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Pfuntner Pfunted

S

SirRoxalot

From today's "Taylor on Radio-Info":

In upstate New York, Pembrook Pines Mass Media is headed to receiver Dick Foreman, as a result of a court order on behalf of creditor Citizens and Northern Bank. Note that this isn’t Chapter 11 (reorganization) or Chapter 7 (liquidation). It's a request at the FCC to transfer control of the licensee of three stations around Elmira to a receiver. The owner of Pembrook is Robert J. Pfuntner, and here are the stations – Bath-licensed AC WVIN-FM (98.3) and sports WABH (1380), and Wellsville-licensed hot AC “Q93.5” WQRW.

Dick Foreman is a broker. Here's your chance to sink your retirement savings into broadcasting, and probably real estate. Sounds like the licenses are all you're likely to get.
 
Oh my god those stations (Bath & Hammonsport) are the first radio stations I worked at back in 1973. Walter Taylor owned them at that time.

Is the AM still a day-time operation?
 
Correct. In the late 1990s, they built a very closely spaced three-tower array right off 17/I-86 at the 415 exit south of town. The night signal covers town and not much more. Daytime power started out lower (2 kW?) and was bumped up to 10 kW later on. The old daytime tower was still standing up at the studio building when last I looked, but it's been a while.
 
If the station has ever operated at full authorized power, it hasn't done so for some time, and certainly not much in total since its much-delayed increase to 10kw. A "reliable source" reports that Pfuntner thought he could get into the Binghamton market with 10kw on 1380. (Yep.)

If you've got a format in mind that targets cows, trees and trout, 1380's just what you need.

Once you fix it so it actually works, that is. :p
 
Savage said:
If you've got a format in mind that targets cows, trees and trout, 1380's just what you need.
Click to expand...

Hey don't laugh. My audience for the FM station when I was on the air midnight to 8am consisted of a rabbit in the vineyards and a telephone operator.
If I had cows and trout my ratings would have been higher. 8)
 
Disclaimer... I worked for Pembroke Pines at WACK (Newark) back in the day (as Paul Warren chimes in ;D)

This thread at least entertains me....not TV comedy...but radio "behind the scenes"

I'll leave the prior posts to create the chuckles!! ;D

HDBG
 
I was working at both WVIN/WABH when they were both WVIN when Pfuntner first bought it doing nights. I think I was the first casualty of the sale. It's a shame to hear the stations when I go home to visit the folks, the format on the FM is all over the place, back in the 80's and early 90's we worked hard to have tight and fun shows. Well I hope the next owners make something of the stations.
 
Yup, looks like the owner wants to unload these properties because he took a bath on 'em. :D ;D ;) Hey now! Rim-shot cart: Gray Fidelipac with rattling metal tension bar, worn pads and gummy Dennison cart label.
 
JustPastBuffalo said:
Yup, looks like the owner wants to unload these properties because he took a bath on 'em. :D ;D ;) Hey now! Rim-shot cart: Gray Fidelipac with rattling metal tension bar, worn pads and gummy Dennison cart label.
Click to expand...

With that visual in my head, I'll be having cart-jamming nightmares tonight! ;D

Pfwump...pfwump...pfwump...yes that's my "bad bulk" sfx...pfwump...
 
gummy Dennison cart label.
Click to expand...
:D

Which is why we went to 1" transparent tape, applied under with a quick release dog-earl!!! At 59 cents per roll, it stayed off the balance sheet!! ;D
 
If memory serves me correctly doesn't Pfuntner owns (or did own) a car dealership?

If that is true then here is yet another perfect example of someone without prior experience in broadcasting buying up a cluster of radio stations like some people purchase antiques.

Thank you deregulation.

I liked it so much better when a station owner was limited to two stations per market, plus had to provide the FCC with documented proof that they could actually afford to keep a station on the air for the three year period the license was covered.

The late Walter Taylor had no prior experience in broadcasting, but he did allow his program directors (at least when I was there) some leeway when it came to the day-to-day operations of running both the AM in Bath and the FM in Hammondsport.
 
At WENE the "cart labelling system" consisted of an industrial-size dispenser of half-inch masking tape. You ripped off a hunk and hand-wrote the "cart label" on it.

Yes, Pfuntner's family had a Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth store in Wellsville. Down the road there's a collision shop; the owner has a pristine original Plymouth Satellite parked out front - I think it's a 1972. On the trunk lid there's a dealer badge; "PFUNTNER Wellsville, NY."

Wonder if the Keuka Maid had one of those?? :D
 
chas108 said:
With that visual in my head, I'll be having cart-jamming nightmares tonight! ;D Pfwump...pfwump...pfwump...yes that's my "bad bulk" sfx...pfwump...
Click to expand...
What the flux! Too much flux, not much Fun !
 
Savage said:
Yes, Pfuntner's family had a Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth store in Wellsville. Down the road there's a collision shop; the owner has a pristine original Plymouth Satellite parked out front - I think it's a 1972. On the trunk lid there's a dealer badge; "PFUNTNER Wellsville, NY."
Click to expand...

