A home for those who love almost everything about The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM, Dallas-Fort Worth), and who would like to discuss -- respectfully and fondly -- their thoughts on how (and whether) to eliminate the "almost."
Gordon's Grand Tour of the non-Muser programs is an interesting strategy. I love me some Gordon, for sure, but I must say:
Three smartasses on The Hang Zone is one smartass too many. I can count the number of complete sentences uttered during my listen the other day on one hand, the smartass interruptions of one of them cutting off the smartass observations of one of the others.
C.U. Next Tuesday is a decent bit, but I like the rant reunion much better as far as the Gordo tour goes. I can remember specific things that made me laugh from rant reunion the past couple months, C.U.N.T., not so much.
Problem with it being Jake. Whereas Jake is trying to out Gordo, Gordo, Dan want's to show he can both keep up and do it in his own way. That's why The Rant worked. In fact, much of the unique sense of humor that's attributed to Gordo was actually more Corby and Davey. I know, as I tuned in each and every Saturday--hangover or high water. But all three had their own distinct approach, which is what made it special. Now there's also The Mr. Show and the Adult Swim-ish cartoons that were making the rounds during that time, which also happened to be the nascent years of the internet, that pervaded and shaped Gordon's humor. Truth be told, a lot of his humor and comedic stylings are heavily, and I mean heavily, borrowed from The Mr. Show. But unless you were around back then AND were hip to TMS, you would've thought it all came from Gordo. The overwhelming majority of listeners fall into one of these aforementioned categories, hence, Gordo "got away with it." But it is the truth. And that's why it's rather interesting when over the years he accuses others' of imitating him. But that's Gordon. "I'll expose personal details of your life, but mine are off limits."
I agree with you P-Man. I don't really listen to THZ or THL these days but I have tuned in for the Gordo segments a few times or caught them on the Top10 and they allow nothing to breath. If someone stops speaking for a nano second than someone else jumps in with something. I find it a beating. YMMV
Dan and Monty spending the entire show kicking Jake in the balls by telling listeners he’s going to see Yung Gravy is why I listen. My HZ lighter has been up since jump street
FYI, the ratings for Dry Dock were released earlier this week. Both TT and TF cume numbers fell, which is to be expected. TT = 3.8; TF = .9. Yes, you read that correctly, .9. Due to the dead zone nature of this period, the day parts aren't of any interest. Same can be said of the book as a whole. Yet I can't help but think of the potentially wasted opportunity for TF to make some inroads on T listeners during this timefram. Instead, they followed their leader and took yet another hollow "victory lap" and chose to take some well deserved R&R. I mean that first month and change was a grind. And let's be honest, that amount of self back patting, mutual ass sniffing, and fast and furious circle jerking really does take a toll on one's physical and mental well being. So, yes, they did earn that time off.
Also, it's now been established that TF came about via Rhyner and (I believe, now former) iHeart local honcho, Patrick Davis. To say such a deal to occur in a top 5 market is rare would be an understatement. Those endeavors almost always, exclusively, orignate and are worked out from their NYC HQ.
Finally, a pretty solid source told me that the only T ex-pat on the outs with current T hosts is Rhyner. And not all the hosts, at that. As predicted by yours truly, this same pretty solid source also told me that Rhyner has indeed begun (quietly) to make attempts at reconcilliation. Anyone following the principal players on Twitter has surely noticed all veiled and not so veiled digs at TT have all but ceased and desisted. While I can't say that with certainty that's the case on-air, as I rarely tune into TF, the few times I do, I no longer hear mention of TT in a negative sense. Whereas prior to the last (pre DD), disasterous book, the few times I tuned in to TDB I would without fail hear a dig or three. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear Sirois on TT sometime down the road. Julie too, if that's what she wants to do. I could even see a scenario for Danny's return. But like Julie, if that's what he wants -- because neither he nor J would be any better off earnings wise vis-a-vis their former T pay. Ditto Sirois, but S is a thirsty creature. The whole debt/salary-stature/status thing, while true to a certain extent, was more of him finding a reason to make TT/Cumulus to be the villian (and him the victim) in service of justifying what he was involved in behind the scenes with Rhyner. Hence the "we're just good people doing good things" mantra that he kept speweing ad nauseam the first 3 weeks on TF. We humans are predisposed to confession, regardless of our personal beliefs.
@skinwade: “Twitter is for talking shit. I get it. Whatever. But the fact is that the amount of growth our new station has experienced in just four months, one of those including a “dead” holiday month, is really exciting. I love being a part of it. Thank you to those who listen @971TheFreak”
Growth? Ah... betcha it's that old Richie Whitt line from the RaGE days. 'Member? "Ratings don't matter, only ad rev, and our ad rev is up." By "ad rev up" Whitt was deceptive. Because he meant but did not say that the "up" pertained to the amount of ad spots sold, not monies generated. Well, at least in The Freak's case, if ad rev is up it's because they have been basically giving away spots. Regardless, their numbers have yet to beat The Eagle's worst months. No one shills for B&S like B&S. But look, they're --once again, for what, the 8th time now-- fighting for their radio career lives. They know this is it. Has to be, right? It's why they've turned their show into a 3 hour ad spot for their brewery. It's why they've begun positioning themselves as a sports show. They *know*. And they, better than anyone on the local mediascape, know how to work it and work it but good.
That Tweet also reeks of desperation and misplaced focus. When will these Freakers wake up and stop listening to social media? Then again, it was a small but vocal segment of the sosh that helped to put this thing into motion in the first place. Too many Freakers bought way too much into that small but vocal group's fawning and believed that, like Rocco Pendola once did, they would be able to fart and the DFDub would eat it up and ask for seconds. Well, they've pretty much done the former but without the latter results. To quote a certain PM drive host, "Here's the deal": The sosh as a whole while loud and influential does not rep the vast majority of voices out there in the wilds. Freakers are learning this more and more with each new book.
Going to be interesting to see if they can turn this around to any meaningful degree, and if (and that's a huge if) so, how they go about it. Because Tweets like this evince both insecurity and hubris. Portentuous, I'd say.
Respectfully disagree. Ratings matter. But it’s the ability to turn ratings into revenue that (to quote fake Jason Kidd) separates the professionals from the taxpayers. For example, WBAP is not seen as a huge ratings success. But consistently is one of the top billers in the market. It’s 2 things- they have a demo certain advertisers are willing to pay dearly for (older, home owner,lots of retirement money) and they sell the crap out of their weekend programming. We may all laugh at the mortgage hour, but they make a ton of money on those shows. Ratings and revenue are correlated to a certain extent, but good sales teams can punch over their weight class. C
Don't see where anyone said ratings don't matter, C. I wrote that they don't during the dead, holiday period because, well, there's a reason why talent takes that time off. It's the slow season, down period. Other than that, of course ratings matter. I was saying how Whitt used to play semantics games, and that it looks like Skin is taking up that line of bulsh.
^^^^^You should start up that blog. Why are you such a glum chum? A party poopy pooper? Nothing of substance to say? Lack of intelligence, I mean cat, got your tongue? Poor baby. Math is hard for you, isn't it. We know. Don't worry, we're an acceepting bunch. You're A-OK by us, lil' fella.
Reached out to a source who does deep dives into programming numbers. That quote from Skin is in his words”complete, total, unadulterated bullshit. He’s high, delusional, or flat out lying”. Says there is zero demographic measured by Neilsen that’s showing growth. Said they’re down across the board no matter how he slices it. Adults, men, wide demos, narrowed demos, they’re down everywhere. Also pointed out Skin was careful to not be specific. That by imitating Known liar Richie Whitt, if you aren’t specific no one can rebut your generality with specifics to show how wrong you are. C
Ok interesting contrast. Listening to the hardline and perusing Twitter at the same time. Ticket has a promo on talking about their winter weather coverage, and Hardline is live, all be it from their homes. On Twitter, I see tweet that says Downbeat is off today. I can perfectly understand the difference. When you’re 30th in your demo like the Hardline, you Go above and beyond, work thru bad weather, etc. and if you’re the Downbeat and one of the top shows on one of the top stations in the market, you can afford to take a day off. C
You guys are all hilariously wrong! Bahaha. The downbeat debated on air (earlier on other shows) whether they were gonna broadcast or take the day off...first of all the whole day was hilarious. 2nd, it was GRUBES who made the call, and finally...THEY DID BROADCAST LIVE REMOTELY! LOL they came back on via like a merged phone call. It was sweet radio chaos and i loved it...and B&S live streamed driving Julie (in Julie's car) on the ice after her shift. It was awesome wheels off radio
Well, then I'd say it's pretty much official: They either know for certain or have been given a strong indication by someone(s) who they know *knows* what's about to go down -- or rather, flip.
BTW the book will be out next week, I believe.
As I've been saying, The Freak is RaGE writ large. This latest move serves only to prove my point.
Would've, could've been neat to have 2 viable options in the DFW radioscape. Oh well.
Flipped on TF, it's 650p and I'm hearing Danny with others other than M&M. KT specifidally. He's talking about, music. Is this a rerun or live, I haven't a clue. If it is live, man oh man does that say something about M&M. Also says something about Danny (positively) and the others that did decide to work and not take a snow day. Anyone know if this was live or recorded?
