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New OM for WSM

T

Tenn Radio Boy

Guest
R&R reports that Joe Limardi is headed back to Nashville as the newly named OM of Gaylord Entertainment's legendary country giant WSM-AM. No stranger to Music City, Limardi formerly programmed Cumulus hot AC WRQQ/Nashville during its transition to oldies. Eighteen months ago he transferred north to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., into his present position as brand manager of Cumulus AC WCZX (Mix 97.7).

Now that WSM has a 2.6 in the latest book, probably one of the lowest ever for this legendary station, it will be interesting to see what a non-country programmer can do to bring up the dismal ratings.

Any thoughts?
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but Limardi also brought Star 97 WRQQ out of the "All 80's All The Time" experiment to Hot AC before going to oldies. That oldies format change really was bang for the buck (sarcasm). Let's go inside the walls at Cumulus...

First voice,"Well our farm giant AM station is pulling a 2.6. We need someone to bring a fresh approach."

Second voice,"Let's see, there's this Limardi fellow who worked in Nashville previously with Cumulus at Star 97. Station wallowed in the ratings while experimenting with three different formats under his watch. But he will work cheap."

First voice,"Hire him. Results be darned, it's about the bottom line at Cumulus. Next subject is Christmas gifts. Type a holiday memo that says gifts to the OM only. Whatever happened to that Steve Dickert fellow anyway?"
 
Gaylord, the hotel and resort company owns WSM-AM, but with a joint sales agreement with Cumulus. The WSM GM was a former Cumulus employee, the Sales Manager for Star back in the day. Do the math. While Gaylord management is worried about checking in guests at Opryland Hotel, they should be checking on their heritage radio station.
 
Tenn Radio Boy said:
Gaylord, the hotel and resort company owns WSM-AM, but with a joint sales agreement with Cumulus. The WSM GM was a former Cumulus employee, the Sales Manager for Star back in the day. Do the math. While Gaylord management is worried about checking in guests at Opryland Hotel, they should be checking on their heritage radio station.
Click to expand...

Say what you want about Lamardi. But I think you will have quite a difficult time convincing most of us there is a problem with Chris Kulick. Remeber, this is the guy who was at the helm of the sales department at WTN when it was actually worth the 65 Million. Just because people have WORKED for Cumulus, doesn't make them worthless or incapable of being hired. Actually, most people that leave Cumulus have said they are happier. Even the unemployed ones!!! So before you cast aspersions, you may want to know, actually know, the people you are accusing of tanking a radio station.
 
aspersions! Big word. I am not casting aspersions on Chris, but as a former Cumulus employee who was trying to sell all of those format changes and drinking the kool-aid, I know, really know what the inside was like, especially in the sales cubicles. It only took about 6 months to finally understand that the programming gurus on peachtree in Atlanta do not have one single clue how to program successful radio stations in Nashville. Thank Jon Sebastian for the Wolf, thank George Plaster for the sports station.

By the way, it is a no brainer to take orders and sell with high rates when you have great ratings. The only problem is getting the traffic department to place them.

The real challenge is making chicken salad out of chicken squat.

My point was that WSM-AM, a gaylord property should get someone who is in the demo of the station, who has passion for legends and who understands the importance of the opry, not an AC programmer that Cumulus has shuffled around. And that is not aspersions, but simple radio common sense.
 
Hi-from south Alabama. I listen to WSM-AM on occassion at night (only time I can pick it up) and you have said that a new OM is coming in soon. I have noticed that it seems like WSM has already made a few changes recently (correct me if I'am wrong) but it seems like they have a new liner & jingle package also it seems like the music is slightly more current & one night I was listening & it seemed that they had dropped the top of the hour news. I first noticed this a few weeks ago, after having not listened for awhile, but just wondered what brought about these changes and if they had made any others?

Thanx
 
"this is the guy who was at the helm of the sales department at WTN when it was actually worth the 65 Million."

How Much is WTN worth now? Didnt that station use to pull 12 shares? Now they pull what? 4s AT BEST! What did CumuLAST do to it to take it from from First to worst? They fired Plaz, fired Steve Gill, dropped The G. man, got rid of Blake Fulton and the Preds, come to think of it what have they done right? The only thing for them left to mess up is Dave Ramsey!
 
Funny. They can't mess up Dave Ramsey because he doesn't go over there or waste time talking with WTN. Now in Ramseyworld WTN is just another station on a list and he sits in a building next to the Cracker Barrell in cool springs and does his show without their "help."
In all due respect Gaylord is a good company but not a radio station operator.They have WSM AM for one reason: they can't unload it. Part of the sell would require a new owner to keep the Opry. Nice image, no draw. Not a big issue because nobody listens to radio on Saturday night but there are costs involved with that "image." Seems like Cumulus wanted to buy WSM AM a few years ago but there was a big difference in what Gaylord "had to have" and what Cumulus wanted to pay starting with costs made on the tower after a storm came thru Brentwood. Didn't Gaylord do the repair but felt strongly they needed to recoupe their expense keeping the price high. In the meantime the value of the station is now less. Again, they don't know much about running radio. Come to think of it, Spike (formerly TNN) and CMT are doing better now with different owners. Hmmm. I guess they're slow learners.
 
Just from listening to WSM a lot over the last 15 years and reading Gaylord's 10-k, I think Gaylord is keeping WSM in order to promote the Opry and their other attractions and to draw tourism to Nashville in general. (It has worked for my family and I anyway.) WSM seems to have put more emphasis on the Opry, concerts, and country music in general since the rumored format flip that didn't happen in 2002 then they did in the 1990's.
 
Go point speculating about Gaylord's intentions in keeping WSM AM. I'd always heard that's what TNN and CMT was supposed to do as well, especially TNN but with the sale and closing the park after years of not reinvesting in it (like Disney and 6 Flags does) I think a lot of people still feel betrayed. I don't fully trust them. I keep thinking if somebody wanted it they'd sell it. Wonder if they'd make a new owner keep a studio in the hotel. They just don't think like broadcasters.
 
Gaylord family actually is now a minority stockholder is what is now known as Gaylord Entertainment. WSM can be had, if you will buy all the other stuff that goes with it. Not too much upside there, all the opry talent dying off now.
 
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