My brother and his wife are feeling the pinch, and their spending on home entertainment will be taking a hit. They plan to ditch Comcast and go with Hulu or YouTube TV.
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Beasley swinging the ax
- Thread starter Deleted User
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Where did you get that? Ever heard of Supply & Demand? During the Pandemic, gas was cheap because no one was driving. Of course, the oil companies are gouging people now because they can. Americans whine about petrol prices, but won't give up their gas guzzling Trucks or SUVs.
As wages have risen, companies pass on those costs. The cup of coffee or burger you buy will cost more because the person who serves you is making more. Workers hope to break even at best. The US economy is built on consumer spending which has always been a losers game. Americans get no interest on a savings account and there is no incentive to save. It's all about buy more crap and keep those Amazon deliveries coming. George Carlin knew all about the rigged game decades ago...
I'm not necessarily disagreeing and I don't want to take this discussion thread too far off topic as it's about the Beasley layoffs, but keep in mind that The Fed raised interest rates to try and head of a serious recession, or at least soften the landing if a recession does occur. So many things were off that either began or were a result of things that occurred before or outside the control of the present administration - including job and housing markets, a nation and world recovering from a worldwide pandemic, the likes and impacts of which were unlike anything anyone currently alive had ever seen or experienced or dealt with before, and then throw in manufacturing delays, extreme shipping and logistics challenges, the war in Ukraine and all that came with that, a potential impending war in Taiwan and all the rest. All that in mind, trying to say "We're in the current situation because of decisions this administration has made" is a gross oversimplification, and in some respects, more than a bit unfair. Note that I never said the current administration was perfect or flawless, but putting everything that's gone into the current situation solely on their shoulders is inaccurate.
More money being in circulation increase demand
Or will Ms. Brown return to find a pink slip and WKLB-102.5 listeners find the syndicated "Big D And Bubba" in the mornings instead of Jonathan Weir and Ayla Brown?
Ayla Brown
Ayla Brown. 37,202 likes · 1,477 talking about this. Booking Info: [email protected]
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Ayla Brown
56m ·This morning I was in Barrett's room feeding him (for the billionth time!) and received news that my amazing, talented, and great friend, Jonathan Wier was let go from Country 102.5. And sadly, Jonathan wasn't the only one who lost a job today from the company. Many others did as well.
Jonathan and I talked on the phone twice today. We laughed, we yelled, and I cried after we hung up because not only is he a great radio host, but he was like a brother to me. I mean honestly, when Barrett was growing in my belly I KNOW he heard Jonathan's voice more than anyone else's, because you know, he talks a LOT! Lol
But on the phone today he said something to me that I will never forget. He said, "Ayla, it's always been hard for me to open to up to people, but you and Jim were my best friends."
Phew, even writing that is hard for me... and now it's hard for me to see my computer screen because of the tears.
Everyone says the radio industry is so transient. And in the 4 years of working in it, I can see that. But what they don't prepare you for is the friendships you make along the way. How those relationships really impact your life not just ON air, but off as well.
I'm very excited to see where Jonathan lands. He will bring the same amount of professionalism wherever he goes... I'm not worried about him (and neither is he, just ask him! haha!)
In the meantime, I am going to hold my baby extra tight over the next couple weeks. I go back on Oct 26th, and very much looking forward to the exciting times ahead!
Here was the last picture we took as a morning show, and I will forever treasure it!
Thanks for posting @johnster - and for helping bring this tread back on track.Ayla Brown
Ayla Brown. 37,202 likes · 1,477 talking about this. Booking Info: [email protected]
Ayla Brown
56m ·
This morning I was in Barrett's room feeding him (for the billionth time!) and received news that my amazing, talented, and great friend, Jonathan Wier was let go from Country 102.5. And sadly, Jonathan wasn't the only one who lost a job today from the company. Many others did as well.
Jonathan and I talked on the phone twice today. We laughed, we yelled, and I cried after we hung up because not only is he a great radio host, but he was like a brother to me. I mean honestly, when Barrett was growing in my belly I KNOW he heard Jonathan's voice more than anyone else's, because you know, he talks a LOT! Lol
But on the phone today he said something to me that I will never forget. He said, "Ayla, it's always been hard for me to open to up to people, but you and Jim were my best friends."
