Broadcasting Stocks

In one of the worst trading sessions seen in recent memory for a media company, Entercom Communications on Friday suffered a 36.2% decrease in its stock value. With an astonishing 5.45 million shares traded against average volume of 996,657 shares, ETM ended the week at just under 83 cents per share. It's the lowest price ever seen, except in October 2008.

With the company mired in negative news stories ranging from the untimely exit of the KROQ-FM in Los Angeles morning show to COVID-19 fueled job reductions across its entire operations, the last 30 days haven't been kind to Entercom. Investors aren't making things any easier.

With the exception of Urban One, which enjoyed a nine-cent gain to $1.20, and Emmis Communications, up a penny to $2.01, radio and TV companies were swept up in a general sell-off on Wall Street. The kickoff of the second quarter of 2020 was full of declines, as the Dow Industrials slid 4.4%.

With physical distancing the "new normal," it was only a matter of time before an annual shareholders' meeting for a broadcast media company took a virtual turn. The first company to publicly make the move: the Camarillo, Calif.-based entity known for Christian-themed and conservative talk audio programming.

Friday's signing of a federal coronavirus stimulus package did nothing to fed off the latest sell-off of stocks on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 915.39 points, to 21,636.78. Nasdaq was off 295.16 points,to 7,502.38. Many radio and TV issues were down. But, some companies were actually on the rise.

National Amusements, Inc., has largely directed the fortunes and future of what is now ViacomCBS. It is Shari Redstone who wanted Bob Bakish to lead the recombined companies, not a CBS Corp. C-Suiter. It is her that a block of any reunification of CBS and Viacom under former CEO Les Moonves never occurred. Now, however, NAI is "losing some of its ability to borrow money." 

The bull parade ran through Wall Street on Wednesday, on news that a big COVID-19 stimulus package is on its way to approval, bringing relief to corporations and individuals whose finances have been battered by the coronavirus pandemic. For media stocks, many were up big. But, some were noticeably off -- including iHeartMedia.

The U.S. Senate late Sunday failed to convince Democrats to sign off on a federal stimulus package aimed at curbing steep losses for American business and individuals. To little surprise, Wall Street continued to contract in Monday's trading.

It's been a difficult March for a bevy of broadcast media stocks. On Friday, on heavy volume, Beasley Media Group shares suffered a 32.7% slide in value. As a result, BBGI is at a fresh 10-year low, with a closing price last seen in February 2009.

Call it the "COVID-19 Limbo Rock." With some asking Wall Street, "How low can you go?," investors on Wednesday largely abandoned their positions in many of the media industry's biggest companies. With the Dow 30 off 6.3% to 19,898.92 and the Nasdaq down 4.7% to 6,989.84, some familiar radio companies' shares are in unfathomably low pricing funks.

U.S. financial markets rebounded on Tuesday, following Monday's market meltdown. How did radio and TV companies fare? There were notable decreases ... and increases.

With circuit breakers triggered within the first 15 minutes of trading on Monday as worried investors initiated a massive sell-off of stocks, the Dow Industrials ended the day down 12.9%, finishing at 20,188.52. Nasdaq was off 12.3%, to 6,904.59. How bad was the trading session for media companies? Don't ask David Field.

It's been a heck of a March thus far for media stocks on Wall Street. Violent dips and small recoveries have been seen for the last two weeks, and midday trading on Friday saw the overall market improve from Thursday's dismal drubbing. How did radio and TV companies fare as of lunch time? Don't look at Salem or Townsquare Media today.

U.S. financial markets moved downward on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.99% to 21,200.62. The Nasdaq composite index lost 9.43%, ending the day’s trading session at 7,201.80. Trading was suspended from 10:15-10:45 this morning due to triggers designed to prevent the market from falling too far in a given time.

U.S. financial markets moved downward on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.86% to 23,553.22. The Nasdaq composite index lost 4.70%, ending the day’s trading session at 7,952.05.