Air America Radio Beat Rush Limbaugh

[WillyBrandt]

Air America beat Rush Limbaugh in New York!

Arbitrend Spring Phase 1 Numbers

25-54 year olds
WLIB 3.4 share in April (AA's flagship station in NYC, 10a-3p, includes O'Franken Factor and Unfiltered)
WABC 3.2 share (Rush Limbaugh's station in NYC)

Other stats:
#1 provider of streaming audio on the Internet
6.5 million distinct streams
average listening time 51 minutes

WPOJ (Portland affiliate) nearly quintupled the 'cume' (cumulative total of listeners)

(source: Al Franken read this stuff on his show this morning)

ALSO: On Majority Report Weblog, there's a hint that the numbers are very good

http://liberalmediaconspiracy.blogspot.com/2004_05_23_liberalmediaconspiracy_archive.html#108541565914043123

[goforit]

1. Whooooo hooooo AL!!!!!

:bounce:

[kysrsoze]

30. Yeah, but are the paying the bills? I've heard they're short on cash

Anybody know how things truly are? I'd hate to see it go.

[madrchsod]

32. if advertisers see better numbers

than limpballs in the next rating period the money will come rolling in..they need chicago -they need a 50 thousand watt station here in the midwest....

[Spazito]

33. They just got a fresh influx of funding, there was an article posted...

earlier on LBN.

[ParanoidPat]

34. See post #29!

No cash shortage! :evilgrin:

New stations and advertisers every day! :bounce:

[Munnin]

88. All start-ups are short on cash

its the nature of starting up. I suspect they will have positive cash flow soon.

[Dr Fate]

2. Al O'Franken- my MAIN MAN!!!!

!!!!

[gatlingforme]

66. He is my MAIN MAN TOO. lol

[Kahuna]

3. AAr also beat that smug John Gamblin on WABC in NY. Sweet...

:bounce: :bounce:

[kimchi]

4. It is all coming together..........

Life is good.

[SemperEadem]

5. Come back to LA, AAR!!!!!!

please come back!!! Us unemployed folks can't afford satellite radio!!!

[nolabels]

15. Sell the house and move out to the Inland Empire

We get Al loud and clear on 1050 AM

[newyorican]

6. oy, oy, oy...

<key the music> :party:

[WillyBrandt]

7. How are things going in Israel?

[nolajazz]

10. You don't want to know!

[minkyboodle]

8. WOOOOOOT

this is the best news all day!!!

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. this is great news !!!!!!!!!!

i'm one of those 6.5 million streamers. happy day!!! and to all the naysayers (even on this board)...SUCCESS IS SWEET!!

:bounce: :party: :toast:

[qwertyMike]

17. I stream it all day

at work and home

[Tarheel_Dem]

26. me too!

:toast:

[bushwakker]

11. when are they comin' to Boston?

[Justice]

16. Yes When?

I want to see Al Franken beat Jay Severin, local RW talkshow host!

[bushwakker]

74. Don't get me started on Severin*

[gratuitous]

12. Watch for Rash to re-double his shrillness

If you thought Rash was out of control about AAR before, just wait until he sees those numbers. The writing on the wall should be quite legible and very scary for him.

[Chicago Democrat]

13. Do they know sattelite usage?

Is that included? I use Sirius.

[Dr Fate]

25. I know- I listen on XM Radio- I'd like to know those #s too...

...

[natrat]

14. is air america on the radio

or just sirius?---northern

answerd my own ?
http://www.airamericaradio.com/pub/globalDefault.htmca.

[alittlelark]

21. Uhhhhh, Yea.

I have sirius, they are not on it.

If you do not know Air America is 'on the radio' you must be livin' in a cave - or an 'undisclosed location'.

You could also be living 'under a bridge'.

'answerd' is actually spelled 'answered'.

