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WRKO bleeps out "Sirius XM" merger news

XM and Sirius are the wave of the future,,

Actually, SatRad is done, without ever having made a dent in the media landscape. Hell, if their business plans hadn't tanked and they had to beg the government to bail them out, they wouldn't be getting any ink at all.

Who in their right mind would listen to Terrestrial , 12 commercials and 2 songs!!!

Well, if terrestrial music radio actually was formatted to give you a 6 to 1 commercials/song ratio, you'd probably have a case. But, since it isn't, terrestrial radio, in the face of the real competition, digital audio, has held up pretty well.

At XM weve got Wolfman Jack, Phlash Phelps, Pat Clarke,and Marty with the party,, all commercial free,,at Sirius its Mr Music Norm N Nite,,,Cousin Brucie,,and Pat St John,, For music its always going to be Satellite!!!!!!!!

That's nice. If they could have figured out a way to get folks to pay for it Sat Radio might have turned into something other than perpetual money burning machines. I got sIRIUS

4 XMs since 05
3 Sirius since 05
Clear Channel worships satan
 
Let's try that again....

XM and Sirius are the wave of the future,,

Actually, SatRad is done, without ever having made a dent in the media landscape. Hell, if their business plans hadn't tanked and they had to beg the government to bail them out, they wouldn't be getting any ink at all.

Who in their right mind would listen to Terrestrial , 12 commercials and 2 songs!!!

Well, if terrestrial music radio actually was formatted to give you a 6 to 1 commercials/song ratio, you'd probably have a case. But, since it isn't, terrestrial radio, in the face of the real competition, digital audio, has held up pretty well.

At XM weve got Wolfman Jack, Phlash Phelps, Pat Clarke,and Marty with the party,, all commercial free,,at Sirius its Mr Music Norm N Nite,,,Cousin Brucie,,and Pat St John,, For music its always going to be Satellite!!!!!!!!

That's nice. If they could have figured out a way to get folks to pay for it Sat Radio might have turned into something other than perpetual money burning machines. And, as the result of the merger, if the combined companies go to ala carte pricing, you can bet that any programming that doesn't pay its own way is going to go away.

I got SIRIUS tossed in for free when I got my new Explorer, and I imagine if I listen long enough I might even find something I'd be willing to pay for. But, on the other hand, it does appear to be a cure for which there is no known disease. As for music, for the price of a Sat Radio sub I can OWN every song I've ever wanted to hear more than once and have it sitting in my Zune. The auto companies know this, and Digital Audio/radio interfaces will become standard equipment before sat receivers are. I didn't listen to Stern all that much when he was free, so I can't imagine listening more and paying for it. Sirius local traffic and weather reports sound like they are produced by some high school radio workshop, My Sirius comes with about a dozen news channels, mostly the audio tracks of cablecasts, but I can get terrestrial all-news just about anywhere from Maine to Florida to California, and it comes with a local slant, and talk shows, the same ones as on Sat, litter the radio landscape. So what is the mass appeal that will make it work?

If I lived out in the boonies and could only get two radio stations, you could make a case for it, but how many people are in that boat? Not enough to make it viable. And, how big is the market for folks who want to drive coast to coast and listen to the same station for 3000 miles? I know more people, including me, who like to check out the local offerings during those kind of trips.

There is technology out there which has changed the media landscape. Cable television for one. Digital Audio for another. There have been around 200 million MP3 players sold, making for just about 100% penetration. Digital downloads have killed the CD business, which will eventually cease to exist. Digital video downloads will probably do the same for the DVD business. What has Sat Rad changed? If it goes away tomorrow, nobody would notice except those wondering what to do with the receivers.

I think that Sat Radio will just exist, in some diminished form, because of all the money poured into it, as a curiousity, sort of like satellite telephone service in backwaters without cell phone coverage. It never became anything, and it's too late for it to become something now, because life has passed it by.

Regards,
TSB
 
Censored! Howie said a naughty word on the radio!

"Oh, breaking news--- Justice Dept. has approved the (silence). Oh that's good...(to producer)
Did you bleep that out? I can't report the news?"

Went to drudge: Sirius XM Merger Approved.
That's right folks: WRKO does not want you to hear the news.
(Similarly back when WTKK had Hannity and he had Opie and Anthony on as guests, WTKK
would not carry the hour. Promoting the competition.)

Well, it was kind of silly since it was a legit news story, but nothing new. Many stations had, and still do, rules against mentioning other stations' calls on their air, and I guess Sirius and XM could be considered in the same light.

