Beasley and Big Machine to Share Certain Broadcast and Digital Revenue
Beasley Broadcast Group announces a licensing agreement with Nashville-based Big Machine Label Group to share certain over-the-air broadcast and digital revenue related to the use of Big Machine's Music. Beasley is the third radio group to sign such a deal with Big Machine following Clear Channel and Entercom. "In our 50-plus years in radio," says Chairman and CEO George Beasley, "Beasley Broadcast has witnessed many changes in the way broadcasters deliver music to listeners. More importantly, we have put our money where our mouth is by participating in technological advancements and adjusting our business when we felt it benefited our Company and industry.
Our new agreement with Big Machine represents a forward thinking way of doing business with Beasley bringing to the table dominant country-formatted radio stations in Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas, Fayetteville, NC and Augusta, GA. Working together is consistent with one of our core beliefs - that to maintain relevancy, radio must continually adapt to the current environment." Through this agreement, Beasley will share a percentage of its on-air revenues with Big Machine Label Group, and thus its award-winning artists such as Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Reba. Big Machine has agreed to an innovative approach to allow digital simulcasts of the over-the-air signals by Beasley Broadcast to scale affordably to support the growth of Beasley's digital platform.
"This new relationship opens the door for incredible digital broadcast opportunities between Beasley's portfolio of radio stations and Big Machine's talented artists," says EVP and Chief Financial Officer Caroline Beasley. "It is a testament to how the free market should work." Ultimately, the real winners are listeners who rely on radio to hear their favorite music, discover new music and enjoy the wide array of digital offerings that enhance the radio experience. "Today's radio listener," continues Caroline Beasley, "will accept nothing less than compelling audio and visual content on-the-air and on their smartphone, tablet and computer…anytime, anywhere."
"The Beasleys have always been innovators and great entrepreneurs with extraordinary vision. Their brand is the gold standard in the industry and we are honored that we share the same vision as we move forward with our mission to help support and grow online digital broadcasting while also supporting our artists in the over- the-air world," says Big Machine Label Group CEO Scott Borchetta. "This is a very exciting time as radio and the recorded music industry collaborate to deliver premium experiences and convenience for users."
"It's an honor to be working with Big Machine Label Group," says Caroline Beasley. "Scott Borchetta represents the cutting edge in the way labels interact with broadcasters. It's no wonder artists of the caliber of
Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw call Scott's company home and I'm certain many others are setting their sights on Big Machine."
Beasley Q4 Net Revenue Up 9.1%, Same Station Net Rev Increases 5.7%
Beasley Broadcasting reports Q4 2012 net revenue rose 9.1% to $27.4 million, compared to $25.2 million in the year-ago period. That includes a 5.7% same station increase. Station operating income was up 14.3% to $10.8 million, from $9.4 million. Operating income was $8.1 Million, up from $6.9 Million, a 16.7% rise. Net income was $3.6 million, a 6.4% rise from $3.4 million in Q4 2011. Commenting on the results, Chairman/CEO George Beasley said, "Beasley Broadcast Group ended 2012 strongly as fourth quarter net revenue rose 9.1% and same station net revenue increased 5.7%. Fourth quarter revenue growth reflects several factors including the cyclical return of political advertising particularly in our Las Vegas, Miami and Wilmington market clusters, continued strength in key advertising categories including automotive, a full quarter's contribution from KOAS-FM in Las Vegas which was acquired in the third quarter, and overall strength in the Company's Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Fort Myers and Augusta market clusters. The solid fourth quarter revenue growth combined with the Company's focus on margins led to another period of SOI growth, as consolidated SOI increased 14.3% compared to last year's fourth quarter while same station SOI improved by 9.5%. Highlighting the operating efficiencies being realized on our higher revenue levels, fourth quarter SOI margins were 39.3%, up from 37.5% in the same quarter last year. We further strengthened our balance sheet and capital structure by leveraging our strong cash flows from operations to repay $2.1 million of our debt, which ended the quarter at $116.8 million compared to $126.7 million at December 31, 2011, and $142.0 million at the end of 2010. We ended the fourth quarter with our lowest leverage ratio in over ten years and remain committed to using cash from operations to further lower debt and pursue other initiatives that can enhance shareholder value. In this regard, and reflecting the terms of the Company's new credit facilities, the Company declared and paid a special one-time dividend of $0.085 per share near the end of December, amounting to a return of capital to shareholders of approximately $1.9 million. Looking forward, we remain focused on managing our station clusters to match or exceed their market's revenue performance while delivering continued ratings strength through our strong core programming and targeted localism. In addition to our focus on on-air and digital advertising initiatives, we will continue to strengthen our balance sheet and lower leverage by allocating cash flows from operations to further reduce our borrowings. With further progress on this front, and, reflecting the terms of our new credit facility, we will evaluate future opportunities to return capital to shareholders in the form of dividends or share repurchases. Finally, the licensing agreement between Beasley Broadcast Group and Big Machine Label Group represents yet another way Beasley is leveraging its core broadcasting platform and digital initiatives to benefit on-air and digital listeners and users. We believe this alignment furthers our mission of offering advertisers a wider range of platforms and options for reaching listeners while bringing them great content when and where they want it."
