Music’s Mental Health Crisis

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  • Liam Payne’s death repercussions on the music business.
  • Why musicians are succumbing to mental health issues now.
  • A warning about social media.
  • Missed opportunities for a tuned-out radio industry.

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Beasley Dismantling Greater Media

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  • The thinking behind tinkering with their major revenue markets.
  • What last week’s brutal Philly layoffs mean for the company.
  • Excruciating details on talent getting screwed – with recent contract extensions.
  • Can they maintain ratings and revenue by voice tracking? The evidence.

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What Radio Listeners Would Tell Researchers

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  • The list of complaints that go beyond the obvious.
  • How to fix every objection for free.
  • The missing element for happier music format listeners.
  • How younger audiences feel about news.
  • The 2 biggest mistakes research would have prevented before hurting radio stations.

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Beasley is on the Clock

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  • The single best telling indicator if Beasley is going to go under.
  • Other signs that add up to financial trouble ahead.
  • Comparing Beasley to Audacy, Cumulus and iHeart at the same point in time.
  • The new business Beasley is embracing instead of podcasting and digital.

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Playing Politics with Audacy

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  • How Audacy is being hurt by politicians and regulators.
  • Other license renewals being kicked around by politicians.
  • How Audacy bankruptcy ‘judge shopping’ backfired.
  • Potential new scrutiny for Beasley, Urban One, Salem.
  • What Cumulus and iHeart’s 2nd bankruptcies will have to deal with this time around.

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It Feels Like Radio Is Giving Up

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  • Compelling evidence that hedge fund owners have had enough.
  • What to expect from “The Great Retreat”.
  • The repercussions from Walls Street’s “dark future”.
  • How to increase your cume as a defense strategy.
  • Advice for advertisers caught in hedge fund hell.
  • And, if you’re NOT going bankrupt and staying in business, a checklist of mistakes to avoid.

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Engagement Not Quarter Hour

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  • Tearing up the way radio is measured.
  • The surprising leader in rebuilding a radio station’s audience.
  • How to capture more listeners in a world with an 8-second attention span.
  • The biggest turn-offs that can be fixed.
  • The only thing you should pay a program director for.

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A Warning About Radio’s Digital Revenue

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  • How radio’s approach to digital advertising is about to do a 180.
  • The net effect on spot advertising.
  • “Digital Dating” – why you may be seeing more of it.
  • A new side hustle that could redefine a station’s digital strategy.
  • An unanswered question: will market managers still be pushed to package radio and digital at their discretion.

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Older Audience Listening Habits Changing

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  • The first significant changes in loyal radio listeners.
  • How stations are inadvertently letting older listeners get away.
  • Hacks to stop older audience erosion.
  • How to bolster time spent listening.
  • The risk to popular classic hits, classic rock and adult contemporary.

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Paywalls, Subscriptions and Younger Audiences

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  • Will CNN’s paywall work, will SiriusXM get young people to pay, is Spotify going to raise rates and keep subscribers?
  • What in-demo consumers ARE willing to pay for.
  • The viability of ad-supported revenue models.
  • The appeal of free and freemium.
  • The one thing – and only one – that must be present to charge a premium.

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Audacy as a Private Company

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  • The Soros plan to hideout.
  • What David Field must deliver and how long he has to do it.
  • One thing that can totally derail Soros’ growth plans.
  • Why Audacy competitors may have to rethink their strategy.

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Nielsen’s Proposed 3 Minute Quarter Hour

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  • The net effect of lowering the listening threshold with advertisers.
  • How the move works with today’s shorter listening spans.
  • The current lost listening that would be recaptured.
  • The effect on quarter hours now loaded with commercials.
  • And an even better idea that is not being considered that would help every station without signaling declining audiences.

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How Listeners Would Reinvent Radio

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  • Two of listeners biggest problems with radio right now (and too many commercials isn’t one of them).
  • The music format stations are not doing that would get them to tune in.
  • The spoken word format that no station is doing and probably won’t. Non-listeners would love it anyway.
  • For music stations, a major addition that would invite non-listeners to sample.

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Soros Looking to Become iHeart

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  • Why those worried about Soros’ political intentions in getting into radio will really be worried when they see his game plan.
  • Why they are eying iHeart.
  • What to watch as Soros stalks a second acquisition.

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Digital Games Radio Stations Are Playing

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  • One group is so desperate, it is investing in this thinly disguised digital venture – with no evidence it will work.
  • What any honest market manager will reveal (off the record) about their radio group’s latest digital incentives.
  • The games stations are playing with digital revenue numbers (don’t get any ideas).
  • Market managers beware – high pressure corporate tactics are coming.

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What the FCC Has Against Audacy

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  • The unspoken damage the FCC is doing to Audacy.
  • Why other radio bankruptcies got the green light to emerge quicker.
  • How this delay jeopardizes the Soros plan to rebuild Audacy.
  • The delay’s effect on Audacy’s plan to sell, consolidate or shut down some stations.

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The Rise of Digital Agencies

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What’s killing radio’s digital business?

  • Why groups that had been growing digital or holding their own the past few years are up against a knockout punch.
  • What’s in it for this new breed of digital agencies.
  • The deal that is so good, stations can’t match it.
  • The amount of digital revenue on track to disappear.

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The ‘Enshittification’ of Radio – Hedge Funds Next Moves

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  • What hedge-fund owners are going to do next to salvage their radio investments.
  • If you’re in sales, your job is about to change radically.
  • Big game hunting will be out to eliminate another radio employee.
  • If an air-personality has a job within the next few years, here is what it will look like.
  • The physical radio station of the future reimaged by hedge funds.

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My NYU Students Are About to Surprise Media Execs

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School has resumed and with it more observations about how the next generation is viewing the music and media space – I have found tracking their changing opinions very helpful in understanding the changes ahead.

  • Their real time take on radio and satellite.
  • A potential snag ahead for streaming music services that have replaced radio in their lives.
  • They are suspicious of AI but there is one significant exception.
  • How their musical tastes differ from the previous generations. Don’t assume.
  • The type of podcasting that they might be more receptive to.

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Beasley Kicks a Beasley to the Curb

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Beasley is in big trouble – stock price of 56 cents, delisting notice pending, a recent offer to water down shares of stock to kick the can down the road and avoid bankruptcy, but with all this, wide-scale nepotism has finally hit a bump in the road.

  • The Beasley that gets kicked to the curb.
  • What they’re thinking as they stare down bankruptcy.
  • How the boss mandates the way market managers must fire employees.
  • Their new digital side hustle compared to their previous $30 million digital bust.
  • What Beasley’s are willing to give up to save the company.

