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Could Cox Radio come to Seattle?

iamarussianpirate said:
If I'm Cox, and I don't necessarily want to be in radio, especially in markets where I don't have another property, wouldn't it make sense for me to swap those markets to gain stations in markets where I already have a presence? They can do this tax free and it would instantly strengthen their portfolio because of (say it together boys and girls) SYNERGIES.

If I'm already paying for facilities, personnel, etc. in Seattle at KIRO TV, and I can pick up some radio stations in Seattle in exchange for my standalone radio properties in Tampa, doesn't that make sense? Paying for one building instead of two, utilizing TV personalities for traffic/weather/news on my new radio stations, cross-promoting sister properties, leveraging existing sales people and their relationships, etc.
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The chances of Cox getting Seattle radio stations is about the same as the Sonics coming back to Seattle: It COULD happen, but don't bet on it. Good arguments, however.
 
iamarussianpirate said:
If I'm already paying for facilities, personnel, etc. in Seattle at KIRO TV, and I can pick up some radio stations in Seattle in exchange for my standalone radio properties in Tampa, doesn't that make sense? Paying for one building instead of two, utilizing TV personalities for traffic/weather/news on my new radio stations, cross-promoting sister properties, leveraging existing sales people and their relationships, etc.
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And also an excellent argument why Sinclair is not in a hurry to sell the Seattle radio stations they got. KOMO TV and the radio properties were already integrated and did not rely on a parent company back east. Everything was being run in house at the integrated facility. All Sinclair had to do was come in and enjoy the benefit of a functioning TV/Radio cluster.
 
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iamarussianpirate said:
Yes, that was my whole point back in February when I wrote that. I'm not saying Cox would be buying Entercom stations, or adding more radio stations to their portfolio. What I was saying was Entercom needs to shed stations in certain markets, and in some of those same markets, Cox has standalone TV properties with no radio stations. Cox also has some standalone radio markets that Entercom doesn't have a presence in, but would like to.

If I'm Cox, and I don't necessarily want to be in radio, especially in markets where I don't have another property, wouldn't it make sense for me to swap those markets to gain stations in markets where I already have a presence? They can do this tax free and it would instantly strengthen their portfolio because of (say it together boys and girls) SYNERGIES.

If I'm already paying for facilities, personnel, etc. in Seattle at KIRO TV, and I can pick up some radio stations in Seattle in exchange for my standalone radio properties in Tampa, doesn't that make sense? Paying for one building instead of two, utilizing TV personalities for traffic/weather/news on my new radio stations, cross-promoting sister properties, leveraging existing sales people and their relationships, etc.
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I understand what you're telling me. However, I don't consider Cox acquiring Entercom's spinoffs in Seattle. Besides, there are plenty of other radio station owners in Seattle who aren't maxed out. My biggest bet is that Entercom will trade their Seattle spinoffs to Bonneville, who would then trade their Phoenix cluster to Entercom. This would reunite KTAR-FM with the soon-to-be Entercom stations that were acquired by CBS Radio when iHeartMedia/Clear Channel was required to divest stations in Phoenix when they bought AMFM in 2000.
 
xmtrland said:
And also an excellent argument why Sinclair is not in a hurry to sell the Seattle radio stations they got. KOMO TV and the radio properties were already integrated and did not rely on a parent company back east. Everything was being run in house at the integrated facility. All Sinclair had to do was come in and enjoy the benefit of a functioning TV/Radio cluster.
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And that's why I mentioned Hubbard could acquire some of Sinclair's spinoffs in Seattle, if the Tribune deal is actually approved. Hubbard could acquire Sinclair's Seattle radio stations, giving them a full radio cluster and possibly a TV station or two to pair with the radio stations and Hubbard could trade their Chicago radio cluster to give WGN 720 sister stations.
 
I highly doubt that will happen, but that is an interesting proposal. I've seen stranger things happen in this industry. For instance, who saw Entercom's purchase of CBS coming? Not me.
 
bobdavcav said:
I highly doubt that will happen, but that is an interesting proposal. I've seen stranger things happen in this industry. For instance, who saw Entercom's purchase of CBS coming? Not me.
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I never saw the CBS Radio-Entercom merger coming either. It will be interesting to see how Entercom plans to divest stations in Seattle. Entercom just announced their first three divestitures, all of which will be sold to EMF.
 
miketheradioguy said:
I never saw the CBS Radio-Entercom merger coming either. It will be interesting to see how Entercom plans to divest stations in Seattle. Entercom just announced their first three divestitures, all of which will be sold to EMF.
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From the moment Moonves said radio was in play, Entercom was identified as about the only radio company that could "field a team" (pun totally intended) to do the deal.
 
DavidEduardo said:


From the moment Moonves said radio was in play, Entercom was identified as about the only radio company that could "field a team" (pun totally intended) to do the deal.
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At least I'm glad Entercom was willing to acquire CBS Radio, because such a merger almost never happened.
 
miketheradioguy said:
At least I'm glad Entercom was willing to acquire CBS Radio, because such a merger almost never happened.
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Entercom was in good financial shape, having the lowest debt load among the big group owners. Both Entercom and CBS have good digital divisions, so it made sense from that business angle. Now the task is to trim costs to make CBSR looks better for the IPO. Hence why big salary Entercom PDs are getting cut across the country in a staggered fashion.
 
iamarussianpirate said:
With the pending CBS/Entercom deal, and the tax benefits of swapping stations versus buying, could Cox Radio be coming to Seattle?
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If Cox came to Seattle, Dick's would have the perfect local radio advertising partnership.
 
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