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Joel Feinberg is out at 790

R

roxy23

It's official - Primetime Media has relinquished their rights to run 790 The Ticket back to Lincoln Financial. Joel Feinberg, the girlfriend-beating, silver spoon horse's ass stopped paying his rent and LF took over as of this afternoon.
Can't imagine Lincoln Financial will keep pumping good money after bad money, especially since they are losing about $2 million in rent that Primetime paid them. Also, they are notorious for not paying their talent big dollars so will Sid Rosenberg and Dan LeBatard stay the course???
 
And I notice right when all this happened, the Ticket website
went down, is it a matter of getting all the Primetime logos or
references off it, or is something else brewing?
 
I just turned the station on and it sounds like business as usual. They are laughing really hard right now on the air, way to hard to be faking it. If I thought my job might go, I don't think I would be on the air cracking up like they are.

I hope the station stays on, I like it so much more than WQAM.
 
I guess Joel's Daddy put him in financial "time out". Too bad...Feinberg was entertaining if nothing else.
 
People have different interpretations of "entertaining" - I don't think assaulting your then-pregnant girlfriend, sending her to the hospital and then running like a b**tch when the cops arrive is entertaining. I call that cowardly and typical of a guy who never had to work a day in his life for anything.
Good riddance, you creep!
 
Roxy- I certainly agree that there's nothing funny about spousal abuse...he did amuse me with all of his comments about how he was going to kick QAM's ass. He must have done it in the dark when no one was looking because they're still here and he's GONE.
 
LFM has taken over and will run it as is for now. I think it is a good move for them because they don't have much to do other than keep things as is. As long as they can sell it should be alright. QAM should be worried because LFM has allot of money to throw at this thing and you may see the beginning of a good old fashion radio war..
 
Lincoln Financial will NOT throw tons of money at the station. They wont put a dime in it. LF wants OUT of the radio business. If they can sell it, they will. If they can operate it without a loss, they'll keep it until they can sell it.

Based on how much Feinberg was losing, they'll have to make BIG cuts at the Ticket to keep afloat.
 
Yes, but remember Feinberg's losses included having to cut a big check each month to Lincoln Financial. Something LF certainly takes off the ledger...
 
Well, it has been 5 months and it looks like Lincoln Financial has decided to keep 790. They are also putting a few dollars in it. I said they had money to throw at. You see other than payroll they don't have the expense of paying rent.
 
LF may be keeping the station, and they may stay with the sports format...however, I'll give Joel Feinberg his due. The Ticket was a better station when he owned it. There was a passion and "us against the world" mentality that helped propel The Ticket to ratings parity with WQAM. That swagger is gone. Plus, while LF may not be losing money, they're not making money like they did with the brokered time programming. I think the verdict is still out on the future of the 790 frequency.
 
DJ Oldschool said:
LF may be keeping the station, and they may stay with the sports format...however, I'll give Joel Feinberg his due. The Ticket was a better station when he owned it. There was a passion and "us against the world" mentality that helped propel The Ticket to ratings parity with WQAM. That swagger is gone. Plus, while LF may not be losing money, they're not making money like they did with the brokered time programming. I think the verdict is still out on the future of the 790 frequency.
Click to expand...

I'm curious on how anyone would know how much passion there is in that building in regards to pushing ratings? Considering, they beat QAM again most recently in the Winter (though QAM's trends look better currently).

I also, would be curious how anyone on this board knows how much money they're making. Being a guy who was in sales in this market myself for the better part of 2 decades, I happen to know they seem to be doing pretty well financially. They just inked LeBatard to a 3 year extension. You don't do that unless it's profitable.

Not trying to be contentious. Just find some of this stuff a bit presumptuous at times to put it kindly.
 
I have sources inside the LF building who tell me that WAXY is billing about $300K per month, roughly 1/3 of what QAM bills each month. Are they making money? Not so sure. When you factor in the salaries and expenses, it's probably a wash or close to it, one way or another. When they signed LeBatard after letting go Boog Sciambi and his $225K salary, they wanted to make a statement to the market that they are in it for the long term...we'll see. You may see Sid Rosenberg gone soon (either on his own or otherwise) and they will replace his $200K salary with someone they pay a lot less.

The ratings story can be twisted and turned whatever way you want. In fact, the Winter book Men 25-54, it was QAM that won the battle of Mon-Fri 6a-7p - but most report Mon-Sun 6a-midnight when anything after 7p and the weekends for the most part are a non-factor revenue-wise.
I remain of the opinion that there is no way South Florida can keep sustaining two sports-radio stations. LF would be making money on the signal if they had the brokered format. One of them will drop out by the end of the year and I predict it's WAXY.
 
roxy23 said:
I have sources inside the LF building who tell me that WAXY is billing about $300K per month, roughly 1/3 of what QAM bills each month. Are they making money? Not so sure. When you factor in the salaries and expenses, it's probably a wash or close to it, one way or another. When they signed LeBatard after letting go Boog Sciambi and his $225K salary, they wanted to make a statement to the market that they are in it for the long term...we'll see. You may see Sid Rosenberg gone soon (either on his own or otherwise) and they will replace his $200K salary with someone they pay a lot less.

The ratings story can be twisted and turned whatever way you want. In fact, the Winter book Men 25-54, it was QAM that won the battle of Mon-Fri 6a-7p - but most report Mon-Sun 6a-midnight when anything after 7p and the weekends for the most part are a non-factor revenue-wise.
I remain of the opinion that there is no way South Florida can keep sustaining two sports-radio stations. LF would be making money on the signal if they had the brokered format. One of them will drop out by the end of the year and I predict it's WAXY.
Click to expand...

Again, having been in sales here I know for a fact your numbers, "were," accurate... About 6 months ago. Since LF took over the numbers are now in the high 400k area & have risen gradually every month since the takeover. You don't ink someone (LeBatard) to that kind of deal to pay them to not work. Especially, a company like LF. You could be right, but it's been almost 4 years I've read on this board that the station won't be there. Other markets like this one (Atlanta) have proven they could sustain 2 stations both financially & from an audience standpoint.

Also, your overall numbers on M-F could be skewed a bit b/c Rose beat Rosenberg by a sizeable margin. But, PMDr was even and WAXY won Middays. So, again all those numbers will flip flop from book to book. As you'll see QAM is trending better currently. The reality is the market is torn in 2 with both these stations. I think it's great for anyone who loves local. Shouldn't we all?

That's what bothers me about some of the negativity on this board. We all claim how much we hate CC b/c they have , "killed radio."
Yet, we have a station that is pretty much local around the clock and it's always about waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'll give them credit for getting this far. I hope they last. This town used to be a haven for local talk. Hell, as much as I blast JCR, I'll give them credit initially for trying what they did w/ Live 85. Unfortunately, execution is not their strength.

Even the FM dial is stale and continues to get even more stale as the days go bye. Again, mostly due to CC. Cox, Beasley & LF at least make an attempt to have a personality. CC's jocks are liner card readers. It's painful & really is a joke.

Anyhow, back to the original point. I enjoy the fact WAXY is around. It keeps QAM on their toes and brings out the best in everyone. Which, is best for the listener. Which, is what radio should & used to be about. You make listeners happy and you'll make money.

Best
 
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