Monthly Archives: April 2025

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Disappearing Dashboard

It doesn’t have a radio – not even a touchscreen and it doesn’t even have paint but the stripped down new $20,000 electric Slate Truck is backed by Jeff Bezos and other big-name investors betting that forcing radio out of the dashboard to save consumers money will be a winner.  

  • As of now the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act requiring all new cars to include AM radio at no extra cost has not yet passed Congress – the legislation remains stalled with no immediate vote scheduled.
  • Loophole alert: Manufacturers producing fewer than 40,000 vehicles annually like Slate Auto would have a four-year compliance window from the rule's effective date – to incorporate AM radio into their vehicles unless they adjust their rollout schedule or the legislation does not pass. ​
  • Ironically, the AM bill does not mandate FM.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Life After Layoffs

There are virtually no radio jobs left to land after a layoff – even those in smaller markets that include many responsibilities for lower pay are scarce and with a recession being talked about and uncertain financial times, the question is where is the best place to look for those who want to remain in the business.

  • Podcasting, Substack, YouTube, and freelance digital work are the "fallbacks," but they have their own brutal realities.
  • Podcasting: 99% of new podcasts never make real money unless they already have a built-in following or major sponsorship.
  • YouTube: Former radio people often think their skills will translate, but YouTube rewards visual storytelling and algorithm mastery — not just "talking good."
  • Substack/newsletters: Some fired radio hosts have launched subscription newsletters, but it's very rare for these to generate enough paid subscribers to replace even a modest radio salary unless the person is very niche or already had name recognition.

What careers are working and ones to avoid

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Monday, April 28, 2025

A Controlled Crash for iHeart

A controlled crash may be the best-case scenario for struggling iHeartMedia with shareholders hoping for a turnaround clinging to fantasy and the smart money already knows this – a slow-motion collapse.

  • Their November 2024 deal with creditors to push out the maturities to 2028 on a big chunk of its debt provided some slack but didn’t solve the problem.
  • Revenue remains flat, podcasting is cooling off and core radio assets are locked in secular decline.
  • If a recession hits prior to 2028 as financial markets fear, iHeart’s financial position takes a deep dive downward as spot ad revenue is one of the first cutbacks in a downturn.
  • Worse yet: even a mild recession can trigger debt covenant breaches and sop up cash flow.
  • A more severe recession would likely push iHeart into bankruptcy within 12 to 18 months -- no margin for error under the current debt burden.

Go Deeper:  Breakup value / stock jitters / liquidation vs. reorganization

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Friday, April 25, 2025

Another Radio Pre-Pack Bankruptcy in the Works

Cumulus Media’s stock is trading at just 20 cents, its lowest in recent memory and relegated to over-the-counter after their Nasdaq delisting -- a flashing signal for a company already under pressure with massive write-downs and now a dwindling market cap.

  • Investors may be asking is Mary Berner preparing for another pre-packaged bankruptcy -- while the company is still technically solvent?
  • She did it before in 2017 cutting more than a billion dollars of debt and avoiding bankruptcy – you may remember, public denials, the pre-pack was negotiated privately.
  • BUT, back then Berner didn’t dump enough debt and without growth, Cumulus has been unable to benefit from the first pre-pack.
  • Behind the scenes things are deteriorating rapidly and the company’s unwillingness to go through the expense of trying to get its Nasdaq listing back by just having their stock trade at $1 for 30 days is telling.

Go Deeper:  If They Don’t Do a Pre-Pack / If They Do Pull It Off

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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Audacy as a Non-Profit

Audacy didn’t get rescued — it got taken and now the second-biggest radio group in America is being rebuilt from the inside out, under new owners who don’t need to make a profit.

  • This is different from previous private equity plays that have left hedge funds filing bankruptcy and selling whatever assets they can because they have investors to worry about.
  • Here’s why the FCC’s Brendan Carr’s pants are in a bunch – Audacy didn’t just restructure in bankruptcy, it underwent a total transfer of power — not just financial, but operational and strategic.
  • They’re not in this for short-term profits -- if they were, they’d be in the wrong business.
  • And the newly weaponized Brendan Carr FCC’s accusation that Soros is out to use Audacy as a political tool is obvious political fodder but not close to being the real motivation.

Go deeper:  Bought to bleed / Real world precedent / Turner, Philips and Oliviero caught between strategy and salvage.

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Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Taking Back the Dashboard from CarPlay

If radio is still in the car, why can’t listeners find it?  The radio industry keeps repeating a comforting line: “We still dominate the dashboard” but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are eating their in-car advantage alive.

  • It’s technically true.  AM/FM tuners are in nearly every vehicle.  Terrestrial radio is “available” in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  And auto manufacturers haven’t removed FM yet (AM is a different story).
  • But here’s the part no one wants to say out loud: just because radio is in the car doesn’t mean listeners are actually using it.
  • The quiet behavioral shift happening inside smart dashboards might be the most under-reported threat to broadcast radio’s future.

Go deeper:  The disconnected dash / habit programming

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