What we all knew already: Opie and Anthony ratings UP!!!!

Ronald Epstein · 06-23-2006, 12:08 PM

I don't want to copy the entire Reuters article, so here are
some excerpts. I'll post a link to the entire article below...

"Opie & Anthony" early ratings show audience gains
Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:26pm ET7

By Sue Zeidler

NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - Radio hosts "Opie & Anthony" seem to be faring better than rocker David Lee Roth as a replacement for shock jock Howard Stern, according to preliminary data released by CBS Corp. (CBSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday.

Stern's former New York CBS Radio station, 92.3 FM, saw its share of 18-to-34-year-old listeners triple to 4.2 percent in May from the tepid 1.4 percent pulled by Roth in April.

In Boston, CBS' share of 18-to-34-year-old listeners jumped from 2.3 percent in April to 6.7 percent in May, and in Philadelphia, the share of that age group jumped from 2.4 percent to 7.7 percent, according to additional early ratings extrapolated by CBS from Arbitron Corp. (ARB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) data.

Click Here For Full story

dailW · 06-23-2006, 03:10 PM

goodbye XM hello old borning radio

Ronald Epstein · 06-23-2006, 04:03 PM

Huh?!

dailW · 06-23-2006, 05:28 PM

from the time they were let go after the st. pats stunt , they would of loved to have gone back to regular radio. no one would touch them. xm picked them up and they have had a great run with xm. with DLR tanking the way he did this is a great for them.and they will say goodbye to XM and do a 4 hour radio program with 15 - 20 minute commercial breaks.that is the reason why they do those yearly contracts when their contract is up they will move on.they should of told cbs no thank you.i dont understand this whole thinking that if they are on reg.radio they can reach more people. they are on sat.it can reach far more people i know its a subscription. but i live on the west coast and cant listen to them if i wanted to.i can go out buy a receiver and a 13$ sub.and listen from portland to new york without changing the channel. thats what i love about sat. radio.

Peter Apruzzese · 06-23-2006, 08:13 PM

They have just signed a two year extension with XM, signed just as the CBS deal happened.

They are on XM for at least 4 more years.

**HTF Ads**

Chris · 06-23-2006, 10:52 PM

Their contract with XM, if FMQB is right, is just like a sports type contract: it's a series of year-to-years. Example: Warren Sapp signs a 3 year deal with Oakland, but at the end of each year, the team has an option to "cut" him and pay a penalty.

The same is true here with the deal for O&A, except kind of reverse.. they have a four year deal with a yearly option. Which means that CBS can buy out their contract should they wish in year-to-year contract established minimums.

Now, whether or not CBS would do that is another story. But if CBS decides to really spread their wings with this program - and good ratings can help induce that - then them gaining exclusivity to product may be worthwhile to them. And CBS, despite it's terrible losses in the radio segment, etc. in the last quarter can easily outmoney XM or simply buy out the contract to grab them.

Would such a thing happen? Who knows. But don't dismiss it as an impossibility. And in a sense, forget what O&A or any talent says about these things.. the right amount of money and a deal will lure anyone anywhere. Besides which, a full-time bit on CBS would most assuredly provide them better guests then the way they have apparently been ranting about the quality of their guests provided by XM.

WillG · 06-24-2006, 12:34 PM

From the AP

Quote:

Jun 23, 7:41 PM EDT

Opie and Anthony Make Comeback As Stars

NEW YORK (AP) -- The comeback is nearly complete for Opie and Anthony. It was just four years ago when the raucous radio duo became shocked jocks, yanked off the air for their infamous "sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral" stunt. The pair are back now as satellite radio stars and terrestrial radio saviors - doing shows in both formats, and luring back listeners lost by David Lee Roth.

"Oddly enough, our goal a few years ago was just to get work," said Anthony Cumia, one-half of the once-reviled team. "We wanted to get a job."

Now they have two. From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., they host a syndicated terrestrial radio program for CBS. And then, for the next two hours, Opie and Anthony bring the act to their home of the last 20 months, XM Satellite Radio.

The move made them the first broadcasters to make the shift from satellite back to terrestrial radio. And it allowed them to take over some of the stations where their nemesis, Howard Stern, ruled the ratings before his jump to Sirius Satellite Radio.

"It's the best of both worlds," said Greg "Opie" Hughes. "We wanted to do this 18 months ago, when we heard Howard was leaving, but unfortunately CBS was still a little too scared of us. They had to fail miserably to see things our way."

The high-profile failure was Roth, and the former Van Halen frontman disappeared less than four months after stepping in for Stern. In their first full month back on terrestrial, Opie and Anthony repaired much of the ratings damage left by David Lee.

In New York, Philadelphia and Boston, according to Arbitron, the number of listeners aged 18 to 34 basically tripled in all three markets during an average 15-minute stretch of show - although they're not at the Stern level yet.

The pair was dumped by CBS Radio after an August 2002 stunt where they aired a live account of listeners having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral. When they finally returned in October 2004, Opie and Anthony bolted for the unexpurgated environs of satellite radio.

But Cumia said the pair never doubted they could make their show work under the watchful eye of the Federal Communications Commission.

"On the XM show, the content we were putting across wasn't really outside FCC boundaries," he said. "The subject matter itself, if the stories were told the right way, was fine for FM radio."

The duo initially returned on seven stations at the end of April; on Monday, WJFK-FM in Washington will become the 11th station to carry the syndicated program. More stations are expected to join soon.

"I'm not at all surprised about O&A's rapid recovery of their audience - they're talented pros and they have very strong name recognition," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio.

Opie offers another explanation for their sudden success: "It just shows there's nothing to listen to. How starved were these people?"

Either way, the success provides vindication for the pair.

"We're happy to be in this position, it's the best of our careers," said Cumia. "A couple of years back, I never thought I'd be saying that. Our goal is to make what we call the greatest comeback in radio history

JohnS · 07-15-2006, 05:15 PM

Wait, I'm confused. I thought I just saw(about a month ago) O&A on Foxnews(hannity & Combes) talking about how they were fired from XM and are back on regular radio(Howard's old spot)

I've been out of XM for a few months and am getting back into it next week.

Ronald Epstein · 07-15-2006, 06:01 PM

Fired? No.

Back on regular radio (Howard's old spot)? Yes.

dailW · 07-15-2006, 06:14 PM

fired-no

took david lee roths old slot-yes