Springer in Cleveland--Ratings Info

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

From an unusual place--Cincinnati Post's Rich Bird.

Here's the article link--the key paragraph for our purposes is the 5th from the bottom.

<a target="_blank" href=http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050815/LIFE/508150336/1005>http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050815/LIFE/508150336/1005</a>

I'd like to hyperlink directly to that paragraph, or cite it here, but Arbitron rules forbid it. Needless to say, there's some actual ratings data in the article's body.

 

[nate81]

> From an unusual place--Cincinnati Post's Rich Bird.
>
> Here's the article link--the key paragraph for our purposes
> is the 5th from the bottom.
>
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?ID=/20050815/LIFE/508150336/1005

Where would you get this info from, aside from here or OMW? The PD's Clint O' Connor? (sarcasm)

> I'd like to hyperlink directly to that paragraph, or cite it
> here, but Arbitron rules forbid it. Needless to say,
> there's some actual ratings data in the article's body.

And it's not good at 6200 Oaktree. Glenn Beck was dead-on right.

The article details Jerry and his flagship, WCKY/1530's, VERY slow ratings start. Albeit in overall numbers, WCKY's sister, WLW/700 outdraws WCKY by 10 to 1! Yet, I give Mr. Bird credit: he does give WCKY as fair a treatment as you can give.

But the WTAM paragraph is telling. No other Springer affils are cited.

Rush, who follows Jerry, easily trumps Jerry by 2 to 1. AT WTAM. Hear all the radio knobs switch "off" at 9:00AM, and back "on" at 12:06PM. The difference is laughable.

Kicking a fallen horse, WTAM's programming philosophy is ridiculed by Mr. Bird as "playing Kenny Chesney next to 50 Cent." This goes without saying that Glenn Beck nearly got three (!!!) times the ratings Jerry had at the same period - right up to the last book.

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!</P>

 

[ajhenderson]

>
> Rush, who follows Jerry, easily trumps Jerry by 2 to 1. AT
> WTAM. Hear all the radio knobs switch "off" at 9:00AM, and
> back "on" at 12:06PM. The difference is laughable.
>
> Kicking a fallen horse, WTAM's programming philosophy is
> ridiculed by Mr. Bird as "playing Kenny Chesney next to 50
> Cent." This goes without saying that Glenn Beck nearly got
> three (!!!) times the ratings Jerry had at the same period -
> right up to the last book.

You're right again Nate. However, it could be said that Bill Wills does not attain the ratings Rush does, because there are more, and better, choices in the morning. While it's been over two years since I've seen a Cleveland book, I would guess that 12-10pm well outpaces anything in the post-Beck 5a-12pm dayparts.

 

[HHH]

> Kicking a fallen horse, WTAM's programming philosophy is
> ridiculed by Mr. Bird as "playing Kenny Chesney next to 50
> Cent." This goes without saying that Glenn Beck nearly got
> three (!!!) times the ratings Jerry had at the same period -
> right up to the last book.


But I am willing to bet that it is the exact same audience as Rush: Generally older demo, dominantly male. I am also willing to bet that it is the exact same people! It is not so dumb to build your cume, especially if you are trying to market a full-service, news-information-emergency-weather habit.

First of all, I think that most commercial talk radio (right or left) is a
cartoonish over-simplification of the issues where the "other side" is 100%demonized. But, having said that, at least Air America, Shultz, and others add balance to the talkradio dial. Albiet, balancing one extreme with another extreme, but I would much rather hear that then a constant drumbeat from one side only (up to now, only Rush, Hannity, Savage, Gallagher, Ingraham, O'Reilly, Prager, Medved, Hewitt.....whew!....lot of 'em, eh? Not a lot of balance in that crowd).

Also: It took Rush three or four years before he started to show any numbers in most markets, and longer in others. His show was not making any real money for anybody for quite a while. I think that things will heat up in a few months (Senate races) and really heat up after that with the impending presidential election.

