KGO isn't alone--KNBR --the all-sports outlet, consistently runs well over thirty minutes of ads per hour on its morning shows and in the afternoon drive too. That doesn't include updates (from 24 hours earlier) and traffic.
The few people that actually listen to AM radio are becoming fewer. Talk radio, especially sports-talk radio still drives the AM listenership with heavy emphasis on local traffic but with the commercial blitzkrieg in full mode people are turning the dial--lots of people. Satellite radio and the Internet have seen dramatic upswings in listeners --as the economy gets better, satellite is more popular. There's a few ads on its platform but nowhere near the time allotted on commercial radio.
I told a KNBR host in a personal conversation that the endless ads might be a boom today for the sales department but that eventually people will turn away and some will do so permanently. There's simply too many alternatives out there. Cumulus, which owns KGO and KNBR (in addition to KFOG, KSFO, KNBR 1050, and The Bone--107.7 FM) seems not to care about its audience base. I mentioned fewer people are listening to radio. Advertisers know that. You 415 Media readers, tell me if the current deluge of ads has altered your listening habits.
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Regarding ads on Ronn Owens, imagine if you were a client who bought spots on his show, and your ad ran as the 6th element in an 8-element stop set. It would be so buried that even reaching the audience that hadn't dialed out, those few who were remaining would have the ad mentally tuned out.
ReplyDeleteOur company was approached by a KNBR host and asked if we had ever considered radio advertising for our business. His initial rates and frequency sounded interesting, but if you don't want to be the 6th or 7th element as you note above the rates go up 30-50%, if you want the host to personalize the ad that is another 25%, and if you want to proof and approve of the ad, forget it.
DeleteI'm stuck with terrestrial radio and listen in the car and home, primarily to KNBR. I do switch to anything else when the commercials and non stop updates and traffic come on. Actual content is few and far between now. Does satellite offer local sports programming?
ReplyDeleteSwitching does no good. Seems everyone goes to commercial at the same time. I'm told that's deliberate
Delete10:04 - you asked if satellite offers local sports programming. The answer is "yes" if you're asking about the games themselves. If you're asking about local inane SF based "commentary" by Murph and whomever, the answer is "no," but would you actually be missing anything without them.
DeleteThe only local radio I listen to is KCBS. Everything else is satellite or streamed.
Former 43-year listener of KGO: no longer listen due Cumulus' purge. I do like one host, but I won't listen because I'm tired of the Car for Kids and other ads, and the deluge of ads. Podcasts have replaced KGO for me ~ and, no, I don't listen to KGO podcasts, and it is way better. I can get university lectures, podcasts on specific topics, and I can listen to my favorites mostly without commercials (except for the ones done by hosts), including Roger Hedgecock. I also listen to John Batchelor on podcast and have done so for years. The majority of my news consumption in print is from Europe and Asia. American media are more of a joke than even state-run enterprises, and that especially includes TV and radio where hosts are overpaid and the reporting ranks are gutted. Oh, I'll hear Cars for Kids in my grave. That proves how much I listened to Cumulus, run by a bunch of Neanderthals. I say this, as a Prius-driving conservative (my town car is almost a classic convertible, for you Neanderthals who will write nonsense like "you can't be a conservative if you drive a Prius." Conserving money is conservative, morons). I also like Savage 60 percent of the time. Lately, his outrage at the lack of outrage of new pogroms against Jews, now expanded to include Christians in the Middle East, is lacking in American "free" media. Used to listen to KNBR, but are you kidding? You think the juvenile hosts (mostly) on KNBR are worth listening to an onslaught of mind-numbing commercial garbage when there is Sirius NFL and many other options? I don't mind some ads. I don't like drowning in them. KNBR's hosts are children compared to major players. Change them, and I might listen, but they will have to be compelling to down all that commercial crap.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with everything you said.
DeleteAnother Savage Nation fan here, but sadly I never listen. Why? Because I have Sirius XM which came with my car and I love it. I'm a huge music fan.
