LOOKING FOR A NEW FORMAT?

[schmave]

I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen this on the DX and Reception board:

http://www.am730traffic.com/

All traffic, all the time. Who says Houston couldn't use a station like this? It'd be different and definitely useful, but who would step up and do this? And on what signal?
I just think this could provide for an interesting discussion.

 

[radiopropd]

Interesting format, even if it is our neighbors to the north. With this said, if it were to be done in Houston, there would obviously have to be a sales force in place to try and sell it, then, of course, they would have to staff it 24/7 - there are several former Metro employees that could do this - myself included - since my part-time hours have been cut to zero...But, I digress...although I am sure this would be a format, on paper, that might work to a degree, there would have to be a lot of tweeking - traffic 24/7 would be boring - there would have to be other elements to make it listenable as well as sellable, IMO...

 

[rocknrollisdead]

Interesting format, even if it is our neighbors to the north. With this said, if it were to be done in Houston, there would obviously have to be a sales force in place to try and sell it, then, of course, they would have to staff it 24/7 - there are several former Metro employees that could do this - myself included - since my part-time hours have been cut to zero...But, I digress...although I am sure this would be a format, on paper, that might work to a degree, there would have to be a lot of tweeking - traffic 24/7 would be boring - there would have to be other elements to make it listenable as well as sellable, IMO...

....agreed.

can you imagine, "...and 290 at to the Beltway will take you 55 mintues. Using 59 to head to the Big Airport? You're looking at 43 mintues...." over, and over, and over again?

I was bored just typing that!

rocknrollisdead

 

[aunti-terrestrial]

I like the idea but agree that other content would be necessary to keep it compelling. Even during peak hours, sometimes, against all odds in a city the size of Houston, absolutely nobody's out there waging carnage on each other in traffic. There are actually rare times when the roads and signals are working the way they should, people are driving politely, the weather's nice, and emergency services can go several hours without having to deal with an accident, police chase, or vehicle fire. Those days happen infrequently but often enough so that it would make for some potentially dull spells in a format that hinges on reporting incidents, slow-downs, road obstructions, and the occasional frustrated motorist who leaps out of his vehicle sans clothing and dashes naked across the toll plaza. Not every hour can be a jackpot like that or even all that informative, if there's no new information to report for awhile.

 

[Nate Wesley]

The initial thought of an all-traffic radio station was very, very depressing. :'(

But as I think about it...it could be a way for a small operator in a large city to tiptoe into all-news without making the full leap. Partner with a TV news outlet and the local print media (including the big paper, alt papers, regional magazines) , and you've got a platform for discussing the latest news and features (stories written/produced, specifically) without necessarily going into punditry.

Traffic coverage would still dominate, but you could probably still drift from that once or twice an hour.

 

[careful705]

You could have call-shows where people call in and say "I'm stuck in this farking traffic on 290, what do I do Outlaw Dave??" or "Watch out for the speed trap Gulf freeway southbound at Baybrook Mall..."

This couldn't possibly be worse than some of the garbage talk on the radio currently. It actually could be good for people like delivery drivers or outside sales people who are on the roadways 90% of the day. Even give updates on road construction time tables and new construction planned... Guests might include people with TXDOT or Metro Traffic... Who knows?

CJ

 

[radiopropd]

The initial thought of an all-traffic radio station was very, very depressing. :'(

But as I think about it...it could be a way for a small operator in a large city to tiptoe into all-news without making the full leap. Partner with a TV news outlet and the local print media (including the big paper, alt papers, regional magazines) , and you've got a platform for discussing the latest news and features (stories written/produced, specifically) without necessarily going into punditry.

Traffic coverage would still dominate, but you could probably still drift from that once or twice an hour.

Well...I'll be the first one to jump in a say I am available to progam this format when someone is ready...But, as my previous post stated, there would have to be a lot of tweaking done to this - especially for the hours when traffic, overall, is relatively light - from 9p to 4a - and yes, as Nate stated above, you could tap into getting some news and information from other sources - you would want to make this as listener interactive as possible - taking calls on the air as to current road/traffic problems to gas prices on the north side, etc. As for partnering with a news outlet, there are many sources available that an be used for the slower times, as well as take calls overnight on the issues concerning houstonians, and one twist on this format would be that it wouldn't be far right or far left, just commentary and input on the issues themselves.

 

[piggy]

The initial thought of an all-traffic radio station was very, very depressing. :'(

But as I think about it...it could be a way for a small operator in a large city to tiptoe into all-news without making the full leap. Partner with a TV news outlet and the local print media (including the big paper, alt papers, regional magazines) , and you've got a platform for discussing the latest news and features (stories written/produced, specifically) without necessarily going into punditry.

Traffic coverage would still dominate, but you could probably still drift from that once or twice an hour.

Well...I'll be the first one to jump in a say I am available to progam this format when someone is ready...But, as my previous post stated, there would have to be a lot of tweaking done to this - especially for the hours when traffic, overall, is relatively light - from 9p to 4a - and yes, as Nate stated above, you could tap into getting some news and information from other sources - you would want to make this as listener interactive as possible - taking calls on the air as to current road/traffic problems to gas prices on the north side, etc. As for partnering with a news outlet, there are many sources available that an be used for the slower times, as well as take calls overnight on the issues concerning houstonians, and one twist on this format would be that it wouldn't be far right or far left, just commentary and input on the issues themselves.

Somebody did it in Los Angeles about 10 years ago. It folded after less than a year. If you can't make money doing traffic reports in Southern California, then stick a fork in the idea.

 

[aunti-terrestrial]

The initial thought of an all-traffic radio station was very, very depressing. :'(

But as I think about it...it could be a way for a small operator in a large city to tiptoe into all-news without making the full leap. Partner with a TV news outlet and the local print media (including the big paper, alt papers, regional magazines) , and you've got a platform for discussing the latest news and features (stories written/produced, specifically) without necessarily going into punditry.

Traffic coverage would still dominate, but you could probably still drift from that once or twice an hour.

Well...I'll be the first one to jump in a say I am available to progam this format when someone is ready...But, as my previous post stated, there would have to be a lot of tweaking done to this - especially for the hours when traffic, overall, is relatively light - from 9p to 4a - and yes, as Nate stated above, you could tap into getting some news and information from other sources - you would want to make this as listener interactive as possible - taking calls on the air as to current road/traffic problems to gas prices on the north side, etc. As for partnering with a news outlet, there are many sources available that an be used for the slower times, as well as take calls overnight on the issues concerning houstonians, and one twist on this format would be that it wouldn't be far right or far left, just commentary and input on the issues themselves.

Somebody did it in Los Angeles about 10 years ago. It folded after less than a year. If you can't make money doing traffic reports in Southern California, then stick a fork in the idea.

How did that police-chase texting service work out, do you know, Piggy? A few years ago I saw a story about a website in LA that sends a cell-phone text to subscribers whenever the police were involved in a televised chase, so they could tune in and watch the live chopper cam on the local news. It's interesting that Californians would be crazed over a service like that, but that they wouldn't tune in for info about their daily commute. I guess when every music or talk station runs traffic updates during drive times, maybe the listeners got what they needed from their P1? Our central services are being restructured (or is that reengineered?) and with personnel losses in both TxDot and Metro, the time might be right here in Houston for a dial position that could get in there and redivert the information stream from the city to the listeners.