Goodbye Howard........

[kzrockwell]

Howard is going, going gone from the dial.Do you think this will start a trend of local produced shows in the future? Maybe a change in how syndication is received and programmed? What are your thoughts??????<P ID="signature">______________
It's not the size of the tower.....
It's how you use it.</P>

 

[BoredOp]

Thanks BCN...

He's done on the Yahoo webcast...but it'll be goin' on for hours after 104.1 finishes with it padding of 1000 commercials. :0

 

[IceMan]

NO THANKS BCN

Unreal. Stern ends and we don't even get two weeks of best ofs. My mother always said to not say anything if you don't have anything nice to say...but...putting PM drive to AM for 2 weeks. EEEEEEK. It flat out HORRIBLE in the afternoon. Congrats BCN you are no longer a preset.<P ID="signature">______________
Grendizer GO!</P>

 

[mistermicrophone]

Re: NO THANKS BCN

> Unreal. Stern ends and we don't even get two weeks of best
> ofs. My mother always said to not say anything if you don't
> have anything nice to say...but...putting PM drive to AM for
> 2 weeks. EEEEEEK. It flat out HORRIBLE in the afternoon.
> Congrats BCN you are no longer a preset.
>

"Best of's" are a tool to cross-promote and build cume for your regular programming...if Howard is gone, why would they promote him further?

 

[Skynet74]

Goodbye WBCN

Today was essentially the last day WBCN will be heard in my home. Howard's gone and it was a great ride...but now it's time to move on. I don't blame Infinity/CBS or WBCN for losing me as a listener. It's not their fault. Howard is the one who made the decision to move on. However WBCN no longer has the magnet that attracted so many listeners to their station. So Thank you WBCN for the free use of your satellite dish for the past 12 years. Now it's time for me to buy my own satellite dish to continue listening to Stern on Channel 100. I'm moving to Sirius with Howard. Good Luck and once again Thank you.



John<P ID="signature">______________
Awsome Voiceovers for your station.
JohnChartier.com
206-600-2629
</P>

 

[Garrett]

Not the end of WBCN

Ok, here's a news-flash to all the "Howard is leaving, terrestrial radio is done" crowd: Satellite radio will not have any great effect on regular radio, and you Stern fans are not as big a crowd as you think!

Everyone is NOT a Howard Stern fan... WBCN survived for years just by being WBCN. In the industry, they are as much a household name as Howard Stern. Long before internet broadcasting, fans would listen to WBCN off the satellite.

It's only recently that they had gone to modern rock during the 90s. But now WBCN is back in Active Rock, still an industry leader, and just because Howard Stern will not be on BCN, means very little. Those who leave WBCN will not be hurting because they'll be going to subscription radio anyway, as opposed to WAAF, or FNX.

And, I bet some of those listeners will still tune in WBCN by habit anyway. Radio is an appliance like your coffee machine. Everyone sets it too their favorite level, until it breaks...

 

[neanderpol]

Re: NO THANKS BCN

> Unreal. Stern ends and we don't even get two weeks of best
> ofs. My mother always said to not say anything if you don't
> have anything nice to say...but...putting PM drive to AM for
> 2 weeks. EEEEEEK. It flat out HORRIBLE in the afternoon.
> Congrats BCN you are no longer a preset.
>

Well...as someone who gets to do a week of PM Drive, and a week of AM Drive during the period post-Stern/Pre-Roth, I guess I won't be able to say hello to you.

Hope you change your mind.

 

[IceMan]

Re: NO THANKS BCN

> Well...as someone who gets to do a week of PM Drive, and a
> week of AM Drive during the period post-Stern/Pre-Roth, I
> guess I won't be able to say hello to you.
>
> Hope you change your mind.
>
Paul I do wish you well in your role and hope it all works for the best honestly I do. I guess my post was in haste. I really think that a best of was the way to go out. I think if WBCN wanted to take chances then the PM drive should be the AM drive full time starting Monday. I think for 2 weeks, to then go to DLRoth is just confusing to the listeners. Who is on when, what times to shows run. I am making more a deal out of this than should be made.
Again I wish you well and I as another poster said "We go to stations out of habit" which I will. I only hope that BCN finally settles in to a format that is consistent, exciting and somewhat refreshing now and then.
<P ID="signature">______________
Grendizer GO!</P>

