Sure is quiet on the Magical 8th floor in Dothan

[Stewy]

all this begs another question. Will there be a "Petition to Deny" filed ???

Initially, you'd think so zuzu but I'll make a guess why maybe not. 9 stations, need to be broken into small groups per regulations.
Group 1, Holl - 4 big sticks (kmx, usd, djr, tvy)
Group 2, ??? (you guys say former GM) - 3 sticks (esp, jrl, 1053)
Eighth station, bbk to Wilson Brdcasting
Ninth station, lda to woof
Just a guess but that's the way I'd do it.

 

[jobhunter]

all this begs another question. Will there be a "Petition to Deny" filed ???

Initially, you'd think so zuzu but I'll make a guess why maybe not. 9 stations, need to be broken into small groups per regulations.
Group 1, Holl - 4 big sticks (kmx, usd, djr, tvy)
Group 2, ??? (you guys say former GM) - 3 sticks (esp, jrl, 1053)
Eighth station, bbk to Wilson Brdcasting
Ninth station, lda to woof
Just a guess but that's the way I'd do it.

My guess:

Gulf South = DJR, TVY, USD, KMX
Former GM = ESP, DBT, JRL, LDA
Other buyer = BBK

 

[KarsonWithaK]

So, can one of you share who bought what, as I have not seen the story anywhere? As I read these posts, it seems that TVY & DJR will be owned by the same company? Brett & Broadway coming to a country station near you? ;D

 

[radioresearcher]

What's going to be quiet is this board once and for all. There won't be much to talk about when the dust settles. I thought Magic was the only buying Arbitron. Realistically, if you have these big signals in one building, there won't really be a need for ratings anymore.

 

[Stewy]

Agree researcher.

 

[Poledo]

... and after Holladay groups the 4 big boys under the same umbrella they can sell the cluster off to Cumulus (hey, they did it in Fort Walton)...
Would they take the money and run away from the Dothan market or use part of the profits to buy the 4 second tier stations from their former business partner?

No doubt that a theoretical deal like this would involve non-compete clauses, so what formats (besides the obvious Country WTVY) would Holladay sell to Cumulus and what do they keep for themselves? It would be hard to imagine Dothan without at least two big 100kw Country stations.

Just speculation.. I know nothing about this.

 

[da music]

You can rest aasured the plan is in place, they will take there time and sell what
provides the most money. And Cumulus had a ton of money to spend on stations.
Ed has Jackson, Merdian, Bob is in Monroe....they like radio and its been great to them.

 

[Preem Palvor]

all this begs another question. Will there be a "Petition to Deny" filed ???

If so, it appears to be nothing new to them. It did hold them up for little over a year:

http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0120/DA-11-99A1.txt

 

[Preem Palvor]

I don't think FCC ownership limit rules are always fair. For instance, consider the limit for FM stations in this market is 4 for one owner. On the surface that seems reasonable, until you consider the geographical size of this market. It is huge territorially and practically impossible for any station with less than 100 kw(Class C) to compete effectively against the Class C stations due to signal deficiencies over the real estate involved. Just look at the Arbitron for verification. The top 5 stations are near about always the 5 Class C stations. (See examples of a typical C0 vs C3 coverage in this "metro" with below links).
In my opinion a more equitable approach for fairness in competition in this particular market would be to count each Class C as
2 stations when figuring ownership limits. Example: You could own 2 Class C's, or 1 Class C and 2 C3's, or ...you get the idea.
Owning 4 Class C's in this market just seems contrary to the spirit of competition and diversity and favors a monopoly.
Oh well, what is the saying? "He who has the gold makes the rules" and I have no gold.

(links may wrap)

http://maps.google.com/?q=http://ww...SP&freq=102.5&contour=60&city=DOTHAN&state=AL

http://maps.google.com/?q=http://ww...-FM&freq=95.5&contour=60&city=DOTHAN&state=AL

 

[Preem Palvor]

What's going to be quiet is this board once and for all. There won't be much to talk about when the dust settles. I thought Magic was the only buying Arbitron. Realistically, if you have these big signals in one building, there won't really be a need for ratings anymore.[/size]

This statement alone illustrates how unfair this deal is

 

[radiogooroo]

... and after Holladay groups the 4 big boys under the same umbrella they can sell the cluster off to Cumulus (hey, they did it in Fort Walton)...
Would they take the money and run away from the Dothan market or use part of the profits to buy the 4 second tier stations from their former business partner?

No doubt that a theoretical deal like this would involve non-compete clauses, so what formats (besides the obvious Country WTVY) would Holladay sell to Cumulus and what do they keep for themselves? It would be hard to imagine Dothan without at least two big 100kw Country stations.

Just speculation.. I know nothing about this.

When's the last time Cumulus (or any of the big companies) bought a small market cluster? The companies with interests in the big markets are selling off small markets to companies like Townsquare Media, not buying.

 

[The Wattcher]

all this begs another question. Will there be a "Petition to Deny" filed ???

