Entercom's David Field Bullish On Podcasts

David Field has presided over a period of dramatic growth at Entercom Communications, from its acquisition of CBS Radio to a pair of podcast companies. Now, reports Variety, he’s looking to supercharge the newfound scale of his audience with synergies to turn his business into a digital-audio juggernaut.

Last month, Entercom announced an agreement to buy full control of Cadence13, a New York-based podcast studio and distribution company — after acquiring a 45% stake for $9.7 million two years ago — in addition to the acquisition of podcast producer Pineapple Street Media. The deals helped pushed Philadelphia-based Entercom into the No. 3 spot among U.S. podcast publishers, after NPR and iHeartMedia.



While podcasts are a small piece of the overall business for now, “the podcasting business is exploding, and if you don’t create a strong position today I think you’re lost,” Field said on the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” Entercom would have moved into podcasting sooner, he added, except it decided to hold off as it integrated CBS Radio.