Audacy, the Philadelphia-based audio content provider currently undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, confirmed Wednesday that it has cut about a quarter of the staff at its Pineapple Street Studios podcast division.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg.
According to The Philadelphia Business Journal citing a source familiar with the situation, the Pineapple cuts amount to 12 positions and continue an optimization plan put in place last summer that saw Audacy eliminate 14 jobs at one of its other podcasting studios, Cadence13.
Pineapple produces podcasts hosted by the likes of comedian Trevor Noah and journalist Ronan Farrow, as well as several focused on hit television shows such as HBO's "Succession" and "The Last of Us."
The podcasting business has been negatively impacted by several factors over the past year, including the SAG-AFTRA strike, tighter marketing budgets and waning demand for limited-run, narrative series.
“We are continuing to optimize our structure to align with the podcast market opportunity and set us up for continued growth,” an Audacy spokesman said in a statement. “Unfortunately, that means reducing the size of some of our teams, and we have made the difficult decision to reduce a portion of our Pineapple staff.”
While Audacy did not acknowledge it, the layoffs will also assist the company with what could be aggressive cost-cutting goals when it emerges from bankruptcy. As part of a prepackaged deal reached with a “supermajority” of its debtholders, Audacy will eliminate most of the $1.9 billion it owes through the Chapter 11 process. The creditors, in turn, will take control of the company.
Despite the reduction in debt, Audacy is expected to continue streamlining the cost centers of its operations. That includes personnel and real estate. The company recently sold a property in Phoenix for $10.5 million.
Audacy made its first major play in the podcasting space in August 2019, when it was still known as Entercom Communications Corp., by acquiring Pineapple and the 55% of Cadence13 that it didn’t already own. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed, though the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pineapple deal was worth $18 million and Cadence13 nearly $50 million.
Audacy followed those moves up with the acquisition of sports-betting technology and analytics firm QL Gaming Group for $32 million and podcasting ad-tech platform Podcorn as it looked to diversify its holdings after being focused largely on terrestrial radio.
Audacy owns more than 200 radio stations across the country and has faced sagging advertising revenue and rising debt since its 2017 acquisition of CBS Radio.
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