Sounds like some big news is coming out of Entercom's building on Monday morning. Has the plug finally been pulled on the CBS stations in Memphis?
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Big News Monday?
- Thread starter SlimPickens
- Start date
F
FMSales
Guest
Interesting. 
D
DeltaKing
Guest
SlimPickens said:
And why exactly would the "plug be pulled"? ??? Can you imagine if Entercom had both WRVR AND FM100? They'd be a billing monster. The plug may (mercifully) get pulled on WMBZ to make room... Here how I would see the Entercom cluster shaping up IF this is true:
WRVR: No changes
FM100: No changes
WMBZ: A). Young Country, B) move the 93X format to 94.1 (to keep some 18-34's at 94.1), or C) FM Talk, or D) Adult Hits.
WMFS: Young Country or FM Talk.
WMC-AM: No changes
WWTQ: No changes
The point would be to build the strongest cluster possible, not kill stations that you think are in your way. Both WRVR and FM 100 would adjust slightly to compliment the other. Entercom is not stupid, if they had their choice of FM 100's ratings and billing or WMBZ's...it's a stone cold no brainer.
Besides, I don't think the "big news" would be coming out of Ridgeway Center Drive, This would come from 1515 Broadway in New York.
M
MikeBratton
Guest
Delta King said:
Formatically? No.
Bwahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa... ;D
Well, I would formatically, but that's just me.
With no Frog references.
Is the format not overly well-received here, or just the format on its particular stick?
There's an idea...
Hmm...
Interesting.
Yes a change! Make the thing live and local all the time!!
Sinatra and Bennett did better than Al and Randi. Pull the plug on the failed Air America experiment and go back to what works.
My, my. What a cluster to have. The mind races...
Absolutely. Many of us will be hitting the "Refresh" button on our browsers several times today, looking for news...
M
MikeBratton
Guest
Re: BWAA HA HA!
Beat me to it by all of three minutes.
So much for the quiet little Memphis market...
Charles Foster Kane said:
Beat me to it by all of three minutes.
So much for the quiet little Memphis market...
D
DeltaKing
Guest
Re: BWAA HA HA!
This is big for all involved. If anything this could really suck for Citadel, in that Entercom IMMEDIATELY becomes the #2 cluster town (not sure about billing, but it could be #1 now).
It will be tough for some of the oldtimers, I'm sure...but if Entercom is smart (and they are judging by the markets they picked up), they'll use 'RVR and FM100 to create a HUGE wall of women. Skew WMBZ much younger or take them out of the way of those two giants...
Would LOVE to be a fly on the wall the first time Lance, Jerry, and Brad all sit down together. And Yes, CF...I owe you a Coke.
Charles Foster Kane said:
This is big for all involved. If anything this could really suck for Citadel, in that Entercom IMMEDIATELY becomes the #2 cluster town (not sure about billing, but it could be #1 now).
It will be tough for some of the oldtimers, I'm sure...but if Entercom is smart (and they are judging by the markets they picked up), they'll use 'RVR and FM100 to create a HUGE wall of women. Skew WMBZ much younger or take them out of the way of those two giants...
Would LOVE to be a fly on the wall the first time Lance, Jerry, and Brad all sit down together. And Yes, CF...I owe you a Coke.
M
MikeBratton
Guest
Re: BWAA HA HA!
Which just goes to prove the old adage "Never be hostile with your rival, for one of your parent companies may make your rival your co-worker."
Delta King said:
Which just goes to prove the old adage "Never be hostile with your rival, for one of your parent companies may make your rival your co-worker."
Shhh! If you listen carefully, I bet we can hear sphincters tightening on Union Avenue!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
CF...if you get the Kinko's business...I get to corner the market on clean underwear! HAHAHA!
Heey! Heey!...Can I send you a tape and resume? (imagine poor impersonation)
I kid also.
This is going to be FANTASTIC to watch!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
CF...if you get the Kinko's business...I get to corner the market on clean underwear! HAHAHA!
Heey! Heey!...Can I send you a tape and resume? (imagine poor impersonation)
I kid also.
This is going to be FANTASTIC to watch!
M
MikeBratton
Guest
Re: OK, so this is DONE?
It is done. I'm listening to the conference call even as I type.
sjs1959 said:
It is done. I'm listening to the conference call even as I type.
B
BigSteveG
Guest
Now that a great band of veterns are together. It is time to have The Fish Memphis, Christian Hits with an AC attitude.
