Star 102.5

[Radiowaves]

The value of WLKK depends on whether the license comes with the stick, translator, and property. According to FCC records, the tower belongs to K2 Towers III LLC, which means that a new station owner will need to work out a rental agreement for the FM. If Audacy sell the station, it's unlikely that whatever grandfathered deal they struck will be transferrable. The other option would be to try to find a new tower site, but it's unlikely that it would improve the signal in the Buffalo market. That idea has already been studied by numerous engineering firms. Either way, it will impact the real cost of the station for a new owner.

I doubt the license is worth that much. Radio is a media on the downside.

Depending on where the property is and how much property there is would be a hard asset, so it would probably be easy for a bank to finance property.

The tower is most likely another owner. Why would an FM want to own a tower? I guess the question would be the lease agreement on the antenna for the tower.

It seems Audacy way overpaid for the license. The other things are tangible. That station now does very little revenue, has very few listeners and appears to not have many hard assets like buildings. You said it has land, but is the land very valuable?

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Ehhh, BTW, it's Shula, no "c" ... See, name mentioned. Shula, Don ... NFL coach admired by said owner. Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins' Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese and the like. A rose by any other name would still remain a rose.

Audacy, if and when it leaves the market, would be known as Exitcom. It's highly doubtful, even with (complex) write-downs and depreciation of assets allowed by the IRS, that Audacy will dispose of 107.7 at a fire sale price. Depreciation of assets and amortization of five to seven million (the difference between original purchase price and sale price) on a single property seems a tad too bold.

The few people I know who do this stuff for a living and/or have been through the process of buying and selling have tagged 107.7 around $5 million. Who knows, that could be $4.6MM. Could be $6.4MM. Throwing out ridiculously lowball prices like half a million is just plain absurd. There's value to the 107.7 frequency, even as a rimshot, but it will take some very astute "mining and drilling" to extract that value. Said owner has proven his ability to accomplish such. See that? More accolades.

SirRoxalot makes a very good point about the ownership of the 107.7 tower and transmitter site in Wethersfield. The fact that Auday no longer owns it could present a significant hurdle for a potential buyer. There are however, other towers in Wyoming County, for example, the former AT&T microwave towers now owned by American Tower. Still, there's a lot of moving parts to relocating an antenna and transmitter. FCC. Zoning. Leases. Contracts. Neckties. High voltage. You just don't pull up and leave.

Audacy isn't going give 107.7 away despite the fact that they sold Star for what we civilians on this board consider to be a bargain price.

 

[tbolt909]

Audacy has held on to KB and 107.7 for years even though virtually no one is listening anymore. The days of "protecting" their more valuable stations are over. No one is giving them 5 million dollars for 107.7 even with KB thrown in. The cost of transmitter maintenance and all the other costs mentioned above would be problematic. Mr. Radio Waves (AKA Schula) may want them, but he won't overpay.

(Nice touch the way he misspelled his own name)...😑

 

[Radiowaves]

Ehhh, BTW, it's Shula, no "c" ... See, name mentioned. Shula, Don ... NFL coach admired by said owner. Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins' Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese and the like. A rose by any other name would still remain a rose.

Audacy, if and when it leaves the market, would be known as Exitcom. It's highly doubtful, even with (complex) write-downs and depreciation of assets allowed by the IRS, that Audacy will dispose of 107.7 at a fire sale price. Depreciation of assets and amortization of five to seven million (the difference between original purchase price and sale price) on a single property seems a tad too bold.

The few people I know who do this stuff for a living and/or have been through the process of buying and selling have tagged 107.7 around $5 million. Who knows, that could be $4.6MM. Could be $6.4MM. Throwing out ridiculously lowball prices like half a million is just plain absurd. There's value to the 107.7 frequency, even as a rimshot, but it will take some very astute "mining and drilling" to extract that value. Said owner has proven his ability to accomplish such. See that? More accolades.

