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680 The Fan Signs 10-Year Braves Deal

R

RoddyFreeman

It's being reported that Dickey Broadcasting signed a deal for 680 The Fan (WCNN) and its 93.7 translator to remain the Braves flagship station for the next 10 years, through 2026. The report stated that the games will continue to be simulcast on 106.7. Additionally, Dickey Broadcasting will move to new facilities in the Battery complex at Suntrust Park.

This suggests that 680 will remain competitive to 92-9 The Game, whose weakest ratings have been during the baseball season.

I wonder if the announcement that 106.7 will continue its simulcast hints anything about the future of Newsradio 106-7. Does it suggest that its low ratings notwithstanding, the station's current format will stay as it is for the foreseeable future? The announcement did not mention how long the contract with 106.7 will be in effect.
 
How much of Cumulus do the Dickeys still control?

I know that the Dickey Broadcasting stations had to be included with the Cumulus stations when determining how many stations they had in the market WRT the FCC market caps.

If the Dickeys have lost or are losing control of Cumulus, could Cumulus pick up some more ATL stations, say, one or more from CBS or Entercom?

I want to say that with the Dickey Broadcasting stations included, Cumulus could pick up one FM OR one AM. Without, they could pick up one FM and three AMs (they only have room for one more FM).
 
jabba17 said:
How much of Cumulus do the Dickeys still control?
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The issues is not the percentage but the fact that what the Dickey's own is a supervoting class of shares.

This is from a Toledo Blade article of some years back, so the percentages may have changed:

"Lewis Dickey, Jr., owns all 1.1 million shares of a special Class C stock, which for shareholder voting purposes counts as 10 votes for each share. Together with his brother John, who has 6.9 percent of the voting stock, and their father, Lewis Dickey, Sr., who has 13.2 percent of the voting stock, the Dickey family controls 51.1 percent of the company's voting stock."

 
jabba17 said:
How much of Cumulus do the Dickeys still control?
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Probably around 30%. It's a big block, but not the majority. That's why they're not running the company.

The question for the last 14 months is what are they going to do with that block. They've watched the value of it diminish to the point where it's not worth a whole lot.

Usually a company shores up contracts like this before it makes a move. So what's the move? If Dickey Broadcasting uses its equity in Cumulus to buy some Atlanta stations, what will that mean for Cumulus employees in the Atlanta office, especially since the main power for the company is obviously in New York? There are lots of questions, and I expect we'll get some answers before the end of the year.
 
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TheBigA said:
Probably around 30%. It's a big block, but not the majority. That's why they're not running the company.

The question for the last 14 months is what are they going to do with that block. They've watched the value of it diminish to the point where it's not worth a whole lot.

Usually a company shores up contracts like this before it makes a move. So what's the move? If Dickey Broadcasting uses its equity in Cumulus to buy some Atlanta stations, what will that mean for Cumulus employees in the Atlanta office, especially since the main power for the company is obviously in New York? There are lots of questions, and I expect we'll get some answers before the end of the year.
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At what point would the Dickeys relinquish enough control of Cumulus for the FCC to consider Cumulus and Dickey Broadcasting separate entities for regulatory purposes?
 
jabba17 said:
At what point would the Dickeys relinquish enough control of Cumulus for the FCC to consider Cumulus and Dickey Broadcasting separate entities for regulatory purposes?
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My understanding is complete divestiture. That means the seat on the board, those Class C shares, and any residual interest. To do that, they will likely want something in return besides just money. Given the current stock price, the company doesn't want them to simply sell their shares (at a huge loss). That would hurt the price even more. So trading those shares for something tangible is the most likely result.
 
In reading Tom Taylor's newsletter this morning, he says this: " The Braves network is managed by John Napolitano and has over 100 affiliates, including Cumulus-Atlanta news/talk WYAY/106.7."

So 106.7 is one of 100 affiliates. That's a very different situation from the one described in the OP.
 
TheBigA said:
In reading Tom Taylor's newsletter this morning, he says this: " The Braves network is managed by John Napolitano and has over 100 affiliates, including Cumulus-Atlanta news/talk WYAY/106.7."

So 106.7 is one of 100 affiliates. That's a very different situation from the one described in the OP.
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How so? "The report stated that the games will continue to be simulcast on 106.7." The Braves of course have a network, but 106.7 is the flagship FM.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
How so? "The report stated that the games will continue to be simulcast on 106.7." The Braves of course have a network, but 106.7 is the flagship FM.
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I thought you said WCNN was the flagship. They're the station with the deal, according to the release. 106.7 is just an affiliate.

To your original point, it's not unusual for a news talk to also carry PBP sports. WOR in NYC carries Mets baseball. In fact, they get better ratings for Mets than for talk. So I don't see how this deal, or the role 106.7 plays, is any indication on future format for 106.7. They are a spoken word station, with news, talk, and sports. Sounds like a format to me.
 
I did say WCNN is the flagship, but the press release about the new contract said, "All game day broadcasts will also be heard on FM simulcast partner 106.7 FM." I don't think I posted anything to the contrary.

