[Houston Press] Sports talk radio stations fight for listeners in Houston

All-sports stations anxious for ratings

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4969987.html

By DAVID BARRON

We begin another week of upheaval in Houston sports radio with the release Wednesday of the Arbitron portable people meter readings for June, the first such report that stations can use as currency for advertising sales.

If you're just catching up to this drama, KILT (610 AM) is the only one of the three full-time all-sports stations that has registered in the PPMs the last two months. KBME (790 AM) and KFNC (97.5 FM) have been skunked across the board.

Officials at both stations have expressed confidence that their bottom lines will remain secure, even if the official audience totals don't pick up. They won't complain, though, if they show up in the June book.

On other fronts, attorney Brian Zimmerman continues to explore legal options on behalf of sidelined 610 talk show host Lance Zierlein; Chronicle columnist Richard Justice, remains a free agent. We could hear something out of either, both or neither this week.

Meanwhile, those of you who bet the under on Dan Patrick's exit strategy from ESPN Radio were dead-on. Patrick announced Thursday he will join a new venture called Content Factory that will distribute audio through the Internet and mobile and wireless devices.

Initial speculation on Patrick's successor on the noon-to-3 p.m. time slot has thus far focused on Mike Tirico, Doug Gottlieb and Scott Van Pelt, plus late-morning host Colin Cowherd and the team of Trey Wingo and Mark Schlereth, who have drawn good reviews while filling in for Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN's morning show.

Bigger names, but more unlikely candidates, would include Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon or Keith Olbermann. Another intriguing possibility would be Kenny Mayne, who would be great or implode in spectacular, if dry, fashion. ESPN also could raid its owned-and-operated stations for a long shot like Randy Galloway or — no anguished screams, please — Steven A. Smith or Max Kellerman.

The decision will be of considerable importance for affiliates such as KFNC. ESPN Radio considered the Patrick show a virtual must-carry, but without a big name, it might be difficult to strong-arm locals into sticking with Patrick's successor.

"We are interested in any decision which makes us a more appealing radio station to our listeners," said 97.5 FM program director Jon Madani. "We are big believers in the ESPN brand and what that stands for. When the time comes and the network names a replacement for Dan, we will make the decision which makes us a better station for Houston."

Speaking of 97.5, its newest talk show host, Calvin Murphy, premieres at 6 p.m. today.

 

I can barely pick up 97.5. I never listen.

 

Yet another article about the ever changing sports talk in Houston.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5008970.html

Battle of the bandwith
Who says talk is cheap? Certainly not the four stations jockeying for the ears, and wallets, of Houston sports fans

By DAVID BARRON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Sept. 13 marks the 13th anniversary of Houston radio legend Dickie Rosenfeld's crowning Big Idea: the conversion of KILT (610 AM), the city's onetime rock-and-roll blowtorch, into Houston's first all-sports radio station.

Skeptics scoffed, but Rosenfeld thought the format would work. It did.

In fact, it worked so well that by the time KILT's anniversary arrives, his vision will have quadrupled.

With KGOW (1560 AM) poised to join KILT, KBME (790 AM) and KFNC (97.5 FM), Houston will have four all-sports stations, plus shows on KCOH (1430 AM) and KSEV (700 AM) and, during baseball season, KTRH (740 AM).

For an industry that has featured frequent spasms of change during Rosenfeld's time and since his death in 2000, the arrival of a fourth station is merely another jolt, albeit a potentially significant one.

After months of relative calm since late 2004, when Clear Channel Radio hired Charlie Pallilo from KILT to help launch sports on KBME, rapid-fire changes began late last year. KFNC debuted in January as ESPN Radio's affiliate, replacing KBME, and KGOW announced plans to debut Aug. 20 with a lineup featuring John Granato, who left KILT in April after 10 years as morning-drive host, and Chronicle columnists Richard Justice and Ken Hoffman.

Now, the question is whether Houston has enough listeners and advertisers for all four stations.

Skepticism is the order of the day.

"It's going to be very difficult for all four to survive," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, which covers the talk radio industry. "Sports talk in general has never been a big ratings-getter. It's been a qualitative pie, and now you're splitting it four ways."

Mark Whitfield, a group media director for the Houston advertising agency FKM, added, "There will be culling. In the short term, they will do OK. But they will go three at some point, and they eventually will go to two."

Until and if that happens, though, there's plenty to talk about.

"It's a great time to be in sports radio," said Laura Morris, general manager of CBS Radio's Houston stations including KILT. "This week, you had Craig Biggio retiring and hitting a grand slam, crooked refs in the NBA, Michael Vick, NFL training camp opening and guys getting kicked out of the Tour de France.

