The latest Arbitron radio ratings are out, and details of the period beginning October 16 and ending November 12 are disturbing for Philadelphia’s Big Talker 1210 WPHT-AM.
Despite a hotly contested election, financial market meltdown and the Phillies’ successful World Series run occurring during the ratings period, the station was down almost a full share point and lost more than 272,000 listeners weekly compared to the month before.
Hmmmm…Increased interest in baseball, financial news and an election, yet the WPHT’s numbers were substantially lower overall. Shouldn’t they have gone up? What could have changed during that time to account for the dive? I’m not finding individual show ratings anywhere yet, but let’s see if we can figure out what’s different. Glenn Beck? Nope, he’s the same. Rush Limbaugh? Nope, same Rush. Sean Hannity? Nope, Sean stayed consistent.
Oh, yeah. Now I remember. That opportunistic attention whore Michael Smerconish announced his support for Barack Obama in the Presidential race on October 17.
I don’t listen to the guy, but I hear his commercials during the listenable shows the rest of the day. As a side note, am I the only one who says “like hell I will” every time I hear Smerconish tell me to call or patronize one of the station’s advertisers when he endorses them in a commercial during Rush’s or Hannity’s show?
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Tagged
Glenn Beck, Michael Smerconish, Philadelphia, Radio, RINO, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Talk Radio, The Big Talker, WPHT5 Responses to “WPHT In Radio Ratings Dive”
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I used to listen to Smerconish on the drive into work every day. Over the past year, I have been fortunate enough to work primarily out of my house so my choice in talking heads greatly increased with Internet broadcasts. I turned off Smerconish after he announced he was voting for Obama. Pretty much knew it for a month or two before October 17. His quality and quantity of guests was declining too. Coincidently or not, shortly after the election, Smerconish’s show is being picked up by a D.C. station.
Been primarily listening to Neal Boortz out of Atlanta, although he is an admitted libertarian, he did support McCain over Barr and has voted for Republican presidents about 50% of the time.
Will be interesting (and nauseating) to see if MSNBC taps Smerconish if Mathews runs for PA senate.
Dom Giordano is the only reason I have PHT on my car radio push button …
Like many others (apparently), I now listen to WNTP most of the day and have even called sponsors of PHT to tell them I would never ever be buying their product or service.
Sure, the Bill Bennett’s Morning in America show is often slow and boring… but at least it has integrity and doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not.
The point with Smerconish is that, even if he thought McCain was too old and geeky in the Bush-Republican mold, he should never have endorsed Obama … who stands against EVERYTHING Smerconish ever claimed to support.
The word is hypocricy.
Actually, Smerconish was a big lib-Dem suck up long ago… but was obviously reluctant to admit it.
I remember vividly the multiple times in 2006 that Smerconish had Mike Fitzpatrick and Patrick Murphy in studio for debates….
Smerconish was in full knee-pad worship mode to Murphy over the fact that Murphy spent 3-months in Iraq as a lawyer. His puff-ball questions to Murphy sounded like they had been written by the NYTimes most liberal writer….
And he was downright accusatory and distortive toward Fitzpatrick …. who Smerconish tried over and over to paint as some heartless war-hawk Bush suck-up.
It was truly disgusting. Again, a fair interview by Smerconish might not have made a difference in the 2006 election.
Then again, it might have because Smerconish played gotcha with Fitz over and over again…. practically calling the man a hypocrite because Fitz supported for Iraq war effort and Murphy “served” in the war… (never mind the fact that lawyer Murphy (a friend of TedKennedy) pulled strings and got himself sent home so he could begin running for Congress.
I haven’t listened to even five seconds of Smerconish’s show since late September when it became obvious he was morphing into an Obama suck up.
Aint it funny how celebrities who make it big with lots of wealth suddenly feel guilty about their success and thus begin supporting liberal Democrats…… because of the old perception that Democrats stand up for the “little” guy who got screwed by the evil rich.
That said, I must admit I still miss Laura Ingraham.
Gallagher is OK… but Laura had a unique perspective…. and now I have to be near the Internet to listen.
In truth, I am hoping that NTP, or perhaps an all-new talk show, launches a new morning show that has pizzazz and spunk.
It was very enlightening to hear Conservative talk radio listeners are finally tuning out this unprincipled, moistened finger in the air blowhard. He no longer has a lick of credibility & obviously doesn’t believe in furthering any cause other than himself. I just hope Maureen Faulkner tells the two-faced liar where to go, especially if Obama pardons her husband’s murderer, Mumia Abu-Jamal. I feel used & abused for ever believing ANYTHING this creep has preached about since I first tuned him in. Never again! Excuse me, I have to go now. Bill Bennett’s “Morning In America” is coming on in a few minutes. He may be bland, but he is a classy, principled Conservative. This country needs more like him.
I was a long time listener to Smerconish – back to the WWDB days. I will never listen to him again. Even when I hear a commercial with Smerconish’s voice I change the dial. I have no issue with alternate ideas. I even sometime listen to NPR just to hear the other side. However Smerconish has always portrayed himself as conservative leaning. What a load of crap.