They know, right? They have to. It's over. Or soon will be. You don't do what they've done and think, "oh yeah we really got something here." I'll bet these days off and the impending flip have brought about a sense of relief. No more sweating over just how in the hell are we going to kill off another segment, day, week, month. No more convoluted "games." No more ever moronically named segments. "Just let it happen. It's over. Shhhhhh. Don't fight it. It's all over. It's best for everyone."
You’d think if they were still trying to make the freak work, they would’ve broadcasted today. As the musers discussed this morning they always found a way to make it on air. Just seems like they don’t even care. Not broadcasting during dry dock was one thing, but that’s really what they were used to coming from the ticket. Now they aren’t even trying.
These are great days to tune in to me, idk ratings wise, but I love listening on snow days.
Turner's reply in that thread about not broadcasting during the storm: "Tough for us, we don’t have a ton of employees" is the new definition of 'ironic'.
I'm thinking it's either a reboot/rebrand to sports-guy talks and officially compete with The FAN, with a view to ultimately going against The Ticket.....or there's going to be a lineup and/or possibly a name change for the morning show....or an intra show lineup change....perhaps Sirois moving to mornings or some such.....or a new host is being added (perhaps one subtracted too)....or and finally an announcement for some sort of Freak Fest, having the morning show make the announcement in lieu of TDB in hopes of garnering a few extra ears and that maybe a few like what they hear and will begin to tune in. As far as a possible new host......Greggo?????? Move Sirois to the am drive and have a Rhynes, Hammer, Danny pm drive.
To add onto what I just said. I wouldn't put the Greggo thing past them. They really are in dire straits. Why not? He could't possibly f it up anymore that it already is. At this point it's kinda like WTF let 'er rip nothing to lose that isn't about to be lost as is mode.
Ya sure, they're in "dire straights", meanwhile i notice sponsor after sponsor i used to hear on The Ticket is now on The Freak. Look, im not a tickethater but cmon you guys are really out there with the vitrol and wanting them to fail. They arent failing. Not enough data yet, but recent suggests ratings are trending up, but for sure some sponsors have switched and followed them over.
iHeart may have been asleep at the wheel when the Freak was getting set up and off the ground, but they aren’t any longer. No chance in Hades does iHR permit Greg anywhere near their microphones on a regular basis. It’s probably some nothingburger, deck chair shuffling bit of meh. As has already been noted, a shuffling of hosts seems most plausible.
So THAT'S the big announcement? I'm seriously starting to wonder if this is all one big Andy Kaufman-esque, long play gag. They're going to play games on-air and the goal is to be the last host standing, with that host having to work solo the rest of the day? Or does the winner of each game go home? I mean, who gives a f. How moronic. Didn't they all just have a 6 day weekend? This is for real? Wow. Has to be the brain child of Sirois. It reeks of his game/inanely named segment bag.
What are they gonna do to help combat Cowboys training camp? Have Sirois negotiate with the credit card companies to see if he can get a more favorable payment & interest rate?
Ratings are a few weeks out, I think it was due Presidents’ Day, but will be delayed to that Tuesday. But let’s break down this bit. The “hands on a hard body” or “last man standing” is an old bit. Good for listeners if you’re giving them a chance to win a car, etc, but doesn’t translate to radio. Good radio promotions do the 2 obvious things- grow cume or grow tsl. First off, if you’re not already a freak P-1, does this give you a reason to tune in? Do you care about hearing this dirty dozen of folks work together? I’m convinced that the Ticket has learned that people like hearing all the hosts together. Why they promote round tables, the camp out, training camp etc, where they are all on together. But that’s the ticket. Do the Freaks P-1s (both of them?) feel the same about hearing the freak hosts all on together? If so fine, but these people have been on the air less than 6 months. They’re under a 1.0 in the ratings. There’s no sign that the masses are begging for more all hands on deck events. But ok, we’re going to play games and winners go home. So let’s say they do a game an hour. Great for the hosts who get to go home at 8am or 9 am. But how does that benefit the listener? What if (name host You like) is first one out. Why should I stick around if Mike/Skin/name a favorite are off by 8am? Dumb concept, doesn’t drive cume or tsl, this is just what I’ve come to expect from the Freak, C
Considering TF spent it's first month+ doing nothing but host swapping, plus 1, 2, and 3 hosting on each others' shows, and fill out at least one segment per day with a game, I'm not sure exactly how "special" this is. Saying that putting aside C's points. Add to it C's points, and, well, as C said: "this is just what I've come to expect from The Freak."
Bad decision, coach. But hey, they say/do what they want.
At this juncture I'm not sure if even an objective focal point can turn this thing around. I'm coming to the conclusion that what you have here is a roster of talent that isn't very talented. The only viable format that I can see POSSIBLY working and that doesn't upend what they're trying to do is for them to basically become the radio version of The Dallas Observer. That is, only talk sports when either something salacious a la another Jerry fun baby or another White House is erected (pun intended) or if one of the local teams gets into a league championship game/series -- or a controversial national story like Kaepernick. Bone up on and discuss local and ONLY local political issues and stories, and do so from each hosts' genuine perspective, no matter where it lies on the political spectrum (I know TDO is progressive, but you need hosts to be themselves for it to be believable). And discuss the local entertainment and food scene, with a healthy dose of local music. They have TONS of ins with local musicians, actors, chefs, etc. Make use of them. Have them on as guests. Promote shows, new albums/singles, find out about-go see shows--get to know a variety of music scenes and discuss them, etc. THAT'S how you fill up segments, days, weeks, months, and years. THAT'S something that would pull in listeners. But they won't. Danny will try a variety of beans on-air (dreamt up by Sirois, of course) and discuss. Yeah buddy.
We heard Mike Rhyner rail against the "consultants" over the years at the Ticket. Is the Freak Mike's vision of radio without their "advise" or is this Mike S. driven? If he of all people knows better why is he part of this? How long before iHeart either takes over or blows this thing up and starts over?
The Freak is 110% the product of what Mike R has always wanted to do in the medium. He’s spoken many times in the past of his admiration of 80s and 90s Stern. He desperately wants to do Imus/Stern shock jock, “we say what we want” “outlaw radio”. But he’s totally washed, just like Howard. And the people he assembled are the most milquetoast gaggle of suburbanites anyone could imagine. Just the most boring, uninteresting, zero juice group of talkers to steal a paycheck in the history of the market.
The problem with that comment is thst there’s a way of measuring the public interest in a radio show. The public clearly doesn’t view the Ticket hosts as an uninteresting milquetoast gaggle of suburbanites. They may be in reality, but clearly the listeners see them differently. C
The problem with their event is that basically the loser has to entertain the listeners. You win by not getting to entertain the listener. They are punished for staying in air. It’s just an odd dynamic that doesn’t make it seem like they want to be on air.
I totally agree and have said it on some prior posts. Give me a weekly segment (or two) say on Thursdays at 5:30 with any of the following: Sharon Grigsby of the DMN; Jim Schutze, formerly of the DO and the author of The Accommodation, the list goes on and I have typed this before. Be "centric" to Dallas. Hell, bring on Dwayne "I ain't givin' no mo' keys to the city" Caraway! Love that guy. Daron Babcock, founder of Bonton Farms; probably one of the most uplifting and little-known success stories in Dallas.
I read comment after comment here, Tweet after Tweet, and many reddit comments and have my own thoughts about The Freak. Mostly negative on all of the aforementioned accounts. I begin to think, "Do I want this to fail? If so, why? Why do so many others too seem to want it to fail? What's wrong with me, with us?" I think these are valid questions. Why does it mean so much? Why so invested? Truthfully, sometimes I feel ashamed that I engage in any of it.
But when I think about it, I always return to the same conclusion: I don't want The Freak to fail. In fact, I wanted it to succeed. When the news came down, I was genuinely excited. The moment Rhyner's voice came through my speakers, letting me know what was going down and what would proceed to go down from this moment forward had me shouting out, "hell yeah, The OGW is back!." But then day two came and then three and so on, and there was nothing said of substance. Indeed, for two weeks (and for The Down Beat, a month plus) not one show consisted solely of the hosts assigned to it proper. There was zero continuity. Zero content other than back slapping, veiled and not so veiled shots at former employers and employees, boasting, and an all around prolonged victory lap--the only content provided being the reading of internet lists and convoluted games and silly quizzes. All along, inconsistencies in the format's founding narrative begin to appear, and a sense that some of the ex-Ticket pats' might not have been so scrupulous as regards their actual reason for leaving The Ticket. The weeks go on and still nothing changes. Indeed, it only gets worse. Ratings books begin to come out and their numbers reflect their poor content. And yet not only do they spin the numbers, their situation, and play at revisionist history (The Ticket's early years), they continue to boast, demean, and pour gas on the now brightly burning tire yard fire. Finally, to top it all off, in a desparate bid for numbers, they pull a pathetic stunt (Greggo) that ultimately backfires and makes no inroads in garnering a larger audience, all in service not of a genuine attempt to mend fences between a once great pairing, but rather a cheap attempt at both a rating's grab and to try to (again) stick it to a former employer. Oh yes, there's Rhyner's relationship with The Ticket and then his 180 narrative upon the christening of The Freak. And finally finally, there's dry dock '23. A golden opportunity to make inroads that was instead discarded for yet another victory lap, of putting the cart before the horse. In light of all that, I tell myself, "no, I/we aren't being uncharitable. We're disappointed. We're a bit pissed off that they don't care as much as we do." That's why we bitch, moan, and keep close tabs. I wanted, I was in a not so tacit way told by Rhyner that Halcyon Days Rhyner was back (bitches... something Halcyon Days Rhyner would've never said) and ready to rock. Well, he wasn't, isn't, and never will be. And as to the magic, the genius of Sirois, the much needed, balancing voice of Julie, and the steady hand of Danny: I'll say it for the last time, I promise... Cat knows talent -- who has it and who doesn't.
Remember when Sirois came on here with his cherry on top comment, referring to Grubes? They really did convince themselves and iHeart that Ticket listeners were going to bail and come over to them en masse. They believed the very small but extremely vocal sosh crowd and the gaggle of barstool boozers that tell them what they want to hear.
Oh well. Coulda been pretty kick ass. And not just for the summer, either.
Nice blast, 1151. I agree. I was looking forward to a lively rivalry, but the spectacularly tone-deaf launch revealed that not one radio adult had anything to do with it. And its response is to double down on its aimlesness and failed selection of it's station identity.
@East TX P1—- this part of your post: “ Daron Babcock, founder of Bonton Farms; probably one of the most uplifting and little-known success stories in Dallas” sent me down a rabbit hole and I’m so glad it did. What a great story—especially the D magazine write up from a few years back.
It’s funny. The common theme here at MTC for the past years has been “The Ticket is doomed, it’s about to fail, it’s run is over!” Now all of that prognostication of failure has been transferred to The Freak, and the Ticket is gonna live forever!
I guess it’s just fun to predict failure in general.
Why is that funny? No one here has ever said "The Ticket is doomed." Many have said that it is changing, even dramatically so, and maybe not for the better. Do you think The Ticket hasn't changed dramatically in the past 3 years? If not, it woudl seem you rarely listen to it, if ever. Neither has anyone, at any time, claimed The Ticket is going to live forever.
If you're going to troll, at least be clever, a la, The Finance/Investor Warning Troll. Or you might want to go the infamous MTC Troll route: just be a dick for no good reason. But you? Naw. You're merely a poor reader, an even worse assayer, and well, ya know, really boring.
Moral of the story: If you're gonna troll, be a try hard. Otherwise, you may go elsewhere for your pathetic displays uninspired/ing sad sackness.
All you have to do is go back to previous threads over the past few years, it’s all archived. “The ticket will be off the air in xxxx months/years, the ticket as we know it is about to die, and the end date is xxxx”. I appreciate your nuanced perspective of “things have changed and not necessarily for the better”. However, almost no commenters share your nuanced approach. Hence the reason for the non-trolly, legitimate comment I gave. “The ticket won’t last through Christmas” has been replaced by “the freak won’t last through Christmas”, and both have been false. Obviously nothing lasts forever. So those who predict that the end is coming will, eventually, be right. But it seems there’s a population of commenters who like to speak with certainty about the end being right around the corner, for SOMETHING…and their focus has shifted from the ticket to the freak. It’s amusing
Just curious, about an hour ago, I heard Junior mention Clyde Van Sickle and someone listening being related. I also am related. Curious now. Any chance that person is an MTC P1?
Unless this book is really, really bad, iHeart will give them six months before they start making changes. What those changes will be, who knows. Mike Rhyner has told the story many times of how they were just about to pull the plug on the station and they had their first big book. Will the Freak get that luxury?
If these boards had been around in 1994 I would love to see how they would have looked. Everyone on Dallas media was predicting failure for the Ticket. They were almost right. If the Freak is going to catch lightning in a bottle like the Ticket did, they best hurry. I'm not sure the business is as forgiving in these times.
To clarify, the consultant (Ira Lipson) hated the hardline, wanted to get rid of the Hardline, not the whole station. Supposedly Ira had Spence (owner) convinced that Hardline needed to go, when the book came out. And there’s a lot of revisionist history, and nobody can back up their version of the story, but the book came out and the Hardline was either (again, depending on who you believe) first in their daypart, first in their demo, or best amongst all the ticket shows. Either way, they got a reprieve from the expected axe and lived another day. But that was the early 90s. With a horrible signal, replacing a big band format that mostly appealed to people who had already received the last rites. Success for the Ticket then is different then success for the Freak now. The Freak is replacing a rock station that was billing multi millions. That has I’m told taken a serious hit. But iheart knows in its iheart of Ihearts that it can flip back to metal tomorrow and see ratings and revenue go up. The Ticket didn’t have that luxury. They weren’t going to flip back and pay Skip Bayless to spin Benny Goodman platters. Additionally, back then it was diaries and quarterly books. It was 4 months later before you knew anything. Now we know in January who won the Christmas battle. Back then give it a couple of books meant the better part of a year. Now a couple of books is less than the 4th quarter. Or 1st quarter. I firmly believe the on ramp is shorter now. If the Freak doesn’t get up to speed and make some significant in roads, I think changes are coming in Q2. I don’t know if that’s a line up shuffle, an experienced morning show, or just better imaging ( because they’re imaging and branding is awful, especially compared to the Ticket) but something needs to change soon. C
1043, again, no one has said those things about The Ticket. Ever. There are very very few comments left here that aren't in some respect thoughtful or at least somewhat thought out. And the ones that aren't are usually quick answers to question posed by a comment or an obvious troll (which, sorry, but your first comment absolutely was a troll). This isn't reddit, thank God, so the latter is few and far between. Now, early on, MTC did have some lively and at times ad hominem flame wars. But those days are long gone and even then, those engaged in them were on the whole articulate. As to The Freak not seeing Christmas, yes, you are correct. That and similar claims have been made, and made often. But as far as your Ticket assertion goes, sorry, you're wrong.
Well put, C. That is about as close to the truth of THL/Ratings Book/Nearly Axed legend as anyone will ever get at this point. Also a solid description of why The Freak's situation is different, vastly so, from The Ticket's nascent years. The mediascape today alone is in many ways unrecognizable from 1994. Those differences matter and matter greatly.
Hello friends! Confessers, I miss you terribly, and just wanted to reach out to let you know that it looks like there might be a Cirque reunion Thursday and Friday afternoon on The Downbeat on The Freak as I fill in for the great Mike Rhyner...me Mikey and Dingu...
Hope you're all well...and I'll be talking into your ears...
Hey Cash. Thanks for stopping by and the heads up. The Freak needs all the help it can get. Hopefully, your presence will garner some additional ears, at least for a few days. Obviously, you (and I'll assume so too Mike) peruse this site and read the almost exclusively negative comments regarding The Freak. Know that most of us, despite how it comes off, actually want or at least at the onset wanted for it to succeed. So far it's been one big let down. Let's hope you and the other Freakers get your shit together and and turn it around. Doing so would be a win for all radio consumers. Find a focal point other than saying what you want. It's not good. You all are smart and capable, so show it. I say these things as encouragement, not to denigrate. Good luck with your bottom and thanks for poppin' on.
Cash seems like a good dude. Do I believe he doesn't read at least some of what goes on around here or Twitter or reddit? Absolutely not. Ditto his brother. If he didn't why on earth would he stop by here to promote a couple of days filling in for Rhyner? Nope. Don't buy it for one second. I'll go so far as to say only Danny, Rhyner, and maybe Julie neither seek out nor read anything said online other than comments left on their Twitter feeds by fans.
Just like napalm in the morning smells like victory, trolling for listeners on an obscure fan site of a DIFFERENT radio station smells like desperation. Furthermore, they keep telling us how they’re not competing with the ticket, that both stations can survive and thrive, if so, why is Cash here trying to get ticket listeners ( I mean who else is reading “my ticket confession”) to give them a chance. And who cares what the listenership is got a few days, unless they’re doing post Rhyner planning and want an idea of what kind of ratings Cirque draws in weekdays. And I agree, we’re living rent free in the heads of the majority of the freak staff. Because they see what’s coming, it’s what we’ve been predicting for months. Increased corporate involvement, which is already coming to pass, and changes to be made. Unless the February book in 2 weeks shows massive improvement, I expect a change by June. C
"unless they’re doing post Rhyner planning and want an idea of what kind of ratings Cirque draws in weekdays."
That's not implausible. If this thing is on the verge of imploding (and if it is, Rhyner would be well aware of it and far ahead of the execution date) there's no way Rhyner will be sticking around to go down with the ship. He'll bail. Oh, it'll be couched as making room for voices that deserve a shot. He's already played that card. Played it when it became apparent The Freak founding narrative wasn't so squeaky clean. Is this the case? I kinda doubt it. But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it were. Frankly, if it were and if Rhyner bailed, I wouldn't blame him.
But ya, super odd for Cash to drop in from out of nowhere to make that announcement. My guess he and his bro frequent this place on the reg. So Anonymously so, in fact.
I'm just hoping that when this is all over that one day the Ticket exes will find their way back on The Ticket. Obviously that won't include Mike R. Same with Grubes. Be super cool if he came back too. I don't think it's far fetched to hope it'll happen.