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SiriusXM’s Last Chance

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  • How they are botching the pivot away from in-car paid subscriptions.
  • Their biggest potential success that was right under their nose could have made them a digital powerhouse.
  • A second look at their recent $200 million in podcast investments.
  • The plan to morph more as “free radio”.

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iHeart Lenders Turn on Each Other

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  • What is the new “creditor on creditor violence” at iHeart.
  • How it works and who gets screwed next.
  • Implications for buyers and refinancers who need to borrow money as lenders get cold feet.
  • The way iHeart is playing its largest lender against the smaller ahead of another reorganization.

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Podcasting is Becoming Streaming Music

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  • Undeniable myths about a nascent industry.
  • Why streaming music apps can help predict the future of podcasting.
  • How to deal with the shortest audience attention spans with the longest podcast content.
  • What we know about radio sales teams that are tasked with also selling podcasts.

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The Efficacy of Pop-Up Stations

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  • Hit and run formats are popping up in increasing numbers – their future.
  • The reason Emmis is replacing their rental tenant ESPN with a Pop-Up station on 98.7 in New York.
  • Which cohort benefits most from Pop-Up stations.
  • How to measure audience acceptance.
  • What administrative and sales structure will look like.

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Audacy’s Turnaround Hopes

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  • Why Audacy is brimming with optimism.
  • How they are handling the talent and managers needed to turn the company around.
  • What they are disinvesting in next.
  • One company has Audacy’s number and is helping to drive it under.

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Radio’s Self-Inflicted Wounds

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  • Digital competitors have peaked so why has radio not rebounded – one reason.
  • The present-day effect of ratings on revenue.
  • Why radio stations refuse to try something new.
  • What’s driving the demand for inventory.

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What’s Next for AM Radio

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  • A new opportunity for owners to offload AM stations they cannot afford.
  • The advantages of owning an AM station – 3 undeniable new benefits.
  • How to deal with broadcasting on the older-skewing AM band.
  • A warning for FM operators that they are currently ignoring.

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The New Saga

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  • The first efforts of post-Ed Christian Saga.
  • How “old school” Saga plans changes.
  • The catalyst for reinventing the radio group.
  • What 2 things have deteriorated 50% prompting a new way forward.

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The Good News for Radio

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  • What’s next after current owners exit the industry.
  • The Airbnb ownership model for radio.
  • The exact right moment to buy a well-discounted radio station.
  • One giant red flag:  make this mistake and kiss your investment money goodbye.
  • The effect the digital age will have on buying linear radio stations.

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Beasley’s Bankruptcy Rehearsal

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  • What to expect when you’re expecting Beasley to be the next bankrupt radio group.
  • How they are going to handle content creators and managers.
  • Details of their plan to resuscitate the company.
  • Which one big mistake caused all their trouble.
  • What would George Beasley do?

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What’s Holding Up Audacy

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  • The reason for trying to delay approving Audacy’s bankruptcy.
  • How one competitor is rubbing Audacy’s face in their troubles and making money from it.
  • The end of all-news on WCBS-AM -- a one-off or canary in the coal mine.
  • The non-political Soros plan for Audacy.
  • Who is trying to screw over Audacy’s urgent emergence from bankruptcy.

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iHeart’s 2nd Bankruptcy Bombshell

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  • What major move iHeart has up their sleeve to survive the company’s growing and untenable debt.
  • More layoffs, but even that’s not the big bang they’re planning.
  • Wall Street whispers of how iHeart is about to go dog eat dog.
  • Bloomberg: how iHeart will  “profit from the mayhem”.
  • What it means to their radio business.

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PUBLISHING NOTE:  Cheryl and I are going to take a few days off to recharge our batteries before NYU resumes classes in a few weeks and the music/media space heats up once again. This seems like a good time.  Thanks for being part of our group that cares about radio, media and the music industry.  See you in a few days --  Monday August 26.

What Happened to Townsquare’s “Digital First”

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  • Why Townsquare’s best-in-class digital operation has hit the wall.
  • What it means for competitors still going whole hog into digital selling.
  • Is the fall off in radio’s digital sales long-term or temporary?
  • The revised strategy for taking on Meta, Google, local newspaper’s digital offerings as well as those of Yellow Pages.
  • Before spending another dime on digital, study Townsquare’s emerging situation.

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The Repurposing of AM Radio

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  • Is the shutdown of WCBS-AM predictive of the future.
  • What they’re thinking when owners hand over a station to a competitor in the same format who could erode ratings and hurt billing (WCBS-AM to ESPN).
  • What’s ahead for owners unable to sell their AM stations.
  • What other AM stations could be next.
  • Is EMF now going to be a player in renting from desperate owners?

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Playing Politics with Audacy Bankruptcy

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  • What’s behind Senator Ted Cruz’ threats to blow up the FCC’s Audacy bankruptcy approval.
  • A major radio CEO’s possible involvement in this delay/derail tactic.
  • The money trail leading to Cruz.
  • How will this affect the FCC’s final approval of Audacy’s emergence from bankruptcy?

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Radio’s Unexpected Digital Meltdown

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  • The best radio digital operation has hit the wall – the evidence.
  • What this could mean to groups relying on digital to cover spot revenue losses.
  • How some groups are distorting digital buys to up their only growth category.
  • Without digital growth there is one serious alternative left.
  • Beware of the “bonus” from hell.

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2nd Cumulus Bankruptcy Delayed

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  • The lifeline call that temporarily saved it from the brink.
  • What just about guarantees a second bankruptcy.
  • Why this is the worst of times for employees but the best for management.
  • Is Cumulus waiting to be rescued by Soros?

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Changing Satellite Radio

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  • Why satellite radio is headed for a radical restart.
  • How they will deal with continued subscription erosion.
  • What stays, what goes and what’s next.
  • How did the next generation of radio lose the next generation that will now decide their future.

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The Soros Plan to Change Audacy

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  • Why the $28 billion Soros Fund is interested in taking over a tiny $500,000 media market cap company.
  • The likely way they scale up Audacy to get bigger – what we’re hearing.
  • What they’re going to do with David Field, the CEO who presided over the Audacy financial disaster – it’s becoming quite apparent.
  • How they will put the failed CBS merger behind them.

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2nd Tier Radio Groups on the Skids

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  • Next up after Audacy emerges from bankruptcy.
  • The ones safe – for now.
  • The radio groups that will defy bankruptcy -- no question.
  • BUT trouble still lingers for the big consolidators – which one has just started negotiating their second bankruptcy already.