Back when I worked at 'BZ, we had just started producing a string of clever TV commercials featuring Dave Maynard, and WCVB, alone amongst the television stations, refused to carry them, on either a paid or trade basis. They gave the reason as the WBZ radio calls were the same as the television station's, and they refused to promote another television station on their air. We countered that people identified radio stations by call letters, but television stations by channel numbers (4,5,7, 38, 56 etc.) They weren't buying it. Either we erased all visuals of the WBZ calls, and they were all over the spots, or no dice. WBZ passed, as they knew we would.

On the flip side, we used to carry a lot of movie business, mostly from Sack through Allied Advertising. Frank Dolan, at the time, was the film and theater critic for all-news WEEI, and many of the spots had blurbs citing "Frank Dolan of WEEI Radio." WBZ would edit those spots and change it to "CBS' Frank Dolan." Nobody really cared, but then, nobody had WBZ Radio Derangement Syndrome.

Of course, when something newsworthy happened at WBZ, such as talk host Dave Finnegan running for mayor or some talent of note dying, to the stations that covered it WBZ Radio became 'Westinghouse Broadcasting" or "Group W."

I believe some of those old house rules have probably eased up since then, but at the time nobody really gave it a second thought.

Regards,
TSB
 
Eloquently put, TSB! Add to that the interruptions on satellite radio.
Yea, it may be for self promotion, but, the average listener does not
make the distinction between promotion, PSA's and "commercials".
It is merely another interruption. Satellite radio will maybe have a niche
audience of, say, long-haul truckers, and that will be all. Stick a fork in it -
it's done...
 
This sort of thing makes WRKO and Entercom Boston look absolutely ridiculous! Sure, I see many explanations/justifications in this thread and some even make sense of the thought process leading up to the edits. But what no explanation can change is just how dumb of a decision it was to do that. They're not even directly competitive! Totally different platform and business model. And, it's general news that you can hear anywhere else. Did they also bleep Michael Savage when he was discussing it on his show (carried on 680)? Or was management already comatose by 8 pm? I'd love to know that.

This decision simply makes WRKO sound unprofessional and childish. Which is nothing new when it comes to decisions made at that place. Honestly, I can't believe what blockheads Entercom has entrusted with managing that station! They can't seem to grasp the concept of deductive reasoning. And, bleeping out Sirius and XM have now done far more damage to what little prestige WRKO has left than letting the story through unedited would have. Like Howie, I would be mortified if I worked there. Nice job guys (again)!
 
Dark Knight said:
I don't know anything for sure, but if it were me, I would be more worried about WiFi than satellite radio if I were terrestrial radio. Until satellite has a viable local sales machine and until they are far more pervasive in automobiles, they will not be a big threat. Research shows that people who have satellite radios spend more time listening to their terrestrial radios anyway. They can chip away from TSL somewhat, but as a reach medium they are nowhere. The only medium that can compete with radio is TV.

To Rac's point about bleeping merger news, that's just silly. Probably some producer reacting to an old edict not to allow discussion of XM and Sirius on the air. It probably originated before Stern departed. This is news for goodness sakes - can they really be that afraid that people are going to jump in their cars and go buy radios now that the DoJ has passed the merger?
Click to expand...

WBCN allowed Stern's live XM Radio ad reads over the air. Howard did say before he left that as sat. radio got bigger, his station turned away the advertiesements. They also stopped allowing him to talk about SIRIUS when he said he was leaving terrestrial radio. Mot likely because he was turning his show into a 4-hour SIRIUS commercial.

As long as terrestrial radio keep their tail between their legs against the FCC, they will forever lose ground to sat. radio. They can't keep allowing the FCC to be the brooding indecicive monster that it's become since Janet-gate. Until then, radio will fall into oblivion.
 
AllForADeuce said:
Dark Knight said:
I don't know anything for sure, but if it were me, I would be more worried about WiFi than satellite radio if I were terrestrial radio. Until satellite has a viable local sales machine and until they are far more pervasive in automobiles, they will not be a big threat. Research shows that people who have satellite radios spend more time listening to their terrestrial radios anyway. They can chip away from TSL somewhat, but as a reach medium they are nowhere. The only medium that can compete with radio is TV.

To Rac's point about bleeping merger news, that's just silly. Probably some producer reacting to an old edict not to allow discussion of XM and Sirius on the air. It probably originated before Stern departed. This is news for goodness sakes - can they really be that afraid that people are going to jump in their cars and go buy radios now that the DoJ has passed the merger?
Click to expand...

WBCN allowed Stern's live XM Radio ad reads over the air. Howard did say before he left that as sat. radio got bigger, his station turned away the advertiesements. They also stopped allowing him to talk about SIRIUS when he said he was leaving terrestrial radio. Mot likely because he was turning his show into a 4-hour SIRIUS commercial.

