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Limbaugh losing ground in key demos on WBEN

WBEN is toast. Without programming changes, they're stuck with what
they have = Old White Men.
Even adjusting the content wouldn't matter.
Too little too late...
 
It would be interesting to know if the decline is between 10 and 12 or 12 and 3. Because it just gives 10-3.

And if fewer people are listening to the 9-12 show, I could see that.

Maybe more WBEN listeners are working and unable to listen, while fewer WBLK listeners are?
 
WBEN is declining because their audience is dying off. They're not gaining
new listeners. I see that Dan is doing his best to connect ratings with
racism...
 
TheBigA said:
So the WBEN listeners weren't working a year ago, but now they are? Do you realize a lot of people listen to radio while at work?
Click to expand...

Well, that's according to government data, as flawed as it is. "The unemployment rate fell..." That's what I heard on WBFO anyway.

And yes, I do know a lot of people listen while at work.
 
I think they need a local show from either 7-10 or 10-1.

Or if you're going to play a national show, at least one of them should be live.
 
TheBigA said:
That hurts your theory that WBEN listeners are working and therefore can't listen.
Click to expand...

So they are shutting their radios off from 10-3? Because they are listening some time.

(The ads on this site are getting annoying, worse than WBFO's)
 
TheBigA said:
Did you read the article in the OP? Read it again.
Click to expand...

The article is lacking information. I don't see where it says what the total is from whatever segment they consider the important segment. I see a WBEN host commented that that is not their target listener.

That's a good thing, because you have to put the rag in it's place sometime.

Maybe the listeners gave Sandy a try for a year and couldn't stand it anymore? Who knows. Their data isn't complete.
 
TheBigA said:
Obviously not you. Why not consider that the article MIGHT be correct? Is that too hard to imagine?
Click to expand...

Not at all.

I hold both liberal and conservative positions, depending on the issue---just like MOST potential listeners. I haven't listened to WBEN much at all since they decided to go full-tilt tea party, without even the slightest hint of objectivity or balance.

They just became to insultingly stupid to listen to anymore and I'd be amazed if I was the only one who felt that way.

What I cannot figure out is why they felt they needed to pander further to the core they already had and risk blowing off more mainstream listeners like myself.
 
flybynight said:
What I cannot figure out is why they felt they needed to pander further to the core they already had and risk blowing off more mainstream listeners like myself.
Click to expand...

We've had this conversation before. The reason is because conservative talk is a format. Like country music or rap. You don't mix formats and you don't mix politics. Fox News has proven that one side of the discussion has a very devoted base that will tune in consistently, while the other, more mainstream folks simply aren't as loyal. What they didn't expect was that this devoted base was getting older, and there were no new younger listeners to replace them.

The real bad news is the next generation really isn't interested in political talk at all, regardless of perspective, and they're definitely not interested in hearing it on AM radio, perpetuated by 60 year old men. So what you're seeing in Buffalo is playing out exactly the same everywhere else. And we all know where it's going to end up.
 
TheBigA said:
Obviously not you. Why not consider that the article MIGHT be correct? Is that too hard to imagine?
Click to expand...

What's hard to imagine is coming up with that conclusion based on the data provided. I don't know if the title is right or wrong, and neither does the author.

When I listen to Sandy Beach, I hear an older group of callers. I don't know how often I hear younger. But it's not enough to remember. I did hear a transsexual once though.

When I listen to Limbaugh, I hear older, younger, and children.

The facts aren't there from the Buffalo Snooze, so it's an assumption on their part. I'm not saying it's correct or isn't correct. I just said, unless you know that Sandy Beach isn't losing, how do you know Rush is?

I just wonder when the Buffalo News will publish the WBFO numbers.
 
It comes as a surprise that The News and Pergament published the 25-54 ratings, especially because the story reveals actual 25-54 shares in addition to the station's rank.

The comments section following the Buffalo News story is nearly as interesting as the story, revealing how the once and frequently all too long revered WBEN is perceived by most readers and listeners. A prominent WBEN account executive also comments, offering that 25-54 is too wide a spectrum to judge the station's performance. The AE contends that 35-64 is the real money demo for the station.

He may be right about where the money comes from, but the 25-54 and 35-64 cells contain the same number of years, which makes them equally "wide." It's only that 35-64 is older, which confirms what most objective posters on this board have for years proclaimed: WBEN listeners are old. And getting older. There are far more WBEN listeners in the 55-64 cell than in the 35-54 cell. The actual strength of the station is 65+, which is why WBEN performs so well in Persons 12+.

Who's to blame for WBEN's 25-54 slide? Rush? Beach? Bauerle? Could it be that Nielsen is finally getting things right when it comes to assessing listening. It might be that WBEN's non-core listeners had their fill of the right wing echo chamber and tuned to 97 Rock or WHTT, the music stations that are only a few years behind WBEN's aging demos.

Congratulations to Shredd and Regan for inking their new four year deal. They're the future for Cumulus in Buffalo. But remember when Citadel was in bankruptcy and went to court seeking the right to cancel all contracts? The court ruled in Citadel's favor, which affected all Citadel stations. Everything in Buffalo, including the Bills contract, was negated. Considering Cumulus' financial plight, S&R's new deal may hold the same value. Cumulus closed Thursday at 1.50 per share, up one cent from its 52 week low. Not exactly lighting things up on Wall Street.
 
Element9 said:
A prominent WBEN account executive also comments, offering that 25-54 is too wide a spectrum to judge the station's performance. The AE contends that 35-64 is the real money demo for the station.
Click to expand...

Interesting quote...so he confirms that 25-35 is a pretty small part of their audience, and that it's skewing more towards the older side. That doesn't bode well for the future.

I agree that the age brackets are too wide. I think at some point, Nielsen will have to shrink them, because music stations are already targeting narrower notches in those spectrums. A day will come (and I've said this before) when formats are more about lifestyles and demographics than musical genres.

Element9 said:
Cumulus closed Thursday at 1.50 per share, up one cent from its 52 week low. Not exactly lighting things up on Wall Street.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter. Most of the Cumulus stock is owned by the Blackstone Group, and my sense is they're giving the Dickeys some time (maybe 5 years total) to build something. They're only about two years into this project, and they're spending a lot of money on salaries and infrastructure. That doesn't look like a company preparing for bankruptcy. But the clock is ticking, and there will be some crowbars stuck in some hind quarters for the 4th quarter. If things don't start turning around, there will be some changes. But probably not until next year.
 
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