Columbus Ohio Radio Revenue

[Allfirdup]

Interesting observation about the Columbus Market from The CEO of Saga, Owners of WSNY, WODB, WMVX, and WJZA.

from Taylor on Radio today
Ed Christian’s candid about “our low spot” operationally, and that’s Columbus, Ohio. He says they’ve “seen revenue evaporate” from the overall radio market, from $85 million in 2008 to $69 million. And he admits that “our stations didn’t keep pace”, and underperformed their peers.

More stations and less revenue to go around, might explain some of the Programming choices of late

 

[xiradiodotcom]

The pot is only going to become more divided if/when 101.7 moves and 102.5 gets an actual local owner. As a side note about 102.5, my wife found the station over the weekend and it comes in loud and clear on our Sony under-the-cabinet kitchen radio. We're 5 minutes north of the zoo. A few years ago, someone would have snatched that station up.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Some medium-sized companies are actually making noises about buying again. Don't expect Columbus to be on the list of markets they consider. 102.5 and other local opportunities are probably less visible on potential buyers' radar screens than xir's under-the-cabinet kitchen radio. I propose we rename this market Anonybus.

As for Saga, they largely have themselves to blame for letting every opportunity to procure a second decent signal slip by. It's mind-boggling that Anonybus would have only ONE operator that owns more than a single full-market signal. Anonybus is a perfect conspiracy of FCC under-allotments and management complacency/ineptitide.

 

[jakej]

I, for one, am very proud to live in the town that is Saga's low spot. Um, does this mean that its four local stations probably didn't pick up the 3.6 ratings shares that the published stations lost in last quarter's 12+ Arbitron chart?
With a little luck, Columbus will one day become the low spot of ALL of the broadcasting companies that have frequencies here.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

   With a little luck, Columbus will one day become the low spot of ALL of the broadcasting companies that have frequencies here.

You're in luck, they're already there.  Ratings and revenue aren't the only measure.  Besides, if you put CC's or Saga's or Wilks' local stations in normal markets -- where there are more good signals and stronger competition -- those that earn good numbers here would sink to the bottom in ratings in revenues, too.  And the big signals that are already pathetically (and deservedly) poor-performing locally, like 93.3 and 99.7, would essentially disappear from the ratings.

(I was wondering when someone would finally start a topic that would allow me to get back full-bore into my cynicism and disdain about the pathetic state of radio here.  Richly-deserved cynicism and disdain.  That doesn't mean that there's *nothing* that's any good here or that there are *never *any good decisions.  But Columbus remains by far the worst market in the Top 60 and near-worst in the Top 100.)