[ParanoidPat]

29. Try channel #125!

Here's a list of currant and future stations that carry them. :evilgrin:

http://www.airamericaradio.com/pub/resStations.htm

On The Air

Nationally:

XM Satellite Radio - 167
Sirius Satellite Radio - 125

East

Chapel Hill, NC - WCHL 1360
Key West, FL - WKIZ 1500
New York City - WLIB 1190
Plattsburgh/Burlington - WTWK 1070
Portland, ME - WMTW 870

West/Central

Anchorage, AK KUDO 1080
Honolulu KAOI 1110
Minneapolis - WMNN 1330
Portland, OR - KPOJ 620
Riverside, CA - KCAA 1050
Sacramento, CA KSQR 1240
Santa Cruz, CA KTEE 93.7 FM
San Luis Obispo, CA KYNS 1340
West Palm Beach, FL - WJNO 1290

Coming Soon...

Colorado Springs, Co KBZC 1300
Boulder, CO KBAC 610
Memphis, TN WMQM 1600
Reno, NV KXTO 1550
Northampton, MA WHMP 1400
Nashua, NH WSNH 900
Dish Network

And some more info on their financial/management situation.....

http://radioandrecords.com/Subscribers/TodaysNews/newsam.asp

Report: Air America Seeks To Pay Off Debts

The liberal Talk network, which has struggled since its late March debut, is looking at ways to raise new money in order to steer itself back toward profitability, Reuters reports. Investors including Florida attorney Mike Papantonio, Chicago entrepreneur Sheldon Drobny and RealNetworks Chairman/CEO Rob Glaser have committed to investing new capital into Air America Radio, sources told the news organization. "This venture is not dead and it's not going to die," Papantonio told Reuters. "I am a businessman and I see this as a great business opportunity." AAR seeks to raise an additional $8 million, and Papantonio said the company is already well on its way to raising that amount. The current plans are to own just WLIB/New York while obtaining affiliates in other markets. The news comes following the appointment last week of investor Doug Kreeger as CEO. He succeeds Evan Cohen, who was asked to exit by Air America's board. :)

[natrat]

35. screw you buddy

[alittlelark]

40. Feelin' good!!!

incidently, it's 'buddette'.but I'll stick with original analysis!!;-)

[FlaGranny]

75. Why the

nasty response to the guy's original post???? It was just a simple question.

[Doosh]

18. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Columbia]

19. Anyone got a better link?

[WillyBrandt]

20. That's all I can find so far

[Columbia]

22. Anyone else hear it on the air then?

I thought the ratings didn't come out until July?

[Spazito]

31. I heard Franken reading them off on the repeat airing at 8pm pacific

they were very good news.

[Citizen Daryl]

23. That DOESN'T include the time-shifters who download from 3d pty sties

[PROGRESSIVE1]

24. Wahoooooooooo!!! The Libs should be winning in NYC, afterall...

it's a Liberal City!

[RetroLounge]

27. I wish they'd come to Milwaukee Radio

It's pathetic here...

RL

[Tom Kitten]

28. wow! ratings quintupled for KPOJ!!!

Oh I know it's liberal Portland but still! I hope Juan, Sanjee, and Tyrone find apartments quickly because soon their psa will be bye bye! (at least I hope!)
Other struggling stations should take note...after all aren't they in it for the money? After all liberals and moderates do buy things! Common sense, eh?
Best news all day!

[Pachamama]

36. I'm in the Bay Area-I'm listening to KPOJ (Portland)'s Stream as I DU...

That's great news...I can't wait to get AirAmericaRadio here in the Bay Area soon...

:)

The Majority Report is shredding Shrub's speech...they also were talking about the background of some of the Guards' in Iraq...scary backgrounds and weird "selections" by Asscroft and the Justice Dept.

[notbush]

37. I think your thread heading may be inacurate

As I read it, WLIB beat WABC in 1 demographic. A better link or more information would be helpful. I'd like to see the head to head for the 10A.M.-3P.M.

[ParanoidPat]

38. Sorry but Air America beats limbo in just the streaming alone!

6.5 MILLION CONCURRANT STREAMS! That's more people than Oxyrush has listening at any given time in ALL the combined markets that broadcast his show! That doesn't even include all the people listening on the broadcast stations and via satellite. :)

Why do you think RealNetworks Chairman/CEO Rob Glaser has committed to investing new capital into Air America Radio?
He knows a WINNER when he sees one! :evilgrin:

[notbush]

41. 6.5 mill concurrent??????

