In late February, with practically no warning, CBS cancelled the smartest and funniest show on radio, The Adam Carolla Show. While the show was a ratings hit and had a cult-like following, CBS, amid tough economic times, cut its entire talk lineup on Los Angeles' KLSX. Instead, KLSX will broadcast the significantly cheaper alternative of top-40 music. (The show was also nationally syndicated and available via podcasts.)Carolla's fans, myself included, were blindsided, but to Carolla's credit, he showed no bitterness during the show's final hours and said CBS merely made a "business decision." However, if the popularity of Carolla's new podcast is any indication, it was a poor one. Carolla's last radio show aired Friday, Feb. 20, and the audience was told the show was being cancelled the previous day. During those last two days, Carolla announced he would record his first podcast on AdamCarolla.com a little more than 48 hours after the show went dark. Because Carolla is under contract with CBS through 2009, the podcast is sponsor-free and free of charge to avoid breaching his contract. Despite his fans' relatively short notice, the first podcast was downloaded more than 200,000 times. The response exceeded Carolla's wildest expectations, and his podcast is now No. 1 on iTunes.
CBS might save money by getting rid of The Adam Carolla Show, but isn't it flushing money down the toilet by paying one of its greatest assets to stay home? If hundreds of thousands are downloading his podcasts daily, and he's getting high-quality guests like David Alan Grier, why wouldn't CBS capitalize on that? Advertisers are still figuring out the most effective means of advertising on podcasts, but surely there is a profitable way. Carolla guessed he'll spend about $3,000 a month producing the show, which is chump change relative to his audience's size.
If CBS makes a bunch of money playing top-40 hits during the next few years, wonderful. However, if it doesn't create any original content or develop talent in the future, it will become increasingly irrelevant. There are a million free ways to listen to pop music, including Pandora.com, the praises of which I recently sang. Every year, media is becoming more of a niche business, and few have a more loyal following than Carolla.
Instead of cutting costs that will merely help its short-term bottom line, CBS should focus on the changing radio landscape and how it will adapt. Being one of a many outlets for top-40 music will render it indistinguishable from the rest. While Carolla rose to prominence through radio and television (e.g. Loveline and The Man Show), he's clearly popular enough and technology has advanced enough that he can run his own show profitably.
This reality is a valuable bargaining chip for popular radio talent like Carolla, Howard Stern, and Rush Limbaugh. Big radio gave them a forum, but those three men are now bigger than radio. Independent podcasting also gives the host full creative control: The shows can be any length, no one is telling you what to talk about or what guests to book, and best of all, the FCC's rules don't fucking apply to podcasting.
Here's something for CBS to consider: Instead of doing away with talk entirely, why not focus on finding the next Carolla, Stern, or Limbaugh? Eventually, CBS could be like Triple-A Radio, where young talent goes to develop before advancing to The Majors (podcasting) on their own. CBS could sign promising talent to modest contracts, giving it a low risk-high reward business model.
Regardless, any media company is only as good as its content. And in my opinion, CBS made a foolish choice cutting a unique asset (Carolla) in favor of distributing something incredibly generic that is already available in numerous other media (top-40). Terrestrial radio is dying, and its lack of foresight and disregard for unique talent and programming are the two biggest reasons why.
