It took nearly four years for Entercom to admit it made a mistake…
To confirm that blowing up adult contemporary powerhouse KUDL (98.1 FM) in order to simulcast News Radio KMBZ (980 AM) on the FM band to try and attract younger listeners was a failure.
That deal went down in March 2011.
However if the word on the street is correct – and Entercom and KMBZ officials aren’t returning calls on this one – and come January KMBZ AM and FM are divided into two different, competing radio formats, it will be an admission by station management that its three and a half year plus “experiment” with simulcasting was a failure.
For several reasons.
For starters, the combined ratings for KMBZ AM and FM actually went down, even though Entercom reportedly raised its ad rates by 20 percent.
And chick magnet KUDL – just prior to its plug being pulled – while having seen better days, was still pulling down respectable ratings in the neighborhood of a 3.5 share. When KMBZ’s simulcast launched, the two stations had roughly a combined 8 share. Fast forward to this past summer when KMBZ’s combined AM and FM ratings sank to a lowly 3.4 share.
Get the picture?
I
nstead of one plus one equaling two, Entercom ended up with just one.
Entercom reportedly plans to stick mostly with syndicated, conservative hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on 980 AM, while KMBZ’s FM signal will feature live, local programing like the Dana Wright and Scott Parks afternoon drive show.
“They supposedly will move Darla Jaye from evenings on both stations to morning drive on 980 only,” says a source. “So it looks like they’re keeping KMBZ FM live and local and turning the AM station into right wing talk.”
“I think it’s a mistake,” says Roger Peugeot of Roger the Plumber. “My take is if you’re a news talk radio listener and you’re bored with what you’re hearing on one station, you’re going to hit the button and go to one of the other news talk stations. So KMBZ’s ratings are going to go down because they’re basically dividing the same group of listeners in half.”
Ditto adds a local radio insider and talk radio aficionado:
“
“When they divide the signals into two stations – like with Dana and Parks only on FM – they’re going to lose some of the listeners who listened on AM,” says the source. “And if you’re a Rush Limbaugh fan – and that was the lead in to Dana and Parks – now Rush will be leading into Sean Hannity, not Dana and Parks. That’s the rumor anyway.”
BTW, Peugeot’s not just a news talk listener, he’s an advertiser – an advertiser who firmly believes that news talk radio advertising works.
“Unfortunately now it’s going to be hard to decide which KMBZ to advertise on,” he adds.
“Personally, I think they’re messing with success,” adds another radio insider. “If they’re doing as well as they say they are on KMBZ now in listeners 25 to 54, why would they mess with that?”
Therein lies KMBZ’s dilemma.
“There’s only six percent of the market that will listen to news talk radio,” says the source. “So instead of the 4.5 share that they have now, at best they’ll get maybe a 5.5 share from the two stations combined. The most they’ll be able to gain out of KCMO AM is probably half a share point.
“It just doesn’t make sense that they would divide it like that. If this is really what they’re doing, they’re dumber than I thought they were.”
It all goes back to Entercom’s 2011 error in judgement of not moving 610 Sports to FM instead of KMBZ.
Moving 610 Sports to FM would have given Entercom a huge leg up on rival sports talk station (and cash cow) WHB AM.
Not to mention it would have benefited the Kansas City Royals broadcasts – like the Chiefs – by moving their games to FM where younger listeners abound.
The $64 million question: Is it too late for Entercom to move 610 to 98. 1 FM and relegate KMBZ solely to its longtime home at 980 AM?
The possible problem being that KMBZ advertisers who were promised pie-in-the-sky ratings increases when the simulcast launched, might not be happy being told they now have to go it alone on the AM dial again.
That said, it still might be doable.
“I think they could go with sports if they viewed this as a long term play,” the source says. “They could go with sports or even music. They might have to either lower their rates some on KMBZ or they’d have to guarantee their advertisers ratings points – give them more spots – they call it ‘make goods.’ ”
So while most observers seem to believe the rumored plan to divide KMBZ AM and FM come January is cast in stone, you never know.
“I think they could be putting this all out as a smokescreen to cover what they’re really going to do,” says the source. “Because it just doesn’t make sense that they would divide it like that.”
“I think eventually they’ll be moving their sports to FM,” adds Peugeot. “That makes more sense to me.”
You know the drill, stay tuned!
I’ve never understood KC’s new radio. I was in college when Andrea Mitchell was doing KYW News Radio in Philadelpia. She was still in Penn and she always said she had a face made for radio. But I wander.
