AAR needs cash/deal by Feb 15 to stay afloat

[raccoonradio]

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid41904.asp

"(Stephen) Green already has advanced $250,000 to Air America's current lender, Democracy Allies LLC, established by the network's shareholders to keep it afloat during Chapter 11. The papers state that Air America will run out of cash and further borrowing authority by February 15, "and consequently will have insufficient monies to continue to operate thereafter absent a sale of the business."

I think a hearing was due to be held yesterday. Green may have to pay more money to Democracy Allies
to keep it afloat should a deal not be approved by Thu.

 

[FightingIrish]

Old news, 'coon.

The hearing is expected around Feb. 14th.

Looks like you're cutting and pasting your old stuff this time. Stop getting your news third-hand from Free Republic.

 

[evnlee]

Old news, '------.

The hearing is expected around Feb. 14th.

Looks like you're cutting and pasting your old stuff this time. Stop getting your news third-hand from Free Republic.

is there any significance in the fact that the day they may have thier hearing, Franken does his last show? ???

 

[kaufcom]

Does anyone know whether the dozens of people and companies listed on the bankruptcy filing have any rights to get some or all of their money back once the sale to the Greens is approved?

 

[AvenueA]

Looks like you're cutting and pasting your old stuff this time. Stop getting your news third-hand from Free Republic.

Huh? The Advocate is a gay publication, not right-wing.

 

[raccoonradio]

The link had indeed been via Free Republic/thread about AAR. Someone prob did a search to find it.
It hadn't been an article on FR but the link was provided on the thread.

 

[raccoonradio]

Gone in Sac. CA, too?

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/123467.html

May be dumping format for ESPN

 

[kaufcom]

Re: Gone in Sac. CA, too?

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/123467.html
May be dumping format for ESPN

They will be dropping lib talk and picking up ESPN. This is fourth former AAR affiliate to flip to ESPN sports in the past three months. Those vultures at ESPN smell blood.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/124135.html

 

[dubya3qt]

Re: Gone in Sac. CA, too?

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/123467.html
May be dumping format for ESPN

They will be dropping lib talk and picking up ESPN. This is fourth former AAR affiliate to flip to ESPN sports in the past three months. Those vultures at ESPN smell blood.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/124135.html

Once again, the finger of suspicion on this board points at ABC-Disney.

The company that programs only conservative talk radio.
The company that is cited for programming hate speech in San Francisco (and tries to silence their accuser).
The company that tells affiliates they can't run spots for key advertisers on Air America stations (which means they can't run the hourly news).
The company whose affiliate relations staff pressures stations into taking programs (and then spams this board when this is discussed).
And now what kind of tricks are they using to take away libtalkers for ESPN?

As my handle suggests, I worked for ABC. They were a class act. They remained a class act under Cap Cities. It's a shame what happened to them. They may say this is good business. I finally unloaded my Disney stock before it went down any more. They are the last people to be saying what's good business.

 

[FightingIrish]

Re: Gone in Sac. CA, too?

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/123467.html
May be dumping format for ESPN

They will be dropping lib talk and picking up ESPN. This is fourth former AAR affiliate to flip to ESPN sports in the past three months. Those vultures at ESPN smell blood.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/124135.html

Once again, the finger of suspicion on this board points at ABC-Disney.

The company that programs only conservative talk radio.
The company that is cited for programming hate speech in San Francisco (and tries to silence their accuser).
The company that tells affiliates they can't run spots for key advertisers on Air America stations (which means they can't run the hourly news).
The company whose affiliate relations staff pressures stations into taking programs (and then spams this board when this is discussed).
And now what kind of tricks are they using to take away libtalkers for ESPN?

As my handle suggests, I worked for ABC. They were a class act. They remained a class act under Cap Cities. It's a shame what happened to them. They may say this is good business. I finally unloaded my Disney stock before it went down any more. They are the last people to be saying what's good business.

In all reality, ESPN doesn't have much to do with it, though they probably negotiated with Entercom to get a bigger presence in the market. It all comes down to the station manager's decision.

Right now, sports talk is the format du jour. Station owners have finally realized that they can indeed make money off it, even if it gets crappy ratings.

Radio is full of hive think. Whenever a new format starts to gain traction (like liberal talk did a few years ago), stations start picking it up in a hurry. Same with Jack, Movin' and a whole bunch of other formats.

Sports talk is cheap, simple, and the account execs can easily sell it (how tough can it be to sell to businesses seeking male sports fans?). Liberal talk is a bit more difficult to sell, because the demographics are all over the place and they haven't figured out how to market it yet. Cheap and simple is the easy way out.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Station owners have finally realized that they can indeed make money off it, even if it gets crappy ratings.

Absolutely; computer in a closet...in Boston 2 area stations run ESPN and they even have a pm drive
local host. Stations do show up, if barely, in ratings, and I've even seen TV ad campaigns for them
(looks like the owners of ESPN Boston are doing more to help their stations than CC did with AAR
Boston) and indeed sports is an easier sell...

>> Liberal talk is a bit more difficult to sell, because the demographics are all over the place and they haven't figured out how to market it yet. Cheap and simple is the easy way out.

 

[Radio_Realist]

I just read somewhere that the AAR sale was approved. They'd have gone out of business if it hadn't. SL Green purchased it.

 

[kaufcom]

Re: Gone in Sac. CA, too?

In all reality, ESPN doesn't have much to do with it, though they probably negotiated with Entercom to get a bigger presence in the market. It all comes down to the station manager's decision.Right now, sports talk is the format du jour. Station owners have finally realized that they can indeed make money off it, even if it gets crappy ratings.

Four of the stations that dropped lib talk in the past two months have flipped to ESPN -- WRVC in Hungtington, WYOS in Binghamton, WAVZ in New Haven, and KCTC in Sacramento. I used to work in TV affiliate sales. I can assure you that the sharks at ABC are hitting every lib talk station in the country trying to cut deals. I doubt four gms woke up one morning and decided to launch to ESPN sports.

Wixiekid is right. ABC has not done noththing to support lib talk and lately has been convincing stations to drop local talk so that can pick up their latest right wing wacko --Mark Levin. (e.g. the recent drop of Mr. KABC who was number one in time spot until he was dumped earlier this week.)

Ten years ago, KABC was competitive with KFI and had a balanced program line-up with two liberal hosts a moderate and a conservative. Now they are wall to wall conservatives and they ratings suck.

It's interesting that every large station group has at least a few AAR affiliates -- Clear Channel, Entercom, CBS, Cumulus, and Saga. ABC has none.

The threats that their lawyers made against Spocko were totally outrageous

I don't know about the other points that Wixiekid made, i.e.

The company that tells affiliates they can't run spots for key advertisers on Air America stations (which means they can't run the hourly news).
The company whose affiliate relations staff pressures stations into taking programs (and then spams this board when this is discussed).

But I do know that ABC/Disney is pretty nasty company.



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