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Religion Taking Over Media

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  • EMF gets more aggressive.
  • Another new influential religious owner buys in.
  • How they are naming their prices.
  • What religious owners see in owning linear media as radio is being eroded by digital.
  • The “nuclear option” for sellers without religious buyers – 2 case studies.

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Programming to the 8 Second Attention Span

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The average attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8.25 seconds in 2024 posing a big problem for linear radio content and commercials.

  • What you can do about it right now.
  • How to find and appeal to niche audiences who are under-served by all media – even digital.
  • Advanced data analytics that can help stations focus their content to listener preferences.
  • The on-air “free sampler” not to just drive audiences to digital content but behind paywalls.
  • Interactive features only radio can do and streamers can’t.

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Programming Against Spotify

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Spotify killed the radio star so trying to compete with an endless music library is a zero-sum game, but there are fresh alternatives:

  • How to beat music streamers by playing the least amount of music – here’s the way.
  • Retrofitting radio as a music early-warning system.
  • TikTok talk – borrowing from the hottest app consumed by younger audiences.
  • Twitter news – the antidote to WINS and WTOP. 

Listen to a stunning reality check about Spotify that will shake you awake to rediscover what radio can do that streaming music services cannot.

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What Will Happen to Indie Owners

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  • Will they survive the meltdown of larger consolidators?
  • Should they get out and investors buy low.
  • The best investment in radio at this moment.
  • Whispers about the future of radio with digital.
  • How small and medium markets will deal with the high price of local.

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Will David Field Survive Soros?

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  • What Field has been reportedly saying to others about his future at Audacy.
  • The case for keeping a CEO who lost billions of dollars of shareholders value.
  • Why Alex Soros might be looking for another CEO.
  • The one thing Field has that Soros can strongly relate to.

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iHeart Firing Yet Hiring for Big Bucks

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  • What iHeart is up to with a reimagined hiring/firing scheme.
  • What we’re hearing about big salary hires.
  • Why this will change the way other radio groups think.
  • The new thinking about required years of experience and big pay.
  • Notable allegations of employee distrust.

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iHeart’s Compensation Inequity

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  • iHeart has not given out cost of living increases to most employees for over a decade, but there is one type of employee they are afraid to lose.
  • What is prompting their change in attitude about compensation.
  • How they set the table for other major radio groups to follow suit.
  • The safest job in radio.
  • 2 case studies: new found money.

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What If iHeart, Audacy & Cumulus All Fail

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  • Audacy is limping out of bankruptcy next month, Cumulus and iHeart face a second bankruptcy within the next few years and most of the remaining radio groups whose stock is trading under $1 are on track to be delisted.
  • Health check of radio’s top 3 groups.
  • Best and worst outcomes for all three.
  • What are the big groups thinking – what we’re hearing about their future options.

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Upset in Political Ad Spending

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  • New surprising projections are sending panicked group execs back to the drawing board.
  • How the radio industry’s political spending is a self-inflicted wound.
  • What to do, how to fix it and win back defectors in time for November.
  • Are radio ads that used to be the most affordable now too expensive?
  • How to save a political buy that is turning to digital and podcast.

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Audacy in the Blast Zone of Deregulation Bombshell

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  • How anyone unhappy with George Soros owning a large share of Audacy can now block it or fatally delay it by filing one piece of paper.
  • If the FCC fails to act in favor of the pending waiver Soros needs, then what?
  • How Audacy is quickly losing control of a critical timeline out of bankruptcy.
  • The prognosis of a fresh start promised by Audacy to advertisers and employees in light of recent developments.

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Audacy Bankruptcy in Danger

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  • The self-inflicted wound that Audacy is making that could have uncertain consequences.
  • The possible hitch that could develop with Soros Foundation’s deal to rescue Audacy.
  • Why debtors who have taken a financial hit may have second thoughts over the next six weeks.
  • The “Get Out of Jail FREE” card Audacy is banking on.

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The AM for Every Vehicle Fraud

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  • Uncovering the lies the NAB and politicians are spreading about AM.
  • The bullying tactics being used to force automakers to keep AM in cars that likely will backfire.
  • How auto manufacturers are playing with the NAB – their real radio plans revealed.
  • Tricks consolidators are using that hurt AM’s chances to remain as standard equipment in the dash.

Publishing note:  With July 4th in the middle of the week, most music and media execs are taking all or the majority of this week off – have a safe and happy Fourth and we’ll see you next week.

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Mysterious Audacy Bankruptcy Promotion

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  • Why a multi-year extension, huge pay raise and shiny new title to this particular programmer?
  • Did Soros Management Fund sign off on this since they don’t officially have a stake in the company.
  • The Audacy trend of promoting people who are not in danger of leaving.
  • The political capital David Field is gambling on 6-weeks before new investors get to make decisions.

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Radio Yard Sale

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  • The 7 radio owners most likely to sell stations in spite of what they say publicly.
  • 4 of the 7 are not currently on anyone’s list – but that may soon change.
  • The pros and cons outlined for cherry picking each of these groups.
  • Cumulus turned down almost $20 a share and now they’re worth a little more than a dollar – why they refuse to sell.

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Music Declares War on AI

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  • What about fake AI artists on radio – what are the repercussions.
  • The war you want to avoid between the record labels and growing number of AI bots that train their models on content without compensation.
  • Listen to all-AI radio stations and formats that are legal.
  • What’s next after anticipated years of litigation ahead.

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A Big Lie Could Upend Audacy’s Post-Bankruptcy

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  • David Field’s cheapness is arguably why the CBS merger failed – how it’s now threatening the outcome of their lifeline bankruptcy.
  • And the prospect of even more budget cuts than Soros had planned.
  • Documented evidence that Audacy lied about legitimate expenses.
  • Audacy’s chutzpah:  Seeking to get reimbursed for back lawyers’ fees and other expenses for negotiating in bad faith.
  • How resolving it could eat into the $50 million Audacy told the bankruptcy court that it needs for operations when it emerges.

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Audacy’s Fall Firings

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  • What to expect for day one of new ownership – August 18th
  • The new approach to cutting costs at Audacy.
  • The first job category to get trimmed and the last.
  • The closest thing to job security at Audacy (at least for now) is this position – no question.
  • The difference if Field stays or if he goes.

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Cox Layoffs, Really?

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  • Why does the same company that recently offered Paramount $26 billion have to suddenly fire radio staff making less than $100,000 a year.
  • Look who is breathing down their necks now and forcing their hand.
  • Does this cost cutting affect the status of that Cox-Audacy rollup?
  • With mounting debt, is selling even an option?

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Saga Slipping

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  • Why radio’s most expensive stock and only company with no debt is signaling trouble ahead.
  • What they are going to do about it.
  • How did the radio group with the highest stock price start declining.

