Bobby Bones Takes Over DC, Now Has Over 60 Stations
The reach of Clear Channel radio’s country music flagship personality was extended again this week when it was announced Bobby Bones will make his entrance into yet another major American market, shoving more local morning talent aside in favor of syndicated national radio. Clear Channel station WMZQ in Washington D.C. will now feature Bobby Bones in the mornings, bringing the amount of radio stations broadcasting his show to 60, and the estimated count of potential listeners of The Bobby Bones Show to 60 million.
Bobby Bones replaces local personality “Boxer” whose local radio show ran on WMZQ in the mornings and was beloved by many local radio listeners, not just for his on-air personality, but through his work with his non-profit, Boxer’s Kids. The Boxer show will be moved to the less-desirable midday slot. “Boxer…I’ve been listening for almost 3yrs and you are an awesome morning person…I will miss you and will not be listening to syndicates…” posted one Boxer fan on the show’s Facebook page. Another fan posted, “Just heard Boxer is moving, he and Ally wake me up and get me through my morning commute.”
Anti Bobby Bones Billboards Spring Up in Nashville
The replacement of Boxer by Bobby Bones is a narrative playing out all across the United States as the two major radio station owners of Clear Channel and Cumulus implement more nationalized programming and reduce the local color of the radio waves in the midst of a media arms race heating up in country music.
Late last month at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, a research study conducted by Edison Research found that “Country radio radio is in the fight of its life,” and that voicetracked, or non-live and non-local shows as part of radio consolidation are “essentially a disaster for the radio industry” according to Edison Research’s Larry Rosin. “It’s never been more important to play up live and local,” Edison Research’s Jane Charneski also said as part of the seminar, yet Clear Channel’s implementation of syndicated programming continues stronger than ever. Clear Channel lost $309 million in the last quarter, compared to a $191 million loss in the same quarter the year before.
March 7, 2014 @ 4:03 pm
I know a lot of people have issues, but this is capitalism, let the market decide. If he sucks, people will turn it off or switch to a local broadcast.
March 8, 2014 @ 8:48 am
Trouble is that the three “local” country broadcasts in the area are all owned by Clear Channel. Luckily, I understand WPOC in Baltimore has their morning DJ under contract until 2017 so hopefully that means she will be there for at least that long and longer, and WFRE, as a smaller market in Frederick, seems to have a bit more flexibility in what they do.
Such a disappointment to see the changes at WMZQ. I know I won’t be listening in the morning but will still tune Boxer in from time to time midday (until I get tired of the redundant play list and have to put a CD in). At least the DJ they kicked out of the midday spot is now employed at another station and didn’t totally lose her job (not sure what happened to the DJ who had the spot she’s taking in another format), but what they’re doing is just not right. If they were truly saving money by doing this, it would be one thing, but that doesn’t appear to be the case so this doesn’t make sense from either a listener point of view *or* a business point of view.
March 8, 2014 @ 10:43 am
Hard to switch to a local broadcast when there isn’t one in your town, which is becoming the case more and more every day.
March 8, 2014 @ 12:30 pm
I disagree. There’s SiriusXM, Pandora, internet radio, you can even dust off your old CDs. You don’t have to listen to radio. Trust me, I haven’t listened to it for at least 10 years.
March 8, 2014 @ 12:37 pm
But none of these things include local flavor, local news, community insight, local and regional music, especially of bands that might be playing local shows that need support. I agree Sirius XM and Pandora can offer better alternatives to radio today, but these are still national and internationally-focused programming that eliminate the local element from the listening medium. And according to Edison Research, that is the systemic problem, beyond the music itself.
March 8, 2014 @ 3:42 pm
I agree 100% with Trigger. Local (especially Independent) radio stations are the only real way to keep in touch with the tastes of their demographic.
Also, local radio has always been the proving ground for new performers who wouldn’t ever get a shot otherwise. Remember that Elvis, Buddy Holly, Lorretta Lynn and a long list of others would still be unknowns without the help of local stations and DJ’s willing to buck trends. Three cheers for the remaining local stations! Don’t sell out!
March 8, 2014 @ 11:29 pm
If you want local flavor, music news, and what not – go to your local venue and see some shows. There’s almost always local opening acts, there will be tons of adverts all over the place telling you who’s coming and when, and mingle with people at the shows that are just like you. You can read blogs, local newspaper reviews, venue websites, and talk to your neighbors. There’s plenty of venues in Kansas City where I’m at that offer season passes, where you can come and go to any show you please. The fact that Sirius, Pandora, and internet radio came into existence is because of the gross dissatisfaction of radio. I never listen to radio yet I know all about what’s going on. It ain’t hard!