 

[blabhead]

Re: Pipe Dream

> Howard is going, going gone from the dial.Do you think this
> will start a trend of local produced shows in the future?
> Maybe a change in how syndication is received and
> programmed? What are your thoughts??????
>
I don't think so.People listen to the crap Howie Carr puts out,very few rejected his show once it was syndicated and wrecked.
That show was live,local and good,now it is just a lamo right wing gabfest same as all the others.
20 past what hour Howie?
I think as long as the Radio Big-Wigs can get away with this,They will do it.

 

[toejammer]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

You obviously have not viewed the drop off in ratings from Mornings to the rest of the day. Without Howard, BCN has no decent ratings to sell. Which may explain why they have be constantly trying to recruit a new sales staff.

And when it comes to satellite radio, fools have constantly tried to put down new media and it's effect on the marketplace. Do you honestly think that no one is going to get Sirius for Christmas? Howard's move could explain why retailers are having a difficult time keeping Sirius units in stock this holiday season. Since he announced his move, subscriptions have gone from around 600,000 to around 3.5 million and it will be much larger after the holiday.

This is not to say that the entire audience will abandon terestrial radio. However, the morning landscape will change a great deal in January and BCN will not have the same impact it did with it's last two morning shows.

If you decide to keep it on BCN, then good for you. But you better wake up to the fact that many will not. And if what I have heard from virtually every satellite subscriber is even remotely true, then once you go satellite, you never go back.

And the BCN you metion being a household name, what personalities that made BCN great are still a part of the formula for success these days? These days, there is not a single show there that holds me as a listener the way the station did even five years ago, let alone the BCN of 15-20 years ago when they were at their best.

BCN is in trouble. Between the failing rock format and the morning show it's time for the station to do something - and soon!

> Ok, here's a news-flash to all the "Howard is leaving,
> terrestrial radio is done" crowd: Satellite radio will not
> have any great effect on regular radio, and you Stern fans
> are not as big a crowd as you think!
>
> Everyone is NOT a Howard Stern fan... WBCN survived for
> years just by being WBCN. In the industry, they are as much
> a household name as Howard Stern. Long before internet
> broadcasting, fans would listen to WBCN off the satellite.
>
> It's only recently that they had gone to modern rock during
> the 90s. But now WBCN is back in Active Rock, still an
> industry leader, and just because Howard Stern will not be
> on BCN, means very little. Those who leave WBCN will not be
> hurting because they'll be going to subscription radio
> anyway, as opposed to WAAF, or FNX.
>
> And, I bet some of those listeners will still tune in WBCN
> by habit anyway. Radio is an appliance like your coffee
> machine. Everyone sets it too their favorite level, until it
> breaks...
>

 

[walkitoffdeek]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

>Besides Gil, Gino, and the Super Bowl Champion Patriots, I have not listened to WBCN after 11 am for years.
And you are right about satellight, I have had XM about 1 1/2 years, and now have Sirius also. Besides news on BZ maybe once a day, I don't listen to regular radio, ever! I actully despise it now when I am forced to try to listen to it in a vehicle without it. I usally end up turning it off alltogether.


