Houston radio braces itself for the unique talents of Howard Stern.
from The Houston Chronicle
October 28, 2004
For the first time in more than two years, there's a new radio station atop the Arbitron ratings.
Hip-hop/R&B station KBXX-FM (97.9) nudged out regional Mexican powerhouse KLTN-FM (102.9) for the top spot in the ratings, which cover the period from July through September.
KLTN had been the No. 1 station over the previous nine rating periods.
Even with the ratings shakeup, Univision Radio, which owns KLTN, had a lot to crow about, with three stations in the top 10. Hip-hop station KPTY-FM (104.9) was No. 6, and Spanish adult contemporary station KOVE-FM (106.5) tied for No. 9.
Also, KLTN's morning drive-time show, Raul Brindis and Pepito, remains No. 1 by a healthy margin over the syndicated Tom Joyner show on urban adult contemporary station KMJQ-FM (102.1)
Syndicated shock jock Howard Stern's much-bally-hooed debut in the Houston market hasn't captured listeners. Ratings for Stern's show, which debuted on KIKK-AM (650) in late July, were so minuscule they didn't show up in the Arbitron rankings.
Laura Morris, general manager of Infinity Radio's four Houston stations, including KIKK-AM, predicts it will take another couple of ratings periods before Stern shows up in the ratings.
"People are still discovering that Howard is even on the air in Houston," she said.
Ratings for Stern's show are hampered by the fact that KIKK is a low-wattage AM station that barely registered in the ratings under its previous business-news format.
Top 10 radio
The top 10 local stations (based on listeners 12 and older, 6 a.m.-midnight Mondays-Sundays) for the summer ratings period (July-September):
1. KBXX-FM, 97.9, hip-hop/R&B (5.8 share) 2. KLTN-FM, 102.9, regional Mexican (5.7) 3. KMJQ-FM, 102.1, urban adult contemporary (5.2) 4. KODA-FM, 99.1, adult contemporary (5.0) 5. KRBE-FM, 104.1, Top 40 (4.9) 6. KPTY-FM, 104.9, hip-hop (4.2) 7. KPRC-AM, 950, talk (3.8) 8. KKBQ-FM, 92.9, contemporary country (3.7) 9. (tie) KTBZ-FM, 94.5, alternative rock (3.6) 9. (tie) KOVE-FM, 106.5, Spanish adult contemporary (3.6) The top 10 morning shows (6-10 a.m. weekdays): 1. KLTN-FM, Raul Brindis and Pepito (7.4 share) 2. KMJQ-FM, Tom Joyner (5.8) 3. KODA-FM, Sunny Morning Show (4.6) 4. (tie) KBXX-FM, Madd Hatta Morning Show (4.4) 4. (tie) KRBE-FM, The Morning Show with Sam Malone and Maria Todd (4.4) 6. KTRH-AM, Lana Hughes and J.P. Pritchard (4.2) 7. KLOL-FM, Walton & Johnson (3.8) 8. KILT-FM, Hudson & Harrigan (3.7) 9. (tie) KPRC-AM, Pat Gray (3.2) 9. (tie) KKBQ-FM, Q Morning Zoo (3.2)
The share is the percentage of listeners tuned to a given show during a quarter-hour period.
from the Houston Chronicle
July 18, 2004
| Houston radio braces itself for the unique talents of Howard Stern. |
|
ON THE AIR |
| What: The Howard Stern Show
When: Monday 6-11 a.m. Where: KIKK-AM (650) Hoopla: KIKK will hold a listening party at SideLines Sports Bar, 2016 Main #101, Monday from 6-11 a.m. Admission and breakfast are free. Doors open at 5:30 a.m. Winner of the “Howard Stern Look-a-Like Contest will receive a trip for two to Las Vegas. For information log on to www.businessradio650.com. |
|
SOME STERN COMPETITION |
| Howard Stern’s target audience is adult men. The Houston morning radio shows that attract the most male listeners are:
Men 18-34 Men 25-54 Source: Arbitron winter ratings (Jan.-March 2004, 6-10 a.m. weekdays). Share is the percentage of listeners tuned to a given station during a quarter-hour period. |
He feels so besieged by the Federal Communications Commission's crackdown that he says he is thinking of moving his show to satellite radio, which is not regulated by the government. His Web site keeps a running tally of the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining in his contract with Infinity Broadcasting (it's about 18 months and counting).
But the brouhaha may be the best thing that's happened to the self-proclaimed "King of All Media" in a long time. His ratings in most major cities are way up -- he is No. 1 among adults in Los Angeles for the first time in nearly 10 years, and No. 1 in New York, his home base, with his highest ratings in four years. He seems reinvigorated by his "free speech" crusade against the Bush administration, which he blames for instigating the FCC crackdown.
