Braves baseball on Rock 100.5

[jabba17]

I'm not aware that Cumulus runs those networks on any of their owned stations, especially the ones in rated markets. Perhaps you can point to a few.

Wasn't the True Oldies Channel one example? Cumulus/WW1 doesn't own it anymore but I think they (or Citadel/ABC) did at the time it was on 106.7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Oldies_Channel

Or are you strictly talking about networks in the post-Citadel Cumulus era?

 

[TheBigA]

Or are you strictly talking about networks in the post-Citadel Cumulus era?

I think my post was pretty specific:

I'm not aware that Cumulus runs those networks on any of their owned stations, especially the ones in rated markets. Perhaps you can point to a few.

 

[acheron1982]

Can anyone find the current spins on WNNX (Rock 100.5?). Last review, everything they play is 10 years or older and majority of it is 70s and 80s with a few 90s. Occasionally something before 2007 or so. I would not call this AOR. I would call this pure Classic Rock. Is the definition between the two formats morphing?

 

[charlestondxman]

The last time I dealt with Major League Baseball programming (Kansas City Royals) the contract said if you air the game your secretary would send in an affidavit that you cleared the network commercials. When we ran Chiefs games and the Royals were playing, we didn’t make the Royals commercials. IIRC WLJA doesn’t run Braves games on Sundays and they didn’t run make good commercials (especially the beer commercials) Monday. Now the Cumulus – Braves radio contract is different. I believe the cloud company is paying to run the games. I can only guess the local commercials more than make up for the expense they are paying the Brave’s Radio network and the slid of Rock 100.5 ratings will cost them. If it was a money loser the contract would have been killed in Bankruptcy.

BTW I was surprised that 106.7 only took in around $4 million (according to Roddy). I thought it was $7 million. Cumulus owns several “radio networks” that provides the music and announcers. The only requirements are a satellite dish, computer that can detect the switching tones (or closures if you are using a really old receiver). The weather, traffic reports, and news could have been handled easily in house by existing cluster people. There would have been minimal payroll expense so even if sales dropped a million Cumulus would still make $3 million (less commissions and music royalties).

IMHO: The Cumulus’s gross mismanagement of WYAY makes the sale to K-Love seem almost logical.

Same in our market. Charleston doesn’t carry Braves games that conflict with Clemson sporting events as Clemson has a signed contract while the Braves deal is more informal.

 

[secondchoice]

I'm not aware that Cumulus runs those networks on any of their owned stations, especially the ones in rated markets. Perhaps you can point to a few.

I don’t know of any Cumulus stations using a Westwood One music format. That being said 106.7 had Scott Shannon’s True oldies with did well 6+ but was rumored to have had bad older demos. Cumulus has “Classic Hits Westwood” whose slogan is "The Greatest Hits Of All Time"/"The Best Music Ever Made" according to Wikipedia.*

If 106.7 had dumped the expensive local talk, and ran the Satellite Classic hit IMHO they should have expected at least a 3 (6+), or about half of what WCBS does. With a 25% discount for out of money demo old folks that gives a 2.25 with no local talent to pay verses the 1.3 (6+)** with large payroll WYAY has.


*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Hits_(Westwood_One)
**https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb047


A radio station in a rated market with no or little local talent is not that rare. Instead feeding voice tracks in the automation to mix with the music, you get music and voice "live" from Dallas (or where ever they have the studios now). For a fee you use to be able to bring in one of the announcers to your station for a remote or whatever.

BTW we will be getting K-Love which is an almost a total Satellite feed. I do wonder, do stations still have to do the "community affairs" programming very early on Sunday AM?

