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."
From time to time I’ll get an anonymous email claiming some inside knowledge about The Ticket (or, more recently, The Freak), or some radio industry expertise. I’m never quite sure what to do with these. If they’re incorrect, I’d feel pretty lousy if it hurt someone’s career or a station’s business. I simply have to judge whether the items have the ring of truth. I’ve collected a few and this seems to be as good a time as any to air out the ones that make sense based on the current information already known to the public.
Note that some of these are not new (i.e., within the last several weeks), and the situations they ad-dress may have changed and current numbers may tell a more up-to-date story. Although none is very surprising, based on public reports.
(1) Morale at The Freak is not great.
(2) There has been little or no “fence-mending” be-tween Freak refugees from The Ticket and The Ticket. This one was a little unclear as to whether the effort has not been made, or has not been welcome (or successful).
(3) iHeart personnel in other markets are both con-fused and amused by the Dallas situation.
(4) For at least one month earlier this year, KEGL revenue was down mid-double-digits in percentage from the same period the year before, while The Ticket was up mid-single-digits. (This one may already be known to our more radio-savvy Confessors.) A more sophisticated deep dive on the numbers is not suggesting a significant change for either station in the near future.
(5) There is market speculation that perhaps iHeart is banking on digital ratings/revenue to justify keeping The Freak airborne.
Looks like some new numbers are in, which will of greater importance than any of the foregoing.
Bleak would be the apt descriptor for TF's latest book.
Ran into a certain Ticketeer at the hockey game last night (Platinum Level bar, of course -- flex). Hovered about for a bit and overheard someone ask him about TF. He said something along the lines of pretty soon that probably won't be a relevant question. This book stacked upon the preceding books portends the end game being in sight. At least one would think.
Let's put it this way - ratings for TT and TF are pretty much on polar opposites of the ratings scale.
If you think TT's numbers are "mind blowing", TF's are whatever the opposite of that would be.
Of their three shows in their specific (weird) time slots, in their core demo, none of them break a 2 share, and are respectively ranked 27th, 26th and 19th .
The B&S numbers seem to be terribly bad for a show that's been around as long as they have. That is the only show on TF I don't even click over to occasionally.
My Ticket listening is not much better, to be honest. I listen to the Musers and that's about it. I stick around for Norm and D some days but my tolerance for anything after the noon hour is very limited. They are better at their job than TF shows but I just don't enjoy either show anymore.
Campound this week so I'll see how long I can stick with what I used to listen to all the way through.
Rhyner is learning in the most painful of ways that a part is not greater than its whole. Nevertheless, he's back, bitches. And he's ranking everything in sight.
All the self meme-ing videos, the Twitter countdowns, the cryptic clues, and all the sophomoric rest......so bizarre that it was borne from the mind of a septuagenarian.
TOTC here... WFH continues and allows me a lot of time to listen to whatever I choose, and I have given some of the various TF shows a shot during a given workday. I tried. I can't. And I won't. TF is just not up to the task at hand - luring listeners away from the Little Ticket. I'm always in on the Musers - Jub, Craig and Gordo are only getting better at their craft; Norm and D is what it is - just waiting for that radio Hall of Famer to finally give in and take retirement; the HangZone is rounding into form, but for the love of Pete (DeBoer - Go Stars!) Dan is chalk on a blackboard to me most of the time; the Hardline is running on all cylinders now - Bob is a future Hall of Famer, Corby is better with the departure of the old grey wolf, and GenX Davey is a welcome addition finding his place in this world. And the 2nd tier talent is strong to quite strong these days. You didn't ask for it - but that is my take on the current radio landscape. Day 1 P1 signing off. (for those not in the know - TOTC = Town Of The Cow)
I find the Hang Zone really rounding into form. Not sure why many on hear complain about Dan as I think he is comic genius and very smart in his sports takes and observations. It is clear that all his Ticket mates find him to be genius as he is one of the most loved guys at the Ticket.
It is just a matter of taste. I'm not going to claim Dan or Corby (my two disliked hosts) aren't good at their jobs or don't have talent. I just don't care for the personas they put forth on the radio. Dan's humor isn't something I find really funny and without Bob to counter him I just don't find it enjoyable anymore. Throw Blake into the mix and the Hangzone is just 3 hours of irritation for me. Corby just beats the hell out of me. Everything from his overly superlative declarations to his unbelievably sure he's right about a subject he has no knowledge of makes me want to punch him. Its a shame because I like Jake and Bob and even Gen X Davey but not enough to fight through Corby and Dan. I get way less aggravation from listening to podcast about serial killers and weird crimes. YMMV
Pcontrol is correct. The morale at The Freak is low AF. As a result the over the top spin and "we good" bulsh coming out of Freak hosts is being laid on thicc. Don't know who C is, but we're in the same line of work. So s/he and I do get a bit more scuttle of the butt than most A bit more, you bet, but not a ton of real inside goodies. Saying all that, I can say this. Pcontrol is correct about the morale and the puzzled view from not just other iHeart stations and markets, but from all related media corps. The insideiest bit I can offer is those of us in sales are beginning to hear the chatter you hear when changes are coming down. My guess is the first move is to clean house saving The Downbeat. Though after a very slight (pretty much insignificant) bump a few months back, their awful numbers are only getting worse. Now all Freak shows are getting trounced by The FAN. The FAN is who they're now targeting as their main competition. That campaign began in earnest on Opening Day with them supposedly being denied a spot at the ballpark by The FAN. Pretty odd move for a format that claims they're not a sports station. 2 competitors, both sports talkers. The next move is a flip.
If The Freak wanted to truly distinguish themselves, why not steal away the much younger Ticket talent? These amazing numbers (high and low) reflect a trend in radio. Perhaps podcasts are changing the landscape. Maybe something else. Is there a young Gordon-type waiting among the jvers? Without a really creative up and comer, The Ticket still faces an aging problem. Of course, who cares when the numbers are so good? TF’s lineup is of approximate age….minus the truly creative talent.
Arguably, the Freak hired away some of the younger folks at the Ticket. While Norm and Mike are in their 70s, musers approaching 60, Bob and Dan and Corby all early 50s probably, hiring Sirois 40ish? Danny 50 ish?, Julie late 30s? They picked off some of the younger peeps. Problem being none of them are radio professionals at the job they were hired for. Besides Mike and Ben and skin, not one person hired by the Freak has an independent history of ratings success. Cavanaugh was part of a multi host show, the rest KT, K Ray, Sirois, Danny, Julie, even Grubes were bit players on someone else’s successful show. If they really want the freak to be successful stop hiring perennial failures Ben and skin and stop hiring people who have never carried a show before. Which leads to my response to your comment. Coming up next…. C
And we’re back, thanks for reading my ticket confession, this segment we’re going to talk about stealing away some of the younger ticket talent. Sure the Freak could take a run at Mino or Monty, DJ or Sean Bass, but why would they want to leave arguably one of the most successful sports stations in the country for (norm voice) “an abortion”. You could money whip them, supposedly Sirois has said he tripled his income by moving to the Freak, but with great power comes great responsibility. Wait, wrong bromide, with great pay comes great pressure. Somewhere there’s a “suit” crunching numbers and realizing that they’re paying a lot of people a lot of money when they could flip back to metal and immediately double, triple, possibly quadruple their ratings in demo. The Eagle never did great, but they were in the low teens I believe, not 19th at best, near 30 at worst. If you’re DJ or Mino you may not love being not tier 1. But do you leave to go be tier 1 elsewhere, and totally shit the bed of going back to the ticket. Julie left and she’s probably going to get less than a year before losing her job. And how many people has the Ticket ever rehired? We’ll talk about that right after this… C
To my knowledge, there’s only been 2 significant rehires. TC left and got rehired agree his failed Florida gig. I’ve been told that was totally a Bib and Dan decision, because Dan loved the dude while everybody else thought he’s a spare. But once he left the 2nd time he’s never been bsck. Never used It’s just banter as a fill in show, etc. I think Catlin saw the talent, or lack of, and slotted him in the most inconsequential slot at the mothership, midday tickers. The other rehire was Elf. Who was hired back by cumulus not at the Ticket, but relegated to ESPN. It’s only once ESPN got sold, that Elf moved back to 96.7. But I’ll tell you what I know- Elf gets ratings. His hours do better than average. In other words, if other Sunday shows average a 2 share, he averages a 3 share. He draws an audience above and beyond the norm. With as much stock as the Ticket puts in its bunker mentality, I don’t see them changing and bringing back Sirois or Julie. Why? What do they bring? Sirois is a good partner for Donovan when Norm is out? Well, do is Sea Bass. To the tune of 4 straight months of #1 6 plus ratings. Clearly the Ticket doesn’t need Mike, Mike, Danny, Julie or any of the rest to do well. So why hire any of them back? C
Anon 8:50 PM I am not a big fan of the actual coast to coast segment during Campound but I will say it's part of the texture and fabric of the entire event. It is a time for me to tune out and get some other stuff done. I don't begrudge them for continuing to do it but agree it's a short tune out for me. I will also offer up that the first night is always the best because it is the night were everyone is together for one big massive roundtable. Those historically have been the best part of the event. The 2nd night devolves into specialized segments such as coast to coast or Donny doing his hip hop show with Jake etc. You lose the group camaraderie by the 2nd night compared to night 1. Fight me.
