Their fate probably rests with how much they are making. The larger the salary, the more likely they'll get the ax.
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Good Karma To Lease 880; WCBS News Programming To End
- Thread starter lanceventa
- Start date
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I seriously can’t believe Audacy is killing off $30 million of revenue for this.
They're not
I was a bit taken aback by the news (no pun intended) - no - shocked, but it makes sense. When WINS was added to 92.3, it was clear 880 wasn’t a long term concern for Audacy. They allowed time for the news audience to migrate to FM (and it seems to have worked) - now, they can kill off the 880 programming and consolidate everything, including the audience, to WINS. If anything, I’m surprised 880 has lasted this long with WINS on FM.
My prediction was that this would become an east coast version of KFWB. It didn’t have the lingering death of KFWB, but there are more parallels than not. This rids Audacy of an AM-only operation in NYC with their two remaining spoken word formats on FM. 880 had a good run as WCBS, but things changed. Audiences changed. The way we get news changed. Radio changed. The writing was on the wall several years ago with the new guild contract that allowed sharing between 880 and 1010, and it was blatantly obvious when WINS 92.3 was added.
My prediction was that this would become an east coast version of KFWB. It didn’t have the lingering death of KFWB, but there are more parallels than not. This rids Audacy of an AM-only operation in NYC with their two remaining spoken word formats on FM. 880 had a good run as WCBS, but things changed. Audiences changed. The way we get news changed. Radio changed. The writing was on the wall several years ago with the new guild contract that allowed sharing between 880 and 1010, and it was blatantly obvious when WINS 92.3 was added.
The obvious future of the stations is digital and would have been even if they were going to be saddled with just 1050, an inferior signal in every way. The only thing that changed is the monthly lease price.
Certainly they don't when one of the most venerable stations in the industry, and one of the highest billing in the nation, got killed off to become little more than a relay transmitter for ESPN New York programming.
How much net profit were they making? News talk is an expensive format to run. Sports teams are not giving away their rights either. I am sure some accountant somewhere did the math and this is better for Audacy. I believe they are still in bankruptcy, The trustee should have to sign off on this on this deal. I doubt he / she would sign anything that lowers the cash coming in.
It's the death of local radio, and anyone with a keen eye on the industry can see this a mile away. Absolutely dire with no upside to speak of.
Craig Karamzin got a 50kW class A AM signal for a cheap lease at the expense of a long-running all-news format and the loss of local programming and many jobs. Whoopie for him.
The obvious future of EVERY station is digital.
But as I pointed out to you earlier in this thread, they program 1050 differently from 98.7, and it's the 98.7 programming that's going to 880.
You keep saying that, and it's not true. 880 will be airing the local NY based programming that is currently on 98.7 as stated in the OP:
Do you know who Michael Kay is and where he's based?
On the YES network with a simulcast on WEPN-FM.
In what city? Is it local? If it is, then what you're saying is wrong.
If you go to the Yes Network, they describe what they have as a simulcast of his radio show.
Kay is employed by the Yankees, who own YES, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What strikes me is it is possible that if WCBS was owned by a smallish operator, they could be generating enough profit margin to survive.
But at a debt-laden conglomerate where many of the stations in the portfolio are operating at a loss, they stand out as for having a large cost structure.
I'd argue that if they station has an operating profit on its own you'd want to leave it alone just for the cash flow implications, but perhaps with this lease agreement they can replace a big chunk of the revenues with none of the costs.
Not necessarily, look what happened with KLIV in San Jose:
Radio News Purge Continues as KLIV Shifts Format to Country | San Jose Inside
News is an expensive business, but anyone in need of comfort will have the robots to rock them to sleep.
www.sanjoseinside.com
He has two employers. Not just one. He is based in NYC. This is a LOCAL NYC RADIO show, like most of the other shows on 98.7, that will be moving to 880. So this is not the end of local radio. Please read and learn:
Michael Kay Signs Three Year Extension With ESPN New York – RadioInsight
The television voice of the New York Yankees will retain his "other" job as afternoon host at "98.7 ESPN New York" WEPN-FM New York. Michael Kay announced today he signed a three year contract extension with ESPN to continue hosting the show he has held since 2002. Kay and co-host Don LaGreca...
radioinsight.com
Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Audacy is retaining none of the WCBS-only staff. They're all gone. All of them.
So much for "local", but whatever. I'm legitimately sickened by this even though I shouldn't be surprised.
So much for "local", but whatever. I'm legitimately sickened by this even though I shouldn't be surprised.
"the station’s 94-year-old owner and a passionate advocate for local news, blamed the switch on heavy revenue losses the station has taken."Not necessarily, look what happened with KLIV in San Jose:
Radio News Purge Continues as KLIV Shifts Format to Country | San Jose Inside
News is an expensive business, but anyone in need of comfort will have the robots to rock them to sleep.
We know that WCBS's billing has been declining over time, but it was still strong nationally (ie billing has been declining everywhere, but not disproportionately to the other big billers).
If they were owned by a smallish operator, they wouldn't stick with all news. There are no all news stations owned by smallish operators.
Most are owned by Audacy, the others are Bonneville, iHeart, and Hubbard.
If the revenues are covering costs, monthly cash flow is strong, and the margin is acceptable, why not?
There are no all news stations owned by smallish operators because it is historically a big city format and all those stations have ended up as part of these big debt laden conglomerates.
The last all-news station operated by local interests was KQV and it died in 2017. And even then they aired talk in the night and brokered fare on the weekends.
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