Hey, there! Log in / Register
Is this town big enough for two WFNXes?
By adamg on Tue, 06/26/2012 - 9:05am
The day after the Globe announced it was hiring key WFNX staffers to start an online alt-rock station, the Phoenix announced, hey, waitaminnit, it's starting its own WFNX online alt-rock station:
"We are excited to be able to maintain a unique, independent spirit and a commitment to serving the greater Boston and New England community with the best there is in new music,” says Stephen Mindich, founder and CEO of The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. "With insightful, entertaining programming, WFNX will continue to live online. We haven't missed a beat and we look forward to announcing more exciting news and developments around our new online broadcast in the coming weeks," says Mindich.
H/t to Daniel.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Figured...
But that (probably) means the Globe was able to hire away the FNX staff from PMCG. Even the Mindichs wouldn't try to launch this without the input of the key players from the station. Guess the sale of FNX burned too many bridges or the Globe brought stability or better money.
The FNX name may be the most valuable piece of the puzzle, but the personal loyalty may go to the Globe's on-air team. I would expect PMCG to enforce the sales guy's non-compete which will cause some real problems if the Globe can't leverage their other contacts.
The FNX team was already let-go...
I believe the staff that the Globe hired had already been fired last month from FNX. In that case, I don't think any non-compete clauses would come into play. Of course, the FNX name will still be a valuable piece of the puzzle, as you mentioned.
Yes...
but, the broadcast team was continuing to work until the end of the broadcast term. If PMCG were really thinking about something that they were in a position to announce yesterday, then PMCG should have been talking to these folks (especially sales & promo) -- assuming they wanted to bring them along.
Non-competes are still enforceable, even if you fire/layoff someone. Most companies won't enforce them in the event of a layoff, but there's usually nothing stopping them from it (and PMCG will pursue if they think they can win). It's possible they don't have non-competes or they have some exclusions, but PMCG usually has them in place.
Disclosure: I worked for PMCG for 3 years and have some intimate knowledge into their HR practices.
too late...
Shoulda thought of that before you fired everyone who made FNX FNX...
"We haven't missed a beat..."
If that's the case then I will NOT be interested in listening.
Stick to the pimp business, Steve
Given that you've had more success at that than you've had running a radio station. And if the FNX brand is so valuable, someone tell me why they went out of business then...
They didn't "go out of business"...
As far as all reports go, Mindich was approached by Clear Channel and they made an unsolicited offer to buy the frequency for a nice chunk of change. Odds are the station was still making some money, as there was no talk of them shutting down prior to the offer, but radio is a tough business, and he decided it was worth it take the money and walk.
$13 million...
for a signal is a pretty good deal, especially in a cutthroat business.
WFNX is the DJ's
The Phoenix may have the call letters and the branding, but the brand isn't worth much without the people who made that brand unique. Without the DJ's, all you have is the equivalent of Sirius radio that you can't listen to in a car - an automated jukebox.
The Boston.com product, free of the decades of bad decisions made by Phoenix management, stands to be possibly even better than the WFNX terrestrial entity.