 

[TheBigA]

If 106.7 had dumped the expensive local talk, and ran the Satellite Classic hit IMHO they should have expected at least a 3 (6+),

But it's not what they do. Cumulus is not EMF, running a satellite driven format and firing local staff. I don't understand why you seem to want them to operate that way. They instead chose to operate local clusters the way traditional radio has always operated. In fact when Mary Berner replaced Lew Dickey, she specifically directed the company to become more localized in its programming decision making. The talk format was chosen for a reason, and that decision obviously survived several local and corporate management changes. If anyone thought it was a bad decision, it could have been changed, although I have no reason to believe they would have selected the satellite option. I also have no reason to believe that even if 106.7 had achieved a 3 share it would have saved it from being sold to EMF.

 

[jabba17]

I do wonder, do stations still have to do the "community affairs" programming very early on Sunday AM?

Yes. 97.1 has it in the 5 AM hour. My alarm goes off at that time during the week and I usually don't bother to turn it off for the weekend, just hit the button to reset it for Monday.

It was originally supposed to be specific to the community of license, but what I can make out on 97.1 isn't specific to Gainesville.

 

[MarkW]

Q: Can anyone find the current spins on WNNX (Rock 100.5?). Last review, everything they play is 10 years or older and majority of it is 70s and 80s with a few 90s. Occasionally something before 2007 or so. I would not call this AOR. I would call this pure Classic Rock. Is the definition between the two formats morphing?

A: wnnx.tunegenie.com


You are correct that the station only plays vintage rock. 90's are well represented, but it's all standard fare that one would generally expect to see on a boring corporate playlist. Extremely little music from the past twenty years gets airplay; any such spin is a rarity.

The exception is one single hour per week - Saturday Nights at 9PM the station does a new music showcase.

The only reason Rock 100.5 has even halfway decent ratings is because Project is long gone.

 

[AMRocks]

When 97.1 was WFOX, they actually did public affairs for the Gainesville area. In fact, they used their Grainesville studios to record the shows. I'm sure it was easier for guests to get there than to Atlanta

 

[BarryATL]

When 97.1 was WFOX, they actually did public affairs for the Gainesville area. In fact, they used their Grainesville studios to record the shows. I'm sure it was easier for guests to get there than to Atlanta

Do they still maintain a studio in Gainsville or does Atlanta comply with the relaxed studio rules?

 

[RadioDoogie]

Bailey and Southside stated a couple of weeks ago that the All News studio was closing up shop across the hall, so I assume All News isn’t coming back unless they are running it off a laptop like they do over at 99X.

 

[secondchoice]

But it's not what they do. Cumulus is not EMF, running a satellite driven format and firing local staff. I don't understand why you seem to want them to operate that way. They instead chose to operate local clusters the way traditional radio has always operated. In fact when Mary Berner replaced Lew Dickey, she specifically directed the company to become more localized in its programming decision making. The talk format was chosen for a reason, and that decision obviously survived several local and corporate management changes. If anyone thought it was a bad decision, it could have been changed, although I have no reason to believe they would have selected the satellite option. I also have no reason to believe that even if 106.7 had achieved a 3 share it would have saved it from being sold to EMF.

Publicly held radio companies are all about profit. The managers are expected to make the most money they can for the shareholders. Citadel and Cumulus when ran by Lew and crew did not do this. I have worked at a couple of stations that ran satellite programming. There are pros and cons but that is another thread. Cumulus has an “in house” product which would have cost them nothing to fill a large format hole in Atlanta radio (post 1960’s pop hits) instead they tried to mess with WSB which has decades of success. Personally, I believe CBS was the only broadcaster that could have made a serious run at WSB with news but CBS went sports to take on a 250 watt translator instead of 750 and 95.5 (smart move IMHO).

IIRC 106.7 hired local announcers for a lot of the day after The True Oldies gained traction. Which is what could have happened but we will never know. Because of bad decisions by Cumulus management past and present one of Atlanta’s largest and best commercial signals is going away. I believe the local cluster management was so worried about three remaining operations (99.7, 101.5 and 100.5) that are facing direct programming threats that 106.7 just "fell thru the cracks".

