WWCD, 93X, and iHeart

[dave00]

Now that CD is gone for good, what’s the real scoop here?

Here’s what seems to be public knowledge:

• Delmar and Randy talks “broke down” last fall
• Delmar announces plan to keep WWCD alive, but under their ownership
• Randy threatens Delmar for attempting to use WWCD’s likeness, brand, and more
• Delmar continues launching with alternative and “93X” was perceived as the last-minute rebranded version of Delmar’s WWCD
• 93X makes it a couple of weeks and pivots to oldies
• iHeart applies for WWCD call letters for 105.7 and then switched back to WXZX
• WWCD closes for good today

Here’s the stuff I wonder about:

• Some speculation exists that Randy and/or WWCD couldn’t meet the terms, implying business or personal problems, whereas others suggested the terms were not meant to be met and the deal was in bad faith.
• Regardless, what was the point of Delmar’s alternative experiment? Did they honestly think they could do alternative better and then got clearer heads a few weeks in?
• Since-deleted posts on Reddit have claimed 93X was just “stunting”. But who stunts as a serious, even further left of the dial indie station, only to become an oldies format? That doesn’t make sense and feels revisionist.
• Another deleted posts said 93X was meant to “troll Randy” and the entire 5 week experiment was just a middle finger to Randy? Again, what? Why?
• All of that seems pretty revisionist to cover over a 5 week long format failure, but there just wasn’t any business sense to the 93X format at all. That was obvious before they launched.
• Finally, what happened between Randy and iHeart? Seems pretty bizarre for iHeart to temporarily snag the WWCD calls and then pivot back to WXZX like no biggie.

Anyways, I’d enjoy people’s theories if they have time.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Honestly, I think it came down to finances.

Internet only royalties are a monster to cover, and he had an air staff also to take care of. If the reason he could not come to terms with ICS/Delmar was over a late payment clause and increase in lease fees for the two AMs/two FM translators I feel like it was going to be an uphill battle going internet only.

He did try and I give him credit for that. There a very few "internet only stations' with such a following as he had carried over with.

As I said in another post, I had hope that if he could sell the Big Room (since he did put it up for sale) that he could weather the storm of transitioning to internet only and come out successful on the other side.

Clearly whatever we are not privy too that was going on behind the curtains made more sense for him to put it to bed on 4/28/24 with no notice or fanfare.

 

[lanceventa]

Here’s the stuff I wonder about:

• Some speculation exists that Randy and/or WWCD couldn’t meet the terms, implying business or personal problems, whereas others suggested the terms were not meant to be met and the deal was in bad faith.

Here's facts. Malloy was in negotiations to purchase WWCD/WQCD from Delmar over ten years. The negotiations broke down in December when Delmar demanded terms that Malloy deemed "unreasonable". (source: Alternative rock station CD 92.9 to switch operators the end of January)

• Regardless, what was the point of Delmar’s alternative experiment? Did they honestly think they could do alternative better and then got clearer heads a few weeks in?
• Since-deleted posts on Reddit have claimed 93X was just “stunting”. But who stunts as a serious, even further left of the dial indie station, only to become an oldies format? That doesn’t make sense and feels revisionist.
• Another deleted posts said 93X was meant to “troll Randy” and the entire 5 week experiment was just a middle finger to Randy? Again, what? Why?
• All of that seems pretty revisionist to cover over a 5 week long format failure, but there just wasn’t any business sense to the 93X format at all. That was obvious before they launched.

93X was a long-term plan until it wasn't. The negative press for how they handled the switchover and the contract negotiations likely led to them being unable to get advertisers and thus the pivot.

It wasn't a stunt, not meant to troll, all just because they botched the launch.

• Finally, what happened between Randy and iHeart? Seems pretty bizarre for iHeart to temporarily snag the WWCD calls and then pivot back to WXZX like no biggie.

There were legitimate negotiations for iHeart to license the CD brand in some form for 105.7. They did not come to terms outside of iHeart parking the WWCD calls on an AM in Florida should Malloy have found a new signal for the brand.

 

[delgriffith]

Your first fact is incorrect. Delmar and Malloy had only been together 3 years. Not 10. The other years was an LMA with Zanesville owned 102.5.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

There were legitimate negotiations for iHeart to license the CD brand in some form for 105.7. They did not come to terms outside of iHeart parking the WWCD calls on an AM in Florida should Malloy have found a new signal for the brand.

It would have been interesting, to say the least, to see iHeart try to pull off such a transition, given how it was routinely derided by the WWCD and their listeners as the epitome of corporate radio, the antithesis of WWCD's mission. iHeart would have had to engineer the radio equivalent of modern political 180s. On a related note, it was kind of curious seeing (understandably) upset WWCD listeners decry Delmar as evil corporate radio, when -- as one of Oldies 92.9 positioners states -- it's actually live and local.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Your first fact is incorrect. Delmar and Malloy had only been together 3 years. Not 10. The other years was an LMA with Zanesville owned 102.5.

Yeah, the Dispatch article said it was a six-year LMA with Delmar. Malloy and predecessor Fun With Radio leased 102.5 from WHIZ (Southeastern Ohio Broadcasting System) for nearly 10 years.

 

[secondchoice]

If I understand the newspaper's story: $26k plus $14k that's $40,000 a month. Isn't that "strong" for the market? I don't think streaming fees are that high unless you have tens of thousands of folks using your site for music.

 

[Rusty Muck]

It would have been interesting, to say the least, to see iHeart try to pull off such a transition, given how it was routinely derided by the WWCD and their listeners as the epitome of corporate radio, the antithesis of WWCD's mission. iHeart would have had to engineer the radio equivalent of modern political 180s.

It also makes one wonder where the impasse exactly came from. No doubt a license/program agreement with Malloy would have been a win-win for all parties (in particular on WWCD's end), but we'll never know as to what was being considered.

I can't believe that iHeart would have only been interested in just the intellectual property and brand name and slap that on 105.7. And they have leased out stations to other operators before.