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Digital Switch-Pitch Killing Spot Sales

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  • Why radio groups are training their sellers to sell digital even when advertisers only want spot – believe it or not, there’s an explanation for this.
  • A startling story of a happy radio advertiser who was spurned by a top radio group that would only talk about selling digital.
  • “It’s almost impossible to talk about radio advertising” – an actual case study that is representative of radio’s own move away from radio.
  • How the 3 biggest groups handle the radio/digital issue.

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The Big “Make-Me-An-Offer” Market for Sale

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  • The big city multi-market cluster for sale at “make-me-an-offer” prices.
  • How radio groups are finding buyers in a market where few exist.
  • The method they use for raising quick cash to avoid default.
  • So why hasn’t Cumulus been willing to sell standalone KABC-AM?
  • Stations with sports rights contracts appear off limits – here are the easier ones to sell.

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Car Radio’s Future

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  • The big changes that haven’t happened yet.
  • Putting a stop to pushing radio out of cars.
  • How automakers are reevaluating FM.
  • Why pressuring manufacturers is backfiring.

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Audacy Weaponizing Bankruptcy

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  • How they are becoming tax deadbeats.
  • Tactics being used to bully creditors.
  • A pathetic 9-minute audio clip that shows how low Audacy is willing to go to burn anyone in the way of their bankruptcy.

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How Tower Operators Fleeced Radio

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  • How they made out compared to radio groups
  • The group that blatantly refers to its tower deal on their balance sheet as “financial liability” – their words.
  • How the tower fire sale specifically affected iHeart, Audacy, Cumulus, Townsquare, Beasley and Cox.
  • The group most likely to go under first under the weight of a bad tower sale.

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Record Selloff of iHeart Stock

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  • What triggered the biggest one-day selloff of iHeart stock since it started trading on the Nasdaq.
  • How it affects a potentially interested buyer.
  • Why the market is suddenly souring on iHeart’s future.

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Audacy Refusing to Pay Millions in Back Taxes

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  • How this revelation might affect FCC’s approval to emerge from bankruptcy.
  • What Audacy is claiming about their longtime suburban Philly headquarters.
  • The effect on their balance sheet if they are ordered to pay up.
  • Repercussions if this claim is allowed to play out in Pennsylvania courts.

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New Date to Watch for Audacy

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  • The trouble that’s brewing while Audacy waits for FCC approval of their bankruptcy plan.
  • What could go wrong.
  • If the bankruptcy isn’t approved by this date, all bets are off.
  • The stumbling block to what usually is a fast process to exit bankruptcy.

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Old Folks Radio

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  • The first music radio FM format built today specifically for older audiences.
  • And it’s number 5 in the latest Nielsen’s (6+).
  • How they make it economically viable.
  • Here’s how to buy another 10-20 years of longevity even in the digital age.

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How Cumulus Blew $100 Million

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  • Yes, they walked away from a return on investment that would have been worth the current total value of Cumulus – here’s how.
  • The internal fighting that tried to stop the CEO and board chair from walking away from a huge pay day.
  • Why they fought so hard to unload a money machine.
  • And how their stock price would be double what it is today if not for this one crucial mistake.

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Underlying Soros Fears

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  • The real reason Soros Foundation controlling Audacy worries almost everyone.
  • Their big plans to roll up several radio groups – should competitors be worried?
  • The prospect of Soros hiring a heavyweight radio executive to take over from David Field.
  • Is the Soros strategy a build-and-run or stay-and-play?

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See you after Memorial Day –  And, as always, thanks for your support!

EMF CEO Out – Why?

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  • Is it a signal that EMF is done buying commercial stations on the cheap?
  • Financial troubles?
  • The profitability of EMF stations in attracting donations.
  • What this means for commercial broadcasters who only have EMF as a potential buyer.

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The Vanishing Market Manager

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  • Why market managers are increasingly being fired and eliminated while survivors are being forced to do what they know is wrong.
  • Coming soon: private equity radio owner’s “better idea”.
  • Outrageous duties now being forced upon market managers hampering their ability to maximize revenue.
  • How this management shortfall is starting to trickle down to sales managers.
  • An honest generic want ad for today’s market manager that is hard to argue with.

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Lew Dickey vs. Mary Berner

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  • How Mary Berner ousted Lew Dickey to drive Cumulus into bankruptcy.
  • The person to blame for putting Berner in as CEO where she has presided over a 70% decline in earnings.
  • Future battles: a suitor looking to buy stock while it is so cheap.
  • A potential hostile takeover.
  • Where Soros comes in to Cumulus’ future.

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Slumping iHeart Radio Revenue

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  • Sales shortcuts revealed.
  • Advertisers pinpoint the radio sales problem stations are ignoring.
  • Their biggest complaint unthinkable even a few years ago (and it’s not rate).
  • This is the radio group that had it right and their bottom line reflected it.

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Why Can’t Anyone Make Money in Radio

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  • The self-inflicted wounds that go deeper than constant layoffs.
  • 7 things that – if fixed – would guarantee revenue growth, no question.
  • How the pressure to generate digital over on-air sales is tracking.
  • The radio groups that cannot be fixed.
  • What to do with digital and podcasting.

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When Beasley Will File for Bankruptcy

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  • Take out your calculator, based on the Cumulus and Audacy bankruptcies that proceeded Beasley, here’s what could extend their lifeline or abruptly throw them into bankruptcy sooner.
  • The efficacy of a potential reverse stock split that they are considering,
  • The one telltale move to watch for – when Beasley does this, no question they’re going down.
  • How long before Beasley initiates another round of deep layoffs like last week.
  • Why they are firing programming and content people above others.
  • My calculation of “B” date (so far, we’ve called 3 radio bankruptcies scarily on target).

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SiriusXM Hits the Wall

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  • The mostly ad-free subscription model is in freefall -- their urgent attempts to win them back.
  • There is no replacement for Howard Stern as they allude to – what’s ahead without Stern looks different than the company is saying.
  • Fewer paid subscriptions and more advertising – the chances of that happening.
  • Why their digital bet on Pandora has still not paid off.
  • How they plan to stem the radio subscription losses with an unproven product.

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The Cumulus Compensation Ploy

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  • May 2nd Cumulus had their annual shareholders meeting and they were not talking about what their angry investors did.
  • They approved one thing – their account firm.
  • When asked to re-elect their board of directors, a surprising and resounding outcome.
  • The company is still laying employees off and shrinking operations so when they asked shareholders to show a financial vote of confidence in them, an even greater surprise.
  • What’s really going on here – a questionable debt exchange deal, a second bankruptcy and a growing rift between investors and their top management.

