Citadel -TRUE STORY

[joshzz]

I recently read the following article and would like to share it with you. It really gives some insight into what is wrong with radio today. josh



Loss Of Trust: How Citadel Media Just Raped Radio
A message from Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads

http://ericrhoads.blogs.com/ink_tank/2009/11/loss-of-trust-how-citadel-media-just-raped-radio.html

[EDIT]
*****************************************

sing to Silver Bells...

Citadel, Citadel, soon you will see bankruptcy.


[EDIT-post truncated as excerpt exceeds amount permitted under Fair Use.Link added by Radio-Info as a courtesy]

 

[TheBigA]

Citadel, Citadel, soon you will see bankruptcy.

I don't understand your point. Do you think someone is going to jail? Someone will get fired or fired? None of those things will happen. And these stations will simply be run by a bank, a investment firm, or another big radio company. And if you think they were run badly by the current management, wait until those same people have to report to their new owners: The banks. It will be way worse.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

There's two ways to look at the layoffs at Citadel:

a) Citadel Media Networks provides a service which should not be provided. If you can't hire you own air talent, you should close up shop and go home.
b) Citadel Media Networks provides a vital service. Many radio stations in communities of 30,000 or less may generate 10k a month in revenue, and could never afford a decent air lineup.

Obviously, Rhodes takes viewpoint (b). I tend to agree. Even the most profitable radio stations in these small towns can afford only 2-3 local jocks. (Heck, the most profitable radio stations in markets like Chicago will take Delilah or Lia). A Citadel 24-hr format is an appealing alternative when needing to fill, say, mid-days, evenings, overnights, and weekends.

If you're on the bird 24/7, you might need to refer to position (a).

Now, to be fair to Citadel, only ABC AC, Oldies Radio, and Real Country seem to have been decimated (of course, Stardust/Timeless is being shut down, but with advance notice). Real Country lost Mornings, PM, and Evenings. ABC AC lost Mornings, Mid-Days, PM, and Evenings. Oldies Radio lost Mornings, PM, and Evenings.

I'd take a stab in the dark to pin the number of affiliates affected here at 200, probably not representing millions of dollars in ad revenue.

 

[TheBigA]

If you're on the bird 24/7, you might need to refer to position (a).

My understanding is that the contract requires you to take their format 24/7. You can't cherry pick.

Now, to be fair to Citadel, only ABC AC, Oldies Radio, and Real Country seem to have been decimated

But what they did is they took successful local talent from their owned stations, and rewarded them with larger audiences. These are people who know how to respond and interact directly with local audiences, not people who are isolated from local audiences, as those satellite announcers tend to be. They easily could have gone in the opposite direction, and fired a lot more local talent, and replaced them all with the satellite gang. In fact, a few months ago, on this very board, I predicted that Citadel would begin replacing local talent with the satellite gang. Instead, they cleaned house in Dallas. I was surprised. I see this as an improvement. Different is not always bad.

 

[joshzz]

I recently read the following article and would like to share it with you. It really gives some insight into what is wrong with radio today. josh



Loss Of Trust: How Citadel Media Just Raped Radio
A message from Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads

http://ericrhoads.blogs.com/ink_tank/2009/11/loss-of-trust-how-citadel-media-just-raped-radio.html

[EDIT]
*****************************************




[EDIT-post truncated as excerpt exceeds amount permitted under Fair Use.Link added by Radio-Info as a courtesy]

 

[PTBoardOp94]

If you're on the bird 24/7, you might need to refer to position (a).

My understanding is that the contract requires you to take their format 24/7. You can't cherry pick.

Your understanding is wrong. Stations only need to inform their Citadel account rep which hours of programming they carry and make-good the network commercials.

Now, to be fair to Citadel, only ABC AC, Oldies Radio, and Real Country seem to have been decimated

But what they did is they took successful local talent from their owned stations, and rewarded them with larger audiences. These are people who know how to respond and interact directly with local audiences, not people who are isolated from local audiences, as those satellite announcers tend to be. They easily could have gone in the opposite direction, and fired a lot more local talent, and replaced them all with the satellite gang. In fact, a few months ago, on this very board, I predicted that Citadel would begin replacing local talent with the satellite gang. Instead, they cleaned house in Dallas. I was surprised. I see this as an improvement. Different is not always bad.

First, your facts are wrong. They fired maybe 15 satellite jocks across their formats. They replaced about three of them with marquee talent from Citadel properties. The other shifts are being held down by whomever they could find in Dallas. I know this because I called up a former co-worker who is running Real Country. When I worked with him, he had all the jock liners matched and refreshed them 2-3 times a year. Well, he can't do that now because he can't even get an announcer schedule out of Citadel.

And here, different is bad for the reasons Eric Rhodes outlined -- people are more likely to connect with a talent than a station. It wouldn't be a concern if one or two jocks were laid off to be replaced with this "marquee" talent, but when you blow out the entire M-F schedule 5a-Mid like they did on ABC AC, there has to be some concern about losing listeners when people realize their jock isn't coming back.

 

[TheBigA]

Your understanding is wrong. Stations only need to inform their Citadel account rep which hours of programming they carry and make-good the network commercials.

That's not good. No wonder their staff became expendable.

It wouldn't be a concern if one or two jocks were laid off to be replaced with this "marquee" talent, but when you blow out the entire M-F schedule 5a-Mid like they did on ABC AC, there has to be some concern about losing listeners when people realize their jock isn't coming back.

Here's the reality: This operation was bleeding money. Something had to be done. DJs get fired from stations all the time, and somehow radio survives.

The time for fretting about "connecting with talent" was two years ago. That's when everyone should have focused on improving profitability. Instead they fiddled while Rome burned, and figured they could continue with the status quo. That was a bad decision. So now it's too late. It's crash & burn mode, an it doesn't matter any more. If & when the bankers come in and start running things, it will become even worse.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

An across the board 5% increase in affiliation charges would have been more effective at saving the business. It would have saved jobs, and a small increase in fees would drive only a tiny handful of affiliates away.

 

[TheBigA]

There will be many more cuts in the next 6 weeks. This one was mild compared to the ones I'm expecting.

The real question is was this a business worth saving? If it was, then the now-unemployed talent and management should investigate self-syndication. If there's a market to be served, and money to be made, then it's worth investigating. But I don't think there's a lot of money to be made. There are no more sugar daddies.

 

[bossbill]

A 24/7 network affiliate typically has to give up 1,500 minutes (3,000 units) of commercial inventory per month. Even a small rural station might value that inventory at something over $10,000/month.

Except in the very beginning, we've always operated barter only, with a fee waiver. Some smaller stations might give up $300 or more per month PLUS the 3,000 commercial units.

The network business model can still work. Dramatically overpaying for properties does not. To paraphrase a great American: "It's the debt load, stupid".