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WPTF

radiorealtor said:
I’ve heard nothing on RDU to be proud of. Ten minutes was all I could take of the morning showing…sounded like a bunch of novices, no chemistry and no clue as to what town they were in. As for the rest of the day, just sloppy execution and really lame imaging. Not impressed, but pretty much what I expected. Back to iTunes and XM tomorrow. This is way too bush league. And how many times are they going to read the story about a leash law for cats?

Didn't hear the part about a leash law for cats, (not sure what show you were listening to) However I am curious as to how this will play out in the ratings. Any predictions?
 
The Town of Clayton is expected to outlaw residents from letting their cats run free; RDU had it in every newscast every hour. Of course it sounded like they only recorded two newscasts and rotated them the rest of the day. Very "rip and read" presentation. They may have Rush and Hannity but won't take the "news" image from PTF.
 
I listened to RDU 106 today for the first time. The audio quality is terrible. What is the bandwidth of the satellite feeds for Rush and Sean? You can hear how bad the quality is on AM.

Spin this flip any way you want to, but it's bad news for AM in Raleigh. It will sink WPTF, and based on their letter, they know it. I really like Dave Ramsey, but he's no match for Rush.
 
"Spin this flip any way you want to, but it's bad news for AM in Raleigh. It will sink WPTF, and based on their letter, they know it. I really like Dave Ramsey, but he's no match for Rush.""

Your post is very uninformed.

Considering over 90% of the Triangle population didn't listen to Rush, it's seems WPTF still has a large
group of people who might want some non-Rush news and talk. NPR has a very large audience in the Triangle.

There are markets where Rush is beaten by other talk stations.
 
surfdude said:
"Spin this flip any way you want to, but it's bad news for AM in Raleigh. It will sink WPTF, and based on their letter, they know it. I really like Dave Ramsey, but he's no match for Rush.""

Your post is very uninformed.

Considering over 90% of the Triangle population didn't listen to Rush, it's seems WPTF still has a large
group of people who might want some non-Rush news and talk. NPR has a very large audience in the Triangle.

There are markets where Rush is beaten by other talk stations.

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. Check back with me this time next year. There's no need to be rude.
 
Wasn't trying to be rude, but to point out "it will sink WPTF" was a pretty bold statement.
Rush had only been "part" of the mid-day show at WPTF.
Their AM and PM drive shows have always had very respectable numbers.

This isn't the first time CC has taken Rush off an AM and put on their FM.
They did this to KDKA in Pittsburgh years ago. KDKA still has a 7.9 share and beats the FM/Rush competitor WPGB. Clark Howard beats Rush in Atlanta. Not everybody is drinking the Rush kool-aid.

CC in Raleigh has made a series of poor decisions with the 106.1 frequency.
96 Rock ran them out of rock, and flourishes today. WQDR wiped them off the country map, as they did with WCMC.

Singing the praises of Curtis Media? Yes. I'm rooting for any independent broadcaster to beat a Clear Channel property.

Don't underestimate WPTF.
 
surfdude said:
Wasn't trying to be rude, but to point out "it will sink WPTF" was a pretty bold statement.

It is perfectly okay to make bold statements, particularly as opinions.

I'm a Rush listener, although I usually listen on podcasts - no spots, listen in just over 2 hours. While I agree politically with Bill Lumaye, I cannot listen to his show. Just for grins once, I recorded a show, edited out the spots, traffic, weather, and the other interruptions, and I ended up with 22 minutes of content. Out of 60 minutes. If I listen when I'm driving home from the office, that means at most I will hear about 9 minutes of content. Why bother?

You say, "Their AM and PM drive shows have always had very respectable numbers." For those of us who like conservative talk radio, what were the alternatives? I used to burn Rush's podcasts to CD to listen in the car, and then I started transferring them to my iPod. I've done the same with Dave Ramsey's podcasts. However, it gets old listening to ear buds all the time. (My current radio doesn't have an iPod adapter or an audio line input.)

Many years ago, a radio guy bought a new car. There was a problem with the AM radio. He took it back to the car dealer, complained about the problem, and left the car to be repaired. When he returned to pick up the car that afternoon, the service writer said they'd found the problem. "It was switched to AM."

