Taking my “what if” theory into more detail – what if Citadel and Premiere can’t come to terms under Citadel’s bankruptcy terms? If Citadel dumped all of their Premiere News/Talk programming, where might it land?
There are four big players here – Glenn Beck (9-Noon ET), Limbaugh (Noon-3PM), Dr Laura (3PM-6PM) and Sean Hannity (3PM-6PM). Which stations carry the big 4 in each market and what are the alternatives?
New York (#1)
WABC-AM (Citadel) – Rush, Hannity
WOR-AM (Buckley) – Beck
Dr Laura is not on any major NYC stations
Clear Channel owns no AM stations in the New York Market. They would not convert a successful FM station like WLTW-FM to news/talk… none of the FM stations have near the geographic reach of WABC. WOR-AM is the logical option for Limbaugh – that would displace local people, but they already crossed that bridge to get Beck…. CBS has two All-News stations – WINS and WCBS – might they drop All News during non-commuting hours to pick up Rush? – CBS isn’t exactly a big fan of Conservative talk Salem’s WNYM? Bloomberg’s WBBR-AM? Univision’s WADO-AM? Sports talk WFAN-AM?
The FCC ownership limits allow one company in the largest markets to own up to 8 stations – only 5 of which can be in one service (AM or FM)… Clear Channel has 5 FM, no AM. In theory, they could buy (or trade) a station in another market to acquire an AM station in New York. Since they aren’t exactly swimming in cash, buying a station seems unlikely. Even small stations in New York cost a lot of money.
Los Angeles (#2)
KFI-AM (Clear Channel) – Rush
KABC-AM (Citadel) – Hannity
Beck is not on in Los Angeles
Dr Laura is on KFWB-AM… KFWB used to be all news, but dropped all-news outside of drive time – it could be the prototype for WINS or WCBS
CC is maxed out in L.A. – they own 3 AMs – KFI, KLAC (sports) and KTLK (Progressive Talk).
Chicago (#3)
WLS-AM (Citadel) – Limbaugh, Hannity (delayed)
WIND-AM (Salem-5kW) – Beck (only since 2009)
Dr Laura is not on in Chicago
WGN (Tribune) is the other big News/Talk station, but they don’t carry syndicated programming. They carry Cubs baseball who still play many of its games in the afternoon – terrible for Rush or Hannity. Part of the Tribune bankruptcy is they have sold the Cubs – so while it’s likely that WGN will carry the Cubs games in the future, it isn’t quite as assured.
WBBM-AM (CBS) is 24 hr news/talk and not likely to change
WSCR-AM (CBS) and WMVP (Disney/ESPN) are running sports
Salem has WYLL-AM, running religious programming. That ends the list of 50 kw AM stations in Chicago
Clear Channel owns WVON (Minority Talk-10kW/1kW) and WGRB (Gospel-5kW) on AM in Chicago – CC’s FM station lineup in Chicago is pretty weak and none have coverage like WLS…. Most are targeted at the African American audience, which is mostly on the South Side of Chicago
San Francisco (#4)
KNEW(Clear Channel) – Beck (on delay)
KSFO(Citadel) – Limbaugh, Hannity, Dr Laura
Clear Channel also owns KTLK-AM, currently running Progressive Talk. KTRB-AM (the Pappas Sports station that just picked up Savage is another possibility). Clear Channel’s KSTE-AM in Sacramento gets to most the Bay area, but only during the day. KNEW-AM gets dismal ratings. Citadel’s liberal KGO owns the town. KSFO gets by…
Dallas-Ft Worth (#5)
WBAP-AM (Citadel) – Limbaugh, Hannity
KLIF-AM (Local owners) – Beck
KSKY-AM (Salem) – Dr Laura
Clear Channel has no pure news/talk station in Dallas – they do have KFXR-AM which used to be CNN Headline news, but has morphed into mostly carrying brokered programming. It’s 50kw/5kw – it has a solid day and nightime coverage over both cities, and currently close to no listeners. This is the obvious choice unless there is something peculiar about the station. Getting people to change stations might be a challenge.
Comments? Guesses? Corrections?
