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Why Is WBLS' Owner Buying WRKS' Intellectual Property?

B

Barry

YMF Media, the new owner of WBLS, reportedly will be paying Emmis Communications millions of dollars for the intellectual property of the former r&b station.
Can someone explain what WBLS will be getting in exchange for this? I would not be asking this question if 'BLS now imaged itself as Kiss FM, or something similar. I understand that the owner would have to pay for those rights.
But apparently the sound of the station is continuing relatively unchanged, except that they have hired some Kiss personalities for a few dayparts. What is in this deal that I may be missing?
 
It is definitely a unique transaction, but my GUESS is that it was:

1. a good way for BLS to transition Kiss listeners to 107.5 (and hope the market share comes with them)
2. local talent (and the market share that might bring over)
3. possibly keep another operator (although highly unlikely) from using the (R&B) Kiss FM branding

I'm not so sure they paid 'millions of dollars'. Where did you get that?
 
It has been reported YMF spent 10 million dollars. Considering the nearly 30 years of equity in the Kiss-FM brand, it is money well spent. If for no other reason, it keeps it from a competitor. Or it may be an investment should Clear Channel want to rebrand it's CHR in NYC.
 
ncountysurf said:
I'm not so sure they paid 'millions of dollars'. Where did you get that?
Click to expand...

I read this in Emmis' own financial filing. If I am understanding it correctly, YMF agreed to pay $10,000,000 for "certain intellectual property rights." In fact it also states YMF agreed to assume certain liabilities, and pay additional fees to Emmis based on certain revenue guidelines.
This deal between YMF and Emmis appears to be quite a win for the latter. It seems unlikely another r&b station will start up in New York with the Kiss brand. And if a station in another format were to call itself Kiss, my guess is that it would not significantly affect WBLS' ratings.
BTW, the filing indicates that revenues less expenses for Kiss were less than one million dollars for the year ended February 29.

Where I got that (The section entitled Asset Purchase Agreement): http://biz.yahoo.com/e/120426/emms8-k.html
 
Today, WCBS-FM has selected for their CBS-FM Hall Of Fame, heard at the bottom of each hour, A Little Kiss of R&B. The announcer suggests listeners tune in if their R&B station has suddenly disappeared. And I have noticed a subtly heavier rotation of R&B tracks played on WCBS-FM during the time I've listened this afternoon.

I post this here because while others have suggested the likelihood of another station picking up the "Kiss" branding is remote at best, the New York market has proven many times over to expect the unexpected. I do not think that WCBS-FM has any immediate plans to re-brand. Nonetheless, other non-heritage stations with room to experiment might have tried to recapture the "Kiss" brand.
 
What if another NY station did a promotion with the Hershey Company of Hershey, PA. and gave away Hershey's kisses with a touch of your favorite R and B Music? By the way if you want to talk trademarks, I think Hershey's (founded in 1909) is the granddaddy of them all!
Not to mention the human race has been kissing since the beginning of our existance!
 
deals3rd said:
It has been reported YMF spent 10 million dollars. Considering the nearly 30 years of equity in the Kiss-FM brand, it is money well spent. If for no other reason, it keeps it from a competitor. Or it may be an investment should Clear Channel want to rebrand it's CHR in NYC.
Click to expand...

Z-100 to 100.3 Kiss FM? hmmmmm.......Naaaah. :p KTU to 103.5 Kiss FM? ...Maybe

Both Names are Pretty Heritage and established I doubt CC would use it. Honestly, Changing Z to Kiss would probably have a negative effect.
 
I would be angry if they switched Z to Kiss or even KTU to Kiss. This isn't some medium sized crap market, this is NYC, the Top dog in the Country. People from other countries know our city over all the others in the country. We gotta be better than the rest and we are. I still don't understand why BLS didn't go and Kiss Stayed...either way sounds stupid to me to have it this way.
 
XCountry285 said:
People from other countries know our city over all the others in the country.
Click to expand...

Actually, as one who has lived and worked in quite a few other countries, I hate to tell you that the most famous city is actually not even a city at all... Hollywood!

I still don't understand why BLS didn't go and Kiss Stayed...either way sounds stupid to me to have it this way.
Click to expand...

Kiss "went" because it was minimally profitable and the owner needed to come up with a way to improve profitability. WBLS, on the other hand, had just gone through a forced sale to its lenders and is in a more stable condition and thus becomes the survivor.
 
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