Real Country is a 24-hour radio format produced by Westwood One . Real Country is marketed at the demographic of men aged 35 to 64. Its programming consists of a fairly broad playlist of "Today's Stars and the Legends." Classic country is the station's primary core, with frequent airplay of artists such as George Jones and Johnny Cash , while the station also plays newer hits, particularly by established neotraditional country artists such as George Strait and Alan Jackson . More contemporary artists can be heard on Westwood One's other country format, Best Country Today .
65-453: Its direct competitor was " True Country " by Dial Global . "Real Country" was established in 1988 as a partnership between Satellite Music Network and radio station owner and country music legend Buck Owens , with operations based at Owens-owned KCWW (now KQFN ) in Tempe, Arizona . SMN and Owens sold the station and network to The Walt Disney Company in 1998, who operated the network as part of
130-408: A cease and desist order, in which the company claimed that production of The Dumb Zone podcast by the two former radio hosts violated the noncompete agreements in their contracts barring them from competing with their former employer. In September 2023, the case was resolved after US District Judge Karen Gren Scholer ruled that Susquehanna had failed to meet the "burden of persuasion" to have
195-660: A TRO granted and the podcast was allowed to resume production. On December 30, 2008, Cumulus Media was issued a $ 14,000 Notice of Apparent Liability by the Federal Communications Commission related to the stations in the Macon, Georgia , cluster. According to the FCC, Cumulus failed to comply with record-keeping requirements and its Equal Employment Opportunity rules regarding information on recruitment sources. Cumulus, along with two other companies, had 30 days to pay or file
260-482: A common infrastructure to reduce operating expenses but enrich programming. Each station would be programmed with a unique music format, live programming, brand, and target audience. The central idea was to create a cluster of radio stations that could compete with newspapers by offering advertisers a range of target demographic choices comparable to the range of content sections in print. At the time of Cumulus' founding, newspaper display and classified advertising claimed
325-533: A few stations outside its original network primarily for ESPN Radio as of December 18, 2015 until 2023, pulled its content from Cumulus on January 1, 2015; and NBC, after having its content dropped from Westwood One in 2015, moved its content to iHeartMedia in 2016.) Among the numerous other holdings Cumulus now controls are the libraries of Transtar, RKO , Waitt, Jones, BPI, Watermark , and Drake-Chenault . The company's numerous acquisitions prompted rival Talk Radio Network to file an antitrust lawsuit against what
390-408: A lawsuit filed by seven former employees who said the fee practices and investment selections of the company's 401(k) plan violated ERISA." In August 2023, Cumulus-owned Susquehanna Radio sued two former employees of Dallas , Texas-based radio station KTCK 1310 The Ticket, Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp, seeking to impose a temporary restraining order (TRO) on them after they refused to comply with
455-503: A lawsuit launched in 2012 and dropped in 2014 by the same plaintiff. In June 2016, Cumulus Media and Westwood One moved to have the new suit dismissed. In June 2016, Cumulus Media announced the resignation of its executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer, Joseph P. Hannan, to "pursue other interests" after six years with the company, to be replaced by John F. Abbot. It had previously been reported in April 2016 that Cumulus
520-548: A limited-partnership interest in San Francisco Baseball Associates LP, the owner of the San Francisco Giants baseball club. In July 2010, Cumulus publicly announced formation of a similar venture with Crestview Partners to acquire up to $ 1 billion of additional radio assets. In July 2007, the company announced its intention to "go private", however on May 11, 2008, the company announced it
585-657: A model for the Cumulus business strategy. The next significant milestone was obtaining a $ 50 million investment from the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), which previously invested in Weening's magazine publishing company. With this capital in place, Cumulus began full-scale operations on May 22, 1997. Weening assumed the role of Executive chairman focusing on acquisitions deal structuring, corporate finance, and internet from
650-609: A possible side effect of its numerous acquisitions. On November 15 of that year, Dial Global announced a disappointing third quarter that it attributed in part to the financial impact of its exposure to the controversy surrounding a certain controversial talk personality, which was widely assumed to be a veiled reference to Rush Limbaugh in the wake of the Rush Limbaugh–Sandra Fluke controversy (although Limbaugh has no direct association with Dial Global). It simultaneously announced that it had filed for delisting from NASDAQ. At
715-448: A single owner to possess or control an unprecedented number of radio stations per market and nationwide. Dickey, then a nationally known radio programming consultant, was acting as a consultant to a small radio group in which Weening had a personal investment. Weening signed onto Dickey's idea to acquire and operate radio stations in mid-size markets as opposed to the largest markets on which competing radio group Clear Channel Communications
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#1733114300809780-447: A smooth transition". Noble Financial Analyst Michael Kupinski was reported to say that the resignation of CFO JP Hannan for John Abbot was "not a good sign" for the company and as a result of the change, a restructuring was likely. On November 29, 2017, Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a restructuring of the company. Cumulus exited bankruptcy on June 4, 2018. On January 6, 2021, in response to attempts to overturn
845-559: A statement asking for reduction or cancellation of the forfeitures . In January 2016, the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau reached a "record-setting" $ 540,000 settlement with Cumulus over sponsorship identification in radio ads promoting a proposed energy project, reported to be the largest payment in FCC history for a single-station violation of the Commission's sponsorship ID laws. In August 2019,
910-505: A year later in May 2002 at prices ranging from $ 17 to $ 21.50 per share not The $ 55 high but considerably higher than share prices after their sale. The new CEO of Cumulus Media, as of September 2015 is Mary G Berner. In April 2016, Talk Radio Network filed a lawsuit against Cumulus Media and associated defendants, alleging " antitrust violations, unfair competition, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, among other claims", similar to
975-528: Is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media . The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One , a company founded in 1976. The company was, at various times, managed by CBS Radio , the radio arm of CBS Corporation and Viacom . It was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group before merging with Dial Global in 2011. In December 2013, Dial Global was, in turn, acquired by Cumulus Media . Prior to
1040-509: The ABC Radio Networks until 2007. The network is currently owned and operated by Cumulus Media . Although stations that program "Real Country" use it for a majority of their programming, affiliates—like most others who use satellite programming—will often replace the network feed at certain points of the day for local programming, most often news, sports and markets (depending on the station). Up to six minutes are given to affiliates at
1105-519: The National Football League 's main radio package . Dial Global was founded as X Radio Networks, a division of Excelsior Radio Networks. It merged with Dial Communications and Global Media in 2006, from which it derived the Dial Global name. Dial Global initially specialized in syndicated weekend music programs of various types. In 2007 it acquired the former Transtar Radio Networks from
1170-448: The 2020 United States presidential election and the U.S. Capitol attack , Cumulus Media executives directed its on-air personalities to stop spreading misinformation about unsubstantiated claims of Biden stealing the election or face termination. By May 2002 the share price recovered to above the IPO price to a short-lived high of $ 22 on May 31, 2002. Dickey garnered some strong partners in
1235-449: The FCC proposed Cumulus Media pay another $ 233,000 fine for additional violations of its sponsorship identification rules and not reporting them to the FCC after agreeing to do so under its 2016 consent decree. On March 17, 2000, the company was forced to restate revenue and broadcast cash flow for three-quarters of 1999 after discovering that some of its sales force had prematurely booked revenue to meet sales goals. On November 8, 2005,
1300-474: The Nash family of properties. In July 2014, Cumulus announced that it would end its partnership with ABC News Radio , and enter into a new partnership with CNN to syndicate news content for its stations through Westwood One beginning in 2015. The network will provide its content on a white label basis, allowing individual stations to use their own brands for the content. In turn, ABC announced that it would take
1365-450: The SEC over his proposal to reverse some of his and Dickey's 1999 compensation to help offset the earnings miss. While the proposal was never implemented, the SEC maintained it would have amounted to earnings management and was therefore an infraction. Weening finally agreed to pay a fine of $ 75,000 without conceding wrongdoing to settle the matter in 2003. As the dust began to settle in April 2000
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#17331143008091430-761: The United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia . As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 media markets . It also owns and operates Westwood One . Its headquarters are located in Atlanta , Georgia. Its subsidiaries include Cumulus Broadcasting LLC , Cumulus Licensing LLC and Broadcast Software International Inc. Cumulus Media was established in August 1998 by radio consultant Lewis Dickey Jr. and media and technology entrepreneur Richard Weening. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 , among other legislation, relaxed media ownership restrictions, allowing