 

[david5258]

> > Kicking a fallen horse, WTAM's programming philosophy is
> > ridiculed by Mr. Bird as "playing Kenny Chesney next to 50
>
> > Cent." This goes without saying that Glenn Beck nearly got
>
> > three (!!!) times the ratings Jerry had at the same period
> -
> > right up to the last book.
>
>
> But I am willing to bet that it is the exact same audience
> as Rush: Generally older demo, dominantly male. I am also
> willing to bet that it is the exact same people! It is not
> so dumb to build your cume, especially if you are trying to
> market a full-service, news-information-emergency-weather
> habit.
>
> First of all, I think that most commercial talk radio (right
> or left) is a
> cartoonish over-simplification of the issues where the
> "other side" is 100%demonized. But, having said that, at
> least Air America, Shultz, and others add balance to the
> talkradio dial. Albiet, balancing one extreme with another
> extreme, but I would much rather hear that then a constant
> drumbeat from one side only (up to now, only Rush, Hannity,
> Savage, Gallagher, Ingraham, O'Reilly, Prager, Medved,
> Hewitt.....whew!....lot of 'em, eh? Not a lot of balance in
> that crowd).
>
> Also: It took Rush three or four years before he started to
> show any numbers in most markets, and longer in others. His
> show was not making any real money for anybody for quite a
> while. I think that things will heat up in a few months
> (Senate races) and really heat up after that with the
> impending presidential election.
>
i was surprised to see how dramatic the difference in ratings for springer compared to beck. many of us have noted how jerry whines about certain subjects---now wtam is inviting listeners to listen to jerry WHINE mornigs at nine--david5258

 

[ajhenderson]

> Also: It took Rush three or four years before he started to
> show any numbers in most markets, and longer in others. His
> show was not making any real money for anybody for quite a
> while. I think that things will heat up in a few months
> (Senate races) and really heat up after that with the
> impending presidential election.

I understand that... however, Rush started out on crap stations! The WERE's, WJMO's, etc. of the world. This is how Randi Rhodes can claim she has beaten Rush - she was on top-rated WJNO, while newcomer Limbaugh was relegated to a paytoilet in between colon cleanse infomercials. It happens to be that he turned out to be a success.

In the case of WTAM, they already had huge numbers. They weren't running crap programming, weren't experiencing billing trouble, and generally speaking weren't desperate. Glenn Beck wasn't being outrated by 1040 in North Ridgeville. He was doing fine, and replacing him (or anyone for that matter) for a guy who the best defense is, "Well, he'll do well in a year or two" is nonsense. If you want Springer, wait until he's hot, can actually speak fluently, and has built a compelling show.

 

[HHH]

> In the case of WTAM, they already had huge numbers. They
> weren't running crap programming, weren't experiencing
> billing trouble, and generally speaking weren't desperate.

No, but you have to look at what is probably the long-range plan.
Beck and Rush (and almost all of the right wing talkers) do pretty much the same show and pull the same audience, mostly the very same people, a mostly aging, male-dominant demo. I believe that the long-range plan is to get some different people into the cume for WTAM at large to get in the habit of using WTAM for general news-weather-traffic service. That seems to be the plan with WTAM, and with the mounting of full-up left wing stations like WARF in Akron, the idea is similar...to get new and different people to traffic talk radio. Remember that CC only owns one AM in Cleveland.







<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by HHH on 08/18/05 12:32 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[adz]

When Rush rolled out in syndication, he had 60 radio stations at his start..I know, cause I worked at one of them, in his hometown.

Air America has an advantage that no other talk radio start up has ever had--the internet, and satellite radio--to help carry it..we won't know until January if its having an impact locally or not--I suspect the black bunting over the Clear Channel billboards locally, where the old Fox 1350 logos were, isnt helping things..

Its been noted that Rush was on some awful signals at the start--and its true..it was three to five years after his national roll out that he started to attract some big signal major market AMs..pod casting and internet archives would come much later..

Given the discussion of the pre and post Springer move into Cleveland, I think it was pretty much determined that WTAM really had no choice regarding the matter--it HAD to carry Springer, no questions asked...the move of Beck to WHLO was one of the best things that could have happened to 640..