Speaking of Layoffs -- is Citadel Next?

[BigBluBug]

Caught this one on the SaveWKRO blog... I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

From SaveWRKO:

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DePetro Dodges A Bullet, For Now

After facing the chopping block at WPRO, John DePetro has won at least a temporary reprieve there, but it could be short- lived.

Though Don Imus was expected to fill the morning slot at WPRO, Citadel Providence management announced he would instead be parked at the firm's relatively unimportant sister station, 790 AM - The Score, a sports outlet.

But with Citadel's overall financial troubles reaching extreme levels, many Citadel - ABC Radio morning hosts and anchors are bracing for massive upcoming layoffs. I'm hearing from insiders who expect to be axed and the outlook from their perspective couldn't be more dire.

If Citadel were to declare bankruptcy, which now seems a possibility, those talent contracts would be even less useful for hosts than they were previously. The company is infamous for carefully-written language that in reality provides little more protection than at-will employment agreements.

That could sink not only DePetro, but many of his co-workers as well.

It means that Citadel is now in so much financial trouble that almost every staffer could potentially face the chopping block. There won't be much left when they are done. WPRO doesn't have a prayer of being spared these drastic cuts.

They lost Rush to WHJJ because they tried to move him into a tape-delayed position later in the day to accommodate Buddy. Limbaugh's company doesn't allow tape delays, so they made the decision to pull him from WPRO entirely and give the show to WHJJ. A serious blunder on WPRO's part.
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[jeffryan]

I mentioned this in another post, but Citadel all but dug their own grave when they bought ABC Radio.

Not only did Citadel buy at a time when most radio groups are looking to sell stations and get out of the business, they took on unconscionable amount of debt to do it. Radio stations overall are not going to get any more valuable, and I think have peaked in value. Soon those values will take dramatic tumbles with all the alternatives to radio that's available to the consumer. Bottom line: Citadel is going the wrong way down a one way street at 150 miles an hour.

Citadel is starting to realize the tremendous blunder they've created. Now they have to make payments on these debts and as always in this business, the fat salaries get trimmed by handing out pink slips. Guys like Giovanni and Charlie Jefferds are all but done, sadly. They'll be the first to go... but that won't be enough. As the blogger states, there will be layoffs in quantities that have never been before in broadcasting. Everyone is vulnerable. Everyone down to the $8/hr board ops.

Citadel is in for an unbelievably tough fight. Nobody will be dumb enough to buy them now. Even the Greater Fool Theory has its limits.

If you're full time at Citadel in any capacity, start looking for new work now.

It angers me to see this business being flushed down the toilet, but if you don't see the writing on the wall, you're being foolish or stubburn. Start figuring out what you plan to do for the rest of your life, because chances are it won't involve radio.

 

[aqualung]

Citadel lets people go at times but you never see these sweeping layoffs all at once. If that starts this market is so screwed. There's just nowhere for people to go and so many people who don't want to go too far in the first place. Anybody who's been at any station too long could probably be in trouble because of the money. I still don't think some morning shows would be screwed with but they could be pared down to the bare minimum of people and some of those people would end up tracking other shifts like Kristin Lessard at B101 and Coast. I know people have been saying it for a long time but I really think it's all going down the tubes now. Maybe it's worse in Providence with only two owners other than Cat Country.

 

[Skynet74]

I knew that Matt Allen should have looked for work in another market instead of accepting the bone they threw him. Watch what happens next. I don't have any information and I don't claim to be an insider. To be honest.. I know jack sh_t. But I do have a hunch that says Matty better buy a map and figure out where else he would like to live if he wants to stay in radio. I also think Yorke will need to borrow that map after Matt is finished with it.

 

[Seekonk Sally]

I said this in another post, recently Citadel's 3rd quarter report was dismal ! Much of it was attributed to their Providence affiliates. Now consider the payroll they've got for the dream team line-up on WPRO-AM. Start with the Bud-eye at almost $300,000. Now kick in Yorke and DePetro probaby in the neighborhood of $150k each or so. Ron St. Pierre a veteran of almost 3 decades is not earning intern wages. Now add in the very expensive news payroll, not to mention pd's, etc. Now, what does an AM station in this market bill? You've got serious red ink. Now kick in the cost of the Imus Show for Farid, and top it off with the ABC radio network, in a timeframe when radio revenue is going down yearly. Form your own conclusions.

 

[JoeyK]

Remember WPRO is the station that will never let you down. All day live and local,Where do you want your afternoons from New York or Dan Yorke,The station you have counted on for over 80 years,Are the days of these promos numbered?

 

[Skynet74]

Remember WPRO is the station that will never let you down. All day live and local,Where do you want your afternoons from New York or Dan Yorke,The station you have counted on for over 80 years,Are the days of these promos numbered?

Their days have to be numbered. It sounds like the company is out of Money. The only other game in town is "Cheap Channel" and we already know what that situation looks like. Ladies and gentlemen. You are getting a glimpse of the direction radio is headed. An empty building with a satellite dish outside.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

I mentioned this in another post, but Citadel all but dug their own grave when they bought ABC Radio.