1495-497: The backing of 3 venture capital firms ( Bain Capital Partners LLC , The Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. ) for a price of $ 1.2 Billion. The 33 Susquehanna stations were privately held in a separate partnership called Cumulus Media Partners, LLC (commonly referred to as CMP on the company's quarterly earnings calls) that was the subject of an equity-for-debt swap in May 2009 in an attempt to avoid defaulting on
1560-414: The best course for Cumulus was to focus on the radio strategy and drop the internet projects. Weening who had started a Silicon Valley e-commerce software company in the early 1990s had conceived and was overseeing development of the employment platform. Weening advocated for continuance of the project as a key potential source of revenue with a service that would be unique among radio companies. Ultimately,
1625-466: The board backed Dickey not Weening and the Internet project was scrapped. According to interviews with two former members of the Cumulus board, Lew Dickey and his brother John convinced the board to let them run the company. Dickey, whose family had just sold an Atlanta station for a reported $ 250 million, offered to invest in Cumulus if needed to close pending acquisitions. The board was concerned about
1690-432: The board to consider a sale. On March 10, 2011, Citadel Broadcasting stations announced via email that Cumulus had purchased Citadel Broadcasting. Citadel was made up of 225 radio stations in over 50 markets, as well as Citadel Media , one of the largest radio networks in the United States; it included the stations that made up the former ABC Radio group (like flagship stations KABC-AM , WLS-AM and WABC-AM ). The deal
1755-414: The chance to post available positions on the web and promote their company and the position on the radio stations. At the time of the dot-com bust the system was in beta test in two markets. One of the short-lived but important impacts of the dot-com bubble burst was a loss of confidence that the promise of the internet would ever happen. Many professional radio people like Dickey were skeptical and believed
1820-577: The company for its vaccine mandate. On December 1, 2023, former 107.5 The Game in South Carolina sports talk radio host Tim Hill filed a civil rights lawsuit against Cumulus for firing him back in 2021 over their vaccine mandate. Hill is claiming a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making him the second former Cumulus host to sue the company over this vaccine mandate. On February 15, 2023, Cumulus Media paid "$ 1 million to settle
1885-413: The company issued revised annual 10K reports for 1998 and 1999 that showed minor variations in quarterly revenue and adjusted net loss for 1999 from $ 20.8 million to $ 13.6 million and net loss for 1998 was restated from $ 13.7 million to $ 8 million, after the company found a $ 4.9 million tax benefit that had been under-reported. The restatement as it turns out had no material impact on
1950-449: The company owned or operated pending closing 246 stations in 45 markets. In a period of two years and six months, Cumulus became the second largest U.S. broadcasting group in terms of stations operated. It also raised a staggering $ 1.3 billion when considering sales of common and preferred stock shares, senior bank lines of credit, and senior subordinated debt or junk bonds which when issued were rated CCC+. The stock market acknowledged
2015-410: The company with artificially inflating revenue and profit in 1999. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the company's auditors resigned in April citing material weaknesses in the Cumulus' financial controls arising from the possible revenue restatements. Meanwhile, Dickey had taken over day-to-day station operations from Bungeroth who resigned in mid January. During this same period Weening got into a dispute with
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2080-553: The company's original headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . Dickey selected stations to buy and oversaw radio programming, operations and strategy as Executive vice-chairman. Dickey brought in highly regarded radio operator William Bungeroth to serve as President of Cumulus Broadcasting from new offices in Chicago's Hancock Center . Having a reputation as an advertising sales leader, Bungeroth oversaw market-level tactical execution, including
2145-539: The deal, Cumulus partnered with the competing iHeartRadio service. However, in November 2015, Rdio filed for bankruptcy and sold its assets to Pandora Radio . On August 11, 2021, Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner announced a company wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate . She stated that employees must be fully vaccinated by September 27, 2021. Unvaccinated employees had their employment terminated on October 11, 2021. Terminated employees were denied unemployment benefits . It
