Old and Broke

 

In a recent article in the Hollywood Reporter, the future of talk radio is in doubt.  Nearly a third of it's audience are age 65 and above, while the hosts themselves have been AARP eligible or soon will be. (new comer in the LA market,Tim Conway Jr is 48) while at the same time, pay for new talent has decreased from what it used to be.

Family Radio host and predictor Harold Camping, now camping in the rest home.

 

 Says Talkers and Radio-Info.com publisher Micheal Harrison, "A lot of radio can't afford to be radio, anymore, each successive generation is turning away from radio",  which according to Harrison is not necessarily a bad thing.  The demographics for this aging group suggest they are wealthy, active and have a few years left, however he points out,  "They’re not over the hill; with age comes better talent and wisdom. But looking down the road 15 years, it’s problematic.”  

Tom Leykis, who had a syndicated radio show up until 2009 and whose contract was bought up for $20 million, has now launched his own Internet driven show The New Normal, 400,000 tuned in during launch week in April and 1.7 million in its first month -- "more than the cumulative audiences of 14 Los Angeles radio stations," Leykis boasts. 

Leykis thinks AM radio is dead and the spectrum will be re-purposed for non broadcast uses such as garage door openers, wi-fi and cellular (we at BW RF labs doubt cell phones going AM)  Leykis also says radio stations and their purchase prices are overrated: "Radio stations are like many of the homeowners in Corona -- they bought a $799,000 house that’s now worth $496,000,” he says, referencing the foreclosure-ridden L.A. suburb. "Why spend $100 million to buy a frequency when most people, even those over 40, are getting content on their iPhones?. 

Portable device such as MP3 and phone apps have taken a huge dent out of terrestrial listening.  The recording industry is also facing extinction as more and more people are shunning CD's and downloading music off the net, as the industry hasn't invented anything new since the birth of the compact disc.  

 

There is the issue of cash flow, regarding consolidations and pre-recession mergers.   The 2008 sale of Clear Channel, with 850 stations  to Bain Capital has left them $20 billion in the red, with balloon payments due over the next 4 years.  Satellite radio is also facing mounting debt, although their subscriber base rose during the 2nd quarter of this year.

Harrison also sums up, "They're winging it. High-paid personalities, news departments. … When the ownership has to concentrate on cutting costs, alleviating debt and not taking on expenses, it's difficult to put attention into creating a product."

TOP 5 RADIO PERSONALITIES

Terrestrial radio's most popular talk show hosts are also among the oldest. 

• Rush Limbaugh, 61: The Rush Limbaugh Show (Premiere Networks) -- 15 million listeners per week
• Sean Hannity, 50: The Sean Hannity Show (Premiere Networks) -- 14 million listeners per week
• Michael Savage, 70: The Savage Nation (Talk Radio Network) -- 9 million listeners per week
• Laura Ingraham, 48: The Laura Ingraham Show (Talk Radio Network) -- 6 million listeners per week
• Ed Schultz, 58: The Ed Schultz Show (Dial Global) -- 3 million listeners per week

Source: Talkers magazine, 2012 Heavy Hundred 

5 UP AND COMING RADIO PERSONALITIES

Talkers' Michael Harrison picks five of talk radio's future stars. 

• Ian Freeman and Mark Edge: Hosts of Free Talk Live, nationally syndicated to 100 stations. 
• Kevin McCullough: One-half of Baldwin-McCullough (with Stephen Baldwin), nationally syndicated to 289 affiliates. 
• Andy Dean: The 31-year-old former Apprentice finalist hosts America Now, syndicated by Premiere Networks.
• Mike Slater: Based out of San Diego's KFMB, the conservative talk show host airs weekday mornings. 
• Heidi Harris: A singer-turned-conservative talk show host, her eponymous show is beamed from Los Angeles' KRLA and San Bernardino's KTIE weekday mornings.

Comments

[Mike Barer]

Also laws about talking while driving probably have hit the genre hard.
Still, 97.3 seems to play pretty strong in the area.

[KS]

Why did you miss Adam Carolla, who has the #1 internet talk show ? Probably the most clever and funny comedian out there - could the fact that he has appeared on Fox News have something to do with the snub ?

Interesting that most of the up and comers are conservative talkers - seems to follow the established trend. Nothing else new except a new media, which is a good thing.

[Norah]

KS, Chris mentioned all those other conservatives, so why would he snub Adam Carolla for appearing on Fox News?

[Chris Chronic]

Actually Alex Jones claims to have 3 million listeners, over Corolla, who hasn't held a steady job after Loveline. But we're not counting whose #1.

[sparky]

Last week Stephanie Miller was invited to appear on Sean Hannity's show. Then they called her and requested she pre-tape an interview, and she declined, telling them she knows Sean well enough to know her comments would be edited. The next day, the day of her appearance, they called her back and said "the program has changed" and she was uninvited.
Pre-packaged talk radio isnt very appealing.

[T-S]

Leykis has a cult following. And radio will be around for along time but in different formats. AS people age, they get tired of music. Some of us anyway. I just hope there's something available besides corporate right-wing garbage.

[Darksecretplace]

Do some research Michael!! Lazy lazy lazy! Tim Conway Jr has been ON THE AIR in Los Angeles for 15 years!!
BTW- The "up and comers" all have horrible ratings. And one of the members of that list is free if you pay for Limbaugh. Hardly a ringing endorsement. Talk radio on AM is dying for sure, but compelling people, talking, is still relevant. The practitioners just need to embrace social media and own the show.

[Darksecretplace]

P.S. I have it on good authority that Limbaugh is hemorrhaging advertisers in the TOP 2 markets. In fact, on the #1 talk radio station in America, they're GIVING away spots 9a-noon.