Phew, even writing that is hard for me... and now it's hard for me to see my computer screen because of the tears.
Everyone says the radio industry is so transient. And in the 4 years of working in it, I can see that. But what they don't prepare you for is the friendships you make along the way. How those relationships really impact your life not just ON air, but off as well.
I'm very excited to see where Jonathan lands. He will bring the same amount of professionalism wherever he goes... I'm not worried about him (and neither is he, just ask him! haha!)
In the meantime, I am going to hold my baby extra tight over the next couple weeks. I go back on Oct 26th, and very much looking forward to the exciting times ahead!
Here was the last picture we took as a morning show, and I will forever treasure it!
Hopefully, Ayla Brown WILL be back on the 26th, but I still wonder if Beasley might dump her (or at best, move her into another slot) to have WKLB-102.5 pick up a syndicated morning show.
Very sad day, indeed. Just FYI, this is twice in a row Christian Arcand has got the boot from Beasley. A lot of people went to bat for him last time he got cut —& he got his job back. Smart guy & really good contributor. Unfortunately 98.5 seems more interested in theatrics & faux controversies than actual sports journalism: not good news for a guy like Arcand.
It I’ll be VERY interesting to see how a possible looming recession due to Fed hikes impacts particularly Beasley’s 98.5 operations. Beasley essentially “bought revenue” to become the markets top biller. You go out and spend a fortune for broadcast right you are buying revenues. Thats why 98.5 is the top biller, yet reportedly barely earns anything.
This type of operating leverage becomes EXTREMELY risky in bad times: FIXED COSTS remain high but revenues are subjected to weak market forces. High fixed costs. Lower variable revenues. There aren’t enough AM producers and night time cohosts to offset that.
Stay tuned…I sense Beasley sees a storm coming (in the words of Jamie Dimon) and wants to get a little ahead of the clouds. Their fixed costs they can’t do a damn thing about—dwarf everyone else.
It I’ll be VERY interesting to see how a possible looming recession due to Fed hikes impacts particularly Beasley’s 98.5 operations. Beasley essentially “bought revenue” to become the markets top biller. You go out and spend a fortune for broadcast right you are buying revenues. Thats why 98.5 is the top biller, yet reportedly barely earns anything.
This type of operating leverage becomes EXTREMELY risky in bad times: FIXED COSTS remain high but revenues are subjected to weak market forces. High fixed costs. Lower variable revenues. There aren’t enough AM producers and night time cohosts to offset that.
Stay tuned…I sense Beasley sees a storm coming (in the words of Jamie Dimon) and wants to get a little ahead of the clouds. Their fixed costs they can’t do a damn thing about—dwarf everyone else.
I don’t like this administration at all. But thats not correct. The economy is TOO strong and there aren’t enough workers to fill the needed jobs. Unemployment is a 50 YEAR LOW: 3.5%. There are 10 million + OPEN jobs across all pay scales (nearly 2 open jobs for every person not working). Inflation is RAMPANT due to higher wages (the item you buy is produced at higherwage, transported at higher wage, marketed at higher wage, and sold at high wage) . That inflation is IMBEDDED throughout the process. We MUST reduce demand for said goods, sadly put a lot of unproductive workers out of work so there is SOME competition for jobs. Productivity is a multi decade LOW (people paid more and more to produce no more). This is a really tough place to be. Just like late 70s. Mid term elections won’t change a thing. For THIS.
Wow Bobby Blaze ( Hot96.9 ) was let go . He was at Hot 96.9 since 2017 ( previously at WJMN ) .
Correct. Staff cuts are expensive because of severance costs. They need to find new revenue streams. Beasley has been late to the digital party. But they need to figure out ways to make more money from their successful radio properties.
I just deleted one of my SXM subs, in a car I only use a few months out of the year because I can stream it on the app for free on the other 2 subs I am paying for.
