Howie was playing hardball with WRKO. That is all about to change on 3/2.....

[raccoonradio]

Political talk radio hit hard while sports talk doing well.People love sports..and one recent article pointed out hosts like Rush,Hannity etc crusaded against Dems and liberals and when the '12 election turned out as it did,especially for President, many on the right figured why am I wasting my time...they didn't change anything.The '14 election was a bit more successful for GOP nationwide
though only a few victories in NE (Baker, Guinta,LePage and the gas tax question). The "why bother" factor is a small part of it though indeed the ratings change did hit political talk radio (mostly conservative) hard.Sports talk radio,the ol' fellowship of the miserable,still does well.

 

[Unregistered]

Howie indeed returns

http://www.wrko.com/article/wrko-announces-howie-carrs-return

 

[Omnibus]

Please explain PPM.
Thanks, ;-)

As much as you would like to frame this in terms of ideology, it has more to do with the change in methodology in the ratings.

The PPM changed a lot of things on the radio scene....and some formats were hit harder than others...talk is one, urban, classical, specialty shows, etc....all have gotten hit with the arrival of the PPM. It has nothing to do with "anti-intellectual"...or "growing their formats". It has to do with the limitations of the PPM.

 

[raccoonradio]

Personal People Meters not to be confused w a Purple People Eater. Oh
and Howie back on 680 next Mon. He links to talkers.com on his twitter.I knew
this for awhile but kept quiet other than hints.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Please explain PPM.
Thanks, ;-)

The PPM (Personal People Meter) is a device which a Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) panel member carries on his/her person. It's slightly larger than a (remember these?) pocket pager, and it "listens" to any radio station's audio that it's exposed to. The subscribing station installs a digital encoder which overlays a very low-level data stream on the station's audio, which the PPM picks up and stores in its memory. At the end of the day, the panel member is supposed to place the PPM in a dock, which then contacts Nielsen Audio and uploads the data on that day's listening by the panel member.

In the top 48 markets, PPM has replaced the diary as Nielsen's measurement method, even though they measure two very different things. Diaries record recall (and can be easily fudged according to the whims of the diary keeper), while PPM's record exposure and can't really be tampered with. The other issue with PPM's is that they will record listening even if the panel member isn't paying attention (for example, having a radio station on in the background in, say, a doctor's office).

 

[CTListener]

The PPM (Personal People Meter) is a device which a Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) panel member carries on his/her person. It's slightly larger than a (remember these?) pocket pager, and it "listens" to any radio station's audio that it's exposed to. The subscribing station installs a digital encoder which overlays a very low-level data stream on the station's audio, which the PPM picks up and stores in its memory. At the end of the day, the panel member is supposed to place the PPM in a dock, which then contacts Nielsen Audio and uploads the data on that day's listening by the panel member.

In the top 48 markets, PPM has replaced the diary as Nielsen's measurement method, even though they measure two very different things. Diaries record recall (and can be easily fudged according to the whims of the diary keeper), while PPM's record exposure and can't really be tampered with. The other issue with PPM's is that they will record listening even if the panel member isn't paying attention (for example, having a radio station on in the background in, say, a doctor's office).

With niche formats having the sort of high loyalty that would cause listeners to exaggerate TSL in diaries, and with mass-appeal musical formats (AC, CHR, classic rock, contemporary country) being much more likely than niche formats or talk to be playing as background noise at shops, offices, garages, etc., talk and non-mainstream music's numbers will never stand a chance in the PPM universe. Unfortunately, this is what Madison Avenue has bought into.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

With niche formats having the sort of high loyalty that would cause listeners to exaggerate TSL in diaries, and with mass-appeal musical formats (AC, CHR, classic rock, contemporary country) being much more likely than niche formats or talk to be playing as background noise at shops, offices, garages, etc., talk and non-mainstream music's numbers will never stand a chance in the PPM universe. Unfortunately, this is what Madison Avenue has bought into.

Exactly. The biggest problem both measurement methods have is: Neither one can measure what MadAv really wants to know...namely, the impression an ad actually makes on a listener.

 

[TSBench]

Howie is not going back to WRKO, they broke up under unpleasant terms, they wanted control over the show, including having Holland Cook come in and give him pointers. Howie told me himself that he was not going to take direction from Entercom.

If he goes back to WRKO in any way shape or form, there is no reason to keep many of the little stations (WCAP) that carry him, and those stations may cut their losses and run since they will be competing against Howie's own sales people, and Entercoms. It is like WBOQ paying for the Sox rights on 104.9, while the Flagship WEEI-FM tower is 5 miles away... yes it might have been a great deal when the Sox were on 850, probably not so much now.

Howie is all about Howie, and the money. He would rather see WRKO go to dolla a holla than to go back and save their bacon.

Entercom knew for a looong time (7 years!) that this situation would happen, and they either did nothing to prepare, or Seigel is their plan.

They tried designating McScreech as his designated fill in, and I assumed they were grooming her as his replacement as she caters to the same crowd.. and has the same journalistic ethics ( facts?? what facts?) ... well for one reason or another McScrech got a gig with ABC TV and her radio days are over.

Chances are Seigel is working for reasonable money, and the can sell him.... he may not be bringing in huge numbers, but I bet the bottom line isn't bad.


I think Entercom has decided to run with what they have for the moment, and that plan does not include the triumphant return of Howie Carr.

I believe this post has been, as they say, superceded by events.



Regards,
TSB

 

[raccoonradio]

WASR 1420 Wolfeboro NH adds Howie today,he said on air,and more new affiliates to come.