March 7, 2014 @ 4:04 pm
Please stop writing stories about this piece of crap. I’ve never even heard his show, and I hate him.
March 7, 2014 @ 4:17 pm
I understand Bates if you or anyone else is tired of seeing the name of Bobby Bones. I’m tired of seeing the name of Bobby Bones. But I’m not going to not cover the important stories involving his name because this is where the culture war exists, right here, right now. Bobby Bones now arguably has more power over the term “country” than any other DJ in the history of the genre, as beloved local personalities all across the country get shoved out of their positions. It may not effect you directly, but indirectly this effects all of us. And I’m not going to be demoralized by either the belligerent moves by Clear Channel against the local flavor of country radio, or the apathy or acceptance of this trend that might exist out there. It is imperative what’s going on be reported on, dissent levied, and facts disseminated.
March 8, 2014 @ 10:45 am
Bones himself is not an issue, it’s that he represents Clear Channel and Cumulus doing everything in their power to drive out live, local radio.
March 7, 2014 @ 4:23 pm
Clear Channel has become the very definition of insanity: Do more of the same and expect a different result. The sad part is that once these mom-and-pop stations sell themselves out to Clear Channel, they have absolutely no say in what happens to their music, brand, and on-air personalities. As we’ve seen in the cell phone carrier industry, when huge corporations consolidate the competition into five or less companies, there is no going back. It’s going to take family-owned stations digging their heels in and refusing to sell out to Big Radio in order to keep local radio alive. Owning a radio station isn’t easy, but giving up control isn’t the answer.
March 7, 2014 @ 4:48 pm
Anything is better than listening to “Cash and Carry” in the morning on the days when I have to listen to the pop country 95.5 at work…
March 7, 2014 @ 5:02 pm
This is better than watching any soapie and reruns of Gunsmoke.
He’s as popular as a turd in a lunch box.
March 7, 2014 @ 5:07 pm
I am curious what the primary reason clear channel makes these decisions is? I am guessing that they have to be unhappy with the amount of listeners a segment has. It’s hard for me to imagine that a morning show that was the hottest thing in the city would be syndicated out. I know all shows have loyal followers, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily have a lot of them.
March 7, 2014 @ 5:25 pm
I think it has to do with the cost to the company. Clear Channel’s logic is: Why pay for all of these local DJs and their local studios when everything can be broadcast centrally with just one DJ for the whole country?
March 7, 2014 @ 6:01 pm
There’s only a little over 300 Million people in the United States and of that 300 Million, maybe 100 million would say they listen to or are a fan of country.
60 Million listeners my ass. 6 Million per week would still be a gross over-estimate. I’d be shocked if the real weekly total listeners even reached 3 million.
March 7, 2014 @ 6:36 pm
I’m just reporting what the radio guys say. Maybe they’re taking into consideration overall population reach of the respective radio stations instead of estimated numbers of the actual humans listening, but being located in pretty much every major market and many of the smaller ones coupled with the current popularity of country music could make his reach a lot bigger than some people think.
This website directly works with Mediabase, so they would know.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/127440/bobby-bones-coming-to-mornings-on-wmzq
BONES move to WMZQ increases his affiliate count to more than 60 stations, with a reach of over 60 million weekly listeners.
March 8, 2014 @ 6:12 am
That makes sense if 60 Million people are in range of the 60 stations he’s on.
Your article title (and the text in the first paragraph) says “60 Million Listeners” though. It seems worded a bit misleading on your end coming off the “reach” phrasing from the source you listed (no offense).
Here’s an article from September of last year that says he has a total of 2 Million weekly listeners. The article is 5 months old and mentioned he would soon be on “50” stations (10 less than now which would mean his syndication has expanded by 20% in only 5 months). The “2 Million weekly listeners” information in the article comes from a Clear Channel itself (so who knows how accurate that is):
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/09/24/bobby-bones-radio/2864239/
What exactly does “weekly listener” mean though? If someone listens to his show for 5 minutes on Monday are they counted as a weekly listener? The article you listed used the word “reach” which sounds like it should me people in reach of the stations he’s on, but there’s some gobbledygook about what “reach” is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_measurement
I’d still have to assume that in general he saves money at the cost of decreasing ratings. I’d love to see before and after weekly listener numbers on the stations he’s gone too.
