To Wall Street, the company may be known as Beasley Broadcast Group. To everyone else, this radio station owner refers to itself as “Beasley Media Group.” This distinction is important, as the company led by CEO Caroline Beasley and CFO Marie Tedesco plots a course for future growth that expands beyond its collection of broadcast facilities.
How will Beasley do it? It is “aggressively” rolling out its digital transformation plan, and seeks to be an active player in an area where local dollars are being sucked away from radio with the power of a jumbo jet engine.
In comments made during Beasley’s Q1 2019 earnings call for Wall Street analysts and shareholders, CEO Caroline Beasley made it clear that the publicly traded company founded by her family very much seeks to grow in value through its further participation in digital media — something driven by evolving consumer and advertiser preferences.
Such a tact, she says, “will strengthen and diversify the company and create long-term shareholder value.”
This activity will see Beasley leverage its live and local content across its digital platforms, with a national content team driving those efforts, which largely focus on the company’s expansion of its local market commitment to digital content excellence.
“More engaging digital content” is one key goal, as is making “deeper connections to local market fans.”
With marketers clamoring for more local digital opportunities than ever before thanks to cost benefits and addressable advertising solutions, it is clear that Beasley sees value in jumping in to the digital arena — rather than trying to canoe upstream in Class 3 rapids.
According to Caroline Beasley, “several stations” in the Beasley stable have already taken a digital-centric approach, without naming those stations. The result? Page views, online traffic and air talent participation have all increased.
This is crucial, she said, to growing Beasley’s leadership position and leveraging the company’s digital assets.
As of today, Beasley has 35 podcasts available for download. Each month, a total 3 million downloads are being seen. Now, these podcasts are being bundled, and Beasley is presenting sponsorship packages to larger advertisers.
Another way Beasley sees itself growing beyond traditional radio is in the burgeoning eSports arena. The company has established “several footholds” in the electronic sports world that Caroline Beasley believes puts the company “on the ground floor of this emerging industry.”
But, the eSports and digital ramp-ups are long-term initiatives. In the short term, “Overall, things are moving in the right direction, with a lot on the company’s plate,” Ms. Beasley says.
But, two big ad categories — consumer products and beverages — were the two worst-performing for Beasley.
The immediate financial future for Beasley is a mixed bag of good, and better.
April is pacing up mid-single digits for Beasley, while May is trending “flattish” and June is “slightly up,” Ms. Beasley said.
And, on a same-station basis, Beasley is slightly up for Q2.
With leverage reduction also a focus, Beasley Media Group seems to be on the right track.
With its stock up 4.7% at 1pm Eastern, to $3.80, Ms. Beasley and her team are convinced there’s only one direction the company is heading, and that’s up — despite what the price of BBGI may be today.
“The current valuation is in NO WAY a reflection of the value of the long-term audio experience offered by the company,” Caroline Beasley insisted. “Our equity represents strong Free Cash Flow and dividend yield, and the company has a terrific foundation for a great future.”
What was the impact of US Traffic Network’s inability to pay some $1.7 million to Beasley Media Group, which was written off in Q3 2018 by Beasley? The company says in Q1 2019 it was $826,000, and in Q2 it will be $675,000.
