4.30.2006

 

CBS Bringing Country In NYC?

Of course, it's a HUGE pipedream, given that it has not billed well here in quite some time. And people have made the argument that if CBS flipped one of their FM's to country, it would get a better rating than anything on their frequency modulation plate in Market 1.

With that said: As I was listening to the Mets pregame on CBS-owned WFAN-AM a few moments ago, I heard two specific commercials within a five-minute span:

1. A NYSC spot with a "hoedown" ditty, followed by the tagline "Hoedown better..."

2. A spot for a program about "Texas cowboys" on PBS, if I'm not mistaken.

Which proves that you can easily gear advertising toward a specific market. But the million-dollar question is always, "Will it sell?" And could CBS possibly be brewing some country-geared spots on other outlets for their reaction? Does this mean the return of country on terrestrial radio in New York City for the first time in more than a decade, since the legendary WYNY-cum-WKTU said, "The howdy hits are gone" in 1996?

To quote Stewie Griffin, "Well, then... not now, but soon!"
 

Gambling: Rush's Air Apparent?

Just reported that John Gambling is staying with WABC-AM for five more years as two-fifths of the midday drive daypart. This, of course, on the heels of "that thing" that Rush Limbaugh got into over the weekend. The timing of things might suggest that Gambling might eventually take over for Rush if and when he eventually dteps down. Or gets convicted, one or the other.

Also consider that things come in threes: Phil Hendrie announced the suspension of his Premiere Radio Networks syndicated show; Jim Rome is "on the bubble" as to whether to continue his Premiere show or go to satellite; and Rush - well, who knows if he has to make some sort of announcement in the near future...

4.27.2006

 

With Respect To Steve Harvey

Required reading: "Harvey turned on the heat in winter Arbitrons ", NY Daily News 4.27.06

Yesterday, in my Arbitron breakdown, re: WBLS I said the following:

"8. WBLS (9) Perennial 3-player, which surprises me since they've had Wendy Williams for quite some time. They need to find the right morning host to cure their ails. Still, a Top 10 finish is a Top 10 finish, especially in this market..."

This is not a retraction, just a clarification: I never meant that Harvey wasn't talented enough to anchor a morning show - he's done so in Los Angeles for years. I'm not calling him a failure here off the bat, but if you also have Wendy Williams in the afternoon - the other strong daypart - and when you factor in WRKS taking a hit, it's 4.0+ or bust for 'BLS. They're almost there, though. Momentum has to build. Now, nobody expected an Opie and Anthony-esque boost to inflate the 12+, per se. But in due time, we should see that Harvey is the savior for a station plagued by a bad morning show for years.

4.26.2006

 

Winter '06 Book Breakdown

Okay, class, please open up to Radio & Records, Chapter 1.

Let us begin.

1. WLTW (Rank last book - Fall '05: 1) Believe it when I say, nobody is looking forward to Christmas so soon than Lite-FM. All their books in '05 successively went down (while staying on top) until they got a jolt last book. Ho ho ho...

2. WSKQ (2) This is the only legitimate station that can give Lite a run for its money. Dream scenario: Lite's Victor Sosa joins La Mega and brings them over the top, beating his old station...

3. WHTZ (4) You've got to attribute their recent ratings success to the popularity of "American Idol". Bold prediction: The Winter '07 book shows WSKQ and WHTZ tied for second...

4. WPAT (8) You see? CBS Radio has a competing station in this market, after all... Okay, that's a stretch. Actually, SBS (WPAT's owner) is a media partner with CBS' advertising division... Still, a strong showing for a station just hovering below the 3's last summer...

5. WRKS (3) The Michael Baisden bandwagon apparently opening up some vacancies...

6. WINS-AM (6) I'm sure their AQH is way bigger. Let's go to John Montone...

7. WWPR (7) I'll get back to this one shortly...

8. WBLS (9) Perennial 3-player, which surprises me since they've had Wendy Williams for quite some time. They need to find the right morning host to cure their ails. Still, a Top 10 finish is a Top 10 finish, especially in this market...

9. WQHT (5). Amazing how both WQHT and WWPR flip-flop each other like John Kerry. Last book, WQHT beat Power by .2 and they now trail Power by as much... No cause for concern, they'll get back to the 4's and possibly higher by summer, mark my words...