 

[TheBigA]

I believe the local cluster management was so worried about three remaining operations (99.7, 101.5 and 100.5) that are facing direct programming threats that 106.7 just "fell thru the cracks".

You can believe what you want to believe, but there's no evidence it's true. They made a programming decision you didn't like, and you've spent the last five or six years relitigating that decision. 106.7 is NOT one of the largest or best signals in Atlanta. That is simply false. And the signal is not "going away." It's just changing format, once again to something you don't like. In that way, there's no difference between what they're doing now and what they'll do in a couple months.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Publicly held radio companies are all about profit. The managers are expected to make the most money they can for the shareholders. Citadel and Cumulus when ran by Lew and crew did not do this. I have worked at a couple of stations that ran satellite programming. There are pros and cons but that is another thread. Cumulus has an “in house” product which would have cost them nothing to fill a large format hole in Atlanta radio (post 1960’s pop hits) instead they tried to mess with WSB which has decades of success. Personally, I believe CBS was the only broadcaster that could have made a serious run at WSB with news but CBS went sports to take on a 250 watt translator instead of 750 and 95.5 (smart move IMHO).

IIRC 106.7 hired local announcers for a lot of the day after The True Oldies gained traction. Which is what could have happened but we will never know. Because of bad decisions by Cumulus management past and present one of Atlanta’s largest and best commercial signals is going away. I believe the local cluster management was so worried about three remaining operations (99.7, 101.5 and 100.5) that are facing direct programming threats that 106.7 just "fell thru the cracks".

No, 106.7 did not fall through the cracks. Someone--either corporate or local management--made the decision for the failed All News format to evolve into a talk station. While doing local talk can be expensive, I doubt they were paying the hosts, none of whom are exactly blue-chip talents except The Kimmer, very much in salary. And even The Kimmer has remarked about how he made a lot more years ago at WGST. Moreover, the station has no news department.

You are correct that WYAY has a big signal, but it's a rimshot that does not match the big signals based in Atlanta in covering the market.

 

[LegalTender]

No, 106.7 did not fall through the cracks. Someone--either corporate or local management--made the decision for the failed All News format to evolve into a talk station. While doing local talk can be expensive, I doubt they were paying the hosts, none of whom are exactly blue-chip talents except The Kimmer, very much in salary. And even The Kimmer has remarked about how he made a lot more years ago at WGST. Moreover, the station has no news department.

You are correct that WYAY has a big signal, but it's a rimshot that does not match the big signals based in Atlanta in covering the market.

The irony is Lew hatched All News 106.7 at a time Cumulus was losing millions during the Rush Limbaugh advertiser boycott. Talk was toxic. He signed Fox5 as a content partner and lured out-of-work CNN Radio alums for $20/hour. It may have been a fool's errand to challenge WSB, but it wasn't a suicide mission. Kimmer was restless on his Massachusetts horse farm and wanted back on the air. By that time, Lew was out of the picture.

 

[jabba17]

The irony is Lew hatched All News 106.7 at a time Cumulus was losing millions during the Rush Limbaugh advertiser boycott. Talk was toxic. He signed Fox5 as a content partner and lured out-of-work CNN Radio alums for $20/hour. It may have been a fool's errand to challenge WSB, but it wasn't a suicide mission. Kimmer was restless on his Massachusetts horse farm and wanted back on the air. By that time, Lew was out of the picture.

I assume that a company as big as Cumulus has some newstalkers that carry Rush, but I don't think a Rush boycott (which happens every couple years, so nothing new) was that big of an impact on Cumulus's finances. Cumulus's problem was debt and leverage, same problem as iHeartClearChannel.

It was 40 years ago, but WGST did very well with an all-news format in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Of course, WSB finally woke up and entered that space, dumping the Morning Merry Go Round and getting serious with radio news (having a clear channel signal that works when the sun isn't shining during AM and PM drive also helps). WGST added talk by the end of the 80s, being one of the first Rush affiliates. Cox co-owned AJC ran columns about their competitor's "hate talk", until the folks at White Columns started poaching all of WGST's shows and talent (Clark Howard, Neal Boortz, Sean Hannity, and finally Rush).