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What a Soros-owned Audacy Means

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  • Is influence or investment driving the Soros purchase of Audacy?
  • Where Cumulus stands in all of this – yes, Cumulus.
  • It isn’t just bankrupt companies Soros is after: The prime radio group they are eyeing as part of a three-group rollup.
  • What has conservatives worried about the Soros deal beyond political clout.
  • A person and a company to watch under the radar in this rollup.

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Shareholder Rebuke of Cumulus

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  • Cumulus has upped their offer and delivered the needed support to do a debt exchange that buys them more time, but there is a big downside.
  • Shareholders are in ill humor as they recently rebuked the company, its CEO and c-suite executives – here’s what Cumulus had to admit to the government.
  • Cumulus gets a few more years, debt holders get a higher payout but it’s their next move that matters most.
  • The best outcome that can be expected from this lopsided debt exchange.
  • How both equity and debt investors are likely to get screwed by Cumulus.

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Religion as the New Hit Radio

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  • Why EMF’s successful model is being overlooked by commercial stations.
  • Salem’s increasingly irrelevant religious programming.
  • How to borrow from the EMF model.
  • And 3 innovative ways to monetize it (not currently being done on a non-com).
  • How to be EMF but with on-air revenue.

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The NPR Crisis

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  • NPR’s undeniable problem that is bigger than wokeness allegations.
  • Can podcasting save public broadcasting even as it failed commercial stations.
  • How young audiences look at NPR today.
  • Uri Berliner’s How We Lost America’s Trust – are these NPR’s problems?
  • How public radio will be directly affected by commercial audio.

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Radio Ad Demand Is Shrinking

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  • How the major radio groups are privately dealing with declining advertising.
  • What market managers are doing to save the day (and their jobs).
  • The non-radio solutions being teed up by radio groups.
  • What some radio groups have turned to quarter by quarter to offset ad revenue declines with artificial cash infusions.
  • Typical market manager response to shrinking ad demand.

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Apollo Cox Troubles

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  • How the hedge fund that bought Cox Media is preparing for the worst-case scenario.
  • The issue of merit raises and bonuses.
  • Why CMG employees are growing nervous.
  • One failed radio group sale a few months back, now these whispers.
  • Evidence that Apollo may be rethinking their media strategy.

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The Audacy Cutbacks Yet to Come

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  • The current 2% layoffs are only the tip of the iceberg – what about the remaining 98%.
  • Who will be targeted and who is safe (at least for the near future).
  • Some are worried about left-leaning politics when Soros takes over but that’s not their most radical idea.
  • Is digital and podcasting immune from the brunt of these layoffs?
  • The sweetest cost saving to Audacy bean counters (the job you don’t want to be in).

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Cumulus Expense Cuts Coming

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  • What cuts Cumulus had to promise to re-fi their debt.
  • What about selling existing assets?
  • The Cumulus employees most directly caught in the crosshairs of this deal.
  • How it affects executive pay.
  • The unusual timeframe of these promised cutbacks.

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Beasley Tees Up Pre-Bankruptcy

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  • The dreaded first move they just made.
  • What’s at stake when Beasley files.
  • How to interpret the expected denials.
  • Why Beasley is using the Audacy playbook that failed to turn their stock price around.
  • Bankruptcy countdown – how long and when.

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The Risky Cumulus Re-fi

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  • They’re trying to renegotiate a debt agreement they can’t afford, but why and why now?
  • The eye-popping concessions Cumulus is willing to make.
  • Why market managers and employees should be concerned.
  • Does this re-fi deal avoid bankruptcy?
  • Could it still blow.

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Will the Soros/Cumulus Rollup Succeed?

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  • The over/under on radio’s most adventurous potential merger.
  • The earliest this rollup could happen.
  • Why is Cumulus so important to Audacy?
  • The political consequences of the left owning an iHeart-sized radio rollup.
  • Even if everything goes smoothly, there’s this almost immovable roadblock.

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The Meaning of Vinyl Outselling CDs

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  • Physical sales keep growing but there is a hidden problem about streaming music that labels are about to address.
  • 3 strategic ideas music radio stations can employ to get in on the trend.
  • How young consumers are in the midst of changing the way they enjoy music (again).
  • The user-generated tools that will soon become available to allow music fans to control the speed of the music they hear and these other factors.
  • TikTok and Instagram Reels have forced a new approach that will make sure labels get paid.

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Alfred is Looking After Alfred (Not Urban One)

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  • How the wheels are coming off at Urban One while the CEO is raking it in.
  • Inside a new compensation agreement filed just before their stock was put on notice for delisting from Nasdaq.
  • The enviable clause that guarantees Al Liggins what other Urban One employees can’t get.
  • Whispers as to why they didn’t file their required federal 10-K form (again).
  • What to expect as the top exec secures his financial future even before the company’s financials are known.

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Details in the Audacy/Cumulus Rollup

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  • The little-mentioned “radio guy” flying under the radar in this deal.
  • What Soros buys after they rollup Audacy and Cumulus.
  • Why Cumulus will force Soros to revert to a hostile takeover.
  • Is this a political play by Democrat Soros?
  • What happens to the forced spinoffs?

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The P1 Podcast Model of the Future

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  • The one podcasting strategy that draws listeners to radio not away from it.
  • How to get around the attention span problem.
  • And attract younger audiences whose attention spans are even shorter than typical radio listeners.
  • How important is video to podcasts.

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Tough Times Ahead for iHeart

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  • The financial indicator setting off alarms.
  • The prospect of fixing it soon.
  • There is a buyer – is iHeart ready to consummate a deal.
  • Whispers about some moves they will make.
  • Structural declining alarms in the financial community.

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Nielsen’s Ties to Boeing

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  • The connection between the mess at Boeing and Nielsen’s troubles.
  • How the same management tactics by the same man delivered the same results.
  • What to watch as financially pressed radio companies are taking another look at rating services.
  • The case for selling radio without ratings.
  • Radio groups likely to dump Nielsen next.

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Why a 3rd Cumulus Debt Extension

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  • What’s behind extending a debt repayment plan that lenders don’t want.
  • The backroom strategy to win over lenders who are consistently turning down 3% more interest for a 3-year repayment delay.
  • What happens if they fail to reorganize $346 million in debt.
  • If successful, where will the savings be invested?
  • The unspoken reason pushing back this debt is so critical to Cumulus.

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The Missed Lesson of TikTok

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  • How most everyone has the fight over TikTok all wrong.
  • There’s something even hotter than TikTok.
  • The real enemy is not the U.S. Congress or the Saudis – it’s this.
  • Radio, yes radio, has a lesson for popular music apps.
  • Don’t forget the Steve Jobs Rule.

