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New York's Gone Country

And yet, the vast majority of money that comes into a radio station is local. The audience that they're licensed to serve is local. The stations with the most local content generally do the best in ratings. Most consultants and "experts" (you figure out who qualifies as an "expert") say that radio is primarily a local medium that should serve local audiences. But you're in favor of a "top-down" model that pushes homogenized content onto widely disparate audiences in different parts of the country, with different heritage, different history, and different local concerns.

Thanks for your corporate POV. It's not like those of us in the trenches deal with corporate policies every day. We might forget about the blessings that corporate bestows on us.
 
SirRoxalot said:
And yet, the vast majority of money that comes into a radio station is local.
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I know. And Lew Dickey said so in his interview this morning with CNBC. That's why Cumulus hasn't wiped all local talent out, and I have no reason to think they'll do it now.

SirRoxalot said:
But you're in favor of a "top-down" model that pushes homogenized content onto widely disparate audiences in different parts of the country, with different heritage, different history, and different local concerns.
Click to expand...

I'm in favor of whatever works. I'm not a music critic. What I've learned about the country audience is they have a limited list of favorites. And that doesn't change much from coast to coast. You can see that in local record sales and concert attendence.

I look at local playlists all the time, made by local MDs, including some who work at independent stations without a corporate guy telling them what to play. Those lists don't look a whole lot different from the corporate lists. So what does that tell you? The music is all mainly coming from the same place, and if it doesn't get played on the radio, the audience will hear it another way. The record labels make sure of it. You think radio is corporate? Spend time with the label folks.
 
ThePickleReport said:
Country is the new AC. Nuff' said.
Click to expand...

Yes and no.

Maybe its rotations and current/recurrent/gold ratios resemble AC more than Top 40.

But many ACs end up being a listener's 2nd, 3rd or deeper choice and for many, such stations are background music...audio wallpaper.

In contrast, Country is often that life group's first choice. Done right, there's a bond between listener and station nurtured by a local airstaff. You don't get that so much with most AC "background" formats.

Plus the music is #2 right behind Top 40 for youth appeal.

TheBigA said:
ThePickleReport said:
Country is the new AC. Nuff' said.
Click to expand...

Some is. Some is the new Southern Rock.
Click to expand...

I say Southern/Classic Rock. We can play Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and "What's Your Name" or The Eagles "Heartache Tonight" and the research warrants the inclusion of these titles as secondary/tertiary oldies. Eagles and Skynyrd cast a long shadow of influence over the music.

A, I hope you're right that Cumulus won't use Nash to wipe out all local talent.

One of the "birdies whispering in my ear" comes in the form of a sixty-something lady in our church choir. Her son has always wanted to be in radio and the DIL can support the family on just her income. So he gets nearly full-time hours in Grand Rapids for Cumulus, which includes a weekend airshift on the Country station. He only makes $8/hour but has made the most of his opportunity and wears multiple hats across both the Top 40 and Country stations in that cluster. He's been at it for a couple years...I tell his mom it's a miracle.
 
chas108 said:
A, I hope you're right that Cumulus won't use Nash to wipe out all local talent.
Click to expand...

I don't work there, but I watch what they say and do. And this new venture isn't designed around cutting costs, but growth. They're creating some new products and new platforms. That's what I've always said radio needs to do. Right now, Cumulus has some good cash flow and head room, and they don't seem to be under any pressure from their lenders. This is the honeymoon period. It won't last, and this new venture has to deliver.
 
They have huge debt service, needing to repay bank interest of $40 million each quarter because they borrowed $2 billion to swallow the huge Citadel/ABC albatross. Don' t expect small peanuts Buffalo to get much investment.
 
Who owes money to who? The banks own Cumuless. They owe the money to themselves. The Dickeys are managers, with a very small ownership stake. If they don't get the results that the banks want, they'll get fired, and they'll bring in the next management team - just as they did when they fired Farid, and brought in the Dickeys.

If Cumulus hadn't "merged" with Citadel, they would have gone bust. They weren't far from bankruptcy, or at the very least surrendering most of their equity in payment of their debt. The "merger" simply put them in charge of a larger group with the promise of greater "synergies", and that they'd wring more profit from the stations than Farid did, without trying to skim millions in bonuses.
 
The more I've read about this Nash format, the more I suspect Cumulus might muscle it into Buffalo, just at they muscled CBS Sports on 1270 WHLD, which was doing just fine with standards until Cumulus flipped it to sports. Cumulus Corporate has big plans for the CBS-Cumulus Sports synergy, and from everything written about Nash, it looks like Lew Dickey has similar plans for the Nash brand and the country format. You have to admit, WYRK is a big target.
 
