An open letter to David Field
August 29, 2022
Mr. David Field
Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer
Audacy
Incorporated
Dear Mr. Field:
Allow me the introduction. I’m basically a listener with
perhaps a more-than-casual interest in what’s happening on our local dial. I’m
hoping my unsolicited comments provide a helpful perspective, given your company’s
major investment in the Los Angeles market.
Your company, owns hundreds of stations, five outlets (technically six) here in Los Angeles. Let’s first offer appropriate props. K-EARTH 101 (KRTH), The WAVE (KTWV), and JACK-FM (KCBS-FM) are all quite successful. They’ve been steady performers and garner very good ratings. KNX and KROQ are well-established call letters.
Still, everything’s not perfect. We're aware times are tough, witness your company's recent reduction in force. It’s quite well known the
total audience for radio continues to decline. Maybe radio is not the “new and
shiny” object compared to streaming on a personal device. On the other hand,
radio remains an accessible, easy to use technology that only requires minimal
effort by the user. My 18-year-old, my personal “cultural gauge,” actually
thinks radio is cool because it doesn’t require a subscription or a download.
Nevertheless he does know what he doesn’t like. His biggest
complaint are the commercials. He hears a couple of ads on his podcasts, not
ten or more spots in a row. It’s especially disruptive with a music format (you’ve
a little more leeway with spoken word). Long commercial sets cause my son to
tune out. Also, I’ve heard at least two different auto brands and two different injury attorneys advertised within
the same, long spot set. That can't be good. Perhaps a strategy of “less is more,” less commercials yet
better opportunities to spotlight higher-paying clients may be worth a
consider?
Speaking of podcasts, I’m aware your priority is getting listeners to download the Audacy app. I assume that’s why you updated the name “Entercom” and also renamed "Radio.com," largely associated with terrestrial radio and rebranded yourself to celebrate a new business model and emphasize new priorities. Podcasts are here to stay and are likely the future. Conversely, when I hear spots encouraging listeners to download your app, were I not a radio junkie I’d be entering “odyssey.com” (a domain now for sale) or “audacity.com” (a software consulting business) into my web browser in error. I suppose you can spell out the name of the company on your radio spots, that’s awkward. I’m sure there’s some logical reasoning to name your company “Audacy,” I’d argue it’s a name largely unknown to the public.
As for your online presence, the ads for your app state there’s thousands of Audacy podcasts available, that’s all that’s said. My local NPR stations are quite good at telling listeners what’s on their podcasts, featuring their original content and podcast-only programming. Heck, NPR is offering “Plus podcasts” allowing paying subscribers to hear “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” commercial-less along with bonus content. iHeart distributes free content offering everyone from Charlie Kirk and Dan Bongino to the recent redux of Keith Olbermann. I do find it convenient to hear KNX stream anywhere in the world (and I enjoy KCBS-San Francisco too). Other than streaming your stations, I don’t know what else or who else is offered on the Audacy app.
When axios.com stated
the top ten podcast publishers earlier this year, Audacy wasn’t mentioned.
Now that I’ve mentioned KNX, I know there’s been lots of
changes to the heritage all-news station. Ken
Charles returned to his native South after, among other achievements, bringing the station to a full-signal FM, we now await what Alex Silverman has to offer. I know for years the strategy has been
to “lower the demos” of the station. Here’s my thought, for what it’s worth.
Younger audiences aren’t likely to tune in, but then they start working and raising
a family. The national and local economy becomes important when they’re buying
a house or buying a new minivan. These middle-aged adults start to care about
elections besides who’s running for President. They get concerned about the
safety of their neighborhoods. My thinking is provide a good product, let people
know you’re around (note iHeart is now running TV spots for KFI and all-sports
AM 570), and that not-young-but-not-ancient audience will tune in. You can make
money with the 35+ audience. Although there’s been some major layoffs at KNX, it’s
generally a reporter here, a producer there who gets let go, the ongoing “death
by a thousand cuts,” to quote an insider. Here’s another quote – “you can’t cut
your way to success.” And I admit I'm a bit uncomfortable hearing "sponsored programming" each weekend on AM 1070.
We’ve already discussed KROQ, we’ve penned an open letter to
Kevin Weatherly who was part of the
ROQ’s glorious past and hopefully the key to once again become relevant. We’ve
mentioned the alternative rock genre is getting hard to define, nonetheless KROQ
has also been known for having well-known talent who did an outstanding job
complimenting the music. Rodney Bingenheimer,
Richard Blade, Jed the Fish, Adam Carolla,
Raechel Donahue, Ralph Garman, Mark Goodman, Chris Hardwick,
Jimmy Kimmel, “Dr. Drew” Pinsky, Riki Rachtman, Frazer Smith, Matt
"Money" Smith, “Poorman”
Jim Trenton, Shadoe Stevens, and
of course, Kevin and Bean were recognized
names. Before someone accuses me of chasing kids off my lawn (besides in the current
drought, my lawn’s dead), I’m aware radio is different when it comes to personality.
Still, what makes KROQ different than Spotify? Given Weatherly’s previous
employer, I hope he’s being given some resources to enhance the talent lineup.
If nothing else, I hope there’s not going to be anymore abrupt changes in morning drive.
On behalf of your Southern California listenership, I wish
you well. Your company managed to persevere during the pandemic, let’s hope
that experience facilitates future success, both on the dial and online.
Cordially and respectfully,
Alan Oda
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