In the December ratings book, news talk radio has jumped back to the fore, leaving a bevy of music stations in the dust.
KOMO was no. 2 with 4.9% share of the listenership. That is very good and reflects, we're told, that they ruled the morning. Fisher folded the KVI talk format and turned it over to Bad Nostalgic Hits of the Pleistocene in the November. Did all those KVI-ers come home to Jesus and follow John Carlson (m-f, 3-6p) on KOMO?
KOMO trailed KRWM which playing Xmas music which got an amazing 7.9% (so rare to see a share that high anymore).
KIRO FM came in at 5th place. It is said that while KOMO won mornings, Ron and Don took the afternoon drive.
KUOW, the public radio leader never changes its programmng despite its calcification. Obviously that's a good thing, because they always come fairly high without ever even lifting a finger much less firing anybody. This month they came in at 8th place with a 4.2.
KTTH, the last surviving rihght-wing talk station is in a bit of a transition. Bonneville has been busy adding syndicated right-wingers and subtracting live & local talk. The December book stayed pretty much the same...that is to say bad... 21st in the mrket with a 2.7 share. Let's see what magic Sean Hannity can bring. KTTH's last live talker, Dave Boze (m-f, 3-4p) is trodding through his single hour each day distracted and we can't tell: is it boredom or depression?
Poor l' KVI, given up for dead by Fisher, got even worse numbers than they did when they were spending money on the station - It's 36th in the market,going from a 1.4 to a 0.3 share. Ouch. Anybody wanna buy a radio station?
How the hell does R&D win the afternoon? The show is nothing but commercials, traffic updates and brainless talk?!?
Posted by: Harold | January 14, 2011 at 09:37 AM
Because dumb people can all listen to the same thing while smarter listeners have more specific tastes they must satisfy. The simpler you are of a person, the more you have in common with others. The most popular food item in America is... breakfast cereal. No shit.
Posted by: Andrew | January 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM
In the KIRO-KOMO derby, did R&D come in #1 in PM drive, or just ahead of KOMO?
A book or two ago, KIRO was listed around 21st place, beaten even by 710ESPN. They were about where KTTH is now. Now, in this book, both KIRO and KOMO have flown up the charts. Why? Did methodology change?
KVI was a dead channel in this book, no talent or live programming, it'll come back now that the format is properly launched. I like it, it sounds like big-iron AM news/MOR radio from the '70s.
Posted by: TomF | January 14, 2011 at 11:32 AM
I am not surprised ,I have tuned over to Komo as I cannot stand Dori Monson's rantings anymore.Ken Schramme is way more balanced then this idiot.
Posted by: Kyle Mesherscmitt | January 14, 2011 at 12:05 PM
Ron and Don are just a complete waste of airtime
Posted by: Kyle Mesherscmitt | January 14, 2011 at 03:06 PM
I just tried to listen to R&D again and truly don't understand the program. No content - just blabbing on and on. Their topic today is how their boss took them to dinner to celebrate their ratings.
Is this serious radio? KIRO is hypocritical with the claim that in these tough times their station MUST be listened to. These jocks won't and can't talk about all the heavy issues of the day. I'm very disappointed with KIRO. How is this program #1? Seems bizarre to me.
Posted by: Harold | January 14, 2011 at 03:24 PM
Very interesting that KVI went away and KTTH got no, repeat no bump at all. Were the November ratings of KTTH inflated by the midterm elections, or is the market for nationally syndicated conservative talk at its ceiling already?
Posted by: Pete | January 14, 2011 at 03:31 PM
I, too, am surprised about Ron and Don. We are talking about two people that do little or no research on their topics, and when they do it's normally wrong. That is when they aren't using some poor soul that just went through a tragedy to boost their ratings.
Posted by: Dino | January 14, 2011 at 04:01 PM
The silence is deafening! Just like the monotony on KOMO. Except maybe I'll check out Schram. I didn't know he was still on. Carlson is there, right? Do they have different shows?
R&D = a reflection of a dumbed-down America.
Posted by: joanie | January 14, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Come on Joanie, I like Ron and Don.
Posted by: BlackRhino | January 14, 2011 at 10:38 PM
No es posible! What do you like about them?
Posted by: joanie | January 14, 2011 at 10:40 PM
Eh, the brain dead banter? Makes me feel like I warped into a low grade teenaged hacky sack romp.
Posted by: BlackRhino | January 14, 2011 at 10:44 PM
Oui, c'est possible...
Posted by: BlackRhino | January 14, 2011 at 10:48 PM
I'm heading for George Noory land. Talk tomorrow.
Posted by: joanie | January 14, 2011 at 10:50 PM
I'll leave you with a chuckle from Jon Stewart
Posted by: joanie | January 14, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Carlson is my Dave Ross replacement all the way since the KIRO "Martin and Lewis experiment" with Burbank.
Especially the few minutes of Commentator's flashback just before Schram!
It would be great to have them do specials together, election time is the obvious.
Schram has a good show, Dori is always good, Medved can be excellent some days.
Noon - 3pm has a trifecta of good shows.
Too bad KOMO doesn't have a 3 - 6 local show, but news and traffic seems to suit them.
I miss KVI.
Ron and Don just won't die.
I don't get it.
Posted by: Rat_Bastard | January 14, 2011 at 11:48 PM
I think everyone from the far-left to the far-right agree on one thing: the Ron and Don show is just too fucking dumb.
I'm utterly baffled by their continued presence. Do they have compromising photos/videos of top management or something?
And Frank Shiers? The quintessential very nice but totally boring guy.
Posted by: sam samuelson | January 15, 2011 at 10:37 AM
The main problem with Frank Shiers is that he's a little man with a big opinion. At least Dori's infamy grants him that privilege, but Frank Shiers has no credible justification for the amount of swagger he tries to feign. He acts as though what he has to say matters, and it doesn't, he's not smart enough, nor notable enough.
John Curley gets it right; he downplays his opinions, because he knows his opinions are just that. In fact, as a Sammamish city councilman, Curley has far far more credibility than Shiers, and yet he has the good sense to keep his humility about him.
Shiers is smarmy and insufferable, and that's why he's been treated like a door stop for the past decade.
Posted by: Andrew | January 15, 2011 at 10:50 AM
Hopefully the Ross and Burbank experiment will be terminated soon. If Dave gets to do the show solo again, I will return to him. For now I will stick with Carlson even if he is too conservative for me.
Posted by: gerry0416 | January 15, 2011 at 08:14 PM
Interesting. Once you turn away from KIRO, it's hard to turn back. New habits emerge. I found other talkers. As much as I loved Dave, I don't even podcast him anymore. My dial hasn't touched KIRO for months and months.
But then, I'm not their targeted market anyway.
Posted by: joanie | January 16, 2011 at 01:04 AM