I have never been so excited about radio as I am now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

How when they have somewhere between 3-5 years (can't remember which) left on their contract with Westwood One? It's not like Stern where he had like 6 months left.

Nearly anybody can find a way to get themselves out of a contract if they want.

Heck, you could even argue (successfully is a different story mind you) that a non-compete clause, so common to radio, wouldn't be enforceable because you aren't going to another radio station per se.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Nearly anybody can find a way to get themselves out of a contract if they want.

Heck, you could even argue (successfully is a different story mind you) that a non-compete clause, so common to radio, wouldn't be enforceable because you aren't going to another radio station per se.

Gotcha, makes sense.

Either way, I like listening to them free via live stream, so it makes me personally happy that they are not on satellite.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Now maybe Jon or someone that knows the industry besides being a talk radio fan can add-to/correct my statements.

Not a bad take IMO, not bad at all. Although it frightens me quite a bit to have this post to indicate that you have a better understanding of the situation than a decent percentage of the so-called radio executives in the business these days. (But don't get cocky about that compliment, it's somewhat like damning with faint praise )

It will be just like most any other change in radio (albeit across a larger scope due to market sizes & affiliates) -- there'll be a period of adjustment. I'm getting a vibe that CBS O&O's know that & are mostly in for the long haul, signals are more mixed from other companies but some of those who might flip formats sooner rather than later could very well have been planning to do that anyway. "Jack FM" and the various flavors of Hispanic programming are the hot things these days, there are very few markets in the country where somebody isn't considering a flip of at least one station to one or the other.

One thing I might challenge in your post is the notion of Stern as a "building block". Typically, that's been far from the truth. The majority of Stern stations had two audiences -- those that listened to Howard & those that tuned in after he went off. That's always been one of his biggest negatives for affiliates, he made it difficult to have a consistent audience. (This isn't unique to Stern btw, quite a few syndicated shows present the same problem).

Adding to the challenge for stations was that Howard was difficult to sell to the majority of advertisers, which in turn actually hurt them in other dayparts. I've bypassed more than one station completely for a buy because I couldn't use their morning & that limited their usefullness in the overall scheme of a media plan.

A lot of the money that Stern did produce came indirectly. Stations sell quite a bit of advertising as ROS (Run Of Station), say 5a-7p. That's sold on the basis of the average rating during those 14 hours ... an average which often got artificially inflated by Stern putting up a 4.0 Rtg for four hours but the rest of the station posting a 1.0 Rtg for the other 10 hours. Lazy/unsavvy/ stupid media buyers don't always think this stuff through, so if they only get maybe 20% of their spots in Stern, the buy ends up falling short of expected delivery ... but the station already has the money (radio doesn't do nearly as much in the way of performance guarantees as television, never has, probably never will).

What a lot of those stations are going to have to learn is, well, how to sell a station for what it's really worth in the marketplace instead of an overinflated rate they've gotten used to. Those who can will do just fine - they'll have access to a broader range of accounts, most stations already deal with the same situation & do just fine, etc. This is not an unrideable horse by any means, but you've got to have the right people to do it.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What a lot of those stations are going to have to learn is, well, how to sell a station for what it's really worth in the marketplace instead of an overinflated rate they've gotten used to. Those who can will do just fine - they'll have access to a broader range of accounts, most stations already deal with the same situation & do just fine, etc. This is not an unrideable horse by any means, but you've got to have the right people to do it.

I think that this is what I was trying to say when I used the term "building-block". What I was trying to say maybe is "crutch". . I wasn't necessarily saying that the stations model was designed around him, but that he was the "bread-winner". And by bread-winner, I mean for ratings as I realize at least some of the challenges with advertising with him (mostly from past posts of yours I think). They need to find a new bread-winner, and maybe *gasp* that means working on your whole lineup, not just relying on some guy out of New York to do all of the work for you. In the end, stations like WJFK that have built at least somewhat of a model around the style and have an audience that at the minimum is at least a TALK audience throughout the day I would think will bounce back quicker than those stations that play music in the rest of the day. (it has been weird for me to adjust to the hampton roads area where FM stations only play talk shows in the morning).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

(it has been weird for me to adjust to the hampton roads area where FM stations only play talk shows in the morning).

You mean there are stations left in the country that actually play music in the morning instead of some idiot babbling away? Wow.

(If you're getting more than four songs an hour in a morning show these days on a station that isn't running jockless it's a bloody miracle)

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You mean there are stations left in the country that actually play music in the morning instead of some idiot babbling away? Wow.

(If you're getting more than four songs an hour in a morning show these days on a station that isn't running jockless it's a bloody miracle)

No, unfortunately that's not what I mean.. Besides The Jack, The Bob, whatever that's how it is...

