Clear Channel breakup

[Garrett Wollman]

I'm somewhat surprised that nobody has brought up this past week's Big
Story in radio: the impending sale and breakup of Clear Channel.
According to press reports, the sale of the company (to Boston-based
private-equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital) will
involve the sale of about 450 of the company's 1100 stations, as well
as the entire television operation.  The station sales will be mainly
in smaller markets, including three out of five markets in northern
New England.  (The Globe's map suggested that the company will keep
its Manchester and Portsmouth/Dover clusters.)

While this partial breakup would still leave Clear Channel as the
800-pound gorilla in radio, putting those smaller-market stations back
into play cannot but help strengthen the radio business in those
markets, as we see other station groups jockeying for position and
possibly acquiring some of the spin-offs.

Lee Partners is also involved in the buyout of Univision
Communications, which owns channel 66 locally.

-GAWollman