how WCBS Radio could make a difference.........

I was totally underwhelmed at the "news" that WCBS-AM in NYC actually bothered to announce that its Yankees broadcasts would be "simulcast" on WCBS-FM HD-3.

Another typical corporate radio announcement. As if that would make people, at least those who understand what HD Radio really is, run right out and buy one to hear the same thing they already get on 880 AM.

Yet, to me, WCBS actually could make this newsworthy. For that matter, they could also do the same with the Chicago White Sox broadcasts (which are on CBS' WSCR Chicago). What could they do?

They could use these HD channels to replay the broadcasts. I've said this for months. HD Radio could bring innovation to over-the-air radio if only they would.

WCBS and WSCR (and other CBS stations with sports rights) should devote an HD channel to strategic replays of their teams broadcasts, or even to part of them.

Part of them? Let me explain.

Weeknight sports events run too late for many in the workforce who have to get up early on a weekday morning and can't always stay up to watch or listen to their team's games. This is especially true for the Yankees and east coast sports fans, where many road games don't begin until after 8:00.

When the Yankees play at the Angels or A's, the games don't even start until after 10:00 on a weeknight and often run until 1:00 AM.

Here is my point. The HD channel could and should serve as a way for WCBS to serve the Yankees fans. (This is the example for other teams and stations) My idea is for them to replay the entire game after it ends, and then replay the final hour of the game until about Noon the next morning. Why the last hour?

This way, fans would be able to get up in the morning and hear the last couple of innings and get a recap of the details of the game. From a New York standpoint, this could keep Yankees fans from tuning into WINS in the morning to get the final score - or to a non-CBS station. Even if they would tune into WFAN or a CBS station, their tuning into the HD channel keeps them in the family and on their "Yankees station".

In Chicago, WGN Radio, not a CBS station, has been the dominant morning station for the past 30 years. Replaying the last hour of a late White Sox game could keep listeners away from the CBS Radio competition, while better serving the team's fans.

Just to complete the day, I would replay the entire game starting at Noon, and then again around 3 PM. Some could listen on their way home, too. I would have to think the game advertisers would like the additional exposure that replaying their commercials would bring.

Let's make this happen. THAT would be a news announcement!

Change format - change language?

Format changes with no warning are one thing. I'm sure it has happened to all of us at some point. You tune "back in" to a favorite station and then wonder "What the x%$# is this?" and discover the format you enjoyed is now history. Many times a station will air a song or even a varied format to have a transition between formats and keep the audience and the competition guessing.

But this one takes the cake, even in the state of over-the-air radio today. KMVK 107.5 in Dallas, known as "Movin' 107.5" did a different sort of "Movin'" on Tuesday. They not only suddenly made a format change, they changed languages.

The R & B station was in the middle of a song ("Vogue" by Madonna) when it suddenly cut off. After a moment of silence (and how literal of a term is that for a radio station these days?), on came another song - in Spanish. "Mega 107.5" was born.

Given that nearly 25% of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex population is Spanish, the move itself is not that surprising. How abruptly it took place is.

Within minutes, the station also flipped its web site over to reflect "Mega1075.com". The "Movin'" air staff, including the morning personality Chris Shine, appear to have been let go. Or should I say, told adios.

Classic recorded rock radio

Who needs reality TV when even successful radio stations provide the drama? Days after another monthly ratings success comes out for Milwaukee's classic rocker WKLH, especially for their long running morning show, here come some schedule changes that only a radio station could bring us.

The station is returning popular Patti Genko to its airwaves. Sort of a "back by popular demand". However, the popular demand was not for a voice tracked show on weeknights from 9 until midnight. Why voice tracked? Because Patti continues her midday jazz show on sister station WJZX-FM from 10 AM to 2 PM each weekday.

So let's get this straight. Her show on one of the market's highest rated station will be voice tracked so that her show on the jazz station can continue to be done live.

To make room for the 9 to midnight voice tracked show, KLH is moving the syndicated Alice Cooper radio show out of that slot. And right into the almighty Midnight to 3 AM slot. I'm sure the syndication company is jumping for joy about that.

That move would leave only 3 to 5 AM for an overnight host. So we can't have that. The station now fills that time with a replay of Steve Palec and his "Legends of Rock" show. Not a replay from weeks or months gone by. A replay of the same show which aired from 7 until 9 PM, as a lead in to Patti Genko's voice tracked show. Yes, in stealing a chapter from cable TV, it's a case of exactly the same programming airing 8 hours later on a regular basis.

No wonder the morning show is so popular. For now, it is done live and is fresh every day. With some perserverance, that concept could make it in over-the-air radio.

Personalities? It's the commercial clusters!!

I have read several articles, even more than usual, over the past couple of weeks with understandably negative comments about the drastic reduction in truly local programming in seemingly every radio market. And I understand that.

People like the local touch that radio used to bring. Heck, I remember hearing "lost dog" announcements on smaller and even medium market stations even into the late 70's. Before there were search engines, people would sometimes call a local radio station for community information. The music stations would talk about appearances by the station's personalities, many of which were within a few miles of home. You would sometimes be able to think "I know where that is! Let me see if I can get over there.....". And, yes, that is missing and non-existent in some markets.

But I don't see that as being the most pressing problem with radio. Personally, I'm not listening because the local touch has been lost. That is further down on the list of reasons.

I will tell you what is first. Sure, there needs to be commercials. I have always understood that somebody has to pay the bills. But over the past few days, I have been hit hard with the realization of how much more commercial time is sold on almost every station. Therein lies the problem. The number one problem, in my opinion.

