Citadel/ABC sale approved by FCC

[Andy Taylor]

The sale has been approved with the condition that Citadel divest 11 stations.Back when this all began WCLZ 98.9 & WCYI 93.9 were put into a trust until they were sold.So I guess now they must be sold.Would be a good addition to Atlantic Coast Radio.
How much closer could WCYI move their transmitter to Portland?With the sale their would be no more simulcast with second ajacent 94.3 WCYY.Any speculation anyone??

 

[adbuyer1]

What's interesting is the recent split broadcasting Citadel just did on the stations, with O & A being on 93.9 and music returning to 94.3 for mornings. Now with this, it makes sense. Obviously Citadel feels the O&A addition to Portland was a mistake and this is a perfect opportunity to unload them and there cost on a new owner.

 

[Kent]

Actually, the reason for the split is probably that the two stations will not be allowed to carry the same programming or even operate from the same location once WCYI is transferred to the trust. It's a lot easier to air music since music logs are easy to split up. You really can't air the same talk show and say you're being operated separately.

There may be several more format flips because of the trust situation. Little Rock will have to see at least two format changes, and Oklahoma City saw WWLS-FM, which was a simulcast of WWLS (AM), and KKWD swap frequencies recently. If you've ever worked for a station that's been put into a trust, you'll know it's a real pain. I know of one such situation where employees who worked for the trust weren't even allowed to socialize with their former co-workers until the situation was resolved.

 

[JustinT]

The sale has been approved with the condition that Citadel divest 11 stations.Back when this all began WCLZ 98.9 & WCYI 93.9 were put into a trust until they were sold.So I guess now they must be sold.Would be a good addition to Atlantic Coast Radio.
How much closer could WCYI move their transmitter to Portland?With the sale their would be no more simulcast with second ajacent 94.3 WCYY.Any speculation anyone??

The simulcast will almost certainly end once 93.9 WCYI and 98.9 WCLZ are sold. Not sure whether WCYI can move it's transmitter any closer to Portland (obviously, because of WCYY 94.3). 93.9 isn't a terrible signal as it is now for Cumberland County, but down by Biddeford/Saco there are issues.

Whether WCLZ carries on really depends on what group acquires the duo. Atlantic Coast would be a good buyer for the group; after all, considering that JJ Jeffrey owned the original WCLZ at 98.9 and later at 95.5, that station would probably continue, and WCYI would be a great simulcast partner for the somewhat limited WRED 95.9.

It's no surprise that Entercom has been interested in getting a WEEI simulcast station in the Portland area, but Citadel probably wants to get rid of the duo in one move, forcing Entercom to put something on 93.9, thus forcing Entercom to build an actual presence in the Portland market.

Another potential buyer is EMF, which has been slowly entering New England over the past few years with small stations including WKMY, WKIV, and WTKL. They just made a two-station purchase in Albany, and Citadel may be more inclined to sell to EMF considering that the buyer would operate a service that would not compete directly with any of their stations (other than some potential crossover with 94.9 WHOM).

My guess is EMF, with K-Love on 98.9 and Air1 on 93.9. But it seems to be anyone's game.

 

[Kent]

The simulcast will almost certainly end once 93.9 WCYI and 98.9 WCLZ are sold. Not sure whether WCYI can move it's transmitter any closer to Portland (obviously, because of WCYY 94.3). 93.9 isn't a terrible signal as it is now for Cumberland County, but down by Biddeford/Saco there are issues.

Actually, the simulcast will have to end when the Citadel/ABC deal occurs, and WCYI is put into the trust. It may stay with the same musical format, but it can't be programmed by the same people. Citadel is actually getting rid of a couple decent signals, though 93.9 is the poorest of Citadel's sticks in Portland if I remember correctly.

It's no surprise that Entercom has been interested in getting a WEEI simulcast station in the Portland area, but Citadel probably wants to get rid of the duo in one move, forcing Entercom to put something on 93.9, thus forcing Entercom to build an actual presence in the Portland market.

