Cumulus station sales...Houston impact?

[Mediafrog+]

The New York, Washington, Atlanta and San Francisco boards have plenty of discussion of Cumulus unloading a number of stations, mostly to EMF.

With Cumulus in a selling mood, and KRBE as a stand alone property here, you have to wonder if a sale is imminent. I would be shocked if EMF bought 104.1 (more likely they would go after KROI) but new ownership might not be far off.

I would think EMF would want a better signal in Houston to accompany or replace the 103.7 rimshot, but plenty of ownership possibilities for KRBE.

 

[TheBigA]

With Cumulus in a selling mood, and KRBE as a stand alone property here, you have to wonder if a sale is imminent.

Maybe. Then again if that was their intention, why wasn't Houston included in their list of markets today?

They don't seem to have a problem with stand alone properties. That wasn't the motivation today.

 

[Fieldtech1]

My guess........Cumulus will buy Cox's Houston cluster. They will divest 97.1 to EMF..

 

[TheBigA]

My guess........Cumulus will buy Cox's Houston cluster. They will divest 97.1 to EMF..

Interesting theory, although they wouldn't be forced to divest anything. They could keep two country stations the way they have in Dallas and Nashville.

 

[gr8oldies]

Is Cumulus going to spend actual cash to buy stations? This Entercom deal was a trade.

My guess........Cumulus will buy Cox's Houston cluster. They will divest 97.1 to EMF..

 

[TheBigA]

Is Cumulus going to spend actual cash to buy stations? This Entercom deal was a trade.

Following the sale yesterday, the Cumulus CEO identified areas where the company would be investing money. One mentioned was "adding stations where we see an opportunity to win or strengthen our holdings." So they now have $100 million to spend. Maybe Cox will get some of that money.

 

[Mediafrog+]

More speculation, including Houston, in this article: https://radioinsight.com/blogs/1745...entercom-emf-deal-part-1-the-corporate-level/

Cumulus seems to be getting rid of debt, so not so sure they would buy anything in Houston. Much more likely that KRBE is sold.

EMF most certainly wants a better signal in Houston, or an additional outlet. KROI should be in play for this, but otherwise I just don't see a Missouri City stick going to EMF.

 

[TheBigA]

Cumulus seems to be getting rid of debt, so not so sure they would buy anything in Houston. Much more likely that KRBE is sold.

Once again, all we have to go on is what the CEO said after the sale. She disputed the idea that Cumulus was leaving major markets. Just that they were selling failing stations. We all know KRBE is not a failing station. So unless there's a strategic advantage to selling it, or perhaps trading that one station for a cluster owned by someone else, I don't expect a change. And if the station was going to EMF, it would have been included in the group it sold on Wednesday.

 

[stan]

If EMF didn’t have the advantages of being a fake nonprofit, would they be able to buy and ruin the number of stations they have thus far?

 

[gr8oldies]

Their millions of listeners and donors don't think those stations were "ruined". Cumulus willingly sold those stations. Blame them.

If EMF didn’t have the advantages of being a fake nonprofit, would they be able to buy and ruin the number of stations they have thus far?

 

[Fieldtech1]

If EMF didn’t have the advantages of being a fake nonprofit, would they be able to buy and ruin the number of stations they have thus far?

EMF doesn't seek stations to buy, they are approached by brokers trying to unload stations.

 

[davideduardo]

If EMF didn’t have the advantages of being a fake nonprofit, would they be able to buy and ruin the number of stations they have thus far?

A non-profit is defined by not distributing surpluses to shareholders.

EMF dedicates any surplus to further acquisitions. It does not pay dividends to investors.

It's a legitimate non-profit.

And they do not "ruin" the stations they buy... they just change the format to something you obviously don't like.

 

[JustinT]

My guess........Cumulus will buy Cox's Houston cluster. They will divest 97.1 to EMF..

If you're taking on powerhouse KSBJ, you're going to need a better stick than 97.1. KROI and K-LOVE are meant to be.

 

[Mediafrog+]

If you're taking on powerhouse KSBJ, you're going to need a better stick than 97.1. KROI and K-LOVE are meant to be.

I agree that KROI would be an excellent outlet for EMF. And Urban One could unload it knowing it wasn't going to be a competitor to KMJQ or KBXX. But there are quite a few possibilities for 92.1 such as a Sportstalk simulcast with either 610 or 790. An intriguing possibility is to reestablish the simulcast with 97.1 (which it had from 1992-95 during the KRTS Classical years) which would provide full market coverage as is happening with the 106.9/107.5 combo.

While on the subject of Houston radio changes, we should note today's sale announcement of the Cox television stations. Once that closes (or perhaps sooner?) the Cox radio stations will likely be in play. If 97.1 winds up with new ownership a format change is almost a certainty. While Country Legends has pulled respectable numbers for a rimshot, the audience is quite old, and as has been mentioned on this board, the station bills poorly.

The next 12-18 months might be quite interesting for radio here in Houston.