What is 97.1 The Fail's demo? How long before the plug is pulled pool? Come join the fun.

[Antruiz]

The 12+ ranking has gone down, down, down. 12+ is always a hard nut to crack - having said that, The Lil Ticket cracked it, ate, crapped it out and then ate it again.

So what IS the demo for 97.1 The Fail?

I'd assume it's Men 25-54, and they probably (should be) super serving Men 25-44; more specifically Men 35-44. You (are supposed to) SUPER serve your focused core.

Now, if that's the case, those group of men have busy lives. They don't have time, nor the patience, to sit thru 1) 30 minutes of talk about "why the dates on milk are BS" - "how many chuggas do you put before you say CHOO CHOO" (That was an actual topic for 30 minutes with phones a month ago) - 30 minutes of conversation about how you eat popcorn at the movies. 2) 10 minute stopsets, with half of them being dry with Ben and Skin doing an endorsement. (around the clock)

(BTW I am NOT asking for one the OLD moderators/admins to explain programming to me. I don't need your old way of thinking about programming. For God's sakes you tell people on this forum not to SHOUT when they type in BOLD LETTERS.)

Between hosts, producers and phone oppers (not that they need phone oppers), the on air staff is probably about 20-25. When is the last time you heard of an almost dead last radio station with 25 members on the airstaff? It's been about 20-25 years. iHeart is in the red, and they garner most of their revenue at this point thru online/podcasts.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is VERY MUCH a blue collar area - whether the media wants to portray Dallas as a Los Angeles or not, it is in fact a very blue collar minded area - throw in Ft. Worth, and absolutely ABSOLUTLEY blue collar.

I've seen people on this forum say, "Hey it's still early, iHeart knows what they're doing" - I've seen, "But what are they billing? It must be going okay."

lol.

iHeart has the patience of a gnat. They also aren't going to continue to shell out that kind of cheddar for an airstaff that's underperforming every station in the market.

The plug is going to get pulled.

But when? Your predictions?

THIS AINT PAYING THE BILLS​

 

[davideduardo]

So what IS the demo for 97.1 The Fail?

All sports stations target adult men in the sales demos, or 25-54..

And renaming stations with childish nicknames is just, well, childish.

I'd assume it's Men 25-54, and they probably (should be) super serving Men 25-44; more specifically Men 35-44. You (are supposed to) SUPER serve your focused core.

Sports is broadly men 25-54. There is no revenue-based more specific subset.

Now, if that's the case, those group of men have busy lives. They don't have time, nor the patience, to sit thru 1) 30 minutes of talk about "why the dates on milk are BS" - "how many chuggas do you put before you say CHOO CHOO" (That was an actual topic for 30 minutes with phones a month ago) - 30 minutes of conversation about how you eat popcorn at the movies. 2) 10 minute stopsets, with half of them being dry with Ben and Skin doing an endorsement. (around the clock)

You don't like that, but sports as a radio format is "guy talk" and when you have a choice between talking about boring sports stats versus other and more fun guy subjects, the "guy talk" gets more listening.

(BTW I am NOT asking for one the OLD moderators/admins to explain programming to me. I don't need your old way of thinking about programming.

You know that this comment is offensive, right? What are you trying to prove? The way any good programmer thinks is to find out what the target listener wants to hear and to deliver it. The more experience one has in analyzing listener needs, the more likely there will be success.

For God's sakes you tell people on this forum not to SHOUT when they type in BOLD LETTERS.)

That is not this forum's exclusive policy. ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING in all Internet protocols, and is discouraged as it is hard to read.

Between hosts, producers and phone oppers (not that they need phone oppers),

Actually, we call them "phone ops"or, usually, "screeners". All talk-based stations need them, but not all can afford them. You can tell the difference. A phone screener helps the host(s) to stay in a good topic focus and flow and to avoid what they can tell will be boring callers.

the on air staff is probably about 20-25. When is the last time you heard of an almost dead last radio station with 25 members on the airstaff?

We are talking about a Top 10 radio market and a station that is billing just under $10 million a year. While it may not be the #1 biller, it's approximately among the top 200 billers in the whole country... out of about 10,800 commercial stations.

It's been about 20-25 years. iHeart is in the red, and they garner most of their revenue at this point thru online/podcasts.

iHeart is "in the red" because of interest payments, but on operations (EBITDA) it is profitable. And most of the profits come from old-fashioned broadcast radio.

Q1 cash flow (EBITDA) was $93 million om revenue of $811 million, just $223 million of which came from digital.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is VERY MUCH a blue collar area - whether the media wants to portray Dallas as a Los Angeles or not, it is in fact a very blue collar minded area - throw in Ft. Worth, and absolutely ABSOLUTLEY blue collar.

So is LA. While LA has a tiny percentage of movie stars and producers and other high income individuals, it is just as "blue collar" as any other large market.

In fact, LA is now 48% Hispanic, 18% Asian and 7% Black and only 28% non-Hispanic white. And, based on cost of living, the economics favor Dallas.

I've seen people on this forum say, "Hey it's still early, iHeart knows what they're doing" - I've seen, "But what are they billing? It must be going okay."

It is "work in progress" as are all newer talk-based formats. But they are billing well and growing.

iHeart has the patience of a gnat. They also aren't going to continue to shell out that kind of cheddar for an airstaff that's underperforming every station in the market.

