On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:21:22 -0700 (PDT), jbg <jbgrosh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>On May 4, 9:00 am, patkeepsie <patkeep...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> The Next Howard Stern?
>> Turning Adam Carolla into a radio star proves very tricky for CBS.
>> By SARAH MCBRIDE
>> May 3, 2008; Page A1
>>
>> LOS ANGELES -- Two weeks before Christmas, radio host Adam Carolla
>> woke before dawn and called in sick. Jack Silver, program director of
>> Mr. Carolla's popular morning show, didn't buy it. "The dude's not
>> sick," Mr. Silver recalls thinking.
>>
>> Mr. Carolla was sick -- sick of his sidekick. Danny Bonaduce, the
>> former child TV star and self-described "freak show," had been brought
>> on board early last year to juice up the act. Thanks partly to Mr.
>> Bonaduce, the show's ratings were rising.
>>
>> But Mr. Carolla had had enough of the frenetic Mr. Bonaduce: his
>> interruptions; his over-the-top anecdotes; his suggestions, which
>> included climbing into a tub of live s****s. If Mr. Bonaduce didn't
>> go, Mr. Carolla would.
>>
>> "I just decided the show wasn't right," says Mr. Carolla, a tall and
>> lanky 43-year-old. If he got fired, "so be it." Mr. Bonaduce says he
>> thought he was adding "a quick wit, a reasonable knowledge of current
>> events, a good sense of humor" to the show.
>>
>> The Carolla-Bonaduce standoff is one front in what is perhaps the $21-
>> billion industry's biggest challenge: developing long-term radio
>> franchises.
>>
>> Radio veterans say the talent to sup****t such franchises is in short
>> supply, partly due to massive consolidation over the past couple of
>> decades. In the old days, station program directors would spend hours
>> each week helping hosts develop their comic timing and shape their
>> sound bites. Now those same program directors lack the time because
>> they often oversee several stations each. And typically when someone
>> shows promise, he or she is quickly simulcast to several markets,
>> reducing the chances for others to blossom.
>>
>> "There aren't many people coming up that are heirs apparent, and there
>> used to be," says Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers, a trade journal
>> focused on talk radio.
>>
>> So when radio stations lose a big national name, as happened in late
>> 2004, when CBS found out it was losing Howard Stern to a satellite
>> network, a scramble ensues for a replacement. The industry has
>> experimented with Hollywood celebrities, but even veteran entertainers
>> like Whoopi Goldberg can struggle in the unfamiliar medium. The
>> shortage may explain why disgraced hosts like Don Imus, fired by CBS
>> Radio last year for racially insensitive comments, was snapped up by
>> rival Citadel Broadcasting Corp. six months later.
>>
>> Citadel Chief Executive Farid Suleman says Mr. Imus was no more
>> disgraced than many other radio hosts and was hired for his immense
>> popularity with audiences.
>>
>> Talent is hardly the radio industry's only problem -- the medium is
>> now competing against mobile phones, iPods and Web sites. But some
>> industry executives say that an overreliance on syndication and the
>> resulting lack of a farm team has created a staleness in radio
>> programming, contributing to recent declines in listener****p and
>> stagnating revenue. The average American adult listened to 18 hours
>> and 30 minutes of radio each week last year, compared to 22 hours and
>> 15 minutes in 1997.
>>
>> CBS doesn't dispute that Mr. Carolla staged a sick-out, but strongly
>> rejects any notion that it's suffering a shortage of talent. In the
>> past couple years, and particularly since Chief Executive Dan Mason
>> took the reins last April, the company says it has been focusing more
>> on local programming, and steering away from nationally syndicated
>> shows led by big-time stars in the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. morning time
>> slot.
>>
>> A CBS spokeswoman notes that less than 10% of its 140 stations rely on
>> national programming during that morning time slot and points to
>> popular local shows like "Boomer and Carton," which replaced Mr. Imus
>> on WFAN in New York and is attracting a younger audience than Mr.
