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WBT and others change hands in Charlotte

C

CarolinaFM

Guest
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell two FM and two AM radio stations in Charlotte to Entercom Communications Corp. for $24 million in cash following the completion of, and contingent upon, the Company's previously announced acquisition of all of the outstanding stock of Greater Media, Inc.

The planned divestiture of the four Charlotte stations reflects Beasley's previously stated intention to divest certain radio stations in order to comply with FCC ownership regulations. Beasley intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the four stations to reduce the borrowings required to complete the Greater Media transaction.


http://news.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n33425
 
The stations are WBT-AM/FM and WLNK, plus sports WFNZ. Beasley will still hang onto bird-bird-fed WBCN.
 
DToTheJ said:
The stations are WBT-AM/FM and WLNK, plus sports WFNZ. Beasley will still hang onto bird-bird-fed WBCN.
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Great news that apparently WBT and WLNK will be preserved as legacy stations, especially WBT. Glad they are not being sold off separately or going religious. I guess they will remain in the Raycom building with WBTV. And now perhaps Entercom could protest the interfering translator that causes problems with WLNK in Greenville, SC, where Entercom already has a cluster of stations. And does Entercom now own Bob and Sheri or is the syndication a separate entity?

WLNK previously had a strong, clear signal in Greenville SC before the LPFM station WXRU signed on with a very lousy signal that mutually interferes with WLNK.
 
We had been speculating about the worth of WBT and its desirability to large station owners. Well, little did we know.

Inside Radio says WBT (and its Class C FM simulcast in nearby South Carolina) is the market's #1 billing station. It brought in $9.2 million. This is despite being the #15 station in Charlotte, currently in the 2's. (Classic Rock WRFX, which Nielsen says has the most listeners, is in the 7's.) And sister station, Hot AC WLNK, is only at #10 in the ratings. But it's Charlotte's second best biller.

Is the Greater Media sales force such better performers than sales people at other stations? Maybe I can understand how a market's heritage News/Talk station outperforms its numbers. But a station in the twos is the top earner? And how did a station at #10 become the second-place earner?

http://www.insideradio.com/with-bea...cle_bd839498-95d7-11e6-a2f4-a79d82db5376.html
 
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I believe WBT-AM-FM and WLNK cost Greater Media $100 million and now 4 stations are going for $25 million.

From what I've heard WBT and WLNK bring in a lot of money but also cost a lot in terms of staff. Beasley also claims there is a high cost in staffing WFNZ.

With the sheer number of commercials on WBT it's hard to listen to. It's not surprising they are a top billing station based on the number of commercials I hear. Maybe news/talk listeners aren't as bothered by commercials as the typical music listener.

WRFX's audience might be aging, maybe they could use some pointers from WBT's sales staff?
 
First day of Entercom takeover and apparently morning host Keith Larson has not been retained. According to Charlotte Observer. Not sure who the replacement will be, but they had Joe Gillespie filling in this morning. I wish Neal Boortz was still on the air, but not sure who they will select. Also sorry to see veteran news anchor Jim Barroll is leaving the station. Wonder what other talent changes may be forthcoming? I would prefer them to keep strong local hosts rather than more syndicated.
 
vchimpanzee said:
Doesn't he rant in the Observer? That's a shame. But he can still write those columns.

The Observer never mentioned WBT-FM. It is included, right?
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Yes WBT-FM is part of the deal.

As for Neil Boortz I won't ever listen to him again. Heard him go off on a rant once calling for someone to kill President Obama. That's hardly responsible broadcasting. You can have a differing opinion with whoever is in office but calling for someone to kill the President of the United States is treasonous.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Yes WBT-FM is part of the deal.

As for Neil Boortz I won't ever listen to him again. Heard him go off on a rant once calling for someone to kill President Obama. That's hardly responsible broadcasting. You can have a differing opinion with whoever is in office but calling for someone to kill the President of the United States is treasonous.
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I am not sure about that particular comment, but I always found Neal Boortz very educated and opinionated. And his shows were quite thought provoking and entertaining. He was the flagship morning host on WSB in Atlanta for years, and was also carried on WBT. But will be interesting to see who they hire now for WBT. I do know that former WBT hosts Vince Coakley and Tara Servatius went to Entercom owned WORD in Greenville, SC.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Yes WBT-FM is part of the deal.

As for Neil Boortz I won't ever listen to him again. Heard him go off on a rant once calling for someone to kill President Obama. That's hardly responsible broadcasting. You can have a differing opinion with whoever is in office but calling for someone to kill the President of the United States is treasonous.
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That's actually prosecutable. My guess is that he didn't say it as explicitly as you heard it.
 
tylerSC said:
First day of Entercom takeover and apparently morning host Keith Larson has not been retained. According to Charlotte Observer. Not sure who the replacement will be, but they had Joe Gillespie filling in this morning. I wish Neal Boortz was still on the air, but not sure who they will select. Also sorry to see veteran news anchor Jim Barroll is leaving the station. Wonder what other talent changes may be forthcoming? I would prefer them to keep strong local hosts rather than more syndicated.
Click to expand...

Aside from the personalities mentioned, have those stations acquired by Entercom undergone significant cost cutting? On today's earnings call David Field said the station margins were well below industry norms and Entercom norms and that the acquisition would be accretive in the first quarter. Unless the cuts have already been made, that sounds fairly ominous.
 
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