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WBAI applies to go commercial
- Thread starter nd2023
- Start date
Here is what will happen.....
WBAI will be purchased by Sloof Lirpa Media or SLM, a newly formed company backed by a private equity firm. SLM will immediately arrange an LMA with Clear Channel who will then enter into an SMA with CBS. Then CBS will attempt to receive approval from the FCC for the rarely used Double Secret LMA. Once approval happens CBS will then allow Cumulus to simulcast WPLJ's HD-2 programing "True Oldies Channel" on 99.5.
WBAI will be purchased by Sloof Lirpa Media or SLM, a newly formed company backed by a private equity firm. SLM will immediately arrange an LMA with Clear Channel who will then enter into an SMA with CBS. Then CBS will attempt to receive approval from the FCC for the rarely used Double Secret LMA. Once approval happens CBS will then allow Cumulus to simulcast WPLJ's HD-2 programing "True Oldies Channel" on 99.5.
I don't like April fools jokes on radio-info boards. I come on here for information only. 
Especially when you say CBS FM is going back to 50's and 60's oldies. Then find out it's a April fools joke
JohnnyOhJohnny said:I don't like April fools jokes on radio-info boards. I come on here for information only.
Mistake number one... Information? Mostly gossip and whining...
JohnnyOhJohnny said:
If you read closely, my original post was as follows:
Pretty sure I made it as clear as possible without saying "Today is April 1, which is also known as April Fools Day, so please disregard the erroneous information I post in good humor below." I think that's pretty obvious! ;D
Okay...here we go and maybe people will get that this is a joke!!!
WBAI will be EVOLUTION 99.5 in New York!
And if people believe that and this whole entire thread, then take the 4, 5 or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge. I'll meet you there with the deed of ownership! Cash only please
WBAI will be EVOLUTION 99.5 in New York!
And if people believe that and this whole entire thread, then take the 4, 5 or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge. I'll meet you there with the deed of ownership! Cash only please
Tony Santiago said:Okay...here we go and maybe people will get that this is a joke!!!
WBAI will be EVOLUTION 99.5 in New York!
And if people believe that and this whole entire thread, then take the 4, 5 or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge. I'll meet you there with the deed of ownership! Cash only please
I'm glad that you remember that I always make joke threads on April Fools Day. This one was actually semi-plausible, judging by the reaction. Last year, I joked that 94.7 was sold to ESPN, which also was believable. 2 years ago, I joked that WRXP was sold to ESPN, which actually sort of happened. 3 years ago, Pulse 87 was coming back. 4 years ago, Pulse 87 was flipping back to Russian.
From what i understand, WBAI is experiencing financial issue that started as a result of hurricane Sandy and a downed transmitter. Doesn't automatically mean they will be sold. They could stay on or just go silent too.
More of what I hear is that Wkcr is helping out, the station at this point has high bills . No plans though for giving up so far.
There was no downed transmitter. Their facilities in lower Manhattan got flooded and lost power as a result of Sandy and the station was apparently not carrying insurance to cover flood damage, so that was a financial hit not to mention an obvious error in management.
The issue with the transmitter is that they were already behind on the rent when Sandy happened, and the back rent on both the transmitter and the studios continued to mount until they faced lawsuits and eviction. The station held an emergency pledge drive and raised enough money to pay a substantial portion of the back rent at Empire, and enough to stave off the lawsuits from their Wall St landlords. They also worked out a payment plan to pay the remaining back rent at Empire over the next several months in addition to agreeing to stay current on the new rent.
The real issue with WBAI is that they are narrowcasting to a small, niche audience and finding it difficult to bring in enough pledge money from that small pool of listeners to pay the bills. There's also an incredible amount of fighting among staff, management and the audience alike.
When you're behind on the rent and bills, living paycheck to paycheck without an emergency fund, unable to control your family and unable to understand the cause of the problems, it all points to a real failure to manage your life. I think that's WBAI's problem, they appear to be grossly mismanaged at the local level, and my understanding is the whole Pacifica foundation has a long history of dysfunctional management.