DeleteAbsolutely the ads have changed my listening habits, especially the annoying “Kars For Kids” ads. I leased a new car in December which came with 3 months of XMSirius and I rarely listen to local AM and FM anymore. While the local news & sports component is missing, I’m so fed up with the ads on terrestial radio that I happily listen to rock music, Stern and CNN for news. I will gladly pay for a year’s subscription next month @$99 per!
ReplyDeleteEasily as bad as Kars for Kids are the Sleeptrain ads with the sad children saying things like, "Nobody likes me," "I'm miserable." "I just want to be normal!" Do they really think this is going to get people to feel generous???
DeleteNot only are there too many commercials, but they shout out their telephone numbers at least three times at the end
ReplyDeleteKGO should tout itself as "All commercials, all the time" because that is what has become of this sorry station.
I got a big kick out of Angie bringing up the subject of vitamins and supplements and how they are proven most times as worthless. This was immediately after the Purity drone last Sunday.
> Not only are there too many commercials, but they shout out their
Delete> telephone numbers at least three times at the end
Yes, that always makes me laugh. Who is going to grab a pen or smart phone as they're driving 70 miles per hour down I80 and write down the number? Well, some idiot might, and they'll end up being the top story on the news that night.
And tests have shown that people forget those numbers 20 seconds after hearing them if they don't write them down, no matter how many times you repeat it.
I work at home most days, and used to listen to Radnich in the AM and Tom Tolbert in the afternoon. Not anymore.
ReplyDeleteAlso, whenever I'm driving and turn the radio on to KNBR (which used to be a lot, now, not so much...) it seems like I'm always catching them as they're going to traffic and then an endless onslaught of commercials.
So I'm listening to more KCSM (when they're not playing soft or fusion jazz) and college radio again...
Yes, KNBR is losing me big time.
KNBR must think its listeners have short term memory. At the end of the hour on the Murph & Mac Show, they have their top 6 sports stories, followed of course by ads. So what comes after the ads? Sports update with Kate Scott, with the same news items just provided by Murph.
DeleteYes Rich, I am and it has.
ReplyDeletePretty soon you'll start hearing Spanish language commercials during your liberal talkfests as that is who the party caters to now and going forward.
It's getting bad on TV, too. Shows are supposed to be about shows, not ads. Unfortunately, clever program editing has shrunk shows - new and repeats - from their original air time to about 1-2 less so they can air more ads. It's reckless, and yes, it's definitely driving viewers away. Advertising lots its ethical taste years ago.
ReplyDeleteCars for Kids, immediate tune-out.
ReplyDeleteThe cymbal hi-hat is sufficient warning.
Delete4:03 PM LOL! Touch that dial, cue the off switch!
DeleteSame here. Instant station-change. I usually go to NPR. I'll listen there for a while, switch back to KGO, get ANOTHER commercial. Then I'll tune back to NPR and stay there.
DeleteI switched to Sirius Radio last year. I only listen to KNBR when there's a game on,,,, The number of ads is atrocious
ReplyDeleteIn the car,I never listen to KNBR. Wait through those breaks for AM?
ReplyDeleteSecond,since I know nothing of Cumulus's other markets,do you think the local suck every penny approach is caused by the Giants? As the Giants are part owner of KNBR, with that sell,sell,sell, fitting what Larry Baer has going over in the Giants organization. What did I hear about the Giants store online offering Buster Posey's old worn batting glove for $200 Or even a used Posey paper napkin for $2.00?..just crazy make- a- buck- offerings?
The perfect storm of Dickey bros. and Larry Baer Giant success?
I believe it's the other way around, Stan -- KNBR owns a slice of the Giants.
DeleteDon't all ads drive people away? (The sole exception might be the Super Bowl, where some people tune in *for* the ads, but even they have gotten lame lately.)
ReplyDeleteThere was a study made some time back, and the result was that most audience stayed through about 90-seconds of commercials. Beyond that, however, there was an acceleration of audience falloff.
