Still Waiting

[SpareChange]

Any (reasonable) ideas about why the CBS Buffalo cluster sale is taking so long to unfold? Seems we'd have heard something by now and would have something substantial to talk about. Might there be issues with the attorney general's office since CBS had some playola issues with its stations in NY state?

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Any (reasonable) ideas about why the CBS Buffalo cluster sale is taking so long to unfold? Seems we'd have heard something by now and would have something substantial to talk about. Might there be issues with the attorney general's office since CBS had some playola issues with its stations in NY state?

I believe the reason may boil down to two (or a few) offers on the table.
One source may be ready with cash, while another is willing to pay more for those stations using other methods. (along with some cash)

I could be wrong though.

 

[Element9]

Any (reasonable) ideas about why the CBS Buffalo cluster sale is taking so long to unfold? Seems we'd have heard something by now and would have something substantial to talk about. Might there be issues with the attorney general's office since CBS had some playola issues with its stations in NY state?

It might be the issues noted by Yezi, or it could be that there are more critical developments with the remaining stations to be sold, especially the Buffalo cluster. Be patient.
-9-

 

[SirRoxalot]

Correct BBS Tag?

(sarcasm)

I'm sure it's because the leadership of CBS Radio wanted to give their employees a chance to enjoy the holiday weekend without having to worry about the repercussions of an impending sale...

(/sarcasm)

 

[anoldguy]

Here's my opinion for what it's worth......
Clear Channel would like to get into the Buffalo market but on their terms. They want to dominate it like their other upsate markets. In Syracuse (WSYR) and Rochester (WHAM) they own the dominate AM news stations and very strong CHR's as well as several other stations in the market. In Syracuse they, also own the # one staion which is country. In Albany they own WGY plus several other stations. In each of those markets they own TV stations. In Syracuse & Rochester they own very dominate ABC stations. In Albany they own the Fox affilate. They would have liked to have the same situation in Utica but couldn't get their hands on WIBX-AM so they could not have merged the news departments with WUTR-TV. So they sold (and destroyed WUTR-TV). In Utica they own WOUR-FM, a couple minor league FM's and some little AM's. I am sure they would sell them in a minute if they could find a buyer that suited them.
So what I am saying is that if Clear Channel is interested in the Bufffalo market there is a lot of back room bargining going on. They would want a strong AM to go with the FM's and I am sure they would like to get their hands on a TV station. So would they want WWKB and WKBW-TV and change WWKB back to WKBW? Probably, but Entercom is not about to Sell KB to a competitor that would put a strong news/talk format up against WBEN on and probably would take Rush away. Maybe Clear Channel would buy all three of Entercoms AM's and trade off a FM. Or maybe Clear Channel could just buy the CBS stations, buy either channel 2 or 4, put newstalk on WBUF and change the calls to either WIVB or WGRZ.

 

[Radknowski]

Here's my opinion for what it's worth. Clear Channel would like to get into the Buffalo market but on their terms.They want to dominate it like their other upsate markets. In Syracuse (WSYR) and Rochester (WHAM) they own the dominate AM news stations and very strong CHR's as well as several other stations in the market.In Syracuse they, also own the # one staion which is country.In Albany they own WGY plus several other stations. In each of those markets they own TV stations.In Syracuse & Rochester they own very dominate ABC stations. In Albany they own the Fox affilate. They would have liked to have the same situation in Utica but couldn't get their hands on WIBX-AM so they could not have merged the news departments with WUTR-TV. So they sold WUTR-TV. In Utica they own WOUR-FM, a couple minor league FM's and some little AM's.I am sure they would sell them in a minute if they could find a buyer that suited them. What I am saying is that if Clear Channel is interested in the Bufffalo market there is a lot of back room bargining going on.They would want a strong AM to go with the FM's and I am sure they would like to get their hands on a TV station. So would they want WWKB and WKBW-TV and change WWKB back to WKBW? Probably, but Entercom is not about to Sell KB to a competitor that would put a strong news/talk format up against WBEN on and probably would take Rush away.Maybe Clear Channel would buy all three of Entercoms AM's and trade off a FM. Or maybe Clear Channel could just buy the CBS stations, buy either channel 2 or 4, put newstalk on WBUF and change the calls to either WIVB or WGRZ.

That's a very interesting and cogent take, especially the WKBW-TV angle, given how poorly Granite Broadacsting is doing, with its stock hovering at junk-bond status. But you're right about Entercom, they're never going to allow one of their AM's to slip away and become a threat to WBEN, especially to Clear Channel which has cultivated a news-talk hegemony in other markets.

I've wondered if Entercom was trying to swing a deal and buy CBS' Buffalo cluster, as it did the Rochester cluster, with plans to dispose of the excess stations. WBUF 92.9 would be an upgrade for The Lake's feckless signal on 107.7 and there'd have to be decisions made about spinning at least two other CBS FM's as well as WECK in order to get under the cap.

It could be argued that if Entercom was going to pursue CBS' Buffalo cluster, Entercom would have announced it at the same time it announced the Rochester-Columbus-Memphis-Austin deals. But on the other hand, why would Entercom buy CBS' Rochester stations but NOT buy CBS' Buffalo stations. There are strong parallels with regard to market size, market caps and number of stations purchased vs. number of stations to spin off.

There was some intriguiging chatter going on with the radio intelligencia that had Citadel doing a deal for the CBS Buffalo cluster just to get its hands on WYRK, then spinning off a few FM's to operators like Charlie Banta or Cumulus in order to get under the cap. This would have been a complicated deal and it could be why nothing's been said about Buffalo until all the "t's" are crossed and the "i's" are dotted. It's a plausible scenario, considering Citadel' needs and the added bonus of keeping the CBS Buffalo cluster out of the hands of Entercom, Clear Channel or other powerful competitor.

Whataya think?[/Mike]

 

[ThePickleReport]

I was at a party awhile back where an Entercom employee was telling me that they would love to get their hands on WYRK and that "it wouldn't be a problem" for them to buy all of the stations. Of course this person was also in denial about how many stations they would have to sell off. Much easier said than done I say.

It's my guess that CBS wants: 1) the best price for the cluster and 1-A) the best price coupled with the easiest and quickest disposal.

I also think it's taking longer because I don't think there are many radio groups ready to empty their pockets to get into Buffalo.

 

[FightingIrish]

It's Regent.

CBS RADIO is selling its BUFFALO cluster- Urban WBLK, Adult Hits WBUF (92.9 JACK FM), AC WJYE, Country WYRK, and Classic Country WECK-A- to REGENT COMMUNICATIONS for $125 million cash. REGENT will take over in an LMA in OCTOBER, giving it 19 stations in upstate NEW YORK (other clusters include ALBANY, UTICA-ROME, and WATERTOWN).

REGENT Pres./CEO BILLSTAKELIN said "this is an excellent transaction from both a strategic and financial standpoint. We are acquiring one of the best performing and most profitable station clusters in Upstate NEW YORK, which will solidify our footprint across the region and provide us with a substantial opportunity to develop regional sales synergies. This will increase the value and growth potential of our station group overall. This acquisition is a key step in the execution of our strategic plan to rationalize our portfolio of radio station assets in order to maximize our growth profile. This transaction combined with the several other transactions announced over the past few months will lead to enhanced shareholder returns over the long-term."

http://www.allaccess.com/