You obviously have not viewed the drop off in ratings from
> Mornings to the rest of the day. Without Howard, BCN has no
> decent ratings to sell. Which may explain why they have be
> constantly trying to recruit a new sales staff.
>
> And when it comes to satellite radio, fools have constantly
> tried to put down new media and it's effect on the
> marketplace. Do you honestly think that no one is going to
> get Sirius for Christmas? Howard's move could explain why
> retailers are having a difficult time keeping Sirius units
> in stock this holiday season. Since he announced his move,
> subscriptions have gone from around 600,000 to around 3.5
> million and it will be much larger after the holiday.
>
> This is not to say that the entire audience will abandon
> terestrial radio. However, the morning landscape will
> change a great deal in January and BCN will not have the
> same impact it did with it's last two morning shows.
>
> If you decide to keep it on BCN, then good for you. But you
> better wake up to the fact that many will not. And if what
> I have heard from virtually every satellite subscriber is
> even remotely true, then once you go satellite, you never go
> back.
>
> And the BCN you metion being a household name, what
> personalities that made BCN great are still a part of the
> formula for success these days? These days, there is not a
> single show there that holds me as a listener the way the
> station did even five years ago, let alone the BCN of 15-20
> years ago when they were at their best.
>
> BCN is in trouble. Between the failing rock format and the
> morning show it's time for the station to do something - and
> soon!
>
> > Ok, here's a news-flash to all the "Howard is leaving,
> > terrestrial radio is done" crowd: Satellite radio will not
>
> > have any great effect on regular radio, and you Stern fans
>
> > are not as big a crowd as you think!
> >
> > Everyone is NOT a Howard Stern fan... WBCN survived for
> > years just by being WBCN. In the industry, they are as
> much
> > a household name as Howard Stern. Long before internet
> > broadcasting, fans would listen to WBCN off the satellite.
>
> >
> > It's only recently that they had gone to modern rock
> during
> > the 90s. But now WBCN is back in Active Rock, still an
> > industry leader, and just because Howard Stern will not be
>
> > on BCN, means very little. Those who leave WBCN will not
> be
> > hurting because they'll be going to subscription radio
> > anyway, as opposed to WAAF, or FNX.
> >
> > And, I bet some of those listeners will still tune in WBCN
>
> > by habit anyway. Radio is an appliance like your coffee
> > machine. Everyone sets it too their favorite level, until
> it
> > breaks...
> >
>

 

[NotoriousN-I-K]

Re: NO THANKS BCN

> > Unreal. Stern ends and we don't even get two weeks of
> best
> > ofs. My mother always said to not say anything if you
> don't
> > have anything nice to say...but...putting PM drive to AM
> for
> > 2 weeks. EEEEEEK. It flat out HORRIBLE in the afternoon.
>
> > Congrats BCN you are no longer a preset.
> >
>
> Well...as someone who gets to do a week of PM Drive, and a
> week of AM Drive during the period post-Stern/Pre-Roth, I
> guess I won't be able to say hello to you.
>
> Hope you change your mind.
>

FRICKEN Marshall, PLUG, PLUG, PLUG!!!!...Good for you, back in that afternoon chair even if only for a week!.

Lol

In truth it is a mistake for bcn to yank Howard in any context, it's best of, I saw the earlier post about not wanting to promote him but truth is that as a cornerstone of that station, it's numbers, and it's cume it is simply not smart programming to not run best of and replace him with local hosts no matteer how good they may end up being. If the next move were to be a local morning show (which we all know it is not to be) then it makes perfect sense but to use a local show to transition to ANOTHER more permanant syndicated morning show, just not smart or practical.

You're not promoting Stern, there is no one in the Western hemosphere that is unaware of his move to Sirius, if you have a ratings and cash cow like that you milk it to the very last drop. A programming blunder born of a medium market mindset. if for nothing else it alienates (as you can see from the tone of many posters here) the audience that DLR/BCN is trying to court......Just dumb.

 

[neanderpol]

Re: NO THANKS BCN

> FRICKEN Marshall, PLUG, PLUG, PLUG!!!!...Good for you, back
> in that afternoon chair even if only for a week!.
>
> Lol

Gotta promote myself somehow! I need a friggin' gig!

I'm kinda mixed on the "Best Of" issue...you gotta move forward eventually. And why not expose your other daypart talent in morning drive to the throngs of hostile Stern listeners?


...builds character.

 

[Garrett]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

"Oh no, Stern is leaving the airwaves, its the end of the world!"


> You obviously have not viewed the drop off in ratings from
> Mornings to the rest of the day. Without Howard, BCN has no
> decent ratings to sell.

You've just answered your own question. The people who were listening to Stern weren't loyal to 'BCN anyway.

We aren't debating 'BCN versus Sat radio. This is not the Boston Sat radio board. Stern will not be a part of the equation anymore. And since he's not going to another Boston radio station, he doesn't really hurt 'BCN.

