Merger Closes
ENTERCOM has closed on the acquisition of CBS RADIO in a merger that gives the combined company a nationwide footprint of 244 stations, including 23 of the Top 25 markets. The closing brings to fruition the deal that was first announced in FEBRUARY (NET NEWS 2/2).
“We are thrilled to officially close our transformational merger with CBS RADIO and welcome their talented employees and iconic brands to ENTERCOM,” said President/CEO DAVID FIELD. “We look forward to capitalizing on our unique positions in sports, news, music, podcasting, live events, digital and more to provide outstanding experiences for our listeners and compelling integrated marketing opportunities for our advertisers. We now have the scale and capabilities to drive meaningful growth and to compete more effectively with other media for a larger share of advertising dollars. We also look forward to helping to elevate the Radio industry, which remains massively undervalued by advertisers despite having emerged as America’s #1 Reach medium, delivering outstanding ROI to customers.”
One of the first items on the merged company’s agenda came to fruition at midnight, when, as previously tipped (NET NEWS 11/14), Country KSON/SAN DIEGO moved from 97.3 FM to 103.7 FM. On 97.3 FM, a looped message directed listeners to switch frequencies to hear the Country format, while also announcing that the Top 40 format of KEGY (ENERGY 103.7) would be returning on 97.3 on MONDAY morning. At the same time, the station in the market spun off by ENTERCOM to EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION, KSOQ/ESCONDIDO, dropped its simulcast of KSON for EMF’s Contemporary Christian AIR 1 format with new calls KYDQ.
More changes across the country are rumored; stay tuned….
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.allaccess.com
https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/171562/it-s-official-entercom-and-cbs-radio-merge