How are Hannity's numbers?

[cm454]

How does Hannity perform in a legitimately competitive situation?

What I mean by that is, I don't care how he does unchallenged, I want to know if he can actually do well against other established and proven talent.

I don't find Limbaugh's one-drum-beat routine interesting, as it is so predictable, HOWEVER, I can hear the mutlidimensional personality come through the radio.

Hannity on the other hand, is a really bland and not especially compelling, one-dimensional drum beater. It's hard to believe the guy has so many affiliates.

Am I missing something?

 

[WTUX]

There aren't any real challengers. He has so many affiliates because he, like Rush is one of the top two talkers in the country. You don't want to fill your mid-day or afternoon drive with host number ten when you can have host number two.

National shows have a resource and production quality that is hard to match at the local level. And they do not have to beg for calls, but rather can screen for only the best callers.

They bring name recon that your local host would spend years building.

The second tier conservative hosts aired by Salem and the Air-America mess just can't match the hosts marketed by ABC/Citadel.

 

[cm454]

There aren't any real challengers. He has so many affiliates because he, like Rush is one of the top two talkers in the country. You don't want to fill your mid-day or afternoon drive with host number ten when you can have host number two.

But WHY is he one of the top 2? Is it because he EARNED that place, as Rush did over time....or was it an e-ticket ride on Limbaughs coattails?

Of the top 10 talkers listed by Talkers, Hannity stands out to me as the absolute LEAST dynamic, least original, least interesting and most predictable.

I was just wondering how well he actually does in competitive situations vs. default victories.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

My guess is, that the fact that he airs on most of the same stations that Rush airs on, right after Rush's show certainly doesn't hurt his ratings. If Beck, or some of the other top 10 talkers were placed on the same affiliates right after Rush's show, they too, could possibly become #2, in my opinion. Also Hannity gets the cross promotional thing by being on TV on FOX newschannel at night. Glenn Beck has that going for him too with his CNN TV show.

I agree that there are other talkers who I find more interesting to listen to than Hannity, for instance Jim Bohanann on Westwood One. His show airs late at night. If he aired at 3pm eastern right after Rush on the same stations, my guess is he could be #2 rather than Hannity. Granted, many of Rush's listeners would be calling in to Bohanann's show to disagree with him as he isn't a conservative like Rush, but my guess is they'd listen anyhow, because Bohanann is interesting and has interesting guests. There probably are others as well who'd do as well. I never understood why Mutual, later WW1 kept Larry King and then Jim Bohanann late at night, but obviously the show does well for WW1 in that time slot.

Which brings up a question, does WW1 have a talk show (conservative, liberal, or non-political) available during the daytime hours to compete with Rush/Hannity or is WW1 a purely a night time talk operation as Lars Larson from WW1 is a weekend night time show. If so what are and how well do they do.

 

[B.B. Lean]

WW1 has Bill O'Reilly, which airs 12n-2p Eastern. Head-to-head with Rush.

 

[dustintv]

Another reason is that many of the major heritage AM stations typically air Hannity: WABC, WLS, WSB, WBAP, WGY, KKOB, KSL etc. All of course are big time #1 talkers in their respective markets.

 

[gr8oldies]

As I recall King was moved to Daytime and didn't take off.

 

[Don62]

Another reason is that many of the major heritage AM stations typically air Hannity: WABC, WLS, WSB, WBAP, WGY, KKOB, KSL etc. All of course are big time #1 talkers in their respective markets.

Still, there are markets where his show airs on weaker stations or on former heritage stations, such as Denver and Kansas City, where he isn't that big.

Also, he's on in some big markets (Tampa, Miami) tape-delayed until evening, where his monotonous delivery and topics likely gets beat up handily by the more interesting Savage.

 

[RadioFanBoy]

In L.A. Dr. Laura lays the ratings smackdown on Hannity quite often ;D

 

[Pratte4Life]

First of all, I don't share the same opinion you do about Hannity. I think he's high energy, has good guests, and will even book lefty guests.

I don't agree with the thought that Jim Bohannan would take out Hannity if they were to go head-to-head. That's not a knock on Bohannan, but he's simply more laid back and isn't quite as give-and-take. His guests aren't quite as good- and despite having a better voice than Hannity he simply would not have Hannity's everyman presense.

King's demise once Rush Limbaugh showed how shallow King was, but moreso, was the move that turned talk radio from a left-wing to a right-wing affair.

 

[goatboy]

The real question here is this: What is the reason for SH's success? Certainly he doesn't anywhere near the talent of Rush. He isn't as entertaining as Savage, Boortz, or Beck. I think the coattails theory is good. SH saw the footprints of the master long ago. I think part of his appeal frankly goes to his good looks. This helps funnel folks from tee vee to his radio show.

I talked to a programmer in a top 20 market some three years ago and he also wondered about SH's appeal. The programmer was forced to carry the show and he told me about a book signing where housewife types would line up and tell the programmer how much they loved SH and how they watched him every night on FNC. When the programmer asked if they listened to his radio show, they were unaware he even did a radio show.

True story.

 

[barthgimble]

Sean Hannity was the first good talker to be syndicated in PM Drive so his show became a continuation of the Limbaugh show. He has zeal,
passion, and charisma which guys like Bohannan and Larry King lack. Those guys are on late at night for one good reason. They can cure insomnia. When Hannity first started in syndication, there were more local shows in the afternoon. Now most shows after AM Drive are syndicated. Ironically, Bill Clinton opened the door for Hannity with deregulation.

