Will Rush Limbaugh save KVI?

Negotiations should be wrapped up this Friday (July 10) between Bonneville International, Fisher Communications and Rush Limbaugh. Then the suits, and we hope everybody will know: will Big Pants leave Bonneville's KTTH to jump back to Fisher's KVI?

KVI is hopeful and their very existence as an AM talker in Seattle may depend on it. It's a long shot for sure, but what KVI has going for it is the precipitous drop in the new PPM ratings of KTTH ... even anchored as it is by the Big Fat Genius.

Meanwhile, Fisher/KOMO has been rejuvenated by PPM data that made their music station Star 101 (KPLZ) the market leader, and to the added cume come of their 24/7 news operation KOMO now simulcast in Tacoma and the South Sound at 97.7FM. The station, once known as KFMY is now called KOMOFM, and is kicking proverbial ass, especially in their target demo, 35-60. Fisher is leasing now the little FM station down south, but has taken an option to buy it for $11 million.

For l'il sister KVI to get Big Pants back would breath new life into a station that leaves the earth in more ways than one when Kirby Wilbur (m-f, 5-9a) signs off.

Back in the glory days of talk radio, the rise of Rush and his early presence on KVI put the station in the forefront of the Seattle market, and began right-wing talk radio as a medium. But Entercom, who owned KIRO stole Rush in retribution for Fisher stealing the Mariners back in 2000.

Without Rush on board, the future might be dim for the heritage KVI. Rumors are rife: unless Rush saves the day, the heritage call letters could go to oldies, Spanish language, business talk, or be sold off to the Uighurs. Who knows? (why everybody, of course).

But whither KTTH if the Biggest Pants On Radio is lost to them? The station hasn't much to fall back on. Michael Medved's syndicated show, (m-f, 12-3p) and the local Dave Boze (m-f, 3-6p) that follows would lose a valuable river of listeners who hold over from Limbaugh. (PPM data is showing that male listeners, the basic audience of these programs, do less dial changing than previously thought).

As PPM numbers continue to dive, for Bonneville's stations, KIROFM, KTTH, and 710ESPN their dumping of heritage AM talker KIRO into the anonymous pit of FM is being seen more and more as the one of the biggest blunders in market history. It's a complete reversal of fortunes  almost overnight for the company in the Seattle market.

Time will tell the true story, of course: give it a year, the radio pros say.

(For us it's difficult to listen to KIROFM. We must frequently reposition ourselves or our radio to avoid the nails-on-the-blackboard audio, and switching between the FM and the AM dials isn't easy on all our radios. The newscasts are but shadows of their former selves, KUOW's are still a little behind, but pure and uninterrupted). We try to be loyal - we love local radio, but we forget KIROFM exists... sometimes for days on end).

We don't like sports so we never listen to the old 710AM classic mid-dial stop that was long the home Seattle's best known brand (and the throne of the King of Seattle Talk Radio). The sports-talk station is now struggling for listeners between Mariners games.

Another move by Bonneville that feels like desperate, is that weekend baseball games and soccer matches are simulcast on KIROFM, which was supposed to be freed up of sporting interruptions. Speculation is that it's only a matter of time before they begin running those games on weekdays in an attempt to light up the PPMs during the lagging Monson/Ron & Don/TBTL slump.

Doesn't leave much on the talk-dial for much of anything on weekends but KOMO news, which is where we find ourselves more and more these days... weekends or weekdays.

Comments

[joanie]

I was listening to the radio very, very late one night recently and heard Ross on the AM dial. I was glad. I can only listen to podcasts most of the time so it was nice to get that mornings show. Anyway, I found myself listening to his overnighter. Suddenly, at 4 AM, I got a sports talk guy.

I can't remember which band I was on first but I was surprised to be catapulted to sports talk. I found myself playing with the AM/FM dial to see if something odd had happened but I got sports talk at 4 AM on both the AM and FM bands.

It was weird. In fact, I can't remember for sure if it was 3 AM or 4 AM. I only know I didn't expect to hear sports talk.

Also, since the ratings of 710KIRO were pre-PPMS, do we know for sure that it ever was in the top-drawer category?

[Corporate Suit]

Once again, Michael is pulling it out of his ass. Rush Limbaugh is not a significant player in this market. I doubt any big changes will be forthcoming to programming around here.

[joanie]

You must be one of my groupies. ******* I just threw you a kiss. :)

[Tommy008]

KOMO put a KIROfmkiller move on Monson and friends with their blaster FM station just a fraction of a dial twist away from pathetically underpowered KIROFM. Who is the average Joe going to listen to- a crackly, weak, fuzzed out Monson, or John and Ken booming away clearly just down the dial? J and K are really just as good as Monson, assuming you don't already have problems with Dori's attitude, arrogance and - well, lack of manliness. I'm sure the wee one is aware that this move wsa a blunder and is fuming about it.

[joanie]

Now you can (_X_)!

[joanie]

Sorry, Tommy. That wasn't meant for you but for my groupie. I just learned how to do it.

Welcome back, BTW. Nice to talk about radio again. Do you podcast? But you don't like Dave so what's the point.