What I'm saying is that in the DC Area we had an FM talk station. That all of the "dedicated" (what I mean by dedicated is no music) talk shows where there or on AM.

Here, there is a station or two or three that has "dedicated" talk in the morning and then music for the rest of the day.

But of course, all of the stations have the mixed talk and muisc.. .I love talk radio, but i like my talk to have talk and my music to have music.

[stevew]

Not a big fan of Tommy and Rumble, Wade?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by stevew

Not a big fan of Tommy and Rumble, Wade?

Actually, I started out hating them... as I've lived here and commuted for at least an hour every morning for three years, I've grown to like them quite a bit. And they are one of those "dedicated" talk shows which is good to me. It's just strange for me that they go off the air, and the other 20 hours of the station are standard music radio.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

No, unfortunately that's not what I mean..

Damn, my reading comprehension seems to be gone to shit lately.

Hmm ... I wonder if sleeping 3-4 hours max for the past couple of weeks is causing that?

I love talk radio, but i like my talk to have talk and my music to have music.

Same here.
(which is why my P1 station is a sportstalk these days, there really aren't any appealing music options that fit the above criteria)

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Damn, my reading comprehension seems to be gone to shit lately.

Hmm ... I wonder if sleeping 3-4 hours max for the past couple of weeks is causing that?



Same here.
(which is why my P1 station is a sportstalk these days, there really aren't any appealing music options that fit the above criteria)

I wish I got AM in my house.. I'm intrigued by Fox Sports suddenly having a station here... the ESPN station was ok, but the afternoon guy... I don't know if you've had the "pleasure" of listening to him (i think you and I may have discussed him before)... good GOD... luckily I have the internet and D&M now... But yeah, I have NEVER found a mix talk/music (and I just realized maybe I wasn't clear earlier.. I don't mean people like Tommy and Rumble that make cheesy goof songs, but ones that talk for 5-10 minutes, then play 4-5 songs, then talk,e tc) that I liked...

Damn.. I've been way rambling on this board lately... I think working at home with no one to interact with is starting to get to me...

[wade moore]

Dola:

On my way into work when I was driving to Norfolk, I just finally remembered to bring CD's if I wanted to listen to music.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Actually, I started out hating them... as I've lived here and commuted for at least an hour every morning for three years, I've grown to like them quite a bit. And they are one of those "dedicated" talk shows which is good to me. It's just strange for me that they go off the air, and the other 20 hours of the station are standard music radio.

I found a lot of their stuff amusing, but the longer i stayed there it got tedious. It was pretty professional sounding, though, for a show that was focused on solely one market.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by stevew

I found a lot of their stuff amusing, but the longer i stayed there it got tedious. It was pretty professional sounding, though, for a show that was focused on solely one market.

There's no way I could listen to them for 3-4 hours, but a lot of that is because they have one of those shows that I think is designed to the commuter.. so to an extent I think they repeat themselves every hour to hour and a half at least at times..

But agreed, for a local show they're quite polished and professional. When I'm at home and have several choice with streaming radio, I rarely listen to them, but in the bastion of crap this area offers they are quite good.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

but ones that talk for 5-10 minutes, then play 4-5 songs, then talk,e tc) that I liked...

There were very good reasons that there was a long-standing radio "rule" that basically said "one thought per break". And that's about my tolerance for talk on a music station. Tell me the weather, tell me the time, kick it over to the traffic person, play the damn commercials & then get back to the music. Or, if there's no otherwise useful programming element, then tell me that Dee Snider had surgery yesterday if you're coming out of an old TS song, or simply revive the (unfortunately) dead art of backselling a song so that I might actually have some f'n clue who/what you just played.

Otherwise ... STFU & play the music, because nobody but your mother & your girlfriend tuned in to hear you run your bloody mouth.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

revive the (unfortunately) dead art of backselling a song so that I might actually have some f'n clue who/what you just played.

PREACH IT

I don't understand this at all. I'm not really paying attention to what you're telling me about a song before you play it. But over and over again, I hear a song and say "cool, who was that?" and then the dj comes on and rambles on about what to get his wife for her birthday or some such nonsense.

It makes no sense from any perspective.

[Swaggs]

I was thinking about this earlier, and thought I'd ask about it here:

Basically, do you think Stern will continue to get high profile guests (actors plugging their shows/movies, athletes/wrestlers selling themselves, musicians plugging their tours/CDs, models promoting magazine spreads, etc) on his radio show now that his market is somewhat limited?