I'm admittedly a DB P1. Danny is talented and so funny to me. That's just my humor. Sirois is an easy listen. Combined with OGW & Grubes, they have chemistry - which I find sometimes lacking in the afternoon drive @ TT. Just one man's opinion.
ASSIST!
For someone as invested in the DB, you'd think I'd have sniffed the afternoon or morning show. I have not. That isn't just a morning & afternoon problem for TF, that's a DB problem. If all ships rise with the tide, then a potentially seaworthy ship can go down dragging 2 sinking ships behind it.
CONTENT!
I am also a HangZone fanboy of the highest order. They have chemistry and talent (as many do) but they're actively inventing and seeking the most relevant, interesting, funny content all day and all night - which blows the top off the thing. As much as I am drawn to the flame of DB, I can't for the life of me figure out why they've allowed themselves - considering the position they're in - to apparently be fine without a producer like Blake Jones cranking away at attempting content that matches TT muster (or better.) Ok, lists and game shows are fine in a certain frequency but I get the feeling they are far too satisfied to entertain themselves (and those on their laps like me) then present a show equal to TT's siren call.
Again, I'm a DB listener and I happen to like what they do (though I may be alone in that,) but I also know what they COULD do if they WANTED. I just hope they want it. Forget all you did or were at TT and get low. Do something new and different. "Make it incredible"
Well, 506, I think most folks here were hoping that was going to be the case for TDB. Unfortunately, they have not even left the loading dock much less delivered the goods. They haven't because they don't have the goods and they're lazy. Sorry. They really are lazy. Rhyner Ranks It. Nuff said. Everyone is welcome to their opinion and we all have different likes and dislikes and mehs. So no one is going to knock you for being a DB P1. Have at it. But do know that you are in a very very very very small minority. Not just here, but for the entire DFW (the ratings don't lie), which is fine. Perhaps you have extremely discerning/niche taste. Dunno. None muh.
I’ve said this before here. The Freak is trying to be the Ticket for people who think the Ticket talks too much sports. Hey we’re going to make a whole station out of the filler segments the Ticket does in slow news day. Every other station has a reason for being. A target market- news junkies, sports fans, country music lovers, rockers , etc. the freak audience is “people who like to hear Mike talk about whatever he wants”. I’m sorry, that’s not actually a successful model. C
Support staff is such a critical differentiator here and maybe the greatest irony.
Several of the TF defectors left because they weren't getting their fair share, and now that they are there isn't enough budget left for a support staff and that might be the most obviously clear issue in listening to the station. Ok, second to not having a local PD running the ship. Somewhere recently I read a thread, tweet or something from some TF host that was whining about not being allowed to hire any support staff, and I just laughed at how silly they sounded. We're just a few months past one of the main TF hosts posting on social media a plea for anyone to come help do support work (for free!!).
Producers at the Ticket have long been a silent hero. Fernando is the best example. Someone who does a ton of dirty work behind the scenes and has zero desire to be on the air. Producer is NOT a "position in waiting" - ie: where you sit while you await your turn at the chair. It's a totally different discipline and a great producer can take a show from average to outstanding. Some of the best years of the HL were went Cat was their producer. I'd make the case that Sean has made significant improvements with Norm and Donovan - the difference is obvious. BaD has always had a really good producer, but that was mostly because Dan demanded it. (spoiler: Dan is not the 'chill, whatever-dude' type he plays. he is old school radio and runs that ship accordingly) Blake and Mino are very much proving their mettle in their new roles - the former in particular has been a revelation - mostly because he's, again, on the show that demands the most from their producer.
There is a way too long of a list to explain why/how TF was dead on arrival, but the hosts putting themselves into positions to have to absorb the producer roles was always one of the biggest red-flags.
Spot on, 809. You sound like someone privy to inside baseball. Your excellent comment aside, I've also noticed that N&D has become a far better listen under SeaBass than it ever was with Sirois. It's now actually Norm and Donnie's show, rather than Sirois's. Making up silly (and funny about 5 years ago) names for each segment and coming up with segments that mostly attempt to make fun of Norm isn't producing. Funny how N&D's ratings went up and are their highest ever with SB at the helm. I do hope the ex-Ticket folk not named Rhyner and Julie (she and hubby are from money and hubby does rather well for himself via The Stars) are saving more than they're spending of their exponentially larger earnings. The Freak is going away pretty soon and none of them are going to land a job in this industry making anywhere near the money/benefits. I'd wager that most if not all will find that this was their last job in the industry, period. Also haven't failed to notice that past the first few months, no local media types are mentioning, much less going on air, with The Down Beat. Even Emily Jones seems to have distanced (sans her pod with Julie). Really strange thing, this Freak. It could have been a force of sorts to reckon with but its principal players chose to say and do what they wanted and in the way they wanted. Bad decision, coach. Interested in the rest of your thoughts on the matter, 809. Both you and C bring the heat. Good shit.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around does it make a sound? If you do a guest segment on a station with crap ratings does IT make a sound? C
The only show I listen to on TF is the Downbeat. The problem with The Downbeat is not their personalities or chemistry, the problem is their content. They simply don’t produce enough content that’s relevant to me as a listener - local/national news, sports, etc. I like the Ticket because not only is it entertaining, it’s informational at the same time. I feel like 70% of the time I listen to the Downbeat, it’s just them screwing around ranking things like parts of a car or something dumb like that. While I like the premise of a show with the three Mikes and Danny, the execution in my opinion has been terrible for the most part overall.
I assume the cadence of Bob and Dan's contracts were offset when Bob moved to THL. I am fairly sure he was given an offer sheet for that move. IIRC Dan's contract was up a little over a year ago and he re-upped. Jake and Dan are not on the same cadence as you might recall Jake's contract was renewed a while back.
"The problem with The Downbeat is not their personalities or chemistry, the problem is their content."
This is a confusing statement. If you say what you want, then wouldn't the content reflect the personalities of, and (in all likelihood) the chemistry between, hosts?
If they were genuinely compelling personalities, then the topics under discussion too would be interesting. Interesting people do and talk about interesting things. Else they're not interesting. Chemistry understood in this context means that the connection and communication between two or more individuals is compelling, i.e., interesting. Again, if on the whole their content (of their choosing) isn't interesting, then neither are they; and so, nor do they have chemistry.