SXM is about the same per month as my Amazon Music subscription ( both around 11 dollars a month) and I get a lot of use out of the SXM app that comes with my paid subscriptions .... I have 2 log in names/passwords
One is on my phone, and I use that in my Mustang in the winter and my extra car in NH in the summer, the other is tied to my Amazon Alexa and my Roku TV.... I feed the SXM via a return HDMI into my amplifier in my man town, and at night I fall asleep to 60's Gold or 70's on 7 on my Echo Dot next to my bed.
That is a very interesting perspective. Many stations pay rights fees where the play-by-play broadcasts can't be profitable, so they depend on pre- and post-game shows and the overall station to be profitable. Other stations sell the time to the team, but have no salable product for clients.
In either case, a downturn in the ad market... which is already happening... will affect revenues and stations that have low margins and high costs will be severely impacted.
At most stations, particularly those that are non-union or where most departments are not unionized, severance can be quite minimal. In a recession, severance may be no more than a couple of week's pay and accumulated vacation time.
They are fortunate to have little debt but if they are cutting back with big name talent, they must see a storm coming. In particular, some of that talent should/could have been directed to podcasts and other non-broadcast areas; they end up with even less talent left for new media
Wrong. The policies and decisions that have caused these problems go back many decades and multiple presidents. The biggest issue is that Americans are massively addicted to debt. We spend, spend, spend, and it is all piled onto the credit cards. When economic contractions happen—all part of a normal business cycle—people will find themselves squeezed when trying to pay off all that debt. Easy credit will drive high prices as people only care about “how much a month” instead of total cost. And all that credit can easily disguise how much money one is actually shelling out.
Shall we remind ourselves that even with the recent hikes, interest rates are still FAR below historic norms?
How will a change in control of Congress make a difference? I’ve heard absolutely nothing out of the Republicans about how they would turn things around.
David, let me ask this question. Could some of these cost cutting measures we're seeing nationwide have to do with shifting politics? Sen Rand Paul introduced a bill in the Senate this year to abolish the ownership caps and eliminate the cross-ownership issues. Could this be some companies way of setting themselves up with either more revenue to increase ownership, or enhance the bottom line to make themselves more attractive for buyers?
Many Americans are financially ignorant. They get a credit card with a $6000 limit and they think "I now have $6000 to spend". Even experts use phrases like "Disposable Income" which is absurd. How about saving some money instead of wasting it on more needless crap? Nobody wants to take responsibility for their own actions. The American way is buy lots of stuff and drown in debt.
As for Radio, upper management often knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Much of their current misery is self inflicted...
Beasley doesn't appear to be that kind of company.
re: paying for sports rights and trying to return a profit on the broadcasts
Remember when Entercom paid huge dollars for the Sox rights after they finally won a world series and a few years later they were dogs combined with a recession.... Entercom was laying off left and right trying to reduce payroll to cover the losses.
I don't know about the Bruins, but is seems to me the Sox were real mutts this year, the Pat's are not the draw they were, and God only knows what is going on with the Celtics.
That can't be good for the bottom line
But Beasley is in a nationwide slump, not just because of sports, but an across the board lack of advertisers willing to pay the freight.
How many car dealer spots have you heard recently? They are the bread and butter of local radio at this point.
PS I guess a lot of Beasley's Fort Myers infrastructure at a tower site was wiped out by a fire a few weeks ago, now a hurricane came thru and flooded what was left of American Towers site ( I know where it is, not far from Fort Myers Beach)
Rumor has it 800K in damage
Remember when Entercom paid huge dollars for the Sox rights after they finally won a world series and a few years later they were dogs combined with a recession.... Entercom was laying off left and right trying to reduce payroll to cover the losses.
I don't know about the Bruins, but is seems to me the Sox were real mutts this year, the Pat's are not the draw they were, and God only knows what is going on with the Celtics.
That can't be good for the bottom line
But Beasley is in a nationwide slump, not just because of sports, but an across the board lack of advertisers willing to pay the freight.
How many car dealer spots have you heard recently? They are the bread and butter of local radio at this point.
PS I guess a lot of Beasley's Fort Myers infrastructure at a tower site was wiped out by a fire a few weeks ago, now a hurricane came thru and flooded what was left of American Towers site ( I know where it is, not far from Fort Myers Beach)
Rumor has it 800K in damage
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