WRKO bleeps out "Sirius XM" merger news

[Finn]

Radio's tail isn't between their legs. We're profiting in a down economy. We make about 40 cents on the dollar. 40% profit margin for every dollar spent is fantastic. Probably only surpassed by the Pizza industry. There's a huge difference between making budget, and making money. Don't cry for radio. We're fine. We're just greedy and Wall St. wants more. Unrealistic goals. But even if we hit 75% of budgets, we're still making nice bank as an industry.

Is this figure EBITDA?  Can you point me to a source that confirms this?  I'd love to have it for reference.

thanks.

[Neanderpaul]

Radio's tail isn't between their legs. We're profiting in a down economy. We make about 40 cents on the dollar. 40% profit margin for every dollar spent is fantastic. Probably only surpassed by the Pizza industry. There's a huge difference between making budget, and making money. Don't cry for radio. We're fine. We're just greedy and Wall St. wants more. Unrealistic goals. But even if we hit 75% of budgets, we're still making nice bank as an industry.

Is this figure EBITDA?  Can you point me to a source that confirms this?  I'd love to have it for reference.

thanks.

It was a study done by a University in Texas. They were talking about the CC deal, and the lawsuit, and why people are under the impression that radio is a bad investment. The sysnopsis was (paraphrased): traditional media are suffering due to increased competition, shifting advertising dollars, and the appeal of new media like YouTube.  So why would private equity groups jump on a company like Clear Channel if the traditional business is in decline? The fact is radio stations can still generate as much as 40-60 cents in profit margins on the dollar.  Private equity firms don't have to worry about Wall Street.  If these were all terrible investments, wouldn't the private equity firms avoid cutting a deal such as this?


I'm sorry I don't have the original document handy. Looking at even the 40 cents on the dollar profit margin, which this study contended was the low end, still puts radio at a nicely profitable investment.

[Alec Bova]

WLYNgm
Re: WRKO bleeps out "Sirius XM" merger news

Satellite radio will maybe have a niche
audience of, say, long-haul truckers, and that will be all. Stick a fork in it -
it's done...


This post makes no sense.   XM and Sirius have more listeners than WRKO, and Satellite is going to morph into something even more interesting.  They will probably become highly commercial and available for free at some time in the future with the big difference being expanded playlists and more audience-friendly programming.

Stick a fork in RKO.  You can't stick a fork in WLYN because most people don't even know it exists.

[WLYNgm]

The audience for WLYN and WAZN know they exist. That is all
that matters to us. We provide a bit of the "diversity" that so many
people are craving. If you are part of the demographic which we serve, you
already know this. If you are not, who really cares?

Yea, I remember when WRKO was a top-30 powerhouse of a station. I used to listen
to them alot, my transistor radio pressed to my ear, in the days before FM was popular.
That was then, this is now. Adapt or die. Squelching a legitimate news story, I think,
was rather silly, but it is their call to make.

Satellite radio has reached a plateau. It is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
It is not broadcasting, it is narrowcasting. If you wish to pay a monthly fee to hear
programming that is already available in other forms, that is your business. Paying
to hear a national disgrace like Howard Stern - that is your business also. Good luck
with that!       Better you than me...

The emperor has no clothes. Satellite radio is bleeding red ink. They have to merge the two services just to survive. How much longer do you think that the folks putting up the cash, to subsidize them, will keep doing so? It will go the route of 78rpm vinyl records and 8-track tape players. The fad has peaked already... To compare a local radio station's audience size with that of a supposed national service is
absurd - like comparing apples and oranges. I would guess that you have never worked in the broadcast industry. Go ahead - listen to satellite radio for the yodeling channel, the Gregorian chant channel, the
Lithuanian marching music channel, the Weird Al Yankovic channel, the Tibetan comedy channel,
the kazoo channel, etc.  Pay the monthly fees (sure to increase, to cover themounting losses) -
knock yourself out!

P.T. Barnum said it best - there is a sucker born every minute...         

[dumber than a box of hair]

XM and Sirius have more listeners than WRKO

Proving exactly what?  That two national radio services have more listeners than one local radio station?  Well, DUH!

[TSBench]

This post makes no sense.   XM and Sirius have more listeners than WRKO,

Let me understand this. XM and Sirius, satelllite operations with continent-wide footprints and all that big name talent have more listeners than the number 3 rated AM in the #10 market. Wow. I guess a couple of billion down the rat hole doesn't buy what it used to. What post was that that didn't make any sense?

 and Satellite is going to morph into something even more interesting.

