WOR MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY

[jmtillery]

When did WOR replace Joey Reynolds with Coast-To-AM? According to the WOR Radio Network website, Joey Reynolds is still listed on the schedule. Could it be that Reynold's is still on the network but not on WOR radio?

 

[Rusty Muck]

That occurred back in March. I guess WOR never thought of bothering to update their network page; Joey's show was canceled altogether. (Most of his affiliates likely plugged in either Phil Hendrie, or John and Jeff.)

 

[radioguy39nj]

WOR is Buckley's only property in NY, just as WGN is Tribune's only radio property in Chicago. It has been speculated that WOR would be sold to CC and flipped to Rush Radio, but there's nothing to substantiate that. WOR carries Glenn Beck, WABC has long been the NY home of Rush and Sean.

Occaisionally, speculation comes out that Buckley wants out of NY, but who could they sell to? CC is in no position financially to purchase WOR.

 

[TheBigA]

Occaisionally, speculation comes out that Buckley wants out of NY, but who could they sell to? CC is in no position financially to purchase WOR.

Truthfully, no one who currently own stations in NY is in a position financially to purchase WOR. The only major owners with any cash right now are Cumulus or Townsquare. Neither own stations in NYC. To be a stand-alone AM in NYC wouldn't be very smart. To buy it with a couple of FMs (like 102) would make more sense. But these things take more time than they used to. So WOR is in a holding pattern.

Still, even under new owners, the prognosis isn't better for local talk. Cumulus doesn't have a lot of experience in local talk. If CC were to buy, they'd simply move their syndication from WABC to WOR. WABC would likely import talk shows from KABC and KGO, rather than hire someone in New York...mainly for the same reason I'v stated earlier: Who would they hire that could attract a larger audience than a syndicated host with an established fan base?

 

[DToTheJ]

IMHO, WOR will never drop Lou Dobbs because he also does business news on John Gambling's show, so he does have some local NY presence.

No big deal; Dobbs' daily financial minute is syndicated and probably comes as an option to stations that carry his talk show. WOR can simply fill that void with someone from The Wall Street Journal or even MarketWatch.

 

[radioguy39nj]

Occaisionally, speculation comes out that Buckley wants out of NY, but who could they sell to? CC is in no position financially to purchase WOR.

Truthfully, no one who currently own stations in NY is in a position financially to purchase WOR. The only major owners with any cash right now are Cumulus or Townsquare. Neither own stations in NYC. To be a stand-alone AM in NYC wouldn't be very smart. To buy it with a couple of FMs (like 102) would make more sense. But these things take more time than they used to. So WOR is in a holding pattern.

Still, even under new owners, the prognosis isn't better for local talk. Cumulus doesn't have a lot of experience in local talk. If CC were to buy, they'd simply move their syndication from WABC to WOR. WABC would likely import talk shows from KABC and KGO, rather than hire someone in New York...mainly for the same reason I'v stated earlier: Who would they hire that could attract a larger audience than a syndicated host with an established fan base?

I don't think Cumulus is in any top 10 market to begin with, so I doubt they'd come to New York. I never heard of Townsquare.

The only operator I can think of with cash and expertise in talk radio is Bonneville. I agree, the only way they'd buy WOR would be in combination with one or two FMs. Bonneville would reinvent WOR and migrate it to FM, as they've done in Phoenix, Seattle and DC.

Bonneville has a long history in New York, having owned 105.1 FM for over three decades, first as beautiful music WRFM for about 20 years, then AC under different calls and handles. They sold 105.1 to Chancellor in 1997 and left the New York market.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think Cumulus is in any top 10 market to begin with, so I doubt they'd come to New York. I never heard of Townsquare.

Cumulus is in Dallas. They bought Susquahana a few years ago. They also have a move-in in Westchester. A few months ago, they announced they'd secured a pile of cash in financing, and was about to go on a buying spree. So far, no deals.

Townsquare is the company that bought what used to be Regent. They also bought Gap West. Regent owns a group in Buffalo. They are based in Connecticut.

The only operator I can think of with cash and expertise in talk radio is Bonneville. I agree, the only way they'd buy WOR would be in combination with one or two FMs. Bonneville would reinvent WOR and migrate it to FM, as they've done in Phoenix, Seattle and DC.

I forgot about Bonneville. Yes, they have money. But they would need an FM license to migrate WOR to FM. It would be easier and cheaper to simply buy an FM, forget about WOR, and flip the format.

But they would be faced with the same problem I keep mentioning: WHO would they hire that has established credibility and audience base? And would that person be willing to be restricted to NYC when there's syndication money floating around? Rudy Guiliani wouldn't do it. And he was available.

 

[radioguy39nj]

IMHO, there is enough unemployed talk radio talent in the NY/NJ area to fully staff a talk station. I still say the only reason WABC does as well as it does is because it has only token competition from WOR. New York talk radio listeners simply don't have a choice! If a well-planned and executed local alternative to WABC and WOR became available, those two stations would be negatively impacted.

CBS' three AM stations in NY, WFAN (sports), WCBS (news) and WINS (news) are successful because their focus is New York. A potential operator of an FM talk station in New York should take heed of that.

 

[TheBigA]

IMHO, there is enough unemployed talk radio talent in the NY/NJ area to fully staff a talk station.

The goal shouldn't be to put warm bodies in a chair, but to create a SUCCESSFUL talk station. Just any warm body hosting local talk is no solution. It needs to be someone special. That kind of person costs money. They kind of person usually wants a national audience.

I've already mentioned two specific New Yorkers who were shopping talk shows to local stations, namely Elliot Spitzer and Rudy Guiliani. Neither ended up doing deals with local stations for various reasons, mostly centered around the needs of the host. So be specific: Who can a new station hoping to appeal to listeners under 50 hire who has credibility, knowledge, depth, and audience base that will also fit a local budget? This is the problem facing the folks at WABC and WOR, and anyone else who seeks to come into this format.

 

[scott5]

I think Run Kuby would appeal to listeners under 50 who has credibility, knowledge etc. How about letting Steve malzberg do a real local oriented show , do we need Malzberg to talk Obama Obama in the same time Hannity does it ??

 

[radioguy39nj]

Talk radio's very survival depends on more local programming and less national. People want to talk about issues relevant to them and where they live. New York ad agencies will need to let go of the mentality, "if it's not on in NYC, it doesn't deserve ad dollars." That is when local talk radio will make a renaissance in New York.