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CBS and Entercom Merging

I

iamarussianpirate

Frequent Participant
With the CBS/Entercom merger, locally are they able to add an extra FM along with KFNQ AM? Are there enough stations in the market now to put Seattle in the 5 stations in a single band limit?

And who picks up the remaining 2 FMs? Which stations will they decide to keep vs spin and how do they come to that decision? Signal strength or current performance of those stations, or both? What happens with the 2 country stations now being owned by the same company?

So many questions. Exciting stuff!
 
Wow...I just started another thread the same time you did. Frank, feel free to delete mine.
 
Why would they have to spin off KFNQ? How many AM stations does Entercom have in the Seattle Tacoma market (hint Zero)? Adding an AM station is the least issue they have.

Would be great if people fully understood the rules and issue before speculation.
 
There you go again Steve.. Assuming folks around here would check before speculating. What fun is that??
 
xmtrland said:
Why would they have to spin off KFNQ? How many AM stations does Entercom have in the Seattle Tacoma market (hint Zero)? Adding an AM station is the least issue they have.

Would be great if people fully understood the rules and issue before speculation.
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That's not what I said. I was asking if the ownership limit was 5/3 or not in this market (which I found out it is). I know they don't have to unload the AM. They have to spin 2 FMs. I know the rules.

By the way xmtr, you're the one who said KIRO AM was right behind KQMV in billing which is completely wrong...would be great if people knew what they were talking about before they posted.
 
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I predict Entercom spins KMPS and KHTP to Hubbard. Those would fit nicely with Hubbard's current holdings. Yes KKWF is lower rated right now, but it seems the two go back and forth every couple years or so.
 
Entercom has indicated it will try to swap its excess. I could see it doing a deal with Hubbard or Bonneville. On paper, a Phoenix/Seattle deal looks pretty good between Entercom and Bonneville. Of course, if that happens, Bonneville would seem unlikely to give up a successful cluster for crumbs. KKWF and KHTP are the lowest rated stations between the two clusters.

Given that Cox owns KIRO-TV and wants to expand where it owns TV, I could see it swapping out of San Antonio or Tampa for Seattle and/or Boston, but, again, Cox won't give up one or two very profitable clusters for low-rated stations.

What stays or goes will largely depend on who the actual buyer turns out to be.
 
iamarussianpirate said:
By the way xmtr, you're the one who said KIRO AM was right behind KQMV in billing which is completely wrong...would be great if people knew what they were talking about before they posted.
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The industry source that adjusts the arbitrary cluster allocations fed to Miller Kaplan does, indeed, show KIRO AM just behind KPLZ and KISW who are tied in that source.
 
iamarussianpirate said:
Are there enough stations in the market now to put Seattle in the 5 stations in a single band limit?
Click to expand...

There are 58 commercial stations home to the market and 32 non-coms. That places the market in the Total Cap of 8 category.
 
Rob Piotrowski said:
ETM and CBS tell the SEC that "no stations owned by CBS’s radio business will be divested prior to the closing of the merger". Let the parlor games begin on which ETM properties hit the block.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067837/000119312517089535/d348233d425.htm
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Interesting...my guess is that ETM will spin KKWF and KNDD to either Bonneville (most likely taker) or Hubbard. Look for '100.7 ESPN Seattle' and '107-7 the Truth' by next fall, or something like that.

I don't think that ETM will divest itself of the 103.7 license, since they've owned it since 1976 or there abouts...but who knows in this wacky world of radio.
 
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DavidEduardo said:


The industry source that adjusts the arbitrary cluster allocations fed to Miller Kaplan does, indeed, show KIRO AM just behind KPLZ and KISW who are tied in that source.
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David, do you think that the billing potential for KIRO-AM will increase if they get an FM simulcast? And if so, by how much?
 
KXA said:
David, do you think that the billing potential for KIRO-AM will increase if they get an FM simulcast? And if so, by how much?
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That is such a complex question that I can't answer it and would not even want to guess.

