Cumulus - Pensacola, What arew they thinking???

[byebyepensacola]

I can't believe my ears!!!!!! Cumulus continues to let one of their former best performing markets go down the drain.
All the senior/experienced AE's are Gone (total sales experience in the building amongst all sellers equals 1 1/2 years)!!! Q-100 is at its ALL-TIME Low, Magic 106 is running on a thread, and NOW the word on the street is that long time talk show personality, Luke McCoy is leaving. I hope this is just a rumor. Gary Pizati must have something on Cumulus!! Ever since he became VP, all of his markets are fallen apart. Maybe it's the Jan Jeffries / Pizati combo!!!!

Corporate Heads, you wonder why radio is sinking? Look who's driving the boat!!!

 

[Stewy]

I've use the reference before but it is worth repeating. By the Doors, "this is the end my friend, my only friend the end". Harsh as it is to those who are still hanging on in the business, these "wonder companies" must die before the industry can be fixed. I weep for those suffering now but will rejoice when entertainment and community service replace the bottom line as the motive of operation.

 

[redneckriviera]

Stewy, you're right. Over the next few years we should see the Big Shakeout, as the big publicly-held outfits struggle to keep the ship afloat as the investors scatter for greener pastures. It won't be pretty, but the result should/could be a return of radio to broadcasters instead of investment bankers.

Byebyepensacola, it is pretty sad to watch these babies crumble before your eyes. Too many of the current management crop give lip service to "relationship selling" as they usher all the longheld AE/client relationships out the door replacing senior sellers with the latest flavor of the month so they can save a few short-term dollars.

Don't know Luke's scoop. When I knew him 15 years ago (or so) he had just rejoined COA and my guess was that he was pushing 60. He might just be ready to go fishin'...

 

[byebyepensacola]

Stewy & Red,

You're both on the money about the industry. Luke is one of the best talk show host out there. I hear he doesn't want to exit this way! What's amazing is that the street talk is that Luke was scheduled to leave in December but a replacement is being announced real soon. Sounds like they are using the "Managing out the Door" technique. Pensacola was one of Cumulus Media's top performing station for a long time. Won many awards with a long tenure staff. Cumulus is now the Laughing Stock in the market...

 

[wkrpfm]

big shocker...the entire place is on the way down the drain...don't let the door hit ya on the way out

 

[Poledo]

Luke McCoy had some problem with WCOA about a year back and it was announced that he was out, then all of a sudden he was back and nothing changed. I never heard a story over what happened.

I've had a feeling that WNRP would try to lure McCoy over to their station since they switched to talk. Any chance this might be happening? Larry Butler and Luke McCoy could make a good drive time talk show. It would be even better if Butler and McCoy had Don Parker with them. McCoy could also make a good co-host for a morning show on Cat Country. He did mornings on WOW 107 back when they were #1. I know he's getting old, but Mornings on Cat and afternoons on WNRP could get some ratings and a decent paycheck.

From a listeners point of view, Cumulus made a big mistake by not moving WCOA to 106.1 when it signed on the air and I know Luke McCoy shared this opinion. Many people at Cumulus Pensacola thought that 106.1 was purchased for FM news/talk and were surprised and upset when they went with rock up against TK101.

Another idea, Don Schroeder is back in Pensacola and seems to be regaining his health and doing more work with his station. I'm sure Schroeder has room for McCoy. If Schroeder could pull it off, they could make an interesting team.

 

[Tibbs4]

Stewy, you're right. Over the next few years we should see the Big Shakeout, as the big publicly-held outfits struggle to keep the ship afloat as the investors scatter for greener pastures. It won't be pretty, but the result should/could be a return of radio to broadcasters instead of investment bankers.

Byebyepensacola, it is pretty sad to watch these babies crumble before your eyes. Too many of the current management crop give lip service to "relationship selling" as they usher all the longheld AE/client relationships out the door replacing senior sellers with the latest flavor of the month so they can save a few short-term dollars.

Don't know Luke's scoop. When I knew him 15 years ago (or so) he had just rejoined COA and my guess was that he was pushing 60. He might just be ready to go fishin'...

