NASH FM to replace local country radio at Cumulus

[SaltyDog]

" Has nothing to do with a silly comparison to pro athletes Big A-it's all about debt and greed. Period."

and another civil conversation goes awry...it's a shame.

I don't know about that but it is kind of funny to think about the fact that all of these begin as discussions about a particular practice (such as the NASH rollout) and they all eventually end up in the same place.

 

[DudeFan]

" Has nothing to do with a silly comparison to pro athletes Big A-it's all about debt and greed. Period."

and another civil conversation goes awry...it's a shame.

I really don't understand the mindless bile and vitriol.

When I speak to groups about radio and the conversation turns to Clear Channel and Cumulus (mainly because folks remember those names because they are in the press alot), I tell them that they aren't malicious organizations out to destroy America, they are simply large businesses that make decisions that 1) they either have to make for financial reasons, 2) simply exercised business judgment that turned out to be wrong or 3) are the consequences of decisions they made previously.

Do I disagree with some of the decisions? Absolutely. Would I do things differently? In some cases, yes. But it's not my money at stake. We are talking about commercial radio and the only folks that have a stake or say in the matter are those that have money (skin) in the game.

If we were talking about fast food and McDonald's announced they were rolling out a new national brand and increasing automation to save labor costs, none of you would be bitching about it because you are probably not a stakeholder. Radio and broadcasting is no different.

You think Clear Channel or Cumulus is going to fail? Save up your pennies, get a couple friends that also save up their pennies and buy a station on two if/when they go on the block. Then you can run it the way you think it should be done.

As a bartender friend of mine says when a customer tries to tell him how to make drinks: "I don't come to your workplace and knock the hoo-hah out of your mouth."

 

[jamesh]

" Has nothing to do with a silly comparison to pro athletes Big A-it's all about debt and greed. Period."

and another civil conversation goes awry...it's a shame.

Civility stopped with the suggestion by Big A that only "past their prime" radio professionals who want a "retirement home" were being thinned out by management to make a better product. It's not professional sports, it's not even professional business practices as some suggest-it's recklessness with PUBLIC frequencies. That makes it different from many other businesses that don't have a public duty.

It is about debt load-but the debt load rules don't apply to upper management at CC and Cumulus. They have used the companies to get credit (loans) and live the high life at the expense of the industry as a whole. They are not running economically successful businesses. They are financially irresponsible. If CC goes under, Bain and Lee will not. That is the way it is structured-they CANNOT go bankrupt with CC or Cumulus at all. If they had true "skin" in the game to the level they should there would be no private jets and no CC corporate Yacht. They can't lose, but the public and rank and file employees already have.

 

[TheBigA]

Dont go injecting logic into this JamesH
BigA is right.
Good radio is defined by profit.

The entire history of radio, going back to the 20s, is defined by profit. That's why Bill Paley quit his family's cigar business and started CBS. More profit in radio, and Bill was one of the best at making it.

The only reason local DJs got hired is that playing recorded music was a lot cheaper than hiring local bands. So they fired the expensive union musicians, and replaced them with cheap DJs. Once those DJs got too expensive, their days were numbered.

 

[DudeFan]

James:

We still live in a capitalist economy. They are running their business as they see fit. They are complying with current FCC law.

I don't understand your bile.

Unless you have an investment in either company, what does it matter to you or anyone else here whether Bob Pittman flies a private jet or rides a rusted Huffy to work?

If they are so unsuccessful at their business, eventually they will fail and there will be an opportunity for you too buy some of the assets and do as YOU wish instead.

If you are really that perturbed at their business practices, invest in one of the companies and make your voice heard as a stockholder or bondholder. That way you have at least some standing to ridicule them and then sue if you don't get your way.

I disagreed with how they were running the company a long time ago and voted with my pocketbook and sold my Clear Channel shares. I probably broke even, but it was better than losing money. I got squeezed out of Tribune at a profit, so Randy Michaels made me some money.

 

[RadioJOJA]

Nobody was forced to sell their stations to either CC or Cumulus. They did it to make money. We need to stop romanticizing the past and look forward. NOTHING is what it used to be....and in some cases, that's a good thing.

