Some of you sports radio codgers are not going to be very happy with this column…
Because in spite of the fact that you may think 20 and 30-something sports talkers like Nick Wright are ridiculously bad, there’s a case to be made that you’re just too old to appreciate them.
That’s not an indictment of oldsters.
However the inescapable fact is that people of different ages have different perceptions.
That’s why Baby Boomers drove their parents crazy blasting Led Zeppelin.
That’s also probably why even many Gen Xers think hip-hop, Ariana Grande and Lana Del Ray (if you even know who she is) totally suck.
It’s not that you’re clueless or don’t listen to and like cutting edge bands on The Buzz 96.5 FM. It’s just the nature of the beasts. If younger people’s tastes never changed and evolved, that goofy Lazlo dude would be playing Modest Mouses’s latest version of “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain,” instead of”Lampshades on Fire.”
Capiche?
Remember when WHB sports yakkers Kevin Kietzman and Jason Whitlock couldn’t say enough about how old and out of it veteran KMBZ sports talk host Don Fortune was? They practically ran the guy out of town. Maybe you were around then and shared that opinion.
Well, guess what? The mirror, mirror on the wall that Keitzman and Whitlock gaze into each and every morning is starting to look like the same one Fortune used to look at in the twilight of his broadcasting career. I was far younger than Fortune then, but he was fine – there was nothing wrong with his show. He certainly was a lot easier on the ears than Whitlock when it came to three and four hour long radio shows.
But the worm has turned and it’s Kietzman et al who younger listeners think of as fogies.
Younf=ger listeners who can’t relate to the suburban yuppie lifestyles of KK, Todd Leabo and Danny Clinkscale – way too boring.
610 Sports listeners would rather hear about the late night misadventures of 610’s younger dudes who still maybe drink too much too often and are still trying to get lucky. Instead of doing endorsements for suburban dad businesses and hawking hearing aids and cheap viagra.
Even Soren Petro – practically the baby of the bunch at WHB – has been in the market more than 20 years. In 1994 Petro was cutting edge compared to Fortune and Clinkscale – but not anymore. These days Petro’s the middle age married man watching his weight.
Which brings us to the ratings some of you oldsters are gonna find suspect.
Here’s a three book average – October to December – that illustrates the point.
Morning show ratings 6 am. to 10 am for men 18 to 34
610 Sports: 7.2 share, No. 3 in the market
WHB: 3.1 share, No. 10 in the market
For Men 18 to 49
610 Sports: 6.9 share, No. 2 in the market
WHB: 5.9 share, No. 5 in the market
For Men 25 to49
610 Sports: 7.2 share, No. 2 in the market
WHB: 6.2 share, No. 4 in the market
In other words, 610 Sports is cleaning WHB’s clock among younger listeners.
In older demos like Men 25 to 54
WHB: 8.1 share, No. 2 in the market
610 Sports: 6.6 share, No. 4 in the market
For Men 35 to 64
WHB: 9.7 share, No. 2 in the market
610 Sports: 6.3 share, No. 4 in the market
Get the picture?
In addition to its ratings rises, sources say 610 Sports just completed it’s most successful year ever where the bottom line is concerned.
And while there’s always room for improvement – word on the street is that Nick Wright is only doing so-so in Houston and could at some point return. A future move to FM could seal the deal for WHB’s long in the toothsters. You know, the dudes who couldn’t crack enough senior citizen jokes about how out of it Don Fortune was.
What’s that expression, who goes around comes around?
“If younger people’s tastes never changed and evolved, that goofy Lazlo dude would be playing Modest Mouses’s latest version of “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain,” instead of”Lampshades on Fire.”
Capiche?”
I must have missed this but did Lazlo talk about you and Glazer on air or something? Seems like you both have taken some pot shots at him in the last couple of months.
He got mad because of what a listener said about him and Afentra costing Entercom a million bucks in that porn star lawsuit
He thinks the source was Craig and has been playing Facebook games ever since.
It’s silly, but he’s got some time on his hands apparently.
I really do not give a crap about the 810 vs 610 war…one is boring the other one is boring and bad.
But, Hearne…..I want the story on the Buzz $1 million dollar screw up…more importantly does Lazlo’s and afentra’s parents own the company? How are they still there?
KCC Covered the story a couple months back if you want to look it up, Jess.
Essentially the conducted an on-air hunt for local porn stars, identified a woman in law school as one and ridiculed her on the air and the station’s website.
When she called to say it wasn’t her, Lazlo mouthed off to her. She sued and won.
Why are they still there?
Well, the station is doing okay in the ratings and making money and between the two of them – they’re married – they hold down morning and afternoon drive, plus Lazlo is the program director.
I’m pretty sure they caught some major heat for this, but Entercom had too many eggs in a single basket to risk gutting the station by firing them.
Oh, well I want to hear the story why he thinks that Glazer and him are sideways. Why would he think that the Glazed one would rat him out? History of being an informant? Or did Lazlo not let him on the radio and Glaze did not take it well?
So Nick Wright is getting so-so ratings and might come back to KC and looked at as a hero? More likely with his head between his legs begging for his job back.
I guess his wanabee black gimmick didn’t work well with the Hispanics and White people in Texas. I guess the people of Southeast Texas didn’t like librial white guilt radio disquied as sports talk.
As for young vs old.
Cartering to the 18-34 crowed was smart and good twenty years ago. But that’s when people in that demo had things like jobs. And I mean good jobs. They also moved out of their parents place or got married at an early age as well.
Now the unemployment rate for people in that demo is the higest it’s ever been. One third of 18-34 year olds still live at home with their parents.
So 610 is catering to a demo that largely doesn’t have disposible income. Disposible income is for people who have jobs, the 18-34 year-olds parents. I guess the ones who listen to KK.
810 scoops 610 once again…
Mark this one on your calendar. I agree with Kissel.
Yea, that was a pretty darn good take….
nice pitch kissel…you make Harley proud with your sermon.
Preach on.
The congregation needs to be educated!
Nick Wrong is only doing so-so in Houston? I’m SHOCKED!
The problem I have with 610 is that they have always brought in younger talent from out of town that doesn’t have the perspective about Kansas City sports that a lot of us that have lived here our whole lives have. I’m in my 40’s and can easily relate to guys like KK, Petro, St. John, etc. because they’re around my age and have history in KC that I can relate to. So I guess I’m considered an old fogie now, but give me 810 over 610 any day for those reasons.
It does seem that WHB’s air talent have local roots – if only because they’ve been in the market for so much longer.
But if 610’s host can deliver the goods, they’ll continue to improve.
Was Larry Moore from Kansas City?
When the Royals aren’t in the pennant race next year take another look at the ratings and compare them to this year. Why wannabe Nick Wright is still a topic of conversation I’ll never know. I lived in Houston. It is the worst big city in America. Let him stay there.
I’m not much on Houston either, Turk…
It’s not even that great of a place to visit, let alone live there.
yikes..time flies – I remember how awful Fortune was — and the treat Kietzman and Whitlock were compared to him
– plus old guy Pete Enich — think he had Soren as a sidekick–wonder whatever happened to Enich?
Not sure what he’s up to, but it appears that he still lives in the area and is 68…
Which actually sounds pretty young, considering he had a column for years in Tom Leathers Squire
Listen to Petro’s feature, “Stump the Chumps” Fridays at 1 and you’ll hear Pete. He’s still very engaging.
Thanks, Paul…
They started doing that loooooong ago. I didn’t know it was still on.
At 11am I turned on Sports talk radio 610 and toggled back and forth from 810. The topics of conversation were:
Gates vs Oklahoma joes
why okie joes changed their name
what is your favorite type of cheesesteak in philadelphia
members of the baseball writers association smell bad and stunk up the WS press box
bbq rib discussion, general
At 11:20 I turned off the radio, having switched back and forth from two different stations spamming HOT RESTAURANT TALK and not hearing anything about sports.
Of course that day there were NBA from last night (too hard to learn anything about since they dont get free tix), a KU-baylor game, NCAA championship talk, NFL playoffs, etc.
When all they talk about is social media and bbq ribs they just become a Morning Zoo Crew without the jokes.
Bal, it’s like Rome said about his sports show and the callers- if all he did was talk about sports straight up it would be a stupidly boring show. Nobody likes sports all the time on a sport show. I don’t listen to sports shows at all anymore- I grew out of that childish crap a while ago.
I’m basically with the dude on this one…
I also grew tired of the local talk show hosts pimping listeners to call in and say dumb things about local news goings on.
Once in a while you’ll get a host that’s good enough, entertaining enough, that it makes the show listenable.
For whatever his flaws were – his voice being the most noticeable (although it didn’t bother me) – Tom Becka was a funny and interesting enough guy to get me to listen.
It just isn’t worth the effort anymore when there are so many options musically and on satellite radio…for those who can afford it – it ain’t cheap!
Fescoe’s show having that high of ratings amongst the younger demographic, proves one of two things. 1. The ratings are wrong. 2. People in that age range are much dumber than the “oldsters” ever dreamed of.
And Fortune was fine when sports talk was small time, but once people with excellent sports accumen began listening to his show, they figured out quickly that his sports knowledge was severely lacking.
Dunno about the ratings being wrong, Guy…
The people meters don’t lie (like the diaries once did).
However the sampling is far smaller.
again hearne you’re wrong.
the meters have problems. If you walk into a store and
they’re playing a station…your meter picks that up as
you listening to the station when you never wanted to hear it.
Oh…the big trick…sticking the meter on a ceiling fan…
playing a radio….that really makes for correct stats…
they are wrong…radio is dying….eventually it will be
like kmart and blockbuster…..dinosaurs….
along with movie theatres…
its coming hearne…..and as the old man you are
you better be chaningin with the times…oldster!
Seen any black helicopters lately?
I think the driver has pretty much given up on 610 because the other morning when I was rolling papers for him he was listening to 810 insteadof 610. Like I have opined previously, 610 is basically for the children in the room, while 810 is more for those who halfway act like adults from time to time.
Fair enough, Rick…
However as you can see from the ratings I gave you, those “children” are between the ages of 18 and 49 and will all be tried as adults.
Jess you little punk. I was a gold badge front page national news lawman. No question. I did stings before that posing as law but wasn’t..kinda unique got a book and movie deal out of it and over 1000 stories in print in more than 100 different papers and mags…I used little punk cowards like you Jess to inform on their higher ups. I never was asked to inform or was it considered in my three court cases see I went to trial on them..means YOU DIDNT TALK…I was the target…unlike a nobody nothing coward like you. There are brave men out there, few proven. I am one of them…unlike your sorry little nothing life.