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ABC Radio Group Sale

Re: Radio Disney

> While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the areas
> north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
> night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.

Amen to that, brother. WCPT probably has the worst signal in the Metro area. I live in the South Suburbs, and the signal is pretty much unlistenable. And it ain't gonna get better anytime soon. The FCC denied NewsWeb's request to move the COL of WCPT from Crystal Lake to west suburban Addison, which would be a lot closer to the city. WRDZ, on the other hand, comes in as clear as a bell, which figures, considering the transmitter and towers are in Alsip.
 
Re: ABC Radio

CBS radio is owned by Westwood One. They bought the name, just as they did with NBC radio.
 
Re: Radio Disney

> First, it is quite possible that the physical stations that
> make up Radio Disney may not be included in the sale to
> begin with. And it doesn't seem that the network's
> intellectual property is for sale.
No, they are not, because these are mostly network stations owned by someone else.

>
> But there's quite a few Radio Disney stations that would be
> quite lucrative to a new owner. Radio Disney's big market
> stations typically have pretty good signals, specifically
> the LMA on WQEW 1560 New York, 1110 KDIS (Pasadena) Los
> Angeles, 1300 WRDZ (La Grange) Chicago, 1580 KMIK (Tempe)
> Phoenix, and 1260 WMKI Boston. Though if these signals were
> cut from Radio Disney, the network would ultimately suffer,
> losing most large market penetration where implimentation of
> the Disney brand is critical.
>
WQEW is owned by the New York Times Co.
KDIS, KMIK, WMKI, and WRDZ are owned by ABC. Presumably they would be included in the station sale. There might be a separate agreement to continue carriage of the network.
 
Re: ABC Radio

> CBS radio is owned by Westwood One. They bought the name,
> just as they did with NBC radio.

No. CBS Radio is owned by Viacom. Westwood One is managed by CBS Radio, formerly Infinity.

But they are separate corporations - and yes, they share.
>
 
Re: Radio Disney

>
> OK, perhaps some of your analysis is correct. I can at least
> testify that for WMKI, the signal is better than
> Radio-Locator pulls it off to be; it's one of the city's
> oldest signals. While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the areas
> north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
> night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.
> Phoenix has very few decent AM signals other than KFYI and
> KTAR, making KMIK somewhat acceptable. And while KDIS'
> signal may be subpar at night, isn't the daytime coverage
> adequate?

there has been pretty extensive analysis of Arbitron diary returns, including at work locations and it appears that in larger metros nearly all the listening is in the 10 mv-m contour. None of those stations put a 10 ove rthe market...

Just because a station is old doe snot make it good coverage. The 10 mv-m of 1260 is less than the interior red curve on radio Locator, meaning it misses about 60% of the metro. Old regional channelstations were not desgned to serve the urban sprawl occuring after WW II.

I worked for a time with Lotus, who owned 1300. It has a terrible day signal and a non'exsistent night one. It was sold because, even with addint the 1500 signal, it only ocvered about half of Chicago Hispanics.
>
 
Re: ABC Radio

> I am sure if that does happen Citadel will
> sell the big markets off like New York with WPLJ and WABC.

Why do you say that? I doubt thats accurate at all.
 
Re: Radio Disney

> >
> WQEW is owned by the New York Times Co.

With an LMA to buy. But Disney is content to rednt, as who would want that facility for anything else?

> KDIS, KMIK, WMKI, and WRDZ are owned by ABC. Presumably
> they would be included in the station sale. There might be
> a separate agreement to continue carriage of the network.

Eisner and Iger, in turn, said the Radio Disney and ESPN nets and stations will not be part of the deal. All Access, Inside radio and RBR have all said the same thing, as recently as yesterday. These are brand extensions for Disney, not radio stations.
 
Re: ABC Radio

> > I am sure if that does happen Citadel will
> > sell the big markets off like New York with WPLJ and WABC.
>
>
> Why do you say that? I doubt thats accurate at all.

