When Apollo Global Management was granted FCC approval to acquire Cox Media Group in 2019, one of the conditions was that the company must sell CHR “Power 95.3” WPYO Maitland/Orlando and Alternative “97X” 97.1 WSUN Holiday/Tampa FL from the Elliot Evers led CXR Radio LLC divestiture trust to new owners by December 17, 2021.
Now CXR Radio LLC has requested a one year extension of the requirement to December 2022. In its petition CXR states, “Marketplace conditions resulting from the pandemic, and turbulence in the economy overall, in critical advertising verticals (such as automotive), an on the media industry in particular have combined to create a singular set of challenges that have directly impacted the market for terrestrial radio. These conditions have existed — and persisted — for 21 of the 24 months that the trust has been in place.”
The filing admits that revenues at WPYO were down 38.3% in 2020, while WSUN was down over 70%. Projected revenues for 2021 will be down 38% and 65% at the two stations respectively. CXR also notes that outside of iHeartMedia’s purchases of small AMs for launching the Black Information Network, none of the major commercial radio operators has purchased more than one station since the start of the pandemic.
CXR trustee Elliot Evers also notes that he, as trustee for Cumulus Media’s Mainstay Trust was granted a similar one year extension in 2020 to complete its divestitures.
WPYO and WSUN were required to be divested as Cox lost the grandfathered status it held in each market with the transfer of control to Apollo.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com