WFNX being sold to Clear Channel

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Keep in mind what CC actually gets for 14.5 million bucks - a license. A piece of paper, that
allows them to legally operate a radio station. That's all. This does not include music licensing, staff,
office/studio space, broadcast equipment (including transmitters), tower rentals, etc. Before
the usual suspect (misinformed and uneducated civilians) start telling us all what Boston "needs",
they need to include ALL of the costs in their rants. Then they need to balance realistic revenues
against these costs. Broadcast professionals already know this...

 

[NHRadio]

Actually Jeff, the price does include the studio and transmission equipment but that's all.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Keep in mind what CC actually gets for 14.5 million bucks - a license. A piece of paper, that
allows them to legally operate a radio station. That's all. This does not include music licensing, staff,
office/studio space, broadcast equipment (including transmitters), tower rentals, etc. Before
the usual suspect (misinformed and uneducated civilians) start telling us all what Boston "needs",
they need to include ALL of the costs in their rants. Then they need to balance realistic revenues
against these costs. Broadcast professionals already know this...

Clear Channel bought everything except the tower (since they lease space).. and the actual format / call letters..

Besides.. I am pretty confident clear channel is already prepping a place for the "new" station in it's Boston cluster already

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

If that is the case, I stand corrected. My point, overall,
remains the same. The return on investment has to make
sound economic sense. Again, this is a business...

 

[carmen]

a heartfelt eulogy in the Lynn Journal

 

[Signpost]

I'm still betting on Talk 1200/Talk 101.7 simulcast.. there are little additional costs to simulcasting 1200 on 101.7.

Bingo. Jay Severin & Jeff Katz are expensive live humans, a huge liability in today's voicetracked/satcast world. Rush must be costing them a fortune. I can see why they'd want more mileage out of their talk operation. CC did this in Albany NY, WGY already powerful enough, they still blew up a successful rock station to simulcast WGY on FM. In Boston the reasons are even more compelling to make this move since 1200 isn't really penetrating Boston, and there's not much else they can do with 101.7 that will yield any higher ratings than they already have.

Guarantee Cat Country in Providence would beat a country formatted 101.7 in Boston. Remember when 97.7 was country? I didn't think so. As tepid as WFNX's ratings have been, their stream almost tied the terrestrial signal, which would indicate a popularity beyond the signal's reach. Whatever else they put on that signal will have the same signal handicap (for now), but not the 29 year brand equity of WFNX. If they were to do anything on 101.7 besides talk, the smart move would be to keep it alternative. CC just flipped to alternative in Cleveland, where they already own WMMS, so they must not be averse to that format. They just bailed on Spanish in Miami, likely not hot to try it here.

 

[davideduardo]

If that is the case, I stand corrected. My point, overall,
remains the same. The return on investment has to make
sound economic sense. Again, this is a business...

And your point is well taken.

So they get the piece of paper and maybe, just maybe, $150 to $200 k in used equipment and maybe and Aeron chair or two.

The remaining $14.3 million is for the paper.

 

[Fenway1912]

I still think WJMN could move to 101.7 clearing 94.5 for talk.

If CC thinks they can hold most of the WJMN audience on 101.7 ( and they have the county breakdown - we don't ) - they could then move talk to 94.5

 

[WNTIRadio]

No way they're going to swap the #3 station in the market for talk. At least not right now. If the talk format somehow takes off on FM and 94.5 suddenly loses half its audience, maybe.

Right now, it makes the most sense to put 1200 on there and use it as a big-ass translator.

As to Rush costing them money, I always thought Rush was mostly barter based, which is how he got on to 600 radio stations in the first place. I didn't look at Rush when I was consulting an AM a little while back, but did look at Savage, Levin, Laura Ingraham, Beck etc. and they were all barter based. So was Coast to Coast.

If it does turn out to be Talk 101.7/1200, expect a signing of Howie to follow soon after. Katz gets the boot, Howie to mornings and Severin in the afternoon. CC/Priemere wants Rush/Beck/Levin on to clear the barter spots in market #10. Maybe Katz to 10-noon and a time shift of Beck?

 

[mgpt6]

If Talk 1200AM is simlucast on 101.7FM, look to see Mia 1430AM also on WXKS-FM 108 HD-2.

