Audacy, the owner of WEEI and other Boston radio stations, files for bankruptcy
The owner of WEEI and other Boston radio stations has filed for bankruptcy, as the company’s leader blamed a “perfect storm” of financial challenges sparking a drop of several billion dollars in radio ad spending.
Audacy, Inc., has announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Meanwhile, the company said it has entered into a restructuring agreement with a supermajority of its debtholders.
Audacy is the parent company of WEEI, which has fallen well behind 98.5 The Sports Hub in ratings over the last several years. Other Boston radio stations under the Audacy umbrella include Mix 104.1 and Magic 106.7.
“While our transformation has enhanced our competitive position, the perfect storm of sustained macroeconomic challenges over the past four years facing the traditional advertising market has led to a sharp reduction of several billion dollars in cumulative radio ad spending,” David J. Field, chairman, president and CEO of Audacy, said in a statement.
“These market factors have severely impacted our financial condition and necessitated our balance sheet restructuring,” Field added. “With our scaled leadership position, our uniquely differentiated premium audio content and a robust capital structure, we believe Audacy will emerge well positioned to continue its innovation and growth in the dynamic audio business.”
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Audacy does not expect any operational impact from the restructuring, the company said in a press release.
Under the terms of the restructuring agreement, the plan will reduce Audacy’s funded debt from about $1.9 billion to about $350 million.
The company expects that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas will hold a hearing to consider the approval of the plan next month. Audacy anticipates that it will emerge from bankruptcy once regulatory approval is obtained from the Federal Communications Commission.
“The restructuring will enable Audacy to continue its digital transformation and capitalize on its position as a scaled, leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company differentiated by its exclusive, premium audio content,” the press release stated.
“Audacy operates one of the country’s two scaled radio broadcasting groups, as well as one of the country’s largest podcast studios, the Audacy direct-to-consumer streaming platform and multiple audio networks,” the company added. “Audacy is a major event producer and a digital marketing solutions provider and is the unrivaled leader in local news and sports radio.”
Audacy’s stock price has been cratering in recent years. The stock price closed at 11 cents on Monday after AUDA had closed at 20 cents on Friday.
Audacy recently put up a job posting for a Red Sox play-by-play and analyst announcer on WEEI.