March 8, 2014 @ 11:36 am
“The article is 5 months old and mentioned he would soon be on “50”³ stations (10 less than now which would mean his syndication has expanded by 20% in only 5 months). The “2 Million weekly listeners” information in the article comes from a Clear Channel itself (so who knows how accurate that is).”
I understand what you’re saying, that there is a difference between reach or potential listeners, and actual listeners, and how that can be misleading. But I would not say his syndication has only expanded by 20% since September. My guess is it has expanded somewhere between 200% to 300%. First, the all access article says that he now has “over” 60 stations, where the Clear Channel one says he will “soon” have 50. So the gain would be more than 10 markets. But more importantly is the markets the Bobby Bones Show is moving into. Most major media markets are usually 10 to 20 times bigger than your average small media market. Washington D.C. for example is the 9th largest radio media market in the United States with a reach of 4,238,100 people. That is why this was such a significant add for The Bobby Bones Show. Compare this with let’s say Topeka, KS that has a media market reach of 191,000. So it’s not necessarily just the adds of market, but what markets those adds are in.
Are there 60 million people listening to The Bobby Bones show everyday? Not at the moment, but that potential is what is used to lure in advertisers, and what the radio industry itself uses to gauge reach. That’s why All Access Media used that number. In the radio medium, it is impossible to track each individual listener, so they use potential listeners as the gauge, along with MediaBase, Nielsen ratings, etc.
All that said, I can’t emphasize enough how fast The Bobby Bones Show is growing, and what impact that might have on American culture, and country music culture. Whenever I bring his name up, there’s a contingent of people who roll their eyes as if it doesn’t matter. Just appreciate his show just turned a year old last month. 14 months ago this guy was working at the pop station in Austin being simulcast in San Antonio and a couple of other places, and that’s it. Now he’s our generation’s voice of country music. Even more scary, he’s just getting started, and is already moving into TV and other mediums.
March 9, 2014 @ 6:20 pm
Yeah I agree. Its frightening how much power hes been given in such a short amount of time (with a background of only being a pop dj)
March 7, 2014 @ 6:19 pm
its because bobby is so cool, hip, and edgy. just look at his glasses.
March 8, 2014 @ 10:38 am
I’ve been a frequent visitor of this site lately and have been reading a lot about bobby bones. I’m from the Baltimore/Washington region myself, and I thought it was quite interesting that I haven’t heard bobby on the radio yet.(not that I listen to it much, but I like to see if they’ll actually play a decent song every once in awhile….but no) And its funny that you posted this article cause sure enough I turn on the radio this morning to hear the man of the hour!!!! Oh joy!! Good thing I just purchased a hefty sum of cd’s including lucky tubb scott biram and hellbound glory. No need to hear that guy for awhile!!!
March 8, 2014 @ 3:30 pm
I’ll say it again. If you haven’t already, become a SiriusXM subscriber and listening to the great DJs on Outlaw Country, Elizabeth Cook and Mojo Nixon. Terrestrial radio is a dinosaur.
March 8, 2014 @ 4:00 pm
Stephen,
I’m an XM listener, and I love the stuff on Willy’s Roadhouse. But I would still contend that local (What you call “terrestrial”) radio shouldn’t disappear. You can’t interview a local upcoming band or singer from a satellite…
March 9, 2014 @ 7:56 pm
Where I currently live (Montgomery, AL) the local country stations have never interviewed up and coming local talent.
March 9, 2014 @ 10:41 am
I want to like Bobby’s show but the main problem with ALL of country radio is them playing less and less great country music, especially from women. Play a lot more critically acclaimed country music from the best artists they barely or don’t play (Kellie Pickler, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark, Ashton Shepherd, Sunny Sweeney, etc.) and I’ll listen every day like I used to before country radio’s playlist went downhill. We shouldn’t have to listen to anywhere near 1-3 hours of men, pop, rap and bro country to hear just 1 great female country song. Even Jake Owen, who complained about the music, has a bro single out now and Bobby said he loves it. I hate it and I like Jake’s country songs. Who told country artists they can rap and we want to hear rap on country stations? Do pop and rap fans want to hear pure country on pop and rap stations?
I recently looked at the country radio top 30 chart and here’s what I saw:
http://www.mediabase.com/mmrweb/allaboutcountry/Charts.asp?format=C1R
Top 10: 8 solo males, 2 groups with males, ZERO solo females. Terrible!