Came across this today about the future of radio being secure. If the someone figures out how to use it properly. The consolidation of the industry has left little money for anything but the staples.
AM for those of us at the end of the line might be a smart move if there was local talent to fill the air rather than the gunslingers.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/ten_years_in_your_ears/2014/12/the_future_of_terrestrial_radio_in_the_age_of_podcasts.html
Be interesting to see if Darla Jaye goes back to gunslinging…
It’s funny, Darla came in as the midday replacement for Tom Becca and flamed out in fairly short order. KMBZ moved her to the night shift, presumably to ride out her contract until they would then cut her loose. She was kissing up to former KMBZ afternoon drive host Jerry Agar in Chicago, hoping to get in at WLS (remember all this?) and then, WHAM!
Bill O’Reilly shocked Radio America by dropping his syndicated show and suddenly KMBZ needed bodies.
Darla somehow managed to endear herself somewhat to management, they softened her show up and however many years later remains a survivor.
But now that she’s back in a conga line with Rush, Hannity, beck, et al, will she re-attach her ultra conservative claws?
Morning drive – even on the lowly AM signal – is clearly an upgrade for her, so congrats to the survivor
Old white men will be around a long time.
You should hear the music at John Knox, lots of metal.
Just looking at 12 plus ratings, there are close to 20 shares worth of spoken word ratings available, not 6. Personally, I think KMBZ is doing a smart move by splitting the formats and creating (as rumor has it) more local programming.
Dear Rocket Science:
Watching medical dramas on television does not qualify you for heart surgery. The fact is that news talk in KC tops out at around 6 percent – 8 percent in some markets. You can add in all the other “talk” formats you want – sports? – and it won’t change that.
If 610 wants to move to FM they need a serious overhaul. The talent will have to get much better….by better I mean less annoying. If the Royals suck next year it would go bad for them. I think that Roger is right though, if they split the stations and local on one, national on the other it will divide and conquer (thus destroy) what listener ship they have.
Somewhat agree on your analysis of 610, Jess
However, I’m not much of a listener but they have narrowed the gap somewhat with WHB. Unfortunately that may largely be owing to the Royals
What KC really needs is another sports station. (sarcasm)
KMBC’s Dana and Parks really doesn’t do it for me. Dana comes off too much as a spoiled JoCoB with extreme liberal views on everything while Parks is the normal JoCo Rino . . . . very boring .
Darla … does she really having any ratings? Her show has to be the worst on radio in the USA. You don’t build a radio station on failure.
KMBC also treats the Limbaugh show like the black sheep of the family. Time for Limbaugh to find a new home in KC.
It wouldn’t be a “new” sports station, Jack…
It would be migrating 610 Sports from AM to FM…or simulcasting on both signals.
Limbaugh’s ratings are down pretty much all across the country btw
Limbaugh still has the highest ranked radio show in the nation.
I think if you looked at his ratings, station to station, on many he’s on, he’s one of the lower rated dayparts. His ratings ARE down and there are a number of affiliates looking when his contract will be up. At one time, he was, but things in radio are very cyclical. He’s cycling down.
Limbaugh (and other conservative talks)also have a geezer audience, they have have trouble getting advertisers post-Sandra Fluke
“Your comment is awaiting moderation. ”
So is this a new thing?
Not for me
Not sure, Jess…
None of your comments have any of the forbidden words in them, etc, so I’m not sure why you’re getting moderated.
You move next door to Harley or something?
Hmmm, I smell shenanigans…lol
I hope this works. I only get FM on my home radios now, so was grateful when 980 moved to get my morning news. I do enjoy Dana and Parks too, so keeping the garbage on AM and the stuff worth listening to on FM sounds great.
people under 30 don’t even know terrerstial radio exists, Limbaugh’s audience isn’t getting any younger
I only listen to 98.1 for Dana & Parks. I welcome the split because Rush Limbaugh is nauseating. I have no idea if it’s a good business decision or not, but I will say I hope they keep Dana & Parks for a long, long time. They have awesome chemistry and make my late afternoon/drive home way so much better.
