Only a Game (was "Glenn Geffner is gone")

[Aaron Read]

John Francini francini@mac.com wrote:
---------------------
OaG can live and find an audience because it's not commercial radio,
and doesn't have to completely live or die on its Arbitrons.  But, I
assure you, it's not going to catch on with the masses.  Period.
---------------------

Ummm...WBUR most definitely appears in the Arbitrons, and they most 
definitely pay a lot of attention to them.  And guess what?  Only a Game 
is number one in 25-54 for all of metro Boston in its timeslot (7am 
Saturdays).  Number one by a country mile, I might add.  It's a VERY 
popular show.

OAG is not quite the top biller for WBUR...the Car Talk & Wait Wait 
Don't Tell Me combo mid-day Saturdays claims that one, IIRC (or maybe 
Morning Edition does)...but it's right up there.

And while Saturday morning is, admittedly, not morning drive when it 
comes to sheer numbers of listeners...there are quite a few people 
listening around 7am on Saturday.  Most of the upper (lucrative) end of 
the 25-54 demo is usually getting up around then so they're listening 
while they get ready for the day.

All this said, speaking as someone who lives and dies with public radio 
(and now manages a public radio station) I'm inclined to agree that the 
relatively quiet, well-reasoned and dry-humor approach that NPR has 
would not be a good fit to program an entire station by.  Sports fans 
are PASSIONATE about their team, and a station needs to stoke that 
passion.  NPR is almost the antithesis of that; a wink and a wry grin 
rather than a spittle-laded scream of support.

Mind you, I'm not dissing that kind of scream.  Hell, I do it for most 
of the month of September (and hopefully into October).  ;-)

Anyways, it'd also be cost-prohibitive; OAG has a host, a senior 
producer and two associate producers, plus a tech they share with Car 
Talk.  Each works 40+ hrs a week to produce JUST ONE HOUR of 
programming.  Not to mention the freelancers and commentators who 
regularly appear.  To maintain the level of quality of OAG even for a 
daily show (10-15 hours/week) would take two dozen people at least.

-- 

---------------------------------------------------
Aaron Read	       |  Fried Bagels Consulting
friedbagels@gmail.com  |  (315) 521-0569 cell
Rochester, NY 14618    |  WEOS 89.7FM Geneva, NY