No new Beck/Hannity affiliate

[danwxman]

The most vulnerable CC station right now is Radio 104.5

I wonder what this station is billing because the commercial breaks are awfully short. Nevertheless, I highly doubt we will see "Rush Radio 104.5" or any sort of FM talker with Beck/Hannity on 104.5 (or even 106.1 for that matter).

mabye GEN-X 104.5 ???? if the ratings dont improve cc will have to find something to do with 104.5

Maybe Rush Radio 104.5? If Radio 104.5's ratings don't improve, CC will have to keep its options open. GEN-X is a possibility, but IMHO if flipping 104.5 to Rush Radio is the only way to get Beck and Sean back on the air in Philly, CC will consider it.

Honestly, would "Rush Radio 104.5" get higher ratings then the current Alternative format? I think cume would drop significantly and ratings would only marginally improve. The fact of the matter is Beck and Sean weren't exactly lighting Philly on fire while they were on WPHT...hence why they are no longer going to be on the air

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Less than two business days left to find new Philadelphia affiliates for Beck and Hannity (not to mention a new Beck affiliate in NYC).

I don't think it's going to happen. Monday will come and go, and neither will be heard on a station within the Philly market.

No great loss.

 

[pab]

Talk Radio is suffering the same fate that Standards faced a decade ago and oldies is starting to deal with: its audience is literally dying off.

Talk is posting poor numbers in the money demo compared to what it used to. Its audience is aging out of the 25-54 window and the format isn't adapting well to younger audiences.

Talk is also an expensive format to do, if you do it properly. The better shows are all cash plus barter, you need more hardware (gone is the day when one box with DATS and SEDAT cards could work for every network you carried), local shows need producers and hosts, then there's the question of news and other programming. With music you just throw a jukebox program in the corner of a closet and be done with it. Maybe pay for voice tracked talent.

If Rush Radio 104.5 were to pull the same numbers as the current format, it would be billing less because the audience is considerably older and less attractive to advertisers. I'd be willing to bet that it would need almost double the current ratings to make as much money as what they've got now, and I doubt they could do that.

 

[MattParker]

Excellent analysis, PAB. On the money.

It does not appear that in the markets where Clear Channel has moved Rush, et al to FM that either cume or demographics have improved much. Certainly not to the extent needed to make those stations more profitable than with music.

The era of ideological and syndicated talk is about over. If talk is to survive, indeed if terrestrial radio as we know it is to survive, talk radio must re-invent itself as dramatically as radio re-invented itself in the 50s. Walt Sabo did a good job of doing that 20 years ago and nobody has been paying attention. Unfortunately, today's radio management is like a guy with an old car who has decided to run the clunker into the ground without spending any money on it with the idea of just walking away when the thing finally dies.

 

[pab]

Matt: I still think WWDB did talk best back in the mid-late 1980's. All local hosts, a variety of viewpoints, not just political talk wall to wall and not just fuzzy warm lifestyle talk either. Even the individual shows had variety within them. I still miss Susan Bray's "The Mad Hour" on Fridays where people would just call in and bitch and moan. (Although I think Maxine Schnall did it better with her "Who Cares?!" segment on WCAU.)

To survive, talk radio needs to find ways to appeal more to people in their 20's, and the current crop of conservative political-talk hosts don't do it. What they need is a host in his/her/their late 20's who has free rein to talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's relevant in the lives of the Millenial Generation.

 

[MattParker]

Matt: I still think WWDB did talk best back in the mid-late 1980's. All local hosts, a variety of viewpoints, not just political talk wall to wall and not just fuzzy warm lifestyle talk either. Even the individual shows had variety within them. I still miss Susan Bray's "The Mad Hour" on Fridays where people would just call in and bitch and moan. (Although I think Maxine Schnall did it better with her "Who Cares?!" segment on WCAU.)

To survive, talk radio needs to find ways to appeal more to people in their 20's, and the current crop of conservative political-talk hosts don't do it. What they need is a host in his/her/their late 20's who has free rein to talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's relevant in the lives of the Millenial Generation.

Thanks for refreshing my memory about 'DB. They were good for a long time - before their infomercials disguised as talk shows phase. Now, NJ101.5 has dumped Sabo and has started gutting their product, too. But you're right, normal people don't talk about just one subject all time. WIP realized that about sports, but nobody seems to get that - except for hard core political obsessives - it applies to politics, too.

