I hope you all noticed a comment from T4 in Rockwall a couple of posts ago:
"Concerning the TuneIn app, I took this from the DFW Radio Forums:
"http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=211872.0
"In short, the TuneIn app will apparently not be carrying The Ticket after a certain time and will be carried on the iHeart app."
Confessor Shaggy responded that that is "awful, awful" news.
Shaggy, it's worse than you think. The day is coming when iHeart will be your sole app for The Ticket.
I don't get much industry info, but I did hear from someone I would classify as an industry guy, who reported that the culprit here is only one-foot-three.
Yep, you have SweetJack to thank for the shrinking Ticket listening area. Actually, a little further down on that message board that T4 linked to, you'll see this, which confirms the information I received:
"It has to do with SweetJack. The deal requires Clear Channel to start promoting SweetJack while Cumulus goes onto iHeartRadio. My understanding is that SweetJack hasn't been completely rolled out yet. The original plan was that Cumulus would go onto iHeartRadio around the same time Greater Media arrived. Then, they said it would be sometime this month. I guess they're technically still on schedule, but I was under the impression it would be closer to May 1."
There are two horrifying things there: (1) The deliberate, knowing reduction by Cumulus of the ability of P1s to hear The Ticket, and the CTO's apparent lack of any concern for Ticket listeners. (2) The possibility that SweetJack "hasn't been completely rolled out yet."
Watch this space. I've got an STD in the oven.
OK, this is gonna sound like the dumbest question ever, but here goes: what's Sweetjack? I read each post that you come up with, and each time, there's a reference to something called Sweetjack. I vaguely recall it being a commercial or something like Groupon, but there are hundreds of commercials on the Little Ticket. Why focus on that one? What am I missing?
ReplyDeleteSweetJack is a Cumulus-owned groupon-type thing. That's why the commercials are played over and over and over.
ReplyDeleteAs for SweetJack not being completely rolled out, I took that to mean it hasn't been rolled out on Clear Channel stations. It seemed like the deal was, Cumulus goes to iHeartRadio and Clear Channel starts running SweetJack ads.
ReplyDeleteI use TuneIn if I'm on a WiFi network, FStream the rest of the time. And what's wrong with iHeart Radio? Just worried about more Sweet Jack ads or general lack of concern for the P1?
ReplyDeleteNo record function.
ReplyDeleteWith TuneIn I can have it start recording at 5:35 to catch the end of the 5 minute ticker, then start The Musers while I'm still sleeping. Then I can start the process of catching up on my way to work, alternating between listening "live" and then listening to what I missed during commercial breaks. I use Norm's timeslot to catch all the way up, then record BaD Radio if I'm unable to listen at work.
Plus, it's always good to have options anyway.
Okay. Overreaction Alert:
ReplyDeleteIf you combine the horrendously f'd up move, the apparent CTO indifference, the lack of accountability, the stream issues that seem only to worsen and will continue to do so, the new hoops the stream listener will have to jump through, and now the revelation that Sweet Jack's reign of terror has only just begun... Does someone like Mike R or a Dunham or a Miller say "enough, I'm out"? Or does it make it a lot easier for a Bob or a Dan to (not necessarily both) to jump ship? Dunno.
Looking forward to the STD, Plainsman...
ReplyDeleteI believe iHeart does have a record function.
ReplyDeleteI downloaded iHeart for iOS and I can't find a record function. It looks like a decent enough app, I'm just morally opposed to being told that I can no longer use what I've been using for quite some time and must now use something under tight corporate control. Granted, this is their sandbox and they can decide who gets to play, especially when it's a free (well, advertiser-supported) product, but I don't have to like it.
ReplyDeleteRemember, it's Sweet Jack, and it's a real sweet deal!
ReplyDeleteEverything worked perfectly until Mike and Cash Sirois started touching all the equipment. They abuse that stuff more than their own hang-downs. Fact: Lithuians are notoriously hard on technology and their own bodies.
ReplyDeleteThat may be one of the strangest comments we've ever gotten, Geographically-Challenged Department. Always nice to hear from insiders.
ReplyDeleteThe Lithuian Anti-Defamation League is not going to be happy.