WABC..another new low

[ka2xuk]

Interesting thing to consider is that on the Philly board, they're talking about the collapse of talker WPHT. This is a 50KW CBS-owned AM station, the first station Bill Paley bought for the empire that became CBS.

CBS did not buy WPHT (WCAU) until 1958. WCAU was originally owned by the Levy family (related by marriage to Bill Paley), later sold to the now-defunct Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. WCAU, however, was one of the most successful CBS affiliates.

 

[TheBigA]

CBS did not buy WPHT (WCAU) until 1958. WCAU was originally owned by the Levy family (related by marriage to Bill Paley), later sold to the now-defunct Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. WCAU, however, was one of the most successful CBS affiliates.

Right...I meant to say it was seen as the centerpiece of the CBS Radio Network.

 

[TheBigA]

My point about WPHT is that this is a station, like WABC, that has some heritage as a talker, that had a lot of success, and once the syndicated hosts left for another station, it's ratings are in the basement. Half of what WABC has now. As I said, local talk isn't necessarily the panacea some think it is.

 

[wadio]

... local talk isn't necessarily the panacea some think it is.

Correct. WPHT's problem is weak programming. Stigall, Giordano and R'Nel are "generic" hosts -- nothing original to draw listeners away from the brand names. Like WABC they've thrown away the weekends.

Strong syndicated hosts -- Jerry Doyle, Michael Savage, Mike Gallagher -- would likely attract more listeners to WPHT.

 

[TimeIsTight]

The Philly market has no non-directional 50-kw stations.

I guess you've never heard of WPHT (formerly WCAU) on 1210. It runs 50 kW into a single stick at its transmitter site in Moorestown, NJ.

You're right. I left out the words "low frequency." Despite the fact that WPHT is 50-kw non-directional, because it is on 1210 it has never had the reach in the opposite direction that WABC has had going the other way. You can hear WABC in Philly, and it used to show up in the ratings there, while you can't hear WPHT in most of North Jersey or NYC. The point is that being 50-k non-directional on a low frequency is an advantage that WABC has that most other radio stations do not.

 

[rbrown]

It's kind of sad to see Cumulus stations have so many issues. All over this site I see frequent topics about stations that Cumulus owns, and many of them aren't in the positive. KABC and WBAP receive frequent bashings on their respective boards (LA and Dallas).

However, looking at many of their stations, I cannot help but wonder why Cumulus has allowed any of these once-great radio stations to fall into the hole. Take KCMO 710/103.7 (Kansas City) as an example. Until 2006, they were the top-rated station in the Kansas City market. That ended when Cumulus took over the station around 2004, and within the next two years, both the morning host and afternoon host were fired. Today, they only air a morning news program in the mornings. Competitor and former sister station KMBZ 980/98.1 airs successful morning, late morning, and afternoon shows, and is one of the most listened-to radio stations in western Missouri. KCMO has been left with the Cumulus lineup of Rivera, Red Eye, and Huckabee.

In a sense, this is the same story in New York City, where they have no local people. Does management ever take into consideration that a majority of their listeners would rather hear at least a local morning show than Imus. Does Imus really "compete" with Gambling or Curtis Sliwa???

 

[TheBigA]

However, looking at many of their stations, I cannot help but wonder why Cumulus has allowed any of these once-great radio stations to fall into the hole.

My sense of it is that they were falling into a hole a long time ago, but they only realized it recently. Same with the other stations you mention. What they all have in common is they're all AM stations that once spent tons of money on staff, aimed at an aging audience, and failed to keep fresh and adapting to the changes. Then they slowly realized they had a smaller & older audience that advertisers no longer wanted, but increasing costs that had long eclipsed their revenues. Once you let costs exceed income, you become vulnerable. I think that's what happened in a lot of these cases, and I think it's too late to do anything about it. The time to start fixing WABC was 8-10 years ago, not now.

 

[ka2xuk]

The time to start fixing WABC was 8-10 years ago, not now.

Oh, WABC could be fixed now...but Cumulus has little or no experience in major markets and that company is saddled with almost $3 billion in debt from the Citadel acquisition. Pressure from Bain Capital and other creditors resulted in waves of layoffs at Cumulus clusters across the country.

A successful local talk station will research issues that are relevant to people in its market and superserve that market with such relevant talk, as well as plenty of news and information. Or WABC could see what "AM 740" (CKZM) in Toronto is doing right and simply entertain people.

WABC is blessed with a powerhouse signal. It is sad indeed to hear the crappy programming that airs over that station nowadays.

 

[jayantoniou]

Is Ims still doing well in morning drive?

 

[TheBigA]

Cumulus has little or no experience in major markets and that company is saddled with almost $3 billion in debt from the Citadel acquisition. Pressure from Bain Capital and other creditors resulted in waves of layoffs at Cumulus clusters across the country.

Huh? Bain? They haven't been involved with them in a while. Had Bain still been involved, the FCC would not have approved the sale. Their main creditor now is Crestview Partners. None of their creditors are pressuring the company to lay people off. In fact, the company seems to have a limitless line of credit to buy stations and do whatever is necessary. The problem with WABC is that the costs of running it exceed the revenues. That was a problem Citadel discovered when they got the station from Disney. There is an advertising ban on conservative talk stations. It's hurt similar stations across the country.

A successful local talk station will research issues that are relevant to people in its market and superserve that market with such relevant talk, as well as plenty of news and information.

This kind of old time full service radio station has become obsolete. It attracts older male listeners who advertisers don't want. It's that demographic that caused WABC's problems in the first place. New Yorkers have their choice of two great AM all-news stations, making more news unnecessary. Local talk is available on other NYC stations, and WABC beats them.

 

[DToTheJ]

... in New York City, where they have no local people...

And in Market No. 1, this is sad and absurd.