Changes at WECK - Buffalo's #1 Oldies Station

[Tall Thin One]

Hmmmm. Buddy's messing with success again.

Haven't seen this round of changes in Alan Pergament's column.

Could it be temporary or a permanent change because of Convid-19? Bobby O now 10-3, Cindy Chan moves from weekends to PM drive 3-6 PM.

Jon Summers and Harve Moore are still listed on a banner on the website, but no show times. Maybe the old timers are just Staying Home. Staying Safe.

Buddy, can you help me out? I lost my job pumping gas...

 

[nitro99]

Danny's been removed from the website with little fanfare.

On another note, WECK has freshened up the music, dropping a lot of pre-1965 tunes and adding hits from 1973-1980.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Harv Moore and Jon Summers are in the highest risk group for mortality from Covid-19. If they're still operating from the studios it's likely that the risk to them is simply too high. If they're still on the website, then they're likely on hiatus. Danny is over 80 and also at much greater risk. He may simply have reached a point where he's ready to put WECK in his past.

Most other stations in town have their on-air staff working from home. They have the technology to do that and people who need the gig to survive - not people who need to survive the gig.

 

[Mark1981]

Pergament weighs in.

The Buffalo News’ Alan Pergament weighs in on WECK changes:

https://buffalonews.com/2020/04/06/...eck-as-station-deals-with-advertising-losses/

My reading of this is that the WECK radio personalities were furloughed due to the advertising cuts rather than protecting them from coronavirus. I’m not being critical of Buddy here. He’s doing what he has to do as a small business owner. It does look like Danny, though, is finished at WECK. He was very candid about how his situation was handled. Plus, Cindy Chan posted on her Facebook page that her brief stint as an afternoon host ended as quickly as it began. Cindy says she’s back to once-a-week on Sundays.

Personally, I stopped listening to WECK after Tom Donahue was unceremoniously dumped last fall. I enjoyed listening to Tom and Gail, and I rarely missed a Monday when Danny joined them. I’m at a loss on why Buddy would mis-handle such a legendary personality as Danny. There had to be a mutually acceptable way for him to continue doing a show once-a-week as opposed to a five minute vignette. Oh well!

 

[Rusty Bridges]

The Buffalo News’ Alan Pergament weighs in on WECK changes:

https://buffalonews.com/2020/04/06/...eck-as-station-deals-with-advertising-losses/
I’m at a loss on why Buddy would mis-handle such a legendary personality as Danny. There had to be a mutually acceptable way for him to continue doing a show once-a-week as opposed to a five minute vignette. Oh well!

You just don't kick legacies to the curb, especially Neaverth. First, he's beloved. Second, he bites back. Third, his name alone lifts an Oldies station's brand. That having been said, there comes a time when the shelf life of every personality expires. These guys probably had more gas in the tank, but the present economy dictated otherwise. From waiters and waitresses to car salesmen, to radio and TV personnel, everybody is paying a price. Zach and Neaverth probably have some pretty interesting Buddy stories.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Maybe Danny's angling for a gig on WJJL...

 

[spt87]

I don't think Danny said anything all that bad in the article. He mixed in enough humor that anything that was a bit critical was pretty watered down. Maybe what he said hit a nerve that was not fully understood but the response back from Mr. Shula was a mistake. He could have just said Danny was dropped for economic reasons and left all the not being a team player stuff out. Blasting him with his legacy at his age just reflects back poorly. People have the listener connection with Danny not the station's owner - a connection that goes back in some cases to the 1960's.

As for Tom and Gail, I'll admit I preferred them in the morning but I can see if morning's were underperforming where a different approach could be desired. All the talk of them continuing in a different roll at the station seems to have been spin, though.

It's sad the state of radio that it goes down the dumper financially so quickly from a bump (admittedly grand canyon sized in this case) in the road that everyone from the big owners to the small have to throw so many people overboard to stay afloat. Its tough to serve their mission without any stability for the staff or even people live on the air.

 

[davideduardo]

It's sad the state of radio that it goes down the dumper financially so quickly from a bump (admittedly grand canyon sized in this case) in the road that everyone from the big owners to the small have to throw so many people overboard to stay afloat. Its tough to serve their mission without any stability for the staff or even people live on the air.