SirRoxalot makes a very good point about the ownership of the 107.7 tower and transmitter site in Wethersfield. The fact that Auday no longer owns it could present a significant hurdle for a potential buyer. There are however, other towers in Wyoming County, for example, the former AT&T microwave towers now owned by American Tower. Still, there's a lot of moving parts to relocating an antenna and transmitter. FCC. Zoning. Leases. Contracts. Neckties. High voltage. You just don't pull up and leave.

Audacy isn't going give 107.7 away despite the fact that they sold Star for what we civilians on this board consider to be a bargain price.

They may have to sell it if Audicy and Cumulus combine.

Alone right now, no, they would not sell because the amount they would get is about 500K - I know you say 3 million, but you are not correct. It will eventually spin off due to combined circumstances and it would sell for what I mentioned.

What I am wondering is if they tell the translator or keep it.

In all honestly, you will not even have Cumulus and Audicy in the market for long.

It will either be a scenerio where those 2 companies will combine and spin off an FM and 2 AM's, or I Heart will be in the market. I heart wants to be in Buffalo, as they have every other market down the thruway but Buffalo.

The Audicy bankruptcy will end toward the beginning of autumn

There are plenty of sales and purchases that will happen this year

 

[SirRoxalot]

They may have to sell it if Audicy and Cumulus combine.

Alone right now, no, they would not sell because the amount they would get is about 500K - I know you say 3 million, but you are not correct. It will eventually spin off due to combined circumstances and it would sell for what I mentioned.

What I am wondering is if they tell the translator or keep it.

In all honestly, you will not even have Cumulus and Audicy in the market for long.

It will either be a scenerio where those 2 companies will combine and spin off an FM and 2 AM's, or I Heart will be in the market. I heart wants to be in Buffalo, as they have every other market down the thruway but Buffalo.

The Audicy bankruptcy will end toward the beginning of autumn

There are plenty of sales and purchases that will happen this year

I don't understand why you think that Cumulus is in play. They recently adopted a poison pill deal to prevent a Singapore mogul from trying to buy up a controlling interest in the stock. They've been buying up debt and stock while working to restructure debt that comes due in 2026. They're not anywhere near the situation that Audacy is in or has been in. Conceivably, they could be interested in buying WKSE at a fire sale price since they have room for one more FM in the Buffalo market. I doubt that they'd be interested in taking on WLKK or any of the Audacy AMs. I also don't see why iHeart would be interested in buying what's left of the Audacy properties considering that there's really only one viable FM in the group.

 

[lanceventa]

I don't understand why you think that Cumulus is in play. They recently adopted a poison pill deal to prevent a Singapore mogul from trying to buy up a controlling interest in the stock. They've been buying up debt and stock while working to restructure debt that comes due in 2026. They're not anywhere near the situation that Audacy is in or has been in. Conceivably, they could be interested in buying WKSE at a fire sale price since they have room for one more FM in the Buffalo market. I doubt that they'd be interested in taking on WLKK or any of the Audacy AMs. I also don't see why iHeart would be interested in buying what's left of the Audacy properties considering that there's really only one viable FM in the group.

You may want to read this:

Latest On Audacy’s New Owners And A Potential Cumulus Media Combination - RadioInsight

Last night Semafor publicly reported on something that has been whispered for much of the past year; a potential combination of Audacy and Cumulus Media. While the Semafor story focuses on Soros Fund Management taking a controlling stake in Audacy, it notes that his funds have also taken stakes...

radioinsight.com

 

[SirRoxalot]

You may want to read this:

Latest On Audacy’s New Owners And A Potential Cumulus Media Combination - RadioInsight

Last night Semafor publicly reported on something that has been whispered for much of the past year; a potential combination of Audacy and Cumulus Media. While the Semafor story focuses on Soros Fund Management taking a controlling stake in Audacy, it notes that his funds have also taken stakes...

radioinsight.com

It would seem to me that Soros might have the same issue with Bhargava trying to barge into US radio that Cumulus has. Of course, if you throw enough money at shareholders anything is possible, but current Cumulus management is fighting ANY hostile takeover, not looking to give away the store. Look at Bhargava's record with the magazine properties he bought out. Smart shareholders would be crazy to give him the keys to the candy store.

