"Please change your radio dial now to 98.7 FM"

[MN Maniac]

That's great IF you can HEAR 98.7. But what about the LARGE portion of 100.3's coverage area that can NOT hear 98.7 clearly?

This is going to be fun to watch!

 

[boogiecheck]

As someone who "likes" The Phil Williams Show and is "friends" with Dave Foulk on Facebook I can tell you that most of
the comments on their pages are people complaining about not being able to hear 98.7's signal. One person is even in Wartburg!

I tell ya, this is going to go down as the the single biggest blunder in Knoxville radio history, sending the WHIG debacle straight to #2.

 

[BillBattle]

Did not simulcast very long.

 

[secondchoice]

As someone who "likes" The Phil Williams Show and is "friends" with Dave Foulk on Facebook I can tell you that most of
the comments on their pages are people complaining about not being able to hear 98.7's signal. One person is even in Wartburg!

I tell ya, this is going to go down as the the single biggest blunder in Knoxville radio history, sending the WHIG debacle straight to #2.

What was the WHIG debacle? I can think of several screwups. I do not recall WHIG.

 

[gr8oldies]

Saw all of the Facebook comments. It ain't pretty. I suppose Citadel wants to flush as much of the audience as possible rather than handing it to Pirkle on a silver platter Aug 2.

 

[BillBattle]

They are serving the community.

 

[Apollo7979]

Gr8's comments on the decision to end the simulcast is probably correct. Afterall, there's still a dispute over who gets the calls and name (that is, unless that's already been resolved).

I can't comment on reception in offices or homes before the move to 100.3 since I only listened to these stations in the car while passing through Knoxville, but I'm assuming the 98.7 signal is probably stronger in the city than WNOX's first home at 99.1.

I suppose a lot of listeners got spoiled with that monster signal on 100.3.

By the way, is the Newstalk 100 logo part of the mess between Citadel and Pirkle? The new logo for Newstalk 98.7 looks kind of thrown together.

 

[trapper12]

Tried to listen to 98.7 today. One thing for sure. Unless Citadel plans on doing some major major signal upgrades HHH and company are not going to be on the big talker anymore. More like a little wimper.

 

[MurvleJumpUp]

I KNOW WHAT THE WHIG THING WAS I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW! LOL

 

[RMarino]

Please change your radio dial now to 98.7 FM

Brilliant move. Those who are paying attention, you know that July is the first month of the Summer Arbitron book. Citadel is helping Pirkle achieve a 0.0 for the month of July on 100.3 which will be 33% of the Summer book.

Of course that will probably be the only time I will use the words "brilliant" and "Citadel" in the same paragraph.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

I KNOW WHAT THE WHIG THING WAS I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW! LOL

Very closely associated with Bob Savage and, was it Becky Lynn?

I think I have a cheap plastic and foam WHIG can coozy hiding somewhere in a box in the garage...

 

[Fiveahead]

Please change your radio dial now to 98.7 FM

Brilliant move. Those who are paying attention, you know that July is the first month of the Summer Arbitron book. Citadel is helping Pirkle achieve a 0.0 for the month of July on 100.3 which will be 33% of the Summer book.

Of course that will probably be the only time I will use the words "brilliant" and "Citadel" in the same paragraph.

Brilliant? Really? You mean you aren't wondering to yourself, "who in the heck is in charge over there and why hasn't someone stormed the castle and stopped them?"

This is the latest in a long string of "THE WORLD'S DUMBEST BUSINESS DECISIONS BY CITADEL KNOXVILLE".

Let's think about it for a moment. They run off all the listeners (or so they think) causing the station to generate a big fat zero for the last portion of the month. So when everyone tunes back in on 8/1, and they will because I'm sure there will be billboards, tv ads, face painting, pony rides, hot air balloon rides and even frozen turkeys dropped from choppers all the ratings will be 100% theirs and not from "previous programming"

Citadel is screwed.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

Pirkle still owns the transmitter and the tower. He probably pays the light bill, too. I wonder if there's going to be a 'power failure' anytime soon? Wouldn't that also eliminate the off-the-air quarter hours from the book?

I'm also thinking that Citadel cut its nose off to spite its face. One of the young'uns at another station said he was getting phone calls from new (to him) advertisers (previously on 100.3) that said they suddenly had 'extra money' for July.

I wonder what it's like to be a fly on the wall at Old Kingston Pike this week. It's a building full of people with a corporate gun to their heads. Maybe they should see if the bankruptcy court voided their no-competes with the same pen stroke that doomed them.

