iHeart Lender Revolt

  • Why iHeart keeps extending the deadline for lenders to agree to their re-fi terms without sweetening it even once even though only 0.6% of their lenders are willing to take a haircut.
  • What happens to iHeart and its employees if they can’t get 80% of their lenders to agree to a pre-packaged bankruptcy?
  • What lenders know about the future of iHeartMedia.

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Who the DOJ is Calling About the CBS Merger

If you listen to the unofficial hype surrounding Entercom’s CBS merger, you’d think that the DOJ is just going to rubberstamp it and move on.

But what’s really happening is that the DOJ is conducting the due diligence that is its job and now we’re getting a look at what their bone of contention may be.

I thought you might like to hear the questions their asking.

Even Entercom isn’t aware of what you’re going to read here.

  • Who the DOJ is calling and what they want to know.
  • Their surprising answers they are hearing about their concerns.
  • Chances that the latest DOJ concerns could slow up approval of the merger or change the terms.
  • Why is the DOJ snooping around this merger.
  • Could it be that the DOJ might trim back the merger as being too anti-competitive in an industry that is already dominated by two conglomerates.

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Eliminating Ownership Sub Caps

The fat cats, consolidated radio groups, Wall Street venture capital and radio’s very own lobby group, the NAB wants ownership limits relaxed so badly they can taste it.

Trump is perceived as favorable to their desires and Wall Street is ready with the money.

Is this really going to happen?

  • If the sub caps are removed and ownership limits are lifted, what does that look like for a radio industry that has its two biggest consolidated owners a sure bet for bankruptcy?
  • Will it lead to more jobs for the radio industry?  More diversity in ownership and format diversity?
  • Big question:  will relaxing ownership limits make the $17 billion radio industry a $25 billion business?
  • How experts see the chances of eliminating ownership limits.

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Katz Rep Shake-up

It must be nice for iHeart to have a monopoly on rep firms.

The parent company gets the best buys and then their competitors get everything left over.

But now that advantage is not good enough for iHeart.

They’re about to shake it up.

  • So why are major cutbacks coming.  It’s not like Katz isn’t sitting in the driver’s seat leaving everyone else no choice but to let their biggest competitor rep them in national sales.
  • What Katz salespeople see coming that is turning them sour on the industry’s dominant radio rep firm.
  • How the national revenue of Katz client stations will be affected by this shake-up.

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iHeart Bankruptcy Cover-up

iHeart has been on the brink of bankruptcy for a long time.

And no one is denying it. 

In fact, Bob Pittman is embracing it publicly.

So then why are they plodding along doing everything they can to avoid it?

  • It doesn’t make sense but it reportedly has nothing to do with business and everything to do with a cover-up.
  • Who are they protecting and why?
  • Ironically any iHeart bankruptcy now has a “drop dead” date – literally.  I’ll explain and you’ll never look at the threatened iHeart bankruptcy the same.
  • If overwhelming interest rates, declining revenue and low operating cash is not enough to trigger an iHeart bankruptcy, then what is?

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Competitors Plan Attack on iHeart, Premiere & Seacrest

INSIDE …

  • It happens next week – details on how ugly it’s going to be.
  • Big money is on the line – how big?
  • The 3 competitors that are forming a consortium to carry out the attack.
  • How this first time ever initiative turns iHeart, Premiere and Seacrest’s strengths into a major liability.
  • Why iHeart’s monopolistic Katz rep firm is being caught flat footed.
  • This is a national effort but the same concept would work for local stations – here’s the plan of attack.

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Newstips

The Entercom Station Trust

INSIDE …

  • Will Entercom set up a trust to hold stations awaiting further deregulation or  sell them when the merger closes for money.
  • How lenders want Entercom to handle the extra stations.
  • Is Lew Dickey still in as a spin-off partner?
  • Which buyers does Entercom look to as safe for selling spin-offs.
  • Which current Entercom stations are likely to be sold and to whom?  We name them and their markets.

