Dan G
06-15-2007, 07:41 AM
Talk FM called the airwave of the future
The hot-talk "Free-FM" experiment lasted less than 18 often-messy months in New York, but people involved with the format say we haven't heard the last of it.
"So-called 'FM Talk' is not only the future, it's the only future for FM radio," says John Mainelli, who programmed WFNY (92.3 FM) through the last few months before parent CBS switched it back to rock-formatted WXRK.
The revived K-Rock kept only Opie and Anthony from a prime-time lineup aimed at young guys: the Radio Chick, JV & Elvis, Nick DiPaolo, Ron & Fez and others.
The local prototype for a successful talk station on FM is WKXW (101.5 FM) in Trenton.
"New Jersey 101.5" drew more ad dollars last year than any AM talk station in New York or Philadelphia, which shows the lure of "FM Talk": It can attract coveted younger listeners who only use AM for news and ball games.
Consultant Walter Sabo, one of the creators of WKXW, cites two keys to successful FM talk.
The first, he says, "is total commitment. 101.5 believes in the format, doesn't fire hosts for content and has never given in to pressure from an advertiser."
Second, he says, is understanding the audience. "Unlike AM stations, FM doesn't have default listeners hanging around just to hear talk. The FM listener has 12 other choices, so you have to give him something he likes better."
That, says Sabo, is "his own life. Forget long monologues. He wants quick phone calls on things he cares about. Taxes, 'American Idol,' whatever."
Many radio executives, says Mainelli, think of FM talk as "all beer and babes." But done properly, he says, it goes beyond that: "It's honest, candid talk that is aggressively anti-PC, funny as hell and even a little bit subversive."
The format offers a "huge payoff," he says, because it gives radio a unique replacement for the music he thinks will be swallowed by competition like iPods.
"The tombstone for music on conventional radio has arrived," he says. "I say three years, tops."
But he doesn't expect a rush to FM talk. "The format is too wild for big media corporations," he says. "I see it fitting smaller, feistier companies."
And meanwhile, the Internet.
"I'm talking to several talent agents now about [an Internet] concept I call Rebel Radio," he says, and he's confident that even beyond hosts like the ones heard on Free-FM, there's a pool of talent that can execute the concept: CT & Jivin', Dick & Skibba, El Jefe and J-Dubs, Turi Ryder.
"FM talk works," says Sabo. "But it's like any other radio format. You have to do it right."
www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/06/15/2007-06-15_talk_fm_called_the_airwave_of_the_future.html
The hot-talk "Free-FM" experiment lasted less than 18 often-messy months in New York, but people involved with the format say we haven't heard the last of it.
"So-called 'FM Talk' is not only the future, it's the only future for FM radio," says John Mainelli, who programmed WFNY (92.3 FM) through the last few months before parent CBS switched it back to rock-formatted WXRK.
The revived K-Rock kept only Opie and Anthony from a prime-time lineup aimed at young guys: the Radio Chick, JV & Elvis, Nick DiPaolo, Ron & Fez and others.
The local prototype for a successful talk station on FM is WKXW (101.5 FM) in Trenton.
"New Jersey 101.5" drew more ad dollars last year than any AM talk station in New York or Philadelphia, which shows the lure of "FM Talk": It can attract coveted younger listeners who only use AM for news and ball games.
Consultant Walter Sabo, one of the creators of WKXW, cites two keys to successful FM talk.
The first, he says, "is total commitment. 101.5 believes in the format, doesn't fire hosts for content and has never given in to pressure from an advertiser."
Second, he says, is understanding the audience. "Unlike AM stations, FM doesn't have default listeners hanging around just to hear talk. The FM listener has 12 other choices, so you have to give him something he likes better."
That, says Sabo, is "his own life. Forget long monologues. He wants quick phone calls on things he cares about. Taxes, 'American Idol,' whatever."
Many radio executives, says Mainelli, think of FM talk as "all beer and babes." But done properly, he says, it goes beyond that: "It's honest, candid talk that is aggressively anti-PC, funny as hell and even a little bit subversive."
The format offers a "huge payoff," he says, because it gives radio a unique replacement for the music he thinks will be swallowed by competition like iPods.
"The tombstone for music on conventional radio has arrived," he says. "I say three years, tops."
But he doesn't expect a rush to FM talk. "The format is too wild for big media corporations," he says. "I see it fitting smaller, feistier companies."
And meanwhile, the Internet.
"I'm talking to several talent agents now about [an Internet] concept I call Rebel Radio," he says, and he's confident that even beyond hosts like the ones heard on Free-FM, there's a pool of talent that can execute the concept: CT & Jivin', Dick & Skibba, El Jefe and J-Dubs, Turi Ryder.
"FM talk works," says Sabo. "But it's like any other radio format. You have to do it right."
www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/06/15/2007-06-15_talk_fm_called_the_airwave_of_the_future.html