :

not really...why would it be even remotely logical to
bring a outside syndicated program to KRTH (and not an especially good one at that) ?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...why would it be even remotely logical to bring a outside syndicated
program to KRTH...?

See CBS classic hits stations in:

Portland, OR
Denver
Phoenix
Boston
Dallas/Fort Worth

They're already up to market #5.

Hey, you forgot Philly! (Give 'em a few weeks.) :

Then what's next...El Lay?...and...New York?

 

[calguy]

Can you say "Tom Kent comes to KRTH"? :

not really...why would it be even remotely logical to
bring a outside syndicated program to KRTH (and not an especially good one at that) ?

That would be "their" interpretation of logic. It makes no sense, but if CC can do it with Seacrest and other shows CBS is probably thinking, why not? Of course the logic we would apply to the situation is radically different because we know that the sound of that shift would really be quite different from the rest of the station, and there goes your local programming. Tracking on a national scale and voice tracking is going in the wrong direction, and then when listenership drops these same executives will ask, what happened? It’s like a bakery deciding to stop using key ingredients and when people stop buying their cookies they wonder why. The answer is simple, they don't taste very good. Same for radio, they won't sound very good.

 

[KOOL Listener Lauren]

Can you say "Tom Kent comes to KRTH"? :

not really...why would it be even remotely logical to
bring a outside syndicated program to KRTH (and not an especially good one at that) ?

Exactly what I thought a month or two ago! (See Phoenix board thread "KOOL Evenings" and my big argument against syndicating Tom Kent seven days a week).

Syndicating evenings has turned into almost a national, uniform, programming schedule for CBS Classic Hits, as OldiesFan has provided the evidence with the list of the current victims. It could happen to you, too... but let's hope not!

As for voicetracking, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the KRTH jocks will have to be VTing the last hour or two (or first) of their shifts, because it's happening in other markets already.

With CBS, apparently the sky's the limit, but not necessarily always in the good sort of way. ;D

 

[calguy]

Exactly what I thought a month or two ago! (See Phoenix board thread "KOOL Evenings" and my big argument against syndicating Tom Kent seven days a week).

Syndicating evenings has turned into almost a national, uniform, programming schedule for CBS Classic Hits, as OldiesFan has provided the evidence with the list of the current victims. It could happen to you, too... but let's hope not!

As for voicetracking, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the KRTH jocks will have to be VTing the last hour or two (or first) of their shifts, because it's happening in other markets already.

With CBS, apparently the sky's the limit, but not necessarily always in the good sort of way. ;D

Actually if they let people go and stretch shifts like Clear Channel has done it would be logical to think that jocks would be VT'ing an hour or two of their shifts.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

As for voicetracking, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the KRTH jocks will have
to be VTing the last hour or two...of their shifts, because it's happening in other
markets already.

Gee, that wouldn't be happening in--oh, let's say--Phoenix, would it? ;D