I don't know what to listen to anymore. I'm so zoned out on the KPTK commercials. I race across the room to cut of three of them currently. I finally resort to silence.

Anyway, nice to hear from you.

[joanie]

Not to mention four repeats of Reagan and two of Malloy on three-day weekends.

[Kings Hunter]

Once again this blog has managed to turn into the joanie/sparky love themselves show with dominant postings and one track thinking.

[Billy Bob]

There's another "business" factor that may be in Fisher's favor for getting Rush back.

The Limbaugh show is owned by Premiere Radio Networks which is a division of Clear Channel.

Clear Channel also owns KJR-AM, Seattle's original all-sports station. So the genuises at Bonneville decided to go all-sports on 710 AM and steal away the ESPN shows from KJR.

Taking a heritage brand like KIRO off of the 2nd best AM signal on the west coast (KGO, SF would be the best) was probably not a smart move.

Cutting back on live, local programs at night and weekends and reducing local news coverage was also questionable strategy.

Putting what the seniors at Bonneville consider to be "hip" shows like TBTL and Phil Hendrie on a station like KIRO was akin to having Carrot-Top anchor the CBS Evening News.

But poking a stick in the eye of KJR and Clear Channel may have been an even bigger blunder.

Clear Channel could yank Rush from KTTH to get even for the attack on KJR.

Perhaps Bruce Reese and Rod Arquette were too busy planning the demise of "those KOMO homos"!

[ExPatBrit]

If Rush moves back to KVI, why not move Dori to KTTH? It would seem he should be a much better fit over there, and he doesn't even need to move his desk.

They could also merge KTTH and KIRO so KIRO would be on AM again.

[Kings Hunter]

"They could also merge KTTH and KIRO so KIRO would be on AM again."

I think that's an excellent idea.

[sparky]

Queenie has King'd himself....how cute!!

[Mikey]

Talk radio has been focused on MJ pretty heavily recently. Here was someone with strong liberal values, why no topic on this blog.

[KSR]

Can you imagine the ridicule and the loss of face if KIRO went running back to AM? Never hoppen.

[Tommy008]

At least on talkradio i've heard some criticism of Great God Michael. On television, it's been a sickening nonstop hagiography, rather than biography , of the man. Because eomeone made fanatastic nusic and performances, means he was necessarily a good or moral person.Jackson the irresponsible manchild, spent a billion dollars, or was it merely a half billion, in twenty years, most of it on himself.Even judging hin on music alone, he's done nothing really any good after Man in the Mirror, which was what 20plus years ago, and he didn't even write it. his 2001 all MJ written comeback album sucked bigtime. The vast majority of non-European males (he's huge in Europe) haven't been able to relate to him since the early eighties, beacause of murky sexuality issues and his descent into a human freakshow. To be a true superstar every group and gender should be able to relate to you. He irresponsibly demanded drugs he had no business having, and received them, from unscrupulous, criminal doctors and yesmen toadies. I am not watching the memorial telecast because it is a worship of a God not a man. Jackson was not a God.

[joanie]

Right now the AM and FM dial positions are identical. Shouldn't matter, I guess, but it is easier somehow. All that's left of KIRO for me are podcasts of Ross.

Speaking of MJ, Brooke Shields just did a heart-rending memorial to Jackson.

And, I found myself listening to TBTL last week when they focused on Jackson and his music. It was interesting. Good callers and I learned some interesting stuff. The non-political and easy chatter were a nice change. So, maybe there's hope.

Sparky, we get the best of Mr. Hunter when he posts. He gets offended at that. BTW, Mr. Hunter, where's your better half these days?

[Mikey]

I don't agree Tommy, he was the King of Pop and the republican crowd tried to destroy him. They would have too if he hadn't had sufficient funds to combat them. A kinder, loving and more gentle soul you couldn't find. An incredible talent and an even more incredible human being. RIP Michael.

[Buzzaed Barf]

Michael Jacksons ashes are going to be put in an etch e sketch so kids can twiddle his knob.

[KSO]

Is there any truth to the rumor that KVI's ratings were highest last week during the time they were off the air?

[William J Harrison]

Looking for stimulating weekend talk? WTKK.com broadcasts a terrific live line-up with the the hilarious Joe and Huggy show from 7 to 10am; followed by the legendary Phantom Gourmet from 1-4pm; then the smartest man on radio (since David Brudnoy graduated to that great Harvard in the sky) Jay Severin from 4-6pm; and finally from the streets to the suites, Curtis Sliwa from 6-8pm. For progressives looking for pro illegal immigration talk or whatever it is Al Franken used to do to propel himself into the hack filled Washington; Alan Colmes is terrific, as is Sam Seder and Mark Marin; who do a webcast five days a week at noon from the breakroom of thier McDonald's job. Also for lighter progressive news talk; Steve Leveille( the heir to Larry Glick's old show at WBZ.com) is an overnight master. For those that find Medved's weekday noon show more sanctimoniously dry that an Amish friday night; try the syndicated Howie Carr show and his chump line at WRKO.com Basically, the moral of this is for real radio entertainment, avoid Seattle radio at all cost and get thee to a wifi radio at once.