Due to the Reverse mOrris Trust that is a condition of sale, I do not think they can sell anything at all without severe tax consequences.
>
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the areas
> > north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
> > night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.
>
> Amen to that, brother. WCPT probably has the worst signal in
> the Metro area. I live in the South Suburbs, and the signal
> is pretty much unlistenable. And it ain't gonna get better
> anytime soon. The FCC denied NewsWeb's request to move the
> COL of WCPT from Crystal Lake to west suburban Addison,
> which would be a lot closer to the city. WRDZ, on the other
> hand, comes in as clear as a bell, which figures,
> considering the transmitter and towers are in Alsip.

And isn't the North Shore, other than Evanston, fairly conservative? That would make WCPT's ratings strides even more impressive.

If Newsweb could somehow get their hands on 1300, they would have a decent simulcast with the two signals.
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the areas
> > north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
> > night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.
>
> Amen to that, brother. WCPT probably has the worst signal in
> the Metro area. I live in the South Suburbs, and the signal
> is pretty much unlistenable. And it ain't gonna get better
> anytime soon. The FCC denied NewsWeb's request to move the
> COL of WCPT from Crystal Lake to west suburban Addison,
> which would be a lot closer to the city. WRDZ, on the other
> hand, comes in as clear as a bell, which figures,
> considering the transmitter and towers are in Alsip.
>

WHAT??? WCPT has a very decent signal. They put out the equivalent of 10000+ watts ERP on 850 with a directional pattern south east right to downtown and the south side. I was getting them even in the AM radio hell known as the Loop. I have had them quite listenable into Indiana.

If you live on the south side of course Radio Disney channel will come in better. You are practically in the shadow of the towers. ;-)
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > > While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the areas
> > > north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
>
> > > night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.
> >
> > Amen to that, brother. WCPT probably has the worst signal
> in
> > the Metro area. I live in the South Suburbs, and the
> signal
> > is pretty much unlistenable. And it ain't gonna get better
>
> > anytime soon. The FCC denied NewsWeb's request to move the
>
> > COL of WCPT from Crystal Lake to west suburban Addison,
> > which would be a lot closer to the city. WRDZ, on the
> other
> > hand, comes in as clear as a bell, which figures,
> > considering the transmitter and towers are in Alsip.
>
> And isn't the North Shore, other than Evanston, fairly
> conservative? That would make WCPT's ratings strides even
> more impressive.
>
> If Newsweb could somehow get their hands on 1300, they would
> have a decent simulcast with the two signals.
>

I can get 850 ok here in Kenosha. It has to protect WNOV Milwaukee (860) so its a tad fainter. About 5 miles west of here its loud and clear.


<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: Radio Disney

> And isn't the North Shore, other than Evanston, fairly
> conservative? That would make WCPT's ratings strides even
> more impressive.
>
> If Newsweb could somehow get their hands on 1300, they would
> have a decent simulcast with the two signals.

You are correct, as you get past Evanston, into the North Shore 'burbs, it does get quite conservative.

Getting 1300 would certainly help, provided NewsWeb would actually use it for simulcasting WCPT. They already have a south suburban station, WCFJ 1470AM, that could fill some of the coverage gaps, but they have chosen not to use it for that purpose. They also have WNDZ 750AM, out of Portage, IN, that received a permit for a 15,000 watt daytime signal, which would cover all of Chicago Metro beautifully. But, again, they have chosen not to air AAR on that station. And I don't think moving AAR to WAIT 820AM will ever be considered, so long as Starboard continues to hand money to NewsWeb.

NewsWeb management clearly seems preoccupied with the trimulcast known as "Nine FM". WCPT seems to get short shrift.
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > First, it is quite possible that the physical stations that
> > make up Radio Disney may not be included in the sale to
> > begin with. And it doesn't seem that the network's
> > intellectual property is for sale.
> No, they are not, because these are mostly network stations
> owned by someone else.

As has been pointed out elsewhere in this thread, most of the Radio Disney stations <u>are</u> O&Os. (Please read all posts in a thread before commenting.)

> WQEW is owned by the New York Times Co.

And has been identified elsewhere in this thread as being a LMA. (Please read all posts in a thread before commenting.)

