How would you fix KABC?

[ChannelFlipper]

The ironic thing is that KFI has laid the roadmap out for them, all they have to do is follow it. You know, if you can't beat 'em, join em. Or in this case, replicate as closely as possible. Would they ever overtake KFI doing this? Probably not. But would they be better positioned than they are now? Most definitely.

Signal, signal, signal. 5 kw on 790 can not compete with 50 kw on 640. The usable 10 mv/m signal of KFI covers about 14 million, while that of KABC does about 7 million. Any lesser signal is not competitive in LA.

Again, my point was not that KABC could compete with KFI as an equal, but be satisfied with a number 2 position. If they program talk radio right, I am sure they could grow the overall talk radio share in general and their share compared to where they are now in particular. In short they could do better emulating KFI than they could do doing any other kind of talk radio. They had their chance when they got John and Ken, but blew it when they caged them up.

BTW, I don't really get the coverage angle, because KABC does cover the entire measurement area, even though they are not nearly the strong signal, right? I understand that obviously KFI has more available listeners due to the strong signal.

 

[lalf]

Can't be fixed! It's a 20th Century toy in a 21st Century world. There is too much 'talk radio' as it is now- mostly not worth listening to. The format is over saturated and features a lot of fringe nuts and movement groups to help grab attention. Waiting to be buried...

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Can't be fixed! It's a 20th Century toy in a 21st Century world. There is too much 'talk radio' as it is now- mostly not worth listening to. The format is over saturated and features a lot of fringe nuts and movement groups to help grab attention. Waiting to be buried...

OK name the "fringe nuts" on KABC..... are you thinking of Curtis Sliwa by any chance? The rest of the "nuts"... McIntyre, O'Reilly, Rantel, Hannity, Elder, Tammy Bruce, OK maybe Mark Levin. Now KTLK --- who's a "nut"? Thom Hartman? Nah, Stephanie Miller? Nah, is Randi Rhodes still on? maybe she's a nut. KFI? Who's a "fringe nut" on KFI? Handel & Co.; Limbaugh, Dr Laura, John & Ken, Kennedy and Suits, not even George Noory acts like a nut though he does believe "The Truth is Out There". KRLA, who? Ingraham, Prager, Medved, Hewitt, Dennis Miller? Come on. KGIL nuts? too many to list, none are nutty except Savage.

Oh and the "movement groups"?? HUH? You mean like moveon.org?

 

[AM FM listener]

Citadel already has a long-time News/Talk winner in KGO/SF so it does not have to reinvent the wheel at KABC to make it better, just incorporate some of the elements that make KGO so successful.

First of all KGO bills itself as "News/Talk" whereas KABC says "Talk Radio." KGO's morning and afternoon drive shows are practically all news except that they are delivered in a "talk" style, with the right balance of serious and lighter tones, depending on the stories. KABC could emphasize more news in drive times and go with a News/Talk image or even News/Talk/Sports now that they have the Dodgers again.

Also, KGO seems more local to SF than KABC is to LA. Don't know if that is reality (local vs. national personalities) or just better imaging but KGO definitely has a local feel to it. Maybe KABC could have a local personality doing a midday show about entertainment news and gossip. That would certainly have an LA feel to it.

Granted, KABC doesn't have KGO's (or KFI's) signal strength but back in the 1980's, KABC used to be a consistent Top 5 station in LA, and often #1, so it definitely can do better than it is doing now.

 

[LA_Guy]

Citadel already has a long-time News/Talk winner in KGO/SF so it does not have to reinvent the wheel at KABC to make it better, just incorporate some of the elements that make KGO so successful.

First of all KGO bills itself as "News/Talk" whereas KABC says "Talk Radio." KGO's morning and afternoon drive shows are practically all news except that they are delivered in a "talk" style, with the right balance of serious and lighter tones, depending on the stories. KABC could emphasize more news in drive times and go with a News/Talk image or even News/Talk/Sports now that they have the Dodgers again.

Also, KGO seems more local to SF than KABC is to LA. Don't know if that is reality (local vs. national personalities) or just better imaging but KGO definitely has a local feel to it. Maybe KABC could have a local personality doing a midday show about entertainment news and gossip. That would certainly have an LA feel to it.

Granted, KABC doesn't have KGO's (or KFI's) signal strength but back in the 1980's, KABC used to be a consistent Top 5 station in LA, and often #1, so it definitely can do better than it is doing now.

Just watch!
Citadel will soon be 'blowing up' KGO....just like they've already BEEN 'blowing up' WABC (their PD up and quit last week)! Citadel has the LEAD touch-anything they touch turns to lead, even if it was gold before.
They are a small/medium market company that's (now) playing with the big dogs-and those dogs will soon be eating them for lunch! Their major problem is that they think like everywhere is Providence or Tucson (their two best markets).

