CBS Surprise?

[MikeRadknowski]

From Inside Radio 8/15/06
From the Rumor Mill - CBS Radio may reveal its station selloff deals by next week.
One dealmaker says cryptically - "There are gonna be surprises." Citadel, Entercom and Salem are all in the Rumor Mill along with the names of some returning owners. CBS says it's ready to dispose of stations in ten markets - Austin, Buffalo, Cincy, Columbus, Fresno, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Kansas City, Memphis, Rochester and San Antonio.

There was a suggestion that Citadel might make some unorthodox moves in Buffalo. We'll soon find out.

Imagine Salem buying into Buffalo after Citadel and Entercom improve their lots by carving up Buffalo's strongest cluster?

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[size=12pt]Meanwhile, on the satellite frontier, Sirius share price is DOWN 44% and XM is OFF 60% this year. If a terrestrial broadcaster posted similar results, some major changes would be made from the top down. Not that terrestrial broadcasters are having a banner year, but their fundamentals are a helluva lot better than satellite radio. Compare the debt loads alone!

Meanwhile, both XM and Sirius get a break and the darling of "industry scribes." Why? Both companies have major programming and distribution problems. You don't have to have an MBA to know the fundamentals of both companies stink! If Oxley-Sarbanes required the satellite companies to report actual paying subscribers there'd be a more realistic assessment of XM and Sirius.
[/Mike]

 

[raymond_shaw]

From Inside Radio 8/15/06
From the Rumor Mill - CBS Radio may reveal its station selloff deals by next week.
One dealmaker says cryptically - "There are gonna be surprises." Citadel, Entercom and Salem are all in the Rumor Mill along with the names of some returning owners. CBS says it's ready to dispose of stations in ten markets - Austin, Buffalo, Cincy, Columbus, Fresno, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Kansas City, Memphis, Rochester and San Antonio.

Pure speculation, but could Entercom be interested in aquiring some CBS properties in Rochester? They only have 2 full signal FM's, The Bee & The Buzz(plus weak signal Fickle 93.3) and one weak signal AM(WROC 950).

I guess we may find out next week.

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Let's not leave Cummulus out of the picture. Remember Lou Junior's dad once owned a station in Rochester back in the 1980s. And we're talking about a number of stations (WCMF,WPXY,WRMM) that make money and have decent ratings.
But you're right, instead of speculation, let's wait and see who ends up buying the Rochester cluster. As for Buffalo, I'm not that familiar with that market to know whose in the running there.

 

[raymond_shaw]

Let's not leave Cummulus out of the picture. Remember Lou Junior's dad once owned a station in Rochester back in the 1980s. And we're talking about a number of stations (WCMF,WPXY,WRMM) that make money and have decent ratings.
But you're right, instead of speculation, let's wait and see who ends up buying the Rochester cluster. As for Buffalo, I'm not that familiar with that market to know whose in the running there.

Maybe Lou Junior could buy into Rochester and bring back the WSAY call letters Actually, I believe they became unavailable a long time ago.

Mark, I've found your previous posts about WSAY in the Lou Senior days quite interesting. To think I drove up to Rochester in 1981 and tried to get hired there, thinking it would be a great place to work, compared to where I was working at that time in the Buffalo area.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

My question is who do you think would be the best owner for the CBS stations and what makes them the best?

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Mark, I've found your previous posts about WSAY in the Lou Senior days quite interesting. To think I drove up to Rochester in 1981 and tried to get hired there, thinking it would be a great place to work, compared to where I was working at that time in the Buffalo area.

Consider yourself fortunate that you didn't get the job at WSAY. That place had more people going through the the front door than customers at a bordello.

;D

 

[ThePickleReport]

My question is who do you think would be the best owner for the CBS stations and what makes them the best?

I'd like to see a mid-sized company like Saga that SEEMS to value talent and local radio pick them up. However, they're probably too smart to overpay.