"Those are passionate topics, and that makes the business work."

Opportunities abound for listeners — and hosts. KILT, KBME and KFNC each launched with one local weekday show. KGOW's four new shows will take the four-station total to 14.

"You look at our lineup, and it's not a start-up lineup," said David Gow, who bought 1560 (now known as KILE) earlier this year. "It's a top-of-the-market lineup, and that can make us a top-of-the-market station."

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
KILT's lineup has a new look as well. Granato left after reaching an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit against the station, and morning co-host Lance Zierlein was removed when he declined to sign a three-year extension to his contract, which expires Nov. 30.

Morris, however, notes that KILT performed better in the June Arbitron ratings than it did with its old lineup in June 2006.

"Rich Lord and Marc Vandermeer had the highest ratings in afternoon drive. Both of them are top talents," she said. "I am very confident of Marc and Andre (Ware) in the morning. Matt Jackson (who replaced Vandermeer in afternoon drive) is a great, young talent. I'm very pleased where we are."

Clear Channel Radio's KBME, launched by veteran programmer Ken Charles in 2004, is now programmed by Michael Berry, who has launched one new show and tried, unsuccessfully, to hire Ralph Cooper from KCOH to work evenings. (Berry did not reply to calls and e-mails from the Chronicle seeking comment on his plans for KBME.)

KFNC, owned by Cumulus Media, has two local shows and is considering whether to go local at midday with Dan Patrick's departure from ESPN Radio.

"We have a lot of special advantages," said Pat Fant, Cumulus' market manager. "We have the ESPN affiliation linked to an FM signal, and we have wisely allocated resources for talent."

Recent hires recall the days when former Chronicle columnist Ed Fowler and a rotating cast of colleagues played major roles on radio. This year, Chronicle employees Jerome Solomon (KFNC), John P. Lopez (KBME) and Justice and Hoffman (KGOW) have added radio to their newspaper duties.

Soccer writer Bernardo Fallas of the Chronicle appears on one of two weekday Spanish-language sports talk shows on KLAT (1010 AM), which carries Texans and Astros games. KYST (920 AM), the Rockets' flagship station, also has a weekday sports show.

Unique market
By contrast, the number of double-duty hosts is declining in markets like Boston, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where writers have left newspapers to focus on radio.

The best-paid hosts in Houston sports radio receive more than $100,000 and can supplement that by as much as 25 percent through endorsements. Salaries, however, can escalate in hotly competitive markets; Mike North, the morning drive host on WSCR in Chicago, is paid just under $1.5 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

While hosts come and go, Pallilo on KBME and Lord on KILT are mainstays, along with Cooper. After a decade together at KTRH and KILT, they are comfortable with the state of Houston sports radio and their position as competitors.

"I think Houston sports radio has improved because of the variety of shows and hosts," Lord said. "I think competition is good, no matter what. ... Competition makes everybody better."

Pallilo said baseball chatter has shown the most improvement, adding, "While we are still not Boston or St. Louis as a more-important-than-life-or-
death baseball city, the era of (Minute Maid Park) and the Roger Clemens-Andy Pettite era raised the ongoing consciousness."

Pallilo has an option year remaining on his contract after this year and said, "I'm not courting other suitors. I'm happy where I am and foresee no change." Lord, whose contract expires at the end of November, is in talks with KILT on a new agreement.

Dollars and sense
While talent shifts draw the most attention, the bottom line — drawing sufficient listeners to generate sufficient ad income — remains the bottom line.

In that regard, Houston sports radio has not been an industry leader. BIA Financial Network, a Virginia-based company that tracks the industry, estimates KILT generated $7.8 million and KBME generated $1.8 million in ad revenue in 2006. That compares to $50.6 million for WFAN in New York and $24.7 million for KTCK in Dallas-Fort Worth, according to BIA. (Morris would not provide revenue details for KILT but said BIA's estimate for the station is not correct.)

Houston sports radio also has lagged, comparatively, on the ratings front. On Arbitron's broadest measuring stick, persons 12-plus, the three all-sports stations combined for a 2.6 percent audience share for the winter ratings. That compared to 6.2 percent for three sports stations in Kansas City, 4.9 percent for two Boston stations and 4.5 percent for three D-FW signals.

Arbitron has added a new element by introducing electronic portable people meters to determine ratings in Houston. For June, the first month for which PPM data could be used to set ad rates, KILT was the only all-sports station with a rating in persons 12-plus or men 25-54, the key demographic for sports radio. It had a 2.0 average quarter-hour audience share for 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday.

