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Wilmington Ratings

Fred Leonard said: "Maybe you've noted the dumbing down of NPR programs to attract younger listeners. The dumb part is actually that all such attempts ever do is drive away current listeners (while failing to attract new ones)."

Yes I have noticed the effort of dumbing down and trying to be more hip at NPR in an effort to attract younger listeners and agree with you completely. I listen less because of that. It also seems like 90.9 or as they like to call it, 91FM isn't doing as well with their begathons as they just had one maybe 3-4 weeks ago and then again last week. That's also a tune out. Ed Cunningham, Chris Satullo, and Miken Scott beating your ear first thing in the morning as you awaken and then for an entire week as they interrupt programming. Seems like the time has come for NPR / PBS to get busy and sell more corporate underwriting [public media version of commercials] and realize the days where the public was just going to throw cash at them are gone.

As mentioned here before by me and others, NPR/PBS used to be on a shoe string budget where the pay was lousy, the equipment hand me downs from commercial stations, etc. Today the Exec's and top talent are pulling in big time salaries as they have state of the art studios with the best equipment. So the feel of giving to NPR/PBS has also changed from those early days where you knew they actually needed the money. Today, giving to NPR/PBS and WHYY-FM/TV is kind of like giving a televangelist. You know the type, he wears a fine 3 piece Brooks Brothers suit, Gucci loafers, Rolex watch, limo riding TV preacher. Yet he's begging for money. It would be interesting to find out how much of your donation to WHYY goes towards programming vs salaries for Ed, Chris and Miken, plus mortgages on that very fancy studio complex in Philly, not to mention the NPR national studios in DC, etc, etc. Sadly when the giving was great, WHYY or NPR / PBS didn't choose to be frugal and save the money not needed in that season, but spent it all living lavishly. Now aging boomers are finding less to like about public broadcasting and many have and are retiring, so giving is down from public media's former cash cow. The young aren't interested, but the folks at NPR/PBS have gotten used to those big salaries, lavish buildings and state of the art equipment. I believe the gravy days of public radio and TV are gone, unless they figure out how to get more corporate sponsorship for their type of broadcasting.
 
The era of shoestring budgets and hand me downs was a while back - early on in the days of "educational radio" and even when "public radio" was starting out. What you are describing today is common enough in the world of "non-profit" corporations, including charities and churches. They don't pay taxes. People given them money. They end up with money left over. They don't have to pay dividends to shareholders, so they end up spending it on themselves. Bonuses. Fancy buildings. Even for-profit subsidiaries.

Hard to break out salaries from programming costs because salaries are a programming cost.

WHYY is now the number one talk station in Philly. No numbers are publicly available for Delaware but I wouldn't be surprised if they were number one in Wilmington, too. And public radio still has much better audience demographics than right-wing talk. I am still wondering why the university doesn't stop wasting an a class B FM station as a student toy and turn it into a real public radio station, which might actually turn a profit - whoops, I mean "show a surplus."

In the meantime, there's still no real alternative to public radio's newsmagazine and interview programs, so Baby Boomers may be less satisfied but they won't have any place else to go.
 
FredLeonard said: WHYY is now the number one talk station in Philly. No numbers are publicly available for Delaware but I wouldn't be surprised if they were number one in Wilmington, too. And public radio still has much better audience demographics than right-wing talk. I am still wondering why the university doesn't stop wasting an a class B FM station as a student toy and turn it into a real public radio station, which might actually turn a profit - whoops, I mean "show a surplus."

I agree, but given 90.9 FM's solid signal into much of the Wilmington metro, and being right next to WVUD's 91.3, maybe they just don't see the need or want to lose their identity as a UofD station, etc. The UofD has partnered with DelState to create Delaware's only NPR station, WDDE 91.1 from DelState's campus in Dover. I've listened online at work at http://www.wdde.org/ They offer much of the same programming as WHYY-FM during the work day [Radio Times a WHYY program isn't carried, On Point from WBUR Boston airs in that time slot]. Also WDDE has joined up with WMPH 91.7 Mt. Pleasant High School's station during the weekday from 6am to 7pm simulcasting WDDE's programming, so for those who can get 91.7 better than 90.9 that is another OTA radio option for upstate Delaware.
 
"Radio Times" is a local show, although available on SiriusXM and as an NPR podcast. In addition to "On Point," NPR distributes WAMU's "Diane Rehm Show" to stations in the 10 to noon period. Most larger public radio news-information stations, like WHYY, do their own local shows in that time period.

Many university-owned public radio stations were once student stations, like WVUD. Most schools now have low power FM stations for student broadcasters and have converted their Class A or B FM non-commercial stations to public radio stations. Both WXPN and WRTI were once student stations.

The Dover station's transmitter is South of town and it's not much use even as far as Smyrna and provides zero coverage North of the canal. The high school station is better than nothing but it seems a shame to waste WVUD as a student hobby station. While they are at it, 1380 would be much better used as a public radio station, too.
 
Fred, I totally agree that both 91.3 and 1380 both would make a great place for an NPR affiliate. How old is Diane Rehm? She sounds ancient. Good show, but her voice really sounds old. I agree that WDDE's signal isn't very good [I've been listening to On Point online via WDDE or for a podcast go to On Point's website. For some reason Radio Times podcasts no longer work on my work computer [my employer is slow to update browers, etc, so I'm sure it's on my computers end not WHYY's] so now I have to listen live either on the radio or online or listen to the podcasts of a missed show at home.

