WVKO-AM 1580 is changing formats again!

[gabigley1]

It was announced on WVKO-AM this morning, that as of midnight tomorrow, the format on WVKO-AM will be changing. The LMA for the station will ending at that time and the station
won't be Progressive Talk anymore.

Thanks to Gary Richards for bringing back the format to Columbus radio for one more go around.
That said, Mr. Richards said last year he wanted to buy the station outright so this is a disappointment to me.

My guess is the new lease holders will take the station to a Urban Gospel format. Just a guess on
my part.

The LMA was supposed to go till December 31, 2012 so the ending date is a surprise. I did send
a couple of emails to the station about the stations format after January 1, 2013, but those emails went unanswered. So, this is no big surprise to me.

 

[gabigley1]

Another guess is WVKO-AM may be changing to a Spanish format.

Sean Gilbow made the announcement this morning about WVKO-AM changing formats.

This is the only thing I find on the WVKO-AM Facebook page about WVKO-AM changing formats.
Someone posted this:

Lets all wish Sean Gilbow warn regards as he moves on to bigger and better things. We will miss you Sean.
Like · · about an hour ago

 

[gabigley1]

Oh, Sean went on to say that he makes more money then the vast majority of the people
in radio in Columbus. Then he said he may make more money then anyone in Columbus radio. He said he has a day job as a clerk.

A post on the WVKO-AM Facebook page:

(Quote)
Ron Gamble
Are we losing progressive/liberal talk in Columbus AGAIN? And so soon after an election, AGAIN?!?
Like · · about a minute ago

 

[gabigley1]

It's now official.. From the WVKO-AM Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/wvko1580

WVKO 1580 AM
about an hour ago
Yes, as Sean Gilbow eluded to in his last WVKO 1580 morning broadcast today, the winds of change are, once again, blowing for 1580 AM in Columbus. A different management company will be taking the station in a new direction next week. So tune in 24 hours from now for a special edition of Fight Back & The Blue State Diner (11 a.m. Saturday) to find out what happens next.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Much as I would have liked to see Gary and his team hold on because it was if anything a "different choice" in this market.. are we really surprised? Most thought it would change formats after the election sadly.

 

[schmave]

Shocking. Progressive talk disappears again. Sorry, but this should not be a surprise to anyone. The format simply does not work. Why exactly, I don't know. But it's clear no one is willing to make the kind of investment it takes to sustain the format long-term.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Shocking. Progressive talk disappears again. Sorry, but this should not be a surprise to anyone. The format simply does not work. Why exactly, I don't know. But it's clear no one is willing to make the kind of investment it takes to sustain the format long-term.

Liberal MSNBC TV has sometimes been been topping conservative Fox News Channel 25-54 during parts of prime time since the election.  E.g., Rachel Maddow has sometimes out-drawn Sean Hannity, which I don't recall ever happening in the past.  This is a new (and maybe passing?) development, but it makes me wonder about positive implications for (including investment in) radio progressive talk; and/or negative implications for conservatalk; and/or the likelihood conservatalk might become a little less hard-line on average.

 

[Chuck Douglas]

I'm not happy about it. The only way for people to know if they disagree or agree with an opinion is for that opinion to be heard. This is America. I hate to see any voice silenced.

 

[Allfirdup]

Shocking. Progressive talk disappears again. Sorry, but this should not be a surprise to anyone. The format simply does not work. Why exactly, I don't know. But it's clear no one is willing to make the kind of investment it takes to sustain the format long-term.

Liberal MSNBC TV has sometimes been been topping conservative Fox News Channel 25-54 during parts of prime time since the election. E.g., Rachel Maddow has sometimes out-drawn Sean Hannity, which I don't recall ever happening in the past. This is a new (and maybe passing?) development, but it makes me wonder about positive implications for (including investment in) radio progressive talk; and/or negative implications for conservatalk; and/or the likelihood conservatalk might become a little less hard-line on average.

NuRoo i had to correct you on the ratings point, yes MSNBC may tie or come close in one demo, but at the same time so does CNBC. But if you look at overall numbers for the same time period, fox news at least doubles the rating that MSNBC draws. just the 9PM hour Maddow vs Hannity. She Drew 901,000 vs Hannity 1,924,000.

A great source for Weekly info is at this link http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/category/cable-news/

I also have a theory on Progressive talk radio, its really hard to sell advertising to the same Greedy Profit taking business that your hosts demonize all day long. Why as a business would i want to support anything that believes that i don't have a right to succeed?

And finally, progressive talk has had one problem all along, its not the ideas people are tuning out on, its the entertainment factor. its hard to sit through the screaming and name calling of the Ed Schultz show anymore he's an ANGRY man.(not quite Chris Matthews angry but close) Stephanie Miller, somehow every time i listen they end up making fun of someone based on an incomplete statement or a clip that they never really play all of, or the humor goes straight to the gutter, sometime that can be ok but if its not funny it just becomes uncomfortable, and people tune out.

