My Ticket Confession congratulates The Ticket on this move. Although apparently they’re dragging the other raggedy-ass Cumulus properties along with them. One would like to think that this was an acknowledgement of The Ticket’s contribution to Cumulus’s bottom line and an enhancement of the broadcast quality. But no, sounds more like their lease was up and they got a deal.
So although it’s great news – we want our favorite hosts to operate in attractive surroundings – I’m not entirely sure why it should be cause for celebration among the P1 Nation. I guess we’re all expecting that the technical issues that plague The Ticket – signal aside – will abate. Is there any reason to believe this? Has anyone heard that the move will involve improved hardware or software? Isn’t it a lot more likely that they’re just going to move their stuff from the old place to the new place? I didn’t hear the announcment on the station, I’m just reading the publicly released stuff, so maybe something was said about getting some new stuff. But I think it’s more likely that we’ll hear even more technical screwups than we hear every day as they work out the bugs in the new studios. I hope not.
(And by the way – why isn’t there a link to this announcement on http://www.theticket.com/? )
And I’m wondering whether the lessor’s agent maybe needs to get clued in to the new tenants’ actual business. From the release:
“Brokaw said about 85 people will work in the new Cumulus office. ‘It will bring more people to the district,’ he said. ‘It provides Cumulus with a great venue for people to come see their programs.’”
Brokaw needs some gentle instruction on the nature of freakin’ RADIO. And broadcasting from the Old No. 7 Club or the AA Center is going to be just as much a remote as it is now.
At least the hosts can now park in the P1 Garage they’re always flogging.
In any event, I’m a lot more interested in the pending AM power increase, the details of which have been unearthed by the Incomparable AP and reported in a comment to Your Plainsman’s article here (see Comment 10). This power increase is of particular interest given Greg “Greggo” “Hammer” Williams’s move to drive time on 100,000-watt The Fan 105.3 and a fairly direct challenge to The Hardline. I’ll have more to say about that in future articles.
In any event, I hope the move goes well and that I’m wrong about just rearranging the ENCO on the Titanic.
The Ticket already has a small "storefront" at Victory that they've broadcasted from before. I'm sure that's what Brokaw is talking about- a studio where any of the stations can broadcast from, interact with AAC crowds, etc...
ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of that.
ReplyDeleteRemotes with admiring P1's are one thing; broadcasting a reg'lar showgram behind a plexiglas barrier is another. I can't imagine that the showgrams are going to want to broadcast from a venue where Sean and Tiffany Tourist-Stroller can stare perplexedly at them as they broadcast fart-drops out onto the Plaza.
But it will be fun to see them try. I wish them the best. Thanks again for the data, Anon.
But think about the exposure that Channel 8 gets with doing the news in a street level studio.
ReplyDeleteNow picture the Ticket down there for Stars and Mavs games, the Wolf down there for country concerts, i93 down there for Gaga, Usher, concerts, etc. Great visibility to target markets, etc...
And trust me, "what they want" doesn't matter much. They don't want to broadcast from a Sprint store, they do it becaus ethe stations is making thousands of dollars to do so.
If Dan, Cat, etc think that them broadcasting with Sean and Tiffany staring at them will getthem publicity or exposure, well, Hello Tiffany...
So after thoroughly poo-pooing on the move announcement (which was no doubt penned by a Cumulus director in Atlanta and aired only by executive decree), Rhynes did briefly mention the FCC permit to increase the signal. He also said something to the effect of "Now see, wouldn't that information have been of more use to the P1?"
ReplyDeleteI did briefly wonder about the following though: does the KTCK mothership's proximity to the AAC put it in contention to become the next radio partner for the Mavericks?
Ap:
ReplyDeleteUh, no.
They're in tehmiddle of a multi year deal with the Stars, and there's too many conflicts between Stars and Mavs games on the same night.
And the reason they're not talking more about the power increase is simple- they want to wait until there's actually some kind of difference they can point out to people, rather than oversell and have people be disappointed later...
I don't know how many different Confessors comment here under the name "Anonymous," but at least one of them -- you, most-recent Anonymous -- seem rather knowledgeable about matters Ticket, and you also write well. You may be an insider or someone who is acquainted with insiders, both categories being especially welcome at My Ticket Confession. Your comments about broadcasting behind street-level plexiglas make sense. Thanks for checking in.
ReplyDeleteThanks also to AP for reporting on Mike R's reaction. I think one reason for not announceing anything about a power upgrade is that (1) they probably don't have final regulatory approval yet, and (2) even after they do, they won't just be able to flip the switch -- probably some more tinkering to do to engage the 25KW turbo.
Also, I got the impression from The Musers' discussion this morning, combined with Anon's remarks, that they're going to be getting some new hardware in their new installation.
Junior also said something that I had thought when I heard about this, which was that the new digs and environs might kick some of the showgrams in the ass, infuse some new energy into some complacent hosts. (Junior didn't say anything about complacent hosts.)
But Mike R is right -- a better signal is a lot more important to P1's than new studios.
I still think they should switch the FM signal to 93.3.
And a special thanks to P1 Steven, who linked to this site on two comments left at different articles at the Dallas Observer.
KISS (YUCK) has been doing their morning show in front of the public for years. Im sure any exposure is good exposure. Feel bad for those evening show or even BAD. How is that traffic going to be in the afternoon? I guess it wont be much more/less than what they are working with a few blocks away. Does this mean they will be doing more mixes with channel 8 personalities? I do think that the Victory Plaza will be a good venue for various bits...BTW I recently had a short tenure at NAGA THAI in Victory Park as a bartender. That place is a ghost town.
ReplyDeleteI would assume Gordon's relationship with Channel 8 will definitely have implications as far as getting people like Delkus on for shits and giggles.
ReplyDelete