RNR ===

Does this mean we can grab the GREATEST station ever in the world in the day for cheap. I'm game. $1,000.00, final offer. Only if Quantum throws in
98.1 in FWB for a lottery ticket. What do I know? Being a has been that wasn't anyway, I can only imagine how safe it must feel to see these ships
sinking. Luke was probably to smart and had seen the days of real radio disappear before his very own eyes to stay around and puke. Sadly, like other
crisis in this nation, the greedy robbing at the top play their hidden shell games while the everyday people try to plug the holes. The filler is running out.
The next 90 days will be unreal. Funny, how could some dumbass own a single station a dozen and a half years ago and make more money knowing
nothing about "great radio" (vs. today's corporate tools, con-sultants, mandates, robot managers on shoestring budgets, computer generated voices)
than clusterfs of today bogged down in dung so deep the strobey things on the towers are hidden.

Case in point -- Crumulus is screwed up everyday and they look like the knights in white satin compared to Citadel and most of the others. Bigger ain't
better.

Sorry to rant. What do I know? What have I ever known? Smarts don't passion. Does anyone have that anymore?

 

[7779PFM]

Amen...Tibbs

 

[byebyepensacola]

I believe Cumulus needs to rethink their Mission Statement, "Be the best ran radio company in the world"!!
Any takers? What about...... "Hire them in masses, Train them in Classes, then fire their Asses"!!!

 

[wkrpfm]

train them in classes? they don't have any training unless you're in sales...professional development does not exist

 

[redneckriviera]

The next 90 days will be unreal.
[/quote]

Don't sell yourself short, Tibbs. You're dead on with this one. The next 90...180...360 days should be extremely interesting in the ol' radio biz.

For those of us still in it: grit your teeth and hold on. Better yet, get out the door and sell a spot or two!

 

[byebyepensacola]

It's an absolute shame watching a three radio stations that was staffed and performing well turn into crap. When corporate moved Pizati out of Pensacola to Mobile, it took almost two years to fix the all the problems he left behind. Once the ship was in the right directions, Cumulus-Pensacola was the envy of the town. It was a great place to work!!!!! Cumulus -Pensacola had many incrediable successful several years ahead. Guess what happen next!!!! Pizati became Regional VP and once again shows how he can destroy a market in a matter of months. Cumulus - Pensacola has seen in excess of 50+ employees (many long term) exit the building on their own or by being asked to leave in just 14 months. Can someone tell me how this makes a good company? Why is Gary P still with Cumulus????

 

[redneckriviera]

It's an absolute shame watching a three radio stations that was staffed and performing well turn into crap. When corporate moved Pizati out of Pensacola to Mobile, it took almost two years to fix the all the problems he left behind. Once the ship was in the right directions, Cumulus-Pensacola was the envy of the town. It was a great place to work!!!!! Cumulus -Pensacola had many incrediable successful several years ahead. Guess what happen next!!!! Pizati became Regional VP and once again shows how he can destroy a market in a matter of months. Cumulus - Pensacola has seen in excess of 50+ employees (many long term) exit the building on their own or by being asked to leave in just 14 months. Can someone tell me how this makes a good company? Why is Gary P still with Cumulus????

Don't know the guy, but it's a safe bet that the situation boils down to one of two scenarios.

One, he's under direct orders to slash expenses to meet a projected drop in revenue. Or two, he understands without being told that he has to slash expenses to meet the projected drop in revenue and "protect the cash flow" in order to keep his job. If it comes down to his job or your job, you're gone. You'd probably do the same.

Clear Channel figured out a couple years ago that even if they protected--or even grew--their cash flow, it would not be enough to persuade Wall Street investors to pay a higher price per share for their stock, so they took the company private. They got out before the market for radio stocks dried up completely. Those that are left out there are in a pickle. CMLS share price has dropped from over $20 to less than two bucks. At this point they're just trying to hold on and squeeze out enough profit to keep the lights on... and hoping somehow that investing in radio becomes fashionable again.

 

[Stewy]

I agree with your two scenarios redneck but disagree with doing the same self serving/protecting thing. I didn't. Of course that's why I did not last in corporate radio but also why corporate radio is not going to last.

