O&A's Downfall - Laziness and Complacency

[gassers]

I don't think Nana's firing was the final nail in the coffin, there was plenty time to recover and if the Opester had steered the ship properly at that time (considering Nana behaved) the show would have been 10 times bigger than Toe Rogan today.

The biggest factor in the downfall was Laziness in my opinion, i don't think it's said enough but all three of them are some of the laziest people in showbiz.

Remember when the show was good? When the Opester was involved coming up with bits and always on his toes, as soon as Op become lazy, the whole show was just reacting to youtube clips.

The broadcasting climate was changing and was changing fast, How did these two didn't see that coming?

Joe Rogan was already huge back in 2013, if Opie had taken his leadership role seriously and steered the ship, taken some risks and had churned out consistent content on his end, they would be huge.

I don't expect this from Nana cause he is a lazy fn but atleast Opie should have capitalized on this opportunity.

I am no Nana ballwasher, but as far as money is concerned, Opester did leave a lot of money on the table. I think he was just done with Nana. Tbh, I would too, so I don't fully blame him.

@DMAN

@Sue Lightning

 

[Voscabulary]

I said this in a previous thread ages ago, but I think they simply became stagnant. they got themselves thrown off of regular radio after the whole sex for sam 3 incident, and xm were the only company who were willing to take a gamble on them afterwards. o&a obviously took the deal, despite the fact that satellite radio was still in its infancy, and it just never took off. even after the merge with sirius they weren't pulling in anywhere close to the same numbers they had back on wnew. so yes, they certainly were lazy in the ladder years, but I think that's because they had the slow, demoralising realisation that the best years of their career were well behind them

 

[Sue2]

I’m working right now give me a few.

 

[HeyItsVos]

Ant doesn’t have initiative or drive, but he is pretty good at following orders. Joe got him to perform and go on radio shows, Opie got him to be a great performer, and even Keith the Cop got Anthony did start up his own podcasting network.

I don’t think it was laziness that killed them. It was more waning interest. They weren’t hungry anymore because they had accomplished as much in their field as they could imagine at the time and they were making good money. Opie had a family which is going to take up anyone’s attention. Ant had his own hobbies and interests. Jim was thinking he’d transition to Hollywood.

It also doesn’t help that the resentment was growing. They work well together but they didn’t want to work together anymore. Not at that time anyway. Too many imagined slights and misunderstandings.

 

[NiggerThisForumSucks]

Correct. All three just had this sense of entitlement that they would all somehow remain relevant outputting the most low effort stuff. They also all seemed to lean more towards the very pop culture and internal squabbles/personal details that they claimed to abhor in other shows, in lieu of trashing union worker dummy callers and regularly utilizing other comics. The video I'm currently working on, featuring Worm getting bum plowed by his Nordic goddess, Fugly Cumia, The Opinator, and Hideous Sam has more effort ascribed to it.

 

[LockedHDD__Pot]

It also doesn’t help that the resentment was growing. They work well together but they didn’t want to work together anymore. Not at that time anyway. Too many imagined slights and misunderstandings.

I think this is significant; there was even a time (I heard this a day or so ago) back in 2013(?) when Opie said aloud that they weren't friends & it'd been a good trick to give the impression of friendship over the last (x) years, but it was done in a light-hearted way & was before the Jim & AntH cattyness, acting like a couple young broads & texting behind Opie's back.

The show relied on synergy:

synergy /sĭn′ər-jē/

noun​

1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.

 

[Imager]

I remember when they were on the air Opie complaining that management wouldn't let them take podcasts and put them on the channel.

I'm sure some Jew at Sirius could have figured out some sort of compensation for that.

But wait, podcasts are free? Sure, they could do premium episodes eventually, or in the case of Rogan, Spotify could have paid Sirius.

It was a huge missed opportunity for Sirius, and I do think Opie saw it but was likely too lazy or otherwise not in a position to do anything about it.

 

[Dr. Adam Cox]

Remember when the show was good? When the Opester was involved coming up with bits and always on his toes, as soon as Op become lazy, the whole show was just reacting to youtube clips.

PFG TV, Club Piscopo, Yakov's Dinner Adventure, racist Happy Days, and Stairway to Stardom are a lot more enjoyable than most of the stuff they did on WNEW and early XM. As annoying as it was to constantly hear them bitching about the lack of a visual element, they were right. This was around the time that reaction videos started getting really popular online and they had the ability to take weird 15 min videos and make hours of funny content out of them. If they moved to a more video-based platform (where we saw what was on their screens instead of their faces), they probably would have had more focused, higher quality content that would have reached a whole new audience.

 

[LingerLonger]

I remember when they were on the air Opie complaining that management wouldn't let them take podcasts and put them on the channel.

