The fact that the entire cluster doesn't subscribe to Nielsen ratings also says a lot.
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- Thread starter johnbasalla
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The fact that the entire cluster doesn't subscribe to Nielsen ratings also says a lot.
Brokered shows are found money and easy money. Cash is king and, yes, times are tough and getting tougher. Dollars are leaving trad media for new media faster than ever because it works. Trad brokered media does get response, witness all those vitamin shows weekends on many stations.
It's clever how some measure response. Each station or group of stations has its own toll-free number in the show and they count up how many calls they get each week from that source and that determines if they will be on next week. And one would be surprised the premium some stations charge for that time.
And look at how many charity ads fill TV at this time. Many of those are PI's, per inquiry, which means the channel is paid for each call they get from that source. Better than running bonus spots or nothing at all at slow ad times during December and first quarter.
It's clever how some measure response. Each station or group of stations has its own toll-free number in the show and they count up how many calls they get each week from that source and that determines if they will be on next week. And one would be surprised the premium some stations charge for that time.
And look at how many charity ads fill TV at this time. Many of those are PI's, per inquiry, which means the channel is paid for each call they get from that source. Better than running bonus spots or nothing at all at slow ad times during December and first quarter.
its not decided on a week to week basis for the shows you describe.. its on at bare minimum monthly basis.. usually shows of this type require a minimum 3 month committment.
ive run and worked for stations that have carried such things
They have dedicated sponsors for Bob Frantz's show. They have local content in a number of markets who do fill-in work on the network shows. One of my favorites is Mark Davis from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I think having some local content that is not brokered is a real positive.
As for Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager, my belief is that they want to give some quality time to a worthy "new-be" to build some credibility with listeners as Dennis Prager is in his 70s, and they may be looking towards the future. I don't like it, but from this standpoint, I can understand it.
I've heard from a friend of mine, who is in the business, that subscribing to the ratings service is very costly, and so, isn't worth the money in a number of cases.
That's correct that it's costly, but it's also the cost of doing business if you want to deal with certain advertisers. In this case, they know they're likely not a Top 10 station, so there's no real benefit for them. The only real purpose of Nielsen is to satisfy advertisers.
The station I was at in NW PA did pay for ratings up until about 2010.. but dropped it.
EVen though we were about 50 miles south of the Olean, NY market and had a good signal there, and even beat out an in market country station.... it never did us any real good for the expense
Buying quarterly contracts has been the norm but these days some are backing off from making long commitments and buying like spot sales. Infomercials are often placed through brokers and they are changing as they need to keep any business they can get. It's a challenge to adapt and keep up in this new environment.
I'm not disagreeing with you on why WHK (or any other Salem station under the "Answer banner") exists.
Salem has 3 core formats - "The Word" (religious), "The Answer" (conservative talk), and "The Fish" (Christian contemporary)
They are who they are
I'll I'm saying is that selling an hour (albeit in PM drive) for fast cash doesn't mean that it's red alert time...it's not common place, granted, but I don't see WHK being cast adrift any time soon. It serves its purpose, and while hosts have come and gone, the mission statement is the same, and has been for nearly 20 years.
interestingly enough, in a market salem just sold... greenville, SC.. salem did pay for ratings .. on their Fm classic hits and fm news talk stations.. much better signals then these cleveland area AMs
WFHM did subscribe to Nielsen in their first few years. No idea when the contract lapsed (reporting on radio ratings became somewhat nebulous when a Plain Dealer columnist reported on the details too much when he shouldn't have, and everything got embargoed).
I do not think negatively about radio stations who do not subscribe to the ratings. The cost is high and the ROI can be minimal.
Why pay for something like that which, often, can't be monetized? If a station has a good sales staff and strong, or at least reasonable, connections to the communities and area businesses, they can run with that. Since we've been posting about WHK. I recall that Bob Frantz' show was, initially, two hours long with Mike Gallagher on live covering 11:05am until noon. Then, sometime after it went to 2 hours and 45 minutes, on-the-air, Bob Frantz thanked his sponsors for allowing the show to go into its 3rd hour.
Why pay for something like that which, often, can't be monetized? If a station has a good sales staff and strong, or at least reasonable, connections to the communities and area businesses, they can run with that. Since we've been posting about WHK. I recall that Bob Frantz' show was, initially, two hours long with Mike Gallagher on live covering 11:05am until noon. Then, sometime after it went to 2 hours and 45 minutes, on-the-air, Bob Frantz thanked his sponsors for allowing the show to go into its 3rd hour.
Keep in mind that just because they don't subscribe doesn't mean the station isn't measured by Nielsen. All it means is we can't see their numbers publicly, and they can't use the numbers to advertisers. But subscribers can see where they rank, and that includes advertisers, which is why the station is running brokered programming in afternoon drive. If a station has a good sales staff, they don't need to run brokered programming like this one. There is a connection between not subscribing to Nielsen and the programming you hear or the quality of advertisers you hear.
the connection is this..... either you cant afford to pay for the ratings... or
you dont depend on national and large regional buys, which are usually based largely to solely on ratings.
local advertisers couldnt give two shits less than they already do about ratings
It's unlikely they would shut it down. WHK is a legendary station, one of the first in the country. I'm sure Salem could get a nice price for it if they ever decided to sell.
Really? Lets give you an example. KQV in Pittsburgh. A legendary station, one of the first in the country. It was about to be shut down in 2017. The license was sold for $55,000. Would you call that a "nice price?"
The groups buying stations now have lots of choices. They aren't limited to weak AM signals.
Thing is, WHK should not be giving up on afternoon drive entering a presidential election year. Yes, they had aired brokered content in the past on weekdays but usually reserved it for late evenings, an unimportant daypart (Tom Kelly's various "local" shows, primarily).
On top of hearing about Salem's money woes, there was this blurb in @lanceventa's latest commentary:
That Cleveland has all three of Salem's pet formats may not matter if they have a debt bomb and a collapsed ad market. While Lance entertained the thought of WAVA being sold, bailing out of Cleveland altogether (or selling all but WHKW) is quite plausible.
It's also a high-band AM that hasn't been relevant in about 20 years, and before that, hadn't been a ratings getter since... 1981? If that?? They did okay with oldies but eventually fell off a cliff by 1987.
Relevant Radio absolutely could buy such a signal, it fits their general station portfolio and Salem has sold stations to them before.
Can it happen?
Sure, anything is possible.
Only difference between you and me is that I don't see it right now.
Down the road?
We'll deal with that...down the road