Mark Davis's 660 KSKY Debut

[CinnamonToast]

Has anyone else been listening? Mark seems very happy to be there -- almost giddy. It's entertaining. The entire morning has been a parade of Texas politicians calling to wish him well (Rep. Joe Barton, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, etc.).

It looks like it will be Bill Bennett 5-7, Mark Davis 7-10, Mike Gallagher 10-12, and Dennis Prager at noon. (I'm not sure if that will be an abbreviated show, or bump the rest of the daily lineup back.) On Fridays, Davis will host Bennett's national show starting at 5am.

Now, if only they could get rid of that Vicki Middleton nonsense, and replace Medved with Hugh Hewitt, it would be a really strong station!

 

[Unaffiliated Observer]

Shoot! Forgot to listen. Does KSKY keep podcasts?

 

[CinnamonToast]

Their iPhone app has a podcast section. I assume they will start uploading Mark's but I don't know for sure.

 

[dismuke]

I gave it a listen - and was able to hear the entire program. Congrats to Mark and to KSKY.

I got a big chuckle out of the station's intro to the show which began with words to the effect: "For years, we waited for our competition to screw up....." and then mentioned how Mark Davis was a big gift that was unexpectedly handed to them.

Well, given that the screw up wasn't some isolated, accidental incident but rather official corporate policy, I think it is pretty likely that KSKY and other stations can expect even more screw ups to come that they can use to their advantage. #CumulusFail

 

[no respect]

meanwhile over at BAP, well.....Ferguson is a bunch-a-safe,fluff..Mark spoiled us.

 

[Triple Fake Jerry]

meanwhile over at BAP, well.....Ferguson is a bunch-a-safe,fluff..Mark spoiled us.

To be fair, Davis himself is an old-school conservative and not the impeach-Hussein-now new breed. Guess that passes as fluff today.

 

[dismuke]

meanwhile over at BAP, well.....Ferguson is a bunch-a-safe,fluff..Mark spoiled us.

There was a portion of the Davis show that gave me another chuckle: Davis had Jon David-Wells on and they were talking about KSKY, Davis' show, Wells' show and trends in the radio business. At one point, Davis make a pointed comment about the benefit of having local talk show hosts who actually know where Garland is and where Burleson is.

Of course, to be fair, there was a time some eighteen years ago when Davis most likely had never heard of Garland or Burleson. But it does say something when a highly successful station's new owners dump a top-rated host who is both highly regarded nationally and has a huge local following that had been built up over eighteen years in exchange for some medium market level talent with next to zero knowledge of or following in the area. Hmmmm. Perhaps it is time for Cumulus to get VP Mike McVay to phone in as "Mike From Burleson" singing the praises of Ben Ferguson and Chris Krok - that will make sure WBAP's audience stays intact. #CumulusFail

 

[arnoldevns]

I gave it a listen - and was able to hear the entire program. Congrats to Mark and to KSKY.

I got a big chuckle out of the station's intro to the show which began with words to the effect: "For years, we waited for our competition to screw up....." and then mentioned how Mark Davis was a big gift that was unexpectedly handed to them.

Well, given that the screw up wasn't some isolated, accidental incident but rather official corporate policy, I think it is pretty likely that KSKY and other stations can expect even more screw ups to come that they can use to their advantage. #CumulusFail

That beginning bit was pure genius. Enjoyed the show. So glad he's back on the air.
I would not be under any delusion that he'll beat WBAP in that time slot right out of the box, but over time I suspect he will. (assuming they promote the station and Mark well)

 

[woodyrr]

How did this KSKY show compare with his shows on his previous station?

I have only heard him recently when he has sat in for Rush and his show had a more national flavor. I listened online this morning, but not living in DFW or Texas, I frequently found my mind wandering as a result of the appearances by Texas political figures of whom I have no knowledge.

I did really like the intro about Mark being dropped in KSKY's lap. On the other hand, I'm sure some executive at KSKY could show me reams of paper proving sixteen different ways that KSKY's ratio of commercial time to content is equal to or lower than any other station in the world, but my perception was that the two and a half hours that I listened to was more commercial heavy (or Mark light) than a morning television newscast which is one of the reasons why I finally bailed on it.

 

[dismuke]

How did this KSKY show compare with his shows on his previous station?

It didn't really compare with his typical show - but then again, today's show was hardly typical for him or for the station. The show this morning was very heavy with guests - far far more than he usually has. As a result, I had the feeling that Davis was kind of fighting the clock all the way though it to get in everything he wanted to. He could have easily done a show twice as long with just the material he briefly touched on.

 

[dismuke]

I would not be under any delusion that he'll beat WBAP in that time slot right out of the box,

Anyone know how long it will be before it is known how his show did in terms of listenership verses WBAP? Is that something that Arbitron does on a daily basis?

but over time I suspect he will. (assuming they promote the station and Mark well)

One thing that will help is the fact that, earlier today, the fellow who will be replacing Hal Jay on the WBAP Morning News enrolled in summer classes at the DeVry School of Broadcasting. Once he graduates, he will be taking over Hal Jay's position. But his Associates' Degree from DeVry won't be the only thing he brings to the table. He is also a stand up comedian and is supporting himself through DeVry with a gig at the iprov club. And the way that the stand-up comedians at the improv make money is through teaching the comedy defensive driving classes the club also conducts. Of course, he will still need to continue teaching the comedy defensive driving classes even after he starts at WBAP because Hal's shift is only 4 hours long and at the $8.95 per hour he will be making, that's just not enough to support himself. But Cumulus did tell him that if he takes a a couple of science classes at the Dallas County Community College, that would make him eligible to take over Brad Barton's job as well in which case he will get an extra 50 cents per hour and be allowed to work a full 8 hour shift. And he will likely get that $50 referral bonus for letting Cumulus know about that girl in his DeVry class who will be taking over for Laura Houston.

