This is why stations should kill oldies

[XM RADIO]

Oldiescat,, Wherever your from someday your statoin will flip and when it does,, Your going to appeciate it,,, unless you really dig terrestrial,,, listening to terrestrial is like taking a shower and putting on dirty clothes,= waste of time !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kenny in Concord oh by the way AZjoe sure had the facts and figures for you,,, he really put the brakes on your (-) comments concerning XM and Sirius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[amfmsw]

I stand by my numbers.

After checking the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times as sources, there are less than 14 million "subscribers" total. That number includes over ONE HALF MILLION unsold cars and trucks. The renewal rates you quoted of 54% and 78%, I cannot verify independently. With that said, simple math will arrive at or near my number of 60% renewal.

54+78=132. Averaging 132: 132 divided by 2 = 66% renewal rate. Using your unverified numbers, I'm off by 6%. Pretty close.

I'm not debating the desirability XM or Sirius, or that of Satellite Radio in general, but the business facts speak for themselves. It's like Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War editorial cartoon of the snake cut into 13 pieces, underlined with the phrase "Join Or Die".

 

[OldiesCat]

I'm not debating the desirability XM or Sirius, or that of Satellite Radio in general, but the business facts speak for themselves.

I second that.

 

[AZJoe]

I stand by my numbers.

After checking the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times as sources, there are less than 14 million "subscribers" total. That number includes over ONE HALF MILLION unsold cars and trucks. The renewal rates you quoted of 54% and 78%, I cannot verify independently. With that said, simple math will arrive at or near my number of 60% renewal.

54+78=132. Averaging 132: 132 divided by 2 = 66% renewal rate. Using your unverified numbers, I'm off by 6%. Pretty close.

I'm not debating the desirability XM or Sirius, or that of Satellite Radio in general, but the business facts speak for themselves. It's like Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War editorial cartoon of the snake cut into 13 pieces, underlined with the phrase "Join Or Die".

And I stand by mine, I am a subscriber and investor in both services, and they each released their 2nd QTR 2007 reports last month ( I get both). Sirius has 7, 142, 538 subscribers as of June 30, 2007 ( they gained 561, 493 new subscribers in that quarter). XM released their numbers also in July, having a bit more than 8,250,000 paid subscribers (adding over 338,000 new subs). When you add the two up, you have almost 15,400,000 subscribers... your information is outdated, and inaccurate, please use current figures given and reported by the companies not a newspaper. If I want information on a company I go to that company not the news services.. and these numbers and reports are filed with the FCC and other US government agencies for verification. When you discuss something on here use facts not hearsay.

 

[OldiesCat]

azjoe

Both are hemmoraging red ink. How long do you believe they can continue to lose millions year after year? Their growth hasn't accellerated fast enough to overcome their huge debt. I believe one will survive, either because the other goes bankrupt or they merge and the merger option isn't looking too rosy right now.

 

[XM RADIO]

Oldiescat, Im stymied why you are so concrned about XM and Sirius surviving,, they will survive,, theres not a snowballs chance in He--, that they will dissapear and 10 million plus subs will resume listening to terrestrial,, wont happen,,wishful thinking , but your going to have to live with it XM and Sirius are powerful,, they will be around a long time,, Perhaps the merger will be final the day Hillary is Inaugurated! In the mean time enjoy the commercial free music on XM and Sirius!! I often wonder how we made it til they came into play? Kenny in Concord

 

[AZJoe]

azjoe

Both are hemmoraging red ink. How long do you believe they can continue to lose millions year after year? Their growth hasn't accellerated fast enough to overcome their huge debt. I believe one will survive, either because the other goes bankrupt or they merge and the merger option isn't looking too rosy right now.

Actually they are improving and each one (XM & Sirius) has had the last couple quarters in the black. They both had positive cash flows since the end of last year. DirecTV and DISH Network both lost money for 7 years before they turned the corner, XM has been around 6 and Sirius 5. I think they will make it.

 

[OldiesCat]

Oldiescat, Im stymied why you are so concrned about XM and Sirius surviving,, they will survive,, theres not a snowballs chance in He--, that they will dissapear and 10 million plus subs will resume listening to terrestrial,, wont happen

You're reading way too much into my postings. I'm merely trying to help you stay grounded in reality. I am worried ZERO about satellite radio and I have never, EVER said it will disappear. I do, however, think that radio programmers who don't believe there's potential for our audiences to be frittered away by ALL THE OTHER CHOICES, including satellite, internet, MP3, etc., are living in a cave. This is terrestrial radio's great opportunity to showcase what we have the ability to do.