Top 20: 15 solo males, 4 groups with males (and 2 are 100% male), 1 solo female. Terrible!
Top 30: 22 solo males, 5 groups with males (and 3 are 100% male), 3 solo females. Terrible!
Except for a few Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor singles it’s always like that all year every year and seems to have gotten worse in recent years. No need to mention how bad and boring this sounds on radio (10 or more male voices/songs in a row to 1 outstanding female voice/song) and it caused me to stop listening after YEARS of daily listening.
So artists (mostly women) with great and even the best country songs are getting ignored by the main media that should be playing them (country radio) yet they are supposed to be excited about going on shows that ignore/don’t play what is most important to them and us listeners (their music)? Artists aren’t radio people getting paid to talk, they get paid to write, sing, perform and when radio plays their songs. Bobby has them sing on his show once or twice a year but we want to hear their songs on country radio FREQUENTLY, same as they play the men!
Listeners, journalists and top artists radio plays are complaining about this very unfair treatment and imbalance
http://theboot.com/kacey-musgraves-country-radio/
http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1696676/miranda-lambert-wants-more-women-in-country-music.jhtml
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2013/11/17/peter-cooper-on-music-country-musics-new-rules/
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/5892801/carrie-underwood-women-in-country-music-fairness-kellie-pickler
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/247609041.html
““At some point, like all cycles, people will get sick of it,” Swedberg said.”
I got sick of it over a year ago. The best thing Clear Channel (Bobby Bones Show, After Midnite and all of the other country shows and stations they own) and ALL of country radio can do to win country fans (especially female country artists and their fans) over is to play more women releasing the best country music a LOT more. Country fans are paying money to avoid bad music and playlists.
March 9, 2014 @ 6:17 pm
Im playing devils advocate here but Kelli Pickler was actually a guest on the Bobby Bones show last week and Maggie Rose was on not so long ago. Clear Channel wont play a Kelli or Maggie song but at least he let them on his show.
March 9, 2014 @ 7:39 pm
Yeah like all of radio he has many guest artists. At least they went on his show even though radio doesn’t play their music but once in a blue moon, which really sucks since it’s the best. Maybe that’s the message Kacey sent here:
“I am a songwriter and a musician. That”™s what I”™ve been passionate about my entire life and it”™s really sad that the focus got taken away from that. Above all- I”™m human. Not a robot. I don”™t stroke egos and that doesn”™t make me a “shit head.” When you hear the music that means so much to me to make, that”™s all that should matter.”
March 10, 2014 @ 5:25 am
“At some point, like all cycles, people will get sick of it,” Swedberg said.”
I agree.
Remember Disco? It lasted about 8 or 9 years. I believe this current country crapola will eventually go away, too…so hold on. But look for it to come back around again in 20 or 30 years on “oldies” stations (If there are still any left by then.) Can you imagine Jason Aldean on an oldies or “Classic Country” station? That would be a laugh.
March 10, 2014 @ 6:48 am
My area (southeastern Massachusetts/northern Rhode Island) has two country stations (WKLB 102.5 FM in Boston and WCTK 98.1 in Providence). Neither is owned by Clear Channel or Cumulus, which is a good thing in theory. I say in theory because while they do promote local businesses/venues, they do nothing to promote local country artists. Granted this is New England, so there aren’t many TO promote, but still. And they play the same Top 40 country crap over and over that every other station plays. WKLB used to have an HD station that played classic country, but once the HD radio fad played out that went away. So while local radio at least saves me from having to listen to Bobby Bones, it does nothing for letting me listen to much in the way of good country music. I have to turn to the internet for that.
June 18, 2014 @ 7:32 am
Good news! Bobby Bones is going to have his show broadcast on our new country station in Boston 101.7FM. Just what we need here… more top 40 country crap AND Bobby Bones. I can’t wait.
I honestly don’t listen to WKLB much either but it will be interesting to see what this direct competition does to their successful morning show.
March 10, 2014 @ 8:16 am
I am glad that I am not subjected to this in Canada, sure we have syndicated radio, but our syndicated radio has a decent amount of new Canadian talent, so that can be sort of refreshing. I don’t care to ever listen to Bobby Bones, look at his Bio on his website. He only lists two Country artists when he says what his favorite music is.
March 10, 2014 @ 8:36 am
I can guarantee he will be in Canada soon.
March 10, 2014 @ 8:53 am
and I would not doubt that for a bit. It’s a good thing I don’t listen to radio much anymore. All we can hope for is that it stays away as long as possible.
