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Sandy Beach To Retire. David Bellavia to mornings.

Where's "here"?

Anyway, the dominos are starting to fall. Please, Tim & Tim - DON'T give the slot to Beamer. Hire Bellavia back.
 
TheBigA said:
On this board.
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You're thinking of another board. Beach's retirement came up a time or two, but it hasn't been "rumored for months". In fact, my money's on this not being a "retirement" but a failed contract negotiation. Greg Ried gave Beach a four-day workweek at his last contract renewal - something Tim Holly would never do.
 
I think Bellavia is committed to a much larger audience and a much bigger platform. Considering revenues right now, it wouldn't surprise me if they kept Bauerle in PM drive and went syndicated in mid-days with Rush as part of the package (as long as he keeps breathing).
 
Radio contracts and 80 year old men ultimately expire. If Entercom sees no upside in keeping him, it's Bon Voyage. As Michael Corleone's character said-- "It's not personal, just business"...
 
Love the quote on Allaccess.com from Tim Holly, GM of WBEN today. "commitment to excellence and dedication to delivering exceptional content for over half a decade"; BEACH celebrated 50 years in radio in 2018..."

50 years in the business and just over 5 of those 50 years was Sandy committed to excellence and dedication to delivering exceptional content.

Not being a fan of Sandy's, that sounds about right!
 
Tall Thin One said:
50 years in the business and just over 5 of those 50 years was Sandy committed to excellence and dedication to delivering exceptional content
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And were those 5 years all in a row?

Coulda been 1972, 1978, 1987, 1995 and 2007. Or maybe 1968, 1977, 1991, 2002 and 2012. Although some may say 1975, 1986, 1990, 1992 and 2006.
 
Tall Thin One said:
Love the quote on Allaccess.com from Tim Holly, GM of WBEN today. "commitment to excellence and dedication to delivering exceptional content for over half a decade"; BEACH celebrated 50 years in radio in 2018..."

50 years in the business and just over 5 of those 50 years was Sandy committed to excellence and dedication to delivering exceptional content.

Not being a fan of Sandy's, that sounds about right!
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"Spewing Right Wing invective for half a century" is what Holly may have meant to say. WBEN is over and Entercom knows it. Beach's departure is just another big salary off the books. Half a decade too late perhaps...
 
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tbolt909 said:
"Spewing Right Wing invective for half a century" is what Holly may have meant to say. WBEN is over and Entercom knows it. Beach's departure is just another big salary off the books. Half a decade too late perhaps...
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First of all, Beach wasn't "spewing Right Wing invective for half a century". Most of his career was as a music jock, not a talk show host. Secondly, you've been killing off WBEN for as long as you've been on this board, and you've been WRONG. They're still in the top tier of stations in the city. They may not appeal to my taste, but they're still bringing in ratings - and money. If you had the talent maybe you could get a job spewing Left Wing invective so you could balance out their political viewpoint, get the big ratings you think they're missing, and make a boatload of money.

Just what would YOU do with WBEN, 'Bolt? You're quick to complain about what is, but damn short on answers that make any economic sense for the stations you complain about.

Sandy Beach as a music jock was an inspiration to me. Sandy Beach as a talk show host was not. Perhaps he should have had a big 50 year celebration and hung up the headphones then. They again, he apparently still had a contract that paid him a bunch of money. WBEN also didn't exactly have a "rising star" waiting in the background, although Mike Schopp seems to be so bored with sports (except fantasy) that maybe he'll want to move over to a place where he can pontificate about the state of the entire world and not just the sports world.

I wish Sandy luck, and a chance to learn to enjoy retirement. If that doesn't work out, there's always WECK, or WEBR.
 
SirRoxalot said:


First of all, Beach wasn't "spewing Right Wing invective for half a century". Most of his career was as a music jock, not a talk show host. Secondly, you've been killing off WBEN for as long as you've been on this board, and you've been WRONG. They're still in the top tier of stations in the city. They may not appeal to my taste, but they're still bringing in ratings - and money. If you had the talent maybe you could get a job spewing Left Wing invective so you could balance out their political viewpoint, get the big ratings you think they're missing, and make a boatload of money. .
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Bravo!

Well stated. Period.

WBEN is essentially tied for #1 in market billings last year. That is hardly a dying or dead radio station.
 
I'm looking around the country at other Entercom talk stations for a hint of how they might replace Sandy Beach. I'm not seeing them use syndication between 9AM and noon at any of the talk stations I checked. WPHT Philly is local. WTIC Hartford is local. WCCO Minneapolis is all local talk. WBT Charlotte is local. WILK Wilkes-Barre is all local. So looking at Entercom talk stations around the country, my expectation is some form of local talk.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Bravo!

Well stated. Period.

WBEN is essentially tied for #1 in market billings last year. That is hardly a dying or dead radio station.
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Being #1 in billing must not be that great at the moment. If Beach was generating big money, they would have found a way to keep him in some capacity. Others have implied that he did not want to retire. Either way, his longevity is impressive (even if one disagrees with his viewpoints).

WBEN hangs on because Buffalo wallows in the past. This format is hardly thriving in other markets. The failed WBEN FM simulcast showed that the format is not growing. Even David must acknowledge reality. The country is changing. Not enough replacement listeners for this product...
 
tbolt909 said:
WBEN hangs on because Buffalo wallows in the past. This format is hardly thriving in other markets. The failed WBEN FM simulcast showed that the format is not growing. Even David must acknowledge reality. The country is changing. Not enough replacement listeners for this product...
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Let me repeat another part of my previous post:

Just what would YOU do with WBEN, 'Bolt? You're quick to complain about what is, but damn short on answers that make any economic sense for the stations you complain about.
 
DavidEduardo said:
WBEN is essentially tied for #1 in market billings last year. That is hardly a dying or dead radio station.
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That's because there hasn't been a lineup change in decades. Beach is the first domino to fall. Limbaugh will be next. This time next year 'BEN billing could easily be out of the top spot.
 
SirRoxalot said:


Let me repeat another part of my previous post:

Just what would YOU do with WBEN, 'Bolt? You're quick to complain about what is, but damn short on answers that make any economic sense for the stations you complain about.
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You should be asking Entercom, not me. Maybe they can sell it to your hero Sandy Beach. He should be able to buy it and get the insider deal...
 
tbolt909 said:
Being #1 in billing must not be that great at the moment. If Beach was generating big money, they would have found a way to keep him in some capacity. Others have implied that he did not want to retire. Either way, his longevity is impressive (even if one disagrees with his viewpoints).
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Nobody's billings are the same since March. It affects all stations, so many have had to make tough decisions on staff reduction, unpaid furloughs, and other cuts. It has nothing to do with the format or the market.

WBEN hangs on because Buffalo wallows in the past. This format is hardly thriving in other markets. The failed WBEN FM simulcast showed that the format is not growing. Even David must acknowledge reality. The country is changing. Not enough replacement listeners for this product...
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Unless something changes, people age a year every 365 days. So formats don't just drop off a cliff... they slip bit by bit downhill. And in markets that are not as dependent on agency revenue because they are outside the must-buy markets, local sellers with good abilities can sell 55+ if they approach the right businesses.

The talk format is doing quite well in other markets. Some are not, but that is due to bad management at the local level... such as WGN in Chicago that was destroyed by a famous industry "genius". Others, like WSB and WERC and WBT and even KDKA and WKYC and WJR and WOOD are doing marvelously... just to name a few.

There is a cartoon character who has a little rain cloud that follows him around. Is that your inspiration?

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Btfsplk )
 
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