Dr. Demento show to end

[MEF]

I just found out from KOZT-FM in California. It was announced just before the start of Dr. Demento on KOZT.

Dr. Demento will end its terrestrial radio run. The final weekend of Dr. Demento will air on June 5-6, 2010. After 40 years the good doctor is hanging up on his show.

Its been rough trying to find a station to listen to his show. Dr. Demento was being heard on fewer and fewer stations. Dr. Demento would not allow radio stations to webcast his show the last few years. Just recently WLUP in Chicago, a long time Dr. Demento station, drop the show after the May 9, 2010 airing.

I don't know if Dr. Demento will have web only shows on his website. I also don't know if reruns of Dr. Demento will air on the radio. There is nothing about this on the Dr. Demento website. Of course, KOZT FM was told by Dr. Demento on Friday, 5/21.

I discovered Dr. Demento from my college days from the late 1980s. I used listen to him on Rock 103 WIQB. WIQB dropped Dr. Demento in 1996 when WIQB was sold to corporate owners. (Its a country station now.)

Even though Dr. Demento is leaving the radio, "Don't forget to stay Deeeeemented!"

[JasonWQMA]

They were so backwards on their business model. Asking stations to pay for programming... telling stations not to stream the show (and actively inforcing it)... making fans pay to listen to each show at the website.

Chased away stations. Chased away fans. And the biggest one, made it IMPOSSIBLE for any new fan to discover the show. No one thats never heard the show is going to pay $2 to listen to it.

[mrjukebox]

Someone has been misinformed-I went to the article on Wikipedia about Dr.Demento & it mentioned nothing about the show being cancelled-Besides,Dr.D will be celebrating his 40th anniversary in radio this fall.

[MEF]

I checked in with KOZT FM on 5/31. They had more information about Dr. Demento's radio show.

Dr. Demento will still end its terrestrial radio run after the weekend of June 5-6, 2010. Dr. Demento radio show will continue but only on his website. The board operater was not happy about this decision, but they have no control. KOZT said to enjoy the final 2 shows.

Thus, if anyone wants to listen to Dr. Demento after the June 5-6 weekend, you will have to pay for it.

Of course, KOZT went silent on their online stream, since they can only air Dr. Demento on its radio signal.

I know Dr. Demento's website has no mention of his radio show going off the air on terrestrial radio. Premiere Radio Networks had nothing on their website when it was announced AT10 and AT20 were ending on 7/4/09, last year.

[MEF]

Dr. Demento now confirms his show is ending on the radio except for KACV FM. His is the official announcement from his website.

June 6, 2010
A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT...
This weekend, the Dr. Demento Show will have its final broadcast on KIYU, KLOO, WLVQ (QFM96), WRKH (The Rocket) and KOZT (The Coast).

This was a very painful decision for the Doctor...he really hates to let it go after almost 40 years...but he has come to agree with his manager and his family that it's necessary. The broadcast has been losing money for some time.

THE GOOD NEWS -- Dr. Demento intends to continue producing new shows every week for www.drdemento.com for the foreseeable future. A new one will be available Saturday morning, June 12, and more new shows will be posted every Saturday thereafter.

Also...if you live in or around Amarillo, TX, you're in luck...by special agreement and due to contractual considerations, a version of the internet show will be heard weekly on KACV-FM there, at least through the summer.

The Doctor wishes to express his grateful appreciation to everyone who's been listening in Alaska, Oregon, Ohio, Alabama and California, and hopes all of you will give the www.drdemento.com broadcast a try.

Stay deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemented!

[JasonWQMA]

From my prior discussions with their company, they seemed to regard radio stations as the enemy. They seem to have the opinion that by having stations play the program, they are losing out on revenue from people that would be buying a subscription and hearing it straight from them on the web. It's very odd. They are failing to take into consideration all of the promotion that radio stations provide. Hardly anyone is going to hear these new web-only shows.

I could tell that their business model demanding that stations not stream the show wasn't going to work. That dropped their affiliate list quickly down to only a half dozen or so stations. When the Doctor celebrated his 30th anniversary just 10 years ago, the show was still on over 100 stations. I think mismanagement of the show is more to blame than anything else for the steep drop here despite some articles I've read this week blaming the radio industry or lack of novelty records on the radio. Just my opinion.

[40fan]

It's been about a year and a half since I last heard The Doctor. TK99 in Syracuse did not want to abide by Talonian's "Do Not Stream" order and that was that! I am sad that it's finally come to this. Radio has lost a truly unique program created and hosted by one of the greatest music experts in the world. I salute the handful of stations that stuck with it to the end; through the carriage fee and the "Do Not Stream" order and all. I also salute The Doctor himself for his desire to keep the program going; even if I don't agree with the tactics. He's said repeatedly that he'll keep going "as long as possible". After struggling for several years with no commercial support and having to distribute the show independently, I guess it's come to pay-podcasting as a last resort. But the question is, will listener support alone be enough now? As much as I loved the show, I just don't see myself subscribing to it. (I may make an exception come the first weekend in December 2011 when, I hope, The Doctor will be doing a Spike Jones 100th Birthday special.)

[mrjukebox]

I've been a DOC (Demento Online Club) member for the past year or so-I live in Southwestern Connecticut & none of the radio stations in my area ever carried the show.

[pandy]

I remember listing to the good doctor on 66-WNBC back in the 74-75 era. The show was never an institution on one station and it kept bouncing along the New York, and New Haven area. Don't know if WXLO had it but, I know WPLR picked it up for a year in New Haven and I know that WLNG in Sag Harbor (Long Island) had it for a year (or less) in the 1990s.

[mrjukebox]

Pandy,WKTU carried Dr.Demento until they switched to an all-disco format in 1978-It then wound up on the now defunct WXLO (99X) until WPIX picked it up-I remember PIX ran it from 8-10 AM on Sundays-The show then aired at midnight early Monday morning-It was dropped in March 1980 when PIX underwent a format change-I also remember that WLIR in Long Island ran Dr.D briefly in 1980-In late 1980,another Long Island station WRCN carried Dr.Demento until February or March 1981-In the fall of 1982,Dr.Demento could finally be heard on WAPP 103.5.
In early 1983,APP dropped the show-Three years later,WAPP carried the show again-Unfortunately,the station switched its call letters to WQHT,which played rap/hip hop music-You're correct about WLNG airing the show-They dropped it in early 1996.

[mrjukebox]

WCCC in Hartford,CT also ran Dr.Demento from 1985-1986.

[mrjukebox]

By the way,the format change at WAPP took place in August 1986.

[Ponderous Man]

Does anybody have any idea if the Dr. Demento show ever aired in Philadelphia?

[mrjukebox]

Yes,it was on WMMR for a number of years.

[Ponderous Man]

Aug 22, 2010 20:16:46 GMT -5 mrjukebox said:

Yes,it was on WMMR for a number of years.

Thanks jukebox. It must have aired in the '70s because I don't remember it being on WMMR. Do you know exactly how many years they aired it?