> KDIS, KMIK, WMKI, and WRDZ are owned by ABC. Presumably
> they would be included in the station sale. There might be
> a separate agreement to continue carriage of the network.

It has been pointed out repeatedly that the Radio Disney stations, as well as the ESPN Radio stations, are <u>not</u> part of the deal. (Please read all posts in a thread before commenting.)
<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: Radio Disney

> WHAT??? WCPT has a very decent signal. They put out the
> equivalent of 10000+ watts ERP on 850 with a directional
> pattern south east right to downtown and the south side. I
> was getting them even in the AM radio hell known as the
> Loop. I have had them quite listenable into Indiana.
>
> If you live on the south side of course Radio Disney channel
> will come in better. You are practically in the shadow of
> the towers. ;-)
>
Come to Orland Park, Mokena, Tinley Park, Frankfort, and you'll understand what I am talking about. WCPT's signal is pure crap-ola out here.

Why do you think they air promos making suggestions to listeners as to how they can hear the signal better? They suggest moving the radio to the window, turning fluoresent lights and electrical appliances off, even buying a larger radio. Would they do that if they thought they had a decent signal?

I have friends who live on the north side of the city(Lake View), and they have damned near given up, and listen most of the time online.
 
Re: Radio Disney

> >
> > OK, perhaps some of your analysis is correct. I can at
> least
> > testify that for WMKI, the signal is better than
> > Radio-Locator pulls it off to be; it's one of the city's
> > oldest signals. While WRDZ's signal is lacking in the
> areas
> > north of Chicago, it's better than WCPT's (especially at
> > night), and look at the ratings that they're pulling.
> > Phoenix has very few decent AM signals other than KFYI and
>
> > KTAR, making KMIK somewhat acceptable. And while KDIS'
> > signal may be subpar at night, isn't the daytime coverage
> > adequate?
>
> there has been pretty extensive analysis of Arbitron diary
> returns, including at work locations and it appears that in
> larger metros nearly all the listening is in the 10 mv-m
> contour. None of those stations put a 10 ove rthe market...
>
> Just because a station is old doe snot make it good
> coverage. The 10 mv-m of 1260 is less than the interior red
> curve on radio Locator, meaning it misses about 60% of the
> metro. Old regional channelstations were not desgned to
> serve the urban spral occuring after WW II.

I live about 15 miles S/SE of WMKI's transmitter, and the signal is not very good here, unless you're in a car with no engine noise. I'm just outside the red contour on radio-locator, and certainly in and area that is part of the Boston market.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by jlehmann on 02/05/06 04:45 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > >
> > there has been pretty extensive analysis of Arbitron diary
>
> > returns, including at work locations and it appears that
> in
> > larger metros nearly all the listening is in the 10 mv-m
> > contour. None of those stations put a 10 ove rthe
> market...
> >
> > Just because a station is old doe snot make it good
> > coverage. The 10 mv-m of 1260 is less than the interior
> red
> > curve on radio Locator, meaning it misses about 60% of the
>
> > metro. Old regional channelstations were not desgned to
> > serve the urban spral occuring after WW II.
>
> I live about 15 miles S/SE of WMKI's transmitter, and the
> signal is not very good here, unless you're in a car with no
> engine noise. I'm just outside the red contour on
> radio-locator, and certainly in and area that is part of the
> Boston market.

I'd always thought that the WMKI signal was much better than it now appears to be. Out here, 20 miles west of WMKI's transmitter, the signal is fine on a car or decent quality radio during daytime hours (when the target audience is awake). On a cheap radio, you have no chance because of the 10kw 1200 down the street. Nighttime, the station never comes in, you have to tune to 1560 WQEW for Radio Disney, which always comes in.

But WDDZ (not the late Zion station, but Providence, RI's 550) has a fairly good signal around here on a car radio as well, though during nighttime there is no signal either.
 