>> Imus's show did. With revenue of $1.8 billion last year, CBS Radio
>> generates 12% of parent CBS Corp.'s total sales and is the second-
>> largest radio titan behind Clear Channel Communications Inc.
>>
>> Painful Search
>>
>> But few dispute that finding talent has been particularly painful for
>> CBS Radio because of the shoes the company had to fill: those of shock
>> jock Mr. Stern.
>>
>> RADIO'S STAR SCRAMBLE
>>
>> • Losing Howard: CBS struggled to develop shows that could replace
>> broadcasting megastar Howard Stern.
>> • Talent Shortage: Industry consolidation has thinned the ranks of
>> radio hosts who can succeed on a national level.
>> • Star Search: Radio titans are finding it increasingly difficult to
>> replace a big national name.Notorious for his raunchy, ***-soaked
>> brand of comedy, Mr. Stern is a broadcasting megastar. His program was
>> syndicated on 37 stations around the country, generating about $50
>> million in annual cash flow. In late 2004, Mr. Stern announced he was
>> leaving for Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., effective January 2006.
>>
>> CBS's struggle to replace him shows how much heavy lifting goes into
>> creating radio franchises. The company considered dozens of
>> replacements with the potential to hang on to Mr. Stern's core
>> audience of young male listeners. Finally, in October 2005 CBS decided
>> to divide Mr. Stern's turf into three different radio shows. Van Halen
>> lead singer David Lee Roth would cover most of Mr. Stern's East Coast
>> stations. Shane "Rover" French, an up-and-coming radio host in
>> Cleveland, would get the Midwest. The West Coast slots would go to Mr.
>> Carolla.
>>
>> Special Promise
>>
>> Mr. Carolla was viewed as particularly promising by CBS. Often attired
>> in track suits, with the air of an overgrown college student, the
>> comedian had made his name partly by exploring material akin to Mr.
>> Stern's. Mr. Carolla worked for a decade on Loveline, a successful
>> national radio show where he and Dr. Drew Pinsky parried questions on
>> *** and relation****ps. From 1999 to 2003 he and close buddy Jimmy
>> Kimmel co-hosted Comedy Central's "The Man Show," a televised male
>> humor romp that regularly featured beer chugging and buxom women on
>> trampolines.
>>
>> But Mr. Carolla's comedy isn't all lowbrow. He also dissects the
>> hypocrisies of everyday life, from deep-fried "healthy" fish tacos to
>> the relentless enthusiasm of Oprah's studio audiences. "The Adam
>> Carolla Show" was launched in January 2006 with Mr. Carolla and a
>> small cast, some of whom came from the comedy posse Mr. Carolla shared
>> with Mr. Kimmel.
>>
>> Within a few months, it became apparent CBS's triumvirate plan wasn't
>> working, CBS acknowledges. Mr. Roth, panned by critics as
>> unlistenable, was quickly shown the door. Mr. French gradually lost
>> markets and is no longer on any CBS stations. A spokeswoman for Mr.
>> Roth declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for Clear Channel, Mr.
>> French's current employer.
>>
>> Mr. Carolla's show wasn't clicking, either, Mr. Silver says. Scripted
>> pieces -- like taped interviews with a fake right-wing congressman --
>> fell flat, he says. In the four-hour free-form environment, Mr.
>> Carolla's rants on topics like people failing to turn right on red
>> seemed to drone on.
>>
>> The ratings told the story. In the fall of 2005, Mr. Stern's last
>> season, CBS station KLSX was riding high with about a 6.9% share of
>> the morning Los Angeles radio market for men ages 18 to 49, a key
>> target audience. By the fall of 2006, Mr. Carolla's share was at 2%.
>>
>> Initially, the message from the bosses at CBS was, "no pressure, we're
>> sticking with you, no one expects you to be the next Howard Stern,
>> this is a marathon, not a sprint," recalls Mr. Carolla, who believed
>> listeners needed time to get used to his style. "And then four months
>> later, it was like, 'Holy s-, this is a disaster.'"