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Entercom Ready to Spin AND Buy

INSIDE …

  • We’ve got a report of Entercom turning down a high-priced deal for one of their currently owned radio station – here are the details including price.
  • That doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining other offers – see where.
  • What is the one thing on the calendar that is pushing Entercom to consider selling some stations even before the DOJ approves the CBS merger.
  • Rule number one that will absolutely never be broken is that David Field will never, ever do what? Here it is and you can bet on it.
  • Which potential buyers Entercom favors.
  • And this! Entercom may be a buyer out of the box once the CBS merger closes – look at this station and this market first.

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Entercom After the CBS Merger

INSIDE …

  • Who will run daily operations?
  • Is there a place for Scott Herman post merger?
  • Will Entercom start its own rep firm?
  • How will Entercom fight the rate cutting that is destroying iHeart and Cumulus?
  • Programmatic buying – are they on board to cut sales costs and commissions?
  • Programming plans revealed.
  • Future expansion possibilities.
  • Debt strategy to avoid becoming buried in red ink like iHeart and Cumulus.
  • Their digital plans together.
  • David Field’s job security (the Fields own less than 30% of the new entity).

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Newstips

Beware of a Cumulus/Dickey Deal

INSIDE …

  • The compelling evidence of a Cumulus/Lew Dickey deal.
  • What might that deal look like?
  • Why it now behooves Cumulus to help Lew Dickey get back in the radio business.
  • What Lew Dickey could have that Cumulus badly needs.
  • Why Cumulus is so afraid of what Lew is up to that they would rather deal with him.

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SiriusXM Exposed

INSIDE …

  • Why buy 19% of Pandora on the decline.
  • After Howard Stern – the plan.
  • Now it can be told!  What Mel Karmazin threatened to do to SiriusXM in his last days as CEO.  This is over the top even for Mel!
  • Startling revelation about each channel’s listenership.
  • What SiriusXM is not coming clean about when it comes to advertising.

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Clownsquare, Cumulus & Dickey

INSIDE …

  • These three players are the focus of fierce speculation about taking each other out but what Townsquare, Cumulus and Lew Dickey’s Modern Media are really getting set to do is a shocker – not what we’re being led to believe.  We examine each one’s likely moves.
  • True or false, Townsquare’s chief investor wants to sell? 
  • Cumulus is going to merge with Verizon – see, you believed that.  That’s what I mean, the radio industry will believe anything at this point.  Here is what Cumulus is really going to do and bankruptcy is baked in already – but there’s more.
  • Then there’s lots of talk about Modern Media buying -- of all things --Townsquare.  Did Townsquare start that rumor?  What IS going down between Lew and “Clownsquare”.
  • Fredo!  Forget what Lew buys, is he going to bring Fredo back or has he finally learned his lesson.  Here’s my bet on that one.

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Cumulus Bankruptcy Jitters

INSIDE …

  • The consumer press is all over a Cumulus bankruptcy – what is spooking them to go public with this.
  • Is Cumulus on the brink of collapse?  Yes or no, a simple, honest answer.
  • Will it be a drawn-out affair or a quick ending?
  • How a Cumulus bankruptcy will be different than an iHeart bankruptcy.
  • What about Mary Berner and senior management now taking bonuses quarterly instead of yearly – what’s that all about?
  • Believe it or not, too little debt is almost a bigger problem than too much – here’s why.
  • Sorry to break it you but bankruptcy is not Cumulus’ biggest problem.  Do you know what it is?  Do THEY?

Read the full article here.

Hey, Jerry

Suddenly Westwood One

INSIDE …

  • Suddenly Westwood One is attractive again and there are two damn fools ready to go to the mat for it.
  • Maybe three if Cumulus decides to keep it – but will they?
  • Actually, Westwood One has something even iHeart’s Premiere Radio Networks doesn’t have – no, not old people doing syndicated shows – something better than that.
  • No matter what, there is one thing Cumulus is not letting onto about Westwood One.

Read the full article here.

Hey, Jerry

Sam Zell & David Field

INSIDE …

  • Talk about an odd couple, yet …
  • David Field has a plan to de-lever the $1.7 billion CBS merger and here are a few stations that are most vulnerable.
  • Study the recent and massive CBS firings and you pick up this very disturbing trend that cannot be ignored.
  • Field is playing it coy but if he acts on these rumblings, it will be bigger news than the CBS merger in the first place.
  • We know that there are some CBS stations David Field will absolutely not give up.  BUT, they are not the ones everyone thinks.

