Misplaced Pages

#391608

47-636: The BetQL Network (known on air as The Bet ) is a radio network owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. that focuses on the world of sports betting . It is heard on the Audacy app as well as Audacy's portfolio of sports stations. The launch came after Entercom (the forerunner of Audacy) purchased the QL Gaming Group in November 2020. ** = Audacy operates pursuant to a local marketing agreement with Martz Communications Group . Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc.

94-488: A local marketing agreement on behalf of the Entercom Divestiture Trust, following Entercom's merger with CBS Radio . On August 3, 2018, Bonneville acquired the stations outright for $ 141 million; the deal had been delayed by succession issues related to the death of LDS Church president Thomas S. Monson the preceding January. On September 30, 2021, it was announced that Bonneville International, owner of

141-400: A consensual, deleveraging transaction that equitized approximately $ 1.6 billion of funded debt, a reduction of 80% from approximately $ 1.9 billion to $ 350 million. The company emerged with a total net leverage of approximately 2.7x, differentiated by its premium audio content. On June 21, 2023, Audacy and TuneIn reached a new agreement and restored access of its stations to TuneIn users after

188-442: A ground-breaking study alongside research and analytics platform Veritonic that highlights how to make audio ads most effective. In March 2024, Audacy introduced dynamic AI and machine learning into its Ad Tech stack to help brands more precisely target podcast consumers. This capability will allow advertising partners to target messages that are aligned with podcast content. On March 30, 2021, after more than 50 years as Entercom,

235-512: A modern rock station. In January 1999, Entercom went public in an IPO in which it raised around $ 236 million. In July 1999, the company purchased 43 radio stations from Sinclair Broadcast Group for $ 821.5 million in cash. It was Entercom's largest deal to date. The deal included stations in eight markets, Kansas City, Missouri ; Milwaukee ; New Orleans ; Memphis, Tennessee ; Buffalo, New York ; Norfolk, Virginia ; and Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . The deal more than doubled both

282-450: A near five-year absence. In April 2019, Entercom reached a distribution agreement with Waze , giving drivers the ability to access Radio.com's podcasts and on-demand audio content through Waze. In September 2020 Clark Atlanta University partnered with Entercom, to give Mass Media Arts Students at the university access to company representatives in programming, sales, digital, and on-air talent. On October 21, 2020, Entercom announced

329-473: A new corporate logo as well as other corporate strategy changes. The Entercom Divestiture Trust then entered into agreements with Bonneville International to operate its stations on their behalf. Shortly afterward, the company announced renewed radio broadcasting partnerships with the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Eagles . The company also has partnerships with additional professional teams including

376-702: A new performance space in New York City, as well as music festivals and Hard Rock Cafe events around the country. Bonneville International Bonneville owns 13 radio stations in four major markets as well as one television station in its home market; it also manages eight additional radio stations in two markets under a local marketing agreement . Additionally, its Bonneville Communications division provides marketing and communications strategy and branding services. Bonneville Distribution, another division, provides broadcast syndication and distribution services to non-profit organizations . Bonneville International

423-583: A partnership with the National Urban League to advance racial justice and equity in the communities they serve. In 2020, Radio.com established partnerships with SoundHound Inc and Beasley Media Group. Also in 2020, streaming platform Twitch added the video feeds from a number of Radio.com's sports stations with branded channels and GM added Radio.com to its in-dash application in Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac vehicles. We Can Do Hard Things,

470-514: A prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing approximately $ 1.9 billion in debt. Joseph M. Field founded the company as Entertainment Communications (which would later be shortened to Entercom ) on October 21, 1968, on the conviction that FM broadcasting , then in its infancy, would eventually surpass AM broadcasting as the leading radio broadcast band. During the 1990s, the Federal Communications Commission 's regulations on

517-537: A rule change, Bonneville purchased four additional Salt Lake radio stations in 2002. The FCC did not grant approval for this purchase until 2003, upon which the stations were acquired by Bonneville. The status of this deal is still uncertain—the FCC has only granted a waiver to Bonneville, and a recent court ruling has put the FCC cross-ownership rule changes into question. On October 4, 2004, Bonneville International announced plans to buy three stations from Emmis Communications in

SECTION 10

#1732851548392

564-562: A settlement with the Department of Justice, which allowed the merger with CBS Radio. The company also announced a series of asset exchange agreements with iHeartMedia and Beasley Broadcast Group in Boston , Seattle , Richmond and Chattanooga ; and local marketing agreements with Bonneville International Corporation in San Francisco and Sacramento . On November 9, 2017, the FCC gave

611-485: A similar deal with Cumulus that same year. Audacy acquired an exclusive, perpetual license to WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming technology, related assets and operations of WO Streaming  in October 2021. Audacy now operates WO Streaming under the name AmperWave. In December 2021, Audacy announced a multi-faceted partnership with Hard Rock International . As part of the deal, Audacy and HRI partner on live events at

