Bob & Tom vs. Lex & Terry

Reader feedback is always welcomed here. If you have any e-mails to send to the Radio Hot Talk mailbag, shoot them my way at LouPickney@hotmail.com.

thanks
nick capps
augusta georgia

Lou: Roughly speaking, Lex & Terry have about 1/8 the number of markets that Bob & Tom have. Much has been made about Howard Stern's defection to Sirius satellite radio potentially helping one or both shows, but I doubt that the impact there will be beyond minimal. It made little difference when Stern was dropped from six Clear Channel-owned stations in February.

Bob & Tom have an advantage of being syndicated by Premiere, which is a tremendous company. Lex & Terry's affiliate sales team is strong as well, but they lack the support from Cox Syndication needed to give them any sort of viable push. Speculation is strong that L&T will jump ship from Cox to Clear Channel once their contract with Cox ends next year. And could you blame them? Rumor has it that Cox has blocked some opportunities for Lex & Terry to expand to new markets because they would be competing with Cox stations, most notably 96 Rock in Atlanta (where Bob & Tom ended up).

Both shows reinvented themselves to a degree after the FCC crackdown of early 2004, and both have continued successfully as a result. With fewer players in the syndication game, in theory that should provide more opportunities. Bob & Tom is what I consider more of a canned show. That is to say, it's very scripted, the laughs come at pre-determined times, and things follow a tight pattern. With Lex & Terry, there is much more spontaneous activity, and the show is much more phone-intensive than B&T.

From an expansion perspective, just when you think Bob & Tom have maxed out, they surprise you by finding even more small market stations to call their own. Lex & Terry have done that to a degree as well, and they've managed to corner most of Florida (though Bob & Tom have conquered their fair share of the Sunshine State as well).

For Lex & Terry to have Bob & Tom type growth, they'll need to lock on with a distributor (not Cox) who is going to provide them with the push they need. The Premiere/Clear Channel connection helped Bob & Tom, and the Cox syndication/ownership connection should have helped Lex & Terry, but for some reason the company has not supported the show the way it should have. In addition, L&T will need to have some success stories in large markets outside of Jacksonville. I know that in Tampa they are struggling (though every male-based morning show is struggling here -- when you're accustomed to Bubba The Love Sponge, it's difficult to latch on to a new show), though to be fair until very recently Cox gave them zero promotion here. But Miami and Louisville would be good places for Lex & Terry to pull some strong numbers with their post-crackdown format. If they can do that, perhaps they'll be able to convert some other stations. The potential marriage with Citadel is intriguing, though Citadel seems to love putting Bob & Tom on its rock-based stations.

One other thing that gives Bob & Tom an advantage is that it's a bit more flexible as far as formats go. It can fit on classic hits or even oldies stations, whereas Lex & Terry really needs either a Hot Talk or a rock-based station to fit well. In the past, Bob & Tom have even aired on a country station (Nashville) and currently air on an Adult Contemporary station in Pikeville, KY (don't ask me to explain that one).

But L&T are doing fine with what they have. I can tell you from first-hand experience that affiliate expansion is a VERY difficult thing to do. You live and die by the Arbitrons, you come ever so close to deals with stations only for things not to work out, etc. But if L&T can bring the proof in the ratings department to the table, they may find future expansion opportunities out there. 150 might be a bit crazy to shoot for, but I'm sure there's a happy medium in there somewhere for them.

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