CBS SELLS KFWB?

[radio-blogger]

Anyone know the backstory on this? ???

 

[davideduardo]

Anyone know the backstory on this? ???

Very simple. When CBS bought a second TV facility in LA, that purchase, when combined with the other TV and the radio group put CBS above the market cap established by the FCC for the maximum number of facilities. CBS moved to put KFWB in a trust pending either a sale or a change in its favor of FCC rules. They managed to keep this in limbo for a number of years, but now they have to move the station into a blind trust; if the rules change, the trust is reversable but they can also look for a buyer.

With AM audience on the decline and getting older and older, my guess is that a good price would push them to sell. There are still many highly profitable AM opportunities in LA for niche and ethnic radio, particularly serving the many Asian communities that have no common native language.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Anyone know the backstory on this? ???

With AM audience on the decline and getting older and older, my guess is that a good price would push them to sell. There are still many highly profitable AM opportunities in LA for niche and ethnic radio, particularly serving the many Asian communities that have no common native language.

Even though I don't speak nor understand the Cantonese and Mandarin languages, I would much rather listen programming provided by those said languages that 6 hours of Dr. Laura and Laura Ingraham. ;D

 

[Carmine5]

There is a lively interview with Saul Levine on the LA Radio site about this. Apparently Saul has filed two petitions with the FCC; one pressing for the placing of KFWB into a trust, the other claiming that CBS is over the limit on FM stations in L.A. and needs to sell one.

The word according to Saul:

“My attorney, Bob Jacobi of Cohn & Marks in Washington, DC, who used to work for the FCC, said it was absolutely unequivocal that when you have multiple stations in the same city, you cannot have more than four stations in the same service, which is defined as 4 FM or 4 AM stations.”

CBS Radio/LA owns five FM stations: KCBS (JACK/fm), KRTH, KROQ, KAMP, and KTWV.

Of course, this whole thing is really a grudge match for Levine which began when CBS put KFRG on a HD side channel in L.A.--and he freely admits it.

http://www.laradio.com/

c5

 

[radiojomo]

My question is why is Saul being a big brat about this?
Nobody sees Clear Channel, Citadel, SBS, Univision or any of the other radio companies complaining about CBS ownership.
Maybe he just wants another FM station free to either purchase so he can have a little FM cluster of his own or just so he make up a theory that CBS stations are affecting his audience. Who knows...
My take: I doubt that Saul can afford a CBS Class B. His little country station and retro hits station isn't making nearly as much as the Clear Channel or CBS clusters. Jealousy anyone?

 

[davideduardo]

My take: I doubt that Saul can afford a CBS Class B. His little country station and retro hits station isn't making nearly as much as the Clear Channel or CBS clusters. Jealousy anyone?

Saul has been making good money for nearly 50 years from his FM. He shrewdly positions it where nobody else wants to go, and thus avoids huge promotion and operating costs. It would not surprise me to learn that Saul has saved and invested enough to buy several good LA FM's were he to want to.

Keep in mind that the "little" country station is the replacement for KZLA, which Emmis gave up because it was "only" billing $25 million a year. And Saul´s 540 to 1650 swap netted him well above $25 million on one little AM deal alone.

 

[davideduardo]

“My attorney, Bob Jacobi of Cohn & Marks in Washington, DC, who used to work for the FCC, said it was absolutely unequivocal that when you have multiple stations in the same city, you cannot have more than four stations in the same service, which is defined as 4 FM or 4 AM stations.”

CBS Radio/LA owns five FM stations: KCBS (JACK/fm), KRTH, KROQ, KAMP, and KTWV.

Of course, the limit is 5 stations in any service, and 8 total radio in markets like LA.

 

[musicfan101]

Now this leads to a bigger question: Which FM would CBS potentially sell? KTWV? Now, I'm starting to wonder if moving KROQ to 94.7 would be a good idea? Just so CBS could give away the weakest of their FM's (which would of course be 106.7). I wish this could've came up last year so CBS could've just sold 97.1, you know, to prevent the format flip and all...

 

[davideduardo]

Now this leads to a bigger question: Which FM would CBS potentially sell? KTWV?

They don't have to sell any FM. They are within the market cap.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Keep in mind that the "little" country station is the replacement for KZLA, which Emmis gave up because it was "only" billing $25 million a year. And Saul´s 540 to 1650 swap netted him well above $25 million on one little AM deal alone.

Saul's "little" KKGO has a bit of a bigger stick that the former KZLA,
assuming the current 93.9 pattern is unchanged from the Emmis days.

KXOS 93.9:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1130849.html

KKGO 105.1:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM98148.html

So what is 93.9 now billing per year?

