Clear Channel breakup

[Howard Glazer]

----- Original Message -----
From: Garrett Wollman <wollman@csail.mit.edu>
To: <bri@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 5:15 PM
Subject: Clear Channel breakup


> 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.
>

That might happen with the FMs -- although what's the difference between a
smaller-market hit country or AC station owned by Clear Channel and the same
station owned by Cumulus or Citadel? I'd imagine many of the AMs will
attract little market interest from anyone but operators of religious or
ethnic leased-time operations. How would any of this strengthen the
business? Would another station group be more likely to fill voicetracked
airshifts with local talent ... or even increase their newly acquired
station's payroll at all?

Howard