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Radio’s Mid-Market Management Purge

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  • It’s starting to happen, which radio groups will run on fewer market managers.
  • Safe spaces to work – but even some of them may cave.
  • In-market vs. out of market management – which do better.
  • Why the war against market managers when corporate is so willing to overpay others.

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Cumulus Testing a “Prepack” Bankruptcy

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  • How their twice rejected upgraded bond offer turned out to be this necessary.
  • Why bondholders would actually like their present deal as insurance against what they see as an inevitable second bankruptcy.
  • What happens if Cumulus refinanced their debt now.
  • Options for selling assets to avoid bankruptcy.
  • Lew Dickey’s last laugh.

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How EMF Is Cleaning Up

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  • Non-profit EMF’s financial revenue revealed.
  • How much they pay their CEO to run 1,000 signals.
  • The system they use to dictate their buying price.
  • 97% of their revenue comes from donations – how much they spend on fundraising.
  • EMF is doing the same thing private equity did after consolidation – with one exception.

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Brutal iHeart Firings

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  • Whispers that a major shakeup of top executives is coming.
  • How iHeart’s current spring cleaning of staff is different.
  • How iHeart reportedly tried to play an on-air talent with a raise on the back of firing his air partner – and it blew up.
  • What to expect as iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus are changing their layoff policy.
  • Case study: slimy, hurtful iHeart firing details.

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Suddenly Cumulus Is in Play

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  • A second bankruptcy has always been on the table, but here is a scenario that Cumulus management is waiting for.
  • A sale? Why Cumulus is vehemently opposed to that.
  • The current chances for another bankruptcy.
  • How Berner is posturing for the best deal to sell the company.
  • What’s in it for her if she does.

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The Grooming of Audacy

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  • First hints as to what Audacy’s new principal owner Soros plans to do.
  • The coming Audacy rollup.
  • Cost cutting 2.0.
  • The outlook for the CBS stations cut to the bone during the merger.
  • If you have a contract with Audacy, you may want to see this.

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Salem’s Quick Cash Strategy

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  • How is Salem not already in bankruptcy.
  • Their humiliating station giveaways to of all competitors EMF.
  • EMF’s unique pricing formula that forced Salem to say “uncle” and sell.
  • Who is the next EMF, a ready and willing buyer of radio stations.
  • The new tactic Salem and others are using to buy time.

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The Viability of Radio Bankruptcies

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  • The percentage of bankruptcies that succeed (vs. fail or file a second time).
  • The bankruptcy problem no one says out loud.
  • Proven indicators of whether a radio bankruptcy will work.
  • Retaining the management that caused the bankruptcy – right move or wrong?
  • What we’re hearing about the radio groups closest to filing Chapter 11 next.

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Radio’s Zombie Companies

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  • All but 2 radio groups have become zombie companies unable to pay their loans and grow at the same time.
  • What it means at the station level.
  • What Audacy (soon to emerge from bankruptcy) is now calling “accelerated performance”.
  • Where’s all the promised digital revenue – it’s booming everywhere but radio, but why?
  • How zombie companies will change the radio industry over the next 18 months.

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What to Expect When You’re Expecting Audacy’s New Board

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  • How soon will Audacy’s new lenders-turned owners oust David Field.
  • The Soros play to takeover Audacy – their intentions revealed.
  • The old board gets dismissed -- this is what replaces them.
  • What we’re watching – things to worry about like a hostile takeover.
  • They’re short on cash already, the incredible place where they are looking.

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Cumulus Default Jitters

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  • Two things converging on Cumulus putting it in danger.
  • Why the extension for a debt buyback.
  • Bankruptcy 2.0 talk.
  • Market managers dish on the company’s strange behavior lately.
  • How Wall Street is reading the mixed signals.

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AI to Decide iHeart Playlists

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  • Results of testing to see if AI has a better ear for hits.
  • Where this leaves iHeart PDs.
  • Is AI safe enough to replace human music and program directors?
  • Best practices for radio if you’re looking for higher ratings.

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Radio’s Untapped Political Spend

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  • New research you can adopt to increase radio’s political ad revenue spend.
  • How radio helps political challengers even more than incumbents – the metrics you can use to up their spend.
  • Update: digital vs. radio vs. local TV (the most effective).
  • Help in using radio to target minorities this fall.

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The Sale of Cumulus

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  • Despite the denials, how Cumulus will get sold.
  • Whose knocking on the door and why they’re not answering.
  • The exit plan – here’s the number it will sell for.
  • Case study of another radio group sale that Cumulus may follow.
  • The Cumulus exec accused of “corporate malfeasance” – and it’s not who you think it is.

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‘Skrinkstation’

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  • Under-the-radar plans to shrink the three largest troubled radio groups.
  • The two most radical on-air savings in the works.
  • And two most notable off-air savings being targeted.
  • Say hello to the new daypart known as “Death Valley” – details.
  • The one line even a desperate radio group still will not cross – yet.

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Cumulus Slipping Away

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  • Why activist vultures are increasingly circling Cumulus.
  • The debt Cumulus never talks about publicly.
  • 3 years of expense cuts.
  • The latest “Hail Mary” to lock in current management.
  • Devolving into an executive compensation scheme – details.

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Hostile Radio Group Takeovers

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  • The activist investors pestering Cumulus.
  • The investor who has put Cumulus on notice that they intend to acquire more stock and take an active role in the company’s management.
  • What Soros is up to buying cheap Audacy debt that even Audacy doesn’t realize.
  • How a hostile radio takeover will work.
  • Why the sudden interest in radio even as revenue continues to trend down.
  • A different kind of consolidation coming.

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Audacy Under Soros

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  • Soros’ anticipated influence on Audacy programming.
  • The other groups Soros would like to roll up with Audacy.
  • The first thing to change when Audacy emerges from bankruptcy with Soros as main owner.
  • The born-again David Field – here’s some evidence of the new man.
  • Why Mary Berner is worried about the Soros-Audacy connection.

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iHeart’s Overly Emphasized Earnings

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  • How they plan to target Audacy and Cumulus for future growth.
  • How they are going to handle their $5.2 billion debt albatross.
  • That second baked-in bankruptcy.
  • In or out on programmatic buying?
  • What’s behind their claim of podcasting growth.

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Cumulus Sharpens Axe

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  • Behind the scenes at local Cumulus stations fearing a potential takeover.
  • What corporate is telling its managers.
  • How Mary Berner is under pressure from inside and outside the company.
  • Market managers give this grim warning to corporate.
  • What started the recent investor activist warning that they intend to be involved in the company.

