At this point, I don't think most GSMs care what advertisers are selling. Beggers can't be choosers.
-
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
Salem Media Group
- Thread starter Radio-Bored-Op
- Start date
As long as the check clears, or the ACH transfer goes through, dollars are dollars.
It’s a non radio property but they announced the pending sale of Salem Church Products for $30 million ($22.5 million in cash and a $7.5 million note).
The deal was announced October 4th and was supposed to close November1. The best I can tell, it hasn’t closed yet.
The deal was announced October 4th and was supposed to close November1. The best I can tell, it hasn’t closed yet.
That's true, but it's not like what used to be considered the 'advertising bottom feeders' are banging down the door of radio stations these days. AE's are saying a little prayer every night that they can uncover more than a thirty-day contract from someone willing to pay even close to rate card.
My point was that it's not a crippled rimshot. As I've said elsewhere, coverage is a necessary but not sufficient condition (for success||survival||other objectives).
Whether prevailing stick values are such that Salem could do well selling that FM is a whole other question. Certainly it wouldn't fetch the price that it would have even five years ago.
Cash flow potential, however, is better on FM signals that cover their entire markets. I doubt we'll see anyone offer what Salem wants for KRKS-FM for a myriad of reasons (including several you've mentioned), but, were it to happen, the new buyer wouldn't likely be buying the programming along with it. It would almost certainly be bought for stick value only.
A lot of us would like to see that, but you're right. When it comes to markets Salem is likely to sell, I think the smaller ones are most likely to go. After the deal in Greenville/Spartanburg, I'd be looking at Little Rock to be one of the next markets to go, though EMF already has signals for K-Love and Air 1 there.
Must have taken lessons from fellow Virginian Bishop L.E. Willis. Willis was able to purchase as many stations as he did because he got them on the cheap since nobody else wanted them as most were on troubled signals that were engineering challenges. I think Fredericks' Richmond station at 820 AM may have been part of Willis Broadcasting years ago. 820 has a pretty good signal, though.
iHeart bought WWRL AM in 2021 to put BIN on it.
Having assisted with some small deals recently, 'potential' cash flow is more of a consideration than just asset/stick value. What is the potential known formats and what demos would they attract that might be of interest to how much national, and considering the local-direct environment? Estimated, or potential cash flow, is especially of interest to the few lenders around.
Sure, the station needs a full-market signal, but things like fringe coverage or coverage into lower population-density areas are not a thing.
The purchase price was undisclosed, but I've heard it was mainly a stock deal. That, and it gives BIN a NYC presence. None of the Salem AM stations would be of similar appeal of being in market #1.
$8.5 Million
Black Information Network Debuts On 1600 WWRL New York - RadioInsight
As previously announced, iHeartMedia will launch the Black Information Network on 1600 WWRL New York at 12pm today. WWRL is currently stunting with the loop of speeches from the likes of Barack and Michelle Obama, Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou, and Malcom X that have led into each of the other 24...
radioinsight.com
I don't think the post you were responding to was specifically about Salem. It was about how the FCC is expected to loosen ownership caps wrt AM stations in general, and the prospect of iHeart using the opportunity to acquire some AM stations to expand BIN and potentially a similar Hispanic network.
You claimed they would never do that, and I'm pointing out that iHeart has a recent history of acquiring an AM station for precisely this purpose in a top market where they were under the cap.
Got it, but I still maintain this is an outlier situation specifically for another opportunity in market #1. Most groups are steering clear of any new AM purchases because it has no future.
Having a presence with BIN in market #1, as it applies to national ad revenue, they'll probably recover the $8M in a couple years.
I can't see iHeart taking advantage of any of the Salem markets to a similar extent.
Also, it seems counter intuitive, but this isn't 2021 anymore. National and local ad revenue headwinds are only getting stiffer.
Last edited:
Whoa... really great calls,
kSac went for a cool million
July 17, 2023, Salem announced that KSAC-FM would be sold to Lotus Communications for $1 Million
I need to find a frequency for my favorite hobby
kSac went for a cool million
July 17, 2023, Salem announced that KSAC-FM would be sold to Lotus Communications for $1 Million
I need to find a frequency for my favorite hobby
Salem announced the pending sale of Regnery Publishing today. They didn’t announce the the amount it sold for though. They expect to close within a week (by the end of the year). That seems awfully fast.
investor.salemmedia.com
Salem Media Group Announces the Sale of Regnery Publishing
investor.salemmedia.com
The deal likely avoids any substantial governmental review, including SEC or FCC regulations. So it could very well be a pretty quick transaction.Salem announced the pending sale of Regnery Publishing today. They didn’t announce the the amount it sold for though. They expect to close within a week (by the end of the year). That seems awfully fast.
Salem Media Group Announces the Sale of Regnery Publishing
Salem to delist from NASDAQ, going OTC: Salem To Voluntarily Delist Stock from Nasdaq | Radio & Television Business Report
(Article was not paywalled for me)
The spiral continues.
(Article was not paywalled for me)
The spiral continues.
I think it just means that they're not going to go through contortions, such as a reverse split, to keep the stock price above $1. Otherwise, there'll just be a new symbol. Trading might be a little harder on OTC, but not much.
Stock did tank 20% today, but that will hurt any Salem executive whose compensation is tied to stock price more than it will indicate lack of short-term viability. Long-term might be another matter, but I once heard it said that the stock market's idea of a long-term investment is 72 hours.
- Status