Audacy/Cumulus Rumors

[Mediafrog+]

If any DFW Cumulus AM goes dark, it would most likely be KTCK 1310 unless 570's tower array is in such disrepair that it's no longer viable.

The 570 and 1310 signals are now diplexed at the KTCK site; that happened about four years ago. I think the land for the previous 570 site (built in the early 1970s) was sold.

Even 30 years ago, it didn't cover much of Tarrant County after dark, which is part of the reason Bonneville disposed of KAAM and led to the creation of The Ticket.

The 1310 signal has been re-engineered a few times, though the night power has remained at 5kw. The current 1310 site was originally 5kw days, later raised to 9kw, and then to the current 25kw.

IIRC when the current 1310 array went on the air in the 1980s the initial night power was 1kw, which was bad for Tarrant County. That was a drop from the 5kw night power at the old White Rock Lake site which did make it into Fort Worth, but mediocre at best. The later increase to 5kw nights improved that situation.

The programming on 1310 could be moved to the much better 570 signal. I'm a little surprised that hasn't already happened.

The current 1310 facility would be a nice upgrade for another AM broadcaster in DFW. As mentioned elsewhere, plenty of bad AMs in the market.

 

[mightynine]

One other fact missing from the article: Audacy launched its own syndication division last week. Why would they do such a thing if they're about to merge with Cumulus, owner of Westwood One.

Audacy has, what, two shows in that division at the moment? I think they could be rolled into WW1 fairly easily if the two go a-mergin’.

 

[TheBigA]

The programming on 1310 could be moved to the much better 570 signal. I'm a little surprised that hasn't already happened.

Cumulus recently did that in San Francisco. It takes a while for the audience to get the message and change their pre-sets. They did a few months of simulcast, followed by a month of a repeated loop.

 

[TheBigA]

Audacy has, what, two shows in that division at the moment? I think they could be rolled into WW1 fairly easily if the two go a-mergin’.

It's not just the shows. It's the technical distribution infrastructure and the sales team.

 

[Weiserguy]

A deal will take the firm founded by Soros (NOT SOROS HIMSELF for those others that don't seem to grasp that) from being a "controlling" stakeholder to a minority or even out of the picture entirely.

I want to reinforce this particular point. George Soros, the man (not the Soros investment firm) was born in 1930. He is 94 years old. He was a child refugee from the Nazis in WWII Hungary who came to this country and succeeded. I seriously doubt he has much, if any, operational involvement in his eponymous company except for his name being on the door and letterhead, and possibly showing up for Board of Directors meetings a few times a year. We don't even know what his health is like these days.* It's quite unlikely he had any but the most passing involvement in the Audacy investment decision.

* George had an older brother, Paul, who was an alumni "brother" of mine (which is how I have a passing familiarity with their story). Paul's degree was in 1950, and he himself died more than a few years ago. So George undoubtedly knows the clock is ticking. It's only sociopaths like Rupert or Sumner who think act like they will never die.

 

[tall_guy1]

Cumulus Signs-Off 101.5 Jack-FM Lexington This is interesting...what will be next?

 

[radiorobert]

Cumulus Signs-Off 101.5 Jack-FM Lexington This is interesting...what will be next?

This is going to be more widespread than people assume. To a limited extent.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Because there are lots of similar AMs for sale right now. Both companies have been selling off tower land, so probably not.

Maybe that's true, but maybe not. My point was, can you make a blanket statement that no one wants to buy the stations when we don't even know if Cumulus has tried to sell them?

There's a very real possibility that Cumulus would rather turn in the licenses out of self-interest, to reduce competition in the market. So much of what we have seen in the radio business since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted has been about big broadcasters making monopolistic moves.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe that's true, but maybe not. My point was, can you make a blanket statement that no one wants to buy the stations when we don't even know if Cumulus has tried to sell them?

Not everything a private company does happens in public. Ask Scott Fybush how he sells stations.

