Friday, December 9, 2011

The notion that the old demo, (non A25-54) doesn't buy goods and services; KGO makes loads of cash

Why is CBS' venerable "60 Minutes" still relevant? Because it makes money for Black Rock. Try about $100 million a year in gross revenue, (estimated). The show is notorious for having old viewers, that is, much of its program is watched by the non, advertiser-coveted, A25-54 demo, yet "60M" is a massive money-maker. And a consistent Top-10 Nielsen- ratings member for CBS for over thirty years.

Last I checked, the so-called baby boomers buy coca-cola and go to the movies. They are anywhere from their mid-50's to mid 60's, but if you stroll down to Nordstrom, Macys, Bloomingdale's, etc, they're buying clothes. And they also buy computers, smart phones, and all the other gadgets.

The A25-54 demo is still the gold standard for Madison Ave, but that's changing by the day. People are living longer. "Old people"? What the hell is that?

Flip to KGO Radio. Yes, they lost considerable "younger listeners", but so did everyone else in this IPod/IPhone/Facebook, 4.0 world. And KGO still makes a boatload of cash. Call it what you want, "tonnage", "cume", fact of the matter is, despite lacking the so-called "young demo", KGO was thriving.

Instead of fine-tuning and adapting its format to a new image, Cumulus took a solid, loyal listener base and threw it out in the garbage. Talk about Incompetent-central! Care to know why, despite that PPM ratings were showing a down trend, advertisers like New Pane, Sleeptrain, Scott Hyver Vision, Burgermeister, and the like continued to buy time on KGO? Because "older" listeners tend to be loyal and identify with the brand. They also buy a lot of household goods, groceries, clothes, electronic gadgets, they go to the movies and they spend. Spend a lot.

So, enough of the BS that KGO was "losing money." They make lots of money. And they have a broad-based listener clientele. Up until Dec. 1, that is.

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33 comments:

  1. i received an email from kgo listeners club today signed by brian copeland about all the great changes. i emailed him back that i get my news from the internet and the only reason i listened to KGO was for the talk show aspect. and i am in the 25-54 demo.

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  2. While I lament the loss of shows and people I like at KGO, it seems that what happened at KGO has been going on in corporate America since the 80’s. Hasn’t everyone worked at a place where there was a merger, new management brought in? Jobs sent to other States, or worse yet, over seas? Didn’t anyone read Animal Farm? The pigs are doing what pigs do. Good luck with the “occupy” next week, but it reminds me of when I was in High School. We didn’t like that our cross town school was getting more articles in the local paper, so we “marched” over to complain…..

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  3. I hope cumulus's dick falls off.

    blewis

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  4. oh yeah. I have spent a boat load of cash with KGO advertisers. NewPane.com and Systems Pavers to be exact. I have $$ in the bank and a desire to buy nice things- Cars, trips, cloths, recreational equipment,lots of electronic gadgets, the list goes on and on. Oops I am out of the 24 to 55 demo. Never mind!

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  5. This is funny. KGO with all the liberal hosts was losing market share and that is a fact. This is nothing more than a business decision based on $$$. Cumulus is all about the Benjamins. They would put the KKK on the radio if it made them money. Face it, lots and lots of people were tired of the same old DEMOCRAT GOOD and REPUBLICAN BAD crap that most of the host spewed night after night and turned the channel. Its why Air America crashed and why MSNBC has less viewers than Ron Popeil reruns at 3am.

    Please do keep posting though, I keep returning to get a laugh at all the BS.

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  6. And Ronnnnn certainly knew all of this too when he so casually blew us all off saying talk radio wasn't the format WE wanted anymore and the ratings were dropping and all of that. He's in the older demographic himself and he certainly bought every new gadget, and then some, that ever came out. Shame on him for trying to sell us out.

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  7. A MUST see video! Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thurs. proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that allowed unrestricted and secret campaign spending by corporations on U.S. elections. The amendment would reverse the narrow 5-to-4 ruling in Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission.

    Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9qZZVqSQdo

    Show your support - sign the petition: http://sanders.senate.gov/savingdemocracy

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  8. I read Ronn Owens' 'Open Letter' this morning on this blog, and I take him his word (that his vacation wasn't deliberately timed, etc.) but the thing I think that pissed everyone off about that the show he did that next Friday morning was that he immediatly didn't cancel all programming for that day (the cell phone/driving hour and 'The Best Muscic you never heard and everything else that he did until 12:00. At this moment and ESPECIALLY at this moment people wanted to tak, vent or whatever you want to call it about ONE thing, and one thing only! Why didn't he open the phones right on up until noon and let people say what was on their mind? This is what I think infuriated people the most that morning and just poured more gasoling on the fire.

    I hope when comes back on the 15th and people are demonstrating beneath his studio while he's on the air he'll just open the lines and let people talk about this. I think this will go a long way to defusing all the animosity toward him right now.

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  9. Rich, I believe you when say KGO was making "boatloads" of money. But apparently Cumulus thought they could make even more with the recent changes. They would not have made the move if they thought it would end up causing them to make less or even to lose money.

    This kind of thing has been happening all around us inside and outside the media for decades. KGO is just the latest example. When the primary motivating factor in society is making as much money as possible to the exclusion of all else, then the society as a whole suffers, and the current KGO saga is a prime example.

    The sad thing about this is that in most of these situations, the perpetrators would still do quite well financially even if they DIDN’T engage in such damaging behavior.

    You think Chainsaw Al Dunlap would be out on the streets if he didn’t ruthlessly downsize corporations? You think Bernie Madoff would be living under a bridge if he hadn’t engaged in a Ponzi scheme? Of course not. Both of these gentlemen would still be living very comfortable lives with all the accouterments of wealth. They just might not be quite as wealthy as they are (or were in Madoff’s case).

    So if the suits at Cumulus had decided NOT to gut KGO, they’d still have their summer homes, yachts or whatever their toys are, and the listeners would still have their radio station. But apparently the owners felt they didn’t have enough, wanted more, and we all suffer as a result of their needless destructive actions.

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  10. "I keep returning to get a laugh at all the BS"

    The stupid are easily amused.

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  11. The "salvaging" of the "old" KGO should not have been because of the small thinking, but well off "bean counters" of Cumulus ... but fixing "content" (which is King) to not attract a younger demographic (on AM Radio ... they weren't doing that) but by blowing up one of it's lesser performing FM stations and working on changing the "format" for a younger demo, by teaching "strategic programming" with both an AM & FM signal. Then, KGO-AM and FM would make TWO huge boatloads of money. Even OLDER demo listeners, like "60 Minutes" viewers, know what FM is as the baby boomer generation grows older and those older baby boomers plus are watching TV on wide-screen HDTV's, and listen to FM, iPods, Pandora, Sirius/XM, and more.

    Cumulus is having deep trouble cutting $50-million since its $2-billion purchase of Citadel bankrupt failure as a radio group.

    There is a way to do it. Cumulus needs to flip an FM, then teach & execute a younger demo format with "the voices of experience" and retool the station.

    This is not the way to run a railroad ... or a radio station. More changes coming all night at midnight Jan. 3 ... no more "Red Eye Radio."

    Listen for it.

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  12. ^^^Regarding Ronn Owen's "open letter" discussed above, if he comes back on the 15th and tries to claim he was too "shocked" and "upset" to handle his show correctly before, will you believe him when he "allows" calls? I will NOT! Ronnnn is finished, he destroyed his career on his pre-vacation show where he talked about "his audience" still loving him because he was "fresh" and "exciting" like the new format.
    If Ronnnnnnn had walked out, he would have been a hero with a loyal following for years, now people are waiting to follow Gene, John, Len, etc. but I could care less about Ronnnnn. In the last couple of years, Ronn has been mostly talking about himself, how HE is annoyed when traffic delays HIS drives, etc. His recent letter was all about himself, and not about the popular hosts who were fired. Ronn only thinks and talks about Ronnnn. Survivor's guilt my ass!

