We read in a trade quoting Fisher PD Travis Box" that "even prior to KVI/Seattle’s flip from Talk to Oldies late last year, there’d been a lot of conversation around the company’s Emerald City
(image credit: Sibling Rivalry)
headquarters about 'how we could take what we knew about spoken-word audio content to create a product/format for a new generation of listeners.'"
No shit. That's all it's been: a lot of conversation- for years... until now with their new product/format NoizBeam.com, a digital talk platform targeting 18-49 year olds. (Their old platforms, KOMO and KVI have been only marginally successful with the 59-91 demo).
Noizbeam is a collection of established (that's a relative word on the internets) podcasts by some 20 to 30-somethings -- mostly male -- and featured across several mediums, the internet, mobile applications, traditional broadcast and "other non-traditional distribution methods."
Or so reads the press release.
(We loved the throbbing and creaming first graph of a tech site announcing the start-up that read: "Fisher Communications, Inc., a major player in local media innovation..."We who know and love the deeply-troubled local company know they're dragging years, if not decades behind their competitors and the fucking universe in new media. If anything, they've been going backwards in the innovation dep't).
Until now, with NoizBeam.
There's one name we recognize: Jeremy Grater, former KVI and KIRO producer who produced Bryan Suits and Mike Webb (and many other hats at Fisher Plaza). His podcast, The Sibling Rivalry, calls itself a discussion of “real lives, pop culture, news of the day and sometimes farts — because they’re funny.”
We get that NoizBeam isn't meant for us (we're old, and have transcended farts) and been listening to Sibling Rivalry occasionally since Webb was alive. It's our favorite on this site (they've done 174 episodes). The Sibs are conversations between Jeremy and his brother Aaron who lives back East and a woman, Stacy (or Jeremy's wife Sheryl) the feminine foils to the masculine barbarity of the brothers.
The list of podcasts include The Grapes of Rad, two guys who challenge you to “listen like your sense of humor depends on it.”
Stack of Dimes, two more guys, JD and Thunder talkin' shit. Everything that's not awesome, sucks, naturally.
Madge and Dave are a bi-gendered couple who figure stuff out, outloud on matters of sex, gender, and rock 'n roll. And also hangovers, dead raccoons and people who only chew half sticks of gum.
The Air Raid Podcast is yet another couple of guys: they're the ones That Drop Bombs of Awesome In To Your Earholes!
Famous radio sidekick/producer Sean Detore (of TBTL and The John Curley Show) makes some appearances on Rad. He has a particularly interesting sense of humor when the FCC's not his overlord.
And it's not, of course, NoizBeam free-styles the seven dirties like there's no tomorrow - it's a big FUCC-you to the FCC.
It's like listening-in on conversations at the urinals while sitting in a stall in the men's room at a wrestling match. It's fat jokes or dick jokes or combinations of both. (Hey, he's got a dick-do! What's a dick-do? That's when your gut sticks out farther than your dick do). It's discussions of hair gel, Anthony Weiner (of course) cock-push-ups, innovative onanism, and other explorations of regions of the nether kind.
Lots of booze-talk, weed-smoking, of avid discussions about passing gas and/or urine tests. Glib, muchly sophomoric conversations about poop, pop music and culture, body functions and trials in the lives of couples with small children or babies. (There's a poignant tale of an infant who throws-up into her mother's mouth- if that doesn't make you want to dial up NoizBeam immediately, you must be 49 and a half or a woman).
There's much self-absorbed, professional/personal navel-gazing normal with males at that age-stage. And jokes you won't get if you didn't memorize certain action movies.
You get the idea. It's TBTL without the maturity.
We're not being condescending here, we like this site. It's uncensored and off-beat funny, styles we admire. Our only criticism is the obvious one- The gender balance is tilted to the Men's Club side. We wish there were a couple of women-only casts ... and how about some gays?
Most of all, we're amazed and love that it lives under the stodgy imprimatur of Fisher Communications.
"Jeremy Grater, former KVI and KIRO producer who produced Bryan Suits and Mike Webb (and many other hats at Fisher Plaza). His podcast, The Sibling Rivalry,..."