Larry Wheeler is great and I like listening to him, but imagine Bill Banister followed by Tom P. on The River. Thought it would never happen.
Will they finally leave Union Avenue for a bigger building like Clear Channel?
News of this sale and the news that they are tearing down Imperial Bowling Lanes on Summer all in one day. Wow. We are entering a new realm.
Larry Wheeler is great and I like listening to him, but imagine Bill Banister followed by Tom P. on The River. Thought it would never happen.
Will they finally leave Union Avenue for a bigger building like Clear Channel?
News of this sale and the news that they are tearing down Imperial Bowling Lanes on Summer all in one day. Wow. We are entering a new realm.
B
BigSteveG
Guest
Re: Ok, but how is K-Love doing
94.7/94.9 does not have local announcers or give away cool prizes like DVD's and Chicfila.
Take that format with say Ron, Steve, and Karen in the morning. Have other announcer like Heather, Larry Wheeler, etc, announcers local listeners know. Give away same prizes currently on morning show. Give local news, weather, and sports. 94.7/94.9 does not have any local personalities. That's why they are not in the 12+. You need a AC flair, like The Fish does. It would be a great sister station to WRVR. Put this on 92.9 and country on 94.1. You have nothing to lose, if done right.
sjs1959 said:
94.7/94.9 does not have local announcers or give away cool prizes like DVD's and Chicfila.
Take that format with say Ron, Steve, and Karen in the morning. Have other announcer like Heather, Larry Wheeler, etc, announcers local listeners know. Give away same prizes currently on morning show. Give local news, weather, and sports. 94.7/94.9 does not have any local personalities. That's why they are not in the 12+. You need a AC flair, like The Fish does. It would be a great sister station to WRVR. Put this on 92.9 and country on 94.1. You have nothing to lose, if done right.
Entercom is known for finding reasons to lop off high salaries.
It is said that while the "official" reason for getting rid of Steve Butler was a couple of downward books, that it was mostly because of his salary.
I'm not a huge gambler, but I'd be willing to bet that there are persons at 1960 Union that make a WHOLE LOT more than Butler did.
I sure don't recall any numbers there being much better than Butler's numbers were.
I can think of no other reason to get rid of a heritage jock (25 years or more?) who was still performing well in the ratings on the same shift for that long.
Huge salary + many weeks of vacation + anything less than stellar numbers = SEE YA!
This may be the kick in the pants Memphis radio has needed for a long time.
While I'm fortunate (or not fortunate) enough to not have a dog in this particular hunt, I sure do appreciate the excitement of gosh-only-knows what's going to happen next.
Many on Union Avenue have been looking down their noses at everyone else for years...Now, the playing field will be level, and some may find out finally that they're not all they think they are.
All this is the best "BUZZ" from Entercom in years. I can hardly wait to watch it unfold.
If nothing else...it's going to shake things up!
It is said that while the "official" reason for getting rid of Steve Butler was a couple of downward books, that it was mostly because of his salary.
I'm not a huge gambler, but I'd be willing to bet that there are persons at 1960 Union that make a WHOLE LOT more than Butler did.
I sure don't recall any numbers there being much better than Butler's numbers were.
I can think of no other reason to get rid of a heritage jock (25 years or more?) who was still performing well in the ratings on the same shift for that long.
Huge salary + many weeks of vacation + anything less than stellar numbers = SEE YA!
This may be the kick in the pants Memphis radio has needed for a long time.
While I'm fortunate (or not fortunate) enough to not have a dog in this particular hunt, I sure do appreciate the excitement of gosh-only-knows what's going to happen next.
Many on Union Avenue have been looking down their noses at everyone else for years...Now, the playing field will be level, and some may find out finally that they're not all they think they are.
All this is the best "BUZZ" from Entercom in years. I can hardly wait to watch it unfold.
If nothing else...it's going to shake things up!
Oh, I don't know.
I know I would be-given the history.
There is supposedly an unwritten formula they (Entercom) use to figure drive-time salaries that takes into consideration waaaay more than I understand.
It has to do with market size, market share, billing ratios, and a whole lot more.
Bottom Line:
They canned Butler after more than 25 years on the same shift, on the same station, with numbers that were not at all what you could call "bad". You do not get more "heritage" than Butler was at WRVR.
In the end...that counted for diddly! This is a fact.
Are we to assume that it'll be any different for FM100 staff?
Hell, there's 3 of them in the morning, (two of which carry very serious salaries AND paid time off), and the numbers have certainly not been better than the ones they supposedly canned Butler over.
