Four Signs Cumulus Is Not Planning to Sell KABC

[davideduardo]

Even then, there are a lot of stations that upgrade the signal to make the station more attractive to buyers. Classic example is KGBS, when it went from daytime to fulltime as KTNQ. Rumors all along were that Storer was looking to unload it for a full-market price, which it couldn't get as a daytimer. People figured when TenQ made a splash (to the extent that it did) that Storer would keep it, but they put it up for sale within 18 months of the upgrade.

The issue in LA is land. Not just the cost, the huge NIMBY factor of putting towers in the air. Where I lived in Glendale, we had almost zero cellular signal from all four carriers, but efforts to locate cells anywhere nearby resulted in protests, RF claims, and, 12 years later there are still no towers.

Finding a site that would accommodate multiple towers in the right location would be expensive... likely more than the station is worth... and would barely improve coverage at all due to protections. KFWB abandoned their 50 kw CP for somewhat similar reasons of high cost and no real signal gain except in the main lobe that headed towards Catalina and points west.

Another issue is that the permitting process could take years. One station in Miami that moved to the far west side of town took nearly 10 years to get all the needed EPA, hazardous waste, city, county, FAA and other permits.

 

[TheBigA]

I had heard that they had planned to move the NBC sports complex anyway, so in a sense the space would have been vacant.

I don't know who said that. There was no vacant space there. In fact, some WW1 staffers had offices in the KABC building on La Cienega.

Cumulus engineering is based in NY, so they actually flew some engineers to LA, paid per diem, while the rebuild took place.

Yes it cost a fraction of the money they made on the land, but they didn't sell the land to pay for a move. That money was already spent paying down debt.

Bottom line here is when the move happened in 2016, no one was thinking about selling either station. It was before the bankruptcy.

 

[michael hagerty]

Inside Radio today quotes a broker with "connections to the company" who says every top 15 market cluster owned by Cumulus, except Dallas, is on the block.

http://www.insideradio.com/cumulus-media-s-mary-berner-more-dealmaking-ahead/article_113340c6-7612-11e9-9e13-93f6e0417b09.html

 

[TheBigA]

Inside Radio today quotes a broker with "connections to the company" who says every top 15 market cluster owned by Cumulus, except Dallas, is on the block.

The complication is the current ownership rules. If they loosen, all bets are off.

As we've said, the company is now owned by the creditors, and they want their money.

 

[davideduardo]

I
Yes it cost a fraction of the money they made on the land, but they didn't sell the land to pay for a move. That money was already spent paying down debt.

Bottom line here is when the move happened in 2016, no one was thinking about selling either station. It was before the bankruptcy.

When the land was sold, the decision was obviously made based on what the net profit would be after capital gains and moving expenses were factored in. The Cumuus folks had been in conversations with Lotus for several years and they had done engineering studies to find how and where they could diplex the station into an existing site as so many recent attempts to build new sites had failed over zoning, cost of land and NIMBY issues.

The sale of the land was apparently accelerated when the Cumulus folks saw the price Liberman got for the KHJ transmitter site, just "up the road" from KABC in pretty much the same neighborhood.

In 2016, there was plenty of evidence that a pre-packaged bankruptcy was in the future for Cumulus. When Mary Berner was named CEO in 2015, speculation was wild as to the subject, as she was thought of as a specialist in using bankruptcy to rescue otherwise endangered companies.

 

[TheBigA]

In 2016, there was plenty of evidence that a pre-packaged bankruptcy was in the future for Cumulus.

What I said was in 2016, no one was thinking about selling either station. As you so often say, a pre-pack doesn't necessarily mean asset sales.

 

[Frequency1]

What I said was in 2016, no one was thinking about selling either station. As you so often say, a pre-pack doesn't necessarily mean asset sales.

The old KHJ site in now about 20 homes. They reportedly sold the property was sold for about 20 million. The KABC property sold for at least 100 million. The KABC site is next to the light rail Expo Line. It will have two high rises for commercial and residences.