Cumulus and Citadel

[classrock]

Any idea what Cumulus' plans would be for the Atlanta stations? Would they move Kicks and WYAY into the same building as the other stations? Would there be mass firings?

 

[Kent]

Any idea what Cumulus' plans would be for the Atlanta stations? Would they move Kicks and WYAY into the same building as the other stations? Would there be mass firings?

I'd have to think they'd eventually move all of their stations into the same building. As for the mass firings, your guess is as good as mine, but, judging from what Cumulus has done in the past, I'd say it's quite likely.

 

[Bengalsfan]

I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be mass firings and layoffs. How do you think they guys pay for these big purchases like this? Cumulus seems to have a wish to be like Clear Channel. I would NOT want to be an employee of Cumulus or Citadel right now. This merger is not going to be pretty.

 

[Kent]

I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be mass firings and layoffs. How do you think they guys pay for these big purchases like this? Cumulus seems to have a wish to be like Clear Channel. I would NOT want to be an employee of Cumulus or Citadel right now. This merger is not going to be pretty.

Cumulus is, if anything, worse than Clear Channel. They outright made Clear Channel look like Heaven prior to Clear Channel's going private (yes, it was THAT bad!). I don't know what Clear Channel's like now, though. I agree with you that this merger is going to really bad.

 

[carolinaradio]

Am I the only one surprised that Entercom wasn't able to get Citadel? I always thought of Entercom as being much more stable and having more money. They are in more desirable markets also.

The main problem I see with the larger Citadel clusters are the 2-sometimes 3 station clusters, usually one AM and one FM...remnants of when they were ABC stations. Doesn't seem extremely efficent. This merger would help that in some markets like Dallas, Atlanta, San Fransisco.

 

[Kent]

Am I the only one surprised that Entercom wasn't able to get Citadel? I always thought of Entercom as being much more stable and having more money. They are in more desirable markets also.

I wasn't surprised. Part of the reason Entercom is a more stable company is because it doesn't make deals that don't make sense. They weren't willing to overpay for ABC, and they're not willing to do it with Citadel either.

The main problem I see with the larger Citadel clusters are the 2-sometimes 3 station clusters, usually one AM and one FM...remnants of when they were ABC stations. Doesn't seem extremely efficent. This merger would help that in some markets like Dallas, Atlanta, San Fransisco.

ABC didn't do much expansion, and Citadel didn't have anything in those markets. Yeah, it's not very efficient, and overpaying for beachfront property that it couldn't grow, at least partially because the economic bottom dropped out, is part of why Citadel went bankrupt.

 

[carolinaradio]

Am I the only one surprised that Entercom wasn't able to get Citadel? I always thought of Entercom as being much more stable and having more money. They are in more desirable markets also.

I wasn't surprised. Part of the reason Entercom is a more stable company is because it doesn't make deals that don't make sense. They weren't willing to overpay for ABC, and they're not willing to do it with Citadel either.

The main problem I see with the larger Citadel clusters are the 2-sometimes 3 station clusters, usually one AM and one FM...remnants of when they were ABC stations. Doesn't seem extremely efficent. This merger would help that in some markets like Dallas, Atlanta, San Fransisco.

ABC didn't do much expansion, and Citadel didn't have anything in those markets. Yeah, it's not very efficient, and overpaying for beachfront property that it couldn't grow, at least partially because the economic bottom dropped out, is part of why Citadel went bankrupt.

That would make sense about Entercom. They've fared pretty well while other companies have struggled because they have had a pretty decent growth strategy (the last purchases I remember them making were some of the CBS stations in smaller markets, which were smart buys).

Like I said, this may be beneficial in some of the big markets where Cumulus and Citadel already have somewhat of a presence (SFO, Dallas, ATL) but not major. Both groups are in some decent medium-sized markets. If I were them, I would carefully review the markets below 100....especially the Cumulus ones. They have some dog ones.

It's scary to think of Cumulus running stations like WPLJ or WABC. Hope they run things better than they do in markets like Savannah. If this goes through, I hope they get some kind of mobile streaming app and a better online presence for the smaller markets.