They stopped them at one point from literally just throwing a Rogan or Burr podcast on the channel on the weekends for the fans. Because it was giving away too much airtime for free. And also if Rogan or whoever did a live read that would be yet another issue. Management also told O&A to not post their own podcast for free nor allow listeners to post shows or fan made compilations anywhere. Nor were they allowed to plug certain websites that were O&A fan sites on the air.

Opie had to fight management a few times at Sirius to stop them from DMCA killing all of the websites that had archives.

The people at Sirius have zero creativity. They didn't recognize that stuff like viral videos were great promotion. They hated the idea of giving away things like "worst of" or compilations of shows. And didn't want there to be guest radio shows and so on. And this wasn't just for O&A this is for every single channel.

This is why Howard's career is in the toilet as well. Because the same retards who sabotaged O&A are the ones running the Stern "empire" and advising him into making the worst moves over and over. Doing things like scrubbing all of his fan run websites and social media channels that host old shows. Doing things like locking down his old video archives where no one can see them. And pretty much stopping the Stern channels from doing any other shows or signing new talent. Stern is a ghost on his own channels.

 

[KaNAMBLA Harris]

PFG TV, Club Piscopo, Yakov's Dinner Adventure, racist Happy Days, and Stairway to Stardom are a lot more enjoyable than most of the stuff they did on WNEW and early XM. As annoying as it was to constantly hear them bitching about the lack of a visual element, they were right. This was around the time that reaction videos started getting really popular online and they had the ability to take weird 15 min videos and make hours of funny content out of them. If they moved to a more video-based platform (where we saw what was on their screens instead of their faces), they probably would have had more focused, higher quality content that would have reached a whole new audience.

This is true

Last night I was listening to the show where they watched the thanksgiving leftovers and yo yo tricks news channel pranks and someone on YouTube synched up footage from the two broadcasts to the audio and it was way funnier

 

[Turk February]

PFG TV, Club Piscopo, Yakov's Dinner Adventure, racist Happy Days, and Stairway to Stardom are a lot more enjoyable than most of the stuff they did on WNEW and early XM. As annoying as it was to constantly hear them bitching about the lack of a visual element, they were right. This was around the time that reaction videos started getting really popular online and they had the ability to take weird 15 min videos and make hours of funny content out of them. If they moved to a more video-based platform (where we saw what was on their screens instead of their faces), they probably would have had more focused, higher quality content that would have reached a whole new audience.

This post actually made me relisten to the Yakov Dinner Adventure, and yeah, the laziest OnA shows were sometimes the best.

 

[DMAN]

PFG TV, Club Piscopo, Yakov's Dinner Adventure, racist Happy Days, and Stairway to Stardom are a lot more enjoyable than most of the stuff they did on WNEW

You’re retarded

 

[Dr. Adam Cox]

You’re retarded

True, but I'm also right. Sex for Sam, Voyeur bus, the 55 gallon drum challenge, and the whiffle ball bat challenge were awesome in the 90's and early 2000's, but most of that shock jock shit doesn't hold up as something you'd re-listen to years later and still find funny. Those dumb VideOandA bits will still be just as funny in another 10 years.

 

[Jims_Maroon_Pants]

I don't think Nana's firing was the final nail in the coffin, there was plenty time to recover and if the Opester had steered the ship properly at that time (considering Nana behaved) the show would have been 10 times bigger than Toe Rogan today.

The biggest factor in the downfall was Laziness in my opinion, i don't think it's said enough but all three of them are some of the laziest people in showbiz.

Remember when the show was good? When the Opester was involved coming up with bits and always on his toes, as soon as Op become lazy, the whole show was just reacting to youtube clips.

The broadcasting climate was changing and was changing fast, How did these two didn't see that coming?

Joe Rogan was already huge back in 2013, if Opie had taken his leadership role seriously and steered the ship, taken some risks and had churned out consistent content on his end, they would be huge.

I don't expect this from Nana cause he is a lazy fn but atleast Opie should have capitalized on this opportunity.

I am no Nana ballwasher, but as far as money is concerned, Opester did leave a lot of money on the table. I think he was just done with Nana. Tbh, I would too, so I don't fully blame him.

@DMAN

@Sue Lightning

I'd like to add that I think Opie got lazy because he got so sick of Jim and Ant mean girling him all day
every day. I agree, all three got lazy and put the least amount of effort in on those final days.

 

[Sue2]

Ok so first your title without even addressing your points: Yes. Their laziness made them slowly drain their fanbase and lose any goodwill they had with management or their fans. When the Homeless Charlie incident happened so many fans emailed XM with the threat of unsubscribing they actually had to extend peoples subs to keep them happy. Then only 10 years later exactly three people showed up to the #StandwithAnt protest. They just got fucking lazy. But alright now i’ll read what you actually said

I don't think Nana's firing was the final nail in the coffin, there was plenty time to recover and if the Opester had steered the ship properly at that time (considering Nana behaved) the show would have been 10 times bigger than Toe Rogan today.
The biggest factor in the downfall was Laziness in my opinion, i don't think it's said enough but all three of them are some of the laziest people in showbiz.

