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Changes at Townsquare and are the Pegulas buying the Cumulus cluster?

Talk about wild speculation. Whew! "If, if, if, and if."

No question that Pegula has lots of money, and Cumulus has lots of debt. But that's about it.
 
It's so easy to get video just about anywhere these days, unless you're driving. Do people still listen to games on the radio?
 
Mike Sheridan said:
It's so easy to get video just about anywhere these days, unless you're driving. Do people still listen to games on the radio?
Click to expand...

Roads seem full even during sporting events. Not every sports fan can stop their life to watch TV. And if any sports fan is watching video while driving, they should have their license revoked.
 
flybynight said:
Roads seem full even during sporting events. Not every sports fan can stop their life to watch TV. And if any sports fan is watching video while driving, they should have their license revoked.
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Amen.

And there are many jobs where TV is inappropriate but a game can be followed on the radio.
 
Pretty big plunge for Silver. He was a regional VP who got shunted back to GM in Buffalo, then out the door. Town Square has lost a number of sales people to Entercom, who's been the #1 biller for a while now.

As far as the Pegulas buying the Cumulus cluster, I can't see why. If they're unhappy with Entercom, they can solicit bids from Cumulus for the Bills and Sabres. Both have been on Cumulus stations before. Considering the ratings that 'GR is pulling with the Bills and Sabres, I don't see them letting either team get away.
 
Why would Pegula throw money into the Cumulus swamp?
He already owns two bottom feeder pro teams.
The Bills and Sabres are making him obscenely rich in spite of a
losing culture and gullible fans.

He knows that winning is irrelevant in Buffalo.
The money just keeps pouring in.

As for Silver, the fortunes of MIX/JOY probably sealed his fate...
 
It's always nice for an owner to be able to tell a station "I don't need you. I have other options." It helps his bargaining position. But buying radio stations strictly as an outlet for two sports teams doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Dan Snyder did it with the Redskins in Washington. For years, the team took money from CBS, and was heard on their FM sports-talker WJFK. Snyder was in the media business, and decided he'd rather control the way his team was portrayed. That's helpful when the team stinks and everyone blames the owner. In his case, he bought a group of small, weak AM stations that covered the city. He tried doing local sports talk during the rest of the day, but it's hard to compete against the big dog. Then again, he doesn't care because he has other businesses that cover his losses in radio ownership. Same with Pegula. But it's always easier to just take the money and let someone else take the risk that the advertising won't cover the costs. That's what he has now.
 
TheBigA said:
But buying radio stations strictly as an outlet for two sports teams doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
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Although, if I have the story right, the Rich family (Rich Products) did purchase WGR-AM in the early 90's with the expectation that their minor league Buffalo Bisons baseball team would be granted major league status at some point---and they wanted a station for their team. When MLB passed over the Bisons, the Riches quickly lost interest in their broadcast property and eventually sold to Keymarket.
 
flybynight said:
Although, if I have the story right, the Rich family (Rich Products) did purchase WGR-AM in the early 90's
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Actually let me revise what I said. Buying the whole Cumulus Buffalo group doesn't make sense. Buying one of the three stations for their two teams makes sense. But the only station they could get would be the AM, which isn't worth much.
 
TheBigA said:
Actually let me revise what I said. Buying the whole Cumulus Buffalo group doesn't make sense. Buying one of the three stations for their two teams makes sense. But the only station they could get would be the AM, which isn't worth much.
Click to expand...

They could still buy the whole cluster. put the sports teams on the FMs and spin off/donate 1270.
 
First of all, Cumulus has three FMs and two AMs in Buffalo. One of the AMs, WBBF, is a daytimer. The cluster also generates considerable positive cash flow. Now, we all know that everything is for sale at the right price, but the Pegulas don't need any more debt at this point. There would be no need for them to buy stations to make money on the product that they already own, they wouldn't have the headache of dealing with the legalities of owning a broadcast facility, and they wouldn't have to worry about the future value of towers and transmitters.
 
SirRoxalot said:
they wouldn't have the headache of dealing with the legalities of owning a broadcast facility, and they wouldn't have to worry about the future value of towers and transmitters.
Click to expand...

Exactly. As the rest of the NFL already knows, it's easier and cheaper to cash checks than to sell the advertising yourself and take on the risk. BTW the Pegulas already have a boat anchor AKA a record label they own and financed.
 
The engineering staff at Entercom is tasked with adjusting the broadcast delay on WGR to match the TV broadcast... "turn down the TV audio and listen to Murph do the play by play."
 
Penrod Rightout said:
The engineering staff at Entercom is tasked with adjusting the broadcast delay on WGR to match the TV broadcast... "turn down the TV audio and listen to Murph do the play by play."
Click to expand...

Considering the "quality" of national announcers assigned to Bills games lately, that's certainly a viable alternative. When Cumulus had the Bills, they ran the broadcasts on both 97-Rock and The Edge. One station ran in real time. The other was delyed to match the TV broadcast. Entercom really should consider simulcasting the Bills and Sabres on 107.7, which offers decent-to-great coverage east of Buffalo, when 'GR's signal sucks after sundown.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Pretty big plunge for Silver. He was a regional VP who got shunted back to GM in Buffalo, then out the door. Town Square has lost a number of sales people to Entercom, who's been the #1 biller for a while now.
Click to expand...

And according to a reliable source, Dave Universal was sent to the beach.
 
The WJYE re-branding as MIX apparently has elicited yawns.
I imagine that signal must be important, since the GM and PD have
now exited...
 
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