What will Become of WXLW 950

[N_D_Radioguy]

Byrd paid $3 million. My guess is he wouldn't sell for less than that.

That's a lot of overcooked chicken and lime Jell-o to sell to the Bluehairs of Johnson County.

At what point does he give up on return of investment [which was WAY too much to begin with] and just cut and run?

 

[ChiefEngineer]

Hello !

Great that you note how much the Byrds overpaid for WXLW but you missed something.

Many in radio think that when you buy a station you buy something other than air.

Shirk sold XL for 700k. KEPT THE LAND.

Hood Sold XL for 3 MIL. BOUGHT THE LAND FROM SHIRK. (2 MIL?) College Education for young child Shirk.

Without ESPN there is no value to XL.

The towers went up in 1956 and were maintained until Hood bought the place. (Rust anyone?) Nice new 5 kw transmitter. (10 grand on Ebay?)

With all the employees the Byrds are bleeding 50k a month or more on top of the 3 million dollar note. This doesn't include the 5 MIL Hood wants for the FM or the 3 MIL he wants for XL's land.

Momma has to be askin why all of dad's money is going in a hole.

Land in Boone County isn't cheap enough.


I would like to hear Spanish out of Chicago and expect this will be soon.

 

[DeVasher]

Hello !

Great that you note how much the Byrds overpaid for WXLW but you missed something.

Many in radio think that when you buy a station you buy something other than air.

Shirk sold XL for 700k. KEPT THE LAND.

Hood Sold XL for 3 MIL. BOUGHT THE LAND FROM SHIRK. (2 MIL?) College Education for young child Shirk.

Without ESPN there is no value to XL.

The towers went up in 1956 and were maintained until Hood bought the place. (Rust anyone?) Nice new 5 kw transmitter. (10 grand on Ebay?)

With all the employees the Byrds are bleeding 50k a month or more on top of the 3 million dollar note. This doesn't include the 5 MIL Hood wants for the FM or the 3 MIL he wants for XL's land.

Momma has to be askin why all of dad's money is going in a hole.

Land in Boone County isn't cheap enough.


I would like to hear Spanish out of Chicago and expect this will be soon.

So who owns the land now? Hood or Byrd?

 

[Timewarp]

Here's what I'd do. I'd keep my local sports and events. But, I'd dump ESPN today. Why keep
promoting them for the competition?

I'd fill that ESPN time with Classic Country and take a bite out of Jeff and Hank! I can make
Hank Williams sound just as good on AM as he can on FM. And, I'd go deeper into that sound
than Jeff would dare. And, Classic Country listeners just might still listen to AM.

Try to dump me and I'll dump you first. I'd let ESPN be off the air till January.

 

[radioho]

Here's what I'd do. I'd keep my local sports and events. But, I'd dump ESPN today. Why keep
promoting them for the competition?

I'd fill that ESPN time with Classic Country and take a bite out of Jeff and Hank! I can make
Hank Williams sound just as good on AM as he can on FM. And, I'd go deeper into that sound
than Jeff would dare. And, Classic Country listeners just might still listen to AM.

Try to dump me and I'll dump you first. I'd let ESPN be off the air till January.

Could be that the ESPN/WXLW contract expires at the first of the year. If so, then WXLW would be in breach of contract if they dump before the agreement expires. If ESPN is breaking the agreement, then you have a good point.

However, in theory, WxLW could have advertisers that are there BECAUSE of the espn shows. But we're talking about WXLW and $5 spots, so not sure that would be an issue.

Interesting that WIBC is waiting until January to make the change, which may be because the agreement with WXLW is up then. But I'm not privy to inside info, so don't know.

 

[Timewarp]

ESPN got WXLW a .6. Both parties should be more than glad to end the egreement.
I wouldn't let my business play a second fiddle. I'd dump ESPN so fast and let
some classic country stars play the fiddle instead.

Once upon a time, a network tried to dump a station I managed. But, I dumped them first.
Then, the new guy didn't make it with them. So, they were out in the cold. This is what
happens when you are not true to your school!!!

 

[radioho]

In general, I'm in complete agreement with you timewarp. I'm sure you enjoyed the screwing of the network, then leave them out in the cold - gotta love that.

But concerning XLW, again, ESPN may be in complete compliance, in which case, it would be wrong for WXLW to pull the plug ahead of agreement conclusion.

