No. Why would he? Sitting out making a payoff from CBS doing what he does best. Not a bad deal.
And why this dog? A .1, second from last place out of a zillion stations, 41,600 listeners (estimated) and an unknown number of "hearers" not "listeners"?
Clifton said it. He ran out of money. Why?
Because no one paid enough to keep the lease fulfilled. In other words - not enough money coming in and a lot more going out.
The handful of posters hear, though fans, don't constitute enough of them to make the effort worthwhile. The same is true of "brokered radio" in a lot of places.
While "unique" -- it didn't catch on. Fewer people tuned in for a pair of cities in the millions may be "fun" to listen to for the few who do listen, but it's not enough to warrant keeping the thing going.
Clifton also said in the Observer, "Radio stations lost a lot of their value because the advertisers quit advertising."
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/12/rational_radio_set_to_exit_air.php
Advertisers, in this economy, didn't run in droves to advertise on the second lowest ranked radio station in the Metroplex. They never do. That's why Multi-Cultural Broadcasting went "brokered" because they don't have to worry about "$elling" the time. That's the problem of the lease buyers. As long as they pay the price of the contract, that's the way it goes. Investors do not buy just to "be on the radio." They expect, no, they demand a return on that investment. And there wasn't one.
This isn't brain surgery and it's not rocket science. Martin was a hit for lots of reasons, but wore out his welcome and was sent to the beach. CBS is still paying for it. A bad economy and a million contract has done that to marquee name personalities for a lot less this year.
It's called "business" -- and "we lose the stick" January 1 is another example of why "unique" doesn't mean "it $ells."
Why would Martin buy into a bottomless pit with employees, salaries, taxes, healthcare costs, and money to keep an AM on the air? For free? For ego? To lose money that keeps him comfortably living?
KMNY has its fans. Just not enough of them, apparently. The 'net is the best place for Rational Radio. How they "monetize" it, however, is another thing. It's easy to just "listen" and like it -- it's a whole different thing to profit from it to where you can pay people from it and make a living.
