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Why is Clear Channel slow on putting talkers on FM?

C

carolinaradio

Companies like Cox, Entercom, Bonneville, and even CBS have been putting heritage/popular talkers on FM for quite a while now....but what's with Clear Channel? It seems like most of their FM news/talkers originated on FM. They have their share of aging AM talkers but don't seem to be in a hurry to put them on FM.

Example, WGST/Atlanta; even after Cox put WSB on FM, they seem to have no desire to put it on FM which would help it. The station has serious nighttime problems also. There are countless others. Why is Clear so slow to jump on the FM talk bandwagon?
 
Maybe they're making good money with their current FM formats and don't want to further cannibalize the AM audience. Once you move your talker to FM, what do you replace it with on the AM? The effective options to attract aging AM audiences are limited, whereas FMs can program plenty of formats that will attract younger demos.
 
Another answer: For the most part, Clear Channel talk stations consist of a local morning show and their syndicated hosts after that. No real news coverage to speak of in many cases ... plug in Fox at the top of the hour. They have no reason to move those hosts who increasingly only appeal to a 50+ year old audience to FM.

The other companies mentioned have made a better commitment to local news and talk radio.

Clear Channel was actually pretty early with FM talkers in Pittsburgh and Orlando. I wonder if there was anything about those two experiences that caused them to hold back on more FM talkers. Or, perhaps, the answer to the question lies in what they were trying to accomplish in those two markets: Overtake huge AM talkers, KDKA in Pittsburgh and WDBO in Orlando.
 
I thought CC was going to put talk on an FM in Philadelphia after Beck and Hannity were dropped by WPHT. 104.5 and 106.1 were mentioned as possibilities, but nothing happened. ???
 
scott5 said:
Maybe they've learned their lesson from Boston that "Rush talk" doesn't always work.
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Very likely! The branding of CC's Boston station was changed from Rush Radio 1200 to Talk 1200.

When WABC's contracts with Rush and Sean were up for renewal last year, it was speculated WABC might not renew and that CC was considering purchasing WOR and flipping it to Rush Radio 710. CC didn't purchase WOR and Rush and Sean are still on WABC, their long-time New York station. :)
 
radioguy39nj said:
I thought CC was going to put talk on an FM in Philadelphia after Beck and Hannity were dropped by WPHT. 104.5 and 106.1 were mentioned as possibilities, but nothing happened.
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Other than idle speculation and CC saying they had no plan for any format flips, there hasn't been any publicly-stated interest in Beck or Hannity by Philly or suburban stations.

Philly's a talk radio backwater. Not much going on here outside of Phillies-compromised WPHT, brokered-sports-compromised WNTP and the typical NPR fare.

WILM in Wilmington added Beck since WPHT announced they were dropping him, but ILM is the same sea of noise for most in Philly that any out-of-market AM would be.

Under 'Philadelphia talk radio', refer to the entries for Internet and Satellite reception.
 
It could be because Cheap Channel has no clue what to do with it's AM properties once it moves talk to FM...
 
carolinaradio said:
Example, WGST/Atlanta; even after Cox put WSB on FM, they seem to have no desire to put it on FM which would help it. The station has serious nighttime problems also. There are countless others. Why is Clear so slow to jump on the FM talk bandwagon?
Click to expand...

As was mentioned, it could be so as to not blow up productive FM formats.

But recently they moved WERC Birmingham to FM, and they have FMs doing talk in Minneapolis, SLC, Tallahassee, Albany, Springfield MA, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, Charleston SC, Biloxi, Syracuse, Riviera Beach, Madison, Raleigh, and Muskegon. Not a lot, but certainly a growing number
 
carolinaradio said:
Actually, WTKS is a hot talker, not news/talk. WFLF is their news talker down there (540).
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And WTKS is an Aloha Trust property. Clear did not create that format, and they were quick to put that one in the trust as opposed to one of the other stations.
 
I have to wonder how much heritage and corporate culture have to do with this. Clear Channel established itself by buying up clear channel (class A) stations and other heritage AM stations.

Those stations still attract a post money demo audience and the company may want to use its FM properties to go after the money demos. If Clear Channel was money demo listeners for talk radio, they are going to have to get new hosts. Moving their stable of conservative hosts to FM in some markets hasn't changed audience composition much.

People like to talk about how when TV came along radio re-invented itself and thrived. Putting talk on FM matters less than re-inventing talk radio for today's money demo audience. Talk Radio: The Next Generation. Not Your Father's Talk Radio. But nobody, most of all Clear Channel, seems to be doing that.
 
If history repeats itself, Cheap Channel will be the last ones to the rodeo going after younger talk demos after someone else has already done it with a degree of success.
 
DavidEduardo said:
carolinaradio said:
Actually, WTKS is a hot talker, not news/talk. WFLF is their news talker down there (540).
Click to expand...

And WTKS is an Aloha Trust property. Clear did not create that format, and they were quick to put that one in the trust as opposed to one of the other stations.
Click to expand...
Actually, didn't they put WJRR and WMGF in to the trust also? It seems like a lot of the Orlando stations were placed in to it.

I'm surprised they keep WTKS instead of putting a WFLF simulcast on there. They are one of the only hot talkers around anymore that I can think of.
 
raccoonradio said:
>> Springfield MA

Who is the CC doing talk on FM in Springfield?
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BIA error. Apparently WHYN-FM (Mix) carries 560 on an HD channel, but they have it listed as main channel.
 
MattParker said:
If Clear Channel was money demo listeners for talk radio, they are going to have to get new hosts. Moving their stable of conservative hosts to FM in some markets hasn't changed audience composition much.
Click to expand...

Look at start-up traditional talker WPGB in Pittsburgh... it's 7th 25-54 vs 11th for KDKA, and 2nd 35-64 vs 8th for KDKA. It's even top 10 18-49.

As has been seen when traditional talkers like KSL, WSB, WOKV, WHIO and many others add FM, the 35-54 increases significantly. That's why today we see WBEN in Buffalo, which is not even top 10 in the market 25-54, adding FM. Or why we saw KXL add FM in Portland two weeks ago and Entercom making the same move in Kansas City. Putting the same programming on FM improves, often dramatically, the under-55 demos.
 
I'm in 18-34, so I probably don't even matter with news/talk, but I found myself actually listening to news/talk after Entercom put it on FM in my market. I never go to the AM band because it's pretty much a wasteland full of Spanish and religious programming. Seems like Entercom's on a roll here...they don't have many talkers left that are worth sacrificing an FM signal for, though.
 
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