Josh, please, make no mistake, in the Big Boys Club, I'll personally vouch for Sam and his credentials. He has forgotten more about radio and broadcasting than many have yet to learn. That's not a put down, it's a time thing...and Sam's clocked in his hours. You may need to spend a few years at some more stations in different towns with different managers to get a bigger picture of the industry.
Most RADIO Advertisers do NOT prefer evening times (7p-12m) over 6am-7pm. 6-10am is Morning Drive, 3-7pm is Afternoon Drive with jammed highways, millions in their cars with radios on, decompressing to tunes, catching up on News/finances/sports, and traffic reports. 10a-3p is midday and perfect for office listening or political talk shows for those who work 'on the road'. But you're talking about AM, when even during daylight hours reception is now noisy. Nighttime? Forget it. Rates crash after 7pm to a third or less than that of PM drive, even on FM's. It's simple supply and demand.
Those evening hours you say are coveted by radio advertisers belong to TELEVISION...it's their Prime Time lineup. Beginning with Prime access at 7pm (actually with Prime fringe with 6pm News), their rates skyrocket through midnght as viewership increases. Those eyeballs are coming from somewhere...you guessed it...they were glued to the radio earlier in the day.
The last time the evenings were getting the same rates as daytime was when Sam's dad was pulling a +/-70 share at WIBG 99!
Most RADIO Advertisers do NOT prefer evening times (7p-12m) over 6am-7pm. 6-10am is Morning Drive, 3-7pm is Afternoon Drive with jammed highways, millions in their cars with radios on, decompressing to tunes, catching up on News/finances/sports, and traffic reports. 10a-3p is midday and perfect for office listening or political talk shows for those who work 'on the road'. But you're talking about AM, when even during daylight hours reception is now noisy. Nighttime? Forget it. Rates crash after 7pm to a third or less than that of PM drive, even on FM's. It's simple supply and demand.
Those evening hours you say are coveted by radio advertisers belong to TELEVISION...it's their Prime Time lineup. Beginning with Prime access at 7pm (actually with Prime fringe with 6pm News), their rates skyrocket through midnght as viewership increases. Those eyeballs are coming from somewhere...you guessed it...they were glued to the radio earlier in the day.
The last time the evenings were getting the same rates as daytime was when Sam's dad was pulling a +/-70 share at WIBG 99!