When KNBR -Cumulus fired afternoon drive hosts, Larry Kreuger and Rod Brooks--two of the all-sports 680 AM (and 104.5 FM), it was thought there'd be a temporary reprieve in cuts.
Not at all.
In fact, Cumulus, which is soon about to declare its second bankruptcy, is planning on another series of high-profile firings; no one at KNBR is safe. In fact, several sources told me more offings could include Tom Tolbert, part of the PM drive team. Even morning and midday talent, like "Murph and Mac", (Brian Murphy and Paul Mccaffrey) could be on the hit list, although the latter two are unlikely targets, at least for now.
Even the popular "Papa and Lund"--and who currently have high ratings in the all important A25-54 (men) demo, are not immune to potential firings.
KNBR used to be Cumulus' cash cow, the 50K-watt sports radio powerhouse, but KNBR has seen remarkable reduction in its market share. The overall ratings are not the ratings advertisers use to buy their time on, but the internal ratings they do rely on (A25-54) has seen KNBR take a deep dive the last quarter of 2021 and the early '22 quarter.
Market share is down 30-40 percent. That is significant.
Cumulus's precarious financial situation is worsened by its Giants' radio broadcast rights fees--it pays the Giants roughly $5 million to broadcast all its home and away games. In recent times that figure made fine business sense --in fact, KNBR built its broadcast schedule during the spring/summer and early fall around Giants' baseball; it's a partnership that has been highly successful especiallly during the team's high point from 2010 through 2014 when they won three World Series and routinely sold out their ballpark.
KGO let go of prominent talk-show host, Chip Franklin, and several less popular on-air traffic, news and business reporters. Also let go were producers and engineers too. And of course, as mentioned, KNBR and other Cumulus Bay Area radio personnel.
The Giants' current broadcast deal with KNBR (Cumulus) lasts through 2025. Major League Baseball, while still infinitely profitable and generating record revenue for the TV/Cable broadcast networks, has seen its product value lessen with both the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent lockout/strike that was settled earlier this month. Those two factors alone resulted in baseball's increasing disconnect with younger TV viewers and their relationship to the sport. Which ultimately affected individual teams, including the Giants.
The Giants alliance with KNBR, begun in 1979, is almost tied to the hip. Both parties, for better or worse, need each other. The Giants have a 24/7 media fortress with 50 thousands watts of supreme terrestrial radio power that basically acts as a PR machine, while KNBR uses the team to augment its daily schedule with programming and special events and promotions. Until recently, that relationship seemed to be a hit (pun intended) for everyone involved.
Now, not so much.
When, (and it's considered likely any day now) Cumulus declares its second bankruptcy, then things get real dicey.
And every scenario you can imagine and not imagine, is on the table.
KNBR makes Pravda look unbiased
ReplyDeleteWhen a company petitions the court for bankruptcy, they have a certain number of days to accept or reject any outstanding contracts, leases, employment agreements, etc. they have with other entities. If they choose to reject the contract with the Giants, and if the court approves it, the contract becomes subject to renegotiation. Then either party can walk away from the deal. If the Giants think there's a better deal to be had with another broadcaster, they can try to cut that deal and cut Cumulus out. (Keep in mind though that there are only four full-market 50Kw AM stations in the Bay Area, and only two of them have FM simulcasts. One's KNBR, and the other is KCBS. The other two, AM-only, are KGO - also Cumulus - and "All Day, All Night, All Jesus" KFAX. Doesn't leave them with many other options, does it?)
ReplyDeleteKNBR could dump Paulie Mac - Brian Murphy has been at least 80% of the show since the beginning and half the time Paulie does speak, it is some list Murph has written for him. Taking calls/reading texts to fill time doesn't cost anything and they could just bring in a chicken to peck at Paulie's soundboard for random drops.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. They have a rapport that would be lost to the detriment of the show. Mac does not have the in depth sports knowledge and interview skills that Murph does, but he shores up the lighter side of things (music knowledge, humor, etc.)...i think it works for a morning show where you don't want to get too heavy into analytics, stats, etc.
DeleteChip Franklin, prominent? Huh, no one would have ever guessed.
ReplyDeleteRatings have stayed pretty the same since his departure and no one is shedding a tear. He was a pain in the ass.
DeleteProminent? Only his Bald Head and his giant ego. But then anyone who inhales that much weed via Wifey the Pot Head probably thinks he is prominent at something.
DeleteThat station needs an overhaul to save it.
ReplyDeleteCumulus sold off a lot of land and is leasing back a bunch of towers. The SF cluster is targeted to hit a profit this year. Go listen to the quarterly earnings conference call. This is a publicly traded company and all that information is available.
ReplyDeleteOnce Baseball starts, KNBR's ratings (and revenue) will rebound...as it always has. Ratings will not be as high as in the recent past, but it should be enough to keep KNBR off the hit list for the highly rated, but expensive shows.
ReplyDeleteAny updates on Krueger or Brooks landing spots !?!
ReplyDeleteKrueger is doing some Youtube podcasts now. It would be cool if he could eventually resurface on maybe 95.7, but he's doing Youtube for now.
DeleteAs far as Rod, I haven't heard anything. It's really unfortunate for him. Hopefully he resurfaces again at some point.
KNBR.......
ReplyDelete6-10 Krueger and Copeland
10-2 Papa and Ted Ramy
2-6 Rich Lieberman
2-6
2-
Cumulus stock is not trading like a company about to file for bankruptcy.
ReplyDeletePodcasts will continue to kill sports talk radio because...
ReplyDelete1) Few, if any, commercials.
2) Typically focused on one team.
3) Independent rather than state media team shills.
4) Interacts with audience via live chat, twitter, etc.
5) Capable of intelligent thought and critical thinking.
Local sports talk radio largely lost their audience they stopped taking callers and started regurgitating content.
It's hard to imagine KNBR letting go of more people, but let's be honest, KNBR is not the same. Yes, I listen to 95.7 more, but after listening to 95.7, whenever I listen to KNBR, it's hard to tune in after a few minutes. The shows on KNBR are kind of boring and a little dry. Not sure if it's because of their format or the shows on KNBR have more of a slower pace. To me, KNBR is just not as good anymore. I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteBoth are un-listenable. Too much bla-bla-bla about beer, gambling, porn stars. Take listener calls and talk sports but let's face it, sports talk show people are pretty dumb to begin with. They ain't rocket scientists, and know nothing when you get right down to it. Bottom of the barrel IQ-wise.
Delete