10. WABC-AM (10) Just as Lite is looking forward to Christmas, 'ABC is looking forward to the next major election...

11. WAXQ (14) Remember, they're "New York's *only* classic rock station". Yes, we're not in 1999 anymore...

12. WQCD (12) "Chill" stays flat, rank-wise...

13. WKTU (15) KTU stays flat, ratings-wise, yet rises a couple of notches on the Arbitron pole. This would be radio's equivalent to baseball's blown save...

14. WQXR (18) Dare I say it, but based on how the rest of the stations did this period... I think the mighty WQXR has gained the most listeners since the departure of Howard Stern...

15. WCBS-AM (13) The suburban books are "Newsradio 88's" bread and butter, so no worries here...

16. WCAA/WZAA (17) While only down .1, still a pathetic showing considering that WPAT can show they can hang with WSKQ. Heck, even mediocre-signalled WADO (as you'll find out later on) is enjoying a slight ratings growth...

17. WFAN-AM (16) Nearly the same rating they got in Winter '05. Proving the Giants that Mr. Russo should be preoccupied with year-round should be the New York Giants...

18. WOR-AM (19) I'm feeling a little older just writing this blurb. Clear Channel, I beg of you, put this mega-watt signaled station out of its misery. Or better yet, switch frequencies with WEPN. Hey, the Yankees can use a radio station - that's the next big trend, ball clubs owning radio outlets... Even do what that Utah AM station did and donate your air frequency to people in Iraq, anything, just stop dilly-dallying, you sorry excuse for a station... Now, someone hand me my Geritol...

19. WPLJ (20) I'm not crazy, they're just a little unwell - I know, I know, you can't tell...

20. WNEW (21) As noted in circles, this is the top performer of the CBS-owned FM stations in the city. Speaking of which - do you notice how the last few stations' rankings have all went up by one? That's just the 92.3 "Free-fall" down the Arbitron elevator shaft...

21. WADO-AM (24) As mentioned, they're even enjoying a ratings increase. Bold prediction: WADO will catch WCAA/WZAA in the Spring '07 book...

22. WCBS-FM (22) That .2 bump they got last book is gone, baby...

23. WFNY (11) Ah, there it is - the "free-fall" stops on the 23rd floor. Bold prediction: With Opie and Anthony now in tow, 92.3 will show up in or around 16th place in the Spring book. At least in the 12+, anyway - if you'll remember, that's around the same place the old WNEW hung around with O&A in the afternoon...

24. WALK-FM (25) Flat. Next...

25. WKXW (26) Flat. Next...

26. WLIB-AM (23) Seems as if WLIB pulled a little "free-fall" of their own, surpassing two of the stations it was in front of last book. Now under a 1.0 for the first time in awhile, we may have seen the "air" start to come out of that station...

27. WHLI-AM (28) No comment on this one...

28. WBAB (31) Or this one...

29. WBLI (29) Or this one...

30. WEPN-AM (27) If "Mike and Mike" actually had a surge of disgruntled Stern listeners, I'm assuming everyone else must have got tired of Stephen A. and Michael Kay at the same time...

31. WKJY (32) No comment on this one...

32. WAWZ (33) Or this one...

33. WBBR-AM (34) Bloomberg: Good Mayor, bad radio station...

34. WBZO (35) Oldies lives. Yay...

35. WHUD (30) Ouch. Still, bottom of the city book, but, still, ouch...

36. WMCA (36) Good Lord...

37. WMTR (37) No comment...

37+. WQEW (?) Even WOR thinks this is a bad waste of a good signal...

And there you have it - the breakdown. See you next trend...
 

It's April 26, And You Know What That Means...

That's right - the release of the Winter Book. So far, no numbers released to the public as of yet, but click on the "Ratings" link on the menu on the right and enter '1'. Then hit refresh.
 
And I'll be back later to break 'em down.

4.25.2006

 

Stern Returning To Terrestrial? Give It Time

Judging by the transcript below, you can tell how secretly jaded Howard is. Yes, he's rolling in it, but deep inside, he can't bear to see his biggest enemies - his "imitators" - stepping in his FM radio shoes four months removed.

On his stations.

In his studio.

For his former company.