But, please, stop with the "if you're so worried" tripe. It's a non-starter and wishful thinking on your part.

 

[XM RADIO]

Terrestrial radio bring us listeners lots of things ,,,,, Heres a small sample
1) Too Many Commercials !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) Endless Repitition !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3) Morning Shows that are Pethedic!!!!!!!!!!!!
4) No variety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5) Absoulutly no loyalty to the listener!!!!!!! Have a good one, @ 5am Calif time its Phlash Phelps On the Sixties channell (XM) Great way,, (The only way to start my day) Or Bill Rock on Sirius 6,,5am so much great Satelite Radio out there!!!! Kenny in Concord

 

[hammondo]

XM, I hope your psychic abillity is better than your (your word) "Pethedic" (correctly, pathetic) spelling.

I guess it's a matter of what you WANT from radio and how good a "predictor" you are (without any inside info) about XM and Sirius. They are both really BAD financial examples. Where will the needed flood of money come from while the huge leak is happenng?

PS Phlash Phelps was an employee of mine in Indiana long ago. You can have him. If HE is good radio, Armageddon is near.

 

[XM RADIO]

hammando, thanks for the spelling lesson my tutor has been out on medical leave!!! As far as Phlash Phelps. yes hes #1 on XM, that guy has got a long list of fans,,Terrestrial wishes they had a morning guy like him, he doesnt need a partner,, hes one of those guys from the 60s who can do his show solo and draw a huge audience,, its neat how one guy can have such outstanding ratings!! The bay Area never had a guy like Phlash, always had duos,, Like Cammy and Dean on KFRC ,, terrible morning show!! After having XM for 3 years, i liked his show the 1st time i heard him! The guy claims to have been fired 17 times,, theres gotta be 17 GMs that are regretting that decision,, he winds up at the most powerful oldies outlet in the USA the best shift and the most listeners! Look at Bobby Ocean CBS let him go and he winds up on XM Phlash and Bobby Ocean are huge @ XM!! Kenny in Concord

 

[davideduardo]

Terrestrial radio bring us listeners lots of things ,,,,, Heres a small sample
1) Too Many Commercials !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is the trade-off for free radio. The listener decides if other options are better, or no.

Endless Repitition

Most listeners want to hear their favorite songs. The deeper one digs for more songs, the less mass appeal some are; you end up with many songs that are disliked by many listeners.

Morning Shows that are Pethedic

And what exceptional shows, other than maybe Stern (whose appeal is definitely a small percentage of listeners), are there on satellite or Internet streams?

No variety

Variety is a perception. A hip hop station that plays 115 songs in regular rotation and which plays the right hip hop songs has a huge variety perception. Variety is not "lots of songs." It is "Lots of songs I like and no bad ones." That generally means the kind of playlist terrestrial radio employs for each different format.

Absoulutly no loyalty to the listener

Since nearly all major market music stations do extensive music research, why would you say this? Ad revenue is predicated on serving listeners so that a station gets lots of them.

 

[OldiesCat]

an on top of all THAT

new BridgeRatings study released today concludes AM-FM attrition is stagnant and there is a genuine fatigue factor with MP3 players.

So much for terrestrial radio being dead. There are indeed things listeners, incluiding 12-24s, say they get from FM they can't get from other sources. Check it out at www.bridgeratings.com

 

[kirkiefan]

Oldies radio won't sell if you contunue to use auto-pilot...I may as well listen to Tony Bennett or Ray Conniff or the likes thereof on Muzak. Next time you're in your upscale GM car...program your On Star to drive itself and see what happens!

What part of live personalities and promotion DON'T you understand????
Just ask Cool Bobby B and the WDJO Gang.........gang!

 

[OldiesCat]

For goodnesss sake, wake up, willya? It's the year 2007- there's not enough return on investment to have live DJs in the studios 24/7. There are fabulous sounding personalities who are voicetracked and YOU would never know the difference. A star is a star, whether live or memorex.

