Infinity Outlines Plan to Replace Howard Stern
A little more than two months before Howard Stern takes his lucrative but polarizing morning show to satellite radio, his current employer, Infinity Broadcasting, announced plans today to replace him with a regional slate of hosts, including the former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth and the comedian Adam Carolla.
Mr. Roth, whose show will be heard on the east coast, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Pittsburgh, is a newcomer to radio. Mr. Carolla, who has television shows on Comedy Central and TLC, has enjoyed success at the co-host of the "Loveline," a nationally syndicated radio show. His new morning show will be broadcast in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Portland and Las Vegas, and his former partner, the late-night talk-show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, will serve as a creative consultant to the show as well as an adviser to Infinity.
Other hosts in Infinity's strategy for replacing Stern include Rover, a radio personality who will add five more Infinity stations to the two in Cleveland and Columbus that he is currently heard on, and the Junkies, who will add Baltimore to their Washington base.
Infinity's strategy is recognition of the long-time popularity of Mr. Stern and the foolhardiness of trying to find one big name to take his spot during morning drive time. The company is also using Mr. Stern's departure to do more than overhaul its morning shows in 27 markets - it is flipping station formats across the country, including introducing a variation on the talk radio format called Free FM. The new talk format, billed as a hybrid of politics, sports and pop culture, will be heard on nine Infinity stations, including WXRK-FM in New York; some markets, like Philadelphia, will make the switch as early as today.
Infinity has also signed Penn Jillette, the boisterous half of the comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller, to be the host of a one-hour daily talk show in markets including New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Infinity's announcement is intended in part to stave off what many analysts predict will be a scattering of Mr. Stern's millions of listeners. Already, competing radio stations have been laying claim to Stern fans, marketing themselves as a worthy (and free) alternative ahead of his jump to Sirius.
Infinity's preparation began a year ago, when Mr. Stern announced he was forsaking commercial radio for Sirius Satellite Radio, lured by a five-year, $500 million deal and the freedom to perform without the oversight of the Federal Communications Commission. His last show for Infinity is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Mr. Stern's ratings have slipped recently in nearly all of the major markets he has long dominated. In the recently released summer ratings report tallied by Arbitron, Mr. Stern lost listeners in the 25- to 54-year-old age group in six of the top nine markets compared to the summer of 2004, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington. In overall listeners, ratings dropped in seven of nine markets.
Despite the dip, Mr. Stern still attracts more than six million weekly listeners, and his show represents a cash cow for Infinity that will be hard to replace. Mr. Stern brings in about $100 million in revenue and $50 million in cash flow for Infinity, part of Viacom.
"We're going to take a hit, no question about it," said Joel Hollander, chairman and chief executive of Infinity.
But Mr. Hollander said Mr. Stern's departure offers the company an opportunity to pursue advertisers who have shunned the show, turned off by Mr. Stern's risqué antics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/busin...730449d504151&ei=5094&partner=homepage
A little more than two months before Howard Stern takes his lucrative but polarizing morning show to satellite radio, his current employer, Infinity Broadcasting, announced plans today to replace him with a regional slate of hosts, including the former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth and the comedian Adam Carolla.
Mr. Roth, whose show will be heard on the east coast, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Pittsburgh, is a newcomer to radio. Mr. Carolla, who has television shows on Comedy Central and TLC, has enjoyed success at the co-host of the "Loveline," a nationally syndicated radio show. His new morning show will be broadcast in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Portland and Las Vegas, and his former partner, the late-night talk-show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, will serve as a creative consultant to the show as well as an adviser to Infinity.
Other hosts in Infinity's strategy for replacing Stern include Rover, a radio personality who will add five more Infinity stations to the two in Cleveland and Columbus that he is currently heard on, and the Junkies, who will add Baltimore to their Washington base.
Infinity's strategy is recognition of the long-time popularity of Mr. Stern and the foolhardiness of trying to find one big name to take his spot during morning drive time. The company is also using Mr. Stern's departure to do more than overhaul its morning shows in 27 markets - it is flipping station formats across the country, including introducing a variation on the talk radio format called Free FM. The new talk format, billed as a hybrid of politics, sports and pop culture, will be heard on nine Infinity stations, including WXRK-FM in New York; some markets, like Philadelphia, will make the switch as early as today.
Infinity has also signed Penn Jillette, the boisterous half of the comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller, to be the host of a one-hour daily talk show in markets including New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Infinity's announcement is intended in part to stave off what many analysts predict will be a scattering of Mr. Stern's millions of listeners. Already, competing radio stations have been laying claim to Stern fans, marketing themselves as a worthy (and free) alternative ahead of his jump to Sirius.
Infinity's preparation began a year ago, when Mr. Stern announced he was forsaking commercial radio for Sirius Satellite Radio, lured by a five-year, $500 million deal and the freedom to perform without the oversight of the Federal Communications Commission. His last show for Infinity is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Mr. Stern's ratings have slipped recently in nearly all of the major markets he has long dominated. In the recently released summer ratings report tallied by Arbitron, Mr. Stern lost listeners in the 25- to 54-year-old age group in six of the top nine markets compared to the summer of 2004, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington. In overall listeners, ratings dropped in seven of nine markets.
Despite the dip, Mr. Stern still attracts more than six million weekly listeners, and his show represents a cash cow for Infinity that will be hard to replace. Mr. Stern brings in about $100 million in revenue and $50 million in cash flow for Infinity, part of Viacom.
"We're going to take a hit, no question about it," said Joel Hollander, chairman and chief executive of Infinity.
But Mr. Hollander said Mr. Stern's departure offers the company an opportunity to pursue advertisers who have shunned the show, turned off by Mr. Stern's risqué antics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/busin...730449d504151&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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