DJ in for Craig the next 2 days. Big opportunity for him. Pretty sure he's filled in for Gordon and done a decent job doing bits but can't remember if he's filled in for George or Craig before
Filling in for Craig means dealing with Gordo for a total of 10 hours. I have a feeling that alone will keep him in check. But yes, this is a big opportunity for DJ. It also means that Cat has his eye on him for the station's future. A future, at least for the morning show, that might have a major change or two coming online sooner rather than later. #rumblings
I am by no means an insider, but if there were going to be a major station change, I would think it would have to happen very quickly, with Cowboy season coming up. I can't see something like that happening in the middle of the season.
I do sense rumblings though. While spit balling with another P1, we got onto a tangent about Podcasts and Twitch. The scenario we discussed was a weekly, maybe every two weeks, a Podcast with a retired Musers and Doocy. I could see notable appearances, like Dale, Nadel, maybe a retired Norm on occasion, Troy, Rusty...
They may just call it quits, but for guys who have spent their entire lives expressing themselves, I would think it would be hard to quit cold turkey.
Just throwing it out there for confessor opinion. I know the Rhyner Podcast was meh, but we know how much effort he puts forth.
I can't see the Musers going out until George and Craig are at least 60. We have 2 or 3 more years of Status Quo. Would be hard to turn down the next 3 year extension at mega dollars while still in late 50s and stop short of 30 years on the air.
I happened upon the Hardline while they were talking golf with the host of some golf podcast. They were discussion the media blitz surrounding the club pro at the PGA last week and they were decrying the rise of hyperbolic terms in the media. Superlative Corby didn't even burst into flames while doing it. I found that amusing.
Superlative Corby brings a lot of fun and carefree irreverence to The Ticket. Though not often agreeing with his takes, I find his personality very engaging and fun to listen to especially when accompanied by a Corby pterodactyl cackle.
I enjoyed DJ's wrok the last two days. He didn't annoy me the way he did teamed with Donnie or as he can on the weekend. I don't think DJ is really the problem on his weekend gig either I don't think he's surrounded by very strong partners there.
more than likely it's just someone from inside the company that has been brought in to assess and assist and not a new hire - there's been a hiring freeze at iHR for some time. It would be improbable that after 7 months of DOA, that iHR isn't trying something, someone. now how that plays w/ the hosts is another story.
TF talent continue to put on a brave or defiant face - "we're told all is good and it will take time" - but my experience is the talent never really know when the axe is coming. I've seen stations blown up 100's of time in my career and 98% of the time the talent are the last ones to know.
as I've said here before, unless TF has some other internal, non-radio purpose (ie: a digital/podcasting experiment) what has been happening on both the ratings and revenue fronts - I can't see this going on much longer. But iHR very much wants to play in the digital space, so I continue to wonder if it does stay on is actually due to something we're not privy to.
Format flips are way easier in 2023, automated and digitized. Don't be surprised if you wake up after the long weekend and it's gone.
Anonymous 3:47 I saw on one of the local radio boards there are now two completely AI stations up and running in LA I think. Would they try that in D/FW? Would an AI station be much different from a show with canned content and local drop in's like KMAD in Sherman/Denison?
Scattershooting while wondering what's going to happen to The Ticket when/if it does/doesn't embrace our new gambling overlords... Perhaps I am a prudish 50 year old, but I have been somewhat taken aback by how quickly gambling has been normalized during TV broadcasts - Hey Jim, do you like over 1.5 goals in the third period?. I would think at some point, the money from Caesar's or FanDuel is going to be too great to relegate betting content to Picks with Friends or ads .. is the Hardline's Vegas trip coming up the camel's nose under the tent? I'll take my answer on the air...
It's already openly embraced by pretty much all hosts. Did you not hear Bob during Campound sound like every bit the balls deep gambler as Norm? I think only Junes, Jake, and Davey are the only ones who aren't regularly gambling. And Jake might be also.
@828 I guess I meant more content sponsored by FanDuel or whoever... It blows my mind that sports seems to be teetering ever closer to just being content for gambling instead of being entertainment for its own sake. Again, maybe I'm just naive... I'm half expecting a gambling company buying the broadcast rights to a league and offering the broadcasts for "free" if you bet $200 a month, or allow push notifications for their App.
With the current mood in Austin over casino gambling right now I don't think you will have to worry about being able to place a bet at the local 7-11 any time soon.
I need a memory check from the Confessor. I was listening to Work in Progress yesterday, and I could have sworn that I heard Monte say a couple of times that they'd be doing 3-7 today (Monday, Memorial Day). I tune in and it's the usual Hardline. Am I committing an MTC-Brake?
Pretty much an all-hockey show, understandable under the circumstances of an emerging Stars comeback, and Bob's Hockey Guy.
Have a feeling Monto didn't miss a check. Moreover, Monto earns a rather healthy "living wage" from his family's rather really really really prosperous chicken biz. So don't cry fiscally for Monto. Physically, well, ymmv.
Meanwhile, Danny used ChatGpt to compose a poem for Rhyner. Get this. Mike capping of the pants was included. Whoaaa! Haw haw haw! Great stuff, guys. Shoulda heard Sirois and Grubes laffin' it up! Oh man! And Rhynes! Man oh man was he STEAMED! Classic Downbeat, y'all. Organic goods, fer sure.
@728 How you extrapolated all that from a stupid one line question says a lot about you. None of it is flattering. Please take your reactionary bulsh to reddit or Twitter. This isn't the place for such crapola. And please, also, don't reply to this with more of the above. No one here is going to take the junior high debate team tactic bait. While 341's comment/question is, again, a stupid one that doesn't belong here. Neither does your over the top, risible display.
I did have a question on my morning commute. I have heard Donnie doing the commercial for a hair growth product. Last I saw, he is still bald, and openly admits to Ron Washington hair. Wouldn't an advertiser want someone who successfully used their product? Just me me chuckle each time I hear it.
There is a line between a testimonial ad and doing a voice-over as hired talent. Remember Dan doing the Body Shaper ads? They were written like he was actually using the product. Same script for every station in town. The ads were pulled because the product was snake oil. Would they sound the same if Corby was doing them? Does Donnie use the Low T Center also? Remember Greggo's Bad Assed Boats commercial? That was played on every station in the Cumulus cluster. Like Doc Martin, Conrad, and Kevin McCarthy, all paid voices.
Confessors and Friends: F_______ Blogger has been removing functionality over the past couple of years. If I had more time to devote to this thing I'd have ditched it long ago. Recently, they removed the host's ability to delete comments using the little trash can that appears next to comments on my feed.
I have read that there is a workaround to this but (1) time, and (2) I am not the most tech-savvy guy. I'm going to try to spend some time on it this morning.
In the meantime, please do your best to ignore provocateurs like 341. Don't rise to the bait of fools who post stuff like the Mino stuff just to agitate. I'm trying to find a platform that is relatively easy to get running, but so far blogging host sites have been, to say the least, non-intuitive.
I'm considering Substack on a non-pay basis, since I offer absolutely no value other than my own timeless thoughts.
Anyway, be assured that I'd have deleted 4-5 of the foregoing posts if I could possibly do so with Blogger's current offering. If anyone would care to recommend a blog platform for me to check out I would be grateful.
1. Its been said before - it needs to be said again - good on the CatMan for his re-configuration. Tyler Sams AM board-op = yup. DJ doing those tickers = yupp. SeaBass w Norm & Donovan = yuppp. Mino as PM producer = YeaYupppp! & of course Jake w Dan - - Bob & Davey w Corbs. It.All.Works. - -- -I was on the fence with Ham taking over the board, mainly because he seemed like a Wildcard. Turns out - thats kinda what I like about it now.
2. Haven't dipped too much into the Freak - the occasional ad break before Muse or right after E-News- gotta say - in my 1min listens I am hearing either - attempts at Sportsss - or an immediate punch-out. Those dial turns are becoming less and less - -Id rather listen to the ads, tbh!