 

[tbolt909]

Entercom merged with CBS and the results were disastrous. Have Cumulus and Audacy learned nothing?
Too big to fail indeed.

IHeart would likely be more interested in getting Buffalo stations that are currently owned by Town Square or Cumulus. Audacy has nothing they want there...

 

[CTListener]

Looks like Buddy has returned to this forum with yet another alias...😑

Misspelling his own name was a brilliant idea.

 

[Radiowaves]

I don't understand why you think that Cumulus is in play. They recently adopted a poison pill deal to prevent a Singapore mogul from trying to buy up a controlling interest in the stock. They've been buying up debt and stock while working to restructure debt that comes due in 2026. They're not anywhere near the situation that Audacy is in or has been in. Conceivably, they could be interested in buying WKSE at a fire sale price since they have room for one more FM in the Buffalo market. I doubt that they'd be interested in taking on WLKK or any of the Audacy AMs. I also don't see why iHeart would be interested in buying what's left of the Audacy properties considering that there's really only one viable FM in the group.

Cumulus is totally in play.

They currently survive to take well care of their c-suite level, starting with Mary Berner.

If a group like Soros does a "hostile takeover" and offers the board a little more than their fair share, the board will absolutly do that.

Soros wants to create a group that competes with I Heart. Before Audacy came around, he was set to buy Cox.

He pulled out in favor of Audacy and more major markets

It is well documented that something is going to happen with Cumulus

Do you subscribe to the trade "Inside Music Media"? You should

 

[Radiowaves]

Misspelling his own name was a brilliant idea.

Tbolt really thinks he knows a lot. I am not Buddy, but I can tell you who Tbold is.....right , Lorne?

 

[RadioGuy1864]

Speaking of Buddy, looks like some technical gremlin knocked out all 3 FM translators for WECK yesterday. It was posted on
the Big WECK facebook page and website. He's re-directing listeners to the AM and streaming.

 

[Nathan Obral]

Entercom merged with CBS and the results were disastrous. Have Cumulus and Audacy learned nothing?
Too big to fail indeed.

It's not what those companies want but what Manoj Bhargava wants, and he's invested in both companies. A merged Cumulus-Audacy would only need to sell off one Buffalo FM because WTSS was sold.

It would seem to me that Soros might have the same issue with Bhargava trying to barge into US radio that Cumulus has. Of course, if you throw enough money at shareholders anything is possible, but current Cumulus management is fighting ANY hostile takeover, not looking to give away the store. Look at Bhargava's record with the magazine properties he bought out. Smart shareholders would be crazy to give him the keys to the candy store.

Manoj also owns a string of obscure low-power television stations purchased at bargain-basement prices, almost all of which carry NewsNet (an equally obscure diginet news network he also acquired at the same time) on their primary channel.

Even with the scrutiny now attached to his name with the Sports Illustrated debacle, he might be bold enough to play the long game here.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Seems to me that if iHeart wanted in, they would have purchased a healthy Buffalo cluster years ago. Buffalo is a shrinking market. The Audacy cluster is a three-legged horse here. It still runs a good race, but without 102.5, it's severely shorted, especially competing with Townsquare's four (ehh, maybe three and a half considering WBUF's performance) full-power FMs. I see Cumulus's Buffalo position in a holding pattern until bigger decisions are made at the corporate level. If Audacy and Cumulus eventually merge, four AM stations and an FM would have to be divested because the cap for the Buffalo market is six (correct me if I'm wrong), in which case of "Audulus" would hold 98.5, 96.9, 103.3 and 104.1 plus WBEN 930 and WGR 550.

107.7 FM; 1400 AM and its translator on 107.3; 1120 AM and its translator on 98.9, 1270 AM and 1520 AM would have to be spun off.