I don't know where this blog got their info. I don't believe there is a server setup anywhere in the world that will handle 6.5 mill simultaneous streams. This "concurrent" must be for a day, or a week.

[ParanoidPat]

44. Multiple server setups.....

....in the first DAY, AAR hit 50,000 concurrent streams and a cume total of over 2 million streams by the end of the first week on the AAR servers alone! A new record for a 'non breaking news' feed. KPOJ quintupled their streaming in WMV format over the last few weeks. When you add the AAR servers to the RealNetworks servers and all of the other streaming servers hosted by affiliates in use serving AAR programming at any given time it's not all that inconceivable to hit the 6.5 million concurrent figure based on their rate of growth over the last 2 months. This story was /.ed a couple of days ago. :)

[notbush]

49. They're running a 1.1 Arbitron in NYC

Let's not kid ourselves. They don't pay their bills,management has quit,paychecks aren't issued, things don't look good. Let's not make ourselves look foolish, telling everyone how great they're doing.....But...I wish they were.

[Frodo]

73. There's about zero chance of that

6.5 million distinct streams is phenominal. 6.5Million concurrent streams (meaning 6.5M listening at the same time) is impossible.

This is the total number of distinct streaming "events" during the period (and no report what the period is - it could be since inception). I have to go in to the stream at least three times a day (just during Randi's slot). I account for probably a dozen or more of those "distinct streams" in a week, probably 50 over the month.

The number doesn't mean anything espetially since I don't hear any advertising.

[salin]

79. chicken and egg sorta thing, isn't it?

They have to start demonstrating some numbers to pull in the advertisers. Theoretically, isn't this a likely step towards the measure to which you are looking?

[Frodo]

82. Sorry. That isn't what I meant.

It may be that I'm listening to Randi's station down in FL, but the stream always deletes the advertising (I get "dead air").

So it wouldn't matter how many people listened, it just costs them more money with no benefit.

Maybe the direct AAR stream (which I can't get at work) includes the ads.

[salin]

87. I see what you mean

good question - which I can't answer (have very little opportunity to listen.) Hope someone answers - is AAR able to cash in on the streaming numbers via advertising?

[Chicago Democrat]

89. they have ads all the times

what are you listening to?

[Frodo]

90. See #82

I've since listened to the direct stream and I DO hear ads. But they seem like they are all the NY ads. Makes sense (I can't think of an alternative) but it limits revenue ability since local NY companies aren't going to pay to be heard in TN and TN companies won't be paying a NY station.

One of the downsides of doing it natinally I suppose, but still no revenue from the stream except from national advertisers.

[notbush]

39. It just googled wlib ratings

The newest arbitron ratings are posted a www.nyradioguide.com/ratings.htm
WLIB came in 24th out of 34.
I really don't know where the blogger got his info.

[Tarheel_Dem]

46. listen here.........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1661434

i suggest if you dispute the title of the author's thread that you listen to al franken himself.

[notbush]

48. I just posted the arbitron ratings for NYC

Do you know how to read????
I want Air America to succeed, but their ratings thus far suck.
If Al wants to talk about 1 demographic, in one time period,or whatever, he's certainly not telling you or me the truth.
PLEASE!!!!go look at the arbitron ratings(post 39). Not somebodies blog, not Al Frankin, look at the ratings.

[ParanoidPat]

50. No you posted AN Arbitron number that says very little.....

.....If you can't figure out where to find the full set of numbers or are too cheap to pay for the full set of the released numbers for major markets (as opposed to the full numbers to be released next month for all markets) tough shit! You seem to have a problem with comprehending what Al Franken reported on AAR today. Did you even hear it? :shrug:
You are certainly being less than honest in your presentation of the facts! :evilgrin:

[notbush]

56. Yes, I did listen to it...and I read the blog

Yes I am to cheap to "buy" the full arbitron ratings.....How bout you, why don't you post them for us.
Sometimes things don't work out. I was afraid from it's inception that liberal talk radio was a loser. Not based on MY opinion , but on the track record of liberal talk shows that had "a shot at it".
Remember Gov. Quomo's show? The guy can reason his way around ANY Conservative in the land. But......the show was booorrrringgg...
and gone in a short period of time.
Progressive thought is not simple enough for the average radio talk show listener.