The other pitfall is the one CBS fell into several years ago where they tried to do talk on FM for the money demos by trying to clone Howard Stern and run "Howard Radio" all day. The trick, like the great top 40 stations or NJ101.5, is to build an ensemble of unique personalities that compliment each other's audience appeal. It doesn't matter if they come off as a one-big-happy-family team or hate each other and feud on-air (both approaches have worked). They key is talk radio has to be about personalities first.

 

[pab]

Really, in any format, people don't really want to listen to the same thing all day. They want a bit of variety and if they aren't going to get it on your station then they'll flip around and sample lots of stuff.

You need to daypart your shows, too. Morning drive needs to sound like morning drive: lots of news, weather, traffic, and information around the calls. Middays and office time slow down a bit. Noon of course you need Rush until he retires or the ratings fall through the floor. Pick up the pace in afternoon drive and evening fringe. Slow down a bit in the evening and something appropriate for overnight.

But with talk radio today, just like "Free FM" was Howard clones all day, everything is a Rush clone. Even Rush himself is a poor clone of what he was at his peak. The only way you can tell the shows apart is the sound of the host's voice. There is no variety on the air. Leave aside the question of ideological variety, even; everyone on conservative talk radio today sounds alike. Find younger, fresher, hungrier talent, and develop something completely new with and around them.

Hannity wants to grow up to be Rush and has nothing to distinguish himself from anyone else on the dial. Beck started believing his own press and then went completely Howard Beale until people couldn't stand him any more. I'm not surprised they're both gone from Philly and hope that 1210 can do something different in their slots.

 

[gakski]

Matt: I still think WWDB did talk best back in the mid-late 1980's. All local hosts, a variety of viewpoints, not just political talk wall to wall and not just fuzzy warm lifestyle talk either. Even the individual shows had variety within them. I still miss Susan Bray's "The Mad Hour" on Fridays where people would just call in and bitch and moan. (Although I think Maxine Schnall did it better with her "Who Cares?!" segment on WCAU.)

To survive, talk radio needs to find ways to appeal more to people in their 20's, and the current crop of conservative political-talk hosts don't do it. What they need is a host in his/her/their late 20's who has free rein to talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's relevant in the lives of the Millenial Generation.

WWDB also had a stable of interesting fill-in hosts. This is where Smerconish got his start.

 

[MattParker]

Matt: I still think WWDB did talk best back in the mid-late 1980's. All local hosts, a variety of viewpoints, not just political talk wall to wall and not just fuzzy warm lifestyle talk either. Even the individual shows had variety within them. I still miss Susan Bray's "The Mad Hour" on Fridays where people would just call in and bitch and moan. (Although I think Maxine Schnall did it better with her "Who Cares?!" segment on WCAU.)

To survive, talk radio needs to find ways to appeal more to people in their 20's, and the current crop of conservative political-talk hosts don't do it. What they need is a host in his/her/their late 20's who has free rein to talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's relevant in the lives of the Millenial Generation.

WWDB also had a stable of interesting fill-in hosts. This is where Smerconish got his start.

Smerconish was actually WWDB's lawyer. Probably all this vitriol we are hearing about these days comes from putting lawyers on talk shows.

 

[DonTheTrucker]

Smerconish was actually WWDB's lawyer. Probably all this vitriol we are hearing about these days comes from putting lawyers on talk shows.

No, I'm pretty sure it comes from media outlets that get lower ratings and are trying to manufacture outrage. I vaguely remember Smerconish from WWDB in the mid-late 90's and from what I remember, he was just as milquetoast and non-offensive as he is now.

 

[Seltzer]

Really, in any format, people don't really want to listen to the same thing all day. They want a bit of variety and if they aren't going to get it on your station then they'll flip around and sample lots of stuff.

You need to daypart your shows, too. Morning drive needs to sound like morning drive: lots of news, weather, traffic, and information around the calls. Middays and office time slow down a bit. Noon of course you need Rush until he retires or the ratings fall through the floor. Pick up the pace in afternoon drive and evening fringe. Slow down a bit in the evening and something appropriate for overnight.

But with talk radio today, just like "Free FM" was Howard clones all day, everything is a Rush clone. Even Rush himself is a poor clone of what he was at his peak. The only way you can tell the shows apart is the sound of the host's voice. There is no variety on the air. Leave aside the question of ideological variety, even; everyone on conservative talk radio today sounds alike. Find younger, fresher, hungrier talent, and develop something completely new with and around them.

Hannity wants to grow up to be Rush and has nothing to distinguish himself from anyone else on the dial. Beck started believing his own press and then went completely Howard Beale until people couldn't stand him any more. I'm not surprised they're both gone from Philly and hope that 1210 can do something different in their slots.

