WBLS sold to ESPN ?

[TheBigA]

What about 99.5? I consider WBAI wasted space, at least in my opinion... what about a trade of 1050 + cash for 99.5?

Not going to happen. The people who own it would rather drink molten lava than sell that station. They'd sell stations in other markets like Houston first. But even that's unlikely. To Pacifica, radio isn't about money.

Regarding ESPN buying a station, keep in mind that until a few years ago, Disney owned WABC and WPLJ. They didn't have to sell either of them. They easily could have held on to them and given one to ESPN. But they didn't. It was their idea to put those heritage stations on the block. That's partly why I don't expect Disney to buy an FM in NYC.

 

[FightingIrish]

What about 99.5? I consider WBAI wasted space, at least in my opinion... what about a trade of 1050 + cash for 99.5?

Not going to happen. The people who own it would rather drink molten lava than sell that station. They'd sell stations in other markets like Houston first. But even that's unlikely. To Pacifica, radio isn't about money.

Regarding ESPN buying a station, keep in mind that until a few years ago, Disney owned WABC and WPLJ. They didn't have to sell either of them. They easily could have held on to them and given one to ESPN. But they didn't. It was their idea to put those heritage stations on the block. That's partly why I don't expect Disney to buy an FM in NYC.

Pacifica is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets (namely some really good signals in big markets that they've owned since FM was the band nobody listened to). No wonder why their management structure has been so dysfunctional.

 

[uncamark]

Pacifica is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets (namely some really good signals in big markets that they've owned since FM was the band nobody listened to). No wonder why their management structure has been so dysfunctional.

And if they do sell, it would probably be WPFW in Washington--their top-rated station because it's predominately a jazz music format (with a particular ratings spike for their Saturday classic R&B block). But it's not providing its weight in political terms, so they'd sell it. Wacky.

 

[TheBigA]

And if they do sell, it would probably be WPFW in Washington--their top-rated station because it's predominately a jazz music format (with a particular ratings spike for their Saturday classic R&B block). But it's not providing its weight in political terms, so they'd sell it. Wacky.

I don't know...I remember how important that station was when they started it. Maybe it hasn't fulfilled its purpose. I think the weakest link for them is KPFT in Houston.

 

[FightingIrish]

Pacifica is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets (namely some really good signals in big markets that they've owned since FM was the band nobody listened to). No wonder why their management structure has been so dysfunctional.

And if they do sell, it would probably be WPFW in Washington--their top-rated station because it's predominately a jazz music format (with a particular ratings spike for their Saturday classic R&B block). But it's not providing its weight in political terms, so they'd sell it. Wacky.

I have often laughed about all those talk radio stations/hosts/shows who want to get into D.C., hoping they would better influence policy and whatnot. Thing is, talk radio gets crappy ratings there. Aside from WTOP (all news), WAMU (public radio) and WMAL (typical commercial political talk) and a few sports stations, there are a bunch of little AM talkers with few to no listeners wasting a lot of electricity, most existing so various hosts and owners can brag about being cleared in the nation's capitol. Thing is, I highly doubt our various lawmakers and government workers spend all day listening to talk radio.

I do find it interesting that classical (WETA) does quite well there. And in comparison to similar stations elsewhere (mostly jazz), WPFW.

And does anyone think Hubbard will find a better use for the WFED signals?

 

[TheBigA]

And does anyone think Hubbard will find a better use for the WFED signals?

The only real choices would be some unserved ethnic population. Vietnamese radio could attract more listeners to WFED than they get now. I agree that all these talk stations on pipsqueak AMs are trees falling in an empty forest. If no one listens, no one cares. Reach only matters if it leads to quantifiable action.

 

[fybush]

There's nothing Hubbard could do that would be more profitable than WFED. It may register only a blip in the overall ratings, but that's apparently a very desirable blip for a certain very specialized group of advertisers who really, really want to reach that niche audience and are willing to pay big bucks for the privilege.

 

[DToTheJ]

...Vietnamese radio could attract more listeners to WFED than they get now...

I'm not making a joke here, but I think one of The Greaseman's most recent radio homes in the DC area was a Vietnamese station, at least for most of the time... (He's now heard Saturday mornings on DC 101.)