Entercom Shutting Down KDND/Sacramento

Entercom took the industry by surprise, to say the least, last week when it took the audacious and unexpected step of informing the FCC it would voluntarily surrender the license of embattled Top 40 KDND (107.9 The End)/Sacramento. This bold maneuver accomplishes several key goals at once: 1) It gives the company a nice head start on divesting the four FMs in Sacramento necessary as part of the company’s recent acquisition of CBS Radio’s properties, and 2) It eliminates the potentially painful step of going before a judge to fight to keep the station’s license, which recently came under attack by a citizen’s group wishing to relitigate that decade-old (and already settled) case regarding the death of Jennifer Strange during that station’s now infamous 2007 “Wee For A Wii” contest.

An Entercom statement read, “Throughout Entercom’s 48-year history, we have maintained a steadfast commitment to operating in the public’s best interest and serving the communities in which we operate. We take great pride in our work, but we fully recognize that all of our good efforts cannot undo the tragic event that took place ten years ago. Based on the facts, including KDND’s record of community support and service, and the jury’s finding that Entercom Communications was not negligent in relation to 2007 incident, we strongly believe that our renewal application would have been granted. However, after careful consideration we determined it is in the company’s best interests to voluntarily turn in the KDND license to facilitate the timely FCC approvals for the planned combination with CBS Radio announced [last] Thursday.”