D
Deleted member 76036
Guest
WBAP is no longer conservative talk. It’s MAGA talk. That’s what’s changed.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Eric Bushman out WBAP
- Thread starter durobeurunway
- Start date
No. I think all humans have completely lost interest in regular radio. No one cares, it's not relevant, and it responded poorly the more the online platforms were growing.
Even the top billing radio stations and/or companies are downsizing, syndicating everything, etc. - and there's a reason why. The answer is in my 1st sentence.
You're talking about two different things. The online platforms aren't doing what radio once did. They've simply replaced people's personal music collection. Broadcast radio was never going to do that. It didn't do it 40 years ago. There always were songs or artists who didn't get airplay on the radio.
When online platforms such as Apple Music or Amazon attempt to duplicate traditional radio, perhaps with deeper playlists or more articulate personalities, they fail. There are simply no online replacements for what radio used to do. There are no online music hosts who have the impact of the legends of radio. None. Why? Because we live in an on-demand world, and people don't have to wait to hear their favorite song.
So regular radio is still there for the people who want it. But sure, it's not growing. If it's not growing, why would you devote more resources to it? It makes no sense. So yes, for people like me who still work in radio, it can be a challenge. But that's why we still do it.
Radio was the original social media -- you turned it on to tune into someone generating content about your local town/radio market and you were part of a tribe of others that listened and participated through calls or showing up at remotes, etc. Based on the farewells, KLTY did that on a smaller scale before it was snatched up by K-Love by being active at local churches and Christian events. KTCK still does with being a bunch of guys talking about "our teams in our town." Outside that, there isn't much compelling on the commercial dial.
Because the conversation has moved online.
In Dallas, commercial Talk Radio is in a dire state. That's true in some other markets as well. But in Milwaukee, WISN is always #1, with the iHeart line up of talk shows (Beck, Hannity, Travis-Sexton, etc.) In Houston, KTRH has a similar line-up and is usually in the top ten. And other markets also have successful talk stations. To say Talk Radio has become too boring or too MAGA, I'd agree with you. And yet, it still works in a lot of places, just not Dallas.
Despite this, I count six local shows on Dallas commercial talk stations, two on WBAP, two on KRLD, one each on KLIF and KSKY and none on KFXR. Compare that to San Francisco where there are zero local talk shows on commercial talk stations.
On the other hand, the four most listened-to commercial talk radio stations have all or nearly all local shows... 1) WSB Atlanta. 2) WABC New York. 3) WKXW New Jersey. 4) KFI Los Angeles.
So something else is going on in Dallas. Why is WBAP, even with 50,000 watts non-directional AM and an FM simulcast, only in the 1's? And the other four talk stations are all less than a one rating?
Despite this, I count six local shows on Dallas commercial talk stations, two on WBAP, two on KRLD, one each on KLIF and KSKY and none on KFXR. Compare that to San Francisco where there are zero local talk shows on commercial talk stations.
On the other hand, the four most listened-to commercial talk radio stations have all or nearly all local shows... 1) WSB Atlanta. 2) WABC New York. 3) WKXW New Jersey. 4) KFI Los Angeles.
So something else is going on in Dallas. Why is WBAP, even with 50,000 watts non-directional AM and an FM simulcast, only in the 1's? And the other four talk stations are all less than a one rating?
You're missing the whole story. This ratings drop is recent. Let's go back to July of 2023:
Not long ago, before they added the 93.3 FM simulcast, they were close to a 4 share, in 9th place. Not anymore.
Let's go to July of 2024:
The drop has begun, but not as bad as now. Clearly the simulcast hasn't helped. It may have even hurt. It's as though the FM isn't encoded for Nielsen. People are leaving 820, and not going to 93.3.
D
Deleted member 76036
Guest
I still think that most of the people that listen to WBAP aren’t going to search out 93.3 on FM. The AM in my hometown started simulcasting on an FM translator about 20 years ago or so. My grandparents never tuned to the FM translator when they were alive, even though I tried! I’m still trying to educate my parents (in their late 60’s) on the FM translator, as they like listening to the high school sports broadcasts over the station.
