Scott and Todd getting old!

[TheBigA]

Can Cumulus and WPLJ believe that having two senior citizens on the air targeting 20 and 30 somethings will work?

Radio isn't a guessing game. They can look at the numbers, and they know the facts. They also know that if they walk away from a proven heritage talent, they need to have a replacement who can walk in and build an audience from day one. That's a hard thing to do in NYC. As pointed out, they have a similar problem at WABC. You can't blow up two stations at the same time. And you don't blow a station up until you have to. I imagine they feel Scott & Todd are still attracting a sellable demo, and their more pressing problem is Imus. And they know the terms of their contracts. All of those things are major factors in this decision.

 

[Jay Walker]

What kind of ratings do Scott and Todd bring to the table?
Are they at par or are they under performing compared with the rest of the station day-parts?
Those are the questions that really matter.

It's not a question of the age of the talent, it's how they rank ratings wise in the desired demographic. Throughout the history of radio you will see instances of talent who "aged" out of a particular demographic yet still performed EXCELLENT in the ratings. There is no sure measure of how well a particular talent will perform with a particular demo based solely on age. Many factors come into play especially with a show that has as much "ear time" in a given market as S&T have in NYC.

The "legends" during the heyday of 77 WABC were definitely NOT teenagers, yet pulled incredible numbers in teens and 12-24. Not a one of the air talents was under 30 and in some cases under 40 when they pulled that bit of magic off. Talent in large markets are usually older for the simple fact it takes, or at least use to take, years of radio experience to get your air check listened to, let alone get hired by WABC, WNBC, WPLJ, WWDJ, and even the recent newcomer 30 year old Z-100.

 

[Shredder]

A old timer like Todd Petengill sometimes sounds older than Shannon does. Can Cumulus and WPLJ believe that having two senior citizens on the air targeting 20 and 30 somethings will work? Despite the laugh tracks they use I don't find the show funny at all anymore

Wow,really?.. Todd can't be more than 44. The only time he sounds older than scott is when he agrees with what everyone is saying here... Complaining that having scott on the air sometimes hurts the show more than helps it. When Todd runs things, the show sounds much faster paced..... And I agree. Scott's Demo is and probably always was, Oldies. He knows every a and B record side from 1950 through the 80s, most likely. And, as I think I pointed out earlier, rumor has it he's looking to make the move to CBS FM. But put that in the HUGE GRAIN OF SALT rumor category.....I read it on the other message board, if memory serves...However, when both hosts are in a bad mood, they DO sometimes remind me of Statler and Waldorf ;o)...

And since when do they use Laugh tracks? although I will agree that while I do love Cooper Lawrence (she reminds me of how feisty Naomi used to be, compared to the slower talking, or just plane calmer paced Patti Steele), I think they hired her based on the fact that she likes to laugh at things alot .

I think if they ever do get rid of s and t, one of two things will happen. They'll offer an advancement to Monk and cooper...Or,they will just hire a fly by Night DJ who does breaks that are no longer than 2 minutes, and a show of mostly music and commercials. Although I think shows like that are only attractive to offices, where they like to keep things on as background noise.

 

[WNTIRadio]

The "legends" during the heyday of 77 WABC were definitely NOT teenagers, yet pulled incredible numbers in teens and 12-24. Not a one of the air talents was under 30 and in some cases under 40 when they pulled that bit of magic off. Talent in large markets are usually older for the simple fact it takes, or at least use to take, years of radio experience to get your air check listened to, let alone get hired by WABC, WNBC, WPLJ, WWDJ, and even the recent newcomer 30 year old Z-100.

Those guys were tremendous at what they did, influenced a couple of generations and got ratings that people can only dream about now.

But here's the $64,000 question: Would they get the same numbers now as they did then?

I don't think so, and here's why:

- Competition. There was a lot less of it back then. Even on the radio dial itself, most FM stations were playing automated formats and beautiful music until the mid-70's.