Had to chuckle, seeing Suits and Webb in the same paragraph as 'sibling rivalry.'
The 'crosstalk' between those two back in the day on KIRO was some of the best tension filled radio around.
I recall having some shrimp on the bbq one night and damn near falling off my deck listening to Suits-Webb go at it.
BTW, anychance we can get Dan Savage to have his own show? Maybe something local like Adam Korolla --Dr Drew did 'Love Line' back in the day. I've heard Savage on Carlson's show and he is good.
Not sure who you would team him up with, but with the right co host it could be damn funny and local. Try it on a Friday night.
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers | June 15, 2011 at 06:28 AM
One basic question: Does it make money?
Posted by: John | June 15, 2011 at 06:48 AM
Does anyone at Fisher have a brain cell?
They have/had a remarkable AM signal on 570 with KVI. It's one of about 20 really good AM or FM signals in the Seattle metropolitan area.
If this concept, NoizeGas, or whatever, is so promising, why not try it on KVI? What's to lose? It couldn't really do much worse than their current music format from 45 years ago on that frequency.
So, instead of being 1 of 20, they decide to do a website where they will be 1 of 49,578,200. Good luck cutting through that clutter.
Posted by: Itchy | June 15, 2011 at 08:40 AM
PSB, Savage has his own podcast that has a wide listenership. He also did radio for several years with a weekly late-night sex-talk show on KEXP (think it was still KCMU in those days, over a decade ago now). But the short version on Savage is that he's too big now -- too much national teevee -- to be messing with local radio.
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 08:42 AM
Itchy, you're making the basic mistake of thinking that Fisher cares whether the current AM 570 format has any listeners. They'd rather have no listeners with the current format (which they've achieved!) than a few with Noiz.
If you've listened, the new KVI still has a pretty full spot load. Here's the scam: advertisers, often not in Seattle and working through regional or national ad agencies, can buy KOMO, or for only ten percent more (or whatever) can buy KOMO and KVI spots. In fact, with some packages advertisers don't even have a choice of whether they want their spots spread out over the two stations.
It creates double the inventory of available spots, using a second station that's essentially a jukebox run by personnel whose day jobs are all with other Fisher stations. KVI makes money for Fisher without having a single listener. All buyers need to know is that it's an "oldies" format - safe, and compatible with the news-talk demographics of KOMO. (For more fun, both KOMO and KVI can also be throw-ins for their FM.)
Put Noiz on 570, and it's not a compatible demographic. It's also an odd format, meaning more prospective advertisers might balk. And the extra ads you'd get by having 150 listeners instead of five are negligible.
Best hope for the 570 is if Fisher needs cash and decides to sell it. But even then, somebody would need to decide a good AM signal can make enough money to be worth the purchase price. Outside the sports-talk stations and some zero-overhead religious stations, name a Seattle AM that's made money in the last ten years without (ala KOMO or KPTK) being subsidized by its cluster.
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 08:56 AM
Depressing thought of the day: there really are 49-year-old guys who think fat, dick, and fart jokes are the height of funny.
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 08:58 AM
@ Pete: think Anthony Weiner in a couple of years ....
Posted by: AprilMayJune | June 15, 2011 at 10:41 AM
thanks, Pete.
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers | June 15, 2011 at 11:59 AM
AMJ: :-)
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Seems to me that Noizbeam is another Fisher concept that won't get them a Miss Originality award. There are plenty of competitive pods out there and I didn't hear anothing to make Noizbeam stand out from the pack.
Posted by: Cueburner | June 15, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Itchy, it is "uncensored and off-beat" is reason enough that it won't get on the air as formated. If you can say fuck, shit and call some old broad a cunt, it won't be on the radio.
We can not allow joanie to be recognised and offended on air.
Posted by: NewKidOnTheBlock | June 15, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Chucks, you are the only one . . . why hide? Nice analysis, Pete.
Posted by: Anti-Dori | June 15, 2011 at 12:37 PM
Thanks, PBJ & A-D.
