Richard Skelly wrote:Be careful what you wish for. The sad saga of Cumulus Media taking over formerly viable ABC radio stations is very cautionary. ABC wanted to ditch the division to ramp up annual earnings and placate shareholders wanting a higher (Disney) stock price. Cumulus took on heavy additional debt to fund the deal and promptly began dumping on-air talent and gutting newsrooms to,likewise, ward off shareholders alarmed by the now-crippling debt. Things continue to end badly for Cumulus, while listeners have lost local communication links that are shadows of their former selves.
Think how an American corporate master would handle any Canadian assets: something to be pared to the bone or cut loose at the first economic recession.
What we have in Canada is far from ideal with Toronto suits largely uncaring on how well or poorly a radio station serves its community. But as bad as say, CKNW has been hollowed by parent Corus, it's still better than KGO in San Francisco. Its been so starved by Cumulus that it merrily airs piffle while major stories break.
Don't have a ready solution for Canada. One might be to reduce the number of stations (similar to the Feds buying up fishing licenses) and bringing in tax or other incentives for local ownership to take over.
Great points, Richard. I was referring more to TV, while maintaining Canadian majority ownership of radio stations, if that would work potentially.
Didn't know about Cumulus Media...the
same could be said of iHeartRadio (formerly ClearChannel), too. The Entercom amalgamation with CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting, I believe) actually seems like a good idea, one that will be less laden with debt.
Cheers,
Doug