Industry News

Entercom Communications, which this week expanded its holdings in the podcast space and amended its October 2016 credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, has announced that it plans to offer $500 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured second-lien notes due in eight years.

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Entercom Media Corp., a subsidiary created by Philadelphia-based Entercom, is the issuer. And, it says it expects to use the net proceeds from this offering, due in 2029, to redeem all of its 7.25% senior notes due 2024 and to partially repay existing indebtedness under the company’s senior credit facilties.

Thus, it is a new debt for old debt swap, with the notes “fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured second-lien basis.”

The notes will be offered privately, Entercom says, to qualified institutional buyers.

Entercom shares have enjoyed strong growth over the last six months and open Thursday’s trading at $5.84.

It’s a far cry from March 9, 2020, when shares were at $2.35 just days before ETM was to see its last ex-dividend payment to shareholders. Entercom stock then slid to $0.83 as March 2020 came to a close, with much pandemic uncertainty crippling ad sales for broadcast media.

Much of Entercom’s stock growth, however, has come in Q1. On December 28, 2020, ETM was at $2.47, with little signs of a jump past $3.

As RBR+TVBR first reported on Wednesday (3/10), HyphaMetrics has just secured a U.S. patent for a cross-media measurement platform.

The co-founder and CEO of HyphaMetrics, Joanna Drews, chats with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson to share a bit more about the patent, consumer privacy, buying in the 2021-2022 Upfront and scatter markets, and where audio media fits in to HyphaMetrics’ business in this fresh podcast presented by Dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Joanna Drews, HyphaMetrics” on Spreaker.

A pair of Spanish-language television stations owned and operated by Hispanavisión Televisión will now have the benefit of local TV measurement services provided by the nation’s dominant ratings and audience consumption data provider.

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LOS ANGELES — The L.A. office of Davis Wright Tremaine has a new of counsel in its entertainment practice.

It’s someone with extensive in-house experience at NBC Entertainment, where she was most recently VP of Legal Affairs.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of bipartisan House of Representatives and Senators have reintroduced legislation allowing news publishers — including local radio and TV broadcasters — to collectively negotiate the terms on which their content may be distributed online.

It’s being billed as “a fight to save local news.” And, the NAB commends it.

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Andrew Curran, President/COO of DMR/Interactive, has penned an “open letter” to radio that takes aim at the industry’s unfulfilled opportunity to attract women between 18 and 49 years of age who are struggling to hold their families and careers together.

While there’s a need, and a call to action, what, specifically, could Radio do to achieve this goal?

Curran offers three thoughts exclusively to RBR+TVBR.

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MIAMI — It was a big gamble, one that Bill Siegel was called on to “evaluate and refine” in December 2019. A new English-language local newscast was in the works for South Florida — a 10pm newscast that would challenge Sunbeam Television’s long-dominant WSVN-7.

The E.W. Scripps Co. made the pledge in November 2019, with a spring 2020 launch date for a unique 30-minute newscast for Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Florida Keys.

Then came COVID-19, and another evaluation of the plan. Now, it has opted to move forward with multiple newscasts produced not by the recently acquired Scripps station’s own staff, but that by the Berkshire Hathaway-controlled ABC affiliate in Miami — its sole media property.

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The Media Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission has dismissed an objection filed against a Durham, N.C., FM translator. That objection claimed that the translator licensee should not be allowed to claim noncommercial educational exemption because the AM station being rebroadcast is owned by commercial organizations.

In its objection, Triangle Access Broadcasting alleged that the FM translator operator, Delmarva Educational Association who is licensee of W224DK, was not entitled to claim an NCE exemption for application and regulatory fees because the AM station they are rebroadcasting — WPTF in Raleigh, N.C., which is licensed to First State Communications — is a commercial station.

[Read: AM Station’s Spotty Operational Schedule Puts License at Risk]

Thus, Triangle argued, the translator is itself a commercial one. Triangle also argued that Delmarva shouldn’t be qualified to receive a nonprofit regulatory fee exemption. While Triangle recognized that Delmarva is a nonprofit entity, it argued that Delmarva disqualified itself from the nonprofit exemption because First State supplies commercial programming to the translator. According to Triangle, this gives First State an attributable ownership interest in Delmarva.

Triangle also alleged that Delmarva has failed to pay required application fees for the translator dating back to 2003. Triangle thus urged the commission to dismiss Delmarva’s application for failing to pay required fees and to cancel the translator outright unless the delinquency is resolved.

