WXKS-AM Cume Still Dropping

[Laurence Glavin]

The Boston PPMs are out, and it looks as though the great WXKS-AM "Rush Radio 1200" slide continues. It can barely beat much-weaker Oak Hill Park-mate WRCA-AM 1330. At this rate, WNSH-AM will be a threat. Oh yeah, WNSH made abn appearance. Apparently Costa-Eagle installed the PPM identifier!

 

[scott5]

The holiday month was not a good month for conservative news talk in almost every market you look and WXKS is not an exception.

Here is a list Dec- Holiday ratings slide in top 10 markets.

WABC in NYC 4.1 - 3.0 unheard of!!

KFI LA 4.0-3.4

WLS Chicago 4.1-3.6

WBAP Dallas 4.6-3.7

KTRH Houston 3.5-2.9

WMAL DC 3.8-2.8

WABC Long Island 3.2-2.7

WCBM Baltimore 3.3- 2.5

 

[onair]

I noticed even WTKK and WRKO were down. Probably a lot of "Best of's" or Fill in hosts in December

 

[blackgold]

WXKS-AM should go back to Latino Rumba 1200 programming and do an HD3 simulcast on JMN94.5 or Kiss 108 FM! What do you say?

 

[vmorrison]

I see that XKS has hired former RKO and TKK PD Paula O'Conner as their PD. I believe the former PD Bill George was also programming the CC talk station in Providence. There is no doubt that Rush Radio needs help, but when you are only programming 20 to 25 hours of local programming a week how much can a PD do? I don't see more local programming in 1200's future so will replacing Beck or Levin with another syndicated talker have any positive impact?

 

[DToTheJ]

WMAL DC 3.8-2.8

I saw DCRTV provide the listings for the daypart hosts. Rush on WMAL was ranked 4th, with Hannity (who comes on right after Rush) in 17th place (!).

 

[raccoonradio]

If only 96.9 and 1200 could somehow merge their programming (I know, one is GM, one is CC)
Maybe move Katz and Rush to 96.9, etc Naah, won't happen

But of course E&B and Severin contracts run till '13

And again where is WWZN; do they not subscribe? Curious what ratings Notfunnie Miller,
Special Ed, and Thom Dullman bring in. Note that in case of conserv talk, owners put it on
without someone having to buy time. But hey if they could get similar numbers to RKO
(not hard to do these days) maybe the big companies will take a chance on prog talk (CC
did...these days they just want to clear ads, shows their Premiere outfit puts out)

 

[beantownradio25]

WXKS-AM should go back to Latino Rumba 1200 programming and do an HD3 simulcast on JMN94.5 or Kiss 108 FM! What do you say?

Doesn't CC's other AM counterpart play similar programming? And that would be a good idea, if people actually knew about HD Radio...

 

[DToTheJ]

Some people know about HD Radio; they just choose not to get involved...

 

[GovtMule1979]

They have an awful program lineup. I'm sure Mr. Katz is a bright guy but I don't know much about him. Why would I want to hear a guy I've never heard of in static AM, when I can have Toucher and Rich in clear FM. Glenn Beck isn't an entertaining show. I agree with a lot of his ideas, but I can't stand to listen to him. It's just brutal radio. Rush is still entertaining, but I pick him up clearer on WXTK now. I like Hannity on TV, and when he filled in for Rush, but 3 hours of him is too much. After Rush is on you need someone who can get a little lighthearted, like Howie.

VB would never do it, but someone like him should be on in the afternoon.

That's my two cents.

 

[Schuyler]

The holiday month was not a good month for conservative news talk in almost every market you look.....

"If only we could keep that Christmas Spirit going all year 'round."

 

[Rusty Muck]

WMAL DC 3.8-2.8

I saw DCRTV provide the listings for the daypart hosts. Rush on WMAL was ranked 4th, with Hannity (who comes on right after Rush) in 17th place (!).

WMAL's never had great ratings since they became a pseudo-repeater for WABC. Why a major market station like that would literally have afternoon drive as an afterthought is beyond me, but that's been the case for nine years now. And I like Hannity, but it shows no imagination on WMAL's behalf - they are all syndicated after 12 noon.

