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KTRH vs KROI

  • Thread starter mikemcguffdotcom
  • Start date

M

mikemcguffdotcom

Guest
Ouch! $900k upgrade for News 92... I hope it pays off eventually. If I was forced to listen to NPR instead I would surely have crashed my car on the way to work due to falling asleep at the wheel!!
 
I enjoy Mike's blog, and I welcome him to these spaces, but I don't agree that simply hiring Shara Fryer as a news foil for their morning show is a sign that Houston's news radio wars are "heating up."

That war is over and KTRH lost - badly and ignominiously. KTRH got out of the News business a long time ago, and it now has absolutely nothing that begins to compare with what KROI is putting on the air.
 
Agreed, Filoscotia, as KTRH's newsblock and Shara's hours are from 5-8 a.m. At least half the potential audience hasn't left home yet...
 
I agree that KTRH got out of the news biz a long time ago. However, they still own the brand in consumers minds. While their numbers are not stellar, they are substantially higher than KROI. I'm not trashing KROI, it's just a fact that upending a long term news brand takes time, money and patience.

Frankly the new studio is wonderful for the employees. But the on air product is essentially the same. There are numerous flow clog problems, anchor talent that badly needs to be coached (Mike Barajas (sp?) sounds like every word he says is voice tracked. He was awful on TV and totally sub-par on radio), outdated traffic reports are too frequent to be considered credible and so on. It's very disappointing that their use of newsmaker audio clips, soundbites from their entertainment stuff, punctuated music openers for their regular features and other technical, formatic, imaging and production issues still sound like they're in the launch stage after a year or so into the project. Plus, if they want to be THE news station, they need to be on top of breaking news and they're not.

Whether it will succeed or not remains to be seen. At this juncture, it seems as if they're lost on the way to finishing the product and continuing to evolve. Honestly, they're barely above NPR on the boring sound, and certainly don't have the chops nor the presence that KTRH has.

So there is work to do before KROI claims the crown from KTRH as the radio news leader in Houston consumers minds. The good news for KROI: they can count on Clear Channel to help them by screwing up at KTRH every chance they get.
 
They still own the brand in consumers' minds?

I don't know how long it's been since you've listened, but there is nothing left to "consume" at KTRH. Not for people who want to hear real news reporting on the radio.

Real news and information consumers aren't getting it at KTRH. They're getting it at KROI and KUHF. KTRH is just a headline service now.

Comparing KTRH to KROI is like comparing a hotel continental breakfast to a fine-dining 8 course dinner.
 
I agree that Shara Fryer isn't going to make much of a difference if she's only on from 5 to 8. What the hell were they thinking with that kind of a schedule?
 
FilioScotia said:
They still own the brand in consumers' minds?

I don't know how long it's been since you've listened, but there is nothing left to "consume" at KTRH. Not for people who want to hear real news reporting on the radio.
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And just how big is the market for people who want to hear "real news reporting?" Virtually everyone here decrying KTRH would also call Fox News Faux News, but they're dominating by a wide margin.

Just because you put something akin to CNN's Headline News on the radio doesn't mean anyone is going to listen to it. The talk and commentary bring eyes to the Fox News party the same way Rush and Michael Berry bring ears to the KTRH party.

Most "news" viewers and listeners clearly prefer the Fox News / KTRH format over the straight newswheel approach.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/17/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-august-16-2012/145213/
 
KTRH ceased being a 'news' station when they started heavily using syndicated shows for much of their programming, such as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others. The only 'local' shows of note belong to Michael Berry, who provides local content, but is plain unlistenable for many of us.

I agree that KROI and KUHF have cornered the news market. KTRH may have the talk market. But I no longer 'Keep Tuned Right Here' on 740. Having a pathetic sports contract with the Astros doesn't help their ratings, either.
 
THANK YOU Stan. You get my point. We're talking about radio here, not Fox News Channel. I'm willing to bet that 99 percent of KTRH listeners are NOT tuning in to hear what passes for news there. They are there to listen to the talk shows, and I'm betting most of them pay little or no attention to the top of the hour local news.

KTRH is not a news station anymore.
 
Agreed, KTRH gave up news long ago but it sometimes takes a long time for old imaging to vanish. The illusion might be furthered by KTRH being the EAS Primary. I wondered if KROI might consider breaking programming to run EAS Alerts as they happen? In severe weather, that sort of thing gives the listener the illusion of being the source for news fast.

I rather like KROI. They make plenty of mistakes still and seem to be finding their way but I think it takes a bit longer to get that polished sound with so many voices working on air. Better days are surely on the way. Just one hurricane threatening to move ashore, whether it hits us or not, might just solidify their liistener base.
 
FilioScotia said:
THANK YOU Stan. You get my point. We're talking about radio here, not Fox News Channel. I'm willing to bet that 99 percent of KTRH listeners are NOT tuning in to hear what passes for news there. They are there to listen to the talk shows, and I'm betting most of them pay little or no attention to the top of the hour local news.

