WABC could be (almost) all syndicated shows

[Alan Tolz]

You're right, Dave...in fact, Clear Channel will soon offer only 15 music 
formats to be controlled from San Antonio and pumped out to all of the CC 
music format stations around the country.  I'm guessing that they will have 
"format-exclusive national voices" attached to them.

And you're right about the talk format hsitory, too...I remember working at 
a talk station in Philadelphia in the late 1970's with Bruce Williams from 
8-Midnight on one bird and Larry King overnight on the other.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Tomm" <nostaticatall@charter.net>
To: "Alan Tolz" <atolz@comcast.net>
Cc: "Bob Nelson" <raccoonradio@mail.com>; "BostonRadio Mailing List" 
<boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: WABC could be (almost) all syndicated shows


> Operators don't want to pay them anymore.  Producing a local show is 
> expensive.  You have to obviously pay the talent (quite a bit if  they're 
> good) and also a producer and an engineer.  In this economy  this just 
> doesn't make sense.  Chances are even if a syndie show gets  only half the 
> ratings of a local program, the greatly reduced overhead  makes the 
> daypart a moneymaker.  Obviously shows like Rush Limbaugh  which require 
> cash considerations work a bit differently, but there's  also an 
> expectation that shows like his will perform well in the  ratings.
>
> Talk radio has done this to themselves.  They no longer have a "bench"  of 
> talent in smaller markets to choose from.  That format was among  the 
> first to automate most of it's broadcast day.  The major talkers  used to 
> have at least one or two local shows.  Now, even they are  going all 
> syndicated.   Local talk in the smaller markets has been  dead for quite 
> some time.  It's now hit the majors.  Welcome to the  future.
>
> It's not just talk either.  The syndication bug is invading music 
> stations as well.  Clear Channel syndicates several regional morning 
> shows in the CHR format.  If it wasn't for the success of Matty on  Kiss, 
> Boston would probably have Elvis Duran piped in from WHTZ/New  York.  Ryan 
> Seacrest's midday show is already on Kiss.  There are  rumors that 
> syndicated afternoon and night shows are being put  together by the major 
> groups to save money.  And it's not just Clear  Channel.  Tom Kent was 
> added to nights at WODS recently before the  holiday flip.  Cumulus and 
> Entercom are also toying with syndicating  certain dayparts on their music 
> stations.  The big companies have  figured out that straight voicetracking 
> just doesn't work.  However,  developing and retaining true personalities 
> at the local level is too  cost prohibitive, especially in this economy.
>
> -Dave Tomm
>
>
> On Nov 26, 2008, at 12:27 PM, Alan Tolz wrote:
>
>> It's a sad commentary on the state of available "major market" talk 
>> radio talent.  Bob Grant will be 80 years old. His contemporaries - 
>> Jerry Williams, Michael Jackson, Stan Major, Allan Burke, are all 
>> retired or gone.
>>
>> Nobody came up the ranks that did not catch the syndication bug.  In  a 
>> different time, Glen Beck would have "graduated" from New Haven,  CT to 
>> New York or Philly rather than going syndicated, where he's on  WPHT in 
>> Philadelphia from 9-noon anyway.
>>
>> Alan
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson"  <raccoonradio@mail.com>
>> To: "BostonRadio Mailing List" 
>> <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org
>> >
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:53 AM
>> Subject: WABC could be (almost) all syndicated shows
>>
>>
>> Sign of the times? Here, WRKO finds it's almost all syndicated shows 
>> (only Finneran and Howie Carr are local;
>> well, Carr's syndicated by Entercom technically but 'RKO is the  flagship 
>> and it's usually Boston-based talk--
>> certainly lately it has been). Now WABC in New York may be just  about 
>> all syndicated. They're doing a news
>> show from 5-6 am with Charles McCord, followed by Imus, (apparently)  Joe 
>> Scarborough, Rush, Hannity, Levin,
>> Laura Ingraham (replacing Bob Grant) and the new Curtis Sliwa show.  I 
>> think they do Coast to Coast after that.
>> (The news about "Morning Joe" comes from Tom Taylor's email-provided 
>> radio-info.com column.)
>>
>> A powerful station in the nation's biggest city--just about all 
>> syndicated talk, though. As we've said local
>> talk is important, but it's a sign of cost-cutting (such as at WRKO, 
>> where the 10-noon slot had been local
>> for some time but got turned over to Ingraham).
>>
>
>