They’re changing to a “Rhythmic Adult Contemporary” format.That sounds like a birth control method.
Posted on 01/17/2013 8:36:59 AM PST by raccoonradio
As CEO of Braintree-based Greater Media, Peter Smyth is always reluctant to change a radio station’s format. It can be upsetting to fans, frustrating to workers and expensive to pull off.
But it was hard to argue with the numbers. Smyth tells me the that plunge in ratings for WTKK over recent years prompted him to start seriously considering dropping the station’s talk format as long ago as last spring. Those discussions eventually led to the Braintree company’s decision to switch from talk to a rhythmic adult contemporary music format earlier this month, branding it as Hot 96.9.
“We couldn’t build a strong enough constituency to make it viable,” Smyth says. “The appetite for that type of radio in the marketplace had really started to wane.”
Smyth says WTKK vaulted into the top five stations in the Boston market for the key 25-54 demographic not long after the talk format was introduced in 1999.
But those strong ratings didn’t last. Smyth says WTKK dropped out of the top 10 in the past two years, and showed no signs of recovering. He cites a number of factors, including the emergence of CBS Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, which drew a number of male listeners away, and a widespread frustration with politics during the budget impasses in Washington.
It was getting tougher to sell ads for WTKK, a problem that Smyth says reflected a broader industry trend: Middle-of-the-road talk stations were losing listeners, and advertisers were increasingly shying away from controversial left-leaning or right-leaning stations.
The station became unprofitable, Smyth says, but he didn’t want to cut his way to profitability. Smyth knew it would be too expensive to launch an FM news station and compete with WBZ, and it didn’t make sense to hop into the sports talk war being waged between Entercom’s WEEI and 98.5. So Smyth sought a music format, one that wouldn’t compete with his company’s existing lineup of Boston-area stations — Magic 106.7, 105.7 WROR, Country 102.5 and Radio 92.9. The format change was one of only a handful for Greater Media — which also runs stations in the Charlotte, Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia markets — in the past decade.
“It was difficult (but) if you think with your heart, you would bleed to death,” Smyth says. “Sometimes you have to take your heart out of the business and look at it as a business, and (figure out) what’s the best thing for the business.”
The changeover didn’t happen immediately. First, there were several days of trotting out fake formats, an industry publicity trick known as “stunting,” to build some buzz in the Boston area One day was dance, the next was classic rock. Finally, the true Hot 96.9 was unveiled. Greater Media bills it as “the Rhythm of Boston” with contemporary hits mixed in with those from the 1980s and 1990s, spanning from Michael Jackson to Rihanna.
The shift coincided with a couple staffing coups. Pebbles, aka Susan Lynne Semedo, had been just been laid off at WJMN (now Hot 96.9’s main rival). She was promptly recruited to oversee Hot 96.9’s morning show. Meanwhile, Greater Media recruited “Cadillac” Jack McCartney back to Boston to be the programming director for its Boston market. McCarthy had most recently been vice president for programming at Clear Channel in New York.
Smyth says other staff announcements are forthcoming for Hot 96.9, including DJs to cover the midday and afternoon shifts.
Smyth says such big changes aren’t necessarily easy for employees, but all of them are well aware of the ratings book. “We get elected every week,” Smyth says. “We’ve got to win those ratings.”
Personally I have gotten VERY disillusioned by them ALL.
Keep in mind that w/o the conflict, their revenue streams die.
Like many things that have NEVER added up to me about this once great nation, since becoming an imitation American back when my parents dragged me to SoCal from Western Canada at the age of 16, the “inability” of the “conservative” talk show host community to ACTUALLY do something about the sad state of affairs just stinks to high heaven IMHO.
LISTEN CAREFULLY to ANY of them - first of all, their screeners seldom let anyone through who presses the host for any sort of definitive action/suggestion/statement.
The last time someone asked (**redacted**) for any sort of specific advice, he just blew them off with something to the effect of “I don’t have any answers to the problem, my friend.” And, I’ve heard “Let not your heart be troubled” enough times to last me a coupe of lifetimes.