There are multiple factors, including how well any increase in ratings and improvement in younger demos can be monetized in that market. We have a local advertising agency expert who visits this board, and he may have some thoughts on how many "sports dollars" may still be on the table for a bigger performing KIRO with an FM.

Then there are aspects of ROI on the purchase price, protection of the "franchise" as AM continues to erode as a go-to band and even conditions of existing contracts for play by play, etc.

There are case studies that may be relevant, such as WFAN in NYC which added FM, and WXYT in Detroit, which did the same. In New York, the AM had and still has a bigger signal than the FM, but in Detroit the AM was a limited and highly directional signal. Both cases are worthy of study, though.
 
KXA said:
Interesting...my guess is that ETM will spin KKWF and KNDD to either Bonneville (most likely taker) or Hubbard. Look for '100.7 ESPN Seattle' and '107-7 the Truth' by next fall, or something like that.
Click to expand...

It's possible, but why would they want to potentially damage their Rock franchise? KZOK, KISW and The End is a pretty damn good Rock thing going.


KXA said:
I don't think that ETM will divest itself of the 103.7 license, since they've owned it since 1976 or there abouts...but who knows in this wacky world of radio.
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Heritage doesn't pay the bills.

There's more risk in losing The End than a stand alone gold Rhythmic station.
 
DavidEduardo said:


That is such a complex question that I can't answer it and would not even want to guess.

There are multiple factors, including how well any increase in ratings and improvement in younger demos can be monetized in that market. We have a local advertising agency expert who visits this board, and he may have some thoughts on how many "sports dollars" may still be on the table for a bigger performing KIRO with an FM.

Then there are aspects of ROI on the purchase price, protection of the "franchise" as AM continues to erode as a go-to band and even conditions of existing contracts for play by play, etc.

There are case studies that may be relevant, such as WFAN in NYC which added FM, and WXYT in Detroit, which did the same. In New York, the AM had and still has a bigger signal than the FM, but in Detroit the AM was a limited and highly directional signal. Both cases are worthy of study, though.
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Your points make a lot of sense. AM radio is dying, even if your signal is a 50kW class A, and I only see successful AM formats surviving if they move to FM. This AM revitalization program by using an FM translator for a class A or B seems like a joke to me, considering that they have very limited signal coverage.
 
KXA said:
Interesting...my guess is that ETM will spin KKWF and KNDD to either Bonneville (most likely taker) or Hubbard. Look for '100.7 ESPN Seattle' and '107-7 the Truth' by next fall, or something like that.
Click to expand...

You gotta think this is what iHeart is hoping for...they will have use and more listeners where it counts for 102.9's rimshot signal and its format. Which is surprisingly good for being a broom-closet operation.

I somehow doubt it will happen. I feel Entercom will love having the "Wall of rock" in a town known for its contribution to the rock scene. If nothing else, it looks good on paper.

That being said, with 5 rock stations all targeting the Puget Sound, and 4 of them playing a good deal of music from the last 25 years, something'll have to give eventually.

100.7 ESPN Seattle aint a bad idea considering they have expanded their reach across the Cascades and don't really need the expanded coverage that 710 offers out there anymore. There are far dumber things that could be done with that frequency.

Radio-X
 
KNDD ain't going anywhere. The End is too much of a heritage station. If that thing were to be blown up, I suspect industry experts will start having conversations about the death of Alternative, just like what happened a few years ago when WKQX and WRXP were blown up for unsuccessful formats. While Alternative has returned to 101.1 in Chicago, NYC still doesn't have an Alternative station despite the format having some success on 101.9.
 
Radio-X said:
I feel Entercom will love having the "Wall of rock" in a town known for its contribution to the rock scene. If nothing else, it looks good on paper.
Click to expand...

Entercom will do whatever is in the best interests of its shareholders. Period. It matters not to them what "looks good on paper" or any other romantic notions.
 
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