January 27, 2005
From a friend of mine:
I'm in Tampa, so I tried to dig up a few winter book numbers and tidbits. Howard is on a horrible AM station with a crappy signal. Most I grabbed from radio-info.com.
Mornings 18-34 1. WFLZ MJ Morning Show 2. WLLD Orlando and the Freak Show 3. WBTP Olivia Fox 4. WSUN The Morning X with Fisher and Boy 5. WYUU Cowhead and Brent 10. WXTB The Monsters 13. WBZZ Howard Stern (up from 16th) 18. WTBT Bob and Tom 21. WHTP Lex and Terry Mornings 12+ (I don't have the top numbers here) 18. WTBT Bob and Tom 22. WBZZ Howard Stern (up from 24) 25. WHTP Lex and Terry 26. WPCV (Lakeland, edge of market signal) 27. WRMD (Spanish) 28. WTMP (Tom Joyner) 29. WQBN (Spanish) Mornings 25-54 (I don't have much here either) 13. WTBT Bob and Tom 19. WBZZ Howard Stern (up from 20) 19. WHTP Lex and Terry
Time Spent Listening to Lex & Terry and Bob & Tom is CONSIDERABLY lower than Stern's. However they have higher cumes than Stern.
In English kinda: Those that can hear Stern, listen and they stay there. A larger amount of people punch into Bob & Tom or Lex & Terry but only listen briefly and punch else where. Funny thing about Lex and Terry...they have terrible ratings in Tampa, but in the neighboring Sarasota market, they are #1 men 25-54 and 18-49.
from the St. Petersburg Times
For years, local fans of shock jock Howard Stern have asked if his controversial radio show ever would come to a Tampa Bay area station.
They got their answer Wednesday when Stern announced his morning show will debut July 19 on sports talk station WQYK-AM 1010, one of nine additional Infinity Broadcasting stations picking up the program. Currently, local fans must tune in to Stern's TV show on the E! Entertainment cable channel or catch his radio program on the Internet.
Infinity also filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking $10-million from rival Clear Channel Radio over its February decision to remove Stern from six of its stations, part of a companywide effort to curb controversial content in the wake of increased pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
Analysts saw both the lawsuit and the Stern expansion as Infinity supporting its biggest star while poking at a major industry nemesis. But Infinity officials would say little about that theory.
"Howard was reaching out to get on some other radio stations ... and we saw an opportunity to make the station more successful," said Charlie Ochs, senior vice president and Tampa Bay market manager for Infinity.
"All the other (Infinity) stations in the market are doing just fine with what they're doing," Ochs said. "For (WQYK), it's the right move at the right time."
Infinity owns higher visibility FM stations here, such as country-oriented WYUU-FM 92.5 and WQYK-FM 99.5, rap-oriented WLLD-FM 98.7 and smooth jazz focused WSJT-FM 94.1. But it is placing Stern on a lesser-known AM station, which could limit its moneymaking potential.
"Certainly, it's not going to generate the kind of revenue that a big FM station would," said Jack Messmer, executive editor of Radio Business Report trade magazine, from his Sarasota office. "It's hard to draw people over to an AM in this market."
But Infinity's move found approval from an unlikely source: Tampa-based shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, who lost his job on Clear Channel-owned WXTB-FM 97. 9 in February after incurring a $755,000 indecency fine from the FCC.
"I applaud (Infinity) for standing behind its talent," said Clem, who expects fans of his once top-rated show to check out Stern's program, which features a similar mix of explicit jokes and talk centered on sex and other adult subjects. "What better way to build faith with a guy who makes them a lot of money? But I would have put him on 92.5 (FM). ... Between him and WQYK-FM, you would own the market."
Known as 1010 ESPN Radio, WQYK-AM will keep its sports talk format during the rest of its broadcast day, with Stern replacing the nationally syndicated Mike & Mike show, Ochs said.
The expanded reach comes at an important time for Stern, who had complained on-air that his days were numbered at Viacom-owned Infinity after the resignation of his biggest corporate supporter, Viacom president and chief operating officer Mel Karmazin.
In addition to Tampa, Infinity will add Stern's show to WPBZ-FM in West Palm Beach, WOCL-FM in Orlando and stations in Houston; San Diego; Pittsburgh; Austin, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; and Rochester, N.Y.
Clear Channel had removed the program from stations in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Rocheste r and Louisville, Ky., as part of a massive effort to address indecency issues after Clem's firing. Earlier this month, the company settled all indecency complaints by negotiating a record $1.75-million fine with the FCC.
During a news conference broadcast on his show Wednesday, Stern called the FCC's increased enforcement "a witch hunt," saying the expansion of his show will send a message that "I'm not taking it sitting down." In 1995, Infinity paid a $1.7-million fine over material broadcast by the self-styled King of All Media - the largest FCC fine to that date.
Ochs downplayed the possibility of WQYK-AM drawing indecency complaints by airing Stern's show.
"For me to say I don't expect any complaints would be ludicrous ... but people are complaining about a lot of things they hear on the radio these days," he said. "Howard stays within the law and we have a time delay on all our stations ... even the smooth jazz station."
But lawyer John B. Thompson of Coral Gables, whose complaint to the FCC about a 2003 Stern broadcast prompted a $495,000 fine against six Clear Channel stations in April, said Infinity is leaving itself vulnerable by supporting the show.
"The best way for Infinity to avoid (government action) would be to say, "We made a mistake, we're going to rein Howard in,' " Thompson said. "Instead, they're playing chicken with the regulatory agency that controls their broadcast license. It makes no sense."
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.
from Tampa Tribune Online
NEW YORK - Howard Stern announced Wednesday 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.
Among the new broadcasting outlets: Tampa radio station WQYK, 1010 AM, which currently airs locally-produced sports programming as well ESPN sports shows. Stern's syndicated program, which originates from New York City, will air live from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays on the Infinity-owned station.
Charlie Ochs, Tampa market manager for Tampa's six Infinity outlets, says the controversial disc jockey is a premiere morning show host with a loyal listener base. Though rumors circulated for years about this station or that picking up Stern's program, his July 19 debut will be the first time Stern has a home in Tampa.
And why an AM sports station? "Well, frankly, we really didn't have a place for him on one of our five FMs here," Ochs said. These include WSJT, 94.1, FM, which airs a smooth jazz format, as well as country powerhouse WQYK, 99.5 FM. Also, the target audience for WQYK, 1010 AM - which will use the slogan "1010 ESPN, The Buzz of Tampa Bay" - is primarily men.
In numerous cities where Stern airs, he's the top-rated show among men aged 25 to 54.
Tampa's Infinity executives plan to keep a keen ear tuned to the veteran jock, often the focus of debates about broadcast decency.
"The company has made a pretty good stand to follow the law so we will be careful with that," Ochs said, describing Infinity's rule requiring a several-second delay during live programs.
Stern said his program would also air on stations in Houston; San Diego; Pittsburgh; Orlando, Fla.; Austin, Texas; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Fresno, Calif., all owned by Infinity Broadcasting.
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 Wednesday'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 Wednesday.
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 the St. Petersburg Times
June 30, 2004
(Material from Times wires was used in this report.) – Eric Deggans
from RadioandRecords.com
June 30, 2004
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