2210-434: The financials but in the context of the dot-com bust hysteria rumours of accounting irregularities drove a significant decrease in share price which threatened the company's ability to finance pending acquisitions. Since November 1998 the company had been developing an internet platform for classified employment advertising. The new system would operate in tandem with the radio station cluster in each market and offer employers
2275-770: The first mid-size market radio conglomerate. Following the company's IPO, its stock fell from $ 14 to $ 8 per share on October 2, 1998 before beginning a climb to close 1999 at $ 50.75. Some radio executives familiar with small markets thought that Cumulus was overpaying to buy top stations in markets that did not have a great upside potential. For 1998, Cumulus reported revenue of $ 98.8 million, with broadcast cash flow of $ 26.6 million. Its cash-flow margin reached 27 percent. For 1999, Cumulus reported $ 180 million in revenue and $ 46.7 million broadcast cash flow. On November 19, 1999, Cumulus sold an additional 10 million shares at $ 24.93, raising $ 250 million. Acquisitions continued at an accelerating pace. At this point,
2340-450: The form of Bain Capital and Crestview partners who helped finance a series of ambitious acquisitions and partnerships which were creative, made Cumulus a significantly larger company but these acquisitions and Cumulus itself have struggled in the face of slow to no radio ad growth. (another researcher is working on this section) In 2006, Cumulus acquired control of Susquehanna Radio , with
2405-496: The integration of newly acquired stations into market operating units. John Dickey, brother of Lewis and himself an experienced radio programming consultant. would oversee station content. SWIB's investment was soon followed by another $ 50 million from Wisconsin-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and $ 25 million from NationsBank Capital Corporation. With this financial backing secured, Dickey and Weening began acquiring radio stations yet managed to stay "under
2470-450: The largest share of local advertising dollars. By offering a range of audiences like newspapers, Cumulus could gain a greater share of the local advertising dollar than the individual stations could garner separately. In addition, acquiring the top-performing stations in a given market as part of the operating cluster would yield more national advertising. The market focus would be on those deemed to offer substantial growth opportunities, while
2535-472: The mandate. On May 9, 2023, former News/Talk 98.9 WKIM Memphis morning show co-host Bob Boccia, who has Crohn's disease , sued Cumulus Media after failing to accommodate his medical condition and religious beliefs. His suit details violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , as well as breach of contract. He is the first former Cumulus employee to sue
2600-464: The original Westwood One. Triton Media Group , a subsidiary of Oaktree Capital Management , purchased Excelsior in early 2008, and soon bought two of its three main competitors: Waitt Radio Networks and Jones Radio Networks . Triton used the Dial Global name for all of its programming and later bought the remainder of Westwood One in 2011, folding it into its Dial Global subsidiary. Dial Global began exhibiting signs of financial distress in late 2012,
2665-447: The radar", not attracting much notice or competition. In its first 12 months in operation, Cumulus acquired over 100 stations in 31 markets. Soon it was clear that the company would need over a billion dollars for its desired acquisitions, and an initial public offering of stock was soon made. The Cumulus strategy, as articulated in public filings, was to acquire multiple stations in a city or market, consolidate them physically to share
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2730-503: The rapid growth might be false. The first quarter of 2000 proved to be troubling at Cumulus. A perfect storm of events drove the company's share price from $ 50 to $ 13 between January 1 and March 17 when over 30 million shares traded hands. Driving the decline was persistent rumours of possible accounting irregularities in the rapidly assembled radio group. On January 14 respected Wall Street analyst Frank Bodenchak advised institutional clients that Cumulus may miss his estimates for Q4 1999 and
2795-438: The remarkable growth with a share price that rose to a high of $ 51.00 on December 31, 1999. Cumulus was a part-time participant in the euphoria of the dot-com bubble and was impacted by the hysteria that followed its burst. The reasons included very rapid growth and skyrocketing share price which in the euphoria period fed on itself. The hysteria which followed was driven by both the absence of earnings and rumors which suggested
2860-770: The restatement of revenues and the shareholder lawsuits. This is consistent with reports in a radio industry newsletter which reported that it was a widely held belief in the Radio industry was that the Dickey brothers orchestrated events that lead to the board's decision not to back the Internet project, placing Dickey at the helm of Cumulus, moving the Cumulus headquarters from Milwaukee to Atlanta and to Weening's ultimate resignation as an employee and director in January 2001. According to public filings Weening, QUAESTUS management company and other Weening related interests sold their interests in Cumulus
2925-555: The sale's completion, Dial Global re-assumed the Westwood One name. After the completion of the purchase, Westwood One was merged into the Cumulus Media Networks division (the former ABC Radio Networks). Content syndicated by Westwood One includes talk shows, music programs and 24-hour formats. It is particularly prominent in sports radio, distributing Infinity Sports Network and holding various play-by-play rights, including
2990-508: The sale, Cumulus sold 53 radio stations to Townsquare Media (a radio broadcasting company owned by Oaktree), and traded 15 more stations to Townsquare in exchange for a cluster in Fresno, California formerly owned by Peak Broadcasting—which was also being acquired by Townsquare. On September 4, 2013, ahead of the completion of the purchase, Dial Global announced that it would rename itself Westwood One, citing stronger name recognition. The sale
3055-621: The station focus was the leading station in the market and other stations well-positioned for significant growth. Cumulus became a publicly traded company on June 26, 1998. The company raised $ 400 million selling 7.6 million common shares at $ 14.00 each, $ 125 million in preferred stock , and $ 160 million in Senior Subordinated Bonds. At that time Cumulus owned or was committed to buy 176 stations – 124 FM stations and 52 am stations in 34 U.S. markets. In its first 17 months, Cumulus acquired 207 stations, creating
3120-572: The syndication of its radio content in-house, with distribution handled by Skyview Networks. On September 15, 2013, Cumulus announced that it had entered into a partnership with music streaming service Rdio ; Cumulus took a stake in Rdio, and provided the company with access to its advertising sales team for a freemium tier, the ability to offer Cumulus radio stations on the Rdio service, and $ 75 million in marketing on Cumulus stations over five years. The stations launched on Rdio in August 2015; prior to
3185-451: The terms of the CMP lending agreement. While Cumulus operated the CMP stations, they initially held only a minor ownership interest in them. On January 31, 2011, Cumulus announced a deal to acquire the remaining ownership of CMP from its equity partners in a stock transaction valued at approximately $ 740 million that is closed in August 2011. As a result of the CMP acquisition, Cumulus now owns
3250-443: The time of the announcement, Dial Global stock was trading at $ 2.00 a share; by mid-January 2013, DG's stock was trading at .30 a share. In a SEC 8-K filing dated January 15, 2013, DG announced that it had extended a loan waiver agreement with certain lenders. On August 29, 2013, Cumulus Broadcasting announced its intent to acquire Dial Global for $ 260 million, and merge it into its existing Cumulus Media Networks division. To fund
3315-449: The top of every hour for news or commercials. In addition, at least one block of one to three minutes is provided for local commercials every ten minutes. After each commercial block and 14 seconds before the top of the hour, time is provided for affiliate station identification. Hosts currently heard on the network include 24 year Real Country veteran Kris Wilson, Jim Casey and Jacy Shepherd. True Country Westwood One, Inc.
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#17331143008093380-459: The year. A combination of the possible earnings miss and the rumours of accounting problems created a significant loss of investor confidence. On March 17, Cumulus reported a loss of $ 0.20 per share vs $ 0.15 per share expectation. Broadcast cash flow was $ 12.3 million vs estimates around $ 17 million. In addition the Company reported that company CFO Rick Bonick had left earlier in January. It
3445-411: Was "going to great lengths to keep two of its executives on board" and that Hannan had been offered "a big bonus to stay" as incentive to remain with the company. In October 2016, it was announced Hannan had taken the role of chief financial officer at programmatic advertising company, Social Reality, Inc. [NASDAQ: SRAX]. Per SEC filings, Hannan would also "assist the company for several months to ensure
3510-465: Was as low as $ 0.45 per share toward the end of 2008. Starting in June 2010, Cumulus made multiple unsuccessful offers to buy out Citadel Broadcasting after its emergence from bankruptcy. In February 2011, Cumulus was again said to be in "exclusive negotiations" to acquire Citadel for $ 2.5 billion paid to Citadel shareholders, according to CNBC . Some Citadel shareholders were said to have been pushing
3575-571: Was completed on December 12, 2013. As a result of all of these acquisitions, Cumulus Media now controls the remnants of all four of the major networks from the Golden Age of Radio : the former NBC Radio Network , the Mutual Broadcasting System , the distribution rights to most of CBS , the former ABC Radio Network, and CBS Sports Radio ( CBS Radio owned stations, but were merged with Entercom on November 17, 2017; ABC , which still owns
