Is More Syndicated Programming Inevitable in Major Markets?

[Barry]

A number of articles have appeared over the last couple of days about Clear Channel dismissing many employees from its small and medium market radio stations. The company indicates that many of them will be replaced by centralized programming, such as Premium Choice, that will air simultaneously on several stations. While this sort of programming is not new, it appears the radio giant is planning to increase its use.
There is already Premium Choice on WAXQ overnights, and Delilah at night on WLTW. But most of the shows on the major music stations here are still produced in house. Is it likely New York will become part of the national trend toward less locally originated music radio programming?

NY Times Article: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/clear-channel-cuts-d-j-s-across-the-country/

 

[TheBigA]

Is it likely New York will become part of the national trend toward less locally originated music radio programming?

Clear Channel is doing pretty well in NYC. So I doubt there's a lot of pressure for them to cut costs. The major market stations are probably funding a lot of the smaller stations. It's more likely that talent in major markets will show up in smaller markets, like LA's Ryan Seacrest, and they might use NY platforms to originate content for radio and online. Let's face it: There are more celebrities in NYC than in Oshkosh.

 

[DToTheJ]

The fact that Doc Reno is already VT'ed out of Miami in Market No. 1 currently serves as a red flag. Face it, shifts outside of morning and afternoon drive, especially evenings, are starting to become extinct - and that's a shame because I really don't think Carol Miller deserves to have anxiety about how CC, and radio in general, is going forward... for the record, I don't know for sure if she feels that way, but if I were in her shoes, you'd better believe I would. If a longtime rock radio jock in Jim Ladd is shown the door in L.A. (by Cumulus, mind you), anything - unfortunately - is possible.

As an aside, I would say Maria Milito is on safer ground, if not by virtue of her being "syndicated" to Miami. I wonder if she will start VT'ing for other markets, maybe even Premium Choice, and play the same "go to my page on the station site" card that Doc Reno plays.

Whatever. At least they're learning from the Whoopi Goldberg debacle and bringing in people with actual radio skills. (Of course, it's heartbreaking when those with a large amount of radio skills are given the ehave-ho.)