If so, it appears to be nothing new to them. It did hold them up for little over a year:

http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0120/DA-11-99A1.txt

Interesting read pp. Two things I garnered from this are the ease of circumventing the FCC ownership rules and the heavy burden of proof required of the petitioner.

Also of interest was the civil suit filed against the petitioner allegedly using information from the petition filed. Makes you think twice about filing a petition.

It appears very difficult to win if you are the petitioner. This difficulty probably diminishes the chance of frivolous or whimsical petitions at the expense of serious consideration of the petition.

 

[B.S.]

The "other buyer" is a previous manager of the Holiday's from Fort Walton. I'd be willing to bet the Holidays are actually calling the shots on the smaller-station group while she runs it. They had it set up in her name to avoid the FCC regualtions about the number of stations one can own in a market. Not a chance any of the smaller stations have the same format as the 100,000-watt sticks that will be across town.

96.9, 93.7, 95.5 and 106.7 in one group...100.5, 102.5, 103.9 and 105.3 in the other group. WBBK will be in Georgia where it is licensed.

I agree with some previous posts, it will be an interesting few months to come. We'll see which stations survive with its current format as well as which employees survive. Either way, I hate to see anyone lose their job, but I sure don't see them having 3 100k-watt Country stations. The Eagle and STAR are basically the same, so you can expect one of them to change as well.

 

[jobhunter]

When's the last time Cumulus (or any of the big companies) bought a small market cluster? The companies with interests in the big markets are selling off small markets to companies like Townsquare Media, not buying.

I agree. Cumulus has all but bolted the front doors in Montgomery. Skeleton staff now. Why would they scoop up Dothan?

Also - I bet WTVY flips and WDJR stays country!

Think about it, how long have Clay and Eddie been trying to demolish WTVY? How awesome would it be to flip a 15+ year competitor? He'd probably listen to the flip from his yacht and toast a big one. I would.

 

[da music]

They may not have killed WTVY, but from what I have heard
they sure killed sales, when the walk-out occured.

 

[Stewy]

Preem is correct about his assessment of things being unfair. It is not just radio but also in many sectors of business. The FCC, SEC, FTC do not seem too concerned with fairness. Since the 90s (beginning actually in the 80s) government oversight has become a "bad thing". Dereg in banking hasn't served us well, nor has the Communications Act, nor has the continued antitrust exemption for insurance, nor has all the consolidation in pharma and what about the energy sector ...... Hoizon, mine disasters, etc. Sorry to become political on this thread, on this forum but that is the reality of our world at present. How did the line from The Godfather go, "control the banks, control the courts and let the rabble have the rest". I agree with the poster that said jobs will probably be lost because of this deal. Also, JMO, the Dothan market may lose the most in that downward economic pressure caused by pricing could in the mid term force the only stations in the market with dedicated local news (WOOF, WWNT) to drop services. I hope that I am wrong. I wish the best of luck to each radio employee in the Dothan Market.

 

[Stewy]

Yes da, said when it happened that C. Williams would be the biggest loss of any that left long term. Nuff said by this old cartoon, once again, good luck to all. No matter what happens to each person please remember that you are each unique with individual talents and characteristics duplicated specifically by no one else and if someone can't see them that is not your problem but theirs.

 

[zuzu petals]

The "other buyer" is a previous manager of the Holiday's from Fort Walton. I'd be willing to bet the Holidays are actually calling the shots on the smaller-station group while she runs it. They had it set up in her name to avoid the FCC regualtions about the number of stations one can own in a market. Not a chance any of the smaller stations have the same format as the 100,000-watt sticks that will be across town.

96.9, 93.7, 95.5 and 106.7 in one group...100.5, 102.5, 103.9 and 105.3 in the other group. WBBK will be in Georgia where it is licensed.

I would not bet against you B.S.

If it is indeed Georgia Edmiston, the below graphs should provide some insight into how impartial and independent the
C3 (secondary) group will operate from the C (main group) (sarcasm on).

http://www.corporationwiki.com/graphs/roamer.aspx?id=17696156

http://www.corporationwiki.com/graphs/roamer.aspx?id=16514348

Why does the word marionette keep echoing in my mind?

 

[zuzu petals]

Also - I bet WTVY flips and WDJR stays country!

Think about it, how long have Clay and Eddie been trying to demolish WTVY? How awesome would it be to flip a 15+ year competitor? He'd probably listen to the flip from his yacht and toast a big one. I would.

Your convincing explanation compels me to revise my prediction of WTVY being "the" Country station.
WDJR it shall be.

 

[Poledo]

Wow, predicting WTVY will leave country behind... that's a shocker. They've been Dothan's country station all my life, I think.

When thinking about a country flip, I was considering the spillover coverage WDJR has in the Fort Walton and Panama City markets, it would make a hell of a signal for an Urban/Rap station (same format as Mobile's 93 BLX or Troy/Montgomery's Hot 105.7).

Urban on 96.9, CHR on 106.7, Country on 94.9, and News/Talk or AOR on 93.7... that would make one hell of a cluster.

Just the view of an outsider. I don't know anything about this deal.