Posted by Steve Green on April 08, 2008 at 22:53:53:
In Reply to: Re: Re: The Numbers That Really Matter posted by Walt on April 08, 2008 at 20:19:58:
Just a few thoughts about the industry's inability to make a go of it on the average $576,000 a week ....
Break my heart .....
As is sometimes said : 'Diminishing returns .... it's not just a bad idea ......'
Running smack into the Law Of Diminishing Returns are the formats and the audiences -- older and younger -- which got dumped over the years in favor of gleeful media assaults on the more cosmetically respectable 25-49 sheep.
'Hey, who cares if they're financially overextended? It's easier and cheaper to get THEM to part with their money' .....
Marty Brooks' figures could even have been divided by a hundred and 23 and the pattern would be the same -- declining listenership, leading directly to declining revenue.
Or is it the other way around? Does frugality/cheapness count? Depends on who's stating the stats. Either way, the arrow is going down. And don't even bother to prop us all up with the 'stock market' crutch. Brooks' and Bob Smith's figures (about declining TSL) predate the currrent mess and iPods and DSL ......
We will never know how many listeners would come back *anyway* to the New York radio dial ; those former listeners who once supported country, jazz, full-service A/C, standards, oldies r&b, beautiful music, soft A/C, pre-64 oldies, and non-monolithic talk radio. These formats and their listeners, having crashed into age discrimination and other excuses, are missing for good. These approaces represented many, many listeners regardless of age or footware/headgear. Radio told them all to cram it and is wondering why there is so much echo amid the empty seats in the house .......
Anyone here think that even the return of Stern to 92.3 would instantly reinstate his 6.0 share and correct a lot of the industry missteps and the overall problem? ....
Radio's biological clock (adjusted for DST) badly needs to give people between ages 12-24 a reason to tune in. Now......