Blood Bath at ABC Radio (Citadel)

[TomT]

We're in a 225+ market, economics makes it difficult to pull together a local air staff. Not to mention the lack of air talent out there to begin with, especially for AC.

We've been with the AC format for six years. Peter Stewart, Tom Kennedy and Richard Stevens are excellent jocks for this format. While ABC was very conservative in their music, they supported the format. Even to the point of running a music test in our market.

(Which showed an awareness of our station in the target 25-54 women demo but that listening was hampered by signal problems. Also strong competition from a lower-powered-Class A-but centrally located station running 80's. So we bought the other station! )

We used to have their classic rock as well, but sloppy execution drove us to Dial Global.

Since Citadel has all but announced the likelihood of a pre-packaged Chapter 11 shortly after the first of the year, we may be exploring our options sooner than we like.

 

[bossbill]

I'm a shareholder as well as an affiliate. A good attorney may be able to look at a shareholder class-action suit against Farid. It is clear to me that he has gone the extra mile to destroy my equity.

 

[grandoleopry]

I have programmed 3 different stations in Pennsylvania with
Real Country over the past 15 years. The talent on that network
has been outstanding and Richard Lee has been a pleasure to
work with. This network was originated and owned by
Buck Owens...sad that Farid and company got their hands
on this outstanding network. I have witnessed first hand
how Citadel has destroyed stations in Central Pennsylvania.
How Farid has continued to remain in his position is beyond me.
Why Mr. Forstmann do you continue to let this man drive this
company further into the ground? Farid, Judy and everyone at
the top of this company needs to go and go now!I too once had
stock in Citadel and I am glad I got it cashed out before it became
worthless. To Richard Lee and the folks at Real Country Thank You
for the outstanding programming you have provided for my stations
over the years. Good Luck Richard.

Tim Michaels
York,Harrisburg PA

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Real Country's AM guy, John Calhoun is also off the air today.

And I agree with grandoleopry. I worked at a Real Country affiliate for a couple years, enjoyed the programming and thought the service was solid. Still listen to the network on a webstream now and again. This was back in the era when they moved the studios from Phoenix to Dallas ('97?). I think Richard was the only PD Real Country had until yesterday.

 

[Junkie101]

How has he escaped being investigated by SEC? I am sure his money is secured as is Forstman's, at the expense of shareholders

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

Two words describe the solution to this new problem completely: Audience Bakery.
http://www.audiencebakery.com/

 

[danubefish]

It was horrible. I've never been through anything like that before, and pray to never again.

 

[johndavis]

Two words describe the solution to this new problem completely: Audience Bakery.
http://www.audiencebakery.com/

One acronym: STORQ.

 

[Shelloutfalter]

I work for an AM station that's been a Timeless affiliate since the early days of Stardust. This is going to be a huge loss for the community during non-local dayparts.

Timeless went from a format I couldn't stand musically to basically a morph of oldies and easy listening. I was kinda digging it. All good things must pass, though.

Our FM used to run the ABC Hits and Favorites format until we flipped to Dial Global's Waitt Radio Networks AC. Not to say jocks like Peter Stewart and Tom Kennedy weren't fabulous, but getting out from the restrictions of a completely canned format with no real controls was the best thing we could have done, next to having an all-local staff of jocks that someone else was paying for.

 

[TheBigA]

A good attorney may be able to look at a shareholder class-action suit against Farid. It is clear to me that he has gone the extra mile to destroy my equity.

All shareholders had the opportunity to vote against the merger with ABC Radio. Obviously, not enough voted no. From the day the sale went through, the stock plummeted. Almost geometrically. It was a bad decision for Citadel. It created more debt than they could handle, and added salaries that were out of line with the parent company. Any company that bought ABC would have faced the same fate. There was a reason Disney was trying to sell. The shareholders themselves are to blame for the current state of Citadel. Farid was simply following his Board of Directors.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

The real problem is a low-class operation called Citedel purchased a very high class operation called ABC radio. Both were actually good at being what they were without each other. Married together it's disasterous because the boys of Citedel cannot and will not understand how to operate a high class operation profitably. The only experience they can draw on is how the have ran things all allong, and quite frankly that won't work for previously sucessful properties in the abc camp. It's about the equivilant of mcds trying to run red lobster. Both are good at their own areas but one trying to run the other would be a big boo boo.

 

[TheBigA]

Married together it's disasterous because the boys of Citedel cannot and will not understand how to operate a high class operation profitably.

Expensive doesn't mean high class. It's just expensive. And when you can spread the expense to TV, it works. When all you have is radio, it doesn't.