[ParanoidPat]

61. First off, if you did pay for the numbers you would know.....

.....that it's illegal to post the numbers here under the license agreement. Second you seem to parrot every right wing talking point about AAR without offering any concrete evidence to back up your claims! You posted that AAR is not paying their bills. Do you have a link to back up that claim? They have stopped payment on a check to one station owner that was ripping them off by selling the time that they paid for to someone else and they took the station owner to court and WON! They were late on their payroll due to a change in management (you know, the guys who sign the checks) and you claimed that the management quit. The truth of the matter is that they were FIRED! Go check it out. They were asked to leave due to their insistence on the entire AAR lineup being broadcast on any affiliate that signed up for AAR programming. It's all been reported both in the press and here on DU.

[notbush]

64. I gave you the station arbitron ratings that are public

If you are a realist...In NYC WLIB is not a winner.
You and I are on the same side ....I am a realist..things don't look good for air america. Officers quit...fired...You google it.

[drfemoe]

55. It's 1.3 .. not 1.1

.. the chart provided by link ..

WABC (rush) station is not even on the list .. does that mean > 0.4?
(Unless my lying eyes are deceiving me)

What is your interpretation?

[notbush]

57. WABC 7th with a 3.7

Doesn't anybody here read....they just get pissed off.
I Am on your side you know.

[drfemoe]

58. Well .. I don't

truly *know* anything. I'm much too old for that.
Sorry I missed the line you referred me to.

Again, what is your interpretation?

[yankeedem]

71. Do YOU know how to read?

The numbers you posted were for the WINTER book, which DOES NOT include Air America. The Arbitrends which came out yesterday, which includes February, March and April had AA at 1.4 for all dayparts. In other words, the rating increased 30%---- and that doesn't even reflect a full ratings period.

Please let me know what other new radio venture has increased ratings 30% in a month, before you pronounce AA a failure.


Edited to add, only April is AA, as it came on the air the end of March.

[Corby]

59. Are station ratings relevant?

AAR doesn't program 24/7, does it? I'm guessing ratings flutuate wildly throughout the day with AAR -- peaking with O'Franken and the Majority Report shows.

I wouldn't be surprised that an AAR station gets a lower rating over a 24 hour period in comparision to a station that carries constant programming. What I want to see are the head-to-head numbers: Franken v. Crazy-as-a-barking-hatstandbaugh.

Long term, AAR is going to have to syndicate individual shows and lose the ones that don't earn their bacon (Unfiltered, Morning Sedition) or find programming to round out the other 12 hours in the day.

XM 167 listener.

[notbush]

60. If they'r not..we just wasted about 60 posts on a thread

that was started about station ratings........

[drfemoe]

63. "show" ratings, actually .. is my understanding ..

not "station ratings" ...

... btw, nothing is ever 'wasted' .. there is value in every endeavor.

[notbush]

65. I just went back and reread the "title"

Actually it's "station ratings of a show"...no it's "station ratings in a given time period".......

[salin]

80. Am I incorrect, or aren't those numbers from before AAR was on the

air? Sort of irrelevant to look at numbers from Winter and earlier - since AAR didn't go on the air until late March.

[Seabiscuit]

42. We need Air America

not just in Chicago, but also in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. I can't get enough of their streaming video, but lately, the volume hasn't been loud enough to make it out clearly. Hopefully just a short-lived technical glitch. I want to hear it in my car. I want to hear it in my home on the radio. I want to hear it over my big, kick-ass hi-end audio rig, and blast it all over the neighborhood!

O'Franken, and all the rest of you on Air America:

:yourock:

[notbush]

43. Kick

because I would like to know if there is really some good news happening with Liberal radio. So far, I've seen a quote from a blog, a lot of yahoo's, and bad ratings, from sources I can find.

