Re: Classical serves the community
> Hey 954,
> You hit it right on the head. You see, in a market like
> Miami, a Classical Station can't pay the bills. Let's see
> 100 million for the stick (Didn't Cox pay 125 million for
> WTMI after netting out the other station up north?)...that's
> over a million per month for debt service alone. So, you
> can't borrow the money. That means public company.
> Probably 400K per month in operating expenses. For what - a
> 2.5 share. Let's see, 2.5 share of a 200 million dollar
> market is around 5 million in gross revenue. Let's plus
> that up 20% to adjust for LCS (local commercial share and
> you get 6 million gross. That's around 5.1 after agency
> commissions, 4.3 after sales commissions or about 361K per
> month. Wow, if you're lucky you only lose 39K per month on
> your 100 million dollar property. Just doesn't work. Got
> to be a non-comm. or nothing. It ain't about greed. It's
> about the ridiculous cost of FM's in the top 20 markets...
I'm sure you're right. The numbers seem logical.
Have you heard WLRN's new all-classical HD subchannel? You
can also hear it on their web site, wlrn.org.
> and that's a function of supply over demand. And just so
> you know - I bought my XM receiver 3 days after Cox blew up
> WTMI in Jan of 02. Haven't listened to FM in SFlorida in
> 2.8 years. 4 Classical offerings on XM.
> You're right Classical will still be here after the Rap and
> Hurban and Dance are gone. Just not on commercial radio.
Thanks. But I wouldn't buy satellite.
I like local radio becasue it's local .... but,
except for the commercials themselves, local content
in radio is disappearing, I must admit.
Oh, for the good old days of WKAT talk in the 1970s
and WFTL in the 1990s. All local, unless you count
Jean Shepherd.
I started putting my CDs on my PC the other day.
I was shocked to find I have 368 tracks in Jazz
and 130 in Classical, and I'm not done. Plus 30 in
Caribbean... and there's Oldies, Country, Big Band, etc.
Plus dozens of sings from the 1920s from dismuke.org.
(I don't believe in downloading music, but these are old
enough to be out of copyright -- and I like the music!)
Oh, well. I'm rambling, aren't I?
73s from 954<P ID="signature">______________
Guest Deejay on WFUN, 1971</P>