So who's a candidate for bringing Stern back to terrestrial radio? Let's see, Clear Channel's out, forget about them... Citadel? They're in negotations right now with Disney, so they're out... Emmis? Nah, gotta make those "Smooth Jazz" bucks...

But before any pipedream such as this can even come into fruition, Stern's going to have to try to get BUZZ for his Sirius show. Everybody was talking about how as soon as Opie & Anthony went to XM Radio, there was no "buzz". Oh, that's right - Stern muffled their buzz by announcing his own satellite deal. Yet O&A have been doing relatively well on XM, despite that.

You know eventually Stern is going to announce some terrestrial deal of some sort. The same way he stole O&A's buzz on moving to satellite, he's going to whip up something to box O&A in another corner. He has to. After all, he "invented morning drive syndication." Right? Look, I'm not taking any sides in this battle, this is just a prediction based on competitive history. All competitors outfox each other's moves. I mean, how fast did Energizer come out with their own batteries with power-testing devices on them, as soon as Duracell unveiled "The Copper Top Tester"? (Or was it the other way around?) Competition is everywhere - even Pepsi put out their own brand of Vanilla flavored soda on the heels of Coca-Cola.

Yet not one CBS Radio station here in New York dare challenged top banana WLTW. I don't get it sometimes...

But one thing is for certain. Howard Stern's subscriber base isn't as large as he expected it - why else did you think he gave his own fans a good dose of verbal abuse ("Howard Stern Lashes Out At Some Fans", USA Today 04.01.06)? And wasn't that around the time the beginning of the end of Diamond Dave's radio crescendo got underway, when he made those remarks?

Not to mention how jaded he must be that CBS is allowing O&A to freely promote their satellite carrier, while Stern is being sued for doing the same thing. That definitely can't sit right with Howie, can it?

The proof is all there. The end result: Stern will find a way - whether he has to broker time with all that Sirius money that he's got - to return to mornings on terrestrial radio and battle head-to-heads with Opie & Anthony. And you can take that to the bank.
 

Stern's Take on O&A Back On Radio - 4.20.06

"Craig" posted the following this afternoon on the NYRMB. Not sure if he transcribed it, however. Just puts into perspective what animosity Stern has for O&A. Remember, this is a host who dropped an edict on WNEW-FM (O&A's former flagship) that nobody on the station, from Ron & Fez on down to the Sports Guys, mention Stern by name.

-------------------

Howard: I think it's Joel Hollander's attempt to revive the radio division. I don't care who replaces me. I've read one article saying "It's sweet revenge for Opie & Anthony. Now they can go head-to-head with Howard Stern."

Robin: No they can't.

Howard: No, I'm not on terrestrial radio anymore.

Robin: I like the way the media paints you as the loser in this thing.

Howard: I guess it's XM admitting they couldn't get anything going with those guys... I think XM is giving up. They probably made a deal. Those guys had a couple of years left on their (XM) contract. Now they'll mention XM (on their CBS Radio show). The very thing (CBS) is suing me for, they're going to allow these guys to do. It shows you again what a liar Joel Hollander and Leslie Moonves and all these guys are. They fired these guys. Then when I was leaving they said they were taking a new direction, a new high road.

Robin: And the direction they took they don't like anymore.

Howard: The direction they took lasted three months.

Gary: What was that ad they took out in one of the trade magazines?

Howard: No more fart jokes. You're real upset about Opie & Anthony?

Gary: They're always talking about how they're better than you and they're not. It (ticks) me off because they might have a little success on terrestrial radio. They're gonna say they kicked your ass. It's like the Knicks beating the Bulls after Michael Jordon retired. They might have a victory in morning radio but they didn't beat you. They didn't beat the best.

Howard: It's not going to be an easy road for them or anyone who works for CBS. With the FCC, you're gonna have to water down your show. I'm not sure why someone would want that unless they need the money. The weird thing is, the reason these guys were fired is they did a promotion and people went into a church and had sex. To Catholics, to people who practice Christianity, this is blasphemous. They desecrated a church. Despite the popularity these guys had, they had to fire them. Everyone from Bill O'Reilly to John Gibson is screaming, "They're trying to take away Christmas, they're trying to take away Easter."

