Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS)
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CMLS Forum Topics
- All Comments on CMLS
- General Discussion on CMLS
- Jim Cramer's Mad Money Lightning Round Picks, 7/26/07 [view article]
- Here's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger [view article]
- The Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
- Inside the Radio Industry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [view article]
- Jim Cramer's Mad Money In-Depth, 3/10/08: Radio Killed the Radio Star [view article]
- Radio Value Opportunity Beckons: Calling Warren Buffett [view article]
- The Radio and Recording Industries' Unnecessary Roughness [view article]
- Radio Earnings: Bleak Forecasts and Contrarian Plays [view article]
- Radio Industry Challenges and Opportunities [view article]
- For Traditional Media, People Equal Profits [view article]
- Bear Stearns Analyst Believes Cumulus Deal to Close [view article]
loading ...Recent CMLS Articles
- The Evolution of Terrestrial Radio
- Inside the Radio Industry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Here's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger
- Internet Radio: Positive ROI Remains to Be Seen
- Radio Value Opportunity Beckons: Calling Warren Buffett
- Radio Industry Challenges and Opportunities
- The Radio and Recording Industries' Unnecessary Roughness
- Radio Earnings: Bleak Forecasts and Contrarian Plays
- For Traditional Media, People Equal Profits
- Bear Stearns Analyst Believes Cumulus Deal to Close
- Full List of Articles »
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Tiedeman
Jim Cramer's Mad Money Lightning Round Picks, 7/26/07 [view article]
Cramer was actually right in his ANAD call. ReplyHere's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger [view article]
Provocative. ReplyThe Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
Over-billing, lack of decent programming and the demise of localism are probably the biggest complaints consumers have (I don't know why the exec's at CCU, CDL, COX and others don't understand this.Even some of the mom and pops that I have worked with seem to suffer from rectal cranial inversion as far as the programming is concerned. Radio isn't anything like it was when I got into the business (or like it was when I listened to it as a kid). There were real "mavericks" on the airwaves and the music was fantastic!! Now it has become: Play what we want you to play, say what we want you to say and play and say what we want you to play and say WHEN we want you to play and say it. How boring!!! You can train a chimp to push buttons and hire morons for minimum wage to read liners.
I understand that it is all about the bottom line but, all of the passion is out the door. I could never sell advertising on radio because I no longer believe in the product. No one listens anymore. Thats what they (GM's OM's and execs at the major broadcasting companies ) seem to overlook You can't sell a product that is substandard (or doesn't exist).
Radio is a creative medium but it has been "homogenized"... The music is pure pre-packaged drivel.. Outside of the news/talk format, there isn't any room for creativity. It is not wanted.
I finally left the business in 02'. I simply couldn't stand what radio has become. I put up with the b.s. for twenty years and all along the way I felt that the main reason why radio is sooooo bad is because sales people and accountants are in charge of programming. Another reason may be due to the command control structure of these big broadcasting companies.
They think that they have a clue as to what the listener in Farmington NM. wants to hear as they sit in their chairs in L.A. and New York. Programming decisions must be made locally and they must be made by people who specialize in programming concepts as opposed to sales sleezes with a tin ear.
Cookie cutter approaches like CCU has attempted lower the bar as well. A one size fits all approach like this results in stations that play the same four songs by the same four artists at the same time each day...ok, I am exaggerating a bit (but not by much). It also makes stations across the country sound the same. As I was driving across country a few years back, I found a station called big dog (can't remember the calls) in Oklahoma City. It sounded exactly like the Big Dog in Farmington NM. The only difference was the name of the jocks. The liners were the same and so were the recorded images. Ah.. clear channel strikes again! I said as I promptly put a cd in my player and tuned out.
Just because a song "tests" well in L.A. doesn't mean that the folks in Colo. Spgs. or Tucson will be receptive.The listener has suffered greatly due to this and has found substitutes (such as Ipods, cd's and internet programming). What does this mean for advertisers? No one is listening to the station that they spent their ad dollars on. What does it mean for the listener? More substitutes.
