I checked out the Neilson ratings for January., the Fan 's rating are half of Wdve and a third of WWWs . Yes que the we are old comments. The fact is 93.7 has been a monumental failure. The best thing that could happen is for 93.7 to crater. Other stations can fill the void and Pitt can line up with a flagship that doesn't include asshats like Cook and Filiponi.
Future of 93.7 the Fan
- Thread starter tetonpanther
- Start date
Well their ratings stink. I don't care if they have been on for 50 years. The marketplace tells us 3 times as many people listen to WWWS. Yep. An oldies freaking station with a 40 song play list. Change happens and the new owners of CBS radio may be looking for a format change . Just thinking out loud. I will not mourn the loss of the Fan.
Yes, even Starkey is an idiot too, right maulsey, right craigers, he try's to force his opinion on listeners like he is the athority, and Most of the time they talk about anything but sports. And their commercial breaks are longer then their talk segments. The whole station needs revamped, they need to (drain the swamp) is it or is it not a sports station? And show after show the talk about and say the same things like the are reading a script, and so anti Pitt, one could go on and on about how awful this poor ecxcuse of a sports station is, but I'll stop for now
Probably if they had more Pitt centric programming, their ratings would sky rocket. Because we know how large and loud this fanbase is.
Nobody is implying that they need to be Pitt centric but thanks for the snarky comment. It reminds me why I never post here. the fact is their ratings are horrible and its a reflection of their on air talent or lack thereof . The funny thing is that these guys do not have print jobs to fall back on. I think the ownership change will result in a seismic shift. weird thought maybe Pitts future is tying in with internet radio or an internet driven format. our relationship with the Fan stinks.
Sometimes in radio, ratings aren't as important as demographic. Also, a talk radio listener is more coveted by advertisers because of the level of attention that they are paying to listening. Just think about it, what would you prefer, advertising to a group of 3 people who listen intently to the hosts so that they don't miss anything or 9 people who have Happy Together by the Turtles on in the background while they do other things?
I'm not saying that 93.7 is good. Hard to argue that (although outside of Cook & Poni, the hosts aren't as bad as many make them out to be). But what I am saying is that sports talk fills a great advertising niche. I also believe that there aren't enough formats available in radio for Pittsburgh to not have a sports talk station.
I'm not saying that 93.7 is good. Hard to argue that (although outside of Cook & Poni, the hosts aren't as bad as many make them out to be). But what I am saying is that sports talk fills a great advertising niche. I also believe that there aren't enough formats available in radio for Pittsburgh to not have a sports talk station.
I listen to internet radio in the evening. 980 ESPN out of DC the Steve Czaban show. really funny really entertaining.
Maybe, but quite honestly, that would give us less exposure than we have today. Much less. If people have to hunt for it, they won't likely listen. The audience for it would pretty much be limited to the folks on this board. But, I do think it could be a viable business option for some of the reasons I put in my other post in this thread. I only know a few folks personally on this board, but I get the impression that the disposable income on this board is higher than average. Plus, we are all very loyal folks (can't be a Pitt fan without a strong sense of loyalty). We'd make a great target for advertisers.
They should bring back Doug Hoerth, Bruce Keiden and Myron Cope.
yep, be careful what you wish for. 93.7 goes away, any pitt related content on the radio will be the 1 hour a week show that Hillgrove runs from the south side that is nothing but commercials... That or podcasts, nothing else... 93.7 talks a lot of pitt, especially in the morning, you guys are nuts if you don't think so.. So many times they've had a segment on pitt and no one calls in, ever, so the next segment, it's back to the steelers or pens..
the public dictates the content with these shows, not the hosts..
The reason why hosts are so negative about Pitt is because that is the only way they can drive calls from Pitt fans.
they aren't negative though, morning show loves stallings and Duzzi calls in all the time.. They had the new OC on last week for a segment.. Dunlap openly ridicules penn state, colony is a pitt fan and Josh Miller, well josh miller really doesn't care
Just keep it in mind when the sale is final. I think change is coming to the CBS radio stations.
Still upgrades.
any Pittsburgh radio sports show in this market will need to change up the format to succeed.. This taking calls from the public as a format for their show, just will not work, the radio version of stan and guy's sports beat is beyond ancient. Need strong hosts to hold their own, entertain us without relying on John from Aspinwall to make a good call. call in shows are failures, the rest of this country has moved on except Pittsburgh of course..
