With 6 new hires, KIRO 7 will launch a one-hour newscast 4pm-5pm, starting September 12th…
Lou Robbins — Admin/Editor | Airchecks
KTOY | KVAC (WA-1974) | KDFL (WA-1975) | KTTX (TX- 1976) | KWHI (TX-1976) | KONP (WA-1977) | KBAM (WA-1978) | KJUN (WA-1983) | KRPM (WA-1984) | KAMT (WA-1986) | KASY (WA-1988) | KBRD (WA-1989) | KTAC (WA-1990) | KMTT (WA-1991) | KOOL (AZ-1994)
When I started Kay Music 94.7 in the Portland market in the fall of 1992 and I refused political advertising.
For the sake of our easy listening listners peace of mind and that a new radio station needs to build audience – not loose it to chasing a few dollars. Like KBRD and KSEA I had 8 avails per hour. We booked tight and could pre-empt the cheaper spots for later day parts.
We were profitable and and paid back the initial set up in our first year of operation.
Two years later Entecom made me an offer I could not refuse.
With the exception of news/talk stations radio gets very little political. They are extending ad breaks to sell more spots per break at lower rates. And the more they sell the more audiences are driven away. The monkey cannot pull his hand out of the cookie jar for fear of dropping the cookies!
Thank goodness radio stations got rid of those annoying radio personalities that took up precious air time with chatter. Now, there is more time for the same 200 songs and 18 minutes worth of commercials. Kars-4-kids in heavy rotation.
During my first election campaign, way back in 1984, I wanted to use beautiful music KBRD. Having sold a lot of radio time, I thought they’d welcome the business. They didn’t. The sales manager let me know that a strict low spot load was key to their format (I think it may have been only 8 or 10 minutes per hour) and they sold out their inventory at top dollar. He was required to make room for my politicals at their lowest charged rate, and let me know I was costing him money.
The days when Entercom owned just 4 radio stations and 2 were in Tacoma.
Loved KBRD and even KSEA, would be nice to have nice things in radio again but of course NO ONE can have nice things anymore and it shows!
OK it’s getting really bad when you have dinner at the Mexican restaurant and find out chips & salsa are no longer served unless ordered, and YOU PAY EXTRA. Where’s my hat? I’m outta here!!!!!!!
It’s not just TV. Radio stations will routinely lengthen their ad breaks – or ad breaks – to accommodate the increased political ad inventory.
Is Rachel Maddow the anti-christ?
So it will be KOMO news at 330
KING, KOMO, FOX13 and new KIRO all at 4. KING goes all the way to 730 incl. NBC, KIRO to 730, incl. CBS, KOMO till 7 incl. ABC, Fox 13 to 7.
No surprises with political ads looming and KIRO wanting more inventory available, and they were already double running Judge Judy repeats anyway. There is nothing new on the syndication market these days, so instead of buying expensive, but untried, shows, it is cheaper to do some hiring and recycle more news.
Then we have FOX13+ at 9, KING on KONG at 10, Fox 13 at 10 and now the CW news at 10 (also created for politcal ads)….and, of course, the usuals at 11.
Too much of a bad thing — local news with mostly inexperienced street reporters, meaningless live shots, poor writing and a new show that emigrates mostly from SFO and DFW.
Keeping track??
This has gotten out of hand. Yet, how many viewers have turned away and now get their local news from online sources?
More sausage dresses, “storytellers” recruited from around the country, virtue signaling, narrative speaking, and “inclusion” heading our way.
I’m sure we will also be in another lockdown by election day as Covid seems to ramp up with the election cycle.
Just what Seattle needs: More afternoon “news.”