WYAY -- purchased by EMF from Cumulus

[davideduardo]

Cumulus was trying to pay off some debt. They needed to sell the biggest signals. For example, in NYC, they could have sold the inferior 103.9 WNBM, but they sold 95.5 WPLJ. NY area signals don't get much better than that. So, in Atlanta, they chose to tell one of their big signals.

They did not "have" to sell those particular stations, but each has a logical reasong:

WPLJ is a stand-alone FM (103.9 is a suburban station and does not count) in a market where the big players are in clusters.

WYAY is a rimshot and not a full market signal. It is a Gainsville station, not a true Atlanta one.

Even the DC station, although recently on a ratings climb, is a stand-alone music FM in a market where clusters of many stations dominate.

In other words, they were selling stations that were inferior signals (WNSH, WYAY) or under-performers that were not in big clusters (WPLJ, WRQX).

The suburban class A that is 103.9 will be a separate issue. It has little billing and just about zero ratings.

 

[jabba17]

They did not "have" to sell those particular stations, but each has a logical reasong:

WYAY is a rimshot and not a full market signal. It is a Gainsville station, not a true Atlanta one.

WYAY (and the Fish on the same stick) are technically rimshots, but they are helluva rimshots. Their signals carry a great distance. The downside, of course, is building penetration intown. But that's a disadvantage that "competitor" (and I use that term loosely) WSBB-FM 95.5 also shares.

Frankly, I was hoping that Cumulus would put a music format on the station that would appeal to both the Atlanta and Athens markets, as it covers both nicely. Perhaps a rock format (again, possibility of moving Rock 100.5) that wouldn't depend as much on building penetration the way an AC or news-talker might.

 

[davideduardo]

Frankly, I was hoping that Cumulus would put a music format on the station that would appeal to both the Atlanta and Athens markets, as it covers both nicely. Perhaps a rock format (again, possibility of moving Rock 100.5) that wouldn't depend as much on building penetration the way an AC or news-talker might.

There is no advantage to additionally get ratings in the Athens market. Advertisers won't pay any more for that than for a pure Atlanta play.

Remember, too, that "work" does not mean an office. It means a delivery truck, a construction site, a stockroom or loading dock... plenty of places we all know that rock stations seem to be heard playing loudly!

 

[TheBigA]

WPLJ is a stand-alone FM (103.9 is a suburban station and does not count) in a market where the big players are in clusters.

I think this is a very big factor, when looking at this from a sales point of view. It's similar to Emmis, which was also attempting to compete against the bigger clusters. It becomes harder to get major advertisers to buy time when you can only give them one or two stations and no digital, compared to what CBS or iHeart could offer. Don't just look at these as individual stations, but clusters. Same situation in DC. I think Cumulus realized it simply couldn't compete, so they might as well get out of the game.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

I think this is a very big factor, when looking at this from a sales point of view. It's similar to Emmis, which was also attempting to compete against the bigger clusters. It becomes harder to get major advertisers to buy time when you can only give them one or two stations and no digital, compared to what CBS or iHeart could offer. Don't just look at these as individual stations, but clusters. Same situation in DC. I think Cumulus realized it simply couldn't compete, so they might as well get out of the game.

As a buyer, I purchase individual stations and not clusters. For one thing, the stations in single cluster tend not to compete against each other in terms of target audience. So multiple stations within the same cluster might not be right for the same buy. Second, the iHeart's of the world pitch stations individually. Each is on its own Tapscan, etc., and not presented as a package. True, Cumulus does not have strong clusters in DC and NY, and the cost of staff cannot be amortized over several stations. But I doubt media buyers at large agencies purchase clusters and not individual stations unless doing a cluster buy is based on a relationship. Star 94 as a standalone did tremendously well in billings at one time during the post-deregulation years.

 

[TheBigA]

Cumulus does not have strong clusters in DC and NY, and the cost of staff cannot be amortized over several stations. But I doubt media buyers at large agencies purchase clusters and not individual stations unless doing a cluster buy is based on a relationship.

Take a look at the NY clusters of iHeart and Entercom in terms of their target audiences and their overall package that includes online content and other NTR, particularly the way it affects NY. An agency may not buy the entire cluster, but there could be advantages to cherry picking a few as a group. It's a pretty tough package to beat. Cumulus really doesn't have anything that compares. The Cumulus CEO admitted that was part of the reason for selling the stations. It wasn't necessarily the number of stations but rather having that assets that could help them win.

 

[davideduardo]

True, Cumulus does not have strong clusters in DC and NY, and the cost of staff cannot be amortized over several stations. But I doubt media buyers at large agencies purchase clusters and not individual stations unless doing a cluster buy is based on a relationship. Star 94 as a standalone did tremendously well in billings at one time during the post-deregulation years.

You hit on the real cluster issue which is the savings on having one GM, one office location, and many other areas where economy of scale is introduced. Many things like insurance and accounting and even janitorial are cheaper when spread across multiple stations in one group. You get better and better operating margins the more stations you have in a cluster.

From my experience in a market where we did virtually 100% of sales to agencies and no local selling, an agency will look at rank, cost metrics (CPP or CPM) r&f if they are into that, and buy accordingly irrespective of the ownership.

A cluster may have the ability to field more sellers to more clients than a solo or small operator, and at the local level they may get more multi-station buys from direct accounts that like the convenience and efficiency and the possible discounts.

However, a station that should be bought will sometimes be skipped if it gives poor service or the format is unattractive to the client or agency.

 

[Mediafrog+]

WPLJ is a stand-alone FM (103.9 is a suburban station and does not count) in a market where the big players are in clusters.
(snip)
Even the DC station, although recently on a ratings climb, is a stand-alone music FM in a market where clusters of many stations dominate.

This is why those of us in Houston are keeping a sharp eye on KRBE, which is a Cumulus stand-alone. Does very well in the ratings with CHR, and would be snapped up quickly should it be put on the block. I don't see EMF as a buyer, though.

 

[Rick Rose 2.0]

The first flip out of this major k love buy is set to be May 31/June 1 as 95.5 New York will become K Love. So 106.7 cant be far behind that.