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iHM's November RIFs hit Seattle
- Thread starter DN14224
- Start date
Makes sense....if all your workers are already gone you probably don't need a Regional President.
Here is the latest: The Radioinsight list is getting loooong.
Marty Reimer exits mornings at Classic Hits “95.7 The Jet” KJR-FM.
Morning show producer/co-host Jenna exits Rhythmic CHR 93.3 KUBE.
Morning show producer Amanda Duryee departs Classic Rock 102.5 KZOK.
Rob ‘Rockfish’ Oxford exits weekends at KZOK.
Cliff Avril exits as midday co-host at Sports 950 KJR.
Marty Reimer exits mornings at Classic Hits “95.7 The Jet” KJR-FM.
Morning show producer/co-host Jenna exits Rhythmic CHR 93.3 KUBE.
Morning show producer Amanda Duryee departs Classic Rock 102.5 KZOK.
Rob ‘Rockfish’ Oxford exits weekends at KZOK.
Cliff Avril exits as midday co-host at Sports 950 KJR.
Don't forget Nate Conners departing from afternoons over at KZOK. There are so many departures that it's nearly impossible to recall everyone who has left. In terms of air talent, there isn't many left over at iHeart.
Gotta pay for Jubal. I'm sure he wasn't cheap.
Where's Scott Vanderpool?
Where's Scott Vanderpool?
Where's Scott Vanderpool?
Well, that's the end of an era for me. Vanderpool was the last of the DJs from my heyday listening to the radio. I remember emailing him a number of years ago and having a good conversation.
No one from '70s/'80s/'90s era on the air anymore. I'll keep listening to KISW and KZOK. I know I'm in the minority of radio listeners who care who the host is (other than the morning show), but it still bums me out.
Losing Scott Vanderpool is indeed a sad day for both KZOK and loyal fans. I must say, I find it impressive that KZOK continues to perform as well as it does, probably thanks to their impressive morning show, because that station really is otherwise a shell of its former self. The playlist has shrunk down significantly to a point of stale predictability. Obviously, iheart was left with no choice but to modernize KZOK somewhat as time has gone by, but it seems to have evolved into a "butt rock" station in the modern era. My commentary on "butt rock" is an exaggeration, as every classic rock radio stations now emphasize core rock music from the 1980s and 90s. I'm sure that highly 80s and 90's centric playlists promote listener retention, and therefore return on investment, but I surely wish there was more variety than what we currently get. "The Jet" can also be predictable, but they do seem to have more variety than their sister station (hence the name "Seattle's Best Variety). They are incredibly lucky to have a great afternoon host in Matt Case. While I've never personally met him, he makes radio sound effortless and entertaining in every break. I also think that iheart is smart to utilize voice tracks from Robin Rock for their midday programming. She fits the format well, and provides a level of sincerity that far exceeds some of the voice tracked programming on KZOK. Some of the current KZOK programming sounds extremely wooden, to a point where it lacks intelligible sincerity. Iheart seems to have a national programming model where many of their hosts recycle show prep stories that are provided to them from corporate. The tracked programming on KJR bucks this trend, as I rarely hear any of their tracked hosts continually plugging iheartradio music festivals or recycle generic stories over and over again. Just my $0.02 for how little they are worth.
Nothing lasts forever. Tastes change.
Strange tracking a guy's entire career, sort of. I remember when Scott Vanderpool was on KCMU, in 1988 or so. He was lively and funny. Almost a made-for-radio kind of guy.
A few years later, I recall hearing him on KISW, where he fit in well. Then, later on, KZOK.
Now he's been let go. Roughly a 30 year (give or take a few) run in the industry.
Will there be more positions available for talented guys like him, in an industry that has largely automated them away? Hard to say. I recall a few of the people laid off by IHeart at the beginning of the year stating that they knew they'd already had their last radio position when they lost it.
A few years later, I recall hearing him on KISW, where he fit in well. Then, later on, KZOK.
Now he's been let go. Roughly a 30 year (give or take a few) run in the industry.
Will there be more positions available for talented guys like him, in an industry that has largely automated them away? Hard to say. I recall a few of the people laid off by IHeart at the beginning of the year stating that they knew they'd already had their last radio position when they lost it.
It depends on what their talent actually is. Talent isn't limited to certain media, as we've seen with people like Howard Stern. There are far more options and opportunities for talent now than there were 30 years ago. The real question is will the public seek out talent? Or does talent have to seek out its audience.
It's very possible to make money with a popular podcast. It has to be unique and entertaining though, not just emulating what used to be on the radio.
It gets to my last question, because podcasts require the audience to seek out talent.
If the talent is providing unique content and there is demand, they can make money. But it's not as easy as doing a radio show where the audience just shows up. And it's not as easy as running 14 spots an hour.
A few quick statistics in regard to podcasts: 12% of podcasts have only published a single episode, 6% haven’t made it past two episodes, and 1/2 of all podcasts have 14 or fewer episodes. Clearly, it's a tough game to make it in the podcasting industry, though this isn't to suggest that success is impossible. Podcasters typically have to spend a significant amount of time working on their program, as they not only have to create content, but also have to market it. It's certainly a far cry from having a sales team reaching out to businesses while you focus your attention on other things.
It seems like iHeart is heavily pushing their podcasts right now. Tune into any of their stations at night on a weekend and you'll hear a selection of some of the podcasts you could listen to if you download the iHeartradio app. So far, the only one I've caught is a program about the history of soap. If we're lucky, there might be a future be a program about the history of toilet paper. It certainly could be an interesting compliment to a podcast about soap, especially when you consider that it hasn't changed in our lifetime. Experts say that it will still be the same in 10,000 years.
It seems like iHeart is heavily pushing their podcasts right now. Tune into any of their stations at night on a weekend and you'll hear a selection of some of the podcasts you could listen to if you download the iHeartradio app. So far, the only one I've caught is a program about the history of soap. If we're lucky, there might be a future be a program about the history of toilet paper. It certainly could be an interesting compliment to a podcast about soap, especially when you consider that it hasn't changed in our lifetime. Experts say that it will still be the same in 10,000 years.
Probably like 1-2% of podcasts make enough money to fully support the host. The bar for creating a podcast is really low.
But there is definitely money in the industry. One of the podcasts I listen to said they did between $10 million and $15 million in revenue in 2019 as a company, fully advertising based. I'm sure 2020 will be significantly less.
Prior to COVID, NPR said they were expecting $55 million in revenue from their podcasts in 2020. Again, I'm sure the reality now is significantly less.
On the other hand, my minister friend who puts out a weekly 10-minute devotional podcast is making $0 in revenue.
I would guess most broadcast shows that get turned into podcasts are marginally profitable, because a huge fraction of the audience listens live. IMO podcasts are better formatted for once-a-week production instead of the three hours daily that most broadcast talk shows create.
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