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Radio Disney to Sell All But One of its Radio Properties
- Thread starter rtetro
- Start date
It seems likely that it will be approved, and relocated. Otherwise, why would they have bought it?
The Hispanic population in Philadelphia is very small, and a large part is Puerto Rican where the first generation migrants are quite old now and the second generation is bilingual or totally English dominant.
Once the FM is moved in and activated, there will be little interest in Spanish language on AM as is the case everywhere else in the US when an FM has done a mass appeal Spanish language format.
I want to see Julius buy it so he can't FINALLY have a station he can listen to.
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FredLeonard
Guest
Here's the format:
Hannity in PM drive.
All post season games (in all sports) in which Philadelphia teams are NOT involved.
Detailed weather reports for each county in the region (whether the station can be received there or not).
Lots of old airchecks from WCAU.
Don't forget the promotional campaign: an entirely new :30 repeated in every stopset each day. Oh, not promoting his own station, no... they'd just be constant attacks on WPHT and KYW.
Well if they are able to do that then you are 100% right no one will listen to AM Spanish. Also 640 is a little spotty in a few areas and at night is crap. I don't see a lot of people interested in this station.
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FredLeonard
Guest
True enough. This station, like many Disney stations, was struggling pre-Disney and this one even went silent for a time.
Funny that Disney does not get the kind of cheap shot comments that Air America Radio did on these boards when they shut down.
No, not funny at all.
For one thing, Radio Disney isn't "shutting down." It's simply doing what it should have done sooner-- shedding soon-to-be-worthless properties while continuing to crank out content the masses crave.
And the masses do crave almost anything Disney. That could never be said for Air America, an organization founded on ideology rather than business sense. (Perhaps if it had been created as a non-profit?)
Plus, almost nothing Disney (the brand, not necessarily the corporation) does is or has ever been as polarizing as the programming that spewed from Air America and its even-lesser heard copycats. To be fair, the same could be said for neo-con right-wing shows. Many of which, coincidentally aired for years on Disney- (the corporation) owned stations.
The story of pre-Disney WWJZ is a fascinating, albeit sad one. I have a feeling the station's story, post-Disney will be much less interesting.
For one thing, Radio Disney isn't "shutting down." It's simply doing what it should have done sooner-- shedding soon-to-be-worthless properties while continuing to crank out content the masses crave.
And the masses do crave almost anything Disney. That could never be said for Air America, an organization founded on ideology rather than business sense. (Perhaps if it had been created as a non-profit?)
Plus, almost nothing Disney (the brand, not necessarily the corporation) does is or has ever been as polarizing as the programming that spewed from Air America and its even-lesser heard copycats. To be fair, the same could be said for neo-con right-wing shows. Many of which, coincidentally aired for years on Disney- (the corporation) owned stations.
The story of pre-Disney WWJZ is a fascinating, albeit sad one. I have a feeling the station's story, post-Disney will be much less interesting.
A lot of the signal, especially at night, is in the pine barrens. Yet, so many directional stations on the coasts send an absurd amount of their power into the drink anyway.
But in the day, the station is unavoidable in most of the Jersey Shore. A few times I've mentioned taking them all the way from Lindenhurst on Long Island's south shore to Pottsville PA via I-78 off an average car radio. So they get up north a ways. And with that southeast tongue toward Atlantic City, the signal is somewhat comparable to that of 101.5 in area. It would be nice to see the facility become Garden State-centric.
The curator of another message board doesn't feel as though WWJZ is likely to be considered that desirable, though.
(Great post on those Connecticut stations, Marc B , incidentally).
But in the day, the station is unavoidable in most of the Jersey Shore. A few times I've mentioned taking them all the way from Lindenhurst on Long Island's south shore to Pottsville PA via I-78 off an average car radio. So they get up north a ways. And with that southeast tongue toward Atlantic City, the signal is somewhat comparable to that of 101.5 in area. It would be nice to see the facility become Garden State-centric.
The curator of another message board doesn't feel as though WWJZ is likely to be considered that desirable, though.
(Great post on those Connecticut stations, Marc B , incidentally).
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FredLeonard
Guest
If the masses "crave" Radio Disney, how come they never got numbers?
Most Disney owned properties - ABC, ESPN, Touchstone - don't carry the "Disney brand." Disney pictures have had more than their share of bombs. People want to forget that company was in bad shape for a time. And Disney mostly bailed on radio - all but ESPN and Radio Disney - long before this. And that includes all their right-wing talk shows and stations. Now ESPN is all that's left.
Fred- I never said they craved "Radio Disney." Just "almost anything Disney." Hedge words are my friend.
And yes, Radio Disney was much more popular among the little ones than anything ARB would have indicated. To answer your direct question, the service didn't get numbers because as Mark Ramsay said over the weekend AM radio hasn't been relevant to juveniles since 1975.
They were listening on XM/Sirius, and to a lesser-but-growing extent, online. As you're well-aware, the numbers we love to talk about here don't include satellite radio. And except under very rare cases (another story for another thread), of course they don't include online.
That's why the ridiculously popular Disney brand's radio service didn't get ratings numbers.
Sure, not every Disney flick is going to set records. And of course the company isn't going to slap the famous Disney logo all over an adult-themed Touchstone pic, Monday Night Football, or for that matter Channel 6's Action "News." But my point about the masses came down to this: put a hundred kids aged six through twelve in a room and ask them to name a dozen Disney characters or movies. Then, ask them to name a dozen AM radio stations. Or, for that matter, one. (And in a few years, we'll repeat the process with FM.) I'd rather be Disney than Radio. And that, to paraphrase the great Julius May, is something I think we can all agree on.
