Just listened to the spin doctors at Entercom talk about their weak 3rd quarter results. Grand Pumba Field gave shoutouts to markets that did well, including Rochester. The big question is, why was there no mention of Buffalo? These markets are so close in size and just down the road from each other. What happened? What changes might be coming to Entercom Buffalo?
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Entercom's 3rd quarter results....what happened?
- Thread starter intheeno
- Start date
Why limit the question to just Entercom? What were the results for the other major players in Buffalo/Rochester?
I'm not aware of other conference calls or actual shoutouts by CEO's. When Field mentions great results from Rochester but not Buffalo, you have to wonder whats up. I would assume Townsquare may be hurting Entercom. You would think with the turnover at Citadel they are not a factor and Entercom should have done some damage...
What probably hurt Entercom more than anything else in the 3rd quarter was politicals. You have to sell them, and at a reduced rate. I'd bet that there were a lot more political dollars spent in Buffalo than Rochester, which would reduce Buffalo's inventory for higher-paying clients.
As far as Rochester getting a mention on the conference call, and not Buffalo, the regional VP is from Rochester. I think that you're reading a lot more into it than it merits. Buffalo has long been a strong, stable market for Entercom. If they were mentioned as one of the "problems", you could expect changes. Sounds to me like Entercom Buffalo was doing business as usual, and in line with the rest of Entercom's markets.
As far as Rochester getting a mention on the conference call, and not Buffalo, the regional VP is from Rochester. I think that you're reading a lot more into it than it merits. Buffalo has long been a strong, stable market for Entercom. If they were mentioned as one of the "problems", you could expect changes. Sounds to me like Entercom Buffalo was doing business as usual, and in line with the rest of Entercom's markets.
Rox you could be the only guy on the planet who would say political dollars HURT revenues! What?!? These stations aren't anywhere near sellout levels. Political this year helped every broadcast media(if you could get it). WBEN benefited the most in WNY radio from political dollars. I say there are some problems. Theres evidence of it. Look at some of their sales hires over the past few months. They are trying to increase sales with worn out reps.
This has been a robust year for political spending, especially in WNY. As the predominant commercial news-talk station in Buffalo, WBEN very likely derived benefit from the many political races. It may very well be that WBEN's baseline revenue will be up dramatically for Q4.
However, Rox does make a point about political revenue as it applies to the proliferation of so many political commercials airing at a bottom of card rate, which can create problems offsetting or precluding avails for other institutional advertisers. The bottom of card rate is sometimes offset by stations charging a higher rate for political advertising that guarantees the commercial will not be bumped. Additionally, it's very likely that most (Buffalo) radio stations revised their published rate cards upward to guarantee maximum revenue prior to the 45 days before the primary elections.
This having been considered, radio is not in the position to turn away revenue, so in many cases, commercial loads increased to accommodate both political and institutional advertisers. So yes, it's quite likely that political season brought an early Christmas revenue windfall to all three corporate clusters in Buffalo.
Many stations/clusters designate a GM or GSM to handle all political advertising but with a significantly lower commission rate or no commission at all. Most political business is call-in or placed by an agency, which takes 15% off the gross buy. Booking and balancing political advertising is no easy chore, especially as election day approaches and the required paperwork and regulations are considered, to say nothing of maintaining the public file.
As to WBEN hiring "worn out" sales reps, Entercom Buffalo has a reputation for placing a premium on reps with proven radio sales track records, leading to consistently top rank in published revenue reports. Experienced 'closers' know the art, science and discipline of generating billing. It takes years for rookies and former cell phone reps to understand the nuances of effective radio salesmanship.
From all indications, Town Square is making a concerted effort to beat Entercom on the street and in programming. (The ubiquitous "Oh Joy" television commercials prove the point, yet warrant a triple fast forward on DVR playback.) Where all this leaves Citadel is open to conjecture.
As for Buffalo not getting a "shout out" from the CEO or COO during a financial analyst conference call, it's all relative. Very likely Mike Doyle has both clusters running at high efficiencies reaching or surpassing their projected margins.
However, Rox does make a point about political revenue as it applies to the proliferation of so many political commercials airing at a bottom of card rate, which can create problems offsetting or precluding avails for other institutional advertisers. The bottom of card rate is sometimes offset by stations charging a higher rate for political advertising that guarantees the commercial will not be bumped. Additionally, it's very likely that most (Buffalo) radio stations revised their published rate cards upward to guarantee maximum revenue prior to the 45 days before the primary elections.
This having been considered, radio is not in the position to turn away revenue, so in many cases, commercial loads increased to accommodate both political and institutional advertisers. So yes, it's quite likely that political season brought an early Christmas revenue windfall to all three corporate clusters in Buffalo.
Many stations/clusters designate a GM or GSM to handle all political advertising but with a significantly lower commission rate or no commission at all. Most political business is call-in or placed by an agency, which takes 15% off the gross buy. Booking and balancing political advertising is no easy chore, especially as election day approaches and the required paperwork and regulations are considered, to say nothing of maintaining the public file.
As to WBEN hiring "worn out" sales reps, Entercom Buffalo has a reputation for placing a premium on reps with proven radio sales track records, leading to consistently top rank in published revenue reports. Experienced 'closers' know the art, science and discipline of generating billing. It takes years for rookies and former cell phone reps to understand the nuances of effective radio salesmanship.
From all indications, Town Square is making a concerted effort to beat Entercom on the street and in programming. (The ubiquitous "Oh Joy" television commercials prove the point, yet warrant a triple fast forward on DVR playback.) Where all this leaves Citadel is open to conjecture.
As for Buffalo not getting a "shout out" from the CEO or COO during a financial analyst conference call, it's all relative. Very likely Mike Doyle has both clusters running at high efficiencies reaching or surpassing their projected margins.