 

[TheBigA]

They don't have to sell an FM, but they have to sell a station, which is KFWB.

 

[radiojomo]

So yes or no to selling the FM?
FROM LARADIO.COM
Levine also contends that the two HD signals that are brought in from out of town are attributed as local stations. “In effect,” Saul continued, “they have to give up one of their terrestrial FM stations and the two HD signals that they are importing into the market.”

This guy is nuts. Why not spend the lawyer's fees on something more useful, like improving your own station?

 

[TheBigA]

Levine also contends that the two HD signals that are brought in from out of town are attributed as local stations.

The FCC has no guidelines on the content of HD Radio.

What would he prefer: Them importing this country signal from San Bernardino, or them simply running a commercial-free country jukebox from LA?

 

[davideduardo]

So yes or no to selling the FM?
FROM LARADIO.COM
Levine also contends that the two HD signals that are brought in from out of town are attributed as local stations. “In effect,” Saul continued, “they have to give up one of their terrestrial FM stations and the two HD signals that they are importing into the market.”

This guy is nuts. Why not spend the lawyer's fees on something more useful, like improving your own station?

CBS is within market cap on FMs, but above by one on total stations. Guess which is the least potentially profitable of the radio properties? KFWB has been under a divestiture plan for a number of years, but CBS was hoping they could keep it with new rules, but the time ran out...

Someone as successfull as Saul over so many years is hardly nuts. Crafty, shrewd, eccentric, perhaps. But definitely not nuts.

 

[radiojomo]

What would he prefer: Them importing this country signal from San Bernardino, or them simply running a commercial-free country jukebox from LA?

CBS SHOULD run a commercial free country jukebox on an HD signal, that would be a kick in the pants to Saul. What crazy idea is he going to defeat that? HD stations can't not have commericals? ;D Face it, HD Radio doesn't have an audience, why is he even dealing with all that trouble?

 

[musicfan101]

Maybe it is the fact that CBS also owns 2 TV stations???

 

[K6JHU]

"HD Radio doesn't have an audience, why is he even dealing with all that trouble?"

But it will have (as the auto market penetration goes up and awareness goes up). Saul bettning big on HD. He runs a classical service on KKGO HD-2 and KGIL (standards) on HD-3. He is betting that HD (on FM anyway) will suceed. In that case the CBS imports will be an issue. He is planning ahead.

 

[Carmine5]

Keep in mind that the "little" country station is the replacement for KZLA, which Emmis gave up because it was "only" billing $25 million a year. And Saul´s 540 to 1650 swap netted him well above $25 million on one little AM deal alone.

Saul's "little" KKGO has a bit of a bigger stick that the former KZLA,
assuming the current 93.9 pattern is unchanged from the Emmis days.

Far be it from me to judge a man's worth by the size of his stick.

However, if Levine has the kind of money some say he has then maybe he might be interested in KFWB. At least he will have a true L.A. AM station instead of pissing around trying to make a San Fernando Valley signal appear as if it's an L.A. "stick".

If he needs some extra cash to make the deal happen then dump KGIL.

c5

 

[observer8057]

So yes or no to selling the FM?
FROM LARADIO.COM
Levine also contends that the two HD signals that are brought in from out of town are attributed as local stations. “In effect,” Saul continued, “they have to give up one of their terrestrial FM stations and the two HD signals that they are importing into the market.”

This guy is nuts. Why not spend the lawyer's fees on something more useful, like improving your own station?

CBS is within market cap on FMs, but above by one on total stations. Guess which is the least potentially profitable of the radio properties? KFWB has been under a divestiture plan for a number of years, but CBS was hoping they could keep it with new rules, but the time ran out...

Someone as successfull as Saul over so many years is hardly nuts. Crafty, shrewd, eccentric, perhaps. But definitely not nuts.

Amen, David. Your description is perfect. And for those who don't understand that he is in a position--financially and otherwise--to do what he wants, when he wants, are totally missing the point.

 

[davideduardo]

Saul's "little" KKGO has a bit of a bigger stick that the former KZLA,
assuming the current 93.9 pattern is unchanged from the Emmis days.

KXOS 93.9:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1130849.html

KKGO 105.1:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM98148.html

So what is 93.9 now billing per year?

The 93.9 signal is directional, and it pulls in in areas that are totally unimportant to an LA FM... so it loses some coverage of the IE and high desert, which have no revenue potential to contribute... the IE because it is a separate market and the high desert because it is only about 3% of the LA MSA's population. In the rest of the market, the two are very comparable.

And, for KXOS, it's still "the Emmis days" since Emmis owns the station.