Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Ronn Owens Quick Bullet Points; It's All About The Money; And Numbers Too


*He has a lot of overhead --needs to get paid so coming out now, the timing, as many have speculated here and other places, makes perfect sense. Don't believe for a second he did it because of Robin Williams --baloney.

*His contract is up soon and although there's an option, his ratings are terrible --how bad? The sad sack opposite him at KSFO is beating him and has younger listeners. All Cumulus has to do is simply not renew his contract. It's all business and the Parkinson's disclosure will not affect that move, remember, this is Cumulus.

*He still makes a lot of money for the company and that might propel him an extension of his current deal but probably only for a year. With a buyout. Cumulus has all the leverage here as they did with Ralph Barbieri but Barbieri had an existing contract. Owens's deal is coming up.

*He once told Gene Burns at a lunch at North Beach Restaurant that he couldn't work for 300 grand and that he'd probably quit. The only reason he's still working is he managed to get a better deal at a much less lengthier time. 2 years and an option. He said it himself: he has no hobbies except doing a talk show, traveling and eating good food and drinking expensive wine. He still has a mortgage on his home. He needs the money too.

*He's nowhere near the top of his game but he can still do a decent interview every now and then and, as I said, he makes money for the company. His popularity has dwindled as has his numbers --like everything else his future at KGO will be determined by two men in Atlanta.

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16 comments:

  1. WTF?? Get over it and move on........enough already.

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    1. Here Here I agree....enough already!!

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  2. I enjoy Ronn. Ronn is an institution. I can't believe Spencer has better ratings. My opinion on that is that a lot of people are turned off by his current format. It used to be a 3 hour show, 1 guest per hour. Now it's 15 minutes here.....20 minutes there.....a guest for 30 minutes...and sprinkle in commercials that take up 30 minutes of an hour. Go back to the old format and you'd see success again.

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  3. Some guys just don't know when to leave.

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  4. I hope they renew his contract because I still like his show. I don't care if his timing about announcing his illness is connected with his wanting to retain is job or not. I think he helped a lot of people by doing it and if I am ever diagnosed with Parkinsons I will be less afraid, thanks to Ronn. I think radio has diminished in popularity and even icky, but popular Rush Limbaugh's show has lost viewers. Ronn has had a fabulous career and I'm hoping for more.

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    1. Well said, 8:00 PM. I completely agree.

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  5. He had quarters last year where he had 0.0.

    How can Spencer not?

    I don't wish ill will on him or anyone else, but that doesn't mean he's not a complete bore.

    He works for around $350k now. He deserves about 80 grand.

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  6. I cry crocodile tears for this man. He has a mortgage. So what? We all have to pay to live somewhere. Is living elsewhere besides snobby Marin County beneath him? Does he have to eat at restaurants with white table cloths and servers who kiss his ring all the time? A lot of people in the Bay Area have been through the job ringer and have had to make sacrifices. Too bad Matress Man. See how your former colleagues have had to scramble like a quarterback facing a blitzing linebacker. That's gonna be you soon. And you and wifey may wind up living in...shudder the thought...Santa Rosa... or...gasp...the East Bay. Deal with it. Like most of us. Enjoy that overpriced swill and grub. Nothing is forever.

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  7. Give the guy a break. Yes, he's getting long in the tooth and I immediately turn him off when it comes to any Mid-east references, guests--especially John Bolton! His comparison to the new terrorist group in the mid-east and Nazi's is absurd. He just LOVES doing it. But radio IS radio and when you go, as we found out with Gene, Gil, Ray, Joannie--your're gone and no on-air thanks yous!

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  8. Hey Rich, why do you like to spend so much time skewering this guy? I get the feeling he did you some wrong turn years ago and this is pay back? Am I right? As far as his future goes, everyone has to leave radio eventually. Ronn has had a long, distinguished career at KGO, but when it's time to go, it's time to go. His constant rants about how Israel is totally justified in bombing Gaza are getting really tiresome. He is obviously not as sharp or as interesting as he used to be, witness the alarming drop in the ratings. But your constant ripostes about the man, many of which are downright mean spirited and over the top smack of petty, juvenile behavior that is even beneath you Rich. Why don't you do us all a favor and lay off the man? Find someone else to rip.

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  9. Lieberman can not conceal his animosity toward all the big successful stars of bay area media like Owens and Lieberman. Envy is never pretty.

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  10. I too feel the constant bashing of Ronn Owens is tiresome, a lot of it is speculation, as for his motives etc. I never think it is a good idea to guess about peoples motives, especially people in the public eye, we can only observe from a distance. I don't get the problem with his mattress commercial, every radio host does commercials, some have their favorite, but they all do it, Savage, Rush, Hannity, Gene Burns use to do them, at it seems every host has some that are favorites, so harping constantly about Ronn and his mattress commercials, seem pointless. Other hosts do the Sleep train commercial, what exactly is your problem with Ronn and his Sleep Train commercials.

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    1. Because Ronn would trick his guests into doing the commercials and delight in catching them off guard.

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    2. So, what is your point. It is not a sin, he is trying to be creative. I don't care for that format myself, except a few gems (did you hear the one he did with Carol Channing, just hilarious), I don't listen to any particular host based on how they do their commercials, I listen based on how the conduct a talk show.

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  11. Why is that if you disagree with someone politically you call them names and try to assassinate their character? Happy and fulfilled people don't do that. Do you hate yourself or your life so much that you feel this angry? Why not have intelligent debates instead of all of this anger and vitriol? Our country is falling apart at the seams because people don’t do more of that. We all have the same wants and needs as human beings. Why not try to close the gap between people instead of dropping explosives into it? I know you won't post this, and that's okay. I just want you to know that you don't have to tear other people down to make yourself feel better. Deep down you know you are better than that. I truly believe that. Somewhere along the way, you just got lost. You must have been really hurt by someone, and I am sorry for that. Wishing you happiness, joy, peace, and love.

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