Maybe WPTF will now thrive with the loss of Rush and Hannity. Maybe it won't. For what it's worth, my wife and I were discussing the flip last night. Her comment was, "Now there is no reason to ever flip over to AM." Neither of us is a sports fan. Maybe her response is atypical. Maybe it's not.

While I don't have a dog in the fight between Clear Channel and independents, the argument seems a little misdirected, to me. If Curtis could be as big as Clear Channel, he'd do it in a microsecond. Curtis owns bunches of AMs and FMs. Losing a few here and there will not send him to the soup line. I wish him well. I still have an affinity for the industry, but my gut tells me that WPTF is in for a rocky ride. If competition works as it should and causes WPTF to work hard to compete against a conservative talk FM, the conservative listener wins. However, Dave Ramsey and Bill Lumaye are not going to lure me away from Rush and Hannity when I'm in the car.

Your mileage may vary, and it probably will. Clear Channel's business practices over the years have never affected me professionally, so I don't have the disdain or affection for them that so many others do.
 
Well said pellmell. But, a regular diet of Rush and Hannity is a very one-sided view of the world we live in. I listen to Rush occasionally, but I know he's a showman, and not necessarily concerned about facts.

Hopefully WPTF will take advantage of the opportunity to offer more. I believe a well programmed talk station would provide a balanced blend of talk, and let listeners form better opinions on how to help participate in the betterment of our world.
 
"Mega dittos" to surfdude. WPTF will weather this well. Being a full-service news/talk outlet with respectable local content is never going to be a part of WRDU's vision. They will be content to be a carrier pidgeon for Rush, Beck and Hannity and will go to as little effort and expense necessary with profit/loss as the only focus. This is nothing new for WPTF. I heard the same story ("it will sink WPTF") when they lost Paul Harvey to WTRG.
 
radiorealtor said:
They will be content to be a carrier pidgeon for Rush, Beck and Hannity and will go to as little effort and expense necessary with profit/loss as the only focus.

So WPTF was content to be a carrier "pidgeon" for Rush for 20 years but now they have risen above that? What an interesting comment.

This is nothing new for WPTF. I heard the same story ("it will sink WPTF") when they lost Paul Harvey to WTRG.

Somehow losing Paul Harvey, a 15 minute program, does not seem to equate or scale to losing Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

I've been listening to RDU 106.1 exclusively since the flip. Not only are their PSAs terrible and poorly positioned, their board execution is rank amateur. Hopefully they will improve with time. They're worse than the camera tosses on WRAL's news (that leave Crabtree looking off into the distance.)
 
BS1012 said:
PTF has Joe Wade Formicola on, live at "1:20, Monday Morning." He's talking about unemployment and the job market and taking calls at 860-wptf.

Props to them for doing something unheard of in radio these days - hiring a live and local overnight host! They could have easily resorted to running audio of the 24-hour local cable news channel, but this is better.
 
Well...all I have to say is that many radio people from around the country will be paying very close attention to this situation. The next two books will be crucial for WPTF not only from a ratings standpoint but from the revenue side as well. If the numbers take too big a dip the national ad dollars will go away. All this to say that many people are rooting for the small guy in this one!
 
Agreed. Everyone who says WPTF will die are missing the point. Anyone who knows the biz knows having a competitor steal three dayparts is a body blow. Its no stretch to say most of Rush, Sean and C-To-C's listeners will move to 106.1. Thanks to all the Einsteins who have stated the obvious! The fun comes in watching WPTF's response to this attack. If...IF...they can weather this then there's a lesson for anyone in radio. I'm pulling for them. And I know they have a great sales and GM team.
 
I hope they keep the live overnights. Heck, that right there alone is more "live" than most stations have in a day. Not even including , Freeman, Fitzgerald, Lumaye and the other shows.
 
pellmell said:
Somehow losing Paul Harvey, a 15 minute program, does not seem to equate or scale to losing Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

The program or the run time has nothing to do with it. It's the mindset, that "a true professional will both welcome and overcome adversity."
 
Yesterday I was in Raleigh with family. We're from ENC and wanted to know what was up with that hazmat situation in Morehead City. Top of the hour comes and I want news. What do I do? Turn it to 680. 106.1's news reporting is a joke.

With a news direction PTF can weather this just fine.

Speaking of, where did the old news anchors go? Ellen Reinhardt was doing the news at 1pm. It makes sense; Curtis does own NCNN now... but still. Some of their anchors have been there longer than I've been alive.
 
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