Any predictions after the first of the year? I have a gut feeling something will happen.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Predictions
- Thread starter charles1234
- Start date
Guesses for sometime in 2024...
- Following the recent trends of jettisoning long-tenured (expensive) talent in markets across the country, more well-known personalities will "exit" their stations.
- After being in the rumor mill for a long time, Salem will finally spin-off KWRD-FM.
- EMF finally figured out a way to get K-Love on better signal than as a HD2 on a rimshot.
- LMN decides to actually program KFZO.
- Someone on this board will predict KEGL will change formats.
I have not heard this rumor. KWRD-FM is one of Salem's top five stations in their core Christian Teaching and Talk format. It also happens to be in the largest single evangelical market in the country and where their headquarters is located (least according to SEC filings). Where is the KWRD programming going to go if 100.7 is sold off? 620? Seems unlikely that there is a buyer willing to pay a premium for that signal that would to great to pass.
I think the most likely landing spot for K-Love in Cedar Hill eventually is either 94.9 (or maybe even 90.9). Neither are being actively shopped right now that I am aware of... but long-term I think Salem is going to get out of the Christian music business entirely.
I have no insider knowledge...it had been the subject of rumors in the past. Purely a guess at 2024 predictions as Salem has been losing money, been long delisted off the stock exchange, etc....and it has been more seller of property and stations in the last two years as a result. It unloaded similarly formatted WGTK 94.5 as well as the other stations in its upstate South Carolina cluster a year ago to EMF as part of the sales; it also unloaded stations in Sacramento and Tampa, sold off its church products division, and some real estate. So, it is not hard to envision they sell off other stations in 2024 to continue servicing its outstanding debt.
KWRD's programming started on AM -- KDFX 1190. CBS/Infinity, needing to unload stations to get under the market cap at the time, spun off KEWS 94.9 to Salem in exchange for KDFX. KDFX was essentially re-launched as KWRD on 94.9 in 1997.
When in doubt, there will be not be any major changes. You won’t be 100% right following that rule, of course, but you will be right at least 90% of the time. Batting .900+ is incredibly good.
You could have Salem lock, stock, and barrel for the right price, or so I've heard. The right price, of course, wouldn’t be the current stock price. Those who hold it aren’t going to let their investments go for pennies on the dollar. Before it bought Citadel, Cumulus offered Salem about $1 billion for the company, which was promptly rejected. That's probably about what they'd take for the whole company today. I don’t see anybody offering that in the near future, but it's theoretically on the table.
I hadn’t heard the latter part of that. I knew it had sold the building, but I was under the impression it was still headquartered in Camarillo, CA.
Salem would let any property go for the right price. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don’t see EMF buying KLTY, at least not anytime soon, because EMF pays stick value. KLTY would seem to be worth more than the price per head in its listening area. Granted, Star has put a dent in it, but KLTY is still a top performer in the market and still does well with 25-54 women. If you’re staying in the market and don’t want competition or are otherwise under the gun to sell, such as to remain under ownership caps, taking stick value could make sense. Unless Salem's harder pressed for cash than we think it is, KLTY wouldn’t seem to fit either of those profiles.
If EMF is willing to consider putting K-Love as a primary signal on a rimshot, one logical outcome is for them to buy KWRD-FM. The 100.7 signal is pretty strong in the north suburbs.
They seem to be holding out for a Cedar Hill stick...as a non-comm, it is about maximizing the number of people covered.
When they reached the deal with Audacy on the Memphis and Buffalo signals and the KLUV IP, Lance had mentioned in a post that EMF and Audacy had talked about a bigger deal that would have given them KJKK here (https://radiodiscussions.com/thread...d-jack-fm-is-4-in-dallas.772518/#post-6740185).
Looks like Salem was worse off than we, or at least I, thought it was.
radioinsight.com
Salem Media Group Sells Seven Stations To EMF; Repays All Debt With New Investor
Salem Media Group has announced a series of transactions that will pay off all of the company's debt including the sale of seven of their Christian AC stations to Educational Media Foundation.
radioinsight.com
I did not expect to see this prediction validated in only nine days.
Watch the frequencies in all the markets where the CCM formata are performing, take a dive.
- Status