"The latest chapter in his career, in which he has become a political talk-show host, is one of its best chapters," said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, the radio industry's leading journal.
"It's colorful, and it's interesting."
Houston listeners will get a chance to hear for themselves Monday, when Stern's show debuts on KIKK-AM (650) during morning drive time. It will mark the first time Stern's show has aired in Houston.
The station has dumped business news for a "hot talk" format with Stern as its centerpiece. He will appear from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on the station, which has dubbed itself "KIKK-A** Talk."
"It's exciting to give Houston another programming alternative," said Bill Van Rysdam, director of programming for KIKK and KILT-AM (610), both owned by Infinity Broadcasting.
"We understand that it's not everybody's tastes, but that's OK."
What can Houston listeners expect?
Edgy, abrasive humor, said Francois Collins, a 23-year-old Houston fan who got addicted to Stern's show when he lived near New Orleans.
"I like the fact that with all the political correctness in the world, he is the anti-PC," said Collins, who plans to tune in on Monday. "He's a teenager who has never grown up."
Collins said Stern is sometimes a turnoff, particularly when he makes fun of disabled or mentally challenged people. "I believe that's offensive, but I defend his right to freedom of expression," Collins said. "Everyone should be entitled to that."
Tyler Hiroms, a 25-year old receptionist who watches Stern on the E! Entertainment channel with her boyfriend, also is taken with the disc jockey's irreverent attitude.
"Sometimes I'm offended, but the majority of the time he's just funny," she said. "The fact that he doesn't really give a damn is pretty cool."
Houston is one of nine new markets for Stern's show, raising the total to 45. The nine include Orlando, Fla.; San Diego; Pittsburgh; and Rochester, N.Y., where Clear Channel recently gave him the boot.
In early June, Clear Channel agreed to a record $1.75 million settlement with the FCC to resolve indecency complaints against Stern and other personalities. Stern has fought back, joining Infinity Broadcasting, which syndicates his show, in a lawsuit against Clear Channel for lost licensing fees. He's launched an on-air crusade — he calls it a "jihad" — to defeat President Bush in the November presidential election.
Stern says the crackdown on his show is part of a broad attack on civil liberties by the administration, and he is rallying his listeners to vote for Democrat John Kerry.
During a news conference to announce the cities where his show will start airing, Stern noted that many of his estimated 8.5 million listeners live in "swing states," such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Florida, where they can influence the outcome of the election. "I see the Rush Limbaughs of the world, and I see the Sean Hannitys: They preach to the converted. I believe our audience is open-minded," Stern said.
Stern ranks third behind Limbaugh, with 14.5 million weekly listeners, and Hannity, with 12 million, according to Talkers. Unlike Limbaugh and Hannity listeners, who are predominantly conservative and Republican, Stern's are not wedded to a particular political party. A survey for the New Democratic Network found that 4 percent of the nation's swing voters -- those who haven't made up their minds and are open to persuasion -- listen to his show. "We call Howard the ‘king of the swing,' " said Simon Rosenberg, founder and president of the Washington-based advocacy group.
"According to our poll, one out of every six likely voters in America listens to him. In an election that last time was decided by 537 votes, that's a lot of people."
The New Democratic Network poll showed that compared to the general population, Stern listeners are more likely to be male (60 percent, vs. 48 percent of Americans) and younger (40 percent are between 18 and 34 years old, vs. 22 percent). But they parallel average voters in income, education, religion and marital status.
"They tend to look like America and share its values," said pollster William Mann.
Surprisingly, given Stern's often raunchy subject matter, his listeners were slightly more likely to call themselves born-again Christians than the average American. The Rev. Steve O'Donohoe, associate pastor of adult ministry at Grace Community Church, has trouble believing that statistic.
"I'm surprised a Christian would listen to him, knowing of all the profanity and innuendoes about sex," said O'Donohoe, who once worked as a disc jockey.
"According to the Scriptures, we love him. But I wish he would be different." Even with his newfound emphasis on politics, Stern has hardly forgotten the subject that has made his show so popular: a voyeuristic, sophomoric take on sex. He entices female guests to bare their breasts in the studio, obsesses about penis size and his sexual shortcomings, and discusses bedroom encounters with his girlfriend. (He and his wife, Alison, divorced three years ago after 21 years of marriage.)
For all his on-air bluster, Stern is surprisingly quiet once his show ends each day. He rarely does interviews (his agent declined a Chronicle request) and hardly ever appears in public. Photographs of him outside the studio are almost nonexistent.
During an interview with freelancer Prairie Miller in 1998 to promote his movie, Private Parts,Stern defended his radio style.
"I'm always amazed at how many people put me down for doing my kind of broadcasting, because they all scream that they want something different. But as soon as you do something different, people get nuts. They go, 'What are you doing? You can't do that.'
