With several on-air hosts posting to social media that they have aired their final show on the Audacy station in which they worked, another round of layoffs at one of radio’s largest companies is underway.
With a stock price below $1.00, flat radio revenue in Q2, another flat to down revenue outlook predicted for Q3, and CEO David Field stating we are in turbulent market conditions, Audacy has started laying employees off to cut expenses. The company will not say how many people will be fired, only that it will be less than 5% and across all divisions and markets. Field did not make a statement about the cuts, it was confirmed by a company spokesperson.
The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that the local on-air staff at sports-talk station WSSP-AM — including NFL Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler and former Packers running back Gary Ellerson were all let go. On-air cuts were also reported in the Philadelphia market.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call, Field pretty much signaled cuts were coming when he said the company was planning to enact “substantial sustainable savings through a number of measures to improve margins and profitability across the business.” Only time will tell how those permanent cuts will impact the product and ratings Audacy stations deliver.
Audacy has over 230 radio stations across the country and over 5,000 employees. The company also made cuts during COVID-19.
- We amended our story to include the word radio in Audacy’s flat Q2 revenue.
In my opinion, Audacy is just as bad as iHeart. Like iHeart, it airs the same old overplayed pabulum on classic hits stations that we’ve been hearing for 40 years. In fact, I heard the number 2 song 40 years ago this week, Men at Work’s “Down Under,” the other day. I enjoyed the tune in the’80s, but it is way overplayed. I try to avoid corporate radio as much as possible, but sometimes I get exposed to it in restaurants or banks.
Entercom / Audacy has done nothing but suck the life out of broadcast radio over the past decades. “Bottom Line” has reduced staff numbers across the radio spectrum….while simply redirecting monies to the corporate pocket. Small market radio “staff” oftentimes reside thousands of miles from their broadcast area.
Radio is a dead man walking. Audacy is a penny stock. iHeart’s initial stock listing was $19. The stock is now trading under $10. The only saving grace is that the bloated executives at iHeart have stock options at $19. Those options will likely staty underwater forever.
I’m so mad at this company and what they’re doing to their staff! Real people need their paycheck! What they did to Ian on 98 Rock is awful! Why don’t they cut some of the big wigs or maybe their bonuses and keep staff! Really makes me sad! #bringianback! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!
Entercom’s purchase of CBS Radio ranks near the top of the list of dumbest radio station deals ever done. It’s not a short list. The pie was baked when Lowry Mays, a San Antonio based investment banker, who happened to own a few radio stations when a hometown investment went south, took the helm of the NAB. During his tenure, NAB convinced Congress to allow for consolidation of the industry in the 1996 Telecommunications Act. That was the beginning of the end of America’s first social media.
The only symbolism of remaining successful community radio stations are scattered around America in mainly rural areas where the local economies haven’t been hollowed out. The list of those places isn’t that long either. Radio wasn’t the only American industry decimated by the money changers.
More symbolism…by the time Mays’ company, Clear Channel, decided to exit the radio business in 2008, the buyers, another group of investment bankers, had to be sued to close the deal.
The only surprise is the fact the radio industry still exists 26 years later albeit a much diminished and less relevant one. A couple near economy collapses and a historic pandemic didn’t help either but radio, which really is the people who operate it, is resilient.
Now the industry honors Mays each year at the NAB annual convention with the Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award. The award is bestowed annually on an individual in broadcasting whose work exemplifies innovation, community service, advocacy, and entrepreneurship.
Kevin Battle posted this on Facebook after his last morning gig at KDKA-1020 …
Today, August 16, Audacy unexpectedly terminated my contract. I was told that the decision was purely based on evolving business situations and nothing personal.
I want to truly thank Larry Richert for bringing me back home. Also, ‘thank you’ to Senior Vice President Mike Spacciapolli who took the chance of pairing us up.
It has been an absolute thrill and honor to be able to return to Pittsburgh to work at the legendary KDKA-AM/FM and with the professionals who make it sound great – especially our producer, Rob Graner. My sincere appreciation goes to all of those who shared the show as our guests, as well.
Most importantly, I was able to come home and be around my parents, my brother, family and friends that I hadn’t visited much with over the years while on my professional journey.
