What Makes Great Radio

[radioprofessor]

We have now established that Seattle has no great radio stations. That was not always the case. KJR-AM was a great radio station and one could argue the same for KOMO-AM. Both had a decade of heritage with legendary nationally known personalities and strong music in their respective genres. KJR was TOP-40 and KOMO-AM MOR. The morning shows were known, even to me, in the midwest at the time and later when working in LA. Both of these fine stations were destroyed by something they could not control: FM Radio. Many legendary AM stations hit hard times in the early 80's. The lessons of these great stations like WABC, KHJ, KFRC, WLS apply today. Some stations like WBEB-Philly, KISS-Boston, KISS-Dallas, WVEE and many more use the same principals. Too many have forgotten.

A. Find a demographic and OWN it. No more than a 15 year spread male or female. OVER PERFORM beyond belief. Use research to confirm, but lead your effort to attract the demo.
B. Hire great talent, people who connect to the demographic you want and then develop them.
C. Create memories. Moments that people remember forever. Too few stations do this anymore. This is not a CD giveaway, cash contest, or meet the artist flavor of the month. This is really touching lives. Two or three morning shows in Seattle did this years ago and are still remembered by their listeners. The new shows don't seem to know how.
D. Promote. Advertise on TV and be at events where your audience can see you. Many stations forget this basic element of greatness.
E. Finally: Take Risks. Dare to be great. Do something no one else has thought to do. Stretch the imagination.

Here is my letter grade for the morning shows in town. To be fair, I have not listened to every one yet. Some I know from years past, others are new to me.
92.5: Silly and automated. F
93.3: Stern knockoff, but unique in presentation. Sophomoric and lacks consistant humor. Benefits from lack of competition in 18-34 arena. Male appeal C+
94.1: Older approach. Too much talk. The show does have a sweet quality and in its day was nationally known for creating memories. Strong older male appeal C+
97.3: Solid sound and mechanics. Seems to borrow "bits" from other shows. Needs to create its own memories C+
98.1: Needs life. Talk about more than the music. Have fun. C+
99.9: Would benefit from including music. This show is not strong enough to exist on talk alone, at least not yet. Sounds like a work in progress C
100.7: Generic bits and presentation. No memories. Stuck in mid-90's. D
101.5: Solid mechanics and presentation. The show has a sweet quality and in its day was nationally known for creating memories. Strong female and gay appeal with one host. B-
102.5: Still making memories. This show suffers from poor mechanics and inconsistent daily effort. When it is on, it is great. It just isn't "on" every day or week. B
103.7: This show doesn't get it. There used to be quite a solid AAA show in Seattle. Not sure where they went. D
104.3: Good mechanics. Create memories on regular basis. Focused, but execution suffers from time to time. Strong female appeal in presentation. A-
106.1: This show needs coaching. A good programmer may be able to grow them, but it needs to get out of the ninties like the show on 100.7. Female host better than male. D

 

[ilovebeer]

101.5:...Strong female and gay appeal with one host. B-

ahaha i hope kent reads this board....or is it alan?

 

[TakeItFromMe]

I vote for Kent. He is prettier, no wait maybe it is Alan (you never see him on TV) Men and women like mystery voices. Prof is new in town so let me help rate things a bit better:

92.5: That is a night show on in mornings F
93.3: Owns Seattle, but now is more concerned with SF. That is why the show lacks focus, it ain't local. C
94.1: Ready for retirement. Nice guy, but too old C
97.3: Who is that?
98.1: Who cares? It's classical cowboy
99.9: Best show in town right town. BJ has reclaimed Sterns Numbers. A+
100.7: New show, gaining strength. Solid mechanic, but makes some foolish comments from time to time B
101.5: Two guys past their prime, except the one that is popular in the gay community C
102.5: Losing ground, BJ Shea is catching up to them. Past their prime C
103.7: New show, give it time. B-
105.3: They could play just music and still win. Good afternoon show in mornings B-
106.1: Could be huge: in Spokane or Boise :-\

 

[c daye]

After we get through this discussion how about rating stations according to revenue? Perhaps we could also discuss expenditures as well.

When does a station realize they need to make a change?

 

[mammaknowsbest]

for the record MOVIN may be the most profitable station in the Seattle market with over six million in billing and 70% to the bottom line. that is some ya ya bank!!! KBKS probably bills just a bit more but has costs through the roof. Who is the real winner? in ratings MOVIN and in revenue MOVIN. I would bet MOVIN generates more cash than even KIRO or KOMO, when it comes to net profit. Most profitable station in the market is KRWM, it is projected to bill 13 million and close to ten million to the bottom line. YA YA YA YA. The aging males on this board love to rip Mark Kaye, but guess who is laughing all the way to the bank: SANDUSKY. oh and Kent (the dj, not the city) is popular with the gay community, according to my young gay friends, whatever. Alan is popular in Senior centers with ichabod
professor, thanks for the grades. I give your posts an F.

 

[djdan]

Welcome to town Professor. You know how to stir up the radio boards and I actually agree with most of your comments and find them refreshing.
For the record the top ten billing stations in the market are:
KZOK
KIRO
KMPS
KUBE
KRWM
KOMO
KPLZ
KMTT/KKWF
KWJZ/KISW

A 40% margin is the standard for broadcasting. Looking at the group of stations above I would say KRWM,KMTT and KWJZ have the highest margins due to the lack of highly paid talent and advertising. Margin is not everything mamma. A station that bills six million, but has a margin of 66% would take home around 4 million. A station like KZOK might bill 15 million this year and have a 50% margin of 7 million. I'd rather have the 7 million and pay for an airstaff or morning show that makes memories. I think you are making the professors point. By cutting costs, automating and going for margin based success many radio operators miss the point. You can have a station that is highly rated, personalities that make memories and still make a lot of money, more money than a margin based music machine. Margin and memories are mutually exclusive.

professor, indulge and sales geek. What you do to fix KBKS? What would you do to fix KBSG? What would you do to fix MOVIN? What would you do to fix JACK? My guess is you are a consultant in town to fix one of the above.

 

[pbf1]

Wow.

That second paragraph ought to be framed. And sent to every management-type in the business.

Stellar job, djdan.

 

[c daye]

Professor, I was wondering the same thing ---

What you do to fix KBKS? What would you do to fix KBSG? What would you do to fix MOVIN? What would you do to fix JACK?

I asked some of these same questions over on the rumor and untruths thread.

This is all good stuff. Let's keep reasoning.

 

[TakeItFromMe]

Amen to the second paragraph Dan. The WOLF costs much more to run that the BUZZ ever did, but the BUZZ had a 60% margin cause only one show was really live by the end of its run. WOLF has a 40% margin. Hey, 40% of just under ten million is just under four million bucks, which is a lot better than 60% of just under five million in billing for BUzzzzzzz. Rather hoowlllllllllwith the live staff and cost of the WOLLLFFFFFFFF any day, even if the margin is lower.