March 2015 ratings.

[raccoonradio]

CC/iHeart spent $14.5 million for 101.7. Worth it?

Rumors: the Amp one was right on Fybush's site, and he must have gotten a bit of false info (from someone at CBS?) to throw people off. Usually reliable as is @bostonradio who
told me of such things as the Wallis LMA of 1510. Howie's return (kept quiet about it till official) and last yr he told me of how RKO was unhappy with the Barry Armstrong
situation and might not renew come May when the contract's up. Will boston.com in AMD happen and is Kuhner getting such good ratings they might not go for it? Again "rumors" placed by people in the industry which sometimes come true.
Sometimes we hear of things that COULD have happened, like CBS probably moving WODS to "Jack" only Entercom decided to make 93.7 "Mike", so so much for that idea...

 

[Wimmmex]

You didn't have to wait so much as one Book to watch 101.5 lose 40% of its audience and stay at that level.

Other things are in play...like the state of the format. Country ratings in general have receded a tad. Also, take into account the changes made at WKLB.

The format that was on WWBB and has undergone some changes as well...and is currently not in favor.

Also, has promotional, marketing and research been pulled back? (All of which have nothing to do with the signal change.)

Also, the way to judge this move as a success or not is to find out if WWBB/WBWL are worth more now than they were before this change.

The answer is yes. Therefore it is a success and a smart move.

 

[xyz]

CC/iHeart spent $14.5 million for 101.7. Worth it?

Yeah, but WKLB and WCTK apparently haven't heard about Country ratings being down a "tad".

Times change. Last I knew, you would take a year's billings and multiply it by 10 to get a ball park figure of a station's worth.

Ratings jumped right in and quickly placed this brainstorm into proper perspective.

I do not know if 101.7 for $14.5 million (as originally purchased) is worth it.

I do know that WWBB and WCIB values have plummeted. Both stations were extremely popular in their respective markets.

101.7 has always been a stinker. Always will be.

So, looking at all the variables that I am able to currently understand: No. This entire project is not worth it.

I predict public ridicule is in store for the "genius" of this baby! This is one that is hard for anyone to justify.

 

[Wimmmex]

Yeah, but WKLB and WCTK apparently haven't heard about Country ratings being down a "tad".

WKLB certainly has...their ratings are not what they once were.

Times change. Last I knew, you would take a year's billings and multiply it by 10 to get a ball park figure of a station's worth.

That's colloquial....and not accurate at all. P/E rations change all the time

An FM station with no billing in a major market according to your rational would be worth nothing. What you don't seem to understand is that the value is in the facility...not necessarily the business.

Ratings jumped right in and quickly placed this brainstorm into proper perspective.

One billing cycle....or even one billing year do not make for "perspective"

I do not know if 101.7 for $14.5 million (as originally purchased) is worth it.

probably not....but the definition of worth..is what a a ready and qualified buyer is willing to pay....not what you or I think.

101.7 has always been a stinker. Always will be.

I agree that it will always be a secondary "sub par" signal.

So, looking at all the variables that I am able to currently understand: No. This entire project is not worth it.

I do know that WWBB and WCIB values have plummeted.

And you know that.....how?

The question remains: "are WWBB/WBWL in total worth more now than they were before this change."

And the answer is undoubtedly yes.

I predict public ridicule is in store for the "genius" of this baby! This is one that is hard for anyone to justify.

No public ridicule...private companies can do what they want.....and for short change, they increased the value of their New England portfolio.

Now, for listeners who can't hear WWBB....that's not much comfort.

If you were the owner of said stations....you would probably do the same thing.

Instead, you are a listener, second guessing someone's business decisions (as is your right), and apparently disgruntled you can't hear your favorite station(s)?

Now if you were to argue this from the perspective that these stations are "not serving the public"...or that a variety of format are no longer available to the audience....then you might, no doubt, have some valid points.

 

[xyz]

I don't know what to tell you, my friend!

You stated that 101.7 will always be a secondary sub par signal.

You stated that a LLC has "right" to destroy two popular, remote market, regional channels; tough luck for those listeners. All for an "on paper" benefit to the LLC.

They destroyed two successful and popular signals for 101.7, a signal that you agree "will always be a secondary sub par station".

What wisdom and logic can honestly cover such folly?