This organization got an FM license back at a time when FM was an alternative form of media and they don't seem to have evolved at all since then. They're still an alternative, non-profit media organization but now they have to pay mainstream corporate rent for their now-prime FM real estate without having grown their audience. Worst of all they don't seem to have developed their web presence at all. They seem oblivious to the fact that the Internet has become the best method of reaching such a specialized audience over a much larger geographic area than they can reach with an FM transmitter. Again, it all points to systematic failures of management at WBAI and Pacifica.
The question now is how many times can they keep going back to the same well to bring in enough money to stay afloat? Especially since they probably tapped out some of their donors with the latest emergency pledge drive. I guess we'll see.
The issue with the transmitter is that they were already behind on the rent when Sandy happened, and the back rent on both the transmitter and the studios continued to mount until they faced lawsuits and eviction. The station held an emergency pledge drive and raised enough money to pay a substantial portion of the back rent at Empire, and enough to stave off the lawsuits from their Wall St landlords. They also worked out a payment plan to pay the remaining back rent at Empire over the next several months in addition to agreeing to stay current on the new rent.
The real issue with WBAI is that they are narrowcasting to a small, niche audience and finding it difficult to bring in enough pledge money from that small pool of listeners to pay the bills. There's also an incredible amount of fighting among staff, management and the audience alike.
When you're behind on the rent and bills, living paycheck to paycheck without an emergency fund, unable to control your family and unable to understand the cause of the problems, it all points to a real failure to manage your life. I think that's WBAI's problem, they appear to be grossly mismanaged at the local level, and my understanding is the whole Pacifica foundation has a long history of dysfunctional management.
This organization got an FM license back at a time when FM was an alternative form of media and they don't seem to have evolved at all since then. They're still an alternative, non-profit media organization but now they have to pay mainstream corporate rent for their now-prime FM real estate without having grown their audience. Worst of all they don't seem to have developed their web presence at all. They seem oblivious to the fact that the Internet has become the best method of reaching such a specialized audience over a much larger geographic area than they can reach with an FM transmitter. Again, it all points to systematic failures of management at WBAI and Pacifica.
The question now is how many times can they keep going back to the same well to bring in enough money to stay afloat? Especially since they probably tapped out some of their donors with the latest emergency pledge drive. I guess we'll see.
Pacifica stations face eviction.
http://www.insideradio.com//Article.asp?id=2648376&spid=32061
http://www.insideradio.com//Article.asp?id=2648376&spid=32061
I haven't followed this discussion closely but wouldn't it stand to reason that selling 99.5 in New York would give them enough to get out of debt pay and pay their staff while they look/wait for another available frequency in NYC?
Seems like a similiar situation to that of WFME 94.7 and Cumulus could be worked out and give them the cash flow they need.
Seems like a similiar situation to that of WFME 94.7 and Cumulus could be worked out and give them the cash flow they need.
Jeffrey said:
Perhaps they can trade 99.5 for 94.7. That'll give WBAI millions more to work with, and they won't have to pay rent for the Empire State Building transmitter site.
However, knowing the management there, they'll probably move the 99.5 transmitter out of the Empire State Building to a much worse spot, and make the station less valuable.
The programming on 99.5 can easily be on an AM station and people will still listen. They can buy several AM stations if they sell WBAI.
boiseengineer said:
" Staff was told WBAI faced expenses of $119,000 but it had just $4,000 in the bank." One is certainly not long for this world if that's the case...
F
FredLeonard
Guest
thataveragejoe said:
Hanging on and scraping buy are routine at WBAI, almost as much as internecine fighting. WBAI is considered "public radio" under the CPB definition but it's like a different planet compared to the world of NPR "member stations." For one thing, NPR members often seem to have plenty for fancy quarters, the latest and best equipment, high executive salaries and enough left over to invest in other enterprises. WBAI has eviction notices.
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