More fallout at Interep
Speculation RBR noted yesterday morning that Interep was about to lose a major group in their stable of rep firms is confirmed as Cumulus Major Market Sales (CMMS), home to the former Susquehanna radio group, has closed their doors. Cumulus Media Partners (CMP) has moved over again with Clear Channel's Katz Radio Group (KRG) firms of Christal and Eastman. According to CMMS President Mike Walsh the decision for the move was not based on performance but rather the desire to have all their assets under one rep firm. Interep Chairman and CEO Ralph Guild was more upfront by stating Cumulus was made an offer it could not refuse. Meaning money talks and everything else walks. So Interep again will be paid by KRG in a buyout that is in the double-digits or RBR estimates 3 times CMP's EBITDA it was brining in for Interep. The causalities will be the people at Cumulus Major Market Sales as the same happened after the closing of the Susquehanna transaction 05/08/06 RBR #90--a number of Susquehanna employees were stranded or out of work and now the same will happen at CMMS. RBR attempted to contact Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey but was unsuccessful.
RBR observation:
Why does it seem nobody or almost nobody is crying in their holiday eggnog? Well, it is called Guaranteed Money, green back dollars. Interep, which is consistently under pressure, saves by closing Cumulus Major Market Sales and the overhead that goes with it, namely people. Plus, Interep will receive steady income from the buyout of the contract which should give Interep cash flow to keep their bondholders happy. Cumulus Media Partners, like many, receives the mystical one year money revenue guarantee with a few perks from KRG. Remember reps will tell you they do not do deals of guarantees, but we all know it is there as this revenue is never seen at the station level, it all goes to the corporate piggy bank. For the most part everything remains the same at the station level demonstrating once again that money talks and everything else walks.
List of CMP Stations
All stations are formerly Susquehanna Radio, now Cumulus Media Partners. They were repped by Interep/Cumulus Major Market Sales and are now repped by Eastman or Christal (KRG-Clear Channel owned).
KFOG-FM San Francisco CA (Market #4) AAA Christal
KNBR-AM San Francisco CA (Market #4) Sports Christal
KSAN-FM San Francisco CA (Market #4) AOR Christal
KTCT-AM San Francisco CA (Market #4) Sports Christal
KDBN-FM Dallas TX (Market #5) AOR Eastman
KKLF-AM Dallas TX (Market #5) Talk Eastman
KLIF-AM Dallas TX (Market #5) Talk Eastman
KPLX-FM Dallas TX (Market #5) Country Eastman
KRBE-FM Houston TX (Market #6) CHR Eastman
KTCK-AM Dallas TX (Market #5) Sports Eastman
KTDK-FM Dallas TX (Market #5) Sports Eastman
WWWQ-FM Atlanta GA (Market #9) CHR Eastman
WNNX-FM Atlanta GA (Market #9) Alt/Modern Rock Eastman
WYGY-FM Cincinnati OH (Market #28) Country Eastman
WFTK-FM Cincinnati OH (Market #28) Talk Eastman
WRRM-FM Cincinnati OH (Market #28) Soft AC Eastman