As long as terrestrial radio keep their tail between their legs against the FCC, they will forever lose ground to sat. radio. They can't keep allowing the FCC to be the brooding indecicive monster that it's become since Janet-gate. Until then, radio will fall into oblivion.
Click to expand...

That's all fine...but there's no evidence of this. Satellite growth peaked in the 6 months after Stern's departure. That was their "tipping point," and not enough people moved. Stern was on 52 stations at one time and exposed to tens of millions of people, possibly hundreds. How many went over with him after those months of prime time AM drive live spots? About 600,000...

Failure.

Radio's tail isn't between their legs. We're profiting in a down economy. We make about 40 cents on the dollar. 40% profit margin for every dollar spent is fantastic. Probably only surpassed by the Pizza industry. There's a huge difference between making budget, and making money. Don't cry for radio. We're fine. We're just greedy and Wall St. wants more. Unrealistic goals. But even if we hit 75% of budgets, we're still making nice bank as an industry.

Satellite radio has never posted a profit.
 
Neanderpaul said:
Radio's tail isn't between their legs. We're profiting in a down economy. We make about 40 cents on the dollar. 40% profit margin for every dollar spent is fantastic. Probably only surpassed by the Pizza industry. There's a huge difference between making budget, and making money. Don't cry for radio. We're fine. We're just greedy and Wall St. wants more. Unrealistic goals. But even if we hit 75% of budgets, we're still making nice bank as an industry.
Click to expand...

Is this figure EBITDA? Can you point me to a source that confirms this? I'd love to have it for reference.

thanks.
 
Finn said:
Neanderpaul said:
Radio's tail isn't between their legs. We're profiting in a down economy. We make about 40 cents on the dollar. 40% profit margin for every dollar spent is fantastic. Probably only surpassed by the Pizza industry. There's a huge difference between making budget, and making money. Don't cry for radio. We're fine. We're just greedy and Wall St. wants more. Unrealistic goals. But even if we hit 75% of budgets, we're still making nice bank as an industry.
Click to expand...

Is this figure EBITDA? Can you point me to a source that confirms this? I'd love to have it for reference.

thanks.
Click to expand...


It was a study done by a University in Texas. They were talking about the CC deal, and the lawsuit, and why people are under the impression that radio is a bad investment. The sysnopsis was (paraphrased): traditional media are suffering due to increased competition, shifting advertising dollars, and the appeal of new media like YouTube. So why would private equity groups jump on a company like Clear Channel if the traditional business is in decline? The fact is radio stations can still generate as much as 40-60 cents in profit margins on the dollar. Private equity firms don't have to worry about Wall Street. If these were all terrible investments, wouldn't the private equity firms avoid cutting a deal such as this?


I'm sorry I don't have the original document handy. Looking at even the 40 cents on the dollar profit margin, which this study contended was the low end, still puts radio at a nicely profitable investment.
 
WLYNgm
Re: WRKO bleeps out "Sirius XM" merger news

Satellite radio will maybe have a niche
audience of, say, long-haul truckers, and that will be all. Stick a fork in it -
it's done...


This post makes no sense. XM and Sirius have more listeners than WRKO, and Satellite is going to morph into something even more interesting. They will probably become highly commercial and available for free at some time in the future with the big difference being expanded playlists and more audience-friendly programming.

Stick a fork in RKO. You can't stick a fork in WLYN because most people don't even know it exists.
 
The audience for WLYN and WAZN know they exist. That is all
that matters to us. We provide a bit of the "diversity" that so many
people are craving. If you are part of the demographic which we serve, you
already know this. If you are not, who really cares?

Yea, I remember when WRKO was a top-30 powerhouse of a station. I used to listen
to them alot, my transistor radio pressed to my ear, in the days before FM was popular.
That was then, this is now. Adapt or die. Squelching a legitimate news story, I think,
was rather silly, but it is their call to make.

Satellite radio has reached a plateau. It is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
It is not broadcasting, it is narrowcasting. If you wish to pay a monthly fee to hear
programming that is already available in other forms, that is your business. Paying
to hear a national disgrace like Howard Stern - that is your business also. Good luck
with that! :D Better you than me...

The emperor has no clothes. Satellite radio is bleeding red ink. They have to merge the two services just to survive. How much longer do you think that the folks putting up the cash, to subsidize them, will keep doing so? It will go the route of 78rpm vinyl records and 8-track tape players. The fad has peaked already... To compare a local radio station's audience size with that of a supposed national service is
absurd - like comparing apples and oranges. I would guess that you have never worked in the broadcast industry. Go ahead - listen to satellite radio for the yodeling channel, the Gregorian chant channel, the
Lithuanian marching music channel, the Weird Al Yankovic channel, the Tibetan comedy channel,
the kazoo channel, etc. Pay the monthly fees (sure to increase, to cover themounting losses) -
knock yourself out!