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Cox Media Group Came Within Days of Being Sold

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  • What blew the major sale up at the last minute.
  • Is Apollo still actively trying to offload its Cox radio acquisitions?
  • The surprising bidder who came this close to owning Cox radio.
  • The money people involved in the failed Cox station sale.
  • How bankrupt Audacy was involved in scuttling the Cox radio selloff.

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Cumulus Fears Takeover Bid

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  • Their “poison pill” cannot stop activist bidders – here’s how they can work around it.
  • The activist bidders who might be thinking takeover.
  • What happened that made Mary Berner hit the “poison pill” panic button.
  • Why a company from Singapore that owns consumer products and no media wants Cumulus so badly.
  • The biggest activist investors apparent intentions regarding Cumulus management.

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Beasley Is Next

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  • How far down the road to bankruptcy is Beasley.
  • Will digital revenue come to the rescue – it’s growing but there is a problem.
  • When a Beasley bankruptcy is likely.
  • Beasley radio markets most at risk.

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The Hole in the Market for Radio

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  • Young demos say what it will take to make them pause Spotify and try radio again in my latest NYU predictive survey.
  • No one is doing this – here’s the formula.
  • Streamers can’t or won’t answer this need.
  • The future of the CHR format.
  • Two examples: A radio personality and a programmer who has done it in the past.

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No Rush to Pay iHeart’s Debt

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  • The main reason cash is being horded.
  • What iHeart is doing with $101.4 million from their BMI windfall.
  • Pay raises for some with that money?
  • An eye-popping fact about the current number of iHeart employees.
  • Big investors are buying into iHeart, why now?

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What Soros Wants by Buying Audacy’s Debt

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  • The Soros strategy for its Audacy investment.
  • Is this a political play by the left-leaning billionaire?
  • How it will affect programming and operations.
  • Who has the power now – first-tier lenders-turned owners or the Soros group?
  • The end game for a $400 million investment in a bankrupt radio group.

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Young Demos and Podcasting

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  • Young demos prefer these podcasts – the ones content providers hate.
  • Emerging info on the different way young people actually listen to podcasts.
  • The most frequented “podcasting” app for the young.
  • Politics is out, what’s clearly preferred may even shock you – no, it will.
  • Is podcasting a business to younger demos.

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SiriusXM Is Retreating from Cars

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  • SiriusXM’s new “free radio” strategy.
  • What they see in podcasting when others are bailing out.
  • Will younger demos pay for the new digital version of SiriusXM – some early anecdotal evidence.
  • Where their spending spree on podcasting talent leaves Howard Stern.
  • To what extent will terrestrial radio benefit from satellite radio’s retreat from the car.

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Investors Turn Negative on Cumulus

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  • Why financial experts are suddenly concerned about the viability of Cumulus.
  • The real problem areas identified.
  • What about selling standalone KABC and others?
  • Westwood One as the canary in the coal mine.

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Investor Trying to Block Audacy Bankruptcy

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  • His petition to the bankruptcy court asking them to blow up the Audacy prepackaged reorganization.
  • How much this investor got burned for.
  • The specific remedies he is asking the bankruptcy court in Texas to invoke.
  • His strategy to stop the steal that mostly benefits Audacy lenders not shareholders.
  • How much trouble is this for Audacy.

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Podcasting Panic

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  • Why Spotify won’t quit Joe Rogan.
  • What SiriusXM knows as it spends hundreds of millions to bolster podcasting.
  • How podcasting panic will affect iHeart, Cumulus and Audacy.
  • Projected effect on radio ad revenue.
  • What’s on the horizon to create new cash flow if podcasting has peaked.

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Audacy Bankruptcy Hurdles

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  • Bondholders accepted pennies on the dollar to enable this bankruptcy agreement – what often happens by the time they get to court.
  • Who will the new lenders-turned owners choose to be on their board – and lead it?
  • Hints from as recently as last week give an idea of how they will proceed in running the company once the pre-pack is approved.
  • The debt issue remains: how will it be divvyed up between take-back paper and restated debt.
  • Will the new Audacy be a rebuild or a fire sale – recent clues tell which way it’s going to lean.

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Private Equity Still Investing in Radio

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  • Why the rush to buy into radio groups that are failing.
  • Even bankrupt groups.
  • The case of a lender injecting over $50 million in a bankrupt radio group.
  • A sampler of little-known private equity investors who have been actively buying radio stocks.
  • What do they know that everyone else is missing about radio’s future.

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Universal’s Yanking TikTok a Radio Warning

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  • What’s the chance that record labels could pull a TikTok on radio by withholding music?
  • Clues from how Universal shut down TikTok and suddenly without warning yanked their music.
  • How aggressive will the labels get?
  • Radio’s lobby group knows all this – why are they willing to risk trouble by resisting performance fees.

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A Must Have Audacy Format is in Trouble

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  • One of their 4 music and revenue staples is showing signs of audience erosion.
  • What this means for a company that’s in bankruptcy and needs every dollar to emerge.
  • The long list of declining stations.
  • They know they have trouble – here’s how their tinkering.
  • The impact on revenue projections if the ratings drop continues.

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The Unspoken Threat of Christian Music Formats

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  • Do commercial radio companies now have something else to worry about as Christian music stations are amassing larger audiences.
  • EMF bought all those distressed radio stations for pennies on the dollar, now look at their plan to compete with commercial broadcasters.
  • Jesus takes the dial but commercial broadcasters answer to a higher power.
  • The real threats of EMF Christian music formats to their competitors.
  • The way to beat non-coms at their own game.

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Non-Radio Buyers for Audacy?

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  • Interest in buying Audacy out of bankruptcy reportedly amps up.
  • One anxious buyer has done business with David Field.
  • A foreign investor reportedly pursuing it under the radar.
  • What it would take for lenders-turned new owners to flip Audacy.
  • Why the sudden burst of interest in buying other distressed radio groups – we name a few companies.

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Why iHeart Is Consolidating Sales

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  • You know those big ad buys iHeart likes to do to keep money away from competitors, look how this affects that.
  • Sales consolidation’s impact on local radio stations.
  • If you’re an iHeart competitor, this is what their new sales consolidation means to you.
  • What happened to their programmatic buying push – you’ll be glad you asked.

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Changes Expected Under Audacy’s New Owners

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  • First things first – the things the new owners burned in bankruptcy are champing at the bit to carry out.
  • During year one some unexpected changes (remembering that these new owners never ran even one radio station).
  • Down the line some expected and unexpected moves that they gave themselves the power to do in the bankruptcy pre-packaged agreement.
  • Reading the new owner’s digital intentions.
  • What I’m hearing about a company reportedly looking at buying all or part of Audacy.