And it's not ESPN's fault that WXLW has a .6 - ESPN does GREAT in other cities. It's the lack of quality talent, board ops, salespeople, overall station operation that keeps them at a .6 or below.

I'm sorry, but station personel are usually the reason a station has a low local rating/reputation. NO ONE would take that station as a serious, credible sports outlet. The sports breaks often sound like interns, the commercials are all either Rakestraw or Wakamurka (usually talking about the horse track or Rake's next big FOOD remote).

Just doesn't have any credibility.

The same will be true if WIBC can take ESPN to a 2 or 3 (wouldn't that be a kick), but if they do, it's still the same ESPN, the difference, as in all other cities, would be the local programming and credibility placed around the ESPN programming.

Then again, WIBC could just be using the AM as a dumping ground for live games, remotes, etc. and not be concerned with a low rating.

 

[BSURadioGeek]

ESPN Radio in other markets don't always do so well, either. WNDE gets a 1.1 in Indy with FoxSR. WMVP in Chicago (ESPN 1000) gets a 1.2 (The Score WSCR gets a 1.8 ). 1050 ESPN in NY doesn't even show up on the books, while WFAN gets a 2.4.

In smaller markets ESPN either doesn't show up, or has a little more luck, like in Cleveland (2.6 rating). WIBC's last book was in the 6s. Do they think they can pull in anything near that with sports in general, even with ESPN?

Oh, and Brad spells his odd name Wochomurka. Had to look it up myself. Everytime I hear it, I think of Fozzy Bear. Wacka-wacka-wacka!

 

[Ur-A-Dawg]

They'd be off our stations as well. Our lawyer would get us out like, last week!
We'd also go after the guy who took it away. Classic country would be fine on AM.

 

[radioho]

You're going to 'go after' Emmis? Good luck with that.

If ESPN's contract is up with WXLW at end of the year, they have every ethical right to go with a 50k as opposed to 5k - if YOU were ESPN tell me this wouldn't be a MUCH better arrangement?

ESPN Radio in other markets don't always do so well, either. WNDE gets a 1.1 in Indy with FoxSR. WMVP in Chicago (ESPN 1000) gets a 1.2 (The Score WSCR gets a 1.8 ). 1050 ESPN in NY doesn't even show up on the books, while WFAN gets a 2.4.

At the very least proving my point that the .6 in Indy is the station, not the network. You can quote low ratings all day long, but for instance, for every LOW market you list, I can find successes:

Toronto 640 in the latest book had a 9.7 share of the adult male audience while The Fan's 640's share of the afternoon drive rose 29 per cent to 2.7 - http://www.thestar.com/article/262475

WEEI in Boston is carrying a 5 average
KTCK-AM/KTDK-FM is average a 2.8
KNBR-AM average 3.3

And a TON of other cities with 2 to 3+ averages.

Jak and RZX are overall at 3 and 4, so a sports station pulling in a 3 would be big.

And three sports stations would only hurt the bottom two. IBC will likely carry a majority of local listeners.

Classic Country is one very good way to go for XLW, allowing it to keep the Indians income (at night when the only people that can pick it up are within two blocks south of 56th street tower) and other block time sales.

A syndicated Classic Country format is much cheaper - no on air staff needed - and would be unique to the area.

 

[Robb_Reel]

ESPN Radio in other markets don't always do so well, either. WNDE gets a 1.1 in Indy with FoxSR. WMVP in Chicago (ESPN 1000) gets a 1.2 (The Score WSCR gets a 1.8 ). 1050 ESPN in NY doesn't even show up on the books, while WFAN gets a 2.4.

Toronto 640 in the latest book had a 9.7 share of the adult male audience while The Fan's 640's share of the afternoon drive rose 29 per cent to 2.7 - http://www.thestar.com/article/262475

WEEI in Boston is carrying a 5 average
KTCK-AM/KTDK-FM is average a 2.8
KNBR-AM average 3.3

None of these 12+ numbers tells the important part of the story. It really comes down to how each station and its ownership define success. Is the station playing to win the overall market? Is the station concentrating on a particular demo? Will a 2.0 in Sports/Talk earn more revenue than a 6.0 in News/Talk?

When I programmed KTGR in Columbia, MO, we pulled around a 2.8 overall. That's good for about 12th place 12+ in a significantly smaller but similarly-structured market. However, we came to dominate Men 18-34 both overall and among individual dayparts, with shares in the 12.0-18.0 range, and made huge strides in Men 18-49. This translated into huge revenue increases with advertisers targeting those demos. It also meant revenue increases involving combo-buys with our Classic Rocker, our Hot FM Talk and our traditional News/Talk in Jeff City. We did it all without Mizzou athletics, the big fish in that pond. What looked like a languishing station in the 12+ overalls was actually a rapidly growing revenue machine. It comes down to how you define success.

