Friday, March 11, 2011

Will Cumulus Now Divide And Conquer Clear Channel? & "WRKO...The Launch"...

(Weekend Edition)

All that remains in the Cumulus Media Inc. purchase of Citadel Broadcasting Corp. is for Citadel shareholders and regulators to approve the $1.7 billion deal. It's expected to close by the end of the year, according to the AP & Boston Globe. To recap, Atlanta-based Cumulus would own 572 radio stations in about 120 U.S. markets once the deal closes. Cumulus would remain the number 2 radio station owner in the U.S. behind Clear Channel, owner of more than 800 stations. Although neither Cumulus nor Citadel is what you would call robust - both carry serious debt, the recent, although modest economic uptick has apparently convinced Cumulus to act now. Clear Channel has been nickle and diming it and continues to make personnel cutbacks. Now that Cumulus is gobbling up Citadel, will they decide to divide and conquer Clear Channel by acquiring some of their properties. Does a rolling stone carry no moss???

Not only will Cumulus kick Clear Channel's tires but so will Emmis. Both are likely to target CC properties especially in strategic large markets and medium to smaller size cities, according to Seeking Alpha. Clear Channel's shaky status could produce more downsizing, putting some of their valuable properties on the block. You can bet that Cumulus will be first to knock on their door with Emmis close behind. Both companies will be watching closely to see how that plays out...

Meanwhile, Citadel shareholders will decide whether to take a piece of the $1.7 billion pie being offered up by Cumulus or about 151 million Cumulus Class A shares. Citadel claims that a total value of $38.23 per share is forthcoming, based on Cumulus' closing stock price on Wednesday. If all Citadel shareholders choose to receive cash, then each Citadel share would be prorated to $30 in cash and 1.613 shares of Cumulus. There are worse decisions to make...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1912] Order your cookies: Juliette Gordon Low founds the “Girl Guides” which will become the ‘Girl Scouts of America’ (3/12)…
2.1942] Big Mac: With Japanese forces advancing in the Pacific during WWII, General Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippines for Australia vowing “I Shall Return“. He does (3/11)…
3.1964] Screams? What screams?: Thirty-eight neighbors ignore the screams of 28-year old Kitty Genovese being stabbed to death in a Queens neighborhood (3/13)…
4.1967] WRKO is born: WNAC changes call letters to WRKO and switches format. Boston’s new top 40 giant replaces the Yankee Network Flagship personality/talk/news station (3/13)... "WRKO - The Launch" will continue to be available in daily segments throughout the month of March...
5.1980] Guilty as charged: A jury finds John Wayne Gacy Jr. guilty of murdering 33 men and boys. Gacy will be executed in May of 1994 (3/12)…1997] LAPD arrest Mikail Markhasev in the shooting death of 27-year old Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby’s son. Markhasev is serving life with no parole (3/12)…
6.1991] Pretty slick: Exxon pays $1 billion in fines for the clean-up of the Alaskan oil spill they caused (3/13)…
7.2002] In living color: Homeland security chief Tom Ridge unveils a color-coded system for terror warnings. If you’re color-blind, you’re out of luck (3/12)…
8.2003] Getting Smart: Elizabeth Smart is reunited with her family 9 months after being abducted from her home. She was kidnapped in June of 2002 by a drifter who had previously done work at her family’s home (3/12)…
9.2008] Client #9: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns two days after reports surface that he was a client (#9) of a prostitution ring (3/12)…
10.2009] Scammer slammed: Former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to 11 felonies and admits operating what’s called the largest investor fraud ever committed by an individual. In June he’s sentenced to 150 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $170 billion (3/12)…

Music Memories:

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 9) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

It was unseasonably warm in Boston on Monday, March 13, 1967. On Sunday it had reached 44 and was almost springlike. Monday was expected to be similar. But there was so much excitement in the air at 21 Brookline Avenue, that none of us knew or cared what the weather was. We were about to launch a new station out of a tired, upper-demo, middle-of-the road property that had an hourly news commitment of a quarter of an hour...

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1967, WNAC was replaced by WRKO, "Now Radio In Boston." The original on-air lineup featured Al Gates & his sidekick, "Feathers" (6am-9am). "Feathers" was the duck voiced by Al for funny two-voicers. Al was joined by the news/sports team of Palmer Payne & sports great, Curt Gowdy. Al was followed by John Rode from 9am-12noon. The noon day hour (12pm-3pm) featured Joel Cash and then it was time for afternoon drive heavy - J.J. Jeffrey. Six to 9pm was hosted by the iconic Boston disc jockey, Arnie "Woo-Woo" Ginsburg. Arnie had already become a legend for his pioneering work at cross-town rival WMEX. Chuck "Chuckles" Knapp handled 9pm to midnight. The all-night disc jockey was Dick Burch, who would have a short career lasting all of one day. The WRKO lineup featured on the marquee of the Kenmore Hotel didn't list Burch, but listed the other members of the "Now Crowd". All but J.J. Jeffrey and Arnie Ginsburg were newcomers to Boston...

The WRKO sales staff was now selling an entirely different format than they had before but they were ready to hit the streets with a new rate card...

(Monday: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 10) will profile the on-air staff)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday": (3/11) Johnny Knoxville (40), Terrence Howard (42), Cheryl Lynn (54), Joey Buttafuocco (55), Nina Hagen (56), Bobby McFerrin (61), Sam Donaldson (77) and Rupert Murdoch (80)...(3/12) Steve Levy (46), Darryl Strawberry (49), Jon ("Timmy" from "Lassie") Provost (61), James Taylor (63), Liza Minnelli (65), Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano (66), Al Jarreau (71), Andrew Young (79), Barbara ("99") Feldon (79) & Edward Albee (83)...(3/13) Johan Santana (32), WRKO (44), Dana Delany (55), William H. Macy (61), Neil Sedaka (72) and songwriter Mike Stoller (78)...

Timeline Countdown: Daylight savings time starts at 2am Sunday (clocks advance one hour), 9 days until the first day of spring, 20 days until MLB Opening Day, 39 days until Passover & 44 days until Easter Sunday...

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