I’ve been reading a spate of articles lately revolving around the Howard Stern move to Sirus Satellite radio and the HUGE shakeup this has caused in radio land both in programming and financially re prospective ad dollars. I’ve seen Howard’s show over the years and listened to him a few times, but his humor and show is so incredibly juvenile, that even in the privacy of your own car you feel embarrassed listening to it.
If I judge Stern’s typical audience demographic by the people that proclaim themselves to be his largest fans and call in, it would appear that most of them of are delivering pizzas, living in their mother’s basements, or would have to step up to get to Jim Anchower’s level.
Now there’s nothing wrong with being one of these people, the world takes all kinds, and I’m sure these guys spend money on various items, but why on God’s green earth are advertisers opening their wallets, and hosing down Infinity affiliates with gazillions in advertising dollars for the privilege of addressing this (seemingly) slackerish, predominately lower middle class male cohort?
Why is this (apparently) not all that wealthy or well educated collection of teenagers and twenty something young males such a demographic gold mine for Stern and Infinity Broadcasting?
I think the simple answer is your assumption of Howard’s audience is incorrect. His audience represents the single most sought after group of spenders. Advertisers are wise to target the people most likely to buy their products and research has shown it is the same audience that listens to Howard Stern. Personally I think his transition will be a failure over the 5 years of his contract. Part of the reason for his success is that his show is free. Now he wants people to pay to hear it and I really don’t think it will work out.
This is probably wrong. Stern (or whoever runs the phone boards) screens calls based on their interest level. That’s why they have Bill the Drunk or Chester the Pedophile (I forgot the actual names) on the show, because specifically they’re not the average listener.
I think there are two different demographic groups here.
The first one being the over the top Stern lover you mention. They’re not embarassed to say they’re a fan, they buy his books, they see his movie, they call his show, they go to his appearances. While they may look big in numbers there is probably not a significant amount of them.
The second demographic is the average joe (like yourself) who tunes in while commuting to work, the guys who tune in while working in office cubes, warehouses, kitchens, stockrooms, etc. because it something that makes the morning go by instead of music. Not big fans but they do listen when there is little alternative. This is a HUGE market.
I agree with Bongmaster that his transfer over to Sirus will be a failure.
Only his die-hards will pay to hear him. That other HUGE demographic like you and me will find the next best “free” thing to pass the time while working or commuting.
Stern audience: College graduates, 25-40, with plenty of diposable income. Simplt stated: The Lexus, Infinti, Acura, BMW, Land Rover crowd. The folks, like me, who are buying technology, homes, computers, cool watches, etc, etc.
My pet theory about what demographics adevertisers will and won’t pay more is rather simple.
Advertisers will pay a lot to reach an audience of stupid people. They are willing to pay far less to reach an audience of smart people.
It’s quite logical. Everybody must buy a certain amount of goods and services, necessities such as food, clothing, and for most people gas and auto insurance. Each person then has a certain amount left over, which they may either put into savings or spend on luxuries.
Firstly, smart people probably put more of their money into savings. Secondly, they think quite carefully about whether or not to purchase a luxury. Thridly, they also think carefully about which necessities to buy.
Stupid people, on the other hand, by definition, think less about everything. Thus, upon seeing an advertisement, they’re more likely to rush out and buy the product or service without giving the decision adequate thought.
Consequently advertisers much prefer an audience of stupid people. They get more bang for their buck that way. They get a higher percentage of the audience rushing out to buy the product in the ad.
To some cynical people like me, this explains why stupid entertainment propagates itself while intelligent entertainment often struggles to survive.
Some how come you well spoken, well educated, well heeled guys never call into the show, and it’s only your retarded slacker brother that bothers to give Howard a shout out?
I’m not so sure the transition will be a failure. Sure, you’ve got to pay for what was once free, but the format will change. From what I understand, all the censorship will be gone, gone, gone! And with Michael Powell using the FCC to do the extreme right’s bidding, I expect satellite radio to do to free radio what cable did to broadcast TV. The HUGE audiences are still in the free zone networks, but man, cable has eaten into their profits by a large amount. Plus, cable often has better shows because they are not limited by puritnical constraints.
Now, I’m not saying the ability to curse freely will make Stern’s show any better. Just that it could increase its appeal to the typical Stern fan. And moderate fans may switch and find that satellite radio is just a lot better in terms of other things – music, sports, news, talk radio – compared to the highly homogenized free radio that has taken over the airwaves since the late 90’s (thanks, Congress :rolleyes: ).
As to why advertisers are interested, Stern used to promote Snapple. Don’t have cites for you, but I remember Snapple’s sales skyrocketed. And then, buckling under pressure from the right wing ninnies, Snapple pulled all its advertising from the Stern show. I think that had they just not renewed the contract it would have been no big deal, but instead they did it for religious reasons, and Stern went off on Snapple big time. Mocked them mercilessly. Snapple’s sales plummeted big time, was a really stupid move on their part.
That’s why advertisers like Stern. Because his audience really can add to their customer’s profits.
How about because 18-35 males are hard for advertisers to reach? A show like Sterns, which attracts large numbers of these, is desirable for advertisers who sell products that they’re likely to buy.
Actually, I hear plenty of callers on Stern’s show who seem to be “normal”. Howard makes fun of Dominick the Bloated Attorney, who sounds successful. He used to be friends with Jeff Schick from IBM (although we didn’t hear his voice).
But it’s true that the normal callers are more boring and you’ve probably forgotten them. The freaks stick out and dominate your memory.
I was going to say the same thing. I’ve always heard that this is a very tough demographic, and you can’t argue that Howard Stern has a good grip on it. Other people aiming at it are the History Channel’s war shows and the Discovery Channel’s car/biker shows.