-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Cumulus files divest plan-
- Thread starter Nashsound
- Start date
Bert may not be on 106.7, if he's/she's/it's on say i-95.5! It's a "trust", it's all just a shell game, uh, why hide anything? Heck, there's an even bigger trust like deal in AL that's accepted as legal,. Besides, Cumulus should just keep 7 all the stations since half the signals are off everyday, anyway.* Certainly the F$C$C can't argue with that logic, given the tax incentives they'll approve for the eventual bail out and sell to Steiner Liff for scrap metal. And polyester.
* I wonder aloud if my "half the signals are off idea" would be voided when WTN has two newscasts and two spots all running at the same time at the top almost every hour. Does that technically mean that they have 11 stations going in the eyes of the F$C$C? Wait, two stations aren't probably working generally, anyway. No violation.
(This post is close to breaking my vow for Lent to not trash any radio corporations starting with a "C", but I think it's pretty much factual.)
* I wonder aloud if my "half the signals are off idea" would be voided when WTN has two newscasts and two spots all running at the same time at the top almost every hour. Does that technically mean that they have 11 stations going in the eyes of the F$C$C? Wait, two stations aren't probably working generally, anyway. No violation.
(This post is close to breaking my vow for Lent to not trash any radio corporations starting with a "C", but I think it's pretty much factual.)
Tibbs2 said:
Just because the stations are in a divestiture trust doesn't mean all of them will actually be divested or that divestiture is the only option. While this won't be the case in Nashville, I strongly suspect Cumulus will keep KMJK Kansas City in the trust for as long as possible with the hope that the station the market lost will be added back in a later market revision or another one will replace it. If something like that happens, they'll pick it right back up. In other words, some stations most likely will be divested while a few others probably won't.
Also, keep in mind that Cumulus could still end up doing something like moving WQQK to 97.1 and divesting 92.1 with WRQQ's intellectual property. Doing something like that will be a little tougher because 97.1's being put into the trust, but it's by no means impossible. Clear Channel switched formats on two stations in Little Rock, one of which was in the Aloha Trust, and Citadel moved one station into the Last Bastion Trust while taking another one out in the same market.
Agreed! Encarta. But, we've been discussing that in a weird, warped sense, it almost makes cents for Crumz to keep both W KDF and SM95 the same, because they ain't gonna spend a nickle on promoting or compet, compte...uh, taking on another format that they'd have to fight it out with. It's like spend nada to get the same ratings as will happen with a flip, so why flip. But, seriously, gotta give credit to the guy who thought up the scenario that they might be moving i down to 95.5. They really might pull off an instant 4.0. As for the comment on the trust, I can just say that I trust the trusts formats will never compete with Crumz formats, they'll go hand in hand and probably be off the air together and I wonder from what bank account in Atlanta that the paychecks will be from. It's seven of one, one shy of a half-dozen of the same other...
Did Cumulus have the option of putting 92.1 into the trust instead of 97.1? I know that WQQK has a long history as 92Q, but wouldn't the inconvenience of moving it to the 97.1 signal outweigh keeping a signal (92.1) that doesn't have city-grade coverage over Franklin or Smyrna and other Nashville suburb areas? Even 106.7 has a stronger signal, at least according to the maps on radio-locator.com.
As for two country stations, it's not impossible to see that happening, but having both on 100kw signals would seem to be a bit unlikely. Wouldn't it make sense to move one of the country formats to a weaker signal and use it as a flanker vs. WSIX? Also, if Cumulus really wants to take the CHR battle to Clear Channel, doing so on a 100kw station would likely be more effective than what they are doing now with the limited signal of 106.7.
It will be interesting to me to see who gets in the bidding for the stations, presuming that they ever are sold off from the trust; that can be a long process and rules can change in the interim. Clear Channel just sold a C2 FM signal in Little Rock from its Aloha Trust for a cool $2 million earlier this week. Bank loans are very difficult to get in this current economic climate, and while a company like South Central makes sense if they have the cash reserves to pull it off, I'm curious what the final sale price will be.
As for two country stations, it's not impossible to see that happening, but having both on 100kw signals would seem to be a bit unlikely. Wouldn't it make sense to move one of the country formats to a weaker signal and use it as a flanker vs. WSIX? Also, if Cumulus really wants to take the CHR battle to Clear Channel, doing so on a 100kw station would likely be more effective than what they are doing now with the limited signal of 106.7.
It will be interesting to me to see who gets in the bidding for the stations, presuming that they ever are sold off from the trust; that can be a long process and rules can change in the interim. Clear Channel just sold a C2 FM signal in Little Rock from its Aloha Trust for a cool $2 million earlier this week. Bank loans are very difficult to get in this current economic climate, and while a company like South Central makes sense if they have the cash reserves to pull it off, I'm curious what the final sale price will be.
LouPickney said:
Two country stations could work, if they each offered something distinct. In Austin, Clear Channel runs two heritage country stations. KASE plays mainstream country, while KVET is focused on Texas country. In Kansas City, KFKF plays mainstream country, while KBEQ is much more of a young/new country station. Right now, WSM-FM and WKDF just seem far too similar. Ideally, under consolidated ownership they need to compliment, not compete, with each other.
There are also bad precedents when it comes to situations like this. In 2000, Bonneville purchased a cluster in St. Louis that included two popular country stations. The company's first move was to eliminate one of the country stations and debut a smooth jazz format. Surely, Bonneville expected to have the country audience consolidated onto one signal. They did... but only for a few days. Clear Channel flipped an FM to country later that week.
Lou - the fact that they didn't put QQK into the trust is indeed interesting ... and perhaps telling.
