WRKO The Talk Station died Monday. Visiting hours will be Wednesday from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm.
Burial will be Thursday after a service at the Jerry Williams Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers,
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Howie Carr’s defection to WTKK could have a devastating effect on rival talk station WRKO, to the tune of a few million dollars in lost advertising revenues, local media buyers estimated yesterday.
Calling the move a “gigantic shake-up” Bruce Mittman, president of media buying and ad agency Mittcom, said WTKK-FM (96.9) stands to reap lots of money from companies that advertise during Carr’s afternoon time slot on WRKO-AM (680). “I think it will have both a dramatic ratings and economic impact for ’TKK,” Mittman said.
Some local media buyers said a few million dollars in ad money could shift from the AM dial to FM if Carr makes the switch to WTKK.
“I can’t even begin to think how (WRKO) would replace him,” said one Boston-based media buyer, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He is the staple of that station.”
Carr, who is also a columnist for the Herald, is considered a marquee name for WRKO and has brought in top ratings in the afternoon slot. Carr scored a 4.9 share in the ratings last winter among 25-to-54-year-olds, according to the most recently available figures from Arbitron, ranking him fifth for his time slot in the Boston market.
A conservative commentator, Carr typically plays well among a male audience and is attractive to advertisers, such as car dealers and banks, looking to reach that demographic, local media buyers said.
“It doesn’t bode well for WRKO at all,” said Steve Kalb, senior vice president and director of broadcast media for Wenham-based ad agency Mullen’s mediaHUB unit.
Still, it appears WRKO is readying for a fight to keep Carr. Entercom, the station’s owner, yesterday said it has “every intention of retaining his services for many years to come. Any report suggesting a change is incredibly premature.”
WRKO will probably be able to keep advertisers on board throughout the summer while it broadcasts Red Sox games. But once the season is ends it will be tough to sell advertisers without Carr behind the mic, sources said.
“It’s going to really, really hurt WRKO,” another Boston media buyer said.