Entercom Closes, Flips NY, Dallas, Chicago
• Entercom Communications, operating in post-merger mode, wasted no time announcing its presence with authority in New York, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Chicago — the company’s first high profile statement was returning Alternative Rock to New York City for the first time since 2011 with the launch of ALT 92.3 FM, New York’s New Alternative — on the site of former CBS Radio Top 40 WBMP (92.3 AMP).
“In a city where alternative music is a way of life, we are thrilled to finally fill the void in radio in New York City,” said Pat Paxton, Entercom’s President of Programming. “With the launch of ALT 92.3, we will cater to the passionate audience who have helped define the genre for decades — and we couldn’t be more excited to turn up the volume.” ALT 92.3 will get up to speed by playing 10,000 songs in a row, commercial-free.
• Concurrent with the Entercom takeover and the format flip, we have confirmed the departure of CBS Radio New York SVP/Market Manager Marc Rayfield, a 26-year company veteran who previously managed the company’s Philadelphia cluster. Also M.I.A.: AMP morning team Edgar “Shoboy” Sotelo and Nina Hajian, afternoon personality Astra, night jock DJ Toro and late-night talent Omar Torres.
• A similar playbook was employed in Dallas-Ft. Worth, as Entercom also pulled the plug on former CBS Radio Top 40 KVIL (AMP 103.7) in favor of ALT 103.7, DFW’s New Alternative. “We are thrilled to bring alternative back to Dallas-Ft. Worth,” said Paxton. “With the launch of ALT 103.7, we will cater to the core audience who helped define the genre for decades — and we couldn’t be more excited to rewrite history.”
The Alternative format has been absent in DFW for exactly one year since iHeartMedia flipped KDGE (102.1 The Edge) to AC as Star 102.1.
• Here’s what we know about the status of the former AMP airstaff: morning personality Nathan Fast and afternoon driver Tanner Kloven have left the building, while we understand midday talent Randi Taylor has returned to her former position as a Traffic Reporter on multiple stations.
• Chicago was next on the company’s to-do list, as former CBS Radio Classic Hits WJMK (104.3 K-Hits) gave way to Classic Hip Hop as “The New 104.3 JAMS, Chicago’s #1 for Throwbacks.” “The time has come to usher in a brand new chapter in Chicago radio — a station that is designed by Chicagoans exclusively FOR Chicago,” said Paxton. “Hip-hop and R&B always makes you feel a certain way. The memories will come back to you immediately.” The New 104.3 JAMS launched at 11am CT and is also powering through 10,000 songs in a row, commercial-free.
• As a result of the flip, here’s what we know so far: K-Hits morning personality Dave Fogel, afternoon talent Jeffrey T. Mason and weekender Ken Cocker have exited. Midday personality Brian Peck (who was just hired on Nov. 6) remains in the building and will be running the board TFN, along with part-timers John Calhoun and Dona Mullen.
• These flips happens shortly after Entercom announced that it has formally completed its merger with CBS Radio, Inc. “We are thrilled to officially close our transformational merger with CBS Radio and welcome their talented employees and iconic brands to Entercom,” said David Field (left), Entercom’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to capitalizing on our unique positions in sports, news, music, podcasting, live events, digital and more to provide outstanding experiences for our listeners and compelling integrated marketing opportunities for our advertisers. We now have the scale and capabilities to drive meaningful growth and to compete more effectively with other media for a larger share of advertising dollars. We also look forward to helping to elevate the Radio industry, which remains massively undervalued by advertisers despite having emerged as America’s #1 Reach medium, delivering outstanding ROI to customers.”
• The newly enlarged Entercom also announced it would implement three new business policies “which better reflect Radio’s strong value proposition as America’s #1 reach medium and Entercom’s position as the leading provider of live, original, local audio content,” so said the press release, which continued, “These policies will enable the Company to provide greater value for advertisers while improving the listener experience.”
1) Reduce commercial advertising inventory by 5% in order to improve the listener experience and increase the entertainment to ad ratio for Entercom’s advertising partners.
2) Prohibit cash infusion advertising deals which the Company views as a poor business practice and inconsistent with its strategic goals.
3) Eliminate future sales of advertising with spot resellers which like cash infusion deals, the Company views as a poor business practice and inconsistent with its strategic goals.
Weezie Kramer, Entercom’s Chief Operating Officer (pictured), remarked, “With our enhanced platform and scale, Entercom is committed to evolving our business practices for the benefit of Entercom’s listeners and advertising partners.”
