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Watching the layoffs this week in radio? Well, here it is.
It’s time for large radio companies to sell.
iHeart is top of the list. For more than a decade, Bob Pittman has not wanted the company to be in the terrestrial radio business. Where priorities and resources have gone, make it clear, iHeart is interested in monetizing their app, outdoor and network business. They have systemically choked the life out of local markets in each department.
Coincidentally, iHeart stock got listed as a hot buy as Bob and John Sykes scooped up shares, gutting even further this past week. They’ll have their golden parachute, and so will their board. But for shareholders and long-time company soldiers? No chance. There are really smart and talented folks at high levels in the company who know what to do to improve local O+Os, but they aren’t, and they’re not being asked to.
We talk about fear in show business, and it’s palpable at iHeart. It’s time for them to sell. Get out. Don’t drag down what’s left of the radio industry to cash out.
iHeart is so big that as it goes from spot load to AI adoption to content, so goes much of the rest of the industry. Bob Pittman was once as deep-ceded a radio guy as radio guys get. He’s worked his way up, done overnights, and built format clocks. Don’t do this, Bob. Don’t tear it all down. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I worked directly with Bill Wilson and Erik Hellum at Townsquare Media. They were great guys, and terrific managers, but they want to be a digital company. They should sell. Be THE digital media company but sell local radio to local owners who want to operate them.
Beasley? Cumulus? Audacy? I think the decision to liquidate properties will eventually come on its own.
I gave 11 years of my career to Cumulus. It’s a shame watching them dissolve their Hudson Valley cluster, WPLJ, and WDRQ over the last few years.
Yes, technology shifts have led to more choices for the consumer. Tastes do indeed evolve. Radio has been dumbed down, homogenized, and stripped to nothing. The loss of share of ear under 35 and loss of TSL, along with the difficulty of selling, particularly National, has acerbated issues facing the industry.
Now is the time, corporate radio needs to cut its losses and cash out. Don’t kill one of the great American traditions left, local AM and FM. Please.
Robby Bridges works for Press Communications where he serves as the VP of Programming for 99.7 and 107.1 The Boss. He also hosts the morning show ‘Robby and Rochelle’ alongside his wife, Rochelle. He’s been with the company/stations since September, 2021.
Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Robby spent decades working across the country in many top markets for many highly successful brands. Among them include Z100, WPLJ and Q102. He has also worked in Detroit, Boston, Providence, Portsmouth, NH, and served as an exclusive guest host for Scott Shannon on the True Oldies Channel.
To get in touch, reach Robby by email at RobbyBridges@hotmail.com.
