Can’t help but think about KLIF 570 and its recent 0.2 ratings when I read this article:
Audacy/Cumulus Truth & Rumors
Possible shutdown candidate?
Audacy/Cumulus Truth & Rumors
Possible shutdown candidate?
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Cumulus shutdowns coming?
- Thread starter Mediafrog+
- Start date
As I mentioned on the other thread, 570 isn't likely going anywhere unless the tower array has fallen into disrepair. If Cumulus wants to take any DFW area station dark, it would almost certainly be 1310. The Ticket could move to the superior 570 signal. I'm a little surprised that hasn't already happened.
See my post #21 in the other General Radio Topics thread.
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Don't see that, Kent. The time and effort to re-record all of the imaging, business cards, stationary, promotions swag, etc. just isn't worth it. They are attempting to save expenses, right? Moving KTCK to 570 would be counterproductive to that effort. On the other hand, much like with 560 in San Francisco, will anyone in the Metroplex really miss KLIF if it were to suddenly be gone? I really doubt it. I'd hate to see it completely lost, of course, but I would assume that it doesn't really matter to Cumulus which AM would potentially be sunset.
Much like what has happened with several AMs down in Houston over the last couple of years, there will likely be a candidate that meets the requirements and has the finances in order to make a purchase of either one that may go silent at the hands of Cumulus.
Cumulus would essentially be doing what it did in San Francisco with KSFO if it were to move The Ticket. 570 is one of three or four AM signals that cover the entire Metroplex 24/7. 1310 is not. The other stuff is cheap (much of it is probably traded out), though, having worked for Cumulus, I know corporate does track office materials closely.
It was actually the sports gambling programming on 810 that was gone in San Francisco, and I can't imagine anyone misses it. 560's programming was moved to 810. I suspect pretty much nobody would miss KLIF 570 either. I'd be surprised if many people even know it's on-the-air anymore. I can't remember when it last had much of an audience, though I remember it was at least visible when Susquehanna owned and operated it.
With poor ratings, I’m betting that WBAP has more layoffs, likely from it’s morning news and opinion show from 5-9.
Regardless of what station shuts down, it is untenable for Cumulus to own three AMs in the market.
Remember folks, as bad a state as AM radio is in, nobody's turning off AM stations as long as their towers and transmitter are in good repair, the land isn't worth a lot of money and the station at least makes a small profit. KSFO 560 was silenced because its towers were more expensive to maintain than whatever could be put on the station. And it probably would have continued if it couldn't move its programming to a 50,000 watt co-owned signal.
Of course, we also see Cumulus turning off an FM station in the Lexington Kentucky market. 101.5 WLXX carried the syndicated JACK-FM adult hits format. Its ratings weren't great and it was only 9,000 watts. So was that a case of the tower and electricity costing more than the station's revenue?
Despite KLIF's .2 rating, it does have a live, local, two-person morning show. That would be cut first if the station wasn't turning a profit.
Of course, we also see Cumulus turning off an FM station in the Lexington Kentucky market. 101.5 WLXX carried the syndicated JACK-FM adult hits format. Its ratings weren't great and it was only 9,000 watts. So was that a case of the tower and electricity costing more than the station's revenue?
Despite KLIF's .2 rating, it does have a live, local, two-person morning show. That would be cut first if the station wasn't turning a profit.
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[citation needed]
Literally there's a 200 post thread on KSFO on the SF/Oakland board, and no one has suggested maintenance of the towers was the reason it was no longer viable. There was some discussion of the terms of the lease, but no figures were presented.
I still think they made a mistake putting WBAP on 93,3 and dumping the music on here all together…bring back the music please.
er...wot? About KSFO/KZAC....
We don't know that. For whatever reason, Cumulus ceased the sports-betting broadcasts on 810. It could have let that go off the air - just imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth that would have ensued - but instead leveraged what little residual talk-radio reputation 810 had left by moving the KSFO schedule and calls onto the station.
