Honestly, I think ARN would be better off putting a highball...

Honestly, I think ARN would be better off putting a highball offer in to just buy the largely profitable Southern Cross Regional radio Licences. I.e Do another Grant Broadcasters type raid - And run them as long as it can, while still profitable/viable. While looking to diversify away from media altogether!

Why even bother with the Cap city stuff when you already have a presence and, at the end of the day, assuming you have good content and promotions, you will win the ratings war there anyway.

That said, K & JO have been a total disaster in Melbourne (as expected) -- Soooo, there is that lesson to be learnt by those at the top.
Paying mega bucks for 'talent' in one cap city doesn't necessarily translate to networked success in other areas.

Regardless of the spruiking going on, imho iHeart and Listnr are both on borrowed time. These two platforms have well & truly lost the war to the Spotify's and Apple Music's of the world.. Iheart Media's parent company, is in dire financial straights again and like Audacy (the other large US based broadcaster/streamer) may end up filing for bankruptcy (again) in coming months. Where this would leave ARNs succession plan, is anyone's guess. It appears they do not have a Plan B.

My other observation/suspicion, is that even in this depressed economic environment, Gen Y, Z and even a lot X, are happy to pay a few dollars a month for ad free Spotify and Apple music content. The irony is, that once you actively encourage your broadcast listeners to migrate onto online platforms, you might as well kiss many them goodbye as they discover a literal world of content from the mega streamers.

In my mind, this puts companies like SXL, Nine, SWM, Network 10 & ARN in a tricky position. Terrestrially broadcast radio, like TV, is clearly approaching EOL as personal connectivity improves, user costs reduce and transmission costs increase. But, the sad fact is that ARN's future cannot be pinned solely to iHeart radio. There is just too little compelling point of difference between the local streaming platforms and the Global Mega Co's.

I think the share price trajectory of all of these companies, is market recognition that options, and time, are fast running out for all of these local media companies.

Give me compelling arguments against the above... I would like to believe that a diversified media sector can somehow exist and thrive in this country..