What is wrong with the Dave Glover show

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 7:46pm.

The Dave Glover Show on KFTK in St. Louis is the number one rated afternoon show. It's an amazing feat, because most of the top ratings in the city go to KMOX. I've been a regular listener to the Dave Glover show for a few years, but recently the ratings have started to slip.

I don't know the exact change in ratings , but if it's enough for Dave Glover to mention on the air it's serious. When you look for local rating online you're not going to find it broken out by time period. The best I could do was find cumulative ratings for the station.

If the ratings drop is true there are a few reasons. These reasons are my personal observations, but I am the target demographic for the Dave Glover show:

Quit asking: Dave quit asking for folks to help out with the ratings. While it's impossible to know how many people actually responded as Dave asked, it's not too much to think this has a part of it. Seriously, if you're reminded to always say you listen to the Dave Glover Show it's going to stick. He stopped due to the fact, apparently, it's against the rules .
Becca: The latest addition to the on air team is Becca the producer.She seems like a really nice person, funny even, but when her and Glover start talking it's like a Lolita moment and brings the show to a halt. Glover seems to almost fawn and bend over backwards to include her in things. The idea of having her do an "advice" segment is awesome, but the calls for help have been just awful.

The Monday debates: The debates are an effort to allow two guests to discuss a polarizing issue in an equitable fashion.They started off pretty good, but we're pretty much out of material at this point. Perhaps it's the "experts" they get. It's the only time of the week I don't listen, instead turning on Mark Reardon.

Purchased material: The 4:00pm hour is the highlight of the show. Free form thinking and rifting, though lately it seems the material is prepared ahead of time and way too generic. Is it purchased from a comedy service? Do they even exist?

No authentic foil: Dave has no foil now. No comedic partner that stands up to him. They had a gentleman named Cooper, but he left. The back and forth between the two was great, but it was more Cooper standing up to Dave that made it work.

Even though there have been a series of missteps, The Dave Glover Show is still close to the top of their game. The best parts of the show always revolve around Dave's memories of growing up or young adulthood. While some of the stories are repeated often, they always make you feel a commond bond.

It's the same with Paranormal Tuesdays. Excellent topics, solid discussion and the perfect mix of calls. Battle of the Halfwits is excellent as always. The priest and the rabbi and the lawyer have been good in the past, but they've bounced around so much lately it's hard to find them.

Adding Burwell to the mix has been a net positive. While I miss Joel Goldberg's humor, it is good to see Dave Glover engaged with the sports guy, which transfers the excitement through the speakers.

Will the Dave Glover Show continue to lead in the ratings? I am sure this keeps Mr. Glover awake at nights. How do you maintain? I think you need to constantly refine. It's ok to try new things, but you have to cut things that aren't working or developing a following.