 

[RADIO TRUTH]

Understand why things are the way they are at this point in history. 1-The communications act signed by Clinton in 1996 but, was mostly pushed through by republicans. This opened up the floodgates for companies to own tons of radio stations and try to become mini monopolies. 2-Lending institutions were more than willing to lend money to companies such as Citadel, Cumulus and Clear Channel for station purchases even at unsustainable, unreachable multiples. The lending institutions figured that radio would always be a growth industry. 3-The growth of internet and digital technology over the last five years.....internet radio, ipods, youtube, illegal downloading and file sharing and many other things that have fragmented radio's audience. Radio is not a growth industry anymore and never will be a growth industry again. This is also true about television and the newspaper industry. Expect Citadel, Cumulus and Clear Channel to all file for some kind of bankruptcy protection. If you invested in any of these companies, even if you didn't know it, you took on all the risk. The lending institutions will end up being the owner of Citadel, Cumulus and Clear Channel and make their money through fees that they will charge and the piece meal selling off of the various broadcast properties. The firings at the ABC Radio Network 24 networks in Dallas is rather insignificant in relation to the above. Here is what is significant and none of it has to do with a recession. This would be equally applicable in a prosperous economy. The days of the business of radio as we used to know it, is over forever. Radio will never be a growth industry again. Radio succeeded when it had no competition. Today, radio has plenty of competition and as time goes by, will only have more competition. All the people who got canned by ABC Radio Network 24 hour networks in Dallas will have a hard time finding any decent employment in radio in the future. Many, many more people will get canned by the three companies as they head toward bankruptcy. Most local radio stations will be run like tv affiliates and just run network programming. There will be nothing local. Radio is dieing a slow and ugly death.

 

[copydesk2]

Radio's not dead; it's just changing. Look what's happening in Washington:

"House Advances Measure to Create Hundreds of New Low Power FM Radio Stations

The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 is on its way to a full House vote after sailing through the Energy and Commerce Committee with little opposition. The measure would repeal legislation which requires the FCC to protect full-power broadcasters from interference from Low Power FM stations being placed on third-adjacent channels. We speak to Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle, a co-sponsor of the bill; and Cory Fischer-Hoffman, campaign director of the Prometheus Radio Project. [includes rush transcript]"

Click on the following link to read the whole piece.

http://staging.democracynow.org/2009/10/28/house_advances_measure_to_create_hundreds

 

[TheBigA]

The communications act signed by Clinton in 1996 but, was mostly pushed through by republicans.

That is a myth. It was a bi-partisan bill, supported by leaders of both parties. Vice President Gore went on the David Letterman Show to promote the bill.

In the Senate, 81 votes yes, 18 voted no. Among the yes votes: Kennedy, Bradley, Dole, Dodd, Feinstein, Kerry, Sarbanes, Simpson, and Thompson.

In the House, it was an even greater margin: 414 to 16.

To say it was pushed by Republicans ignores the facts. It was pushed by both parties, each of whom had reasons to want to see it passed.

 

[TheBigA]

The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 is on its way to a full House vote after sailing through the Energy and Commerce Committee with little opposition.

This bill is a sham.

More radio stations doesn't equal better radio. We already know that. More radio stations mean fewer dollars for each station. The reason radio is struggling now is because there are already too many radio stations splitting a shrinking advertising pie. More stations will simply make it worse. These new stations will be crippled from the start with low power and no money. That will not lead to better radio or better community service.

 

[EbolaMonkey]

Expensive doesn't mean high class. It's just expensive.

In your response you ignored the word "profitably." Expense isn't a negative IF that expense is well spent and contributes to your profitability.

Radio fails today because it considers expense an absolute negative.

 

[TheBigA]

Expensive doesn't mean high class. It's just expensive.

In your response you ignored the word "profitably." Expense isn't a negative IF that expense is well spent and contributes to your profitability.

ABC Radio was only profitable because its greatest expenses were shared with TV. Once those expenses became the responsibility of radio, it ceased to be profitable. If they had been profitable, they would not be getting cut.

But you ignore my point: Just because everyone got paid a lot of money didn't mean they were high class. The bankers on Wall Street get paid a lot of money and work in luxurious surroundings. I would not consider them to be high class.

Here's the ugly truth: The ABC 24/7 formats were designed to provide cheap national programming for small local radio stations, rather than hire local air talent. This is the kind of "repeater radio" that local radio advocates hate. They were based in Texas because it's a right to work state. I don't see how any of that is high class.

 

[TheBigA]

Radio fails today because it considers expense an absolute negative.

That's BS. For 40 years, politicians in this country campaignaround the concept that more money in education means smarter kids. And for 40 years, we've dumped more and more money into education, only to see that money doesn't make smarter kids. Test scores fall in places where the most money is being spent, like inner city Washington DC.

Radio doesn't fail because it doesn't spend money. Just take a look at the most popular You Tube videos to see that quality isn't the issue. I'd suggest that radio got too fat and cushy, too isolated from the audience, too unwilling to engage in social media with listeners, too focused on their own personal issues to identify with the public. Then the public realized they didn't need professionals to run the media. They could do it themselves. Who needs towers and transmitters, full time staff with salaries and benefits, when you have hobbyists who do the same thing from home for no money.

Radio fails today when it forgets who really is in charge.

 

[EbolaMonkey]

That's BS. For 40 years, politicians in this country campaign around the concept that more money in education means smarter kids.

This has to do with spending money wisely. Not whether to spend it or not. And that was my point about spending in radio.

In my experience, the people who don't know how to spend it have run off the people who do. In the name of cutting costs. Maybe your experience has been different.