And Ben costs, what, a nickel to run?
"Do something" sounds all well and good, but the question is...do
what? Set aside for a monent whether the Fanatic of Ben has the better (or worse) bottom line (not ratings, not billings...bottom line). Either way, where is there an actual, viable likely better option for GM? What out there could be considered a good gamble for a better return on investment?
Maybe talk, starting with Beck and Hannity, and building from there. But even then, the question bcomes, is there a viable audience? 1210 isn't exactly setting the world on fire as the primary talk game in town--they weren't before they dumped Beck/Hannity and they're not now. To be successful with talk, GM would have to do something more than pry away a sliver of the angry old guys listening to angry old guys.
That leads to music formats. They've got a nice thing going with the WMGK/WMMR combo. Classic hits is well covered. Adult contemporary...we saw how that turned out. This market can support one country station, but a second? Not likely. Ditto altenative. Then cast aisde the fantasy formats, and what are you left with? Whetever it is would have to run on a shoestring (and they already have that in Ben), and would need to deliver better target demos (which aren't reflected here).
