The problem with this station and all the other former ABC stations goes back to Disney ownership 20 years ago. This is not a recent problem, and longtime listeners know it.
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PLJ SOLD
- Thread starter leethalweapon
- Start date
The problem with this station and all the other former ABC stations goes back to Disney ownership 20 years ago. This is not a recent problem, and longtime listeners know it.
True, but the rampant mismanagement at Cumulus (doing nothing to help this also-ran station for years while assuming and running up debt) finally killed the patient. Cumulus did little to nothing to fix the properties that needed it - WPLJ is a prime example. Blink/Fresh/WNEW-FM was a basket case for years, but CBS put some effort into finding a workable format.
So now the station will have a new owners who will change the format to something that's not duplicated in the market.
Yep. Cumulus gets the cash they need and it's one less commercial station to compete in the market for a dwindling revenue pie, so its win-win for radio operators. But Cumulus loses the revenue and the listeners lose a mainstream outlet. Had Cumulus fixed PLJ (what competent owners do), they wouldn't have had to forgo the revenue. Cumulus' debt, of course, is still an issue either way.
After 20 years and three different owners (plus lots of staff changes) it's obvious that there would be no real "fix" to the station. It needed to be blown up, which is what's happening now. It has nothing to do with debt. This was not a problem that could be fixed with money.
Huh? How do you fix a problem station, with magic? Of course it costs money. But it also requires a business strategy other than "leave it be and bleed it dry." Blowing up PLJ was one of the fix options Cumulus had. Cumulus has fixed stations - WRQX and WMAL in DC come to mind (though they also screwed up RQX first). Companies inherit and fix problem stations all the time. However, Cumulus did not. The debt is the reason they sold WPLJ to EMF - the quick cash fix.
fixing PLJ, IMHO, would have needed WHOLE new air talent.
Wipe the slate dry. Keep Race Taylor as the voice. Make the station appointment listening again. a good morning show where people know how to talk, entertain, and be sarcastic without insulting.
a Decent Drive time show focused on music you don't hear alot of.
a 1-6 PM Drive home Show that is set up like podcast talk to attract the kiddies...
and nothing but music from 6-12.
that's what I would do at least. you need a reason to keep people coming back. and playing the same 40 songs and the same 5 commercial sets on unlistenable streaming ad breaks isn't going to cut it in this day and age with entertainment EVERYWHERE.
that was the best part of S and T and Rocky Allen. they kept you guessing and salivating about what was going to come next.
So iHeart is also going through bankruptcy. Using your logic, which NY stations are they going to sell?
Yes Cumulus fixed WRQX, and then they sold it. So fixing a station doesn't mean they keep them.
New York is not a town that accepts new talent or any change easily.
Yes, they wanted the cash. But the main reason for selling is the fact that they did not have a competitive cluster in NYC to go up against Entercom and iHeart in the sales arena. So the best thing was to sell and pay down debt and concentrate on the markets where they have critical mass.
I trust you realize that your perspective is but a few years in the life of WPLJ. People remember not only what is currently, but what was, and those call letters are a link to their memories. That’s what’s disturbing to many. That link will be gone June 1st!
.WPLJ has long been the station you listen to when Z100 or 106.7 Lite FM are in commercial break.
The development of 102.7 WNEW into a decent station in recent years has hurt PLJ. To some degree, I think 92.3 in its CHR/Pop phase damaged PLJ, too. 92.3 for a while was the P2 station for many Z100 P1's.
Thanks to the deep thinkers at Brown University.
You're spreading yourself too thin on these forums - apples and oranges. As David has mentioned, iHeart has a dominant cluster in NYC. They also still have over twice as much debt as Cumulus, so they may be selling somewhere eventually, but not NYC. Plus, iHeart has fixed their problem stations, unlike Cumulus in this case.
They kept better-billing WMAL (at least for now). Perhaps they'll make swap deals that value the stations better in the future, rather than taking cash at a bargain basement price for markets where they have few properties.
iHeart has lots of problem stations, just not in NY. Your point was the debt prevented Cumulus from fixing WPLJ. Yet their debt didn't prevent them from fixing WRQX. That's why I said debt has nothing to do with it. They seem to have operational cash to hire staff or make format changes. The NY radio market has been "niched" to death. There is no consensus format that they could have changed to that would have solved the problem. So they stuck with being an also-ran Hot AC.
Is there is a chance to save WPLJ and have it sold to another owner before EMF flips the switch? Bonneville International, Saga, and Beasley can kick the tires and offer a good price.
People are campaign to save WPLJ and force EMF to sell. Social medias are burning up the internet and twitter as wel.
People are campaign to save WPLJ and force EMF to sell. Social medias are burning up the internet and twitter as wel.
Pulling the rug out from under a certified buyer could lead to lawsuits.
Brown shouldn't have sold that.
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