• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Will Clear Channel sell their stations in the triangle?

T

tothedj

You may have noticed "Clear Channel" is selling off a number of stations because
they went on a spending spree and bought far too many outlets, my question is,
will they sell their Triangle area stations?
If so, will new owners keep some of the current formats?, if i was them, i would
make changes, especially to WRVA 100.7 and WRDU 106.1.
 
It is an interesting thought, however, I don't think it will happen.

1) The Triangle, Triad and Charlotte stations make a great cluster, providing great wall to wall coverage of the bulk of North Carolina's population.

2) With the consolidated management, it is a very effecient grouping of stations.

3) With the Charlotte market moving to Top 25, it opens more national sales opportunities. Combo the three markets and it makes a very attractive buy for agencies.
 
The stations CC is selling off are in WAAAAY smaller markets than RDU. They just need to get some folks in there that know what they're doin
 
I chime in with X-Talker on this one. I don't think CC will sell one market in a state where they have such a dominant presence with three markets. Way too efficient! More likely they'll sell stations in areas where they don't have such a strong presence. CC is all about efficiency and consolidation. A move like that would be counter to their philosophy.
 
tothedj said:
You may have noticed "Clear Channel" is selling off a number of stations because
they went on a spending spree and bought far too many outlets, my question is,
will they sell their Triangle area stations?
If so, will new owners keep some of the current formats?, if i was them, i would
make changes, especially to WRVA 100.7 and WRDU 106.1.
Click to expand...

My suggestions:

In Raleigh--- leave Kiss and G105 alone, tweak The River to allow them a better shot at competing with 96Rock, and Kill The Rooster!

In Greensboro--- tweak WMKS 105.7 to sound more like WKSL 93.9 in Raleigh, rather than mess up WMAG--- and do something about that weak-as-dishwater signal on MKS! They're trying to compete with WQMG with a signal that doesn't hold a candle to QMG's, and that may well be their downfall...
 
If Clear Channel could just pick up some stations in Fayetteville and Wilmington they would have the state covered from Asheville to the coast.
 
:eek: The way I look at it, they don't know what to do with what they have got..Why Lord would they pick up more when they are selling them off..?
 
I wouldn't expect them to add any NC stations. Remaining markets don't really fit the current business model. They like large and major markets and seem to be selling off small and medium ones. Wilmington and Fayetteville just don't fit.

As for their performance - I suspect if you look at the balance sheet, CC is doing quite well. Low overhead, decent revenue - the bottom line is healthy. From a sheer business perspective, they are doing fine. The company, like it or not, has perfected the synergy thing and taken full advantage of technology to operate at the minimum cost. the bottom line is the bottom line.

Now, from a pure radio perspective, they leave a lot to be desired.
 
You might want to look over the balance sheet once more... they're not selling the small/ mid market stations because they're losers...the radio division profit margin, and hence investor return, is not what the company promised stockholders. They're demanding results. Those stations are being sold to reduce the staggering debt load, as there is little room to further trim operational costs. I'd be surprised if CC stops at selling "only" 400 stations.

I suspect you're right in there are no plans to add NC stations. Those markets not already covered don't produce the revenue levels it takes to keep the monster fed.
 
You're right on Nextline. They're selling to reduce the debt load and try to pacify investors. Although there is little room to further trim operational costs, don't underestimate them. The CC monster won't be happy until they're hitting budgets with a handful of salespeople who just sit at computers and broker the time like National Sales Managers. Have you read the articles about them selling spots over the Internet. They're still looking for ways to reduce the number of bodies it takes to operate.
 
That's why they're addicted to voicetracking and syndication. Please the Wall Streeters first, and the heck with the listeners.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom