Cox Exiting Greenville?

[carolinaradio]

According to the Atlanta board, Cox is set to announce that they are selling their Greenville cluster, in addition to Birmingham, Richmond, Honolulu, and CT.

Any guesses who picks them up?

 

[GordonSims]

Are they selling as a group? Are they willing to listen to individual offers ?

 

[awp69]

Wow, that's big news. Kind of strange with all the activity they've been doing with the translators in the area. Maybe they were just prepping those to make it even more appealing for sale?

The second translator for the supposed talk station isn't even up and running yet (guess first week of August it was supposed to go live).

 

[carolinaradio]

Are they selling as a group? Are they willing to listen to individual offers ?

Don't know. They may sell them all in a package, trade, who knows.

Wow, that's big news. Kind of strange with all the activity they've been doing with the translators in the area. Maybe they were just prepping those to make it even more appealing for sale?

The second translator for the supposed talk station isn't even up and running yet (guess first week of August it was supposed to go live).

It seems like they're exiting markets where they can't have a TV station to add to their radio clusters. They just bought a handful of TV stations in markets they were already in.

I don't know what position Clear Channel is in, but it seems like they could buy 98.1 and 107.3, sell off 96.7 and be in line with ownership limits. The translators are leased and don't count anyway. I wonder how this will affect the supposed talk station, also.

 

[carolinaradio]

The stations are up for sale: http://www.coxmediagroup.com/news/c...oup-purchases-new-tv-stations-jacksonv/nPy7J/

Basically strengthening their position in markets where they can have radio and TV combos, and unloading some markets where they just have radio or just have TV.

Who would expand in to Greenville? WJMZ is highly desirable. Entercom can't expand, but I could see a scenario like I mentioned above with Clear Channel. That would give them the top 3 stations consistently. Then there's Cumulus.

 

[GordonSims]

then there's Cumulus

 

[awp69]

Whoever buys them, obviously JAMZ is a keeper and Hot is a nice buffer for it against B. But 96.7 is definitely ripe for a change. Interesting times ahead.

 

[MarkSC]

Clear Channel can't expand in Greenville either. WKSF in Asheville (99.9) puts enough signal into Greenville to count against their 5 FM limit. They'd have to get rid of 96.7.

 

[Kent]

Clear Channel can't expand in Greenville either. WKSF in Asheville (99.9) puts enough signal into Greenville to count against their 5 FM limit. They'd have to get rid of 96.7.

Under the old contour overlap method of determining markets, this was correct. However, under the Arbitron/geographic method the FCC has used for several years now, WKSF no longer counts toward ownership limits, and you can no longer have 8 total stations in the market. The limit is now 7, with no more than 4 in the same service.

You can see a more recent market definition here: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS...?appn=101228100&qnum=5190&copynum=1&exhcnum=2

Scroll down to page A-121 for Greenville-Spartanburg.

 

[carolinaradio]

So if there can't be more than 4 in the same service, how does Entercom get away with 5 FM's? I know plenty of other markets where owners have 5 FM's, as well. Are they grandfathered?

Cumulus would probably like to get in to Greenville since they're in every other SC market and just about every other southern market. Or, CC could just go for Jamz (and the HD stations) and spin off 96.7. Maybe it could go to whoever bought 98.1. My money is on Cumulus but who knows.

 

[awp69]

Whoever buys them, obviously JAMZ is a keeper and Hot is a nice buffer for it against B. But 96.7 is definitely ripe for a change. Interesting times ahead.

Just realized I was jumping ahead of myself there. Obviously that 96.7 remark was directed only if Clear Channel was forced to sell it if they indeed went ahead with the purchases of the other stations.

 

[Kent]

So if there can't be more than 4 in the same service, how does Entercom get away with 5 FM's? I know plenty of other markets where owners have 5 FM's, as well. Are they grandfathered?

Yes. If you built the full cluster prior to the summer of 2003, you're not required to divest. However, the full cluster cannot be sold intact. Also, if you have a substantial reorganization, you will be required to divest to get under the new ownership caps. As an example, Citadel put several stations into trust after buying out ABC Radio because enough of the stock changed to trigger new ownership rules.

Also, the ownership limits remain the same; it's the way the market is calculated that changed. So, if your market has at least 45 stations, you can still have 8 with 5 in the same service. Greenville-Spartanburg, however, lost several stations when the rules were changed because some stations, including WKSF and WMYI, were no longer considered part of the market.

 

[whopper]

Why did Cox announce this without buyers? That is very odd. Usually these deals are done very quietly with a big announcement when it's all done. Does this signal Cox struck out with big companies and are showing a willingness to parcel these signals out individually?

 

[awp69]

Greenville-Spartanburg, however, lost several stations when the rules were changed because some stations, including WKSF and WMYI, were no longer considered part of the market.

Sorry, I know this is offtopic, but it got me curious. Is WMYI really not considered part of the market??? Their tower is in Hendersonville, NC, I believe, but with the power of it's signal and clearly market driven by GSP, I find that difficult to believe. But I have no idea what the FCC's logic is so who am I to judge.

 

[carolinaradio]

Greenville-Spartanburg, however, lost several stations when the rules were changed because some stations, including WKSF and WMYI, were no longer considered part of the market.

