Buyers comment on "Letterman on the Radio"
Now that CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" will be broadcast weeknights on 15 Infinity stations starting 11/11, we asked a few buyers whether the concept might have wings.
Are they interested?
MediaCom's Director, Network and Spot Radio Services, Matthew Warnecke: "We buy the [Letterman's] Top 10 from Westwood. I think it's a great idea. Talk and personality has been on the rise since 9/11. I think Dave's got a great chatty, fun, interesting adult, without being old-fashioned, take. I think it's good. I'm surprised because of their Viacom-CBS connection-I think it makes logical sense. They're looking for ways to hold on to him and make him happy as well."
We were concerned about potential ratings skews, with people not realizing whether they had watched or listened to Letterman on a particular night. What do you think?
"That's why everybody needs to get on the passive bandwagon-either the LPM or 3PM in radio. Arbitron is about as good at dealing with diaries as you can be. But passive is a better currency. LPM is local people meter, which is really the same technology as the national people meter, it's being tested in Boston now. The stations haven't broken yet-they should, but they haven't. 3PM is what people call PPM, but there should be an extra 'P' in there-Personal, Portable People meter. Because it's not a People Meter for the household, it's a People Meter for a person. So that's why I'm calling it the 3PM."
Matt Feinberg, SVP/National Radio, Zenith Media Services:
"It comes on too late, that's all there is to it. It may survive, with minimal ratings. I don't see it as having any legs, really. I see it as Viacom trying to capitalize on something it has paid a lot of money for through the years. I don't know if the Infinity stations were forced to take it, but it sounds like CBS is trying to get free tune-in [ads]. That might mean that Letterman's ratings are hurting and they're trying to get free tune-in to boost them. At 11:00, most stations' ratings are starting to hit the skids. I don't think Letterman's ratings are going to pick them up, really. However, what does Viacom have to lose?"
Would you be interested in placing buys on the show?
"I wouldn't pay much for it. On a market-by-market basis, it depends on the buy and the stations-that's probably how Infinity will sell it. Offhand, I would say I wouldn't buy it. On a national basis, probably more not. I can't see any buyer going out of their way to buy something at 11:30, except for those brands who say David Letterman is the kind of guy they want to be associated with."
How was the network radio upfront?
Now that the network radio upfront is pretty much finished, we asked a few buyers for their take:
MediaCom's Director, Network and Spot Radio Services, Matthew Warnecke:
"I think we were luckier than you might have expected, because with the overall health of the national media marketplace, regardless of media type, things were so strong that you might have gotten really gouged--just because radio tends to happen after everything else. I think by and large, our negotiators are strong and recognize when people are trying to pull a fast one, and know where to find pockets of efficiency while still managing costs and getting the good programming."
Where were the rates for this upfront?
"Those clients who spend every single year were fine. Their increases, if any, were under 5%. New advertisers or advertisers who needed very specific information or very specific programs, it was up more. We leverage both of the must-have and the walkable clients to do the best job overall."
Tomorrow: Matt Feinberg, SVP/National Radio, Zenith Media Services