Yes, they are the highest-rated AM station in the market (and seemingly recovered in morning drive after Citadel mismanagement bumbled and fumbled away their established morning show), but that's like calling yourself the World's Tallest Short Person. The AM dial is all but dead in the Nations' Capital - with all-newsie WTOP's relocation to the FM dial in 2006 (when they were at AM/1500 for six decades prior) providing the biggest blow.

Think about it. The AM dial is pretty much WMAL, Redskins-owner-owned sports talker "ESPN 980" WTEM, and... nothing else.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Some people know about HD Radio; they just choose not to get involved...

Which frankly isn't that bad a choice. Saves a lot of time and money.

 

[DToTheJ]

And I-BUZZ...

Speaking of which:

...Think about it. The AM dial is pretty much WMAL, Redskins-owner-owned sports talker "ESPN 980" WTEM, and... nothing else.

WBAL's getting the Orioles back this year!

 

[leegart]

Ironic that WXKS's ratings are now in the territory that the old WKOX had when it was Progressive Talk and there was virtually no local programming (Jeff Santos on Sundays?), no promotion, and little sales effort. Which format is more financially successful for CC? ???

 

[raccoonradio]

Ratings may be similar but they can pull in ad dollars even with slim ratings esp. from national accounts.
Would advertisers prefer to go with a station running Rush or Ed Schultz? (I used to joke about a lib talk host railing against big corporations like WalMart and then saying, "we'll be right back after these...
uh, public service announcements..." :

And I don't know how much money they're pulling in with cons. talk vs. what they had with Rumba but
it may be slightly better. One thing's for sure: if they stay with it the same amount of time they had with prog. talk, it means Rush Radio will be around until at least mid 2012 (and who knows, if they can lure
the Fried Clam Man away... unless he re-ups with RKO or goes to TKK...)

Signal is better these days here on North Shore (even w proximity to WESX, that powerhouse licensed to the grand metropolis of Nahant). radio-locator.com says their Newton xmtr is about 24 miles away as the crow flies from Beverly

 

[JustinT]

Ironic that WXKS's ratings are now in the territory that the old WKOX had when it was Progressive Talk and there was virtually no local programming (Jeff Santos on Sundays?), no promotion, and little sales effort. Which format is more financially successful for CC? ???

And, when WKOXKS ran progressive talk, they also had money flowing into Premiere from WRKO for Rush Limbaugh.

 

[Rusty Muck]

...Think about it. The AM dial is pretty much WMAL, Redskins-owner-owned sports talker "ESPN 980" WTEM, and... nothing else.

WBAL's getting the Orioles back this year!

I meant in DC. Big difference.

Baltimore still has several serviceable AM stations, none of which are signal-impaired as badly as the DC market is. (WBAL would still do much better if they were on FM, but Hearst doesn't own any other radio properties outside of WBAL and WIYY "98Rock," and that station ain't going anywhere.) Plus at least they got a decent clear-channel allocation in WBAL (it isn't perfect, but it's much better than DC's AM/1500, the frequency WTOP effectively abandoned that is a rumor in much of Northern Virginia).

I stand by my original assertion. The DC market is a vast wasteland.

 

[Deleted User]

I stand by my original assertion. DC is a vast wasteland.

FIFY

 

[vmorrison]

Having a Boston station run their programming may help Premiere get onnational buys but I doubt they are making a significant amount of more money because they have a Boston station clearing all their shows. BTW, there are national advertisers who don't want there spots on Limbo or Beck.

The low ratings on 1200 and 1430 has an impact on the revenue of KISS 108 and 94.5. Both Kiss and Jamin have a high cost per point rate. However, large spenders like Macy's for example, would get a schedule on AM 1430 and when 1430 had a 1.5 or 2.0 rating it would make the CPP lower and an easier sell at a higher rate for the FM stations.

The Managers at CC Boston are judged on their local sales revenue and the money their National Ssales Department brings directly to Boston not that fact that on of there AM's are running products owned by a subsidiary.