April PPM Monthly

[PTBoardOp94]

If a CP can't be built, it should expire and not be reissued for 10 years. Just because a station can be "shoehorned in" engineering wise doesn't make it is viable.

That's pretty much what we've got now. The FCC has been holding FM band auctions every 5 years or so. If someone bids on an allocation, and does not build it or turns back the license, it gets auctioned again.

But with a few exceptions, the facilities that are being auctioned are poor facilities in very rural places. In the last auction, there were two allocations sold in Grand Portage, Minnesota, deep into the arrowhead along Lake Superior. Both sold for under $5,000.

 

[secondchoice]

Who is currently operating under a bankruptcy trustee?

Right now none of the "biggies" are bankrupt. In the past 3 years iHeart / CC shed over 10 Billion dollars in debt:

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/iheartmedia-bankruptcy-plan-approval-1203114664/
https://www.barrons.com/articles/iheartmedia-stock-is-poised-to-grow-after-bankruptcy-51565395260

Cumulus came out Nov 2017

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta...-giantcumulus-media-completes-bankruptcy.html

There were a couple of "small" players that were not publicly held.

And Salem a big question mark.

If Bankruptcy is what it takes to be successful, what future does the industry have?

If mega station groups are the way to go. Who is going to risk finance them?

If billings are down (inflation adjusted) as much as David stated, that should scare any large lender that does their homework.

IMHO the current corporate owner model is like the horse and buggy. Someone will innovate or the industry will die.

 

[davideduardo]

"Non profits" can and do pay salaries. My wife worked for one for 15 years (different industry). I have always wondered about K-Love's "non profit status". They have lots of cash buying some nice properties in Atlanta and NYC but I guess they pass the IRS and FCC standards.

A non-profit is defined as not having the distribution of monies that are in excess of costs as well as not having owners, but rather, a legal identity that holds the assets.

No shareholders, no owners beyond the non-profit itself.

The K-Love owners, EMF, have an objective to bring their religious beliefs to as many people as possible, and to provide ancillary services like counseling. No different than any other church... just a different footprint.

And their listeners know that donations keep the operation running and they help to extend the reach to more people.

Not everyone agrees with churches being considered non-profits. But to the law, EMF and the Red Cross and non-profit hospital and many universities are all seen equally.

 

[TheBigA]

IMHO the current corporate owner model is like the horse and buggy. Someone will innovate or the industry will die.

I think that's already happened. Entercom and iHeart are multi-platform audio companies. iHeart has one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. It also owns the #1 podcasting platform. Entercom also is a big player in streaming and podcasting. So that's how the big companies are evolving.

Who are the new players? Last year Cumulus would have gladly sold all of the former ABC radio stations to one buyer. EMF bought a handful, but no one else was interested. That is not a good sign. Radio station prices are at the lowest they've been in years. Lots of willing sellers. No willing buyers.

 

[davideduardo]

I think that's already happened. Entercom and iHeart are multi-platform audio companies. iHeart has one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. It also owns the #1 podcasting platform. Entercom also is a big player in streaming and podcasting. So that's how the big companies are evolving.

The problem with new media means that radio companies, used to not paying artist and label fees, finds streaming and other new media distribution methods to have no current way to achieve profitability if kept as a free to listener service.

The model that works is based on subscriptions which pay and cover the license fees. Radio has to find its place in a world where we seem to be headed away from free TV already, with most American TV stations surviving only from the carriage fees and most viewers paying for content through cable, satellite and streaming delivery options.

What I see as the most unfortunate outcome is that a large number of lower income viewers (and, the way things are going, listeners) having few if any free options and thus becoming deprived of services that used to be free.

 

[jabba17]

I think that's already happened. Entercom and iHeart are multi-platform audio companies. iHeart has one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. It also owns the #1 podcasting platform. Entercom also is a big player in streaming and podcasting. So that's how the big companies are evolving.

Who are the new players? Last year Cumulus would have gladly sold all of the former ABC radio stations to one buyer. EMF bought a handful, but no one else was interested. That is not a good sign. Radio station prices are at the lowest they've been in years. Lots of willing sellers. No willing buyers.

Cumulus bought Rdio and I thought they would turn it into an iHeartRadio competitor. But they boogered that up. Part of that problem was that they had signed an exclusive with iHeart for iHR to be the exclusive streaming platform for Cumulus and they had to wait for that deal to run out. In exchange, all iHeart had to do was run spots for SweetJack.

 

[TheBigA]

Cumulus bought Rdio and I thought they would turn it into an iHeartRadio competitor.

That was under the old management. The new folks have invested in podcasting. They also own Westwood One syndication. So they have other revenue streams.

Lew Dickey's latest investment in streaming was another total disaster:

http://www.insideradio.com/free/lew...cle_6038bd7c-a05f-11ea-969d-0f3cae5e19a0.html