"Why can't you? Why not? If it's not for you, you turn it off, that's all."
Stern got started as a disc jockey at Boston University and worked in several cities before landing in New York in 1986, where his explicit brand of humor soon attracted a huge audience.
"I decided early on that since the media was getting so dull, I would say whatever was on my mind, even if it meant betrayals and charades with the management," he said. "Whether I was right or wrong, I didn't let that enter into it, the consequences be damned. I like that I show that side of my life."
There isn't much he won't talk about on the air, he admitted.
"I have always gone by the rule of thumb that if it's funny, talk about it. I wouldn't talk about something like someone burning up in a fire. But I wouldn't censor myself. I would examine everything and see if there was humor in it for me, and if there was, I would talk about it. If I start censoring those things, I don't have a show."
After almost 20 years in the business, however, Stern's act had grown stale. Before his recent run-ins with the FCC, his ratings had tapered off, and many wondered whether, at age 50, he was too old for such puerile shenanigans. Even his trademark physical features — shoulder-length black hair (with no sign of gray) and round-rimmed sunglasses — seemed dated.
An abbreviated version of the radio show appears nightly on E! It's the cable channel's highest-rated series, but the audience is minuscule compared to network television.
The late-night HowardStern Radio Show went up against Saturday Night Live a few years ago and failed miserably. It's been almost a decade since Stern has had a best-selling book (Miss America).
Private Parts, the movie based on his best-selling autobiography, was a modest success. A TV show he produced, Son of the Beach, flopped on the F/X channel.
Even so, he has retained a loyal audience for his radio show, which continues to attract top-notch celebrities. Tobey Maguire appeared on Stern's broadcast the day Spider-Man 2 premiered in theaters.
Yet success on Houston radio is not guaranteed. KIKK must change its sign-on time every few months because of an obscure federal regulation limiting it to daytime hours. For example, Stern will start at 6 a.m. in July and August and 6:30 a.m. in September.
His competitors are all on FM stations with stronger signals, longer hours and much higher ratings.
Stern's show does well in Dallas but flopped in Austin and New Orleans, where it was regularly beaten by Walton & Johnson. The duo is heard here weekday mornings on KLOL-FM (101.1).
"In spite of his tens of millions of dollars in free PR and his nationwide prime-time cable exposure nightly on E! TV, Stern continues to have a dismal record in the face of real competition," John Walton wrote the Chronicle in an e-mail message.
Stern has had a rocky relationship with Houston. After the murder of Tejano singer Selena in 1995, Stern provoked outrage by playing excerpts from her songs with gunshots added in the background. On the day of her funeral, he said: "Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul ...Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth."
Houston radio personality Bo Corona called Stern to complain, and Stern instantly put him on the air. Their argument generated hundreds of calls to the station. Stern issued an apology in Spanish.
"He's got his own vibe, but to me his style is old," said Corona, now promotions director and weekend disc jockey at KHPT-FM (106.9).
"But if people like him, (they should) go for it. That's why we live in America. Everyone has a right to express themselves."
Talkers' Harrison is convinced Stern will continue to rule the radio roost.
"Stern is no fool. It's not like he's a wild man spouting indecencies," Harrison said. "He proved that Oprah, word for word, is as indecent as he is, if indecency exists at all." (Stern's Web site includes an analysis of an episode of an Oprah Winfrey show that contained graphic descriptions of various sex acts without a single bleep. Stern was fined by the FCC for using some of the same words.)
"I'm not political," Harrison said. "I just think Stern's show is great radio."
from RadioDailyNews.com
July 16, 2004
"Houston Hawk" reports exclusively for RDN from the Bayou City
Howard Stern is coming to Houston. It's about time. If you are ready to watch one of the most classic uphill battles in radio history, I think it will unfold in Houston soon.
KIKK-AM 650 will debut a format they are describing as "Hot Talk" on Monday. Howard at the helm.
The AM dial here is pretty crowded. KPRC is talk, and right wing, they have Rush. KTRH is the closest thing to an all news format and is the flagship station for the Houston Astros. KILT-AM is sports, with Houston Texans football, as well as Rockets and Comets basketball. Then there is local conservative talker KSEV picking up the bits and pieces. Standards station KBME will get an honorable mention here, but the rest of the signals for the most part are religious, ethnic of the Asian or Middle Eastern variety or time brokered.
Enter KIKK-AM 650, a 250 watt daytime frequency licensed to Pasadena, south of Houston. The past few years they have enjoyed moderate success as a business radio station. According to industry types, it made money. Not much by Infinity standards, but for a quarter-kilowatter that broadcast from sunup to sundown, a reported million bucks a year is not bad at all.
