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Lance is leaving 1560...
- Thread starter radiopropd
- Start date
radiopropd said:
I'm reminded of a time in my career when I worked for a AAA station. We had fun. We played probably 2000 active titles, and hot rotation meant a song played once a day. The local alternative weekly, owned by the parent company of the Houston Press, loved us and lavished praise on us every chance they got. We also got nice articles written about us by the local afternoon daily (before it folded) and the morning daily's music critic was a huge fan.
Our ratings sucked. We explained it away by saying we catered to a loyal audience who spent money. Our billing was okay, mainly because we had no debt. We were owned by a millionaire who had the #1 station in Milwaukee and he bought us for cash; we were his personal jukebox and played whatever he wanted. Our promos were funny, edgy, and inside.
Then the telecom act of 1996 passed. The millionaire down the hall bought two other full power stations in town for a steal, but for the first time ever he had to borrow money from a bank. He was obsessed with paying the $7 million note off early. Lee Abrams was called in to consult. He brought in several veterans of KFOG, a pioneer in the format. Rotations tightened. Our numbers still were anemic, because people thought we played weird music. However, the core audience revolted because we were becoming more commercial. It was the right thing to do for the station, but it no longer was a fun place to work. The numbers tanked.
We hired different consultants and flipped to the format du jour - what eventually became known as modern AC. In a tight market, it did okay. The owner cashed out to some group that nobody had ever heard of, who held the stations for about a month before cashing out to AMFM.
There comes a point where a businessman has to make some unpopular decisions in order to get his money's worth out of his investment. Then it's no longer fun and games. 1560 is apparently no longer about having a good time and doing sports radio while you're at it. It's about making money for the people who invested in the operation. I'm sure it was fun while it lasted.
KGOW's numbers are awful, and the "small but loyal audience" argument isn't working. It's all about Yahoo! Sports Radio, and Lance obviously sees the writing on the wall. Face it, the "Guy Talk" experiment made a lot of noise, but ultimately failed.
I still think that there is no room for four SportsTalkers in the market. The YSR effort will be the last gasp before the towel is thrown in, and 1560 becomes another brokered ethnic/religious station.
I still think that there is no room for four SportsTalkers in the market. The YSR effort will be the last gasp before the towel is thrown in, and 1560 becomes another brokered ethnic/religious station.
Just took 1560 off of my preset in the car!
Yahoo Sports may be the focus for Gow and his group, but locally, 1560 is now dead. Lance was THE STAR of that station. It's like the Astros giving up Hunter Pence this year or like the Rockets losing Yao last year.
Ratings are still nowhere. There's no pro sports team affiliation. There's not really a night signal so no hope of getting a major sports franchise affiliation. The daytime signal is still questionable in many parts of town, including the West Loop. Now, there only limited local talent with no marquis star. Yahoo Sports may be good for them nationally, but they are sacraficing a local station here in Houston.
Good Ridance KGOW and may you RIP.
Yahoo Sports may be the focus for Gow and his group, but locally, 1560 is now dead. Lance was THE STAR of that station. It's like the Astros giving up Hunter Pence this year or like the Rockets losing Yao last year.
Ratings are still nowhere. There's no pro sports team affiliation. There's not really a night signal so no hope of getting a major sports franchise affiliation. The daytime signal is still questionable in many parts of town, including the West Loop. Now, there only limited local talent with no marquis star. Yahoo Sports may be good for them nationally, but they are sacraficing a local station here in Houston.
Good Ridance KGOW and may you RIP.
You so kindly point out that their ratings are non-existent (and never have been), and then get upset because they decide to dump the local stuff and focus on national.
Seems to me that the local shows just weren't cutting it, so they went in a different direction. It's hard to be a "local" station without any "local" support. I personally like David Gow and I hope that Yahoo does as well as ESPN or Fox.
Seems to me that the local shows just weren't cutting it, so they went in a different direction. It's hard to be a "local" station without any "local" support. I personally like David Gow and I hope that Yahoo does as well as ESPN or Fox.
I do know that national sports may be many a listeners' cup of tea, but I believe most of local station sports listeners listen for local content to discuss local teams. I believe 1560 was simply struggling to get any kind of a number among four sports talk stations. ESPN 97.9 is stronger than I ever believed it would be (although no ratings there either) and their focus is national. They are the standard bearer on the national sports scene here on Houston radio. As for another national sports station in this market making it, I believe it will snow in August in Houston first.
Again, Gow may make it with the national format on a sydicated basis around the country, but he won't have much of a station in Houston. The only value the Houston station will have with Gow is the presence of a station in the 5th largest radio market in the country. This will be only valuable as to network ad revenue. Ratings really won't make that much of a difference on that value prop so I suspect 1560 will not go away, but they will be virtually listenerless in the market.
Again, Gow may make it with the national format on a sydicated basis around the country, but he won't have much of a station in Houston. The only value the Houston station will have with Gow is the presence of a station in the 5th largest radio market in the country. This will be only valuable as to network ad revenue. Ratings really won't make that much of a difference on that value prop so I suspect 1560 will not go away, but they will be virtually listenerless in the market.
Lance showed up this morning on 790 as their new personality. He was on with Matt and Adam, but didn't get a chance to listen long. Sounds like they are working to place him somewhere in their lineup. If they are smart, and it sounds like they are, they will reformat their morning show around Lance in morning drive. Lance is argureably among the best sports talkers in the market. His is unquestionably the most entertaining. Adding him to morning drive will give them top talent in both morning and afternoon drive (Palillo). No offense to Matt & Adam, but their show should move to evenings after Charlie. Their show does not have the chops that Lance and any "straight man" partner would have. In fact, Matt & Adam brazenly use Lance's bits quite frequently.
I'm guessing Lance doesn't need the money, what with his line of snack crackers and peanuts. I think he does it for the art and passion.
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