Sorry. Didn't realize you speak for everybody who's ever been asked. My sincere apologies.
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BREAKING NEWS!...Star 102.5 sold in Buffalo
- Thread starter Tall Thin One
- Start date
This is not true. STAR used to be a top biller MANY years ago. WGR and WBEN are Audacy top biller in Buffalo. From a source I know very close to this, STAR bills 4 mill or so. It sold for 7.5 if you average the 2. EMF not only got a very low price. I heard that Audacy would like to sell medium markets like Buffalo and keep large markets only.
This appears to be Audacy fault. Too much debt.
Well YOU SAID, “ When listeners are asked …” I did not realize you spoke for all listeners. How could you possibly know what all listeners say?
what I said is if someone asked me.
Some have asked if Star 102.5's format, etc. could move to another station in the market. More on that in a second.
Well, the Memphis station that was sold along with Star is moving its format up the dial; per AllAccess, the country format on WLFP(94.1 the Wolf)will move to WMC-FM/99.7(which is currently Hot AC FM 100)and become Wolf 99.7 . It quoted Memphis SVP/brand manager Dan Barron as saying, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're NOT getting out of the country radio business. In fact, we're doubling down." WMC-FM broadcasts at 300kW horizontal, 100kW vertical...and it will give better coverage of their format throughout the Memphis area as well as the Mid-South. FM100's hot AC will be sunsetted as a result.
Now, as for Buffalo: Lance Venta at RadioInsight.com notes that he hasn't seen any indications...YET...that Audacy will relocate WTSS to one of the other FM stations in the market, but it can't be counted out yet. He does note that CHR WKSE(Kiss 98.5)could move in a more adult direction to take in some of the disaffected Star listeners, which would leave WMSX(96.1 the Breeze)as the lone AC in the market. (Lance doesn't mention it in his story for Radio Insight, but CJED(105.1 the River)could also pick up some listeners(it also has a hot AC format); however, it'll be much less than Kiss IF Audacy goes that route. Over the last 4 trends, it's only gotten a .2 or .3 in 12+.)
Well, the Memphis station that was sold along with Star is moving its format up the dial; per AllAccess, the country format on WLFP(94.1 the Wolf)will move to WMC-FM/99.7(which is currently Hot AC FM 100)and become Wolf 99.7 . It quoted Memphis SVP/brand manager Dan Barron as saying, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're NOT getting out of the country radio business. In fact, we're doubling down." WMC-FM broadcasts at 300kW horizontal, 100kW vertical...and it will give better coverage of their format throughout the Memphis area as well as the Mid-South. FM100's hot AC will be sunsetted as a result.
Now, as for Buffalo: Lance Venta at RadioInsight.com notes that he hasn't seen any indications...YET...that Audacy will relocate WTSS to one of the other FM stations in the market, but it can't be counted out yet. He does note that CHR WKSE(Kiss 98.5)could move in a more adult direction to take in some of the disaffected Star listeners, which would leave WMSX(96.1 the Breeze)as the lone AC in the market. (Lance doesn't mention it in his story for Radio Insight, but CJED(105.1 the River)could also pick up some listeners(it also has a hot AC format); however, it'll be much less than Kiss IF Audacy goes that route. Over the last 4 trends, it's only gotten a .2 or .3 in 12+.)
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Here's what was written: When listeners are asked why they listen to a radio station, very few if any, say "I love the content and the localism." What's more, I offered a real world observation of a person who was in control of the car/truck radio. I'm open to opposing opinions, but if you're gonna quote me, use the entire quote, in context. I stand by my observation and contention, based on experience.
You raise an interesting, real world scenario with the changes in Memphis. BTW, WMC-FM is a legacy flame throwin' FM! That's a shizzel load of RF. It seems that Kiss remains a vibrant, revenue-generating brand. Does it generate more revenue than Star? Asking.
Would Audacy sunset Kiss and move Star's AC format to 98.5? Asking. This would seems to be a double dose of changes, but stranger things have happened.