Big #s hits for 101.5 and 101.9 and no gain in 101.7's #s for the effort.

You call this good business.

 

[CTListener]

I don't know what to tell you, my friend!

You stated that 101.7 will always be a secondary sub par signal.

You stated that a LLC has "right" to destroy two popular, remote market, regional channels; tough luck for those listeners. All for an "on paper" benefit to the LLC.

They destroyed two successful and popular signals for 101.7, a signal that you agree "will always be a secondary sub par station".

What wisdom and logic can honestly cover such folly?

Big #s hits for 101.5 and 101.9 and no gain in 101.7's #s for the effort.

You call this good business.

But the impact on the remote-market audience means nothing to the stations' advertisers. They want to sell to the primary coverage area. You're right in that no listeners benefit from any of this, but the listeners aren't a consideration. This is a bit of corporate chess that the public at large will know nothing about and, largely, won't care anything about.

 

[xyz]

We shall see.

 

[Uncle Kaimbridge]

So far we donʼt know the effects of 101.7ʼs changes yet, since they havenʼt yet moved (their antenna) to Malden, or upped their power.

 

[Wimmmex]

You stated that a LLC has "right" to destroy two popular, remote market, regional channels; tough luck for those listeners.

No, I didn't. Neither signals are "destroyed". Both are still there and the difference is negligible.

There are more listeners in Boston where the signal is expanding....than the areas where WWBB is pulling in it's signal. [/QUOTE]

They destroyed two successful and popular signals for 101.7,

They did not "destroy" anything. The signals are still there...just moved, nudged and adjusted.

and no gain in 101.7's #s for the effort.

You call this good business.

You apparently don't know how to listen or use logic and reason...and have ignored any explanation given to you.

I don't know what to tell you, my friend!

Tell me you are an old rock and roller who is unhappy that you cannot hear the music that you like best.

That will be the only true thing that you have posted.

But the impact on the remote-market audience means nothing to the stations' advertisers. They want to sell to the primary coverage area. ...the public at large will know nothing about and, largely, won't care anything about.

More logic that will fall on deaf ears?

It's all about him...his likes, his music, his location, etc. If he was a COuntry Music fan...than I suppose this move would be the greatest thing since sliced bread!

 

[xyz]

???

 

[Wimmmex]

???

Didn't expect you to understand.

 

[davideduardo]

Last I knew, you would take a year's billings and multiply it by 10 to get a ball park figure of a station's worth.

Stations never sold for 10 times billing. The peak value on a profitable station was about 2.5 times billing. But generally, prices are based on broadcast cash flow, not billing, on profitable stations

10 times BCF was around the range before consolidation. After 1996 and up to the recession, the multiples were as high as 16 to 18 times BCF. But today, in the new world of no-growth the multiples for a profitable FM are more in the 6 times broadcast cash flow.

I do know that WWBB and WCIB values have plummeted. Both stations were extremely popular in their respective markets.

Those stations are in markets where stations have much less value anyway. In any case, the value is based on cash flow, and cash flow comes from billings derived from the local metro. Both stations still do a pretty good job of covering their markets so the deterioration in value is minimal.

A top 10 market station is worth considerably more than one outside the top 50 and another outside the top 100, even if it has a more limited signal.

 

[101.5 dead already]

101.5 dead already

101.5 was dismantled long ago by I-heart when they fired airstaff and and replaced it with voice-tracking. It was once a solid operation. Now it has the voices from nowhere reading celebrity news from the internet with hour old traffic reports and week old weather forecasts. Advertisers should avoid the station like the plague.

 

[Unregistered]

Though, in a separate thread, posters commented on waiting a few books to see what a mistake the downgrade of WWBB and WCIB were, it seems they're already jumping on the bandwagon.

I also like listening to out-of-market classic hits stations when I can in my own market, but for a number of reasons, that's no longer a reasonable expectation. It is not as if iHeart took advantage of a competitor in the downgrades, and it is not as if Providence and the Cape were anywhere near as important markets as Boston to an owner. Even if WBWL does not remain country very long, which does seem possible, it is still a better signal in the Boston market than it was. The Providence station no longer gets heard out-of-market. What is the impact of that, really, from a revenue standpoint?

Is the combined revenue and the combined value of WBWL, WCIB, and WWBB greater than it once was? If it were your investment, that would likely be what mattered.