There is nothing new or unusual about the liquidity of radio stations or radio groups.

Many years ago I owned a group of a dozen or so stations. They were highly rated in their markets, and in our "home" market we had nearly 50% of the shares in a 30 station city.

But were we to have had the current incident back then, I would not have had the money to operate at full staffing for more than a month or two. And with cutbacks, I could not have lasted 90 days before the tank was empty.

Radio was and is a small business... even the big groups have a collection of small business groups in each city. The current situation does not mean there was a lack of planning... it is just pretty normal for radio. And my personal story is from 50 years ago... before the Internet, before cable, before iPhones.

 

[TheBigA]

It's sad the state of radio that it goes down the dumper financially so quickly from a bump (admittedly grand canyon sized in this case) in the road that everyone from the big owners to the small have to throw so many people overboard to stay afloat. Its tough to serve their mission without any stability for the staff or even people live on the air.

Not much different than most of the service industries and restaurants that make up places like Buffalo today. Take a look at your downtown area. The question is how many of those businesses will survive after laying off their staffs for three months. This isn't just a radio thing.

 

[Element9]

The pandemic has affected every component of daily life. Some local businesses/shops/restaurants will never make a comeback. It wouldn't in the least be a surprise to find that radio will be dramatically changed from here on out. Even if businesses and by extension radio make a raging comeback in the third or fourth quarter, 2020 is a write-off. The year that died in its tracks. No humor or pun intended in that.

 

[spt87]

Not much different than most of the service industries and restaurants that make up places like Buffalo today. Take a look at your downtown area. The question is how many of those businesses will survive after laying off their staffs for three months. This isn't just a radio thing.

Good point. With media it is more in your face. I've wondered what the world will look like after this from a restaurant and retail point of view. I suspect a lot will be different for a long time if not permanently.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

In a recent interview, Bill Gates offered that the general economy may not come back before 2022, but the radio business may come out of the corona virus recession better and marginally sooner than expected. In many ways, radio is better equipped to endure than other businesses because of the technology that allows it to adapt. Although come companies like Entercom have cut to the bone, other companies such as Cumulus seem to have wisely taken a more cautious approach, ordering short but mandatory unpaid furloughs and pay cuts across the board. Mary Berner is more likely aware of how the purges of her predecessor at Citadel debilitated the productivity and morale of that company. I've been sampling more radio stations than at first and each station, music or talk, seems to have commercial clusters that are full, featuring local, regional and national clients who have tailored their messaging to adapt to the crisis. I have no idea what the unit rates or payment plans are, but it appears sales is selling to the extent that it can and business is being done.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Welcome to the world of economics, folks. Some basic laws apply - like the law of supply and demand. We have pent-up demand for a lot of local retail and services - like restaurants and bars and out-of-home entertainment. That will help bring sales back to radio. Most of those establishments who were on a sound footing will reopen and hire back their best employees. Of course, some won't survive. Some former employees may choose not to return. Some may decide to stretch their enhanced unemployment benefits because it makes more economic and personal sense than paying for child care or other work expenses for little financial or personal gain. The unemployment rate is likely to decline much more slowly than it grew.

You'll also have companies that had planned deep cuts and more consolidation going forward who have used the Covid emergency to speed up their plans. If you look at recent statements from Bob Pittman at iHeart this event just accelerates - and compensates - the planned carnage. From All Access:

Prior Modernization Initiatives Continue: Targeting $100 million in Run-Rate Savings by 2021; expect approximately $50 million in 2020

• New Cost Actions: Targeting Further $200 million Savings in 2020
• New Capex Actions: Reducing Capex by Expected $80 million in 2020
• CARES Act Free Cash Flow Benefit: Estimating $100 million Cash Taxes Savings in 2020

The shift in listening from OTA to various forms of online is likely to continue. Entercom's Radio.com and iHeart radio and podcasting are seeing new highs, as is listening via Alexa and other smart speakers. The iHeart approach is the McDonald's approach - provide the same taste everywhere for that part of the audience who wants it. Local content will continue to be reduced to save money. Entercom seems to be following that same path.

