Future of WQXI/The Zone

[jal41]

I am going to focus on something I mentioned in another thread.

Earlier this week, Lincoln Financial cancelled the LMA of WAXY-AM in Miami, 790 AM with a sports format (sound familiar to a station in Atlanta with the same frequency, format, and LMA situation). The company that LMA'ed WAXY is Primetime Media

With this in mind, it sounds like Lincoln could cancel the Big League LMA of The Zone, and take control of the station.

Sounds like to me they are doing this to get more $$$ for the stations.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

No. From what I read, Primetime Media was in financial trouble.

Andrew & Co. have a long-term contract and bill $12MM per year.

 

[atlsportsnut]

If they don't get that amateur radio show off their mid-day lineup they won't have to worry about it anyway.
Talk about a station that needs a talent infusion.
Let Dimino and Cellini work alone and bring back the Bottom Line.
Get Home Team back to the update desk.
Send the mid-day guys back to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting where they won the reality show.

 

[RTibbs]

I hear this afternoon that today is Bob Neal's debut of a Sunday afternoon show on the Zone. I said a couple of months ago, he should have the mid-day slot over the Brandon"my tongue is too big" Adams and Jeff "I am smug and unfunny" Woolverton.


Over the last several years I have been primarily a 790 the zone listener. Listening all day in my office and on the drive back and forth from work. Of course mornings are dictated by whether the Regular Guys are employed or not Since they made these changes inJanuary I questioned what I was going to listen to when these two hacks are on from 11:00 - 1:00.

The January 28th came around and my choice is simple. Regular Guys all morning and keep it locked their all day. No Chernoff mid-days hurts also so why bother tuning in at all. I went from a sun up to sun down listener of the Zone to I will listen if their is a big sports story or a little bit of the Afternoon saloon.

The Zone weakened their line-up significantly. I hope it was worth helping a buddy get favorable divorce terms. Also Rock 100.5 came up with a station males over the age of 25 would want to listen to. Great combination of events.

 

[Nate Wesley]

If 790 continues to bill well I doubt that there will be any significant changes. If they're doing what RoddyFreeman said they are, why mess with it?

 

[milton77]

They have approximatly 13 years remaining in their LMA. I believe a 15 year deal was inked in 2006.

 

[zoneguy]

The lease has been re-done a few times, so I am not sure how many years are actually left, but anywhere from 7 to 15 is a pretty good bet. The important thing is that the deal gives them protection in terms of a sale. They would have to be bought out in order to be moved off the signal and financially that just wouldn't make sense for any owner.

Afterall, they stroke you a 5 million dollar (or so) check for your AM which is a pretty good billing number for a station in which the owner's only expense is the upkeep of the facilties, licenses, insurance etc.

Most AM formats would have trouble billing 5 million and them you would have to have a programming and sales staff and lots of other expenses to get there.

As long as the Zone can make the rent. They will be there. For any owner, pencilling in that number each year (and there are rent increases built in) is a safe bet in a business where there are few safe bets.

 

[atlsportsnut]

Zoneguy, what you say is defintiely true. As long as billing is good they won't be going anywhere. The problem arises from their St. Louis stations which have been a huge bust. They are not having any type of similar success to the way that 790 burst onto the scene in 1997. The pool of cash to bail out St. Louis has to be dipping into the Atlanta profits.
Plus, they have seen their listenership go down for a third successive year. Their worst nightmare has come true as 680 has clearly established themselves as the most listened to sports station in town.
They are great marketers, but as revenues go down and ratings and audience size follow, the issues will only get bigger.
They have many talented folks, but the station does not sound good.
Talking with a sales rep the other day from my building, he was commenting that the 790 product is over-sold and too busy with advertiser names. They are obviosuly maximizing Atlanta revenues to keep their white elephants in another market afloat.

 

[RTibbs]

Their problems though might ready to explode. They appear to have a weakened line-up since their change. They have a weakend morning show IMHO with the loss of Mike Bell and more mic time for Big-head Steakie. I mid-day show that just screams change the channel, and listen to Mara, Colin or complete silence. The move of the Stews is probably a neutral move if their audience moves with them. The afternoon Saloon might even be a gain but from 6 a.m. - 1 p.m. they station has taken a big decline that could start to affect revenue.

 

[jabba17]

Does anyone know how much longer Ga. Tech will be on 790?

The reason I ask is that Tech has been looking at dropping ISP Sports (who might have been the ones who put them on 790 to begin with), as well as putting their entire sports schedules on WREK.

The big problems Tech is facing is this:

1) With more night games (hoops/Thursday football; Tech has 2 Thursday night FB games next year), they need a viable night signal in the metro area. The existing patchwork of WTSH, WGGA out of Gainesville, and WIMO out of Winder isn't going to get it done, especially on the NE/E side. WQXI's trilobal night signal has big nulls in the NE and NW quadrants (http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WQXI&service=AM&status=L&hours=N). NW isn't a problem because of WTSH; but NE is.

2) But if they put games on WREK, they can't run advertising on it.

3) And if they put all games on WREK, it makes getting a deal with a nearby commercial station (with more coverage and advertising $$$) during the day that much tougher.

4) They could go back to WCNN, but WCNN has similar night nulls, particularly to the NE (http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WCNN&service=AM&status=L&hours=N)

5) No other Atlanta AM (besides WSB, of course, who has UGA) has enough of a night signal to be an improvement over WQXI or WCNN.

6) Tech games probably don't pay enough to get an ATL proper FM signal (the last one Tech had was 104.7 back in the day, and I wouldn't call that ATL proper back then). I wonder how much WQXI gets paid by ISP for Tech.

