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Audacy bankruptcy is coming...

It's official, with the announcement on Sunday:

forward.audacyinc.com

Announcement - Strengthening Audacy

Audacy Reaches Agreement with a Supermajority of its Debtholders on Balance Sheet Deleveraging Transaction that Will Equitize Over 80% of it's Debt
forward.audacyinc.com forward.audacyinc.com

Looks pretty straightforward. Creditors get equity in exchange for erasing 80% of the debt. The equity percentage wasn't announced. Apparently David Field remains CEO.
 
TheBigA said:
Creditors get equity in exchange for erasing 80% of the debt.
Click to expand...
Equity? Don Corleone said "One day I may call on you to perform a service for me". Without growth, will they be able to pay off even 20 percent of the debt? The article gives no specifics on how this "robust growth" will happen...
 
tbolt909 said:
The word is Hubris. They should have known that this deal would go sour.
Click to expand...
Really! So you can predict the future? If so, what are you doing hanging around here?
tbolt909 said:
David Field won't face any hardship. That cannot be said for the many long time Entercom employees (Past & Present). The old joke at Entercom was "If you still had your job after Thanksgiving, you were good for another year". I don't think Entercom was all that different from Cumulus or Clear Channel. You're part of the "Family" until you aren't anymore..
Click to expand...
Welcome to the broadcast business. Many businesses claims their employees are like family. They aren't. Anyone who thinks work is a family, is either naive or delusional. Those who do generally end up bitter when their services are no longer required.
 
tbolt909 said:
It mentions "Future growth" with no specifics...
Click to expand...

Once again, that's not what it says. It says "long term growth." This is for the long term, like 20 years. It's up to the new owner, not the previous owners. They're done. They're handing it over to the banks.

tbolt909 said:
The word is Hubris. They should have known that this deal would go sour. David Field won't face any hardship. That cannot be said for the many long time Entercom employees (Past & Present).
Click to expand...

So you want revenge? Sounds like a politician. Entercom was the Field's life work. They invested themselves, their own money, and their lives in starting and running this business. It's not just a job to them. To the employees, it's a job, and if they aren't kept, they'll find another job.
 
Kelly A said:
Really! So you can predict the future? If so, what are you doing hanging around here?
Click to expand...
I guess you didn't notice that CBS started to get out of Radio over 15 years ago. That might have been a clue that taking on huge debt was a bad idea...
 
Last edited:
tbolt909 said:
I guess you didn't notice that CBS started to get out of Radio over 15 years ago. That might have been a clue that taking on huge debt was a bad idea...
Click to expand...
CBS/Paramount, Viacom, whatever, had outgrown a radio division. Same with GE/NBC. Just because much larger divisions shed a small one like radio, doesn't mean radio wouldn't fit better under a traditional radio business. Now, did Entercom/Audacy overpay for CBS Radio? One could argue, probably given what we know now, it wasn't worth what they paid. It happens.
For that matter, buying other groups of radio stations at the same time was probably bad timing, but hey, the stock was going okay, interest rates were low, and lenders were pleased to do deals.
 
Kelly A said:
For that matter, buying other groups of radio stations at the same time was probably bad timing, but hey, the stock was going okay, interest rates were low, and lenders were pleased to do deals.
Click to expand...

I remember at the time there were several companies mentioned for CBS Radio. One was Hubbard. Here's what Ginny Morris said then in 2016:

www.insideradio.com

Morris: Hubbard Not In the Market for CBS Radio.

While CBS Corp. has said the primary route being pursued for the future of its 117-station radio division is a spinoff into a separately traded company, the broadcasting giant has
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

She turned out to be right. It might have been smarter to split CBS Radio up among several companies. But that's not what was being offered at the time.
 
TheBigA said:
She turned out to be right. It might have been smarter to split CBS Radio up among several companies. But that's not what was being offered at the time.
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That's a great point. You've got the revolver and have been doing deals that (at the time) Wall Street was good with. It was a time that if you weren't trying to grow aggressively, you were dead to The Street. Little did anyone know that interest in media, growing or not, would have fallen out of favor anyway. As a CEO, you do what you think is best at the time. If it works as planned, you're a hero. If the future proves for whatever reason not to work out, then you're considered by people who have never had skin in the same game, an idiot.
 
TheBigA said:
It's official, with the announcement on Sunday:

forward.audacyinc.com

Announcement - Strengthening Audacy

Audacy Reaches Agreement with a Supermajority of its Debtholders on Balance Sheet Deleveraging Transaction that Will Equitize Over 80% of it's Debt
forward.audacyinc.com forward.audacyinc.com

Looks pretty straightforward. Creditors get equity in exchange for erasing 80% of the debt. The equity percentage wasn't announced. Apparently David Field remains CEO.
Click to expand...
Don't we all love corporate-speak?
 
TheBigA said:
It's like the old game of hot potato. Whoever ended up with it was going to go bankrupt.
Click to expand...
Seriously, that was more than a hot potato. Turns out it was a hand grenade. The pin was pulled, latch released, but never tossed.
 
Buffalo's Buddy Shula posted a comment at the RadioInk board on this subject. We can all predict what he said. But here it is anyway:

Buddy Shula January 10, 2024 At 1:25 am
I have the utmost respect for David and Entercom. Yes, Entercom, not Audacy. Working at Entercom Buffalo for 22 years, I never dreamed their could be a better place to work. It was amazing. From the leadership, to the products, to the entire staff.
This BK is very disappoiting, but not unexpected. Conference call upon conference call, the rally flag would be risen for the benefit of stockholders. Digital! Podcasts! OTT! Everything BUT radio. How employees or stockholders actually believed the potential growth in these “shiney new toys” is beyond me. Shame on the company for not focusing on it’s core values and decimating what was a great family-owned radio broadcast company.
I saw the exodus of great talent at ETM Buffalo. One by one, top people, talent, sales, programming just did not want to work there anymore. Management made no effort to keep A players.
Give these stations back to operators who actually care about the medium and the community. THEY will run it correctly. THEY will care.
I feel bad for the employees and their families who will be walking on eggshells during this mess. What Joe Field built with integrity, was torn down by greed.
These current leaders of these bankrupt radio companies are always the ones who end up in Radio Ink Top 20 most powerful! Give me a break.
Click to expand...
 
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