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On the Radio: 'KTU's Michael Jackson weekend a ratings thriller
BY David Hinckley
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 22nd 2009, 4:00 AM
The night Michael Jackson died, WKTU (103.5 FM) program director Rob Miller heard the calls coming in and saw the messages on the Web site and decided to go for it.
"Originally, to be honest, we just intended to play his music through midnight," says Miller. "But when we saw the response, we decided to extend it all weekend.
"It was one of those decisions where we'd win big or take a loss. There wasn't going to be an in-between."
There wasn't. There was a big W. At some point during the seven days that included that weekend, Arbitron calculates that 6.43 million people tuned into WKTU.
That's about 1.3 million more than in an average week, and it's the highest weekly total recorded here since WLTW scored 6.6 million during the 2007 holiday season.
Other stations played Jackson heavily as well that weekend, including WRKS (98.7 FM) and WBLS (107.5 FM), and they also scored jumps in listenership.
Miller suggests that's something all radio can be proud of.
"People came to radio for the positive side of Michael," he says. "What you saw on TV was a little more cynical, I think."
He also says the success of the 'KTU weekend "shows how radio can react instantly to a major event" - a point particularly salient because WKTU is owned by Clear Channel, one of the big corporations that has been accused of making radio more robotic.
And then there was Jackson's legacy.
"Michael's music lasts," says Miller. "I hear 'Beat It' or 'Billie Jean' and it takes me back to sixth grade and kids break-dancing on cardboard on the playground. And the music sounds just as good now. His early records still sound amazing, too. He made it to be timeless, and it is."
BY David Hinckley
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 22nd 2009, 4:00 AM
The night Michael Jackson died, WKTU (103.5 FM) program director Rob Miller heard the calls coming in and saw the messages on the Web site and decided to go for it.
"Originally, to be honest, we just intended to play his music through midnight," says Miller. "But when we saw the response, we decided to extend it all weekend.
"It was one of those decisions where we'd win big or take a loss. There wasn't going to be an in-between."
There wasn't. There was a big W. At some point during the seven days that included that weekend, Arbitron calculates that 6.43 million people tuned into WKTU.
That's about 1.3 million more than in an average week, and it's the highest weekly total recorded here since WLTW scored 6.6 million during the 2007 holiday season.
Other stations played Jackson heavily as well that weekend, including WRKS (98.7 FM) and WBLS (107.5 FM), and they also scored jumps in listenership.
Miller suggests that's something all radio can be proud of.
"People came to radio for the positive side of Michael," he says. "What you saw on TV was a little more cynical, I think."
He also says the success of the 'KTU weekend "shows how radio can react instantly to a major event" - a point particularly salient because WKTU is owned by Clear Channel, one of the big corporations that has been accused of making radio more robotic.
And then there was Jackson's legacy.
"Michael's music lasts," says Miller. "I hear 'Beat It' or 'Billie Jean' and it takes me back to sixth grade and kids break-dancing on cardboard on the playground. And the music sounds just as good now. His early records still sound amazing, too. He made it to be timeless, and it is."