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Thanks for your two cents, but I will give you a whole quarter if you just STFU.

EXACTLY

As the premier News/Talk WTCM had to pick up the hottest hosts in the biz. If we didn't someone else would have because local talent, for the most part, can't have the resources they do. In Chicago the premier station is WGN and doesn't use any of the syndicators, they hire the best and pay them to focus on the windy city. WLS #2 carries to big national names and leaves WIND with the scraps.

I have always had the impression that The Bob and Tom Show was very inexpensive in this market because Bob and Tom want to be sure their show airs here. I was once told that NSB wouldn't be using the format if the cost wasn't as low as it is.

Looking at the 12+ Numbers, there wouldn't be much threat letting go of the show.

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"Actually that's kind of the problem with Radio, for every real legend, you get about fifteen tired old gasbags who stick around too long."

I find it amusing there's always people bitching about how bad "The Bob & Tom Show" is, especially in Northern Michigan WHERE IT STARTED. These guys were doing local radio in TC or Charlevoix (please excuse me, I'm from downstate and don't know where any of the stations are located except for WTCM) before moving to Indianapolis.

Is the laugh track annoying? It can be, sure! But it was said earlier that they put it in to keep people from stealing their material. One of the biggest thieves in the late 80s and early 90s was WKLQ in Grand Rapids, as the late Rick Beckett pilfered everything he could from them. So I don't blame them one bit.

The show is meant to entertain. Radio shoots, unfortunately, for the lowest common denominator. If you want something to stimulate your mind, go seek out the BBC or NPR. One thing I truly love about B&T is the fact they're still working to help standup comics break into the business. Yes, they overuse some who aren't very funny. But they're still bringing in people who are busting their asses on that circuit trying to make people laugh and make a living. You don't see that on terrestrial radio anywhere else on such a regular basis.

Now.. all of this half-hearted defense of the show aside.. they have declined a lot since Janet Jackson showed her tit. Hell, everyone has. Their funniest bits have been shelved permanently because of a nation that lost its ever-lovin' mind after a boob got shown on live TV.

I can only take the show in small doses, but I appreciate what they're doing and trying to do for comedians.

So smile, lighten up, and get over yourselves. It's just mindless entertainment.

There are die hard Bob and Tom Fans and some just hate them. Since they began at first WWPZ (WMBN-AM 1340) and then WJML back in the early 80's where they really launched there is a bit of a local tie to them. I had lunch with Tom in Petoskey last year and discussed the market and the challenges. When you think of it Seinfeld was on 9 seasons and that was considered a pretty long run for a comedy show. Bob and Tom have been in Syndication since January of 1995. The Bear began airing them in March of 1998...That's a long run. The ratings have had ups and downs over the years but still a pretty strong showing mornings on The Bear. Bob and Tom can be heard on 94.5 Mackinaw City/Cheboygan/Petoskey-93.9 WAVC Mio/Gaylord/Grayling-98.1 WGFN Glen Arbor/Traverse City and 107.1 WCKC Cadillac/Lake City.

Free Beer and Hot Wings are trending up however Omlette and ??? as well as Bob and Tom have been trending down in the ratings the past couple of books. When you do the math it's an easy win for Free Beer and Hot Wings for producing a show that is affordable and still compelling. I like local but cost per point you can't begin to match the affordabilty of Free Beer and Hot Wings. You'd have to sell a lot of advertising directly attributed to a local morning show to make it worth while to deviate from the formula of FBHW's...You can Hear Free Beer and Hot Wings 5am-10am Monday through Friday on Real Rock 105.1 and 95.5 or on line at realrockradio.fm Free Beer and Hot Wings originate at WGRD in Grand Rapids.

Del

As a former Grand Rapidian (as well as a fan of Real Rock's music format), I am pleased to learn that the FBHW show is doing well up north! Thanks for the info, Del.

And...thanks for providing a music format no one else previously dared to do in Northern Michigan.

Those were fun days. I remember working there just after they left, when you were the Engineer but working mornings at GFM. My Brother in law was an engineer at Q95 and worked with them all the time so I've tipped a few with one of them and swap Mac stories.

Do you remember the lightening storm that hit the tower next to the house and took out a bunch of the electronics in the back room including the statcom? That was me board oping and woke you up at 3am...

It's been fun watching what you have been doing with your stations 28 years later.

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Ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid loquantur.

there on across the country

Free Beer and Hot Wings.....They're on across the country......I believe around 31 stations to date. They will be coming back to Traverse City for the Cherry Festival this summer....Del

There was a lunatic here that once accused me of being Bob & Tom

Hello...I just was reading through the posts. I was surprised that people thought the Bob and Tom show was inexpensive. I guess that's subjective, however, I won't give you the exact number but it's just into 6 figures for the 4 stations that the Bob and Tom show air on for Northern Star Broadcasting. I would think that they cost more than most if not all of the local morning shows and teams. Anyway, I don't consider the Bob and Tom show inexpensive but again it's subjective. Del

I seem to remember hearing the best of Bob and Tom on a Saturday morning on WWPZ back in the 1980s when they were local. They were making fun of AutoWorld.

Six figures for Bob & Tom definitely sounds expensive for a market as small (population wise) as Northern MI, but I cannot help but wonder if that's partially because four different signals are running it. Granted, it would seem unfair if a single Class C station more-or-less covering the same footprint could theoretically air that same show at a much lower price.

For me personally, when I turn on the radio in the AM I want to hear music, not just mindless banter/talk. Thankfully I have the option of my iPod where I hear exactly what I want and not what some stations thinks everyone wants.