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Post by levoix on Jun 12, 2019 19:21:38 GMT -6
From RadioInsight: "Bonneville News/Talk 1160 KSL/102.7 KSL-FM Salt Lake City dropped this month <copyrighted material deleted>. Ratings expert Chris Huff notes that this is the lowest recorded share for KSL." Read more here. Any thoughts on where the listeners went in May? And what happened?
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Post by David on Jun 12, 2019 20:11:15 GMT -6
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Jun 12, 2019 21:23:53 GMT -6
First things first. We do not have permission to publish Nielsen numbers. 'Nuff said.
To the question at hand; KSL's numbers always drop off in the May/June timeframe. KNRS dropped noticeably as well. Summertime is much less about politics and policy and much more about enjoying yourself. That being said, setting a new low (and I'll take their word on it) is something to take notice of. There are always fluctuations in the numbers due to chance. Unfortunately, ratings are not an exact science and both happening to hit at once is pretty bad luck. I would expect the ratings to stay lower than the rest of the year through August and then rebound. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a noticeable rebound in June or July, but that could be attributed to a correction of the abnormally low numbers this month. If it sinks more over the summer and/or doesn't rebound in September I'd get worried.
In other news, I'd like to address Alt 101.9. Alternative at 101.9 hasn't worked for 10 years. Will Cumulus do something about it and should they? iHeart is showing some steady traction with Easy 99.1 and that has an awful signal.
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Post by David on Jun 12, 2019 23:00:17 GMT -6
The ratings for talk stations, as well as the number of stations with a talk format, have dropped significantly in recent months. Although KSL has a news/talk format, I wouldn't be surprised if the drop in talk format ratings has affected them as well. Doug Wright was a big ratings draw for KSL, and now that he's retired, I'm sure his departure has impacted their ratings. The only time I listen to KSL anymore is for breaking news updates, and occasionally the Jim Bohannon show overnights. I don't care much for the current crop of KSL hosts, especially Jay McFarland. I think the quality of KSL's programming has been going downhill ever since they axed The Nightside Project a few years ago, but that's just me. I think all talk formats (including sports talk) in general are on the decline. ESPN Deportes Radio just announced that their terrestrial radio programming is going bye-bye in September, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the ratings for KSL and KNRS for the remainder of 2019. awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-deportes-radio-will-close-this-fall.html
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Jun 13, 2019 0:03:14 GMT -6
I'm not sure if your first sentence refers to nationally or locally. A few months of ratings aren't all that significant for a talk format, but there is definitely a significant national trend downward for talk stations over the last several years. KSL having local shows instead of the same national shows that have been doing the same thing for 30 years is a plus and it shows. Doug Wright's semi-retirement (he still does The Movie Show) looks like it may have affected the ratings but not to a massive degree when you compare the ratings from 2 years ago to this past year. Keep in mind that's only a change of 3 non-drive-time hours 4 days a week. (And FWIW I don't like JayMac either, and I'm not too crazy about Amanda.)
Sports talk is a completely different animal with a completely different demographic. That said, ESPN Deportes has been an afterthought for years. Only 44 affiliates? Even SB Nation Radio (ex-Yahoo Sports Radio, ex-Sporting News Radio, ex-One On One Sports) has over 500. And ESPN Deportes affiliates even in New York and LA are on really crappy signals. If a radio network falls in the forest.....
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Post by David on Jun 13, 2019 1:21:44 GMT -6
My first sentence referred to nationally for the most part; but since KNRS and KVNU carry so many syndicated programs, I think it applies to them as well. Both RadioInsight and InsideRadio recently published articles which said that the two biggest format losers were talk and adult standards/nostalgia. And speaking of the latter, I noticed that KLO has completely dropped off Nielsen's radar in the most recent ratings. It doesn't seem to have affected 1430's spot load, however. Hopefully that means Capital will stick with the music format for awhile longer. As for Alt 101.9, I think that would be a perfect station to flip to the AAA format formerly on 107.9, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen. I doubt the former Utah's Mountain format could do any worse for Cumulus ratings wise than its current format.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Jun 14, 2019 2:37:26 GMT -6
KLO dropped off Nielsen's radar months ago. The number of spots is determined by the syndicator. If they didn't run a local ad, there would be a national one, so they might as well get paid and/or give it away as a bonus spot.
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Jun 14, 2019 13:06:26 GMT -6
Since we're talking about what we like and don't on KSL News Radio, I absolutely love Jeff Caplan's "My Minute of News." It's at 8 and 38 passed each hour between 3 and 7. I think he only does two of them daily so the rest are repeats but I think it's appointment radio. It's well-produced, witty, and a nice break from all the politics and humdrum. It's also available on a podcast if you can't catch it on the air.b
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Post by David on Jun 17, 2019 18:16:36 GMT -6
IMO, Jeff Caplan is one of the bright spots on KSL. I'm usually at work when his afternoon news program is on, but I've listened to him on my days off or when I'm sick. This afternoon Grant Nielsen was filling in for Jeff, which was a pleasant surprise. I always liked hearing Grant when he was co-hosting the morning news with Amanda--he made listening to Amanda less painful. "Dave & Dujanovic" seems to be improving as well. Their show is beginning to remind me of "The Browsers" before Amy Iverson left Jay to do the afternoon show solo, and the show went in the toilet.
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Post by amanuensis on Jun 18, 2019 9:58:41 GMT -6
I like Jeff Caplan also. I just wish that there was not so much scripted talking. For example, during the Five O'Clock report, when he is tossing to Grant Weyman for the weather, he always uses a script to do so -- e.g., "an hour-by-hour description as we head into [tomorrow].". Why does he need to say anything? Why not cut directly from the traffic report to the weather report? Those who listen regularly already know their news-wheel format and those who are new listeners can figure it out fast. I get tired of listening to Jeff always saying the same phrases.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Jun 19, 2019 10:10:59 GMT -6
There are a couple of possibilities I can think of. One is branding. The other is a practical matter. If they aren't in the same location and can only hear each other, they need to clearly communicate when one stops and the other starts. Having a specific setup phrase accomplishes that. I don't know if either of those is the case here.
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Post by David on Jun 24, 2019 18:32:00 GMT -6
In other KSL radio news, this is Brian Martin's last week as co-host of KSL's morning news. He is moving back to California according to a post on his Facebook page. No word yet on who will be joining Amanda Dickson to co-host.
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Jun 25, 2019 11:10:36 GMT -6
Maybe Grant will come out of retirement. He's been doing a lot of fill in work the last few months. I wonder if a two woman team would work? Amanda with Mary Richards or Maria Shalaos? Maybe Todd Fooks or Sean Michael Lyle will take over? They announced this morning that Bryan was headed west and thanked him for his, I think they said four years, and said well done.
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Jul 2, 2019 9:05:42 GMT -6
Grant was with Amanda yesterday and today. I don't know if he is taking over permanently or if he's just doing it till they find someone. The voice guy yesterday still said "Utah's morning news with Bryan Martin and Amanda Dickson." So they haven't done any imaging for Grant as of yesterday but I missed the imaging today. I guess we'll wait and see.
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Post by David on Jul 2, 2019 10:08:41 GMT -6
I don't think Grant will be co-hosting the morning news with Amanda for much longer. I was listening to KSL this morning, and Grant said he was filling in "for whoever's next here . . . it's a secret". Amanda then said we'd find out next week. So for whatever reason, KSL is being tight lipped about Brian's replacement. I couldn't even find any clues on the KSL Newsradio Facebook page about who the new morning news co-host will be.
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