As a radio vet, I can sympathize with the listeners and the advertisers. I can't even turn on the radio anymore due to the mediocrity. It is all garbage! Television will soon go the way of the radio waves due to the reasons aforementioned. Diversification will not help them (the major broadcasting companies) if they have simply acquired radio and television stations. They also must de-centralize their programming on these media outlets and get the bean counters and sales pigs out of the programming chairs. Reply
The Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
J.P. - What about the move towards airing sports talk radio on cable TV. Espn does this of course with Mike and Mike, but I suppose this kinda thing got it's start with Howard Stern and Don Imus. Doesn't this just play to the importance of entertainment content. Going further, why wouldn't some content from TV find itself migrating to simulcast or rebroadcast over radio. I could imagine the Daily Show or even Oprah simulcast on radio or reaired the next day or several hours later. I think the move by Washington Post to team up with Bonneville, and the news that the Tribune under Sam Zell has been hiring Clear Channel executives points the way for a morphing of radio and possibly newspapers into a cross-media format. Anyway, these are all interesting idea for morphing radio into an entertainment/informat... format.Regards,
Roger Reply
Editors
General Discussion on CMLS
Is this a buy or a sell? ReplyThe Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
NTGH, thanks for the compliment. After 15 years in broadcasting- working "in the trenches" as a partner in 7 station turnarounds, working for the 15th largest radio company, and sitting on two broadcasting boards, I feel pretty comfortable with my credentials in the space.I enjoy spirited discussions on the subject and have a thick skin. Hearing from the critics forces me to sharpen my positions, and frankly makes me better at what I do.
No one has the answer, but everyone has good ideas. Reply
at Hits
The Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
I appreciate the fact that J P responds to his critics with respect. ReplyThe Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
Excellent points guys, but i am in no way advocating syndicated fare as the future. I said for companies not able to develop and own their own local content, syndication would be crucial in the future because they will never be able to compete purely on music choice.As for CCU, I always find it interesting that the industry gets painted with that one very wide brush. There are a lot of good radio companies out there doing a complete 180 from the CCU model. CCU just happens to get all the attention. Reply
The Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
AMEN Jeff B! J.P. needs to spend some time in the radio trenches. More syndicated programming from the likes of Premiere, WW1 and ABC is not going to save a medium whose strongest selling point has always been LOCAL content. LOCAL is terrestrial radio's ace in the hole. You don't need to tune into local radio for most syndicated programming. You can download the podcast, listen to online streaming, etc. Radio's USP (Unique Selling Point) is providing local content and local info to its local audience. Hopefully they'll realize that before they make themselves completely extinct. ReplyThe Evolution of Terrestrial Radio [view article]
J.P. - I do not think that the downturn in BIG radio stocks is a temporary situation. Clear Channel & it's bretheren have all but destroyed commerical FM radio in this country. It's not about entertainment. It ONLY about commericals, dumbed-down TOP40 content and DJ's who sound as though they might not have graduated highschool. I hope Clear Channel and all the others who have sucked all quality out of the airwaves collapse into a pit of their own greed and stupidity.Thank God for XM and college radio. Reply
Inside the Radio Industry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [view article]
Methinks the ugliest fact about radio is the preponderance of homogeneous radio stations. There are far too many identical radio stations with no local content and no formatting beyond a jaunty first name ("Jack", "Alice", blah, blah, blah) and the wacky, nutty idea to sound like a musically inept cheapskate's iPod shuffle.Additional frequencies were licensed with lip service given to diversity and local content. Station ownership restrictions gave way to faceless corporate radio, and the bland, "safe for advertising" drivel that followed led to declining revenues.
Try a healthy dose of local, original programming for a few of your surplus frequencies. Sure, you'll have to convince the locals that they'll hear genuine radio after years of selling them swill, but differentiation will initially win market share. Continue to excel through differentiation, and your market may even grow.
Media is about more than cost control and centralized advertising departments. Media is about content, and terrestrial radio is all about local content. Reply
Here's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger [view article]
Cramer is a broad daylight thief. How could anyone pick or pan Cumulus stock without mentioning the merger? ReplyJim Cramer's Mad Money In-Depth, 3/10/08: Radio Killed the Radio Star [view article]
It took some people two years to get their FDIC money back from the S&L crises in the 1990’s. Just because you have insurance on anything doesn’t mean you’ll be compensated immediately.Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I think Jim Cramer makes a huge amount of sense with the Sirius-XM merger. He mentioned all the other mergers that were ridiculously huge (he loves to give Exxon-Mobil as an example) and believes the delay is a political move meant to bankrupt both companies.
Maybe Congress believes Howard Stern is a bigger threat to their livelihood than an oil monopoly? Who knows… Reply
Here's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger [view article]
NAB--are you listening???? Let the merger go through. Listen to Cramer. I also agree with Mr. Hannan about the general state of radio broadcasters. I'd like the legislators to get on the ball and do the right thing, please... ReplyHere's Hoping Cramer Gets His Satellite Radio Merger [view article]
I too believe that the NAB & The FCC are all full of IT! As long as these people receive monies from political opponents who have nothing but terrestrial stations in there hip-pocket? They will continue to receive these offerings and ignore the people to whom pays there salaries. This merger should have been all ready passed & approved long before now. "FM" stations will eventually go as did the way of "AM" stations. Reply