[SideshowScott]

45. HEY! You guys think DRUDGE will post these numbers???

I doubt it..All Drudge will do is post numbers that make any Right Wing program look good AND will do his damndest to try to make any left wing ANYTHING look bad or that they are getting low ratings. ( I think he fiddles with the numbers IMHO ) SO I doubt that he will post these numbers no matter if every member of DU will send him the link..
I wonder if we are beating the Drudge show in any markets that would be SWEET! Beating Savage would be great too HEE!

[notbush]

47. WHAT NUMBERS

If you,ve read the last half dozen posts...... Yes, I want liberal talk radio to work, but these numbers will be shoved in our faces by freepers. I posted the link to the arbitron ratings, and nobody hear seems to want to take the time to read them.
Things don't look good for Air America.......sorry, just the truth.

[ParanoidPat]

51. I think you have been listening to OxyRush a little too much!

I don't think you would recognize the truth if it sat on your face and wiggled! :evilgrin:

[notbush]

68. I think you need do read the rules

If you want a debate....that's fine.
If you want to call people names ....I REALLY don't want to play that game.
You know, even moderates can hit the mod. button.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

53. I'll address that

The numbers that were quoted by Al Franken are for a specific demographic, a specific month, and a specific time: 25-54 year olds, 10a-3p in April. The numbers that you linked to are for a different demographic, a different time, and a range of months: persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6 AM - 12 Midnight Average Quarter-Hour Share, Winter 2004. The numbers are not comparable, which is why the numbers are different. Given that Air America is brand spanking new, it would make sense that their numbers are growing so the figures for April would be much better than the Winter 2004 figures.

Basically, assuming that Al is telling the truth (and I believe he would) he is saying that the most important age group, during the most important time, in the latest month that data is available, Air America out-performed Rush. That is very significant!

[ParanoidPat]

54. Thank You!

:evilgrin: :thumbsup: :toast:

Some people just can't handle the truth! :)

[notbush]

62. If you read my original post, you would see that I said almost the same th

Al referring to a specific demographic at a specific time(time he doesn't) just doesn't make you a success.
I wanted air America to work, but it isn't.
They appear to be underfunded. This "leasing time" can't work in the long haul. They HAVE to get some BIG NAME sponsors. That is what is needed to pay the bills.
They have floundered financially for the last couple of months. If you disagree with that YOU ARE DELUSIONAL.

[vickie]

93. I was also wondering if the Sludge Boy would post this news.

I also wonder if the arrogant sanctimonious blowhard blatherer O'Reilly will acknowledge this as well.

I noticed yesterday (I caught a few minutes of his show - yes he is excruciating to watch) he was only too pleased to report the financial troubles...

Vickie

[drfemoe]

52. omg .. Rush in the unemployment line ..

.. that could restore my faith in humanity. .. I could get my head back up in the clouds, where it belongs ;) ..

[CShine]

67. Is no one else reporting this? Why is it only on the blogs?

[notbush]

69. Damn, that's what I want to know

I now believe, that Franken was putting the best spin on an Arbitron, that showed WLIB winning a time period, in a specific demographic, at a specific station.
I've had the shit beat out of me for the last 2 hours just asking for a link.
I would love to see liberal radio succeed, but in everything "I" see, Air America isn't.

[notbush]

70. Paranoid Pat ...I'm still waiting for a link to something.........

MYFYWABS

[0007]

72. Al Franken rocks

May have a few low numbers here and there, but in the long run Al will steam roll over that idiot fat ass Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Rielly.

[wjsander]

76. Pay attention

Okay, people, do some research instead of playing a game of telephone with the facts.

Where the hell did 6.5 million 'CONCURRANT' streams come from? Nobody said anything about that. 6.5 million DISTINCT streams for the month of April was what the report said.

And that report that "notbush" posted about the arbitron ratings having WLIB come in 24th place, was for Winter. The new ratings for this report was from the Spring Phase 1 numbers for 25-54yr olds. It's funny how "notbush" shut up after that fact was posted and didn't come back with a "sorry for the bad info".