March 11, 2014 @ 6:55 pm
TRIGGER is obviously a fucking HATER, JEALOUS, BACK WOODS – REDNECK. Get over it dude. your whining and bitching is getting old.
Grow a DICK and GET A LIFE
March 12, 2014 @ 11:04 pm
Bobby Bones, please get off the computer!
March 11, 2014 @ 7:04 pm
Ya’ll make sure you donate to TRIGGERS “Saving Country Music”
Country Music was in a free fall until “The Bobby Bones Show” came into town, sales are up, Moral is up, But Poor LIL Trigger, he just can’t comprehend new ideas. Just the thought gives him the shits.
Poor ole Lil Trigger. He has been psyched into believing that “the great Bobby Bones Show” is going to steal away his thunder. SMH
Guys with small dicks usually have this problem. Everyone, can we please tell LIL TRIGGER how much we love him. He needs our support.
Also lord, please forgive the non-educated, fearful, and mindless acts of LIL TRIGGER.. For he doesn’t know any better.
Allow us to heal him. We pray for him, in your name, AMEN.
March 12, 2014 @ 6:43 am
Oh boy! Here come the fangurls!!
March 13, 2014 @ 5:32 am
All I can say is that WMZQ has now lost a loyal listener. I have tried to listen to Bobby Bones the last few days, and it was unbearable. They suck — just completely horrible. They have no charisma at all. The whole show is totally bland with no uniqueness to it. I have never heard such a boring combination of people on a radio show before. I am sure that I am not the only one that feels this way. No longer will I be tuning in to WMZQ. From here on out, I will be listening to Lori in the mornings on WPOC (not as good as Boxer and Ally, but much better than the alternative right now). Thanks for NOTHING Clear Channel. I think you will soon regret this decision when you come to realize that nobody in the DC area is tuning in during the early morning hours. You suck ass!!
March 13, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
I read here often but don’t feel the need to comment, I like an objectified view point to some things I like and also like to read things I agree with (country rap, yuck). I live in the DC area and here was my message to the station after I heard of this change. I was livid to say the least.
——–
WMZQ has been going downhill for some time now. Bobby Bones is shit. Plain and simple. He’s the guy who enjoys country rap and electronic music over anything that remotely resembles an actual country song. I will never listen to WMZQ in the morning, hell, I’m done for good. 104.7, 102.5, 99.9, 93.3, 93.1 all are better choices in the DMV area. You guys in upper management are a bunch of retards if you don’t identify this outrage the switch has caused. It’s all talk and no music. To add to the misery of that, it’s an outsourced talk show so you won’t even hear local stories and events – that’s fucking bullshit. Go listen to DC 101 if you want to hear someone talk all morning, at least it’s local. Or switch your country station. WMZQ is going to crash and burn with the way things are handled now. Michael J likes the sounds of his own voice a little too much also. The same songs over and over. Even on Commercial Free Tuesday there’s little to no variety. God damn idiots.
March 13, 2014 @ 3:45 pm
I live in the DC area as well. My wife listens to WMZQ and also WFLS out of Fredericksburg. I asked her about Boxer and she wasn’t all that crazy about him and that he was a bit of a morning zoo type of personality. Well, it’s only going to get worse. She likes Jessica Cash on WFLS a lot. We’re south of DC and about 40 miles north of Fredericksburg. Not sure how far up north WFLS reaches.
April 8, 2014 @ 6:40 am
I want BOXER and my music back in the morning. GO back where you came from or play something. I don’t turn on my radio to hear people blabber about random Cr**. You have taken over the only country station in this area. GO BACK HOME!
June 18, 2014 @ 7:28 am
I’m sad to say Bobby Bones is now coming to Boston as well. We already have a country station with a local morning show, but it’s not a clear channel station so he won’t be replacing it.. just offering direct competition. Seem’s odd.. Boston is a small city and as far as I can tell this new station is playing the exact same top 40 country as our existing station. More top 40 crap AND Bobby Bones. Sigh.
August 4, 2014 @ 10:41 am
Going back and reading a lot of old posts on this site. Great stuff. I’m a DC area resident and the switch to Bobby Bones has been awful. It took me a while just to get used to Boxer when he first started, but he comes across as a good guy and he is invested in the local community. The Bobby Bones show is completely awful. As soon as I heard even the ridicules “bumper” that introduces him I had to change the station. Needless to say, I do not listen to WMZQ anymore. I simply can’t.