You Asked For It, You Got It: The Monthly "Ticket Rules!" Ratings

• Wow! The FAN is in the tank! I think they need to bring in Jim Rome from 11-2. Then from 2-5, The 2 Live Stews.

• I couldn't believe Norm got those kind of ratings until I turned over to see what his competition was. Norm may be 2 minutes of sports talk, followed by 5 minutes of shilling for anything and everything that gets put in front of him and then 15 minutes of commercials, but that crap on the Fan is just "fan reaction" after "instant feedback" after stupid topic and so on. And I used to think K-Scott had something but man was I on drugs as bad as Greggo. He's got a big giant bag! I mean P-U! And he's still better than his retarded host and that Ben and Skin abortion. Those 2 jokers have actually gotten worse and I didn't think that was possible.

• I think I listened to the Skip Bayless endless loop promotional tape for the launch of the ticket more than I have listened to the Fan since it has been on the air. We are already choked to death with generic sports talk. I am trying to figure out how I can get it off overnights on the ticket for those times I am driving around late at night, early in the morning. I think the Fan and ESPN appeal to the hardcore sports geek, but that is only a tiny part of the sporting audience. Very few people want to only live and breath sports. There are times when I want to live and breath sports, and funny enough the Ticket usually picks up on that.... But a lot of the time, I don't care about last night's freaking rangers game, or running down the bullpen of the Orioles versus the bullpen of the A's. The Ticket gets ratings because they are entertaining. When ESPN and The Fan become entertaining they will get more listeners. It is so funny how non-nonchalantly the Cowboys left the ticket. It was like a non-event. Run of the mill sports stations would have been freaking out and trying to figure out how to fill the void, and instead with the Ticket, it is actually good, as it is more Ticket less Cowboys. You can still get your fill of the Cowboys when you want, but you still have a choice when you don't.

• I am a proud P1 from Day 1. But with that said, 1) Why can't they get a noon to 3 shift that is worth a damn? 2) Will the FAN offer Gordo a big raise so I don't have to listen how nobody is as funny or musically inclined as he is? 3) Does Danny like any mucisician that actually gets radio play? 4) Jub and Jr are GREAT! 5) Norm is GREAT! 6) BAD SUCKS! 7) Can Bob ever ask a guest a question without trying to show that he knows the answer during the question? What a friggin ego that guy has. ASK THE DAMN QUESTION AND LET THE GUEST ANSWER! We already know that you know everything. (sorry that fires me up) 8) Ryhner and Corby are great! Less Danny. 9) More Elf and WAY LESS orphans on the weekends.

• @Kije I know you agree with me but I think he was attacking me not you. Evidently the radio industry is loosing so much money that Cumulus Media has said between now and June 30 all employees must take a 5 day unpaid vacation.

• @bobo Thanks for the personal attacks it reveals your character or age. I was wrong about what? That BaDD Radio works harder than The Mike & Gang Show and is better. Cumulus would shit their pants if BaDD Radio were on another sports station at 3 to 7. BaDD Radio has lower rating where they are because they're not on during drive time. The Mike and Gang Show probably didn't want to leave The Ticket because they knew if they did they would have been stomped by BaDD Radio.If Cumulus keeps loosing money at the rate they are now they'll go bankrupt. In other markets Cumulus is making on air personalities take unpaid week vacation.

• investor, you have proven to be a moron. admit it. thanks for the link dude. admit it, the hardline is better. if not in your eyes, everyone else thinks so. so suck on it for a while and just accept it. you are an idiot.

• @Investor You can see the hourly breakdown of Bad Radio and Hardline here. http://tinyurl.com/ticketratings

• Were Corby and Danny at The Ticket when the Greg and Mike became The Hardline? No, you can thank Terrence Trent Darby for that name. You can owe some of that rating hike to BaDD Radio going 30 minutes over their normal show hours every day. I wonder what their rating are from 4 to 7.

• I like pie. (What? That comment matters about as much as the rest of the drivel on this post!)

• investor----- it doesnt exist??? you do realize their ratings have gone up? what do we owe that to? i would say because the hammer sucked for the last 3 years and its good riddance.

• The Hardline no longer exist since Greggo left. It's like The Temptations without some of the original singers.

• @BeefSupreme Amen to that. Remember when the HL used to be funny?

• Ben and Skin have great chemistry and their show has some really nice segments, but I don't think the Hardline will suffer a noticable drop in #'s until A. The Cowboys next season starts up on the Fan and people who listen to games on the radio grow familiar with the programming B. Bob and Dan move stations and compete directly w/ the HL for afternoon drive supremecy I mean come on, if having to listen to Corby for 4 hours a day hasn't driven away loyal ticket listeners, what really will?

• The 4-7 ratings SHOCK me. Ben and Skin are the best afternoon drive show in the Dallas market, period. They're informative, funny and have the best grasp on all issues.