You know, there is a rumor going around that Entercom will swap its excess in Rochester to Citadel for some of Citadel's surplus. Of course, it's just a rumor, but it does make some degree of sense. Really, whoever ends up with Citadel's spinoffs will get some decent stations out of the deal. There are a few signals that are rather poor, like 105.3 in Oklahoma City and 101.7/102.5 in Little Rock, but most of them are at least good enough to be competitive. Also, most of those markets have growth potential for anyone entering with Clear Channel likely having to slim down if it can get its shareholders to agree to take it private and Univision's rumored forthcoming exit from Albuquerque. Also, while Clear Channel has no stations in Portland, it is exiting Augusta, and the Citadel spinoffs, especially WCYI, could easily be moved into Augusta; 'CYI citygrades Augusta. WCLZ citygrades the southern part of Augusta but is more valuable as a Portland stick than an Augusta rimshot.

My guess is EMF, with K-Love on 98.9 and Air1 on 93.9. But it seems to be anyone's game.

I hope not! However, at this point, your guess is as good as anyone else's!

 

[JustinT]

Actually, the simulcast will have to end when the Citadel/ABC deal occurs, and WCYI is put into the trust. It may stay with the same musical format, but it can't be programmed by the same people. Citadel is actually getting rid of a couple decent signals, though 93.9 is the poorest of Citadel's sticks in Portland if I remember correctly.

Didn't know that, should have read your first post closer.

Yes, 93.9 is by far the poorest of the Portland sticks, with 98.9 not far behind. For a class A, 94.3 does a decent job and covers the more populated southern suburbs of the city. Citadel's 94.9, 97.9, and 102.9 all have great (or in the case of 94.9, incredible) signals... and 103.7, despite being programmed by Citadel's Seacoast cluster, puts a great signal over the Portland area.

Also, while Clear Channel has no stations in Portland, it is exiting Augusta, and the Citadel spinoffs, especially WCYI, could easily be moved into Augusta; 'CYI citygrades Augusta. WCLZ citygrades the southern part of Augusta but is more valuable as a Portland stick than an Augusta rimshot.

It seems like 93.9 could serve Augusta even without any signal work, but when it comes down to serving Market 268 well versus rimshotting Market 167, is it worth it?

My guess is EMF, with K-Love on 98.9 and Air1 on 93.9. But it seems to be anyone's game.

I hope not! However, at this point, your guess is as good as anyone else's!

Same here; but if it must be religion, the EMF folks do a surprisingly professional job.

 

[Kent]

It seems like 93.9 could serve Augusta even without any signal work, but when it comes down to serving Market 268 well versus rimshotting Market 167, is it worth it?

Yes, 93.9 could serve Augusta without any signal work whatsoever, though I suppose there could be some issues regarding the STL if it were to be moved into Augusta. I can't see how you could get a signal from Augusta to the transmitter on a single STL hop. STL's can be a real headache! As for whether it would be better to serve market 268 with a solid signal or rimshotting market 167, it really depends on what you're trying to do. If you have an almost full cluster in market 268 and could round it out by adding another stick, you might be better off going small. Otherwise, I'd either go bigger or try to do the dual market approach. A stick like 93.9 would probably be perfect for a WEEI simulcast if Entercom were to work out the Rochester swap with Citadel. They could just turn off the stereo and cover both markets quite well.

Same here; but if it must be religion, the EMF folks do a surprisingly professional job.

Honestly, the actually off-air product on EMF isn't that bad for what it is. However, the way they run the operation in general just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just don't like stations that once served their communities becoming little more than faceless translators for their main station. They also apply for a main studio waiver and usually get it on the grounds that, as a listener supported network, they can't possibly afford to staff their stations. Gee, if you can't afford a minimal local presence, how do you go on all those spending sprees, like dropping close to $10 million in a week? It almost makes me want to go back to Cumulus!

 

[mr_mark_taylor]

the only problem with moving 93.9 closer to augusta is 93.5 in fairfield (but the transmitter is in skowhegan)

 

[JustinT]

A stick like 93.9 would probably be perfect for a WEEI simulcast if Entercom were to work out the Rochester swap with Citadel. They could just turn off the stereo and cover both markets quite well.

Using 93.9 for WEEI would have some issues in the lower areas of the market, though, when it comes to the issue of Red Sox rights. In a recent move, Entercom took the Red Sox off of the decent signal of WTAG/Worcester to their own WVEI. WVEI's poor nighttime signal forced Entercom to create a deal with a low-rated, locally-owned talk station with a decent signal (WCRN) to simulcast many if not all of the games.