Mr. No, I have it from a pretty good source that Entercom was at sell-out levels 6A-7P during the last few weeks leading up to the election, and carried a LOT of politicals. There were a few hot races in Buffalo - Quinn/Kennedy & Antoine Thompson/Mark Grisanti. That does reduce revenue during the highest value dayparts.
If you think there are some problems at Entercom, and you're "in the know", let's hear it. Name some names who are part of the problem, not the solution. While you're at it, compare Entercom's results with the rest of the big players in town. Are they doing better, or worse than the other guys in the market?
If you think there are some problems at Entercom, and you're "in the know", let's hear it. Name some names who are part of the problem, not the solution. While you're at it, compare Entercom's results with the rest of the big players in town. Are they doing better, or worse than the other guys in the market?
Rocks...I mean Rox, lets just say they budget big time for political dollars at WBEN. At some point the rates switch to non-premts and they make a ton. Trust me, WBEN made far more money running political then if they had not run any and stuck with what they would have put on the books with "regular" advertisers. That aside. I won't name the names you'd like to hear. Its evident. When you see one rep on TV and in The News more than in front of clients, theres a start. And are you trying to say Entercom management is lumping Rochester and Buffalo under one shoutout to Rochester? That would be a slap in the face to both markets. Element, you need to remove the hook from your mouth. They got you line and sinker if you believe local management puts a "premium on on proven etc..." ! Wow you would think you were back in the blazen 90's. Many of the problems in radio today are about LOCAL sales. See what Field just said. With that in mind, the worn out radio reps have not changed, will not change and niether has the management directing them. Thats why radio will continue to be in BIG trouble in the years to come. Managers just don't know how to train new sales people to do the job TODAY'S radio requires.
Now THAT'S laughable. Entercom probably does more training rep training than either of the other local players. As far as "lumping Buffalo in with Rochester", that's YOUR interpretation. What I said was that Rochester may have gotten a "shout-out" because the regional VP is from Rochester. Buffalo simply wasn't mentioned. They've consistently been a high performer for Entercom, and since they weren't singled out for underperformance, they likely just continued to perform at their typical level.
Rochester has had some challenges. Acquiring the former CBS stations, losing Wease to a cross-town rival, selling off some of the former CBS stations to get under the cap - all point toward considerable upheaval in the market. Now that things have settled down, it appears that corporate is happy with the results. You're taking a "no mention" of Buffalo to be a negative thing. It just might be that they're doing as expected, like the other 20 markets that weren't mentioned by name.
What's the matter, No, get passed over for a promotion? Lose a couple of clients from your list when Entercom hired Maurer? Entercom Buffalo does seem to have some serious "creative tension" at the top of the food chain. That doesn't mean that they're not getting the job done. My guess is that the children will learn to get along, or somebody will move on.
Rochester has had some challenges. Acquiring the former CBS stations, losing Wease to a cross-town rival, selling off some of the former CBS stations to get under the cap - all point toward considerable upheaval in the market. Now that things have settled down, it appears that corporate is happy with the results. You're taking a "no mention" of Buffalo to be a negative thing. It just might be that they're doing as expected, like the other 20 markets that weren't mentioned by name.
What's the matter, No, get passed over for a promotion? Lose a couple of clients from your list when Entercom hired Maurer? Entercom Buffalo does seem to have some serious "creative tension" at the top of the food chain. That doesn't mean that they're not getting the job done. My guess is that the children will learn to get along, or somebody will move on.
B
Bob1370
Guest
Seems to me that two questions need to be addressed. First, did the higher number of spot units sold during election season more than make up for the lower unit rates charged, or were the stations involved making a sacrifice by discounting time they could have sold at a better rate to a regular customer? The answer for each station is going to be different and dependent to a degree on what unit rates the Arbitrons would let them charge based on AQH, cume and demo profile. It'll also be dependent on the local economy. Buffalo and Rochester haven't suffered the same degree of job loss or retail sales decline in the most recent recession that a lot of other markets have--they took their economic haircut years ago, back in the early 90s, and have long since stabilized. But no station is lacking available inventory in each daypart so I'd guess political ads were, for most stations, a net plus.
Second, what were the individual stations doing, and how well were they performing in attracting listeners who advertisers wanted to reach? There, too, the news is mixed for each cluster in both Buffalo and Rochester. Some music stations were posting healthy numbers. On the other hand, the format-dominant commercial news/talkers in both markets seemed to be off in the numbers based on the latest trends, even a little beyond the normal seasonal fluctuations of the format (which always does best in fall and winter books)...and that in a very news-heavy election year which usually pushes numbers up and bucks historic seasonal listening patterns. That should prompt TPTB at each station to take a fresh look at their markets and how their stations are connecting with them.
Second, what were the individual stations doing, and how well were they performing in attracting listeners who advertisers wanted to reach? There, too, the news is mixed for each cluster in both Buffalo and Rochester. Some music stations were posting healthy numbers. On the other hand, the format-dominant commercial news/talkers in both markets seemed to be off in the numbers based on the latest trends, even a little beyond the normal seasonal fluctuations of the format (which always does best in fall and winter books)...and that in a very news-heavy election year which usually pushes numbers up and bucks historic seasonal listening patterns. That should prompt TPTB at each station to take a fresh look at their markets and how their stations are connecting with them.
Rox...no to your questions...just someone who is "in the know". We'll see how it all shakes out. Within the next few weeks all the stations will make their "moves" to get to the 2011 budgets. Lets see who weathers the upcoming storm. I'm sure there are job losses coming over the next several weeks, just in time for the holidays!
It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without nothing to be thankful for.
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