Nah I’m pretty sure they said somewhere over the weekend and this was going to go national on digital radio. Hence the reason for the new number.
So the station that was Personality Radio, News Radio, Radio Active, Sydney’s Original is now Talking Lifestyle.
These long infomercials.
It’s more like Talking Ads.
Or Talking Sh*t.
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Not as of today - nothing in Brisbane but there something on NTS that was obviously recorded in the morning.
I just feel sad hearing a highly competent and professional presenter like Tim Webster reduced to this. As you say though, where else can they go?
I understand why Macquarie felt they had to do something different with 2UE. However, I’m not sure this is the answer to the poor ratings problem. I cannot see how this format will bring in anything like the ratings of the format it replaced - and without reasonable ratings, the sponsors won’t want to know.
I recall an article by Jason Morrison (which I can’t now find sadly) from about the time of the merger in which he argued that Macquarie should not ditch entirely the newstalk format on 2UE. From memory his argument went along the lines of:
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although 2UE’s ratings were not great, there was still a significant number of people in cumulative terms listening to 2UE who were not also listening to 2GB.
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those 2UE listeners who still wanted a newstalk format that was a bit ‘softer’ than 2GB might well ditch the station if it changed format
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it would be wrong to assume that those listeners deserting the new 2UE would automatically stay within the Macquarie family and switch to 2GB. They could be just as likely to switch to 702 ABC or another station
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it would be particularly challenging in the current market to have to attract sufficient new listeners not only to replace those listeners that had left but also to try and increase the ratings.
As ever, only time will tell. The format will certainly need a good while to bed in - the question is whether the sponsors will give it sufficient time.
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Wow, 50 posts since my last, something must’ve happened…
Anyway, this new Ross Greenwood / ‘super fund’ show on Saturday mornings on 3AW…
Is absolutely terrible, very niche at best.
Next full ratings will be very interesting, although we don’t see the weekend breakdowns unless provided (i.e.) AFL finals > Weekend Break with Grubby & Dee Dee always gets massive ratings, so might see weekend stable/increase ?
Thoughts on the show?
2UE - Talking Lifestyle - now with 40 minutes of non-stop ads at the top of every hour.
2UE - Talking Lifestyle - Never Less Than Two Hours of Non-Stop Ads in a Row
2UE - Talking Lifestyle - Where “Cash For Comment” is how we roll
You’ve heard of Hit1041 now try Ad954 - 2UE
Or just borrow from the FM stations - Pure Ads, Fresh Ads, Triple Your Ads.
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I think 2UE Talking Lifestyle would be better to just stick with 2UE and market their line up focusing on talent like Webster, Phillips and Bona. This would be more consistent than a billion community radio style programs.
I would also keep some time allocated for general news and talk, and not have so much sponsored content.
A more mature softer talk format would still be a good point of difference to 2GB.
Talking Lifestyle could become their positioner rather than their name and brand.
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I’d say this about 2UE that hasn’t been mentioned from what I’ve seen.
Personally this wouldn’t be the line I would have gone down but it’s sounded ok today from the bits I’ve heard, I’m glad they’ve left the breakfast show unchanged.
One thing that could happen is that they could pick up some listeners at night for people who don’t want to listen to heavy talkback and maybe some ABC listeners now that Tony Delroy has left and that could flow into the breakfast show.
This will take time to see if it works or not. My question is, if it doesn’t work then what?
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Wholeheartedly agree! Further to my previous post, I suspect that a softer talk format and keeping some general newstalk elements was the kind of thing Jason Morrison had in mind in his article.
The jingles quickly rush over the name 2UE but I would still have kept 2UE centre stage. I also agree that the focus of the marketing should be on the presenters rather than the individual program titles. The station still has very experienced and respected presenters with the likes of Tim Webster and Luke Bona. Why push them into the background?
I listened to the new format for most of the day, and I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I really don’t think 2UE is chasing big ratings here - if they manage to snare a section of the market then they can try to convince advertisers that they have a dedicated listener set for that market segment.
Issues that I have are:
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As others have said, given they have people like Luka Bona and Tim Webster on board to host shows, I’m not sure why they don’t still market it as the “Tim Webster show” and just have each show as part of it, as they used to on weekends. This will also be a big help if a particular advertiser pulls out of a show - at least Tim or Luke could still hold the show together.
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How do listeners know what content is paid for and what isn’t? This is a big issue - I just listened to an interview but had no idea if it was paid for or not.
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It is interesting to note that Webster and Bona, who both usually panel their own shows, are not panelling. Each show seems to have a panel operator now.
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The Technology show was very awkward tonight. Trevor Long can hold a program on his own and having Luke anchor it just seemed weird.
I miss Mike Jefferys at nights. He often had lifestyle topic on the hard drive. I think they could of slipped in talk & lifestyle as a jingle and thats it. Look at Steven Price on GB it’s quite a lifestyle show too. I feel they have it covered at night. So why not keep Mike?
The way they have John and Gary plus George & Paul they got a great program where you hear personalities , plus some good talk and lifestyle. Mike was similar too, but different from Steven Price.
My main point let the radio presenters have some control like John & Gary plus George & Paul.
Sports Today actually isn’t too bad. A good break and point of difference to the usual “buy this” 2UE lifestyle talk.
I wonder if they’ll ever ask John Gibbs back as a special guest cohost?
John Gibbs wouldn’t even be allowed in the building with Ray Hadley there.
2UE logo updated on http://www.digitalradioplus.com.au/
Former 2GB sex expert Bettina Arndt was the relationship expert on 2UE on Tuesday night.
That’s because Jason is a gifted media man, he understands how markets work and how audiences think. That kind of analysis is commonsense to him.
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Luke used to have Trevor or someone on overnight for tech talk and it sounded fine.
Poor effort that 2GB is calling Saturday night’s game from the television. You would have thought they would have tried to actually get out of Sydney for the finals.
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Sadly, it’s probably a sign of things to come not just for 2GB but other media as well. “Interactive studios” will become the norm and you won’t have anyone other than reporters at the ground for any sport. At least they make it known they’re not at the ground unlike other media who try to pretend they are really there (ie Rio Commentators on Seven).
I think the last time 2GB travelled interstate to an NRL game, it was to Canberra to a game they didn’t have the rights to call, lol.
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Aren’t ‘interactive studios’ common for Victorian games not just for 2GB but Triple M as well.
To be honest, it’s a practice the NRL should really forbid in their rights agreements
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