It is a bold move to attempt this type of a format with those kind of odds. Will it work? Bet your bottom advertising dollar. I give Infinity credit for having the balls to do it, even though it was probably Howard himself that forced the company to clear him in markets like Houston where he has never had an outlet. Or, clearing him in other markets where his employer (Infinity) had stations where he may have occupied another frequency not owned by them. Namely, the Clear Channel markets that pulled the plug on him.
Howard is an acquired taste. Howard will shake things up. Howard will bring folks to the AM band, and Howard will make radio better for a lot of people. How? Are you a Houston GM or PD who receives a lot of complaints about racy comments, edgy material, offensive remarks or suggestive lyrics? You probably won't be getting those calls and e-mails anymore. Even those listeners will be tuning in (and complaining about) Howard.
I think that Howard will bring out the best in personalities in the Houston market. They will listen to him, see his success and determine that aspects of their own personal lives should also be a part of their shows. Howard is the master of this. Their listeners will become more intrigued and engaged by what they hear, and the station will benefit from increased audience and ratings-if their bosses have the guts to let them explore those uncharted waters. We'll have to wait and see on that one.
I am not hoping for a dial crammed with lesbian dating games and Bush bashing, but there are many things about Howard that Houston radio has been missing for a while.
The personality and sparkle that made this market such a desirable place to work or listen to just isn't here anymore. True, the demographics and ethnic makeup of the market have changed. There was deregulation. But it seems to me that the only real personality left on the radio, and the only battles really being waged are what we now hear on the ethnic or ethnic leaning stations. KRBE,KBXX,KMJQ,KLTN,KPTY to be specific. There are a lot more signals here than that.
No longer is the dial filled with vibrant personalities who made you dial in, even if the music they played was not to your taste, or the fact that they jammed in twice as many commercials as the competition. We wonder why audience erosion is at an all time high, it is because we aren't giving them much worth listening to. Howard will change that.
Howard will demonstrate in time that a heavy spot load, on a low power station (on the AM band) can get listeners. More in time than some of the successful FM's in the market. It will make money, it will get attention, it will get press, and it will generate a buzz around town. And whether you like his politics, his people, his patter or not, it is PERSONALITY that will make Howard, KIKK-AM 650, it's advertisers, Infinity, the broadcasting community, and most importantly Houston radio listeners, winners.
from the Houston Business Journal
July 12, 2004
The usual formal atmosphere at Business Radio 650 AM will take on a much different tone this month when shock jock Howard Stern debuts "The Howard Stern Show" on the station July 19.
Houston is one of nine markets chosen by Infinity Broadcasting to begin airing the often-controversial program.
"Howard is a compelling and popular radio host and we thought he would do very well at Business Radio 650," says Pam Kehoe, director of marketing for Infinity Broadcasting.
Others stations that will begin airing the show include KQBT-FM in Austin; WPBZ-FM in West Palm Beach, Fla.; WQYK-AM in Tampa, Fla.; and KRNC-FM in Fresno, Calif.
The deal marks Stern's return to certain markets where he has been off the air since Clear Channel Communications pulled his show in February in six markets: Miami-Fort Lauderdale; Orlando, Fla.; San Diego; Pittsburgh; Rochester, N.Y.; and Louisville, Ky.
As part of the new deal, stations in Orlando (WOCL-FM), San Diego (KPLN-FM), Pittsburgh (WBZZ-FM) and Rochester (WZNE-FM), will begin broadcasting Stern once again.
The additional markets bring the total number of stations that carry Stern's show to 45, including 27 owned and operated by Infinity.
Clear Channel's decision to pull Stern's show started the gears running over at Business Radio 650, as executives began considering whether the program would be a good match, Kehoe says.
In fact, Stern's show may not be the only new component of Business Radio 650 when listeners tune in this month.
The station may also change some of its format to coincide with the addition of the show.
"We have been looking at the programming going on around Howard, but we haven't made any decisions yet," Kehoe says.
from the Houston Chronicle
Radio listeners expecting their regular dose of business news on KIKK-AM (650) Wednesday morning got a jolt when shock jock Howard Stern temporarily took over the airwaves.
The controversial disc jockey, whose sexually explicit talk show was yanked from several stations for indecency, announced that he soon will be heard in Houston and eight other new markets.
Beginning July 19, Stern's polarizing show will be carried from sunup until 11 a.m. weekdays on the Houston station, which is switching to a "hot talk" format.
"You either really love him or are on the other end of the spectrum," said Bill Van Rysdam, director of programming for KIKK and KILT-AM (610), both owned by Infinity Broadcasting.
The switchboard at KIKK lit up during the hour and a half that Stern was on the air and most callers were not happy, Van Rysdam said.
But he pointed out that Stern's program is No. 1 with its target audience of men between 25 and 54 in Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C.
