Welll ... that didn't last long

[oaktree]

Looks like the Cumulus "musical chairs" has begun ... starting Jan. 3rd.

According to various sources, especially R-I's Tom Taylor ... who says:

Cumulus Media Networks merges Red Eye Radio with Midnight Radio Network.
"Red Eye Radio" originator Doug McIntyre will move away from the late-night mic at the end of the month and take on an unspecified new role, says Cumulus. That makes room for Gary McNamara and Eric Harley, the hosts of the Midnight Radio Network.What Cumulus is basically doing here is melding the affiliate lineups of The Midnight Radio Network together with Red Eye Radio – yielding a roster of more than 150 stations. Gary and Eric will be live Monday through Friday, and in best-of mode Saturday and Sunday. The new iteration of Red Eye Radio begins January 3.

The revolving door is spinning. Can Karel be next? Or will Cumulus syndicate him too?
OMG! No, please say there is a little sense left at Cumulus.

 

[DJBigOne]

OMG! No, please say there is a little sense left at Cumulus.

It's obvious that most operators only care about the bottom line. I don't think common sense ever enters into the equation. :'(

 

[DavidKaye]

Looks like the Cumulus "musical chairs" has begun ... starting Jan. 3rd.

This is very strange. The trucker show is produced at WBAP, a Cumulus station, but syndicated by Dial Global, whereas the Doug McIntyre show is or at least was owned by Doug McIntyre and syndicated by Cumulus. I'm not sure I understand why Cumulus would make such a move, especially since some of its biggest stations, WABC, KABC, and KGO, have audiences that wouldn't tolerate the trucker show.

 

[DJBigOne]

This is very strange. The trucker show is produced at WBAP, a Cumulus station, but syndicated by Dial Global, whereas the Doug McIntyre show is or at least was owned by Doug McIntyre and syndicated by Cumulus. I'm not sure I understand why Cumulus would make such a move, especially since some of its biggest stations, WABC, KABC, and KGO, have audiences that wouldn't tolerate the trucker show.

A trucker show? Really? LMAO! ;D

The only reason must be to save a nickel by importing a syndicated show. This confirms my previous post. Making sense never is a factor.

 

[DavidKaye]

A trucker show? Really? LMAO! ;D

The only reason must be to save a nickel by importing a syndicated show. This confirms my previous post. Making sense never is a factor.

But what's weird is that the current show is already syndicated by Cumulus. That's the part I don't understand.

 

[michael hagerty]

Looks like the Cumulus "musical chairs" has begun ... starting Jan. 3rd.

This is very strange. The trucker show is produced at WBAP, a Cumulus station, but syndicated by Dial Global, whereas the Doug McIntyre show is or at least was owned by Doug McIntyre and syndicated by Cumulus. I'm not sure I understand why Cumulus would make such a move, especially since some of its biggest stations, WABC, KABC, and KGO, have audiences that wouldn't tolerate the trucker show.

Overnights aren't rated, so they're not worried about existing audience . The old ABC AM signals (except KABC) have tremendous nighttime coverage. There are probably advertisers who don't care about Arbitron but who would like to reach millions of truckers nationwide every night.

 

[DavidKaye]

Overnights aren't rated, so they're not worried about existing audience . The old ABC AM signals (except KABC) have tremendous nighttime coverage. There are probably advertisers who don't care about Arbitron but who would like to reach millions of truckers nationwide every night.

There aren't millions of truckers on the roads at night. There are a few thousand. The Midnight Truckers Network has grown only because it's one of two nationwide shows offered in the overnight period. KGO was able to do ROS advertising overnights because Ray had audience. I think McIntyre would also get a decent KGO audience if he stayed on. But the trucker's network is just too different and I think advertisers would balk at being put in ROS rotation in the overnights.

 

[RadioStarOne]

There are way more than just a few thousand truckers on the road at night!

 

[DavidKaye]

There are way more than just a few thousand truckers on the road at night!

Between midnight and dawn when the trucker's radio network operates? I beg to differ. Most truckers are either home or asleep in their cabs at truck stops or by the side of the road, or in the truck stop cafes contacting their dispatchers for more loads. They're certainly not on the road listening to the radio.

 

[RadioStarOne]

There you go again David got to have the last word about everything, Well David I suggest you have a chat with the ATA they will straighten you out on the facts. Or perhaps the CHP can give you a clue as to just how many truckers are out there anytime of the day on average! Do the research and then comment because you're way off base on this one!

 

[michael hagerty]

David may be right. The American Trucking Association says there are 2 million tractor-trailer trucks in use in the USA. So there certainly aren't "millions" (as I had said) on the road between midnight and dawn.

 

[MC]

Many companies tell OTR - over the road - drivers to stay off the roadsbetweenmidnight and5 am. Drunks, sleepy drivers and ice out therre at that time. 3.5 million drivers total, so maybe about 500,000 out late?

 

[DaveBayArea]

While it's true that OTR truckers might be at least a measurable percentage of potential listeners, the ones I know don't listen to AM radio. There just aren't any real numbers there. However, it IS a targeted, defined audience. The cost per listener for time-brokered ethnic radio is very high, but those with a desire to reach that audience are willing to pay. Perhaps they've figured out something similar for the Over-The-Road audience.

Dave B.

 

[Madmansam]

Looks like the Cumulus "musical chairs" has begun ... starting Jan. 3rd.

