Audacy Cuts ✂️

[Barry]

It's interesting that Townsquare Media, which avoids running stations in the larger markets, and is shifting more toward digital media, is doing reasonably well. Meanwhile Audacy, which is heavily involved with New York and other major cities, just had its stock fall below $.09/share yesterday.
Perhaps smaller markets can be advantageous due to lower expenses, and more local billing?

Record Earnings (!)

 

[Loverofradio]

It's interesting that Townsquare Media, which avoids running stations in the larger markets, and is shifting more toward digital media, is doing reasonably well. Meanwhile Audacy, which is heavily involved with New York and other major cities, just had its stock fall below $.09/share yesterday.
Perhaps smaller markets can be advantageous due to lower expenses, and more local billing?

Record Earnings (!)

thats because Townsquare did it first before anyone else thought about it. I worked for TSM up until 8 years ago. The mentality was “we have six websites in our cluster, we just so happen to have radio stations.” Townsquare is setting themselves up now to be a major player in a few years. To be honest, they might be the company that saves radio.

 

[TheBigA]

Perhaps smaller markets can be advantageous due to lower expenses, and more local billing?

The high costs of working in major markets are also why Cumulus sold off former ABC stations in NYC. David Field said they will be cutting costs at their stations, and that likely includes NYC. One problem with NY is its a union town, and the company has recently negotiated its union contracts with WINS and WCBS, so there's not much wiggle room with employees there. I've read talk of them potentially selling one or two AM stations, as well as the tower land for the NYC stations, but that's about it.

Audacy has always been a traditional radio company, built around local sales, whereas CBS relied on national sales for things like news and sports. Audacy tried to do a national platform during the pandemic, but it wasn't very successful.

 

[Marcos_C]

It's interesting that Townsquare Media, which avoids running stations in the larger markets, and is shifting more toward digital media, is doing reasonably well. Meanwhile Audacy, which is heavily involved with New York and other major cities, just had its stock fall below $.09/share yesterday.
Perhaps smaller markets can be advantageous due to lower expenses, and more local billing?

Record Earnings (!)

thats because Townsquare did it first before anyone else thought about it. I worked for TSM up until 8 years ago. The mentality was “we have six websites in our cluster, we just so happen to have radio stations.” Townsquare is setting themselves up now to be a major player in a few years. To be honest, they might be the company that saves radio.

I just noticed that the price of TSQ stock is now $8.63 a share. That's more than 95 times the value of AUD stock. During the last five years, Townsquare Media stock has never closed below $3.90 a share, and it has never closed below $6.50 a share since late 2020.

 

[davideduardo]

Townsquare is setting themselves up now to be a major player in a few years. To be honest, they might be the company that saves radio.

But remember that Townsquare's original diversification was in fairs and carnivals and the like, and they just managed to get out in time or the pandemic would have killed them. By chance, good fortune and a bit of strategic planning they found the right mix of radio with new media for small markets.

 

[Loverofradio]

It’s interesting. We always had clicks on our websites. We always has compelling video features and franchises involving personalities on our websites. In turn people wanted to see it on our website and/or social media pages. it’s funny how other companies laughing at us for our ideas while I was with TSM. But, other radio groups are now playing catch-up to what TSM, or honestly never fully embraced digital.

 

[Loverofradio]

But remember that Townsquare's original diversification was in fairs and carnivals and the like, and they just managed to get out in time or the pandemic would have killed them. By chance, good fortune and a bit of strategic planning they found the right mix of radio with new media for small markets.

That is true. We put together a concert or show for any little thing. I didn’t realize TSM isn’t in that business anymore. But, we had people who knew how to market radio to mass audiences. I feel like there‘s no inexpensive way to do that now, which is sad. During my years at TSM, I saw the way radio should’ve been done. And I’ve learned so much from those years

 

[Barry]

Townsquare has the Taste of Country website, providing coverage of the latest doings in the genre. It seems lively and well produced. It ties in with their national nighttime and overnight hosted radio Country programming, which carries the same name. But I am surprised it apparently does not carry any advertising. They also have another Country news website, The Boot, which was acquired from AOL. It also does not seem to contain any ads. Anyone know why?

 

[TheBigA]

It also does not seem to contain any ads. Anyone know why?

They fooled you. I have an ad-counter in my browser, and there are 87 ads on Taste of Country, and 81 ads on The Boot. Those ads might be embeds or masked in stories. In fact I noticed there are ads in the slider at the top of the page, so you get a new ad every time the slider cycles. Perhaps you have an ad blocker or your anti-virus blocks them. But there are LOTS of ads. Their Popcrush site has 85 ads, including a header, two side ads, and a footer. Plus links to sponsored stories from other sites.

 

[Loverofradio]

Townsquare has the Taste of Country website, providing coverage of the latest doings in the genre. It seems lively and well produced. It ties in with their national nighttime and overnight hosted radio Country programming, which carries the same name. But I am surprised it apparently does not carry any advertising. They also have another Country news website, The Boot, which was acquired from AOL. It also does not seem to contain any ads. Anyone know why?

