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Connoisseur Media to acquire Alpha Media

Wow. Somebody finally took Warshaw's offer.

radioinsight.com

Connoisseur/Alpha Media Acquisition Details

Connoisseur Media has agreed to acquire Alpha Media. Update 5/19: The deal is structured for Connoisseur to acquire Alpha Media
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com

www.insideradio.com

Connoisseur Media To Acquire Alpha Media.

Connoisseur Media has announced it will acquire Alpha Media in a deal that will significantly expand its national footprint and position the combined company among the top 10 U.S. radio
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com
 
Mediafrog+ said:
I always love phases in these types of announcements such as “In getting to know the Alpha team” which can be translated as “We’ll be figuring out who to lay off.”😖
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One of my bosses used to say, "So long as you have people, you can make cuts," but Alpha nuked its staff in most of its smaller markets roughly a year ago. Either Wednesday or a week from Wednesday is the anniversary of Black Monday in Missouri, and many other small markets experienced similar events in the ensuing months. This year, Alpha has been slowly replacing the staff it nuked, but it would seem to be mostly adding part-time people. I believe the entire state of Missouri has one general manager now.
 
Kent said:
I believe the entire state of Missouri has one general manager now.
Click to expand...
I don't know how many clusters that is, But if I had to manage all that somehow, I'd be in the funny farm in a week. It takes personal attention to make even ONE radio station work (ask SomeRadioGuy,)

It's the difference between Grandma's homemade cookies and Grandma's™ Home Style Cookies.
 
This feels like a David buying Goliath kind of thing, similar to when Cap Cities bought ABC.

Connoisseur owns 13 stations in four markets. They're buying 218 stations in 47 markets.

I think that's partly why Cumulus turned him down twice.
 
What I'm wondering (I don't think it's been announced yet) is how much money Connisseur is borrowing to make this deal happen. In the current and projected market, it may have problems keeping all of the stations it purchased.
 
ted chittenden said:
What I'm wondering (I don't think it's been announced yet) is how much money Connisseur is borrowing to make this deal happen. In the current and projected market, it may have problems keeping all of the stations it purchased.
Click to expand...
There's honestly a non-zero chance Connoisseur ultimately goes into Chapter 11 just like Alpha did a few years ago.
 
Alpha was founded by Larry Wilson, who also founded Citadel. The dog in the logo is Larry's dog. Both the Alpha name and the logo will disappear under the terms of the deal. That's the second time it's happened to him.
 
Cumulus was insane to turn down his $15 to $17 per share offer in 2022 unless it was a mostly non-cash offer (e.g. stock for stock).

Cumulus at the time said he was undervaluing the company, which is utter bull crap.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
I always love phases in these types of announcements such as “In getting to know the Alpha team” which can be translated as “We’ll be figuring out who to lay off.”😖
Click to expand...
The reference to Alpha's "live and local" philosophy also made me laugh. Plenty of voicetracked or syndicated content airs on Alpha stations. True, they might not lean on such content as much as other companies.
 
MarkW said:
The reference to Alpha's "live and local" philosophy also made me laugh. Plenty of voicetracked or syndicated content airs on Alpha stations. True, they might not lean on such content as much as other companies.
Click to expand...
Until a few weeks ago, their Portland CHR utilized AI in middays.
 
Kent said:
One of my bosses used to say, "So long as you have people, you can make cuts," but Alpha nuked its staff in most of its smaller markets roughly a year ago. Either Wednesday or a week from Wednesday is the anniversary of Black Monday in Missouri, and many other small markets experienced similar events in the ensuing months. This year, Alpha has been slowly replacing the staff it nuked, but it would seem to be mostly adding part-time people. I believe the entire state of Missouri has one general manager now.
Click to expand...
I wonder how soon they'll ditch those small-market stations, and at what price. Most of the Missouri stations are in areas with slow growth at best, and often with declining agricultural economies. No longer is there anything to distinguish them from any other run-of-the-mill small-market radio station.
 
MediaLover said:
Will the new owners hold onto WHBC-AM/FM in Canton? I hope they will hire more staff for those stations.
Click to expand...
Given how badly Alpha decimated staff at other markets, it's a miracle WHBC didn't take on a all-podcast format with no staff. But what really can be done with a high-powered high-band AM that is lucky to be as generously staffed as they are?
 
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