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  13. A Special Message To KGO Listeners, from KSCO Owner Michael Zwerling

    "The abrupt firing of some of the finest talent in the talk radio industry by the new clueless corporate suits at KGO last Friday is an indication of two things:

    1) their total disregard, no, make that CONTEMPT for both the talent and the listeners who made that station so special, and

    2) their INCREDIBLE, Darwin-award-qualifying stupidity.

    KSCO extends invitations to all displaced KGO hosts to come to a station owned and operated by HUMANS with good hearts, good souls, and diverse personalities and perspectives-- not by cold corporate weasels and bean counters.

    One of those hosts, Dr. Bill Wattenburg, has graciously accepted our invitation; let's see what the others will do.

    Join us on the next KSCO Special for a stimulating discussion of this unprecedented talk radio drama, possibly with some of the players in attendance, this Saturday 10 AM to 12 Noon, right here on still proudly a voice for everyone radio AM 1080 KSCO."

    http://ksco.com/a-special-message-to-kgo-listeners

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  14. "If Ronnnnnnn had walked out, he would have been a hero with a loyal following for years"
    Really? Where would you have followed" him? down the street? On his facebook page?
    Anybody you liked or admired ever get fired at your job? Did you quit in protest?

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  15. Unfortunately , a whole lot of us can't get KSCO on our radios, so if hosts migrate there, we still won't be able to interact with them like before. Are there any SF stations up for sale?

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  16. Hey, Anonymous 1:58: Now that's funny. You're obviously not a local because KGO was much more centrist than that! Every time, and I mean every time, I turn to KSFO or 910, all I hear are the hate talkers about Obama, etc. The worst negative and down-right BS talk I have ever heard. Puh-leeze, next time you post something that you think is the gospel truth, do some research first, OK?

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  17. @3:29pm Ronn had no problem walking out or striking when it involved HIS contract negotiations before, and it did not hurt his career, AND it brought us Gene Burns, who was originally his fill in. Do you really think Cumulus will keep his bloated salary when his contract expires? I actually believe before his "elephant in the room" show, he could have taken his audience to any station in the region. I cannot get KSCO, but the way their server keeps crashing tells me that they have been smart enough to take advantage of a large audience that will NEVER go back to KGO. I just listened to their podcast of the last Dr. Bill show and it was fine with me, and I like the local owned flavor of the station. (Attention KSCO-I would PAY a fee to log on to a stream that would not crash btw)

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  18. Listen, this format was not changed because of the demos or the ratings or the political stance of the hosts. This format was pulled to chop costs, throw up a quickie change, which is doomed to fail, and then pull the plug to do their cheap-o syndicated talk. WHY? Because, and it's a matter of public record, AR Broadcasting Holdings (which includes the SF market along with 2 other cities in the Cumulus web) filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-Nov. They set this whole thing up to be forgiven their debt which they manufactured. Who buys a company and 3 months later files for bankruptcy? A better business mind could spell the ins and outs about how this all works, but trust me, the PPM's, the format, the demos, that's all a smokescreen for the real plan which is akin to burning down your own house to collect the insurance.

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  19. The ironical aspect of this is if KSCO hires a bunch of KGO alumnus, their own personnel are out of a gig! I guess the old saw about omelets and eggs is still true.

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  20. I'm 3:28. Dream on. Those guys couldn't afford the prime-time KGO hosts. And everybody seems to miss a larger point. Your loyalty to Gene, John,Gil, et al, is reciprocal. They're older, financially comfortable pros, chances are unlikely that many of them will hook on to a low-wattage, suburban, right-wing talk station. I think that what those guys miss the most is not a paycheck, or the chance to be "heard" some where in the vicinity, but the chance to say goodbye to their audiences.

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  21. Pat Vitucci did seminars with Len Tillem for eight years. Vitucci needs those seminars.
    Pat will go with Len.
    No one else can fill his seminar with, usually 250 to 375, happy to be there, attendees the way the lawyah does.
    It's also a great seminar.
    I've been to lots.
    He'll bring his audience to his next station and kick KGO's puny Arbitron rated ass.