 

[gabigley1]

Mr. Gary Richards announced the new format for WVKO-AM. He said WVKO-AM will be Gospel. I believe it will be a Urban Gospel format.

Mr. Gary Richards said the reason he did not renew the lease for WVKO-AM is because of the lack
of advertising support for the station. He said because of this, he could not continue to operate
the station with a Progressive Talk format. He said this is the last time he will do Progressive Talk
in Columbus. He said blame it on the lack of advertising support. He said this is from local to national advertiser. He said even some of the old WVKO advertiser from four years ago where not interested in advertising again on WVKO-AM. They just ignored the WVKO-AM sales calls.


Long time WTVN morning host, Bob Conners said a few years ago that the Progressive Talk format
won't work in Columbus, Ohio. He said the Progressive Talk format has only worked on a handful of stations and Columbus, Ohio radio market is not one of them.

 

[raccoonradio]

Why would companies advertise with folks who think big corporations are eeeeeeevil? (Though some big radio companies did at least give prog talk a chance)

>>its really hard to sell advertising to the same Greedy Profit taking business that your hosts demonize all day long. Why as a business would i want to support anything that believes that i don't have a right to succeed?

As I've said before: "So these big corporations like Big Oil companies and WalMart and stuff...
they're just killing this country! OK, we'll be right back right after this, uh...

...public service announcement..."

 

[del_griffith]

Although I don't see NPR or PBS as left leaning, some of their programs/stories can be perceived as having a left lean. I guess I'm curious why big business or business in general is first in line to underwrite them? There are some pretty heavy duty marque names "with support from".

There are a lot of left leaning small to mid sized business owners. Why they don't advertise, who knows.

WVKO didn't have the critical mass to get much in the way of traditional advertisers. Add to that the skittish nature of advertisers in general toward controversial shows. It would be interesting to see how well Glenn, Rush and Sean would do on 1580. I think we saw an example of that when Clear Channel moved it's marque hosts to 1200 am in Boston. Got what, a half a share? I don't think listeners would follow those guys in large numbers to a handicapped signal.

 

[nmoore6676]

I used to live in Columbus, then Los Angeles and there was and still is a Progressive Talk outlet in LA (KTLK-AM-1150) and the ratings show that it just doesn't get the audience the conservative talk generates. This could be a lot of reasons not the least of which is the KTLK is a sandwiched in 50,000 watt station as compared to KFI on 640 which is an original A-1 channel. There are two other conservative talkers but on a 5KW (KABC) with another on a 50KW directional (KRLA) which reduces power at night.

WVKO is signal challenged as compared to WTVN which is only KW but on 610 with better groundwave potential. KTLK on the other hand has the special circumstance of being co-owned by Clear Channel and most of the support staff is also assigned to KFI. Of course they tried that with 1230-AM in Columbus and it didn't stick so who knows?

Perhaps it could be that people just like getting getting their blood pressure up listening to blowhards like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh while the more intelligent but less bombastic voices of Progressive Talk don't keep them tuned in.

 

[gabigley1]

via the WVKO-AM Facebook page:

Here's the statement from WVKO 1580 AM General Manager Gary Richards, as heard on the air moments ago:

"IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS I MUST INFORM WVKO'S LISTENERS THAT ONCE AGAIN, PROGRESSIVE TALK WILL BE SILENCED ON THE COLUMBUS AIRWAVES. OUR ONE-YEAR LEASE ON THE STATION IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE, AND AT THIS TIME THERE IS NO WAY THAT WE CAN CONTINUE OPERATING THE STATION. SO AS OF MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY
DECEMBER 16TH, THE NEW OPERATORS WILL BE AIRING A GOSPEL FORMAT ON WVKO. ONCE AGAIN, WE HAD A GOOD RUN WITH THE STATION, AND WE WERE HAPPY TO IN SOME SMALL WAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESS THAT THE DEMOCRATS ENJOYED IN NOVEMBER. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS NOT A TWO-WAY STREET, AND LACK OF ADVERTISING SUPPORT FROM THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN ALL THE WAY DOWN TO LOCAL RACES ENSURED THAT WE WILL BE UNABLE TO CONTINUE INTO THE NEW YEAR. I PUT MY TIME, MONEY, HEART AND SOUL INTO DOING WHAT I BELIEVED TO BE INPORTANT FOR THE COUNTRY, BUT THOSE WHO BENEFITTED MOST FROM OUR EFFORTS CHOSE TO SPEND THEIR CAMPAIGN DOLLARS ELSEWHERE. FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME TWICE....WELL, WE CAN'T GET FOOLED AGAIN. ALSO, A NUMBER OF ADVERTISERS WHO SUPPORTED THE STATION IN THE PAST CHOSE TO TURN THEIR BACKS ON US THIS TIME. I CAN'T SAY WHY, SINCE THEY WOULD NOT RETURN OUR CALLS. I WANT TO THANK OUR ADVERTISERS, SUPPORTERS AND YOU THE LISTENERS FOR EVERYTHING, AND I HOPE THAT PROGRESSIVE TALK CAN SOMEHOW RETURN TO COLUMBUS IN THE FUTURE."

