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KGO + WGN: Do they know something the rest don't

M

mwebster

Guest
ABC's KGO, San Francisco continues going strong - riding atop the latest numbers from the Bay Area (also doing very well in some nearby metro markets).

In Chicago, WGN also continues to lead the pack.

Both KGO and WGN have 12+ AQH numbers approaching the number of fingers used to wave good-bye with one-hand and give the bird to your favorite politican with the other.

What's different?

Both are flame-throwers.
Both have kept their audiences over the years.
Both are ALL LOCAL all the time.
Both have hosts who are civil and non-bombastic.
Both have hosts with a point of view but are not narrowly partisan.
Both deal with topics beyond politics.
Both have strong local news operations.
Both are relatively stable; they don't make on-air changes every time the numbers fluctuate. They are tortoises, not hares. They take the long view.

Both thrive in very competitive talk markets. Maybe these are good markets for talk radio BECAUSE of these stations.

Both are OLD-FASHIONED, somewhat anachronistic operations.
They are the past, and it works.
 
> ABC's KGO, San Francisco continues going strong - riding
> atop the latest numbers from the Bay Area (also doing very
> well in some nearby metro markets).
>
> In Chicago, WGN also continues to lead the pack.
>
> Both KGO and WGN have 12+ AQH numbers approaching the number
> of fingers used to wave good-bye with one-hand and give the
> bird to your favorite politican with the other.
>
> What's different?
>
> Both are flame-throwers.
> Both have kept their audiences over the years.
> Both are ALL LOCAL all the time.
> Both have hosts who are civil and non-bombastic.
> Both have hosts with a point of view but are not narrowly
> partisan.
> Both deal with topics beyond politics.
> Both have strong local news operations

One MAJOR difference between KGO and WGN. WGN has the Cubs that seriously help their cume and rating every year. KGO does it with pure talk
 
> > ABC's KGO, San Francisco continues going strong - riding
> > atop the latest numbers from the Bay Area (also doing very
>
> > well in some nearby metro markets).
> >
> > In Chicago, WGN also continues to lead the pack.
> >
> > Both KGO and WGN have 12+ AQH numbers approaching the
> number
> > of fingers used to wave good-bye with one-hand and give
> the
> > bird to your favorite politican with the other.
> >
> > What's different?
> >
> > Both are flame-throwers.
> > Both have kept their audiences over the years.
> > Both are ALL LOCAL all the time.
> > Both have hosts who are civil and non-bombastic.
> > Both have hosts with a point of view but are not narrowly
> > partisan.
> > Both deal with topics beyond politics.
> > Both have strong local news operations
>
> One MAJOR difference between KGO and WGN. WGN has the Cubs
> that seriously help their cume and rating every year. KGO
> does it with pure talk

Yeah, but we all know 'GN would still be the #1 talker in Chi-town if they didn't have the Cubbies. Not to say you're wrong... they would suffer more than they'd like if they ever lost the broadcast rights to the Cubs games. But at the same time, mwebster hit the nail on the head... both stations are your typical old-style radio stations, and that's why they're so successful. And even if they weren't flamethrowers, I think they'd still be doing as well in their primary coverage area.<P ID="signature">______________
"Congratulations to Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, they had a baby yesterday. Spears said he sleeps 18 hours a day and so does the baby.
-- Conan O'Brien
http://theradioblog.blogspot.com</P>
 
> > One MAJOR difference between KGO and WGN. WGN has the Cubs
>
> > that seriously help their cume and rating every year. KGO
> > does it with pure talk
>
> Yeah, but we all know 'GN would still be the #1 talker in
> Chi-town if they didn't have the Cubbies. Not to say you're
> wrong... they would suffer more than they'd like if they
> ever lost the broadcast rights to the Cubs games. But at
> the same time, mwebster hit the nail on the head... both
> stations are your typical old-style radio stations, and
> that's why they're so successful. And even if they weren't
> flamethrowers, I think they'd still be doing as well in
> their primary coverage area.

Good thing WGN's owner (Tribune) owns the Cubs.

Another station to add to the list is WCCO in Minneapolis. Another mainstream talk station (though they're not as good as in the past). They did experiment back in the 90's with two political shows, one conservative and one liberal. Both bombed. Still, WCCO is always either #1 or #2.
<P ID="signature">______________
The Liberal Talk Radio Update</P>
 
> Yeah, but we all know 'GN would still be the #1 talker in
> Chi-town if they didn't have the Cubbies. Not to say you're
> wrong... they would suffer more than they'd like if they
> ever lost the broadcast rights to the Cubs games. But at
> the same time, mwebster hit the nail on the head... both
> stations are your typical old-style radio stations, and
> that's why they're so successful. And even if they weren't
> flamethrowers, I think they'd still be doing as well in
> their primary coverage area.
>

I would say that a major factor here is heritage. These stations have been doing this type of radio forever. I wonder if a newcomer could have similar success with the same approach.
 
>bombastic? Ray T. and Gene Burns can be a little Bombastic at times...
 
One major missing

> Both are flame-throwers.
> Both have kept their audiences over the years.
> Both are ALL LOCAL all the time.
> Both have hosts who are civil and non-bombastic.
> Both have hosts with a point of view but are not narrowly
> partisan.
> Both deal with topics beyond politics.
> Both have strong local news operations.
> Both are relatively stable; they don't make on-air changes
> every time the numbers fluctuate. They are tortoises, not
> hares. They take the long view.
>
> Both thrive in very competitive talk markets. Maybe these
> are good markets for talk radio BECAUSE of these stations.
>
> Both are OLD-FASHIONED, somewhat anachronistic operations.
> They are the past, and it works.


But, and I think this most important, both are in markets large enough
politically (not party differences, multiple grouped cities with common
interests) that they sustain local news and talk withought it getting
stale. Follow the same formula in Providence, Rhode Island, Saccamenna,
CA or even Atlanna Jawja and I believe you'd be DOA. PDQ. Or at least
just one of many splitting up the ratings pie in very small chunks.
<P ID="signature">______________
It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them! (if any)
--Friedrich Nietzsch</P>
 
Re: One major missing

Follow the same formula in Providence, Rhode Island,
> Saccamenna,
> CA

I prefer the old Dr. Don "Sacra-tomato".

> or even Atlanna Jawja

Hot-lanta? Or is it Humid-lanta?

>and I believe you'd be DOA. PDQ. Or
> at least
> just one of many splitting up the ratings pie in very small
> chunks.
>
 
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