KFRC and the ARBS!

[LKellerIII]

"Maybe more folks listened to KFRC on 610 than they was actually reflected by the book. The Bay area is a pretty heavy AM area because of all those hills. A lot of their prime target is could still be stuck on AM. I know that I won't listen to an oldies format on FM. It doesn't sound authentic to me."

To me, that's like saying the Tommy Dorsey Band doesn't sound authentic unless you're listening to them on scratchy old monaural 78 RPM records. Everything sounds better in high fidelity stereo, and that's the way practically all music after the early 60s was produced. In the 60s, we listened to the music we didn't want to buy on low fidelity monaural AM radio because that was the only choice we had until FM came of age.

A lot of people are turning back to LP records because they find the sound of digital CDs and down-loaded music sterile, and the sound of pre-digital music richer and more nuanced. I can understand that. But I can't imagine any movement back to monaural sound, or music formats every returning to AM radio.

 

[DavidKaye]

Maybe more folks listened to KFRC on 610 than they was actually reflected by the book. The Bay area is a pretty heavy AM area because of all those hills. A lot of their prime target is could still be stuck on AM.

One would think so, but this wasn't reflected in the ratings when KFRC quit the AM/FM simulcast and sold off the AM to Family Stations.

 

[atwater kent]

Any truth to the rumor that Dan Mason is coming to town this week to make changes?

Where does he start?

KMVQ or KFRC?

Alice or Live 105?

General Managers or Program Directors?

Looks like Program Directors. Word has it KLLC Pd Chris Mays has resigned.

And now it's GMs. Word has it Live 105's GM has resigned.

 

[weav]

And now it's GMs. Word has it Live 105's GM has resigned.

That makes no sense to me... Live 105 is the CBS property that has the most "traction" in the market!
Unless the GM just got fed up with CBS' management practices and really did vote with his feet.

 

[Geek-O-Rama]

Wow. Steve DiNardo had been with CBS forever and made them a lot of $$! First Chris Mays, now this. Is that the sound of more heads being lopped off in the CBS building? Somebody has to take the fall for bad corporate decisions out of New York.

 

[Talking Furniture]

And now it's GMs. Word has it Live 105's GM has resigned.

That makes no sense to me... Live 105 is the CBS property that has the most "traction" in the market!
Unless the GM just got fed up with CBS' management practices and really did vote with his feet.

Define "traction," please.

 

[weav]

Define "traction," please.

Fair 'nuff...

Ability to connect with and get a response from a sizeable demographic, is how I think I'd define it. Ratings are one manifestation of it, one of the more tangible ones. Response at promo events is another.

Live 105 is the CBS-Bay Area FM property that has the most of that, unless I'm overlooking something. KCBS may have more.

 

[DavidKaye]

Ability to connect with and get a response from a sizeable demographic, is how I think I'd define it. Ratings are one manifestation of it, one of the more tangible ones. Response at promo events is another.

Given that the bottom line is....uh, the bottom line, I'd say that the most important traction of all is the advertiser response. If the advertising falls behind certain company-imposed goals, and the GM can't attract the right sales talent, it's reasonable to ask the GM to leave.

 

[Talking Furniture]

Ability to connect with and get a response from a sizeable demographic, is how I think I'd define it. Ratings are one manifestation of it, one of the more tangible ones. Response at promo events is another.

Given that the bottom line is....uh, the bottom line, I'd say that the most important traction of all is the advertiser response. If the advertising falls behind certain company-imposed goals, and the GM can't attract the right sales talent, it's reasonable to ask the GM to leave.

KITS is #18 with adults and #5 with men 18-34, so ratings are not what they could be or what CBS probably expects. They barely made the top 15 in revenue for 2007.

 

[DavidKaye]

KITS is #18 with adults and #5 with men 18-34, so ratings are not what they could be or what CBS probably expects. They barely made the top 15 in revenue for 2007.

It's funny that people seem to expect that radio broadcasting is somehow different from other kinds of businesses. Radio has always been a business, from the days when Doc Herrold set up San Jose Calling in 1909 in order to lure students to attend his electronics school.

If I were on responsible for overseeing the radio division of CBS and my job rested on what kind of return on investment the stations made, I'd have to let people go, too. After all, if a broadcasting company can get a better return on investment buying oil company stocks than on running radio stations, why not just ditch the stations? Actually, GE saw this coming when they ditched their radio stations 20 years ago. And this is what Mel Karmizan said when he got out of CBS and into Sirius.

Sumner Redstone or somebody at CBS feels that running radio stations is going to make a higher return on investment for them than making other investments. However, in order to do that, they occasionally have to replace management people. Will CBS get a good return on investment for their radio stations, or should they sell them off and concentrate on TV? Who knows at this point.

One thing I will say is that the Westwood One contract expires shortly. The way things are structured now, much of the CBS Radio programming (talkshows, news, music formats) belongs to WOne, not to CBS. Thus, after the contract expires, CBS will have to scramble to get content for many of their stations.