 

[aaronread]

Rush must be costing them a fortune

I thought Rush was free to affiliates, you just had to air the national ads?

 

[aaronread]

Someone said Ent. overpaid for Sox rights and MKK was helping to fund that,

Just wondering, but do you really think that is the way radio groups do accounting, or are you just reporting that that is the way 'someone' else thinks radio groups do accounting?

Well, I don't think anyone on the boards has actual numbers per se, but what was public knowledge was that Entercom paid a goddamn fortune ($20mil/yr) for the Sox rights and did it to a ten-year lease. This was between their two recent WS wins so the Sox could get away with demanding a high price, but there's no possible way that it COULDN'T be an albatross around Entercom's neck by now. Even in the salad days pre-Great Recession (and pre-98.5 SportsHub), I saw a report that WEEI alone had $36mil in annual revenue one year...which means before ANY other expenses were considered, you had to lop $20mil off that just to pay the Sox. Ouch. I highly highly highly doubt that WEEI is still bringing in THAT much money anymore. Not in this economy.

As much as I'm sure Entercom is sweating renegotiating the rights again in 2016, I'm sure they're looking forward to inking something at a MUCH lower dollar value. I can't believe anyone is gonna pay the Sox anywhere near that much money again, even if they win the WS four years in a row between then and now.

 

[raccoonradio]

It was 10 yrs signed in May of 06--some rumors had it at $20M/yr. (The deal took effect with the 07 season and had WRKO as flagship with some games on WEEI. The entry of the Sports Hub in
the summer of 09 led Ent. to shift just about all games to WEEI.)

May of 06:
http://www.talksox.com/forum/talk-s...ar-200-million-dollar-broadcast-contract.html

>>The deal with Entercom (WEEI/WRKO) is for 10 years at 200 Million dollars. Its the richest Radio contract in MLB History.

ProJo:
http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/SoxBlog/archives/2006/05/sox_weei_agree.html
>>the Red Sox today secured a record-breaking 10-year, $200 million deal to return their play-by-play rights to Boston flagship WEEI Radio. The rights had been the subject of a bidding war between Entercom Radio, the parent company of WEEI, and Greater Media, which owns a handful of stations in Boston, including WBOS-FM.
Greater Media had offered the Red Sox an equity stake in WBOS-FM in return for the play-by-play rights for the team's broadcasts, but, ultimately, Red Sox principal owner John Henry opted for the more conventional -- if record-setting -- standard rights-fee arrangement.

This article says about $14M
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/496355/sox_games_to_be_split_between_wrko_weei_in_radio/

>>The Sox inked a deal that is one of the most lucrative in Major League Baseball — about $13 million to $14 million a year over the life of the 10-year contract. Not only does it rival the Atlanta Braves’ $13 million a year, but it roughly doubles the Sox’s current deal.

I don't know the exact figure either but those were articles at the time.

 

[davideduardo]

Rush must be costing them a fortune

I thought Rush was free to affiliates, you just had to air the national ads?

Nope. Several of the top tier shows charge a fee in addition to taking inventory. In the case of Limbaugh, the fees are considerable.

 

[davideduardo]

As to Rush costing them money, I always thought Rush was mostly barter based, which is how he got on to 600 radio stations in the first place. I didn't look at Rush when I was consulting an AM a little while back, but did look at Savage, Levin, Laura Ingraham, Beck etc. and they were all barter based. So was Coast to Coast.

Coast to Coast is mostly barter, but some of the spots have to run after 6 AM... in other words, daytime.

Back in '90 I had Rush on a small market station (Lake City, FL) when EIB added a cash payment to the barter... about 22 years ago. And the fee, for a market with less than 40,000 in the county, was steep (in excess of $500 a month) so we dropped the show as adding a big expense in a small market did not make sense.

 

[fmradio1]

Flipping 101.7 to a simulcast of 1200 seems to make the most sense financially, since they have money invested in talent (both local and syndicated.) But, I don't know how successful it will be. Considering the right wing slant of the station, it really needs to reach the 'burbs (where most of the Republicans are) and 101.7 just doesn't do that well. I can see them trying it, and after a year or two flipping to a music format targeting minorities since that's who primarily lives in the signal's strongest areas. They only have the one FM in Worcester, which they won't sacrifice to prop up 101.7, especially when it would duplicate programming already heard on AM sister WTAG.

