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WEMP is now...

Maybe Emmis will take over when Merlin goes out of business. It will be a rebound. Now Emmis owns WQHT "Hot 97" and now we have WRXP back to its roots after the failed Merlin concept "FM News" thing, you know "FM New", "Chocolate", etc. That went into the drain. Call Roto Rooter.

Now you brought back the WRXP calls and welcome back to "New York's Rock Experience". Let's take you back to those thrilling days of yesteryear. It was 2008, when WQCD ended its smooth jazz run as "CD 101.9", it will become WRXP. This is what has happened.

http://formatchange.com/smooth-jazz-cd101-9-becomes-rock-101-9-wrxp/

Welcome back, WRXP!!!! Welcome back, Emmis!!!! Great to see you come back after a year of struggle with the "FM News" thing, ready to rock & roll like it's 2008? Copy the music from WRRV, WDST and WXPK. Put them together, and BAM! Here's your boring rock station on this planet!!!
 
Didn't see this coming :) I'd figure the WRXP calls would have still been tainted somehow... (although WYNY wouldn't really fit Alternative Rock either :p)
 
Emmis ain't comin' back - there's many financial reason$ why they've leased out 101.9 and 98.7. And why Emmis is about to sweeten their lease agreement with Grupo Radio Centro to try to have them buy KXOS Los Angeles outright sooner than expected.

Although it's a little curious as to why they've kept their foot in the door at these stations by leasing as opposed to outright selling...I'm guessing it's in the long term benefits to Emmis that they receive lease payments for awhile until a possible (eventual?) sale can be broached.

Emmis does continue to hold on to its prized possessions Hot 97 NY and Power 106 Los Angeles; they'll likely fight till the death before parting with those outlets - that'd likely be the end of Emmis if that ever came to pass.

Note: Emmis has clusters in St. Louis, Indianapolis, Austin and overseas in addition to the stations listed above.

While Merlin's investors can't be happy with their ROI over the last year+, there's still plenty of cash for Merlin to stay in the game with these format flips for the foreseeable future.
Debt-ridden Cumulus isn't going to be buying any Emmis/Merlin properties anytime soon.
 
I don't get the WRXP thing. Build a new brand of your own, not adopt one that had no focus and wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire.

Want to make an impression with past calls? Buy WNEW from CBS.

I really thought Randy Michaels was smarter than this, but after WEMP and now this I really have my doubts.

As far as "Welcome back Emmis" they don't own the station anymore. They have nothing to do with any of the goings on there. The only station in NYC they still own is WQHT (for now). WRKS is gone too, sold to ESPN.
 
Emmis sold 101.9. It was an LMA to buy, same as WEPN.

Merlin is the licensee for WEMP soon to be again WRXP.
 
Fantastic news, though I'm a little late since I just heard. Guess I was expecting a format change, but not back to alternative. Just hope it's not a stunt. Alternative fans' year in the desert is over, maybe? Though I did get to hear some genuine alternative on The Alternate Side on WNYE. Great stuff that's too out there for RXP. WFUV was just too dull for me, and Q104.3 is a horror show with occaisonal decent stuff thrown in.
 
WNTIRadio said:
Emmis sold 101.9. It was an LMA to buy, same as WEPN.

Merlin is the licensee for WEMP soon to be again WRXP.
Click to expand...

Thanks, WNTIRadio. I researched further after seeing your post and found that the sales of WKQX (now WIQI), WLUP and WRXP (deja vu all over again) from Emmis to Merlin closed on September 1, 2011.
 
Not to be a detail nitpicker, but let's not forget that Emmis owns a 20.6-percent stake in Merlin that it took as part of its original deal when it sold the two Chicago stations and WRXP to Merlin last year.

So, Emmis owns about one-fifth of Merlin's common equity. Still, as has been pointed out, Emmis desperately needed to sell those three stations to meet a huge $120-million debt payment that was due last September. And, it has been trying to improve its financial picture since. It is in no position to reacquire the stations from Merlin, and it might not want to even if it could.

