WABC show returns after sports

[MORE RADIO TRUTH]

Mark Simone and WABC's Saturday Night Oldies was on Saturday 12/27 from 6:00 until 6:45 PM when a college basketball came on. At 9:30, the host returned (although on tape) to continue until 10.
The question here is not how rare is this return after a preemption, rather, what does this do to listenership? Does blending 2 kinds of programming help a station with new listeners, or does listenership plummet following the game, as sports fans turn the dial following the 2-1/2 hour game.

 

[BruceS8852]

Mark did not say anything about the show returning after the Seton Hall game. The diehards suspected that it may return at 9:30 PM. It is likely that casual listeners did not return.

I think a radio station does make good money by airing sports programming even though the listenship declines. I suspect that SNO lost some casual listeners when there were about 5 weeks of pre-emptions in October and November, but they will likely gradually return.

Can anyone estimate what percentage of the listening audience follows the message board? On a normal show there are perhaps 25 regular posters, but many more lurk.

Bruce

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

We need more Saturday night NHL games on WABC to get rid of the other unlistened to programming.

 

[DToTheJ]

RADIO TRUTH, are you related to MORE RADIO TRUTH?

 

[TheMinimumDose]

We need more Saturday night NHL games on WABC to get rid of the other unlistened to programming.

That's up to the NBA's New York Knicks. The only way the Rangers get bumped to 'ABC is if a concurrent Knicks game airs on 1050 ESPN NY.

Knicks Schedule
Rangers Schedule

Straightaway it looks like Jan 10th will be a conflict.

 

[nd2023]

Sports broadcasts always bring in new listeners to a station. If the score of the game is close at the end, the listeners might stay tuned to the program after the game. If the game is a big matchup, the station becomes the #1 most listened to during the game. People pay close attention to the entire sports broadcast, including the ads, and don't change the station. If the game's at night, fans will tune in from hundreds of miles away to listen to the game.