WPTF

[pellmell]

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.

It's not a year yet, but this thread is already somewhat interesting.

What's strange is that my wife and I find ourselves listening to WKIX over weekends. It's fun to hear Charlie Brown and Pat Patterson. I punched up WKIX on the way home from the office this afternoon, and they sound terrible. To make sure it wasn't my radio, I switched to WPTF, and it's much better. Maybe one day WKIX will stream on the Internet at a decent bit rate.

 

[tripcity]

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!

So I'm looking at the predictions on this thread and I have to ask. Has WPTF weathered the storm? Judging by the numbers we have seen that doesn't seem to be the case, however it's still nice to see a committment to local hosts. But is it enough? The latest numbers show Rush outcuming PTF and ZTK combined. But what will it look like when we start seeing PPM data in August?

 

[ECRadioGuy]

All this talk about WPTF losing all the big time hosts made me think of something. There are still several popular host that are not heard in Raleigh. The #1 would be Laura Ingraham-she is really popular in Eastern NC and in most of the country as well. She would be a good counter program to Glenn Beck. Also, Rustie Humphries and Mike Gallagher would be good choices. I have listened to them many times and their programs are quite enjoyable. Are they Rush, Shawn and Glen? No, but I think they could help build up an audience better than the current PTF lineup.

 

[pellmell]

It seems to me that WPTF is going to have to be happy with a small piece of the pie. Their challenge, as always, is to make that small piece as big as possible. With all due respect to him, I'm not convinced the Bill LuMaye is the answer. In his defense, the WPTF clock is so cluttered with spots, traffic, weather, and crap that it's very hard for him to get momentum. Plus, he goes off on tangents with liberal guests, which most conservatives probably don't want to hear. It seems that he may be trying to do the Tom Joyner "I'm not beholden to either party" shtick.

 

[tothedj]

I still think WPTF should shift some programs around, like Bill LuMaye moving to 11 to 2, and have Dave Ramsey on
"live" 2 till 5, as for the rest of their hosts, "local" talk is OK, depending on who's doing it.

 

[turkeydance]

yes....+1....live wins. WPTF learned that with Clark Howard (i thought).
bottom line: it's "live" or nothing. live syndicated/local/whatever.
my 2 cents: as posted before, WPTF and Curtis have the opportunity
to go "live NC" statewide. the news/sports/weather part is in the bag.
only the will and the synchronization of a network remains. it's so cheap
to implement compared with any other legal way i know about to build
an audience.

 

[smedge2006]

All this talk about WPTF losing all the big time hosts made me think of something. There are still several popular host that are not heard in Raleigh. The #1 would be Laura Ingraham-she is really popular in Eastern NC and in most of the country as well. She would be a good counter program to Glenn Beck. Also, Rustie Humphries and Mike Gallagher would be good choices.

In Tampa, the station that runs Laura Ingraham and Rusty Humphries is clobbered 10-1 by the station that runs Beck. The station that runs Mike Gallagher gets clubbed by about the same margin.

 

[fortmill]

Who cares? Its all conservative claptrap/misinformation anyway.

 

[quadraphonic]

You cared enough to comment. I imagine others care, too.

 

[newhampshiredude]

All this talk about WPTF losing all the big time hosts made me think of something. There are still several popular host that are not heard in Raleigh. The #1 would be Laura Ingraham-she is really popular in Eastern NC and in most of the country as well. She would be a good counter program to Glenn Beck. Also, Rustie Humphries and Mike Gallagher would be good choices.

In Tampa, the station that runs Laura Ingraham and Rusty Humphries is clobbered 10-1 by the station that runs Beck. The station that runs Mike Gallagher gets clubbed by about the same margin.

A lot of that has to do with that WWBA has never been a really popular station. I would look more at a market like Boston. Laura Ingraham is on WRKO and does very well. The station lost Limbaugh earlier this year to another Rush Radio creation on 1200 WXKS. WXKS had a .7 rating in the last PPM report for Boston despite having Glenn, Rush, Sean, Jason Lewis, and Mark Levin. WRKO, the station that is local from 5:30am-9am and 12pm-7pm with Laura Ingraham LIVE from 9am-12pm, had a 3.1 share. Laura certainly helped WRKO keep some of the conservative audience that would have otherwise gone to Rush Radio. The local programs on the station including Howie Carr also have helped, but Laura's show gives WRKO a major national conservative radio show in addition to the local talk on the station. This has allowed WRKO to compete with both RUsh Radio 1200 and 96.9 WTKK, a mostly local FM talk station in Boston. All in all, Laura has really helped WRKO, a station that could have faced the same fate of losing many conservative listeners like is happening to WPTF.

 

[XTalker]

When it comes to talk radio, it is Rush and the rest. Even Hannity can't compare to the cume Rush brings to the table. However, that doesn't mean there isn't life after Rush for WPTF (or WSJS). I have said it before, Dave Ramsey is NOT the answer.

Live and Local (regional) can compete with Rush.

AM radio has faced this for years. The whole concept of what radio is today and has been for the last 50 years started on AM. This statement will likely raise to ire - at least spark some conversation - AM has been the innovator, FM has taken advantage of it!

Be certain, that the Curtis Group will not allow some solid AM signals fade away.

FM is in trouble - too much competition from your iPod and cell phone. Innovation will save WPTF and one day, some FM will take up the torch.

 

[newhampshiredude]

I think an easy solution for WPTF right now is to remove Dave Ramsey from the daytime lineup. Change the lineup to the following:

5am-9am Brian Freeman
9am-12pm Laura Ingraham
12pm-2pm Scott Fitzgerald
2pm-5pm Bill LuMaye
5pm-7pm North Carolina's Evening News
7pm-10pm Mark Levin
10pm-1am Dave Ramsey
1am-3am Allent Hunt
3am-5am Dr. Laura

Having a national conservative talker during the daytime just makes sense for WPTF. And, you have to agree, having Ingraham on makes much more sense than having a day old Dave Ramsey on.

 

[DToTheJ]

It's interesting that Ramsey is live 2-5 PM ET, yet WPTF has a local host in that same exact time slot.

How about expanding the "Evening News" block another hour, maybe move it to a 3 PM start time, and then clear the third (live) hour of Levin's show at 6 PM?

 

[naytchrboy]

A schedule without Tom Kearney in the evening is incomplete. I would like to see more "local" shows in the night time schedules of all of these talk stations. Tom's show is really interesting to me, as is DG Martin's on WCHL, because it is usually an interview show and not just fielding calls on a topic. Plus the Friday shows fascinate me with the folks who call in to discuss trivia night.