93.9 (WPEI?) would have a signal issue in the southern areas of the market and state in regard to these rights. Whether they are even part of the Portland market, Sanford and York would continue to get audible signals from WGIP 930 and WGIN 1540. But in Biddeford/Saco, does 93.9 provide a strong enough signal to pull the affiliation from WVAE? It seems to me that 98.9 would be the somewhat better choice for WEEI, providing a strong signal in Portland proper and fair signals in Augusta and Biddeford/Saco. Of course, that means the "what could you do with 93.9" question remains.

 

[Kent]

Using 93.9 for WEEI would have some issues in the lower areas of the market, though, when it comes to the issue of Red Sox rights. In a recent move, Entercom took the Red Sox off of the decent signal of WTAG/Worcester to their own WVEI. WVEI's poor nighttime signal forced Entercom to create a deal with a low-rated, locally-owned talk station with a decent signal (WCRN) to simulcast many if not all of the games.

93.9 (WPEI?) would have a signal issue in the southern areas of the market and state in regard to these rights. Whether they are even part of the Portland market, Sanford and York would continue to get audible signals from WGIP 930 and WGIN 1540. But in Biddeford/Saco, does 93.9 provide a strong enough signal to pull the affiliation from WVAE? It seems to me that 98.9 would be the somewhat better choice for WEEI, providing a strong signal in Portland proper and fair signals in Augusta and Biddeford/Saco. Of course, that means the "what could you do with 93.9" question remains.

You're correct that there could be some problems with the Red Sox if 93.9 were to simulcast WEEI. There are sometimes ways to work around that, though. I don't know how the Red Sox handle their rights as I've never dealt with them, but I am somewhat familiar with how the St. Louis Cardinals do, or at least did, things as I've worked for several stations that have carried their games in the past. The Cardinals actually had problems with too many affiliates well before the move to 550 KTRS last year. The games were allowed to air on overlapping signals so long as no station infringed upon another's sales territory. So, when I worked for KFRU in Columbia, MO, we could air the games despite some significant overlapping with KKCA 100.5 (Fulton, MO), KWOS 950 (Jefferson City, MO) and KRES 104.7 (Moberly, MO). The overlap was just fine so long as we only sold the games in Boone County. In cases of game conflict with the University of Missouri, we also could only bump the Cardinals to a Columbia licensed station if I'm remembering the contact correctly. KKCA, KWOS and KRES had to follow similar rules as none of them could sell the Cards in Boone County. There's also a similar situation in Springfield, where KTXR 101.3 carries the Cardinals and KJEL, a 100,000 flamethrower just 40 miles away, also airs them. So long as they don't infringe on each other's territories, it's fine. I believe it was KTJJ that lost the Cardinals for a few years in the 80's for infringing on KMOX's territory by selling the games in Jefferson County. If the Sox had deals like this, it would be a lot easier for Entercom to work around the overlap. The New Hampshire stations, for example, would be a non-factor as their territory would almost certainly be limited to a county or two in New Hampshire.

 

[argytunes]

Isn't there a Red Sox affiliation with WJAB and WLOB in Portland, Maine? ???

argytunes

 

[JustinT]

Isn't there a Red Sox affiliation with WJAB and WLOB in Portland, Maine? ???

argytunes

Yes. And because Atlantic Coast's WJJB/WJJB-FM/WJAE/WLOB/WLOB-FM together don't hit the southern areas of the market, they are also heard on 1400 WVAE in Biddeford, half of "the Bay"... although that deal dates to when the station was WIDE.

But we've seen how Entercom has dealt with the existing Red Sox rights deals in Worcester with WTAG, Springfield with WHYN (AM), and Providence with WPRO (AM). While the Sox may be on a competing station at first and the WEEI "affiliate" will be forced to air Fox Sports for the interim, you know where the rights are going when the contract is up.

For the heck of it, does anyone know when the Sox rights in Portland expire for Portland?