Cumulus may be the outlier here. They have fired few people although they've asked people to take pay cuts and accept furloughs as the economic situation evolves. There seems to be an attitude there that people matter, and content matters to listeners who want localization and familiar voices. Their digital strategy piggybacks off others for online listening and they've concentrated on app development for smart speakers and mobile devices.

Which approach will work out best? The first question is "for whom"? Listeners? Advertisers? Employees? Shareholders? The order you select for that list may determine the long-term answer. I'm not sure how many shareholders - or top executives - are interested in "long term". The economy is rife with examples of companies that sacrificed long-term viability for short-term gain that padded the exit deals for top executives and vulture capitalists who sank their hooks into distressed broadcasting companies.

The title of this thread, about "Buffalo's #1 Oldies Statin" is a bit ironic as the discussion has evolved. Statins are used to reduce fat in the blood. Radio's recent history of consolidation and bankruptcy long ago stripped away the fat. Now they're going after the blood. It looks to me like Pittman and David Field plan to suck what they can out of the marrow.

Meanwhile, Buddy will abide. Let's hope that others make it past this plague and its aftermath.

 

[Buddy Shula]

Welcome to the world of economics, folks. Some basic laws apply - like the law of supply and demand. We have pent-up demand for a lot of local retail and services - like restaurants and bars and out-of-home entertainment. That will help bring sales back to radio. Most of those establishments who were on a sound footing will reopen and hire back their best employees. Of course, some won't survive. Some former employees may choose not to return. Some may decide to stretch their enhanced unemployment benefits because it makes more economic and personal sense than paying for child care or other work expenses for little financial or personal gain. The unemployment rate is likely to decline much more slowly than it grew.

You'll also have companies that had planned deep cuts and more consolidation going forward who have used the Covid emergency to speed up their plans. If you look at recent statements from Bob Pittman at iHeart this event just accelerates - and compensates - the planned carnage. From All Access:

Prior Modernization Initiatives Continue: Targeting $100 million in Run-Rate Savings by 2021; expect approximately $50 million in 2020

• New Cost Actions: Targeting Further $200 million Savings in 2020
• New Capex Actions: Reducing Capex by Expected $80 million in 2020
• CARES Act Free Cash Flow Benefit: Estimating $100 million Cash Taxes Savings in 2020

The shift in listening from OTA to various forms of online is likely to continue. Entercom's Radio.com and iHeart radio and podcasting are seeing new highs, as is listening via Alexa and other smart speakers. The iHeart approach is the McDonald's approach - provide the same taste everywhere for that part of the audience who wants it. Local content will continue to be reduced to save money. Entercom seems to be following that same path.

Cumulus may be the outlier here. They have fired few people although they've asked people to take pay cuts and accept furloughs as the economic situation evolves. There seems to be an attitude there that people matter, and content matters to listeners who want localization and familiar voices. Their digital strategy piggybacks off others for online listening and they've concentrated on app development for smart speakers and mobile devices.

Which approach will work out best? The first question is "for whom"? Listeners? Advertisers? Employees? Shareholders? The order you select for that list may determine the long-term answer. I'm not sure how many shareholders - or top executives - are interested in "long term". The economy is rife with examples of companies that sacrificed long-term viability for short-term gain that padded the exit deals for top executives and vulture capitalists who sank their hooks into distressed broadcasting companies.

The title of this thread, about "Buffalo's #1 Oldies Statin" is a bit ironic as the discussion has evolved. Statins are used to reduce fat in the blood. Radio's recent history of consolidation and bankruptcy long ago stripped away the fat. Now they're going after the blood. It looks to me like Pittman and David Field plan to suck what they can out of the marrow.

Meanwhile, Buddy will abide. Let's hope that others make it past this plague and its aftermath.

Cumulus does not have to fire people as they were already ran bad enough to file bankruptcy. Must be nice. Weck is probably in better financial shape than any of these three other major broadcast companies. We are doing fine

 

[DN14224]

More (or is it Moore) changes...
Tom Donahue is back for mornings
Roger “The Magic” Christian slides to 9a-2p
Bobby O 2p-7p

Hope Tom put a good severance clause in his deal

 

[DN14224]

So Harv & Jon are still MIA...did they not get their vaccinations or are the "furloughs" permanent?