Glenn Beck Back On New York Radio?

[DToTheJ]

Radio Ink is predicting either one of two things could happen: there will be a "bidding war" for Glenn Beck's show, recently ousted by WOR earlier this year. Or, Clear Channel might blow up Power 105.1 and start an FM news/talker with Beck on it:
http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2151689&spid=24698

I suspect that Clear Channel is also giving serious thought to the Beck/FM scenario in New York. Though a station like WWPR (Power 105) is probably pulling down 70 percent margins and cash-flowing $18 million-$19 million, that would look pretty small in comparison to having the number one biller in NYC.

 

[Barry]

I doubt that Glenn Beck is strong enough in New York to justify trashing a successful station such as Power and building a new one around him. Indeed, there has been lots of speculation Beck will be dropped by the Fox News Channel, as his ratings have declined. The article linked in the above post reads like it was written by Beck's P.R. consultant.
That being said, talk/news/sports has demonstrated in numerous markets including NYC that it it is pulling in some serious billing. So it would not be a surprise if an FM music station in New York goes talk, sports, news etc. In boards such as this, the speculation has generally focused on the possibility of ESPN buying WRXP and flipping it to sports.
But it seem entirely possible that instead, a clear Channel or CBS FM would make the change. Those two companies have the resources to quickly move in their own talk programming. It would be interesting to know which are the least profitable CBS and CC FM's in New York. Those could be candidates for change.

 

[Barry]

A correction to my above post.
The third from last line should have began: It is entirely possible that instead a Clear Channel or CBS owned FM station would make the change.

 

[mets18]

That article is laughable. Is anyone even talking about Glenn Beck on any of these boards? It also fails to mention that he was dropped in Philadelphia as well.

 

[MattParker]

If Clear Channel is going to build an FM talker around Beck, how would they fill the rest of the schedule? Pull Rush and Hannity off WABC? Now, that would make things interesting. What would WABC do then? Go local and live?

Beck also lost WOR's co-owned stations in Connecticut. But he picked up Wilmington, Delaware.

 

[radioguy39nj]

If Clear Channel is going to build an FM talker around Beck, how would they fill the rest of the schedule? Pull Rush and Hannity off WABC? Now, that would make things interesting. What would WABC do then? Go local and live?

Beck also lost WOR's co-owned stations in Connecticut. But he picked up Wilmington, Delaware.

Even if WABC were to lose Rush and Sean, I don't think they'd go live and local. They've still got Imus, Levin, Batchelor and McIntyre from Citadel, soon to be Cumulus. No way will WABC drop them. Remember, WABC blew up a successful local morning show, Curtis & Kuby to make way for Imus.

CC blowing up Power 105.1 to build an FM talker around Beck wouldn't work in NYC. Power's purpose is to fragment Hot 97's ratings enough to keep WLTW in 1st place. It's a strategy that has paid off since 2002. IMHO, a CC FM talker built around Beck, Rush and Sean would never be the highest billing station in NY. Steve Malzberg on WOR actually beats Hannity on WABC.

 

[wprt949]

if power 105.1 flips the station wont get too see its 10th year on the air


but i got to give clear channel credit for hanging in there with power 105.1 all this time however i allways thought power 105.1 should have went after 98.7 and 107.5 as an urban ac

 

[radioguy39nj]

if power 105.1 flips the station wont get too see its 10th year on the air


but i got to give clear channel credit for hanging in there with power 105.1 all this time however i allways thought power 105.1 should have went after 98.7 and 107.5 as an urban ac

CC has been there and done that with 105.1. In 2001, they flipped Jammin' Oldies 105.1 to urban AC Jammin' 105 to compete with WBLS and WRKS. A year later, they flipped it to Power 105.1 to compete with Hot 97 and divide its audience. Power has been the most successful format on 105.1 since it was Bonneville's easy listening WRFM.

 

[R.F. Burns]

You might as well suggest that CC change WLTW's format and go all conservative talk. Who wants those desirable demos when there are plenty of elderly waiting to purchase those new fangled FM radios to hear their beloved Beck, Limbaugh et al. This is NY not Mississippi. Those neocon talk shows are one step below infomercials and have the entertainment value of a visit to a crematorium.

 

[mikerock]

I doubt that Glenn Beck is strong enough in New York to justify trashing a successful station such as Power and building a new one around him. Indeed, there has been lots of speculation Beck will be dropped by the Fox News Channel, as his ratings have declined.

The speculation is likely due to his Foxnews contract ending at the end of the year and has nothing to do with ratings. His ratings are off his highs but he still has the highest ratings in that slot as well as beating all prime time cable news competition. He beats all Foxnews shows except for Hannity which he beats frequently and Bill O occassionally (the two highest rated cable news shows).

Those are however national ratings. I wonder how they break down for NYC which would give indication of how well he might do in NY radio.

 

[pjc1961]

Glenn Beck "Transitioning" Off Of FOX News:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/breaking...-beck-to-transition-off-of-his-daily-program/

 

[WNTIRadio]

I don't get why WNYM wouldn't pick up his show. Okay, so it isn't lighting the world on fire, but he is a name of sorts and would bring a higher profile to the station than say, Bill Bennett's bore-fest or Dennis Miller's snooze a thon. Neither of those hosts are in the news for any reason, and as they say, any publicity is good publicity.

 

[radioguy39nj]

I'm surprised WNYM hasn't picked up Beck since Mike Gallagher moved to WOR.