You're correct that there could be some problems with the Red Sox if 93.9 were to simulcast WEEI. There are sometimes ways to work around that, though. I don't know how the Red Sox handle their rights as I've never dealt with them, but I am somewhat familiar with how the St. Louis Cardinals do, or at least did, things as I've worked for several stations that have carried their games in the past. The Cardinals actually had problems with too many affiliates well before the move to 550 KTRS last year. The games were allowed to air on overlapping signals so long as no station infringed upon another's sales territory. So, when I worked for KFRU in Columbia, MO, we could air the games despite some significant overlapping with KKCA 100.5 (Fulton, MO), KWOS 950 (Jefferson City, MO) and KRES 104.7 (Moberly, MO). The overlap was just fine so long as we only sold the games in Boone County. In cases of game conflict with the University of Missouri, we also could only bump the Cardinals to a Columbia licensed station if I'm remembering the contact correctly. KKCA, KWOS and KRES had to follow similar rules as none of them could sell the Cards in Boone County. There's also a similar situation in Springfield, where KTXR 101.3 carries the Cardinals and KJEL, a 100,000 flamethrower just 40 miles away, also airs them. So long as they don't infringe on each other's territories, it's fine. I believe it was KTJJ that lost the Cardinals for a few years in the 80's for infringing on KMOX's territory by selling the games in Jefferson County. If the Sox had deals like this, it would be a lot easier for Entercom to work around the overlap. The New Hampshire stations, for example, would be a non-factor as their territory would almost certainly be limited to a county or two in New Hampshire.

Interesting stuff. I can't imagine that the New Hampshire stations really play into advertising, but they are necessary for fans in southern York County to hear the games when they aren't near a TV.

 

[JakeLongwell]

I just read about this story in Northeast Radio Watch, so I thought I'd come on this board to see what the "locals" were saying.
Sad to say, it seems to me that whatever happens, it will ultimately mean the end of WCLZ and its eclectic AAA format. I'm sure it is too much of a "niche format" and most radio groups will see it as too much of a challenge to be able to sell.
Here in upstate NY, Entercom does have something similar in Buffalo with "The Lake" (WLKK 107.7), though it isn't nearly as diverse as the music on WCLZ (there's no jazz or world music on WLKK).
Needless to say, I"m very disappointed with their decision to part with this station. But, I guess it only makes sense to get rid of the lower rated and/or under-performing signals, right?
Enjoy 98.9 while you can, folks. My guess is, it won't be around much longer.

Jake/upstate NY

 

[radiothis!]

Sadly, I agree with you Jake.

I actually think, knowing the Portland market, the decision to drop CLZ's eclectic programming (already not as good as it was in the JJ days, I might add) would be a mistake. I've never understood why so many of its stopsets are littered with barter commercials. It seems like a good sales pro should be able to sell the CLZ listener as one that is heavily under served by commercial radio. Yeah, the numbers aren't great--but this is a demo with money and needs that otherwise don't have an interest in listening to commercial radio-thus, this is the only radio, at-work/in-car option advertisers have to reach these folks.

My theory is Citadel never really knew what to do with the station, so decided to just let it go, focusing their sales staff on the more profitable stations. But I don't know this for fact...and I've been known for being totally wrong.

Thrilled by speculation,
RadioThis!

 

[Andy Taylor]

Maybe the 'CLZ format can stay alive. If Entercom gets these stations,they'll probobly really only want one of them.Probobly 98.9 because it has a better signal in the southern part of the market,especially in MONO.93.9 could be sold.Possibilities J.J. who would probobly take the 'CLZ format and move it to 93.9, though the signal isn't great in the Portland area.Maybe Dick Gleason could add 93.9 to his stations.Then there's always K-Love. Another possibility for 93.9.Whoever owns 93.5 in Fairfield could buy it and simulcast their classic hits format and cover the Lewiston/Augusta market.Signalwise 93.9 would make a better Lewiston/Augusta station.

 

[argytunes]

Word on the street about WVAE (the wave in Biddeford) is that AM 1400 isn't carrying The Boston Red Sox this season!

I guess this puts an end to a long 40 year plus RS connection to the radio station that used to be known as WIDE Radio?

argytunes

 

[Chuck_igo]

Word on the street about WVAE (the wave in Biddeford) is that AM 1400 isn't carrying The Boston Red Sox this season!

I guess this puts an end to a long 40 year plus RS connection to the radio station that used to be known as WIDE Radio?

argytunes

no Sox on AM1400. not a word on the street - it's the real deal. AM1400 will simul the Seadogs with AM1490.