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Radio Disney to Sell All But One of its Radio Properties

R

rtetro

All Access just published a report that Radio Disney will be selling all of its radio properties, effective Sept 26 with the exception of KDIS in Los Angeles, which they will keep for network origination. This would include WWJZ, 640, in Mount Holly, if the terms of the article are correct.

Let the ownership and format rumors begin. :)
 
Is there a chance Standards could return, before they were bought by Disney and were operating with 1kw Omni from one of WIFI’s towers they had a good signal in the Philadelphia area both day and night, and they had decent ratings.
 
hangman said:
Is there a chance Standards could return, before they were bought by Disney and were operating with 1kw Omni from one of WIFI’s towers they had a good signal in the Philadelphia area both day and night, and they had decent ratings.
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Decent ratings? In what alternative universe? WPEN had decent ratings. 640 - never.

Write on the blackboard 100 times: "It's all about sales revenue - not ratings."
 
Will they drop them for any token amount, or does this assume they get reasonable offers for the stations? Not a lot of money chasing AM stations right now.
 
umfan said:
Not a lot of money chasing AM stations right now.
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Not a lot of money chasing any stations right now. The prices of stations have plummeted. In 1998 Marlin Broadcasting paid $20 Million for WCCC FM/AM in Hartford, Connecticut. At the end of July 2014 K-LOVE just bought the pair for $9.5 million. That does not even include the house their studios were located in on Asylum Avenue. It reportedly only sold for $9.5 because they outbid another company for it.

Also in Connecticut, Connoisseur Media just paid $7.9 million for WDRC-FM in Hartford and its 4 AM sister stations from Buckley. Between 96 ad 98 Buckley paid a total of close to $1.5 for 3 AMers which they used to simulcast their existing AMer. I don't know if they own the studio building on Blue Hills Ave in Bloomfield. The towers for the AM station is in the back.

Also in Connecticut. In 1992 Lucio Ruzzier Jr. paid $265,000 for a signal challenged high on the dial AM station (1550 AM) in Suburban Hartford. In 1998 he sold it to Hibernia for Radio Disney for over $1 million. In 2009 Radio Disney took it dark and then sold it to religious broadcaster Bill Blount for $500,000.

One more for Connecticut. In 1998 ADD Radio Group paid $850,000 for AM 990 which is 2,500 watts daytime/80 watts at night. In 2004 Davidson Media Group Paid $1.4 million. Someone I know inquired about buying the station from DMG in 2008 and they were told they could have it for $700,000. This station is located in-between the larger cities of Waterbury, Meriden, and Hartford.
 
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The biggest problem with WWJZ is their night signal. With 950W from Mount Holly, and a the majority of their signal shooting SE, they just barely cover NE Philly at night, with the majority of the city - and the western suburbs well outside their interference-free night contour. Now --- if they had built that CP in Montgomery County several years ago, then you'd have something. I don't think much has changed with the night allocation for WWJZ, so a new owner could apply again for an upgrade. But, and it is a BIG BUT, getting the site and zoning approval could be a major hurdle...which, if I remember correctly, is why it didn't get built before,
 
Probably yet another Spanish language format, doesn't anyone do English anymore, our mother language. Standards would fit nice on that frequency and it would fill the area the once dominant 1160 had with the older folk in Ocean County.
 
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hangman said:
Probably yet another Spanish language format, doesn't anyone do English anymore, our mother language. Standards would fit nice on that frequency and it would fill the area the once dominant 1160 had with the older folk in Ocean County.
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Not everybody's "mother language."

The idea that the station will go to ESPN Deportes under Greater Media (or anyone else) is pure speculation. Besides, if Disney wanted ESPN Deportes in this market or any other Radio Disney market that doesn't have it, why sell the stick? Just flip. (Hint: Disney also owns ESPN and did not sell ESPN radio when they unloaded ABC Radio.)
 
hangman said:
Probably yet another Spanish language format, doesn't anyone do English anymore, our mother language. Standards would fit nice on that frequency and it would fill the area the once dominant 1160 had with the older folk in Ocean County.
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The problem with standards is that the audience is almost all over 70 and can not be monetized.

The market is only around 5% Hispanic, so another station on AM, which Hispanics use very little... would be unsuccessful unless religious.
 
That still leaves of the possibility of brokered standards. There are some personalities previously associated with the late lamented WPEN or WIP. Some have done brokered shows on some rim-shots and weak sticks around the region. They have small but loyal groups of listeners and advertisers.

Stations dropped standards because owners figured they could make more money doing something else. Given the current decline of AM radio overall, maybe some owners will figure that, no, they can't make more money doing something else - at least not any more and standards could get another shot.

The older audience is not oblivious to the AM band and are more tolerant of static. Besides the frequency range of AM is just fine given the frequency range of older ears, and older recordings made for AM play.

Also an opportunity for rep firms who can effectively sell to funeral homes, Medicare supplement providers, drug companies, lawyers suing drug companies, alert gizmos, fiber supplements, travel companies, retirement communities ... all those companies spending money on Cozi, ME, Antenna, and the rest.

Same applies to Real/True Oldies.
 
Bill_W said:
If GM wanted to do that, wouldn't they have kept 950?
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GM doesn't have to have anything to do with it. Disney owns ESPN. They could keep the station and run ESPN Deportes or sell it and the buyer could decide to carry it.
 
SP447 said:
Noooo......sports in Spanish is of waste of time. They are better off playing music and competing against mega 1310 and el zol 1340. With that kind of signal they can destroy both stations in sales.
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Mega now has an FM translator, so an AM has little chance. The mega signal fully covers the bulk of the metro Hispanic population.
 
FredLeonard said:
GM doesn't have to have anything to do with it. Disney owns ESPN. They could keep the station and run ESPN Deportes or sell it and the buyer could decide to carry it.
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I believe the post speculated that GM could buy 640 from Disney. and here in Philly, wasn't GM owned WPEN known as 950 ESPN? and doesn't the Fanatic run ESPN programming? so GM must have licensed ESPN radio here in Philly from Disney.

My point was if GM wanted to put ESPN Deportes radio on in Philly (with Disney's permission), GM would not have sold 950.
 
Bill_W said:
I believe the post speculated that GM could buy 640 from Disney. and here in Philly, wasn't GM owned WPEN known as 950 ESPN? and doesn't the Fanatic run ESPN programming? so GM must have licensed ESPN radio here in Philly from Disney.

My point was if GM wanted to put ESPN Deportes radio on in Philly (with Disney's permission), GM would not have sold 950.
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The Fanatic is an ESPN affiliate, not an ESPN Deportes affiliate. They probably do not have an interest in ESPN Deportes on 640 but they have no basis for preventing anybody else from affiliating carrying it.
 
They do but is not been approved by the fcc. All they did was a proposal to move the antenna from Trenton to Camden.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Mega now has an FM translator, so an AM has little chance. The mega signal fully covers the bulk of the metro Hispanic population.
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They do but it hasn't been approved yet by the fcc. All they did was submit a proposal to move the antenna from Trenton to Camden. So in the mean time all they have is a little fm signal up in Trenton.
 
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