I would be very happy if Dana and Parks would be cancelled forever. Parks cusses too much even tho he used to always say he never did. He seems to delight in saying such words as “bastard”, “F….in”, and revolting comments about sex when, at this time of day, there are children in the car. Doesn’t seem to matter to him. Some of the things he says to Dana and Cara are what I would call sexual harrassment. He is very critical of any callers who doesn’t agree with him about anything and makes fun of some callers. Dana is a mess. That laugh of hers is like canned laughter. She’s disgusting and such a loud mouth show off. I, for one, would not miss them at all. I have often wondered as I listen to this crap, and as I turn the station off, “why in the hell am I wasting my time”.
Parks is an unusual kinda dude, Dorth…
We was the news and/or program director at a time when Entercom KC was adrift – post Bob Zuroweste, post that lady who didn’t last long and when a temp dude filled in for a brief spell – he used that window of not having a firm hand at the tiller to insert himself into the lineup with Mike Shanin.
He was I believe a new dad with marital problems brewing who hayed having to get up and go in at like 3 or 4 in the morning. He needed Shanin though to basically anchor the show and give himself time to get the hang of being on air.
Shannon had been put out to pasture and had been thrown a bone to let him do business news (not a full time gig) on KMBZ. he also was doing a weekend show one day a week, again just something to allow him to keep a toe in the door at the station.
Had Zuroweste or another full time market manager be in place, I seriously doubt Parks would have been allowed to dig up Shanin and insert himself into the lineup. They would have done a search to replace Jerry Agar who had left for WLS in Chicago.
Nonetheless, he got the gig and their ratings were decent and the show loped along until they hired Dana
My take on Parks – having appeared with him on KCTV panels – was he was pretty arrogant and thought he knew a lot more about what was going on around town than he obviously did. He undoubtedly knows more now, but pretending he was clued into the entertainment and nightlife seen as he did was laughable.
On the other hand, he plays in a Kiss tribute band, complete with makeup, so that’s halfway hip. Then again, those dudes are well into their 60s, so it hardly anything close to cutting edge.
I don’t listen to him regularly, or hardly ever to be honest. But the show seems fairly vanilla and he’s got paper thin skin.
Dana is smart and fun and given a better pairing, she may have what it takes. However, what she’s doing now is a far cry from investigative reporting…even though it was only on a local TV news station.
There’s my 2 cents.
I beg to differ, JOCO soccer mom:
Kids listen to the radio on their parents cars and on their cars when they start driving. I known, because I have a front row seat on twin girls age 17 and boys 12 and 16.
Yeah, they listen to their iPhones and Spotify and other online options but radio is still well in play…including for the under 30 crowd.
I wonder if Soccer Mom really thinks that, or just dislikes Rush….with the Geezer comments I would think that is it.
no one under 30 knows AM exists, and since they don’t vote, they won’t be interested in conservative (or liberal) talk
Sure Rush’s ratings are down. But so is most radio host of that era.
How were Howard Stern’s ratings before he went to satellite radio never to be heard from again? Is Don Imus still in radio? How are Jim Rome’s ratings?
Truth is most of the old guard of is getting older. The issue is that many of the new guys who were going to replace them flamed out.
Mancow, Opie and Anthony, Adam Corolla, Hannity, O’Reily, GB, Secrest all flamed out. So now you have no one to replace the old guard.
I personally think in today’s national radio market you can still make it if you mostly cover a specific niche. Look at Paul Finebam, he only covers SEC athletics, mostly football. Yet, he’s one of the biggest names in the sports media.
As for the KMBZ spilt. I’m not a Dana and Parks fan. I get the gimmick, but it’s lame. She’s a low-information, liberal ex hottie reporter who has seen better days. He’s a sexist RINO who drinks too much and is a little White Trash. Mix together and hilarity ensues. Zoo Radio for the AM dial.
It’s still lame. Personally if 710 had a local alternative during that time slot, Chris Stigall, I think Dana and Parks would be out of a job within a year.
But that’s one man’s say.
I listen all the time now to 98.1 and I used to listen to music. I love Dana and Scott but I turn the radio off as soon as Rush comes on. My daughter is 25 and she listens all the time too.
The only show I really listen to anymore is the morning show on the way to work with E.J. and Ellen. E.J. is a blow hard, one of those who has always had the faster, better, newer.., you know. Dana and Parks, she comes across as if she is drunk most of the time and Scott is so full of himself that no other opinion matters. I no longer tune in for the drive home. I smell a big shake up coming.
Now that Dana and Parks is on FM only, my wish has come true. I won’t tune my radio to the FM station so the AM station won’t be used to listen to anything else that was on. Won’t miss Dana and Parks at all.
