Radio News

It was late January 2013 when Entercom Communications shares last traded in the low-seven-dollar range. With Monday's Closing Bell on Wall Street, Entercom shares have now done a flashback to a time when "Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink was the No. 1 song.

The introduction of a new SiriusXM app has led the nation's lone satellite radio operator to open up its content for all -- free of a paid subscription -- through May 29. This includes access to Howard Stern's two dedicated channels, which have never before been available via streaming audio.

It was early September 2014 when Entravision Communications stock last finished below $4 a share. Based on the current performance of the Hispanic-focused multimedia company on Wall Street, another dip to $4 could be on the way.

As expected, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman has signed off on "findings of fact, conclusions of law," and the final order that confirms Cumulus Media's Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The 148-page document, entered into the record Thursday, will put the wheels in motion on a plan that will eliminate half of the radio broadcasting company's $2 billion in debt.

According to a SEC filing made Thursday, a stock purchase giving "beneficial ownership" of a sizable number of Entercom Class A shares to one of the nation's biggest investment firms has been made. This deal gives Fidelity Investments a big chunk of the radio broadcasting company's publicly traded stock.

Without objection, an Indiana federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale of an AM-FM combo serving an area of the Midwest known as “Michiana.” The judge’s OK in mid-April put the wheels in motion on a long-planned sale of the stations as part of a debt liquidation agreement.

OK, we admit it: We've occasionally confused the names of these two very different media companies. However, they both have something very much in common with Thursday's Closing Bell on Wall Street. Entravision and Entercom are at new lows with their respective stock prices.

Streamlining the process for filing an FM translator interference complaint, and the remediation procedures used by the FCC to resolve such an issue, is one step closer to fruition. The Commission has issued an NPRM that will allow the public to comment before the FCC votes on its proposed changes.

David Field, Entercom's President/CEO, may be all smiles in this pic. But, the company's stock is hemorrhaging following the early Tuesday release of less-than-satisfactory Q1 2018 results. With Wednesday's close, ETM shares are at their lowest point since Q1 2013.

A Wisconsin Class A FM branded as “The Valley’s #1 Hit Music Station!” is poised to become the newest member of the Woodward Communications family. The facility had been purchased in March, in a deal that involved no broker or finder. But, should a deal have been struck? The entity that had been operating this station via an LMA says no, and it's fighting back.

Under Chairman Ajit Pai and fueled by the passion of Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, pirate radio enforcement at the FCC has been much fiercer than under the previous regime of ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler.  But, the agency is limited in its financial penalties and abilities to squash a pirate once and for all. A New Jersey House Member seeks to change that.

Entravision Communications reported its Q1 2018 financial results after Tuesday's Closing Bell, and Chairman/CEO Walter Ulloa remarked during his company's quarterly earnings call that the results were in line in expectations. That's largely thanks, once again, to its fast-growing digital division.

As Saga Communications President/CEO Ed Christian and SVP/CFO Sam Bush began their company's Q1 2018 earnings call on Tuesday morning, Bush advised shareholders and Wall Street analysts to look carefully at comparable performance, as Saga's former TV stations are now discontinued operations. That said, net operating revenue and income from continuing operations were up, even though two key ad categories were down.

It's not often that the FCC sets a Hearing Designation Order to conclude whether or not a licensee should be granted a renewal for one of its stations. Yet, that's exactly what will take place for a Phoenix-based broadcast company that is supposed to be actively operating an FM licensed for broadcast in Gillette, Wyo. The station has been silent three times as long as it has been in operation, and that silence has gotten the Commission's attention.

Wondering when Emmis Communications would be sharing its fiscal Q4 and full-year 2018 financial results? There's no further need for any head scratching. The company that owns TagStation LLC and the NextRadio and Dial Report tools, in addition to its AMs in FMs, will reveal all on Thursday.