PLJ SOLD

[Kent]

Is there is a chance to save WPLJ and have it sold to another owner before EMF flips the switch?

Possible? Certainly. Likely? Absolutely not.

EMF has occasionally acquired a heritage station only to swap it for another frequency in the market and/or a non-commercial signal. A good example was when, ironically, Cumulus offered 98.3 in Mobile plus 97.1 in Nashville for the former WABB 97.5. That, however, seems highly unlikely in New York. It doesn’t seem like any other comparable signal to 95.5 is on the market, nor does it seem like anyone else is interested in 'PLJ.

 

[Gamewell45]

I sort of hate to see WPLJ go bye bye. There's a lot of history there. I remember visiting them back in March of '83 which was one week before they switched over to combo operations and was impressed with their air studio where the engineer was in the same room as the talent as opposed to having a glass window separating the two of them. I took pictures; of course now that I need them I cannot locate them. If I do, perhaps I'll post them.

 

[ksradiogeek]

Is there is a chance to save WPLJ and have it sold to another owner before EMF flips the switch? Bonneville International, Saga, and Beasley can kick the tires and offer a good price.
People are campaign to save WPLJ and force EMF to sell. Social medias are burning up the internet and twitter as wel.

Let’s be real here, the petitions won’t do anything to stop the sale, whether it be convincing the FCC, EMF or Cumulus.
(Also, Bonneville’s been in the market before with WNSR, and are not interesting in owning properties east of the Mississippi anymore, especially if its just one station. In addition, Beasley doesn’t do anything bigger than Philly and scattered brokered AMs in the suburbs, and Saga isn’t into the top 10 markets. There’s no advantage for them to snap up 95.5.)

 

[TheBigA]

I sort of hate to see WPLJ go bye bye.

WPLJ went bye-bye a long time ago. The reason it was vulnerable to sale was because the people of NY moved on. They went other places. For the same reason that Sam Goody went bye-bye, and Circuit City went bye-bye, and lots of other things we can remember went bye-bye. Even if someone else stepped in and bought the station doesn't mean they'd bring back the past, and everything would be better. The reality is there are too many radio stations in NYC for them all to make a profit, and this takes one station off the playing field. There were no consensus formats left. The only thing they didn't try was moving their talk format to FM, the way they did in DC with WMAL. That might have worked for them as a company, but would the people of NY accept it? Probably not. It would be like turning it into a religious station, which is what's happening anyway.

 

[BruceNYC]

I suggest that on the last day (or maybe just a few hours) WPLJ stunt by playing White Port Lemon Juice.

 

[gr8oldies]

No, no, and hell no. I don't care how much you're burning up the internet (not to mention you're nostalgic for a WPLJ that hasn't existed for 30 years). EMF bought that signal for a reason....market-wide coverage. This reminds me of WABC's flip to talk. Everyone was so sad! Asked "when was the last time you listened to WABC"? Answer: "When I graduated from high school in 1974".

Is there is a chance to save WPLJ and have it sold to another owner before EMF flips the switch? Bonneville International, Saga, and Beasley can kick the tires and offer a good price.
People are campaign to save WPLJ and force EMF to sell. Social medias are burning up the internet and twitter as wel.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

It’s too late now , but 95.5 should have been WABC With the continuation of the same format and presentation. WAPE and KFWB lived on FM. I know today’s CHRs are not as high energy but it would have been great anyway if something like 95ABC were around today .

 

[TheBigA]

It’s too late now , but 95.5 should have been WABC With the continuation of the same format and presentation. WAPE and KFWB lived on FM. I know today’s CHRs are not as high energy but it would have been great anyway if something like 95ABC were around today .

It's a long sad story. FCC rules prevented a simulcast in the 60s, otherwise they would have done it then. Bob Lewis was even doing a show on the FM. By the 70s, it was too late, because WPLJ had begun to forge its own image. In the 80s, Rick Sklar intended to launch SuperRadio, with Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy as a satellite delivered FM former, and none of the ABC FM stations would run it. They had already found success with rock. The RKO stations made the conversion, and WOR-FM became WXLO 99X in 1974 with a screaming Top 40 sound. Then it evolved into a more urban sound with Kiss and then Hot. That's likely what would have happened to a WABC-FM.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It’s too late now , but 95.5 should have been WABC With the continuation of the same format and presentation. WAPE and KFWB lived on FM. I know today’s CHRs are not as high energy but it would have been great anyway if something like 95ABC were around today .

When did KFWB "live" on FM? KFWB ended its Top 40 era soon after KHJ destroyed them, becoming all news in in March, 1968.

Simulcasting was prohibited by the FCC for stations like KFWB on January 1, 1967 so there was no way for it to have been simulcast... particularly since it did not have an FM at the time.

And WAPE was a daytimer back then, with an exception granted to the simulcast rules for all daytimers.

 

[JBraddock]

Your point was the debt prevented Cumulus from fixing WPLJ. Yet their debt didn't prevent them from fixing WRQX.

No, my point was that because Cumulus didn't fix WPLJ in the past (and it had been broken for a long time), it made it that much easier to sell it for the quick cash. This is what I mean when I say you're spreading yourself too thin, A. Ya gotta read the posts before you respond.

 

[TheBigA]

No, my point was that because Cumulus didn't fix WPLJ in the past (and it had been broken for a long time), it made it that much easier to sell it for the quick cash.