Except for TC and Elf, can you name a person that’s left and returned. TC was a ticker guy that everybody but Bob and Dan thought was awful. When he failed miserably in Florida, Cat let him return because Dan wanted him back. And Elf left, but returned to cumulus on ESPN, only made it back to the ticket when espn flipped back from cumulus. At this point, why let Cirque back on the air at the expense of -for example- Monty and Mino. There’s only so many fill in shifts, why let people who are proving how bad they are at radio get more air time? There’s a dude whose refrain is “Cat knows talent”, who has said Cat made the right call in letting these people go. If he let them go, why let them come back? Because of their masterful ability to draw poor ratings? At this point, If I’m Cat, I’m giving air time to loyal staffers, not letting traitors back in the building for a 2nd chance. C
PS part of the reason- you’ve got to talk some sports on the ticket, yeah they mid in the o deck and e news and the like, but the meat and potatoes is sports. None of those people who left offer some unique sports angle that can’t be duplicated. Im not a big podcast guy, but Sean bass goes deeper on the rangers on his podcast than Rhyner ever did. Rhyner lost his fastball a decade ago, and none of the rest are better than double A, at best.
@1213 A thread or so back a comment that read something like, "Hey, I think both stations are great and I have to admit, Danny's really made the difference! In fact he's made the entire station better!" It was written in the same exact manner as Cash's comment above. Just sayin'.
And so has Rich Phillips and others. But they did not exit the way in which The Freakers did. TC's was pretty close to it, but as C points out, Bob and Dan (see: Dan) went to bat for him and secured him a position.
I’ll defer on Max Miller, I barely remember any swim thru the ticket for him. But on Rich Phillips, once he left was he ever hired back as an actual employee? He did SMU games on the Ticket, but that’s a gig with SMU, not the little Ticket. Maybe some dry dock/guest host/fill in work, but in my mind I’m trying to think of anyone with a regular gig who left, then got hired back for same type position. I’ve got an acquaintance who still works there, he said they know if they leave, that’s it. The pipeline of people wanting to work there is full, they don’t need to recycle. C
Still reporting from Hawaii. I was pleased to see Cash check in, whether or not he's been reading, or was otherwise aware of, the almost entirely negative reaction to the Freak's debut. I liked Cirque a lot, and I was fine with him flogging his bit with Mike on this page.
I haven't listened to The Freak in weeks. Anyone care to report?
Hey, wasn't their Death Match 2023, Winners-Go-Home thing supposed to be yesterday? May have the date wrong. Accounts, please.
I only heard bits and pieces, my reaction was “meh”. I said this upthread, I’m not sure what this was supposed to accomplish. Rhyner was the first host out, so if you’re a Rhyner fan, you had no reason to listen after 8am or whenever he won. From what I heard, they do their game in first half hour, then recap, tease next game etc in back 30. But have they not seen their ratings and TSL? How many people are listening a full 30 in middle of day? I had a hard time following the game itself. I don’t get the fascination with recreating game shows on air. For me they’re a hard listen- hard to follow, hard to remember who’s winning as I’m driving, getting calls and texts, etc. but it all comes back to this- they”winner” wins by NOT having to work. Good for the hosts, but what does that say about your attitude toward the listeners? Instead of “find a job you love and never work a day in your life”, the message yesterday was “we’re so put out at having to try and entertain you common folk that we’re desperate to end our shifts early to escape”. Is that really the message you want to send? C
A postscript- they seem to have backed off the “we say what we want” imaging. But the imaging still doesn’t explain to me who they are and what they’re doing. I understand “sports radio 1310 and 96-7 the ticket”. It’s sports. I understand “classic rock 92-5 KZPS”. It’s classic rock. Good imaging should tell you what the station is. The Freak imaging is to quote Wilonsky, “terrible”. C
Nothing says rock and roll or “I’m back bitches” like cataract surgery. Perhaps the Freak should announce a new Fate of Man art piece where Rhyner is seated on a throne wearing nothing but a post surgery eye patch and soiled diapers. Mike Rhyner’s career…Ozymandias.
I think commenting about the Freaks content and their on air abilities is one thing but taking Rhyner to task for succumbing to human frailties that will get us all is another matter. I doubt his cataracts are the cause of his lackluster performance. Unless his lackluster performance is due to his age an the infirmities that come with it. If that’s the case than one might spare some empathy for the difficulties that often come with one coming to grips with their limitations. There seems to be a level of personal venom directed at Rhyner and the other ticket expatriates that I find confusing. Unless one of them bullied you in school or something
I agree to a point with you, KDF. The part I disagree has to do with his on-air performance being age related. He's been mailing it in for nearly if not in excess of 15 years. And while you are correct about ad hominem attacks for the sake of spitefulness, Rhyner has deservedly merited criticism, and harsh criticism at that, for some of his words and deeds since his bullshit Irish Goodbye. Not bullshit in that he decided to come out of retirement or whatever he terms it, but bullshit in that in no way was it an Irish Goodbye. He tried to create a meme about himself. But I do agree that bagging on someone for having cataract surgery is lame.
@ 11:45 I agree that Rhyner's performance for the last decade of the Hardline and at the Freak is worthy of criticism. I can't defend the way the Freak has been run or their lack of planning. I am less inclined to think it tarnishes Rhyner's overall career or what he accomplished with the Ticket than some who post here but that's a matter of opinion that I don't feel can be supported with facts one way or the other.
Well, knowing that will only occur in the future, so yeah, it's impossible to claim certitude, either way. But you can build a case, pro or con, that he has or has not. I think there's good evidence that he has. But I think the stronger argument is the historical one. Meaning, we see individuals and groups in all areas of life who sully or tarnish their reps only to have all of it forgotten once enough time goes by or when they retired or die, with only the 'member berries remaining.
I'm not sure where C is getting the backing off on "We say what we want." While listening to the Mavs game last night, nearly every return/station ID stated the motto.
Should be an interesting book. Have to think they already have strong indicators as to what it's going to look like.
Really? I’ve listened for about 2 hours in the last week, and didn’t hear it at all. But was listening to “prime” (6a-7p) hours. Maybe they just haven’t updated the in game imaging. It would be so iheart to half ass it and not change everything. C
Any of you radio biz insiders out there hearing ratings scuttlebutt? Seems like last time around there were strong indicators about the numbers about a week in advance, which is where we are.
Preview is tomorrow. There’s a report that comes out the Friday before the book that is a sneak peek- tells you how many panelists you have, which can be an indicator of ratings. (More meters, more listeners, more ratings) But from a sales end, I’m hearing old Eagle advertisers are cutting their budgets, and new advertisers are being offered loads of freebies to advertise. Not a good way to make money. C
Gordon's Grand Tour of the non-Muser programs is an interesting strategy. I love me some Gordon, for sure, but I must say:
ReplyDeleteThree smartasses on The Hang Zone is one smartass too many. I can count the number of complete sentences uttered during my listen the other day on one hand, the smartass interruptions of one of them cutting off the smartass observations of one of the others.
C.U. Next Tuesday is a decent bit, but I like the rant reunion much better as far as the Gordo tour goes. I can remember specific things that made me laugh from rant reunion the past couple months, C.U.N.T., not so much.
ReplyDeleteProblem with it being Jake. Whereas Jake is trying to out Gordo, Gordo, Dan want's to show he can both keep up and do it in his own way. That's why The Rant worked. In fact, much of the unique sense of humor that's attributed to Gordo was actually more Corby and Davey. I know, as I tuned in each and every Saturday--hangover or high water. But all three had their own distinct approach, which is what made it special. Now there's also The Mr. Show and the Adult Swim-ish cartoons that were making the rounds during that time, which also happened to be the nascent years of the internet, that pervaded and shaped Gordon's humor. Truth be told, a lot of his humor and comedic stylings are heavily, and I mean heavily, borrowed from The Mr. Show. But unless you were around back then AND were hip to TMS, you would've thought it all came from Gordo. The overwhelming majority of listeners fall into one of these aforementioned categories, hence, Gordo "got away with it." But it is the truth. And that's why it's rather interesting when over the years he accuses others' of imitating him. But that's Gordon. "I'll expose personal details of your life, but mine are off limits."
ReplyDeleteHave no idea why there are oddly placed apostrophes in my comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you P-Man. I don't really listen to THZ or THL these days but I have tuned in for the Gordo segments a few times or caught them on the Top10 and they allow nothing to breath. If someone stops speaking for a nano second than someone else jumps in with something. I find it a beating. YMMV
ReplyDeleteDan and Monty spending the entire show kicking Jake in the balls by telling listeners he’s going to see Yung Gravy is why I listen. My HZ lighter has been up since jump street
ReplyDeleteFYI, the ratings for Dry Dock were released earlier this week. Both TT and TF cume numbers fell, which is to be expected. TT = 3.8; TF = .9. Yes, you read that correctly, .9. Due to the dead zone nature of this period, the day parts aren't of any interest. Same can be said of the book as a whole. Yet I can't help but think of the potentially wasted opportunity for TF to make some inroads on T listeners during this timefram. Instead, they followed their leader and took yet another hollow "victory lap" and chose to take some well deserved R&R. I mean that first month and change was a grind. And let's be honest, that amount of self back patting, mutual ass sniffing, and fast and furious circle jerking really does take a toll on one's physical and mental well being. So, yes, they did earn that time off.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's now been established that TF came about via Rhyner and (I believe, now former) iHeart local honcho, Patrick Davis. To say such a deal to occur in a top 5 market is rare would be an understatement. Those endeavors almost always, exclusively, orignate and are worked out from their NYC HQ.
