Entercom Communications Corp. and CBS Corp. are looking to divest some 16 radio stations as part of an ongoing merger.
Divesting a station could refer to a straight sale of the station, swapping one station for another, or some combination thereof. The Federal Communications Commission has to approve such moves. That commission has yet to rule on Entercom and CBS Radio’s plans.
Entercom confirmed that it filed amendments with the FCC on Tuesday as the company’s next step in the merger with CBS Radio.
“The amended FCC filings mark another step forward in the process to complete our combination with CBS Radio and we remain on track to close the transaction later this year,” said Entercom spokeswoman Esther-Mireya Tejeda in an e-mail.
In an internal CBS memo released on Tuesday, the company said 11 radio stations in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, and Sacramento are being proposed to be divested as part of the merger.
“Today, Entercom and CBS RADIO have taken another important step in finalizing the merger of our two companies,” the memo stated. “A number of regulatory filings were made in connection with the merger transaction.”
In his memo to CBS Radio employees, CEO Andre Fernandez unveiled the final 16 stations that will most likely be moved in order for the CBS/Entercom merger to go through. Eleven of those stations are under the CBS Radio umbrella and five now belong to Entercom. Here is the entire list.
The 11 CBS Radio stations are:
- KMVQ-FM/San Francisco
- WBZ-AM/Boston
- WBZ-FM/Boston
- WZLX-FM/Boston
- KFNQ-AM/Seattle
- KJAQ-FM/Seattle
- KZOK-FM/Seattle
- KHTK-AM/Sacramento
- KNCI-FM/Sacramento
- KYMX-FM/Sacramento
- KZZO-FM/Sacramento
- KBLX-FM/San Francisco
- KOIT-FM/San Francisco
- KUFX-FM/San Francisco
- WKAF-FM/Boston
- WRKO-AM/Boston
In February the Entercom chief executive David J. Field said the company would move quickly “to make the required divestures.”
Entercom previously announced an agreement with Educational Media Foundation for the sale of stations in three markets: Los Angeles, San Diego and Wilkes Barre.
Here's the memo Fernandez sent to CBS Radio Employees:
"Dear Colleagues,
Today, Entercom and CBS RADIO have taken another important step in finalizing the merger of our two companies. A number of regulatory filings were made in connection with the merger transaction. As you may recall, a few weeks ago it was widely reported that Entercom proposed to sell three of its stations in Los Angeles, San Diego and Wilkes Barre. The filings made today propose an additional 16 stations be divested across both companies for a total of 19 stations.
The list of stations will be available on the FCC website; however, we think it’s important that you hear from us directly about which CBS RADIO stations may be affected. I say ‘may’ because the divestiture of these stations still requires regulatory approval, which we expect will happen in the coming weeks.
Among the 16 stations that have been proposed to be divested in the filing today, there are 11 CBS RADIO stations across San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, and Sacramento.
They are:
KMVQ-FM/San Francisco
WBZ-AM/Boston
WBZ-FM/Boston
WZLX-FM/Boston
KFNQ-AM/Seattle
KJAQ-FM/Seattle
KZOK-FM/Seattle
KHTK-AM/Sacramento
KNCI-FM/Sacramento
KYMX-FM/Sacramento
KZZO-FM/Sacramento
Five (5) additional Entercom stations have also been proposed to be divested including: KBLX-FM/San Francisco, KOIT-FM/San Francisco, KUFX-FM/San Francisco, WKAF-FM/Boston, and WRKO-AM/Boston.
The station buyers for these 16 proposed stations have not been announced. We expect to have more information in the coming weeks. In the meantime, our day-to-day operations will not change. We all remain CBS RADIO employees until the merger fully closes which we expect to happen later this year."
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