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Lincoln Financial Group...Seems like we hardly knew you!

Raycom can't get WWBT, due to their ownership of WTVR in Richmond.

Also, I'm not familiar with Bonneville being a player in the Southeast, so I cannot see them making a move for anything in the Southeast, including Charlotte. Entercom or CBS makes more sense.

G
 
Bonneville isnt a player in the Southeast, however with the new ranking of Charlotte...look for them to be interested. Plus the syndication efforts of LFG Charlotte will help them tremendously to get into the syndication business which can be extremely profitable.

Bonneville could also become a quick player for stations in Denver, however...Entercom and Bonneville both could go to the peace offering table and whip out a quick swap and flop.

San Diego to me makes the most sense for a company like CBS. However, anything is possible. Entercom really has been eyeing California markets...so who knows.

Didn't Gannett want WTVR at one time? If thats the case Raycom will take the cash cow in the deal.

Here is the biggest and most burgeoning thing on the table. Cumulus, while yes...it would make a nice company extention, really has to watch theirselves right now. It has been said multiple times by Cumulus execs that the company may very easily implode if it isnt careful. They have made a complete mess of what Susquehanna has spent so much time building.
 
upstate29651 said:
Raycom can't get WWBT, due to their ownership of WTVR in Richmond.

Also, I'm not familiar with Bonneville being a player in the Southeast, so I cannot see them making a move for anything in the Southeast, including Charlotte. Entercom or CBS makes more sense.

G
Click to expand...

It won't be CBS in Charlotte, They're already have 7 radio stations here. WFNA, WFNZ, WBAV, WPEG, WNKS, WKQC, and WSOC.
 
upstate29651 said:
Raycom can't get WWBT, due to their ownership of WTVR in Richmond.
Click to expand...

I bet that my employer, Media General may have some interest in WWBT, they already own one former JP Property, WBTW in Florence SC, and Richmond is the corporate HQ.

It would not surprise me at all to see them for for this one.
 
kentuckymedia said:
Here is the biggest and most burgeoning thing on the table. Cumulus, while yes...it would make a nice company extention, really has to watch theirselves right now. It has been said multiple times by Cumulus execs that the company may very easily implode if it isnt careful. They have made a complete mess of what Susquehanna has spent so much time building.
Click to expand...

Many people have thrown out Cumulus as a potential buyer here. However, I personally can't see it happening. Their bond rating was just lowered in the last ten days or so because they are carrying too much debt on their balance sheet currently. That said, I certainly don't see them being willing to plunge further into debt, or for that matter, even if they could find a lender willing to loan them the money. There's speculation that the Dickeys will try again to take the company private, after a failed bid to do so earlier this year. A few larger stockholders are now pushing for a private buyout as well. With that being on the horizon, I simply cannot see them buying more stations. In fact, a large institutional stockholder has stated publicly recently that they'd favor a bid to take the company private even if divestitures were necessary to fund it.



Incidentally, for what it's worth, I also think WLNK is a waste of a 100kW signal. Sure, they get credit for trying to be different. However, what they are doing is obviously NOT working. They are the lowest-rated FM actually licensed to Charlotte. Curse Clear Channel all you want, but they run successful radio stations. In Charlotte, CC's lowest-rated station is still rated higher than WLNK. I realize that those of us in the business have very strong opinions about what makes for "good radio". However, at the end of the day, our opinions do not matter much. It is the opinions of the mainstream consumers of radio in Charlotte who ultimately decide what they like and what they do not. They've been given an alternative with WLNK, and they've chosen other options for the most part.
 
wncc said:
It won't be CBS in Charlotte, They're already have 7 radio stations here. WFNA, WFNZ, WBAV, WPEG, WNKS, WKQC, and WSOC.
Click to expand...

CBS could always spin off a few to gain WBT and WBTV. Keep or spin WLNK and WBT-FM as well as some of the stations they already own. Having said that I don't think they will do it.
 
thebroker said:
Incidentally, for what it's worth, I also think WLNK is a waste of a 100kW signal. Sure, they get credit for trying to be different. However, what they are doing is obviously NOT working.
Click to expand...

To be fair, it's "not working" all the way to a solid lead at #2 in market revenue. lol

I guess I don't get what you're saying. Just looking at 12+ numbers for Mon-Sun doesn't tell you jack.
 
Debt or no, Cumulus is bidding on LFG stations. They, Entercom, and Bonneville are the only groups officially in the hunt.

I can easily see Bonneville buying into Charlotte. It would fit nicely with their Nightside Project for one thing, and they want some of their talkers to take off in syndication, as mentioned earlier. They did keep the KSL AM-FM-TV franchise together, so it's possible they could keep the Charlotte trio intact.

CBS, not likely at all. The CBS of today is not the CBS of yesteryear. Media General just had another very bad quarterly report.
 
Remember, though, Dan Mason is back in charge at CBS and he loves heritage AM News-Talk Stations. I could see the picture where they spin some of the existing properties to get WBT.
 
I said this before...

Bonneville wants the juicy apple known as WBT-AM/WBT-FM/WBT-TV and yes, even WLNK.