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  22. KSCO is nothing but a little tea-kettle of a station. Stop with the bullshit that it reaches Silicon Valley (it doesn't never will) The owner is cheap, and the streaming software sucks. Glad Dr Bill had a guest appearance but this signal and facility is too underpowered, too far from the Bay Area, and too under-budgeted to make any noise. If another talk station is to arise in the Bay Area it will require a signal that covers the market area.

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  23. 4:34...very plausible..good analogy at the end.

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  24. 1:58 PM

    just proves that the more a lie is repeated, it becomes the truth.

    right wing radio does not win in the ratings. ksfo is in 17th place....down here in los angeles, kabc gets numbers below both npr stations...krla, the other right wing radio station...to the right of kabc...isnt even a frickin blip, and loses out to all syndicated lib talk on ktlk

    i could go on...but its pointless...the sheeple have taken over the earth

    nevermind has it exactly right

    the gecko's of the world already ripped to shreds our manufacturing base....the tech firms are all outsourced...we dont make anything here in america anymore....so what was left to rape??? thats right...the media companies

    and we sat back for the past 30 years and let them do it

    i was never worried about the hosts that got canned....ray was near retirement, so too gene....the good doc has a another gig, has money and as we see, a good enuf following to get grabbed right up, and so too with rothman....not even worried about the others from the weekend that were dumped...these are smart people

    the problem is...there is little to no local talk anywhere in the us...and what there is, is pretty much cookie cutter crap

    this is all about deregulation and the corporatization of america

    and i blame the left even more than the right.....

    and 441, most of the current programming is syndicated....only way a small station can make it today

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  25. If Dunbar and Wygant were still at KGO:

    Dunbar: What's this 4am bullshit?
    Wygant: It's known as DST: Dickey Savings Time.
    Dunbar: Ted, you read that Oakland story eight times so we'll be done with that. Leave more time for Ronnn to promo his ass-kissing.
    Dunbar: Got a memo here, Ted, to rerun the weather from a year ago day. No need for weathermen.
    Wygant: To Be or Not To Be.
    Dunbar: Not to be.

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  26. KSCO has syndicated content (Rush for one) which could be replaced by some of the KGO hosts

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  27. Older listeners have --ta da! -- disposable income, with which they can afford to buy those $3500 Tempurprdic mattresses from outfits like SleepTrain.

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  28. When KCSO has the wattage for
    Bay Area coverage, wake me up.

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  29. Did you look at KSCO's line up? They are all right wingers. If they lost their jobs I would not care. They could learn what liberal talk show hosts go through all the time.

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  30. Maybe the old are out at KSCO and maybe not. Looking at their schedule, they seem to have a lot of syndicated shows still even though the station owner wants to get to a point of less of that and more local and live. There are plenty of holes to fill with the KGO hosts.

    I think a bigger question is can KSCO afford them? And would THAT money suck away from hiring other hosts, if they are even being paid?

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  31. "Did you look at KSCO's line up? They are all right wingers. If they lost their jobs I would not care. They could learn what liberal talk show hosts go through all the time"

    Good to see that left-winger compassion, you hypocritical a-hole.

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  32. 4:34 PM has it exactly right. None of this has anything to do with running a radio station. It has to do with moving money around. Google up the phrase "strategic bankruptcy" and you'll begin to understand how the Dickeys and those of their ilk play the game.

    It must also be said, counter to Rich's assertions, that KGO was hardly "thriving" in the ratings. The station's downward slide in recent years has not been arrested. In fact, the most recent Arbitron report shows KGO with a weekly "cume" of only 621,000. That's half of what KCBS posts and behind a long parade of "25-54 demographic" stations: KOIT, KNBR, KFOG, "The Bone", K-FOX, K-101, KKSF. Even Spanish-language KBRG shows a cume of 611,00-roughly equal to KGO.

    We can argue as to whether Cumulus made the right changes, but anyone who thinks KGO was in good shape isn't reading the numbers very carefully.

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