You're making stuff up here. It was easy to sell because there was a willing buyer. Plus you yourself say that they fixed WRQX, which was in a much stronger position, yet they still sold it. You have to look at the big picture. The debt has been a problem for Cumulus for five years. It's why they fired their CEO. It's why the new CEO changed the way the company did business, and rehired Jack Diamond at WRQX in November 2015. I'm sure she would have loved to rehire Scott Shannon, but he had already been hired by WCBS. Would that have fixed WPLJ? Probably not. But having a willing and qualified buyer made this sale of WPLJ and WRQX a no-brainer. They're expensive to run stations in markets where Cumulus only owns a few stations.

 

[mikerock]

I tried a quite a few times to give them a listen before they go off, but it just awful. No wonder why they were sold. I used to be able to listen for a bit every now and then, but after awhile it was like what is the point. I am not all that picky and sometimes listen to 102.7 or 106.7 for something different but this is unbearable.

I was hoping maybe they would revisit the old rock format for a bit since what difference does it make at this point, why not.

 

[TheBigA]

I was hoping maybe they would revisit the old rock format for a bit since what difference does it make at this point, why not.

Revisit something they did over 30 years ago? There's nobody in the entire building who would even know how to do that.

 

[mikerock]

Revisit something they did over 30 years ago? There's nobody in the entire building who would even know how to do that.

It is not all that hard to put together a playlist with a few old jingles. The station is going away forever and you would think those in the industry would have plenty of connections to put together a tribute in that fashion.

 

[TheBigA]

It is not all that hard to put together a playlist with a few old jingles. The station is going away forever and you would think those in the industry would have plenty of connections to put together a tribute in that fashion.

Too long ago. Several key staffers have already passed away. The station has been sold several times since then and moved twice.

If they do anything, it would be to bring back Scott Shannon for a day.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It is not all that hard to put together a playlist with a few old jingles. The station is going away forever and you would think those in the industry would have plenty of connections to put together a tribute in that fashion.

Why would they want to?

What is going away is the current format. The station will still be there with a new format. Stations change format all the time.

I'm quite interested in the history of broadcasting, but I see no reason to try to do some kind of tribute where the "glory days" staff is not going to appear and most listeners will neither remember nor care about what happened thirty or forty years ago.

 

[CTListener]

Why would they want to?

What is going away is the current format. The station will still be there with a new format. Stations change format all the time.

I'm quite interested in the history of broadcasting, but I see no reason to try to do some kind of tribute where the "glory days" staff is not going to appear and most listeners will neither remember nor care about what happened thirty or forty years ago.

I agree. When WCCC let its jocks give the big middle finger to EMF (or should I say the big sign of the devil) as the sale neared, with snarky talk and hell-themed rock, at least the station's format at the time was close to what it was in the memories of much of its audience -- hard classic rock. WPLJ is a nondescript AC that, I'd imagine, has few listeners who remember or care about the fact that the station long ago had success with album rock and CHR. Besides, Cumulus might want to do business with EMF again. Why risk future deals by subjecting EMF to email barrages from fans of the secular format egged on by a nostalgic final day? WCCC's small-time ownership didn't give a damn how EMF was ushered in; they had their money and a contract and were done with EMF after that sale.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I agree. When WCCC let its jocks give the big middle finger to EMF (or should I say the big sign of the devil) as the sale neared, with snarky talk and hell-themed rock, at least the station's format at the time was close to what it was in the memories of much of its audience -- hard classic rock. WPLJ is a nondescript AC that, I'd imagine, has few listeners who remember or care about the fact that the station long ago had success with album rock and CHR. Besides, Cumulus might want to do business with EMF again. Why risk future deals by subjecting EMF to email barrages from fans of the secular format egged on by a nostalgic final day? WCCC's small-time ownership didn't give a damn how EMF was ushered in; they had their money and a contract and were done with EMF after that sale.

I'm given to understand that this incident was what prompted EMF to put a clause about it in their purchase contracts. Apparently stations that sell to them tell staff that their severance is contingent on good behaviour.

 

[CTListener]

I'm given to understand that this incident was what prompted EMF to put a clause about it in their purchase contracts. Apparently stations that sell to them tell staff that their severance is contingent on good behaviour.

Meaning that EMF would cancel the purchase of a full-market signal should the seller not follow through on its warning and tell the staff afterward "Just kidding. Great job, guys."? Doubt it. Why would EMF want to start all over trying to find a full-market signal just because some nonbeliever jock and his cynical station owner were fine with going out with a spin of Highway To Hell? How would that have made it any more difficult that it already would have been for Christian contemporary music to find an audience in a virgin market?

 

[DavidEduardo]

Meaning that EMF would cancel the purchase of a full-market signal should the seller not follow through on its warning and tell the staff afterward "Just kidding. Great job, guys."? Doubt it. Why would EMF want to start all over trying to find a full-market signal just because some nonbeliever jock and his cynical station owner were fine with going out with a spin of Highway To Hell? How would that have made it any more difficult that it already would have been for Christian contemporary music to find an audience in a virgin market?

I did not say that the deal with EMF would be cancelled, but if the seller allows shenanigans on the air EMF might reduce the purchase price and the seller might give a less generous severance pay check to the departing staff.

This is no different than clauses in contracts for the sale of ongoing operations: there might be wording to the effect that, were billing to decline between the signing and the closing, the purchase price will be reduced.

I saw a case many years ago where a purchase price was reduced by over 35% because billing declined badly during the 7 months it took the FCC to approve the sale. Of course, that was back when the FCC took eons to approve sales, and often key staff members moved on and the operation often declined. Fortunately, the buyer's Washington counsel had put a "loss of revenue" clause in the contract.

In asset sales, severance is generally the responsibility of the seller if the new owner is not going to assume any of the employment agreements. In a stock sale, the responsibility for severance is predetermined and quantified.