Why they didn't put 92Q on RQQ years ago is beyond me. It would have helped their numbers with the better signal and given the fact that they have only one Top Ten station, QQK, seems like a no brainer decision. Therefore. Maybe they felt like listeners wouldn't find them on 97.1, which we hear on here every week. Listeners are not as lethargic as I am, so maybe three would find their way.
My hunch is they will put these stations into the hands of an individual that they, uh, trust, who will make sure the two stations play by the Dickey rules. What has to be considered is the rights to the "i" concept. Will they lie-cense the rights to the trustee or move it to a station that they believe will have a signal that can make a difference?
I think it would be interesting to keep both stations Country on the 95/103 discussion, but let's face it...if you want to just play it safe and be in the middle of the pack, then keep em both country and watch them both fall a point each as WSIX gains, which is all but guaranteed as part of the brilliance that will follow. We could see anything happen, but my guess is 95.5 will be the one to change.
Finally, WWTN's signal is still screwy and RQQ will be screwed up again in a week, but it is refreshing to see that Crumy made the most stellar business decision to spend a $1,000+ on the new mural of James Franklin on West End. Props to The Tennessean for breaking this most important sports story AND actually getting the station info (97.1-FM) correct. (They messed it up in the story on Coyote and the last ten other radio stories.) The best quote is from Mark Sullivan, Sr. VP of Crabs "you can't put a price tag on a fan's loyalty to the university" Tibbs2 adding" [but 97.1-FM can make damn sure these same dumb@$$ fans can't pick up the games on your screwed up, lethargic station...]"
Why they didn't put 92Q on RQQ years ago is beyond me. It would have helped their numbers with the better signal and given the fact that they have only one Top Ten station, QQK, seems like a no brainer decision. Therefore. Maybe they felt like listeners wouldn't find them on 97.1, which we hear on here every week. Listeners are not as lethargic as I am, so maybe three would find their way.
My hunch is they will put these stations into the hands of an individual that they, uh, trust, who will make sure the two stations play by the Dickey rules. What has to be considered is the rights to the "i" concept. Will they lie-cense the rights to the trustee or move it to a station that they believe will have a signal that can make a difference?
I think it would be interesting to keep both stations Country on the 95/103 discussion, but let's face it...if you want to just play it safe and be in the middle of the pack, then keep em both country and watch them both fall a point each as WSIX gains, which is all but guaranteed as part of the brilliance that will follow. We could see anything happen, but my guess is 95.5 will be the one to change.
Finally, WWTN's signal is still screwy and RQQ will be screwed up again in a week, but it is refreshing to see that Crumy made the most stellar business decision to spend a $1,000+ on the new mural of James Franklin on West End. Props to The Tennessean for breaking this most important sports story AND actually getting the station info (97.1-FM) correct. (They messed it up in the story on Coyote and the last ten other radio stories.) The best quote is from Mark Sullivan, Sr. VP of Crabs "you can't put a price tag on a fan's loyalty to the university" Tibbs2 adding" [but 97.1-FM can make damn sure these same dumb@$$ fans can't pick up the games on your screwed up, lethargic station...]"
By the way, I was a but tough in my bad attempt at humor above. I'm just kidding for the most part on trashing them. Don't want to disrespect any of the hard working folks over there. The paint job was a smart and good jesture and the free publicity in the paper paid for itself. [Buddy, I may need vodka with that Krystal if this keeps up...]
The reason they chose to keep 92.1 as opposed to 97.1 and 106.7, is because the 92Q brand is better developed than any brand they've been able to develop for the other two stations. They still don't seem to have a stable brand identity. Yes, they could move 92.1 to 97.1, but will the audience follow? And with the 92Q brand so well-developed, do ou really have the same brand if it's 97Q?
Just a curiosity question; why with all this going on is Cumulus advertising for a Market Manager in Nashville? Who was there, did they get promoted out of Nashville, does anyone know the story? thanks
The other reason is because 92Q is an "urban" station, so they really have no need to reach us out here in Cheatham County.jetfli said:
As for branding, they had also done fairly well with the "Star 97" brand, keeping it through several format changes. Wish that they had kept it.
I see them keeping both FM country stations. WSM has heritage call letters but Gaylord wont allow them to throw on Classic Country for obvious reasons.
Instead, I could see them running both at 100K Country stations and positioning one as Mainstream Country and maybe running one as Wide Open Country. This would allow them to own 2/3 of the Country pie in the city.
It would be nice to see them move Urban to a bigger signal or even play in the CHR War, but Country has money and brand recognition. Music City USA can support three Country stations.
Instead, I could see them running both at 100K Country stations and positioning one as Mainstream Country and maybe running one as Wide Open Country. This would allow them to own 2/3 of the Country pie in the city.
It would be nice to see them move Urban to a bigger signal or even play in the CHR War, but Country has money and brand recognition. Music City USA can support three Country stations.
wonder if there will be a "welcome back" party for Plaster when the deal closes?
I hope you were kidding about this part. Especially since in another six months they will just have to paint yet another coach's face up there! :Tibbs2 said:
Much rather see them spend the $1000 on improving their signal. The story also made the front page of Green Hills News, or whatever it is called in your neighborhood. Maybe the Tennessean "lifted" the story from them! Might explain how they got it right! And why is it just football and basketball coaches up there? What about the baseball coach, the volleyball coach, the track coach, the squash coach, the soccer coach, the rugby coach, the cross-country coach, and the chess team and debate team coaches? We could have it looking like the Sgt. Pepper album cover up there! About the only upshot to this silly mural is that it discourages the graffiti artists (except for maybe when Eddie Fogler left!) :
- Status