There's a very real possibility that Cumulus would rather turn in the licenses out of self-interest, to reduce competition in the market.

If a station is getting less than a 1 share, it's not much competition. But there's a lot of expense. Right now, the main goal seems to be about cutting expenses.

It's hard to claim broadcast radio is a monopoly when it's main competition isn't broadcast radio.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Not everything a private company does happens in public.

Cumulus is a public company.

If a station is getting less than a 1 share, it's not much competition.

It is if a smarter operator buys it and does a better job.

It's hard to claim broadcast radio is a monopoly when it's main competition isn't broadcast radio.

You don't have to actually achieve the monopoly to do things that are inherently monopolistic.

 

[TheBigA]

Cumulus is a public company.

It's a public company that operates in private. Running a radio station isn't a reality TV show where people vote.

It is if a smarter operator buys it and does a better job.

Smarter operators aren't buying radio stations. If they were, Apple and Amazon would be buying stations. They're not.

But they each run online radio stations.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Smarter operators aren't buying radio stations. If they were, Apple and Amazon would be buying stations. They're not.

Do you think John Catsimatidis is not a smarter operator than the previous owner -- ironically, Cumulus -- which was pulling exactly the kind of share you're talking about with WABC? I personally can't stand the guy and his politics, but this is what can happen when not every station is owned by Big Radio.

 

[TheBigA]

Do you think John Catsimatidis is not a smarter operator than the previous owner

He's a lot richer. I don't know if money makes you smarter, but it might have that effect on some. He's not the only rich guy, but the only example you have.

He focused on over-65. That gets you a lot of 6+ numbers, so he looks smarter. But we don't know if it's making money.

 

[Delete My Account]

I tend to agree a lot of these signals are challenging at best, to operate.

But I never underestimate the fact that there's people with money who sometimes do things you don't expect.

Case in point, Civic Media in Wisconsin. Did anyone see that coming? Check out what they're buying and putting into those stations. Either someone loves radio and doesn't mind losing money, or there's some strategy that works for them.

 

[Kent]

Maybe that's true, but maybe not. My point was, can you make a blanket statement that no one wants to buy the stations when we don't even know if Cumulus has tried to sell them?

I can't pretend I know what happens behind closed doors at Cumulus, but I don't know of many operators that would simply give up some of their licenses when they could get money for them.

There's a very real possibility that Cumulus would rather turn in the licenses out of self-interest, to reduce competition in the market. So much of what we have seen in the radio business since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted has been about big broadcasters making monopolistic moves.

I suppose that can't be ruled out, but it doesn't seem likely. When you turn in a license, you're opening a potential lane for your competition, too. Your competition has a potentially new format hole to plug, and FM licenses aren't typically permanently removed from a market's frequency allocation table. So, someone could also buy your old signal in an auction and compete against you all over again. Plus, as the Big A mentions, radio's main competition is no longer radio. Driving radio listeners to online playlist curators like Spotify and Pandora means you're potentially driving them away from your other properties.

Do you think John Catsimatidis is not a smarter operator than the previous owner -- ironically, Cumulus -- which was pulling exactly the kind of share you're talking about with WABC? I personally can't stand the guy and his politics, but this is what can happen when not every station is owned by Big Radio.

Don't know if he's smarter, but he can afford to lose money on WABC if he wants. Cumulus doesn't have that luxury, or at least it doesn't have it as much as a billionaire who wants to enjoy his toys. Small, eccentric operators might make for good radio, but they don't necessarily make for good bosses. Not many of them exist in the first place either. Most people don't become independently wealthy by making bad investments, and radio (at least over-the-air radio) tends to be that today.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

There are blanket statements in this thread that no one would want to buy these stations. That seems to be total speculation and is probably not true. At least some of the stations would likely sell if Cumulus put them on the market at a fair price. There are entrepreneurs in America who are willing to invest in things that interest them when they see opportunity in them, even if that thing happens to be a radio station that people here don't think is very good.