I think i’ve said the same thing somewhere else. If Ant didn’t get fired in 2014, and we guarantee he doesn’t get fired ever, the show would eventually end. Wether due to one of them not wanting to resign or Sirius not giving them another contract it was inevitable. If they kept up at their declining pace they’d bleed more fans and again lose any good will they had. I was addressing this when arguing with the DMAN the other day…that the biggest part of the downfall of O&A was losing the drive to be bigger. EVERYONE was phoning the show in or becoming completely out of touch, such as Ant believing he could rant about race on and off the air all the time. They only cared about filling the 3 hours a day with some borderline entertaining content, but elevating the brand or promotion? It was just too much. And then all the shit they DID think of was shot down by the company. There really is no real “one incident” that lead O&A to decline besides honestly Ant getting fired because thats the thing that officially ended the show.

Remember when the show was good? When the Opester was involved coming up with bits and always on his toes, as soon as Op become lazy, the whole show was just reacting to youtube clips.

Everybody got lazy, not just the Opster. Ant stopped giving a fuck about being funny and didn’t do impressions or even the gay slide whistles. Just doing movie references and yelling about race. Jim stopped being funny too, if he ever was, just complaining about diva shit all day. Again the keyword here is “complacency.” They were getting paid, had a show that was big, and people were listening. If its not broke why try to make it better?

The broadcasting climate was changing and was changing fast, How did these two didn't see that coming?

Well theres two interpretations of this, the actual broadcasting medium and what’s considered acceptable content wise. They weren’t aware of either of these things because they’re old. Jim was talking about how fucking amazing it was to watch a movie on his iphone…in 2018. “Can you get podcasting equipment in the studio?” They were just out of touch. And people like Ant truly thought they were invincible and could say or do anything.

Joe Rogan was already huge back in 2013, if Opie had taken his leadership role seriously and steered the ship, taken some risks and had churned out consistent content on his end, they would be huge.

I don't expect this from Nana cause he is a lazy fn but atleast Opie should have capitalized on this opportunity.

The thing is is that Opie started being a lazy fn after maybe 2009. That was when they lost their syndication and O&A had some huge blowouts. At that point is when Opie starts his “I don’t even know if i’ll sign next year” shit. It was already hard enough trying to maintain the show they had together, so trying to establish an entire new show in a different media, basically all on their own and without show staff, would have been a nightmare. The best time to do this would have been after Ant was fired. They could have talked, got their shit out, and decided at the end of the 2014 contract to start podcasting. The short 6 months apart plus talking their shit out could have motivated them to start something new and actually improve it, but as we know that didn’t happen.

I am no Nana ballwasher, but as far as money is concerned, Opester did leave a lot of money on the table. I think he was just done with Nana. Tbh, I would too, so I don't fully blame him.

But I respect the Opster for this even if you’re right. He had a couple choices after Ant was fired: Take a huge risk and quit to start a new network with the guy you don’t like. Try to keep Ant on the show even though you don’t like him. Or continue on your own with Jimmy. He probably chose the safest and easiest option and I don’t blame him. Even though his relationship with Jim wasn’t the best it was better than working with Opie.

 

[gassers]

Ok so first your title without even addressing your points: Yes. Their laziness made them slowly drain their fanbase and lose any goodwill they had with management or their fans. When the Homeless Charlie incident happened so many fans emailed XM with the threat of unsubscribing they actually had to extend peoples subs to keep them happy. Then only 10 years later exactly three people showed up to the #StandwithAnt protest. They just got fucking lazy. But alright now i’ll read what you actually said

I think i’ve said the same thing somewhere else. If Ant didn’t get fired in 2014, and we guarantee he doesn’t get fired ever, the show would eventually end. Wether due to one of them not wanting to resign or Sirius not giving them another contract it was inevitable. If they kept up at their declining pace they’d bleed more fans and again lose any good will they had. I was addressing this when arguing with the DMAN the other day…that the biggest part of the downfall of O&A was losing the drive to be bigger. EVERYONE was phoning the show in or becoming completely out of touch, such as Ant believing he could rant about race on and off the air all the time. They only cared about filling the 3 hours a day with some borderline entertaining content, but elevating the brand or promotion? It was just too much. And then all the shit they DID think of was shot down by the company. There really is no real “one incident” that lead O&A to decline besides honestly Ant getting fired because thats the thing that officially ended the show.

Everybody got lazy, not just the Opster. Ant stopped giving a fuck about being funny and didn’t do impressions or even the gay slide whistles. Just doing movie references and yelling about race. Jim stopped being funny too, if he ever was, just complaining about diva shit all day. Again the keyword here is “complacency.” They were getting paid, had a show that was big, and people were listening. If its not broke why try to make it better?

