Smerconish To Unseat Limbaugh On WPHT?

[Irishfl]

I'm assuming 1210 must've just found out. Why else would they have stood by Rush & took a PR hit when pressure was strong last month to drop him. They had the chance to drop his program, and have a month or so to allow the public to get used to Smerconish in his timeslot.

I think seltzer has the right idea. Move wip am to 1210, and try to sell off 610.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Then there's the dopey NYT, claiming that WKDN at 38 kw ERP on FM,
is a "smaller" station than WPHT's 50 gallons on AM.

Closed circuit for dopey: you might want to look at the coverage maps
on radio-locator.com.

Haven't Philly folks recently complained that 1210's signal/ground system
basically sucks?

 

[imhomerjay]

I'm assuming 1210 must've just found out. Why else would they have stood by Rush & took a PR hit when pressure was strong last month to drop him. They had the chance to drop his program, and have a month or so to allow the public to get used to Smerconish in his timeslot.

Would that be an imaginary PR hit?

 

[aindik]

I'm assuming 1210 must've just found out. Why else would they have stood by Rush & took a PR hit when pressure was strong last month to drop him. They had the chance to drop his program, and have a month or so to allow the public to get used to Smerconish in his timeslot.

I think seltzer has the right idea. Move wip am to 1210, and try to sell off 610.

They should have moved WIP to 1210 and upgraded the signal to its full potential, and left some form of music on 94.

 

[deepstblu]

Then there's the dopey NYT, claiming that WKDN at 38 kw ERP on FM,
is a "smaller" station than WPHT's 50 gallons on AM.

Closed circuit for dopey: you might want to look at the coverage maps
on radio-locator.com.

Haven't Philly folks recently complained that 1210's signal/ground system
basically sucks?

You can find somebody on this board to complain about the signal of every Philly station that isn't a full Class B FM transmitting from Roxborough.

 

[imhomerjay]

They should have moved WIP to 1210 and upgraded the signal to its full potential, and left some form of music on 94.

Kind of defeats the point of having sports on FM.

 

[Jul]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120410_Limbaugh_out_at_WPHT.html

 

[LLL]

There's a reason why conservative commentary is popular, while progressive radio isn't.

Conservatives say things you can't say at work, school or in public and certainly won't hear expressed on your local network affiliate or network news or local newspaper.

Conservative radio has something of an underground feel to it. They are saying things that many agree with(think New Haven Firefighters fiasco) but are afraid to express. It's the same reason why Fox News gets huge ratings compared to other cable news nets.

 

[DToTheJ]

Meanwhile, MoveOn.com is claiming victory in this move, as they had started a "get Rush off WPHT" petition. But a Limbaugh spokesperson denies that (I personally would have taken the high road and not paid them any mind):
http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/10/l...-fm-nothing-to-do-with-moveons-tiny-petition/

 

[denverradiodude]

Here are the facts: Like it or not:
1. Conservative talk is the only form of talk that's successful. Air America and the likes of Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, and the like have been utter failures wherever they've been. Best example: Liberal blue collar Buffalo. On the 50K blowtorch 1520...failed miserably.
2. Being a moderate is even worse.

I certainly am relieved that conservative opinion never masquerades as fact in this forum...

 

[aindik]

They should have moved WIP to 1210 and upgraded the signal to its full potential, and left some form of music on 94.

Kind of defeats the point of having sports on FM.

I think if you had a full 50kw clear channel AM station with the sports format on it, you wouldn't need sports on FM.

 

[imhomerjay]

You do when the patterns of radio use are becoming more and more clear--and those patterns spell more and more bad news for AM.

 

[aindik]

You do when the patterns of radio use are becoming more and more clear--and those patterns spell more and more bad news for AM.

I agree in general, but I think the full power 50 kw clear channel signals are the exception, at least for the near term. Maybe it's not apples to apples signal-wise, but look at the ratings for CBS's AM stations in New York. Also, look at the ratings on KYW.

 

[imhomerjay]

Which means they made a move with a longer-term goal in mind. No need for extra cash to upgrade facilities, and the format more suited to the younger audience moves to FM. KYW bides its time, with no direct competition as WIP had, but eventually, it, too, will need to pack up and move somewhere else. And in the short-term, they still have 610 for overflow, while it still serves a useful purpose.

 

[Bill_W]

You do when the patterns of radio use are becoming more and more clear--and those patterns spell more and more bad news for AM.

I agree in general, but I think the full power 50 kw clear channel signals are the exception, at least for the near term. Maybe it's not apples to apples signal-wise, but look at the ratings for CBS's AM stations in New York. Also, look at the ratings on KYW.

As I was driving down Paoli Pike in Malvern this afternoon, Rush was all static and buzzing going next to PECO lines on 1210. Flipped over to 106.9 and it was pretty clear on it's substandard signal coming out of Camden out here in Chester County. I usually stream Rush from Talk 1200 in Boston on my iPhone plugged into the radio because of the static. I even stream KYW so thst I'm not under power lines when traffic on the 2s comes on.

 

[MDefl]

I am not a fan of Rush's show. However, this definitely hurts PHT. He has a huge audience that is extremely loyal and demographically appealing. I liked it when Smerconish became an independent so I decided to give him a try. It was a veritable snoozefest. Just awful. "How about that Oprah show yesterday"? It really was that bad.

It is also a loose for the Rush people since 106.9 doesn't have the reach of PHT. He might get 20 to 25% of the audience that he had with PHT. I think Smerconish was shielded a bit by the Phillies programming. I am not sure that they will be simulcasted on PHT now that they are with 94.1.

Anyway, we will finally know for certain if local political talk is a winner around here. I suspect it won't be in the end.

 

[aindik]

It is also a loose for the Rush people since 106.9 doesn't have the reach of PHT. He might get 20 to 25% of the audience that he had with PHT. I think Smerconish was shielded a bit by the Phillies programming. I am not sure that they will be simulcasted on PHT now that they are with 94.1.

Do you mean the reach in actual audience, or do you mean the geographic reach of the signal. Because for someone like Rush, the parts of the area where 1210 reaches but 106.9 doesn't reach are already covered by his other affiliates.

 

[LLL]

I am not a fan of Rush's show. However, this definitely hurts PHT. He has a huge audience that is extremely loyal and demographically appealing. I liked it when Smerconish became an independent so I decided to give him a try. It was a veritable snoozefest. Just awful. "How about that Oprah show yesterday"? It really was that bad.

It is also a loose for the Rush people since 106.9 doesn't have the reach of PHT. He might get 20 to 25% of the audience that he had with PHT. I think Smerconish was shielded a bit by the Phillies programming. I am not sure that they will be simulcasted on PHT now that they are with 94.1.

Anyway, we will finally know for certain if local political talk is a winner around here. I suspect it won't be in the end.

Smirconish is not "local". Sure, he's from Philly, but the content of his show is national. Like just about everyone else in talk radio.

 

[carolinaradio]

If Merlin was to put Rush, Beck, and Hannity on 106.9, they'd far outrank their Chicago and NYC sisters as far as performance goes.

 

[LLL]

If Merlin was to put Rush, Beck, and Hannity on 106.9, they'd far outrank their Chicago and NYC sisters as far as performance goes.

Philly is a funny market.

I remember seeing white people all over the place in Center City with Dan Faulkner buttons in the late 90's. I was surprised that whites would be so open about such a controversial case. Yet I don't see conservative commentary ever being as popular there as it is in other markets like NYC, LA, etc..........