I wouldn't expect anything too drastic too awfully soon, but things will happen.
Has anyone ever known Entercom to take over a station, much less a cluster, and leave it alone?
I may be way off base here, but I haven't seen any real change in management style from the Fields and Entercom since they sent me and several buds packing. They did it methodically and one-at-a-time.
In the Ridgeway Center building now, how many are still there that were on the air there in the Sinclair days?
Count them with me...1!
Bill Bannister! His mid-day numbers were just too good.
Don't count my friend Larry...he was only P/T prior to the sale.
Front office is different (SEVERAL TIMES OVER), even down to the receptionist.
Sales management and staff are different.
Traffic...different.
Promotions...different.
The ONLY real constant in that building has been production; and they'd be fools to touch either of those fellows!
You may say..."Meep, that all went down over 5 years ago!"...
True enough, but most of these changes I've mentioned were done fairly quick.
The turnover since, in office and programming, is obvious.
So? Should anybody be sweating?
Let's all just judge for ourselves.
I would be editing airchecks, re-writing some resumes, and getting reaquainted with as many of my friendly former co-workers in PD and OM positions as possible.
One other thing we'll hear is "contracts."
People there may have contracts that may protect them a bit financially, (I say "May" for reasons I'll let some of the former engineer/lawyer/pundits or actually "smart" people explain), but, they don't guarantee you a job.
I know I would be-given the history.
There is supposedly an unwritten formula they (Entercom) use to figure drive-time salaries that takes into consideration waaaay more than I understand.
It has to do with market size, market share, billing ratios, and a whole lot more.
Bottom Line:
They canned Butler after more than 25 years on the same shift, on the same station, with numbers that were not at all what you could call "bad". You do not get more "heritage" than Butler was at WRVR.
In the end...that counted for diddly! This is a fact.
Are we to assume that it'll be any different for FM100 staff?
Hell, there's 3 of them in the morning, (two of which carry very serious salaries AND paid time off), and the numbers have certainly not been better than the ones they supposedly canned Butler over.
I wouldn't expect anything too drastic too awfully soon, but things will happen.
Has anyone ever known Entercom to take over a station, much less a cluster, and leave it alone?
I may be way off base here, but I haven't seen any real change in management style from the Fields and Entercom since they sent me and several buds packing. They did it methodically and one-at-a-time.
In the Ridgeway Center building now, how many are still there that were on the air there in the Sinclair days?
Count them with me...1!
Bill Bannister! His mid-day numbers were just too good.
Don't count my friend Larry...he was only P/T prior to the sale.
Front office is different (SEVERAL TIMES OVER), even down to the receptionist.
Sales management and staff are different.
Traffic...different.
Promotions...different.
The ONLY real constant in that building has been production; and they'd be fools to touch either of those fellows!
You may say..."Meep, that all went down over 5 years ago!"...
True enough, but most of these changes I've mentioned were done fairly quick.
The turnover since, in office and programming, is obvious.
So? Should anybody be sweating?
Let's all just judge for ourselves.
I would be editing airchecks, re-writing some resumes, and getting reaquainted with as many of my friendly former co-workers in PD and OM positions as possible.
One other thing we'll hear is "contracts."
People there may have contracts that may protect them a bit financially, (I say "May" for reasons I'll let some of the former engineer/lawyer/pundits or actually "smart" people explain), but, they don't guarantee you a job.
M
MikeBratton
Guest
Re: Ok, but how is K-Love doing
The Fish is a Salem thing, not an Entercom thing.
Nevertheless, would something like that, done well, work here? My professional opinion is "Absolutely!"
BigSteveG said:
The Fish is a Salem thing, not an Entercom thing.
Nevertheless, would something like that, done well, work here? My professional opinion is "Absolutely!"
Massive news...and everyone's right, it's gonna shake things up.
From a technical standpoint, I wonder who's gonna own the towers and land out at WMC? WMC-DT is already on the CC tower, and when they turn off the analog, there's going to be a 1000+ foot space on the top of that tower for a community FM antenna right in the middle of town. Unbeatable signals if they consolidate there.
As for a Christian station, I'd like one with a more rock slant.
From a technical standpoint, I wonder who's gonna own the towers and land out at WMC? WMC-DT is already on the CC tower, and when they turn off the analog, there's going to be a 1000+ foot space on the top of that tower for a community FM antenna right in the middle of town. Unbeatable signals if they consolidate there.
As for a Christian station, I'd like one with a more rock slant.
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