Maybe a little more than kinda.
I never thought the ESPN deal would result in anyone moving from The Ticket to 103.3. Didn't make sense for Cumulus to pirate a single one of its top-rated to counter-program 1310.
No, my worry is about what seems to be the related sale of 104.1.
I don't know if we have any definitive ruling on whether the ESPN deal, whereby Cumulus will program, but not own, 103.3, required the divestiture of 104.1. Doesn't really matter for what's worrying me.
When accounts of the 104.1 sale appeared, the word was that it would continue to simulcast 1310 until the intermediary -- apparently, the sale was made to a nominee, a media property broker who was going to flip to another operator when one could be found. (The broker is Whitley Media, a broker with Media Services Group.) I haven't found any further information on any deal closing, so as of now, 104.1 is effectively unflipped, and it's still chirping out Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket.
And what will happen when someone is found to take over the Sanger Blowtorch?
Your Plainsman rises early; chores, you know. I travel to the skyscrapers of Dallas, Texas, where I park and scurry to my assigned seat and turn on the radio. Most days -- not all, but most -- 104.1 may be heard on the radio set. 1310, no. Even after the sun rises and 1310 makes recognizably human sounds, it still goes in and out, and but 104.1 generally remains stalwart to downtown and in the towers.
I get the impression that most Confessors listen to 1310. But I listen almost exclusively to 104.1. Could I listen to 1310 if 104.1 disappeared? Yes, but not for as long, and not as comfortably. iHeart and the new Ticket app and the website stream are not ideal substitutes for me for a number of reasons.
So do we know what Cumulus has in mind? I suppose it should be plain after all these years that no one knows what Cumulus has in mind. But I was troubled by this passage from this Barry Horn article:
"Although prominent sports talk radio stations in New York, Philadelphia and Boston have secured FM outlets, Cumulus’ [COO John] Dickey said that is not the current plan for the The Ticket.
"Cumulus has aired Ticket programming on weak-signaled KTDK-FM (104.1), but the sale of the station is pending. Might The Ticket find another more powerful home on the FM dial?
'We believe you don’t fix something that’s not broken,' Dickey said.
But he added, 'You never say never about anything.'"
This isn't exactly the same as saying "we're not going to replace the 104.1 signal, and will just go with the Bic-Lighter 1310 signal, and good fracking luck to you all," but it's pretty close. Of course, it does confirm that Cumulus does not believe that the Ticket signal is deficient in any way that matters, which ought not come as a shock to Confessors. And it also confirms that John Dickey really has pretty much no idea of what's going to happen -- or at least nothing he's willing to share, which is not necessarily a bad posture to take with a reporter.So I'll enjoy the crystal clarity of the Sanger Blowtorch for now, and hope that Whitley Media's potential customers find 104.1 as worthless as Cumulus does.
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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com
@Plainsman1310
I think some aspects of DA's posts over the last year or so are beginning to manifest. I honestly have come around to the thought that S is going to change around here in a most dramatic way sooner rather than later. In a way that is not going to please many a long time Ticket listener. In a way that Cumulus/the Dickey's could care less about because they are looking a different and much larger picture than us listeners can even contemplate. Or care to.
ReplyDeleteNot to be a jerk, but SeaBass, I'm putting in the call to you. You said that we should ask you guys about certain topics, instead of speculating. Here you go my man. If you have something on this front, I and I'm sure many others would appreciate ya pal for any info.
A happy Labor Day to all Confessors.
ReplyDeleteIf you're able to tune in today to listen to substitute programming, please report.
YOKO, I also thought about tapping Sean, but in the past I've asked people a lot further up the food chain than he is about station changes, and they have replied (sincerely, in my view) that they had no idea what the corporate strategy was about the station, the signal, or much of anything else.
I'll second YOKOYOLO on this one. And while we are at it let's bring in what DA brought up last week, the impending deal between Townsquare,Dial and Cumulus.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the articles I found I doubt anybody is going to be willing to comment on such things. But, it is worth a try.
So how about it SeaBass? Heard anything? Or shall I try out your email?
Today's alternate programming is actually pretty good. Instead of Rotten Radio (which is usually a giggle in my opinion), we're getting a Best Of show with a lot of interviews I was never able to hear start-to-finish. THL with Romo, BaD with Garrett, Bob with Favre, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow that Rush is staying at WBAP you have to wonder if it changes anything. KLIF at a .03 in ratings is a possibility. Don't think they can go back to 1700 without selling off another AM station first.
ReplyDeleteThere was a long thread at radiodiscussions.com about this but since their new board is up (horrible board design BTW) it seems to have disappeared.
PMan--I don't get either signal inside my house in east Plano. Beats me down to have to strain to listen to the speaker on my cell phone in the mornings while I'm getting ready instead of being able to use my clock radio. When the wife complains, I just hit record(thank you TuneIn Radio Pro!)
ReplyDeleteI got to hear about 30 minutes of the Shake Joint yesterday, and it was better than listening to Ben and Skin and +1 Tim Cowlishaw. Has he been on there frequently? I actually enjoy Cowlishaw but if you have to have a consistent +1, you're not doing very well IMO.
Rotten radio was awesome. `
Back when B&S was on the Fan, either they had Tim on a lot or I'm pretty sure he was part of the daily show. I enjoyed listening to Tim C. If I knew he was somewhat of a regular again, I'd switch over occasionally.
ReplyDeleteThe Musers a la Mike Sirois, Mike Doocy, and TC yesterday was terrible. I like Dooce, but the other 2 can go kick rocks.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, the Ticket beats the Fan almost in every way, except for when it comes to the JV talent. I can't stomach any of the lower guys on the Ticket, but thoroughly enjoy the ones on the Fan.