3640-569: Was completed on November 14, 2013. On January 11, 2013, after acquiring the station from Family Radio , Cumulus re-launched WFME in New York City as a country music station under its new Nash FM brand. Nash was designed to serve as an umbrella brand for all country music-related content across the company's properties, including radio, digital, and live events such as the "Nash Bash". All country stations owned by Cumulus would either be branded as Nash FM, or be strongly cross-promoted as part of
3705-460: Was finalized on September 16, 2011, after acceptance by the FCC and Citadel's shareholders. As part of the deal, Cumulus Media will have to place 14 stations into a separate trust to comply with ownership limits. Following the acquisition, in an effort to focus on larger markets, Cumulus reached a deal with Townsquare Media to swap 65 radio stations in 13 markets, with the majority of the 65 stations being sold to Townsquare. On August 29, 2013, it
3770-490: Was focusing. Dickey was the radio expert and Weening was the corporate finance and start-up CEO. Dickey was president of both radio consulting firm Stratford Research and his family company, Midwestern Broadcasting, with two stations in Toledo, Ohio ; these stations would later be acquired by Cumulus. Weening had successful experience as a start-up CEO in book and magazine publishing, online services and enterprise software systems. He
3835-451: Was not officially announced a fact that CNN Money says "roiled the already active rumour mill about accounting irregularities. The company also reported it would restate quarterly revenues in 1999 as some markets did not comply with Cumulus' revenue recognition policies and booked some advertising contracts for their full value rather than recognizing revenue as the ads aired. As a result, class-action lawsuits were filed against Cumulus charging
3900-707: Was reported by The Wall Street Journal that Cumulus would purchase the syndicator Dial Global for $ 260 million. To fund the sale, Cumulus, sold 53 more stations to Townsquare Media for $ 238 million, in markets such as Danbury, CT , Rockford, IL , Cedar Rapids, IA , Quad Cities IA/IL , Waterloo, IA , Portland, ME , Battle Creek, MI , Kalamazoo, MI , Lansing, MI , Faribault, MN , Rochester, MN , and Portsmouth, NH . Additionally, Townsquare Media acquired Peak Broadcasting, and Cumulus swapped 15 more stations in Dubuque, IA and Poughkeepsie, NY in exchange for Peak Broadcasting's Fresno cluster. The sale to Cumulus
3965-414: Was reported that most exemption claims were being rejected. The rejections were reported to use boilerplate messages. In December 2021, political commentator, radio show host, and author Dan Bongino , who has railed against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, volunteered in an interview with The New Yorker and said that he was vaccinated against COVID-19 upon advice of his doctor. He threatened to quit over
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#17331143008094030-575: Was spun off to The E. W. Scripps Company in October 2018; as Scripps does not operate radio stations (it had a brief foray in the medium after its acquisition of Journal Media Group , but divested its stations in 2018), the radio-related assets remain in the possession of Westwood One. Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in
4095-400: Was then CEO of Quaestus & Co., Inc., a private equity firm specializing in media and technology startups. For the new radio company, Weening chose the name Cumulus for the type of cloud formation for their ubiquity in the sky, which Weening and Dickey hoped would be the same for their stations across the country. Quaestus provided the seed capital to make the first station acquisitions as
4160-1120: Was then Dial Global in August 2012. Cumulus settled the lawsuit with TRN on amicable terms in March 2014, which was followed by TRN filing another lawsuit over the issue in April 2016. Cumulus won the lawsuit in late 2017, and TRN ceased operations at the end of that year. By 2015, Westwood One had been fully integrated into Cumulus Media Networks , with Westwood One as the surviving brand. The merger resulted in layoffs from its Westwood One's facilities in Colorado, including some of its in-house airstaff (who would be offered vacant positions at Cumulus stations). The company stated that it planned to leverage talent from Cumulus's local stations (particularly in major markets) for its 24-hour formats. Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2017. In January 2018, it began moving to terminate its broadcast contracts, including those through Westwood One. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2018. Triton Media Group, by this point rebranded as Triton Digital ,
4225-434: Was unable to come to terms with the parties involved and the merger/acquisition agreement was terminated. Like most major American radio station owners, Cumulus has been forced to write down the value of its radio station licenses, resulting in large non-cash losses – $ 498.9 million in 2008, $ 230.6 million in 2007, and $ 63.4 million in 2006. The company's stock, priced over $ 56 in 1999, then over $ 22 in 2004,
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