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No Sale Looming, ESPN 98.7 expected to pivot to Music

$50 million is an unreasonably high asking price, and I said so from the beginning.

Not surprised in the least no deal is imminent. Also, traditional lenders won't touch radio broadcasting with a 100-foot pole right now.

If Emmis receives a legitimate (read: buyer with actual ability to close the deal) offer north of $30 million, they should strongly consider accepting it, assuming there is no "Plan B" to generate decent cash flow from the station in the meantime.
 
I know that this is their last (or one of their last) radio property, but has/is losing Emmis as a major broadcaster over the last decade been a negative to the industry?

Were they a decent operator?
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Not an easy read with all the missing words and punctuation. Does anyone proof read their articles over there?
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There was only one word missing from that article -- the word "with" -- but it was missing from about a half dozen sentences. Reread the article (ignoring its lack of actual timely information), and each time a sentence doesn't make sense add "with" into the place where the missing word should have been.

It appears someone tried to do a Find & Replace. Find every instance of "with" and substitute with either a null word or a blank space. (I have no idea why anyone would want to do that, but that's the net effect.)
 
Radiopaw said:
I know that this is their last (or one of their last) radio property, but has/is losing Emmis as a major broadcaster over the last decade been a negative to the industry?

Were they a decent operator?
Click to expand...
They were among the best. I had the opportunity to work for about 6 years for them as consultant and long-distance PD for their station in Buenos Aires, and everyone from Jeff to Rick Cummings to the folks in finance and operations I worked with were just amazing.
 
Is it possible that if Emmis hasn't received any offers close to the amount they expected, they could hire a few people, and make a go of operating 98.7 with a new format? Of course the station could remain available for sale (or lease).
 
MarkW said:
Not surprised in the least no deal is imminent.
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Inside Radio doesn't really know that for a fact. The only thing we know is that no new owner has been announced.

Barry said:
Is it possible that if Emmis hasn't received any offers close to the amount they expected, they could hire a few people, and make a go of operating 98.7 with a new format? Of course the station could remain available for sale (or lease).
Click to expand...

Jeff Smulyan of Emmis said he wants to get out of radio. He's sold all his stations. He's sold the company headquarters. Jeff himself is in his 70s. So while anything is possible, I think the answer is no. He wants to sell this station, buy out his stockholders, and take a long nap.

www.insideradio.com

Stockholders OK Jeff Smulyan’s Plan To Take Emmis Private.

Shareholders of Emmis Corp. have given CEO Jeff Smulyan the greenlight to achieve his long-desired goal of taking the company private. During its annual meeting Tuesday in Indianapolis, stockholders voted
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

The offer has a time limit.
 
JJSPC said:
Seems like there isn't anything real serious with a buyer. If there was and putting music on was just a short term rather than a long term solution they could just simulcast AM 1190 instead of putting the time and effort into something else while waiting for the sale approval from the commission.
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Sure. If WFAN and WINS can have AM/FM simulcasts, so can 98.7/1190. It's probably the cheapest thing for Emmis to do.
 
TheBigA said:
Whenever you see an article that begins with the words 'It appears likely,' it's all speculation. If they had actual facts, they would put them in the first paragraph. Instead, the only fact is that no buyer has been announced. From then on, it's all hooey. The quote is unnamed and undated. It reads like a blanket statement that could have been made in October. The rest is a rehash of everything we knew last September. In other words, they know as much as anyone here.
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I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve written articles in the past myself that start off or have “It appears” when I was reporting on player injuries or coaches being let go. It’s just words. Nothing more than that. Inside Radio is pretty reputable. I trust they have sources on the inside of whats going on. Reading the article it looks like they know something
 
Loverofradio said:
I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve written articles in the past myself that start off or have “It appears” when I was reporting on player injuries or coaches being let go. It’s just words. Nothing more than that. Inside Radio is pretty reputable. I trust they have sources on the inside of whats going on. Reading the article it looks like they know something
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Rather than "it appears" (to whom?) phrasing like "unconfirmed reports indicate that..." or "a confidential industry insider believes..."

Inside Radio has had some fairly ragged writing of late, which I attribute to cost cuts and the increased volume of rumors and news items as well as pure puffery from press releases from new media and new media service providers to radio.

Of course, I prefer Lance's service. No "condensed press releases" and more factual data.
 
101.9 La Kalle said:
Get ready for someone to point out how different the WFAN and WINS situations are to WLIB and WEPN-FM potentially simulcasting.
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Yes, they are different. But that would be an instant and cheap way to fill the airwaves with sound on a provisional basis.

Since there is no billing or inherited audience for sale with WEPN-FM, there is no harm in just making the mod monitor move with just about anything.
 
Loverofradio said:
Reading the article it looks like they know something
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It's very telling that after 24 hours, no other media news site has picked up Inside Radio's story, or done one on their own.

Typically if anyone has a real story, everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Not this time.

I was always taught you need ''two sources.'' So far, they're the only one.
 
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I'm still not sure where the "story" is. The Inside Radio article was nothing more than some meaningless speculation (sort of like a radio message board) and a rehash of a year-old press release from Emmis.
 
luperm said:
I'm still not sure where the "story" is. The Inside Radio article was nothing more than some meaningless speculation (sort of like a radio message board) and a rehash of a year-old press release from Emmis.
Click to expand...

What people see is the headline, that says since a sale hasn't been announced, the station will likely play music when the current LMA ends.

The assumption is that if a sale isn't announced, that means they're having trouble selling. If that was the case, you'd see Jeff Smulyan doing interviews, the way Randy Michaels did interviews when he was trying to sell 101.9. We're not seeing that. Jeff hasn't done an interview since September. In that interview, he laid out why he's selling, and the options. Nothing has changed since September. Playing music does nothing to help achieve Smulyan's goal of selling the station. Hiring people means you're making a commitment, and Jeff isn't in radio for the long term anymore.
 
Realistically, there are only three temporary options available to 98.7 as of this moment, barring an outright sale/LMA to an unknown entity.

Otherwise, come Sept. 1, 98.7 will...
1) simulcast WLIB;
2) run a satellite-delivered music service; or
3) continue running ESPN Radio–but simulcasting WEPN 1050 (it's possible that Emmis and Good Karma could work out a short-term deal to make that happen).

Also, expect new call letters sooner rather than later. They probably would have to relinquish WEPN-FM after Aug. 31 as well.
 
Rollo-Smokes said:
Also, expect new call letters sooner rather than later. They probably would have to relinquish WEPN-FM after Aug. 31 as well.
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Correct. The letters belong to Good Karma. Why didn't the Inside Radio article mention that?

The thing most people don't understand is that Emmis no longer owns any other stations. They sold their corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. WLIB operates in a closet at Mediaco. No other company facilities, other than the transmitter.
 
TheBigA said:
The thing most people don't understand is that Emmis no longer owns any other stations. They sold their corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. WLIB operates in a closet at Mediaco. No other company facilities, other than the transmitter.
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Did they ever sell off WFNI 1070? It seems like that station still exists despite losing their transmitter and the license not being sold to Radio One.
 
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