More Nassau cutbacks

[splicer38]

Dom and Lisa are casualties of a big corporation not understanding how local radio works.

Poor Pat Kelly. He is one of 3 in Laconia for 4 stations. Looks like he'll get some company when Nassau moves remaining concord stations there.

Nassau is peddaling 3 station sale (99.1FM Henniker, 101.5FM Meredith, AND 102.3FM Concord) along with the plush state-of-the-art studio facility in Hooksett. Selling as a package not individually. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! Their broker has sent out information to every license holder east of the Mississippi! Albatross of the Hooksett facility will likley prohibit any serious local investors or ANY investors for that matter. Facility housed 5 stations at one point. Now can only handle 2 of the 3 they are selling: 101.5 is outside of the 25 mile radius and eliminating the laconia operation makes it neccessary for buyer to also invest in facility in lakes region. Is 106.3 Nashua being brokered too? Would make more sense if they had at least 3 stations for that facility.

Clark Smidt likely candidate as he owned 99.1 for 10 years and put it on the air. Unknown financial condition after he bought WCAP. I hear he's turned sales around. Heck, everything he's touched has turned to gold! Would be awesome operator...again.

Ira Rosenbladt currently running (trying to keep alive) ESPN in Boston. History with putting investors/partners together for deals like this and familiarity with properties makes him likely tire kicker too. His brother-in-law does not own the hooksett facility. In fact he's going through a divorce which may or may not impeed his ability to put a deal together.

Saga? Mr. Christian might like to get this on the cheap. However, it might be too small of a market for them.

Clear Channel is a SELLER and the market is WAY to small for them.

What about Shapiro? Why doesn't he just turn 102.3 back on? He and Danzinger already have it, although there is some paper deal/sale with a former nassau employee that complicates that... It would give him another property to go along with 107.7.

Gordon Humphrey? Owner of 104.5FM but has not made any in roads into the community or sales wise. He overpaid for it and might not want to pay for another one. It would compliment 104.5 as he already has the facility to put it in (actually return it to where it started).

Fisher in Franklin? Everyone knows (they actually said this in the Nassau meeting with staff a couple of weeks ago) that Jeff wants another lakes region signal. He probabably will be at his limit so he might not be able to take all 3

Personally I hope Mr. Smidt gets 99.1 back and revives Oldies 99! Would make the holiday parade on Loudon Road more entertaining this year! Whoever gets them could get them really cheap...even in this market. What would the 3 be worth with or without the Hooksett facility? Whomever gets them need to be local and have an understanding of how local radio works. Otherwise they will fail again.

 

[NHRadio]

It appears you are a virtual fountain of misinformation. A few facts:

Nassau is not selling 102.3 in Concord as they don't own it. It is owned by Vox and currently has a sale pending to Birch Broadcasting. Why they've kept it silent I do not know. The new owner needs to get it up by roughly September or the license gets deleted.

Nassau is not peddling the Hooksett facility...they don't own it either. They rent.

101.5 and 99.1 are going to a divestiture trust as the "new" Nassau needs to comply with market ownership caps. The paperwork has already been filed with the FCC. They will be marketed separately if need be.

Saga is in far smaller markets than Concord...Keene and Brattleboro VT for example. Many Saga stations are in small unrated markets. However, their annual report says they're more interested in paying down debt that buying more stations...and they posted a 4Q 2008 loss.

Mr. Fisher's Northeast Communications has room for at least one FM under current ownership caps. Whether he wants one or not remains to be seen. WFTN remains live and local, even on weekends. Big kudos for that.

Clark Smidt has his hands full with WCAP. I doubt he wants (or can get the money to buy) another for now. He is doing a fantastic job by all accounts.

Nassau is not eliminating the Laconia cluster. WLNH, WLKZ, WWHQ, WNHW (I think), and WEMJ have their legal main studios there.

Dom and Lisa are casualties of a big corporation not understanding how local radio works.

Poor Pat Kelly. He is one of 3 in Laconia for 4 stations. Looks like he'll get some company when Nassau moves remaining concord stations there.

Nassau is peddaling 3 station sale (99.1FM Henniker, 101.5FM Meredith, AND 102.3FM Concord) along with the plush state-of-the-art studio facility in Hooksett. Selling as a package not individually. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! Their broker has sent out information to every license holder east of the Mississippi! Albatross of the Hooksett facility will likley prohibit any serious local investors or ANY investors for that matter. Facility housed 5 stations at one point. Now can only handle 2 of the 3 they are selling: 101.5 is outside of the 25 mile radius and eliminating the laconia operation makes it neccessary for buyer to also invest in facility in lakes region. Is 106.3 Nashua being brokered too? Would make more sense if they had at least 3 stations for that facility.

