(AUDIO) Smyth: Why We Sold To Beasley

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After 60 years, the Bordes family was ready to sell, and when Caroline Beasley called Greater Media CEO Peter Smyth last November, he was ready to deal. In our interview with Smyth, he says the fit was right with Beasley, being that both are family-owned businesses. He wanted to be sure the legacy of the Bordes family was carried on, and the Beasleys have the same philosophy as the Bordes family when it comes to live and local radio. Our first question to Smyth was about that call he had to make to all his managers, to tell them they were going to be sold. LISTEN HERE

HERE’S THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW:

RI: Tell us what it was like making the call to your managers to tell them that your 60-year-old company was being sold.

Smythe: That’s a great question. I think that any change, I understand, is difficult for anybody. I always try to put myself in the place of the person that’s receiving the information. That’s how I approach anything I do. I also understood that when the conversation started with the Beasley’s and the Bordes’s, who you of course know own Greater Media, that it was good for two family businesses to come together. I thought that was good. I have a great respect for George. I have known him for 25 years and I think Caroline is a super intelligent and very capable lady. Her brothers are good too. I just believe that this was a good fit for the company. When the Bordes family thought it was time to divest their assets, they thought it should go to a family business. Bruce and Brian have done a great job with their stations, and their cultures are very similar to this one. It was important to the board and the Bordes kids, who are not children, but are young adults, they wanted to make sure that their father’s legacy was protected, Peter Bordes, Sr. I felt that we were doing the right thing. Sure, any change is hard. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it was gleeful, but it was important and my concern now is to make sure that the men and women of the company can go through this process.

RI: How long have you been working on this deal and how did you keep it so quiet? These things usually leak out.

Smythe: Well, we shut our mouths. Caroline called me in November or December or something like that. So then I brought it to our board and we had meetings and meetings and meetings and eventually came to this deal. I just think it made sense for both companies.

RI: Did the Bordes family come to you and say, “We think it’s time to exit”? Or did the deal come up from Caroline and go the other way?

Smythe: We just celebrated our 60th anniversary, which you guys did a terrific job on. I think the Bordes’s, at that point, were thinking about who is the next generation of Bordes’s to run the company. I was not going to run this for the rest of my life. I think that when Caroline approached us and we started to discuss it in our own meetings, it made sense to everybody involved and started to become clearer and clearer. Again, what was really important was protecting the father’s legacy and making sure that their employees were taken care of. It takes it to the next level. It takes the company to the next level. The environment in radio has become so competitive, as you well know, with all the different digital distractions. “Distractions” might not be the right word. But digital and creative disruptions going on in the marketplace, and scale becoming more and more important that we would really have to double down, and the family would have to double down, and here was a great opportunity to catapult these two companies together into a really firm position in the marketplace; and to make sure that the great stations that they have and the great brands that the men and women of Greater Media have built continue to survive their architects. And that was really important. That really was it. The deals just came together. There are a lot of people who did a lot of hard work. But I think it came together and I think it will be good for everybody involved. I really do.

RI: $247 million dollars. Obviously, you wouldn’t bring it to the Bordes family if you didn’t think it was a good deal. Was it a good deal based on what was paid for the stations in your opinion? Or was it a good deal based on the environment we’re in?

Smythe: I cannot discuss the deal today because of all of the legal requirements. So, I really would rather avoid any questions about the context of the deal.

RI: Gotcha. Do you know if there’s going to be any LMAs?

Smythe: I don’t think there’s going to be. I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t believe there’s going to be any.

RI: So you will keep operating as you are?

Smythe: We will run the company until it clears the FCC. We will continue to run our business just like we did yesterday before the announcement, and we will continue to run it like that. When the FCC grants the transfers, then we will close the deal.

RI: You’ve been so close to these brands for so long. I remember you telling me the story about in Boston, how you turned that around.

Smythe: That’s a true story.

RI: It’s got to be bittersweet for you.

