W-G-N

[Prais]

CONGRATS to the guy that you ALL hate; Pig Vomit! Personally he is THE BEST!

Eat your heart out.

WGN is STILL AWESOME. Nobody can top them. Langmeyer and Methany RULE!!!!!

Feder, Schmeder. THERE is the guy who is washed up.

 

[DToTheJ]

Perhaps the title of this thread should actually be renamed "W-G-NNNNNNNNNNNNNN" in Metheny's honor. ;D

Say what you want about WGN, but the Cubs are just too darn brutal...

Now then... when does anyone think Mancow will show up on that station?

 

[radioguy39nj]

It just proves the power of live and local. Cubs may not be playing well but everyone knows how loyal their fans are, making the games a draw. And the Blackhawks are playing for a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. WGN obviously believes the Hawks have a good future, since they recently re-upped the team for three more years.

Unlike talk stations elsewhere, WGN knows and respects the market it lives in. WGN is Chicago.

 

[KeithE4]

It just proves the power of live and local. Cubs may not be playing well but everyone knows how loyal their fans are, making the games a draw. And the Blackhawks are playing for a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. WGN obviously believes the Hawks have a good future, since they recently re-upped the team for three more years.

it proves the power of the Cubs and (more recently) the Black Hawks. How well does WGN do financially when it's not broadcasting sports? Does their midday programming beat Rush on WLS, news on WBBM, or anything on the top FM stations, either in ratings or revenue in the demos that count (which means "not 55-to-room temperature")?

Unlike talk stations elsewhere, WGN knows and respects the market it lives in. WGN is Chicago.

Outside of sports, WGN is Chicago only to those over 65. Again, how well does it do outside of sports? Are they as strong overall as they were 10 or more years ago? I'd be surprised if they are. I'm sure they're still what most of us would call successful, but maybe not as much as in years past. Maybe someone has numbers (that's non-sports dollars, not just ratings) that can prove me wrong.

And where do you think they'll be in another 10 years, when their non-sports audience has died of old age? And they can't move to FM.

 

[Prais]

Keith opined;
"Outside of sports, WGN is Chicago only to those over 65. "
____
You are correct. So what? It's really simple; The rest of the radio dial belongs to you young whippersnappers. WGN is happily for us old people.

WGN is a "generational" station. In 10 years it will appeal to people who are NOW in their mid-20's.

 

[radioguy39nj]

A fair comparison to WGN is New York's WOR. Unlike WGN, WOR hasn't been as well-known for its pxp coverage on NY teams, especially in the post-war era. During the 90s, they had the Giants, Nets and Rutgers football and men's b-ball. Today WOR carries only Rutgers sports.

When I say WGN is Chicago, I'm referring to the fact that in addition to sports coverage, their talk programming is live, local and focused on the Chicagoland area and the issues relevant to it. Most of WOR's talk programming is syndicated to a network audience. This is where WGN and WOR are very different. They do share the same demo issue of serving the undersirable "55 to room temperature" market.

I credit WGN with keeping their programming live, local and relevant to Chicago.

 

[Prais]

I credit w-g-n with a first rate local sales department, often leading all Chicago radio in revenue (or very close).

Not bad for "undesireable", eh? They are often the rab major market station of the year, and have won a few Peabody awards.

This makes the (some would say) "UNDESIREABLE" (not me) market they serve (old folks) THEIR OWN - so they don't have to fight with the other radio schlubs for "pieces" of buys, but are often getting the WHOLE budget - not just a piece, like all of those a/c stations get.

WGN radio sales has LONG had a reputation for getting and keeping great clients.

 

[cyberdad]

WGN radio sales has LONG had a reputation for getting and keeping great clients.

I can say from experience that this doesn't happen with clients if you're not getting the job done for them. Regardless of how good your sales force's personal relationships with them may be.

I'm not a regular listener of W-G-N (except live sports), but, there still is a lot about them to be admired. 100% live and local is becoming increasingly rare. I have to also give 'em props for being a decent local news source....although the takeaway I get from some recent moves is that, at best, management probably views local news as a necessary evil.

 

[KeithE4]

Keith opined;
"Outside of sports, WGN is Chicago only to those over 65. "
____
You are correct. So what? It's really simple; The rest of the radio dial belongs to you young whippersnappers. WGN is happily for us old people.

Wow! That's the first time in decades I've been called a "young whippersnapper!" ;D BTW, I'm 54 and will be leaving the Sacred Sales DemoTM in a few more months.