You know, once Cumulus has finished replacing all of the existing WBAP staff with people from DeVry and Rush - angry over how Cumulus has played tag team with organizers of the Media Matters orchestrated boycott - pulls his program off of all Cumulus stations with Hannity's likely to follow........well, by then, people who still tune into WBAP will think of Ben Ferguson as the guy with talent! #CumulusFail

 

[Gopher]

The main thing this long time Mark Davis listener noticed this morning was the "change" in sound quality. Maybe it was the lack of signal punch on 660 and a different type of microphone but it sounded kinda...hollow. Can't think of any other way to describe it. The voice just sounded odd. I noticed the same thing when David Gold and Kevin McCarthy were/are at WBAP.

Also that Battle Without Honor sounder they are using has to go.

 

[scott5]

How strong is 660 signal compared to 'BAP ? Does it cover the entire market

 

[dfwupallnight]

It seems to me that KSKY is betting big on all of Mark's audience following him to 660 and staying there. Got a shiny new mailer today with Mark's mug slapped on it, and a chance to win $1,000 (ooh!) And then there are the big billboards with Mark's face on them, screaming "Listen to us, we've got Mark!!! and others" Hope it works for them...

 

[CinnamonToast]

It's tough to compare today's show to an average day at WBAP because, as mentioned, it was mostly a hit parade of Texas politicians and other radio personalities. If it were like this every day, I honestly wouldn't listen any more. (Joe Barton seems like a nice guy, but the UMs and pauses are radio torture.) But I assume that won't be the regular drill, so I'll keep tuning in and see how it goes.

 

[dismuke]

How strong is 660 signal compared to 'BAP ? Does it cover the entire market

Scott5 - here is a neat website where you can look that kind of information up for any station: http://radio-locator.com/

Here is KSKY's daytime coverage map from that site: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KSKY&service=AM&status=L&hours=D It more than covers the Metroplex.

Nighttime coverage is not as great: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KSKY&service=AM&status=L&hours=N I live in Fort Worth and am in the primary coverage according to the map. At night I can pick the station up in my house on a table top radio and hear the programming well enough - but I can also hear low volume interference in the background.

As for WBAP - no other AM station in the area has a stronger local signal. Here is its daytime map: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WBAP&service=AM&status=L&hours=U At night, it is one of the most powerful stations in the United States and can be regularly picked up in about 38 states. There is even a YouTube clip of someone picking the station up in Scotland.

Imagine: all that power and geography - and what they choose to blast out on it is Chris Krok. But its powerful nighttime signal will probably become useful once Cumulus has completely run the station into the ground and chased off the last of its once large audience. I'll bet on a clear cold night the all-new SuperTejano 820 can be picked up clear down to the Mexico-Guatemala border. It will be like the old-time border blasters - only in reverse! #CumulusFail

 

[Kent]

Imagine: all that power and geography - and what they choose to blast out on it is Chris Krok.

You know, the usual complaint I hear about big signaled AM's is that they don't do anything local at night and pipe in some satellite idiot everyone can already hear on their local stations. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people aren't entitled to their opinions on Krok or that he does a great show. I'm just saying at least he's something you can't get everywhere else and at least there's somebody in that studio at night besides a board-op making minimum wage babysitting the computer!

 

[BBontheRadio]

One thing that will help is the fact that, earlier today, the fellow who will be replacing Hal Jay on the WBAP Morning News enrolled in summer classes at the DeVry School of Broadcasting. Once he graduates, he will be taking over Hal Jay's position. But his Associates' Degree from DeVry won't be the only thing he brings to the table. He is also a stand up comedian and is supporting himself through DeVry with a gig at the iprov club. And the way that the stand-up comedians at the improv make money is through teaching the comedy defensive driving classes the club also conducts. Of course, he will still need to continue teaching the comedy defensive driving classes even after he starts at WBAP because Hal's shift is only 4 hours long and at the $8.95 per hour he will be making, that's just not enough to support himself.

Hey, now, that's not nice. They pay $12.50 an hour.

 

[idiggraves]

"One thing that will help is the fact that, earlier today, the fellow who will be replacing Hal Jay on the WBAP Morning News enrolled in summer classes at the DeVry School of Broadcasting. Once he graduates, he will be taking over Hal Jay's position. But his Associates' Degree from DeVry won't be the only thing he brings to the table. He is also a stand up comedian and is supporting himself through DeVry with a gig at the iprov club. And the way that the stand-up comedians at the improv make money is through teaching the comedy defensive driving classes the club also conducts. Of course, he will still need to continue teaching the comedy defensive driving classes even after he starts at WBAP because Hal's shift is only 4 hours long and at the $8.95 per hour he will be making, that's just not enough to support himself. But Cumulus did tell him that if he takes a a couple of science classes at the Dallas County Community College, that would make him eligible to take over Brad Barton's job as well in which case he will get an extra 50 cents per hour and be allowed to work a full 8 hour shift. And he will likely get that $50 referral bonus for letting Cumulus know about that girl in his DeVry class who will be taking over for Laura Houston."

Damn funny, Dismuke! You made me spit my coffee.

 

[arnoldevns]

Listening to day 2 and the show seems to be getting into a good groove. There was more than one occasion when I felt like it was just like old times on 820. He does not seem to be lacking for callers. He was not as crowded with guests, though he did have a good segment with Ted Cruz. The news headlines seemed to be up to date.. the traffic was.. well.. traffic. Simply put, there's not a whole lot of reason to switch over to WBAP in the morning anymore.