• "Most of your wives are probably thinking of the dude from Twilight while you are bangin' them." - Kidneyboy that, my friend, is pure genius.

• @scott: no shit. if i just wanted comments i'd just write "i love/hate the ticket" on a daily basis. but, alas, i seek more outta life.

• @scott: May sweeps have started so I smell a Russ Martin post coming so Richie will get lots of comments. Posts about Russ always seem to be popular. Speaking of Russ, he posted some interesting stuff on his twitter, http://twitter.com/RussMartinShow. He mentioned something about going to LA a couple of days ago and today he mentioned he may have a show by June.

• Here are "Sportatorium Ratings" that I will begin to post each month. No 1. - Tickets Ratings Post = 38 comments No 2. - Mavs/Spurs = 16 comments No 3. - Cowboys Draft = 10 comments No 4. - Dallas Desire = 4 comments

• @Wonder: Cool. The more the merrier I say.

• @busterbrown "remember when everyone bagged on corby and said he could never ever ever fill in for greggo? well, somebody needs to eat some crow. its been 18 months and they still are kicking ass month after month. he is solid. the best thing on that show sports wise and funny wise. kudos to him and the show, and the station for that matter. its a good one. " Richie - did you know Corby's Mom read's your blog?

• So Russ Martin is getting paid $900K a year for two more years to sit home and watch TV, while his sucessors pull a 1.6 in the afternoon? Genius.

• remember when everyone bagged on corby and said he could never ever ever fill in for greggo? well, somebody needs to eat some crow. its been 18 months and they still are kicking ass month after month. he is solid. the best thing on that show sports wise and funny wise. kudos to him and the show, and the station for that matter. its a good one. michael irvin by the way wont make it to christmas in dallas, he is a joke.

• Sports content on a sports station matters? Then maybe you oughtto clue in Ben and Skin. Last 3 times this week that I tuned in (small sample size, I admit)they weren't talking sports. And no, it wasn't the same time every day. YOU may talk sports on your show Richie, (I wouldn't know, when I heard your "Plus 1" on the Ticket certainly didn't give me any reason to WANT to listen to you solo)but it's noticeable on B&S that they're mixing in much guy talk. Which makes your 'sports content matter' kinda hypocritical, no? Or does it just matter when it's the Ticket not talking sports, but doesn't matter when it's Ben and Skin discussing the 10 hottest girls on TV?

• @rooster "Que each host doing an entire segment of: "They-said-the-little-Ticket-was-going-to-die-but-we're-still-here-and-the-new-stations-suck" in 5..4..3..2..1.. I've heard each host do this so many times, I think I could go on the radio and do it for them. I'm a huge ticket fan, but even I'M tired of listening to them say it." I do like the Ticket but AMEN to this point!!!!!!

• I guess I was right when I said this post would get more hits than the Mavs Spurs post. It got just a few more.

• Que each host doing an entire segment of: "They-said-the-little-Ticket-was-going-to-die-but-we're-still-here-and-the-new-stations-suck" in 5..4..3..2..1.. I've heard each host do this so many times, I think I could go on the radio and do it for them. I'm a huge ticket fan, but even I'M tired of listening to them say it. I wish they'd all just give it a rest and do what they do best. They're starting to sound just like..... ....the other talk show hosts who were bashing THEM 16 years ago.

• @Kidneyboy: well said.

• Whatever arouses our passions will send us scampering to defend that which makes up part of our identities. mk2700 seems to hate Ticket-defending blog commentors, even though commenting on this blog to bitch seems a tad hypocritical. Most of your wives are probably thinking of the dude from Twilight while you are bangin' them. A few of us will gladly get a tat or paint our entire bodies to support the Cowboys. Some of us love the Ticket (it's still one of the best inside-joke-filled treehouses to join in the Metroplex) so much that we'll whine to Richie about his ratings update. Such are our passions. Richie's not a traitor, he took an opportunity to talk some sports on the weekends somewhere.

• @Truth: okay, i'll play along. go ahead, ask me what i do for a living. @mk2700: now, now. don't come in here with wild-ass, spot-on theories like that. before you know it you'll be hitting way too close to home.

• So many Ticket tools. If any radio station means that much to you in your life, you're a fucking dork. Root for sports teams, not sports stations.

• This entire article makes Richie Whitt look like the biggest unprofessional douche in all of journalism. You shouldn't even be allowed to call yourself a journalist. From now on, when people ask what you do for a living, tell them you whine about a station with better ratings which you could never work for. Get over yourself, jackass!

• @washhater: You'll get ads for strip clubs on the Ticket's Internet feed at any hour of the day.