My other complaint is that they go overboard with coverage of the local teams. We all like to talk about Ben and AB and Sid and Geno but leave it at that. THis morning, they were talking about the penguins 13th forward. I didn't even know the name and I watch the pens.. about 10 minutes focused on some guy that might be on the 4th line.. No one cares about that, I don't care how much you like hockey, you cant listen to that type of coverage..
My other complaint is that they go overboard with coverage of the local teams. We all like to talk about Ben and AB and Sid and Geno but leave it at that. THis morning, they were talking about the penguins 13th forward. I didn't even know the name and I watch the pens.. about 10 minutes focused on some guy that might be on the 4th line.. No one cares about that, I don't care how much you like hockey, you cant listen to that type of coverage..
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They need to bring back B94 for half the day and then sports programming at night. Gives listeners the best of both worlds.
Hell we can have some retro Quinn and Banana in the morning (with Liz Randolph making guest appearances) and John Dave Bubba Shelly in the afternoon. Why not?
Hell we can have some retro Quinn and Banana in the morning (with Liz Randolph making guest appearances) and John Dave Bubba Shelly in the afternoon. Why not?
There is a market for sports talk radio in Pittsburgh. The problem with 93.7 is that too much of the on air talent sucks to the point of being unlistenable.
The morning show is ok. Cook and Poni are just awful in every way. Starkey and Muller are no better. Their personalities are a little more tolerable but they spend way too much time playing games and trying to be cute/funny instead of talking sports. It isn't entertaining and the dial gets switched. Zeise is ok.
So the heart of the day and the afternoon drive are being sucked up by unlistenable hacks. Not a good formula to generate ratings.
The morning show is ok. Cook and Poni are just awful in every way. Starkey and Muller are no better. Their personalities are a little more tolerable but they spend way too much time playing games and trying to be cute/funny instead of talking sports. It isn't entertaining and the dial gets switched. Zeise is ok.
So the heart of the day and the afternoon drive are being sucked up by unlistenable hacks. Not a good formula to generate ratings.
I traveled into town about once a month last year. I was disappointed at how little content was on "The Fan" that wasn't just weak Yinzer like banter. "Cook and Poni" were terribly boring and Ron Cook, well, I'm not sure he says anything positive.
As much as most people hate him, Mark Madden is still the number one sports radio guy in town. He doesn't bother with Pitt too much because he doesn't think anyone cares. But at least he isn't afraid to deviate from the fanboy delivery. I've heard Mark Kaboly a few times. He's insanely knowledgeable about the Steelers and understands the league. But he's not really a radio guy.
As much as most people hate him, Mark Madden is still the number one sports radio guy in town. He doesn't bother with Pitt too much because he doesn't think anyone cares. But at least he isn't afraid to deviate from the fanboy delivery. I've heard Mark Kaboly a few times. He's insanely knowledgeable about the Steelers and understands the league. But he's not really a radio guy.
Nothing beat when I was growing up on 1250 WTAE radio Myron from 6-8 pm and Stan Savarn from 8-9 pm, 5 days a week. I was a kid and I listened all the time. Then we all used to prank George Von Benko from 9-11 pm about Harold Carmichael.
Sigh, those were the days....
Madden was really the only guy who could hold a show and succeed.. being a one man show and succeeding is incredibly hard, that's why you don't see it much anymore. Most shows are 2 or even 3 hosts.. he was the only guy that did it in Pittsburgh. people talk about Myron doing it back in the day, before my time.
Madden is a strange dude but he's good. People love him or hate him but they tune in to see what he's going to say. He's really good at social media too. It works.
Maybe the poor ratings are result of Pittsburgh sports talk radio not being that big of a draw anymore. Perhaps western PA is not the bastion of sports loving fans that it is purported.
What makes a good sports radio talk show host?
We could probably ask 1,000 people this question and get that many different answers. A host that talks about whatever moves the needle is likely (although maybe not always) to get better ratings. In this town, that typically means talking Steeler football as often as possible. Every other sports (or entertainment) topic is secondary----and that includes college football and basketball.
The FAN (93.7) can replace the mid-day show hosts but the replacements will almost certainly push pro sport topics just as much as they do now, if not even more. The Steelers move the needle more than any other sports topic and often as more than non-sports topics. For sports radio, that format is unlikely to change any time soon.
