• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Whoever Pops FM Talk First In Atlanta, Wins

M

mouthoff

Guest
If you've followed any of my limited comments, you know I'm a believer in FM Talk. I'm a believer in terrestrial radio, but I'm a realist when it comes to its future. All the latest flavor-of-the-month music formats do is buy some additional time for a concept (music-radio) that will be all but be rare in the next 5-10 years. I'm old enough to remember when music on AM was suppose to never die. I can even remember when people said FM would never make it either. The internet had doubters, so did satellite. Many people didn't even notice Ipods until last year's Christmas lists were weighed down with requests for these $200 babies. And when dashboards featuring wireless internet becomes commonplace, stand back and watch the fire-sale.

FM Talk will one day dominate the terrestrial band the way email now dominates the way we mail information; the way cell-phones have taken over land-lines. So, talk, in various forms, targeting teens, women, adults, senior citizens, etc. will be the predominant selling point for this once great music source. I know some of you reading this don't want to hear of it, or don't agree. Sometimes I don't like to think of it myself. But in my opinion, it's the reality.

So someone in Atlanta has to step up to the plate now. Not simulcasts with some geezers on AM, but new, innovative talk that appeals to music-lovers who now get most of their music elsewhere.

Think about it, would a FM station featuring The Regular Guys, Toucher and Rich, Jimmy Baron, Opie and Anthony, etc. be more intriguing than a lot of the stations on the dial right now? Would they win one of your buttons? I think you know the answer.

Okay, just my two-cents. Would love to get yours. And while you're at it, which station in Atlanta do you think is the perfect station for this first step?
 
The idea sure does sound good but how many non-geezer talkers are there out there? TRG and O&A would be great, Toucher's skill is getting jobs and spreading word about himself but that's it, Baron is great but he really needs other personalities to interact with to shine. Now if we could clone Dave Paul every few years and keep a fresh one on air the station would be the best ever but until that's legal and the first one has reached age, what non-geezer talkers are you going to use?
 
I agree...

AND PLEASE.... I don't want to hear it was done already with "Real Radio." That station was doomed from the get. No promotion, only one local show, and Marc Chase pulling the strings.
 
ScooterB said:
I think you know the answer.
Click to expand...

Yes. Yes, I do.

The notion of listening to a station staffed by sophmoric (and I'm being generous) juvenile delinquents like you just described is about as appealing as having my ears removed by a rabid bear.

A cross-pollinated polka+ska+techno station, complete with jocks who only speak Mandarin Chinese, would have a better chance of getting a pre-set from me than what you're describing.
 
middlega said:
ScooterB said:
I think you know the answer.
Click to expand...

Yes. Yes, I do.

The notion of listening to a station staffed by sophmoric (and I'm being generous) juvenile delinquents like you just described is about as appealing as having my ears removed by a rabid bear.

A cross-pollinated polka+ska+techno station, complete with jocks who only speak Mandarin Chinese, would have a better chance of getting a pre-set from me than what you're describing.
Click to expand...

You're just not being honest. You would punch in to see what they're talking about...I know it. Funny is funny... I don't care if it's sophmorish or not.
People want to be entertained. Conservative radio is getting tired, music playlists are played out, the only thing original is, and I hate calling it this, "Hot talk."
Making fun of current events, talking pop culture, and mixing in comedy is fun, and IS the future.
 
Insideradio said:
You're just not being honest. You would punch in to see what they're talking about...I know it. Funny is funny... I don't care if it's sophmorish or not.
Click to expand...

LOL. Trust me, I'm being very honest.
You've obviously guessed wrong about both my sense of humor & my distaste for trash radio.

Besides, with my alternative I could at least maybe pick up a little Mandarin along the way ;)
 
monkey-in-the-wrench:
talk is a VERY expensive format to do locally.
next?
 
Have you noticed how terrible the ratings are for all the FREE FM talk stations across the country? FM talk is in last place just about everywhere it exists. The only exception is WPGB/Pittsburgh, that station is booming. WPGB is a mainstream, issues oriented conservative talk station. The only way FM talk has a chance is if it's programmed like an AM station that just happens to be on FM. Go the hot talk route, which is basically "talk about nothing" and you will be doomed to get a 1 share.
 
yeah, CBS is trying FM Talk like this with Free FM, and it's not working. Whoever pops this kind of FM talk first in Atlanta will lose big time.
 
Jay F said:
Have you noticed how terrible the ratings are for all the FREE FM talk stations across the country? FM talk is in last place just about everywhere it exists. The only exception is WPGB/Pittsburgh, that station is booming. WPGB is a mainstream, issues oriented conservative talk station. The only way FM talk has a chance is if it's programmed like an AM station that just happens to be on FM. Go the hot talk route, which is basically "talk about nothing" and you will be doomed to get a 1 share.
Click to expand...

New Jersey 101.5. #1 or 2 in something like 4 or 5 different markets with their signal reach, and always show up above the line in Philly and NYC, two markets they aggressively point out they are not marketed to.
 
Let's not confuse Free FM with all of FM Talk. It wins with O& A, Toucher & Rich (Boston), Some dayparts in Chicago. FM Talk in Seattle is very big, and I can give you lots of other markets. Lots of syndicators are already putting many of their shows on FM. Laura Ingraham, Stephanie Miller etc.