KTRH is not a news station anymore.
Click to expand...

Wrong. I enjoy my local and national news in quick blocks at the top and bottom of every hour and traffic at every stopset. That's all I need to stay informed.

Looking at the ratings, it appears that's all most everyone else needs too.

News 92 has billboards EVERYWHERE. It's not like people don't know they're there - they just don't care.
 
***That's all I need to stay informed.***

Then God bless you, but my news appetite isn't satisfied that easily. You can get by with a news snack. I need and want a full course news dinner.

You are right in saying KROI is still finding its way, but they have a large staff of very experienced news and information people and I think they will emerge as the numero uno commercial news operation in town.
 
FilioScotia said:
***That's all I need to stay informed.***

Then God bless you, but my news appetite isn't satisfied that easily. You can get by with a news snack. I need and want a full course news dinner.

You are right in saying KROI is still finding its way, but they have a large staff of very experienced news and information people and I think they will emerge as the numero uno commercial news operation in town.
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Oh, but haven't they already emerged as the numero uno commercial news operation in town? As everyone likes pointing out, KTRH is primarily talk these days, so KROI is the ONLY station offering that "full course news dinner."

As it turns out though, Houston's appetite for "full course news" in the commercial band is something south of a 1.0 share, behind all the Spanish rimshots and Cox's cheap to run, fully automated classic country rimshot.

Meanwhile, KUHF continues to grow with its all news format. 1.8 to 1.9 to 2.2 to 2.3 to 2.5. So for all the KTRH bashing here, you guys are missing who the real competitor for KROI is.

I hope that fork of yours also picks up 88.7, because someday Radio One is going to realize they're throwing good money after bad, and your "full course news" appetite will only be satiated by KUHF.
 
If I were Radio One, I'd be on the phone with ESPN Radio, talking to them about the affiliation that just went to the owners of a competing network. Talk about a win-win. ESPN would get a full market FM signal and Radio One would get revenue either by leasing the stick to ESPN like New York's 98.7, or running it as an affiliate. It's a format that could be sold by a news sales staff, and easily sold in combo with RO's urban stations.
 
radiogooroo said:
If I were Radio One, I'd be on the phone with ESPN Radio, talking to them about the affiliation that just went to the owners of a competing network. Talk about a win-win. ESPN would get a full market FM signal and Radio One would get revenue either by leasing the stick to ESPN like New York's 98.7, or running it as an affiliate. It's a format that could be sold by a news sales staff, and easily sold in combo with RO's urban stations.
Click to expand...

News92FM will have to be a sustained, money eating failure before Radio One gives up on it. Not saying that won't eventually happen, but RO will stick to the format for a while.

If RO does throw in the towel on the news format, perhaps CBS could buy the station and place the existing 610 sports format on 92.1.
 
Since I don't listen to KUHF at all, I was wondering if they do traffic and weather every 10 minutes and constant news 24/7. I thought they carried bunches of NPR material and local breaks. If I'm correct, it would seem KROI and KUHF are two different animals. I'm not slamming KUHF at all but I think to compare them is much like, as they say, comparing apples and oranges. I would say the same for KTRH and KROI comparisons. As for the critic, it seems they just don't care for KROI for some reason in addition to what is stated here...just a guess, mind you.
 
bturner said:
As for the critic, it seems they just don't care for KROI for some reason in addition to what is stated here...just a guess, mind you.
Click to expand...

I'm just sick of the KTRH bashing. It seems to me that most of the people in these KROI lovefest threads either hate conservatives, or hate conservative talk, or KTRH because they worked there and were run out, or were never able to get a job there, or whatever.

KTRH has been pretty much the same animal it is now the entire time I've lived in Houston. The only thing I really don't like about the station is the Astros. I feel radio stations should be like your favorite restaurant. If I want a burger and the KTRH "restaurant" has the burger I like, I don't like being told they're only serving watermelon throughout baseball season.

Frankly, all news radio bores me terribly, so I have little use for KROI in general. I do find it disingenuous that they go on air and promote themselves as politically neutral, when everyone I personally know that works there is a hardcore lefty. At least KTRH is honest about their political leanings. Maybe that's why the station isn't catching on. All these seasoned, well known personalities are known in real life by too many Houstonians for the station to have any credible claim of neutrality. I'm Facebook friends with several of them, and if I see a repost from "We survived Bush, you'll survive Obama" come across my screen, odds are one of them was the reposter.
 
Well, guess what, you have met someone who is not a liberal that listens to KROI.

You make a well stated case.

KROI works for me because it is primarily in-car listening and by the time I get to my destination it is really close to the top or bottom of the hour. It is the availability of the news outside those times that makes me listen.

Funny, when I was younger I subscribed to the Paul Simon lyric: I get my news from the weather report. I hated news. I'd never be an all day news listener...more repetition than a top 40 station in the day. After so many years on the air, I'm pretty much burned out on the music offering on radio, but news or talk will keep me company in the car.
 
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