Even More Names Affected From Last Week’s Audacy Layoffs
Audacy is conducting a round of significant layoffs today. Sources indicate that approximately 250-300 staffers across the country will be
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Nationwide Audacy layoffs impact “Star 94”
- Thread starter DavidZ
- Start date
radioinsight.com
Well. The PD exits. Will he be replaced? Will the format change?Even More Names Affected From Last Week’s Audacy Layoffs
Audacy is conducting a round of significant layoffs today. Sources indicate that approximately 250-300 staffers across the country will be
I saw on Radio Insight that not only PD Jerry McKenna was affected, but that Skye Smith (middays) and Kannon (afternoons) were let go. They basically gutted the station except for morning drive.
No mention of any layoffs at 92-9 The Game and V-103.
It seems the sports stations took minor hits like middays in San Diego and a partimer in Houston
Seems like Star 94 is always on the verge of a format flip. The question is, if they decided to do something else, what would it be?
Classic Hits? Skews older but you could potentially get bank and car advertisers, and maybe home improvement companies.
News/Talk? 95.5 WSB has a chokehold on the format, but would a full-power FM competitor siphon off some of their audience? If presented the right way, maybe even capture some of the younger demos that only go to WSB because they're the only game in town? Then they could go after the Braves in 2026.
Sports? Why not? Another Audacy-owned full-market sports station would ensure that they would own the sports radio format in Atlanta. They could share talent and have a place for the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and United. A second FM sports station with the Braves on it would also most certainly kill off 680 The Fan.
Star 94 couldn't/wouldn't compete with Q100 when there was an opening for a second CHR, and got soundly beaten when they went head-to-head with B98.5. We already have two country stations, plenty of urbans, two CHRs, a dominant AC, and a dominant classic rock hits station.
I can't think of anything else that might work on 94.1. How about you guys?
Classic Hits? Skews older but you could potentially get bank and car advertisers, and maybe home improvement companies.
News/Talk? 95.5 WSB has a chokehold on the format, but would a full-power FM competitor siphon off some of their audience? If presented the right way, maybe even capture some of the younger demos that only go to WSB because they're the only game in town? Then they could go after the Braves in 2026.
Sports? Why not? Another Audacy-owned full-market sports station would ensure that they would own the sports radio format in Atlanta. They could share talent and have a place for the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and United. A second FM sports station with the Braves on it would also most certainly kill off 680 The Fan.
Star 94 couldn't/wouldn't compete with Q100 when there was an opening for a second CHR, and got soundly beaten when they went head-to-head with B98.5. We already have two country stations, plenty of urbans, two CHRs, a dominant AC, and a dominant classic rock hits station.
I can't think of anything else that might work on 94.1. How about you guys?
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I would agree with you if Star were the only Audacy station affected by this. But major talent was let go all around the country.
Star has good numbers in female demos, and the station is comparatively inexpensive to operate. So my guess is they'll remain in their current format, either automated (except for 7-9AM) or voice-tracked.
I'm guessing Star was the station in the Atlanta cluster most vulnerable to cuts because the music is far more important than the personalities. But I could be wrong.
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I'll bet you're right. That makes sense.
106.7 tried all-news and that didn't last long, and news/talk didn't last long, either.
I'm still surprised that someone hasn't been able to make more of a go with a second FM news/talker, although podcasters and streamers have taken a lot of those potential listeners, so maybe that's why.
The big format holes I see are true classic hits, although you'd be competing with both River and 99X; and soft AC. There will be a big Christmas hole this fall with the Fish gone, so that might suggest soft AC. But background formats have not done well in the PPM era.
Classic hits would have to fill the niche between rock and alternative, more poppy and possibly skewing older (70s/80s) as River and 99X start skewing newer.
KLOVE can put their Spanish language channel on 94.1
Audacy’s not doing a second sports station on a full-powered FM stick. Dilute your own sister station that has been established a lot longer? The amount of sports stations Atlanta has now is really at the limit the market can reasonably sustain.
Looks like V-103 might not have gone unscathed. RAMP is reporting that overnight jock Bubby Love, who has been there forever, was let go. (Nice guy, lousy radio name).
Lord, that IS a horrible radio name!
My thinking was to acquire the Braves and put them on 94.1, then Audacy would control all of the pro sports radio rights in town. Sell 92.9 and 94.1 in tandem, destroy 680 The Fan, and own every bit of the sports-talk audience in Atlanta.
With the exception of the Ga. Bulldogs on 750/95.5
That relationship is etched in stone.
1+1 in this manner wouldn't equal 2. 680/93.7 would still be there and youd be splitting the audience and revenue of 92.9 making it less valuable. The only place where what you're proposing is done with two FMs is Birmingham where Cumulus operates its rimshot on 100.5 as "Jox 2" with the national ESPN lineup as throwaway property in its cluster.
IF WSTR is to flip I guarantee it will be to Variety Hits with Jenn remaining as the local face of the brand similar to how Audacy has one person at KKHH Houston, KJKK Dallas, and WZJK Minneapolis or how it has a local morning show on WSMW Greensboro and jockless rest of the day.
I would welcome Variety Hits.
Problem is, Star 94 can't get out of its own way. Since the blunder of letting Steve & Vikki go, they've not had a competitive morning-drive show, and the music mix went from bland to even more bland. Trying to cobble together The Bert Show minus Bert was a big, expensive mistake.
While the music they're playing is certainly different (and ironic, since Star 94 wouldn't touch 75% of it when it was new), I'd like to see them try the Variety Hits format, something we've not had before, and that works in other markets quite well. They could even use the Star 94 branding.
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Truthfully, if the Braves went anywhere else, that would spell doom for 680 The Fan in any case. They could leave "Star 94" as it is and get the Braves radio rights. Then Audacy would control the local pro sports radio coverage without cannibalizing 92.9.
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Such as 106.7 before the All-news fiasco?
Something like that. All News 106.7 was a huge mistake.
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