Clark Smidt likely candidate as he owned 99.1 for 10 years and put it on the air. Unknown financial condition after he bought WCAP. I hear he's turned sales around. Heck, everything he's touched has turned to gold! Would be awesome operator...again.

Ira Rosenbladt currently running (trying to keep alive) ESPN in Boston. History with putting investors/partners together for deals like this and familiarity with properties makes him likely tire kicker too. His brother-in-law does not own the hooksett facility. In fact he's going through a divorce which may or may not impeed his ability to put a deal together.

Saga? Mr. Christian might like to get this on the cheap. However, it might be too small of a market for them.

Clear Channel is a SELLER and the market is WAY to small for them.

What about Shapiro? Why doesn't he just turn 102.3 back on? He and Danzinger already have it, although there is some paper deal/sale with a former nassau employee that complicates that... It would give him another property to go along with 107.7.

Gordon Humphrey? Owner of 104.5FM but has not made any in roads into the community or sales wise. He overpaid for it and might not want to pay for another one. It would compliment 104.5 as he already has the facility to put it in (actually return it to where it started).

Fisher in Franklin? Everyone knows (they actually said this in the Nassau meeting with staff a couple of weeks ago) that Jeff wants another lakes region signal. He probabably will be at his limit so he might not be able to take all 3

Personally I hope Mr. Smidt gets 99.1 back and revives Oldies 99! Would make the holiday parade on Loudon Road more entertaining this year! Whoever gets them could get them really cheap...even in this market. What would the 3 be worth with or without the Hooksett facility? Whomever gets them need to be local and have an understanding of how local radio works. Otherwise they will fail again.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

WNHW is in Hooksett with WJYY and WFNQ. That is, until as splicer thinks, NHW and JYY move to Gilford. I was under the impression JYY and NHW were going to move back to Concord. Isn't Gilford too far for JYY? It's pretty close if it's not over 25 miles.

 

[NHRadio]

WNHW Belmont must be really close to the 25 miles if the main studio is in Hooksett. JYY might just be able to relocate to Gilford, as both Channel 21 and WEVO, both licensed to Concord, may put enough signal over Gilford to make it work.
That said, Concord makes more sense. I don't know if WFNQ could move their main studio to Concord.

WNHW is in Hooksett with WJYY and WFNQ. That is, until as splicer thinks, NHW and JYY move to Gilford. I was under the impression JYY and NHW were going to move back to Concord. Isn't Gilford too far for JYY? It's pretty close if it's not over 25 miles.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

I'm pretty confident Concord is too far for WFNQ/Nashua. Maybe they would move back to Nashua or something? Maybe Merrimack?

 

[Andy Taylor]

Could change COL. All they would have to do is pick a town without a radio station. It happened here in Maine WCLZ 98.9 changed from Brunswick to North Yarmouth when Saga bought them,and WLOB 96.3 changed from Rumford to Gray because of the 25 mile rule.

 

[NHRadio]

I strongly doubt Goldman Sachs/Nassau would spend the legal and engineering fees to change the COL. I'm pretty sure they could move the main studio to Gilford if they had to as WEVO appears to throw enough signal to make it work...but if I owned it it'd be in downtown Concord. Space is visible, plentiful and cheap, with a good STL shot from the roof.

Could change COL.

 

[Mainedude2007]

Could change COL. All they would have to do is pick a town without a radio station. It happened here in Maine WCLZ 98.9 changed from Brunswick to North Yarmouth when Saga bought them,and WLOB 96.3 changed from Rumford to Gray because of the 25 mile rule.

true, but all those places have other radio stations licensed in the same town (Brunswick has AM 900 and Rumford has 780). Doesn't the FCC frown upon changing a COL when your the only licensee in that town?

 

[fybush]

Could change COL. All they would have to do is pick a town without a radio station. It happened here in Maine WCLZ 98.9 changed from Brunswick to North Yarmouth when Saga bought them,and WLOB 96.3 changed from Rumford to Gray because of the 25 mile rule.

true, but all those places have other radio stations licensed in the same town (Brunswick has AM 900 and Rumford has 780). Doesn't the FCC frown upon changing a COL when your the only licensee in that town?

Nashua has three other licensed stations, 900, 1590 and 88.3.

 

[splicer38]

NHRadio: Sorry you feel that way. However, I know of what I speak and I beleive you to be a tad misinformed. Heck, trying to figure out what's real in this case is difficult.