Read the full article now.

Hey, Jerry

iHeart Sales Massacre Underway

INSIDE …

  • Major shake-up unlike any previous iHeart reductions.
  • 8 sellers axed in one market alone yesterday, more coming. Here’s where.
  • And, you want to be the AEs fired because here’s what the poor suckers remaining are going to have to do now to sell ads.
  • Survivors divided into 2 new categories – one not worth being in.
  • How entire commercial stop sets are being taken away from AEs.
  • How local sales survivors’ worst nightmares are coming true – new rules, new restrictions, new pay.
  • How commissions and benefits are being affected.
  • These two other radio groups – let’s just out them here – figure to be next in following iHeart’s draconian sales moves.  Fair warning.

Read the full article now.

Newstips

Weezie vs. Sleazy

INSIDE …

  • Will Scott Herman survive the merger.
  • Will Weezie Kramer retire as COO of Entercom once the merger closes.
  • Who is going to help oversee all the additional CBS stations when Entercom takes over.
  • How badly is CBS programming being dumbed down.
  • Who will be the next to go – on air and off-air before the merger.
  • Documented banana republic programming screw-ups on once iconic top CBS Radio stations.

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Entercom Already Running CBS Radio

INSIDE …

  • How CBS is in cahoots with Entercom ahead of the merger closing.
  • What they plan to do between now and merger approval without waiting.
  • Why the urgency – the merger is on track by year’s end. What’s gone wrong
  • Where Entercom wants the RIFs right now.
  • Who is safe from the joint CBS/Entercom firings – yes, there is one safe job and it is surely not market manager.
  • When will these illegal layoffs stop.
  • Plus, how CBS is trying to cover up major firings even this week – 5 RIFs in one major market alone and more to come.
  • Details on how they made unsuspecting employees feel like their jobs were safe just hours before they were fired because CBS needed them for something.
  • What about lifelong CBS employees?

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The Hostile Takeover of Cumulus

INSIDE …

  • Who would want to do a hostile takeover of Cumulus?
  • How does Cumulus protect itself – how exactly does that work? Or does it?
  • How will this affect the Cumulus plan to file a pre-pack bankruptcy?
  • More importantly – which bidders is the Cumulus board afraid of?
  • Who are the suspects – the radio groups, individuals and money people more likely to want to steal Cumulus.
  • Companies like this that like to buy broken companies.
  • The radio group that must have Cumulus to grow – are they the hostile takeover threat.
  • Here’s the buyer I’m putting my bet on. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

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iHeart’s New Record 40 Commercial Units an Hour

INSIDE …

  • How widespread is this practice becoming – and where?
  • Details on how “unlimited demand” pricing works.
  • How iHeart loses buys to competitors and then – well, as you’ll see – screws the competitors who won fair and square.  Beware.
  • Which iHeart market has been caught doing even worse averaging – yes, averaging – 21-22 commercial minutes an hour.
  • How iHeart ruined a large first time advertiser with no radio history by using this tactic.
  • Check out these rock bottom CPPs and CPMs – and look twice because you won’t believe them the first time.
  • At least the iHeart salesperson is coming out ahead – wait, wait … see how iHeart is now handling salespeople on low ball buys.

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Beasley Media’s Death Wish

INSIDE …

  • What does “Princess” Caroline call a fired employee behind their backs?  Reader Discretion Advised.  This is cringe-worthy.
  • Why Beasley keeps losing employees that AREN’T fired.
  • Where Greater Media employees were so fearful of going to work for Beasley that 6 quit on day one.
  • How Beasley completely botched the Greater Media acquisition – the one big mistake they are still paying for.
  • What’s the real story behind Peter Smyth and John Fullam’s departure?
  • Who are the new superstar Beasley execs of the future? 
  • The missing gene Caroline must find somewhere, somehow before it is too late.
  • Question:  Is Caroline worse or better than Lew Dickey or even his brother Fredo?
  • Speaking of Cumulus, how is that merger going down between Beasley and Cumulus.

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