The only reason Ben and Skin have Cowlishaw on so much is they look at him as a celebrity (with his espn fame). They think he's cool b/c he's on tv and they feel cool too that he talks to them. That's how they roll.
ReplyDeleteLittle Red, I have to disagree with you. The Ticket JV is superior to The FAN's. And let's face it, the entirety of The FAN's lineup is on big JV squad. This past weekend it hit me why this is so (ditto with ESPN JVs who try to emulate The Ticket): it's because most of them grew up and still listen to Gordo. He was the guy who hooked them onto the station. They still find him a comedic genius or some such. So they all try to emulate him on some level. When you get a room full of Gordo Light wannabes in a room, you get a lot of unfunny. You get poor radio.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Little Red, what 747 said. I'd rather listen to any JV show, pretty much, than any weekday show on either of the competitors, and it's not just because I'm familiar with the guys. I can't speak to the sometimes random assemblages we get on holidays or White Elephant, which are hit-and-miss. But the rest of the JV presentations are awfully good.
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank TC Fleming for selecting Mike's Steely Dan review for replay on the Top Ten tonight.
ReplyDeleteI was at that show with Mrs. Plainsman and another couple and did not see either Mike (Rhyner or Sirois, his companion). But I can tell you that I've seen almost as many Steely shows as Mike (I'm still in the upper single digits), and I agree with him entirely that this one outshone them all, beyond any question. Incredible performances.
Mike mentioned the emphasis on deep cuts from "Countdown to Ecstasy" and mentioned in particular "Your Gold Teeth," which was sensational, but for me the highlight of the evening was also from that album, and was the haunting arrangement of "Razor Boy." Rhe vocals were performed entirely in three-part harmony by the background chick singers, in which I joined in their register, happening to know all the lyrics, much to the annoyance of Mrs. P. Whoo, gorgeous.
WEIRD TEASING PLAINSMAN FACT FROM THAT SHOW: I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been involved in music production in the past. I was quite startled to see that a musician I hired to play on an album some dozen years or so ago (and who did so, beautifully and memorably) was on stage at the Verizon.
You know, Donald Fagen ditched the Harry Fox Agency, the dreadful organization that has historically collected royalties for songwriters. I owe Donald a couple bucks in royalties and I actually sent a check made payable to him to what I thought was the address for his DBA, Freejunket Music, but it came back so I still owe the royalties. I shoulda taken it with and passed it up to him.
There's your annoying MTC music talk for now.
Speaking of JV talent, I think I figured out one glaring reason THL have such inflated egos. Hearing Sirois discuss the honor of being Rhyner's driver to and from the Steely Dan concert, you would've thought he drove Pete Moon, resurrected. I wonder if he's aloud to make eye contact in the halls at work now.
ReplyDeleteCowlishaw is regularly on B/S every Friday, 4-6.
ReplyDeleteI know many of you are over GW. But man oh man. I just checked out his site for the first time in a week. Skimmed through a couple of posts and podcasts. He's devolved even further. I'm coming to see that he's a nasty person. It goes way beyond being a flawed guy with addiction/substance abuse issues and being pretty much a pathological liar. Some of the things he's saying are awful. Just awful. Goodbye GW, I'll never be back.
ReplyDeleteThe Fan has a JV squad? Seriously, who are they?
ReplyDelete1202, I don't have the patience to listen to GW's podcasts. I know he fired another broadside at RW, but I have no idea what it was since I can no longer muster the energy to listen after fighting through the meltdown he posted right after the RW articles on their show's demise.
104.1 down today?
ReplyDeleteNot good.
Back up for now......panic!
ReplyDeleteMike Rhyner have an auto accident? He tweeted this picture with no explanation.
ReplyDeletepic.twitter.com/tEji7dE10l
I see GW's postings on my FB feed but most of the time it is a podcast of which I have zero interest. I rooted around to see if I could find a few syllables and did manage to find some. He does seem to be keeping advertisers on board. It is kind of like watching a car wreck in slow motion.
ReplyDeleteThe drop date on that deal that DA wrote about last week is coming up on the 9th.
It is apparently a done deal. No mention of the little Ticket in any reading I did. This one seems to have most of the particulars.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedeal.com/content/tmt/cumulus-reaches-new-heights-in-radio.php
It is a done deal as yesterday, Dial Global announced that they will revert back to the WestwoodOne name before the sale.
ReplyDeleteADWEEK:
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/dial-global-brings-back-westwoodone-name-152195
Awful Announcing:
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/september/dial-global-becomes-westwood-one-sports.html
I never did understand why named a network after a bar of soap.
ReplyDeleteTHL talked about his accident yesterday. Looking at the Twitter pic, it's funny how one tweet asked who Line 4 Guy is, after stating he's glad he's ok.
ReplyDeleteIt is MTC's official position that it is relieved that Mike R's injuries from that T-bone accident were mild. From the photo and Mike's account, that could have been bad.
ReplyDeleteAh... the Doocy fill in day - otherwise known as the "Gordon reverts back to his 9-year-old self to impress his man-crush" day.
ReplyDeleteI finally had to punch out. Someone should seriously make him re-listen to the 7:00 hour. For some reason, Doocy really brings out the kid in Gordo - and it's not a good thing.
I noticed Mike asked Line 4 Guy if he went to the Steely Dan concert the other night. That seems to shoot down the theory that it's an old friend of Dan's in Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteDanny did a GIML "Ask Me Anything" yesterday, and said that no one at the Ticket has ever met Line4Guy.
ReplyDelete104.1 is safe for now.
ReplyDeletehttp://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/84092/cumulus-sells-dfw-rimshot/
FCC denied the sale as it was brokered. They may still sell it but the deal will have to be renegotiated.