Category Archives: Radio Owners

Cumulus (CMLS) update

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Fred Stiening

Mary Berner, the new CEO of Cumulus Media, held her first full year conference call with Wall Street investors Thursday after the market closed. This is the first quarter for which she was responsible for running the company. The financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Cumulus Media, Radio Biz | 1 Comment

The final days of iHeart / Clear Channel?

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Fred Stiening

It’s official – bond holders of iHeart / Clear channel debt are fed up with the company diverting and selling off assets intended to protect the interests of the $20 billion in debt. iHeart, fearing that a default notice was … Continue reading →

Posted in IHeart Media, Radio Biz | 3 Comments

The brink of default

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Fred Stiening

Most corporate loan agreements have language requiring permission before corporate assets are transferred or the pecking order of who gets paid first is changed. IHeart (aka Clear Channel) tried to pull a fast one segregating assets away from the lenders. … Continue reading →

Posted in IHeart Media, Radio Biz | 4 Comments

Hot Digity Dead

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Fred Stiening

It’s a done deal. After a couple months of haggling, Alpha Media has closed on the financing of $264 million to acquire control of 116 struggling radio stations that were accumulated by a man named Dean Goodman, under the name … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Mecia, Radio Biz, Station Sales / Transfers | 7 Comments

Larry Elder gets another Chance

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Fred Stiening

If you don’t know who Larry Elder is – he is a Los Angeles based black libertarian radio host with a long track record. He previously was in national syndication on ABC Radio and was let go in 2007 in … Continue reading →

Posted in American Politics, Salem Radio | 11 Comments

Big changes at Salem Radio

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Fred Stiening

* disclaimer – I am a stockholder in SALM https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/96663/salem-moves-hugh-hewitt-to-mornings-bill-bennett-to-commentaries/ For years, I have been advocating changes to the Salem Talk Lineup – the Bennett, Gallagher, Prager, Medved, Hewitt lineup hasn’t changed since I started tracking programming schedules. They’re all … Continue reading →

Posted in Salem, Salem Radio | 1 Comment

Sumner Redstone gone from CBS

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Fred Stiening

The Man who believed he would live forever – and needed to make no succession plans for CBS or Viacom is gone. In recent days, shareholders filed lawsuits claiming that Sumner Redstone was being paid to do a job that … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Radio Biz, SiriusXM | 7 Comments

Cumulus Media to undergo Transgender surgery

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Fred Stiening

The New Cumulus is starting to emerge. The new CEO is not just an executive who happens to be a woman, but a woman on a mission to transform Cumulus into a female company. She just axed her male SVP … Continue reading →

Posted in Cumulus Media | 3 Comments

IHeart’s big news next week

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Fred Stiening

Yesterday’s news is that Clear Channel Outdoors (owned 90% by iHeart) has sold some outdoor billboards in the US for in excess of $400 million, and another similar deal may happen today. CCO owns a lot of tangible assets, which … Continue reading →

Posted in IHeart Media, Radio Biz | 1 Comment

All News WTOP topples CBS’s WNEW-FM

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Fred Stiening

CBS radio has given up trying to compete with Hubbard Radio’s WTOP in the Washington DC market. When CBS acquired the FM station from Family Broadcasting at 107.9, that freed up the 99.1 frequency to become an all news station … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Collapse of America, Radio Biz, Radio News | 4 Comments