 

[raccoonradio]

True about the 'burbs; 101.7 may cover some but certainly not all. 1200 can do well by day in
many areas but many do complain about the coverage. Putting them on FM, the preferred
band, can help them a bit in the core demo and maybe even attract some younger listeners.
(The political opinions of talk radio listeners aren't necessarily rock-solid with the hosts. You will
find conservatives, moderates, and liberals listening. You will find some who are fiscal
conservative but social liberal--and hosts like Dennis Miller agree with them. The key is to
be entertaining, informative, etc.

CC may be targeting the big city and some surburbs and for those who can't get 1200 or
101.7, well keep in mind they also have 610 in NH, 920 in RI, and 580/94.9 in Worcester. You could
almost imagine their hosts Katz, Severin, and/or Howie, should he get hired, being syndicated
to the other stations. (Right now all do have local morning shows though, and 580 has Jordan
Levy in pm drive. But imagine 101.7 and 1200 being added to this.

One could imagine the following lineup on 580: Jim Polito, Beck (or a rescheduled Katz), Rush,
Howie, Jordan Levy, Sean Hannity delayed. (who's to say whether or not Katz or other CC
employees might be cut loose to make room, though)

>>(where most of the Republicans are)
Keep in mind many in this state and elsewhere are registered Unenrolled, myself included. Yes
that may mean voting for many GOP candidates. Reg. Howie caller Josh From Vermont keeps
saying "You Republicans" etc...technically Howie is unenrolled.

>>They only have the one FM in Worcester

96.1 WSRS--make that 2. Don't forget the 94.9 simulcast of WTAG
Signal range of W235 AV:
http://radio-locator.com/pats/W235AV_FX_LU.gif

Not too shabby
WTAG logo http://www.wtag.com/template/masthead/wtag_am-fm_200.jpg
"AM 580 FM 94.9"

I wonder if CC will find FM homes for WHJJ and WGIR...btw WKXL (not owned by them)
in Concord NH is also on FM 103.9. Check out their logo on their website.
Care to guess which station is listed first? Yup. FM, folks.
http://concordnewsradio.com/

 

[raccoonradio]

And don't forget all the people listening online, or via their pheunes, as Inspector Clouseau
would pronounce it. IHeartRadio lists 96.9 and Talk 1200.

 

[Fenway1912]

My understanding is the Red Sox deal is $16M a year.

Entercom was very unhappy when John Henry decided to show up announced at WBZ-FM last October.

Personally I think the Red Sox will be sold before 2016. If they are sold I would expect Comcast to at least sniff as the cable giant pays a small fortune in fees for NESN.

Someone said Ent. overpaid for Sox rights and MKK was helping to fund that,

Just wondering, but do you really think that is the way radio groups do accounting, or are you just reporting that that is the way 'someone' else thinks radio groups do accounting?

Well, I don't think anyone on the boards has actual numbers per se, but what was public knowledge was that Entercom paid a goddamn fortune ($20mil/yr) for the Sox rights and did it to a ten-year lease. This was between their two recent WS wins so the Sox could get away with demanding a high price, but there's no possible way that it COULDN'T be an albatross around Entercom's neck by now. Even in the salad days pre-Great Recession (and pre-98.5 SportsHub), I saw a report that WEEI alone had $36mil in annual revenue one year...which means before ANY other expenses were considered, you had to lop $20mil off that just to pay the Sox. Ouch. I highly highly highly doubt that WEEI is still bringing in THAT much money anymore. Not in this economy.

As much as I'm sure Entercom is sweating renegotiating the rights again in 2016, I'm sure they're looking forward to inking something at a MUCH lower dollar value. I can't believe anyone is gonna pay the Sox anywhere near that much money again, even if they win the WS four years in a row between then and now.

 

[Baholden1994]

Talk 1200 doesn't need to go on 101.7 that would make Boston have it's fourth FM Talk station there's already Talk radio on 93.7 96.9 and 98.5 they don't need another Country station there's already one a strong signal 102.5 since Boston is the largest city in the country without an Urban station it would make sense if they put one on 101.7.