The other thing I noticed which is really ironic is that Buddy started WUSW because of Soros' involvement in Audacy. Yet, the WECK stream is powered by Amperwave, which is owned by Audacy. Why not put your money where your mouth is and change streaming providers while your at it (just not to Securenet Systems)?
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Buffalo Cumulus sells AM to Buddy Shula
- Thread starter exdjted
- Start date
He's worked up over Soros' investment firm backing up Audacy? Does he realize that George Soros is 95 years old?
The right-wing freakout over Soros, just because he's an insanely wealthy man who just happens to be liberal, is just beyond ridiculous. Has it ever occurred that investors tend to make financial decisions based on... return on investment?
What’s wrong with Securenet Systems?
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I echo that question. All of the stations in the Albuquerque cluster I consult/program uses them.
Their player is ugly and clunky. They focus on quantity of stations, not quality. Their streams are much less reliable and sound worse than other providers, which is probably why they do a lot of business with small/online-only/hobbyist stations which just want a "streaming presence" and not want to monetize them. Rarely, if ever, have I seen a Securenet client station use their commercial insertion abilities.
To be honest, there are better choices for streaming services with better infrastructure for not much more out-of-pocket expense.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
If you will go to krke.fm you will see how I manage their stream without the clunky player. We've had very few hiccups since I moved away from using their proprietary player; I know enough about HTML coding to make it work, and (for a small consulting fee) I could do the exact same thing for any station using Securenet.
Do you know what bitrate their streams are generally, or does it depend on the station? I like that they don’t insert commercials like Tunein and other players do.
I've never worked for anyone who has used it, but I see a large number of complaints about Securenet Systems on the various broadcast forums I read on Facebook.
People seem most satisfied with Triton, though I understand it's not cheap to use.
It probably depends on how much stations want to spend. 48k MP3 is probably the default low-cost option they have.
I agree with you. If you know someone who knows how to embed a player that isn't the SSI default, it's probably the best thing to do. Triton (which, as Kent mentioned, is more expensive), Amperwave (despite it being owned by Audacy), and Futuri (streamon.fm) seem to have done a better job with creating their proprietary players. Haven't had any much experience with the StreamGuys player to know if they're any better, but their streaming seems to be more reliable than SSI.
Here's an interview with Buddy where he explains why he went conservative talk:
barrettmedia.com
Why 1270 The Patriot Owner Buddy Shula Thought the Time Was Right for Conservative Talk
"There is no conservative station in Buffalo. WBEN is not conservative. They're going the other way."
barrettmedia.com
Of note, the core of WUSW's lineup (Michael DelGiorno, Beck, Travis and Sexton, Hannity and Jesse Kelly) is now the standard lineup among most iHeart talk stations, in that order. (It also heavily mirrors iHeart's WJET in Erie PA.)Here's an interview with Buddy where he explains why he went conservative talk:
Why 1270 The Patriot Owner Buddy Shula Thought the Time Was Right for Conservative Talk
"There is no conservative station in Buffalo. WBEN is not conservative. They're going the other way."
This is still largely an upgrade from the Westwood One talk product WHLD had prior.
WHLD was mainly a satellite repeater with no real local presence. The thing that will make the difference is how the programming is integrated with local information. In Boston, iHeart is running basically the same line-up on Talk1200, and it's a non-player in the market. Same with KEIB in LA.
I would view the syndicated programming the way a music station views the music. It's not the songs, but the presentation that will make the difference.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Thank you for all that. As I said, I can easily do the same -- with the same player, even -- for any station running a Securenet stream. (I know how to make "inexpensive" work.)
If that is, indeed, even a consideration, we'd have to consider that George Soros' organization is made up of many more people than just him.
This is borderline political, and I can only say that your comment about revenue is "right on".
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I hope this thread doesn't get closed because you brought all that into the discussion.
From what I can see, not everyone in his group is focused on a single political agenda.
I don't see what's happening at WBEN having any relationship at all on an investment at the corporate level. Looking at Audacy talk stations nationally, they still do conservative talk, and still carry programs from Fox News. They don't carry Steve Bannon, but they aren't carrying any liberal hosts.
I really try not to be political here, but this seemed to be a bit of a gray area. Hard to believe there's people so worked up about Soros Fund Management investing in Audacy. There are plenty of investors with outspoken political views across the spectrum, but I acknowledge that the financial bottom line is what they base their moves on, regardless of what political gang they align personally with. It's not like Soros is going to turn the bulk of Audacy stations into Pacifica outlets. To think that is kinda nutty.
So, that's my thought process, hidden in there.
So, that's my thought process, hidden in there.
However, there are political overtones to some business transactions and negotiations. A good example would be the sale of a batch of less-desirable stations or market groups by TelevisaUnivision. There was a deal "in the works" to sell them to Salem. A progressive group created by the Soros organization and headed by two Democratic Party operatives appeared suddenly, offered more money, and bought the stations.
Many people commented that the Soros group was motivated by a desire to keep the conservative Salem folks from buying the stations. There is no actual evidence that this is true, but the fact is that the final transaction was for considerably more money than the station could ever be worth.
This is how unsubstantiated and unproven opinions result in ungrounded conclusions.
.
The claim was made that the reason this was done was to influence the election. But no programming was ever done to do that, and the stations played no part in any election. So it was just chicken little thinking that had no basis in reality. My take is it was just an attempt by two unemployed Hispanic women to get funding so they could have jobs. It worked.
IMHO, it's a simple ploy meant to get attention to the format relaunch and little more. Attention is what he needs in order to make WUSW viable from the get-go.
It's also not new. Daniel H. Overmyer, the warehouse magnate-turned-broadcaster, once operated a daily newspaper in Toledo in the 1960s because he considered the Blade—the city's conservative-leaning daily—to be "left-wing".