And yes, Radio Disney was much more popular among the little ones than anything ARB would have indicated. To answer your direct question, the service didn't get numbers because as Mark Ramsay said over the weekend AM radio hasn't been relevant to juveniles since 1975.
They were listening on XM/Sirius, and to a lesser-but-growing extent, online. As you're well-aware, the numbers we love to talk about here don't include satellite radio. And except under very rare cases (another story for another thread), of course they don't include online.
That's why the ridiculously popular Disney brand's radio service didn't get ratings numbers.
Sure, not every Disney flick is going to set records. And of course the company isn't going to slap the famous Disney logo all over an adult-themed Touchstone pic, Monday Night Football, or for that matter Channel 6's Action "News." But my point about the masses came down to this: put a hundred kids aged six through twelve in a room and ask them to name a dozen Disney characters or movies. Then, ask them to name a dozen AM radio stations. Or, for that matter, one. (And in a few years, we'll repeat the process with FM.) I'd rather be Disney than Radio. And that, to paraphrase the great Julius May, is something I think we can all agree on.
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FredLeonard
Guest
I did not intend to "hedge" your words. And I miss seeing your regular comments here.
I'm not sure that the Disney name triggers cravings, nor does any brand. But it does help any entertainment vehicle to which it's attached. Beyond that, I agree. Well, maybe in 1975 kids still would listen to for school closings. But kids in school then have left or are about to leave the money demos.
As discussed earlier, Disney went from playing kids' music to playing G-rated CHR. And the Disney channel went from running old Disney shows and movies, and newer shows in the same vein to being more like a G-rated MTV. Not sure how well the Disney brand fits either. When a company tries to stretch a brand - or change - they often end up killing it. Disney is Zip A De Do Da, not what Radio Disney and the Disney channel play.
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Unregistered
Guest
Check the numbers for Disney Channel (and its spin-offs) and it becomes quite clear they did not kill it. Quite the contrary--a well-executed evolution of the brand to remain relevant to the core audiences (regardless of whether that fits one's preconceived notions).
Thank you, Fred. I miss commenting. Sadly, there's really not all that much to talk about most of the time. When many of the best threads start with a Julius May "WPHT Sucks" rant, you know the industry's in trouble.
I love hedge words. They allow me to make what appear to be definitive statements with authority, all the while leaving myself "an out" just in case someone successfully challenges me. I've become a message board weasel. I learned it from modern day broadcast "news."
I love hedge words. They allow me to make what appear to be definitive statements with authority, all the while leaving myself "an out" just in case someone successfully challenges me. I've become a message board weasel. I learned it from modern day broadcast "news."
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FredLeonard
Guest
There have been several stations that have been the object of W*** Sucks rants over the years. WCOJ Sucks, WILM Sucks.... The sad part is "sucks" is the final stop before oblivion. When people stop talking about a station, even on a radio board, it is dead.
Disney wasn't peddling in hate speech or stealing money from charities. It's just a niche format that didn't make enough money.
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FredLeonard
Guest
Pay attention: I was speaking of the ABC owned talk stations which Disney sold to Cumulus.
Doubtless, the desired value of each of the two dozen stations, past and present, has been under a Disney magnifying glass for some time.
As well as the * total * value for the lot.
I'm suggesting that Disney might be looking toward one total figure as a priority, like a fund-drive goal, rather than haggle about each station in each market.
No one company is likely to buy all the stations, not with all those AM towers and electricity going out to presently non-existent audiences. Someone (EWTN?) might be interested in a handful.
And once that one lump-figure is met (or approached within sensible comfort) on the tally pole, irrespective of individual buyers, Disney hands in the licenses that go unsold.
Anyone here with some round figures as to the 2014 book value of each of the items in the used-car lot? What they would go for? Or at least a rough guess on what the bigger stations will sell for?
(It's ironic that a company originally to've had the vision to put music for young people on a certain radio dial, long before most modern entertainment devices were available, might indeed be taking the first measures that finish off the AM radio dial for good).
As well as the * total * value for the lot.
I'm suggesting that Disney might be looking toward one total figure as a priority, like a fund-drive goal, rather than haggle about each station in each market.
No one company is likely to buy all the stations, not with all those AM towers and electricity going out to presently non-existent audiences. Someone (EWTN?) might be interested in a handful.
And once that one lump-figure is met (or approached within sensible comfort) on the tally pole, irrespective of individual buyers, Disney hands in the licenses that go unsold.
Anyone here with some round figures as to the 2014 book value of each of the items in the used-car lot? What they would go for? Or at least a rough guess on what the bigger stations will sell for?
(It's ironic that a company originally to've had the vision to put music for young people on a certain radio dial, long before most modern entertainment devices were available, might indeed be taking the first measures that finish off the AM radio dial for good).
No nice round figure for the whole batch, but when this news first broke, I did a couple of searches to satisfy my own questions about what AMs currently go for.
Last AM to be sold in Philly: 950 AM. Price: $8 million. However, 950 has a far superior nighttime signal to 640.
AMs have been sold more recently in similarly sized markets of Dallas and Houston. Price: $1 million to $2 million.
Disney purchased WQEW NY alone for $40 million. I wonder if Disney will get that much for all the stations it's able to sell.
Last AM to be sold in Philly: 950 AM. Price: $8 million. However, 950 has a far superior nighttime signal to 640.
AMs have been sold more recently in similarly sized markets of Dallas and Houston. Price: $1 million to $2 million.
Disney purchased WQEW NY alone for $40 million. I wonder if Disney will get that much for all the stations it's able to sell.
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