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No Sale Looming, ESPN 98.7 expected to pivot to Music

Theater of My Mind said:
Alternative hater is a guy stuck in the past running an 80s format. Sorry but there are more successful alternative stations than all-80s stations on the air so consider the source.
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Success is in the eye of the station owner. We're sold out 90% of the time. The station owner is completely happy and I have a long-term services agreement to program the station. I define that as success.

I also do not hate Alternative; my posts have been based upon the lackluster performance of that format in NYC in the past. I simply do not believe it to be a viable programming option, and I sincerely doubt that whoever buys 98.7 will have a different opinion.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Alternative hater is a guy stuck in the past running an 80s format. Sorry but there are more successful alternative stations than all-80s stations on the air so consider the source.
Click to expand...
I'm starting to understand what might be going on here!! This guy is being so anti-alternative is because he's launching HIS OWN 80s station on 98.7, which is already on the air in Albuquerque!! K.M. Richards Programming Services
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Alternative hater is a guy stuck in the past running an 80s format. Sorry but there are more successful alternative stations than all-80s stations on the air so consider the source.
Click to expand...
In this case, with the "mystery Emmis station in NYC" in question, we have ample evidence that alternative rock is not going to be a likely consideration for whomever or whatever ends up owning this station.

This format, alternative rock, has been amply researched, and has many problems starting with having polarized and incompatible subsets that make any approach on OTA radio unlikely to succeed.

Running an 80's format that generates ample sales and profits for its owner is hardly "stuck in the past" any more than the listeners who like that music more than more recent material are.

And the few truly successful alternative stations tend to also play mostly material that is 20 to 35 years old, so your date "point of rejection" is not well founded.

Oh, and as a point of reference, nearly all 80's music KRTH in LA gets better sales demo shares than the combined shares of the two alternative stations. And the mostly 80's NYC station, WCBS-FM, is doing marvelously while all attempts at alternative there have failed... the latest one now being all-news.
 
NYRadioFan22 said:
I'm starting to understand what might be going on here!! This guy is being so anti-alternative is because he's launching HIS OWN 80s station on 98.7, which is already on the air in Albuquerque!! K.M. Richards Programming Services
Click to expand...
As a moderator here, I have swung back and forth about deleting this post as an ad hominum. However, your statement is a good opportunity to discuss the relative success and failure of two formats, alternative and 80's or "classic hits" (which is almost entirely 80's today) so I have left it until Lance decides otherwise.

And I thoroughly dismiss the idea that an owner who is engaged in selling the station would introduce any type of syndicated format in New York while trying to put a deal together. That accusation is about as tangible as a fart.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Alternative hater is a guy stuck in the past running an 80s format. Sorry but there are more successful alternative stations than all-80s stations on the air so consider the source.
Click to expand...

NYRadioFan22 said:
I'm starting to understand what might be going on here!! This guy is being so anti-alternative is because he's launching HIS OWN 80s station on 98.7, which is already on the air in Albuquerque!! K.M. Richards Programming Services
Click to expand...

Or an experienced programmer sharing his thoughts and at least putting his name behind his posts. You may see hater, I see someone simply sharing their decades of experience and giving answers to the hows and whys. As many of us have given their reasons in this thread, Alternative Rock has NEVER worked in New York and it definitely won't work now.
 
luperm said:
Maybe Bloomberg gets involved with 98.7. Use their resources and existing businesses content as a base and pick up some WCBS alumni to give it some NY focus. Since anything is possible…
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Great point. Given the recent announcement in Boston, it would not surprise me at all if they are at least investigating the possibility of purchasing 98.7.

Emmis is asking too much money for that signal, though, if they haven't moved off the $50 million asking price.
 
Rollo-Smokes said:
Here we go again...

Emmis is selling the station. Why would they make an investment in hiring a sales staff and voice talent to track? Where are they gonna find said talent? That's right, they don't own anything else, so they have no talent.

A placeholder format (I still think it will be a WLIB simulcast) will be in place on Sept. 1, unless something changes otherwise.
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There are plenty of freelancer voicetrackers out there. That part is not as difficult as you are suggesting. At the same time, it is very possible they could simply go with a format off the bird (e.g. one of Westwood One's music formats) or run the thing completely jockless.

Sales could conceivably be outsourced to one of the other operators in the region (presumably MediaCo).
 
