Specialty Shows and Countdowns

[Lee]

Here's something to ponder:

Do any of you think specialty shows like "House of Hair" or "American Top 40" for example, are as relevant now as they were say...20 years ago? Or even 10 years ago?

How about "Request and Dedication" shows...like the one KEE used to do back then? Or every programmer's dream, the "local music" show, showcasing all the er...promising "talent" in a station's area?

In today's radio climate, are the aforementioned shows even WORTH airing anymore? Why or why not?

[Bar Rat]

They might not be the same from a programming standpoint, but a majority of them are free and they can be run by the computer. I think that's the whole point of the explosion of such shows now, maybe not just the countdowns, but the Open House Party's of the world as well.

[Big Media]

I think Bar Rat is right on. If given a choice between a generically voice tracked Saturday night and an Open House Party kind of show, I would definitely go with the later. Same thing with AT40. It beats having your part-timer, who just doesn't feel the format, voice track that block of time.

[Ace Purple]

I'm a big fan of Open House Party. Upbeat music, tracks that otherwise likely would never get airplay on most U.S. CHRs, etc.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Back in the old days, having staples like AT40, Ralph Emery, or any other syndicated programming (Cincinnati Reds games, anyone?) had a variety of purposes for a radio station. First and foremost, it served as an advertising mecca, giving each station the opportunity to bring in extra dollars from new and existing sponsors, especially since said programming was a high quality product, unique, and almost always market exclusive.

It also served as a perk and a draw for listeners, offering network quality voices and a well known format. The old folks looked forward to a saturday night in front of the TV with Lawrence Welk, and young kids checked out American Top 40 on Sunday afternoon to hear the new adds and find out which tune made the #1 position this week. Most radio was live and local back then, and specialty programming stuck out as different, and this content was usually sought after in each radio market. And there just wasn't that much to pick from.

A "behind the scenes" benefit was that these programs gave stations an opportunity to train future announcers as board ops. Almost everyone I worked with in radio started out rolling Sunday morning God Squad tapes on giant reel-to-reel machines, or board op-ing a season's worth of sports programming, or playing the American Country Countdown on 33 RPM vinyl, dropping in carted commercials and legal IDs at the designated breaks. It was great training to prepare young, eager aspiring talent for the ear/eye/hand coordination necessary to run a tight board, handle the continuity and spot load, and learn the ins and outs of transmitter readings, keeping a log, and doing those legal IDs on time. You also rubbed shoulders with the station's air talent, the news people, the sales folks, and the engineering staff, and (hopefully) learned a little something that helped you later in your broadcasting career, even if you weren't actually on the air right now.

I don't know how all this plays out in 2009. Radio has changed so much. Voice tracking, satellite DJ feeds, and an entire week's worth of programming from the hard drive are the norm at a lot of stations, and, in rural areas, they comprise the total programming fare on every station in the market. I can't tell you the last time I saw a small or medium market radio station advertise for a staff announcer or board op position. Music formats have splintered, and there are a thousand choices (or so it seems) for syndicated morning shows, syndicated middays, syndicated PM drive programming, syndicated evening shows, and syndicated all-nights and weekends. Most of it all sounds the same.

To answer your initial question, I don't think it's nearly as relevant. Like Reality TV, this programming was special when it was different and new and offered an alternative for a few hours and a break from the norm. Canned, non-local programming has become ubiquitous. Its everywhere all the time on every station. There are ten different shows trying to divide the audience pie on any given morning show concept, talk show format, or specialty music/celebrity DJ program. Live and local radio is what stands out from the crowd now.

Just my $0.02.

[AmpedNow]

I'm a big fan of Open House Party. Upbeat music, tracks that otherwise likely would never get airplay on most U.S. CHRs, etc.

I love OHP because they proudly play dance remixes of the hits. Something that's rare on American radio these days.

They usually have a good "flow", too, except for the backwoods calls they get when the people seem to forget they're on the air requesting a song.

Or when the automation screws up and runs songs over the satellite feed. This seems to be fairly common with OHP for some reason.

As for countdown shows, there's no question their "authority" has waned in an iPod world. But there's nothing wrong with airing them to break the norm imo.

[Dave Allen]

I certainly did my time op'ing Rick Dees, "Live From The 60's" with The Real Don Steele and all of the Sunday Salvation an 18 year old kid could swallow. Speaking of swallowing, has anyone talked to Kidd Conley's mom lately?

[cgarison]

Open House Party rocks. I miss not having it in Philly (or at least I have not found it on the dial in my part of town)

Countdown shows typically suck. Rick Dees is the exception to that because he worked to make it a fun show that was entertaining. OTOH (and extreme) is Casey Kasem which has to be the worst thing I have heard and has done nothing but get worse in the last 10 years. The stories that he tells are untrue or unverifiable. He makes drama where none existed. Before the internet, he could get by with those lies, but now days, he looks like a fool. Plus the artists not defending themselves from the lies also looks bad as well.

[Jay Nunley]

Lee, congrats on the offspring!

It wholly depends on what show, what station, and what market you're asking about.

Put the wrong show on the wrong station in the wrong market and the program is only relevant in that it is a drag on the station and a misuse of air time.

The right show will give your station another listener attracting element, extra revenue, and a chance to cross promote the rest of the station and possibly turn some P2/P3 fans of that particular show into P1s.

The trick here is to be absolutely sure the syndicated show can become an integrated part of your station's culture. If the show can't be something as deeply associated with the station in the user's mind as your morning show or night guy you should not air it. That's the standard you have to set in a pure programming sense. Of course, you're going to end up with programming on the air that doesn't meet that standard from time to time. This is usually because of revenue generation. Somewhat less often you end up airing the wrong programming because upper management forces you because they have an emotional attachment to it, disagree with your assessment, they are stupid, or any number of other reasons.

Always remember to frequently and consistently review and assess the programming. You can't set it and forget it. You have to listen to the shows to be sure they still meet the aforementioned standard. You have to be willing to move the show to another time or drop it entirely if changes at your station, changes in the show, or changes in the competitive matrix in the market dictate.

That's the long answer.


The short answer is sometimes syndicated programming is good. Sometimes it ain't.

[fearpeddler]

I miss driving home on sunday nights listening to alan handelman....

[Jay Nunley]

A perfect example of a show that can be folded into a station's culture.

[Bob Campbell]

Jay, have you ever heard a demo or a show of the Greg Kihn syndicated show? If so, what do you think?

[Jay Nunley]

Haven't heard it. Is it worth the listen?

[Jet Black]

Tom Taggart runs Kihn on WXCR. I haven't heard enough to form an opinion, myself.

[Bob Campbell]

I haven't heard it either. Heard good things about it and was just casting around. Friend of mine sells it for Dial-Global. I like Kihn's music and I know he's been on the radio in San Jose for years.

[fearpeddler]

I was listenin to handelman on a free stream for a few months after 105 dropped his show, but the streaming site started charging to use their services so it's been a while.. I'm normally not a talk radio fan but that dude maybe had 5 bad show a year if that, there was always someone interesting on there.

[Swing'n Dick]

Alan Handleman

http://ifitrocks.com/streams.htm

[Bob Campbell]

He's on afternoons on WZTK fm Burlington.