In this week’s issue… Audacy files Chapter 11 – Squier family sells WDEV – Townsquare turns off more signals – WBZ’s Rich pulls back – Remembering Doug Cope – New Year format changes
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*Happy new year, and many thanks for your patience – while we’d intended to be back with a new issue of NERW last week, family health issues intervened, and so this week’s column ends up covering nearly a month’s worth of news across the region.
We’ll try to get back on a regular schedule as quickly as possible, though next week’s column may also be delayed due to travel.
(And stay tuned also for the start of our 30th anniversary celebration!)
*Amidst all of the expected news of format changes and personnel moves over the holidays – and there’s lots of that in the subscriber-only portion of the column – there was one big piece of news.
That was Audacy’s pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on January 7, the inevitable conclusion of a story that began with Entercom’s acquisition of the CBS Radio stations and all the debt that came along with that deal.
With that $1.9 billion debt load hanging over the company, it was all but inevitable that creditors would force the bankruptcy filing, which will give control of the company to a lender-led group and will remove David Field from his position as chair of the Audacy board.
Don’t expect big changes in Audacy’s operations as a result of the fast-tracked filing, which is expected to be approved next month: the company says it expects day-to-day activities to continue unchanged at its stations. There’s no reason to think Audacy will sell many of its stations, either – the company says revenues are recovering from the pandemic-era downturn, and it’s not as though there’s a long list of buyers with cash in hand for those clusters, either.
(We do, however, expect Audacy to continue selling off the properties it identified for its Audacy Atlas divestiture trust last year, including several tower sites around the region; just this past week, it reached a deal to sell its studio real estate on a valuable development property in Phoenix.)
Whatever you’re using right now for automation playout, scheduling, archiving, remote connectivity, apps and streaming, I can help you do it better and probably less expensively now that I’m the US representative for Myriad broadcast software. It’s the best software package you haven’t heard of… yet. Come see us at the NAB Show or let me set up a virtual demo for you.
Looking to get into station ownership? Our StationSale division has some great new listings for you, including a very successful multimedia combo including radio/digital/print in one of the finest small markets in the region, a major market FM translator opportunity, a profitable Midwest FM, an inexpensive entry into a fast-growing Western market, and a turnkey profitable FM/AM/translator small-market combo that’s ready for a new owner. Drop me a line at scott@fybush.com and I’ll set you up with an NDA and all the details…
And if your noncommercial FM station is ready to think about translators, there’s a filing window coming this fall from the FCC and it’s the perfect time to start making plans.
In this week’s issue… New tech, lots of regulatory questions at the NAB Show - iHeart, Audacy make staffing cuts - Community expands in VT - Sox find new RI radio home - WEEI shuffles afternoons - FMs sign off...
In this week’s issue… The industry gathers in Vegas - SBS files for bankruptcy - New top 40 in PA - Retirement in Brockville draws honors
In this week’s issue… Audacy cuts local managers - Cape Cod, VT, western PA FMs sold - WVOM ousts Bangor legend, draws ire - New owner for NJ duo - AM surrenders in VT
In this week’s issue… TEGNA deal consolidates Hartford, Scranton, Buffalo stations - CBS to close radio newsroom - Buffalo's Snyder to retire - New FM cancels amidst allegations - Erie's Stehlin retires - New LPTVs on the way