Yeah, I am sure that some people will go to Sat radio. But the majority of people spedning hundreds of dollars just so that they can hear a morning show? No, I don't think people are getting Sirius for Christmas, only the die-hards. The rest will keep the radio on 'BCN to hear their favorite Rock tunes.

And by the way, I bet some of you who are making these posts work for the competing rock stations in Boston. This is common in these boards. So I'm not buying the hype, not at all.

 

[Smoke]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

> We aren't debating 'BCN versus Sat radio. This is not the
> Boston Sat radio board. Stern will not be a part of the
> equation anymore. And since he's not going to another Boston
> radio station, he doesn't really hurt 'BCN.

This is true, if you're only considering the Boston stations against themselves. Right now BCN's audience is slowly moving to satellite radio, and as the most tech-aware age group, those listeners will be gone permanently!

Not keep Nik and moving him to mornings as soon as Stern left is going to bomb the station worse than any alledged secret room scandal ever could have.

 

[Garrett]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

> > We aren't debating 'BCN versus Sat radio. This is not the
> > Boston Sat radio board. Stern will not be a part of the
> > equation anymore. And since he's not going to another
> Boston
> > radio station, he doesn't really hurt 'BCN.
>
> This is true, if you're only considering the Boston stations
> against themselves. Right now BCN's audience is slowly
> moving to satellite radio, and as the most tech-aware age
> group, those listeners will be gone permanently!
>
> Not keep Nik and moving him to mornings as soon as Stern
> left is going to bomb the station worse than any alledged
> secret room scandal ever could have.
>

That would be like saying that Active Rock listeners are moving to Satellite.
WBCN needs to find it's own audience. Now that Stern is gone, they can go about doing that. Stern did not mesh with WBCN. 'BCN was known their concerts, and for breaking new music. I don't think Stern fit in with that. And, think of the money that CBS can now have available for the station.

Believe it or not, I think Stern leaving WBCN for Sirius might be the best thing that's happened to them in a long time.

 

[toejammer]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

As usual, you miss the point. After 11 am ,few listen to BCN. So few that the sales department is non existant! They have no ratings and no demo to sell. Watch next summer when the spring book is released and BCN is right there fighting it out with BOS, The River, FNX and Frank FM for that all important 15th-20th space in the market. Even with Howard, BCN struggles to even aproach the top 10. Do you honestly believe that without their biggest rating draw that they have a chance of gaining ratings?

It's almost as foolish as starting a talk network after Howard leaves! Especially when it worked so well at WNEW the first time Infinity tried it.

So you didn't like Howard. BFD! But you can't possibly be so short sighted as to ignore the fact that he was their ratings! There is no other daypart that has any ratings worth crowing about. You like BCN, fine. But you should not let your personal taste cloud your judgement of what is working and what is not.

If you haven't noticed, rock is a dying radio format that is being quickly replaced in many major markets. It's been discussed in many threads here in the past and now that BCN's ratings anchor is gone and the Pats season is soon ending, BCN's ability to draw an audience will be gone too.

Howard's leaving will benefit D&C, Hillman and maybe K&M in addition to Sirius. You will never be able to turn this into a plus for BCN. It does not matter if I were to work at another rock station or Magic! You are a Howard hater and a satellite disbeliever as well as blind to the obvious.


> "Oh no, Stern is leaving the airwaves, its the end of the
> world!"
>
>
> > You obviously have not viewed the drop off in ratings from
>
> > Mornings to the rest of the day. Without Howard, BCN has
> no
> > decent ratings to sell.
>
> You've just answered your own question. The people who were
> listening to Stern weren't loyal to 'BCN anyway.
>
> We aren't debating 'BCN versus Sat radio. This is not the
> Boston Sat radio board. Stern will not be a part of the
> equation anymore. And since he's not going to another Boston
> radio station, he doesn't really hurt 'BCN.
>
> Yeah, I am sure that some people will go to Sat radio. But
> the majority of people spedning hundreds of dollars just so
> that they can hear a morning show? No, I don't think people
> are getting Sirius for Christmas, only the die-hards. The
> rest will keep the radio on 'BCN to hear their favorite Rock
> tunes.
>
> And by the way, I bet some of you who are making these posts
> work for the competing rock stations in Boston. This is
> common in these boards. So I'm not buying the hype, not at
> all.
>

