Iconic Philly stations - WMMR, WMGK, WBEN and WPEN - change hands, hand-wringing follows

Four iconic Philadelphia radio stations are changing hands in a blockbuster deal announced Wednesday.

The repercussions could be strong and likely augur more cuts, suggests a seasoned media insider, for staffers and programming at WMMR-FM (93.3), WMGK-FM (102.9), WBEN-FM (95.7), and WPEN-FM (97.5).

Beasley Broadcasting of Naples, Fla., announced its intention to pick up all 21 stations in seven markets owned by Greater Media Inc. in a $240 million transaction that includes $100 million in cash.

In addition, shareholders of Greater Media will receive the net cash from the sale of its tower assets, worth about $20 million. And Beasley will also assume and refinance about $80 million in debt held by the seller.

As part of the deal, Beasley is claiming Greater Media stations in Morristown, Middlesex, and Monmouth, N.J., as well as in Boston, Detroit, and Charlotte, N.C.

"They've bought stations in Philadelphia that skew old. That's critical and a good thing, given how millennials have abandoned radio," said seasoned industry tracker Jerry Del Colliano. But in the next breath, he argues that "they're running out of time in a dying industry. Greater Media can count its lucky stars that it's gotten out."

In recent weeks, the nation's largest radio group, iHeart Radio, has fought off, at least temporarily, a legal effort in a Texas court by creditors trying to force the company into bankruptcy. iHeart carries $20.8 billion in debt and had a net loss for 2015 of $737 million. The company is making moves to refinance that debt and has been selling off chunks of a still-profitable outdoor advertising business - also to the chagrin of creditors.

Another bad sign: The nation's second-largest radio group, owned by CBS, has been on the auction block for more than a year, so far without a taker, and now may have to sell itself off in pieces.

Last month, Greater Media laid off a number of employees at Philadelphia radio stations and elsewhere, reported BizJournals Inc. In hindsight, that move now appears an effort to "sweeten the package for Beasley," said Del Colliano, a former on-air personality and programmer at WIBG, WIFI, WFIL, and WIP who is now at Inside Music Media.

"The bankers they go to for financing will demand more" cuts, he said. "I like to call radio stations today 'computers in a closet.' You put your music on a computer, put in a couple sweepers" to do the automated voice-overs "so you don't have to have DJs. Six months from now, you might not even recognize these iconic stations."

Philly's sports talk radio scene could also face disruption. Beasley already owned WTEL-AM (610), which carries ESPN sports programming, along with WWDB-AM (860), a daytime station that largely "brokers" its airtime.

Now Beasley is picking up a second sports channel in WPEN ("the Fanatic").

"I might be wrong," Del Colliano said, "but I don't see them having two of anything. Sports is an expensive format. WIP owns it in the Philadelphia market, in most respects. I'll fall over dead if Beasley keeps sports in their future."

Beasley "may believe that getting bigger is the only way to survive," he added. "They may also try to buy some CBS stations. But I can't bear to watch what's happening."

Come fall, Del Colliano will be inducted into Philadelphia's Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of Jerry Blavat, Michael Tearson, and Marty Moss-Coane.

takiffj@phillynews.com

215-854-5960

@JTakiff