3. I googled "Not Ready for PrimeTime.." - -and I start seeing links for Belushi, Chevy, Gilda, Murray - - - my bad. new search - "Not Ready for PrimeTime DFW Radio".
A brand new ad from Trajan aired today where he said now is the very best time to get an annuity and don't let anyone tell you differently about annuities. In other words Trajan is saying don't let super high commissions, surrender fees and generally lousiness of that investment vehicle get in the way of what he is telling you.
Man, super neato of you to put us onto Trajan's unsavory practices. Whew! Glad you came along when you did today. I was THIIIIIIIIS close to cashing out my 401k and marching straight over to Trajan.
Thank you for all that you do, Financial Troll. And for what you do to your body.
Wonder if Financial Troll is a former Trajan employee. He sounds a LOT like the folks on TF day one with passive aggressive feelings toward a former employer.
I have another daily stop that left Blogger because of not being able to block posters or edit or control posts. He made a post that blew up with trolls and ate up all of his monthly allotment of bandwidth that rendered his blog useless for most of a month. He has since switched to WordPress and is quite happy with it. Might be something to look into. Just make sure your security certificate is up to date.
Reading a local radio board that is, ahem, FREAKUENTED (rock me) by some actual radio folks --along with schmoes like us-- you get the sense that while yes TF's ratings are abysmal, they're generating more ad rev than The Eagle did. A lot more. Specifically, if you look at their website, you'll see each show, different segments, and station events are all sponsored by top tier clients (e,g., an upcoming golf tournament sponsored by Charles Schwabb -- don't FREQ out, Financial Troll). So, by this scenario, iHeart will not be pulling the plug on TF anytime soon. Having said this, the radio person presenting this also said the reason for this upper echelon sponsorships are due to all the heritage personalities. Of course, that's when I said to myself, "say what?" TF has ONE heritage personality, Mike Rhyner. And that one personality is the most disengaged personality on the station.
According to Miller Kaplan, the CPA firm that tracks radio revenue in the market, the Freak is down on average about 40-50% year over year compared to the Eagle. They may be up in what is referred to as “local direct”, that’s non agency, local business purchased directly by the client. A lot of the endorsement clients are local direct. But here’s an aural exercise. Listen to the Freak. Listen to the Ticket. Compare clients . How many different clients do you hear on Ticket versus the Freak. Myself, I hear a much more varied roster of clients on the Ticket. For example, Freak has Rodney Anderson, Ticket hasRodney, tx lending, Bank of England, and probably more in the mortgage category, plus (hi troll!) Trajan, EECU, City Credit etc in the banking/financial services category. Freak doesn’t have that kind of depth. Plus, listen to how many spots they run for their podcast networks. Those are freebies. If you’re running those in pm drive, and they are, you don’t have inventory issues. Which means you’re not selling all your spots, and not making much money. C
Anonymous 6>32: The person who posted that is a known troll on that board and his sole purpose in life is an attempt to prove the moderator ( who has 60+ years in radio programming) and some of the senior posters wrong. He pulled this same bit back when the rumors of a flip from the rock format first started. The Eagle is the greatest station, on and on and on. Now he is doing the same thing with The Freak.
With the new PD let's see if they start to trend more sportsy. Will they out sports 105.3, I doubt it but that audience will be their new target and not KTCK. This thing is still on thin ice and will it take off like early Ticket? Lightning doesn't usually strike twice in the same place.
Yo 632. Thanks for the Linkdin link, but what's with the dig? Surly dropped the dude's name. No one came back asking for deets (impliciation being they didn't want to do the research like we did the research).
I'll do one better. Here's Dom's personal website. Now you tell me where you thing TF is heading (and when you're done doing that, tell me what one Rhyner is thinking right about now):
after seven months of nothing but losses - ratings and revenue - hiring a pd is a weird move if, as the hosts have claimed of late that "all is well, the plan is to "give it time" and nothing is changing.
Nope, this is clearly the 1st sign that changes are coming; at best a re-arranging of the deck chairs, at worst a full clearing of the deck and starting over. they've been trying to hire someone for a while, with little success, and this guy appears to be a bit of a journeyman and a look at his LinkedIn profile tells you he's former Cumulus. So, he's not an unknown (it's a small business these days, more than ever) and whatever skillsets or baggage he arrives with will already be known.
731am, do take a look at his personel site 1025pm posted. He's pretty much everything Rhyner deplores about sports media. Everything, and I mean everything. Then again, a lot of what and who Rhyner used to claim to find distasteful if not out and out loathe, well, he's shown that it isn't always the case. Indeed, it's often not the case.
My guess is there will soon be a name adjustment. Something along the lines of The Sports Freak or the likes. With this PD hire and the noticeable uptick in sports talk -- e.g., the implementation of "Tickers," the all sports national feed, etc.-- it seems obvious where things are heading. I have a feeling they will see if the morning show with the sportsy Cavanaugh, a sportsy-ish KT, and a in the sports media biz but actually rather sports clueless Julie can pull in better numbers as a guy/sports show before 86ing it. Though it wouldn't surprise me if they kept Cavanaugh and KT, brought someone else in (Ticket JV poach?), and sent Julie on her way/put her out of her apparent misery (if you ever catch The Mom Game pod, you'll know what I mean here).
Whatever shakes out/up, something's about to happen at TF. That, I'd bet the house on.
From time to time I’ll get an anonymous email claiming some inside knowledge about The Ticket (or, more recently, The Freak), or some radio industry expertise. I’m never quite sure what to do with these. If they’re incorrect, I’d feel pretty lousy if it hurt someone’s career or a station’s business. I simply have to judge whether the items have the ring of truth. I’ve collected a few and this seems to be as good a time as any to air out the ones that make sense based on the current information already known to the public.
ReplyDeleteNote that some of these are not new (i.e., within the last several weeks), and the situations they ad-dress may have changed and current numbers may tell a more up-to-date story. Although none is very surprising, based on public reports.
(1) Morale at The Freak is not great.
(2) There has been little or no “fence-mending” be-tween Freak refugees from The Ticket and The Ticket. This one was a little unclear as to whether the effort has not been made, or has not been welcome (or successful).
(3) iHeart personnel in other markets are both con-fused and amused by the Dallas situation.
(4) For at least one month earlier this year, KEGL revenue was down mid-double-digits in percentage from the same period the year before, while The Ticket was up mid-single-digits. (This one may already be known to our more radio-savvy Confessors.) A more sophisticated deep dive on the numbers is not suggesting a significant change for either station in the near future.
(5) There is market speculation that perhaps iHeart is banking on digital ratings/revenue to justify keeping The Freak airborne.
Looks like some new numbers are in, which will of greater importance than any of the foregoing.
Sorry about the irregular hyphenation above. Blogger sux. I keep meaning to find a friendlier home for this joint, but no time.
ReplyDeleteThe Ticket’s latest numbers are just mind blowing. Like hard to believe. Just bonkers.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Freak's numbers? Bad or worse?
ReplyDeleteI believe they are worse
ReplyDeleteBleak would be the apt descriptor for TF's latest book.
ReplyDeleteRan into a certain Ticketeer at the hockey game last night (Platinum Level bar, of course -- flex). Hovered about for a bit and overheard someone ask him about TF. He said something along the lines of pretty soon that probably won't be a relevant question. This book stacked upon the preceding books portends the end game being in sight. At least one would think.
Let's put it this way - ratings for TT and TF are pretty much on polar opposites of the ratings scale.
ReplyDeleteIf you think TT's numbers are "mind blowing", TF's are whatever the opposite of that would be.
Of their three shows in their specific (weird) time slots, in their core demo, none of them break a 2 share, and are respectively ranked 27th, 26th and 19th .
