1-6-2012
Former KGO General Manager Mickey Luckoff has been trying to find himself a station in the Bay area so he could reunite his old talk team. Luckoff is no fan of the bigger radio companies and is not afraid to voice his displeasure for the way radio is going these days. He sent out a letter to the people he's been working with to try to get a deal done and here are the details.
"As promised I have made every conceivable effort to accomplish the goal as we originally discussed. I have exhausted every conceivable opportunity to package and relocate our incredible NEWSTALK team in its entirety. Much to my dismay there is not a single facility with a market wide signal available to purchase,
lease (LMA), or to be made available by one of the multiple owners to adopt the format at this time."
"We have dealt with brokers, owners, consultants, lawyers, local market managers and conglomerate owners in our quest to buy, lease, or if necessary to give the talent lineup and format to a wise owner/operator. Our P & L projection which was developed by a highly skilled industry financial expert was so good we were
astounded that one of the corporate entities neglected to jump at the opportunity."
"What we learned was of the three remaining multiple owners one was interested in doing it 'on the cheap' on a limited AM facility. One major company literally said, "If we're interested we'll call you," and the best of the remaining groups with the ideal FM facility after 2 weeks said, "Not now, maybe next year." In spite of the fact we had a major leak(er) among us (which at one point I feared would sink our ship) it ultimately is the total lack of courage and imagination among current day owners and operators which prevents us from returning as a (profitable) format which would also have dominated bay area NEWSTALK
audiences for the foreseeable future."
"I have turned over very possible rock I am aware of in my effort to make this happen. While I am flattered and honored with your trust, confidence and loyalty to the group it saddens me to realize this cannot be accomplished at this time. I do hope we are able to stay in touch with each other in the days ahead."
"Please accept my deepest and sincere good wishes for the future."
Mickey
(1/6/2012 12:28:57 PM)
All of these major owners KNOW better, ABC(nee citadel) blew up KABC never to return to its greatness under George Green, KGO is just one more disaster when the bean counters take over, remember they wiped out the shareholders and when a giant like Mickey tells them the TRUTH they don't want to hear it...watch the future ratings when KGO slumps to the bottom. The audience and the Bankers will will take the beating, not the owners.
(1/6/2012 12:12:39 PM)
One of the best! Integrity, professionalism, leadership. Our industry should mourn his loss every day.
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