And CEO David Field said the numbers came in exactly where he expected. He’s consistently stated that the company would be a stronger performer in the back half of 2018 and Q4 is pacing up 4%. You do have to take into account a strong political year and weak comps from the CBS Radio legacy stations. Excluding political, Entercom is pacing up 2% in Q4.
In Q3, Entercom’s best-performing markets were Las Vegas, Miami, and Orlando, and the top three categories were consumer products, home improvement, and education. Political ad revenue is up $2 million over prior levels, according to Field.
Next week will be the one-year anniversary of the merger with CBS radio, and Entercom expects to see $45 million in net cost synergies by the end of the year. In 2019, the company is hoping to see more than $45 million more in net cost synergies.
When analyst Marci Ryvicker asked Field whether this was a true turnaround or a company facing easy comps, Field highlighted the consumer products category, which he said doubled its spending in Q3. And he continued stating what he’s said for years: that radio is highly undervalued. “It’s a very telling sign about the evangelism by iHeartMedia, Entercom, and others. It’s about to make a dent.” Field said radio could see a renaissance in 2019 and beyond. “The potential is there.”
NOTE: Harvey Nagler will be interviewing David Field at Radio Ink’s Forecast 2019 next week in New York City.