Smythe: I’ve been a very, very fortunate man in my life. I worked for Peter Bordes and John Bordes. As you know, Peter Bordes died 15 years ago of pancreatic cancer and poor John had a massive coronary right as we went into the economic recession or depression or whatever you want to call it. So those were very turbulent times. There were really a lot of great moments. The Magic situation, when I left New York, when I left WOR and they called it “Tragic Magic” because it was going to end my career…. it was a career stopper, everybody told me in 1986. I thought, “What the hell.” I was a good sales manager, so I thought I would give it a shot. I was 32 years old. If anyone told me I would be here 30 years later, I would’ve said, “You’re nuts.” Is it a bittersweet moment? Sure. Change in anybody’s life is difficult. But my job is to make sure that Peter’s legacy and John’s legacy, are carried into the future. Any great company wants to survive its architects. When Peter handed the company to me and John, that was a highlight of my life, when they told me they wanted me to run it. I thought “Holy Christmas. These guys are like rock stars in the radio business. They taught me a great deal. I hope we made a difference in the communities we serve and the stations that we run. Those are great brands. They’re iconic.” One of my kids said to me the other day, one of my daughters was in a Dunkin Donuts… she said, “Dad, I walked in and was buying coffee. And I hear Magic on in the background. I remember as a little girl going into that station and listening to it when we first came back from Boston…” – that will always be a sentimental part of my heart. I love all the stations equally. I think they’re all great. I am very proud and so grateful to the Bordes family and the men and women here.

RI: A time like this can be kind of nervous for employees at all levels of a radio station. What did you say to them, or would you say to them, while they wait for this deal to go through about the job they’ve done and what they can expect?

Smythe: I thank them profusely for their dedication and for their accomplishments and the pride they should have in what they’ve done and the company that they built. I also told them that they were going to be moving to another family business that has similar values and that we can be creative and innovative as we move forward and will invest more in our digital operations. I think, combined, there are great synergies, in the digital capabilities of the two companies. I think that we can learn from them and they can learn from us. I think it’s a win-win situation. I think that for the men and women of Greater Media, I think that they’re…. I can’t say this for a fact, because it hasn’t even been 24 hours, but they’re in the hands of a family business. Our goal, my goal, everybody’s goal was to make sure that we ended up in the hands of a family business.

RI: Two people that you love and the industry loves were recently promoted…Heidi and Buzz. Any thoughts or ideas what happens to them at this point? Are they staying? Does anybody know?

Smythe: You know I love Heidi and I love Buzz. They are two of the greatest people that I’ve had the good fortune to work with. Heidi is an extraordinary lady; a very, very capable executive and has been instrumental in guiding this company and really branding this company. Buzz Knight is probably one of the finest people that I’ve met in my career. I owe a lot to those two people. I can’t speak for anybody at this point. I can’t answer that question.

RI: When you hand the keys over for the final time to Caroline, what will you do?

Smythe: That hasn’t been determined yet, what I’m going to do. What I’m going to do and what I want to do is to stay in the industry. I love the industry. What I really want to do is I want to help. I want to find out, and I’ve been thinking about this for the past year…. what I’m really trying to find is where digital and radio intersect, and how do we monetize that. Not just as a hobby, but as a business. And how do we do that? And how do we rejuvenate this industry to make it the industry that I experienced in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s? What do we do to do that? I believe that content is king. And I believe that localism is king. I want to make sure that I can play a role in crafting the future of that adventure, of that experience. I hope that through what I’ve learned in the past 30 years with Greater Media – I can’t believe it’s been 30 years – and what we did… I hope that that will bring…. I love the radio industry. I still listen to a transistor at night. I saw your column this morning and I thought it was great. It will be determined. I don’t know what it’s going to be.

1 COMMENT

  1. Peter uses the word “I” 82 times during this interview. And funny how he calls himself “a great sales manager.” ! He probably was, but that’s not the point. …And what is the point of this interview? Peter felt the diplomatic/political need to describe everyone he mentioned as great and awesome…so the whole interview comes across as blatant patronization, and absolutely nothing of any substance is said.

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