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

Citadel already has a long-time News/Talk winner in KGO/SF so it does not have to reinvent the wheel at KABC to make it better, just incorporate some of the elements that make KGO so successful.

First of all KGO bills itself as "News/Talk" whereas KABC says "Talk Radio." KGO's morning and afternoon drive shows are practically all news except that they are delivered in a "talk" style, with the right balance of serious and lighter tones, depending on the stories. KABC could emphasize more news in drive times and go with a News/Talk image or even News/Talk/Sports now that they have the Dodgers again.

Also, KGO seems more local to SF than KABC is to LA. Don't know if that is reality (local vs. national personalities) or just better imaging but KGO definitely has a local feel to it. Maybe KABC could have a local personality doing a midday show about entertainment news and gossip. That would certainly have an LA feel to it.

Granted, KABC doesn't have KGO's (or KFI's) signal strength but back in the 1980's, KABC used to be a consistent Top 5 station in LA, and often #1, so it definitely can do better than it is doing now.

Just watch!
Citadel will soon be 'blowing up' KGO....just like they've already BEEN 'blowing up' WABC (their PD up and quit last week)! Citadel has the LEAD touch-anything they touch turns to lead, even if it was gold before.
They are a small/medium market company that's (now) playing with the big dogs-and those dogs will soon be eating them for lunch! Their major problem is that they think like everywhere is Providence or Tucson (their two best markets).

Don't forget the dismantled the WLS news department this year, too.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

Citadel blowing up kgo would be like clear channel blowing up kfi ain't gonna happen.$$$ talks and kgo makes plenty of it

 

[westfield60]

KABC needs to go all Local. With the current problems in LA and California we don't hosts that are in NY bashing Hillary Clinton or Bernie Maddoff. John and Ken's ratings prove that local issues win here in Los Angeles. Even though Larry and Al are local they seem to mostly talk about National issues. No wonder Larry is out of a job.

 

[nmoore6676]

KABC needs to go all Local. With the current problems in LA and California we don't hosts that are in NY bashing Hillary Clinton or Bernie Maddoff. John and Ken's ratings prove that local issues win here in Los Angeles. Even though Larry and Al are local they seem to mostly talk about National issues. No wonder Larry is out of a job.

Local emphasis might be the answer but you still need good hosts and except for McIntyre that they are short on. They had Peter Tilden but let him go. It will be interesting to see how David Hall can work given the financial constraints. Can he reinvent KFI?

I don't think the signal issue is that bad, KABC covers the major population density pretty well. In fact during KFI's tower challenged period I was able to get KABC in areas where KFI was unlistenable, lost in the noise, which is how I became a McIntyre fan.

 

[Rebafan]

The one thing I would do with KABC is bring back Peter Tilden on a daily basis.

Someone in an earlier post mentioned making it more "live and local" I also agree with that statement.

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

The one thing I would do with KABC is bring back Peter Tilden on a daily basis.

Someone in an earlier post mentioned making it more "live and local" I also agree with that statement.

KABC doesn't need to bring back its past. Peter Tilden would never be able to help KABC against KFI. No talk station will ever work in this market unless it has the same feel as a KFI. You need hosts that take positions and are semi-outrageous. We want to be entertained in Los Angeles. All Peter Tilden does is bore me.

KABC as a news/talk is destined to be an even bigger loser. We don't need more news or a KGO clone in Los Angeles. It won't work.

 

[kzewdude]

My guess is that the station will be all syndicated along the lines of WABC in New York. How long before Imus replaces McIntyre? What will DGH have to program? The tones to the automation of syndicated product?

 

[westfield60]

Peter Tilden may be a nice guy but he was the most boring guy in the history of radio. KABC needs to make bold moves in order to survive. They need to bring Tom Leykis and his younger demographics to the station that currently serves the 60 and over crowd.

 

[DavidKaye]

We all know KABC needs some help. What would you do to KABC to make it a ratings winner?

Super-simple: Copy KGO. Do it live and local. God help us, we're talking Los Angeles! Surely there are tons of good local talkshow hosts available.

 

[Tek]

DGH was hired 5 years ago at CBS Radio Los Angeles and the plan was to make KNX the KGO of Los Angeles. Even the KCBS-AM of Los Angeles (also News/Talk). After 5 years it never really happened, other than Bob McCormick's way too narrow Money 101 show.

KABC needs to get the NOO YAWKERS off the station. COOTUS SLEEWUH and MOK LUVINN don't play in LA and neither does NOO YAWK politics. But Farid has run Citadel into the ground and there is NO BUDGET to fix it.

 

[westfield60]

Tek, Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[radioprofessor]

In my humble view, go live, local, informercial free and move to FM. None of which will happen. Only private companies seem to be taking the long-term view in radio. Public companies need short-term cash-flow fixes.