As I write this on July 7, 2014, I am exactly 2 months from becoming irrelevant. In just 8 weeks I turn 55. I will be leaving the coveted “Persons 25-54” demographic, the age group considered key by most advertisers. Oh well, this aging Baby Boomer did have some fun in the previous 3 plus…
I was thinking about summer the other day. I love summer. Growing up in the Northeast and living most of my life there or in the Midwest, summers are very special. The short summer is special because it ends. Lasting memories can only be created when something stops, allowing one to remember with fondness. I…
I can’t say this any clearer. Ratings are your report card. Nothing else matters. Associated Press awards don’t matter. A plaque from a local charity for community service work, while nice, doesn’t matter either. Nielsen numbers are what matters. With higher ratings, come higher revenues. It’s what I call “Rule #1 – Ratings and Revenue.”…
I admit watching some of last Sunday’s World Cup game between “USA, USA, USA” and Portugal. It was more of a curiosity than me being a fan. You now, it’s like when you slow down to see the wreck on the other side of the interstate. You don’t want to look, but you do. In…
In a surprise move following their cancellation of the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Buffalo Bills’ trademark registration, following complaints the Bills’ name discriminates against those named Bob, Dan and Joe. Trademarks that discriminate against those with other names and hurt people’s feelings are not permitted under…
20 years ago, on the night of June 17, 1994, my wife Kathie was flying to meet me in Buffalo. After watching O.J. Simpson attempt his run for the border only to be met with cheering crowds on interstate overpasses and TV cameras bolted to helicopters, I sped to the airport, ran down to the…
If you’re a tail end Baby Boomer like me, someone in their early to mid 50’s, you grew up listening to Casey Kasem each weekend on “American Top 40.” The radio show was a simple and easy to understand countdown concept. At its end, Casey revealed who that week’s champion was, the top artist and…
Here we are a few short weeks from the start of NFL training camps and I came across some statistics about why your NFL team sucks. As the saying goes, “Numbers don’t lie.” What this exposes is the horrible front office management of some NFL teams and why they don’t win. In the interest of…
“Six months ago, if you’d have told me I could refinance $850 million worth of subordinated debt at 10%, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy…the demand for its debt is a sign of confidence.” There’s finance and then there’s FINANCE. There’s debt and then there’s DEBT. In this case subordinated debt. The…
God bless them. Harry Caray, Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau just rolled over in their graves. WGN Radio will no longer broadcast the Chicago Cubs. This is big. I speak from experience few people in the radio industry have. I am one of the few who has managed and programmed a station that is a…
darrylparks.com 