It depends on a persons individual situation as to the decisions that they will make but if you try to "do the right thing" you will continue to sleep well at night, as do I.

 

[Tibbs4]

Interesting to see Crumulus starting to look a lot like the Qantums, Double Zero and smaller indebted companies
that have had to slash and trash for a number of years --- already. Ask a certain OM in FWB/Destin (in all due respect)
what more can you trim and keep attempting to attract revenue and listeners? RNR is right, as always, but
the store shelves already have no product left to sell, how can these companies continue to negate when their
negative already? If radio was like commercial property, this would be a decent time to buy for reduced multiples,
but this industry is not going to continue to coast along without technologies leaving it behind. CC was smart, erh,
BRILLIANT, to execute when they did. But, one has to wonder, if they still will get caught in the declining markets
crossfire???

As for people watching at Crum, just go on any board with any of their stations in a given market and you see/read
the same nightmares about their people. Some of it is bashing. Some is ill-spirited and wrong. Some is people "getting
even", but I have to say, it's amazing that TO GET HIRED, PROMOTED and become a REGIONAL you have to literally
sit at the right hand of the devil himself according to most everyone in their paths. That has to be a trickle down
effect/affect from Atlanta. You just cannot randomly have so many incidents of similiar impressions.


Crumy is not as screwed as Chitadel where ceo Farid must have thought he's on Wall Street, collecting $$$ and showing
nothing but a trail of tears to the common folks below, waiting for the Feds to come in, share his steak, caviar and vintage
wine and bail out the air waves.


Anyone know of any medium to large sized radio companies that are profitable and growing? I know of only
one that is leading the industry because there is NO DEBT and budgets are well-controlled and believe it or not
there is still money being spent to market and advertise the stations! Go figure. Big contrast to "we paid to much
fur our stations, so we're running on generators using rat dung, VT all 300 stations with two people who say no more
than 11 different words a week, there ain't a human for miles, our tower lights don't work, but we're hiring 3,000
inexperienced ad execs a month offering TOP PAY and benefits for that station where that good morning show used to work.

stations and

 

[redneckriviera]

I agree with your two scenarios redneck but disagree with doing the same self serving/protecting thing. I didn't. Of course that's why I did not last in corporate radio but also why corporate radio is not going to last.

It depends on a persons individual situation as to the decisions that they will make but if you try to "do the right thing" you will continue to sleep well at night, as do I.

We actually agree on this. In running my own cluster I've been able to do the "right thing" by and large, and that has meant resisting a strict adherence to "protecting the cash flow" above all else--especially when it comes to people. When I've had to trim, I've found areas to trim other than payroll, particularly fulltime payroll. But I've been lucky, so far. Our company isn't public, so we don't have the direct Wall Street pressure for non-stop, never-ending revenue and cash flow increases. My bosses of course want continued growth, just like everyone, but thus far they've shown a glimpse of reasonableness, too, from time to time. So far.

To paraphrase famed economist John Maynard Keynes (I think), nothing goes up in a straight line forever. Business people who don't understand that set themselves up for some big falls. Like today's 777 point drop (at last report)...

 

[Buster Wafflehouse]

The downfall of Cumulus will be the arrogance of the guys at the very top and the atmosphere of compliance over achievment they have unintentionally created in their clusters. CC had a plan A and a fallback plan. Cumulus "invents" whatever CC did 9 months ago. Ready, fire, aim....

 

[Poledo]

Would any of the stuff currently going on at Cumulus Pensacola explain why they sent my account to a collection agency last month for adds they ran while the stations were off the air after hurricane Ivan? It's really weird when a collection agency calls me when I'm still running adds and have paid for everything that's run.

On a side note, I've never had to deal with a collection agency before. It's really fun messing with them. I seem to be able to leave the agent speechless every time they call.

 

[Groove1670]

What happened to Terry Styles on Magic 106. He is a good jock, and the music mix when he was PD was great.

 

[nightcrawler35]

What happened to Terry Styles on Magic 106. He is a good jock, and the music mix when he was PD was great.

He left the station in july and was replaced by John Monds.