seattle arbitron ratings: kiro, as we know it, is dead.

As we've been predicting for months, Entercom's once-mighty KIROAM is being officially pronounced dead by industry insiders speaking with BlatherWatch.

They say the white light is seeping through the doors and windows of conservative little sister KTTH.

This, in a talk radio radio market that's down, down, down. Folks seem to be harkening to their musical selves.

With programming genius Tom Clendening as the undertaker, KIRO's grave was dug months ago, though he just kept digging. BlatherWatch has sadly chronicled this--but we're liberals around here and take no pleasure seeing the plight of the mostly progressive station.

The all-important 25-54 ratings demo puts the KIRO, once Entercom's Seattle flagship in overall 19th place in the market--down from 13th. KIRO's now locked out of ad buys for major agencies, who usually look for the top 10 stations in this demo.

Our source says,"Now, it's a distant also-ran--sales people in there are screwed."

Long gone are the days (it was for nearly 10 years) since KIRO enjoyed and took for granted 3rd to 5th place overall--even during off season--even after losing the M's for a short while.

(KVI took a bath as well--going from 20th to 17th overall--but came within one place of the long-dominant KIRO and stayed ahead of KTTH in every daypart).

KIRO's morning news went from a terrible 9th place to a disastrous 13th. No one can remember this news spot ever finishing outside of the top 10--it usually has been 3rd or 4th. This is horrible for ad sales because many ad buys are based on the top 3 or 5 morning drive stations.

(KVI's Kirby Wilbur, no.1 morning newstalker, made one of the few improvements on any talk station, going from 18th to 17th).

Morning ass-hat, Allen Prell, whose place at KIRO has been the butt of his own jokes (as well as everyone else's) and "Desperate Dori" Monson who jumped out of a plane, and bicycled naked in the Fremont Solstice parade (he was the one with the Groucho glasses and the basketball shoes) to get listeners, share a particularly critical and sad 17th place in the 10a-3p slot.

Even Prince of Reason Dave Ross, smart, congenial longtime KIRO star went down to 17th. He was stupidly yanked from his 9a-12p morning spot (where he used to knock off Rush on a regular basis) to be replaced by Prell. Ross is now making the same ratings as the afternoon news he replaced had in the previous year.

A source told BlatherWatch: "They can move Dave back to 9, but it would take some time to get the audience back, with people now out of the habit of listening to KIRO at that time. And that alone won't save it."

KVI's John Carlson (3-6p) slid from 11th to 19th. Bryan Suits from 6th to 5th.

We said last Book that in the baseball season, nice-guy-who-should-go-back-to-being-a-listener Tony Ventrella and Lexus Liberal Mike Webb would be lucky to stay in the top 20 in their 7-midnight slot. We were right: they're 25th (!) This is very nearly last place in the market--when you're 25th, the other stations around you are tiny or distant stations from say, Olympia, Everett, sometimes Bellingham.

BlatherWatch has more lurkers that Webb and Ventrella has listeners.

Webb's good at spinning oldies, he does it nearly every night after his aging listeners toddle off and quit calling. His DJ business--weddings and Bar Mitzvahs--should be getting more of his time soon.)

Our guy says: "At night, you can only blame (KOMO Mariners) baseball up to a point, there's no reason to be in 25th, even with the M's, you should be in the top 7 or 8 during that time slot."

KIRO weekenders share near last place honors with Webb and Ventrella--placing Erin Hart, Frank Shiers, Carl Jeffers in that same galaxy far, far away.

Our guy says: "Nothing short of canning management and removing about 2/3 of the programming, will give KIRO a shot at being saved. They need a top programming pro, and even then, who knows?"

Tom Clendening and Dave Pridemore have been searching diligently and finding rocks to steer this ship into for a year or so--look for some new faces soon.

Big salaries being paid to finish 17th from 10am to 7pm means KIRO has to be bleeding cash. That's three six-figure hosts in a row, at least $500k for those salaries alone; and that's not counting producers, newsies and board ops. You could make 17th by spinning oldies (Mike?) with an automated format that costs nothing.

KTTH, never close in its short life to being the powerhouse KIRO once was, has doggedly strolled toward oblivion since last year when things seemed to be looking good for the startup after Clendening's predecessor stole Rush from KVI.

But neglected by the Clendening regime that was distracted by its big KIRO problems, new numbers show it nose-dove from 15th to 21st place, putting it down in the netherlands of farm-reports/school lunch menu stations.

The morning show, lectured weekdaily by Mike Siegel dropped precipitously from 16th to 21st. Though we may have missed the latest explanation from the Dave and Dick Show (the second stringers filling in) Siegel hasn't returned from his French summer promenade as previously scheduled. We're suspicious.

Rush Limbaugh (KTTH 9a-12) dropped (3rd place to 18th) so much that, as much as we'd love to believe the numbers, but they must be anomalous--unless it's his recent "values" issues or Michael Medved, (included in this slot) who's dragging them down.

Seattle talk ratings are trending downward as they have all over the country for going on four books, now. That's probably good for the republic, but it's no good for talk stations and the blogs who love them. More of all this later...

Comments

[Duane]

Entercom went on the cheap. They managed to turn "Brand Name" radio into a generic. Take the texture and flavor out of any product and watch it fail. McDonald's knew 50 years ago CONSISTENCY kept people coming back. Yes, it's junk food, but they got the consistency objective to work for them...Remember NEW Coke....no doubt a Tom Clendening type "brewed" that one up. FOOLS.
Don't fix it if it isn't broke.

[Willis]

I thought it was odd that most (maybe all) of the regulars on KIRO were on "vacation" yesterday. I didn't hear if Prell was on, but Pate had a total waste of space filling in for him last night (which is saying something, cuz I've always thought Pate was a waste of space...), and Dori had Frank Shires, and Dave had John Procaccino, and Ventrella had Turi Ryder. I didn't keep listening to see if Webb was at work today...

Is this a sign of impending changes - a major shakeup (pleasepleaseplease!) in the works?

[Lum]

"They say the white light is seeping through the doors and windows of conservative little sister KTTH.

This, in a talk radio radio market that's down, down, down. Folks seem to be harkening to their musical selves"

I must say that after returning from holiday this past month that I've lost my taste for talk radio. For 3 weeks I had no access to radio, tv, and didn't even make an attempt to find a English speaking newspaper. After getting back, it seems nothing has changed. The Dems vote against anything the Pres wants. The Repubs accuse the Dems of having no message. I wonder if so many others have just had it up to their ears and really don't give a crap anymore?
The Dems are cutting their own throat with their no on anything message and the right has no balls or common sense. Seems to be the same old thing week in and week out. Time for a martini I think.

[Bryan Suits]

Is it possible to slide from 6th to 5th?
Would it be consistent with blatherwatch if I slithered?

[blathering michael]

we never, at BlatherWatch, think of you in reptilian terms, Bryan, or in those of sharks or stallions--if you showed more stallionic traits, though, we'd definitely be able to get you a date.

[umo]

KIRO-AM continues its long time stranglehold position as the undisputed champion of news/talk radio in Seattle.

[chris]

There seems to be too many AM stations for any one of them to have a stranglehold on the market, even the 530 and 1610 "monsters" get attention more than you think

[blathering michael]

give it up, umo.