Dividing the programming will only slightly lessen the poor broadcasting on KMBZ; namely, the moving of Darla to the AM band.
I am absolutely APPALLED by the unprofessional attitude and lax broadcast habits at KMBZ, and frankly the traffic and weather people as well.
The angst I have on this subject rises in me like a one minute Festivus Friday.
1. Scott Parks:
The ‘rude and crude’ Scott Parks is not delightful listening after a hard day at work. His terse, disrespectful comments directed at Dana Wright are an embarrassment. In any other workplace, Parks would have been shown the door long ago.
2. Dana Wright:
I was going to save this for E.J. Becker, but you both are ignorant of how to speak American English, so I might as well start with you. This is NOT the Middle Ages. We are not living in ‘the days of YORE’. The you are attempting to say is the word YOU… with a small ‘r’ sound at the end, as in ‘YOU-r’… NOT ‘yore’. (Yes, other broadcasters notice, and it’s maddening.)
3. E.J. Becker:
If you’re going to call yourself a host of “Kansas City’s Morning News” then you have to play by the rules of ‘News’. You can’t blur the lines like a disc jockey or talk show host. What do I mean? I mean a disc jockey can say “Saint Joe” all day, and nobody thinks a thing about it. But, if you’re reporting News, you absolutely cannot use that term because News deals on in FACTS! There is NO “Saint Joe” on a map of Missouri… only, “Saint Joseph”. And, here’s another thing, E.J., it’s insulting every time you tell me that you’re technical director is ‘flying the plane’. In the first place, it’s confusing to your audience because the average listener doesn’t know what the HELL you’re talking about; and, in the second place, it’s a ‘slap in the face’ to Johnny Rowlands because he’s a veteran helicopter and airplane pilot. He’s the one who REALLY IS ‘flying the plane’, helicopter, and whatever else. So, just stop saying it.
4. Ellen Schenk:
Absolutely the best example KMBZ has of broadcast professionalism. Not only is her delivery impeccable, but she makes it a point to correctly and officially recognize her technical team by their job titles. (Pfft! What a concept.) I simply cannot find anything wrong with this broadcasters performance. She comes across as the consummate professional.
5. Jonathan Weir:
I was absolutely ‘knocked out’ when this fellow’s voice and commercial style appear on the scene in the Kansas City market. His commercials sounded fresh, upbeat, slightly irreverent, and definitely put me in the mood to buy whatever product he was promoting. He’s pretty good at doing a ‘remote broadcast’, but he’s OUTSTANDING voicing radio commercials, if he’s given the free reign to voice the commercial in his own style.
6. Bill Grady:
Damn, Bill. You had it made. You’re professional. You’ve got the voice and the reputation. You were ‘set’. All you had to do was to ‘keep doing what you were doing’. But ‘no’… you had to go and start reciting a vulgar poem on the air. My respect for you is gone.
7. Kara Marxer:
KARA! Wake up… and WAIT… for three seconds. That’s right. All you have to do is to WAIT for three seconds. When it’s news time and you launch the news sounder you CANNOT be TALKING in the first three seconds! Your sounder is potted up to the optimum level. If you open your mic and begin talking with your mic already at the optimum level, the two volumes are competing! That means… NOBODY can hear what you’re saying because of the sounder. The PURPOSE of the news sounder is to get audience attention so they can hear the news. They may have mentally tuned out the chatter of Dana and Parks because they are… waiting for the news sounder, so they can hear the news. So, Kara, the upshot is this: LAUNCH the news sounder, then let it play for a full THREE SECONDS… before you utter a word. (Thank you.)
8. Jennifer Narramore – A ‘tip of the hat’ to the MOST IMPROVED voice at KMBZ. At some point, someone made it clear to this valley girl that she could no longer get away with saying “Shattifah Narramore”… and it passing as ‘Jennifer Narramore’. NOW… she is deliberate and professional in her personal ID delivery.
9. Johnny Rowlands:
This is a real no nonsense professional, who gets the job done with a good attitude. Even when he’s sometimes put in a playful ‘on air’ exchange with another broadcast personality, he does so with class.
10. Josh Klingler:
Good job. Clear, punchy style. Good timing.
TRAFFIC PEOPLE:
Why the HELL are you still saying ‘Right Hand Lane’? (Is that as opposed to the Left FOOT Lane’?) It’s ‘the RIGHT LANE’.