1210's ratings WILL NOT improve with these changes.

 

[musichead1029]

There is no variety on the air. Leave aside the question of ideological variety, even; everyone on conservative talk radio today sounds alike. Find younger, fresher, hungrier talent, and develop something completely new with and around them.

Hannity wants to grow up to be Rush and has nothing to distinguish himself from anyone else on the dial. Beck started believing his own press and then went completely Howard Beale until people couldn't stand him any more. I'm not surprised they're both gone from Philly and hope that 1210 can do something different in their slots.

Smerconish was actually WWDB's lawyer. Probably all this vitriol we are hearing about these days comes from putting lawyers on talk shows.

No, I'm pretty sure it comes from media outlets that get lower ratings and are trying to manufacture outrage. I vaguely remember Smerconish from WWDB in the mid-late 90's and from what I remember, he was just as milquetoast and non-offensive as he is now.

Talk show hosts have to be entertaining and relevant. They have to have hot topics and a way to address them that is compelling. Smerconish and Beck haven't been compelling listening lately, Beck because he's unfocused in his presentation and Smerconish because he's trying not to be overtly ideological to differentiate himself. It's not working for either of them. Limbaugh is still the master at what he does and even on an off day is entertaining to listen to if you can digest his ideological persuasion. Hannity has good days and bad. He's usually sharp and on point, but overly repetitive. He could do with a wider repertoire of topics.

Issues rule. To the core audience, very little of the outrage is 'manufactured'. The political response to last weekend's shootings in Arizona is a prime example of talk radio jumping on a topic important to its core and tailor-made for self-promotion. The detractors of talk radio have their own self-interested reasons for attacking the industry. They don't care to understand the format and likely don't listen to it on a regular basis if at all.

Talk radio is going to have to find a formula to lower its core demos, but so far it hasn't happened. So-called 'hot' talk was a total failure most everywhere it was tried and NJ101.5-style issues talk still has to be compelling. A mix of compelling topics, strong yet engaging personalities, and topical relevance, be it locational or ideological in nature, is what talk radio will need to succeed in the future with younger demos. I think today's political talk is closer to the successful recipe than the lifestyle/hot talk formats. But somebody in terrestrial radio had better start experimenting now, before it's left to the 'net to produce the next stars of the format by accident.

 

[pab]

The simple fact is that good compelling radio still needs to be personality driven. Rush is still where he is because it's his personality that drives the show. You can't just throw someone in front of a microphone with a bunch of talking points and expect results.

Personally, I love Mike Malloy, formerly of Air America. Whether or not you agree with him, you have to admit that he puts his real self out on the air every night, and is more fun to listen to than the pre-fab manufactured shows that usually rule the airwaves.

 

[scott5]

The simple fact is that good compelling radio still needs to be personality driven. Rush is still where he is because it's his personality that drives the show. You can't just throw someone in front of a microphone with a bunch of talking points and expect results.

Personally, I love Mike Malloy, formerly of Air America. Whether or not you agree with him, you have to admit that he puts his real self out on the air every night, and is more fun to listen to than the pre-fab manufactured shows that usually rule the airwaves.

Same is the Savage Nation a personality driven show.

 

[imhomerjay]

1210's ratings WILL NOT improve with these changes.

They ain't exactly starting from the highest mountaintop to begin with.

 

[Bill_W]

With these changes, I am glad that I have Sirius-XM radio. Listening to Sean right now on Sirius-XM Patriot! There's no static on satellite radio either. To tell you the truth, I've never listened to Hannity on 1210. He's been on Sirius and XM longer that he's been on WPHT. 1210 didn't carry him for ahile after he went national. Kept baldy on in the pm drive for awhile before he went to am. If they didn't still have Rush, I wouldn't have to listen to 1210. Also, no WPHT on WOGL-HD3 right now.

 

[Bill_W]

... and I can still listen to Mark Levin live. Thank you Sirius!

 

[musichead1029]

Satellite is the only place in Philly to listen over-the-air to Beck, Hannity, Levin, Ingraham, Quinn & Rose, Rollye James (for now) and a host of other national talk hosts unless you happen to be in the suburbs and can pull in WABC or another affiliate from out-of market. Limbaugh remains dedicated to terrestrial radio exclusively which makes sense for him - that's where his bread is buttered and he has affiliates willing to carry him just about everywhere.

 

[disney fanatic]

When I was listening to WKIP and WKIP-FM in the Hudson Valley, they still carried Glen Beck and Sean Hannity. This would bring listeners since the lost in Philly. I know that some stations still carrys it.