WLIB After The Scandal

[bierkenstock]

Everywhere but New York, Air America radio provides programs free to stations and gets to sell spots in the programs (plus stations get local avails). In New York, they pay rent to Percy Sutton for WLIB. They get to run the network spots in the shows and to sell local spots, but there don't seem to be many local spots. AAR has abandoned the rent-a-station business model everywhere else.

Now AAR has to pay back all the money prior management "borrowed" from the Boys and Girl's Club in the Bronx. AAR's 12+ numbers continue to slip from minimal to next-to-nothing. AAR claims they have good numbers in the money demos but now some articles (including a speech by AAR's CEO) suggest their numbers in the money demos are not all that great.

Can AAR generate enough local sales to make a profit on WLIB as a stand-alone station (not part of a cluster or sales package) with a mediocre signal and poor numbers?

Can AAR afford to continue renting WLIB?

Would AAR be better off making a standard syndication deal with a New York station? Would any local station be interested in such a deal?

WBBR? Better stick but despite poor numbers, da mare seems willing to let the station continue as is to promote his financial news service.

WEPN or WQEW? Might be an attractive addition to ABC's local sales package complimenting WABC but ABC loses local clearance for ESPN Radio or Disney.

WOR? Poor numbers, expensive operation, but a great stick. Progressive talk could be more profitable for Buckley.

 

[Scribbler]

WLIB/Air America

>
> AAR claims they have good numbers in the
> money demos but now some articles (including a speech by
> AAR's CEO) suggest their numbers in the money demos are not
> all that great.

Really? What did he say? All I know about the "money demo" (25-54) is what I read in a Limbaugh/Premiere press release -- that in New York Al Franken has a 25-54 audience that's two-thirds as large as Rush Limbaugh's, even though Franken is on WLIB's terrible signal and Limbaugh is on a flame-thrower.

> Would AAR be better off making a standard syndication deal
> with a New York station?

Of course it would, if it could get on any of the 50,000 watt AMs you mentioned or one of several FMs. AAR appeals to a younger demo than the conservative talkers, and most young people are only dimly aware of AM, if they have it at all. Most of the new portable devices with built-in radios have FM only.

That said, I think that if AAR was on a station like WOR, it could duplicate the success it's having in Portland, where KPOJ is #5 overall and the #1 AM in 25-54. And yes, KPOJ now has a good local morning show, but it was doing well even with Morning Sedition. And yes, Portland is a liberal city, but the Portland market is no more liberal than the New York City market, as evidenced by the fact that Clackamas County, the big suburban county just to the south of the city, went for Bush in 2004.

Would any local station be
> interested in such a deal?
>
> WBBR? Better stick but despite poor numbers, da mare seems
> willing to let the station continue as is to promote his
> financial news service.
>
> WEPN or WQEW? Might be an attractive addition to ABC's
> local sales package complimenting WABC but ABC loses local
> clearance for ESPN Radio or Disney.
>
> WOR? Poor numbers, expensive operation, but a great stick.
> Progressive talk could be more profitable for Buckley.
> <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Scribbler on 08/06/05 09:23 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[MikeConway]

Re: Air America on WOR

Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR a few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might call "Anti-America Radio".

 

[Scribbler]

Re: Air America on WOR

> Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR a
> few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I
> doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might call
> "Anti-America Radio".

Hmm. If he's that conservative he must think that Lionel is "anti-American." How about $300 million? That would be chicken feed to George Soros and, as every true conservative knows, Soros is already buying time on 66 other stations to keep Air America on the air (sarcasm).
> <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Scribbler on 08/07/05 02:57 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Nate Wesley]

WOR might not be an ideal place...

> > Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR a
>
> > few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I
> > doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might call
>
> > "Anti-America Radio".
>
> Hmm. If he's that conservative he must think that Lionel is
> "anti-American." How about $300 million? That would be
> chicken feed to George Soros and, as every true conservative
> knows, Soros is already buying time on 66 other stations to
> keep Air America on the air (sarcasm).
> >
>
WOR might not be an ideal alternative since it's been a conservative talker for so long. <P ID="signature">______________
There's nothing to see here.</P>

 

[davideduardo]

Re: Soros and AA... Urban Legend.

> > Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR a
>
> > few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I
> > doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might call
>
> > "Anti-America Radio".
>
> Hmm. If he's that conservative he must think that Lionel is
> "anti-American." How about $300 million? That would be
> chicken feed to George Soros and, as every true conservative
> knows, Soros is already buying time on 66 other stations to
> keep Air America on the air (sarcasm).

The only AA station getting AA ocmpensation is WLIB, which is in an LMA. The rest get the programming free in exchange for a specfied number of avails per hour... the standard syndication mode.

Soros, today, has nothing to do with AA. Urban legend.

 

[Scribbler]

Re: Soros and AA... Urban Legend.

> Soros, today, has nothing to do with AA. Urban legend.
>
Of course. I was being sarcastic. And even if Soros was funding AAR, that would be no different than Rubert Murdoch pouring many millions into the Fox News Channel for years before it finally turned a profit. The number I've heard is that FNC lost $130 million in its first two years alone. And Murdoch's New York Post, which he's owned for many years, still loses tens of millions every year.

 

[DiamondJoe]

Re: Air America on WOR

> > Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR a
> > few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I
> > doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might call
> > "Anti-America Radio".
>
> Hmm. If he's that conservative he must think that Lionel is
> "anti-American." How about $300 million?

And here I am, still counting the days until Clear Channel finally takes that blowtorch off Rick's hands...<P ID="signature">______________


New York City Radio and TV</P>

 

[NewsVet]

Re: Air America on WOR

> > > Rick Buckley turned down an offer of 200 million for WOR
> a
> > > few years ago. While AAR stands for Air America Radio, I
>
> > > doubt he'd lease time to what Conservative Rick might
> call
> > > "Anti-America Radio".
> >
> > Hmm. If he's that conservative he must think that Lionel
> is
> > "anti-American." How about $300 million?
>
> And here I am, still counting the days until Clear Channel
> finally takes that blowtorch off Rick's hands...

Or how about this scenerio: Clear Channel buys all of ABC's radio stations in NYC, leaves the WABC format as is, and scraps Radio Disney for Progressive Talk.

By the way, if Rick is so Conservative, how come he not only has the liberal Lionel on 710, but also the liberal Dr. Joy? I'm sure that Dr. Laura would be glad to step up from WWDJ.
>