Is Charlotte a Hotbed of Radio Syndication? »
To be fair, in this day and age, just about anyone anywhere can become famous. All you need is a webcam - and to be able to visit YouTube with some regularity. After that, you'll be famous in no time flat.
But there are still a huge number of syndicated radio programs out there, in every shape and size. Many are simple talk radio formats, but just about every sort of music has a show as well. Here in Charlotte, the most popular show is apparently Steve Harvey. I can't say that it's either good or bad. Before anyone gets upset, I'm not saying either way - I can't say that I've heard it. That's just the way it is. But Steve, to my knowledge, isn't based in Charlotte. There are, however, at least five other shows that are based in Charlotte that are syndicated across the country. I don't know if that's a lot, but it seems impressive.
The oldest - not necessarily in age of the hosts, but that is certainly a possibility - has to be John Boy and Billy. They've been on the air for somewhere around twenty years, and they have around 80 affiliates, easily making them the kings of the Charlotte market. Please know that I realize that there are many larger syndicated shows on the air - even some who air in Charlotte, such as Bob and Tom - but John Boy and Billy are the largest to my knowledge who originate from Charlotte.
Next up would probably be Bob and Sheri. I can't put an exact date on the life of their show, but I know it's been around for somewhere in the neighborhood of ten years. They have a decent range, with almost 50 stations, and a decidedly different market than John Boy and Billy (or Bob and Tom, for that matter). But sure enough, they also air from Charlotte.
Ace and TJ started several years ago, and currently appear to have 9 affiliates. What I find interesting about Ace and TJ is that they came to Charlotte with the apparent desire to become syndicated, which is what piqued my curiosity. While both The Big Show and Bob and Sheri have had some success, they aren't huge, by any means. I'm sure that the staffs of both are happy doing what they do, but if you added them together, they probably cannot equal even a small percentage of the number of listeners of Howard Stern - since he's gone to satellite radio.
Within just the last couple of years, a newer show started up with Matt and Ramona as the hosts. Unlike many of the others you'll find, this one is an afternoon show (the others are morning shows). Thus far, the show does reasonably well, but at only four affiliates, you can tell that they are definitely a newcomer.
The latest show on the block is The Cooper Lawrence Show, and I have to say that I can't quite figure it out. The show allegedly comes from Charlotte, but all the bio material I can read says that Cooper is in New York. So perhaps she does it remotely. I don't know. This show is even newer than Matt and Ramona, but also appears to have four affiliates.
Obviously, part of the reason for the affiliations here is that several of the shows come from a single station - so they are trying to sell their wares a little better than the others. But what I really want to know is what is it about Charlotte that makes it a syndicated radio hotbed? Anyone?
Comments (2)
The reason Charlotte is a hotbed is that it's the perfect size, Chad. In a larger market, there are so many things going on that you can do a decent show based upon things going on in that market. In the smaller markets you have to build your content around more universal themes, like relationships, or to build your comedy internally, like John Boy and Billy and Bob & Tom have done so successfully.
While Charlotte is small enough to require inventive content, its big enough that its ratings carry weight with radio executives in other cities. Being in the East also helps, because East-West syndication is much less problematic than West-East syndication.
I would also note here that I think John Boy and Billy were the first to really pioneer the idea of independent syndication. That's different than Stern, who was force-fed to Infinity owned stations, rather than what JBB did, which was build their network without the benefit of owned and operated stations.
I don't know whether Ace and TJ set out to Charlotte for the specific purpose of being syndicated, but I think it's the goal of many successful air personalities to be syndicated. There is a financial benefit, as well as the professional and personal growth that comes with it.
Cooper Lawerence originates her show partly in NYC and partly in Charlotte. Cooper is in New York, and the show is assembled and uplinked out of WLNKs studios in Charlotte.
I don't know if "hotbed" is the right term, but around 150 stations are being served by syndicated shows from Charlotte. That beats Nashville and many other markets of the same size.
Posted by Tony | October 11, 2007 7:23 AM
Hi Tony -
All very good points. It is certainly true that Charlotte may or may not be a true "hotbed" - it was just a convenient word for the title. But for a sleep little Southern town, there are more syndicated shows than I would have expected to find.
Part of that is certainly due to The Link, and the numbers are certainly nothing to be proud of - a single large show such as Bob and Tom can boast of several hundred stations, easily besting all of Charlotte's shows combined. But I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
As to Ace and TJ - they may not have come to Charlotte strictly to be syndicated, but it happened not long after they hit the air, which certainly makes it seem like it was part of the plan all along.
What will be interesting to watch is to see whether the trend continues, with Charlotte hitting the Top 25 this year. That may mean something or it may not.
Regardless, thanks for the overall insight, and for the details on Cooper's show!
Posted by Chad Everett | October 11, 2007 10:06 AM