It's got growing revenue. Remember, sports gets "sports marketing dollars" that general market stations can't access.

The plug is going to get pulled.

Not really likely unless they spot a very significant opening for a different format. You don't blow up a $10 million dollar revenue producer to experiment in a music format, whereby you loose all your billing and it can take a year or more to build a new format to profitability.

 

[mightynine]

So you're trying to make an argument on 12+ numbers, which no one ever sells or buys on, so that's why Nielsen gives 'em away from free?

So tell me what else you don't know about broadcasting.

 

[AceBiscuits]

This sounds awfully similar to the same poster who kept ranting about this station with sophomoric nicknames and what have you. Glad he has found good use of his time. I see that account doesn't exist anymore... Meet the new Bob, same as the old Bob.

 

[TheBigA]

iHeart has the patience of a gnat. They also aren't going to continue to shell out that kind of cheddar for an airstaff that's underperforming every station in the market.

I posted this in a different thread, but it's appropriate here as well:

You understand that radio companies are not in the ratings business? They want to make money. I took a very quick look at their website, and every show has a top line sponsor. The website is filled with sponsored events, including a sponsored golf tournament. Not just any sponsor, but Charles Schwab. Would a brokerage company sponsor an urban station? They also have Free Beer Friday sponsored by Specs Liquor store. Lots of music stations have free beer Fridays. None of them are sponsored.

My sense in just a brief look at their website is they a merchandizing and monetizing all of their live & local hosts in ways they could NEVER have done with a music format station. Music stations are stuck with loads of :30 spots. This station is filled with actual sponsors. This is how sports talk stations make more money than music. This is how WFAN became one of the top billing stations in NYC. This is how The Sports Hub in Boston is among the highest billing stations in the country.

So yes, this station isn't getting great 6+ ratings. That is very true. Of course, The Eagle didn't get great ratings as a rock station either. But this incarnation of the station is making money. More money than it made as a music station. That's why iHeart won't be flipping the station to music.

 

[TheBigA]

Let's say I pay to be in a stopset that's 10 minutes long, and I'm 8th in line. Is that effective? Answer the question?

Advertisers know what they're buying. They test the effectiveness of their ads. In the case of this station, they're buying heritage personalities.

 

[johndavis]

Doesn't sports talk (and similar) have one of the biggest power ratios in the industry? (in other words: they generally have smaller audiences but make a metric pant-load of money.)

Ratings are nice, but you don't deposit ratings into the bank.

 

[salemjedi54]

The 12+ ranking has gone down, down, down. 12+ is always a hard nut to crack - having said that, The Lil Ticket cracked it, ate, crapped it out and then ate it again.

So what IS the demo for 97.1 The Fail?

I'd assume it's Men 25-54, and they probably (should be) super serving Men 25-44; more specifically Men 35-44. You (are supposed to) SUPER serve your focused core.

Now, if that's the case, those group of men have busy lives. They don't have time, nor the patience, to sit thru 1) 30 minutes of talk about "why the dates on milk are BS" - "how many chuggas do you put before you say CHOO CHOO" (That was an actual topic for 30 minutes with phones a month ago) - 30 minutes of conversation about how you eat popcorn at the movies. 2) 10 minute stopsets, with half of them being dry with Ben and Skin doing an endorsement. (around the clock)

(BTW I am NOT asking for one the OLD moderators/admins to explain programming to me. I don't need your old way of thinking about programming. For God's sakes you tell people on this forum not to SHOUT when they type in BOLD LETTERS.)

Between hosts, producers and phone oppers (not that they need phone oppers), the on air staff is probably about 20-25. When is the last time you heard of an almost dead last radio station with 25 members on the airstaff? It's been about 20-25 years. iHeart is in the red, and they garner most of their revenue at this point thru online/podcasts.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is VERY MUCH a blue collar area - whether the media wants to portray Dallas as a Los Angeles or not, it is in fact a very blue collar minded area - throw in Ft. Worth, and absolutely ABSOLUTLEY blue collar.

I've seen people on this forum say, "Hey it's still early, iHeart knows what they're doing" - I've seen, "But what are they billing? It must be going okay."

lol.

iHeart has the patience of a gnat. They also aren't going to continue to shell out that kind of cheddar for an airstaff that's underperforming every station in the market.

The plug is going to get pulled.

But when? Your predictions?

View attachment 5022

THIS AINT PAYING THE BILLS​

As long as they are making money, hitting budget and taking market share from KTCK AM/FM then the suits will be happy. As far as programming, they are not as entertaining as most of the host were on KTCK-AM/FM, but someone likes it. We can cry foul all day long, but they are doing what they set out to do......make CREAM!!!!

 

[ksradiogeek]

This sounds awfully similar to the same poster who kept ranting about this station with sophomoric nicknames and what have you. Glad he has found good use of his time. I see that account doesn't exist anymore... Meet the new Bob, same as the old Bob.

Oh it is. Just created a clever new nickname to throw us off the scent. Can’t wait for another .gif filled rant!

 

[AceBiscuits]

Oh it is. Just created a clever new nickname to throw us off the scent. Can’t wait for another .gif filled rant!

I know, I can hardly contain my excitement.