> I suspect Disney wants to sell ABC Radio because they don't
> see it as having any growth potential, or do they just want
> the one-time financial gain? Some people thought NBC was
> crazy to sell off its radio division nearly 20 years ago,
> but I may be the only one who thinks the same way about ABC.
>
When GE bought the RCA Corporation, and RCA owned the NBC Network, GE was forced to sell one of the NBC divisions. If RCA hadn't sold to GE, NBC could have retained both the radio & TV divisions because they were owned before the 1975 ban on both TV and Radio ownership. GE didn't fall in that category, so they had to choose one divison to sell off, and it ended up being the radio division. If RCA waited until 1996 to sell to GE, who knows if GE would have kept both the NBC radio & TV divisions, or do the same thing they did in 1986, sell the radio division.
 
Re: Radio Disney

>
> I'd always thought that the WMKI signal was much better than
> it now appears to be. Out here, 20 miles west of WMKI's
> transmitter, the signal is fine on a car or decent quality
> radio during daytime hours (when the target audience is
> awake). On a cheap radio, you have no chance because of the
> 10kw 1200 down the street. Nighttime, the station never
> comes in, you have to tune to 1560 WQEW for Radio Disney,
> which always comes in.
>
> But WDDZ (not the late Zion station, but Providence, RI's
> 550) has a fairly good signal around here on a car radio as
> well, though during nighttime there is no signal either.
>

Again, the issue is not whether you can "pick it up" but whether there is a solid, listenable on any radio signal. That means in homes and buildings where 70% of radio listening takes place.

I can get KOA in LA at night, but nobody listens to it here. Unless there is a signal that overcomes ambient noise and man made noise all the time, people goive up on stations. This is why I stated that nearly all listenning in metros takes place in the 10 mv-m curve, which is well inside the "for entertainment only" radiolocator.com red contours. While you may "pick it up" elsewhere, there is no regular listening of consequence in these areas.
 
Re: NBC sale.

> > I suspect Disney wants to sell ABC Radio because they
> don't
> > see it as having any growth potential, or do they just
> want
> > the one-time financial gain? Some people thought NBC was
> > crazy to sell off its radio division nearly 20 years ago,
> > but I may be the only one who thinks the same way about
> ABC.
> >
> When GE bought the RCA Corporation, and RCA owned the NBC
> Network, GE was forced to sell one of the NBC divisions. If
> RCA hadn't sold to GE, NBC could have retained both the
> radio & TV divisions because they were owned before the 1975
> ban on both TV and Radio ownership. GE didn't fall in that
> category, so they had to choose one divison to sell off, and
> it ended up being the radio division. If RCA waited until
> 1996 to sell to GE, who knows if GE would have kept both the
> NBC radio & TV divisions, or do the same thing they did in
> 1986, sell the radio division.

The GE stations were sold off over a long period piecemeal, not as a result of a sale of the total company. Randy Bongarten handled the sales, and the stations were let go as being non-strategic to the ocmpany.

For example, KNBR went in 1989 while WNBC did not go until late 1991. WMAQ was sold in 1987. In other words, they spun off the radio properties over a roughly 6 year period because they did not want them.
>
 
Re: Radio Disney

> > > First, it is quite possible that the physical stations
> that
> > > make up Radio Disney may not be included in the sale to
> > > begin with. And it doesn't seem that the network's
> > > intellectual property is for sale.
> > No, they are not, because these are mostly network
> stations
> > owned by someone else.
>
> As has been pointed out elsewhere in this thread, most of
> the Radio Disney stations are O&Os. (Please read all posts
> in a thread before commenting.)
>
> > WQEW is owned by the New York Times Co.
>
> And has been identified elsewhere in this thread as being a
> LMA. (Please read all posts in a thread before commenting.)
>>>>>
Not all of us on this board are in the business and understand all the lingo--such as LMA, O&O, ETC.
>>>>>
> > KDIS, KMIK, WMKI, and WRDZ are owned by ABC. Presumably
> > they would be included in the station sale. There might
> be
> > a separate agreement to continue carriage of the network.
>
> It has been pointed out repeatedly that the Radio Disney
> stations, as well as the ESPN Radio stations, are not part
> of the deal. (Please read all posts in a thread before
> commenting.)
>
 
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