Finally, a pretty solid source told me that the only T ex-pat on the outs with current T hosts is Rhyner. And not all the hosts, at that. As predicted by yours truly, this same pretty solid source also told me that Rhyner has indeed begun (quietly) to make attempts at reconcilliation. Anyone following the principal players on Twitter has surely noticed all veiled and not so veiled digs at TT have all but ceased and desisted. While I can't say that with certainty that's the case on-air, as I rarely tune into TF, the few times I do, I no longer hear mention of TT in a negative sense. Whereas prior to the last (pre DD), disasterous book, the few times I tuned in to TDB I would without fail hear a dig or three. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear Sirois on TT sometime down the road. Julie too, if that's what she wants to do. I could even see a scenario for Danny's return. But like Julie, if that's what he wants -- because neither he nor J would be any better off earnings wise vis-a-vis their former T pay. Ditto Sirois, but S is a thirsty creature. The whole debt/salary-stature/status thing, while true to a certain extent, was more of him finding a reason to make TT/Cumulus to be the villian (and him the victim) in service of justifying what he was involved in behind the scenes with Rhyner. Hence the "we're just good people doing good things" mantra that he kept speweing ad nauseam the first 3 weeks on TF. We humans are predisposed to confession, regardless of our personal beliefs.
So that means Tuna Casserole is about to be out of another job…
ReplyDelete@skinwade:
ReplyDelete“Twitter is for talking shit. I get it. Whatever. But the fact is that the amount of growth our new station has experienced in just four months, one of those including a “dead” holiday month, is really exciting. I love being a part of it. Thank you to those who listen @971TheFreak”
Huh.
his partner posted a request on FB the other day asking for people to come work for them for free. really.
DeleteGrowth? Ah... betcha it's that old Richie Whitt line from the RaGE days. 'Member? "Ratings don't matter, only ad rev, and our ad rev is up." By "ad rev up" Whitt was deceptive. Because he meant but did not say that the "up" pertained to the amount of ad spots sold, not monies generated. Well, at least in The Freak's case, if ad rev is up it's because they have been basically giving away spots. Regardless, their numbers have yet to beat The Eagle's worst months. No one shills for B&S like B&S. But look, they're --once again, for what, the 8th time now-- fighting for their radio career lives. They know this is it. Has to be, right? It's why they've turned their show into a 3 hour ad spot for their brewery. It's why they've begun positioning themselves as a sports show. They *know*. And they, better than anyone on the local mediascape, know how to work it and work it but good.
ReplyDeleteThat Tweet also reeks of desperation and misplaced focus. When will these Freakers wake up and stop listening to social media? Then again, it was a small but vocal segment of the sosh that helped to put this thing into motion in the first place. Too many Freakers bought way too much into that small but vocal group's fawning and believed that, like Rocco Pendola once did, they would be able to fart and the DFDub would eat it up and ask for seconds. Well, they've pretty much done the former but without the latter results. To quote a certain PM drive host, "Here's the deal": The sosh as a whole while loud and influential does not rep the vast majority of voices out there in the wilds. Freakers are learning this more and more with each new book.
ReplyDeleteGoing to be interesting to see if they can turn this around to any meaningful degree, and if (and that's a huge if) so, how they go about it. Because Tweets like this evince both insecurity and hubris. Portentuous, I'd say.
Does any outlet publish how they stand in terms of billing?
ReplyDelete^ None of them do. Because only the actual ratings matter. Everything else is bullsh.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully disagree. Ratings matter. But it’s the ability to turn ratings into revenue that (to quote fake Jason Kidd) separates the professionals from the taxpayers. For example, WBAP is not seen as a huge ratings success. But consistently is one of the top billers in the market. It’s 2 things- they have a demo certain advertisers are willing to pay dearly for (older, home owner,lots of retirement money) and they sell the crap out of their weekend programming. We may all laugh at the mortgage hour, but they make a ton of money on those shows. Ratings and revenue are correlated to a certain extent, but good sales teams can punch over their weight class.
DeleteC
Don't see where anyone said ratings don't matter, C. I wrote that they don't during the dead, holiday period because, well, there's a reason why talent takes that time off. It's the slow season, down period. Other than that, of course ratings matter. I was saying how Whitt used to play semantics games, and that it looks like Skin is taking up that line of bulsh.
ReplyDeleteC clearly said that it’s not bullsh though. In Post-pandemic times, companies care about the bottom line more than ever.
DeleteThey were disagreeing with the assertion that ratings are the only thing that matters
ReplyDeleteAh. Didn't see 845 and 928. Now it makes sense. Well, "F*** me!"
ReplyDeleteMyTheFreakConfession.blogspot
ReplyDelete^^^^^You should start up that blog. Why are you such a glum chum? A party poopy pooper? Nothing of substance to say? Lack of intelligence, I mean cat, got your tongue? Poor baby. Math is hard for you, isn't it. We know. Don't worry, we're an acceepting bunch. You're A-OK by us, lil' fella.
ReplyDeleteReached out to a source who does deep dives into programming numbers. That quote from Skin is in his words”complete, total, unadulterated bullshit. He’s high, delusional, or flat out lying”. Says there is zero demographic measured by Neilsen that’s showing growth. Said they’re down across the board no matter how he slices it. Adults, men, wide demos, narrowed demos, they’re down everywhere. Also pointed out Skin was careful to not be specific. That by imitating Known liar Richie Whitt, if you aren’t specific no one can rebut your generality with specifics to show how wrong you are.
ReplyDeleteC
That I'm down with the capital C
DeleteOk interesting contrast. Listening to the hardline and perusing Twitter at the same time. Ticket has a promo on talking about their winter weather coverage, and Hardline is live, all be it from their homes. On Twitter, I see tweet that says Downbeat is off today. I can perfectly understand the difference. When you’re 30th in your demo like the Hardline, you Go above and beyond, work thru bad weather, etc. and if you’re the Downbeat and one of the top shows on one of the top stations in the market, you can afford to take a day off.
ReplyDeleteC
Is it even remotely possible that their operation could actually be, well, remote?
DeleteOr is it possible that Rhyner probably can’t do it, and the other two can’t carry four hours by themselves.
You guys are all hilariously wrong! Bahaha. The downbeat debated on air (earlier on other shows) whether they were gonna broadcast or take the day off...first of all the whole day was hilarious. 2nd, it was GRUBES who made the call, and finally...THEY DID BROADCAST LIVE REMOTELY! LOL they came back on via like a merged phone call. It was sweet radio chaos and i loved it...and B&S live streamed driving Julie (in Julie's car) on the ice after her shift. It was awesome wheels off radio
DeleteWell, then I'd say it's pretty much official: They either know for certain or have been given a strong indication by someone(s) who they know *knows* what's about to go down -- or rather, flip.
ReplyDeleteBTW the book will be out next week, I believe.
As I've been saying, The Freak is RaGE writ large. This latest move serves only to prove my point.
Would've, could've been neat to have 2 viable options in the DFW radioscape. Oh well.
Considering Skin did shows remotely, I'd say, yes it is. Besides, iHeart is a far larger corp than Cumulus. They have the money and technology.
ReplyDeleteI heard Ben or Skin live in Julie's car driving her home. I guess that could have been recorded but it seemed live.
ReplyDeleteB&S aren't The Down Beat. So, maybe they went live and the other didn't.
ReplyDeleteFlipped on TF, it's 650p and I'm hearing Danny with others other than M&M. KT specifidally. He's talking about, music. Is this a rerun or live, I haven't a clue. If it is live, man oh man does that say something about M&M. Also says something about Danny (positively) and the others that did decide to work and not take a snow day. Anyone know if this was live or recorded?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the entire Freak lineup is off today
ReplyDelete"fat stacks of cash" "adult money" - lol peeps got their pay day and never intended, ever, to be a real radio station
ReplyDeleteKNON is more legit.
ReplyDelete*and that’s not meant as a slam against 89.3
They know, right? They have to. It's over. Or soon will be. You don't do what they've done and think, "oh yeah we really got something here." I'll bet these days off and the impending flip have brought about a sense of relief. No more sweating over just how in the hell are we going to kill off another segment, day, week, month. No more convoluted "games." No more ever moronically named segments. "Just let it happen. It's over. Shhhhhh. Don't fight it. It's all over. It's best for everyone."
ReplyDeleteYou’d think if they were still trying to make the freak work, they would’ve broadcasted today. As the musers discussed this morning they always found a way to make it on air. Just seems like they don’t even care. Not broadcasting during dry dock was one thing, but that’s really what they were used to coming from the ticket. Now they aren’t even trying.
ReplyDeleteThese are great days to tune in to me, idk ratings wise, but I love listening on snow days.
