And so it goes. Just one week after Clear Channel radio booted virtually all live talent from sports talker WDFN (The Fan) in favor of syndicated Fox Sports Radio, Detroit’s Greater Media is sending WMGC (Magic) Afternoon Drive host Jim Paolucci to Nights in favor of Ryan Seacrest’s nationally syndicated program. John Tesh’s syndicated evening show will be leaving the station entirely.
The move is a curious one considering Seacrest’s largely teen appeal and Top 40 musical leanings. The last time I checked, WMGC was an Adult Contemporary station looking to attract post-teeny bopper women.
Could this be a response by Magic programmers to the new Personal People Meter ratings/monitoring system? In the first PPM book in Detroit, Hot Hit Channel 9-5-5 did surprisingly well in the 25-54 demographic. With many women picking up their kids from school and shuttling them around in the 3p-7p timeframes, is it a stretch to fathom that they might be turning the radio to the station(s) their kids want to listen to?
We’ll be watching—and listening.