Rothmann's Saturday show was initially offered up by KGO as necessary programming because of the COVID-19 virus; it centured on callers and guests discussing virus-related topics --all legit, only KGO failed to promote its Saturday program and had difficulty getting sponsors. Only a NorCal radio company offer to support the show with a limited barter/broadcast deal saved the 5-8 PM program. KGO will now be barren on the weekends.
The move comes at a time when the virus Delta variant is just again heating up and schools are about to open up.
I'm not sure why they have Rottmann at 5-8 PM. I think they would get more listeners at the 7-10 PM slot. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think for a weekday show you are right. Probably not for a Saturday night show. People (at least when things are opened) are out to dinner of movies etc. Don't remember what was in that time slot when KGO was in their hay day. Rich do you remember, I'm sure you do.
Deleteso now there is absolutely no reason to tune into KGO on the weekends.
ReplyDeleteAlways wondered why rothmann wasn't able to keep calmart as a sponser..he used to do at least five plugs a night for them, and then they suddenly became persona non grata and he stopped mentioning them altogether..
ReplyDeleteIt had to be expensive for a relatively small operation like CalMart to advertise on KGO, even if John was not charging for adding his personal endorsement. KGO has an expensive staff & a huge transmitter to pay for. The CalMart store John was advertising doesn't really serve but a portion of Sam Francisco.
DeleteJohn had a show on Saturday?
ReplyDeleteIf his show made money he would still be on air on Saturdays. Radio is a cut throat business.
ReplyDeleteSad. I regularly caught the Saturday show via the John Rothmann podcast. This is not a productive step for trying to resurrect a semblance of the KGO glory which AM 810 used to have.
ReplyDeleteSeems then that Jan Wahl will be losing her KGO perch, on top of the KCBS platform she lost last year.
To make weekend programming affordable to Cumulus, how about a voluntary paid membership to KGO (like PBS does) at a suggested $5-10/month. If nobody at KGO wants to run such an operation, perhaps Bob Crane would do so in combination with his still underwriting the show with ads. KGO has a very large and dedicated listenership that I suspect is able and willing to pay if they understand that this would make live KGO programming continue to be possible on the weekends. If that still doesn't bring in enough money, perhaps John in combination with Pat Thurston might consider a weekly podcast from their respective homes. The Anchor Podcast app is free and easy to set up (https://anchor.fm/) per film director Michael Moore who does a podcast of his own (https://rumble.media/). That app can be combined with Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/) if the show needs to be monetized further. Of course, the podcast would need to be posted prominently to the KGO website, much like Brian Copeland Show sometimes now is (https://www.kgoradio.com/?s=copeland). However, such "additional content" podcasts should also receive promotion during weekdays. For some reason, that doesn't currently happen with Brian's show.
ReplyDeleteBTW, if KGO is going back to being a complete wasteland on weekends, here is an ever-evolving public webpage of the podcasts I listen to when KGO is not live: https://player.fm/progressivepods/fm/all The page is updated frequently with the latest available podcasts. Yes, KGO's shows appear prominently there. I'm OK with podcasts, but I miss hearing the news on the half-hour and the break-into-programming should some catastrophic event occur.
Fuck 'podcasts'. The appeal of radio is that you flip a switch and it's on. I'm not using a phone/computer/alexa and logging in to this or subscribing to that to listen to a damn radio show.
DeleteI'd rather listen to live talk radio too but on weekends & nights, there is no longer anything decent there. So during off-hours, I listen to various podcasts I've preselected here: https://player.fm/progressivepods/fm/all. No log-in or subscription nec if you just want to play from the continually updated list. It's more work, but you can make your own playlist if you prefer, still without charge. For $5/mo you get added capabilities such as syncing between devices that you likely wouldn't need.
DeleteWith either KGO or podcasts, I stream the audio from my computer using either a CCrane FM transmitter or wireless headphones. If you go the FM transmitter route, be sure to find a YouTube site that will show you how to mod it so you have enough power to transmit to any FM radio throughout the house. If you are afraid of electronics or don't have the skills, find someone that is handy to mod it for you. The difference is day & night.
https://ccrane.com/digital-fm-transmitter-2-for-sending-near-broadcast-quality/
(Mention John Rothmann's Saturday show if you buy one.)
The last thing in the world I want to tune into on a weekend when I'm trying to relax is these conservative robot voiced money managers barking at me about my investing. Fer Chrissakes KGO - lighten it up. Will miss Rothmann, but not his reciting the station phone number every 20 seconds.
ReplyDeleteMuch of KGO's weekend programming tries to sell inappropriate insurance policy "investments" to the masses. At best these financial products are appropriate to only a small subset of the listenership but the infomercials promote them for everyone. KGO and Cumulus should be ashamed of themselves for putting such commission-driven charlatans on the air. Here is a sample of the criticisms others have leveled about some of the worst of this paid programming:
Deletehttps://www.investingadvicewatchdog.com/doug-andrew-missed-fortune-review.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QExFQWV3yvM
Yeah I meant weekdays.
ReplyDeleteI have bouts of insomnia and in the middle of the night I've given up on AM radio. If it's not extreme right-wingers it's Big Foot and alien invasions on COAST TO COAST. I've discovered some pretty good shows on the FM dial, interviews, intelligent presentations on a wide range of subjects, civilized hosts and not the same damn commercials played over and over again.
ReplyDeleteLots of soothing stuff, entertaining and enlightening.
Re: 7:53 AM
DeleteI'm ok with the bizarre stories about UFOs and Bigfoots, but when Coast to Coast brings on the radical right for a segment, click, I'm out.
Working 6 days a week seems a little too much to expect, even for the energetic Mr. Rothmann. Were I doing KGO's programming, I'd focus on expanding his show to 4 hours in the evening, and like they've already done, cancel the Saturday show. In any event the John Rothmann show would ideally be in the 9 pm to 1 am time slot.
ReplyDelete