DeleteBut aside from Satellite radio, that's just the state of terrestrial radio and even other sources of information lately. Has anyone listened to Alex Jones in the last year or two. His whole content is ONE BIG RUNNING INFOMERCIAL. He finds a way to sell his Calcium drinks in the middle of talking ISIS conspiracy. It's a race to the bottom right now to see what the threshold is in how many commercials the general public will be able to stomach before they start tuning out in droves (it obviously hasn't happened quite yet)
ReplyDeleteWow, Cumulus is punishing you,
ReplyDeleteIn Socal there are at least 6 K4K variants.
1. The original super lame version.
2. Heavy Metal version
3. Country version
4. Spooky Version
5. Instrumental only donut version.
6. The "Tim Conway Jr." sing-along version.
Version #1 features vocals by what sounds like a lurking playground pedophile.
DeleteI immediately change the station when Cars for Kids comes on. I can name that tune in one note. The nasty British guy talking about ugly worn-out system pavers also causes an immediate change. And the geico ads get to me before long. I switch to KDFC.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more and I do the same with both those commercials and that's a South African accent for the pavers and it drives me nuts.
DeleteGeico, not so bad... yet.
As a British guy married to a South African, that accent is neither. It is an American trying to fake a British accent and it is a pretty brutal effort.
DeleteThe plethora of ads is a definite turnoff. Not to mention the "quality" of programming. SiriusXM for me!
ReplyDeleteI Tivo the Radnich simulcast and watch it later, fastforwarding through the commercials.
ReplyDeleteIn the car I never listen to KGO or KNBR anymore. I have gone out to run errands and made it home without hearing any programming on KNBR that was it. I stopped listening to KGO when they fired Gene Burns and John Rothman. The way they treated those guys was an absolute travesty
Oh, how I have loved those commercials on KNBR!
ReplyDeleteRick Berry, in his convincing manner, telling us about Dr. Rosanelli hair restoration. The lovely Allison Janney, advising us to "THRIVE!" The ever modest Bob Fitzgerald, sharing his accounts of savings and great customer service satisfaction from a local solar panel company. That poor sickly kid, struggling through the morbid Kars4Kids tune. Grand Pooh Bah Kate T Scott, qualifying her statements with the fact that her "husband" (or is it "wife") has particular vocational experience. From a few years ago: "Mr. T," reciting his kids orders at McDonald's. And the best of them all, "Ralph-A-Roo," waxing poetic about his vegetarianism and Amici's East Coast Pizza!
I gave up on KNBR radio. If their not doing ads, you have to listen to Gary and Larry try and out talk each other. Gary will say, " let's take so and so call, he's been waiting for 45 minutes." I thought it was TALK radio? The listeners aren't doing much of the talking.
ReplyDeleteHave a real long commute (1 1/2-2 hrs each way) and I listen to a mix of 4000 songs on MP3 stick 75% of the time. In the AM I used to turn on 'The Game' (until they recently changed hosts), 1050 (until they recently changed hosts)--so now its music 100% of the time. PM commute-- 'The Game*" (if not west of Concord Weapons Station where signal drops) or KNBR, until someone go to commercial. If other station is also in commercial (which happens a lot) its back to music. During the baseball season I catch all the Giants games but have a CD cue'd up with 1:05 minutes of music cuts, which gets me through the break between half innings commercial free.
ReplyDeleteThe only KNBR show I listen to regularly is Radnich and Krueger. I'm pretty much a loyal listener, though I always reserve the right to stop listening completely if the show gets stale like Radnich's previous show. It's kind of been heading in that direction lately. Gary has been using gimmicks like his new Twitter account to drive content. He does a pretty good job at making planned material seem natural, but it can be exposed when there aren't compelling sports topics to discuss. I guess it's similar to when he would discuss the Kardashians and other garbage pop-culture topics to fill air time. Back a half-decade ago, Bay Area sports was mostly in the toilet. But every major pro team but the Raiders have been successful lately -- and even Raiders are becoming interesting again. With the 49ers in a depressing state -- and Cumulus' ratings tied to their popularity and success -- it must have been tough in recent months for KNBR hosts to keep listeners interested. The Warriors can only take you so far.
