Joe D & Jacobs Need a reality check

[whaler11]

I'll respectfully disagree to a degree with that. I think that an AM station in CT could do better than just scrape by, even if the vast majority of content was UConn related. Here's my formula for success;

1) Cut the traffic update nonsense. Nobody cares. We all know the roads we drive on every day.

2) Get more in-depth coverage of UConn during the rush hour drive, including finding ways to move the coaches interviews during that time slot rather than later in the evening.

3) Add a recruiting segment for both football and hoops. @huskymedic, @ktuck911 , @Storrs South and a few others would have me listening for hours!

4) Sprinkle in some "Where are they now" segments with interviews. 20 minutes of Khalid or of Caulley would have me locked in!

So essentially, so a bunch of stuff that they don't currently do, and wipe out the stuff that forces them to cut off our AD mid-sentence after 3 minutes in order to get to "Sharky". If you are going to advertise yourself as the home of the UConn Huskies, well then actually BE the home of the UConn Huskies...

I don't think there is anywhere near enough interest in that stuff.

We can't get people to show up for games - they are going to listen to a bunch of hearsay about recruiting? You are talking about maybe 1,000 people who follow UConn recruiting - I've got 25k posts here and I wouldn't listen to that.

Someone could do everything you've proposed in a podcast that is an hour long once a week. Filling 15 hours of drive time on a clear channel AM station profitably? I'll believe it when I hear it.

 

[UConnDan97]

I don't think there is anywhere near enough interest in that stuff.

We can't get people to show up for games - they are going to listen to a bunch of hearsay about recruiting? You are talking about maybe 1,000 people who follow UConn recruiting - I've got 25k posts here and I wouldn't listen to that.

Someone could do everything you've proposed in a podcast that is an hour long once a week. Filling 15 hours of drive time on a clear channel AM station profitably? I'll believe it when I hear it.

We've got about 8,000 pages on Tremont Waters that would suggest otherwise. And keep in mind that it is passive so there is no energy barrier to listening, whereas there is an energy barrier for many to attend games. If you're in your car, you have to listen to something.

I also think that making women's hoops part of the programming would bring in more listeners as well...

 

[DoctorWho85]

I like Joe D. But I'll be the first to admit I've only listened to him call football games and do the pregame shows. I thought he always called the games well and I enjoyed it

 

[whaler11]

We've got about 8,000 pages on Tremont Waters that would suggest otherwise. And keep in mind that it is passive so there is no energy barrier to listening, whereas there is an energy barrier for many to attend games. If you're in your car, you have to listen to something.

I also think that making women's hoops part of the programming would bring in more listeners as well...

1k people following recruiting is SUPER generous.

I don't know a single person off the Boneyard who would even have a guess as to who Tremont Waters is.

There is literally nothing to say about
women's basketball that would hold any interest.

The fact there isn't even a UConn blog or podcast that is worth a damn should tell you that there is no market.

 

[UConnDan97]

1k people following recruiting is SUPER generous.

I don't know a single person off the Boneyard who would even have a guess as to who Tremont Waters is.

There is literally nothing to say about
women's basketball that would hold any interest.

The fact there isn't even a UConn blog or podcast that is worth a damn should tell you that there is no market.

You're assuming I'm saying to make recruiting the entire rush hour. It would be a small part of multiple things to talk about, including many of the things I've already mentioned.

And a women's hoops "where are they now" interview might out-draw the men's hoops where are they now segment. And Joe D would still be able to sprinkle in other things like DD park - CenterPlan debacle, etc. The show would do well. But it can't be an afterthought to traffic updates...

 

[whaler11]

You're assuming I'm saying to make recruiting the entire rush hour. It would be a small part of multiple things to talk about, including many of the things I've already mentioned.

And a women's hoops "where are they now" interview might out-draw the men's hoops where are they now segment. And Joe D would still be able to sprinkle in other things like DD park - CenterPlan debacle, etc. The show would do well. But it can't be an afterthought to traffic updates...

Ok - but I'll believe someone will put together 15 hours of radio when someone puts together an hour of podcast.

I completely disagree about women's basketball - there is zero audience for anything beyond some Geno once a week. There isn't anything remotely compelling to talk about.

 

[Devland]

While Gresh could be annoying I think he was a lot easier to take than Mr. arrogant himself in Mike Francesca. I don't understand how anyone could listen to that ask hole.

 

[UConnDan97]

Ok - but I'll believe someone will put together 15 hours of radio when someone puts together an hour of podcast.

I completely disagree about women's basketball - there is zero audience for anything beyond some Geno once a week. There isn't anything remotely compelling to talk about.

Well, Geno's Coaches Show is well received even at 6pm. What I'm saying is to add some of that stuff to the rush hour slot. I'm pretty sure it would increase listeners...

 

[UConnDan97]

While Gresh could be annoying I think he was a lot easier to take than Mr. arrogant himself in Mike Francesca. I don't understand how anyone could listen to that ask hole.

Because the choice right now is Francesa or a traffic update. Even Mike could win that battle...

 

[whaler11]

Well, Geno's Coaches Show is well received even at 6pm. What I'm saying is to add some of that stuff to the rush hour slot. I'm pretty sure it would increase listeners...

You have the ratings? I suspect it draws advertising - I'd love to see the number of people listening.