Evidently they have something to announce the 8th. Not a format switch according to KT. Hmmm
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/thefreak971/comments/10qsufe/time_for_some_outrageous_speculation/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Turner's reply in that thread about not broadcasting during the storm: "Tough for us, we don’t have a ton of employees" is the new definition of 'ironic'.
Delete^ it definitely felt like the Musers were subtweeting the entire Freak staff when discussing snow day broadcasts
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking it's either a reboot/rebrand to sports-guy talks and officially compete with The FAN, with a view to ultimately going against The Ticket.....or there's going to be a lineup and/or possibly a name change for the morning show....or an intra show lineup change....perhaps Sirois moving to mornings or some such.....or a new host is being added (perhaps one subtracted too)....or and finally an announcement for some sort of Freak Fest, having the morning show make the announcement in lieu of TDB in hopes of garnering a few extra ears and that maybe a few like what they hear and will begin to tune in. As far as a possible new host......Greggo?????? Move Sirois to the am drive and have a Rhynes, Hammer, Danny pm drive.
ReplyDeleteTo add onto what I just said. I wouldn't put the Greggo thing past them. They really are in dire straits. Why not? He could't possibly f it up anymore that it already is. At this point it's kinda like WTF let 'er rip nothing to lose that isn't about to be lost as is mode.
ReplyDeleteYa sure, they're in "dire straights", meanwhile i notice sponsor after sponsor i used to hear on The Ticket is now on The Freak. Look, im not a tickethater but cmon you guys are really out there with the vitrol and wanting them to fail. They arent failing. Not enough data yet, but recent suggests ratings are trending up, but for sure some sponsors have switched and followed them over.
DeleteiHeart may have been asleep at the wheel when the Freak was getting set up and off the ground, but they aren’t any longer. No chance in Hades does iHR permit Greg anywhere near their microphones on a regular basis. It’s probably some nothingburger, deck chair shuffling bit of meh. As has already been noted, a shuffling of hosts seems most plausible.
ReplyDeleteOut of town for a week or so. Will try to check in, but failing that, don't be putzes. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteAn excuse or contextual explanation for everything. These guys...
ReplyDeleteThe only station in the DFW that isn't live, and they're an iHeart station. Funny, though. All the other iHeart stations are live.
This is their new bit.
ReplyDeletehttps://old.reddit.com/r/thefreak971/comments/10rhqeh/heres_whats_special_about_the_28_freak_listening/
So THAT'S the big announcement? I'm seriously starting to wonder if this is all one big Andy Kaufman-esque, long play gag. They're going to play games on-air and the goal is to be the last host standing, with that host having to work solo the rest of the day? Or does the winner of each game go home? I mean, who gives a f. How moronic. Didn't they all just have a 6 day weekend? This is for real? Wow. Has to be the brain child of Sirois. It reeks of his game/inanely named segment bag.
ReplyDeleteJust terrible...that's their idea to counter the sports stations being at Super Bowl week. Even The Fan has to be laughing.
ReplyDeleteWhat are they gonna do to help combat Cowboys training camp? Have Sirois negotiate with the credit card companies to see if he can get a more favorable payment & interest rate?
ReplyDeleteOh wait… are they gonna be on in July, let alone Aug?
DeleteMakes sense the winner goes home. None of them seem too passionate about what they do, much less wanna actually work.
ReplyDeleteRatings book ought to be out soon, yes?
ReplyDeleteIn Hawaii. That old.reddit.com link has a whopping 3 comments. And the "loser" only works solo ONE hour?
ReplyDeleteI predict nonstop whooping and hollering and overlaughing that would make Jimmy Fallon blush.
Ratings are a few weeks out, I think it was due Presidents’ Day, but will be delayed to that Tuesday. But let’s break down this bit. The “hands on a hard body” or “last man standing” is an old bit. Good for listeners if you’re giving them a chance to win a car, etc, but doesn’t translate to radio. Good radio promotions do the 2 obvious things- grow cume or grow tsl. First off, if you’re not already a freak P-1, does this give you a reason to tune in? Do you care about hearing this dirty dozen of folks work together? I’m convinced that the Ticket has learned that people like hearing all the hosts together. Why they promote round tables, the camp out, training camp etc, where they are all on together.
ReplyDeleteBut that’s the ticket. Do the Freaks P-1s (both of them?) feel the same about hearing the freak hosts all on together? If so fine, but these people have been on the air less than 6 months. They’re under a 1.0 in the ratings. There’s no sign that the masses are begging for more all hands on deck events.
But ok, we’re going to play games and winners go home. So let’s say they do a game an hour. Great for the hosts who get to go home at 8am or 9 am. But how does that benefit the listener? What if (name host You like) is first one out. Why should I stick around if Mike/Skin/name a favorite are off by 8am?
Dumb concept, doesn’t drive cume or tsl, this is just what I’ve come to expect from the Freak,
C
They’re giving away a tv according to their Twitter.
DeleteConsidering TF spent it's first month+ doing nothing but host swapping, plus 1, 2, and 3 hosting on each others' shows, and fill out at least one segment per day with a game, I'm not sure exactly how "special" this is. Saying that putting aside C's points. Add to it C's points, and, well, as C said: "this is just what I've come to expect from The Freak."
ReplyDeleteBad decision, coach. But hey, they say/do what they want.
At this juncture I'm not sure if even an objective focal point can turn this thing around. I'm coming to the conclusion that what you have here is a roster of talent that isn't very talented. The only viable format that I can see POSSIBLY working and that doesn't upend what they're trying to do is for them to basically become the radio version of The Dallas Observer. That is, only talk sports when either something salacious a la another Jerry fun baby or another White House is erected (pun intended) or if one of the local teams gets into a league championship game/series -- or a controversial national story like Kaepernick. Bone up on and discuss local and ONLY local political issues and stories, and do so from each hosts' genuine perspective, no matter where it lies on the political spectrum (I know TDO is progressive, but you need hosts to be themselves for it to be believable). And discuss the local entertainment and food scene, with a healthy dose of local music. They have TONS of ins with local musicians, actors, chefs, etc. Make use of them. Have them on as guests. Promote shows, new albums/singles, find out about-go see shows--get to know a variety of music scenes and discuss them, etc. THAT'S how you fill up segments, days, weeks, months, and years. THAT'S something that would pull in listeners. But they won't. Danny will try a variety of beans on-air (dreamt up by Sirois, of course) and discuss. Yeah buddy.
We heard Mike Rhyner rail against the "consultants" over the years at the Ticket. Is the Freak Mike's vision of radio without their "advise" or is this Mike S. driven? If he of all people knows better why is he part of this? How long before iHeart either takes over or blows this thing up and starts over?
ReplyDeleteThe Freak is 110% the product of what Mike R has always wanted to do in the medium. He’s spoken many times in the past of his admiration of 80s and 90s Stern. He desperately wants to do Imus/Stern shock jock, “we say what we want” “outlaw radio”. But he’s totally washed, just like Howard. And the people he assembled are the most milquetoast gaggle of suburbanites anyone could imagine. Just the most boring, uninteresting, zero juice group of talkers to steal a paycheck in the history of the market.
ReplyDeleteSo they’re the Ticket
DeleteThe problem with that comment is thst there’s a way of measuring the public interest in a radio show. The public clearly doesn’t view the Ticket hosts as an uninteresting milquetoast gaggle of suburbanites. They may be in reality, but clearly the listeners see them differently.
DeleteC
Brutally honest and true.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with their event is that basically the loser has to entertain the listeners. You win by not getting to entertain the listener. They are punished for staying in air. It’s just an odd dynamic that doesn’t make it seem like they want to be on air.
ReplyDelete@Anon 4:49
ReplyDeleteI totally agree and have said it on some prior posts. Give me a weekly segment (or two) say on Thursdays at 5:30 with any of the following: Sharon Grigsby of the DMN; Jim Schutze, formerly of the DO and the author of The Accommodation, the list goes on and I have typed this before. Be "centric" to Dallas. Hell, bring on Dwayne "I ain't givin' no mo' keys to the city" Caraway! Love that guy. Daron Babcock, founder of Bonton Farms; probably one of the most uplifting and little-known success stories in Dallas.
Just my 3 cents.
ETP1
I read comment after comment here, Tweet after Tweet, and many reddit comments and have my own thoughts about The Freak. Mostly negative on all of the aforementioned accounts. I begin to think, "Do I want this to fail? If so, why? Why do so many others too seem to want it to fail? What's wrong with me, with us?" I think these are valid questions. Why does it mean so much? Why so invested? Truthfully, sometimes I feel ashamed that I engage in any of it.