WSB-AM has been a follower, but a fast follower and they go all in and dominate when they do.

Heck, when Cox was LMAing WCNN for a time in the late 1990s, they had an all-news format on that station. Heck, that's how and why talk WRNG Ring Radio flipped to WCNN, which got started airing the audio of CNN Headline News (hence the callsign) in the early 1980s.

Meredith tried it on WGST in the 1970s and early 1980s after they bought the station off of Georgia Tech and had a nice run. Ring Radio tried it on WCNN in the mid-1980s and had a nice run. Cox tried it again on WCNN in the late 1990s. So, definitely not a suicide mission and a plausible format hole in the market. IMO it failed because people don't get their news from radio as much anymore, particularly national news. It's not the 1990s anymore.

 

[secondchoice]

106.7 is NOT one of the largest or best signals in Atlanta. That is simply false.

There are only two full class C's in the Atlanta market: 106.7 and 97.1. Looking at the ratings* 97.1 Same COL as 106.7 is #3 (6+). The Fish 104.7 same antenna but less power than 106.7 is # 5 (6+). How can or could Cumulus be out programmed in their "home town" over 3 times (5.4 verses 1.6) by a station that has exactly the same antenna but less power. If that is not "falling thru the cracks" then what is?

IMHO Atlanta = urban sprawl. The 106.7 signal covers a lot of that sprawl. In fact only 3 of the top 10 (6+) stations have an (in-town tower): V103, WSB FM and 92.9 The Game.

* https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb047

It's just changing format, once again to something you don't like. In that way, there's no difference between what they're doing now and what they'll do in a couple months.

My clock radio is set to K-Love 105.1 or WSB 95.5. My personal tastes are not important here. BTW if you look back I was one of the supporters of All News. I had no idea Lew Dickey would try the format on the cheap letting Fox 5 gather most of the local news. I still believe that CBS could have pulled it off with something like WBBM or 1010 in NYC but we will never know because they went all sports which most likely makes more money in a lot of markets but they have had several let go a couple of Sale Managers so I really don't know how that is working out.

 

[TheBigA]

There are only two full class C's in the Atlanta market: 106.7 and 97.1. Looking at the ratings* 97.1 Same COL as 106.7 is #3 (6+). The Fish 104.7 same antenna but less power than 106.7 is # 5 (6+).

You've been making this argument for years, and unless the stations have the same format, it's not a fair comparison. People aren't listening to a signal, they're listening to contemporary Christian music. In a few weeks both stations will have the same format, and we'll see which one wins.

I still believe that CBS could have pulled it off with something like WBBM or 1010 in NYC

CBS tried all news in Washington DC, invested millions trying to compete against WTOP, and they lost. Not long after that, management at CBS radio changed, and the company was no longer interested in radio, ultimately selling the division to Entercom. I don't see the same commitment to news at Entercom that may have existed at CBS ten years ago.

 

[LegalTender]

I assume that a company as big as Cumulus has some newstalkers that carry Rush, but I don't think a Rush boycott (which happens every couple years, so nothing new) was that big of an impact on Cumulus's finances.

I'd wager that the impact was big enough to kill any impulse to flip WYAY to a talker the same year.

"Lew Dickey, the CEO of WABC parent company Cumulus, told analysts that Limbaugh's remarks about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke — Limbaugh called her a "slut" because she supports healthcare coverage for contraception — cost Cumulus 1% of revenue during the period.

That's as much as $5.5 million in sales.."

Business Insider / May 6 2013

 

[TheBigA]

I'd wager that the impact was big enough to kill any impulse to flip WYAY to a talker the same year.

Yet that was the year they flipped WYAY to all news. The Fluke incident was February of 2012, and the flip happened 2 months later.

Of course, Rush was on WSB at the time.