A coup for the network...
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WSB AM goes CBS on April 1
- Thread starter RichardWarner
- Start date
Well, if anyone was going to go all-news, now they've locked up the option. What's the likelihood that this is April Fools?
CBS News isn't always exclusive to one station in the market. Nobody's officially picked up the new NBC News Radio yet.
CBS News isn't always exclusive to one station in the market. Nobody's officially picked up the new NBC News Radio yet.
MCMagicCracker said:
Interesting you mention that. In DC, CBS has started an all-news station, but WTOP, its direct competitor, has CBS News on the hour. WTOP's contract runs for another year.
When I was there — we're talking late '70s — we were NBC at the top of the hour, Mutual for cuts and Larry King and CBS for Mystery Theater. After I left they went ABC, and then CNN because their spot inventory was too valuable to give up. Over time, WSB's ties with CBS were the least of all the major radio networks. WGST had CBS and ABC Entertainment when I was there in the '80s.
I see CBS as an offensive play, as they'll improve the news product at a time when advertiser support for right wing talk is under pressure...and a defensive play. If some company was thinking about boosting news presence, CBS is the most reputable of the networks as it isn't licensed out to another company.
Based on spot load (depending on what WSB negotiated for when the spots must run and what comp, if any, they get), this is likely a major investment.
I doubt there are many deals out there like we had at WRFC in the mid-70s. ABC had a program called "PSP," or program support plan. The network charged $100 a month and you have to get your own signal — remember, this was in the days of land lines — but you didn't have to carry any spots except Paul Harvey. The cost of the phone line was so high, WRFC took their air signal off subcarrier from WDUN, which sounded like crap. I negotiated a deal in 1977 to bring ABC in via a grade D land line, sharing the cost with WUOG. It still sounded bad compared to WGAU's CBS feed, but at least it didn't have "Shake Your Booty" bleeding in the background during Dan Streeter's top of the hour Information newscast.
I see CBS as an offensive play, as they'll improve the news product at a time when advertiser support for right wing talk is under pressure...and a defensive play. If some company was thinking about boosting news presence, CBS is the most reputable of the networks as it isn't licensed out to another company.
Based on spot load (depending on what WSB negotiated for when the spots must run and what comp, if any, they get), this is likely a major investment.
I doubt there are many deals out there like we had at WRFC in the mid-70s. ABC had a program called "PSP," or program support plan. The network charged $100 a month and you have to get your own signal — remember, this was in the days of land lines — but you didn't have to carry any spots except Paul Harvey. The cost of the phone line was so high, WRFC took their air signal off subcarrier from WDUN, which sounded like crap. I negotiated a deal in 1977 to bring ABC in via a grade D land line, sharing the cost with WUOG. It still sounded bad compared to WGAU's CBS feed, but at least it didn't have "Shake Your Booty" bleeding in the background during Dan Streeter's top of the hour Information newscast.
Notice the date? The AM/FM simulcast isn't going away anytime soon people.
sources.
RichardWarner said:
Richard, you think that's bad, try getting ABC in little Hawkinsville Georgia! We threw a party the day the satellite dish was delivered for the SEDAT signal.
But hopping from one competitor to another, especially one that has had Cox Atlanta's number for as long as they have? I would have thought that they would have gone with Dial Global's NBC, as DG already does Boortz and Clark.Seltzer said:
Unless...this is a preemptive strike to prevent CBS from putting an all-news in ATL, aimed at You KNOW Who. Could that be a possibility? Would this really stop CBS?
WSB is making the right move. The "new" NBC likely won't ever match the prestige and sound of the original NBC Radio Network. While I agree with Richard that CBS is the best of the networks, all of the radio nets are mere shadows of their glory days. ABC, when Paul Harvey and Howard Cosell were in their prime, NBC when "Monitor" was still around and CBS when Dallas Townsend was hosting "World News Round Up."
This morning on Atlanta's Morning News, the folks at News/Talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM have already started implementing reports from CBS. I heard 2 of them. One report was from Steve Futterman, and another report was from Business Correspondent Alexis Christoforous. They haven't dumped the CNN affiliation yet. I also heard one report from CNN. That is all for now.
EJM said:
From what the clocks in the above link show, the new NBC wouldn't be a good substitute for any station running a full top of the hour newscast,as it's just two minutes of national news on the hour.
There will be NBC "channel A" with two minutes of news (with a cutaway at 1:00), two minutes of "marketwatch" and two minutes of spots. NBC "Channel B" is two minutes of news followed by a one minute spot. Both have a one-minute update on the half-hour.
I wonder if anybody has told Shawn that his 3 hour afternoon Fox News Channel promo will be sandwiched between newscasts containing material from the "lead" liberal leftest establishment media company (CBS).
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