He expects Stern to do well in Houston, too.
"A lot of people love to hear what Howard has to say," said Van Rysdam.
Some believe Stern's audience could influence the outcome of the presidential election.
A survey for the New Democrat Network found that 4 percent of likely voters listen regularly to his show. They are among the dwindling number of swing voters who are not committed to a candidate and could make a difference in battleground states.
Stern maintains the crackdown on his show is part of a broad attack by the Bush administration on individual liberties and has been rallying listeners to vote for John Kerry.
Some Houstonians strongly disagree that Stern will draw a large number of listeners in the Bayou City.
"Certainly there's a niche for his lewd and raunchy behavior, but whether it's large enough to succeed in our staunchly conservative city remains to be seen," said conservative activist Richard Hotze.
Stern will return to four cities where his show was yanked over indecency concerns.
In February, Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio broadcaster, dropped the show in Orlando, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Rochester, N.Y., and two other markets, after announcing a new policy to prevent airing of indecent content.
In early June, Clear Channel also agreed to a record $1.75 million settlement with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve indecency complaints against Stern and other radio personalities.
All of the new stations airing Stern's show are owned by Infinity, a division of communications conglomerate Viacom. With the additions, the show, based in New York, will be heard on 45 stations, 27 owned by Viacom.
The announcement was a strong signal that Infinity is standing behind Stern.
"As long as Howard Stern brings in more revenue than it costs to deal with the controversy, they will most likely keep him," said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, the industry's leading trade journal.
Harrison praised Stern's show as "great radio" and added that Houston adult listeners are in for a treat because Stern is "a brilliant satirist and social commentator" who pokes holes in hypocrisy.
"This whole issue of indecency is far overblown," Harrison said. "There are far greater indecencies in American mainstream media than Howard Stern. It's ridiculous that he is being made the poster boy for something that is a far larger issue."
Dave Wilson, founder and president of Houstonians for Family Values, is not a Stern fan. "Howard Stern is a poor excuse for entertainment," he said.
However, Wilson is a defender of free speech and is hesitant to protest Stern's arrival in Houston.
"The best way to handle his show is to turn it off," Wilson said.
The right of free speech should not prevent a community from setting standards of decency, said the Rev. Anthony Giampietro, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas.
"We're definitely at a cultural crossroad here (on) how to handle this type situation," he said. "We're a nation of individualists, yet we are trying to act as a social body. It creates a dilemma."
Stern's talk show is like no other program in the Houston market, although it could affect the ratings of the Walton & Johnson morning show on KLOL-FM (101.1), which also attracts a large adult male following.
KIKK-AM is looking to add other provocative shows under a radio format known as "hot talk," but has not finalized its lineup. The station, currently near the bottom of the Arbitron ratings, is expected to do much better with Stern.
"If the station has a signal that can be heard, you can be sure Howard Stern will get ratings," Harrison said.
from the HoustonChronicle.com
NEW YORK -- Howard Stern announced today that his syndicated morning show would appear in nine new markets, including four where his show was axed by the nation's largest radio chain for alleged indecency.
Stern said his program would air on stations in Houston; San Diego; Tampa, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Orlando, Fla.; Austin, Texas; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Fresno, Calif., all owned by Infinity Broadcasting.
In Houston, Business Radio KIKK-AM (650) will air the Stern show beginning July 19. Clear Channel Communications suspended Stern in February and dropped the country's best-known shock jock from its stations in Rochester, Orlando, San Diego, Pittsburgh and two other markets after complaints by federal regulators.
In early June, Clear Channel agreed to a record $1.75 million settlement with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve indecency complaints against Stern and other radio personalities.
Stern's nationally syndicated show features graphic sexual discussion and humor. With today's announcement, the show appears on 45 stations -- most of them owned by Viacom Inc.'s Infinity Broadcasting unit -- and draws millions of die-hard listeners.
Stern made the announcement at a news conference aired live on his radio show. He railed against the increased scrutiny he has received in recent months from the FCC.
"I'm not taking it sitting down," Stern said today.
He said entering the new markets -- in approximately two weeks -- was a message to the FCC, which has tightened its enforcement of indecency standards. Stern and the FCC have battled for years, with Infinity paying $1.7 million in 1995 to settle various violations by the DJ.
Stern said the FCC's enforcement "has a chilling effect on all broadcasters."
"The FCC is on a witch hunt," he said.
Federal law bars radio stations and over-the-air television channels from airing references to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children may be tuning in. The rules do not apply to cable and satellite channels or satellite radio.
Clear Channel, in dumping Stern, said it feared any continued association with the DJ and his raunchy show might led to losing their station licenses.
Joel Hollander, president and chief operating officer of Infinity, expressed his support for Stern.