And yes, as postulated, CHR Kiss 98.5 could move in a more AC-Hot AC-dayparted direction, maintaining the brand with moidfications and holding on to the younger and more mature subsets of Women 25-54.
Should Star sunset and disappear, can the revenue associated with Star afford to be lost, most likely to Townsquare's Breeze? Asking.
Strictly observational, but on its face Star seems to produce more revenue that the Wolf. This noted, Audacy may want to continue competing head-on with WYRK by retaining the Country format on 107.7. The Wolf spots are still running. One appeared in a recent Sabres telecast. (BTW, they're boilerplate spots, nothing special.) This poster thinks there's more revenue to be retained and merit to be had if Audacy moves Star to 107.7. Pure speculation. Coin of the realm on these boards.
The Buffalo revenue is irrelevant compared to Audacy's Mountain of Debt. Moving STAR to a weaker signal accomplishes nothing. You forget that the sale of STAR could just be the beginning of Audacy's exit from Buffalo. If that's the case, they wouldn't bother shuffling formats...
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Do you think Audacy will be selling large amounts of their stations until the debt is paid off?
Are there enough assets of value to cover the debt, to sell? I sometimes wonder if corporations buy up big at over inflated prices, only to be left with a white elephants.
I would say no. The company stock is now 11 cents a share. The merge with CBS saddled Entercom/Audacy with crushing debt. The modern Radio business model is barely viable without any debt. David Field knows that the wolves are getting closer every day...
It's not irrelevant as it relates to the Buffalo cluster and the men and women who are on the air and those who sell advertising, as it relates to them making a living. It's also proper to remember that Audacy is generating ample cash flow, but the debt and debt service is literally killing the company. Your contestation about moving Star to a weaker signal observation has merit as it relates to "making a hill of beans" worth of difference as to whether Audacy, as a whole, survives. In all likelihood, Audacy gets delisted from the NYSE if its reverse stock split fails, but that's down the road. In the meantime, local clusters, specifically Buffalo, have decisions to make. That was the point of my post.
Audacy is runned by goons. Considering what their doing in Memphis
What they are doing in Memphis actually is very smart. CHR is in a bad place: teens and 18-24's are not using radio, a lot of the CHR songs can't be played on the radio and the music is in a definite lull period.
In Memphis, Audacy has WRVR-FM, an AC station that perennially in the top 3 with around a 9 share. WMC, as a Hot AC, was a few shares behind, while WLFP was the #2 (out of 2) country station in the market with around a 3 share. Perhaps the thinking is that WRVR can daypart a bit and pick up a chunk of the former WMC listeners, perhaps pushing it to the top of the market. They may think that WMC's flamethrower signal will expand the country market in Memphis.
That rarely works, and, when it does, it even more rarely works quickly. If Audacy thinks it's going to combine KISS and Star, I wouldn’t expect it to be an exception.
If I'm Townsquare, I'm thinking I gave up on Mix 96.1 a little too soon.
In Buffalo, Kiss and Star likely shared a lot of listening. Audacy may feel that they can daypart the soccer moms before 6 PM, and still get the younger audience that might listen to radio by going more Hot AC at night. Is it possible that they'd finally move on from Janet Snyder who VTs mornings from Boston and keep Rob Lucas? Or move Lucas into mid-days or PM drive instead of syndication?
I still think that this is simply the beginning of the end of Audacy in the Buffalo market.
I still think that this is simply the beginning of the end of Audacy in the Buffalo market.
The large percentage of Black listeners in the Memphis market limits country radio's potential, no matter which signals the format is on.
According to the RAB, the Memphis radio metro is about 53% white. If you look at the Memphis ratings, it's arguable that country on a big signal could have more of an impact.
https://ratings.****************/content/arb075
Memphis MSA is 43.4% White, 47.7% Black, 2.5% Asian and 6.1% Hispanic.
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