MarkW said:
There are plenty of freelancer voicetrackers out there. It's not nearly as difficult as you are suggesting. At the same time, it is very possible they could simply go with a format off the bird (e.g. one of Westwood One's music formats) or run the thing completely jockless.
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Or have Rick Cummings have a bit of fun putting something together as an amusement. Rick and Jeff are not without a deep well of contacts in the business. Heck, if they asked me, a proud Emmis alumni, to put together a Spanish language "novelty" format I'd do it with enormous pleaser and as zero balance invoice.

I'd say that the vast majority of former Emmis programmers and managers and general staff loved working with them.
 
macattack said:
What I was saying is that it would be nice in general if Emmis announced their plans for the station.
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Seems to me they did last August. They intend to sell the station or do another LMA. Nowhere in the interview did Smulyan offer any contingency plan if the station didn't sell. He was very specific about his intentions, why he was doing it, and what the legal time frame was.

www.insideradio.com

Emmis Sets Course To Go Private, With Plans To Sell New York Radio Stations.

Emmis Corp. is proposing a plan that will, if shareholders approve, see CEO Jeff Smulyan achieve his long-desired goal of taking the company private while setting it up for a
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

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
 
Let's see, what formats did Emmis do in the past:

AC
Alternative
Urban
Urban AC
Gospel
Country
Rock
Talk
Oldies
CHR
Smooth Jazz
AAA
Sports
80s
Classic Rock
Adult Hits
Standards

Could be any of these. Emmis has programmed them all. For now, nobody knows til they launch it.
 
JeremyAndrews said:
Let's see, what formats did Emmis do in the past:

AC
Alternative
Urban
Urban AC
Gospel
Country
Rock
Talk
Oldies
CHR
Smooth Jazz
AAA
Sports
80s
Classic Rock
Adult Hits
Standards

Could be any of these. Emmis has programmed them all. For now, nobody knows til they launch it.
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Add Spanish language Rock on Mega in Buenos Aires which I had the privilege and thrill to program.

Of course, they were the creator of the whole all-sports concept at WFAN.
 
JeremyAndrews said:
Let's see, what formats did Emmis do in the past:

AC
Alternative
Urban
Urban AC
Gospel
Country
Rock
Talk
Oldies
CHR
Smooth Jazz
AAA
Sports
80s
Classic Rock
Adult Hits
Standards

Could be any of these. Emmis has programmed them all. For now, nobody knows til they launch it.
Click to expand...
Do you think they'd just relaunch Kiss FM? Who owned it before ESPN took over?
 
JeremyAndrews said:
Let's see, what formats did Emmis do in the past:

AC
Alternative
Urban
Urban AC
Gospel
Country
Rock
Talk
Oldies
CHR
Smooth Jazz
AAA
Sports
80s
Classic Rock
Adult Hits
Standards

Could be any of these. Emmis has programmed them all. For now, nobody knows til they launch it.
Click to expand...
Oldies and Standards are definitely not going to be the format. Too dated. Best options are CHR (although even Z100 is playing more throwback songs) CHR has seen better days and Adult Hits, it's a format that deserves a second chance. Last time there was Adult Hits, people simply wanted their Oldies station back.
 
NYRadioFan22 said:
I'm starting to understand what might be going on here!! This guy is being so anti-alternative is because he's launching HIS OWN 80s station on 98.7, which is already on the air in Albuquerque!! K.M. Richards Programming Services
Click to expand...

I do not own KRKE. I have a services agreement with the owner which calls for me to program 93.7 and consult the rest of his stations. Thank you for the plug ... we have been on the air there for a little under two years.

As for 98.7, I have no contacts at Emmis. If I did, yes, I would have pitched them on providing the interim programming. Who wouldn't?
 
K.M. Richards said:
As for 98.7, I have no contacts at Emmis. If I did, yes, I would have pitched them on providing the interim programming. Who wouldn't?
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Do you think a variant of all-80’s but blended with the AAA format would have a chance? AAA has a wide variety of music covered from modern soul to dirty rock and even some electronic music depending on the station. I know WFUV exists but it’s signal is weak and doesn’t cover the whole area. I’m wondering if the “world class rock” variant of AAA that covers classic rock and grunge golds in addition to the typical 80’s+indie AAA mix would have a shot in NYC.
 
NYRadioFan22 said:
Do you think they'd just relaunch Kiss FM? Who owned it before ESPN took over?
Click to expand...
I have had my disagreements with him, too. But he is definitely to be acknowledged for his efforts to document DX and internationalize radio.
 
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