 

[TimeIsTight]

Don't forget Beck was also dropped in Philadelphia, and at stations in Connecticut and nobody else has picked him up there either.

The parent company of WNYM, Salem, owns most of the shows the station carries, or is probably paid to carry a show like Dennis Miller, which gives that show a New York outlet to make its affiliate list look a bit more impressive.

Beck's ratings at WOR weren't all that stellar, and look what the more impressive ratings Curtis had at WABC meant when he took his act to WNYM. That's right, not much, if anything.

Beck's act is like a nuclear power station that may run fine for a long time, but you never know when it will suddenly go into a meltdown that puts out so much radiation it threatens the life of the station. In other words, he constantly flirts with verbal danger and it's probably only a matter of time before Beck says or does something that causes a major disaster for his radio affiliates, his syndicator and any sponsors he has left. You just never know when it is all going to blow up in his face.

That realization of risk is probably the real reason he was dropped at WOR, WPHT, in Connecticut, and now at Fox News. The risks are just so much greater than the rewards. Salem knows this too.

 

[DToTheJ]

I suppose the next logical step would be for Clear Channel/Premiere to eventually part ways with "the Beck-clown," as radio talk show host Tom Donahue playfully dubs him...

Think about it... think about how Imus' original empire slowly crumbled (first MSNBC, then CBS) after that Rutgers comment. Not to compare, but while Beck certainly hasn't crossed that line, he's expressed many eyebrow-raising viewpoints (the President being labeled "a racist," being one of them). So I wouldn't be surprised if CC is already in the process of grooming a replacement for the big 9 AM-12 Noon ET shift on Premiere, at this point.

 

[radioguy39nj]

What about CC's stations that flipped to Rush Radio? The format is built around the Premiere Big 3, Beck, Rush & Sean. We all know Beck is on his way out. Rush has fewer years ahead of him than are behind him. Who could Premiere replace Beck with?

It say a lot about Beck if now Fox News is dropping him!

 

[uncamark]

You can also add Milwauke to the list of cities where Beck's being dropped. He also got moved to late-nights in Kansas City.

 

[DToTheJ]

I hear they've got some crazy little women there in Kansas City - not as crazy as Beck, perhaps... :

Also, wonder if the Wisconsin union thing never happened, he might still have at least one of the two stations in the state that dropped his show.

 

[scott5]

You can also add Milwauke to the list of cities where Beck's being dropped. He also got moved to late-nights in Kansas City.

And he was dropped in Milwaukee from a CC owned station no less!!

 

[Rusty Muck]

You can also add Milwauke to the list of cities where Beck's being dropped. He also got moved to late-nights in Kansas City.

And he was dropped in Milwaukee from a CC owned station no less!!

Stations have always seemed to dump Glenn for a while, then eventually reacquire him later on. Best examples of which all happened in the Buckeye State:
* WTAM/1100 in Cleveland infamously swapped Beck for Jerry Springer in 2005, and later dumped Jerry for a local host in early 2006 following a 66% ratings dive, and then brought Glenn back in 2008.
* WTVN/610 Columbus dropped Glenn in 2007 for local talk; Glenn went to an rimshot FM signal for a year until returning to WTVN in 2008.
* WKRC/550 Cincinnati traded out Glenn in 2006 for Cincy native Tony Snow, later placing Laura Ingraham in that slot, and went back to Beck in 2008.

But think about it.

Milwaukee (and all of Wisconsin) has had a mammoth story on their hands for the past few months. I can't blame WISN/Milwaukee for going local - especially when Beck's show started at 8AM local time, right in the middle of morning drive. They NEEDED to go local.

KMBZ/Kansas City just added an FM simulcast, so going local in that slot also served to add a lot of additional buzz.

And, of course, CBS seems to be transitioning out of airing political talk on their stations. The reason WPHT/Philadelphia hasn't made any format changes is because they are the only game in town for talk. And not a good one at that - WPHT doesn't do well in the ratings outside of Rush. However, CBS indirectly made it known that it WAS about the politics by promoting liberal host Micheal Shmerconish from mornings to afternoons - effectively wimping out the schedule.

Plus WOR had their own reasons for canceling him. They won't do any better with Mike Gallagher there, I can tell you that. It's a wholesale mess of a station.

None of this has a common thread, except that they are mostly stations on the east coast or Midwest that wanted to go local in the timeslot... sans WOR, of course.

I suppose the next logical step would be for Clear Channel/Premiere to eventually part ways with "the Beck-clown," as radio talk show host Tom Donahue playfully dubs him...

Think about it... think about how Imus' original empire slowly crumbled (first MSNBC, then CBS) after that Rutgers comment. Not to compare,

Too late. You already did.

but while Beck certainly hasn't crossed that line, he's expressed many eyebrow-raising viewpoints (the President being labeled "a racist," being one of them). So I wouldn't be surprised if CC is already in the process of grooming a replacement for the big 9 AM-12 Noon ET shift on Premiere, at this point.

*shakes head* --- *facepalm* --- *groans*

I'm going to be very kind here.

While these are all occurring in a recent time-span, attempting to draw conclusions that "Premiere/CC will sever ties with Glenn" is a real stretch at best - and simply ludicrous at worst. There is no real correlation here, and believe me, I look in a very literal realm here.

And no one is taking into consideration the very real possibility that Glenn is going blind? He admitted to that likelihood late last year... to cheers from liberals, of course. But it would be painfully hard to do a daily TV show when you're worried about not being able to see ever again.

People are really failing big time at trying to put this all into the proper context.