658-637: A station's call letters ( ** ) indicates a station that was built and signed-on by a predecessor of Bonneville International. On September 30, 2021, Bonneville International, owner of KSL and KSL-TV , began operating KZNS / KZNS-FM "The Zone" in Salt Lake City under a local marketing agreement with Jazz Communications LLC, through the sports division of KSL News Radio. The operating agreement will allow select Utah Jazz games to be simulcast on KSL-AM 1160 and KSL-FM 102.7. Gordon Monson and Austin Horton were among

705-520: A twice-weekly podcast hosted by #1 New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle , her wife Abby Wambach , and her sister Amanda Doyle joined Audacy in May, 2021. In its first year, it was the #1 top new show on Apple Podcasts. In August 2021, Audacy announced a content distribution partnership with Urban One to bring premium live and on-demand audio content to the Audacy digital platform. The company announced

752-528: Is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp. , it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media markets . In November 2017, the company merged with CBS Radio . The transaction was structured as an exchange offer whereby owners of CBS Corporation common shares (i.e., not

799-854: Is one of the seven candidates to make first-round bids. On August 12, 2009; Citadel Broadcasting has rumored that they're planning to sell the former Disney / ABC 's 23 stations to reduce its debt load, however several financial factors may put the deal at risk. While not all the stations can be sold off, Bonneville has expressed interest in 2 FM stations in Washington D.C. ( WJZW and WRQX ). On January 19, 2011, Bonneville announced it would sell 17 radio stations in Cincinnati , Chicago , Washington, D.C. , and St. Louis to Hubbard Broadcasting for $ 505 million. The deal closed May 2, 2011. On November 17, 2017, Bonneville began operating four San Francisco radio stations and four Sacramento radio stations under

846-493: The KSL (AM) and KSL-FM , would be taking over operations of The Zone sports network. The arrangement with Bonneville will result in select Utah Jazz games being aired on KSL. Founding host Gordon Monson and some producers were laid off by the new management. The Zone introduced a new lineup effective October 20. Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license. Note: Two boldface asterisks appearing following

893-498: The New York Yankees , Boston Red Sox , Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Red Wings . On July 19, 2018, Entercom announced that it would acquire Philadelphia market-leader WBEB from Jerry Lee Radio for $ 57.5 million. WXTU was divested back to its previous owner, Beasley Broadcast Group , to comply with ownership limits. On August 3, 2018, Entercom announced that Bonneville would buy all eight stations for $ 141 million, which

940-536: The Phoenix, Arizona market, in exchange for WLUP "The Loop" in Chicago and cash. On January 4, 2006, Bonneville and The Washington Post announced that the frequencies currently used by WTOP, 1500 kHz AM and 107.7 MHz FM, would be reassigned to a new station, "Washington Post Radio." WTOP would move to 103.5 MHz, the frequencies currently used by classical music station WGMS , which in turn would move to 104.1 and 103.9 MHz,

987-484: The Triad Center , joining the other radio stations ( KSL (radio network) , KSFI , KRSP-FM ) and KSL-TV , as well as Deseret News , a print newspaper owned by the parent company of Bonneville International. KSL News Radio, KSL-TV, KSL.com, and Deseret News share a consolidated newsroom. From 2010 to 2016, Bonneville International also operated an independent TV station , KJZZ-TV (channel 14), in Salt Lake City, under

SECTION 20

#1732851548392

1034-694: The COVID-19 pandemic, Entercom developed the Stay Connected programming that included "Heroes & Difference Makers," and "Love Local," and “I'm Listening: Stay Connected," a daily digital series on mental health hosted by "LOVELINE"'s Dr. Chris Donaghue. In 2022, Audacy announced plans to open a new studio on Broadway in Nashville, as part of the company’s partnership with Hard Rock International. The studio opened in September 2024. In February 2023, Audacy released

1081-692: The FCC, Entercom had to sell three of its stations in the Rochester market; these were acquired by Stephens Media Group . Shortly after the transaction, the company exited the Cincinnati market by trading all four of its stations in Cincinnati and three of its stations in Seattle in exchange for three stations in San Francisco in a deal with Bonneville International . On December 8, 2014, Entercom announced its acquisition of Lincoln Financial Media for $ 105 million;

1128-538: The FCC. Then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer also brought suit in the New York Supreme Court , before judge Ira Gammerman , which settled. In 2007, Entercom station KDND was sued after a participant in a "Hold Your Wee For a Wii " contest held by the station's morning show died of water intoxication . On February 2, 2017, Entercom announced that it had agreed to merge with CBS Radio . The purchase will give Entercom operations in 23 of