"Howard has dominated the radio landscape for more than 20 years," Hollander said. Stern's listeners are "one of the most loyal audiences in radio who will no doubt embrace his return."
from RadioandRecords.com
June 30, 2004
Thanks to RobK for sending these...
from the Houston Chronicle
Nov. 7, 2001
The entire KLOL (101.1 FM) morning show, including behind-the-scenes characters, was let go suddenly after Wednesday's show.
"We've decided to go in a different direction and I don't think it's proper to elaborate any further," said KLOL program director Vince Richards.
So Wednesday was the last show for Grego, Pruett, Edward T. Sanchez, Locke Siebenhausen and Jeremy Newman.
Last year, the station said goodbye to Mark Stevens, one of the founding members of the show. In various forms, this cast had anchored mornings on KLOL for nearly 20 years.
During that time, the show was best known for its outlandish humor, "guy talk" and sexual content. The hosts were ordered to knock off the R-rated nonsense this year because of Federal Communications Commission rulings.
The station has not hired a replacement morning show, and will play wall-to-wall music while it searches for new people.
Richards did elaborate on one thing, however. KLOL is sticking to its hard-rock format.
--snips--
from RadioNews.com
November 7, 2001
Jim Pruett, morning show co-host, confirms by telephone that he and others from the morning show were told by KLOL management that the station was moving in a different direction for the morning show.
The "Morning Show" link at www.klol.com is now a "dead link."
Vince Richards is the KLOL-FM PD. RDN attempted to contact Richards for a comment. He has not returned the call or e-mailed comments.
Recently, Jim Pruett and Mark Stevens were a team show that had been featured on KLOL for many years. Their team show ended in February 2000. Stevens and Pruett continue to be involved in the Houston community through the "Stevens & Pruett Foundation for Children & Animals." (www.radiogods.com)
from the: Houston Press
August 20, 1999
 Howard Stern and Houston seem a perfect match. What's keeping them apart? Rand Carlson |
The day after the April shootings in Littleton, Colorado, radio personality Howard Stern asked on air if the perpetrators "[tried] to have sex with any of the good-looking girls?" His remarks created an outrage. His affiliate in Denver apologized for what was said. Stern never did, even though some of his fans said he had gone too far. In the end more people probably tuned in to Stern over those next few days to see what the fuss was about than at any other time before.
For Howard Stern, the Littleton comment was business as usual. Since his arrival in New York City in the early '80s, Stern has been one of radio's most popular and controversial personalities. Based out of the Big Apple, Stern's brand of radio madness is nationally syndicated on 50 radio stations. His show brings in big ratings, and only talk icons Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura Schlessinger have more listeners. Stern is credited with killing the "morning zoo" formats, and he's the only morning drive radio personality to be ranked No. 1 in the New York City and Los Angeles markets simultaneously. The only top-ten markets that don't carry Stern are Dallas (No. 7) and Houston-Galveston (No. 10). Given that Stern is one of the biggest stars in the radio industry, the question is: why doesn't a radio station in Houston carry Howard Stern?
"A lot of folks have the feeling that Howard is more trouble than he's worth from an advertiser and a community standpoint," says Jim Trapp, program director of KTBZ, The Buzz. "I'm not necessarily in agreement with that conclusion, but it just boils down to the fact that Howard will guarantee, once every six months, that he'll say something that gets everybody pissed off, and that's part of the show. There are a lot of advertisers who will vote against the outrage by not advertising on the radio station, and that scares people."
Stern's controversial nature does scare off some advertisers. His shtick and cast of politically incorrect sidekicks don't help, either. His regular cast of characters includes Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, Crackhead Bob, Fred the Elephant Boy and Daniel Carver "The Ku Klux Klan Guy," who rates movies - instead of with stars or boxes of popcorn - with burning crosses. Stern's guests include A-level Hollywood talent, strippers and porno stars, and people with physical deformities. His features include "Black Jeopardy" (a game in which contestants take on "African" names like Kareem In-My-Coffee or Jesse Jackoff and must begin their answers with "What am" or "What be"), "Lesbian Dial-A-Date" (self-explanatory) and "Who's the Jew?" with host "Kurt Waldheim Jr."
For Stern, nothing is taboo. He makes racial slurs that would get the Greaseman, the city of Washington's popular on-air talker, fired five times over. That Stern's sidekick Robin Quivers just happens to be black allows him to get away with it. Stern also spanked a bare-assed woman with a fish while she tried to sing. He had a man play the piano with his penis, which resulted in the first of Stern's many FCC fines for indecency. He also asked porno star Jenna Jamison's father to identify his daughter's vagina from a lineup of five vagina photos, which Jamison's father did. The staff applauded, and a Stern affiliate was fined. While breaking social mores, Stern has cost his parent company, Infinity Broadcasting (a division of CBS), more than $1 million in FCC fines. Technically Infinity's payouts are "donations" to the U.S. Treasury, something to ensure it can purchase more radio stations. For Infinity Broadcasting, the fines are a small cost of doing business. Stern is its cash cow.