 

[SirRoxalot]

The Cumulus board adopted a poison pill to prevent Bhargava from acquiring a big enough share to exert control. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't do the same with Soros. Another issue is that the FCC is moving toward less media consolidation, not more. Of course, control of the FCC is dependent on the upcoming election, so that's among the things that could change. It seems to me that there are a lot of moving parts here, and it's hard to predict how they'll all fall into place. It seems to me like there's a lot more speculation than reality here, especially when you consider the big picture beyond Buffalo. Reality is that Buffalo isn't particularly attractive to the big boys since it's not a booming sunbelt market with lots of upside. In fact, radio these days doesn't seem to have lots of upside. There are better places for billionaires to put their money.

 

[TheBigA]

In fact, radio these days doesn't seem to have lots of upside. There are better places for billionaires to put their money.

Depends on the billionaires. John Catsimatidis is a billionaire who bought WABC. Paul Allen endowed KEXP, a non-com radio station in Seattle. They just bought a small commercial station in San Francisco. Jeff Bezos overpaid for the Washington Post. Some boomer billionaires can see traditional media is in trouble. They are probably the only ones who care about saving it. My take on Soros is he's one of those (although he's a pre-boomer).

 

[RadioGuy1864]

Depends on the billionaires. John Catsimatidis is a billionaire who bought WABC. Paul Allen endowed KEXP, a non-com radio station in Seattle. They just bought a small commercial station in San Francisco. Jeff Bezos overpaid for the Washington Post. Some boomer billionaires can see traditional media is in trouble. They are probably the only ones who care about saving it. My take on Soros is he's one of those (although he's a pre-boomer).

Look at the markets: NYC, Seattle, San Francisco, DC. Buffalo is the third cousin everybody wants to forget about.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

...Buffalo is the third cousin everybody wants to forget about.

Until they need a loan or a favor

 

[Kent]

Cumulus is totally in play.

Maybe. Cumulus turned down a deal two years for roughly six times the current trading price of the stock. Jeff Warshaw, who made the offer, said the investors in the company seemed to have no interest in selling at any price. Much, however, can change over the course of two years. Given how many times it has extended the poison pill offer to its shareholders, it wouldn't seem to be finding many takers.

Do you subscribe to the trade "Inside Music Media"? You should

Inside Music Media is the National Enquirer of the radio business. I wouldn't use it as a source without verification from somewhere else.

Another issue is that the FCC is moving toward less media consolidation, not more.

If an Audacy/Cumulus merger will meet current ownership laws, the FCC can't stop it. The FCC can only do what the law entitles it to do. Unless one party or the other has roaches under the fridge we don't know about, it'll happen if both parties want it.

It seems to me that there are a lot of moving parts here, and it's hard to predict how they'll all fall into place. It seems to me like there's a lot more speculation than reality here, especially when you consider the big picture beyond Buffalo. Reality is that Buffalo isn't particularly attractive to the big boys since it's not a booming sunbelt market with lots of upside. In fact, radio these days doesn't seem to have lots of upside. There are better places for billionaires to put their money.

At the moment, there's a lot more smoke than fire. We don't know what's going to happen yet, but it seems like a shotgun marriage of the two is at least somewhere on the table. Doesn't mean it's going to happen, but there's little doubt it's at least on a few people's radars and has been since last summer. You're right that Buffalo isn't going to be all that attractive to the big boys, but they'll happily take it if it's included with what they really want. You can still make money in Buffalo, and they'll take it if it comes at the right price. Billionaires might be able to find better places to put their money, but larger markets, in particular, still have plenty of revenue coming in. The US still has stations that bill north of $50 million per year. Despite obvious problems radio faces, that shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

 

[Nathan Obral]

Inside Music Media is the National Enquirer of the radio business. I wouldn't use it as a source without verification from somewhere else.

Jerry paywalls everything entirely beside the tease. It's totally in his right to do so but it also restricts his available audience at the same time.