Cumulus & Citadel-The marriage is closer to happening than many thought

[Seltzer]

http://www.radio-info.com/news/cumulus-in-exclusive-negotiations-to-acquire-citadel-says-cnbc

 

[vetguy]

Supposedly a done deal as of a short time ago. 2.4 Billion.

 

[ProdMonsterGeneral]

Def. a done deal. A few good people will lose their jobs but there are also a few Class A cocksuckers that will get a long overdue axe.

 

[maines]

The worm has turned. it will be very interesting. Glad for the hard working Citadel folks to bad for all those Citadel managers!!!!!!

 

[danwxman]

So that leaves a question -- what happens with 106.7?

Could we be seeing "Hot 106.7" soon?

 

[jharmon]

This will not be a good thing for anyone in either company. Cumulus is the smaller company taking on Citadel, which means they will have a much larger debt load. That can only mean more staff reductions, more centralized operations, less local involvement, less product focus and tight tight budgets. You are witnessing the beginning of the end of radio as we knew it and loved it.

 

[Seltzer]

Def. a done deal. A few good people will lose their jobs but there are also a few Class A ----------- that will get a long overdue axe.

Let's hope that's the case. Although if they happen to be on the "acquiring side", they may be protected.......AGAIN.

 

[Seltzer]

This will not be a good thing for anyone in either company. Cumulus is the smaller company taking on Citadel, which means they will have a much larger debt load. That can only mean more staff reductions, more centralized operations, less local involvement, less product focus and tight tight budgets. You are witnessing the beginning of the end of radio as we knew it and loved it.

Don't forget..part of the deal is the 24/7 format stations Citadel operates. I could see Cumulus blowing out non AM drive shows and these 24/7 formats popping up on some of the weaker performing stations. Or a daypart on a successful station as well. You won't need PDs scheduling music anymore as it would all come out of corporate. In fact, on the talent side, a solid morning show and a strong Production Director is all that will be left. Spots still have to get on the air.

 

[vetguy]

Depending on how the Citadel and Cumulus stations are counted in the Harrisburg market, one or more stations may have to be spun off. That should be based on the Arbitron count. I think WQXA is counted in the Harrisburg market where in the past it would have been counted in the York market. The count includes all small stations like college, high school, NCE stations. The total count of stations attributed to the Harrisburg market will determine how many AM and FM stations Cumulus can own.

It won't affect Lancaster since only WIOV is counted in the market for either Cumulus or Citadel. York may be borderline depending on the overall count, including how WQXA is counted.

 

[Seltzer]

Depending on how the Citadel and Cumulus stations are counted in the Harrisburg market, one or more stations may have to be spun off. That should be based on the Arbitron count. I think WQXA is counted in the Harrisburg market where in the past it would have been counted in the York market. The count includes all small stations like college, high school, NCE stations. The total count of stations attributed to the Harrisburg market will determine how many AM and FM stations Cumulus can own.

It won't affect Lancaster since only WIOV is counted in the market for either Cumulus or Citadel. York may be borderline depending on the overall count, including how WQXA is counted.

In Harrisburg, that could mean spinning off Hot 92.1 and launching a new CHR on 1067. I imagine Cumulus might want X to count against York so as not too have to spin off more stations in the bigger market...Harrisburg. So, in York, who goes if X is counted there? WARM or SOX? Radio Hanover or Hall would want to swoop in and grab it. I'm sure Hall would love to grab WARM and flip it to something else to get out of the Rose's way.

 

[joepa4ever]

Well, you flip one or the other, but it wouldn't necessarily be WARM--once you've acquired it, it's your baby, too. You'd flip the one generating less cashflow.

 

[bossjock 56]

In this morning's Northeast Radio Watch at www.fybush.com, the scenerio is looking quite interesting. If the FCC decides to count WQXA as a York station, Cumulus would be allowed to keep EVERYTHING. If they decide that it's a Harrisburg station, one Harisburg FM would have to go. Even thought WQXA has been counted as a Harrisburg station by Citadel, the city of license is still York and the tower is in York. I'm sure that the Cumulus will call that to the attention of the FCC. If they were able to keep everything....things could get very interesting.

 

[vetguy]

WQXA is above the line in Harrisburg and below the line in York in the Arbitron market definitions. This is what the FCC traditionally uses. I wonder if it was Citadel who fought to put the station in Harrisburg. Cumulus would have to argue the opposite to get Arbitron to move it back to York. The FCC counts both stations licensed to communities within that market as well as stations that consider the market to be their “home” market, regardless of the community of license. The FCC could use a Cumulus count or Arbitron's. I don't know if one overrides the other when there is a conflict. If no one objects to station market count in the FCC ownership change application, it could move through smoothly. I would think Cumulus would fight hard to keep all of the stations. In the overall merging of the two companies, this is a speck of dust to deal with.

 

[Seltzer]

Yes. The whole Central PA scenario could prove to be quite interesting. With the markets Cumulus would pick up, Central PA would be far down the feeding change.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when that face to face meeting between Jan Jeffries & Scott Shannon takes place. Talk about fireworks.