[BC] Wow, I wonder if y ou feel the same way about AM?

[Rich Wood]

------ At 06:59 AM 2/3/2010, Jeff Welton wrote: -------

>Rich is, I suspect, a pretty respectable programmer - he could 
>probably create a business by providing programming ideas to smaller 
>stations and universities to help them maximize the return on their 
>secondary channels and helping them to reap the benefits offered by 
>PAD and data services.

Jeff,
Been there. Tried that. A friend and I have a recording studio nearly 
complete that could pump out formats galore. Before we poured even 
more money into it we decided to test the marketplace to see if such 
a service was viable. Every company (even those for which I'd 
previously programmed) was completely unwilling to pay even a small 
fee to have their HD-2s programmed for them.

This is a chicken and egg thing. "We won't put money into programming 
until the programming is profitable." They won't try, so they'll 
never know. This was done before the economy tanked and bankruptcy 
became the preferred way to pay the bills.

Most of the people I talked to wanted "format extensions." Slight 
variations on what they had on analog. In my opinion, what's needed 
are niche formats either never heard in their markets of formerly 
there. As stations continue to panic when the PPM comes to their 
market the options will open up. Major markets are unwilling to take 
chances with the analog. New York, in particular, generally waits 
until a format shows signs of success elsewhere. It's like Broadway 
tryouts in smaller cities. If it's a smash in Boston and New Haven it 
might get a crack at Broadway. Smooth Jazz is the perfect example of 
that panic. The same death that happened to Easy Listening has spread 
to the format.

We've had years to learn how to program to the diary. PPM isn't 
getting the same study. Show a decline in one or two survey periods 
and it's dead.

Rich