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The Next 3 Bankruptcies

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  • The identity of the next 3 radio groups to file for bankruptcy.
  • Apollo is the largest private equity owner of radio and their investments are in trouble – why?
  • How private equity sees the future of radio ownership from their perspective.
  • A litmus test for whether now is the best time to buy a highly-discounted radio station.
  • What happens when iHeart, Cumulus and even Audacy file second bankruptcies which are being predicted.

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The Audacy Retention Bonuses

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  • This is what motivated Audacy to shell out $1.3 million in retention bonuses to people going absolutely nowhere.
  • But here’s the company’s claw back clause which is rarely noticed.
  • Why Audacy is increasingly skittish about the pre-packaged bankruptcy going through.
  • What could happen next if it doesn’t – and yes, these types of deals tend to blow at the last minute.
  • Audacy’s zero tolerance policy on bankruptcy talk.

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The Dissolution of Cox Media Group

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  • What is making private equity owner Apollo jittery about its $1 plus billion Cox Media Group investment.
  • Their plans for the Cox radio stations that have yet to be sold.
  • What a mishap this big means to Apollo’s bottom line.
  • The exit strategy detailed.
  • If you’re interested in cherry picking CMG while it’s down, one piece of advice.

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Competing Against Bankrupt Operators

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  • Three weaknesses to exploit against iHeart, Cumulus and soon, Audacy.
  • Something is developing with the available radio audience – this pins it down.
  • Nielsen ratings doesn’t just underreport young listeners – how they force radio to make avoidable programming mistakes because of it.
  • Is repetition still important to grow radio ratings in a digital world of endless discovery?
  • The new low range demographic for today’s radio listener.

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Audacy’s Confidential New Startup

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  • I was given the opportunity to view the post-bankruptcy plan Audacy is selling to the bankruptcy court – sample some of their most audacious promises.
  • One promise: a startup that will make $20 million – details.
  • What they are telling a judge about their ability to grow radio spot and network revenue by 2027.
  • After underachieving podcasting for years, here’s their projected performance.
  • The chance this harmless Chapter 11 filing will be converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

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Shutting Down Unprofitable Stations

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  • How iHeart, Cumulus and Townsquare are increasingly pulling the plug as a reality of doing business.
  • Why don’t they just sell them for whatever they can get?
  • Could Audacy’s new owners be hot to shut down some stations costing them too much money to bother?
  • The reason AM stations are targeted the most, but these kinds of FMs aren’t safe.
  • The two reasons that forced owners’ hands.
  • These markets are off limits – period.

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Audacy’s New CEO

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  • What’s the status of Dan Mason returning as a board member to choose the new CEO – still interested?
  • A possible sleeper candidate not to be dismissed.
  • Is it a done deal with David Field getting kicked to the board?
  • Here’s how to tell whether the lenders-turned owners are serious about fixing Audacy or gutting the company.

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The New Audacy

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  • The Turnaround Plan revealed -- what Audacy is promising the bankruptcy courts in their words – I wish I could see your reaction through your phone when you read it.
  • Are they really considering letting David Field get another bite of the apple?
  • And let’s get down to it – what will happen to COO Susan Larkin and digital chief J.D. Crowley after February or March when the reorganization takes effect.
  • The new lenders-turned owners’ position on layoffs and cost cuts.

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Audacy Fails to Dump Enough Debt

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  • As incredible as it may seem -- why the drop from $1.9 billion to $350 million in debt will still not be enough.
  • Audacy’s big mistake in their bankruptcy filing that poses a problem even when they emerge.
  • Why their newly converted equity will continue to decline in value risking another default on the reinstated debt.
  • The impact of programmatic buying when interest on their $350 million loan needs to be repaid.
  • Red flag for the 3 radio groups that will be filing for bankruptcy next – don’t make these mistakes that Cumulus, iHeart and now Audacy made to avoid being a “zombie” company.

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Audacy Asset Sales Coming Next

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  • Bye, bye 1010 WINS and a group of other stations – the new owner’s aggressive sales plan.
  • But not FM stations, right?
  • The first indication that they plan to do a Cumulus-type WPLJ selloff of properties – and most importantly, the timetable.
  • What’s not for sale – that’s a good question, but there is a good answer.
  • What happens to podcasting and digital beyond what the outgoing Field regime is publicly saying.
  • A new CEO is coming -- look at what scorched lenders actually got Field to insert in the pre-pack agreement to guarantee it.
  • How the first-tier lenders rammed language down David Field’s throat to make him sing for his supper.
  • This is a real bankruptcy despite the fact that it is agreed to – Audacy already needs a $57 million loan to hold it over just until the court and FCC approve the bankruptcy – details.

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Bankruptcy Details Audacy Is Still Hiding

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  • David Field, his father, Weezie Kramer and Joel Hollander are on the board of the sunsetting company – what the lenders-turned owners are going to do that will totally shake up Audacy.
  • What happens to Audacy stock worth 20 cents before Sunday’s bankruptcy filing.
  • Why are they “judge shopping” – Audacy filed for bankruptcy in Texas (they’re headquartered in Philly).
  • Field is talking “business as usual” as if he’s going to remain as CEO – what he’s not saying (at least publicly).
  • If this bankruptcy gets approved it wipes out almost all of Audacy’s debt -- will that be enough?
  • Audacy is talking like a pre-packaged bankruptcy is a slam-dunk – what could go wrong.

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The Return of Dan Mason to Audacy?

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  • Is Dan even interested? I asked him.
  • What position makes the most sense for the person who once cleaned up after Joel Hollander previously at CBS Radio.
  • What about Hollander (current Audacy Lead Independent Director), is he out with the new owners or does he get a second chance.
  • And a third executive who may take a run at David Field’s job as CEO.
  • The lenders become the new owners within weeks – usually (as per the Cumulus bankruptcy) they replace the board and start selling off assets – will the new Audacy follow that plan.
  • Attention Audacy: Here’s what Mason would likely do to turn the company around.

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New Owners for Audacy – What We Know

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  • The Audacy bankruptcy is a done deal – a preview.
  • The lenders get the company but does CEO David Field get to keep his job after that hot mess – details.
  • How the new company will somehow emerge with half its debt gone – why couldn’t Field do this?
  • The final decision on laying off more people under new ownership.
  • Survivors will get this take it or leave it offer.
  • The good news is that the implosion of Entercom/CBS/Audacy finally ends in the very near future – the bad news is …

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