The B&S numbers seem to be terribly bad for a show that's been around as long as they have. That is the only show on TF I don't even click over to occasionally.
ReplyDeleteMy Ticket listening is not much better, to be honest. I listen to the Musers and that's about it. I stick around for Norm and D some days but my tolerance for anything after the noon hour is very limited. They are better at their job than TF shows but I just don't enjoy either show anymore.
Campound this week so I'll see how long I can stick with what I used to listen to all the way through.
Rhyner is learning in the most painful of ways that a part is not greater than its whole. Nevertheless, he's back, bitches. And he's ranking everything in sight.
ReplyDeleteAll the self meme-ing videos, the Twitter countdowns, the cryptic clues, and all the sophomoric rest......so bizarre that it was borne from the mind of a septuagenarian.
TOTC here... WFH continues and allows me a lot of time to listen to whatever I choose, and I have given some of the various TF shows a shot during a given workday. I tried. I can't. And I won't. TF is just not up to the task at hand - luring listeners away from the Little Ticket. I'm always in on the Musers - Jub, Craig and Gordo are only getting better at their craft; Norm and D is what it is - just waiting for that radio Hall of Famer to finally give in and take retirement; the HangZone is rounding into form, but for the love of Pete (DeBoer - Go Stars!) Dan is chalk on a blackboard to me most of the time; the Hardline is running on all cylinders now - Bob is a future Hall of Famer, Corby is better with the departure of the old grey wolf, and GenX Davey is a welcome addition finding his place in this world. And the 2nd tier talent is strong to quite strong these days. You didn't ask for it - but that is my take on the current radio landscape. Day 1 P1 signing off. (for those not in the know - TOTC = Town Of The Cow)
ReplyDeleteI find the Hang Zone really rounding into form. Not sure why many on hear complain about Dan as I think he is comic genius and very smart in his sports takes and observations. It is clear that all his Ticket mates find him to be genius as he is one of the most loved guys at the Ticket.
ReplyDeleteIt is just a matter of taste. I'm not going to claim Dan or Corby (my two disliked hosts) aren't good at their jobs or don't have talent. I just don't care for the personas they put forth on the radio. Dan's humor isn't something I find really funny and without Bob to counter him I just don't find it enjoyable anymore. Throw Blake into the mix and the Hangzone is just 3 hours of irritation for me. Corby just beats the hell out of me. Everything from his overly superlative declarations to his unbelievably sure he's right about a subject he has no knowledge of makes me want to punch him. Its a shame because I like Jake and Bob and even Gen X Davey but not enough to fight through Corby and Dan. I get way less aggravation from listening to podcast about serial killers and weird crimes. YMMV
ReplyDeletePcontrol is correct. The morale at The Freak is low AF. As a result the over the top spin and "we good" bulsh coming out of Freak hosts is being laid on thicc. Don't know who C is, but we're in the same line of work. So s/he and I do get a bit more scuttle of the butt than most A bit more, you bet, but not a ton of real inside goodies. Saying all that, I can say this. Pcontrol is correct about the morale and the puzzled view from not just other iHeart stations and markets, but from all related media corps. The insideiest bit I can offer is those of us in sales are beginning to hear the chatter you hear when changes are coming down. My guess is the first move is to clean house saving The Downbeat. Though after a very slight (pretty much insignificant) bump a few months back, their awful numbers are only getting worse. Now all Freak shows are getting trounced by The FAN. The FAN is who they're now targeting as their main competition. That campaign began in earnest on Opening Day with them supposedly being denied a spot at the ballpark by The FAN. Pretty odd move for a format that claims they're not a sports station. 2 competitors, both sports talkers. The next move is a flip.
ReplyDeleteWhole thing's a mess AF.
If The Freak wanted to truly distinguish themselves, why not steal away the much younger Ticket talent? These amazing numbers (high and low) reflect a trend in radio. Perhaps podcasts are changing the landscape. Maybe something else. Is there a young Gordon-type waiting among the jvers? Without a really creative up and comer, The Ticket still faces an aging problem. Of course, who cares when the numbers are so good? TF’s lineup is of approximate age….minus the truly creative talent.
ReplyDeleteArguably, the Freak hired away some of the younger folks at the Ticket. While Norm and Mike are in their 70s, musers approaching 60, Bob and Dan and Corby all early 50s probably, hiring Sirois 40ish? Danny 50 ish?, Julie late 30s? They picked off some of the younger peeps. Problem being none of them are radio professionals at the job they were hired for. Besides Mike and Ben and skin, not one person hired by the Freak has an independent history of ratings success. Cavanaugh was part of a multi host show, the rest KT, K Ray, Sirois, Danny, Julie, even Grubes were bit players on someone else’s successful show. If they really want the freak to be successful stop hiring perennial failures Ben and skin and stop hiring people who have never carried a show before. Which leads to my response to your comment. Coming up next….
ReplyDeleteC
And we’re back, thanks for reading my ticket confession, this segment we’re going to talk about stealing away some of the younger ticket talent. Sure the Freak could take a run at Mino or Monty, DJ or Sean Bass, but why would they want to leave arguably one of the most successful sports stations in the country for (norm voice) “an abortion”. You could money whip them, supposedly Sirois has said he tripled his income by moving to the Freak, but with great power comes great responsibility. Wait, wrong bromide, with great pay comes great pressure. Somewhere there’s a “suit” crunching numbers and realizing that they’re paying a lot of people a lot of money when they could flip back to metal and immediately double, triple, possibly quadruple their ratings in demo. The Eagle never did great, but they were in the low teens I believe, not 19th at best, near 30 at worst. If you’re DJ or Mino you may not love being not tier 1. But do you leave to go be tier 1 elsewhere, and totally shit the bed of going back to the ticket. Julie left and she’s probably going to get less than a year before losing her job. And how many people has the Ticket ever rehired? We’ll talk about that right after this…
ReplyDeleteC
To my knowledge, there’s only been 2 significant rehires. TC left and got rehired agree his failed Florida gig. I’ve been told that was totally a Bib and Dan decision, because Dan loved the dude while everybody else thought he’s a spare. But once he left the 2nd time he’s never been bsck. Never used It’s just banter as a fill in show, etc. I think Catlin saw the talent, or lack of, and slotted him in the most inconsequential slot at the mothership, midday tickers.
ReplyDeleteThe other rehire was Elf. Who was hired back by cumulus not at the Ticket, but relegated to ESPN. It’s only once ESPN got sold, that Elf moved back to 96.7. But I’ll tell you what I know- Elf gets ratings. His hours do better than average. In other words, if other Sunday shows average a 2 share, he averages a 3 share. He draws an audience above and beyond the norm.
With as much stock as the Ticket puts in its bunker mentality, I don’t see them changing and bringing back Sirois or Julie. Why? What do they bring? Sirois is a good partner for Donovan when Norm is out? Well, do is Sea Bass. To the tune of 4 straight months of #1 6 plus ratings. Clearly the Ticket doesn’t need Mike, Mike, Danny, Julie or any of the rest to do well. So why hire any of them back?
C
Coast to Coast is a bad bit. Even if it’s only on once or twice a year, that’s 1-2 times too many. Fight me
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:50 PM
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of the actual coast to coast segment during Campound but I will say it's part of the texture and fabric of the entire event. It is a time for me to tune out and get some other stuff done. I don't begrudge them for continuing to do it but agree it's a short tune out for me. I will also offer up that the first night is always the best because it is the night were everyone is together for one big massive roundtable. Those historically have been the best part of the event. The 2nd night devolves into specialized segments such as coast to coast or Donny doing his hip hop show with Jake etc. You lose the group camaraderie by the 2nd night compared to night 1. Fight me.
I'm admittedly a DB P1. Danny is talented and so funny to me. That's just my humor. Sirois is an easy listen. Combined with OGW & Grubes, they have chemistry - which I find sometimes lacking in the afternoon drive @ TT. Just one man's opinion.