With a few exceptions, like sports and some of their talk programming, I still find 720 a bit boring, especially during the day. I have the WGN app installed on my Android phone, so I do listen on occasion (I'm no longer in the midwest, so listening on Ancient Modulation is out).

WGN is a "generational" station. In 10 years it will appeal to people who are NOW in their mid-20's.

Maybe folks in their mid 30s, but not their 20s. But will the non-sports advertisers follow?

 

[cyberdad]

I still find 720 a bit boring.

+1. Except I find it MORE than a bit boring most of the time.

 

[Prais]

I find it hardly ever boring. I enjoy being able to get "up to the minute" info, and better and more complete info than the satelllite and the automated junk that I have to choose from 150 miles from the city.

In Grand Rapids, at WOOD (AM) - supposedly the "news" station I must wait 40 minutes for a weather report in afternoon drive, so as not to interrupt Hannity.

 

[DToTheJ]

A fair comparison to WGN is New York's WOR. Unlike WGN, WOR hasn't been as well-known for its pxp coverage on NY teams, especially in the post-war era... When I say WGN is Chicago, I'm referring to the fact that in addition to sports coverage, their talk programming is live, local and focused on the Chicagoland area and the issues relevant to it. Most of WOR's talk programming is syndicated to a network audience. This is where WGN and WOR are very different. They do share the same demo issue of serving the undersirable "55 to room temperature" market...

I suppose a better correlation to WGN would be Pittsburgh's KDKA-AM.

 

[cyberdad]

I need to take care to define "boring" as a matter of personal taste. I find opera boring, but there's no doubt that it's an art form.

No, I'm not saying what WGN does is art. But without a doubt, there's (still) a lot that goes into their very well-executed on-air product

 

[davideduardo]

I suppose a better correlation to WGN would be Pittsburgh's KDKA-AM.

Yes, they have the similar "quality" that neither is in the top 10 in 25-54; outside of baseball season, WGN is not even in the top 20.

 

[davideduardo]

WGN is a "generational" station. In 10 years it will appeal to people who are NOW in their mid-20's.

There are no new listeners coming in. The station is between 25th and 29th in 18-34, 25-49 and 25-54 based on the average of the first three months of PPM this year.

It's an AM, a band with nearly no under-50 appeal and it is older leaning than WLS or WBBM (AM). The only advantage they have is that baseball brings in a somewhat younger (relatively speaking) audience, but once the season is over, they go back to the same levels or lower... so the format itself can't convert them.

 

[Prais]

David,
If its so bad, how do you explain their stellar revenue?

 

[DToTheJ]

As I suggested on the previous page in this thread... does anyone think Mancow would help bring WGN's demos down a little, if not contribute toward a younger demographic rating?

 

[storrs19]

I agree 100% Though I live in Louisville, KY I like to listen to WGN at night sometimes and applaud them for being live and local. I can hear Pig Limbaugh and Regurgitate Hannity on a million stations so it is nice to hear something different in the afternoon (I listen on my wifi radio when the signal doesn't come in down here and of course Cubs games are blocked out on the online feed thanks to MLB and their stupid rules). Not many 50kw stations left that don't carry the same old syndicated garbage (be it political or national sports talk) so WGN stands alone. Although 700 WLW in Cincinnati is all local as well except from Midnight to 5:00am when they carry a truck drivers program.

 

[davideduardo]

David,
If its so bad, how do you explain their stellar revenue?

A big piece is sports, and that wil change now that the team has been sold and they pay rights. The rest is simply "tanker syndrome" whereby it takes a long time for stations with that momentum to fully collapse based on a more analytical approach to buying.

They have lost 25% of their revenue since 2004, and, although such loses were common among major markets, they do not show good signs of any kind of recovery.

 

[KeithE4]

David,
If its so bad, how do you explain their stellar revenue?

A big piece is sports, and that wil change now that the team has been sold and they pay rights. The rest is simply "tanker syndrome" whereby it takes a long time for stations with that momentum to fully collapse based on a more analytical approach to buying.

They have lost 25% of their revenue since 2004, and, although such loses were common among major markets, they do not show good signs of any kind of recovery.

Tribune kept 5% of the Cubs, so I don't believe they pay any rights fees directly. It also assures that the team remains on WGN radio and TV (at least on Channel 9, not necessarily WGN-America).

The Black Hawks are another story, and I expect that the rights fees will go up quite a bit when the contract is up for renewal, if the team continues to win. If WGN's revenue is down, maybe Tribune would have to let those rights go.