FM Talk isn't an option. It's going to happen. The right mix of talent is going to win big. The right mix of music is going to go away faster than an ex Brittney Spears husband.
 
middlega said:
ScooterB said:
I think you know the answer.
Click to expand...

Yes. Yes, I do.

The notion of listening to a station staffed by sophmoric (and I'm being generous) juvenile delinquents like you just described is about as appealing as having my ears removed by a rabid bear.

A cross-pollinated polka+ska+techno station, complete with jocks who only speak Mandarin Chinese, would have a better chance of getting a pre-set from me than what you're describing.
Click to expand...

Are you really old?
 
Jay F said:
Have you noticed how terrible the ratings are for all the FREE FM talk stations across the country? FM talk is in last place just about everywhere it exists. The only exception is WPGB/Pittsburgh, that station is booming. WPGB is a mainstream, issues oriented conservative talk station. The only way FM talk has a chance is if it's programmed like an AM station that just happens to be on FM. Go the hot talk route, which is basically "talk about nothing" and you will be doomed to get a 1 share.
Click to expand...

It only seems to be CBS who's failing with its Free FM format. WPGB is more like conservative talk on FM. WTKS-FM in Orlando is a hot talker that has done great for years.
 
WTKS has been going down in the ratings ever since they lost Howard Stern. CC just did away with their local show at night. I wonder how long before they "pull a WGST" in Orlando?
 
There seem to be two working models for FM talk currently:

1. Rush Limbaugh et al on FM, very similar to an AM talk station, or

2. A more local alternative to all the syndicated talk out there. As mentioned in a post above, that's New Jersey 101.5, and it's also Greater Media's FM talk station in Boston with 10 hours per weekday of local talk, including a local PM drive show.

A small market hybrid of both of the above: WGMD in the Ocean City, MD market. They carry Rush Limbaugh, but also have live and local AM and PM drive shows which has a slightly younger edge to them.

I'll agree with one thing with the original post: Any station owner looking to break out from the pack of music FMs should attempt some sort of talk FM. And the more local talk, the better. In large markets, that might be 12 to 19 hours per weekday, in medium markets 6 to 12 hours per day, in small markets maybe only AM drive and possibly PM drive live and local.

New Jersey 101.5 really is a favorite as far as formatics. It doesn't try to extend the local talk to weekends, but it includes local service elements all weekend long such as news at the top of the hour, weather and traffic several times an hour.
 
Couldn't agree more. My original point was "Talk" as coined on AM translates as political. Talk as a format is going through a paradigm shift. By the time it really fills more slots on FM, it will take on a variety of looks. Think about TV. 20 years ago, you had sitcoms, movies of the weeks, dramas, variety shows, soaps, news and news magazines. Then along came cable. Shows like CNN, Friends, Cops, Judge Judy, Pimp My Ride, New Yankee Workshop, Jerry Springer, Bachelorette, American Idol, The Jon Stewart Show and Colbert Report etc. suddenly changed the entire landscape. Even Fox News has forced others to change their approach. And where did old tv go? Nick at Night ---ON CABLE!

You mentioned Free FM hasn't been successful in a lot of markets. Neither were a lot of shows on cable. But look at it now. So I say to Atlanta Radio, be the first with something new on FM that isn't built on the same old tired formula. And try doing it without music. Without politics. You'll be amazed at how many people will tune in. If you're still not a believer, just check out the demos on Jon Stewart, or ask YouTube how valuable his bits or Colbert's (were) at their site.
 
Talk on FM is not without its drawbacks

WPGB is 100% Right-Wing Radio (Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage). That station is well known only because it took away Pittsburgh Pirates baseball from KDKA.

WTKK also has a soft spot for Right-Wing Radio (O'Reilly, Hannity).

Right-Wing Radio may be great copy for the press and a great subject for the Radio Geeks but it keeps major advertisers away. Why do stations have to pay cold cash to Clear Channel (er, Premiere) to carry Limbaugh?

An FM talker in Atlanta will work if (1) it is not weighed down with Right-Wing Radio and (2) it can land the Braves, Dawgs or Ramblin' Wreck.
 
Re: Talk on FM is not without its drawbacks

chuckydoll said:
WPGB is 100% Right-Wing Radio (Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage). That station is well known only because it took away Pittsburgh Pirates baseball from KDKA.

WTKK also has a soft spot for Right-Wing Radio (O'Reilly, Hannity).

Right-Wing Radio may be great copy for the press and a great subject for the Radio Geeks but it keeps major advertisers away. Why do stations have to pay cold cash to Clear Channel (er, Premiere) to carry Limbaugh?

An FM talker in Atlanta will work if (1) it is not weighed down with Right-Wing Radio and (2) it can land the Braves, Dawgs or Ramblin' Wreck.
Click to expand...

Actually radio geeks in general don't like right wing radio, they do however like Hot talk stations like the FREE FMs that get no ratings at all.

There is a reason other companies aren't following CBSs lead in putting on non-political FM talk station, they know they will get the same poor results. Even CBS themselves have stopped flipping stations to FM talk in recent months.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom