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Rich Shertenlieb Show on WZLX

J

Jacko

It appears the first several months of The Rich Shertenlieb Show on WZLX has had some difficulty gaining a following. In a market already dominated by sports talk, who'da thunk?

www.boston.com

Rich Shertenlieb’s small share after move to WZLX the big news of summer Nielsen Audio ratings

Rich Shertenlieb’s small share after moving to WZLX is the big news of the Nielsen Audio ratings, writes Chad Finn. Read more on Boston.com.
www.boston.com

Makes me wonder if the folks at Beasley are second guessing putting Bloomberg on 92.9. Perhaps a music-intensive morning show would've worked? Right now, aside from the occasional song that Rich now HAS to play on his show, there's no real mainstream/classic rock offering in Boston in morning drive. But I guess that's what streaming is for.
 
Jacko said:
Right now, aside from the occasional song that Rich now HAS to play on his show, there's no real mainstream/classic rock offering in Boston in morning drive. But I guess that's what streaming is for.
Click to expand...

What's interesting is that the station as a whole has increased its share every month since the show began. My view is that classic rock as a format is mainly a male format to begin with. The lion's share of male listening in Boston will be for the sports hub regardless of who hosts WZLX. We all know that. iHeart may have thought hiring Rich would take listeners away from WBZ, but they're all back now that football season has begun.

As for WBOS, they really didn't benefit at all from the Rich show. The other part of it is the money they make is firm, while ad money playing music is speculative at best. It's a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush.
 
TheBigA said:
What's interesting is that the station as a whole has increased its share every month since the show began. My view is that classic rock as a format is mainly a male format to begin with. The lion's share of male listening in Boston will be for the sports hub regardless of who hosts WZLX. We all know that. iHeart may have thought hiring Rich would take listeners away from WBZ, but they're all back now that football season has begun.

As for WBOS, they really didn't benefit at all from the Rich show. The other part of it is the money they make is firm, while ad money playing music is speculative at best. It's a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush.
Click to expand...
If you weren't already aware, the syndicated Dave & Chuck the freak show that was on WBOS, doesn't play any music. It's not surprising that WZLX's prior audience didn't go over there.
 
Jacko said:
Makes me wonder if the folks at Beasley are second guessing putting Bloomberg on 92.9.
Click to expand...

Beasley was taking Michael's money no matter what. And if they hadn't, Dave and Chuck the Freak wasn't getting replaced.

The mistake was putting Rich on ZLX instead of Kiss.
 
It's an awkward show. Feels like they're not sure what they want to be.
 
You had 2 highly rated sports shows in the market already. How many markets have 3 highly rated sports shows in the AM?

WZLX presently is the answer to a problem that does not exist. A problem that has never existed anywhere: the need for a 3rd major AM drive sports option.
 
BostonRadioListener said:
WZLX presently is the answer to a problem that does not exist. A problem that has never existed anywhere: the need for a 3rd major AM drive sports option.
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Yet the ratings of his morning show aren't hurting the ratings of the station overall, right?

They're up a full point since the show launched.
 
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It's unfortunate that Rich hasn't gotten traction at ZLX, he's a great guy, a very hard worker and all my interactions with him over the years were courteous and respectful. As for Bloomies taking the main at WBOS? One word, 3 syllables... "re-ve-nue". As mentioned earlier, the prospect of bankable money without the vagaries of rates and ratings is a beautiful thing in this business climate. And it's a hands-off operation, just take the feed and keep the transmitters pumping.
 
TheBigA said:
Radio decisions aren't made based on "need." That's a fake premise.

Where's the "need" for Bloomberg on FM? There is none.
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Help us out here, BigA: if there's no "need" this type of format or another, then, what? - are stations in effect emulating Jack FM; viz, "We program what we want"?
 
nowradioguy said:
Help us out here, BigA: if there's no "need" this type of format or another, then, what?
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Read my post. I didn't say there's "no need." But that decisions aren't based on need. They're based on money.

What does Boston need? Most would say an active rock station. Then why isn't there one? There's no money in it.

Was anyone clamoring for Bloomberg on FM? No. Why was it done? Money. Understand?

Let me point out that the morning show isn't hurting WZLX. WZLX is #5, up a full point since Rich debuted.
 
TheBigA said:
I agree with your first sentence, but not with that one. Rich is too male oriented for CHR.
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You understand that just because he does one thing now, that doesn't mean he can't conceivably do something else, right?

Robin Roberts was a SportsCenter anchor. Now, she's on Good Morning America. By your logic, she would have never gotten the gig.
 
MassMusicMan said:
You understand that just because he does one thing now, that doesn't mean he can't conceivably do something else, right?
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That would be up to the people of Boston. Would they be willing to accept a guy they've only known for sports talking instead about pop culture?

Radio is more about format demographics than TV. My sense is it would be easier to go from CHR to an older format than the other way around. Therefore aging with your audience. That's what some Top 40 DJs were able to do.
 
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TheBigA said:
Radio decisions aren't made based on "need." That's a fake premise.

Where's the "need" for Bloomberg on FM? There is none.
Click to expand...
So you think there’s a greater need for a THIRD AM sports format when the 2 existing sports stations dominate the AM Drive ratings already?

But you DONT think there’s a need for ONE Business show with a signal you can hear 15 miles from the transmitter?
 
BostonRadioListener said:
So you think there’s a greater need for a THIRD AM sports format when the 2 existing sports stations dominate the AM Drive ratings already?

But you DONT think there’s a need for ONE Business show with a signal you can hear 15 miles from the transmitter?
Click to expand...

What did I say about the word "need?" Read my first sentence again. Then read post #14.
 
I do find it pretty amazing that with the history of some pretty amazing FM Rock stations in the Boston area over the years...WBCN, WCOZ, WAAF, WFNX and WBOS among others and some forgotten ones too...WBZ-FM, WCGY, WTTK and WHDH-FM...Boston is now down to one commercial FM Classic Rock station which basically talks about sports in the morning. Kind of sad....
 
Time Traveler said:
Kind of sad....
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The music has changed, the audience's interest has changed, how they get their music has changed, and the community that once coalesced around those radio stations for both music and culture is gone. So the change in radio really reflects a much bigger societal change, and radio is just one of the signs of collateral damage. Take a look at the sports community and how they unite around their teams. That's what you look for when starting a radio station. Forty years ago, that kind of community existed for rock music. It doesn't exist anymore.

Radio stations were once the connection between the bands and their fans. Bands would visit the radio stations and do interviews. They don't do that much anymore. They communicate directly through social media. So the relationship has bypassed radio completely. People don't buy albums anymore, and the money in music is between the band and the fan. The bands want to make money directly from the fans. So they basically own their own media. The internet makes that possible.

The problem rock stations find is the music is very individual. People are fans of specific bands, not the genre in general. They won't sit through bands they don't like. Classic rock doesn't have that problem. Every song is a classic, they all are consensus hits. Because of streaming, there are no consensus hits. Rock record labels don't focus on recording hit songs anymore. So the balkanization of music has led to the death of rock radio in a lot of places, including Boston and New York.
 
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