ReplyDeleteASSIST!
For someone as invested in the DB, you'd think I'd have sniffed the afternoon or morning show. I have not. That isn't just a morning & afternoon problem for TF, that's a DB problem. If all ships rise with the tide, then a potentially seaworthy ship can go down dragging 2 sinking ships behind it.
CONTENT!
I am also a HangZone fanboy of the highest order. They have chemistry and talent (as many do) but they're actively inventing and seeking the most relevant, interesting, funny content all day and all night - which blows the top off the thing. As much as I am drawn to the flame of DB, I can't for the life of me figure out why they've allowed themselves - considering the position they're in - to apparently be fine without a producer like Blake Jones cranking away at attempting content that matches TT muster (or better.) Ok, lists and game shows are fine in a certain frequency but I get the feeling they are far too satisfied to entertain themselves (and those on their laps like me) then present a show equal to TT's siren call.
Again, I'm a DB listener and I happen to like what they do (though I may be alone in that,) but I also know what they COULD do if they WANTED. I just hope they want it. Forget all you did or were at TT and get low. Do something new and different. "Make it incredible"
Well, 506, I think most folks here were hoping that was going to be the case for TDB. Unfortunately, they have not even left the loading dock much less delivered the goods. They haven't because they don't have the goods and they're lazy. Sorry. They really are lazy. Rhyner Ranks It. Nuff said. Everyone is welcome to their opinion and we all have different likes and dislikes and mehs. So no one is going to knock you for being a DB P1. Have at it. But do know that you are in a very very very very small minority. Not just here, but for the entire DFW (the ratings don't lie), which is fine. Perhaps you have extremely discerning/niche taste. Dunno. None muh.
ReplyDeleteI’ve said this before here. The Freak is trying to be the Ticket for people who think the Ticket talks too much sports. Hey we’re going to make a whole station out of the filler segments the Ticket does in slow news day. Every other station has a reason for being. A target market- news junkies, sports fans, country music lovers, rockers , etc. the freak audience is “people who like to hear Mike talk about whatever he wants”. I’m sorry, that’s not actually a successful model.
ReplyDeleteC
Support staff is such a critical differentiator here and maybe the greatest irony.
ReplyDeleteSeveral of the TF defectors left because they weren't getting their fair share, and now that they are there isn't enough budget left for a support staff and that might be the most obviously clear issue in listening to the station. Ok, second to not having a local PD running the ship. Somewhere recently I read a thread, tweet or something from some TF host that was whining about not being allowed to hire any support staff, and I just laughed at how silly they sounded. We're just a few months past one of the main TF hosts posting on social media a plea for anyone to come help do support work (for free!!).
Producers at the Ticket have long been a silent hero. Fernando is the best example. Someone who does a ton of dirty work behind the scenes and has zero desire to be on the air. Producer is NOT a "position in waiting" - ie: where you sit while you await your turn at the chair. It's a totally different discipline and a great producer can take a show from average to outstanding. Some of the best years of the HL were went Cat was their producer. I'd make the case that Sean has made significant improvements with Norm and Donovan - the difference is obvious. BaD has always had a really good producer, but that was mostly because Dan demanded it. (spoiler: Dan is not the 'chill, whatever-dude' type he plays. he is old school radio and runs that ship accordingly) Blake and Mino are very much proving their mettle in their new roles - the former in particular has been a revelation - mostly because he's, again, on the show that demands the most from their producer.
There is a way too long of a list to explain why/how TF was dead on arrival, but the hosts putting themselves into positions to have to absorb the producer roles was always one of the biggest red-flags.
Spot on, 809. You sound like someone privy to inside baseball. Your excellent comment aside, I've also noticed that N&D has become a far better listen under SeaBass than it ever was with Sirois. It's now actually Norm and Donnie's show, rather than Sirois's. Making up silly (and funny about 5 years ago) names for each segment and coming up with segments that mostly attempt to make fun of Norm isn't producing. Funny how N&D's ratings went up and are their highest ever with SB at the helm. I do hope the ex-Ticket folk not named Rhyner and Julie (she and hubby are from money and hubby does rather well for himself via The Stars) are saving more than they're spending of their exponentially larger earnings. The Freak is going away pretty soon and none of them are going to land a job in this industry making anywhere near the money/benefits. I'd wager that most if not all will find that this was their last job in the industry, period. Also haven't failed to notice that past the first few months, no local media types are mentioning, much less going on air, with The Down Beat. Even Emily Jones seems to have distanced (sans her pod with Julie). Really strange thing, this Freak. It could have been a force of sorts to reckon with but its principal players chose to say and do what they wanted and in the way they wanted. Bad decision, coach. Interested in the rest of your thoughts on the matter, 809. Both you and C bring the heat. Good shit.
ReplyDeleteEmily appears on The Freq every Tuesday at 10am
ReplyDeleteIf a tree falls in a forest and no one is around does it make a sound? If you do a guest segment on a station with crap ratings does IT make a sound?
DeleteC
I stand corrected on that point.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/CsjP9RWOi7t/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderfully fortunate time to be up for a new long term deal. big money!!
DeleteThe only show I listen to on TF is the Downbeat. The problem with The Downbeat is not their personalities or chemistry, the problem is their content. They simply don’t produce enough content that’s relevant to me as a listener - local/national news, sports, etc. I like the Ticket because not only is it entertaining, it’s informational at the same time. I feel like 70% of the time I listen to the Downbeat, it’s just them screwing around ranking things like parts of a car or something dumb like that. While I like the premise of a show with the three Mikes and Danny, the execution in my opinion has been terrible for the most part overall.
DeleteHaven't Bob and Dan been on the same contract for years? I wonder what Dan's contract situation is now, given the news.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:36
ReplyDeleteI assume the cadence of Bob and Dan's contracts were offset when Bob moved to THL. I am fairly sure he was given an offer sheet for that move. IIRC Dan's contract was up a little over a year ago and he re-upped. Jake and Dan are not on the same cadence as you might recall Jake's contract was renewed a while back.
"The problem with The Downbeat is not their personalities or chemistry, the problem is their content."
ReplyDeleteThis is a confusing statement. If you say what you want, then wouldn't the content reflect the personalities of, and (in all likelihood) the chemistry between, hosts?
If they were genuinely compelling personalities, then the topics under discussion too would be interesting. Interesting people do and talk about interesting things. Else they're not interesting. Chemistry understood in this context means that the connection and communication between two or more individuals is compelling, i.e., interesting. Again, if on the whole their content (of their choosing) isn't interesting, then neither are they; and so, nor do they have chemistry.
^^^^^facts, yo.
ReplyDeleteDJ in for Craig the next 2 days. Big opportunity for him. Pretty sure he's filled in for Gordon and done a decent job doing bits but can't remember if he's filled in for George or Craig before
ReplyDeleteI hope DJ takes a different approach from when he filled in for Norm with Donnie. His faux aggression toward Donnie got old very fast.
ReplyDeleteFilling in for Craig means dealing with Gordo for a total of 10 hours. I have a feeling that alone will keep him in check. But yes, this is a big opportunity for DJ. It also means that Cat has his eye on him for the station's future. A future, at least for the morning show, that might have a major change or two coming online sooner rather than later. #rumblings
ReplyDeleteI am by no means an insider, but if there were going to be a major station change, I would think it would have to happen very quickly, with Cowboy season coming up. I can't see something like that happening in the middle of the season.
ReplyDeleteI do sense rumblings though. While spit balling with another P1, we got onto a tangent about Podcasts and Twitch. The scenario we discussed was a weekly, maybe every two weeks, a Podcast with a retired Musers and Doocy. I could see notable appearances, like Dale, Nadel, maybe a retired Norm on occasion, Troy, Rusty...
They may just call it quits, but for guys who have spent their entire lives expressing themselves, I would think it would be hard to quit cold turkey.