Sadly, with the summer months WMPH or complaints from the kids, who knows, they only now carry ME and ATC. The rest of the day part is local music by the kids. Making your point even more, yes Northern Delaware needs its own NPR affiliate. I agree the UofD should get themselves a low powered FM for the students and make 91.3 a real NPR affiliate, or if they won't do that, purchase 1380 from the state for their student broadcasts thus leaving 91.3 for NPR or the worse option is get 1380 and and use that as an NPR affiliate, it's better than nothing.
 
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Diane Rhem is 77. She suffers from involuntary spasms in her larynx.

I would not be surprised to learn WHYY is somehow "influencing" the continued absence of a real and full-time public radio station in New Castle County. I wouldn't be surprised if Delmarva hasn't applied some gentle pressure in this area either. It's the Delaware way.

In major markets, established all news stations are still a presence (like Philly and DC). But in markets without an all news outlet, commercial radio has pretty much abandoned local news and left it to public radio. With an active public radio news operation going, Delmarva would probably get out of the news business and devote itself to right-wing talk.
 
That explains a lot about Ms. Rhems' voice. Says a lot about NPR that they've not "put her out to pasture" to get a younger, hipper, voice to replace her.

WHYY probably does get some decent donations from Wilmington area listeners so that would make sense for them to not want a Wilmington NPR station tapping into that potential donor field. Good point.

I agree, with Wilmington not really having much in the way of electronic news coverage - no real TV presence, and no local NPR station to offer more extensive news coverage, that does give Delmarva [WDEL] a place to make money filling that void.
 
Well, it's almost time for the next ratings to be published by Nielsen - even though Wilmington only has diaries out twice a year.

Talk radio has lost half its audience in Wilmington and in Philly. WPHT has lost share even though it has talk radio all to itself. Even KYW has seen a major drop in recent months. Even though we don't get details, we know all these stations tend to have people on Medicare as the bulk of the audience. And Metamucil. And early bird dinner specials.

Will the ship of AM talk radio keep sinking? It's been about 10 years since standards disappeared from AM 1290. Almost as long since the last attempt at Oldies disappeared.
 
FredLeonard said:
Talk radio has lost half its audience in Wilmington and in Philly. WPHT has lost share even though it has talk radio all to itself. Even KYW has seen a major drop in recent months. Even though we don't get details, we know all these stations tend to have people on Medicare as the bulk of the audience. And Metamucil. And early bird dinner specials.
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KYW has historically gotten between a 0.7 and a 1.1 share in Wilmington, going back for the last 8 or 9 years at least. Half of that listening is in 25-54.

WPHT used to get in the mid 1's in Wilmington, but in the last 4 years has been around a 0.8. 60% of its audience is below age 65 in Wilmington.

Since there has been no book out in Wilmington for 5 months (Fall 2013 issued in January) how would you know that KYW "has seen a major drop in recent months"? There is no data on which to base that statement, so you are making it up.
 
Being deliberately obtuse again? If you paid attention (for a change), you would not that KYW's decline is in the Philly book. But you don't want to believe that either.

Besides, how would you know specific numbers and demographic breakdowns in Wilmington? How much of your so-called "expertise" around here is fabricated? All of it?
 
FredLeonard said:
Being deliberately obtuse again? If you paid attention (for a change), you would not that KYW's decline is in the Philly book. But you don't want to believe that either.
Click to expand...

The thread and, indeed, the paragraph in which you spoke of KYW's decline referred to Wilmington.

In any event, KYW has had one... count them... one book that is below the average for April books for the station. The previous 3 books included two of the highest shares KYW has ever had, and one that is consistent with the historic levels ever since the PPM was introduced in that market.

Besides, how would you know specific numbers and demographic breakdowns in Wilmington? How much of your so-called "expertise" around here is fabricated? All of it?
Click to expand...

I have access to top line numbers for both markets (Philadelphia and Wilmington). I had my first full access to Philadelphia PPM numbers back in 2002 as part of the select advisory committee of radio, agency and research folks named to participate in the first major market test rollout of the people meter; before that, we were "in the loop" on the initial 2000-2001 tests in Wilmington.
 
You were on some client committee and claim to be an expert? Bull! How about a curriculum vitae? Graduate degrees in methodology, statistics or the social sciences? Peer reviewed publications (message boards don't count)? Anything?
 
FredLeonard said:
You were on some client committee and claim to be an expert? Bull! How about a curriculum vitae? Graduate degrees in methodology, statistics or the social sciences? Peer reviewed publications (message boards don't count)? Anything?
Click to expand...

As I said, the C.V. is only a click away.

And the committee I referred to was more than a bunch of clients; it was the review and steering committee for the introduction of the Philadelphia PPM tests and included the research chiefs from Nielsen and Arbitron, social scientists contracted for panel maintenance procedures and several representatives from agency research departments, buying services and the radio industry.

FYI, people working in research in broadcast companies, as a rule, never, ever, publish. That is because they develop what would be considered proprietary approaches to using and interpreting data which can not and may not ever be revealed.. For over a decade, I was the head of an in-house, 40-person research department that did the full range of programming research projects. At another point in my career, I actually wrote the software for a ratings company in another country.

Now tell us a little about what you have done.
 
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