CBS sells West Palm Beach cluster...is Hartford next?

[fmradio1]

CBS just dealt their five station cluster to a local group in West Palm Beach for $50 million. A few years ago they wanted to deal off all of their stations not in Top 20 markets, Hartford being one of them. CBS/Hartford is a successful cluster and is probably bringing in decent revenue for them, but would this be the right time to sell? And to whom?

 

[reelyreal]

I'm kind of surprised they sold West Palm... I guess everything does have a price.

 

[DToTheJ]

CBS just did a remodeling job for their WPB cluster, too:
http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2432749&spid=24698

I guess that gesture was nothing more than "raising the market value"... That being said, five FM stations for just $50 million? Now that is a steal.

 

[BlackiesHotDogs]

CBS has had the smaller markets in their portfolio on the block for a few years but waited for the price they wanted. So yes, Hartford could be next if CBS gets the price they want. They aren't leveraged like CC & Cumulus so there's no urgency to sell off.

 

[reelyreal]

Marci Ryvicker from Wells Fargo is estimating this was a 10-12 times cash flow deal, that's pretty sweet for CBS. She says it'll also be advantageous tax-wise with the WLNY deal this year.

 

[CTListener]

Marci Ryvicker from Wells Fargo is estimating this was a 10-12 times cash flow deal, that's pretty sweet for CBS. She says it'll also be advantageous tax-wise with the WLNY deal this year.

So how does the cash flow for, say, a top-three FM in the Hartford market compare with one in West Palm? Isn't the business climate here more depressed than South Florida's? What is an FM signal in this market really worth these days?

 

[reelyreal]

The last Class B FM to sell in Hartford was WMRQ-FM in 2009, after prices had fallen. That went for around 8 million. That station is directional, and while the signal is pretty good, is far from the best Hartford class B. WMRQ was also not a heritage station, having changed formats several times throughout its history, and in the past decade in particular.

When you're talking about the heritage, ratings, and profitability of WTIC-FM, WRCH, and to an extent WZMX, plus a 50,000 watt AM, non-directional days and slightly directional nights with killer coverage, you know it'd have to be more than $8 million a station.