New Kid, many years ago, when pterodactyls roamed the sky and I made my first embarrassing efforts at Radio, the FCC cared very much about content. Those days are long gone. The only content-related issue likely to get you in trouble with the FCC is use of one of Carlin's famous seven dirty words (you picked three).
There's no money in a format that hurls childish insults at Joanie all day; not enough people, even from this blog, would listen to it. But if there were, and if their invective were more creative than yours, the FCC could not care less.
OK, I'd better go to work now...
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Sorry, I meant PSB above. I was eating lunch, so I musta had PBJ on my mind...
Posted by: Pete | June 15, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Everything is prepackaged these days...no thanks.
Posted by: sparky | June 15, 2011 at 05:21 PM
A lot of phallic references these days - tsk, tsk. Would be refreshing to raise the bar just a bit...
Would rather listen to Bob Rivers on KJR-FM at this stage - seems like the best in local radio, unless Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew (Loveline) come back - at night. That was good radio back then and would be good now.
Posted by: KS | June 15, 2011 at 08:31 PM
spot on KS
in other news, nice to hear that Congresswoman Giffords is at home.
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers | June 15, 2011 at 08:33 PM
That is pretty much how I feel about the woman. No denying it. She most likely has a equally foul term for me.
Good to hear about Giffords. She certainly has a long way left to travel.
Posted by: chucks | June 15, 2011 at 08:42 PM
Gabby Giffords for US Senate! (in Kyl's seat)
Posted by: Ted Weirach | June 15, 2011 at 09:20 PM
Speaking of violent hate speech, did you hear about Neal Boortz’s hate filled screed?
Puget, chucks et al?
Posted by: Republican 4 life | June 15, 2011 at 09:24 PM
Woman aren't funny and queers usually make everything about liking cock.
Posted by: Lib Idiocy | June 15, 2011 at 09:24 PM
Speaking of violent hate speech, did you hear about Neal Boortz’s hate filled screed?
Puget, chucks et al?
Posted by: Republican 4 life | June 15, 2011 at 09:24 PM
Bring it !
Posted by: KS | June 15, 2011 at 09:44 PM
Well, it didn't take long for a good thread to deteriorate into smut from the right.
Gifford looks gorgeous! The Canucks lost! They thought they had it. Disappoint, heartache . . . wow! I'm sorry for them. Just turned on CBC - they're rioting. OMG!
I don't think you all read Huffington Post but it's been disappoint politically and economically cover-to-cover as well. God, when will it end?
Posted by: joanie | June 15, 2011 at 10:11 PM
Shoot! I meant to say "disappointment..." both times. Sorry.
Posted by: joanie | June 15, 2011 at 10:16 PM
I recall having some shrimp on the bbq one night and damn near falling off my deck listening to Suits-Webb go at it.
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers
Not much interested in this story, but I sure do remember some great exchanges during the Suits/Webb debates.
Yes... Great radio!
Posted by: Rat_Bastard | June 15, 2011 at 11:27 PM
Speaking of violent hate speech, did you hear about Neal Boortz’s hate filled screed?
Puget, chucks et al?
Posted by: Republican 4 life | June 15, 2011 at 09:24 PM
Bring it !
Posted by: KS | June 15, 2011 at 09:44 PM
not much for the hate talk, that's why i can only sample the Rhodes, big Ed and Malloy rants. of course, some folks like that kind of stuff that reenforces their biases. kind of 'easy listening' for the wing nuts who regularly tout 'em.
(and you all know who you are)
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers | June 16, 2011 at 05:49 AM
how polarized are the wing nuts of both parties? on the right, you got an outfit called 'Freedom Works' that was successful in getting 3 term conservative senator Repub Robert Bennett of Utah unseated in a Primary last year. This same org. is now going after (only god knows how many terms) Repub Sen Orin Hatch.
Folks, if you are in a state in which Benett and Hatch are now too liberal for ya, it's game over.
Posted by: Puget Sound Blathers | June 16, 2011 at 05:55 AM