Bennett Zier: I'm outta here prick

I did my time now it's time to put that guy in the rearview

Sixteen months after leaving ClearChannel to help build Dan Snyder's Red Zebra radio network, CEO Bennett Zier is gone. For those that do not know, Red Zebra Broadcasting is the company behind the network of five radio stations (three weak-signaled in DC plus one each in Richmond and Norfolk) plus original programming, such as it is. Bennett is leaving quote, to pursue "opportunities on a broader scale," unquote.

I think this indicates Dan's Triple X ESPN Radio has topped out for the time being and Bennett is ready to move back to bigger things. Prior to his move to Red Zebra, Bennett was the regional VP of ClearChannel's DC-area operations, featuring eight real and diverse stations, including WTEM SportsTalk 980, the station Bennett launched in 1992, and Triple X's main competitor.

Bennett may see the writing on the wall that Dan is congenitally unable to perceive. For a time there was a second sports talk station in Washington, SportsTalk 1260 WWRC. SportsTalk 980 runs the ESPN slate of programming (and some local stuff) and SportsTalk 1260 ran the Fox Sports lineup (plus some ESPN filler). It didn't work out and 1260 became the liberal talk station affiliated with Air America (Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow) and Jones Radio (Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz). Apparently the market determined that Washington cannot support two all-sports radio stations.

So instead of making big money licensing the Redskins broadcasts out to one of the big local stations with complete area coverage (CBS Radio's 106.7 WJFK had the last local contract to broadcast Redskins games -- at 10 million dollars a year and declined to renew after the 2005 season), Dan decided to buy up smaller stations and work them into a unit and pocket all that advertising revenue himself. Well if you don't have Sirius and want to hear a game over the air it's tough because 94.3 FM, 92.7 FM and 730 AM all have relatively weak signals.

94.3 and 92.7 were Spanish-language stations broadcasting in the latin tropical music format but once CBS-owned Infinity Broadcasting shut down Lanham Maryland-based WHFS 99.1 FM and rebirthed it as El Zol, playing the tropical style with a much stronger signal, El Zol crushed 94.3 and 92.7 so Mega Communications sold out to Dan Snyder. I remember 730 AM as the AM dial broadcast of WCXR Classic Rock from high school (that was in the 80s kids) and was more recently CNN and business news. In 2000 Mega Communications bought the station and converted it to the latin tropical format before selling to Red Zebra.

Here is a coverage map for the three stations. One is far off to the west, one to the east and don't be fooled by the AM coverage map. After 5pm, 730 AM is required by license to drop its power down so low that it's almost unhearable even in Alexandria where it's broadcast. Red Zebra has applied for a license to upgrade the AM signal, but it's still in review.

Dan had plans to acquire two other stations and put them into Triple X, but those transactions were called off. I wonder if this decision not to continue expanding was what pushed Bennett out the door.

Like the mad monk Rasputin though, Dan Snyder pops back up after every attempt to knock him down. One day after the announcement of Bennett's departure, Red Zebra announced that Bruce Gilbert was leaving his position as general manager of ESPN Radio to take the top spot at Red Zebra. Bruce is no rookie, having overseen an operation that runs stations in five cities and generates some of the most popular sports radio programming in the country, beamed to dozens of affiliate stations nationwide. This signals to me that either Dan Snyder is serious about continuing to expand and evolve Triple X, or that he has enough money to pay someone to make it look like he is serious about expanding and evolving the brand.

The big question I would have as an amatuer radio analyst is, what value is the network offering? Are people listening? Is Dan seeing a return on his investment? According to the Washington Post (op. cit.), Triple X accounted for less than one percent of the radio audience last fall, which was basically the same as ratings when they were all latin beats.

So CBS decided not to renew the Redskins at 10 million, they would have for perhaps slightly less and Dan could have pocketed that, risk-free and moved on. But no, Dan is the guy that thinks he can wring more out of every endeavor than you. If CBS was once willing to pay 10 million to broadcast three hours a week five months of the year then it must be worth more and he just set about his way of extracting that extra return. By spending millions on radio stations and staff to run them.

Does anyone else think Dan Snyder, with plans to expand Johnny Rockets by 1000 stores, fifteen times the expansion curve prior to his acquisition, and a 10 million dollar opportunity cost radio empire consisting of three weak-ass radio stations with little original programming (John Riggins is out of there just as soon as the bigs call him up), might be headed for a big investment correction some day?

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A final note, for a guy that made his money in communications and marketing, Dan's Red Zebra Broadcasting website is really pitiful. One image, no links, no station lineup, no programming lineup. Over at Triple X ESPN Radio, the network moniker for the collection of radio stations, the site is better, but too...busy and derned if I can't find any original programming in there except the John Riggins Show and the Bram Weinstein Show.


(Hat tip to the inestimable blog of DC radio and TV, DCRTV.com for the original rumor on Bennett's departure)



Bennett Zier from here.