GREAT DAYS AT WBUR: “ON POINT” IS ON THE WAY UP & ‘BUR IS PULLING AWAY FROM WGBH • PROOF: HD STATIONS HAVE FEW LISTENERS

Meghna Chakrabarti and David Folkenflik

(Liz Linder for WBUR)

WBUR, Boston, is a news machine. 

The station has become a bigger and bigger factor in New England and its nationally distributed programs are popular with stations and listeners nationwide.

In the Nielsen PPM ratings, WBUR has put distance been itself and competitor WGBH (scroll down to see more). And, the weekday news/talk program On Point is now getting traction.

 

On Point [link] has been around for a while but has had difficulty getting carriage on major market NPR News/Talk stations. Former host Tom Ashbrook was well known in Boston but didn’t click elsewhere. The new On Point hosts, Meghna Chakrabarti and David Folkenflik, sound like what people expect to hear on NPR.

We examined the carriage list for On Point on the WBUR website [link].  By our count, the program is on approximately 280 stations, including repeaters and HD channels – around 120 primary stations. Most of On Point stations are located in small or medium size markets.

In the Top 20 Nielsen markets, On Point is on the air in fewer than half of them. It is not on in markets that matter such as Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco. Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and Phoenix. In New York, Seattle and Denver, On Point airs on secondary outlets. But, look for this to change.

On Point is now a more urgent and timely news program. It is is live on WBUR (and many other stations) weekdays from 10am to Noon in the Eastern time zone. 

Stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones have schedule difficulties airing On Point live.

This review is based on shows that were broadcast on Thursday 10/25 and Friday 10/26.

• DAVID FOLKENFLIK: Week In The News: Suspicious Packages, Midterm Debates, Saudi Statements

David Folkenflik

One of the biggest differences between Folkenflik and previous host Ashbrook is the new focus on hard news. 

When Ashbrook hosted the program, topics tended to be more nuanced – some seemed more about Ashbrook himself. Folkenflik doesn’t get in the way of the topic.

The first thing we noticed about On Point with Folkenflik is the rapid pace of the program. Not only does Folkenflik speak briskly, the transitions are swift and tight. Put it this way, we are a long way from Bob Edwards.

Folkenflik’s quick delivery is not a negative.  His words are enunciated clearly and his style lets his personality shines\ through. In some ways, the quick pace makes what he is talking about seem more urgent. Folkenflik sounds a bit like Ira Glass’ younger brother.

We were surprised by how many callers appeared during the hour we heard – there were at least eight. On Point has terrific call-screeners because callers that made it on air were concise and on phones with decent audio quality. The host and board op deftly handled one problem caller.

Specific topics in this “week in review” edition never got stale. The panelists had just the right amount of time. Our only criticism was Folkenflik’s voice appeared so often that fatigue began to set in later in the hour.

Also, we have one quick question: Has a bit of reverb been added to Folkenflik’s voice. This is not a problem but we are curious.

• MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: Former Sen. Bob Graham Says U.S. Should Not 'Ignore' Saudi Role In Khashoggi's Death

Meghna Chakrabart

We had not heard Meghna Chakrabarti’s work prior to hearing this hour. We are impressed. Her pace is slightly slower than Folkenflik’s but the program never lags. Chakrabarti uses a wide pitch range of her voice. This makes her sound conversational and comfortable. Her articulation is perfect.

Chakrabarti refers to herself in first-person but this never gets in the way of the story. Her questions, and former Senator Graham’s replies, were succinct and relevant. Chakrabarti has a wonderful way of getting Graham be a storyteller.

One of the things we like the most about Chakrabarti is her ability to inject emotion into her questions. She expresses a wonderful sense or awe and curiosity that is seldom heard in other news interviewers.

Overall, On Point is a splendid news/talk program that should be welcome on any NPR member station. We give On Point an “A.” 

BOSTON & HOUSTON SUMMER QUARTER PPM TRENDS

In the Summer 2018 Boston Nielsen Audio ratings WBUR broke out of the near tie with WGBH that they have had recently. WBUR’s 1.3% AQH Share gain, compared to Summer 2017, is a big-time change that must have raised eyebrows over commercial WBZ.

When the estimated number of weekly listeners is flat but the AQH Share rises abruptly it is a sign that people are spending more time with a station than they were before. In this case, that may be to the expense of WGBH.

Meanwhile in Houston, two of KUHF’s HD channels appeared in the Summer 2018 “book.” 

Classical music KUHF-HD2 has appeared in the PPM ratings in past quarters but the number of estimated weekly listeners lags way below KUHA-FM, KUHF's Classical station before it was sold.

Three years ago, KUHA typically had 100,000 to 145,000 weekly listeners. 

The facts are that there has never been an HD channel anywhere that has reached that number people without simulcasting on a FM translator.

KUHF’s HD3 channels airs WXPN’s XPoNential Radio 24/7 Triple A program service.