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I guess this is a “Folie à Deux” to borrow from director Todd Phillips to what I shared last week as the firestorm surrounding iHeart’s deep draconian self-destruction of itself roared on, and I expect got more shocking and continued between my writing and this publishing (as matter-of-fact insider sources told me exactly that was happening).
To make matters worse, Cumulus and Beasley chose to make smaller cutbacks at the same time, which went almost unnoticed because of how severe iHeart’s have been in the press (again, at the time of writing, I know of at least two major market dismissals that haven’t been publicly reported yet).
In the midst of all this, iHeart’s CEO Bob Pittman commented on the company’s Q3 earnings call to Barrington Research’s Jim Goss: “There’s not a slot for everybody.” Let that sink in.
Of course, there is the old adage, radio being what it is, that you’re not really a professional until you’ve been fired, so instability and some not making it to fame and fortune have always been hallmarks of radio and wider show business.
But that’s not what Pittman is saying; he went on to explain, “Just because someone was willing to live in the market doesn’t assure that they’re the best person for that slot.”
Adding, “I think what we’re doing is not getting rid of air talent. What we’re able to do now, because we’ve got technology, is we can take talent we have in any location and put them on the air in another location. So, it allows us to substantially upgrade the quality of our talent in every single market we’re in.”
He goes on to highlight how Ryan Seacrest, Bobby Bones, and Charlemagne Tha God in every market is simply good business. Surely, these national names are far superior to any rank-and-file DJ in Peoria or Scranton. So, here’s the thing: The Bobster is completely full of shit….and he knows it. As I outlined last week, Pittman DID come up through the ranks as a teen jock in Mississippi and worked his way all the up to New York and then MTV.
Bob is aware as anyone in radio what it takes to build a strong local terrestrial brand, and when he came to then Clear Channel, including a personal buy-in from his piggy bank, er, private equity firm, Huff Po ran a 2011 story with the headline “Bob Pittman Is Just What Radio Needs: Radio is lucky to have Bob Pittman back where his heart, and now his money, is. He will increase the size of the radio revenue pie, and the rising tide will lift all radio boats”.
How’d that work out? Don’t let ME fact check; just forward to a 2017 Variety piece, “Bob Pittman’s Efforts May Not Be Enough,” detailing his first several RIFs, prioritizing digital assets over terrestrial, putting focus on the app (changing the name of the company hence to reflect it), undermining market places by eliminating rate integrity and opening up inventory for more units and longer stop sets and using the cash flow of local o & o’s to power what Variety noted were seen as “vanity” moves: a private jet for Bob, creation and cram down of music festivals and investments at film festivals, bringing in old hands like John Sykes and of course, the Silicon Valley like remodel of the New York office including “the mist tunnel”!
The Bobster has managed to renegotiate and postpone debt down from $20 billion to about $5 billion today (that was not without bankruptcy and missed note payments at times + smaller shareholders losing their investments).
And too, despite selling it as innovation, technological improvement, or “reducing redundancy” (one of his favorite isms), what he’s done is undermine local ad rates for all of radio, drive national business to digital and to his Premier network but away from local bottom lines, homogenized downgraded and cluttered content especially outside the major markets all while ruining careers, focusing on 25-54 only with his mediocre programming diluting the radio value proposition for listeners and advertisers alike at a time competition increased dramatically all while he and his top executives got fat checks and stock options, access to A list celebrities and functions while they gave fewer raises, bonuses, and resources to the ranks.
And of late, none at all. Like a cruel Dickens morality tale, those in and outside of iHeart radio have come to await the annual holiday “RIFs”; after all, as The Bobster said, “There’s not a slot for everybody.” It’s just inevitable, right? A sign of the times through no fault of his leadership, same as Mary Berner, David Field, and Caroline Beasley!
What he didn’t say, what none of them say, is “There’s not a slot for everybody….eerrr because we are over leveraged and f’ed up the product and advertiser relationships such that ratings and revenues are not going to satisfy our board or debt holders so to be sure they are at bay until I get my golden parachute (which I’ve only not opened because my ego likes the attention and stroking my position gives me) and walk away.
The overall market reckoning may be coming; most investors will tell you to take a look at that pesky yield curve to see how 2025 begins. And Bob, for one, will skate away; he did it at MTV (after a bumpy early road where the channel was accused of racial bias), at Six Flags, where they never did catch Universal to be a “second only to Disney,” at AOL when it merged and even back at 660 WNBC when he blew the format and morning show up firing Imus for his then-girlfriend to have the slot.
It’s remarkable how some mostly fail up, granted with flash and bravado and the sheer arrogance to be able to say “There’s not a slot for everybody” with a straight face, which, aside from being a farce, is the kind of dehumanizing, dismissive language void of compassion or empathy for the consequences of actions especially when one’s experiences indicate they certainly know it to be so.
I’m going to pose a challenge to radio rank and file that we collectively come together across companies and disciplines as Hollywood did to demand fair AI policies, wages, contracts, and termination.
A collective bargaining uprising beyond the scope and interests of what AFTRA does (or mostly did). This involves risk and fortitude and publicly signing on. Would you? Message me, and if the movement is there, I’ll launch a Change Dot Org to make a start.
Enough!
Robby Bridges works for Press Communications where he serves as the VP of Programming for 99.7 and 107.1 The Boss. He also hosts the morning show ‘Robby and Rochelle’ alongside his wife, Rochelle. He’s been with the company/stations since September, 2021.
Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Robby spent decades working across the country in many top markets for many highly successful brands. Among them include Z100, WPLJ and Q102. He has also worked in Detroit, Boston, Providence, Portsmouth, NH, and served as an exclusive guest host for Scott Shannon on the True Oldies Channel.
To get in touch, reach Robby by email at RobbyBridges@hotmail.com.
