I just don’t get it.\u00c2\u00a0 I just don’t understand how Les Moonves continues to play into Howard’s hand.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t understand how Les can have such a blind spot.\u00c2\u00a0 The way to compete with Howard is to IGNORE HIM!<\/p>\n
That’s how Howard made it.\u00c2\u00a0 On self-promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Oftentimes SHAMELESS self-promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, take a look at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards for instruction.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard creates a train-wreck, the media covers it, people tune into his show and…money is made.<\/p>\n
But the act was getting old.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard got divorced.\u00c2\u00a0 People had seen the movie.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard did not dominate in every market like he once did.\u00c2\u00a0 Pulling a rabbit out of his hat, Howard decided to move to satellite.\u00c2\u00a0 It made the front page of the "New York Times", the diviner of what’s important to the news media at large.\u00c2\u00a0 And the media has been covering the story ever since.<\/p>\n
But there’s a dirty little secret.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that Howard is ensconced at Sirius.\u00c2\u00a0 Nobody’s listening.<\/p>\n
Sirius has three million subscribers.\u00c2\u00a0 And over a hundred channels.\u00c2\u00a0 Not to mention the fact that not everybody is tuned in 24\/7.\u00c2\u00a0 If the press stopped covering the story.\u00c2\u00a0 If Les never mentioned Howard’s name again.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard would fade into the sunset.\u00c2\u00a0 At least for the foreseeable future.\u00c2\u00a0 Until Sirius truly hits its stride subscriber-wise.\u00c2\u00a0 And whatever the service tops out at, it’s still only a PORTION of the market, since it’s competing against the much-larger at this time XM.<\/p>\n
What’s the cliche?\u00c2\u00a0 What if they held a parade and nobody came?\u00c2\u00a0 If a tree falls in a forest, does anybody hear it?<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, CBS Radio is hurting in the wake of Howard’s departure.\u00c2\u00a0 But only a SMALL FRACTION of his audience has migrated to Sirius.\u00c2\u00a0 The key is to HOOK THESE PEOPLE WITH SOMETHING NEW, not remind them of what they once had, driving them into the arms of your competitor, Sirius Radio.<\/p>\n
Whoever came up with the idea of David Lee Roth as a Howard replacement never spent an evening in a hotel room with him.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, DLR is a tireless self-promoter.\u00c2\u00a0 But the emphasis is on HIMSELF!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why his bandmates in Van Halen hated him.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard bends over backward to heap praise, or at least attention, on his supporting players, who love him.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a completely different ACT!\u00c2\u00a0 David Lee Roth is\/was a star.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard Stern is a schlemiel.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s his appeal.<\/p>\n
Now in L.A., Adam Carolla is someone we’ve all been exposed to.\u00c2\u00a0 On "Loveline", on cable TV.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no SIZZLE!\u00c2\u00a0 And, instead of showing innovation, the highly intelligent Mr. Carolla is DUMBING HIMSELF AND HIS SHOW DOWN!\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas there’s not a listener alive who doesn’t think Howard is smart.\u00c2\u00a0 They look up to him.\u00c2\u00a0 They take his advice on political matters.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you expect anybody’s going to follow ADAM CAROLLA?<\/p>\n
KLSX has Tom Leykis.\u00c2\u00a0 His show plays on one note whereas Howard reigns over a symphony, but Tom’s got an intriguing act.\u00c2\u00a0 Leykis 101 intrigues and infuriates the same way Howard Stern does.\u00c2\u00a0 CBS Radio needs something akin to Leykis, who’s new, to build their business back up.<\/p>\n
It’s like a sports franchise.\u00c2\u00a0 You might win the Super Bowl, but then Elway retires and you have to rebuild.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a level playing field.\u00c2\u00a0 Those with smarts triumph.<\/p>\n
Les Moonves is knowledgeable about television.\u00c2\u00a0 But this potential lawsuit re Stern makes me wonder about his insight into radio.\u00c2\u00a0 His old cohort, now running the other side of Viacom, Tom Freston, would never do this.\u00c2\u00a0 You never want to alienate talent.\u00c2\u00a0 Especially when they have other options.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to WOO talent.\u00c2\u00a0 Sharon Osbourne fucked with MTV in a way nobody else ever has.\u00c2\u00a0 Did you see Tom carping in the press that Sharon had never signed the original contract and screwed him?<\/p>\n
It’s not too late Les.\u00c2\u00a0 Howard’s just begun.\u00c2\u00a0 The Street is already forgiving you for CBS Radio’s poor performance.\u00c2\u00a0 Use this respite to rebuild.\u00c2\u00a0 Come up with something left field, like you did with "Survivor".\u00c2\u00a0 Take a chance on a renegade, who can capture the public’s imagination.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than focusing on what you’ve lost and trying to rebuild with a product that’s a shadow of what you once had.<\/p>\n
As for Howard…\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re not listening to Sirius, you’ve got no idea how good he is, as good, if not better, than ever.\u00c2\u00a0 But almost nobody knows this, almost nobody talks about his show anymore, because as stated earlier, almost nobody HEARS IT!\u00c2\u00a0 I’d say this is problematic for Howard, but he’s gone on record that escaping the FCC was enough, he doesn’t need everybody listening (not that I wholly believe that.)\u00c2\u00a0 But that’s Howard’s plight.\u00c2\u00a0 Terrestrial radio is a different ball game.\u00c2\u00a0 They hold the cards.\u00c2\u00a0 They own the market share.\u00c2\u00a0 They own the dominant incompatible format, just like Apple does with the iPod.\u00c2\u00a0 The key is to CAPITALIZE ON IT!\u00c2\u00a0 Not to complain about what you once had or what your competitors are doing.<\/p>\n
Shit, if CBS just said it wished Howard good luck.\u00c2\u00a0 And focused all its press on its new talent.\u00c2\u00a0 There would be no story.\u00c2\u00a0 The furor would die down.\u00c2\u00a0 They’d have room to breathe.\u00c2\u00a0 CBS now has the ADVANTAGE, they mustn’t SQUANDER IT!<\/p>\n
\nIn the spirit of full disclosure, I have a radio show on KLSX from 9-11 every Sunday night.\u00c2\u00a0 And, ultimately, Les Moonves signs my checks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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I just don’t get it.\u00c2\u00a0 I just don’t understand how Les Moonves continues to play into Howard’s hand.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t understand how Les can have such a blind spot.\u00c2\u00a0 The way to compete with Howard is to IGNORE HIM! That’s how Howard made it.\u00c2\u00a0 On self-promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Oftentimes SHAMELESS self-promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, take a look at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-5v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}