1175-544: The Radio.com Sports Digital Network, a collection of daily live audio and video programming from the company’s sports stations. Later that month, Paul Suchman became the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. In September 2019, Entercom partnered with Apple to integrate its news, sports and music stations into the Apple iOS13 software and soon after, the company expanded RADIO.COM’s accessibility onto Samsung’s Bixby marketplace. Radio.com

1222-531: The Right (Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz) and Left (Stephanie Miller) as well as Washington Nationals baseball . The station's morning show will continue. Rush Limbaugh once worked for Bonneville Communications, after his stint with the Kansas City Royals . CBS Radio has announced that it would sell 50 radio stations in 12 markets to focus on major market stations. As of September 22, 2008, Bonneville

1269-496: The company had been operating under LMA since after the merger with CBS Radio. The deal was completed on September 21, 2018. On June 25, 2018, Entercom announced that Radio.com would become the exclusive streaming portal for all of its stations, beginning with its legacy stations on July 6, and former CBS Radio stations beginning August 1, ending its relationship with the third-party service TuneIn . All Entercom properties were also branded on-air as "A Radio.com station". Following

1316-497: The company rebranded as Audacy to clarify its position as a scaled multi-platform audio content and entertainment company. The Radio.com name was also rebranded as the Audacy app. On the same day, Audacy and BetMGM agreed to a multi-year deal designating the sports betting and gaming platform as the preferred sports betting partner with Audacy. On May 16, 2023, Audacy was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to

1363-478: The company's common stock trading at an abnormally low share price. Audacy announced their intention to appeal the exchange's decision while seeking a reverse stock split from their shareholders to remedy the situation. However, in October 2023, Audacy's appeal was denied, and the NYSE continued to proceed in the process of delisting Audacy's stock, which became effective on November 10, 2023. In early January 2024, it

1410-481: The company's mission as set forth by its first president and founder, Arch L. Madsen . According to Bonneville International's website, their values reflect an understanding that "families are the basic unit of society... and that strong families build strong communities." Due to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) media cross-ownership rule, Bonneville was unable to purchase additional media outlets in Salt Lake City beyond its flagship cluster. In anticipation of

1457-674: The deal gave the company 14 additional stations in Atlanta ; Denver ; Miami ; and San Diego . To comply with FCC ownership limits in the Denver market and DOJ antitrust concerns, Entercom entered into an exchange agreement with Bonneville under which Entercom exchanged four stations in Denver for classic rock station KSWD in Los Angeles and $ 5 million in additional consideration. The stations Entercom exchanged with Bonneville were KOSI-FM, KYGO-FM, KKFN-FM and KEPN-AM. Entercom previously owned KOSI-FM, while

BetQL Network - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-630: The final approval needed for the Entercom merger by granting two 6-month waivers for market station limits in Miami and San Francisco. The merger occurred at midnight on November 17, 2017. Later that day, Entercom would switch WBMP in New York to alternative. This would then be followed up by WJMK in Chicago's switch to classic hip-hop and KVIL in Dallas-Ft. Worth's flip to alternative. The company also introduced

1551-478: The frequencies used by WWZZ , which would be closed. WGMS itself would fall silent a little more than a year later, on January 22, 2007. In its place is 1970s-1980s-adult-hits-station WXGG ("George 104"). Simultaneously, public radio station WETA-FM dropped its news/talk format in order to revive its previous classical format, via a partnership with Bonneville. WETA would also receive WGMS' entire music library, hired WGMS' last program director, and also retained

1598-535: The long time employees of The Zone who were dismissed as a result of KSL Sports assuming operations of KZNS. Although KSL Sports is responsible for overseeing daily operations of KZNS, Ryan Smith dba Jazz Communications LLC retains ownership of both 1280 AM and 97.5 FM according to the FCC database. The Zone's website at 1280thezone.com is now a dead link. The stations can now be streamed at kslsports.com/thezone/. In June 2022, The Zone officially moved its operations from Vivint Arena to newly built studios and office space in

1645-450: The multiple-voting shares held by CBS Corp parent company National Amusements ) at the time of the merger could elect to exchange their shares for Entercom shares corresponding to a 72% stake in the combined company. The company changed its name from Entercom to Audacy on March 30, 2021. On April 9, the ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange changed from "ETM" to "AUD". On January 7, 2024, Audacy announced that it had filed for

1692-559: The number of stations under the company's control, and the number of markets in which it had stations. The acquisition made Entercom the fifth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, with 88 stations in 17 markets. That year, Entercom announced that it would direct its radio stations not to play songs that promoted violence. On August 21, 2006, Entercom agreed to buy 15 mid-market stations from CBS Radio . Locations included Austin, Texas ; Cincinnati ; Memphis, Tennessee; and Rochester, New York . Due to ownership limitations set by