In response, Delmarva countered that its failure to pay a filing fee was inadvertent and it has since remitted payment. Delmarva also countered that the commission’s rules clarify that it is exempt from paying regulatory fees because it is a qualified nonprofit, tax-exempt entity under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue code.

Triangle acknowledged that even though Delmarva remitted payment, it questions Delmarva’s initial failure to pay during the licensing process. Triangle also maintained that Delmarva is not qualified for the nonprofit regulatory fee exemption because its operation of a commercial translator deviates from the “scope of its charitable purpose.” Added to this is the fact that Eastern Airwaves, a commercial entity that Triangle said co-owns First State, has exercised control over the translator. Thus it has an attributable ownership interest in the translator.

“[That makes it] improper for Delmarva to avoid regulatory fees based solely on Delmarva’s nonprofit status,” Triangle said.

But the Media Bureau disagreed. It said that informal objections to license renewal applications must not only provide well-supported allegations of fact but must also contain adequate and specific factual allegations. Triangle has not met this threshold, the FCC said.

For one, Delmarva acknowledged that it submitted the application without the requisite filing fees and went on to pay those fees. Secondly, the commission has already confirmed that Delmarva is a nonprofit organization. Finally, Triangle does not explain how First State or Eastern would have an attributable interest in the translator.

As a result, the bureau dismissed and denied the objection.

But the Media Bureau did find that Delmarva was remiss in its failure to pay the required application filing fees. It assessed the licensee a penalty charge equal to 25% of the filing fee for license of W224DK for a total of $17.50.

The post FCC Nixes Idea to Rebrand NCE Translator as Commercial appeared first on Radio World.

LAKE WALES, FLA. — The co-founder and Chief Executive of vCreative, who established the media workflow-focused technology company with her husband, is moving to the role of President Emerita.

This gives the couple more time to devote to weddings, grandchildren, “exploring the world” and perhaps enjoying their lakeside home in Central Florida a little bit more as Susie Hedrick assumes the CEO role.

The changes for Jinny Laderer and husband John Laderer, vCreative’s Chief Technology Officer, will come April 1. At that time, Hedrick will rise from President/COO. Hedrick joined vCreative in February 2019 after serving as SVP/Sales for North America at WideOrbit, overseeing successful TV, radio, network and digital divisions.

What does this change mean for the Laderers’ involvement in the company they created in 2007?

In her new role, Jinny Laderer will attend company executive meetings and industry events, providing “guidance and historical context to ensure that the vCreative legacy continues.”

She will also remain a Broadcasters Foundation of America board member and as an Honorary Trustee for Alliance for Women in Media. Mrs. Laderer also remains on the Nominating Committee for the National Radio Hall of Fame and says she will invest more time with the Mentoring and Inspiring Women (MIW) organization to help nurture the next generation of strong female leaders.

“The timing is perfect,” said Laderer, who has been based in the small town of Babson Park, due south of Lake Wales and Orlando’s theme parks, for the last few years. “While I remain committed to our company, the industry and its people, vCreative is now perfectly positioned for its next chapter under Susie’s leadership, which allows John and I the freedom to focus on our next phase of life.”

John Laderer will continue to serve the company in a consultative technical role.

After working at a small firm offering copywriting, production and voiceovers to agencies and advertisers, Jinny Laderer in 2005 teamed with John in creating SaaS technology enabling her to work remotely as a Creative Director for 8 radio stations while she simultaneously operated her production company, TLCreative.

Two years later, vCreative was born. Today, its software is used by 19 of the top 20 broadcast radio groups, supporting more than 35,000 daily users.

In 2019, the Laderers sold vCreative to Banyan Software, an investment company with a unique buy and hold model.

Commenting on Jinny Laderer’s decision to hand chief executive duties to Hedrick, Banyan CEO David Berkal said, “Jinny and John built a strong and profitable software business with deep relationships. We have made a commitment to continue the Laderers’ people-first culture and the principle of trust that was built over many years. We 100% support Jinny and John as they step back from daily operations while retaining supportive roles in the company.”

Hedrick added, “Jinny and I share a kindred spirit. We both have a strong work ethic and passion for helping people and solving problems. Jinny will continue to have a strong influence on the company as we continue to innovate and grow.”

William W. McCutchen III a decade ago was described by the Waco Tribune-Herald as “the force behind Waco Entertainment Group LLC.

Based in the Los Angeles area, McCutchen in January 2010 acquired two Spanish-language FMs for $1.95 million from the now-defunct Border Media Partners. It was added to an FM in Sherman, Tex.

An Abilene property was also added to the mix. Now, the FCC has given its blessing on its sale.

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