P.T. Barnum said it best - there is a sucker born every minute... ;D
 
This post makes no sense. XM and Sirius have more listeners than WRKO,

Let me understand this. XM and Sirius, satelllite operations with continent-wide footprints and all that big name talent have more listeners than the number 3 rated AM in the #10 market. Wow. I guess a couple of billion down the rat hole doesn't buy what it used to. What post was that that didn't make any sense?

and Satellite is going to morph into something even more interesting.

Yep. If losing money ever becomes a spectator sport, it will be SRO at both Sirius and XM.

They will probably become highly commercial and available for free at some time in the future with the big difference being expanded playlists and more audience-friendly programming.

Ummm...they're bleeding red ink, with combined losses of a billion dollars last year, and they are going to toss away all that subscriber income? According to the Inside Radio newsletter, buyers report that XM and Sirius are selling spots for around 5 bucks. It's gonna take a lot of spots at a finner a pop, to make that billion up.

But, of course, they can't become free, because, even if the Feds let them, which is problematic to say the least, the built-in overhead is too high, and the audience too fragmented, to survive without paying listeners. And, with the audiences spread over hundreds of channels, they'd have to run so many spots those surviving shows would make WEEI AMD seem like NPR. And, if the programs are loaded with spots, what's the point, because their entire sales pitch was commercial free music programming? Unless, of course, your idea of 'audience friendly programming' is thirty-minute spot breaks, giving listeners a chance to both hit the bathroom AND make a pizza run.

There was a reason their business plans were built around subscriber revenue.They need it to make it work. Last year, the two sat casters sold $75 million in advertising, which was up from the previous year, but growing more slowly, Exactly how much national radio ad revenue (whick is the only kind they can get) do you think is up for grabs when XM and Sirius would need to pull down 12-times more then their getting now just to break even?

Stick a fork in RKO. You can't stick a fork in WLYN because most people don't even know it exists.

WRKO and 'LYN will still be around when XM and Sirius are Trivial Pursuit (Media Edition) answers.

Regards,
TSB
 
After all of the smoke clears, and the dust settles: WLYN and WAZN are
in the black - turning a profit. Our parent company is privately owned -
no stockholders to deal with - and our company is expanding in a down
economy. I would say, "do the math", but this is just basic arithmetic,
that any 11-year-old could figure out...

Hey, your satellite receiver will make a lovely paperweight someday soon! ;D
 
WLYNgm said:
The audience for WLYN and WAZN know they exist. That is all
that matters to us. We provide a bit of the "diversity" that so many
people are craving. If you are part of the demographic which we serve, you
already know this. If you are not, who really cares?

Yea, I remember when WRKO was a top-30 powerhouse of a station. I used to listen
to them alot, my transistor radio pressed to my ear, in the days before FM was popular.
That was then, this is now. Adapt or die. Squelching a legitimate news story, I think,
was rather silly, but it is their call to make.

Satellite radio has reached a plateau. It is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
It is not broadcasting, it is narrowcasting. If you wish to pay a monthly fee to hear
programming that is already available in other forms, that is your business. Paying
to hear a national disgrace like Howard Stern - that is your business also. Good luck
with that! :D Better you than me...

The emperor has no clothes. Satellite radio is bleeding red ink. They have to merge the two services just to survive. How much longer do you think that the folks putting up the cash, to subsidize them, will keep doing so? It will go the route of 78rpm vinyl records and 8-track tape players. The fad has peaked already... To compare a local radio station's audience size with that of a supposed national service is
absurd - like comparing apples and oranges. I would guess that you have never worked in the broadcast industry. Go ahead - listen to satellite radio for the yodeling channel, the Gregorian chant channel, the
Lithuanian marching music channel, the Weird Al Yankovic channel, the Tibetan comedy channel,
the kazoo channel, etc. Pay the monthly fees (sure to increase, to cover themounting losses) -
knock yourself out!

P.T. Barnum said it best - there is a sucker born every minute... ;D
Click to expand...

But remember... if you ever have the itch to launch one of those formats on a local level, be sure to contact WLYN GM RIGHT AWAY ... dayparts are filling up fast, and with every minute you delay, you are shooting yourself in the proverbial foot... ;) :D :D :D
 
I realize you say this with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but our schedule really is
filling up. It is one thing to swear up and down that a "format" is economically viable -
it is quite another matter to actually make it fly, and turn a profit...

Certain organized groups have yet to realize this basic fact, after a year and a half of
waiting, whining, and hoping for a miracle. Not gonna happen, kids...
 
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