I already mentioned at the bottom of page one in this thread that Nash FM sounds like the launch of a network. NOT a radio station.
Too bad there's no room in Buffalo for a Cumulus format change.
If they drop any one of their current (FM) formats, wouldn't someone else simply pick the abandoned format up?
I suppose they could toss it on AM, but what would be more profitable? A swing 1120? Nash 1120? Or leaving it the way it is now?
$8000 rent monthly to air Spanish programming.
 
Im sorry I am a little late to the party on this,
but RE: " it is interesting " because...

Cumulus has somewhat of an identity problem
with 97 rock and 103.3 ......

meaning if it weren't for Norton on 97 rock
and shredd and ragan ...on wedg which will be status quo
until a shakeup that is like that guy on grand island says.....
Huuuuuge

there aren't many other talents that couldnt goto either
station, interchangeably if one went country...

why would one go country?? well, taking the names
OUT of the equation and simply look at 96.9 and 103.3,
and compare the playlist..
97 plays (I think) floyd, zep etc...as I dont listen that closely...
WEDG: plays 2000- "present" artists..
(present is a more like the middle of the decade than current)



BUT the common thread between the two stations is the 80s
and 90s songs and artists....for a number of reasons,
to be discussed later, but such as metallica, guns 'n roses
could be easily consolidated onto one station, not two...

there would be criticism of ......the classic rock station,
and not having a 'nu' rock station.. ...and/or, a 'nu' rock
station, playing... missing out or trying to play new rock AND
classic rock...but to a degree that is the edge these days,
it dropped the " new rock" and is simply " rock radio"

Personally, I think WEDG would stay as a rocker...bring over all
talents worthwhile from 97 rock and free up 96.9 for country...

the other way around works...as 97rock is THE HERITAGE station..
and wedg is slim on talents, outside the big contracts...
and frees up 103.3 for dance....i mean country...
 
There is an adage in politics and radio, "You don't shtup the Queen." 97 Rock is the Queen. You make good points about some songs that are in rotation on both 103 and 97, but IMVHO, you won't be hearing Alan Jackson or Shania on either of those frequencies.
 
As I was typing it..I was collecting my thoughts...
without football on both stations, basically doubling
the ad revenue to the same target demo..
and the wedg being shredd and ragan's station...
I could see the edge going to country...
esp. if s'n r contract is timely..when it is
a renewal time......
meaning... if that contract renewal comes up down the road
and it is a HEFTY price...and that money can be spent
for the format flip... does make one think

BESIDES s'nr what is the edge offering up/bringing to
the table..in some markets, wedg would be
considered a top rated college station... and
others, it would be a hybrid rock station embracing
all rock ( due to the playlist) ...its here in Buffalo
that makes it tough to listen/see it as a station
other than rock radio...

IF s'n r are OUT does that change things?
if so, is COUNTRY for the format or does cumulus
go after chr/. hot a/c ?
 
Norton's about done. The show is fading. The obvious answer is S&R to 97-Rock, a tweak of that station to add more '80s & maybe even some '90s to the playlists. Make room by weeding out the pop stuff that's already played on WHTT. It makes the station more palatable to the 25-34s that they don't have now.

Half of the 4 share from The Edge goes to 97-Rock. Half goes to Jack's '80s-centric format. And some '80s pop to WHTT, and maybe Jack only gets 1 share. Meanwhile, they take a 4-share from WYRK - if it's done right and there's enough promotional money involved. Ultimately, they could get a 6 share. Either way, it brings WYRK back down into the pack, and reshuffles the deck for combo buys.
 
Isn't the plan to leave the two rockers in place, with sports on AM a full "Grab the male demo" deal?
 
Cumulus Buffalo needs a big revamp overall with sales and programming. The buzz is that the whole cluster was beaten in December by just one station of Entercom's, WGR, and WGR had NO Sabres revenue. Incredible....97 Rock, Edge 1033, WHTT 104.1, and Swing 1270 combined get whooped by one station, and this one isn't even Entercom's strongest. Many, many red flags there. Expect newbie GM Steve Bearants to be warned that this needs to turnaround or go back to peddling uniform services.
 
The buzz is also that WGR lost a ton of money on the Bills. Revenue doesn't mean nearly as much as profit.
 
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