M
Marketer1021
Guest
Forever's Dilemma is Other's Opportunity
As I read through these boards I have seen few words of accolades for this company. The sheer number of people that have worked there and left, many in less than two years at their post, is staggering. The company did well when it first arrived on the scene. But what was happening then? FM was just starting to come into its own. They bought a 50,000+ watt FM and an established a.m. from owners that had to sell. Country was taking off. Put it all together and you have a profitable business.
Some people believe that if you want to really make money just eliminate the competition. Buy them, weaken them, cannibalize them. But when some believe that you dominate and can call all the shots you alienate people. Employees, vendors and clients don’t work well in a dictatorial environment. So you get turnover in all these groups.
Then there is the realty of the market place. For seven of the last ten years radio values increased. Some radio groups thought the trend would never end, or at least not so abruptly. Forever acquired a lot of stations during those heady days of radio acquisition. It appears that they bought a lot of radio property with a lot of debt and at some high prices. Now they have to service that debt. The current climate shows radio station values have dropped significantly. Rumor has it that Forever wants to sell off some of the turkeys they have but they can’t because they are upside down. They have to carry their wounded by using better perform ring stations. But those stations are losing revenue. So what do you do? Cut costs by cutting employee hours and combining positions. Managers such as Logan have to get out and try to sell more whether they can do it or not.
In the meantime people in the marketplace are sensing their weakness. Advertisers are now demanding more freebies. Some have left radio altogether citing lower cable advertising costs. And radio competitors such as the new country in State College are coming directly at Forever with better rates and many believe a better product. Forever’s response is to punt.
You see when you are managing from a position of strength that ownership did not develop and things aren’t falling into your lap, you hardly have the management credentials to know how to deal with a changing and challenging business environment.
My opinion is it that Forever leadership is clueless in the long run. A number of employees of that company were contacted by the majority owners of the company. They were asked by email for ideas on how to improve their stations. The respondents were asked to reply directly to the majority owners not to upper management. That would suggest a lack in confidence in local management. But it also suggests a new level of concern on how to fix the business and people at the top that are just scratching their heads saying, “Whuh happem?”
What’s the line about the people you step on when you are heading up the ladder?
As I read through these boards I have seen few words of accolades for this company. The sheer number of people that have worked there and left, many in less than two years at their post, is staggering. The company did well when it first arrived on the scene. But what was happening then? FM was just starting to come into its own. They bought a 50,000+ watt FM and an established a.m. from owners that had to sell. Country was taking off. Put it all together and you have a profitable business.
Some people believe that if you want to really make money just eliminate the competition. Buy them, weaken them, cannibalize them. But when some believe that you dominate and can call all the shots you alienate people. Employees, vendors and clients don’t work well in a dictatorial environment. So you get turnover in all these groups.
Then there is the realty of the market place. For seven of the last ten years radio values increased. Some radio groups thought the trend would never end, or at least not so abruptly. Forever acquired a lot of stations during those heady days of radio acquisition. It appears that they bought a lot of radio property with a lot of debt and at some high prices. Now they have to service that debt. The current climate shows radio station values have dropped significantly. Rumor has it that Forever wants to sell off some of the turkeys they have but they can’t because they are upside down. They have to carry their wounded by using better perform ring stations. But those stations are losing revenue. So what do you do? Cut costs by cutting employee hours and combining positions. Managers such as Logan have to get out and try to sell more whether they can do it or not.
In the meantime people in the marketplace are sensing their weakness. Advertisers are now demanding more freebies. Some have left radio altogether citing lower cable advertising costs. And radio competitors such as the new country in State College are coming directly at Forever with better rates and many believe a better product. Forever’s response is to punt.
You see when you are managing from a position of strength that ownership did not develop and things aren’t falling into your lap, you hardly have the management credentials to know how to deal with a changing and challenging business environment.
My opinion is it that Forever leadership is clueless in the long run. A number of employees of that company were contacted by the majority owners of the company. They were asked by email for ideas on how to improve their stations. The respondents were asked to reply directly to the majority owners not to upper management. That would suggest a lack in confidence in local management. But it also suggests a new level of concern on how to fix the business and people at the top that are just scratching their heads saying, “Whuh happem?”
What’s the line about the people you step on when you are heading up the ladder?
