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Saga buys QFM
- Thread starter HardHarry
- Start date
I saw this over lunch today but didn't get to the board till now.
My guess Salem or EMF will go after 107.1 and or 95.5. I do not see Wilks staying in the market with just two signals. I also don't see other "major" groups interested in the rim shot signals but hey if the price is right anything is possible.
My guess Salem or EMF will go after 107.1 and or 95.5. I do not see Wilks staying in the market with just two signals. I also don't see other "major" groups interested in the rim shot signals but hey if the price is right anything is possible.
Wilks is selling everything. All it has left are the two Columbus stations and three FM's in Reno. It's had a big "EVERYTHING MUST GO!" sign on the door for about a year now.
The one reason a company like Dispatch might want them is because it can't buy stations that citygrade Columbus (or at least most of it; I don't remember the percentage) on account of it owning the newspaper. However, Dispatch has never seemed to have much of a desire to expand in the past. That leads me to think the new buyer will be religious. Those signals are worth nothing to most anybody else.
The one reason a company like Dispatch might want them is because it can't buy stations that citygrade Columbus (or at least most of it; I don't remember the percentage) on account of it owning the newspaper. However, Dispatch has never seemed to have much of a desire to expand in the past. That leads me to think the new buyer will be religious. Those signals are worth nothing to most anybody else.
So Saga finally, finally, finally managed to get a second big signal in its biggest market! Since Saga considers themselves "Classic Rock Specialists" QFM seems like a good fit, too. While, with the exception of Columbus, they have NOT been an AC-oriented operator, at least not in their biggest markets.
And it was just a few weeks ago I was wondering in another thread why buy-to-sell Wilks was still in this market. I'm sure the people at QFM aren't sorry to see them go. While change always creates a little uncertainty, I don't think Saga has a reputation for making sweeping personnel changes. Heck, aren't they the only major Columbus player that is still live and local even in overnights?
The newspaper+broadcast cross-ownership is not an issue any more since the Wolfe family sold the Dispatch earlier this year, while retaining the WBNS TV and radio stations. It's hard to believe that in this explosion-of-media era, when newspapers have lost so much business and influence, that the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership restrictions haven't been eliminated everywhere.
And it was just a few weeks ago I was wondering in another thread why buy-to-sell Wilks was still in this market. I'm sure the people at QFM aren't sorry to see them go. While change always creates a little uncertainty, I don't think Saga has a reputation for making sweeping personnel changes. Heck, aren't they the only major Columbus player that is still live and local even in overnights?
The one reason a company like Dispatch might want them [95.5 and 107.1] is because it can't buy stations that citygrade Columbus (or at least most of it; I don't remember the percentage) on account of it owning the newspaper.
The newspaper+broadcast cross-ownership is not an issue any more since the Wolfe family sold the Dispatch earlier this year, while retaining the WBNS TV and radio stations. It's hard to believe that in this explosion-of-media era, when newspapers have lost so much business and influence, that the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership restrictions haven't been eliminated everywhere.
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Wilks is selling everything. All it has left are the two Columbus stations and three FM's in Reno. It's had a big "EVERYTHING MUST GO!" sign on the door for about a year now.
My understanding is the other two have been sold... just hasn't been announced yet.
QFM is in good hands with Saga. Saga has great experience, when it comes to managing a classic rock station. I will start listening to those guys again soon.
I believe the Blitz is still live and local overnight.
You may be right. Not all that long ago, I was listening to QFM overnight and it was obvious they had engaged full "auto-pilot mode" with several songs in a row and not even any talking before the commercials.
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