Cumulus gets susquehanna

[SamBuca]

Saw this on reuters:

Susquehanna Media Co., the nation's largest closely held radio operator by revenue, agreed to sell its radio assets to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc for $1.2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. <P ID="signature">______________
</P>

 

[epmark]

What do you think local management will do differently with AM 910?
Obviously they have a grab-bag of options on what they can do with
the local FMs.

> Saw this on reuters:
>
> Susquehanna Media Co., the nation's largest closely held
> radio operator by revenue, agreed to sell its radio assets
> to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc for $1.2 billion, the
> Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people
> familiar with the matter.
>

 

[pdq]

> Susquehanna Media Co., the nation's largest closely held
> radio operator by revenue, agreed to sell its radio assets
> to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc for $1.2 billion, the
> Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people
> familiar with the matter.

$1.2 billion. And to think they put WSBA on the air for $35,000 in 1942!

Would've liked to see WSBA and the other local properties remain local with a sale to Susquehanna execs. Guess there's no room for sentiment when those kind of dollars are in play.

 

[penandpad]

> > Susquehanna Media Co., the nation's largest closely held
> > radio operator by revenue, agreed to sell its radio assets
>
> > to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc for $1.2 billion, the
> > Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people
> > familiar with the matter.
>
> $1.2 billion. And to think they put WSBA on the air for
> $35,000 in 1942!
>
> Would've liked to see WSBA and the other local properties
> remain local with a sale to Susquehanna execs. Guess
> there's no room for sentiment when those kind of dollars are
> in play.

I'm curious as to what Cumulus does with 910. I don't see them doing anything to enhance the local product. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see them axe Gary Sutton's late-morning show -- for money, not because it isn't good or anything. I just don't see a company like Cumulus maintaining a locally oriented news-talker in a market the size of York.

 

[epmark]

Why not flip "The Touch" at 1400 to one of the FMs (92.1), and run a simulcast
of 1400 with AM 910? The 910 signal barely reaches Harrisburg at night.

> > > Susquehanna Media Co., the nation's largest closely held
>
> > > radio operator by revenue, agreed to sell its radio
> assets
> >
> > > to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc for $1.2 billion,
> the
> > > Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people
> > > familiar with the matter.
> >
> > $1.2 billion. And to think they put WSBA on the air for
> > $35,000 in 1942!
> >
> > Would've liked to see WSBA and the other local properties
> > remain local with a sale to Susquehanna execs. Guess
> > there's no room for sentiment when those kind of dollars
> are
> > in play.
>
> I'm curious as to what Cumulus does with 910. I don't see
> them doing anything to enhance the local product. In fact, I
> wouldn't be surprised to see them axe Gary Sutton's
> late-morning show -- for money, not because it isn't good or
> anything. I just don't see a company like Cumulus
> maintaining a locally oriented news-talker in a market the
> size of York.
>

 

[HotJock69]

You have to remember that Cumulus is only a 25% owner in the group, vast changes may not be a reality as yet since the 75% partnership may not want to upset the financial apple cart that was so sucessful for Susquehanna to begin with. Those 33 stations made as much money as the hundreds of Cumulus stations did, so they may really want to consider that and not mess with the formula.

 

[radiochickpa]

> You have to remember that Cumulus is only a 25% owner in the
> group, vast changes may not be a reality as yet since the
> 75% partnership may not want to upset the financial apple
> cart that was so sucessful for Susquehanna to begin with.
> Those 33 stations made as much money as the hundreds of
> Cumulus stations did, so they may really want to consider
> that and not mess with the formula.
>

That never stopped companies before. They'll mess with something
guaranteed! (case in point: WCBS-FM. A top 5 biller in the nation, flipped
to JACK.)

 

[epmark]

Cumulus is the managing partner, meaning they get the say in what
goes on the air. The other partners are only concerned about the
profitability, which directly translates from the ad revenue which
derives from the ratings. You're correct major changes may not come
about in some areas (see WFMS Indianapolis), but you could argue
that Susq was too complacent in Hbg-York-Lanc.

> You have to remember that Cumulus is only a 25% owner in the
> group, vast changes may not be a reality as yet since the
> 75% partnership may not want to upset the financial apple
> cart that was so sucessful for Susquehanna to begin with.
> Those 33 stations made as much money as the hundreds of
> Cumulus stations did, so they may really want to consider
> that and not mess with the formula.
>