ReplyDeleteBut when I think about it, I always return to the same conclusion: I don't want The Freak to fail. In fact, I wanted it to succeed. When the news came down, I was genuinely excited. The moment Rhyner's voice came through my speakers, letting me know what was going down and what would proceed to go down from this moment forward had me shouting out, "hell yeah, The OGW is back!." But then day two came and then three and so on, and there was nothing said of substance. Indeed, for two weeks (and for The Down Beat, a month plus) not one show consisted solely of the hosts assigned to it proper. There was zero continuity. Zero content other than back slapping, veiled and not so veiled shots at former employers and employees, boasting, and an all around prolonged victory lap--the only content provided being the reading of internet lists and convoluted games and silly quizzes. All along, inconsistencies in the format's founding narrative begin to appear, and a sense that some of the ex-Ticket pats' might not have been so scrupulous as regards their actual reason for leaving The Ticket. The weeks go on and still nothing changes. Indeed, it only gets worse. Ratings books begin to come out and their numbers reflect their poor content. And yet not only do they spin the numbers, their situation, and play at revisionist history (The Ticket's early years), they continue to boast, demean, and pour gas on the now brightly burning tire yard fire. Finally, to top it all off, in a desparate bid for numbers, they pull a pathetic stunt (Greggo) that ultimately backfires and makes no inroads in garnering a larger audience, all in service not of a genuine attempt to mend fences between a once great pairing, but rather a cheap attempt at both a rating's grab and to try to (again) stick it to a former employer. Oh yes, there's Rhyner's relationship with The Ticket and then his 180 narrative upon the christening of The Freak. And finally finally, there's dry dock '23. A golden opportunity to make inroads that was instead discarded for yet another victory lap, of putting the cart before the horse. In light of all that, I tell myself, "no, I/we aren't being uncharitable. We're disappointed. We're a bit pissed off that they don't care as much as we do." That's why we bitch, moan, and keep close tabs. I wanted, I was in a not so tacit way told by Rhyner that Halcyon Days Rhyner was back (bitches... something Halcyon Days Rhyner would've never said) and ready to rock. Well, he wasn't, isn't, and never will be. And as to the magic, the genius of Sirois, the much needed, balancing voice of Julie, and the steady hand of Danny: I'll say it for the last time, I promise... Cat knows talent -- who has it and who doesn't.
Remember when Sirois came on here with his cherry on top comment, referring to Grubes?
ReplyDeleteThey really did convince themselves and iHeart that Ticket listeners were going to bail and come over to them en masse. They believed the very small but extremely vocal sosh crowd and the gaggle of barstool boozers that tell them what they want to hear.
Oh well. Coulda been pretty kick ass. And not just for the summer, either.
Nice blast, 1151. I agree. I was looking forward to a lively rivalry, but the spectacularly tone-deaf launch revealed that not one radio adult had anything to do with it. And its response is to double down on its aimlesness and failed selection of it's station identity.
ReplyDeleteits
ReplyDelete@East TX P1—- this part of your post:
ReplyDelete“ Daron Babcock, founder of Bonton Farms; probably one of the most uplifting and little-known success stories in Dallas”
sent me down a rabbit hole and I’m so glad it did. What a great story—especially the D magazine write up from a few years back.
It’s funny. The common theme here at MTC for the past years has been “The Ticket is doomed, it’s about to fail, it’s run is over!” Now all of that prognostication of failure has been transferred to The Freak, and the Ticket is gonna live forever!
ReplyDeleteI guess it’s just fun to predict failure in general.
Why is that funny? No one here has ever said "The Ticket is doomed." Many have said that it is changing, even dramatically so, and maybe not for the better. Do you think The Ticket hasn't changed dramatically in the past 3 years? If not, it woudl seem you rarely listen to it, if ever. Neither has anyone, at any time, claimed The Ticket is going to live forever.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to troll, at least be clever, a la, The Finance/Investor Warning Troll. Or you might want to go the infamous MTC Troll route: just be a dick for no good reason. But you? Naw. You're merely a poor reader, an even worse assayer, and well, ya know, really boring.
Moral of the story: If you're gonna troll, be a try hard. Otherwise, you may go elsewhere for your pathetic displays uninspired/ing sad sackness.
All you have to do is go back to previous threads over the past few years, it’s all archived. “The ticket will be off the air in xxxx months/years, the ticket as we know it is about to die, and the end date is xxxx”. I appreciate your nuanced perspective of “things have changed and not necessarily for the better”. However, almost no commenters share your nuanced approach. Hence the reason for the non-trolly, legitimate comment I gave. “The ticket won’t last through Christmas” has been replaced by “the freak won’t last through Christmas”, and both have been false. Obviously nothing lasts forever. So those who predict that the end is coming will, eventually, be right. But it seems there’s a population of commenters who like to speak with certainty about the end being right around the corner, for SOMETHING…and their focus has shifted from the ticket to the freak. It’s amusing
DeleteYou’re gay…I mean blind
ReplyDeleteTouché.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, about an hour ago, I heard Junior mention Clyde Van Sickle and someone listening being related. I also am related. Curious now. Any chance that person is an MTC P1?
ReplyDeleteIs Rick Gosselin retiring or something? Yesterday was his last appearance on N&D.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteUnless this book is really, really bad, iHeart will give them six months before they start making changes. What those changes will be, who knows. Mike Rhyner has told the story many times of how they were just about to pull the plug on the station and they had their first big book. Will the Freak get that luxury?
ReplyDeleteIf these boards had been around in 1994 I would love to see how they would have looked. Everyone on Dallas media was predicting failure for the Ticket. They were almost right.
If the Freak is going to catch lightning in a bottle like the Ticket did, they best hurry. I'm not sure the business is as forgiving in these times.
But the first 3 books have been really, really bad
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, the consultant (Ira Lipson) hated the hardline, wanted to get rid of the Hardline, not the whole station. Supposedly Ira had Spence (owner) convinced that Hardline needed to go, when the book came out. And there’s a lot of revisionist history, and nobody can back up their version of the story, but the book came out and the Hardline was either (again, depending on who you believe) first in their daypart, first in their demo, or best amongst all the ticket shows. Either way, they got a reprieve from the expected axe and lived another day.
ReplyDeleteBut that was the early 90s. With a horrible signal, replacing a big band format that mostly appealed to people who had already received the last rites. Success for the Ticket then is different then success for the Freak now. The Freak is replacing a rock station that was billing multi millions. That has I’m told taken a serious hit. But iheart knows in its iheart of Ihearts that it can flip back to metal tomorrow and see ratings and revenue go up. The Ticket didn’t have that luxury. They weren’t going to flip back and pay Skip Bayless to spin Benny Goodman platters.
Additionally, back then it was diaries and quarterly books. It was 4 months later before you knew anything. Now we know in January who won the Christmas battle. Back then give it a couple of books meant the better part of a year. Now a couple of books is less than the 4th quarter. Or 1st quarter. I firmly believe the on ramp is shorter now. If the Freak doesn’t get up to speed and make some significant in roads, I think changes are coming in Q2. I don’t know if that’s a line up shuffle, an experienced morning show, or just better imaging ( because they’re imaging and branding is awful, especially compared to the Ticket) but something needs to change soon.
C
1043, again, no one has said those things about The Ticket. Ever. There are very very few comments left here that aren't in some respect thoughtful or at least somewhat thought out. And the ones that aren't are usually quick answers to question posed by a comment or an obvious troll (which, sorry, but your first comment absolutely was a troll). This isn't reddit, thank God, so the latter is few and far between. Now, early on, MTC did have some lively and at times ad hominem flame wars. But those days are long gone and even then, those engaged in them were on the whole articulate. As to The Freak not seeing Christmas, yes, you are correct. That and similar claims have been made, and made often. But as far as your Ticket assertion goes, sorry, you're wrong.
ReplyDeleteWell put, C. That is about as close to the truth of THL/Ratings Book/Nearly Axed legend as anyone will ever get at this point. Also a solid description of why The Freak's situation is different, vastly so, from The Ticket's nascent years. The mediascape today alone is in many ways unrecognizable from 1994. Those differences matter and matter greatly.
ReplyDeleteHello friends! Confessers, I miss you terribly, and just wanted to reach out to let you know that it looks like there might be a Cirque reunion Thursday and Friday afternoon on The Downbeat on The Freak as I fill in for the great Mike Rhyner...me Mikey and Dingu...
ReplyDeleteHope you're all well...and I'll be talking into your ears...
Cash
Hey Cash. Thanks for stopping by and the heads up. The Freak needs all the help it can get. Hopefully, your presence will garner some additional ears, at least for a few days. Obviously, you (and I'll assume so too Mike) peruse this site and read the almost exclusively negative comments regarding The Freak. Know that most of us, despite how it comes off, actually want or at least at the onset wanted for it to succeed. So far it's been one big let down. Let's hope you and the other Freakers get your shit together and and turn it around. Doing so would be a win for all radio consumers. Find a focal point other than saying what you want. It's not good. You all are smart and capable, so show it. I say these things as encouragement, not to denigrate. Good luck with your bottom and thanks for poppin' on.
ReplyDeleteLol..to be honest I hadn't even read a single comment...and now that I've read that, I won't..
ReplyDeleteIt's all good and folks can say whatever they like..and listen, or don't. I'm just planing on having fun for the next couple days with my brother...
Cash seems like a good dude. Do I believe he doesn't read at least some of what goes on around here or Twitter or reddit? Absolutely not. Ditto his brother. If he didn't why on earth would he stop by here to promote a couple of days filling in for Rhyner? Nope. Don't buy it for one second. I'll go so far as to say only Danny, Rhyner, and maybe Julie neither seek out nor read anything said online other than comments left on their Twitter feeds by fans.