If you talk to any of the licensees in NH they will be in reciept of a letter from the broker peddling the deal for Nassau (I've seen the letter. His pitch is "...In the Concord Lakes Region NH Radio Metro (#170), the three stations are WNNH-FM 99.1, and WWHQ-FM 101.5 and WWHK-FM 102.3. These stations will be housed in spacious, state of the art sudios in Hooksett (Near Concord) under and existing lease to be assumed by the buyer". Whether they own 102.3FM or not, they are brokering it. It's also not owned by VOX. It's owned by Shapiro and Danizinger under a seperate company from VOX. They have a paper deal with someone that used to work with Nassau and is close to Lou Mercantani. Do you REALLY think this guy paid $950K for a dark stick in Concord NH in this economy? Please! They thing is worth nothing at this point. If they get 100K for it I'll be amazed! No billing, format, receivables... BUT I imagine there are a mountain of expenses.

You are correct in the Divestiture Trust. According to the filing with the FCC: "Pursuant to the Restructuring Agreement, the licenses for stationsWWHQ(FM), Meredith, New Hampshire (Facility ID No. 73216); WNNH(FM), Henniker, New Hampshire (Facility ID No. 11664); and WHXR(FM), North Windham, Maine (Facility ID No. 59534) are to be assigned from Nassau III to the Concord/Portland Divestiture Trust (Du Lac Trust LLC, Trustee), a divestiture trust which will operate the stations while seeking a third party buyer for the stations".

I also agree with you about Saga in smaller markets but in the market you mentioned they are the BIG DOGS and ONLY dogs. That's how they make it work in smaller markets. Do you think they would want a stand alone in the lakes region, 2 in Concord AND the albatross of the hooksett lease? Maybe.

What I meant by "Eliminating the Laconia operation was that 101.5FM cannot operate out of the Nassau facility anymore making it necessary to be housed seperatly from Village West. I has to have a control point within 25 miles of the transmitter as you know so it can't broadcast from Hooksett without a facilty in the lakes region. That's it. I was suggesting that they are moving JYY and NHW into village west. Only makes sense and thats what they've done over the years... Consolidate facilities.

Fisher IS looking for one of the Nassau stations in the Lakes Region. It was announced at a staff meeting last month that they were "Kicking the Tires". And yes I admire him and how he's operated over the years. As I do Mr. Smidt.

Smidt is smart and Nostolgic. He would KILLL to get NNH back. I think his eyes though are on 106.3 or 99.5 to compliment CAP. As for the wear-with-all to get the cash. He's done it before!

Those are the facts as I know them to be.

It appears you are a virtual fountain of misinformation. A few facts:

Nassau is not selling 102.3 in Concord as they don't own it. It is owned by Vox and currently has a sale pending to Birch Broadcasting. Why they've kept it silent I do not know. The new owner needs to get it up by roughly September or the license gets deleted.

Nassau is not peddling the Hooksett facility...they don't own it either. They rent.

101.5 and 99.1 are going to a divestiture trust as the "new" Nassau needs to comply with market ownership caps. The paperwork has already been filed with the FCC. They will be marketed separately if need be.

Saga is in far smaller markets than Concord...Keene and Brattleboro VT for example. Many Saga stations are in small unrated markets. However, their annual report says they're more interested in paying down debt that buying more stations...and they posted a 4Q 2008 loss.

Mr. Fisher's Northeast Communications has room for at least one FM under current ownership caps. Whether he wants one or not remains to be seen. WFTN remains live and local, even on weekends. Big kudos for that.

Clark Smidt has his hands full with WCAP. I doubt he wants (or can get the money to buy) another for now. He is doing a fantastic job by all accounts.

Nassau is not eliminating the Laconia cluster. WLNH, WLKZ, WWHQ, WNHW (I think), and WEMJ have their legal main studios there.

 

[granitestate]

splicer you seem to have a whole lotta this and that.

you wrote:

Gordon Humphrey? Owner of 104.5FM but has not made any in roads into the community or sales wise. He overpaid for it and might not want to pay for another one. It would compliment 104.5 as he already has the facility to put it in (actually return it to where it started).

humphrey paid too much for 1450 am wkxl not 104.5 fm. the station has made roads in the community, winning alot of awards, broadcasting many hours of local news, and creating a hometown talk station. however sales have been bad, from what i hear. he did get his hands on a tiny fm, 104.3, that used to be a religious station. but i bet he didn't overpay for it.

you wrote:

It's owned by Shapiro and Danizinger under a seperate company from VOX. They have a paper deal with someone that used to work with Nassau and is close to Lou Mercantani. Do you REALLY think this guy paid $950K for a dark stick in Concord NH in this economy? Please! They thing is worth nothing at this point. If they get 100K for it I'll be amazed! No billing, format, receivables... BUT I imagine there are a mountain of expenses.

Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, Inc. owned 102.3 fm until they sold it to andrew sumereau. no one knows anything more and your conspiracy theories don't wash. unless there is some funky paperwork going on. you may be right on this but you could be totally wrong too. interesting that you know about boardroom conversations at wtpl.

 

[splicer38]

granitestate: Don't you hate it when someone gets the details wrong? You got me! KXL has always been at 1450AM... but hey give me credit for at least getting the numbers right, albiet jumbled and on FM! It is sad that they havn't gotten a stronger foothold in sales. They are just not a factor and I don't know why. Mr. Humphrey had a good buiness plan when he bought it. I thought he would do better.

Conspiracy? Not in radio! Seriously, I don't know what's going on but Andrew Sumeraeu is reportedly a former Nassau employee and someone said to be close to CEO Lou Mercantani. We are supposed to beleive that Nassau GAVE back 102.3 to Capital and they SOLD it to Mr. Sumeraeu for $950K? So Nassau should have $1M in their pocket right? Capital surely gave back the money they got when Nassau originally purchased it. Now Nassau is marketing that signal through their broker, presumably on behalf of Mr Sumereau. Follow the money! Nasssau gives $1M to Capital... Has to give signal back to Captial and should get back some cash. Say they get their $1M back. Capital now sells to Mr. Sumereau for $950K and is not marketing it through Nassau's broker... Somethin' a'int right here! All I know is that they have to turn it back on soon or loose it.

If it smells like a duck and walks like a duck... My senses tell me something weird is going on here. Maybe it is all on the up and up. Mabye Mr. Sumereau is racing up here right now with plans on turning on the station and putting his stamp on the market. Maybe this is the way Nassau gets to sell the station and re-coup some of the loss they incurred when they bought it and then lost it. I don't think they have seen a dime of the money they gave to Mr. Shapiro. Good. Not Mr. Shapiro's fault. Keep it and walk away. He probably used that money to buy the other stations he has purchased in the last couple of years.

Anyway, its a good time in radio. Big corporations, that have no understanding of small market - locally produced radio destroyed them and now have to exit and sell to (Hopefully) local owners who get it and will revitalize the markets they serve. Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Christian and Mr. Fisher are all people that understand how to win with a local, community involved station(s). Any one of those gentlemen would be perfect suitors for the Nassau stations. I also think that with the right people in place Mr. Humphrey could make a go of it and enhance what he's got in 1450.

Time will tell.

 

[NHRadio]

Nassau never owned WOTX. They ran it under an LMA. Capitol Broadcasting didn't get any money except the LMA payments. If there was an agreement for Nassau to buy 102.3 it either was denied or never closed.
I don't know if the sale to Mr. Summereau has closed yet. Either way, the fact he sued to work for Nassau seems kind of irrelevant. There's no conspiracy here.

We are supposed to beleive that Nassau GAVE back 102.3 to Capital and they SOLD it to Mr. Sumeraeu for $950K? So Nassau should have $1M in their pocket right? Capital surely gave back the money they got when Nassau originally purchased it.

 

[OlderRadioGuy]

More likely, Capitol received payment when Nassau closed on the VOX stations, and Nassau also obtained the right to assign the Purchase and Sale contract. So Capitol has their original $950K (plus interest), and Nassau has something from Mr. Summereau in exchange for the Contract (maybe $950K, maybe more, maybe less).

Nassau never owned WOTX. They ran it under an LMA. Capitol Broadcasting didn't get any money except the LMA payments. If there was an agreement for Nassau to buy 102.3 it either was denied or never closed.
I don't know if the sale to Mr. Summereau has closed yet. Either way, the fact he sued to work for Nassau seems kind of irrelevant. There's no conspiracy here.

We are supposed to beleive that Nassau GAVE back 102.3 to Capital and they SOLD it to Mr. Sumeraeu for $950K? So Nassau should have $1M in their pocket right? Capital surely gave back the money they got when Nassau originally purchased it.

 

[splicer38]

OlderRadioGuy: That sounds very plausible. I am sure they (Capital) got paid for the sale of 102.3 even if it just was an LMA. Should have put the cash into escrow. Otherwise once Capital got it back why didn't they continue operating it? They shut it off!

NHRadio: Correct about the LMA. Not saying there is a conspiracy but you have to admit this is not your garden variety radio station Sale-LMA-Sale... Who knows who controls what. I still think the FCC has not granted the ownership change to Sumereau. So Capital still controls pending transfer. All I know is Nassau is now peddling 102.3 along with the other 2 AND the Lease in Hooksett. They want to move quick from what I'm told and it has to be a cash deal. Time will tell.