This is very strange. The trucker show is produced at WBAP, a Cumulus station, but syndicated by Dial Global, whereas the Doug McIntyre show is or at least was owned by Doug McIntyre and syndicated by Cumulus. I'm not sure I understand why Cumulus would make such a move, especially since some of its biggest stations, WABC, KABC, and KGO, have audiences that wouldn't tolerate the trucker show.

Overnights aren't rated, so they're not worried about existing audience . The old ABC AM signals (except KABC) have tremendous nighttime coverage.

I have always wondered why ABC never had a 50000 Watt Blowtorch in the Los Angeles market compared to the other markets they were in?

 

[DavidKaye]

There you go again David got to have the last word about everything, Well David I suggest you have a chat with the ATA they will straighten you out on the facts. Or perhaps the CHP can give you a clue as to just how many truckers are out there anytime of the day on average! Do the research and then comment because you're way off base on this one!

There are not "millions" of truckers out on the road between midnight and dawn when the Midnight Truckers Network runs. And, Mister "RadioStarOne" where exactly were you a "radio star" and why do you obsess on being a "radio star"?

 

[RadioStarOne]

I never said there were millions of truckers on the road all night long listening to the radio! I just commented that there are way more than just three thousand out there overnight. You could and should spend more time worrying about yourself than why I chose the screenname I did! By the way it's none of your business either!

 

[michael hagerty]

I have always wondered why ABC never had a 50000 Watt Blowtorch in the Los Angeles market compared to the other markets they were in?

There are really only 2 in L.A., Madman. KFI and KNX. CBS wasn't about to sell KNX to a competitor.

As for KFI, Earle C. Anthony repeatedly refused NBC's offers to buy the station, saying the most powerful station in the market should be locally owned. Anthony also owned 790 and ran NBC's two networks...NBC Red on 640, NBC blue on 790 (then KECA).

When an anti-trust ruling forced NBC to divest one network (Blue, which became ABC), the ownership rules changed, so Anthony had to sell either 640 or 790. He chose 790 and sold it to ABC.

Anthony was so protective of KFI that he proposed selling it to Gene Autry, who then would sell KMPC (710) to NBC. Anthony died a few months after making the suggestion to Autry and it never happened. By the time the Anthony estate sold KFI in 1973, NBC was no longer interested and KABC had much better ratings than KFI, giving ABC no incentive to trade up.

15 years later, Autry sold KMPC to ABC, and it's now owned by ESPN. The signal, especially on night pattern, has issues, though.

 

[DavidKaye]

While it's true that OTR truckers might be at least a measurable percentage of potential listeners, the ones I know don't listen to AM radio. There just aren't any real numbers there. However, it IS a targeted, defined audience. The cost per listener for time-brokered ethnic radio is very high, but those with a desire to reach that audience are willing to pay. Perhaps they've figured out something similar for the Over-The-Road audience.

Dave B.

In *theory* it seems like a great audience to sell to until you wonder what you could sell to truckers. Chances are they already have loyalty cards with a particular chain of truckstops. Insurance? Well, maybe. What else? Tires? These guys are on the road a lot, which also means that they aren't spending much except for meals and truck maintenance unless that maintenance is already paid for by their company or via a maintenance contract. So, what can you sell them?

Contrast this with your basic listener who might be working late at night stocking the Home Depot store or sorting mail at the postal facility or cashiering at the 7-Eleven. They are not on the road all the time, so they have the time to actually spend their money. Depending on their age you could sell them video games or bedsheets, gardening tools or computers.

 

[michael hagerty]

For clarity...when I say Anthony "ran" NBC's two networks, I mean his stations carried them. He had no management role in the networks themselves.

 

[LKellerIII]

I have always wondered why ABC never had a 50000 Watt Blowtorch in the Los Angeles market compared to the other markets they were in?

There are really only 2 in L.A., Madman. KFI and KNX. CBS wasn't about to sell KNX to a competitor.

As for KFI, Earle C. Anthony repeatedly refused NBC's offers to buy the station, saying the most powerful station in the market should be locally owned. Anthony also owned 790 and ran NBC's two networks...NBC Red on 640, NBC blue on 790 (then KECA).

When an anti-trust ruling forced NBC to divest one network (Blue, which became ABC), the ownership rules changed, so Anthony had to sell either 640 or 790. He chose 790 and sold it to ABC.

Anthony was so protective of KFI that he proposed selling it to Gene Autry, who then would sell KMPC (710) to NBC. Anthony died a few months after making the suggestion to Autry and it never happened. By the time the Anthony estate sold KFI in 1973, NBC was no longer interested and KABC had much better ratings than KFI, giving ABC no incentive to trade up.

15 years later, Autry sold KMPC to ABC, and it's now owned by ESPN. The signal, especially on night pattern, has issues, though.

I was a Dodgers fan as a 10 year old in the early 60s (Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale era) , so I listened to KFI on game days Can't resist mentioning the top-of -the-hour ID that ran for years:

"This is 50,000 Watt clear channel kay-eff-eyyyyyyyeee, Los Angeles, a division of Earl C. Anthony Incorporated."

My memory may be a little off on the exact wording, but that's the gist.

Being a full service station in those days, KFI also ran the Standard School Broadcast, which most of my elementary school teachers would tune in once a week.

Just checked Wikipedia: the SSB ran for 47 years, and originated from San Francisco's KPO (KNBC-KNBR).