"In terms of negative publicity, Howard is a saint compared to some much-less-talented yet highly paid jocks," says Los Angeles-based talent coach Dan O'Day. "Howard doesn't get arrested for drug use. He doesn't get sued for slander, for invasion of privacy or for violating clear-cut FCC regulations or for endangering public safety.
"The biggest risk that Howard presents to his affiliate stations comes from the wrath of the FCC in regard to perceived violations of the highly subjective 'indecency' rules. And the facts behind the instances in which Howard's stations [generally limited to Infinity stations] have been fined are laughable."
Stern's style of radio is listener-intensive. Instead of repulsing advertisers, Stern should be attracting more and commanding higher ad rates than shows that garner similar ratings. Ratings measure the number of people listening. They don't measure impact. Howard Stern has more impact than "ten in a row" shows, which often - with their commercials - become background noise for a listener. Stern, however, commands attention. His fans are passionately loyal, and many will do anything to promote him. Remember the Stern fan that called up ABC news during O.J. Simpson's Bronco ride? There are hundreds of other examples of Stern supporters doing most anything to get his name on national television. Stern's audience usually supports his nonradio efforts. His two books both topped The New York Times Best Seller list, his television show on E! is the network's highest rated program, and his movie, Private Parts, was a modest success (though it did not meet expectations). Only his late-night syndicated television show has been a real bomb.
"The term 'fan' is obviously short for fanatic, and sometimes you find them attached to everything in life," says Stern fanatic Kevin Renzulli, who produces the King of All Media Web site (www.koam.com), an Internet shrine to Howard Stern. The Web site, which celebrates "Ten Years of Kissing Stern's Ass!" is an outgrowth of a Stern newsletter Renzulli started in 1989. Renzulli receives no compensation from the show, though he has been hired by Stern in the past to assist on projects such as Stern's "Crucified by the FCC" video and Private Parts.
"People who are very loyal fans of Howard and the show are no different than people who follow a major-league baseball team," Renzulli says.
Talent coach O'Day sees three reasons why Stern fans are so loyal to him. "One, he entertains them. Two, they view Howard as honest, even courageous, in voicing his opinions. Three, among Howard's deepest core audience are young adult males with very limited aspirations and horizons. They peaked during high school or earlier, and their lives already have settled into a deadly routine of unrewarding work and alcohol-fueled weekends. To them, Howard represents wish fulfillment: to say whatever they want, to refuse to take crap from anyone, to flirt with the beautiful women, to be wealthy and in control of their own destinies."
Simply, the impassioned response to Stern's program makes advertisers money. But because he is cutting-edge, some major players in the Houston market, such as Coca-Cola and Six Flags, refuse to advertise with him. It's the ultimate catch-22. The reason Stern's successful is because he's cutting-edge. The reason he turns off advertisers is because he's cutting-edge. That's the price of being controversial, and it's one of the reasons Stern is not Houston. Controversy is also one of the main reasons he was dropped in Dallas.
In Dallas Stern was one of the market's top air personalities. His KEGL-FM show was consistently a top-three show and was No. 1 in five of his last eight ratings periods. When KEGL was purchased by Nationwide Insurance in early 1997, Nationwide didn't want the negative image associated with Stern's programming and decided at the corporate level to drop him. Nationwide also claimed it could not sell the Stern show to advertisers in Dallas, though Stern claimed his show tripled the station's morning revenues.
Stern was to be dropped by KEGL on September 5, 1997. But on July 22, 1997, in one of the most memorable radio bits of the past few years, he raked a KEGL spokeswoman over the coals on the air for 25 minutes about his being dropped by the station. Angered by Stern's actions, Nationwide dropped him three days later. While Stern's tirade was great radio, it didn't help his cause. His show has been out of Dallas for two years, and there is no indication it will return.
Whatever happened in Dallas, however, doesn't explain why no one in Houston has attempted to make Stern work. Rock 101 KLOL Program Director Max Duggan feels the answer is simple. "Three words: Stevens and Pruett," he says, referring to his station's morning radio duo. "I think they really are the main reason he's not here. He's not been shy about challenging morning shows around the country. He's been very vocal about it. But Stern and his people have been hesitant to come here, and I think that's probably reason number one, two and ten."
The Buzz's Trapp disagrees. "The minute Howard is on the air in Houston, Stevens and Pruett are over. Howard would kill them overnight, take them apart. Howard's real good at focusing and turning the competition inside out. He attacks mercilessly."