11. Bryan Busby:
You’re pretty sharp, and mostly a professional, but…
It’s absolutely maddening when you come up with NON-WEATHER terms in your weather forecast… OR, as bad or worse… you editorialize the weather.
FIRST, if you stopped 100 people on the streets of Kansas City and asked them what the word “DICEY” means… they probably wouldn’t know. I’m CONFIDENT you were not taught to use that term in meteorological school. PLEASE, never use the word ‘dicey’ again in a weather cast. It’s not professional.
SECOND, give me the FACTS! If it’s ‘overcast’ and ‘rainy’ outside, say so, but DON’T tell your audience it’s a ‘dreary’ day. That’s for THEM to decide… based on the FACTS. It’s someone’s BIRTHDAY. It’s someone’s WEDDING DAY. So, all I’m saying is… DON’T EDITORIALIZE the weather!
And finally, it is unconscionable that KMBZ allows clients to voice commercials and leave them ‘as is’ instead of pulling them aside and kindly saying, “You might want to re-word that, and here’s why.” A good example is a recent commercial wherein the owner of a large home siding company says, “Our sales are literally snowballing!”
(No sir. When you use the word ‘literally’ in the sentence, that means REAL SNOW snow is involved.)
Wow!
That’s schooling ’em.
My only take is, what did you expect?
This ain’t CNN; this is podunk Kansas City “news radio.”
I have had issues with KMBZ for a long time now. they’ve turned into less then informative talk radio, I now use this background noise since it is just me and my cats. as much as I don’t like to see people displaced, I almost hope this whole thing backfires in their face.
I’ve notified KMBZ for more than 6 months of their poor audio quality with the online audio. It sounds like the microphone volume is too high or something yet they don’t seem to care. I’ve asked other people just to make sure it wasn’t just me or internet at home etc, people have told me they hear the bad audio too.
The other thing that needs to change is someone to fact check the junk KMBZ spits out as news.
A few months ago, EJ & Ellen were talking about things you can do to save on energy usage at home. EJ talked about only using major appliances during “off peak” hours with KCPL. I found the info on the KCPL web site, they do not charge different rates for peak or off peak hours. They do charge one rate for the summer time period and one for the winter time period.
Even after giving KMBZ the direct links and talking with their “media” boy, Jeremy, they continued to spew mistruths and garbage about the subject.
The quality of the news on KMBZ has really gone downhill since Lisa Carter left for Jackson county.
Ever since Shannon Left I can not stand to listen to Dana and that damn laugh .Here’s they format,7 minutes news and commercials,then 6 minutes show,3 minutes whether,traffic and commercials, then 5 minutes show ,3 minutes commercials ,4 minutes show, then 5 minutes news,weather,traffic ,6 minutes show , 4 minutes commercials, and on and on.More minutes of commercials,whether,news. The thing I can not stand is they talk about themselves, kids and family.It not your show,its talk radio. P.S. get rid of your bump music. AM sucks with that junk.
I listen to Jonathan Weir pretty regularly, as well as Dana and Parks. It’s actually sad if I’m doing some work in the garage and Weir’s show ends and Rush comes on. Time to change the station. Eventually, the dreaded Rush show ends and Dana and Parks come on, which is usually a decent show. Darla…nah, can’t get into that one. I will say I preferred Parks with Shanin instead of Dana.
Basically the only show that made me actively tune out was Rush, so if he’s gone, great in my book. Eager to see what else they cook up.
I tune-in to FM 98.1 for one reason — Rush Limbaugh. Then I stick around for Dana & Sparks just to keep my blood pressure up. (The fabulous individuals who made this extremely erroneous decision need to pull their collective head.)
I have already posted on here but this is a update. 30 minutes of show 30 minutes of news,commercials ,traffic and the rest weather. God give me a beak,no not my neck,arms, legs ETC. Most of the listeners change the station on those 30 minutes . Dana you need to go .That laugh is the worst. I have heard on the radio. Scott clean up your act,or go to.Bye. Get rid of that damn bump music.Stop taking about yourself’ s and your friends,family and any thing about yourself.This show is done. Was great about 2 years ago but now its awful!
Well Einstein, let me assure you all of the above was done by accident.
They made a move away from the dead serious news and politics of the past and towards the lighter fare you disdain quite on purpose.
They think it brings more women and younger listeners, and they’re relegating the more serious listeners to 980.