Indianapolis Ratings

[BobOnTheJob]

Colts games=cume

Any sports = music audience all leaving....especially the convenience stores where the radio is hard to get at. Once that radio goes back to WFMS, it will stay there for a very long time. Sports on a music station is like the local Shell station closing the gas pumps for 3 hours here and there to sell fresh veggies. The 35 people who buy the veggies will love it. The 10,000 people who buy gas there in a month will find a new place that always has gas.

What about the Days before Emmis got exclusive broadcast rights to the IMS Radio network broadcasts of the Indy 500 and BRickyard 400. I remember when besides 950, 1070, 1260, 1430 on AM airing the IMS Broadcasts. 93.1, 94.7, 95.5, 96.3, 97.1, 99.5, 103.3, 104.5, 106.7, 107.9 at one point in time also aired the IMS BRoadcasts on FM over the years. and at that time all those stations were music stations. where did the music audience go when the same formatted station that was the rival station was also airing the race.

There were 2 knobs on the radio...tuning and off/on/volume. When all else fails, I guess the Off switch got the nod.

 

[Potts]

Good to hear Bob On The Job's comments again. Seems like it's been awhile. Always well thought out insight into the radio biz. Thank, Bob!

 

[flip23]

All those stations carried the IMS net because it made money for them. After WIBC went back to having the exclusive radio rights in Indy, they pulled around a 60 share during the race. That's 1960s-style radio share numbers.

 

[The King Bee]

Here in Louisville for many years (from the late '50s through at least the early '80s), WLOU-AM 1350...the fulltime R&B/Soul station...was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Network affiliated station. The already highly-rated station (then 5Kw/D) pulled 40-45 shares with the race. WLOU covered time trials, the daily feeds, Pole Day, and everything else the IMS Net offered.

(FYI, WLOU was fulltime R&B/Soul/Black from 1951-1995 and is now Urban Gospel.)