I will be forever grateful to those of you who chose to tune in to the show each morning. It really means so much to me that you spent your time listening and sharing your busy day with us. Thank YOU! I will miss you all. Please enjoy that ‘one lap’ you’ve heard me talk so much about. God bless you.
Audacy (I Heart Jr.), Name changes don’t hide the fact that you a poorly run Company. David Fields is…well we all know. This round of layoff’s brings back fond memories of when Entercom as they were called back in 2012 laid off people with the highest salaries in each department, one each quarter, one was an awarding with Creative services talent, the next was me, I had the #1 afternoon show for years for them. Oh and right after they fired me, the ratings came out and I was again #1, and THEY had to pay me my bonus! Stay classy Audacy!
This is why corporate radio sucks on so many levels. The spin B.S. that these CEO’s put on Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4 “earnings” is just a bunch if smoke and mirrors to try and fool stockholders and advertisers… Its sickening! The ones that remain with these companies, drink the kool-aid and get all pissed off when someone leaves for better opportunities is also sickening. To listen to management types piss on mom n pop stations and then see that they do an even more poor job at serving their communities, the endless meetings that keep one from spending time on a project instead you have to listen to a bunch of nonsense. The list goes on. I left corporate radio long ago and have not looked back. Those of you that still work in these environments, good luck to you. May your chance to leave on your own come before they force you out.
Do something better for yourself and your family. Working for the corporate man only makes him rich, makes you a dead man before your time and family time robbed from you.
Corporate broadcasters are failing America. There are still many mom n pop stations that need YOU!
Turn out the lights, the party’s over
They say that, ‘All good things must end’
Let’s call it a night, the party’s over
And tomorrow starts the same old thing again.
Two things…230 radio stations. Less is more. Secondly, Saturday mornings at 10am WCCO in Minneapolis is running an hour long infomercial. Second biggest day part…an hour long infomercial. Audacy, Boone and Erickson and Steve Cannon are rolling over in their graves.
Who’s job is it? there were many internal processes, forms to fill, busy work that people in sales has to do because people at the top have no clue how to run operations money is slipping through everyone s fingers. The middle guys aren’t telling anyone in higher management when things dont work. No one wants to hear that a form takes 30 mins to fill out and a campaign has 8 forms to fill. How is this productive to have sellers doing this, copy,billing, collections, recaps. The hardest part there was the internal. Its a miracle anything actually got done and new sales happened with how much paperwork is supposed to be handled by Sales. Exodus of stellar reps that for years were making big money started over a year ago. I left along with a number of seasoned sales execs across multiple markets. The fact that this company wasnt taking this as a red flag and continuously making bad decisions was my turn to exit. Friends at AUD say its much worse now. Makes sense and sad that good talent is being squeezed out. Outsourcing is not the answer neither is more processes.
Come to Baltimore and call us at WCBM (410-580-5341)…a great station with great people and talent. The one thing we do not have is paperwork, office politics or endless Sales Meeting. We want Talented Sales People with potential who can work, know opportunity and take a career challenge to the top. This station (and company) are independently owned and operated not to Wall Street or shareholders but to Local Family Members of Maryland.
Good Luck to Audacy talent that have given their careers to Radio…do not give up, come over to us.
Best
One of the guys who got popped had just posted a couple of weeks ago about being #1 in his market. I felt bad because this guy actually believes that the company looks at it this way. The guy plays 6-8 songs per hour and sits around while 24 minutes of commercials play, per hour. He really believed that people were waking up and running to the radio because he was delivering something that no one else could. The #1 AM show got fired. Why? Because radio doesn’t even believe its own hype anymore. Brands are SLASHING their radio budgets, so radio companies are slashing their workforce. Oh, and the whole “local” thing is a joke.This guy was local, and read the local weather and local traffic, etc…. “local” has become an excuse to be boring and not work hard. Just ask me… I’ve been VT’ing my PM drive show for a decade. But hey, I’m local! Yeehaawww….
Imagine what happens when we go into a real recession. Radio…stick a fork in it because it’s done.
Consolidated crap. The most outstanding feature of the radio now is the OFF switch.
Kudos to Entercom. The last time they did the layoffs they had planned for months, it took them two days to take down the jocks from their website. They have done it quicker this time.