SiriusXM Q4 Revenue Rises 14%
SiriusXM reports higher quarterly revenue and sales for the fourth quarter, as it added more subscribers. Net income rose to $156.2 million, or 2 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $71.3 million, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier. SiriusXM says total revenue rose 14 percent to $892.4 million. The satcaster previously said it had added two million subscribers in 2012, bringing its total subscriber base to 23.9 million. Says CEO Jim Meyer, "Thanks to the outstanding team at SiriusXM, we capped a great 2012 with a strong fourth quarter, adding more than 500,000 net new subscribers and attaining outstanding revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow. SiriusXM also returned capital to shareholders for the first time in the history of satellite radio through a $327 million special cash dividend in December. We are confident in our guidance for growth in 2013 and continue to be sharply focused on enhancing shareholder value, including through our recently announced common stock repurchase program that we are initiating this year." Meyer adds, "We continue to broaden our Internet capabilities to expand the user experience and strengthen our in-vehicle technologies. We are thrilled to announce that our personalized radio feature, MySXM, is now in public beta testing and will be available to our Internet subscribers in the near future. We are committed to ensuring SiriusXM's long-term leadership in audio and data services, particularly in vehicles, and we will do that by continuing to innovate and improve our technology, programming, and customer care." EVP/CFO David Frear says, "In 2012, we took significant steps to strengthen SiriusXM's balance sheet. We paid down more than $1 billion of short maturity, high-coupon debt and replaced it with $400 million of 10 year, 5.25% debt and a $1.25 billion undrawn revolving credit facility. We ended the year with more than $520 million of cash after paying a special cash dividend in December that totaled $327 million. With debt to adjusted EBITDA falling from 4.1x at December 2011 to under 2.7x at December 2012, we are below our leverage target and have ample liquidity to pursue strategic opportunities and return capital to stockholders through our $2 billion stock buyback program."
Arbitron, Nielsen Voluntarily Provide FTC Additional Time for Merger Review
Arbitron says that, following informal discussions with the staff at the Federal Trade Commission, Arbitron and Nielsen "have agreed to voluntarily provide the FTC with additional time in which to review" their proposed merger.
According to a news release, "Nielsen, as the acquiring party, will withdraw and refile its pre-merger notification and report form under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act ("HSR"), which will restart the 30-day time frame for initial review of the transaction. The waiting period for the new filing will expire at 11:59 p.m. on March 8, 2013, unless earlier terminated by the FTC, or the FTC makes a formal request for additional information prior to the expiration of the waiting period."
Arbitron has also informed the SEC that a proposed class action lawsuit was filed against the merger in Delaware Chancery Court on January 24. The suit claims that Arbitron's directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to maximize shareholder value in the sale, and that the preliminary proxy statement failed to provide material information and provides materially misleading information about the deal.
WJOX-FM Seeking to Stop Ryan Haney's Move To Birmingham's 'The Zone'
Program Director Ryan Haney's move from Cumulus WJOX-FM, Birmingham, to crosstown Cox Media Group "97.3 The Zone" WZNN-FM is being challenged in U.S. District Court by Cumulus, via subsidiary Citadel Broadcasting. A lawsuit claims Haney's move was a breach of contract. Haney resigned from WJOX-FM January 21, and a week later began working for "The Zone." Haney's former station contends that while his contract expired December 21, that as an at-will employee, the terms of his contract continued, including a one-year non-compete clause. Cumulus/Citadel is seeking a federal injunction, or restraining order, to stop Haney from working at their crosstown competitor. "Specifically, Citadel requests that the Court prohibit defendant Haney from providing services and disclosing confidential information to its direct competitor in Birmingham, Cox Media Group," according to one of the court documents filed by Citadel attorneys. A federal judge is also being asked to seal court proceedings, barring the public and press from courtroom actions. Haney's resignation at WJOX-FM came at the same time as the exit of afternoon host Paul Finebaum, who is currently sitting out a three month non-compete. Although speculation has centered on Finebaum joining "The Zone," there have been reports that he's seriously considering other options.
