Saga has announced it will cancel syndicated shows also heard on satellite?

Owners: Aside from any concerns your attorneys may have about competing groups conspiring to restrain trade of syndicated shows, there are 6 very practical reasons this naïve chest-pounding is a BIG mistake.

Why management ego should NOT cost radio The Sean Hannity Show and other syndicated fare that's also on Sirius or XM:

1. Radio listening is habit. Canceling shows upsets hard-won listening habits. Canceling shows for grudge - - a business-to-business issue transparent to listeners - - shows listeners tremendous disrespect.

2. Canceling these shows drives traffic to satellite radio, since canceling them hands satellite radio the shows' franchise. And these listeners will end up spending more time with Sirius and XM, sampling other programming there.

3. Ill will, externally. If I were a syndicated show that Saga dropped, I would buy newspaper ads in those markets to announce that my show had left the Saga station for satellite radio. Lots of political horse-trading goes on between stations and syndicators. Ask any TV GM whose station has Oprah. Canceling shows reduces station leverage. It's a small world.

4. Ill will, internally. Upper management caprice tortures middle managers. Ask any Clear Channel PD or Sales Manager how long their work day got when "Less is More" was announced. Now, Saga's PDs and Sales people will be coping with these changes, pushing real issues to the back burner.

5. Many syndicated shows are big money-makers, particularly weekend how-to shows that are a staple of News/Talk AM.

6. Syndicated shows GET BETTER when they're on the satellite. Several syndicated shows I consult are on either-or-both Sirius or XM. At first, all we counted on was cachet. We wanted to seem hip by being on Sirius/XM. Yet the pleasant surprise all of these shows have experienced is an INSTANT improvement in:

a) QUANTITY of callers. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising, since we've stepped-up from X number of markets to a continental footprint. And these are more-committed listeners than AM/FM listeners, since satellite listeners PAY to listen.

b) QUALITY of callers. Because Sirius and XM offer such interesting programming, they attract interesting listeners.

Instead of relinquishing syndicated shows to satellite radio, here's a radical idea: Do something Sirius and XM cannot: LOCAL PROGRAMMING, especially on the weekend. Too many News/Talk stations sound like they-take-the-weekend-off, by simply segueing syndicated shows. Smarter stations infuse syndicated programming with local news, weather, traffic, etc., giving listeners value they can't get from the same shows on satellite.

Best regards,

Holland Cooke
News/Talk consultant