- Competition part II. There weren't 500 channels of cable/satellite TV, the internet, Facebook, iPods, cellphones, texting, in-car video screens etc. to compete with back then. If you were in the car, and wanted to hear music, you put the radio on. Same thing at the beach, late at night, outside or anywhere else you went. No streaming video to your mobile device.

It was a different world then. Top 40 was on AM, there were 3 networks on TV and movie theaters. Those were the main entertainment options as far as media went. Those same guys would not be pulling a 10 share or more now, there are just too many other things to listen to that didn't exist then.

Also, being in your 40's is quite different than being in your 70's, or close to your 70's. Sure, 70 isn't what it used to be, but it's still 70 and in the case of WPLJ, twice the age of the target demo in question.

Imus' problem isn't as much his age as the toll that hard living has taken on him, and the on-air result. If he was a "spry" 73, then there wouldn't be a problem. Art Bell is pushing 70 and I'll bet when he gets back on the air at Sirius/XM he sounds the same as he always did. Imus sounds like he's about to croak at any moment. It's not the number with Imus, it's the fact that he sounds like a grouchy old coot.

 

[Jay Walker]

The "legends" during the heyday of 77 WABC were definitely NOT teenagers, yet pulled incredible numbers in teens and 12-24. Not a one of the air talents was under 30 and in some cases under 40 when they pulled that bit of magic off. Talent in large markets are usually older for the simple fact it takes, or at least use to take, years of radio experience to get your air check listened to, let alone get hired by WABC, WNBC, WPLJ, WWDJ, and even the recent newcomer 30 year old Z-100.

Those guys were tremendous at what they did, influenced a couple of generations and got ratings that people can only dream about now.

But here's the $64,000 question: Would they get the same numbers now as they did then?

I don't think so, and here's why:

- Competition. There was a lot less of it back then. Even on the radio dial itself, most FM stations were playing automated formats and beautiful music until the mid-70's.

- Competition part II. There weren't 500 channels of cable/satellite TV, the internet, Facebook, iPods, cellphones, texting, in-car video screens etc. to compete with back then. If you were in the car, and wanted to hear music, you put the radio on. Same thing at the beach, late at night, outside or anywhere else you went. No streaming video to your mobile device.

It was a different world then. Top 40 was on AM, there were 3 networks on TV and movie theaters. Those were the main entertainment options as far as media went. Those same guys would not be pulling a 10 share or more now, there are just too many other things to listen to that didn't exist then.

Also, being in your 40's is quite different than being in your 70's, or close to your 70's. Sure, 70 isn't what it used to be, but it's still 70 and in the case of WPLJ, twice the age of the target demo in question.

Imus' problem isn't as much his age as the toll that hard living has taken on him, and the on-air result. If he was a "spry" 73, then there wouldn't be a problem. Art Bell is pushing 70 and I'll bet when he gets back on the air at Sirius/XM he sounds the same as he always did. Imus sounds like he's about to croak at any moment. It's not the number with Imus, it's the fact that he sounds like a grouchy old coot.

The days of double digit shares are forever gone because of all of the additional competition. A part of me thinks "the legends" would still pull surprisingly high ratings if we could magically transport the 30 year old Cousin Brucie or Dan Ingram to today's timeline. They would have the ability to find the niche and put an armlock on that audience. Some of many true professionals that have formed our business. Talent is Talent, and they related to the audience as few others have since.

 

[wadio]

Imus' problem isn't as much his age as the toll that hard living has taken on him, and the on-air result. If he was a "spry" 73, then there wouldn't be a problem. Art Bell is pushing 70 and I'll bet when he gets back on the air at Sirius/XM he sounds the same as he always did. Imus sounds like he's about to croak at any moment. It's not the number with Imus, it's the fact that he sounds like a grouchy old coot.

Geraldo who follows Imus on WABC sounds about 30 years younger but there's only a 3 year difference in their chronological ages. Psychological age is a different matter.