 

[cm454]

King's demise once Rush Limbaugh showed how shallow King was, but moreso, was the move that turned talk radio from a left-wing to a right-wing affair.

CORRECTION: The thrust of King's show WAS NOT politics. King had varied opinions and cannot be considered an agenda driven host. When Rush took off, it wasn't so much a change from left to right, as much as it was a change from personality driven to agenda driven.

THAT was unfortunate. Limbaugh's appeal had a lot to do with his personality. The braintrusts that run this biz (hardly an original thought between them) couldn't hire the clones fast enough. Invariably, an agenda driven format evolved, giving the less enlightened, the impression that it's all about politics---especially one type of politics.

B-O-R-I-N-G.

Do YOU personally know anyone who prattles on about politics from one end of the day to the other? Do YOU know anyone who views EVERYTHING through a political prism? Me neither, nor would I want to spend much time with someone like that. Problem is, we have a whole format now catering to this fringe faction, one that not only doesn't reflect the opinions of the masses, but one that doesn't even reflect the normal mindset and sensibilities of the average American.

The radio industry and newstalk as a format deserve to suffer down the road for such shortsightedness, and they likely will--especially with many more audio sources becomming available.

If you knew someone who had an ice cream store that only sold one flavor, you'd probably tell them to diversify. Talkradio programmers should pay attention, since those ice cream customers aren't getting any younger.

 

[smedge2006]

If you knew someone who had an ice cream store that only sold one flavor, you'd probably tell them to diversify. Talkradio programmers should pay attention, since those ice cream customers aren't getting any younger.

Except that every attempt to do so has encountered problems or collapsed altogether. Not just Air America. Greenstone Media went out of business in the face of massive apathy from PDs and station owners determined to stay focused on the aging middle aged male who started listening to Rush in 1988 or so. A couple of talk stations aimed at women hang on by a thread. Ditto Free FM. "Guy talk" as a format has collapsed in market after market -- the latest casualty being WMEN in South Floridda. Sports talk is the only format that survives outside the axis of right-wing politics. Talk programmers' idea of diversifying is bringing in slightly younger conservative hosts who can relate to Gen X instead of the boomers. Stick to the message is the call, over and over again -- the more moronic the repetition of talking points, the better.

 

[ajhenderson]

You may have a point, but Greenstone programming was dreadful.

 

[jaymarvin]

So is AAR's. CM454's post says it all. T/A talk doesn't work. But if progressive talk were done right and promoted it would get numbers.

 

[Don62]

If you knew someone who had an ice cream store that only sold one flavor, you'd probably tell them to diversify. Talkradio programmers should pay attention, since those ice cream customers aren't getting any younger.

Except that every attempt to do so has encountered problems or collapsed altogether. Not just Air America. Greenstone Media went out of business in the face of massive apathy from PDs and station owners determined to stay focused on the aging middle aged male who started listening to Rush in 1988 or so. A couple of talk stations aimed at women hang on by a thread. Ditto Free FM. "Guy talk" as a format has collapsed in market after market -- the latest casualty being WMEN in South Floridda. Sports talk is the only format that survives outside the axis of right-wing politics. Talk programmers' idea of diversifying is bringing in slightly younger conservative hosts who can relate to Gen X instead of the boomers. Stick to the message is the call, over and over again -- the more moronic the repetition of talking points, the better.

Yep. Those bozos running WMEN-640 AM took a powerful signal that had some great oldies and MOR hits, as well as 1980s Whitney Houston-type songs, and ran it into the ground by putting on this lousy "man talk."
All it was was more syndicated talk.
Just what the market needed. More syndicated talk.

What did the geniuses change it to next? SPORTS TALK. So now the area has four sports stations. Great. Much more choice for older listeners who have like zero programming.

 

[ajhenderson]

Well, Jay, PT could definitely work if it was done right. I think we'll have a cleansing in the not too distant future with AAR becoming a non-entity. They already basically are - Randi was really the only show left that got clearances on all of the PT stations. All they have now of any significance is Rachel Maddow's pompous grousings. I'd put Lionel in PMD so he could get cleared in NYC again and because he's the most entertaining they have... except for the fact that no one airs his show seeing that Stephanie Miller is better.

T&A talk does indeed, however, work. If your zip code starts with 90 or 91. KLSX billed $31 million last year; not a huge feat considering it used to be over $50 million, but quite sustaining. I heard that Leykis' show accounts for about $14 million of that, which would seem reasonable considering his salary. The problem with the format is that there aren't enough of him. While Leykis was #1 M18+ with over a 5 share in Seattle when the Buzz was blown up, was in the top 5 with men in Portland (on AM) when 1080 was moved to 910, was #1 in Phoenix men 18-54 when FreeFM was blown up, was #1 in San Diego with about a 5 share in men when freeFM there was blown up, etc., it indicates that the time filling morons the other 19 hours of the day are what prevents the format from working. Same with (Don and) Mike on the east coast.

 

[mred]

I think he milks the female demographic, by putting up a lot of female callers that say he's cute, etc. politics aside I don't see what people see in him, and he always, ums, hums, and ha's....

 

[ajhenderson]

You're forgetting the "how are you"'s.