Lori Bennett Promoted to WDVD-FM/Detroit Program Director
Cumulus Detroit Talk WJR-AM and Hot AC WDVD-FM Promotion and Marketing Director Lori Bennett is promoted to Program Director and afternoon host at WDVD-FM. Bennett replaces Ron Harrell, who exited for CBS Radio Dallas. Bennett had at one time been Operations Manager and Program Director at crosstown Clear Channel AC WNIC-FM, where she also hosted mornings. Cumulus SVP of Corporate Programming Jan Jeffries tells us, "We've interviewed many talented folks in the last couple of months, and in the tradition of Cumulus, we love to promote talented people from within, and I'm so pleased that we have Lori Bennett right in our own building." He adds that Bennet "has a keen understanding of the market and of the strengths of WDVD. Her quality of organization, leadership, on-air skills, and her ability to work closely with others all make Lori the perfect candidate for this post."
Program Director Mark Callaghan Exits KOSI-FM/Denver
Entercom AC KOSI-FM, Denver, Program Director Mark Callaghan exits as his position is eliminated. Sister Hot AC "Alice 105.9" KALC-FM Program Director Mike Peterson adds KOSI-FM programming. Callaghan, who has been in radio for more than 30 years, previously was Operations Manager/Format Captain for AC stations at Townsquare Media, where he also spent 16 years as an air personality and Program Director at Townsquare's Northern Colorado cluster. He took over as PD at KOSI-FM in March 2012.
Chris Mueller Moves to Afternoons at Pittsburgh's 'The Fan'
CBS Radio Pittsburgh moves Chris Mueller from nights to afternoons on "Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan" KDKA-FM. Mueller joins current afternoon hosts Joe Starkey and Josh Miller from 2-6pm, for "Starkey, Miller and Mueller." Mueller, who has hosted 10pm-2am, is a Pittsburgh native and a Penn State grad. He's been with "The Fan" since it launched in early 2010. Program Director Ryan Maguire says, "In Chris, we feel we have a dynamic personality who really had great chemistry with Joe Starkey and Josh Miller. That speaks volumes because we had some very talented candidates that we were looking at for this position. He earned this, and we’re excited at what lies ahead." Weekend host Colin Dunlap replaces Mueller in nights.
Boston’s 'Amp Radio' Brings in Dustin Carlson for Nights
Dustin Carlson is named to be the new night host at CHR-Top40 "103.3 Amp Radio" WODS-FM, Boston. He joins from CBS Radio's Alternative Rock "X-107.5" KXTE-FM, Las Vegas, where he's afternoon host, Assistant PD, and Creative Director. He's been with that station for close to eight years. Known on-air as just "Dustin" at "X-107.5," he will be "Slater" at "103.3 Amp Radio." Says Carlson, "I'm beyond excited for the opportunity to join the Amp team in Boston. It's not easy leaving my Vegas family, but I am looking forward to being a part of the talented staff who will take Amp to the top in the market." WODS-FM Program Director Dan Mason Jr. says that Carlson "is a unique communicator, a stand-out talent, and one of the most creative people in the industry. I know he will be a great addition to the '103.3 Amp Radio' team and help us as we build America's next great CHR brand."
Gores Group Closes on Harris Broadcast
Harris Corp. has completed its previously announced sale of its Broadcast Communications business to an affiliate of The Gores Group for $225 million. The price included $160 million in cash at closing, a $15 million subordinated promissory note and an earn-out of up to $50 million based on performance. Gores and Harris officials say that the business unit will continue to use the Harris Broadcast name during a three-year transition period. Harris Broadcast divison chief Harris Morris said in December that no product lines would be discontinued, and no immediate cuts were planned for the 1,700 employees. Harris Corp. announced last May that it would sell the broadcast divison, exiting the sector after 50 years in the industry.
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