Victory
By Mitch Berg
While nobody’s issued an official explanation for why KTLK-FM – the Twin Cities’ Clear Channel talk station – decided to tube all their weekend talk shows in favor of an endless stream of music that sounded like the “Classic Rock” playlist on someone’s IPod, I think I know why.
The Northern Alliance beat them.
While the 100,000 watt FM juggernaut sports Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Jason Lewis during the week, even they were not enough to put KTLK-FM over the top against the 5,000-watt AM1280 The Patriot on the all-important weekend time slot. Against lavish expenditures on talent, salaries and promotions, AM1280 not only continued to clobber KTLK on the bellwether weekend time slots, but expanded their lead.
AM1280’s lineup – led by the Northern Alliance Radio Network (NARN) – continues to clobber the ratings of the much larger stations in head-to-head competition. KTLK’s retreat is only the latest confirmation.
From this point, the question isn’t so much “why did KTLK put their 100,000 watt tail between their legs and scurry from the weekend talk market”. It’s “how long will WCCO and KSTP-AM take to do more or less the same?” WCCO’s 50,000 watts lumber along, and KSTP would do better running “Soucheray and Reusse Sportstalk” reruns than whatever it is they’re doing now.
Yes. Yes, it is good to be king.
Why, yes. I’m speaking tongue-in-cheek. Mostly.
Which doesn’t mean it’s not true. Possible. Probably.
At any rate – after five years, we’re entitled to an endzone happy dance, aren’t we?
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm
You knew KTLK was desperate for weekend programming when Ron Rosenbaum got a Saturday show.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I think all the local talk stations except taxpayer subsidized MPR are struggling to compete against the Patriot’s cost position on Saturdays.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Yes, I too will miss The Ron Rosenbaum Show. Oh wait, I never listened to it. With all due respect, Ron is a cliche machine.
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Arbiton:
Click on any column heading to sort by that field—station, format or survey period.
Station Format SP08 SU08 FA08 WI09
KTLK-FM News Talk Information 2.5 3.4 3.3 4.6
KTNF-AM Talk/Personality 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.0
WWTC-AM Talk/Personality 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.0
Congratulations on beating them on the weekends – though the ‘spike’ in ratings from Obama’s election seems to have been short lived (at least for WWTC).
Pat
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Pen,
As noted before, arbitron ratings are notoriously unreliable for stations below 2 points.
Here’s two better measures: a) check out both stations’ bottom lines and ad revenues. b) notice how KTLK’s overall numbers have boomed since they ditched the absurd “conservative talk is dead” consultant meme and went all-right, all the time?
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
OT but did anyone else catch NPR this weekend? It seemed like every show was about how “Cash for Clunkers,” a program wherein the federal government buys perfectly good vehicles for $4500 and renders them inoperable, was a great program and how its “success” could help Obama’s credibility on health care “reform.” I was tempted to call in and suggest that the administration could start paying people to dig holes and then fill them back up again and maybe that would be enough to put Obamacare over the top.
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I’m not going to offer conditional congratulations.
Mitch, congrats to you and the gang!
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I wasn’t aware that KTLK had weekend programming.
What they do all week works very well. Then they get to the weekend and they run some show about gardening, real estate or cigars. They would do well to get some local talent both on the weekends and during the week. I’ve lost some interest in Jason Lewis since his show went national (Congrats to Jason!) I liked him better when he was more focused on Minnesota stuff.
1280 has the best morning show with Bennet. Prager is outstanding and is the guy I recommend to liberals (they never listen but I still recommend him) Hewitt does an excellent job of explaining the inside baseball stuff.
There is room to improve, this market needs a good LOCAL AM and PM drive time conservative talk show. Jason fit the bill but he isn’t local anymore. Keep pitching and I hope one of you guys can fill that nitch.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Yeah, while Jason’s still got a good show (and it was good to see him go national), his local show was a boon.
Losing Jason’s local show, Mischke’s radio broadcast, Connery, Bob, and not getting much in return (although, Kelly on the midday slot on KSTP is not bad) has been a tough hit.
Couple that with losing Dennis Miller and Laura Ingraham in the AM drive slot and I’m annoyed.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Mitch, did you tell Brodkorb how much ratings have improved since he left NARN?
CCO has the Gophes on many weekend days during the year. 1500 has the Twinks. Tough to fill in the off days programming that grows an audience.
If Sid dies before his show does, CCO’s Sports Huddle might survive, the rest of there non-gopher weekend programming suck. Steve Thomsen is boring, Esme is a moonbat, Steele Talkin’ is birds squakin.
KSTP’s not as bad. I can tolerate the Home and Garden show, Sports Talk is the best, Money Store guys is boring and never informative, Car Talk
works becuase Brand is a gearhead like few others. They used to do best of show with Hannity and Phil Hendrie – two national guys who
weren’t in the TC market.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
1280 has the best morning show with Bennet. Prager is outstanding and is the guy I recommend to liberals (they never listen but I still recommend him) Hewitt does an excellent job of explaining the inside baseball stuff.
Agreed, if I could have my wish for a lineup for 1280, I’d keep Praeger, Medved and Hewitt but dump Gallagher and Weiner and replace them with Limbaugh and Lewis.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
As a Clear Channel radio station, KTLK can’t really lose Limbaugh to someone else… and even if they could get Limbaugh, you’d be in the very difficult position of deciding which show to bump to a delay broadcast slot.
Prager’s show works well in a delayed slot better than Limbaugh’s… but that still makes me wince.
They are great right now in the same slot… any time you get a chance to switch from Limbaugh (commercials, repeat, sub-host, topic that doesn’t appeal to you, etc.) you’ve always got a great alternative in Prager… and the same the other way around.
As much as I hate having those two on at the same time, I LOVE it!
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I understand why most people like Praeger, but he bores me to tears. My dream lineup would be Ingraham 8-11, Limbaugh 11-2, Flip back and forth between Hannity and Medved (Medved does too much non-political stuff for my tastes) 2-5; Lewis 5-8 (I miss him hammering on MN politicians, but glad to see another no-nonsense, principle over party, rock-ribbed conservative out there nationally); maybe Beck 8-11 (altho I know Beck is live 8-11am, his apocolyptic visions work better at night). If Michelle Malkin could talk for 3 hours a day like she writes, she’d bump Beck in my lineup. She’s another all-to-rare firebrand principle over party conservative
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Sue Jeffers says KTLK is just taking a couple of weekends off. Schedule still there.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
How much free publicity has KTLK gotten out of this move?
Also, they played a format that didn’t compete with any other Clear Channel stations in this market.
Mitch would really be able to claim victory if KTLK does this on a weekend when the NARN is doing reruns.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:01 am
Bravo! Bravo! Applause applause!
Good for you Mitch! Well done – enjoy every minute of that endzone victory dance. You deserve it!