>>
>> "With any show, any talent, it takes some time to develop the loyalty
>> of the audience," says Chris Oliviero, CBS Radio's head of talk
>> programming.
>>
>> Program Director Mr. Silver, a hardboiled radio veteran, says he was
>> determined to make the show work. He recalled considering Mr. Bonaduce
>> when searching for Mr. Stern's replacement, and in late 2006 invited
>> him to appear on Mr. Carolla's show. "This is the sound of the morning
>> show," Mr. Silver told KLSX's General Manager Robert K. Moore during
>> Mr. Bonaduce's appearance. "Energy, testosterone."
>>
>> Mr. Bonaduce, 48, has plenty of both. The red-headed moppet from the
>> 1970s TV show "The Partridge Family" had grown into a beefy, profane
>> sometime-boxer whose checkered past includes periods of homelessness
>> and drug addiction. Mr. Bonaduce also had a fan base from his reality
>> TV show "Breaking Bonaduce," which followed Mr. Bonaduce as he
>> struggled with the fallout from cheating on his wife and checked into
>> rehab.
>>
>> Soon after, Mr. Silver sent Mr. Bonaduce a note thanking him for "the
>> shot of rocket fuel this morning."
>>
>> Start Date
>>
>> "Thanks," Mr. Bonaduce swiftly replied. "When do I start?" He started
>> in early 2007, and Mr. Silver fired much of Mr. Carolla's crew.
>>
>> "I was in no position to argue" with CBS, says Mr. Carolla. "I like
>> ca****ng their checks, and I can't say, 'Leave me alone man, I've got
>> to do my own thing.'"
>>
>> Mr. Bonaduce, meanwhile, imagined a show that would run for years. "I
>> thought Adam and I would make a lot of money together." CBS declined
>> to reveal the salary it pays either host.
>>
>> For the first few months, Mr. Bonaduce energized the show with crazy
>> tales of his past drug- and alcohol-fueled adventures and his
>> marriage, which fell apart shortly after he joined the show.
>>
>> Mr. Carolla also seemed to find his rhythm. Instead of scripted
>> pieces, a series of ad-lib features evolved. Mr. Silver encouraged Mr.
>> Carolla to develop regular features like "This Week in Rage," when Mr.
>> Carolla rants about things that have recently annoyed him. Mr. Silver
>> also encouraged Mr. Carolla to take more listener calls, playing to
>> his improvisational strengths.
>>
>> Listeners responded. Ratings started creeping steadily back up,
>> hitting 3% and 2.8% among the target male audience in the last two
>> ratings periods of 2007, better than at any time since Mr. Stern's
>> departure.
>>
>> But Mr. Carolla was unhappy. Mr. Bonaduce's wild energy didn't fit the
>> more mellow atmosphere Mr. Carolla favored. Mr. Bonaduce frequently
>> interrupted Mr. Carolla and guests, often to tell a story he had told
>> previously.
>>
>> "Danny is not the kind of guy who's just going to sit there quietly
>> while you interview the guy from 'Two and a Half Men,'" says Mr.
>> Carolla, referring to the TV show. "Danny Bonaduce is a whirling
>> dervish." Mr. Bonaduce responds that Mr. Carolla's rants went on too
>> long and by cutting them off, he was preserving the "special quality"
>> of Mr. Carolla's speeches.
>>
>> "Neither one is a second banana," says Mr. Kimmel, Mr. Carolla's close
>> friend who hosts a late-night show on ABC.
>>
>> Tension emerged. Teresa Strasser, the show's newscaster and sidekick,
>> says Mr. Carolla would occasionally catch her eye, eyebrow raised,
>> when Mr. Bonaduce started talking, and joked with her about how many
>> times they'd heard variations of the same story.
>>
>> To Mr. Silver, the tension only added to the show. When Mr. Carolla
>> complained, Mr. Silver told him that most shows would "give their eye
>> teeth" to have a partner as well-known as Mr. Bonaduce.
