• 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

Will one of Philly's talkers pick up the new Mike Huckabee Show

M

MikefromDelaware

I've read that in April Mike Huckabee will be launching his own national radio talk show during the same noon-3pm M-F time slot as elRushbo.

Maybe 1210 WPHT in Philly or 990 WNTP in Philly would make a switch to the new Huckabee show when their current syndicated talk show's contract expires. It might be a great move for the lesser talker WNTP to put them on the map and give WPHT some serious competition. Obviously WHYY-FM, the other Philly news/talker isn't able to carry Huckabee as they are a non-comm NPR station.

However, there is one other possibility, 106.9 (Family Radio WKDN) has been sold and its been rumored the new owners would make their Philly market FM station into a news station to compete with Philly's AM KYW newsradio. However, maybe 106.9 will use the new Mike Huckabee Show too, so maybe their format mostly news/traffic/weather like KYW, but also some talk and Huckabee's show would be a great way to get listeners to notice a new news/talk station and to find it on FM where talk hasn't been found in Philly since the days of WWDB.

Personally, I think Mike Huckabee would be a breath of fresh air in terms of conservative radio talk show hosts. I've watched his Fox TV show a few times and even when I didn't agree with him, I've enjoyed his show. His demeanor is very pleasant. He doesn't rant, like elRushbo. Make no mistake about it, Huckabee's a conservative, but he's a nice conservative that moderates and maybe even some liberals might enjoy listening to a whole lot better than the usual rants, sarcasm, and constant sniping that seems to be the fabric of conservative talk radio. Huckabee's TV show is an entertaining program. Maybe on his new radio show, he'd play a recorded song from his "Little Rockers Band" that appears on the TV show or even get a few guys and do some live music as he does on TV. It's a great way to make the show a better entertaining experience.

So from where I sit, I could see either Philly's WNTP or the new 106.9 being the Philly market station for the new Mike Huckabee Show.

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/rush-limbaugh-mike-huckabee-radio-show_n_1354910.html
 
I am kind of expecting 106.9 to try what WWDB tried many years ago. News 5-9, Beck 9-noon, Huckabee noon-3, all news in the afternoon drive or Hannity.
All news, all the time is an expensive venture. Three top tier talkers available for market number 8 is tempting.
 
jhguthlac said:
I am kind of expecting 106.9 to try what WWDB tried many years ago. News 5-9, Beck 9-noon, Huckabee noon-3, all news in the afternoon drive or Hannity.
All news, all the time is an expensive venture. Three top tier talkers available for market number 8 is tempting.
Click to expand...

Philly should have an FM talker. The DB model is a good one to follow because it was successful. Should never have been abandoned. Beck and Hannity should both have Philly clearance.
 
The WWDB model worked in a different era. An FM talker is all well and good, but the diversity of viewpoints WWDB offered are a relic, with no hope of being successful at this point. Maybe someday the pendulum will swing again, but there's no indication of that happening now.
 
Is Beck's show still a real player nationally, and more specifically in Philly? WPHT about a year ago dropped Beck, I'm assuming he wasn't getting the numbers WPHT wanted. I think I'd go with all news 5-9am, Laura Ingraham 9-12noon, Huckabee noon-3pm, all news afternoon drive. Maybe run Beck 6pm-9pm or 7pm-10pm whenever PM drive ends in Philly.
 
Beck's show has never been able to hold my attention. Apparently, many share my opinion as he has been dropped in both Philly and NYC.
 
So from where I sit, I could see either Philly's WNTP or the new 106.9 being the Philly market station for the new Mike Huckabee Show.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, for Huckabee fans, neither of these two stations will likely carry his show.

WNTP is owned by Salem, and carries the talk shows from Salem's own network. It also provides clearance in the Philadelphia market for ads that network sells. While it is still possible that Huckabee's syndicator, Cumulus, could pay Salem to carry the show, and move one of its own shows to a different time, that isn't likely. The station's really low cume isn't attractive and wouldn't add much to Huckabee's national audience.

As far as the new Merlin news station on 106.9, the one thing you can take to the bank is that there is NO WAY that Huckabee's show would wind up there now.

The last thing Merlin wants for its new FM is an old white male audience, which is what Conservative talk mainly attracts.

In other cities, Merlin has attempted to attract a young female audience, because they are most attractive to advertisers because they control the biggest chunk of consumer spending. And it is still targeting young adults who may never listen to AM, and probably care very little about their father's kind of talk radio.

Merlin is going all news because it is a foreground format, where listeners pay closer attention than to music stations, and because you can stuff more commercials in an all news format. The last thing it would want to do is take a syndicated network talk show where it is limited to network spot breaks and have to give spots to the network. It also wouldn't want to break the format where it offers traffic and weather every 10-minutes 24/7.

While all news is expensive to do, Merlin has the bucks thanks to backing by a deep pocketed private investment firm from Chicago. It also fills a lot of air time with traffic, weather, and network news items.

These are just a few of the many reasons Huckabee ain't going there. More likely is that CBS starts to worry about backlash from the Limbaugh situation if the advertiser boycotts continue and doesn't renew Rush on WPHT when the contract comes around. That could be where Huckabee winds up in Philly if he proves himself in other markets first.
 
jhguthlac said:
Beck's show has never been able to hold my attention. Apparently, many share my opinion as he has been dropped in both Philly and NYC.
Click to expand...

Beck is the #3 show nationally behind Limbaugh and Hannity in terms of number of listeners. It boggles the mind that neither show...Hannity or Beck... have been picked up by 990 or 1180.
 
Well there may be reasons for the lack of interest of either Beck or Hannity by WNTP or 1180 (don't know the calls as I can't get the station). Does Beck's show, like Limbaugh's charge a fee to station's to carry the show? Why did WPHT 1210 drop both Beck and Hannity. I'm assuming poor ratings and worse yet, a lack of local advertisers wanting their name to be attached to those shows.

So why would either 990 or 1180 take on a show that 1210 dropped? If 1210 couldn't make a go of Beck or Hannity why would 990 or 1180 think they'd do better?

I could see either wanting Huckabee as its new and Huckabee is popular with conservatives due to this popular Fox TV show. That to me would be a far better bet than either Beck or Hannity.
 
Don't shoot me, but how about WNPV 1440? It covers a nice portion of the market.
 
I'm not familiar with 1440 as I can't get it here, but if WNPV covers a decent part of the Philly market, why not air Huckabee. If WNPV has an online listen now button at their web site, I could listen via my computer. Works for me as I'm at work from 12-3pm not in my car.
 
I also don't recieve it, but if you do a basic Internet search (I used Yandex, my personal choice) the TuneIn link should work perfectly. I used to live in Lansdale, actually.

Currently in Marcus Hook, but I do go up to Lanadale frequently and I like the programming on WNPV.
 
1180 is WFYL; they are local in the morning, and carry Laura Ingraham, Michael (Weiner)Savage, and Jerry Doyle. News from Fox.
 
Wired will run it in the mornings on a delay to replace the "departing" Chio. ;)
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom