Recently, Oaktree Capital took Regent Commuincations through Chapter 11 to clear the books of debt that will never be repaid. Oaktree also controls GAP, which acquired many of the former Clear Channel radio stations when CC decided they went overboard.
Oaktree is now merging GAP into its renamed Townsquare Media – they recently had also announced they disbanded GAP East which had been created a year ago to look for new stations East of the Mississippi River.
All of the stations in those companies are small town radio stations in parts of the country with very limited prospects. The stations might have held on for longer with sole proprietor owners using 50 year old analog transmitters and working for free, but they don’t have the revenue stream to justify the debt that was loaded onto them during the optimist years. The chickens have come home to roost.