For the winter ratings book, the last Arbitron survey that used paper diaries, KILT's share for men 25-54 was 2.8 percent to 1.2 for KBME and 0.6 for KFNC, neither of which showed up in the June PPM report.

The reality of Arbitron's new math, said Chris Caldwell, a partner in the Houston media buying firm Briggs & Caldwell, is that from a national perspective, "there's only one player currently, and that's KILT."

"Until KBME and KFNC get Arbitron ratings, I can't prove how many people listen to them," he said. "So I have to assume they have no listeners.

"I don't mean to infer that nobody is listening to Charlie Pallilo. I know Charlie has a fairly strong, loyal audience. ... But until Arbitron catches up, it makes it hard as a media buyer."

Sandra Williams, local broadcast director for advertising and marketing firm FKM, said Houston is a good market for radio advertising but added, "There are way too many stations" doing sports.

However, Williams said, local advertisers frequently look beyond ratings when buying time on sports stations.

"You're buying the station, not so much its cost per point. You're buying personalities," she said. "Buying Jim Rome is like buying American Idol or the 6 o'clock news. You know (the audience) won't be near the cost per point, but you're buying it for a specific reason."

For advertisers, Caldwell said, "Talent is everything. Without the names, and without the recognition of sports fans, sports radio won't succeed."

In that vein, Ken Tate, president of Hoops Sporting Goods and a longtime advertiser on KILT, said, "It's all about the local talent pool and personal endorsements. I've been loyal to 610, but I'm concerned. It will be interesting to see whether listeners move over."

'See what shakes out'
One of Houston's largest advertisers, Jim McIngvale at Gallery Furniture, does not plan to increase his ad budget but will advertise on all four stations "and see what shakes out. We'll see which ones pull the best for us."

Brad Marks, vice president of I.W. Marks Jewelers, said as many as one-third of customers say they were drawn to his store by a radio endorsement.

"We will continue with our marketing plan, because all the sports talk shows are pulling well for us," Marks said. "Four stations may be too many."

Although some see KGOW as the tipping point into excess, Richard Topper, who resigned as general sales manager at KILT to become KGOW's general manager, said the station has been received well by prospective advertisers.

"Based on our lineup, we've got some people who are ready to commit from day one who, under different circumstances, wouldn't go with a new station right off the bat," he said.

While sports radio is thriving as a genre nationwide, with at least 550 stations, and in markets like Oklahoma City, which has five, only Detroit, Miami and Chicago among larger markets have neck-and-neck races among men 25-54.

Less successful stations can compete, said Harrison of Talkers magazine, "if they keep expenses low and don't operate from the standpoint of ratings. They have to find advertisers who are loyal to the shows, teams and personalities."

If all four retain the format through the end of 2008, it could benefit the Astros, whose contract with Clear Channel's KTRH expires after the '08 season. KILT has the Rockets through 2010, with options, and the Texans through 2011. KBME carries Astros spring games as KTRH's sister station.

Astros owner Drayton McLane welcomes multiple bidders — "It's like having four supermarkets rather than one," he said — but KTRH's superior night signal could carry the day.

Competition good
Signal strength, in fact, has been an issue for discussion regarding KGOW and KFNC. KFNC's transmitter is in Chambers County east of Houston, which limits its signal in west Houston and the western suburbs. (Fant, however, says the area east toward Beaumont-Port Arthur is "gold" for listeners and advertising opportunities.)

KGOW's signal is 50,000 watts during the day and 100 at night, but Topper said the station, which will broadcast 24 hours, has approval to boost its night signal to 1,000 watts and will do so by next spring. The station eventually hopes to build a 19,000-watt tower.

While KGOW prepares to launch, the existing three stations are hardly standing pat, and skeptics believe the last station in will be the first out. Media buyer Caldwell, however, thinks KGOW can succeed "mostly because of what they inherited from KILT in talent and management."

Advertising and radio executives also expect Arbitron to adjust by tweaking the PPM ratings formula, which would benefit the three unrated stations.

"I leave that to management," Pallilo said. "I am aware that I have an existing listening base, and the idea that it would go from one end to another because of the flip of a mode of measure is inherently silly."

Stations also are adding digital products — Internet sites, podcasts and streaming audio — as revenue sources.

Fant said KFNC had about 29,000 streams in the second quarter with average time listening of 111 minutes, compared to the average 119 minutes for Cumulus' flagship KRBE (104.1 FM). Morris said KILT had 270,000 streams during that same period with an average time listening of 117 minutes.

The big picture
While the idea of a four-way scrum for listeners and advertisers has appeal, station officials emphasize they compete with any media property that targets men 25-54.

