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KERA To Manage WRR

Let's get back to reality folks. The City of Dallas will and still does own WRR. WRR will remain classical. Stop. Repeat. NO CHANGE. The management is now NTPB. WRR has good income from commercial advertisers. Converting to non-commercial is nonsense.

NTPB has experience, contacts and relationships with the Public Radio sector and literally now has a format portfolio not unlike Minnesota Public Radio (Public News/Talk; AAA and Classical).
 
b-turner said:
Let's get back to reality folks. The City of Dallas will and still does own WRR. WRR will remain classical. Stop. Repeat. NO CHANGE. The management is now NTPB. WRR has good income from commercial advertisers. Converting to non-commercial is nonsense.
Click to expand...

Why is converting to noncommercial nonsense? They may have had decent income from some commercial advertisers, but it clearly is no longer a very viable commercial format and without question not the "highest and best use" of that facility.

Many of those commercial accounts can be converted to underwriting announcements if the station was performing well for the advertisers and this now opens them up to new revenue sources from donors and grants.

WRR was also at the disadvantage of being a stand along station with a very unusual ownership structure. The deck was stacked against them.
 
Generally no business bringing in a fair percentage of the station's revenue is going to throw that away. If I recall, less than 50% of income was Friends of WRR and more than 50% was advertising.

Have you every converted a commercial contract to underwriting? It is not "Oh we're non-commercial now so we're changing what you bought. That ad for Southwest offering five flights a day from DFW to Austin for $29 can't be said now but your dollars are now tax deductible". Tell me how that goes with that client.

True those commercial advertisers are very good underwriting candidates and likely will be ample contributors.

The real dollars for Classical is on the non-commercial end. Obviously Friends of WRR wasn't pulling that off. The KERA bunch has the expertise to do this.
 
b-turner said:
Have you every converted a commercial contract to underwriting?
Click to expand...

Yes I have. The conversation is usually pretty cordial. There is value in tax deductions. We were even able to translate those :10 live reads during traffic reports from commercials to funding announcements.

The main advantage is the NTPB doesn't have to create a commercial side company.
 
TheBigA said:
Yes I have. The conversation is usually pretty cordial. There is value in tax deductions. We were even able to translate those :10 live reads during traffic reports from commercials to funding announcements.
Click to expand...
Ad expenses are also fully deductible just like everything except business meals and items that require annual amortization. So there is not change from ad expenses to a donation. Both are costs of doing business.

Businesses do not pay taxes on revenue; they pay taxes on profits. If expenses exceed income, they pay no income tax at all.
 
Did anyone besides me receive this email from KERA yesterday?:

WRR joins the KERA community​



Inbox




AOh14GjWYlfTON25xB8todOWxr-mDlB5gqQdXecL54on=s40

Nico Leone <[email protected]> Unsubscribe​

Jun 8, 2022, 3:36 PM (13 hours ago)
to me





KERA will manage the city-owned classical station. | View in browser


To our KERA/KXT Community,
I am reaching out today to share some exciting news.
As you may know, last summer the City of Dallas began seeking new management for its classical music station, WRR 101.1 FM, and KERA submitted a proposal.
Today, the Dallas City Council unanimously voted to approve KERA’s management of WRR. This means WRR will remain a locally programmed classical station, operated by KERA and owned by the City of Dallas.
This is incredibly welcome and joyous news. WRR is our region’s most valuable and accessible source of classical music — and now with the City Council’s approval, KERA can operate the station and ensure its sustainability long into the future. In fact, keeping WRR a classical station is not only a requirement of the City — it is KERA’s explicit goal.
KERA will assume management of WRR by the end of the calendar year. And I have to say, we could not be more humbled to take on this responsibility. WRR is a beloved and historical station; it’s a true honor to continue and expand its commitment to the arts and classical music in North Texas.
As members and supporters of KERA, no doubt you may have questions about how our two stations will collaborate together. Over the next several months, we look forward to working with WRR, the City and other partners on the transition process. I invite you to continue to follow KERA through its website, newsletters and social media platforms for updates.
In the meantime, I hope you will join me in welcoming WRR into KERA’s beloved family of essential services. And on behalf of our entire team here at the station, I want to say thank you. I know many of you expressed your support of KERA, WRR and our thriving classical and arts community throughout this process. Today’s vote is a tremendous example of the power of your support.
Thank you for what you make possible, today and always.
Be well,
mTHijv1FiiZZqns-2DeMBnJN7H_ZbCSNG-2rIoZFCoJv_8mu1KtGBaOaa5rKmChvf9UM1ZcbkO-MiEcUWhaChQv2-uJW7e4jrdQu0iSTgYbLur6cQYrDkt7kHKpS=s0-d-e1-ft

Nico Leone
President & CEO, KERA
 
TheBigA said:
It's an easy conversion from commercial accounts to non-commercial accounts. Public stations do this all the time.
Click to expand...
And there's certainly precedent when it comes to formerly commercial classical stations being converted to noncommercial operation. KING-FM (98.1) in Seattle took this route many years ago.
 
TexasTom said:
And there's certainly precedent when it comes to formerly commercial classical stations being converted to noncommercial operation. KING-FM (98.1) in Seattle took this route many years ago.
Click to expand...

WCRB and WQXR too. They are each non-commercial classical stations in the commercial band.
 
Will the City of Dallas eventually sell WRR?
If it does, will Jerry Jones be first in line with his checkbook?
Cowboys 24/7/365 on KSTR
 
Gopher said:
Will the City of Dallas eventually sell WRR?
If it does, will Jerry Jones be first in line with his checkbook?
Cowboys 24/7/365 on KSTR
Click to expand...

No, no, and no. This is how things will stay for at least five years. It really behooves the friends of WRR to get behind the new owners.

If Jones had an interest in radio, he could have bought KESN.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Thread bump as KERA takeover approaches:

radioinsight.com

WRR To Go Classical Christmas Ahead Of Non-Comm Shift

Ahead of its management takeover by North Texas Public Broadcasting and conversion to non-commercial operations, the City of Dallas' Classical
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
Click to expand...
This is an interesting programming move. Obviously, Classical Holiday music probably won’t get the same ratings jolt that KDGE gets, but perhaps it could draw some listeners (and maybe some donors, too). I attend my local orchestra’s holiday concert every year (except 2020, of course), and I would love it if my local Classical station even put this programming on for a few hours a week.
 
Gopher said:
Will the City of Dallas eventually sell WRR?
Click to expand...
If fundraising efforts by KERA are successful in keeping WRR as Classical, then the City of Dallas will feel better about selling them the station outright. That is probably several years down the road, which might be a good thing for KERA, as FM valuations continue their general decline. I’m thinking a deal would be done by 2030 at the latest, which is the end of the contractual commitment to stay at the Fair Park studios.
 
I don't think there will be a bunch of changes. Here's how I see this: the city saw KERA as better equipped with knowledge and connections to manage WRR so they hired them. So much that has been pondered here is simply outside the scope of KERA's jpb description. The KERA group is hired to make WRR more financially viable.
 
NTPR announces the hiring of Kurt Rongey to WRR:

radioinsight.com

Kurt Rongey Returns To WRR - RadioInsight

North Texas Public Media has announced Kurt Rongey will join the organization as Assistant Program Director of Classical 101.1 WRR Dallas when it begins operating the city of Dallas owned station in January. The move marks a return to WRR for Rongey, who spent seventeen years at the station and...
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
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