I don't know why the ratings for the fan are low (assuming those numbers are under performing---I don't even know if that is true) but not convinced it is a direct correlation to the lack of abilities perceived by the on-air personalities.
What makes a good sports radio talk show host?
We could probably ask 1,000 people this question and get that many different answers. A host that talks about whatever moves the needle is likely (although maybe not always) to get better ratings. In this town, that typically means talking Steeler football as often as possible. Every other sports (or entertainment) topic is secondary----and that includes college football and basketball.
The FAN (93.7) can replace the mid-day show hosts but the replacements will almost certainly push pro sport topics just as much as they do now, if not even more. The Steelers move the needle more than any other sports topic and often as more than non-sports topics. For sports radio, that format is unlikely to change any time soon.
I don't know why the ratings for the fan are low (assuming those numbers are under performing---I don't even know if that is true) but not convinced it is a direct correlation to the lack of abilities perceived by the on-air personalities.
Myron's callers were mini-celebs in their own right. Zivko. Sarcastic Sword. CB Savage. Cookout. Hanging Judge. They either knew their stuff or were entertaining, playing off Cope. I love Madden's show, but Myron's was better. And I agree with the OP. The Fan is weaker than the Steeler's pass coverage against New England.
we love our steelers but the general public doesn't want a show year round to talk all things steelers, if so, that dumb show with Tunch Ilken wouldn't have been such a failure. You need a strong personality who can carry a show and not rely on callers 95% of the time. No one cares about callers, 1/2 the time they hang up and the other 1/2 time, they regurgitate stuff that has been said 100 times before.. Extremely rare for a caller to bring up a new, valid point.. Yet to format your show around such a thing, no wonder it doesn't succeed..
Look at any successful radio show, whether it's sports, politics or whatever. It's the host with a creative format of guests, skits, and various topics..
Myron only did it for 1 hour per night, then eventually moved to 2 hours per night. These days, they are trying to fill 3 to 4 hours with interesting content all by themselves. You have to be very talented to pull that off. I actually think Zeise has the potential to do it, but he lacks either the time or desire to do the necessary off mic prep work.
well back then, you had that show as an option or channel 2, 3 or 11 on the tv, nothing else..
Um Carphone Tommy?
How about, From Coast to Coast, like Butter on toast, the Ghost of Tradition??
Then Bruce Keidan started taking over for him and the show went downhill. Wasn't the same.
93.7 tried this when they started with an all-talk format. Dave Dameshek (love his work), Scott Paulsen (not a big fan, but I appreciate his talent) & John McIntire from the old PCN show. Professional broadcasters. Not newspaper guys doing radio on the side. That is what they need to do. Find pros.
Mark Madden is a very very poor mans Howard Stern. There's a reason Sirius is paying Stern a boatload of cash, his platform works. Now, IMO Stern was better when he was doing game shows like Dumber than a box of Rocks where strippers would compete to see who's dumber. I remember listening on 9/11 in my car and he was talking about his weekend with Pamela Anderson at Scores as the attack happened. There was a 30 minute gap before He realized how bad it was.
Overall, hiring Pittsburgh newspaper writers was an awful idea. The Fan missed out on Madden and probably Dejan too. A re-formatting is desperately needed.
Overall, hiring Pittsburgh newspaper writers was an awful idea. The Fan missed out on Madden and probably Dejan too. A re-formatting is desperately needed.
Why not dump bozos like Cook, and bring in Madden or another strong personality like him? $$ Talks
We tune in on our 300 mile ride to and from Pittsburgh when its in range.
The programing is terrible and the hosts are worse!
The station needs some Pittsburgh centric hosts and improved programming!
The programing is terrible and the hosts are worse!
The station needs some Pittsburgh centric hosts and improved programming!
OR because we usually shit the bed.
Most of the time, the criticism (or mostly, the lack of attention) is richly deserved. We don't win enough, and even off the field we often shoot ourselves in both feet and arms. Like with our dumb coach hires especially. That's on the administration, not the media.
I agree a number of them do have personal dislike for Pitt mainly due to their personal college allegiances. Pitt might cure your cancer (pshaw!) but doesn't put out many smarmy sports broadcasting or "journalism" hacks unfortunately. They have the pulpit, they use it to their pleasure ... but can only get away with that if we lose.
Win, and they will kiss our ass too
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