• @defeat plaza: thanks for the input. but the day i let you set the sportatorium menu is the day the sportatorium dies. but, by all means, keep trying. i find you amusing. @doug: a-men. you know if i would've posted mavs-spurs first there would be much screaming for ratings. god love 'em. @Anonymous: a bitch? me? que? @Russ Martin's Elf: bingo! i know for a fact that russ got a hefty raise in early april on a contract paying him to sit down and shut up. bastard. @Derek/radiojunkie: sorry to poop on your party, but in no way does it "kill" me. as always, i'm happy for those guys, some of whom are my friends. i understand you want me to be bitter and bitchy and suicidal, but nope.

• @Greggo Tim comes on after 5pm. I'll usually listen to The Fan at that time if there's a big sports story breaking. I usually listen to Big Dick Hunter. Three to 7 is the only time I don't listen to The Ticket.

• @Not A Fan - My understanding is the ratings are virtually irrelevant compared to the advertising opportunities. While Russ may have gotten higher raw numbers, the advertisers willing to tie themselves to the show were more limited than advertisers willing to hook up with a station whose focus is seen as more broad. In shorter terms, there's a reason Russ had ads for strip clubs and New Fine Arts, but the Ticket doesn't run such ads until at least after 10pm, and now, neither does The Fan. Since advertisers, not listeners, actually pay the bills, we all lost what used to be a good and unique station.

• It's not that sports content doesn't matter on a sports station Richie, it's simply that nothing but sports talk gets really really old, and The Fan, which I like listening to so far, has a lot of work to do in getting its shows smoother.

• And what was Russ pulling in for afternoon drive? Something like 11.0 if memory serves me correctly. Kudos Gavin... you douche!

• It must KILL Richie to print these numbers! Didn't he just write a "The Ticket is Dying" article, talking about all of the "cracks in the foundation of the station", etc? Like a do-over?

• the uncovered story in here: the show with the most hype, the biggest star, a lot of $alary, the highest profile, the best backing and seemingly the most fans is the one show on espn that cant even beat the silly little The Fan. Michael Irvin can't beat the fan!!??

• @ Investor: Shows how much I listen...actually Ranger baseball is the only time I listen.

• It's not that The Fan and ESPN sucks, it's just that nobody listens to them. It's not that interest in them is waning, their fanbase has just become more selective. Richie..."Jonestown Coliseum" sounds really creepy. And who gives a damn about Mavs-Spurs when whatever team wins is going to have their asses handed to them on a silver platter the next series.

• Damn Richie, bitter much?

• This post will get more hits than the Mavs Spurs post by the end of the day. Colishaw has been on that show since a few days after The Fan was launched.

• Hehehehe this news makes me giggle. BTW I doubt any one cares but, Russ Martin was given a pay raise on April 1. No radio for him for a long while.

• you are turning into a real bitch richie

• Now that The Fan has added Tim Cowlishaw to the mix, Ben & Skin should probably be able to see the writing on the wall...their show sucks balls, and management is doing anything and everything they can to bring some form of legitimacy (and listeners) to that station. And honestly, how long did it take The Fan to go from "serious sports" to mixing in "dick and fart jokes"? One ratings book? Two? I hate to agree with Rhyner, but when he says "We can do what you do, but you can't do what we do..." He's right.

• You guys are ridiculous. Give the man a few hours to write something worth reading. Just because he posted this first doesn't mean he finds it more important. Plus I get the feeling he doesn't even like posting this, he just does it because so many people ask for it.

• When The Fan can provide me with 45 minutes of gold by having "24" alum Glenn Morshower in studio talking "Dukes of Hazard," I might give them a shot. Until then, Dr.'s Moran and Gruber have me hooked up to a "Meow, meow." i.v.

• Richie- Here's piece of breaking news - the Mavs trounced the Spurs last night in the NBA playoffs. A good sports blog might actually allude to this. You're welcome.

• Although ratings are still up, has anyone else found it odd that one of the teams playing in the Ticket Great Game, doesn't have a sponsor? Numbers are up there, but there is constant complaining about the Hardline these days.

• I actually like Ben and Skin, but when they left The Ticket, they're on their own. Richie, after last night's domination by the Mavs, what is your gut on the remainder of the series? I don't trust them yet, but they did look good.

• I have carpal tunnel syndrome, I guess I'm the odd man out.

• I would still like to see what BADD Radio would do head to head with The Mike and Gang show. I wonder whose ratings would be better if BADD Radio's show stopped at 3 p.m.

• I think it's hillarious that the Fan built the entire format around Ben and Skin and they have the worst ratings. They sucked as fill in hosts on the Ticket and they suck now. They only thing they deserve, if anything, is that 2 hour Saturday show they used to have.

• yeah, yeah...that's great. too bad there's not a sports story to talk about. even the smallest nugget to discuss. it seems like there was some small event that took place last night, but i can't remember. oh well, it would pale in comparison to sports radio monthly ratings anyway.

• How many stations target that demographic? 25th out of how many? Also, just out of curiousity, who was last?

TotalComments: 57