Sorry, I know this is offtopic, but it got me curious. Is WMYI really not considered part of the market??? Their tower is in Hendersonville, NC, I believe, but with the power of it's signal and clearly market driven by GSP, I find that difficult to believe. But I have no idea what the FCC's logic is so who am I to judge.

Actually, WMYI now shares a tower with 92.5 WESC which is located in SC, although it remians licensed to Hendersonville. I don't understand that, either.

So if there can't be more than 4 in the same service, how does Entercom get away with 5 FM's? I know plenty of other markets where owners have 5 FM's, as well. Are they grandfathered?

Yes. If you built the full cluster prior to the summer of 2003, you're not required to divest. However, the full cluster cannot be sold intact. Also, if you have a substantial reorganization, you will be required to divest to get under the new ownership caps. As an example, Citadel put several stations into trust after buying out ABC Radio because enough of the stock changed to trigger new ownership rules.

Thanks for the info. Entercom actually put the current cluster together in October 2005 when they bought 93.3, 101.1, and 106.3 from Barnstable and spun off 103.3, 103.9, and 910 in exchange. Prior to that, the cluster consisted of 4 FM's (93.7, 98.9, 103.3, 103.9) and 3 AM's (910, 950, 1330).

I thought buyers would have been announced also, but each market is different, so the stations couldn't all go to the same buyer. Cumulus can expand in Greenville and Richmond, but not Birmingham, as an example, so they couldn't buy the whole group if they are/were even interested. CC is at their cap in many markets. The sale of each market is unique. That's the best I can come up with. I wonder what the prices are. Jamz is ocean front property.

 

[MarkSC]

So if there can't be more than 4 in the same service, how does Entercom get away with 5 FM's? I know plenty of other markets where owners have 5 FM's, as well. Are they grandfathered?

Yes. If you built the full cluster prior to the summer of 2003, you're not required to divest. However, the full cluster cannot be sold intact. Also, if you have a substantial reorganization, you will be required to divest to get under the new ownership caps. As an example, Citadel put several stations into trust after buying out ABC Radio because enough of the stock changed to trigger new ownership rules.

Also, the ownership limits remain the same; it's the way the market is calculated that changed. So, if your market has at least 45 stations, you can still have 8 with 5 in the same service. Greenville-Spartanburg, however, lost several stations when the rules were changed because some stations, including WKSF and WMYI, were no longer considered part of the market.

WMYI is listed on the Greenville market page you cited. So, can CC expand in Greenville or no?

 

[Kent]

Actually, WMYI now shares a tower with 92.5 WESC which is located in SC, although it remians licensed to Hendersonville. I don't understand that, either.

You are correct. I was thinking WMYI was considered an Asheville market station by Arbitron, but it, in fact, remains a Greenville-Spartanburg station.

Thanks for the info. Entercom actually put the current cluster together in October 2005 when they bought 93.3, 101.1, and 106.3 from Barnstable and spun off 103.3, 103.9, and 910 in exchange. Prior to that, the cluster consisted of 4 FM's (93.7, 98.9, 103.3, 103.9) and 3 AM's (910, 950, 1330).

You're correct that Entercom put the current cluster together in '05. At the time, Furman University owned WPLS, a class D station at 96.7. When what's now Shine 96.7 was moved closer to the market and upgraded, WPLS had to sign off. The result was a market that had 45 stations in '05 and only 44 two years later. I suppose it's possible another station has been moved into the market since '07, and that would make a difference for ownership purposes. Not having seen a recent list of stations according to Arbitron from BIA, I can't tell you how many stations are in the market today.

I thought buyers would have been announced also, but each market is different, so the stations couldn't all go to the same buyer. Cumulus can expand in Greenville and Richmond, but not Birmingham, as an example, so they couldn't buy the whole group if they are/were even interested. CC is at their cap in many markets. The sale of each market is unique. That's the best I can come up with. I wonder what the prices are. Jamz is ocean front property.

Cox has said it will only sell those markets to one buyer. That would seem to rule out Cumulus since it's at its limit in Birmingham and, possibly, some of the southeastern Connecticut properties. However, I suppose Cumulus could buy the stations and put the ones it couldn't keep in trust or find another buyer for those before the sale closes. Also, the GM of Cox's Birmingham cluster has indicated he has a group put together that intends to bid on the clusters.

 

[carolinaradio]

The only new stations there have been since 2007 are translators, and a new LPFM (WMXP-LP, which signed on in '07 and has been on/off, so it might have been counted). WPLS-LP is now licensed at 95.9 and has been since 2005. Nothing else, to my knowledge, has gone off the air and nothing has moved in.
BTW: 96.7 moved in to the market as 96.7 The Buzzard/WBZT in 2002, I believe. Clear bought it to move it in to Greenville from Greenwood in order to upgrade 96.7 in Columbia.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds and what changes, if any, occur at the stations. The supposed talk station on the 98.5 translator will be interesting to watch. If that's indeed the format, I was expecting that it would be dependent on a lot of Cox talk programming in other markets.

 

[JOHNNY on the RADIO]

EMF/K-Love?

 

[carolinaradio]

Highly doubt EMF would get anything from Cox in Greenville, but I have wondered lately if they'd like to get in to Greenville given how they are expanding lately, even in markets with established religious stations.