Please... PLEASE, get your facts straight before you h8t. :)

[Tarheel_Dem]

78. thank you!

seems we have a coupla trolls who show up on every air america thread to "feign" concern about the "dismal" state of affairs at aar. btw, welcome to DU.....:hi:

[Frodo]

83. I'll be happy to correct you.

I'm not "notbush" (I gues the double negative means I am bush?), but he's closer to the facts than you are.

The Spring Phase 1 numbers are also in and WLIB came in 24th there as well. The number they hyped was the one demographic and time slot that had attractive numbers (and even then I have no idea why they went for 10:00-3:00 to say they "beat rush". Isn't oxyboy on from 12:00-2:00? Who is on before and after him in NY?

And yes, people have been misreading the 6.5Million number. Notice that one or two posters commented that it was more listeners than lardbut had total? They're obviously comparing that 6.5M number as if it were unique individuals instead of streaming events over the month. I personally account for about 50-60 of those streams, though I bet some of you have a better connection history, but I bet it represents around 50,000 regulars and another 200,000 who listen in on the occasional program. <b>That's an absolutely incredible number</b> but it isn't as it was spun by some. It also isn't as impressive when you realize they have a national interest group but only incredibly spotty coverage (I understand the channel here in NC is an old college station and can't even be heard down the road). A HUGE portion of the audience is getting this streaming.

[notbush]

85. You're right, those were the Winter numbers oops

However, the new numbers are 1.4 up .1.You can find them by clicking on Home from the link I left (No. 39).

[notbush]

86. Post 38 Paranoid Pat.. "Concurrant Streams"

I did come back, I said oops.
Those earlier posts were at 2:00 A.M CST. I gotta sleep sometime.

[rinsd]

91. Actually...this link has spring phase #1

http://www.radioandrecords.com/Subscribers/ratings/homepage.htm

It has WLIB at a 1.4.

I think full numbers won't be available until July.

This was dicussed yesteday on this DU thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1655627

Also DUer Rat Terrier explained what these numbers are ...sort of

"The numbers released Friday are trend ratings, meaning they are not official, but released by Arbitron as kind of a guide for in between quarterly ratings books. The official Spring book comes out in a month.

The overall rating is 1.4, a composite of all dayparts, and listeners 12+. Most likely, the numbers Franken quoted were a breakdown by either daypart or demographic.

Confusing, innit?

Still, a 1.4 overall is not bad for an upstart network."

[Frodo]

94. Well, yes and no

Still, a 1.4 overall is not bad for an upstart network.

It is when they have first and second tier salaries to pay. Only one big market to draw advertising and ranked 24th is not going to cut it.

I think their success or failure was all hinged on how quickly they could grow that number of stations in big cities. It doesn't look too good right now.

[JPZenger]

77. Strength of Stations

In New York, Limbaugh is on a much stronger station than Air America. Therefore, many more people in the outer suburbs have the ability to listen to Limbaugh than Air America on broadcast radio.

[2bfree]

81. Wish we got it here!

Way to go Al!

[WillyT]

84. "The tide is high but I'm holding on..."

I'm gonna be your number one
Number one, number one..."

GREAT NEWS!!!

:bounce::evilgrin::bounce:

With thanks to Blondie!

[abandapart21]

92. Air America Rocks

I must get satelite radio because my husband is furious that I am glued to my computer. I cannot pull myself away from the computer and for good reason. The entire station broadcast is brillant and funny. It is such a refreshing change from all the neocon crap on talk radio. BRAVO!!!!!

[WillyT]

95. Right On abandapart21, And Welcome To DU !!!

:toast::bounce::toast:

Nice ta meet ya. Lookin forward to seeing you around!!!

:hi:

[HelenBedd]

96. Is this head to head or station to station?

If it's head to head (Rush's show vs Al's show) this is monumental news in talk radio. Especially in the number 1 radio market in America. If it's just a station to station comparison, then there could be alot of factors to explain that.

I'd like it more if we knew it was Al beating Rush head to head.