And they proudly displayed that Plymouth! That car was cherry! Shortly after Mr. Owebama's bailout of GM and Chrysler, I had heard that the Pfuntner dealership was forced to close, with the inventory of cars moved to a dealer in Hornell.
 
Mark_Giardina said:
If that is true then here is yet another perfect example of someone without prior experience in broadcasting buying up a cluster of radio stations like some people purchase antiques.
Click to expand...

Yep. It's so much better when second generation broadcasters like the Dickeys buy stations. Look what "prior experience in broadcasting" did for Randy Michaels and Gary Stevens. And Larry Wilson hasn't been a model for great ownership since he return from retirement.

Meanwhile Bill Paley was a cigar maker from Philadelphia. Experience never meant squat in radio ownership. Some of the best run radio stations were owned by people who just had a lot of money and no place to put it. And a lot of them, strangely enough, were car dealers.
 
Mark_Giardina said:
...yet another perfect example of someone without prior experience in broadcasting buying up a cluster of radio stations like some people purchase antiques...Thank you deregulation.
Click to expand...

Mark, Pfuntner owned stations when I worked at WACK in about 1979, well before dereg. He owned stations before Clear Channel existed. If anything, deregulation has made stations so expensive it's harder today to for an independent to put together a viable cluster.
 
n2wds said:
Savage said:
Yes, Pfuntner's family had a Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth store in Wellsville. Down the road there's a collision shop; the owner has a pristine original Plymouth Satellite parked out front - I think it's a 1972. On the trunk lid there's a dealer badge; "PFUNTNER Wellsville, NY."
Click to expand...

And they proudly displayed that Plymouth! That car was cherry! Shortly after Mr. Owebama's bailout of GM and Chrysler, I had heard that the Pfuntner dealership was forced to close, with the inventory of cars moved to a dealer in Hornell.
Click to expand...

'72 Satellite...Arthur Godfrey was Chrysler/Plymouth's spokesperson in those days. Couldn't find the Satellite ad where fire engines hose down the engine compartment to demonstrate the electronic ignition, so here's the Duster one where they cut the car in half...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxfzxUPCmOo

Trying to not get political, but there was no lack of suspicion regarding which ChryCo dealers closed and which stayed open. For example, an entire swath of them south of Pittsburgh were indiscriminately shuttered...seemingly regardless of performance, including one whose relationship with Dodge dated back to 1922, and the world's oldest Jeep dealer. Fortunately, some were eventually reopened.

TheBigA said:
Mark_Giardina said:
If that is true then here is yet another perfect example of someone without prior experience in broadcasting buying up a cluster of radio stations like some people purchase antiques.
Click to expand...

Yep. It's so much better when second generation broadcasters like the Dickeys buy stations. Look what "prior experience in broadcasting" did for Randy Michaels and Gary Stevens. And Larry Wilson hasn't been a model for great ownership since he return from retirement.

Meanwhile Bill Paley was a cigar maker from Philadelphia. Experience never meant squat in radio ownership. Some of the best run radio stations were owned by people who just had a lot of money and no place to put it. And a lot of them, strangely enough, were car dealers.
Click to expand...

I think it comes down to passion. But I think it's always been this way to some extent. Some purchase stations for whatever reason and then run them into the ground, others appreciate the medium and run their properties accordingly. I think ultimately, cheap is as cheap does. I imagine if the Dickeys ran car dealerships they'd act the same way.
 
Mark_Giardina said:
If memory serves me correctly doesn't Pfuntner owns (or did own) a car dealership? If that is true then here is yet another perfect example of someone without prior experience in broadcasting buying up a cluster of radio stations like some people purchase antiques. Thank you deregulation. I liked it so much better when a station owner was limited to two stations per market, plus had to provide the FCC with documented proof that they could actually afford to keep a station on the air for the three year period the license was covered.

The late Walter Taylor had no prior experience in broadcasting, but he did allow his program directors (at least when I was there) some leeway when it came to the day-to-day operations of running both the AM in Bath and the FM in Hammondsport.
Click to expand...

So, by your logic, it's OK if a wine baron owns a station or two, but not a car dealership. Bwuh? McLendon owned movie theaters and drive-ins. Mark the date and buy a lottery ticket. On this one, I agree with "A."
 
As mentioned on this board before, I'm originally from Bath. I grew up listening to WVIN AM/FM "The Spirit of Radio", and I remember their transition to WVIN/WABH when Pfuntner purchased the stations in 1990.

Who will acquire these stations is anyone's guess at this point. I believe the other two major players in the market, Backyard Broadcasting and the still fairly new Sound Communications, are at their market caps. So it's safe to assume a new owner will enter the market. Personally, I'd love to see some local investors from Bath purchase the stations, and bring them back under true local ownership. I'm not getting my hopes up, though.

As for Wellsville, perhaps the folks who own WLSV/WJQZ would be interested in adding WQRW to their holdings.

A bit of Wellsville radio nostalgia: WJQZ started out at 93.5 before moving up the dial to 103.5 in the early 90s, thus clearing the frequency for the future WQRW.
 
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