 

[ck dexter haven]

Cumulus is, if anything, worse than Clear Channel. They outright made Clear Channel look like Heaven prior to Clear Channel's going private (yes, it was THAT bad!). I don't know what Clear Channel's like now, though. I agree with you that this merger is going to really bad.

Kent is right on. While they may make this work dollars-wise: if you work for Citadel, kiss your butt goodbye. Cumulus is ruthlessly run by C students. Some who can't spell--and I know this, personally, from experience. No kidding, memos were spell-checked but then again some mistakes slipped through. C students. But then again, this is radio; where else can C student Liberal Arts majors make a ton o' cash?

 

[secondchoice]

Could be other shortspacings now.

There's also WNSY 100.1 as a second-adjacent, but I would think that US 101's size on a first-adjacent would be more of a stymie.

Ahh, but you forget something. CC owns 100.7 in Chattanooga, and that signal is waaaaaay bigger than it needs to be.

I do not know all of the legalities but, here is an Idea. Buy 100.1 and simulcast 100.5. And if you had the real desire (and lots of money for legal and engineering) to put a market covering signal find another channel for 100.1 and move 100.5 to 100.3. The tower would might still have to be south of Atlanta because of 100.3 in Oak Ridge / Knoxville and there is a translator in Gainesville. I know when Young Harris got 95.1 there was a translator (or class D non com I forget which) about 20 miles away in NC that was moved.

 

[InSearchOfGear]

I do not know all of the legalities but, here is an Idea. Buy 100.1 and simulcast 100.5. And if you had the real desire (and lots of money for legal and engineering) to put a market covering signal find another channel for 100.1 and move 100.5 to 100.3. The tower would might still have to be south of Atlanta because of 100.3 in Oak Ridge / Knoxville and there is a translator in Gainesville. I know when Young Harris got 95.1 there was a translator (or class D non com I forget which) about 20 miles away in NC that was moved.

Nope. Can't move 100.5 to 100.3 because it'd be 3rd adjacent shortspaced to 99.7.

 

[secondchoice]

I thought the third channel protection was going away.

 

[carolinaradio]

When did CC last buy something? Seems like they have been more focused on selling in recent years, which is a smart idea.

100.5/WSSL throws a great signal in the Upstate, especially to the eastern part and to the south. Since they are extremely successful, I don't know if CC would want to mess with that signal any more.

 

[jabba17]

I thought the third channel protection was going away.

I thought so too, but a closer reading says it's only for translators and LPFMs.

 

[InSearchOfGear]

When did CC last buy something? Seems like they have been more focused on selling in recent years, which is a smart idea.

100.5/WSSL throws a great signal in the Upstate, especially to the eastern part and to the south. Since they are extremely successful, I don't know if CC would want to mess with that signal any more.

I think if they had the chance to own 100.5 Atlanta they'd sacrifice a little bit of Greenville to make the siggnal whole. Just MHO.

 

[InSearchOfGear]

I thought the third channel protection was going away.

There's been talk about eliminating the 3rd ajacent rule since the 90s. Now with HD, it may not be practical.

 

[carolinaradio]

When did CC last buy something? Seems like they have been more focused on selling in recent years, which is a smart idea.

100.5/WSSL throws a great signal in the Upstate, especially to the eastern part and to the south. Since they are extremely successful, I don't know if CC would want to mess with that signal any more.

I think if they had the chance to own 100.5 Atlanta they'd sacrifice a little bit of Greenville to make the siggnal whole. Just MHO.

True, but I wonder if WSSL downgraded how their signal would be affected to the north/northeast- that is a crucial part of the market for country music. It's not rock solid up there as it is. Could easily be solved by swapping programming with the stronger 92.5 signal (which also plays country but doesn't perform as well typically) though.

Any idea when anything between Cumulus/Citadel would be final?

 

[classrock]

There hasn't been much talk about this potential deal lately. Does anyone have an idea where things now stand?