ReplyDeleteI commute by train nowadays so am lucky if I hear any KNBR sports talk on my car radio in my 15-20 minutes to the train station. However, I used to travel the 880 corridor from one end of Fremont to the other in rush hour (40 - 45 minutes). On the way home, I was lucky if I got to listen to one really good interview or sports talk segment in the late afternoon.
ReplyDeleteLast week while driving home I endured a segment of ads on the Mr. T show only to get rewarded with Salty proclaiming Buster is the best player in Baseball. OFF.
ReplyDeleteK4K=immediate tune out and have been for better than a year. And the "country version? That's Vic "The Brick" Jacobs-a sports caster out of the prairie of Queens, NY. Listening to that version is like someone scraping fingernails on a chalkboard while driving a nail into my temple. I really want to listen to local (SF) radio but I-JUST-CAN'T. I'm thankful I still have KOZT on car/home. Old radio pros from the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed when Kate Scott does testimonials (and she does a ton) she doesn't necessarily use the product. Since Kate is blessed with 20/20 vision she doesn't need lasik but her wife is happy with her procedure. And since she rents an apartment she probably doesn't need Certa Pro Painting's services but her in-laws are happy customers. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me is the advertisers who shove the same ads, featuring the same copy, for literally years on end. Memo to the Ad Geniuses behind these buys: If I've heard the "Proactive" ad 10,000 over the last 7 years, if you place it twice an hour now ("Have you heard...?") am I really going to now decide to buy it? I mean really; if you're going to spend all that money, update the f*ing copy once in a while. Build some interest. Advance the plot. Give listeners some credit already. But no; Cumulus tells them that people only listen for 10 minutes, and that every day (or every hour, or every week) you get all new listeners. "Prevogen" thinks that they're reaching a new audience, even though their hour-long vitamin ad is the same one they've been running -- week in, week out -- since August of last year. Absolute audience repellant, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteBye, bye AM radio.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's
www.1.fm
or
www.kvin.net
I think I hear about 1 commercial per hour on those stations. Thats do-able.
1.FM has Home Depot commercial. And KVIN.NET has Blue Diamond Almonds.
Kars-For-Kids ...? ... Forget it.
Running the same shiit year after year shows a station in clear trouble.
Its just not worth sitting thru all the ads on KNBR to listen to what is basically a Giants/Warriors/Niners commercial from the hosts. I used to listen to KNBR all day, but I'm now down to the first segment of Gary and Larry (9:04 to 9:20) - provided Kate Scott doesn't interrupt.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree with you more! The programming on KNBR is rarely compelling enough to put up with the excruciating barrage of repetitive ads.
Deletei can only describe many of today's commercials as PUNISHING!
ReplyDeletethey PUNISH the listener not only with the as itself but with the
CONSTANT REPETITION! over & over! switch the station? get
the same treatment or worse!
I see the first hour of Michael Finney's Saturday show is now replaced by "Power Trading" on KGO's weekly schedule. Is KGO kicking another host to the curb?
ReplyDeleteMy car has steering-wheel mounted station change toggle switches. I listen to KNBR and have gotten pretty good at toggling to KQED during the commercials and switching back when they end.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a world where I'd have to listen to all of KNBR's ads - I download the podcasts from select shows and just get the interviews I want.
ReplyDeletejust went to KNBR internet to catch the Giants game, and got surprised. Even though the MLB blackout map shows that I should get the game, KNBR is not broadcasting it in my area. Instead, they are broadcasting NON-STOP ADS. Why would I ever listen to that? They don't even bother to put on any recorded programming, just ads. What oh what are they thinking? Idiots!
ReplyDelete