7) I'm kind of surprised that WSB hasn't taken issue with WNGC and WDUN broadcasting UGA games in their broadcast area. Either one would fill in that NE quadrant nicely...especially since Cox will soon own WNGC.

Thoughts?

 

[David67]

I'd love for Georgia Tech sports to be on an FM station. Maybe then I could hear the games at night here in Chatsworth,Georgia. :

 

[jabba17]

I'd love for Georgia Tech sports to be on an FM station. Maybe then I could hear the games at night here in Chatsworth,Georgia. :

WTSH (107.1) doesn't make it to Chatsworth? http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WTSH&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

Or is it the mountains?

There used to be a Dalton station, but ISP doesn't have them on their list anymore... http://www.ispsports.com/radio-network-affiliates.cfm?pid=33&type=1&affiliates

And who the heck bothers to run a station after dark with THREE watts of night power (WEBS out of Calhoun, http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=webs )? Is it to comply with a license to city-grade the CoL 24/7?

 

[David67]

Thanks for the info,I didn't know about that! :

 

[ATLSports]

I'm in the same boat with RTibbs, used to be a faithful 790 listener, now there is no compelling reason to listen. Mike Bell was the only positive thing about mornings and now that's changed. Chuck and Chernoff was a solid mid-day team, now that's gone. Tried but never liked the Stews, they just don't know anything about sports. Afternoons are okay with Bell and Chuck but home team's a good guy but talks way too much as a host.

As far as 680, I still would rather listen to Mike & Mike than the Rude show.

 

[Inside your head]

i think they should flip to alt rock
im just saying

 

[zoneguy]

I was looking at this thread from Lincoln Financial's perspective. That check from BLB each month is money in the bank and with a fairly predictable expense line for the 790 side they have a situation most owners of signal challenged AM's would love. So even if there was no protection in the lease (and there apparently is), a new owner would likely have no desire to change the deal.

The Zone's audience deterioration has not yet hit their bottom line (which btw is very surprising) so the billing is still strong enough to absorb the red ink in St. Louis. If that changes, making that monthly payment to Lincoln could be tough, but it is not close to that point.

 

[atlsportsnut]

Zoneguy, you may have inside information that I am not privy to, but according to the billing numbers I show it appears that 790 has billed less dollars for three successive calendar years after a high water mark in 2004.
Not surprisingly 680 has billed more dollars for four consecutive years and bridged the gap in revenues.
Plus, I am staring at an advertiser analysis from AM radio in the market and can see where many former exclusive 790 advertisers are now spending with both 680 and 790.

 

[RTibbs]

I was looking at this thread from Lincoln Financial's perspective. That check from BLB each month is money in the bank and with a fairly predictable expense line for the 790 side they have a situation most owners of signal challenged AM's would love. So even if there was no protection in the lease (and there apparently is), a new owner would likely have no desire to change the deal.

The Zone's audience deterioration has not yet hit their bottom line (which btw is very surprising) so the billing is still strong enough to absorb the red ink in St. Louis. If that changes, making that monthly payment to Lincoln could be tough, but it is not close to that point.

If Cumulus bought Lincoln Financial I believe the would have a desire to change the deal if they could.

 

[jabba17]

If Cumulus bought Lincoln Financial I believe the would have a desire to change the deal if they could.

If Cumulus bought Lincoln Financial's ATL stations, either 680 or 790 would drop sports if it made financial sense taking the LMA into account. Probably 790, if the LMA would let them.

Maybe for all you oldies fans (I feel your pain-ATL needs a good oldies station), Cumulus could bring back Quixie like they've brought back 96Rock. I think that a sportstalk monopoly on 680 and oldies on 790 would get more combined share than the current situation, assuming you don't let the PD for Good Times and Eight Oldies Fox 97 anywhere near the building.

There used to be a whoop-tail FM oldies station, WWFN, out of Lake City, SC. Cumulus bought them, messed up the playlist from deep oldies/doo-wop to Beatles/Beach Boys/Motown (good times and 8 oldies), and then turned them into sportstalk (the current website and branding, thefanfm.com, is almost a clone of 680thefan.com).

Only problem would arise if 680 has two games that conflict with each other (say, a Hawks, Thrashers, and/or Tech BB game). Although, they could throw one off to 790 (or FM) on a game-by-game basis. Heck, Tech games were on "Stardust 68" (WGTW) when 680 had their short-lived nostalgia format.

 

[zoneguy]

Zoneguy, you may have inside information that I am not privy to, but according to the billing numbers I show it appears that 790 has billed less dollars for three successive calendar years after a high water mark in 2004.
Not surprisingly 680 has billed more dollars for four consecutive years and bridged the gap in revenues.
Plus, I am staring at an advertiser analysis from AM radio in the market and can see where many former exclusive 790 advertisers are now spending with both 680 and 790.

I would suspect the flat out billing numbers for spots are down. On the other hand their non traditional revenue streams continue to rise to compensate for it. I would assume that the money they take in for the Stews syndication fees, their portion of the sales cut from the syndicators, the money they bank selling sponsors into events etc. don't neccesarily show as billing dollars. They have so many NTR programs in place, who knows how it all is reported.

I haven't seen reports, I am only guessing. But what I keep hearing is a gross revenue figure that continues to grow. Which as I said earlier is surprising given their audience challenges. They continue to pay their bills and while they've tightened the belt on the programming side in St. Louis, they haven't done too much of that here. Adams and Woolverton are probably splitting Chernoff's old salary so that move is a wash. Everyone else is still pretty much on the air...