WBTA is a well-established local radio station, a legacy in Genesee county. Good to read that a local account exec will be taking the reins and the local service continues. $100k down and $325k over 122 months is interesting. That's a 10 year term.
David Eduard said:
That means that the sale was for about 2 times annual gross billings. That is a very small station that bills less than $20 k a month!
-February, 2023 WBTA thread
WBTA was known to be (and very likely, remains) a well-structured, efficiently operated local radio station. In the thread dedicated to the sale of WBTA, Mr. Eduardo made a calculated analysis of the WBTA's billing based on the sale price and terms of the sale. Given his experience, his is a credible assessment.
Billing, as most know, is directly related to cash flow, which is directly related to profit and loss ... which is directly related to how many people are employed at a facility, especially radio stations in small communities like Batavia, Dunkirk-Fredonia, Lancaster, Springville, Lockport and Niagara Falls.
As successful as WBTA was (and likely remains), according to the assessment provided, WBTA was running on a tight operating budget. The former owner and his wife (the Fischers) worked at the station, daily. That's sweat equity. Some months yield diamonds, some months yield coal. An in-station, hands-on owner operator, husband-wife-family, can endure the challenges presented by soft(er) months and rise to those challenges, solving the challenges and often excelling. The new owner of WBTA is an established, legacy account executive, which yields an intimate understanding of the business and the community, as well as consistency in the operation of the radio station.
To this point, WEBR and WLVL have yet to establish the consistency, continuity and attachment to their Cities of License ("COL") as has WBTA. Any discussion of hiring personnel and programming has to be balanced by what appears on the ledger. As has been recently stated elsewhere on this board, "Radio is a cash flow business."
There's an axiom which I first heard offered by a family friend who operated a successful, precision machine shop, "First pay your employees, then pay the bank." When you're an owner operator and times are tight, you can adjust your salary (yes, ethical and responsible owner-operators do, and have done, such a thing) in order to protect the cash flow and salaries of your staff.
Both 1440 and WLVL would need to find their niche.
Concur, wholeheartedly! There are a number of programming alternatives that would improve the appeal of both facilities, but those alternatives require objective decision making, foresight and astute programming and management by living, breathing human beings. Salaries. Cash flow.