Happy Friday, everyone!
This week's poll question was posed by Chris Rolando in an earlier post. Chris wrote, "While the average American listens to the radio nearly 2.25 hours per day during the week but 5.2 hours on the weekend, why do so many stations play their C-list talent and shows on the weekend? [Talk stations] play reruns of guys like Hannity, as if we need to hear a show we heard again... or some shows on Healthy Living, Supplements or car care."
For anyone running talk formats, what do you program on the weekends? Are you satisfied with it?
Looking forward to reading your replies! And thanks for posting this topic for discussion, Chris!
Damn good question Chris! Our weekend tuning between both stations kicks the proverbial crap out of all other stations in our market. Another factor that could also have a longer reaching effect as far as out of market tuning is concerned; is that if your market is subject to large number of transient seasonal listeners ( tourists; day trippers , weekenders, or a stay of a couple of weeks) . Our market is that type of market; huge tourist swell on weekends and during the fair weather months. Our streaming numbers from far away places is very healthy because of this.
I have long been an advocate for the " ME Time" that P1's place on their self tuning habits on the weekends. And as it is the weekend; what better time to really impress with great on air content, talent and rock solid music choices. Perhaps it is simply the " that's the way it always has been" syndrome or thinking that your Tier 1 talent gets to Camp in morning drive Mo-Friday. Perhaps the "conventional anchor position" isn't necessarily the best day-part to create quality P1's? If it was up to me ... and unfortunately it isn't.... I would go well out of my way to have truly entertaining jocks " live" on the weekends. And when I say " Live" I do mean " in studio."
Many stations have adopted the " Voice Tracking " is cheaper way of saving dough; and using Weekday on air talent to fill the airwaves on the weekends. In my opinion,, it's easier to do it, but far from being focused on quality of content, entertainment value, interactive. Listeners can certainly sense that the weekend is thrown together; ( even when it's when they listen more) by being fed " Best of Clips from the Morning team." Or syndicated programs.( I've got nothing against syndicated , great shows)..... but back to your point Chris.... yes... weekends are when you really have the op to truly create a better relationship with your brand fans. Conventional thinking still wins I guess..............
We run conservative newstalk during the week and programming like Glenn Haege (home improvement), Kim Komando (digital), Larry Kudlow and Brinker (investments), Gun Talk (this is a hunting area) and news analysis. We carry Tigers and Red Wings all days. We do not carry recap-of-the-week programming. What Chris calls C-list programming is targeted programming at segments of the listening audience. It draws that listenership and sponsors specific to the topics, sponsors that may or may not have an interest in running in the political programming during the week, e.g., a CPA promoting accounting in the cloud in Komando, a local gun shop for GunTalk, a local garage and parts store for CarTalk. The fact is, the political programming is not available over the weekend except in the recap format and these shows draw listeners with little or marginal interest in the political talk into the format. We are syndicated programnming during the week and during the weekend.
The average listenership numbers Chris quotes are not specific to newstalk anyway. Statistically, few if any formats have the weekday AMD and PMD numbers that newstalk formats have.
Voice tracking is an industry standard - and the assumption that listeners are always aware when you are live and when you voice track is unsubstantiated. And jocks that are truly entertaining? Chicken or the egg argument - if voice tracking killed off good jocks (no overnight or weekend shifts developing new talent) or if lack of good jocks and/or cost of good jocks brought in voice tracking.....
We recently went Country, but when we were Financial Talk, last year, we carried syndicated shows on the weekends.
Don Kennedy's Big Band Jump, The Twilight Zone with Stacy Keach, and the Sounds of Sinatra. They fit well with the audience.
We have also had success with holiday specials from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They produce some great non-religious Patriotic shows.
Anything patriotic or standard seems to go well with talk.
We run programming similar to what we run on weekdays. If they have a "weekend version" of their program we run that. And there are a number of programs that run only on weekends.
