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Audacy logo; David Field
Courtesy of Audacy
One of the largest radio companies in the U.S., Audacy, said Sunday that it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after reaching a deal with its debt holders to restructure.
Audacy owns some of the most high-profile radio stations in the U.S., including L.A.’s infamous alternative station KROQ, KCBS and KNX, as well as New York’s 1010 WINS news station, WCBS talk station, and WFAN, the country’s first sports radio station.
Audacy owns more than 200 radio stations across the country, and also operates dozens of digital radio channels. The company also has partnerships with companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and Bloomberg LP.
Audacy was created after the merger of Entercom and CBS Radio in 2017, when CBS was looking to exit its non-TV businesses.
In a statement Sunday, the company said the deal with debt holders will reduce its debt load by about 80%, from $1.9 billion to $350 million. It does not expect any operational impact due to the bankruptcy and restructuring.
“Over the past few years, we have strategically transformed Audacy into a leading, scaled multi-platform audio content and entertainment company through our acquisition of CBS Radio and by building leading complementary positions in podcasting, audio networks, live events, digital marketing solutions and our direct-to-consumer streaming platform,” said David Field, chairman, president and CEO of Audacy in a statement. “While our transformation has enhanced our competitive position, the perfect storm of sustained macroeconomic challenges over the past four years facing the traditional advertising market has led to a sharp reduction of several billion dollars in cumulative radio ad spending. These market factors have severely impacted our financial condition and necessitated our balance sheet restructuring. With our scaled leadership position, our uniquely differentiated premium audio content and a robust capital structure, we believe Audacy will emerge well positioned to continue its innovation and growth in the dynamic audio business.”
Many of the stations owned by Audacy pioneered radio formats that are now ubiquitous. In addition to helping invent the all-sports format with WFAN, WCBS helped pioneer the news radio format. And KROQ developed programming that was at the time cutting edge for terrestrial radio, like Kevin & Bean (now called Kevin, the Morning) and the late night show Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky. The station also launched the careers of comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla.
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