They’ve got a website for every genre now. and it’s a great marketing tool for people to listen to their radio stations. Each station in our cluster, except the one I was on (classic country/sports AM, you can understand why), was number one in their demos. Can yall imagine if TSM were in major markets?

 

[CTListener]

They’ve got a website for every genre now. and it’s a great marketing tool for people to listen to their radio stations. Each station in our cluster, except the one I was on (classic country/sports AM, you can understand why), was number one in their demos. Can yall imagine if TSM were in major markets?

Up here in VT/NH Market 217, only one of our three hit country stations has any music news or features. Great Eastern Radio's WXXK is currently displaying three items from something called Country Daypop -- stories about Miranda Lambert leaving her label, Willie Nelson and Zach Bryan headlining a festival, and Keith Urban adding dates to his Las Vegas residency. The other two, Binnie's WZLF and Pamal's WJEN, display only items about contests, syndicated morning and countdown shows, and upcoming concerts in the two states. Any idea who's behind Country Daypop?

 

[TheBigA]

Can yall imagine if TSM were in major markets?

They don't have to be, because their websites are likely the most viewed music sites in those markets. And some of those ads are market specific. A few years ago, Taste of Country surpassed CMT for #1 site for the country genre. Not sure if it still is. Meanwhile the main Audacy site has one ad, and WCBS-AM has only four ads, not including any pre-rolls. WTOP, by comparison, has 11. But a lot of their ads are hidden in

 

[Loverofradio]

They don't have to be, because their websites are likely the most viewed music sites in those markets. And some of those ads are market specific. A few years ago, Taste of Country surpassed CMT for #1 site for the country genre. Not sure if it still is. Meanwhile the main Audacy site has one ad, and WCBS-AM has only four ads, not including any pre-rolls. WTOP, by comparison, has 11. But a lot of their ads are hidden in

In your opinion, is there was reason why other radio groups haven’t embraced digital the way TSM has?

 

[TheBigA]

In your opinion, is there was reason why other radio groups haven’t embraced digital the way TSM has?

My view is that these companies see themselves as traditional radio companies. They all appear to be very unable to even think beyond the traditional system of local sales and spots on the radio. The whole idea of alternate revenue streams has them all, for the most part, baffled. I just discovered that TS has its own in-house web design and consulting business that is open to outside clients. Most companies outsource that kind of thing to InterTech. In other words, most radio companies see themselves as users of that kind of thing, rather than as creator. That seems to say it all.

 

[Tibbs4]

Great conversation. Is there a way to see the exact revenue TSM makes on traditional radio vs. online? BigA, the comment you make about TS's own in-house web design is possibly "the key" to a lot of revenue on both sides AND maybe they have solved part of the issue. How profitable all that is now and could eventually be is really thought provoking.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

In your opinion, is there was reason why other radio groups haven’t embraced digital the way TSM has?

TownSquare is successful by acting as an online ad agency for its customers. They take money from a local business and distribute it among Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc. I think they distribute some $$$ to their own radio stations, with the customer's permission.
Is that a conflict of interest? Probably. But Barbara's Tanning Salon in Poughkepsee probably doesn't have many better choices.

That's not an opportunity that exists in the large markets where the other large radio operators work. Nearly all the customers of Audacy, Cumulus, and iHeart are businesses represented by ad agencies, and those agencies wouldn't respond well to Audacy transitioning from their customer to their competition.

@Tibbs4: See pg 6 of this TSQ investor presentation from this month: https://townsquare-media-ir.prod-us...ntations/march-2023-investor-presentation.pdf It was basically 50/50 last year.

 

[TheBigA]

Nearly all the customers of Audacy, Cumulus, and iHeart are businesses represented by ad agencies, and those agencies wouldn't respond well to Audacy transitioning from their customer to their competition.

I agree with that aspect, but Cumulus and Audacy have done an absolutely awful job of merchandising their online platforms. Especially Cumulus. Their approach to the web is so obsolete. They don't do much with social media. Even if they tried to sell like TS, they don't have anything for those advertisers. It's all traditional spots & dots.

 

[BJSteigner]

It's interesting that Townsquare Media, which avoids running stations in the larger markets, and is shifting more toward digital media, is doing reasonably well. Meanwhile Audacy, which is heavily involved with New York and other major cities, just had its stock fall below $.09/share yesterday.
Perhaps smaller markets can be advantageous due to lower expenses, and more local billing?

Record Earnings (!)

I believe that if Audacy started selling their markets (stations) (Boston for example), their stock price might jump up.

 

[TheBigA]

I believe that if Audacy started selling their markets (stations) (Boston for example), their stock price might jump up.

Even if they had to sell those markets at a huge loss?

I think the only thing that could help their stock is a merger with a non-media company.

 

[davideduardo]

I believe that if Audacy started selling their markets (stations) (Boston for example), their stock price might jump up.

Just the opposite. The stations' BCF versus the current market's sale value, is much better. Again, Audacy has significant operating cash flow before amortization, depreciation, taxes and interest. The stations are very profitable, while sale prices are way under an acceptable multiple.

And any non-producing stations that don't fit a cluster strategy are likely worth so little that they won't help debt service at all.