Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 19, 2008 at 07:24:01:
In Reply to: Metro/Shadow Chicago job cuts posted by chicagomedia.org on September 16, 2008 at 10:04:01:
Westwood One Gives More Details On Metro Overhaul
NEW YORK -- September 18, 2008: In a conference call today, Westwood One President/CEO Tom Beusse and newly named CFO Rod Sherwood talked about the previously announced overhaul of the Metro Networks traffic division, with Sherwood saying the change from 60 regional facilities to 13 hub markets "more fully leverages our new digital technologies."
There will be a net 15 percent reduction in work force with the change, but Sherwood reassured customers that they will get uninterrupted and even improved local traffic information. He noted, "Digital technologies are not dependent on being physically in a location," and said that, even before the announcement, traffic information in some cities was being collected from remote locations.
Eighteen of the office moves will occur in Q4 of this year, he said, with the rest to be completed by the middle of next year.
Sherwood also said there will be other "restructuring and realignments" at Westwood One, including renegotiating or otherwise addressing programs that have proved unprofitable. He said the company is "making sure that things that aren't carrying their own weight are addressed head-on."
Beusse noted during the Q&A, "Networks are largely collections of programs so we have a portfolio, and some of those programs have been with us for a long time, and some have not been with us for so long. When you walk into a company, you inherit some deals you wouldn't have done."
Where market characteristics for a show have changed, he said, the company has gone back to reconsider -- and if a show won't renegotiate in "a way that's good for both parties," he said, "We will just restructure it and move on."
There will be some changes to the sales force as well, with Westwood One adding regional managers in eight hubs, rather than managing its entire 130- to 140-person sales staff from New York. Additionally, Beusse said, the sales staff has in the past been "bifurcated," with most sellers working on local traffic and about 30 or 40 selling the network. Now the sellers are being trained on all of Westwood One's assets and asked to sell more of that base.
Beusse said, ""It's more sophistication, more locally, and better efficient use of 135 sellers, which should be a monster sales force, but has been a very small sales force based on the way we've deployed it."
Westwood One expects to reduce its recurring operating costs by $25 million-$30 million when its plan is fully implemented.
Westwood One Gets NYSE Warning
NEW YORK -- September 18, 2008: Westwood One has joined the radio companies in danger of delisting, as the New York Stock Exchange has notified the company that it's fallen below the continued listing standards related to minimum share price. The rules require that stock must have a minimum average closing price of $1 during a consecutive 30-day trading period.
Westwood One has 10 business days to notify the exchange of its intent to remedy the situation, and six months to cure the deficiency or face suspension and delisting. The company's stock will continued to be listed during that period. Westwood One said that it intends to get back in compliance, but "there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so."
Citadel has also been warned by the NYSE about its stock price, while Spanish Broadcasting System is under a Nasdaq warning.
(Radio Ink)