 

[NotoriousN-I-K]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

> > > We aren't debating 'BCN versus Sat radio. This is not
> the
> > > Boston Sat radio board. Stern will not be a part of the
> > > equation anymore. And since he's not going to another
> > Boston
> > > radio station, he doesn't really hurt 'BCN.
> >
> > This is true, if you're only considering the Boston
> stations
> > against themselves. Right now BCN's audience is slowly
> > moving to satellite radio, and as the most tech-aware age
> > group, those listeners will be gone permanently!
> >
> > Not keep Nik and moving him to mornings as soon as Stern
> > left is going to bomb the station worse than any alledged
> > secret room scandal ever could have.
> >
>
> That would be like saying that Active Rock listeners are
> moving to Satellite.
> WBCN needs to find it's own audience. Now that Stern is
> gone, they can go about doing that. Stern did not mesh with
> WBCN. 'BCN was known their concerts, and for breaking new
> music. I don't think Stern fit in with that. And, think of
> the money that CBS can now have available for the station.
>
> Believe it or not, I think Stern leaving WBCN for Sirius
> might be the best thing that's happened to them in a long
> time.
>

Well that is actually not true: part of the problem for the past few years was that bcn was NOT breaking new music, and we caught a good deal of flack for it. FNX which should have been all about breaking new music was not.. it was trying but it never picked bands that developed into much more than peripheral bands at best The Postal Service is one example, GREAT BAND but not the mainstream rock fare. In truth WAAf in the mid 90's was breaking a good many bands part of that was good ears and part of it was merely coincidence: They had to embrace so many baby bands because they had no chance of getting the bigger bands for shows etc, so they embraced the sevendust's of the world, and Limp Bizkit, and Korn, and of course GODSMACK (Drivel) Long before anyone else in te country and they got very lucky that a few of those bands blew up huge. Part of this was because BCn was always the huge cuming rock station and with a cume as large as it had the tehory was that there was not a reason to "step out" on many records, Im not sure I agree with that philosophy, Im not sure that I ever did but it did work for a good while.

To say Stern never fit with BCN's image is "ludachris". Although the big Mattress was a ratings powerhouse and an absoloute phenomenon both musically and culturally which will never be duplicated again, there was no way that anyone could produce nuumbers that are in the same numeric zip code as Stern. True also that bcn's largest numbers came in the 80's when they crushed even Kiss 12+ and produced 7 shares, but it was also a different time and a different climate then too, now that would be impossible. The highest bcn got that I can recall during my eight years there was a 5 share 12+, when i had close to a 15 share in the demo combined with Stern's numbers... it has not been done since nor will it be done again...not in the current radio climate.

Stern's importance to BCn cannot be refuted and to somehow try to spin this as a positive for them is a waste of time. NOT ONE station that has lost Stern has ended up doing better regardless of format,......Mayybe in Chicago where he was never embraced because Chicago-and HATE anything New York.....that's one example, I dont think you'll find any others. I dont thhink it's the end of BCn but there is no doubt that they are in a tough spot and it's going to take more than Pink Floyd at the bottom of every hour to pull them out of it.

 

[StereoBrain]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

> NOT ONE station that has lost Stern has ended up doing
> better regardless of format

Dude, relax. Howard left two days ago. Give the stations a chance before you shoot them down.

 

[NotoriousN-I-K]

Re: Not the end of WBCN

> > NOT ONE station that has lost Stern has ended up doing
> > better regardless of format
>
> Dude, relax. Howard left two days ago. Give the stations a
> chance before you shoot them down.
>
You misunderstood...... I wasn't shooting them (WBCN) down at all, I WAS saying that the previous poster's theory that this could be a good thing for BCN is unrealistic. When I said not one station has done better without him Im referring to stations that have lost Stern in the past because there have been stations that have lost Stern BEFORE this jump to Sat. Hey I always root for BCN to come out on top adn I said in my post "I dont think it's the end for bcn" but the truth is that they are in a bad position and that is just an objective fact.

Best of luck to them and to all of the stations that will find themselves Stern-less in 06.