6.22.20 Bee-otch of the Day: Cumulus Media

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

 

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Name: Cumulus Media
Age: 23
Occupation: broadcast giant
Last Seen: Atlanta, GA
Bee-otched For: having a Huge problem in Grand Rapids                                                              

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Well, this month's Grand Rapids radio ratings are out and there were some changes thanks to COVID-19.

iHeartMedia country B93 had its best book in months with a 9.6. Sister WOOD-AM/FM was #2 with an 8.3 while Cornerstone University Christian non-comm WCSG 91.3 rounded out the top three.

Kinda sad that the top three stations in Grand Rapids are perfect for Drumpf lovers. Maybe if Bob Goodrich didn't fuck over the staff of his precious WPRR 1680, they would actually have ratings. This is the third-straight month Pubic Lack-of-Reality Radio has not had ratings, period.

I know, I've been harsh on Bob Goodrich and his butt-boy Tyrone Bynum for quite some time. With the $50,000 Goodrich got for their 95.3 translator, maybe he can use the money to pay off one of his vendors. So, let's move on.

When downtown Grand Rapids was in chaos several weeks ago with rioting, graffiti was sprayed on Cumulus' home, aka the Peoples' Building. A day later, WOOD-TV 8 showed volunteers wiping the building clean. I wonder if those poor souls are the only folks who actually like Cumulus' Grand Rapids cluster of stations?

OK, so WLAV does quite well. They're #4 in the ratings. But their second-best offering, 105.3 Hot FM has never overtaken long-time CHR stalwart WSNX (#5) in their 14 years as a station playing the hits. Hot FM is 9th place with a 3.3. The newly-relaunched WKLQ - albeit as a AAA - didn't make the top 10 while country Thunder 107.3 had its best book since moving from 94.5 to 107.3.

What Cumulus should be embarrassed about is their sports outlet, WJRW 1340/106.1 The Ticket. Bear in mind that this station is pretty much the old WBBL 107.3. Since moving back to AM with an FM translator blocking out Lansing's Q106 (and to some extent, Lakeview's M106.3), the station has been an abortion and-a-half. It's in 20th place with a .6. Even more embarrassing, Muskegon classic rocker WMRR 101.7 does better in Grand Rapids than The Ticket.

For the record, the other sports gabber in GR, iHeart's ESPN 96.1 only does a little bit better in the ratings with a .8. Then again, their afternoon show is way better than The Ticket's afternoon program.

And I say that with a HUGE margin.

Sometimes, I wonder why Bill Simonson is still on the air in Grand Rapids. He has ZERO ratings and his rants are incoherent at best. Remember years ago when he felt that GR was ripe and ready for a major league sports team because there's smaller towns like Green Bay that have them? Oh, please. Not only that, I fondly remembered when he blasted people protesting Bush's fake war on Iraq and Afghanistan. He was bitching shit like "how would you like it if the Golden Gate Bridge or the Eiffel Tower were bombed?" But since my IQ is well-above room temperature, I know better. Bush lied, people died.

Huge got canned in Austin for derogatory comments regarding a woman he knew which cost his station almost half a million bucks. He got canned in Tulsa for racist comments about a black coach and he got shitcanned from ESPN 1000 Chicago because he couldn't muster a one share. The only reason why he stayed in Grand Rapids for so long was because the long-departed Matt Hanlon kissed his ass and so did his sponsors, which included Devos family-owned businesses like Amway and Fox Motors.

So, why is the fat bastard still on the air? Last year, Cumulus made a deal to keep him on the air by moving his show to the Michigan Media Network, which syndicates sports-talk shows to Michigan stations. Their other major offering is X's and Bro's with Sean Baligian, which airs mornings. Previously, the show was syndicated statewide on the Michigan Talk Network. Fat Boy's show is now heard on several stations throughout Michigan, including stations in Kalamazoo, Flint, Cadillac, Petoskey, and two stations in Lansing and Ann Arbor that tape-delay his show. Recently, the show was added to WGRY 101.1 in Roscommon.

Of course, there's also the reality that, well, Michigan sports simply sucks. Even more, COVID-19 has proved to be a blessing since none of Detroit's big four teams can play. Neither the Pistons nor the Red Wings were going to make the playoffs and the Tigers *could* have played since social distancing is well-practiced at Comerica Park (insert rim shot here). And since Dr. Anthony Fauci is not recommending play for the NFL this year, it'll be a blessing for Lion fans.

I know, jock talk radio can make a small profit if it's programmed well. I have heard that ESPN stations are currently paying even more money though some miss the days of Mike and Mike. However, this is Bill Simonson we're talking about here. Just another prick who kisses rich guy ass, and it's the ass of a family that pressured advertisers to drop Howard Stern. Stern = ratings, not Simonson. But as long as its their money, he's their problem. We'll just keep listening to something else when he's on.

It's just too bad on the FM dial here in Grand Rapids, a radio station in Lansing that does rock better than GRD had to make the sacrifice.

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