Well theres two interpretations of this, the actual broadcasting medium and what’s considered acceptable content wise. They weren’t aware of either of these things because they’re old. Jim was talking about how fucking amazing it was to watch a movie on his iphone…in 2018. “Can you get podcasting equipment in the studio?” They were just out of touch. And people like Ant truly thought they were invincible and could say or do anything.

The thing is is that Opie started being a lazy fn after maybe 2009. That was when they lost their syndication and O&A had some huge blowouts. At that point is when Opie starts his “I don’t even know if i’ll sign next year” shit. It was already hard enough trying to maintain the show they had together, so trying to establish an entire new show in a different media, basically all on their own and without show staff, would have been a nightmare. The best time to do this would have been after Ant was fired. They could have talked, got their shit out, and decided at the end of the 2014 contract to start podcasting. The short 6 months apart plus talking their shit out could have motivated them to start something new and actually improve it, but as we know that didn’t happen.

But I respect the Opster for this even if you’re right. He had a couple choices after Ant was fired: Take a huge risk and quit to start a new network with the guy you don’t like. Try to keep Ant on the show even though you don’t like him. Or continue on your own with Jimmy. He probably chose the safest and easiest option and I don’t blame him. Even though his relationship with Jim wasn’t the best it was better than working with Opie.

Thanks, that was a well thought out response.

Regarding taking a huge risk? How much would it have cost them to do a joe rogan esque studio? If they didn't want to build, they could've rented someplace, a few good video cameras and some good audio equipment, don't think it would have cost much considering both these guys had net worth of millions.

I mean beside the set/studio, cameras and audio equipment isn't costly, around $10k, and they would have top notch production quality.

Was the risk really that high? Or da Opester just couldn't see Nana 's vampire face everyday?

 

[DMAN]

True, but I'm also right. Sex for Sam, Voyeur bus, the 55 gallon drum challenge, and the whiffle ball bat challenge were awesome in the 90's and early 2000's, but most of that shock jock shit doesn't hold up as something you'd re-listen to years later and still find funny. Those dumb VideOandA bits will still be just as funny in another 10 years.

If you're talking about "watching something 10 years removed from context," of course there are going to be highlights, when you cherry-pick from 10 years.

Meanwhile they were at WNEW for only 4 years, and created the formula and consistently hit homeruns. If you weren't there, of course you're not going to know. If you go by YouTube, there is barely any pre XM content up other than full unmarked shows.

The shock jock shit is the only thing that holds up. And playing clips to make edgy jokes over them is still shock jock material. You can happily keep the same 3 punchlines about homosexual-sex parroted by Anthony and Jim. The DMAN will keep the WNEW years where everyone included listeners were invested.

They didn't start the show making noises and then going "Ahhh.. Soo..... What's going on today?.... anything in the paper...?"

Nice 'holding up' stupid.

 

[NortheastPhilly]

Its wild that they got away with reacting to videos with no fucking video. Now that you can see it on Youtube those are pretty hilarious but driving in the car without even seeing what they’re talking about sounds nonsensical

 

[JebJoh]

The merger was the end. Xm let them run the show they wanted because they were getting desperate. Sirius wanted something respectable they could show to the shareholders with xm good numbers meant better contracts, once Sirius bought xm they didn’t care about motivation anymore. All they worried about was keeping Howard happy and even his salaries got cut every subsequent contract. Even back then nana needed his whole salary to maintain his lifestyle, additional luxuries came out of savings. Even when doing the show he needed side gigs to avoid draining his accounts. Opie probably made more investing than working by the end so he was fine. It all got toxic from that point.

 

[LingerLonger]

The merger was the end. Xm let them run the show they wanted because they were getting desperate.

XM had a bunch of O&A fans in its corporate structure. And management listened to the show every day. Sirius hated all of O&A though

Sirius wanted something respectable they could show to the shareholders

Howard did a way more degenerate and disgusting show than O&A ever did on Sirius. He had porn whores and sex machines and all sorts of sick perverted jew filth from day one until the end of his first contract. O&A's top ten most gross shows on all of Sirius probably don't even get into Howard's top 100.

They did stuff like the "Gay Off Contest" one time. Howard had 100 contests and bits ten times as faggy. Some of Howard's extra shows on his channel for a while were basically softcore porn for his weirdo audience to beat off to like a freaks.

with xm good numbers meant better contracts, once Sirius bought xm they didn’t care about motivation anymore.

Sirius basically died just like XM on the day of the merger. They no longer were satellite radio companies but were car companies. Because they counted sales of cars with an un-activated Sirius radio in them as being subscribers. It was no longer about content but about car deals.