1560 getting props from CHRONIC

Congrats, boys.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6573601.html

Sports station with independent streak brings its game

Radio station 1560 “The Game” bills itself as a David fighting Goliaths — “fourteen guys and a 12-pack” taking on three other Houston sports talk stations owned by Cumulus, CBS and Clear Channel.

Among the four stations, only 2-year-old KGOW 1560 is independently owned.

Can a David compete in a crowded field with media giants?

Some radio advertising executives say it can, because talk radio is all about personality. Advertisers aren't just interested in how many listeners you have, they say. It's also how loyal and passionate they are.

While 1560 has relatively few listeners compared to other stations, they tune in to the station for an exceptionally long time, according to Arbitron.

KGOW morning anchors John Granato and Lance Zierlein have a hard-core following. Their morning drive John and Lance Show is the one KGOW program that consistently beats the other three sports talk shows in its time slot.

Granato and Zierlein are, according to station chairman and CEO David Gow, “the foundation of what we do.”

A combination of sports analysis and irreverent humor, the John and Lance Show sounds like friends just hanging out. Granato often comes off like an affable blue-collar guy at the bar. Zierlein is a talented impersonator who does Charles Barkley, Mack Brown and a stylized take on Drayton McLane. The inventive Zierlein creates characters including “SEC Guy,” a surly Southern college sports fan with no regard for PC culture. Also a comedian, Granato does a Spanish-speaking Milo Hamilton.

Mark Hayden, partner/co-creative director of marketing and advertising agency Parker Hayden, noted that the number of listeners is important, but “what you really want is for the audience to be engaged. Engaged audiences act on our messages.”

Houston's BizRadio and political talk radio shows also have engaged audiences, he said.

“John and Lance all get along with our advertising clients personally,” Hayden noted. “For the client, it's like when you were in college. There was always a party going on in a dorm room down the hall, and 1560 is that dorm room,” he said.

During many hours of the day, KILT (610 AM) has the most listeners among Houston sports talk stations. For example, Arbitron reported that in July, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., KILT had more than twice as many listeners during the week as KGOW, while KBME (790 AM) and KFNC 97.5 FM had fewer listeners than KILT and more than KGOW.

But during the week, males between 25 to 54, spent more than twice as much time listening to KGOW compared to KILT.

KGOW's “time spent listening” numbers are “pretty impressive” and “pretty unusual,” Hayden said.

The John and Lance Show is “really driving their ratings,” he said.

A rarity

An independent single station in a major market is rare, said Houston-based media broker John Saunders, who helped broker the sale of 1560 to Gow.

There are other local independent stations including BizRadio 1110 AM. Independent station KCOH (1430 AM) is in the process of being sold, noted its long-time majority owner Mike Petrizzo, who wouldn't say who the buyer is.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed media companies to own as many as eight radio stations in a single major market, Saunders noted.

Media giants like Clear Channel have advantages over an independent with advertisers, Saunders said. They can offer an advertiser discounts when it buys a bundle of ads for multiple stations, for example.

Ultimately, though, “content is king. If you give people what they like to listen to, you'll get advertisers and listeners,” Saunders said.

Michael Berry, operations manager of KBME and other local Clear Channel stations, noted that KILT had a head start on its competition, being the first in town, but said his KBME is performing well in terms of advertising revenue.

KBME markets itself around talent such as afternoon drive-time host Charlie Pallilo and nationally syndicated host Dan Patrick, he said.

David Tepper, program director of KFNC, said his station markets itself as being the only FM sports station and being the home of ESPN, a worldwide sports brand.

KILT is the official home for the Houston Texans and Houston Rockets. Officials from KILT could not be reached for comment.

KGOW's programing includes two Chronicle columnists.

‘It seems honest'

Tim Kuhlmann, a sales service rep, said he listens to 1560 regularly.

“They make you feel like you're a part what's happening” on the show, he said. “It seems honest. They'll divulge things about their personal lives.”

Kuhlmann said that he isn't surprised that KGOW will celebrate its second anniversary next week by throwing a bash with its listeners. Among the awards given out at the anniversary party will be “listener of the year,” “moment of the year” and “commercial of the year.”

david.kaplan@chron.com

 

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