WABB IS LOSING THE BATTLE. FINANCIALLY.

[macab4490]

What's happening here? Someone should buy them. They are losing dj's right and left. According to AllAccess, their afternoon jock Mavarick have departed ways after 4 months.

"The budget axe fell at DITTMAN Top 40 WABB/MOBILE and afternoon jock JONATHAN MAVERICK exits after only four months with the station. "

 

[tomservo]

Cue the discussion about cutting costs to compete with the big corporations versus spending more to install good talent in 3…2…1…

8)

 

[secondchoice]

Wasn't there some postings last year or before about WABB having "questionable" management?

 

[Dr voicetrack]

Yes. It's less than a secret that WABB is a mess. Everyone working in the market and beyond knows about the dealings of that place. How mgt works and how employees are treated. They still haven't found a replacement for Reid at night, and now short an afternoon slot. It may be budget why Maverick is gone, or it may not. It could easily just be what sounds best in trying to protect industry image. Either way, the place is in trouble. A sale won't happen as long as Judy Dittman is walking the Earth. She will never allow it to happen. But when she passes? Look for the "for sale" sign real quick.

 

[macab4490]

Sa to see three full-time dj's (Morning duo and Blondie). Maybe Ryan Seacrest should take over afternoons? Maybe Clear Channel should buy them a flip 107.3 back to Classic Hits AC..

 

[Arby Tron]

Yes. It's less than a secret that WABB is a mess. Everyone working in the market and beyond knows about the dealings of that place. How mgt works and how employees are treated. They still haven't found a replacement for Reid at night, and now short an afternoon slot. It may be budget why Maverick is gone, or it may not. It could easily just be what sounds best in trying to protect industry image. Either way, the place is in trouble. A sale won't happen as long as Judy Dittman is walking the Earth. She will never allow it to happen. But when she passes? Look for the "for sale" sign real quick.

Obviously with today's news you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[macab4490]

Wow. The Battle has been fought and we have declared EMF the winner.
Yikes! Now, a week later from the post I composed, how ironic and a coincidence that this had to happen. However, im curious to ask: was it really financial reasons?

 

[Kent]

Wow. The Battle has been fought and we have declared EMF the winner.
Yikes! Now, a week later from the post I composed, how ironic and a coincidence that this had to happen. However, im curious to ask: was it really financial reasons?

What it sounds like to me is that Mrs. Dittman was looking to retire and get her estate in order, and the kids wanted the money rather than the business. It's similar to why Susquehanna sold in '06. The kids didn't want to be in the broadcasting business, and, really, who can blame them? It's a tough business, and you have to deal with the constant assault from the entertainment industry over performance rights in addition to constant assaults from an ever growing number of competing stations.

I wouldn't be surprised if Maverick was a budget casualty because the Dittmans put the station up for sale and thought thinning the budget would make it more attractive to a potential buyer. Of course, EMF doesn't care about the profit margins and budgets of the stations it buys, but the Dittmans might not have known for certain they were selling to EMF when they made the decision.

 

[Dr voicetrack]

It's obvious that Maverick was meant to be a temp. There's no way he was brought on and then the sale to EMF was started after. A sale takes more time than a couple days and with the transfer date being 3/1, that makes it pretty clear.

Arby Tron- Talk with people who have a personal knowledge of Judy Dittman. They all will have the same opinion as me. That's part of why this sale is such a shock. So pipe down, hack. Unless you have something useful to add.

 

[Kent]

It's obvious that Maverick was meant to be a temp. There's no way he was brought on and then the sale to EMF was started after. A sale takes more time than a couple days and with the transfer date being 3/1, that makes it pretty clear.

I'm sure the Dittmans were probably beginning to realize they were going to have to sell the station around the time they hired him. It wouldn't surprise me, though, if they looked at the various bids, decided they didn't like any of them and would cut the payroll further to see if they could get better offers after another round. Then, after sleeping on it for a week or two, decided they'd go ahead and take EMF's offer. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. Of course, we'll never know because none of us were involved.

I remember when I went through a station sale in '04. The newsroom was gutted several months before the deal was announced, and longtime staffers were replaced with beginners. Those longtime staffers really weren't making much more than the beginners who replaced them, but pennies count when making a sale. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious what they were doing, but, firings are so common in radio, it can be easy to see what's happening without seeing what's going on!

 

[MarioMania]

Why didn't someone Local buy WABB??

 

[secondchoice]

Why didn't someone Local buy WABB??

My best two guesses:

#1 No one "local" could come up with the cash.

#2 The family did not want anybody to "mess up" Mr Dittman's legacy, so this will be a "closing" or and "ending". I can understand the dynamics of a family sometimes look different from the "outside". I doubt if anybody outside the family will ever know.

 

[Poledo]

Why didn't someone Local buy WABB??

Good point. I pondered the idea of local owner ADX (Cat Country) attempting to buy the Pamal combo because this would offer ADX the opportunity to consolidate the two 100kw Pensacola country stations onto one signal and launch a new CHR format for more variety. I imagine Pamal is trying to downsize and consolidate to the New England area after selling off their Gainesville/Ocala cluster recently.
ADX, being local, would have wanted to purchase WABB if they had any funds or the right credit to do so. If they couldn't buy WABB they certainly won't be able to buy the WXBM/WMEZ combo from Pamal (unless Pamal sees that WABB was only worth 3 Million making their combo worth upwards of 5 Million, and more likely 4.5 million). On the other hand, Cat Country 98.7, being part of a 1FM 1AM (& 2 dark translators) cluster may be the easiest station for someone to purchase. Does anyone think Baldwin Broadcasting (WZEW & I think the Mobile 105.5 sports station) would be in any position to play ball? Or possibly the owners of WCSN in Orange Beach who own about 5 stations in AL & FL within 100 or so miles.

If, as I suspect, Pamal is interested in getting rid of smaller market stations so far away from headquarters, I wonder if Entercom (owners of WWL & others in New Orleans & nationwide including smaller markets than Mobile/Pensacola) may be interested in joining the Mobile market. I feel like I remember reading that they were interested in the Dowdy stations in South Mississippi and also something in Mobile before hurricanes Ivan and Katrina.

How possible is it that two 100kw Country stations targeting Pensacola can do well with add revenue with two 100kw Fort Walton stations and one 100kw Mobile Country station also covering their market. It kinda seems like a pissing contest. Cat Country wants to take down WXBM by being all local and WXBM has the heritage and probably deeper pockets. Also for Pamal, WMEZ 94.1 has deep pocketed 99.9 from Mobile and 93.3 from Fort Walton to compete with. All these signs point to the idea that Pamal or ADX should strongly consider trying to fill a hole with a different format because the Mobile and Fort Walton stations aren't going to go away and Pamal could potentially add new revenue streams from Mobile with the right format... they already have the coverage, why not maximize it?

I'll stop making long posts on Thursday. Playing with other people's money gets depressing and it really isn't worth the trouble because you never know if they really HAVE money or are just acting like they do.

 

[RonRoberts]

Why didn't someone Local buy WABB??

It's my understanding that the owner of WZEW/WNSP did offer to buy the station a year or so ago and were never given so much as a reply.

For around $1.6 million more than they wound up getting, too. Ouch.

Can you even IMAGINE how much the Dickeys were offering Bernie and probably even Betsy, after Bernie passed? Epic fail.