Just throwing it out there for confessor opinion. I know the Rhyner Podcast was meh, but we know how much effort he puts forth.
I can't see the Musers going out until George and Craig are at least 60. We have 2 or 3 more years of Status Quo. Would be hard to turn down the next 3 year extension at mega dollars while still in late 50s and stop short of 30 years on the air.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good. He's a bit of a nervous over-laugher but he's been solid today
ReplyDeleteI happened upon the Hardline while they were talking golf with the host of some golf podcast. They were discussion the media blitz surrounding the club pro at the PGA last week and they were decrying the rise of hyperbolic terms in the media. Superlative Corby didn't even burst into flames while doing it. I found that amusing.
ReplyDeleteSuperlative Corby brings a lot of fun and carefree irreverence to The Ticket. Though not often agreeing with his takes, I find his personality very engaging and fun to listen to especially when accompanied by a Corby pterodactyl cackle.
ReplyDeletepterodactyl cackle, my new band name
ReplyDeleteI heard a good bit of DJ today, I thought he was fantastic. He has a bright future ahead of him.
ReplyDeleteDI acquitted himself nicely today. Seerns to have learned from his previous fill in stints.
ReplyDeleteI don't think EA ever filled in on the Musers
ReplyDeleteWrong two letter initialized name Surly. And EA still works for the Ticket.
ReplyDeleteThat wouldn't be a TC reference would it
ReplyDeleteApparently things got emotional on Gordo's twitch stream on Thursday night. Anyone have any insight on what went down?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed DJ's wrok the last two days. He didn't annoy me the way he did teamed with Donnie or as he can on the weekend. I don't think DJ is really the problem on his weekend gig either I don't think he's surrounded by very strong partners there.
ReplyDeleteApparently there’s a new PD/boss at The Freq
ReplyDeleteWhich might mean other (i.e., on-air) changes are imminent. Let's see: New PD/boss, 3 day holiday weekend... Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteSurly, where are you seeing this? I can't find anything, not even a rumor, on RadioInsight or the DFW radio boards.
ReplyDeleteC or the person in the previous thread who seems to have inside connections, do either of you have anything on this front?
-Curious in Collin County
The Downbeat talked about it openly on the show several times this week. They said he was at the Friday remote broadcast location.
ReplyDeleteTranslation. Shit's about to go down.
ReplyDeletemore than likely it's just someone from inside the company that has been brought in to assess and assist and not a new hire - there's been a hiring freeze at iHR for some time. It would be improbable that after 7 months of DOA, that iHR isn't trying something, someone. now how that plays w/ the hosts is another story.
ReplyDeleteTF talent continue to put on a brave or defiant face - "we're told all is good and it will take time" - but my experience is the talent never really know when the axe is coming. I've seen stations blown up 100's of time in my career and 98% of the time the talent are the last ones to know.
as I've said here before, unless TF has some other internal, non-radio purpose (ie: a digital/podcasting experiment) what has been happening on both the ratings and revenue fronts - I can't see this going on much longer. But iHR very much wants to play in the digital space, so I continue to wonder if it does stay on is actually due to something we're not privy to.
Format flips are way easier in 2023, automated and digitized.
Don't be surprised if you wake up after the long weekend and it's gone.
Anonymous 3:47
ReplyDeleteI saw on one of the local radio boards there are now two completely AI stations up and running in LA I think. Would they try that in D/FW? Would an AI station be much different from a show with canned content and local drop in's like KMAD in Sherman/Denison?
Scattershooting while wondering what's going to happen to The Ticket when/if it does/doesn't embrace our new gambling overlords... Perhaps I am a prudish 50 year old, but I have been somewhat taken aback by how quickly gambling has been normalized during TV broadcasts - Hey Jim, do you like over 1.5 goals in the third period?. I would think at some point, the money from Caesar's or FanDuel is going to be too great to relegate betting content to Picks with Friends or ads .. is the Hardline's Vegas trip coming up the camel's nose under the tent? I'll take my answer on the air...
ReplyDeleteIt's already openly embraced by pretty much all hosts. Did you not hear Bob during Campound sound like every bit the balls deep gambler as Norm? I think only Junes, Jake, and Davey are the only ones who aren't regularly gambling. And Jake might be also.
ReplyDeleteDo you think they'll use Trajan to invest their gambling earnings?
ReplyDelete@828 I guess I meant more content sponsored by FanDuel or whoever... It blows my mind that sports seems to be teetering ever closer to just being content for gambling instead of being entertainment for its own sake. Again, maybe I'm just naive... I'm half expecting a gambling company buying the broadcast rights to a league and offering the broadcasts for "free" if you bet $200 a month, or allow push notifications for their App.
ReplyDeleteWith the current mood in Austin over casino gambling right now I don't think you will have to worry about being able to place a bet at the local 7-11 any time soon.
ReplyDeleteJake certainly gambles fairly regularly. He bet the under on all the NBA games the day Kobe died and made *ahem* a killing…
ReplyDeleteI need a memory check from the Confessor. I was listening to Work in Progress yesterday, and I could have sworn that I heard Monte say a couple of times that they'd be doing 3-7 today (Monday, Memorial Day). I tune in and it's the usual Hardline. Am I committing an MTC-Brake?
ReplyDeletePretty much an all-hockey show, understandable under the circumstances of an emerging Stars comeback, and Bob's Hockey Guy.
Thanks for advising.
Big Show Bob thought it more important to broadcast and deprive Monty of a check
ReplyDeletebig Stars playoff game - so the big dollar, #1 PMD show gives up their day off to broadcast.
Deletecompare and contrast, discuss amongst yourselves.
Have a feeling Monto didn't miss a check. Moreover, Monto earns a rather healthy "living wage" from his family's rather really really really prosperous chicken biz. So don't cry fiscally for Monto. Physically, well, ymmv.
ReplyDeleteHis family is out of the chicken biz. Has been for awhile. And Bob mentioned Monty losing out on $ for him hosting instead
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Danny used ChatGpt to compose a poem for Rhyner. Get this. Mike capping of the pants was included. Whoaaa! Haw haw haw! Great stuff, guys. Shoulda heard Sirois and Grubes laffin' it up! Oh man! And Rhynes! Man oh man was he STEAMED! Classic Downbeat, y'all. Organic goods, fer sure.
ReplyDeleteI personally thought it was great the hardline broadcasted yesterday
ReplyDelete@728
ReplyDeleteHow you extrapolated all that from a stupid one line question says a lot about you. None of it is flattering. Please take your reactionary bulsh to reddit or Twitter. This isn't the place for such crapola. And please, also, don't reply to this with more of the above. No one here is going to take the junior high debate team tactic bait. While 341's comment/question is, again, a stupid one that doesn't belong here. Neither does your over the top, risible display.
Geez, let's lighten up folks.
ReplyDeleteI did have a question on my morning commute. I have heard Donnie doing the commercial for a hair growth product. Last I saw, he is still bald, and openly admits to Ron Washington hair. Wouldn't an advertiser want someone who successfully used their product? Just me me chuckle each time I hear it.
There is a line between a testimonial ad and doing a voice-over as hired talent. Remember Dan doing the Body Shaper ads? They were written like he was actually using the product. Same script for every station in town. The ads were pulled because the product was snake oil.
ReplyDeleteWould they sound the same if Corby was doing them? Does Donnie use the Low T Center also?
Remember Greggo's Bad Assed Boats commercial? That was played on every station in the Cumulus cluster. Like Doc Martin, Conrad, and Kevin McCarthy, all paid voices.
Confessors and Friends: F_______ Blogger has been removing functionality over the past couple of years. If I had more time to devote to this thing I'd have ditched it long ago. Recently, they removed the host's ability to delete comments using the little trash can that appears next to comments on my feed.