1739-497: The ownership of multiple radio stations were eased, beginning with the introduction of duopoly rules, which allowed a company to own two stations in each radio market. Entercom took advantage of the change to expand its presence in the markets where it already operated. In April 1995, the company paid $ 24.5 million for three stations in Portland, Oregon, acquiring KGON , a classic rock station; KFXX , an all-sports station; and KMUZ -FM,

1786-764: The purchase of a 45% stake in Cadence13 (formerly DGital Media), a startup that handled ad sales and distribution for podcasts, including Pod Save America , Recode Decode and The Tony Kornheiser Show . On February 13, 2019, Entercom announced that it would trade its Indianapolis cluster ( WNTR , WXNT , and WZPL ) to Cumulus Media for WNSH (now WXBK) in New York City , WMAS-FM in Enfield, Connecticut , and WHLL in Springfield, Massachusetts . Both companies began operating their newly acquired stations via LMA on March 1;

1833-717: The remaining stations were acquired through the acquisition of LFM. Entercom and Bonneville began operating the exchanged stations under time brokerage agreement (TBAs) once the LFM transaction was completed. In November 2015, the swap deal was closed successfully. In October 2016, Entercom announced that it would acquire four radio stations in Charlotte, North Carolina , from Beasley Broadcast Group for $ 24 million in cash. The deal closed in January 2017 and WBT AM/FM , WLNK -FM and WFNZ -AM joined Entercom. On August 3, 2017, Entercom announced

1880-596: The renewal of KDND's license would be subject to a hearing over allegations it had failed to operate in the public interest. On September 26, 2017, KSOQ-FM , WGGI and KSWD were sold to the Educational Media Foundation . KSWD and WGGI affiliated with the EMF's K-Love Christian music network, and KSOQ with its Air1 network. To comply with federal ownership caps, Entercom stated that it would divest at least 15 stations. On November 1, 2017, Entercom announced

1927-440: The swap was completed on May 13, 2019. In March 2021, Entercom acquired podcast ad network Podcorn in a deal valued at $ 22.5 million. The company also reached a long-term licensing agreement with Global Music Rights (GMR), allowing the company to perform all of the songs from songwriters and publishers represented by the performance rights organization . In 2006, Entercom was investigated for payola and fined $ 4.45 million by

BetQL Network - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-448: The termination of its deal with United States Traffic Network, Entercom launched an internal Traffic Weather and Information Network (TWIN) in August 2018. In February 2019 Radio.com Sports was created, featuring appearances from experts on Entercom sports stations across the country. Mercedes-Benz was the first sponsor to sign on as a brand partner. On August 19, 2019, Entercom launched

2021-618: The top 25 markets, and make it the second-largest owner of radio stations in the US, behind iHeartMedia . Under the terms of the Reverse Morris Trust , the company would retain the Entercom name, board of directors and base of operations, but CBS shareholders would hold 72% of its stock. The company also shut down KDND in Sacramento and returned its license to the FCC, with its programming moved to sister station KUDL . The FCC had designated that

2068-552: The usage of the WGMS call sign. George 104 would last less than four months, when in April 2007, it was announced that the 104.1 frequency would be LMA'd to Radio One. On April 7, 2007, the frequency would flip to a Gospel and Inspiration format, known as Praise 104.1 . The Washington Post Radio experiment ended in September 2007, as the three stations (including the powerful AM 1500 signal) became WWWT, or "3WT". Hosts include syndicated hosts from

2115-430: Was announced that Audacy would be preparing to file for bankruptcy within the upcoming weeks. On January 7, 2024, Audacy filed for prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization, Audacy has made a deal with its creditors to transfer control to them while cutting approximately $ 1.6 billion of its debt. On September 30, 2024, Audacy completed its financial restructuring, implementing

2162-861: Was formed in 1964, with the approval of the LDS Church's First Presidency . It was formed to acquire KSL (AM) - FM - TV in its hometown of Salt Lake City, as well as KIRO-AM - FM - TV in Seattle , which had previously been subsidiaries of the Deseret News . The LDS Church divested itself of the Seattle stations between 1995 and 1997, but reacquired KIRO-AM 10 years later. The company has also owned stations in New York City , Dallas , Kansas City , and Los Angeles at one point. In 1980 it formed Bonneville Communications Corporation, primarily to broadcast LDS General Conference . Bonneville prided itself on "values-oriented programming" and community involvement, in line with

2209-448: Was relaunched as the Audacy app and website as part of the company’s 2021 rebrand. In May 2014, Entercom announced its launch of SmartReach Digital product line focused on creating digital marketing options for small and medium businesses. Early in 2020, Entercom opened a HD Radio Sound Space in Los Angeles as an event space and home for future live events. The space was opened with a live performance from Coldplay . In response to

#391608