Not only did Citadel buy at a time when most radio groups are looking to sell stations and get out of the business, they took on unconscionable amount of debt to do it. Radio stations overall are not going to get any more valuable, and I think have peaked in value. Soon those values will take dramatic tumbles with all the alternatives to radio that's available to the consumer. Bottom line: Citadel is going the wrong way down a one way street at 150 miles an hour.

Citadel is in for an unbelievably tough fight. Nobody will be dumb enough to buy them now. Even the Greater Fool Theory has its limits.

If you're full time at Citadel in any capacity, start looking for new work now.

If Citadel/ABC's case of financial indegestion is as bad as has been reported in the trades and talked about here, could we possibly see some station sell-offs real soon in an attempt to start the bail-out process?

Which leads me to the "Greater Fool Theory"...... If station sales were to take place here, which name(s) should we expect to start seeing floated as potential players to buy thier way into good-ole market #39?

If this market sees the entry of one or two more players, I can't see that as anything but a positive thing.

 

[HiTop]

There is a thread in the Connecticut forum about Citadel slashing jobs down at their New London cluster too. The local morning guy down there, Shawn Murphy lost his job to a satellite show from ABC network, obviously now owned by Citadel. The PD and afternoon guy also lost his job.

 

[S DANMAN]

Things are ugly in New London, the Director of Sales (a man with 20 plus years of experience) was demoted to simply carry a list.

 

[Skynet74]

From all these postings it sounds like nobody at Citadel is safe. NOBODY. That sucks. It always seems like it happens at the worst time of year. Not that there is ever a good time to fire people, but if you have to do it, how about doing it in the Summer when the staff would be going on vacation anyway. July 1st seems better than December 1st. If you knew that you were going to be fired, which Date would you choose to be let go?

 

[and.u.r?]

If Citadel started slashing what I see at the outset would be not Giovanni or Kim but probably Will who would be replaced by a board op/producer who doesn't take part in the show.At Lite the morning show is only two people anyway.I do agree Charlie Jefferds would exit and also Art Spencer since that nite show can be voicetracked by a less expensive and less experienced person who has a deep voice.The callers can be put on the air without any conversation with the dj.I don't know what could happen at Hot106 since I see no need for that place to even exist.Kerry Collins needs to leave and get back into radio.At PRO-AM I agree with some that DePetro is not going to be there long and some senior members of the news staff are probably at risk.I don't think they would have hired Buddy Cianci if there was any danger of his losing the job quickly but if he eventually proves not to be worth the money he and anyone who took part in getting him hired probably will exit.

 

[Skynet74]

Whenever Howard Stern leaves Radio corporations fall apart. WNBC died, CBS Radio is in the toilet. Affiliates like Clear Channel and Citadel that lost Stern are now in a hole. Coincidence? Maybe (or) maybe not.

 

[jeffryan]

Satellite radio will start to hurt after Howard leaves when his contract is up. If he decides to continue his show, he will do it strictly on the internet. In 2011, most people will be able to tune in internet audio stations in their cars. It will be pretty ubiquitious.

 

[Skynet74]

Satellite radio will start to hurt after Howard leaves when his contract is up. If he decides to continue his show, he will do it strictly on the internet. In 2011, most people will be able to tune in internet audio stations in their cars. It will be pretty ubiquitious.

Yeah I was talking about internet radio about a month ago. Once people can tune in thousands of stations in their cars, local radio will have to totally change the way they do business. Local listeners are going to slowly be replaced with listeners who are scattered all over the country. I already heard some guy from Texas call Dan Yorke. What will local advertisers do when they realize they are paying for ads that are reaching less and less local listeners. It's going to get interesting.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Satellite radio will start to hurt after Howard leaves when his contract is up. If he decides to continue his show, he will do it strictly on the internet. In 2011, most people will be able to tune in internet audio stations in their cars. It will be pretty ubiquitious.

Love him or hate him, over the years Howard has this uncanny knack of being able to sense which direction the industry is heading in......and points his gigantic nose in that direction.

If Howard thinks WiFi or WiMax delivered internet radio is the wave of the future, I'm not willing to bet against him.

 

[Skynet74]

Satellite radio will start to hurt after Howard leaves when his contract is up. If he decides to continue his show, he will do it strictly on the internet. In 2011, most people will be able to tune in internet audio stations in their cars. It will be pretty ubiquitious.

Love him or hate him, over the years Howard has this uncanny knack of being able to sense which direction the industry is heading in......and points his gigantic nose in that direction.

If Howard thinks WiFi or WiMax delivered internet radio is the wave of the future, I'm not willing to bet against him.

I already use the internet to stream Howard over my stereo each morning. I used to use an actual Sirius Radio until the power supply on my radio kept dying. For now streaming seems to be much more reliable and I am fine with that. Streaming is definitely the wave of the future. I have DSL service and I had never dreamed that my phone line would end up sounding so good!

 

[Speaker of Truth]

I also stream Howard via my computer every morning..

Consider that Sat Radio went from zero to around 16 million subscribers in about 5 years or so..

If somebody can figure out how to market a merged company, the business model might actually succeed if contracts given to Martha, Oprah and others are deep sixed..