TRN Wants Feds To Block Cumulus-Dial Global Deal

Talk Radio Network (TRN) is not happy about the pending Cumulus-Dial Global deal and has issued a statement calling on regulatory agencies to block the deal.  TRN claims “antitrust and First Amendment rights are at stake.”

Here is their full statement: 

Over the past five years, Dial Global has become a monopoly. Dial engaged in a long list of illegal and unethical behavior, including failing to pay us our share of advertising revenues generated by our programming. We have detailed that conduct in two cases pending against Dial (and others) in federal court in Manhattan and Oregon. Dial’s illegal conduct has continued recently, as it has refused even to pay to us our advertising revenues, which Dial collected as our ad rep. We believe that discovery in our actions will show that Dial’s conduct was part of a deliberate strategy to acquire or destroy viable companies by interfering with revenue streams that Dial controls as a result of its monopoly power. 

Dial’s history shows that all members of the industry should be concerned about, and should act to prevent, Cumulus’s proposed acquisition of Dial.  In our view, if the transaction goes forward, the combined company could dominate both the radio station platforms in the top 100 markets and the talk and news content for broadcast in those markets. At the same time, we are concerned that Dial’s history of illegal and unethical conduct could infect Cumulus and affect the way the merged entity does business. The threat that this merger poses is not just to us. It is to every independent content provider, to many other members of the industry, and more generally to a vibrant marketplace of ideas on radio. 

We will continue to pursue our claims against Dial vigorously, and we will take all necessary actions to oppose Cumulus’s proposed acquisition, including in our pending litigation with Dial, with appropriate governmental authorities, and in the media. We have heard from other members of the industry with similar concerns. Given the implications for others, we encourage all independent content providers and other affected members of the industry to rise up and express opposition in every proper forum.