• 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

What if there's an Entercom-CBS deal?

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

Walk of Fame Participant
Tom Taylor's email list column wonders if there could be an Entercom-CBS Radio deal and if so, there would have to be divestitures in places like Boston due to ownership caps .It also mentions Ent. may still have to pay (as in, a bad rep. as seen by FCC) for the Hold Your Wee for a Wii contest in Sacramento in which a contestant died.Would that impact approval of a deal?

May be nothing but for the record here's what's owned in Boston
ENT
WRKO 680, WEEI 850, WEEI-FM 93.7, WKAF 97.7, WAAF 107.3

CBS
WBZ 1030, WBZ-FM 98.5, WZLX 100.7, WODS 103.3, WBMX 104.1
 
Bill Kelly can buy WRKO. It would probably be cheaper for him compared to all the airtime he pays for now.
 
Methuselah said:
Bill Kelly can buy WRKO. It would probably be cheaper for him compared to all the airtime he pays for now.
Click to expand...
Or, probably even cheaper, WEEI-AM. :rolleyes:
 
I thought WAAF counts for Worcester ownership caps, not Boston, as Westborough and Boylston are both in the Worcester market. No?
 
Tomgsinger said:
I thought WAAF counts for Worcester ownership caps, not Boston, as Westborough and Boylston are both in the Worcester market. No?
Click to expand...

Worcester County is part of the Boston MSA.
 
Tell that to WBZ 1030.

Oh by the way...IT IS HAPPENING

http://www.entercom.com/cbs-corpora...create-preeminent-radio-platform#.WJM3Bl_Qe1s

>>Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM) and CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) today announced that the companies have entered into an agreement by which Entercom will combine with CBS Radio in a tax-free merger. The transaction will create a preeminent radio platform, with a nationwide footprint of 244 stations, including 23 of the top 25 U.S. markets, as well as robust digital capabilities and a growing events platform.

Can the FCC change ownership caps soon or will there be a spinoff?
 
Wondered same thing; keep in mind all 5 major sports teams are airing games on these stations. WEEI has Red Sox while WBZ-FM has Pats, B's, C's and Revs. WBZ-FM's signal is more centrally located. Could this happen:

WBZ-FM 98.5--maybe all of the teams they have now, and put Red Sox--or another team--on 93.7
WEEI-FM 93.7-- Network sports like CBSSportsRadio or ESPN, or a talk-sports hybrid--talk shows by day, Sox by night.
Entercom tried that around 07 when they put the Sox on RKO with occasional games on WEEI.

2009--Sports Hub debuts in August.
The following month, Entercom abruptly shifts the Sox back to WEEI 850. Hmm.
2011--Entercom finally gives in and puts WEEI on 850 and 93.7, though a year later puts all ESPN on 850.
 
I would think that the best value is in having two competing sports stations, which means Entercom/CBS would get rid of one of them rather than put on some crappy national broadcast.
 
Tweet from Globe's Chad Finn: Sources at WEEI and 98.5 have told me they've been told the expectation is that it will be status quo on air post-merger.
 
I can't recall, what is the ownership cap limit in a single market? And would WVEI 1440 in Worcester count against that cap? Worcester is now part of the MSA.
 
Sometimes, it makes better sense to have two of the same format than to flip/over tweak/sell one. Both stations are top five in billing and keeping them both in the Entercom stable would prevent an upstart competitor or selling to a competitor that would attack Entercom's lone sports talker. It's sort of like the situation in Dallas where Cumulus ended up owning KSCS and KPLX. Both are very nice billers and prevent iHeart or CBS from launching a competitor to whichever Country station Cumulus decided not to flip.

I wonder about the possibility of EMF or iHeart picking up a few stations in Boston, once all is said and done. I know Cumulus isn't really in the market to be buying, but don't they have some cap room to add a station or two?

Final thought: any guesses as to what stations eventually get spun off?
 
Both FM sports stations bill a fortune. I'd be surprised if Entercom gets rid of either of them.

As for which stations end up getting spun, it will depend on what can pass DOJ muster. If Entercom has its choice, it will probably spin WKAF and WAAF.

I've also been thinking about potential buyers. As another poster mentions, Beasley is maxed out in Boston. Cox, however, owns a TV station in Boston and has previously said it would like to own radio stations where it has TV. Cox presently has exactly three markets that have radio and no TV, and Entercom is not present in two of them. So, it seems plausible that Cox could want to swap out of those markets for Boston and Seattle, where it owns KIRO-TV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom