Originally Posted by Rich Tea.:
“I don't listen to him but does that LBC chap Steve Allen at 4am waffle on about his own views and nothing else, taking no callers? From what I have deduced on the LBC thread he seems to do so. If it was that popular he'd not be on in the dead of night surely!”
I don't listen to him either, but the difference is that LBC gets calls at the other times of day. TalkRadio is unlikely to increase the amount of people calling, so there is a stronger case for that station having the sort of format where the presenter spends their show telling us what they think rather than asking what listeners think.
Originally Posted by orangeballoon:
“talk radio as a format doesnt have to have many callers at all.
it is more about being speech not music, about guests and opinion.”
Talk as a format is very diverse because there is so much that can be talked about. Music as a format is also diverse.
Talk shows on independent radio in this country have generally been interactive. LBC has switched talk formats over the year, but whatever the ormat, there has still been plenty of interaction from listeners.
TalkRadio will not have much interaction from listeners, but the station will have no problem finding guests to interview.
Quote:
“i thought it bold to go with a "be an alternative to the main talking point" of the day on some shows... problem there is while you will win some listeners who (are loyal radio listeners) you don't attract any of the occasional listeners... and there is a reason why newspapers trumpet a controversial headline front page, it's because it is the massive pick up in customers they get when they have something "wow" to talk about. talk radio therefore missed out on that with their "be something different" on those days.”
TalkRadio has talked about what other stations are talking about but it has not had much impact on caller numbers. The EU referendum result week is the most obvious example. The number of callers to BBC 5 Live and LBC dramatically increased. 5 Live spent a whole day taking calls at one point. For TalkRadio, even though they were covering the referendum, it was just another typical day.