ReplyDeleteI have read that there is a workaround to this but (1) time, and (2) I am not the most tech-savvy guy. I'm going to try to spend some time on it this morning.
In the meantime, please do your best to ignore provocateurs like 341. Don't rise to the bait of fools who post stuff like the Mino stuff just to agitate. I'm trying to find a platform that is relatively easy to get running, but so far blogging host sites have been, to say the least, non-intuitive.
I'm considering Substack on a non-pay basis, since I offer absolutely no value other than my own timeless thoughts.
Anyway, be assured that I'd have deleted 4-5 of the foregoing posts if I could possibly do so with Blogger's current offering. If anyone would care to recommend a blog platform for me to check out I would be grateful.
Plainsman
Squarespace or WordPress.
ReplyDeleteSome so/so/so observations ahead-
ReplyDelete1. Its been said before - it needs to be said again - good on the CatMan for his re-configuration. Tyler Sams AM board-op = yup. DJ doing those tickers = yupp. SeaBass w Norm & Donovan = yuppp. Mino as PM producer = YeaYupppp! & of course Jake w Dan - - Bob & Davey w Corbs. It.All.Works. - -- -I was on the fence with Ham taking over the board, mainly because he seemed like a Wildcard. Turns out - thats kinda what I like about it now.
2. Haven't dipped too much into the Freak - the occasional ad break before Muse or right after E-News- gotta say - in my 1min listens I am hearing either - attempts at Sportsss - or an immediate punch-out. Those dial turns are becoming less and less - -Id rather listen to the ads, tbh!
3. I googled "Not Ready for PrimeTime.." - -and I start seeing links for Belushi, Chevy, Gilda, Murray - - - my bad. new search - "Not Ready for PrimeTime DFW Radio".
Gopher, totally forgot about the Greggo ad, totally. Those are some memories there
ReplyDeleteHam is really, really good
ReplyDeleteHam is ham. Which is a good good.
ReplyDeleteA brand new ad from Trajan aired today where he said now is the very best time to get an annuity and don't let anyone tell you differently about annuities. In other words Trajan is saying don't let super high commissions, surrender fees and generally lousiness of that investment vehicle get in the way of what he is telling you.
ReplyDeleteMan, super neato of you to put us onto Trajan's unsavory practices. Whew! Glad you came along when you did today. I was THIIIIIIIIS close to cashing out my 401k and marching straight over to Trajan.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all that you do, Financial Troll. And for what you do to your body.
Wonder if Financial Troll is a former Trajan employee. He sounds a LOT like the folks on TF day one with passive aggressive feelings toward a former employer.
ReplyDeleteI just wish other trolls would take a cue from FT. FT is an original, s/h/it has imagination. I mean, for f's sake, they're only trying to help!
ReplyDeleteSo here's to you, FT, whoever you are. May you troll good and troll strong for years to come. Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
I have another daily stop that left Blogger because of not being able to block posters or edit or control posts. He made a post that blew up with trolls and ate up all of his monthly allotment of bandwidth that rendered his blog useless for most of a month.
ReplyDeleteHe has since switched to WordPress and is quite happy with it.
Might be something to look into. Just make sure your security certificate is up to date.
New Freq PD seems to be Dominic Zaccagnini
ReplyDeleteSounds like a pro hitman.
ReplyDeleteReading a local radio board that is, ahem, FREAKUENTED (rock me) by some actual radio folks --along with schmoes like us-- you get the sense that while yes TF's ratings are abysmal, they're generating more ad rev than The Eagle did. A lot more. Specifically, if you look at their website, you'll see each show, different segments, and station events are all sponsored by top tier clients (e,g., an upcoming golf tournament sponsored by Charles Schwabb -- don't FREQ out, Financial Troll). So, by this scenario, iHeart will not be pulling the plug on TF anytime soon. Having said this, the radio person presenting this also said the reason for this upper echelon sponsorships are due to all the heritage personalities. Of course, that's when I said to myself, "say what?" TF has ONE heritage personality, Mike Rhyner. And that one personality is the most disengaged personality on the station.
ReplyDeleteTake all that for what it's worth.
According to Miller Kaplan, the CPA firm that tracks radio revenue in the market, the Freak is down on average about 40-50% year over year compared to the Eagle. They may be up in what is referred to as “local direct”, that’s non agency, local business purchased directly by the client. A lot of the endorsement clients are local direct. But here’s an aural exercise. Listen to the Freak. Listen to the Ticket. Compare clients . How many different clients do you hear on Ticket versus the Freak. Myself, I hear a much more varied roster of clients on the Ticket. For example, Freak has Rodney Anderson, Ticket hasRodney, tx lending, Bank of England, and probably more in the mortgage category, plus (hi troll!) Trajan, EECU, City Credit etc in the banking/financial services category. Freak doesn’t have that kind of depth. Plus, listen to how many spots they run for their podcast networks. Those are freebies. If you’re running those in pm drive, and they are, you don’t have inventory issues. Which means you’re not selling all your spots, and not making much money.
DeleteC
For those lazy
ReplyDeletehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-zaccagnini-76835b5
Anonymous 6>32:
ReplyDeleteThe person who posted that is a known troll on that board and his sole purpose in life is an attempt to prove the moderator ( who has 60+ years in radio programming) and some of the senior posters wrong.
He pulled this same bit back when the rumors of a flip from the rock format first started. The Eagle is the greatest station, on and on and on. Now he is doing the same thing with The Freak.
With the new PD let's see if they start to trend more sportsy. Will they out sports 105.3, I doubt it but that audience will be their new target and not KTCK.
This thing is still on thin ice and will it take off like early Ticket? Lightning doesn't usually strike twice in the same place.
Yo 632. Thanks for the Linkdin link, but what's with the dig? Surly dropped the dude's name. No one came back asking for deets (impliciation being they didn't want to do the research like we did the research).
ReplyDeleteI'll do one better. Here's Dom's personal website. Now you tell me where you thing TF is heading (and when you're done doing that, tell me what one Rhyner is thinking right about now):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zakkonline.com/
he goes by "Zakk" - which unto itself, should tell you all you need to know.
Deleteafter seven months of nothing but losses - ratings and revenue - hiring a pd is a weird move if, as the hosts have claimed of late that "all is well, the plan is to "give it time" and nothing is changing.
ReplyDeleteNope, this is clearly the 1st sign that changes are coming; at best a re-arranging of the deck chairs, at worst a full clearing of the deck and starting over. they've been trying to hire someone for a while, with little success, and this guy appears to be a bit of a journeyman and a look at his LinkedIn profile tells you he's former Cumulus. So, he's not an unknown (it's a small business these days, more than ever) and whatever skillsets or baggage he arrives with will already be known.
a flip back to music/PM talk KEGL days is obvious
731am, do take a look at his personel site 1025pm posted. He's pretty much everything Rhyner deplores about sports media. Everything, and I mean everything. Then again, a lot of what and who Rhyner used to claim to find distasteful if not out and out loathe, well, he's shown that it isn't always the case. Indeed, it's often not the case.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is there will soon be a name adjustment. Something along the lines of The Sports Freak or the likes. With this PD hire and the noticeable uptick in sports talk -- e.g., the implementation of "Tickers," the all sports national feed, etc.-- it seems obvious where things are heading. I have a feeling they will see if the morning show with the sportsy Cavanaugh, a sportsy-ish KT, and a in the sports media biz but actually rather sports clueless Julie can pull in better numbers as a guy/sports show before 86ing it. Though it wouldn't surprise me if they kept Cavanaugh and KT, brought someone else in (Ticket JV poach?), and sent Julie on her way/put her out of her apparent misery (if you ever catch The Mom Game pod, you'll know what I mean here).
Whatever shakes out/up, something's about to happen at TF. That, I'd bet the house on.
New smilin' ginger, some old news, and information on comment deletion now available.
ReplyDelete