ReplyDeleteJust like napalm in the morning smells like victory, trolling for listeners on an obscure fan site of a DIFFERENT radio station smells like desperation. Furthermore, they keep telling us how they’re not competing with the ticket, that both stations can survive and thrive, if so, why is Cash here trying to get ticket listeners ( I mean who else is reading “my ticket confession”) to give them a chance. And who cares what the listenership is got a few days, unless they’re doing post Rhyner planning and want an idea of what kind of ratings Cirque draws in weekdays. And I agree, we’re living rent free in the heads of the majority of the freak staff. Because they see what’s coming, it’s what we’ve been predicting for months. Increased corporate involvement, which is already coming to pass, and changes to be made. Unless the February book in 2 weeks shows massive improvement, I expect a change by June.
ReplyDeleteC
"unless they’re doing post Rhyner planning and want an idea of what kind of ratings Cirque draws in weekdays."
ReplyDeleteThat's not implausible. If this thing is on the verge of imploding (and if it is, Rhyner would be well aware of it and far ahead of the execution date) there's no way Rhyner will be sticking around to go down with the ship. He'll bail. Oh, it'll be couched as making room for voices that deserve a shot. He's already played that card. Played it when it became apparent The Freak founding narrative wasn't so squeaky clean. Is this the case? I kinda doubt it. But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it were. Frankly, if it were and if Rhyner bailed, I wouldn't blame him.
But ya, super odd for Cash to drop in from out of nowhere to make that announcement. My guess he and his bro frequent this place on the reg. So Anonymously so, in fact.
I'm just hoping that when this is all over that one day the Ticket exes will find their way back on The Ticket. Obviously that won't include Mike R. Same with Grubes. Be super cool if he came back too. I don't think it's far fetched to hope it'll happen.
ReplyDeleteExcept for TC and Elf, can you name a person that’s left and returned. TC was a ticker guy that everybody but Bob and Dan thought was awful. When he failed miserably in Florida, Cat let him return because Dan wanted him back. And Elf left, but returned to cumulus on ESPN, only made it back to the ticket when espn flipped back from cumulus. At this point, why let Cirque back on the air at the expense of -for example- Monty and Mino. There’s only so many fill in shifts, why let people who are proving how bad they are at radio get more air time? There’s a dude whose refrain is “Cat knows talent”, who has said Cat made the right call in letting these people go. If he let them go, why let them come back? Because of their masterful ability to draw poor ratings?
DeleteAt this point, If I’m Cat, I’m giving air time to loyal staffers, not letting traitors back in the building for a 2nd chance.
C
PS part of the reason- you’ve got to talk some sports on the ticket, yeah they mid in the o deck and e news and the like, but the meat and potatoes is sports. None of those people who left offer some unique sports angle that can’t be duplicated. Im not a big podcast guy, but Sean bass goes deeper on the rangers on his podcast than Rhyner ever did. Rhyner lost his fastball a decade ago, and none of the rest are better than double A, at best.
Max Miller briefly returned on Saturdays.
Delete@1213
ReplyDeleteA thread or so back a comment that read something like, "Hey, I think both stations are great and I have to admit, Danny's really made the difference! In fact he's made the entire station better!" It was written in the same exact manner as Cash's comment above. Just sayin'.
C En fuego!
ReplyDeleteAnd so has Rich Phillips and others. But they did not exit the way in which The Freakers did. TC's was pretty close to it, but as C points out, Bob and Dan (see: Dan) went to bat for him and secured him a position.
ReplyDelete"I hadnt even read a single comment" is a True 1 of 1 - bravo, Sir & enjoy your beats of a down!
ReplyDeleteI’ll defer on Max Miller, I barely remember any swim thru the ticket for him. But on Rich Phillips, once he left was he ever hired back as an actual employee? He did SMU games on the Ticket, but that’s a gig with SMU, not the little Ticket. Maybe some dry dock/guest host/fill in work, but in my mind I’m trying to think of anyone with a regular gig who left, then got hired back for same type position. I’ve got an acquaintance who still works there, he said they know if they leave, that’s it. The pipeline of people wanting to work there is full, they don’t need to recycle.
ReplyDeleteC
Still reporting from Hawaii. I was pleased to see Cash check in, whether or not he's been reading, or was otherwise aware of, the almost entirely negative reaction to the Freak's debut. I liked Cirque a lot, and I was fine with him flogging his bit with Mike on this page.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to The Freak in weeks. Anyone care to report?
Hey, wasn't their Death Match 2023, Winners-Go-Home thing supposed to be yesterday? May have the date wrong. Accounts, please.
I only heard bits and pieces, my reaction was “meh”.
ReplyDeleteI said this upthread, I’m not sure what this was supposed to accomplish. Rhyner was the first host out, so if you’re a Rhyner fan, you had no reason to listen after 8am or whenever he won. From what I heard, they do their game in first half hour, then recap, tease next game etc in back 30. But have they not seen their ratings and TSL? How many people are listening a full 30 in middle of day? I had a hard time following the game itself. I don’t get the fascination with recreating game shows on air. For me they’re a hard listen- hard to follow, hard to remember who’s winning as I’m driving, getting calls and texts, etc. but it all comes back to this- they”winner” wins by NOT having to work. Good for the hosts, but what does that say about your attitude toward the listeners? Instead of “find a job you love and never work a day in your life”, the message yesterday was “we’re so put out at having to try and entertain you common folk that we’re desperate to end our shifts early to escape”.
Is that really the message you want to send?
C
A postscript- they seem to have backed off the “we say what we want” imaging. But the imaging still doesn’t explain to me who they are and what they’re doing. I understand “sports radio 1310 and 96-7 the ticket”. It’s sports. I understand “classic rock 92-5 KZPS”. It’s classic rock. Good imaging should tell you what the station is. The Freak imaging is to quote Wilonsky, “terrible”.
ReplyDeleteC
DB said Rhynes is having eye surgery.
ReplyDeleteNothing says rock and roll or “I’m back bitches” like cataract surgery. Perhaps the Freak should announce a new Fate of Man art piece where Rhyner is seated on a throne wearing nothing but a post surgery eye patch and soiled diapers. Mike Rhyner’s career…Ozymandias.
ReplyDeleteColostomy bag, optional.
DeleteI think commenting about the Freaks content and their on air abilities is one thing but taking Rhyner to task for succumbing to human frailties that will get us all is another matter. I doubt his cataracts are the cause of his lackluster performance. Unless his lackluster performance is due to his age an the infirmities that come with it. If that’s the case than one might spare some empathy for the difficulties that often come with one coming to grips with their limitations. There seems to be a level of personal venom directed at Rhyner and the other ticket expatriates that I find confusing. Unless one of them bullied you in school or something
ReplyDeleteKDF
I agree to a point with you, KDF. The part I disagree has to do with his on-air performance being age related. He's been mailing it in for nearly if not in excess of 15 years. And while you are correct about ad hominem attacks for the sake of spitefulness, Rhyner has deservedly merited criticism, and harsh criticism at that, for some of his words and deeds since his bullshit Irish Goodbye. Not bullshit in that he decided to come out of retirement or whatever he terms it, but bullshit in that in no way was it an Irish Goodbye. He tried to create a meme about himself. But I do agree that bagging on someone for having cataract surgery is lame.
ReplyDelete@ 11:45
ReplyDeleteI agree that Rhyner's performance for the last decade of the Hardline and at the Freak is worthy of criticism. I can't defend the way the Freak has been run or their lack of planning. I am less inclined to think it tarnishes Rhyner's overall career or what he accomplished with the Ticket than some who post here but that's a matter of opinion that I don't feel can be supported with facts one way or the other.
Well, knowing that will only occur in the future, so yeah, it's impossible to claim certitude, either way. But you can build a case, pro or con, that he has or has not. I think there's good evidence that he has. But I think the stronger argument is the historical one. Meaning, we see individuals and groups in all areas of life who sully or tarnish their reps only to have all of it forgotten once enough time goes by or when they retired or die, with only the 'member berries remaining.
ReplyDeleteShould be one more week until ratings release...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where C is getting the backing off on "We say what we want." While listening to the Mavs game last night, nearly every return/station ID stated the motto.
ReplyDeleteShould be an interesting book. Have to think they already have strong indicators as to what it's going to look like.
Really? I’ve listened for about 2 hours in the last week, and didn’t hear it at all. But was listening to “prime” (6a-7p) hours. Maybe they just haven’t updated the in game imaging. It would be so iheart to half ass it and not change everything.
ReplyDeleteC
Well, if you look at the 4-1/2 months they've been around, incongruence is the only congruent thing about it.
ReplyDeleteAny of you radio biz insiders out there hearing ratings scuttlebutt? Seems like last time around there were strong indicators about the numbers about a week in advance, which is where we are.
ReplyDeletePreview is tomorrow. There’s a report that comes out the Friday before the book that is a sneak peek- tells you how many panelists you have, which can be an indicator of ratings. (More meters, more listeners, more ratings)
ReplyDeleteBut from a sales end, I’m hearing old Eagle advertisers are cutting their budgets, and new advertisers are being offered loads of freebies to advertise. Not a good way to make money.
C
New red/thread.
ReplyDeleteAnon got up a quick comment before I could post my idle thought.