Part of my job is to review and help produce the radio airchecks from the 60's, 70's, and 80's, which are available from RadioRecordings.com via http://MajorLeaguePrograms.com . In listening to many of them, I was overwhelmed at the number of times I would listen through commercial breaks and think "that was quick!" when the music started up again. It finally hit me. Back in the day, it wasn't "quick". A commercial break very rarerly went more than 2 minutes. And I could easily live with that. But no more.

Hearing Tom Jones on KSTP Minneapolis in the early 70's saying "and this hour you will hear 56 minutes of music!!" constantly summed it up. He would have 3 or 4 stops for commercials that hour, and get right back into the music. The format flowed. Now, each stop for commercials goes at least 3 or 4 minutes, and that is way more than once per hour. That is the real killer for the listeners.

Frankly, it doesn't matter if the program comes from across the street or 2,000 miles away. If the commercial breaks are going to be 5 minutes long twice an hour, and the same 500 songs keep playing over and over and over again, it could be anybody.

I stopped wondering why advertisers are reducing if not dropping radio time. If yours isn't the first or second spot, it doesn't matter anymore. People aren't sticking around to hear it.

Is it really promoting the competition?

It seems that what's left of the CBS Radio empire has gone back to some level of cross-promotion among its cluster of stations. It has been going on in Chicago off and on over the past couple of years. The news station will run a spot for a music station, and occasionally cross promote sports broadcasts with the all-sports station in the cluster.

Yet, in New York, I saw the story that WFAN's Mike Francesa was "annoyed" to hear a promo air during this afternoon drive show for sister FM station WXRK's afternoon show, now hosted by Chris Booker.

Years ago, I felt the same way. There was always the "Why send any listener elsewhere at any time?" vibe felt throughout the station. I remember being stunned back in the 70's when a Chicago "beautiful music" station (oops - showing my age again) traded out with Newsradio 78. Each did a "When you want the news........." or "When you want to hear beautiful music...." type spot. I understood they were not competition, but was still opposed to it because it could send listeners in another direction. What if they can't find their way back? They could stop on another station before they get to yours on the return.

But just as my views on certain things have done a 180 over the years, I would have to say I have done that here. It has nothing to do with clusters doing what is now cross promotion. (The 70's incident I referred to was with different ownership, back in the day when one owner could only have a maximum of one AM and one FM in a single market.)

Now, it is radio competing against the alternatives which have come along. The playing field is way different. The idea is to keep people listening to the radio, moreso than one station vs. the next. I get it.

This is a way to try and combat my point that if radio had maintained a strong level of programming there wouldn't be this much "competition" for my ears.

So if one AM or FM station can point out a program that could be of interest and keep my attention on the radio, I see the purpose. It is no longer "which station?" but a matter of if I, or others, would be willing to turn on the "regular" radio.

Personally, I was born and bred on radio. Back to my days in grammar school of having a 20 foot transmitter kit in my bedroom and putting the microphone up against my turntable speakers to host "my" radio show every weekend. Coming home at lunch to listen to a few songs. The whole story, while knowing at the time I wanted to work in the industry.

But I fast forward 40 years. As I write this, it is mid-afternoon of a typical weekday to my ears.
I woke up this morning to a classic rock FM station, and listened for 15 minutes while I shaved, showered, and got dressed to start my day. I get the weather and a couple of headlines and a set of 3 or 4 songs every morning.

Since then, I listened to satellite radio for 45 minutes on my way in (Howard Stern, if you need to know what), and I have since listened to over 6 hours of an internet music channel online at my desk. When I went out for lunch and to run an errand, I heard about 45 minutes of tunes on my MP3 player.

Stern is gone from over-the-air and successfully taken his show to a better venue. He is the majority of the reason I pay for satellite radio. The songs I heard over the hours online and, of course, on my MP3 player, are mostly songs I don't hear anymore (if at all) on the radio, but did when they first came out.

Years ago those 7 hours of my day would have easily been spent on a couple of radio stations with no questions asked, and back the next day for more. No more. Yet, if radio had maintained the true local personality and more thorough playlists, along with shorter and more reasonable commercial breaks, I wouldn't have thought of spending money on satellite and an MP3 player and music I want to hear on it.

As a result, I understand completely that if I'm listening to WFAN for sports talk, maybe I'd want to hear Chris Booker and his knowledge on K-Rock (or whatever they are calling it with this week's format) when I'm done listening to sports talk. It would keep me away from the "competition", which is no longer AM and FM radio.

more Radio Recordings on the way

Thanks to those of you who noticed that we are re-structuring our RadioRecordings airchecks series. I'm pleased to say that we are on target for our Feb. 1st "re-launch", so please do check back next week!!

We have a few more from Chicago, Los Angeles, and St. Louis in particular that I think you will find interesting.

More bad publicity for the radio industry

Just as the radio industry needs all the strength and help it can get in order to survive in this economy come two stories which will not only impact the lives of a lot of people around the country, but will also have (another) negative impact on radio advertising and revenue.

Now comes word that The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) announces it is laying off ten percent of its staff, with a hiring and salary freeze as well.

So let me get this straight. Does this mean that the radio stations, which need all of the favorable publicity and image they can get in front of potential advertisers, can no longer afford to keep their collective publicity machine alive? Some message this sends to ad agencies and local advertisers. The organization responsible for materials and publicity about what makes radio a potentially good source for advertising is having financial problems. This makes a tough job even tougher, at the worst possible time. Ouch.

Meanwhile, the word is that on Tuesday, while the nation is focused on Inauguration Day, that "Clearance Channel" (as I call it) will announce significant employee and air talent reductions across the country. Considering they already use voice tracking in markets as large as Detroit and Chicago, I'm afraid to think of how much worse things will turn within the next week.

I suppose when you have one executive running 5 stations in the same market, each station only gets 1/5 of the effort. But the wrong people suffer on this. And that includes the listeners.