Format for 100.3 in August will be....?

[BRice16]

Does anybody know if the bankruptcy court screwed with the Vol Network contract?

There should be some kind of public record on this. Can anybody tell the computer-unsavvy (me) how to look this up? THAT would be a (second) game-changer.

It's not public record from a UT standpoint because they are not involved in the contract. IMG College (formerly Host) does all of that, specifically to avoid FOI Requests. The athletic director has to approve all changes in stations within markets, and I know MH won't approve a change away from the Citadel cluster.

There is no chance Citadel loses it. None. I would bet the farm on it. They are a production partner with IMG on Networks all over the country, not just here. The network equipment is housed at Citadel and much of the uplink belongs to them and is leased by IMG.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

Does anybody know if the bankruptcy court screwed with the Vol Network contract?

There should be some kind of public record on this. Can anybody tell the computer-unsavvy (me) how to look this up? THAT would be a (second) game-changer.

It's not public record from a UT standpoint because they are not involved in the contract. IMG College (formerly Host) does all of that, specifically to avoid FOI Requests. The athletic director has to approve all changes in stations within markets, and I know MH won't approve a change away from the Citadel cluster.

There is no chance Citadel loses it. None. I would bet the farm on it. They are a production partner with IMG on Networks all over the country, not just here. The network equipment is housed at Citadel and much of the uplink belongs to them and is leased by IMG.

Much like that expensive 100.3 lease, the public stuff ought to be available through the bankruptcy court under FOI, especially for those of us holding worthless Citadel stock and would like to know more about where our retirement money went. Two of the network's main Citadel contacts (Bobby and Ed) are now out of the picture. Those two were a substantial part of UT's connection with 107.7. Whoever is running the Vol Network now has to be paying careful attention to the way Citadel is dealing with them in a post-Ed era.

UT and their people don't change horses very often when it comes to broadcast partners, but keeping a relationship with Ed Brantley wouldn't be a change of horses. It would hold the potential of keeping that tradition on track. And it wouldn't set any precedents. They changed TV partners here for less reason than that. And 10 and its corporate owner was a bigger gorilla than WIVK and Citadel.

Yep, it's a giant crapload of idle speculation. And nobody does that here, do they?

 

[boogiecheck]

Just what Knoxville needs, another talk station.  Either the 98.7 or 100.3 format will tank by the end of the year.  I tend to think that talk is a plan B for 100.3/Pirkle until he gets plan A ready to go.

The weakest link will fail. The weakest link in this case is 98.7.

And I don't think there was ever any plan other than news/talk with the station. Pirkle snatched up Brantley as soon as he could. Brantley is the cat who brought news/talk to 990 and then 100.3 while he was at the helm with Citadel.

They have purchased new studio equipment (specifically for talk radio), purchased a brand-spanking-new 100kw transmitter and have picked up several top programs which have been in the market for years (Boortz, Savage, Colmes, Noory)(eh, well, not Colmes but he's sure to win some new listeners.)

And to top it all off they're the only radio or tv station with an actual Kingston Pike address! 

 

[jetfli]

(Boortz, Savage, Colmes, Noory)

But these are also-rans in network talk ratings compared to the new WOKI line up. Big Stick won't mean a lot after Brantley's shift unless there's lots of local news.

 

[gr8oldies]

Boortz and Norry are already on 100.3. It probably won't take much to get anyone else they want, 100k vs. 8k..

 

[BillBattle]

It does not look like there is any room for HHH and Phil Whilliams on 100.3. Is 98.7 oldies satellite or live jocked? I am just thinking what will Citadel do in 90 days? I bet they go back to oldies with all the heat they are taking.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

Non-compete contracts are pretty nasty in situations like this. Citadel's air talent is screwed. Probably salespeople and managers, too. It's a no-win situation for the people like that who want to follow Ed. The rest of the building? Lots of good support people there who could improve their situation without having to alter their commute route very much....

 

[SchlitzBeer]

Bob Thomas to co-host mornings with Ed... Wouldnt be surprised if Citadel let Boortz go so easily for possible introduction of Beck Mon-Fri...

 

[Fiveahead]

Bob Thomas to co-host mornings with Ed... Wouldnt be surprised if Citadel let Boortz go so easily for possible introduction of Beck Mon-Fri...

I understand that's the plan.

And in about a year he'll be available for another AM station to pick up. Let's be honest, 98.7 isn't going to make it long in the wake of this news.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

Does anybody know if the bankruptcy court screwed with the Vol Network contract?

There should be some kind of public record on this. Can anybody tell the computer-unsavvy (me) how to look this up? THAT would be a (second) game-changer.

