"How Radio Will Kill the Radio Star"

    • 993 posts
    August 23, 2012 11:32 AM PDT

    Interesting article from The Hollywood Reporter.

    With Tom Leykis choosing to fund his own Internet radio show (his out-of-pocket reported to be $1MM) and radio's most popular personalities appealing to older demos, Leykis, TALKERS' publisher Michael Harrison, and others opine on the future of radio.

    "Each successive generation is turning away from radio," says Michael Harrison, publisher of radio trades Talkers and Radio-Info.com. "That’s not necessarily terrible. The upper demos today are wealthy, involved and active and have a lot of years ahead of them. The same is true of older DJs and talk show hosts -- they’re not over the hill; with age comes better talent and wisdom. But looking down the road 15 years, it’s problematic.”

    ...

    TOP 5 RADIO PERSONALITIES

    Terrestrial radio's most popular talk show hosts are also among the oldest. 

    • Rush Limbaugh, 61: The Rush Limbaugh Show (Premiere Networks) -- 15 million listeners per week
    • Sean Hannity, 50: The Sean Hannity Show (Premiere Networks) -- 14 million listeners per week
    • Michael Savage, 70: The Savage Nation (Talk Radio Network) -- 9 million listeners per week
    • Laura Ingraham, 48: The Laura Ingraham Show (Talk Radio Network) -- 6 million listeners per week
    • Ed Schultz, 58: The Ed Schultz Show (Dial Global) -- 3 million listeners per week

     

     

     

     


    This post was edited by Rod Schwartz at March 4, 2024 6:07 PM PST
    • 993 posts
    August 24, 2012 9:56 AM PDT

    Follow-up piece from The Hollywood Reporter today features CBS President and CEO Dan Mason, responding to yesterday's article:

    "The good news for those who like radio is that reports of our untimely demise are not only premature but, well, just plain wrong.

     

    "...when it comes to the entire radio marketplace, our job is to create content that appeals to a wide range of listeners and advertisers -- whether that's talk, music or news. Our future is not determined by one specific format or the people who pioneered a genre. I'd say it's just the opposite: Our diversity and the ability to adapt to the changing environment will always put us in a position to win."

     

    - Dan Mason, CBS Radio

    Read the full article here.