Radio Woes?

The Marlins' new English radio home is looking a bit iffy. The Herald's Barry Jackson wrote this today...

'Facing mounting financial losses, Joel Feinberg has spoken with ownership of WAXY-790 about possibly leaving the station. Feinberg owns the company that leases 790's signal and has lost several million dollars since he launched an all-sports station more than three years ago.

'Because The Ticket has produced strong ratings, people inside the station are hopeful that Lincoln Financial, which owns WAXY-790, will continue to operate it as a sports station if Feinberg ends his lease agreement. Feinberg declined to comment. Dennis Collins, general manager of Lincoln Financial's local radio properties, did not return phone messages. The Miami Herald has a marketing partnership with 790 The Ticket.'

That partnership might've inspired the ratings comment, for as Uncle Neil pointed out this morning, the 'strong' ratings they had earlier this year may have been closer to a burp than anything.

And besides, ratings haven't really been the station owner's strategy. History-wise, Lincoln Financial has run 790 as a brokered station, making a decent profit by selling half-hour and hour-long chunks of radio time to practically anyone who wanted them. The only difference with 'the Ticket' is that Feinberg bought All the time, 24/7, essentially running the station without actually owning the station.

Meanwhile Feinberg reportedly has other problems - From a Dec. 7th B. J. article: "A Jan. 24 jury trial has been scheduled in Monterey, Calif., for the case involving Ticket owner Joel Feinberg, who was arrested Oct. 21 after allegedly hitting his fiancée."

Maybe that's what's exacerbating his money troubles.

Anyway, Lincoln Financial doesn't have 'Financial' in its name for nothing. Even if the ratings were through the roof, why would a company continue an enterprise that admittedly "has lost several million dollars since he launched an all-sports station more than three years ago"?

The company has always operated on the principle of outside producers paying them for time on the station. Which makes the Marlins' deal potentially interesting. I don't know whether the deal was made just with Feinberg or just with the station or both. But here's conditions of the deal from that same Dec.7 article:

'(U)nlike WQAM in past years, 790 will not pay a rights fee. Instead, the Marlins will sell the ads and keep most of the revenue.'

Maybe that arraingement is fine enough for Lincoln Financial. I don't know. On the other hand, if the Ticket goes bust, would the Marlins want to be on what the station will then become? I don't know. Would Jeffrey abandon English broadcasts like he did in Montreal? Hmmmmmm...