>>
>> "Suck it up. Toughen up," is the way Mr. Silver sums up his attitude.
>>
>> Mr. Bonaduce says he thinks good stories deserve to be retold,
>> particularly since different people tune into the show at different
>> times. He adds that he was oblivious to Mr. Carolla's growing
>> frustration. One day, Mr. Bonaduce overheard Mr. Carolla complaining
>> to Mr. Silver that the show had "two Eddie Van Halens," a reference to
>> the lead guitarist of rock band Van Halen. Mr. Carolla's point was
>> that the stage wasn't big enough for both of them, but Mr. Bonaduce
>> interpreted it as "quite the compliment."
>>
>> With Mr. Carolla's contract up at the end of 2007, talk turned to the
>> future. Mr. Silver made it clear he wanted to keep Mr. Bonaduce on
>> board.
>>
>> Mr. Carolla's entreaties to do the show without Mr. Bonaduce fell on
>> deaf ears. So in mid-December, a few days before a holiday break, Mr.
>> Carolla -- who had taken only two days off when his twins were born
>> the year before -- began calling in sick.
>>
>> Mr. Silver considered firing Mr. Carolla. Consulting his own bosses,
>> Mr. Silver says he pondered several possibilities, including handing
>> the whole show over to Mr. Bonaduce.
>>
>> Complicating matters, Mr. Carolla admits he wasn't taking calls or
>> responding to e-mails from anyone. Mr. Kimmel's and Mr. Carolla's
>> mutual New York-based manager, James Dixon, enlisted Mr. Kimmel to
>> drop by Mr. Carolla's home and urge him to return Mr. Dixon's calls.
>>
>> As the two men sat in the den and played with Mr. Carolla's twins, Mr.
>> Carolla explained he didn't want to get into debates or talk to anyone
>> at CBS until the situation was resolved. Mr. Kimmel says he left
>> convinced his friend would quit unless he could do the show the way he
>> wanted. Mr. Carolla did decide to start talking to Mr. Dixon, his
>> manager.
>>
>> Meanwhile, streams of listeners phoned in to say they missed Mr.
>> Carolla. Mr. Bonaduce says he seized Mr. Carolla's absence as "a
>> moment to ****ne."
>>
>> Big 'Investment'
>>
>> In the end, Mr. Silver, along with CBS's New York management,
>> concluded they had too much invested in Mr. Carolla to throw in the
>> towel. Plus, he decided the show had evolved to the point where it
>> didn't need Mr. Bonaduce as much. A few days after Mr. Carolla first
>> called in sick, Mr. Oliviero, CBS's head of talk programming, called
>> Mr. Dixon to say Mr. Carolla could do his show without Mr. Bonaduce.
>>
>> And Mr. Silver called Mr. Bonaduce with the news that he would be
>> moving to a slot from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. to lead his own show called
>> "Broadcasting Bonaduce."
>>
>> The gamble seems to be paying off. On April 28, Arbitron released its
>> latest data showing that Mr. Carolla drew 3.5% among the target male
>> audience, his highest ratings yet. Mr. Carolla likely got a big boost
>> from "Dancing With the Stars," the television show where he was a
>> contestant for several rounds this season.
>>
>> "There's nowhere to go but up," says Mr. Silver. He predicts that all
>> of Mr. Carolla's big rivals for the male, English-speaking market will
>> eventually confront their own changing of the guard.
>>
>> The "good thing about Howard Stern leaving our station is that it
>> already happened to us," he says.
>>
>> Write to Sarah McBride at sarah.mcbr...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>Two questions; (1) Who is this Mr. Imus guy? and (B) Howard who?
>
>Regards,
>John
CBS says it is focusing on local programming and steering away from
national shows... As if they have a choice. Once Howard left, they had
nobody to replace him with and were forced to go local at a much
higher price.
Yet this interview is no doubt the first step in CBS Radio's efforts
to syndicate Carolla's show to other markets.
What hypocrites.
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