 

[SaltyDog]

I disagreed with how they were running the company a long time ago and voted with my pocketbook and sold my Clear Channel shares. I probably broke even, but it was better than losing money. I got squeezed out of Tribune at a profit, so Randy Michaels made me some money.

I'm with you. I cashed out my options, got out of radio and got on with my life. I wished things were different but I'm not mad at anybody. I rode that horse as long as I could and am grateful for the ride, not upset that it's over.

 

[DudeFan]

I disagreed with how they were running the company a long time ago and voted with my pocketbook and sold my Clear Channel shares. I probably broke even, but it was better than losing money. I got squeezed out of Tribune at a profit, so Randy Michaels made me some money.

I'm with you. I cashed out my options, got out of radio and got on with my life. I wished things were different but I'm not mad at anybody. I rode that horse as long as I could and am grateful for the ride, not upset that it's over.

I think there is plenty of room to discuss the "big two's" decisions, but I think the "C__ or C__ are evil and out to destroy the world" or "radio was so much better then" is rather pointless.

More intriguing is whether a national station will work or whether it is a vanity exercise. Will communities care enough to pressure lawmakers to require more than local programming or will they simply silently go away or will they not care and keep listening but just listening less?

What happens if one of the big two fails? Will they be replaced by someone with less money and even less skill?

Keep in mind that all of these issues are limited to the commercial radio sector. Public/non-commercial radio is doing well. In fact, TSL and cume continue to rise.

 

[TheBigA]

Keep in mind that all of these issues are limited to the commercial radio sector. Public/non-commercial radio is doing well. In fact, TSL and cume continue to rise.

And keep in mind that the majority of the programming on public radio stations is national programming, not local. So that might give a hint at how the audience feels.

 

[SaltyDog]

Keep in mind that all of these issues are limited to the commercial radio sector. Public/non-commercial radio is doing well. In fact, TSL and cume continue to rise.

And keep in mind that the majority of the programming on public radio stations is national programming, not local. So that might give a hint at how the audience feels.

I'm all for a national brand if you can build one [think ESPN] but it's hard and expensive. Can and will Cumulus do that? I don't know, we'll see.

 

[carolinaradio]

WHLZ/Florence is going NASH.

http://www.whlz1005.com/

 

[Kent]

And secondly, saying they wanted to build a national brand is pretty much saying they are going to name their country stations after their national brand. How else is a radio company going to build a national brand.

There are multiple ways to build a brand. I suspect there will be more "Nash" re-brandings after today's second wave, but I doubt every country station will be "Nash FM." As others have pointed out, Cumulus owns multiple country stations in some markets, both of which make them money. Plus, Dickey himself has stated many stations will become "Nash" but many others will incorporate the brand in other ways. I suppose whether or not he can be trusted is an open question, but it seems like he realizes getting rid of brands that have been successful for decades is bad business.

This strikes me as one of those, "It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here," kinds of things. If we start seeing brands like "99.5 The Wolf" in Dallas and "107.7 WIVK" disappear or two Nash FM's in Dallas, Boise or Nashville, we'll have a pretty good indication that everything's going to change.

 

[TheBigA]

As I've said in other threads, we've already seen rebranding of TV stations to things like ABC7 and CBS 10. And those stations aren't necessarily owned by those networks.

 

[Wabbit_Season]

Keep in mind that all of these issues are limited to the commercial radio sector. Public/non-commercial radio is doing well. In fact, TSL and cume continue to rise.

And keep in mind that the majority of the programming on public radio stations is national programming, not local. So that might give a hint at how the audience feels.

My understanding is Eagle in Florence is (and has been for the last decade) programmed locally. Wonder how this latest Cumulus move will effect them, if at all. Let's face it, it's been years since WHLZ has been a factor in Florence. Will NASH change that?

 

[radiolives]

I doubt it.

I know 96.9 The Wolf in Charleston says every so often 96.9 The Wolf powered by Nash, Country for life. Wonder if they rebrand.