Radio News

Four days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Univision is exploring the sale of Fusion Media Group. Just after Tuesday's Closing Bell on Wall Street, following a day where Univision declined to comment to RBR+TVBR on the report, Univision finally commented on the story. Gizmodo and The Onion are on the block.

"We make fine radio." That's the assertion made by an operator of 26 "hand-crafted" stations that in April invested in a Twin Tiers property branded as "Yes FM." Now, this company is investing in an AM station with an FM translator proudly serving Mexico.

With minutes go before the end of a holiday week, one of the biggest radio industry stories in recent years reached a surprising conclusion. At 4:42pm ET Friday, the lengthy legal spat over ratings tampering between Bubba The Love Sponge and Nielsen concluded, as the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

On Thursday RBR+TVBR exclusively reported on the rapid acceleration of Cumulus Media stock by Brigade Capital Management, a member of the "Ad-Hoc Cross-Holder Committee" — the group comprised of holders of $2.025 million in term loans and 7.75% senior notes due May 2019 that objected to Cumulus' restructuring plan. We now know a second lender has taken a beneficial ownership stake in Cumulus.

The operator of a 100-watt LPFM covering northwest Raleigh, N.C., wanted the full Commission to reconsider a Media Bureau decision that benefited the market's No. 1 operator. The ruling found that the big local operator wasn't required to submit a technical need showing to hold licenses for seven "fill-in" FM translators. The Commissioners are satisfied with the decision.

The San Francisco-based attorney representing Talk Radio Network Enterprises on Tuesday sent a brief three-sentence letter to the federal bankruptcy judge who signed off on Cumulus Media's Chapter 11 reorganization plan. What transpired? Scant details are available, but we have an answer.

Schultz, who found fame as one of the signature voices of "progressive talk" on the radio dial and as a MSNBC host, has died of natural causes. According to WDAY-6 in Fargo, N.D., which first reported on Schultz's death, he was 64 and had been in the Nation's Capital.

A New York-based global investment management firm specializing in credit investment strategies founded in 2006 by Don Morgan has just increased its stake in the No. 2 radio broadcasting company by number of stations.

Andrew Kuhn and Geoff Gannon have made a name for themselves as financial advisors via idea exchange, mental models and a mission to "build an investment community focused on the continual compounding of personal wealth without regard to the overall stock market." In a podcast distributed Thursday, Gannon and Kuhn examine Entercom. What's their prognosis?

On a Tuesday marked by tepid trading among media issues and general indices in sell mode ahead of the Independence Day holiday, one media company stood out in a highly positive way. Urban One shares soared in midday trading, and at the Closing Bell were at their highest point in nearly two years.

In July 2007, the owner of "Washington's Gateway to Service" came very close to selling a mighty Class B FM to Minnesota-based American Public Media. Two months later, after supporters of the station's non-secular programming voiced their opposition to the talks, all discussions over a transaction were scuttled. Now, the station's been sold. Should CCM fans be worried?

Big deals? Yeah ... there were evidently some in the last three months. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence's Kagan unit, the volume of U.S. broadcast station mergers and acquisitions reached $5.11 billion in the second quarter. Believe it or not, this is the largest quarterly deal volume in 11 years—thanks to three TV companies, and not radio.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Judge overseeing the reorganization petition submitted by the No. 1 radio station owner in the U.S. on Friday signed off on an order that extends the "challenge period" with respect to term loan and "priority guarantee note" claims. It involves several financial institutions and the official committee of unsecured iHeartMedia creditors.

Here's a deal that caught the attention of TRANSACTIONS TODAY in a way no other recent station sale has: A 1kw Class C AM with a Construction Permit to become a non-directional daytime-only operation with less power is trading hands. The facility comes with an all-important FM translator, which helps to explain why an operator would want less output out of a full-power radio station.

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) late Thursday reported its financial results for Q1 — one day before many companies conclude their fiscal Q4 and begin the process of tallying up the year's earnings and expenses. How did Miami-based SBS? Excelente, your Spanish teacher would say.