On or near this date in 1960, WABC-AM 770 in New York decided that, with its 50kw signal heard in half of America after dark, it would do what crosstown WMCA and WMGM had some success with by taking rock-and-roll music to a much grander platform.
By Fourth of July, songs such as “Alley Oop” and Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry” defined the new sound of WABC. For the next 22 years, “Musicradio 77” would come to define a generation brought up on the Four Seasons, the Beatles, Elton John and disco music.
The next 37 years would see WABC serve New York with Talk programming, as its overall ratings began a slow, steady decline.
On June 27, 2019, WABC was sold to a local businessman for $12.5 million.
Seems like a bargain, no? Two brokers shrug that it’s simply the new normal for AM radio stations — regardless of their rich history or past value.
Mention names such as “Cousin” Brucie Morrow, Harry Harrison and Ron Lundy (whose aircheck from Feb. 24, 1966 appears below), and you’ll instantly tap into a love of Top 40 radio seen by a generation of radio listeners who may have lived in Pittsburgh, or perhaps Parsippany, or Poughkeepsie.
WABC was a giant. Then, Talk programming came as New York’s radio listeners progressed to FM radio choices, leading WABC to drop Top 40 in May 1982. By then, even WKTU-FM 92.3, the Disco station that had famously topped WABC in the ratings, had faded. Rap music on WRKS-FM “98.7 Kiss FM” was the talk of teens and young kids. Their older brothers and cousins were tuned to WPLJ-FM, with WAPP-FM a new rock and roll choice. WNBC-AM was developing entertainment-focused shows headlined by Don Imus in mornings ahead of Howard Stern’s arrival in afternoons.
WABC as a Talk station had its great moments. Bob Grant was perhaps a predecessor to right-wing heartthrobs as Rush Limbaugh, whose program was a longtime centerpiece of WABC before iHeartMedia plucked it and placed it on its own AM in New York, WOR-AM, starting on Jan. 1, 2014.
Also shifting from WABC to WOR: Sean Hannity.
Meanwhile, New York icons such as Curtis Sliwa remain a vital part of a lineup that features former Imus pals Bernie McGuirk and Sid Rosenberg in morning drive.
It’s been a long journey to today’s sale of WABC by Cumulus — one that sees the station rank with a 1.0 share in the May 2019 Nielsen Audio ratings for New York.
That’s below Entercom’s all-News WINS and News/Sports WCBS-AM; NPR member station WNYC-FM; WOR-AM; and Townsquare Media’s WKXW-FM “New Jersey 101.5,” a station that barely reaches Bergen County, N.J., let alone parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island.
This lost lustre, combined with the fading consumption of a large majority of AM radio stations, is what likely led Cumulus to accept the $12.5 million sale price of WABC.
The price tag is no surprise to Kalil & Co. VP Lou McDermott. Asked half-jokingly if media brokers are in a panic, given the relatively low valuation for WABC, he replied, “It obviously underscores the declining value of AM stations, which is no surprise to anyone at this stage. The one mitigating factor I would point out is Cumulus is moving fast on deals, leading me to believe they are not holding out for the last dollar.”
Bob Heymann, a Chicago-based Director of Media Services, took a glance at BIA data reflecting price per population.
“According to BIA, the price per population covered in WABC’s 5 mV/m [coverage area] is $0.79. For its 2 mV/m [coverage area] it is $0.66. Welcome to 2019.”
Meanwhile, one broker who wished to retain anonymity suggests a higher valuation could have been seen for WABC. However, “the numbers are so small to [President/CEO Mary Berner] that another $5 million might not move the needle on their end. The cost savings along must be considerable.”
Interestingly, two additional brokers responded not with comments on WABC’s low sale price, but on who the buyer was. They didn’t know.
Who is the buyer? If you’re a longtime New York resident, you know his grocery chain.
