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iHeartMedia clusters that have zero local personalities

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victorres43

Voicetracking is a widespread practice in the radio industry, but there are clusters within iHeartMedia that, in fact, do not have a local host in any of their stations.

Some I can think of on top of my head:
Dickinson ND
Gallup NM
Jackson MS
Montgomery AL
Tupelo MS

Granted, these are minor, low revenue markets.
 
victorres43 said:
Voicetracking is a widespread practice in the radio industry, but there are clusters within iHeartMedia that, in fact, do not have a local host in any of their stations.
Click to expand...

I bet they would gladly sell all of those stations if someone made a reasonable offer.
 
I agree. What do you suppose a "reasonable offer" might be?
22 radio stations in small markets, of which 4 are AMs.

Using the recent Townsquare-Cherry Creek acquisition as a guide, probably somewhere around $12 million. Not exactly pocket change.
 
Fort Smith, AR doesn't have any local talent, Fayetteville, AR has 1 across 4 stations, and Springfield, MO has 2 doing PM drive across their 5 stations. These are ones I know due to proximity to my home.
 
I also want to mention that Ogallala NE, Pueblo CO, and Somerset KY also lack local talent.

I don't know if the likes of Townsquare are in a shopping spree for stations...
 
victorres43 said:
I don't know if the likes of Townsquare are in a shopping spree for stations...
Click to expand...

They explained in the purchase release for Cherry Creek that they're primarily interested in radio stations if they promote their digital platforms. The Cherry Creek stations were well staffed and well run. From what I read here, that's not the case with the iHeart stations.

We look forward to accelerating the digital growth in these markets as we implement our flywheel of powerful and effective marketing and advertising (digital and radio) solutions and technology platforms, in combination with our highly relevant, localized content on-air and online. We believe this acquisition furthers our goal of being the #1 Digital First Local Media Company in markets outside of the Top 50 in the United States.”
Click to expand...
 
BigA. Interesting comment. Certainly valid. So this brings up a great question. Stations that have no local interaction/talent etc, like Montgomery AL (a tough market, but some great signals) are worth, by recent sale price numbers, about what?

Also, Townsquare seems to have their act together for at least the near future. Obviously the pulse of radio and digital are changing daily. What are they doing that the bigger corps and companies are “missing?”

This is fascinating to me.
 
Tibbs4 said:
Stations that have no local interaction/talent etc, like Montgomery AL (a tough market, but some great signals) are worth, by recent sale price numbers, about what?
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HeyTibbs. iHeart owns the Top 3 stations in Montgomery. #1, #2, and #3. They obviously don't need local interaction if people listen.

Tibbs4 said:
What are they doing that the bigger corps and companies are “missing?”
Click to expand...

They've got their debt situation under control.
 
What do you think those signals would sell for in today’s market? I occasionally go through that area on the way to the beach and it has been a few years since I listened.
 
I am somewhat perplexed, though, that iHeart hasn't came up with a unified branding/station name for stations of the same format in small to medium sized markets. Especially if a lot of them share the same personalities and music scheduling.

Like in Canada, all Bell-owned AC stations are Move, and all Bell-owned adult hits stations are branded as Bounce. Also in the UK, all Global-owned ACs are branded as Heart.
 
victorres43 said:
I also want to mention that Ogallala NE, Pueblo CO, and Somerset KY also lack local talent.

I don't know if the likes of Townsquare are in a shopping spree for stations...
Click to expand...

Ogallala, NE does have local sports play by play and they do have a local tradio show
 
Have you ever noticed most of the iheart media stations do a very poor job with their talent bios and don't edit anything?

Case in point from Magic 97.1 Montgomery, AL:
mymagic97.iheart.com

About Jo Jo | Magic 97.1

Want to know more about Jo Jo? Get their official bio, social pages & articles on iHeartRadio!
mymagic97.iheart.com mymagic97.iheart.com
 
Tibbs4 said:
I was specifically asking about the Montgomery AL market on what those iHeart stations are worth.
Click to expand...
The most recent comparable size market deal was Savannah, GA to Dick Broadcasting. It was originally for $5 million, but wound up at $2.25 million. Not really apples to apples since it was part of a larger deal originally, but it does suggest that the market is soft now. I also don't know what tangible assets iHeart actually has in each market. That's the closest comp I can find.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Have you ever noticed most of the iheart media stations do a very poor job with their talent bios and don't edit anything?

Case in point from Magic 97.1 Montgomery, AL:
mymagic97.iheart.com

About Jo Jo | Magic 97.1

Want to know more about Jo Jo? Get their official bio, social pages & articles on iHeartRadio!
mymagic97.iheart.com mymagic97.iheart.com
Click to expand...
Other than identifying him as "Jo Jo", "Jo-Jo" and "JOJO" in the same article, the bio is clear and grammatically 100 percent correct. What did you find in it that deserves your negativity? It even mentions that Jo Jo (or whatever his name is) isn't local and does shows for several stations in other cities.
 
CTListener said:
Other than identifying him as "Jo Jo", "Jo-Jo" and "JOJO" in the same article, the bio is clear and grammatically 100 percent correct. What did you find in it that deserves your negativity? It even mentions that Jo Jo (or whatever his name is) isn't local and does shows for several stations in other cities.
Click to expand...
I believe he's pointing out the fact that this bio says, "Although he is based locally here in Jacksonville, Jo-Jo ...", it is on the website for their Montgomery, AL station. It was just a cut and paste job. Just changing 'Jacksonville' to 'Montgomery' would have taken a few seconds, and while not factually correct, the average listener not in the business would never really look at it twice. Truthfully, they really don't have to say anything about where he's based. By stating the fact that he's not local, aren't they really reinforcing to the listener that local markets don't matter, it's really just a national product delivered with no real localization?
 
CTListener said:
Other than identifying him as "Jo Jo", "Jo-Jo" and "JOJO" in the same article, the bio is clear and grammatically 100 percent correct. What did you find in it that deserves your negativity? It even mentions that Jo Jo (or whatever his name is) isn't local and does shows for several stations in other cities.
Click to expand...

That.. that he is not local. They say hes based somewhere else.

Its one thing if he was in montgomery and it was their hometown guy doing shows elsewhere.. does my point make sense? lcoal gu ydone good, not someone elses guy.

Here i am on 105.5 The Legend WVIG Terre, IN and their website.. the talent bios on our stations

www.wvigthelegend.com

Linda Flores on Overnights

Paul Walker on 105.5 The Legend on Overnights
www.wvigthelegend.com www.wvigthelegend.com

Doesnt give away where i am or am not.
 
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