 

[RMarino]

Let's think about it for a moment. They run off all the listeners (or so they think) causing the station to generate a big fat zero for the last portion of the month. So when everyone tunes back in on 8/1, and they will because I'm sure there will be billboards, tv ads, face painting, pony rides, hot air balloon rides and even frozen turkeys dropped from choppers all the ratings will be 100% theirs and not from "previous programming"

Citadel is screwed.

You're thinking long-term, and yes they are screwed. I was throwing Citadel a bone and giving them credit for something that will help 98.7 possibly win the Summer Arb. Beyond that, yes I see no hope.

 

[jmtillery]

On the surface it would make perfect business sense that when Citadel entered into a Time Brokerage Agreement with John Pirkle, that said TBA would have also included an option to purchase the 100.3 frequency at a pre-determined acquisition price based on any number of factors agreed upon by the two enities involved - Citadel Media and John Pirkle. But, again, this scenario makes sense on the surface, with the word "Surface" being the operative word.

In truth and reality none of us knows the exact agreement Citadel had/has with Mr. Pirkle, nor why Citadel agreed to ONLY TBA 100.3 for 5-years without, at least, an option to extend the TBA period. Citadel may very well have had these options in place, but for reasons known to none of us, Citadel may have chosen not to excercise said options because this latter option currently being exercised is the best option although, again, on the surface, it makes little, if any, business sense to the general public.

There can be many underlying reasons, not seen by the rest of us on the surface, why such an arrangment would have great advantages. Hence, the reason this arrangement was agreed upon between Citadel and Mr. Pirkle.

 

[jetfli]

On the surface it would make perfect business sense that when Citadel entered into a Time Brokerage Agreement with John Pirkle, that said TBA would have also included an option to purchase the 100.3 frequency at a pre-determined acquisition price based on any number of factors agreed upon by the two enities involved ... In truth and reality none of us knows the exact agreement Citadel had/has with Mr. Pirkle, nor why Citadel agreed to ONLY TBA 100.3 for 5-years without, at least, an option to extend the TBA period.

Yes, of course their were options, but the options became moot. And, while it is often common for an LMA to include an "option to purchase," in this case, the owner of the freq had no intention of selling. This LMA, though, could more likely have included a "first right of refusal" clause, meaning Citadel may have had the first call on whether to buy or not should the station become available for sale. But it hasn't been available.

Let's don't forget how/why this mess happened: (1) Citadel declared bankruptcy, (2) Citadel did not have to pay the lease during the bankruptcy period and didn't, and (3) Pirkle enacted his right to take 100.3 back because the lease wasn't being paid. And it should be further clear that no one at the Knoxville cluster made the decision to give up 100.3.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

On the surface it would make perfect business sense that when Citadel entered into a Time Brokerage Agreement with John Pirkle, that said TBA would have also included an option to purchase the 100.3 frequency at a pre-determined acquisition price based on any number of factors agreed upon by the two enities involved ... In truth and reality none of us knows the exact agreement Citadel had/has with Mr. Pirkle, nor why Citadel agreed to ONLY TBA 100.3 for 5-years without, at least, an option to extend the TBA period.

Yes, of course their were options, but the options became moot. And, while it is often common for an LMA to include an "option to purchase," in this case, the owner of the freq had no intention of selling. This LMA, though, could more likely have included a "first right of refusal" clause, meaning Citadel may have had the first call on whether to buy or not should the station become available for sale. But it hasn't been available.

Let's don't forget how/why this mess happened: (1) Citadel declared bankruptcy, (2) Citadel did not have to pay the lease during the bankruptcy period and didn't, and (3) Pirkle enacted his right to take 100.3 back because the lease wasn't being paid. And it should be further clear that no one at the Knoxville cluster made the decision to give up 100.3.

And the people responsible for the mess are sitting by a pool somewhere with little umbrella drinks while a building full of people many miles away are left to clean the splatter off the walls. Note to Citadel corporate: It ought to be the other way around. You guys burned a lot of people so you could continue to live comfortably. Please move to Knoxville. There's a Lane Kiffin-style welcome for you here.

 

[Fiveahead]

I wonder what it's like to be a fly on the wall at Old Kingston Pike this week. It's a building full of people with a corporate gun to their heads. Maybe they should see if the bankruptcy court voided their no-competes with the same pen stroke that doomed them.

It's hectic. Everyone is looking for other options and some of them are even waiting for the axe to fall. On Hammond.