Stern has torn up his share of competition in other markets. He decimated Philadelphia top dog John DeBella. In Los Angeles Stern destroyed Rick Dees, Jay Thomas and Mark & Brian (though Dees is rebounding). In Syracuse Stern landed in second place during his first ratings period, and in the latest ratings book is No. 1. Instant success, however, is unusual for Stern. It usually takes one to two years for his show to catch on in a market. It took him six years to beat Brother Wease in Rochester, New York.
As his late-night syndicated television show suggests, Stern doesn't always have the Midas touch. He was unable to defeat the Greaseman in Washington, D.C., until Grease changed his home bases to Los Angeles and Atlanta while pursuing his own syndication deal, which ultimately failed. Stern's success in Chicago has been qualified at best, and he has yet to make a serious dent in Austin and several other markets.
"In some markets he hasn't done all that well because the New York attitude and act just don't play as well," notes Jeff Scott, program director of KKRW, The Arrow. "I've often wondered why he hasn't come here. Howard's act would probably get interest here, but I don't know how long it would play or how much of an impact it would have on the market."
Houston's market conditions make Stern's arrival here anytime soon unlikely. Since his audience is 70 percent male and mostly white, his raucous style really lends itself only to rock/alternative formats. The most logical fit for Stern in Houston would be KLOL's male-skewed active-rock format, but Stevens and Pruett are putting up solid numbers and making a big profit. There is no reason for KLOL to rock the boat.
The Arrow's classic rock format would be a decent fit for Stern. He has been successful on classic rock stations. But aside from the fact that KKRW is happy with Dean and Rog, KKRW and KLOL are both owned by Chancellor Media. As such, KKRW and KLOL are programmed more to complement each other, not compete. If KKRW were to carry Stern, it would cannibalize Stevens and Pruett's younger audience and thus undermine Chancellor Media's obvious corporate goal of total market dominance.
The Buzz, which is owned by Clear Channel/Jacor, has a younger audience and intuitively seems like a great place for Stern's rantings. Trapp says he has even considered putting Stern on KTBZ. "We just can't see how to make it work financially," he says. "He costs so much money that from our standpoint he's cost-prohibitive. It doesn't matter how big his audience is - it would be difficult to make our money back on Howard. We've never been able to look at it and see how it makes any sense."
Like any other business, the bottom line in radio is the bottom line. In addition to asking for a large annual fee to carry his program, Stern requires that radio stations give him a certain amount of their commercial inventory and a percentage of the station's profit. Since morning shows can generate more than 50 percent of a radio station's revenue, a radio station cannot afford to lose one nickel on Stern. It's unlikely the station will make up that loss and turn a profit with the other dayparts.
"He is just very expensive," Duggan says. "If he is successful, which he often is, but not always, then you might have a viable product. But if he's not, if you're not gangbusters right out the chute, then you're going to be losing a lot of money."
Says KKRW's Scott: "If you have a lesser-name show, just a couple young guys that hit it off, if they have a reasonably successful middle-level show, they may make more money for the company. So sometimes Howard is not the best answer."
With the prospect of Stern's coming to Houston rather bleak, fans have to get their fix through his television shows. Though Houstonians don't get to hear Stern's daily radio show, he continues to be a major force in that industry, and his career is still on the upswing. Just how good is Howard Stern, and how long will he last?
"Howard certainly is, barring anything else, compelling," says Scott. "He makes people turn up the radio and listen to what he's going to do next, and that's the key of most successful morning shows. Where Howard goes too far is in embarrassing his guests and making them look bad. You can do that for a while, but eventually you run out of guests that are willing to put up with it. Howard also has a tendency to get mean-spirited sometimes, to lesser-known people that he invites to his own show. When you appear to be attacking people for the sport of it, audiences can turn on you."
Says KTBZ's Trapp: "I think he's one of the most brilliant 'sit-down,' as opposed to 'stand-up,' comics there is. He's quick-witted and a lot smarter than people give him credit for. He's undoubtedly one of the marquee names in broadcasting. You just can't escape the Howard phenomenon. I've been listening to people tell me since 1992 that Howard was over, and he ain't over yet."
His style of radio will continue to create controversy and continue to make money. That's the bottom line.
Fan of Howard's? Who listens to Howard Stern?
Don't let anyone tell you Howard Stern appeals only to unwashed males under 25. Stern's demographics are actually quite lucrative for advertisers.
5.6 million people listen to Howard Stern every week.
74 percent of his audience is 25 to 54, the most coveted demographic in radio.
64 percent of his audience is 25 to 44.
57 percent of his audience has a household income of $50,000 or more.
33 percent of his audience has a college degree.
61 percent of his audience is employed in white-collar occupations.
Source: Scarborough Qualitative Research for Howard Stern CBS-owned affiliates/Howard Stern Ad Network.
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