Yep. If losing money ever becomes a spectator sport, it will be SRO at both Sirius and XM.

 They will probably become highly commercial and available for free at some time in the future with the big difference being expanded playlists and more audience-friendly programming.

Ummm...they're bleeding red ink, with combined losses of a billion dollars last year, and they are going to toss away all that subscriber income? According to the Inside Radio newsletter, buyers report that XM and Sirius are selling spots for around 5 bucks. It's gonna take a lot of spots at a finner a pop, to make that billion up.

But, of course, they can't become free, because, even if the Feds let them, which is problematic to say the least,  the built-in overhead is too high, and the audience too fragmented, to survive without paying listeners. And, with the audiences spread over hundreds of channels, they'd have to run so many spots those surviving shows would make WEEI AMD seem like NPR. And, if the programs are loaded with spots, what's the point, because their entire sales pitch was commercial free music programming? Unless, of course, your idea of 'audience friendly programming' is thirty-minute spot breaks, giving listeners a chance to both hit the bathroom AND make a pizza run.

There was a reason their business plans were built around subscriber revenue.They need it to make it work. Last year, the two sat casters sold $75 million in advertising, which was up from the previous year, but growing more slowly, Exactly how much national radio ad revenue (whick is the only kind they can get) do you think is up for grabs when XM and Sirius would need to pull down 12-times more then their getting now just to break even?

Stick a fork in RKO.  You can't stick a fork in WLYN because most people don't even know it exists.

WRKO and 'LYN will still be around when XM and Sirius are Trivial Pursuit (Media Edition) answers.

Regards,
TSB

[WLYNgm]

After all of the smoke clears, and the dust settles: WLYN and WAZN are
in the black - turning a profit. Our parent company is privately owned -
no stockholders to deal with - and our company is expanding in a down
economy. I would say, "do the math", but this is just basic arithmetic,
that any 11-year-old could figure out...   

Hey, your satellite receiver will make a lovely paperweight someday soon!   

[radiorama1]

The audience for WLYN and WAZN know they exist. That is all
that matters to us. We provide a bit of the "diversity" that so many
people are craving. If you are part of the demographic which we serve, you
already know this. If you are not, who really cares?

Yea, I remember when WRKO was a top-30 powerhouse of a station. I used to listen
to them alot, my transistor radio pressed to my ear, in the days before FM was popular.
That was then, this is now. Adapt or die. Squelching a legitimate news story, I think,
was rather silly, but it is their call to make.

Satellite radio has reached a plateau. It is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
It is not broadcasting, it is narrowcasting. If you wish to pay a monthly fee to hear
programming that is already available in other forms, that is your business. Paying
to hear a national disgrace like Howard Stern - that is your business also. Good luck
with that!       Better you than me...

The emperor has no clothes. Satellite radio is bleeding red ink. They have to merge the two services just to survive. How much longer do you think that the folks putting up the cash, to subsidize them, will keep doing so? It will go the route of 78rpm vinyl records and 8-track tape players. The fad has peaked already... To compare a local radio station's audience size with that of a supposed national service is
absurd - like comparing apples and oranges. I would guess that you have never worked in the broadcast industry. Go ahead - listen to satellite radio for the yodeling channel, the Gregorian chant channel, the
Lithuanian marching music channel, the Weird Al Yankovic channel, the Tibetan comedy channel,
the kazoo channel, etc.  Pay the monthly fees (sure to increase, to cover themounting losses) -
knock yourself out!

P.T. Barnum said it best - there is a sucker born every minute...         

But remember... if you ever have the itch to launch one of those formats on a local level, be sure to contact WLYN GM RIGHT AWAY ... dayparts are filling up fast, and with every minute you delay, you are shooting yourself in the proverbial foot...   

[WLYNgm]

I realize you say this with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but our schedule really is
filling up. It is one thing to swear up and down that a "format" is economically viable -
it is quite another matter to actually make it fly, and turn a profit...

Certain organized groups have yet to realize this basic fact, after a year and a half of
waiting, whining, and hoping for a miracle. Not gonna happen, kids...

[WLYNgm]

If you have a great programming idea, and it is not being aired, does it make a sound?
Inquiring minds want to know!