• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Leslie Fram watch

J

JimStevens

Guest
Long time reader, first time poster. I spent my Thanksgiving in Atlanta and had a chance to listen to 99X, a station I long admired during it's hey-day for originality and ratings. Wow, what a shell of it's former self. While I would never relish a person losing their gig, I have to ask....at what point does Cumulus decide they need a new captain for their clearly sinking ship? There is no question Leslie has had an amazing run at WNNX, but even NFL coaches who take their teams to Superbowls eventually get canned if they can't seem to put together a consistent winning team after that fact. I checked the only available posted numbers last night and it is currently showing a 1.5. Now that is 12 plus and who cares about 12 plus, but the demo breakouts can't be too positive if the 12 plus number is that low (maybe someone has some demos to share). It could be that this topic is actually being directed at the wrong manager for 99x. At some point does the arrow start pointing at OM Rob Roberts? I would imagine he would throw Leslie overboard before having the axe swung his way.

As we near December the discussion of format changes inevitably happen for every market. I can't see Cumulus flipping 99X if it is making money and costing little to operate (If they are spending more than $300,000 on that god-awful morning show then I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale). But they will always be able to make more money if the ratings are higher and it seems the programming minds at 99x feel they are on the right track with the crap they are pushing out of the speakers these days.

I ask the board, does Cumulus feel that this station will turn around in the PPM world? Do you think the company is giving her the benefit of the doubt from past years of success? I don't buy into contracts as a reason to hold on to someone if they are not getting the job done. A buyout is a small price to pay to right a ship worth tens of millions. With the past success she obviously knows what she is doing. Is she being held back or dictated to by above? Or is Atlanta really over 99x at this point?

So many questions....and discuss.
 
JimStevens said:
A buyout is a small price to pay to right a ship worth tens of millions.
Click to expand...

Terrestrial radio is dying, and rock radio on terrestrial radio is in even worst shape. It's no longer worth tens of millions, and as "New Rock" 99.7 can never be so in the future, regardless of what actions are taken.
 
Leslie is not calling the shots anymore. Rob Roberts is making all the moves. She can't be happy with what's transpired at the station she put on the map. 99x was tanking before Cumulus took it over, but what they've done since taking over is a travesty.

Good luck Leslie!
 
caller10 said:
JimStevens said:
A buyout is a small price to pay to right a ship worth tens of millions.
Click to expand...

Terrestrial radio is dying, and rock radio on terrestrial radio is in even worst shape. It's no longer worth tens of millions, and as "New Rock" 99.7 can never be so in the future, regardless of what actions are taken.
Click to expand...

Actually in the PPM markets, rock has had a good showing. I just assumed Cumulus was willing to wait until the first pre-currency next October. But in terms of Leslie, she's past her prime. There was a time that she was a good fit for the morning show and the station, but these days, she should just bow out.
 
FCR said:
Actually in the PPM markets, rock has had a good showing. I just assumed Cumulus was willing to wait until the first pre-currency next October. But in terms of Leslie, she's past her prime. There was a time that she was a good fit for the morning show and the station, but these days, she should just bow out.
Click to expand...

Here's a winner for AC on 99.7: "Steve & Leslie" !

ps ... or "Steve, Leslie, & Spiff" !
 
To whomever said Leslie "put 99x on the map."

Check your history. Brian Phillips put this station on the map.

The ship stood upright in the water after Brian left for a couple years, at the most...then the toilet years.

I'm sure that 99x still manages to make money, regardless of whatever comes out of the speakers.
 
Inside your radio said:
Leslie is not calling the shots anymore. Rob Roberts is making all the moves. She can't be happy with what's transpired at the station she put on the map. 99x was tanking before Cumulus took it over, but what they've done since taking over is a travesty.
Click to expand...

So I guess maybe the board should read "Rob Roberts Watch" then. I have a friend who works in radio down in West Palm Beach who tells me he was pretty influential in destroying a heritage rock station in Miami, so it sounds like he may have some background in this department. I had never heard of him until I started reading the Atlanta board, but from what I've read he sounds like more of a Top 40 programmer ala Q than a rock/alternative programmer. Would this be accurate or not? If so, why have him call the shots, outside of the OM title? Very sad to see this legendary alternative station in the cellar like it is.
 
"With the past success she obviously knows what she is doing."

Or she was in the right place at the right time and was very lucky to boot.
 
Or it was someone else's success and now we are seeing Fram's programming chops at work....
 
Salsa Shark said:
Or it was someone else's success and now we are seeing Fram's programming chops at work....
Click to expand...

Leslie has been there since 99x's inception. Yes, Brian Philips was instrumental in it's success, but Leslie absolutely made a name for herself and proved herself long after Brian left. Yeah, maybe it's time for her to try something else but she's had a tremendous run and should be given props for her great ride.

Radio has changed so much in the last 10 years. What used to work doesn't and frankly, I don't think any programmer knows what works these days. It's a crap shoot. Technology has made it easier than ever to get the songs you want and the PC police have made it harder than ever to say anything on the air. Normal conversations are considered racist now. Don't blame Leslie for 99x not being what it once was, the whole radio landscape isn't what it once was.
 
I think Leslie will stay right where she is, and one in the business can still learn a lot from her!

- Cumulus is waiting to see what the PPM can do, and is starting to see it firsthand in their Westchter, NY stations.
- I think they are still trying to find a way to work a LF Atlanta takeover, which may change much and give her more opportunities
- For rock in general, the numbers are good and better than the same (or similar) formats in other markets

99X will not lose Leslie. When they start losing money, Cumulus will blow up the station, but it won't happen until they finish taking their run at Star.

Ratings are not the only thing driving them. Billing, and the possibility of being able to sell 18-34 females (Q), 25-54 females (Star, post-sale if they get it), and 18-34 males (X) will let them take a run at CC (an easy target, given their irrelevance in the market) and take some bite out of Cox.
 
Cumulus pulled out of the Star deal. I heard it from a recently fired employee from Star.

I wish 99x would go back and play it's entire library of music. I have seen the library, it's huge, they need to open up that playlist and play the songs that made 99x great.
 
Don't count Cumulus out yet.

With the new year brings new opportunities and readjustments to debt, price, morning shows, and other factors that could have them take a second run at the property.

It also depends on how badly LF wants to sell so they can be bought.
 
Salsa Shark said:
Or it was someone else's success and now we are seeing Fram's programming chops at work....
Click to expand...

Sorry I can't resist but maybe they should flip 99x to oldies. Isn't that the target demo that Leslie would be considered in? ;D
 
interesting comments....

-there is a thread on the chicago board regarding whether PD's have any say over the stations they program these days. it made me think of 99x.

-is there a hole format wise in the market to justify a flip to get the ratings up on the frequency?
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom