CEO Field Says Feedback On Audacy Brand Is 95% Positive

In an interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal, Audacy CEO David Field says the inflection point for the company was its November 2017 acquisition of CBS Radio, which made Entercom the second largest U.S. radio broadcaster after iHeartMedia. It also gave it the Radio.com digital audio platform.

Management felt the name Entercom no longer accurately represented what the multi-pronged audio company it has become and where it is headed moving forward. 

David Field

“What we needed moving forward was holistic brand that will work for businesses and consumers,” Field said. “And neither Entercom nor Radio.com could serve that purpose.”

It hired branding company Landor & Fitch and arrived on Audacy, which is a combination of audio, audacious and odyssey. The name was launched without the use of focus groups.

There are some that immediately questioned getting rid of Radio.com, which has been rebranded as Audacy.com, seeing it as an easy domain name to remember and a great brand. Field, however, said about 95% of the feedback he has seen and heard since Tuesday has been positive.

Field said he still loves the radio business. He has long championed it as underappreciated on Wall Street. But areas such as podcasting, digital streaming, sports betting and digital marketing will consume a larger chunk of that revenue pie moving forward.

Audacy spent much of 2020 fending off the financial impact of Covid-19. In its annual report, the company said the pandemic caused a decline in revenue from national and local advertising and the broadcast of professional sports, an increase in bad debt expense due to an inability of some advertisers to meet their payment terms and elevated employee medical claims costs.

Field was unable to discuss specifics about first quarter performance before the company issues its official report. He did say that like many other companies, Audacy was adversely impacted by the spike in Covid-19 cases in December and January.

Field expects better days in the second and third quarters as more Americans are vaccinated and the economy begins to open up. 

Audacy has 230 radio stations in 47 different markets.