Let's think about it for a moment. They run off all the listeners (or so they think) causing the station to generate a big fat zero for the last portion of the month. So when everyone tunes back in on 8/1, and they will because I'm sure there will be billboards, tv ads, face painting, pony rides, hot air balloon rides and even frozen turkeys dropped from choppers all the ratings will be 100% theirs and not from "previous programming"

Citadel is screwed.

You're thinking long-term, and yes they are screwed. I was throwing Citadel a bone and giving them credit for something that will help 98.7 possibly win the Summer Arb. Beyond that, yes I see no hope.

There are two things that might happen, First thing, Citadel gets de-listed. Yep. Didn't think about that did ya? Neither did they. How would that help them? Second, WNOX (100.3) still comes out with a 7+ and it's all theirs while 98.7 comes out with a 1.5 or at least a 2.0. They're still screwed. Citadel hasn't one anything but the chance to go down in history as one of the dumbest broadcasting companies to grace the Knoxville market.

On the surface it would make perfect business sense that when Citadel entered into a Time Brokerage Agreement with John Pirkle, that said TBA would have also included an option to purchase the 100.3 frequency at a pre-determined acquisition price based on any number of factors agreed upon by the two enities involved - Citadel Media and John Pirkle. But, again, this scenario makes sense on the surface, with the word "Surface" being the operative word.

In truth and reality none of us knows the exact agreement Citadel had/has with Mr. Pirkle, nor why Citadel agreed to ONLY TBA 100.3 for 5-years without, at least, an option to extend the TBA period. Citadel may very well have had these options in place, but for reasons known to none of us, Citadel may have chosen not to excercise said options because this latter option currently being exercised is the best option although, again, on the surface, it makes little, if any, business sense to the general public.

There can be many underlying reasons, not seen by the rest of us on the surface, why such an arrangment would have great advantages. Hence, the reason this arrangement was agreed upon between Citadel and Mr. Pirkle.

The agreement is public record. It's even on the internet and in the "Public File" on Old Kingston Pike. I've read it and I know several other posters have read it too. There were no provisions for Citadel to purchase the station other than the right to first refusal if someone else came forward with a big old bag of money. Like I've said, we're not dealing with smart people here when we talk about Citadel.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Well I talked to Pirkle on FB the other day, and while I cant say everything out of respect, he did indeed tell me that 100.3 is going to continue with Talk, He didnt go into detail about who gets the WNOX or WOKI calls, or what shows each station would get, but one thing is for sure, 100.3 isnt going Country, CHR or Classic Hits, or any other music format.. Sad but true, but with radio being a bussiness, and with 100.3 being a proven format leader with talk, If I was John and wanted to make money, I would do the same, as much as I want I-100 to come back, their really isnt room for another chr,,, you got 102.1 for the pop, 104.5 for the hip hop, and 106.1 for Adult top 40, and then several country stations, and then Jack FM for Classic Hits, B-97.5 for AC and Classc hits... Its really the only format hole unless he went with Rhythmic AC or Urban AC, which wouldnt make any sense given the heavily rural conservative areas the signal covers.

So like I said, for nostalgia reason's I would love for them to do a music format again, but if I wanted to make money, I would leave it be.

 

[secondchoice]

Dumb Citadel:

Citadel buying ABC radio. IIRC they paid over 10X positive cash flow. ABC radio really did not have “large” clusters. I personally consider 3+ or more good signals in a market a large cluster. I have to give CC credit for having 4 of the top 6 12+rated stations in New York, and 3 or the top 5 12+ rated stations in L.A. Now ABC had some tremendous heritage properties but not really a lot large clusters in the top markets. Most were old AM/FM combo that was part of an O & O TV operation. I can understand why Disney spun off their radio operations. If ABC was going to “play” they should have been acquiring radio properties and building large clusters.

May be not so dumb Citadel:

What I really can’t understand why Citadel is getting free pass with WIVK. Even with a 10% performance tax some time in the future music radio is cheaper to run than a News/ Talk operation. Does any body know how much 107.7 brings in? If Citadel bombs in news talk, they will be able to cut a lot of “expense”. People are just expenses to an operation like Citadel. Citadel will still have the #1 grossing station in Knoxville with a lot less overhead. Was 100.3 bringing in enough to cover expenses pay the rent on 100.3? If Citadel was losing “cash” on the deal then Citadel is not as “dumb” as many think.


Just a side thought, will this affect the EAS system in the area? Is 100.3 a “primary” or originator station?