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Shocking. Progressive talk disappears again. Sorry, but this should not be a surprise to anyone. The format simply does not work. Why exactly, I don't know. But it's clear no one is willing to make the kind of investment it takes to sustain the format long-term.

Liberal MSNBC TV has sometimes been been topping conservative Fox News Channel 25-54 during parts of prime time since the election.  E.g., Rachel Maddow has sometimes out-drawn Sean Hannity, which I don't recall ever happening in the past.  This is a new (and maybe passing?) development, but it makes me wonder about positive implications for (including investment in) radio progressive talk; and/or negative implications for conservatalk; and/or the likelihood conservatalk might become a little less hard-line on average.

NuRoo i had to correct you on the ratings point, yes MSNBC may tie or come close in one demo, but at the same time so does CNBC. But if you look at overall numbers for the same time period, fox news at least doubles the rating that MSNBC draws. just the 9PM hour Maddow vs Hannity. She Drew 901,000 vs Hannity 1,924,000.

A great source for Weekly info is at this link http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/category/cable-news/

Allfirdup, I was using zap2it as well, but looking at daily data.  Here's a recent example of what I'm talking about, in this case for December 13, 2012, Nielsen Persons 25-54 (000's):

Maddow: 390
Hannity:  266

The following day Hannity was on top, but MSNBC's Laurence O'Donnell beat Fox News' Greta Van Sustern 25-54 at 10pm.  Given 25-54 is the money demo, MSNBC has to be happy about coming closer to -- and sometimes topping --  Fox News 25-54 in some slots.  It's a recent divergence from the traditional pattern, and time will tell whether -- and to what degree -- it continues.  I'm not sure why you mention CNBC; I'm taking about Fox News vs. MSNBC, and I'm not suggesting that a direct trade-off between the two explains the patterns (although it might explain part of them).

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/12/14/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-december-13-2012/161816/

And the statement that liberal talk believes that corporations don't have a right to succeed is flat-out incorrect.

 

[Chuck Douglas]

Although I don't see NPR or PBS as left leaning, some of their programs/stories can be perceived as having a left lean. I guess I'm curious why big business or business in general is first in line to underwrite them? There are some pretty heavy duty marque names "with support from".

Del, I'm guessing that they do it through charitable company trusts which give the company a tax write-off. I'm not an accountant...just a hunch.

 

[del_griffith]

Although I don't see NPR or PBS as left leaning, some of their programs/stories can be perceived as having a left lean. I guess I'm curious why big business or business in general is first in line to underwrite them? There are some pretty heavy duty marque names "with support from".

Del, I'm guessing that they do it through charitable company trusts which give the company a tax write-off. I'm not an accountant...just a hunch.

Some are charitable (Pew Charitable Trust). Some are direct (Pepsi).

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Although I don't see NPR or PBS as left leaning, some of their programs/stories can be perceived as having a left lean. I guess I'm curious why big business or business in general is first in line to underwrite them? There are some pretty heavy duty marque names "with support from".

Del, I'm guessing that they do it through charitable company trusts which give the company a tax write-off. I'm not an accountant...just a hunch.

Some are charitable (Pew Charitable Trust). Some are direct (Pepsi).

In addition, PR advertising (which is what NPR underwriting largely represents for large corporations) is kind of a different animal from, say, advertising a sale or a household product that the corp manufactures. Also NPR's audience is desirable in that it is large, educated, higher-income than average and (despite some incorrect stereotypes) draws listeners from a pretty-diverse ideological spectrum. Finally, to the extent NPR does leans a little left politically, note that some of the heaviest advertisers on liberal MSNBC-TV are big oil companies, despite some editorial content that is sharply critical of some of them.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Looks like the switch to Gospel has happened... Faded out of "The Vinyl Vault rebroadcast" at 12:03 am into a Gospel song.

 

[markbohach]

Looks like the switch to Gospel has happened... Faded out of "The Vinyl Vault rebroadcast" at 12:03 am into a Gospel song.

Anybody know who the new operators are? Is this another LMA?

I find Gary's statement regarding the Obama campaign money kinda sad. Elections are
always unpredictable when it comes to radio dollars. I've seen feast and famine over the years.
And why would the Obama campaign advertise on a station where the listeners are already locked up for him? If anybody would advertise, it would be the opposition.