You both sound like a smart guys. What do you think will happen?

More likely, Capitol received payment when Nassau closed on the VOX stations, and Nassau also obtained the right to assign the Purchase and Sale contract. So Capitol has their original $950K (plus interest), and Nassau has something from Mr. Summereau in exchange for the Contract (maybe $950K, maybe more, maybe less).

Nassau never owned WOTX. They ran it under an LMA. Capitol Broadcasting didn't get any money except the LMA payments. If there was an agreement for Nassau to buy 102.3 it either was denied or never closed.
I don't know if the sale to Mr. Summereau has closed yet. Either way, the fact he sued to work for Nassau seems kind of irrelevant. There's no conspiracy here.

 

[NHRadio]

If you really want my opinion, I don't think (and this is just a hunch) that Sumereau will be able to close on WWHK. I hope I'm wrong on that, though. Time is ticking on the 12 month silent period.
It's possible that the Northeast cluster in Franklin might be looking at WWHQ but I bet the trust wants more money than its worth.
WNNH is going to be harder to sell. Might make a good addition to Saga's Manchester cluster but I doubt they'll want to spend that much cash now.
Absolute Broadcasting who owns 1250 in Manch and 900 in Nashua? Might be great for them to move the format to 99.1 but Red Sox conflicts might be a problem.

You both sound like a smart guys. What do you think will happen?

 

[splicer38]

Back from Jersey Shore. What a weekend. Dealing with the traffic was worth it! Thanks for your opinion NHRadio. Based upon what I've been reading lately about the opinion of others outside of radio, The only hope for terestrial radio is small market, locally relatable, locally sevicing operators. I am in agreement with some that Music "Juke-Box" style stations will die within 5-10 years if not sooner. Other media and entertainment technology is growing exponentially. The universe of listeners is shrinking. I read an article by a microsoft muckity-muck who referred to what radio is going through as a "Re-set" and not a recession. Thus indicating that everything has to be re-thought. Sales, programming, NTR, alternative media...etc. Radio will have it's place but less money will be spent on it nationally and regionally. Local dollars will be less effected (IMHO) for those stations that understand local servicing and community involvement.

With that said, I think that Nassau and/or their trustees will be looking to maximize their divestiture. they are already looking for a quick exit to the 3 stations in NH but may realize a higher sales price by selling them individually. that will take longer though. I personally think that when Goldman Sachs takes over things will move a lot quicker. GS does not want anything to do with small to medium market stations. Things might get done sooner if they find the right suitor ahead of the FCC. The date to get 102.3 back on is Sept 1st I think. Glad I'm a spectator. I would hate to be inside any of those stations right now.

Hey quick question... Why did Nassau offer 101.5 instead of 104.9? I've heard they want to keep the Hawk and Frank fanchises but they would have move the Hawk to 104.9 or simulcast 106.3 and 104.9. They have change everything from marketing, van lettering, letter head...etc. I thought it would make sense to keep 104.9 and 99.1 together as they are already simulcast. Wouldn't That be more valueable? Anyone?

Definetly interesting times.

 

[djjim6629]

Not to mention, LNH and 101.5 are on the same tower on Parade Road which they also own. WLKZ does have a better signal from Gilford though. I really hope Jeff Fisher in Franklin buys 101.5. Even if he just simulcasts another station on it, it would still be better in local hands.

 

[NHRadio]

AFAIK, Nassau no longer owns their transmitter sites. It was part of a sale/leaseback deal. I've heard but don't know for sure the deal was forced on Lou and Co. by the lenders.

Not to mention, LNH and 101.5 are on the same tower on Parade Road which they also own.

 

[splicer38]

NHRadio: Nassau did sell all their tower sites that the did own. I beleive a company called Crown owns parade road. However, LNH and 101.5 are still on the tower. They just pay rent. I would also think 101.5 signal gets to Parade road from a phone line instead of STL shot considering it originates from Hooksett. Still don't understand whey they just keep 101.5 and sell 104.9. Makes more sense and might be more attractive to a potential buyer. As for WLKZ, they are on a tower owned by the County. I don't think the banks or VC people forced them to sell the towers. That was done some time ago but it could be they did it to make a payment to the bank or VC people. Who knows the motivation.
The only tower they didn't sell was one they couldn't. 102.3 in Concord is owned by the licensee and it has tennants. Whoever ends up with it gets that little piece of real estate.
JIM: I too hope these signals end up in local ownership. Mr. Fisher is a terrific operator and understands local radio and how it works.