Radio’s big merger is still on track to close later this year. That’s according to Entercom CEO David Field, and despite the fact that it appears the CBS stations are “trending lower than the Entercom stations,” according to one analyst on the Entercom earnings call Friday morning. Field was asked about that trend. He says he’s visited every CBS market, in some cases more than once. He was asked if he noticed anything significant. Here’s what he had to say.
Field said there is nothing inherently wrong or broken with the CBS stations. “In fact, they have strong brands. They have some outstanding leaders, dedicated leaders across the country and we see lots of opportunities for improvement to regain momentum. I think there’s no question that they will benefit also from being part of a focused pure-play company and having certainty in their future. And so taking that all into account, we’re confident that we’ll be able to accelerate performance as we move ahead.”
Field said when the merger is complete they will have created the country’s #1 creator of original local audio content and the company is second to none in its coverage of the top 50 U.S. markets. “We’ve expressed our great respect for the quality of the iconic CBS Radio brands and their highly talented team of managers and personalities. It’s important to understand that the CBS Radio platform is strong and includes many of the best radio brands in the U.S., including an unrivaled lineup of the most important sports and news stations and many of the country’s best music stations as well. Together, post-merger, the company will benefit from being a focused pure-play industry leader with scale, an outstanding set of combined assets in a best-in-class leadership team that will compete boldly and aggressively.”
Field expects synergies of about $25 million, but he says the deal will also free up additional resources to increase investment in a number of strategic growth initiatives, including brand research, marketing, programming, national business development and data and analytics.