 

[UConnDan97]

You have the ratings? I suspect it draws advertising - I'd love to see the number of people listening.

I don't have any numbers for any of the shows on TIC, but as you've already alluded to, the advertising seems to like it. So I'm assuming they feel good about the ratings...

 

[whaler11]

I don't have any numbers for any of the shows on TIC, but as you've already alluded to, the advertising seems to like it. So I'm assuming they feel good about the ratings...

Can't find average quarter hour listeners online but these are the most recent shares I can find.

RADIO ONLINE ®

TIC-AM is actually higher in the ratings than it has been the last few years (in share).

The most surprising number is WMRQ's second HD station gets a 3.0 share?

WNTY is 2,500 watts and you can barely get it outside of Southington and it's ahead of WPOP? WPOP has the broadcast quality of a high school station but that is surprising.

I've been out radio for a long time but a lot of these stations that aren't owned by a huge conglomerate seem doomed. There is just no revenue.

 

[Storrs South]

The fact there isn't even a UConn blog or podcast that is worth a damn should tell you that there is no market.

Strongly disagree with respect to A Dime Back/UConn Blog/Storrs Central. I think they do a great job previewing/covering games as well as really good podcasts (I wish they did them more frequently!). I'll even highlight the articles they were doing during Big 12 Expansion -- go back and read those pieces from that time period; a lot of good investigative journalism.

 

[whaler11]

Strongly disagree with respect to A Dime Back/UConn Blog/Storrs Central. I think they do a great job previewing/covering games as well as really good podcasts (I wish they did them more frequently!). I'll even highlight the articles they were doing during Big 12 Expansion -- go back and read those pieces from that time period; a lot of good investigative journalism.

To get credit for investigative journalism don't you actually have to break a story?

 

[Storrs South]

To get credit for investigative journalism don't you actually have to break a story?

One example I distinctly recall:

UConn’s Cloak and Dagger Campaign for the Big 12

 

[whaler11]

One example I distinctly recall:

UConn’s Cloak and Dagger Campaign for the Big 12

So they made an FOI request that came up empty? Facinating.

I guess it's nice of them to write it - but it's just fan fiction.

None of them get any traffic for a reason.

The story on Big 12 'expansion' was that there was never any reason for them to expand - it was an obvious farce to anyone who seriously followed CR.

 

[noeynox]

The 10 minute breaks were insufferable. Sometimes in the middle of really good interviews. You switch away, forget to switch back and miss the rest. They screwed the pooch with that decision.

 

[Exit 4]

i) WTIC needs to find a simultcast on the FM dial (like WFAN has when 1.019) as so few people under age 40 ever touch the AM dial. I bet 20% of those under 40 don't know what AM is.
ii) They also have to kill the traffic reports and cut down on the weather and other info. There is just too little content time during an hour of WTIC sports talk.
iii) You need hosts who are homers for uconn sports (within reason) and actually make an effort by doing some homework for uconn and all other sports.

That all said, the economics maybe be better to insert a national radio show instead at his point.

 

[TRest]

What was infuriating about Joe D. is that he should have access to a lot of UConn information but either won't share it or willfully ignores anything behind the scenes.

 

[pepband99]

i) WTIC needs to find a simultcast on the FM dial (like WFAN has when 1.019) as so few people under age 40 ever touch the AM dial. I bet 20% of those under 40 don't know what AM is.
ii) They also have to kill the traffic reports and cut down on the weather and other info. There is just too little content time during an hour of WTIC sports talk.
iii) You need hosts who are homers for UConn sports (within reason) and actually make an effort by doing some homework for UConn and all other sports.

That all said, the economics maybe be better to insert a national radio show instead at his point.

Pretty correct on all fronts.

They do simulcast the AM feed on WTIC-HD3 , where the 5 people like me with an HD radio can get it.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I still think that Boneyard Radio could be a hit. A fusion of UConn sports radio and something like Howard Stern--bring in all the whack nuts from the yard and just get them going, have em square off against one another. It could be classic radio.

 

[Waquoit]

Didn't mind them. Gresh is running out of markets to get booted from. Bigger issue is the incessant traffic and weather together every ten minutes. Chopped up their segments too much.

I agree, "on the 8's" probably hurt what they were trying to do most of all. WFAN started with news on the 15's. The move to the "20-20" was a big deal at the time, but decreasing interruptions on sports talk was the way to go. WTIC had six cut-in's.

 

[Waquoit]

Telling me there is traffic isn't all that helpful as there isn't anything I can do about it anyway. I sure as shoot don't need a moran in a chopper. The traffic is in the same places every day and generally for the same reasons.

As someone who had a 60-mile one way commute, I appreciated traffic reports. There were many time where I could negotiate workarounds based on the info I heard.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Hartford Sports Takes Another Hit With Loss Of Joe D And Gresh

As much as Gresh was a buffoon on this show...Joe D and Jacobs need a reality check. To me the main reason why this show wasn't renewed isn't because they couldn't find another co-host for Joe...it's because his arrogant attitude has grown old with UConn fans. Dibble doesn't seem to have any issues.....

Dibble only has one issue: his show is terrible.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I still think that Boneyard Radio could be a hit. A fusion of UConn sports radio and something like Howard Stern--bring in all the whack nuts from the yard and just get them going, have em square off against one another. It could be classic radio.

Throw in a little cesspool talk and I think you may have something here. I can hear them now.