And, didn't you hear: Oldies' big problem is it's average audience over 60 years old. If you aren't a top tier performer 25-54, it doesn't matter whether you're playing Oldies or punk polka, you won't get enough ad revenue to survive. And radio, like any other mainstream business, is in business to generate profit.

 

[AZJoe]

And there is the difference, XM & Sirius music channels are not dictated by ad or what age group is the envogue thing this decade. What matters is numbers of subscribers, and if you can get 400,000 oldies fans to get XM or Sirius who cares if they are 59 or 69? 400,000 hip hop fans or metal or polka or punk junk, it doesnt matter- everyone's subscription costs the same- everyone's value/worth is the same! So when things arent being driven by ad agencies, the listener is better served- especially those not in the 'in" demographic. Thats why Ive been saying for so long, oldies fans try XM or Sirius- better programming, terrestrial radio has said you arent worth it anymore- so be it. Let them hack their wares to the demos they desire, terrestrial radio will always be popular , free and paly to the common denominator- good for that- but there are other options and audiences out there that terrestrial has deemed of no use- they can find alternative choices in sat radio.

 

[TheFonz]

And what exceptional shows, other than maybe Stern (whose appeal is definitely a small percentage of listeners), are there on satellite or Internet streams?

The exceptional shows would be the weekly special programming that satellite offers. XM has Pink & Black Days ('50s Top 40), Cool Bobby B. (Doo Wop), Rockabilly Road Trip, The Strip (Rat Pack related), Hollywood Diner, Harlem (early '50s R&B), Wax Your Woodie (Surf music), and 3 hours of '50s Pop on Saturdays. All with hosts who actually know the music, not some twenty-something reading off of a script. Then there's Wolfman Jack and Chickenman. And that only covers TWO channels!!

 

[davideduardo]

The exceptional shows would be the weekly special programming that satellite offers. XM has Pink & Black Days ('50s Top 40), Cool Bobby B. (Doo Wop), Rockabilly Road Trip, The Strip (Rat Pack related), Hollywood Diner, Harlem (early '50s R&B), Wax Your Woodie (Surf music), and 3 hours of '50s Pop on Saturdays. All with hosts who actually know the music, not some twenty-something reading off of a script. Then there's Wolfman Jack and Chickenman. And that only covers TWO channels!!

I asked about TALENt, not music content. Most of those shows are done by very narrowly recognized announcers.

You are talking about shows with content that can not be sustained on terrestrial radio. Name talents that appeal to 18-49 or 25-54, not shows based on music for senior seniors.

"Wax your Woodie" sounds like something a guy would have done at a day spa.

P.S. The Wolfman is dead. I should have said "living talent" but forgot you are reliving the 50's.

 

[XM RADIO]

DavidEdaurdo, huh,, My subsciption to XM is loaded with Radio youll never hear anywhere else,, and as for Wolfman jack your Terrstrial ,, you only wish some one like CBS or CC could have gotten the Wolfman jack exclusive rights ! XM i and Sirius are leaders not followers and Wolfman jack is one popular show!! Listen to the 60s channel "Top of the Hour Jingle" No Terrestrial radio does that!! Who ever the VO guy is on that, its great,, really gets you to listen,and ENJOY!! And we got Phlash Phelps one legendary East coast guy whos made his mark all over the USA XM radio is doing for listeners what CBS and CC could never do! The End Kenny in Concord

 

[OldiesCat]

DavidEdaurdo, huh,, My subsciption to XM is loaded with Radio youll never hear anywhere else,, and as for Wolfman jack your Terrstrial ,, you only wish some one like CBS or CC could have gotten the Wolfman jack exclusive rights ! XM i and Sirius are leaders not followers and Wolfman jack is one popular show!! Listen to the 60s channel "Top of the Hour Jingle" No Terrestrial radio does that!! Who ever the VO guy is on that, its great,, really gets you to listen,and ENJOY!! And we got Phlash Phelps one legendary East coast guy whos made his mark all over the USA XM radio is doing for listeners what CBS and CC could never do! The End Kenny in Concord

LOL FLASH PHELPS! That guy was washed out 20 years ago when he applied at one of my stations!

Frankly, XM, I think you're just tossing stuff up to see who bites. Your info is misleading and your whole posture is pretty transparent and somewhat phony.

GIVE IT UP!!!

;D