Well, let’s think about that. It’s more than likely (and shocking if they didn’t) that Cumulus has requested single-line reporting for WBAP so the published number is the AM and FM rolled up into one.
If the FM isn’t bringing in listeners, by default, the combined number would be a lower share of the total listening audience, and thus, ratings go down, no?
Yet they are running ads on social media calling themselves the most listened-to talk station in Dallas. I thought that was odd considering their latest numbers. IS KRLD's downturn because they aren't doing news and local stuff anymore?
I wonder why that is. Because what we saw for WINS in NY, when they added the FM simulcast, the combined AM/FM number went up. In addition, it took away listeners from the other co-owned all news station WCBS. Then after that, the additional revenue made up for the loss of the FM format. It was a plus in both ratings and revenue.
I would think since WBAP is now just largely MAGA talk, WBAP-FM doesn't add very much since the 93.3 C2 facility is limited to mostly population centers that are a tad to the left of the hosts on WBAP. Cumulus and Univision would benefit if they swapped 93.3 and 107.9; 93.3 is far better suited for a Spanish-language format than 107.9 and 107.9 would cover a lot more people interested in WBAP's programming than 93.3 does.
I still think 93.3 would be a good place for Radio Nueva Vida, should K-Love Inc. go after a third station in DFW.
Yeah, I know...I was just trying to be polite. When I wrote "conservative talk", what I really was thinking was "radical right-wing". And that change probably doesn't help, because the right-wing exists in its own bubble that is probably not very accessible to anyone who is not already part of that bubble. Not really good if you're trying to grow your audience.
D
Deleted member 76036
Guest
Was just flipping through the dial checking to see if 94.9 is showing Artist/Title yet (it’s not). I stopped on WBAP-FM for a second and they were laughing about kids going hungry. The rest of the day isn’t much better. I would honestly block this station from my radios if I could. This is my opinion and yours might differ, but I think WBAP is complete garbage!
Because of the wall-to-wall one-sided programming radio's short-sighted owners air and promote, the medium is declining. A majority of Americans don't share those narrow opinions. There's little on AM talk for most Americans who don't align themselves with rabid hosts.
Can you substantiate that? Who said what? How about some actual quotes?
D
Deleted member 76036
Guest
It was on Red Eye Radio. And they don’t provide transcripts, so I can’t remember the actual quote. Im sorry! However, they seem to hammer the same issues all the time, such as anti-trans. I honestly don’t understand the show. The last time I checked their Facebook page, it only had info related to trucking—nothing political at all. They still play ads catering to truckers, as well. However never hear anything catering to truckers during the actual show and I’m pretty sure most truckers are tired of hearing the anti-trans rhetoric that they push. I invite you to take a listen, because I think you’ll better understand what I’m talking about.
Regarding me always catching stuff on WBAP when I despise the station, I’m a late night person and I’m always flipping through the dial. When I get to 93.3, I often hear something and I’m curious to hear what they’re talking about, but it usually results in me getting pissed off, because I’m usually in complete disagreement. To be fair, there a few topics WBAP hosts have brought up, that I’ve agreed with, but that happens a very small percentage of the time.
I also worked for a news/talk station in my hometown and we did carry Rush Limbaugh and then Bill O’Reilly. Although I disagreed with a lot of the viewpoints, this was well before the far right “MAGA Talk” format that many news/talk stations are airing nowadays. A lot of our other programming wasn’t political and it helped balance the station out. In a discussion with my Republican friend who I worked with at my hometown station, I had mentioned the state of news/talk and he agreed that it’s wayyy too political nowadays. He eventually flipped the format away from news/talk.
In the late 1990s, Art Bell warned people about radio going "all politics, all the time."
He asked a caller how many minutes a day he spends taking politics with his family.
An hour?
Nope.
I hope perceptive, progressive and forward-thinking programmers see the race to the bottom that all conservative, all the time radio is and get an "attitude adjustment" by adding more talk programming of interest to more than the rabid Maga knuckleheads.
We've seen other stations do this, with little or no hard-right conservative programming. They're doing well.
Going back to the original topic, Eric Bushman has landed at KRLD. Heard his byline last week.
- Status