My thoughts: Howard has enough "credit" with some celebrities, that they will probably continue to visit with him. I also believe that comedians will continue to want to be on his show. But, with his audience limited to Sirius subscribers only (and I'm sure not all Sirius subscribers listen to Howard), I do not think he will continue to draw as good of guests consistently. (and yes, I realize that the best part of the show is when the regulars mess around and rip on one another and not the E!TV talkshow content).

I guess the wildcard is that his Sirius listeners are probably very reliable consumers, so it may be worth it for his guests to pander to them specifically, since Howard's audience may be more likely to purchase whatever his guests are plugging.

(edit: added a word that made the question make sense )

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I doubt we'll be hearing Scott Ferrall on Howie 101 ever again.

Looks like Opie and Anthony and their 12 fans don't have the power they think they do.

Ferrall signed his contract, he has a regular show on Howard 101 every night now.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Ferrall signed his contract, The Pests have a regular show on Howard 101 every night now.

Fixed that part for you....

[Cringer]

Pests to who I am not sure, but ok.

[Toddzilla]

I 've had a chance to listen to some of the clips from Ferrall's show this week, and he's just not going to be phazed by the O&A fans anymore, IMO.

During the "tryout" week a few months ago, it was just that, a tryout, and at the time it was a huge miserable failure with > 90% of the calls coming from Pests which drove Ferrall crazy. He lost his composure more and more to the point on the Friday show - which was supposed to be his last - he was quiet, talking slow in a hushed voice, and you could tell he was a beaten man. He even admited as much on the air saying you probably wouldn't hear him on Sirius ever again.

Well, he who laughs last....

Improbably, Howard signed Ferrall to a full-time gig, so Scotty doesn't have to worry about the Pests. They can try to wreck his show, but they can't get him fired. Ferrall has security now, so he can go back to doing whatever it is he does best, and just blow off the O&A callers.

This round goes to Ferrall.

[Toddzilla]

Dola - which brings up an intersting point.

I don't know if you've listened to the Scott Ferrall show, but it is downright abominable. Bubba is pretty awful too, IMO. It seems to me that Howard is trying hard to get more talent for the 2 stations he has to program, and he's filling them with inferior talent to make himself look better. Which isn't necessarily stupid - who in their right mind is going to buy a Sirius subscription just to hear Bubba? or Ferrall?

[Toddzilla]

Double Dola - maybe unrelated, but DLR was canned today.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This is sort of random necromancy, but this thread had more references to WJFK than a couple of the others that covered the same topics, so ...

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/Newstalk.asp
CBS Radio hosts Opie and Anthony expand their syndication to a reported 11 broadcast affiliates with a return to WJFK-FM/Washington. The pair previously aired CBS Radio's DC Talk outlet four years ago during their last round of syndication with then-Infinity Broadcasting. Current WJFK morning show "The Junkies" remains in place from 6-10am ET, while local host Peter Rosenberg exits to make way for Opie and Anthony, who take the 10am-1pm Monday-Friday slot.

Meanwhile, in other satellite radio items today:
http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsr...6/usatoday.asp

In a story called "Get Sirius: This radio company isn't making money yet," USA Today's Money advisor Matt Krantz this morning said, "Every time there's a new and exciting technology, investors want to pile in. And for some reason, they seem to forget about the price they're paying, virtually guaranteeing themselves poor returns. Satellite radio was a classic case." He notes that Howard Stern is "the biggest winner on the stock" with his bonus of $191 million in stock. But for the average investor, Sirius shares are down 35% since Stern started on the air. SIRI shares were up 12 cents to $4.59 with more than 31 million shares traded just before noon today.

and

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsr...6/topstory.asp
Speaking at a conference in New York City this morning, Siruis CEO Mel Karmazin acknowledged that he'd like to buy direct competitor XM Satellite Radio.

"Regarding XM — would we like to buy them? Sure. We'd love to buy them. Price would matter, so that would be an issue ... (and) there would definitely be the regulatory issue," he said, according to a Reuters report.

Karmazin also said it isn't likely that Sirius would be sold. He stressed that Sirius' business plan "doesn't really involve our doing a deal" and indicated he wasn't interested in Sirius being bought. "From our point of view, we don't see — other than if it was in the best interests of our shareholders — that we would be interested ever in being acquired," Karmazin said.
...
R&R then went directly to the government — the FCC — to learn just that {what the government would allow} And what we found was that the "regulatory issue," as Karmazin referred to it this morning, could be monumental.

One FCC insider said insight into the FCC's thinking on satellite mergers might be gained from looking at satellite TV company EchoStar's proposal to acquire direct competitor DirecTV. The FCC shot down that proposal within 60 days of its inception.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I don't think the FCC would allow Sirius to buy XM or vice versa. Too much consolidation in that market.

[gottimd]

Did anyone hear O&A Today? How "watered down" were they?