As much as some may decry "cluster mentality," it is the reality of radio. I'm not sure anyone here is properly positioned to know how this move is meant to fit into Emmis' overall plan for success.

As for XLW dumping ESPN immediately, they still may not know what to do yet. If they are dealing with a non-renewal by ESPN -- like when the Red Sox didn't "fire" Grady Little; they just didn't sign him to a new contract -- and neither party is in breach, they may just stick it out. Were it my decision alone, I would drop the programming ASAP but air the ESPN spots through the end of the contract. That's what the contract is really about anyway: airing the spots.

I was blessed with a short name, but if I had to carry around "Wochomurka" I would have changed that to something shorter and easier to spell the first chance I got. I would have become "Brad Walker" in about five minutes. Good for him for sticking with the family name.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

You're going to 'go after' Emmis? Good luck with that.

If ESPN's contract is up with WXLW at end of the year, they have every ethical right to go with a 50k as opposed to 5k - if YOU were ESPN tell me this wouldn't be a MUCH better arrangement?

ESPN Radio in other markets don't always do so well, either. WNDE gets a 1.1 in Indy with FoxSR. WMVP in Chicago (ESPN 1000) gets a 1.2 (The Score WSCR gets a 1.8 ). 1050 ESPN in NY doesn't even show up on the books, while WFAN gets a 2.4.

At the very least proving my point that the .6 in Indy is the station, not the network. You can quote low ratings all day long, but for instance, for every LOW market you list, I can find successes:

Toronto 640 in the latest book had a 9.7 share of the adult male audience while The Fan's 640's share of the afternoon drive rose 29 per cent to 2.7 - http://www.thestar.com/article/262475

WEEI in Boston is carrying a 5 average
KTCK-AM/KTDK-FM is average a 2.8
KNBR-AM average 3.3

And a TON of other cities with 2 to 3+ averages.

Jak and RZX are overall at 3 and 4, so a sports station pulling in a 3 would be big.

And three sports stations would only hurt the bottom two. IBC will likely carry a majority of local listeners.

Classic Country is one very good way to go for XLW, allowing it to keep the Indians income (at night when the only people that can pick it up are within two blocks south of 56th street tower) and other block time sales.

A syndicated Classic Country format is much cheaper - no on air staff needed - and would be unique to the area.

Syndicated Classic Country pulls about a 1 in Louisville on a much weaker signal on 1450. That may not be a bad option for XL.

 

[EStreeter]

Robb_Reel,

Brad used to work under me in Noblesville. No one could pronounce or spell his name so we just started calling him Buttafuoco to make it easy on everyone. He is a heck of a nice guy, a hard worker, and I hope he ends up landing on his feet somewhere when this thing all goes through.

 

[radioho]

Brad used to work under me in Noblesville. No one could pronounce or spell his name so we just started calling him Buttafuoco to make it easy on everyone. He is a heck of a nice guy, a hard worker, and I hope he ends up landing on his feet somewhere when this thing all goes through.

Buttafuco? Like JOEY? THAT'S FUNNY! Does he respond to that name?

In my haste to prove my very valid, dead-on points here, I realized I have personally assaulted those in the sports radio biz locally maybe a bit much, and while I stand by all my posts, I certainly have no personal ill-will towards these people that I have never met.

I'm sure there are many positive attributes all these gentleman (rakestraw, wacamurka, Lee) share - strong desire to work hard at what they do, they show up and put in a LOT of hours on the air (can't be fun doing those golf remotes and horse track trips to Anderson), and it's not like they've been given an open check book, or much of a budget for promotions, marketing, etc.

For the record, my criticism/argument about local sports talk is PERCEIVED credibility and experience as compared to other cities (or even compared to Mark Boyle). But these are all personal opinions.

Best of luck to all involved in this upcoming game of 'musical chairs' - and maybe the 'fierce' competition in sports radio locally will raise the bar for everyone. I'm just an outside observer with (extremely insightful) opinions.

 

[iluvri07]

What will WXLW do when it loses ESPN Radio to 1070 WIBC-Am in 90 days

Smooth Jazz. Works on AM in Cinti w/ WCIN.