Now you got Sumner Redstone, Joel Hollander, Steve Lehrman, and Leslie Moonves, all Jewish, ignoring the blamsphemous act of sex in a church. You don't think the religious people aren't going to go nuts?

They hired David Lee Roth, they heard the guy (doing a guest stint on WBCN in Boston), they tested his show (before it went on the air). And they fired him after three months.

Robin: What does this tell you what they know about radio? They heard (DLR) and thought he was good.

Howard: From XM's standpoint I don't understand it. They don't have exclusive programming anymore.

Robin: If you can get Opie & Anthony for free, why bother with XM?

Artie: Maybe they think it's gonna be a giant commercial for XM.

Howard: That's what they're hoping for. But if that's no problem, why is CBS suing me? Do I feel competitive? No. I held that slot and created (morning radio) syndication for 25 years. Now I'm on a new phase of my career. I'm into promoting satellite. I've never been happier.

Robin: All these jackass wanna-be's, they never would have pioneered a g.d. thing. But they all want to say they're you.

Howard: But who's it a victory for? XM loses, Joel Hollander will be out of a job soon.

Robin: He must be running around like his pants are on fire.

Howard: What does it say?

Robin: We (CBS management) don't know what we're doing.

Howard: Joel Hollander is so worried about his job. He knows once CBS fires him, there's no where else to go.

Robin: Here's a guy who walked around as the head of this company that made a lot of money. But he did nothing to CREATE the programming that made that money. Now he's being showed for the man he really is.

Howard: And I feel bad for David Lee Roth. They hosed him and they'll try not to pay him his money. They threw him under the bus, they'll eventually throw Opie & Anthony under the bus. They throw everybody under the bus.

Robin: Opie & Anthony have already been thrown under the bus. They're coming back so they can run over them again.

Gary: I had a friend who was offered work on the David Lee Roth Show. I told him it might not last too long. He said, no. They're guaranteeing that they're giving it at least three years. They're sticking with it.

Howard: Well, Joel panicked. It's almost as if Opie & Anthony made him their bitches. (Then Howard reads from John Mainelli's NY Post article.) "Now radio's highest rated rebels will finally go head to head with Stern." Ha ha.

Robin: No you can't do that anymore.

Gary: How are they radio's highest rated rebels?

Howard: I don't know. It's by John Mainelli. He likes those guys. Well, good luck to Opie & Anthony.

Robin: And God bless them. The new head of the FCC is a very religious man. And he even hired a religious adviser to help him crack down.

Howard: I think it's wild that Joel is so panicked. He's such a horrible radio guy. He's like a mad man. And Leslie Moonves is listening to him. It's like he doesn't know anything about radio.

4.24.2006

 

What's The Difference Between DLR and Booker?

People expected DLR to leave Free-FM.

Surprising development as Allan Sniffen reports that Chris Booker is joining the morning show on Q102 in Philadelphia. (That's WIOQ for all you home-gamers. Apologies to Jim Cramer.)

Judging on the timing, I would personally take it that Booker wanted the morning show on 92.3. JV and Elvis subbing for DLR aside, maybe Booker knew that he wanted to do morning radio, and now with Opie & Anthony firmly entrenched, he got that opportunity. Granted, it won't be "Booker & Lopez" redux (remember that sewage from "Blink 102.7"?) but it appears he's joining Lisa Paige and Diego and the rest of the morning crew.

Or option 2: He wanted to leave a station with (outside of mornings) no direction. You make the call.
 

Did Somebody Say... O&A Simulcast?

Apparently, what's on morning drive at 92.3 FM is a collection of comedy routines and songs, most of which are "select picks" from Opie & Anthony themselves - would make sense if leading up to an announcement, right? And the fact that a voiceover asks to stay tuned for it "at 9 AM Eastern, 8 AM Central" makes me believe it's also running on the old DLR "network", which includes Dallas...
 
OK, so why O&A will win, but to an extent - hey, it's later in the week, right? Let's get into that mindset, it's Monday morning... I've no doubt in my mind they'll return to being Number 1 in the male money demos - just as they have on WNEW-FM years ago. But you have to factor in three things:
 
1. People have to discover they're back on the radio in a new daypart. A nice little advertising blitz and bam, there's a start.
 