The whole bunch of them are nothing more than crafty users who are taking advantage of our frustration to live the very same high life on the backs of the middle class as the congresscritters they supposedly oppose.
They’re changing to a “Rhythmic Adult Contemporary” format.That sounds like a birth control method.
Another factor here, I think, is that seemingly that objective of various talk radio hosts is to get republicans elected.
But to what end? The republican party serves no purpose to anyone or anything other than to the democrat party.
Some might say that the purpose of talk radio hosts is to see conservatives elected, not simply just republicans, and that may well be so, but we did that in 2010, and the result of that effort was zero, nadda, not one single thing.
The republican party consumed any elected conservative into the void, because that is one of its fucntions for the democrat party.
Bzzzzz. Wrong answer.
The appetite is there. Smyth simply had a lousy line up. The replacement 'talent' he put on air were not the conservative types who brought the station to its highest ratings.
Severin. Gone.
Smerconish. An Obama arse kisser.
Jim Braude and Margerie Egan? Lib whack jobs who kiss Deval Patrick's arse weekly.
Doug Meehan. Dumb as a bag of hammers.
I don't know the names of the two whiny, nassally geeks who were on after Michael Graham left but I have yet to hear two more irritating radio voices.
The lineup eventually killed WTKK. It was even getting harder to listen to Joe Ligotti on weekends.
Conservative talk radio is dying because they are no longer conservative
When Clinton was busted for fooling around with an intern....Conservative talk radio did not hesitate to call for impeachment
But, when it became obvious that Obama may not have been eligible to be President....just about all of the so called conservative talk hosts (and other GOP Media) turned into wussified liberal Obama Supporters and started attacking anyone who brought up the issue
It is just not Boston that is seeing GOP leaning media losing audience....I see that here in Orlando with all the changes in line ups and stations in the past year
DR. JOHNNY FEVER: “And I want you to get real close to your radio and in a loud voice, yell ‘Give it to me straight Doctor! I can take it!’”
that explains the ratings plunge.
yes, “I’ve got your prescription from the big ‘KRP medicine chest. I’m talking your 50,000 watt intensive care unit, babies!”
Though I think the sign in the lobby said “5,000 watts”....
>>the two whiny, nassally geeks who were on after Michael Graham
That was the Daily Wrap show co-hosted by Michael
Castner. The news just broke that the show is going off
in April...”they just lost their biggest affiliate,
WTKK.”
http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/80536/the-daily-wrap-to-wrap/
>>The Wall Street Journal Radio Network has announced that “The Daily Wrap” with Michael Castner will end in April.
The show was fed live from 6 to 9pm eastern, but recently lost its largest affiliate with the flip of 96.9 WTKK Boston to Rhythmic Hot AC. Its remaining large market clearances were delayed late night spots on Bonneville’s KTAR-FM Phoenix and Clear Channel’s KHOW Denver.
Affiliates have been given 90 day notice regarding the end of the program.
>>to ACTUALLY do something about the sad state of affairs
Boston used to have the late Jerry Williams who was seen as liberal but later became “populist...muckraker...anti-statist”. He talked about the Dem-controlled state govt. in Mass—hacks, cronies, tax increases, fees, fines, and government interference in our lives.
Jerry would have people call or write legislators (pre-email)
to pressure them. There would be rallies, like one against
a proposed prison in a town that didn’t want it. Efforts
to repeal the intrustive seat belt law. Anti tax increase
rallies, etc. He spoke out against Mike Dukakis when he
ran for pres in 1988. “We know him well here in Mass.;
don’t be fooled, America.”
So a bit of activism there. For awhile at least
(alleged) fiscal conservatives like Bill Weld got elected.
Fighting against Dem-controlled govt is a battle in MA
but Jerry did his best.
I think he is working for Mercury ... Glenn Beck”s deal. I believe that I also saw Beck on O’Reilly and he changed the name of his Media Company.... if I could remember that, I would know what I ate for lunch yesterday... but, alas..I don’t!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.