It's not public record from a UT standpoint because they are not involved in the contract. IMG College (formerly Host) does all of that, specifically to avoid FOI Requests. The athletic director has to approve all changes in stations within markets, and I know MH won't approve a change away from the Citadel cluster.

There is no chance Citadel loses it. None. I would bet the farm on it. They are a production partner with IMG on Networks all over the country, not just here. The network equipment is housed at Citadel and much of the uplink belongs to them and is leased by IMG.

While 'betting the farm' and 'Citadel' are two scary things to put into one paragraph, and, well, housed network equipment can be moved, Host did have patience when it came to bumps in the road. All I lost is a few acres of my farm. If it gets rough, BRice16, I'll put in a good word for you for the next open greeter job at WalMart. The shifts adjacent to mine are pretty well covered, but you never know when one will open up.

It's too late for Ed to fill up the games with football spots. And how interested would JP be in spending money now on something that won't pay off for at least a year, especially with the workout he's giving his wallet already.

It won't keep me from watching WIVK's tent during football season to see if there are more employees than clients these days. I have to moonlight as an usher now, so I'll be there anyway.

 

[BRice16]

While 'betting the farm' and 'Citadel' are two scary things to put into one paragraph, and, well, housed network equipment can be moved, Host did have patience when it came to bumps in the road. All I lost is a few acres of my farm. If it gets rough, BRice16, I'll put in a good word for you for the next open greeter job at WalMart. The shifts adjacent to mine are pretty well covered, but you never know when one will open up.

It's too late for Ed to fill up the games with football spots. And how interested would JP be in spending money now on something that won't pay off for at least a year, especially with the workout he's giving his wallet already.

It won't keep me from watching WIVK's tent during football season to see if there are more employees than clients these days. I have to moonlight as an usher now, so I'll be there anyway.

Again, the Vol Network thing is a lot bigger than this market. IMG and Citadel are partners in producing 30+ college sports networks. Their production deal is much larger than just this market and was one of the big reasons the Vol Network contract moved to the Citadel cluster in Nashville when it was up for renewal this year.

You're thinking of this on a very small local scale, and this particular issue is a national one, which is why it's not going anywhere.

As far as WIVK's advertisers, I don't think this hurts them much at all since 100.3 isn't going country. Sure it hurts the cluster as a whole by going after the WNOX dollars, but you also have to consider they aren't making that huge LMA payment every month, either.

 

[Big Bopper]

Sure it hurts the cluster as a whole by going after the WNOX dollars, but you also have to consider they aren't making that huge LMA payment every month, either.

I have heard they were paying $1 million a year, or some such. People on here keep calling that a lot of money, but don't you think it is pretty reasonable for a 100,000 watt signal? Assume for a moment that Citadel had bought WNOX with a mortgage. They would probably be paying more than $1 million a year in principal and interest. So, to me, the LMA was a bargain for a signal that has generated so much revenue for a company that was losing so much on other stations. Sure, they would own it, if they stayed around long enough. But, how likely is that, really?
Just asking....

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

While 'betting the farm' and 'Citadel' are two scary things to put into one paragraph, and, well, housed network equipment can be moved, Host did have patience when it came to bumps in the road. All I lost is a few acres of my farm. If it gets rough, BRice16, I'll put in a good word for you for the next open greeter job at WalMart. The shifts adjacent to mine are pretty well covered, but you never know when one will open up.

It's too late for Ed to fill up the games with football spots. And how interested would JP be in spending money now on something that won't pay off for at least a year, especially with the workout he's giving his wallet already.

It won't keep me from watching WIVK's tent during football season to see if there are more employees than clients these days. I have to moonlight as an usher now, so I'll be there anyway.

Again, the Vol Network thing is a lot bigger than this market. IMG and Citadel are partners in producing 30+ college sports networks. Their production deal is much larger than just this market and was one of the big reasons the Vol Network contract moved to the Citadel cluster in Nashville when it was up for renewal this year.

You're thinking of this on a very small local scale, and this particular issue is a national one, which is why it's not going anywhere.

As far as WIVK's advertisers, I don't think this hurts them much at all since 100.3 isn't going country. Sure it hurts the cluster as a whole by going after the WNOX dollars, but you also have to consider they aren't making that huge LMA payment every month, either.

Thanks for that. It answers a lot. If Citadel's (nationwide) bankruptcy was a factor, more than just IMG would be affected. IMG would have been looking for new partners in plenty of markets at once. And, no, local advertisers aren't a factor to anything except the Knoxville arm of Citadel's ability to keep its end of the deal. And if Citadel has cheap deals in other markets, it can absorb the higher-cost ones in places like Knoxville.

The only loser here will be the university if the flagship station can't afford the support it used to give. It had a good thing going under Ed's watch. More people are bringing the little digital TV's into the stadium now anyway. And the Jumbotron upgrade is awesome.