Posted by Da Butcha Da Betta on November 03, 2009 at 10:39:42:
High hopes at WBBM
Station seeks ratings boost from Bears coverage
November 3, 2009
LEWIS LAZARE Media & Marketing columnist
Something about the thrill of victory invariably makes those who experience it want more. That has certainly been the case with the folks at WBBM-AM (780), which found itself last winter in first place in the Arbitron ratings in the key 25- to 54-year-old demo.
Now everyone at the all-news station is hoping the stars start to align again for WBBM when the October Arbitron numbers are released Wednesday. While no one we've talked to in WBBM management is expecting the station to catapult to No. 1 in October from its No. 7 position in September, there's speculation among WBBM insiders that the station could at least move back up as high as No. 4.
Several seasonal factors will figure prominently in WBBM's efforts to improve its ratings this fall and winter. Chief among them is the Chicago Bears, arguably Chicago's most popular professional sports franchise and a huge audience draw. WBBM has the exclusive radio rights to air all Bears games.
Another factor that may seem inconsequential to some (but really isn't) is the start of the school season. A lot of moms listen to WBBM in the morning for the weather reports so they can decide how warmly their children need to dress for school and whether getting the kids to school will be an ordeal. When the weather turns iffy or worse, commuters also hang on every word of those WBBM traffic reports that come like clockwork.
Finally, WBBM's ratings are greatly affected by the simple pull of breaking news -- the big wild card.
WBBM management insiders know that when important news breaks, a lot of Chicagoans turn on WBBM to get their first quick take on developments, and on such occasions WBBM inevitably witnesses a ratings spike. That was certainly the case last fall when WBBM benefitted from the unlikely -- perhaps never to be repeated -- convergence of several major Chicago news events, namely Barack Obama's election and the Rod Blagojevich political scandal, in addition to the nation's economic collapse.
Will it take another trio of big stories for WBBM-AM to get back to No. 1 in the 25-to-54 demo? Maybe. Maybe not. But those we've talked to in WBBM management believe the station has learned how to play to its strengths well enough in recent years to easily jump back into the top five Chicago radio stations in the 25-to-54 demo. And remain there.
North motors on ...
Say what you will about broadcaster Mike North, the man is not a quitter. When he and Comcast SportsNet Chicago amicably agreed late last week to end North's live, three-hour "Monsters in the Morning" show at the end of 2009, North refused to spend time lamenting the show's demise. Instead, with his usual bluff and bluster, he has been talking about taking all he learned at CSNC and using it to help sell his services to another outlet. Right now North is doing nothing but talking, which suggests the irrepressible broadcaster is not yet close to finalizing a deal with another television or radio station.
As for the decision to shut down "Monsters," both North and CSNC President Jim Corno insist the reason was strictly economic. North said the show had a budget for its first year of around $1.5 million, and that it was probably going to pull in about $1.2 million in ad revenue, leaving a budget shortfall of at least $300,000.
Corno wouldn't talk financial specifics, but he said the shortfall might be larger. In any event, with CSNC and the rest of the broadcasting industry in no shape to support shows that don't make their nut, Corno had no choice, he said, but to pull the plug.
Of course, North's connections to "Monsters" sponsor David Hernandez, who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme -- a mess that exploded last summer -- surely made it easier for Corno to bring down the curtain on "Monsters" when financial concerns arose.