"For all the science, it's still an art," Morris said. "You have to create interesting and compelling content. It's all about results and how clients are moving their needle."

Added Topper: "We see ourselves as one of 41 stations, not one of four, and we're trying to appeal to as many people as possible through sports talk and entertainment talk."

Optimism, and participation, are high.

"I've been asked if we plan to exist or prevail," Fant said. "We like prevail better."

 

More from the article posted above:

BIG FOUR
KILT (610 AM) Local weekday talk-show hosts: Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware (6-10 a.m.); Jeremy Foster and/or John McClain (10-11 a.m.); Rich Lord and Matt Jackson (2-6 p.m.); Adam Wexler (6-10 p.m.). Management: Laura Morris, general manager; Bill Van Rysdam, director of programming and operations; Dave Harbison, sports director. Transmitter power: 5,000 watts daytime/nighttime. Transmitter location: North Freeway at Beltway 8.

KBME (790 AM) Local weekday talk-show hosts: Brad Davies and Carl Dukes (6-10 a.m.); Craig Roberts (10-11 a.m.); Ted DeLuca and John P. Lopez (11 a.m.-3 p.m.); Charlie Pallilo (3-7 p.m.). Management: Eddie Martiny, general manager; Michael Berry, director of AM operations; Tim Collins, program director. Transmitter power: 5,000 watts daytime/nighttime. Transmitter location: North Houston between Tomball Parkway and Stuebner Airline.

KFNC (97.5 FM) Local weekday talk-show hosts: Jorge Vargas and Jerome Solomon (3-6 p.m.); Calvin Murphy (6-7 p.m.). Management: Pat Fant, market manager; Jon Madani, program director. Transmitter power: 100,000 watts. Transmitter location: Chambers County, south of Winnie.

KGOW (1560 AM) Local weekday talk-show hosts: John Granato (6-10 a.m.); Richard Justice (10 a.m.-noon); Ken Hoffman (noon-2 p.m.); Sean Pendergast and John Harris (2-6 p.m.). Management: David Gow, president; Richard Topper, general manager; John Granato, program director. Transmitter power: 50,000 watts daytime, 100 watts nighttime (application pending for 19,000-watt nighttime). Transmitter location: Near Rosharon in Fort Bend County.
PERSONNEL CHANGES
More than two dozen radio personalities have hosted regularly scheduled weekday sports talk shows in Houston over the past decade. Here is a partial list, based on transactions recorded in Chronicle files:

KILT (610 AM) Mike Edmonds and Ed Fowler (1995-97) Rich Lord and Kenny Hand (1995-99) Kenny Hand and Adam Wexler (1999-2000) Rich Lord and Charlie Pallilo (1999-2004) John Granato and Lance Zierlein (1997-2007) Russ Small, John Granato and Lance Zierlein (2001) Matt Jackson and Jeremy Foster (2000-2001) Russ Small (2001-2002) Matt Jackson (2001-2005) Marc Vandermeer (2002-2005) Rich Lord and Marc Vandermeer (2005-2007) Matt Jackson and Adam Wexler (2005-2007) Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware (2007-present) Rich Lord and Matt Jackson (2007-present)

KSEV (700 AM) Matt Thomas and Daron Jones (1995-97) Matt Thomas and Jim Kozimor (1997) Russell Sherrill (2003, 2007)

KTRH (740 AM) Russ Small and Charlie Pallilo (1995-97) Tom Franklin and Carl Dukes (1999-2000) Tom Franklin and Charlie Pallilo (1997-99) Tom Franklin and Kris O'Donnell (2000-2001) Matt Thomas and Carl Dukes (2003-2004) Carl Dukes and Ted DeLuca (2004)

KBME (790 AM) Charlie Pallilo (late 2004-present) Brad Davies and Carl Dukes (2006-present) Ted DeLuca and John P. Lopez (2006-present)

KPRC (950 AM) John O'Reilly and Fran Blinebury (1995-2000) John O'Reilly and Matt Thomas (2000)

KCOH (1430 AM) Ralph Cooper (1984-present)

KFNC (97.5 FM) Jorge Vargas and Jerome Solomon (2007-present) Calvin Murphy (2007-present)

 

97.5's signal sucks. 1560 isn't even up and running yet (as a sports talk station). Give it a chance.

 

Two local shows. Calvin Murphy has a show at 6pm.

 

Chronicle columnist who writes a lot about fast food. I doubt he'll talk a lot of sports, although he does seem to be a sports fan.

Here's his Sunday column. He talks about a lot of stuff:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/5003692.html