Financial details of the Emmis stake in Merlin are available here:

http://rbr.com/emmis-spells-out-holding-in-merlin/

In looking at the figures, it is understandable why the financial guys probably pressured to pull the plug on the poorly performing news format. The 8% interest on the $87-million loan, and the 15% interest on the $60-million five year note, that is due in-full in about four years, look menacing when the ratings are going nowhere and ad revenue reflects that fact. They need to pull in the bucks to pay that debt, and it hasn't been happening.
 
WNTIRadio said:
I don't get the WRXP thing. Build a new brand of your own, not adopt one that had no focus and wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire.
Click to expand...

Building a new brand is what got Merlin Media in trouble in the first place. You said it yourself:

WNTIRadio said:
I really thought Randy Michaels was smarter than this, but after WEMP and now this I really have my doubts.
Click to expand...

WNTIRadio said:
Want to make an impression with past calls? Buy WNEW from CBS.
Click to expand...

WNEW and WNEW-FM are both in use by CBS Radio. In fact, they built a new FM news station (if only to prove someone can build a decent FM news station) on 99.1FM in Bowie, Maryland which serves the Washington-Baltimore market, and centered the branding around the WNEW call letters. It is branded WNEW All News 99.1.

If CBS even entertained such a transaction (and I think the chances they would hover around 0%, a number Merlin is very familiar with as they probably saw that number more than a few times in the PPMs), that would be a very costly investment for Merlin, which is the last thing they need right now.

I've seen this stated elsewhere, specifically, that Merlin only wants to bring back the call-sign along with their own alternative rock format to persuade advertisers that the original WRXP at 101.9FM didn't really leave, and to base ad buys on the PPMs that WRXP enjoyed prior to July 2011. I think the plan goes deeper.

Emmis may have divested a majority stake in 101.9FM, but they retained full intellectual rights on the RXP branding. You can see that at the website myrxp.com, and also take note that another website, http://www.1019rxp.com/ redirects to myrxp.com.

Next, check out this Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/1019RXP. It is called 101.9 RXP The NY Rock Experience. References to 101.9 are in both the URL and the name.

Emmis has proven over the past year that their properties are very valuable and for sale or lease if the right offer comes along. We saw that with the majority stake sale of 101.9FM in 2011, and the 12-year LMA of 98.7FM to ESPN and sale of Kiss FM intellectual property to WBLS New York in 2012.

I think Emmis would realize significant revenue by leasing - not selling - the RXP branding to Merlin. I concur that RXP does not enjoy the same heritage that 102.7 WNEW-FM did, and is not considered heritage, at least not yet. However, it is valuable. And before 101.9FM was sold, RXP was building an audience and generated respectable ratings and decent revenue, albeit nowhere near enough to improve Emmis' poor financial situation. A complete return to the 101.9 RXP would realize significant ratings and revenue for this station.

Merlin cannot pull the wool over peoples eyes so easily anymore. After what has transpired the past year, there will be many skeptics, and some of them will come in the form of potential advertisers. Not every advertiser will be fooled into believing that the past year was all a bad dream. Until I saw the WRXP call-sign request earlier today, even I briefly wondered whether the alternative rock format was yet another stunt from Merlin. I'm now convinced it isn't a stunt. But when it comes to Merlin, that is about all I am convinced of.

At this point, GTCR is looking for positive revenue, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have lost significant confidence in Randy Michaels and his half-cocked programming concepts, and hapless executions of same. Implementation of the concept I have described above would realize the benefits sought by GTCR, and return a terrific radio format to the New York City airwaves. Of course, it would have to be executed right as others here have pointed out.
 
There's a discussion on the New Rock 101.9 Facebook page about them getting the WRXP calls back, to which someone from the station responded: "Hope you guys are listening next Wednesday. ;)"

By the way, the "101.9 RXP The NY Rock Experience" page was the one used for the "old" 101.9 RXP, and the subsequent web/HD version.
 
Bringing back the whole RXP thing probably isn't a good idea. The last time it sounded like crap. This time it should keep this sound it's got now the liners etc. Make mornings just straight up 100% music with some weather & traffic. Don't play the AAA, Hot A/C, Classic Rock stuff & ditch the 80s music!
 
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