Would CBS do an issues-oriented FM talker here?

[raccoonradio]

Brian Maloney's SaveWRKO.com blog says that according to his sources an issues-oriented talk
station may be in the "planning stages" over at CBS (WBCN? WZLX?) Not sure if that's indeed true
but note what he's claiming: it wouldn't be guy talk or hot talk but news-oriented.

We already do have an FM talker in WTKK which is all local from 6 am to 7 pm (Barnicle, Graham,
E&B, Severin). They rank below WRKO in the 12 plus ratings (as well as WBZ which is talk
only at night)...can Greater Media get better ratings with its local issues-oriented talk at 96.9 or
is there an audience out there for one MORE station, via CBS?

What if they lured away D&C or Howie Carr?

 

[BRNout]

That's a great question. Normally I would pass this off as being a ridiculous idea. However, they could have something if they managed to snag some local talent away from the competition. Howie has sounded pretty bitter about Entercom lately - it is not out of the question for him to jump ship at the first possible chance.

All of that being said, it would be much more likely to happen if WTKK didn't exist. They already fill the FM "issues" talk hole, though they could do better. Then again, if WRKO loses a couple of shows to WTKK, they would be much stronger. Entercom has really plowed WRKO right into a mountain over the past 18 months! It's been reduced to a steaming pile of dung and is now quite vulnerable. All that's left are the Red Sox, Howie and Rush.

No matter what, CBS radio would have to take on WTKK (which is alredy established) head to head. To me, this would seem unlikely in a market with so few signals.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes it would indeed be more likely to happen if there were no WTKK. As for them who knows how popular
Barnicle may be with four hours (I know he has some fans but how many?). Severin did beat Howie in
a couple ratings periods. They do have a good idea with the local content because people want to hear
it in AM and PM Drive and also middays, and put the syndie folks on at night unless they're really good
and worth hearing live (Ingraham for example)

>>All that's left are the Red Sox, Howie and Rush.

yes

If CBS does issues-talk with some sports thrown in they could put the B's on there too...The idea may be
that the new "FM Talker" could do talk during the day then maybe some sports related stuff at night
so as not to cannibalize the talk audience away from their WBZ.

 

[JustinT]

>>All that's left are the Red Sox, Howie and Rush.

yes

If CBS does issues-talk with some sports thrown in they could put the B's on there too...The idea may be
that the new "FM Talker" could do talk during the day then maybe some sports related stuff at night
so as not to cannibalize the talk audience away from their WBZ.

To me, it doesn't really seem clear why CBS would launch a third "issue-based" talk station in Boston. Are there any major cities where there are three strong (as in non-Salem or AA) talk stations? Cities like New York (WOR/WABC), Chicago (WLS/WGN), Los Angeles (KFI/KABC), San Francisco (KGO/KSFO), all support two, along with the corresponding "guy talk" stations (WFNY, WCKG, KLSX, KIFR respectively). As BRNout stated, Entercom's WRKO is extremely vulnerable at this point, but it seems more as if this is a prime time for WTKK to emerge as the leading talk outlet rather for a third player to enter an already crowded talk radio arena. Plus, as raccoonradio hinted, such a talk station would go head-to-head with the overnight programming on WBZ.

"Guy talk" isn't usually much of a ratings-grabber in most markets, but what sets the stations apart is that they skew young. Putting an "issues-based" talker on FM will make it skew slightly younger, but it's still going to be on the upper end of what typical media buyers want. CBS's FM talkers in other markets haven't necessarily been huge successes: WFNY served as flagship to the Roth fiasco, WCKG has pulled 12+ numbers below a full share and has essentially one show which is holding the station together, KIFR had a personality supposedly fall asleep on the air, etc. But Boston is different: with the established Dennis and Callahan up for grabs, a developing afternoon program (T&R), Patriots rights, and Bruins rights, the potential is there for a young-skewing FM talker that could cause serious damage to WEEI and the city's rock outlets. Knowing CBS, they probably will launch an issues-based talker or launch a terribly-executed "guy talk" station, but the truth is, they have the tools they need to create what the airwaves are lacking.

 

[Casablanca]

Now, if I had said that the likes of Smoke,aka, VB would say that I just hate WRKO. But WRKO has become an embarassment to its former glory days and all that is left is the "daze".

That's a great question. Normally I would pass this off as being a ridiculous idea. However, they could have something if they managed to snag some local talent away from the competition. Howie has sounded pretty bitter about Entercom lately - it is not out of the question for him to jump ship at the first possible chance.

All of that being said, it would be much more likely to happen if WTKK didn't exist. They already fill the FM "issues" talk hole, though they could do better. Then again, if WRKO loses a couple of shows to WTKK, they would be much stronger. Entercom has really plowed WRKO right into a mountain over the past 18 months! It's been reduced to a steaming pile of dung and is now quite vulnerable. All that's left are the Red Sox, Howie and Rush.

No matter what, CBS radio would have to take on WTKK (which is alredy established) head to head. To me, this would seem unlikely in a market with so few signals.

 

[raccoonradio]

If WBCN were to go guy talk it could kind of be like this CBS station from the Steel City:

http://www.937thezone.com/

(local hosts plus O&A, Dennis Miller, Loveline, and John and Jeff; J&J are currently on WTKK and
doesn't WZLX run loveline?)
What it could look like here:
6-10 Dennis and Callahan swiped from Entercom
10-2 Opie and Anthony delayed
2-5 Dennis Miller or local host
5-9 local host etc
Bruins at night
who knows...

 

[Finn]

I guess advertisers aren't interested in my $$