The fact is, we don't know if Cumulus has put the stations it's shutting down up for sale or is just turning in the licenses. Can anyone provide factual evidence one way or the other?

 

[Mark Roberts]

I can't pretend I know what happens behind closed doors at Cumulus, but I don't know of many operators that would simply give up some of their licenses when they could get money for them.

The quote in RadioInsight's article from the Cumulus manager about the Lexington (Kentucky) shutdown seemed pretty clear to me:

Cumulus Corporate has identified certain stations that are no longer a strategic fit for our local markets. As a result, Cumulus has decided to turn them off for now while they identify the best path forward for those stations.

Which tells us....

1) This is centralized.
2) The licenses probably won't be turned in right away.
3) "Strategic fit" could mean technical facilities or it could mean basic station performance (revenues, ratings).

I do wonder about simulcast situations such as KKOB or even KNBR, though I suspect KNBR will be OK.

Don't know if he's smarter, but he can afford to lose money on WABC if he wants. Cumulus doesn't have that luxury, or at least it doesn't have it as much as a billionaire who wants to enjoy his toys. Small, eccentric operators might make for good radio, but they don't necessarily make for good bosses. Not many of them exist in the first place either. Most people don't become independently wealthy by making bad investments, and radio (at least over-the-air radio) tends to be that today.

We've seen this in newspaper journalism, too, where print journalists pined for benevolent rich people to rescue their papers from the cost-cutting of hedge-funded managements. Ask the journalists at the Washington Post how that's been working out.

 

[davideduardo]

We've seen this in newspaper journalism, too, where print journalists pined for benevolent rich people to rescue their papers from the cost-cutting of hedge-funded managements. Ask the journalists at the Washington Post how that's been working out.

The problem is that those “journalists” want further funding but don’t realize that the general business model of newspapers is a failed one. While the New York Times seems to be profitable via a collection of its online paper and a variety of subsidiary or ancillary products, practically no other paper is financially happy now.

The writers and reporters need to be… must be… prepared for further and considerable changes in how their profenssion works. They can not expect to do the same-old-thing over and over again and expect a better or different outcome.

 

[Kent]

There are blanket statements in this thread that no one would want to buy these stations. That seems to be total speculation and is probably not true.

What's not disputable is that Cumulus sold most of its tower real estate several years ago. So, whatever Cumulus wants to do with the properties in question, it's going to be selling licenses with no real assets. Anyone who buys any of those stations is getting the equivalent of a startup. Any such buyer will be out tens, maybe even hundreds, of thousands of dollars before a single clip of audio airs. I've mentioned earlier that I suspect most of the FM's will have buyers. AM's, however, would likely be a different story. We've known for several years now that AM signals that lack translators and have no real property are worthless.

At least some of the stations would likely sell if Cumulus put them on the market at a fair price. There are entrepreneurs in America who are willing to invest in things that interest them when they see opportunity in them, even if that thing happens to be a radio station that people here don't think is very good.

We're probably about to see that theory put to the test.

The fact is, we don't know if Cumulus has put the stations it's shutting down up for sale or is just turning in the licenses. Can anyone provide factual evidence one way or the other?

Read the article about WLXX in Lexington shutting down. The official word is that Cumulus is "turning them off while finding the best path forward for them." That doesn't sound like Cumulus is turning in the licenses, nor does it sound like Cumulus has ruled out bringing them back at some point. I'm not so naive as to expect the latter, but it doesn't sound like we can rule it out. Cumulus does, however, sound like it's probably shopping the stations around.

 

[TheBigA]

What's not disputable is that Cumulus sold most of its tower real estate several years ago. So, whatever Cumulus wants to do with the properties in question, it's going to be selling licenses with no real assets.

I was involved with a station like that. We got the license, a couple pieces of studio equipment, and the transmitter all donated. Nothing else. We had to get a studio, a tower site, more studio gear, and staff. Within a year, we were over $1 million in debt. That's a big number to overcome with no revenue.