Bonneville would also like to add Denver to their portfolio.

I really am curious to see what happens to the properties in Miami, Atlanta and San Diego.

As for WLNK. The 12+ looks very bismal, however Neal Sharpe is one of America's BEST programmers and he has turned WLNK into a cash cow. They make GREAT money!
 
WLNK only does well financially because it has WBT to prop it up. I'm willing to bet that if you take WBT and WBTV out of the picture, WLNK wouldn't do so well as a standalone station.

And yes, 12+ numbers certainly do count for something. Many advertisers and agencies buy according to this number. If it were a useless number, it wouldn't be the one everybody touts. The fact of the matter is, you can use an Arbitron report the way Jimmy Swaggart can use the Bible. You can make it say anything you want it to, and there's no right or wrong answer, so there's really no reason to even debate the virtues of it.

As for the assertation that Cumulus IS bidding on the stations, debt or no debt, cite your source. They aren't far from the point of not being able to bid, because they won't be able to borrow the money. That is fact, and has been written about often lately. I've heard "rumors" that Cumulus is interested, but never seen it confirmed anywhere, unless I've missed it, and if I have, please feel free to show me otherwise.

I definitely like the idea of Bonneville buying the radio stations. I personally think it would make sense for them. I also think that a couple of the other markets, as cited here, would be a good fit for them, so perhaps they'll have some traction in making an offer for multiple markets. This would be attractive to a seller, I'd assume, as it will reduce transaction costs.
 
Broker, your assertion that Cumulus is not in the running for the LFG properties should be of some comfort to the employees here in Charlotte.

It seems that Cumulus is second only to Clear Channel as a company that most would prefer not to work for.

It seems that the Dickey boys have learned everything they know from their father.  His company in the 60s, 70s and 80s did not enjoy a great reputation.  You need only to talk to some of the people who worked for them in Toledo, Pittsburgh or Rochester in the past.  The stories are legendary!
 
Actually, with many folks I've talked to, Cumulus tops CC on that list. I've heard their executives are micro-managers, and local managers are not valued for their hands-on knowledge of the market. Personally, I've never been a fan of micromanaging. If I can't trust a local manager to make the right decisions, I'm not going to hire him/her. Why call them "managers" when you dictate every aspect of what they do? I'm a fan of the "empower your employees" school of corporate management, and it has served me well. The way I see it, if you hire a manager and he does something stupid, you replace him. However, if a manager does exactly as you've asked, who do you fire when your ideas turn out to be wrong? You fire the manager, of course, even if he did exactly as he was told. After all, somebody has to take the blame, and it isn't going to be you!

I suppose we all have our ideas of what makes for good and bad owners, and I can understand why this point has come up in discussing the LFG divestitures. There are some good folks working at the Charlotte cluster now, and I'm sure they are understandably nervous to see how this will play out. I wish them all the best, and let's hope that no matter what happens, the stations will end up with an owner who will continue serving the community the way WBT, etc. have for years. I've always been a fan of both WBTV and WBT. I hope a new owner or owners will honor their respective traditions.
 
I just heard Bonneville was in the building last week looking around and kicking the walls so to speak.

This will be the best thing to ever happen to Charlotte Radio!
 
Did anyone see the article on Charlotte.com (or hear on WBT) about Bruton Smith wanting to buy the station? I'd much rather him own the station than one of the big guns. Heck, I wouldn't even mind WBT Motor Speedway though I think I would get sick of the Town & Country Ford commercials.
 
Bruton Smith? Are you kidding!!! Nothing but a big bully who always has to get his way---the Concord city council should be ashamed for bowing to him. I'd truly hate to see him get a hold of WBTV, or WLNK---WBT, I couldn't care less about, there're already about as bad as they could get.
 
It seems like WLNK takes a beating around here. I listen occasionally and I appreciate what they are trying to do, personality non political funny radio. We all complain about the state of radio these days and how many stations are just glorified jukeboxes. While the 12+ numbers might indicate WLNK's format isn't working there are other stations that do as badly or worse. WEND, WNMX and WXRC are not exactly going great guns either.

My only fault with WLNK is sometimes the people on the air get a bit too full of themselves and a little too hip for the room. They often bash the things I like which ticks me off a little!

The question I'd like to pose is what would YOU do with WLNK?
 
WLNK only does well financially because it has WBT to prop it up. I'm willing to bet that if you take WBT and WBTV out of the picture, WLNK wouldn't do so well as a standalone station....

As for the assertation that Cumulus IS bidding on the stations, debt or no debt, cite your source.

For the former quote, no station would do well as a stand alone, especially one with actual on air talent. The truth of the matter is that for years it was sort of the other way around. 107.9 always had a format that staff could sell, because they had a target. WBT trailed in specific revenue because the demo wasn't attractive and difficult to sell. It was only when they developed strong ratings as a news talker that they managed to get sales. Heck, even Magic outbilled WBT through much of the 90's.

As for the latter, I report on, as well as work in the industry. If I gave my source, I wouldn't be able to continue to do so. Some reputable trades report that Cumulus is in the hunt, though most astute people would know they're the least likely of the bunch.
 
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