I'm sure the Braves would have been reluctant to do the deal if 106.7 were not carrying the games, also. Coverage by 680 and 93.7 is very limited at night. The Braves of course might not have had a choice, but I'm sure 106.7 made it easier for the Braves to award the games to WCNN.

As to your second point, I'm not sure why you're saying it's not unusual for a news/talk station to carry PBP sports. That was my point. The fact that 106.7 will carry the Braves in the future suggests that it might not flip its format, which had been rumored.
 
TheBigA said:
I took your statement to suggest they might flip to 100% sports from news and talk. Lots of options for that.
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Is there enough listenership for a second FM sportstalker, and that's not counting Cox having UGA on WSB, WSBB, WKXT, WNGC, etc.? Cox also has the G-Braves and the Gladiators on TOSOTR, although I think that's more to keep them away from WDUN for some reason.

I think Georgia Tech got booted from 106.7 last year or the year before and is now only on 93.7 for FM.

With the Falcons and Hawks on 92.9 and UGA on various Cox stations, that just leaves Tech and the Bravos for Dickey. I'm assuming that Dickey wouldn't want to have to deal with conflicts carrying the G-Braves and/or Glads.
 
jabba17 said:
Is there enough listenership for a second FM sportstalker, and that's not counting Cox having UGA on WSB, WSBB, WKXT, WNGC, etc.? Cox also has the G-Braves and the Gladiators on TOSOTR, although I think that's more to keep them away from WDUN for some reason.

I think Georgia Tech got booted from 106.7 last year or the year before and is now only on 93.7 for FM.

With the Falcons and Hawks on 92.9 and UGA on various Cox stations, that just leaves Tech and the Bravos for Dickey. I'm assuming that Dickey wouldn't want to have to deal with conflicts carrying the G-Braves and/or Glads.
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No, there is not. Both stations' (The Fan and The Game) ratings prove that.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
How so? "The report stated that the games will continue to be simulcast on 106.7." The Braves of course have a network, but 106.7 is the flagship FM.
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Here’s a possible scenario: Cumulus does a chapter 11. That would most likely wipes out ALL the stock. Then the Dickeys would be left 680, 1340, 1240 and translators. They would be under market cap. Cumulus would also be under market cap because the Dickey empire will not be counted against Cumulus Being in bankruptcy Cumulus has the right / duty to submit a plan to reorganize. In that plan they can negate any contract they want to, if the Judge approves it. Cumulus would most likely be owned by its creditors. If the creditors / management decide to pull the plug on Braves on 106.7 and the Judge OK’s it there isn’t a thing the Dickeys or Braves can do.
 
secondchoice said:
Here’s a possible scenario: Cumulus does a chapter 11. That would most likely wipes out ALL the stock.
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It also wipes out the billions of dollars spent by Crestview Partners, the investment firm that controls the current CEO. So no, that's not going to happen.
 
secondchoice said:
If the creditors / management decide to pull the plug on Braves on 106.7 and the Judge OK’s it there isn’t a thing the Dickeys or Braves can do.
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I have no reason to believe that 106.7 is running the Braves network because of the Dickeys. They're doing it because local station management has decided they will continue to be a spoken word station, and they can make money with the Braves network.
 
secondchoice said:
Mary put Readers Digest into Bankruptcy
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She's working for different bosses now. It's clearly not what they want her to do.

She ran ten other companies, and only one went to bankruptcy. She's not a one trick pony.

But what's your point? As I said, 106.7 isn't running the Braves Network because of the Dickeys. So bankruptcy wouldn't change a thing.
 
TheBigA said:
She's working for different bosses now. It's clearly not what they want her to do.

She ran ten other companies, and only one went to bankruptcy. She's not a one trick pony.

But what's your point? As I said, 106.7 isn't running the Braves Network because of the Dickeys. So bankruptcy wouldn't change a thing.
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IMHO it a last chance attempt to "save" 106.7

Signing the Braves does not guarantee the continuation of the spoken word format on 106.7. When there is a lower power station music station on the same antenna, with a lot fewer on the air staff folks to pay, is billing twice what 106.7 is billing (the Fish) that lost income could cover some loses elsewhere. One has to wonder why this has gone on this long. *

A bankruptcy would allow Crestview to walk away with a huge tax break. And if they own a lot of debt they get the properties anyways.

It’s been a couple of decades, but my experience with a Baseball contract was if we didn’t run the game we made good the commercials within 24 hours. This really came in handy during football season. I am sure there is language that prevents the broadcast ending up on 92.9 should Cumulus do a giveaway like 94.1 did with the Falcons.

* Several years ago I was in favor of the All News Format. Even Detroit has one. I thought CBS would do it on 92.9 and take over channel 46 and give Cox / WSB some completion in both TV and Radio. But that did not happen. I guess CBS did not want to make multiyear commitment or they could not pick up channel 46. Cumulus tried All News without deep pockets and failed. Sometimes admitting failure and moving on is the best thing.
 
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