Coppock vs. McNeil

(I wrote this article when Chet Coppock was moved to afternoons on WMVP AM, and found himself going head-to-head against his former producer Dan McNeil. It was quite an entertaining battle at the time, and it's safe to say that McNeil came out victorious. Coppock and McNeil have since made up. This article originally appeared in Chicago Advertising & Media in 1993.)


By Rick Kaempfer


The Loop AM/FM has done a dramatic overhaul of their lineup.....again. The most dramatic change took place on the AM band. They sent John Brandmeier over to the FM, shuffled Danny Bonaduce from overnights to Chet Coppock's evening slot, and gave Chet the better timeslot he has longed for; afternoons. I recently gave him a call. As a courtesy to those of you unfamiliar with Chet-speak, I included translations.

Chet, are you excited about the change?

"Its New Years Eve in Times Square" (Yes.)

I know you have long believed that your timeslot didn't offer you with the optimal sports audience. After all, you were going up against the events you were hyping. Take away your chance to set the scene, and you are taking away what you do best. Right Chet?

"My greatest strength is creating a texture and ambiance around an event" (Right.)

The Loop is, of course, taking a big chance. Turning over afternoon drive to a sports show on a station that is known more for its entertainment/comedy elements is quite a switch. Will there be any changes to your show?

"Well, Rome wasn't built in a day. It will probably take a few months, but we want to make it a more entertaiment oriented show. By the fall, we'll be Coppock on Sports meets Steve & Garry meets Johnny B meets Bob Costas."
(We're gonna take it slow, but we'll probably do a little more schtick.)

Well, now we get to see how Chet does against the competition. The only one to watch, of course, will be the Score (820 AM). They made a well publicized play for Chet when they kicked off back in January of 1992. Chet decided to stay at the Loop, but the Score did snag Chet's executive producer, Dangerous Dan McNeil. Coincidentally, McNeil is doing afternoons there (along with Terry Boers) and will be Chet's direct competitor.

Are you looking forward to a friendly rivalry with Danny McNeil?

"To be totally frank. I haven't even thought about it. I haven't listened to Danny for fifteen minutes since he left." (Wrong.)

Oh, I see. Well, then you're looking forward to a spirited competition. Is that closer to the truth, Chet?

"I'm not concerned. The station is not concerned. What are they, like 23rd in the market?" (Bring him on.)

Well, after discussing this with Chet, I thought I'd give a jingle to Dan McNeil over at the Score. Again, I've supplied translations for those of you unfamaliar with Dan-speak. Surely, he considers this a friendly rivalry between friends. Right, Dan?

"To be honest, I don't listen to his show. I don't read his column, and I don't watch his B-grade TV show." (Wrong.)

How do you feel about going up against your former mentor?

"Let me put it this way. There are other shows that I fear more." (Bring him on.)

Well, now that the gloves are off, lets have at it. Chet, what's the difference between your show and the Score?

"We have the newsmakers. We don't just report the news, we break the stories. We have a guest list that cannot be matched." (Take that.)

OK, fair enough. Danny, what's the difference between Chet and your show?

"Coppock has always prided himself on marquee guests, but the Score also gets the marquee names. Yet, these are presented differently. Listeners have access to the guests, and there is less pontificating and butt kissing by the hosts." (Take that.)

So, Chet how about some butt-kissing?

"Danny seems to forget that we made him an entity in this market. We made him Dangerous Dan McNeil. We took him off the unemployment line. He forgets that when his wife got pregnant, we gave him our baby furniture. I don't know why he's so bitter. I just hope he can get piece of mind, because he desperately needs it." (We're not friends anymore.)

It doesn't take a genius to sift through this and make sense of it all. Even though the Score has survey results that say only 13% of their listeners listen to Chet, don't buy their story that they don't consider Chet direct competition. And even though Chet says he doesn't worry about the Score because they're only 23rd (actually 20th), don't believe that Chet is unaware of their success with their target audience (3rd place, Men 25-54.)

This should be a fun summer for sportsfans. We're guaranteed of having at least one good heavyweight bout.