Follow the money

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As our ratings story confirms, CHR has been very nice to Clear Channel in NYC and LA. KIIS-FM is CC Radio’s top-biller in Los Angeles and WHTZ-FM is second only to mega-biller Lite AC WLTW-FM in New York, according to BIA Financial Network (BIAfn). So, there’s an attractive cash pile for CBS to go after.


According to BIAfn, WHTZ booked $52.3 million in revenues in 2007, the last year for which complete station-by-station estimates have been posted. By contrast, CBS Radio’s WXRK-FM was clocked at $17 million and WWFS-FM at $18.1 million, so they are clearly not top performers in the NYC market. And those revenue figures were from even before their ratings got worse.

In Los Angeles, KIIS was estimated to have $65.9 million in 2007 revenue. While Jack-FM (KCBS) clocked in at $56.5 million in ’07, that’s likely fallen with its ratings for 2008. Revenues for KLSX-FM were estimated at $31 million for 2007 – also likely less in ’08 due to the soft ratings.

As for retaliation in New York, Clear Channel’s lowest billing FMs in 2007, according to BIAfn, were Urban WWPR at $26.9 million and Rhythmic CHR WKTU at $29 million.