Getting the figures would have required reviewing paper documents in-person at the Port Commission of San Francisco; no one here was in a position to do that.
Exactly, move either the HD2 or HD3 and move one to the open air without having an HD radio. Cool would be great to move there and put the News on HD3. Not sure if they are trying to save royalties by leaving them on the HD3 side. Who knows.
I absolutely love the huge variety of music on 93.3 HD3. I wish it was on a regular signal.
Audacy is starting to layoff people in the states, will Dallas be effected?
well, the answer is clearly gonna be yes, just we will be playing the waiting game to see who just lost their job due to these layoffs.
Look ahead 5-10 years. A big chunk of the older folks who listen to the AMs on 570, 1080, 820 and 1310 will no longer be alive. How much of a potential audience (of people who only listen to AM) will be left -- especially on smaller signals? Whether it's Cumulus or another broadcaster, changes are made today so that some kind of stability will be achieved for the next few years.
Audacy's big mistake is not looking for a simulcast partner for 1080 KRLD; take not that its sister station, 1120 KMOX is getting a 24/7 full market FM simulcast (not just a limited range translator). That follows the pattern set by the company for news-driven stations in New York, Philadelphia, LA and San Francisco.
Audacy's big mistake is not looking for a simulcast partner for 1080 KRLD; take not that its sister station, 1120 KMOX is getting a 24/7 full market FM simulcast (not just a limited range translator). That follows the pattern set by the company for news-driven stations in New York, Philadelphia, LA and San Francisco.
Exactly.
What the San Francisco situation boiled down to was that Cumulus knew it only had one viable AM format but two signals---560 and 810. It moved KSFO to 810, had no buyers for 560 and took it dark.
As I noted on the SF board, KSFO on 810 is the highest rated AM without an FM simulcast in the market with a 1.4. The second highest is KTCT with a 0.2 (not a typo). There are two internet streams (KCBS and KSAN) that do better (each has a 0.3).
It varies by market, but in the Bay Area, it makes more sense to stop broadcasting on AM and turn in the ticket than it does to spend money on programming and a power bill.
KMOX is a little different from some of the others, but it will need an FM outlet to survive.
The 104.1 coverage area misses some of the outer parts of the St. Louis market where growth has been most rapid; 96.3 has been brought up as a possibility and that actually makes more sense to me, since it does cover those rapidly-growing areas (Warren, Lincoln, western St. Charles counties).
Dallas isn't a market I know well; I'll just say that, if all your FM music formats are decent performers, then it's a very hard decision to take to sacrifice one of them for an AM simulcast. Is that the case for Audacy in Dallas?
This is the case for both Audacy and Cumulus in Dallas with their class C music stations, including KJKK (Audacy), KSPF (Audacy), KVIL (Audacy), KSCS (Cumulus), and KPLX (Cumulus). The weakest out of these is probably KVIL, though an argument could be made that KJKK and KSPF could potentially be combined. KSCS and KPLX would also be a combination opportunity, but this would likely open the door for a country competitor to launch. KRLD-FM is also on a class C stick, but I don't anticipate the sports programming going anywhere considering the Cowboys and Rangers rights. One of these stations would have to be divested before even factoring in AM's or rimshots.
Taking this a step further, if a merger was to occur, then the combined company would be presented with a question of what to do with both WBAP and KRLD, along with the Ticket (which is currently simulcast on a non-Cedar Hill stick). Arguably, the Ticket getting a full market signal is the most pressing of the three, considering the demographics it pulls.
Should a merger between Cumulus and Audacy happen, I expect either The Ticket or KRLD-FM would be divested. Much like when Entercom and CBS Radio merged, the combined company wasn't allowed to hold both sports stations in Boston, at least partially because sports rights were viewed separately from the general market. I expect that would happen here, too. It would be somewhat of a Sophie's choice.
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