2. News radio is usually the morning drive winner. Gotta have your traffic on the 1's - or 8's ... but if the number of commuters who can put up with traffic outnumbers the number of commuters who can't, who knows...
 
3. Howard Stern hasn't been Number 1 in New York in a loooong time. See 2.
 
Of course, it's very possible they can prove me wrong. But for now, Kerr, Star & Buc and El Vacilon better start surrendering their 25-54's...
 
Additionally, I've come up with another idea for their new morning show. They're already going to do a simulcast on XM and several CBS Radio stations - why not do a TV simulcast? We've already got a couple of morning shows with that format - Imus (Westwood One/MSNBC) and most recently Mike & Mike (ESPN Radio/ESPNews~ESPN2). And occasionally Mancow (TRN-FM/Fox News). Now, the most common candidate for such a simulcast of O&A would be Comedy Central - still partly owned by CBS's parent company Viacom, if I'm not mistaken... What's Comedy Central running from 6-9 AM ET now - infomercials? "Dilbert" reruns? I'm sure with all the advertising they can get on the TV side, it's a no-brainer. And they can sacrifice an info or two now that Mel K. isn't at the helm anymore - anyone remember when WCBS-TV bumped "Hollywood Squares" - at 7:30 PM - for a couple of nights with infos? All four viewers were up in arms...
 
Anyway, I'd love to hear whether or not you agree an O&A simulcast can happen. And, additionally, how soon it can be before they tread ratings waters once trod by the King of Half the Satellite Media...

4.23.2006

 

Lay Off The Dentist

Over the weekend, some of you Internet radio forum members had to endure the operation of a certain radio message board by its owners.

Without shedding any more light on that situation, I'd like to turn my attention on an even more notorious message board moderator - even known in some parts outside New York City and in as "The Dentist".

That's right - Dr. John Baron himself, Allan Sniffen.

Now, not to compare Sniffen to any of the ordeal that went down this weekend with another popular radio forum, but understand that Allan's not a bad guy, and just because he may vehemently disagree with the occasional opinion, it's not a green-light to scream bloody murder. In other words, if he decides to delete one of your posts to his board, it's not the end of the world.

I write this as a public service in response to an email I received not too long ago from a person who shall remain nameless. He basically wanted to post a message devoted to nothing but tearing up this guy. My response is, it's not worth trying to get into a knuckle-dragging match with a person who probably has more radio experience than most of us (surely, more than me, I'll say). This is a person with a passion for radio, and you should not let your hatred for one of your own get in the way.

For the record, I was not asked to write this, nor does it matter whether or not I still have an active registration on his board. The whole point of this bloglet is that we all have opinions about radio, and quite frankly, so does he. It may not be one you agree with, and vice versa. And in the end, who cares if he's the one who makes posts disappear - his is a board viewed by many radio pros. You should be privileged to be reading it, if not sharing their company.
 

JV & Elvis - In For Opie & Anthony

At least that's my guess for the next two days... A visit to 923freefm.com shows nothing listed for 6 AM and "The Booker Show" coming up at 10 AM - JV&E's timeslot.

Plus, keep in mind there's that *big* announcement coming up at 9 AM. Those of you who want to listen online, open this URL:

http://68.142.79.3/bdcast_infinity_wfny-fm

And no, they're not going to announce the new "Sammy Hagar Morning Show"... Although, ironically, on the same day that DLR got canned, AllAccess reported that Hagar is going to start a new one-hour syndicated rock show of some sort... Check out their Friday 4/21 Net News update for more, as I vaguely recall the show's description off the top of my cranium...

Later this week, I'll break down the obvious - why Opie & Anthony will win AM Drive - to an extent, anyway...


 

If I Knew You Were Comin', I'd Have Baked A Cake

I'd like to welcome all readers to my brand-new blog.

What you should expect to get here:

* Radio opinions. Mostly of New York City, and not so much national. Maybe a few factoids here and there.

What you should NOT expect to get here:

* Censorship. You can reply to any of my posts without fear of having them deleted. And you don't even need to register with blogger.com to reply to them, either. (Now, if you're a spammer, that's a different story...)

* Personal Musings. I will not bore you with any opinions about my job or my girlfriend. From where I stand, I'd like to keep both of them.

* Weapons of Mass Destruction. You mean to tell me, you did come here looking for them?

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