Audacy,previously known asRadio.com,is a free broadcast andInternet radioplatformdeveloped by the namesake companyAudacy, Inc.(formerly known as Entercom).[1]The Audacy platform functions as amusic recommender systemand is the national umbrella brand for the company'sradio networkaggregating its over 235 local radio stations across the United States. In addition, the service includes thousands of podcasts created for the platform, hosted elsewhere or station programming on demand. It was initially developed byCBS Radioand was acquired by the former Entercom as part of the company's takeover of CBS Radio. The service's main competitors are rival station groupsiHeartMedia'siHeartRadioandTuneIn.Audacy is available online viamobile devicesand devices such asChromecastandAmazon Fire TV.
 | |
| Type | Division |
|---|---|
| Branding | Internet radio Music recommender system |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S. |
| Owner | Audacy, Inc. |
Key people | David Field (Chairman/CEO, Audacy) |
Launch date | July 2010 |
Former names | Radio.com (2010–2021) |
| Affiliation(s) | |
Official website | www |
Audacy Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Texason January 7, 2024 (case no. 24-90024), along with 47 affiliated companies. The law firm Porter Hedges, LLP is representing the firm. The bankruptcy petition lists assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion and the number of creditors between 5,000 and 10,000.[2]
History
edit
The radio.com domain was formerly owned byCNET Networks,which purchased it, andtv.comfrom the nonprofit Internet Multicasting Service for $30,000 in 1996.[3]CNET, and in turn the radio.com domain, was acquired byCBS Corporation(the parent company of CBS Radio at the time) in 2008.[4]
Radio.com launched on July 16, 2010, under CBS Radio. It was originally launched as a central website to stream all of CBS's then 130 radio stations,Last.fmand other CBS properties. The original features were currently-playing information, song history, station and genre search, presets, blogs, newsfeeds, and social media tools.[5]Later that year the service launched its first app foriOS.In addition the service added custom channels and music fromAOL RadioandYahoo Music.[6]In 2015, the service added a music video streaming option.[7]These deals eventually ended quietly, especially after AOL and Yahoo's mergers intoOath.[citation needed]
Entercom acquired CBS Radio, including Radio.com, on November 17, 2017.[8]
Throughout early and mid-2018, disparate individual mobile apps and sites for Entercom's legacy stations (sometimes developed outside Entercom by local third parties for individual stations and often not being hosted universally by one provider) were withdrawn from theiTunes StoreandGoogle Play,uniting all of Entercom's web and mobile efforts for their properties solely under the Radio.com app and website. The CBS Radio stations, which were part of "CBS Local" sites with their former sister television stations, also saw their main web presences moved to sub-domains of Radio.com.[9]Some of the former CBS Local domains in markets where CBS only had radio stations remained online until late 2021 despite no longer hosting local radio content, instead carrying content from the nearestCBS-owned television station.[citation needed]
On June 25, 2018, Entercom announced that Radio.com would become the exclusive streaming provider for all of its stations, ending its relationship with the third-party serviceTuneIn.Stations previously owned by Entercom pre-merger were removed on July 6, and former CBS Radio stations were removed on August 1. At that time, Entercom's stations would also begin promoting the service, in particular, suffixing "a Radio.com station" after their legalstation identificationsat the top of each hour.[10]Smart speakerintegration of the service was launched within the same period.[citation needed]
In October 2019, the app debuted a feature called "Rewind", where several of Entercom's spoken word content stations maintain a 24-hour on-demand buffer of programming that can be accessed through rewind, fast-forward, and skip back/forward controls.[11]
On March 30, 2021, Entercom rebranded the company and Radio.com as Audacy. The end tag of Audacy's station identifications was then changed to identify them as "an Audacy station", along with a seven-notesounderwhose tone varies with a station's format (such as a guitar playing it for a rock station, or a softer sound for a 'Mix'-like station).[12]The end tag for all Audacy's stations was changed once again in July 2022 to "Always live on the free Audacy app." Audacy, Inc. put the Radio.com domain up for auction on December 29, 2022, with a minimum required bid of $2.5 million (USD);[13]by June 1, 2023, the auction had closed without a winner.[14]
On July 19, 2022, Audacy announced a redesign of their player on their website and their app to include enhanced features such as "Enhanced Rewind" allowing listeners to rewind spoken-word programming, curated discovery of content, seamless cross-device functionality, and enriched podcast listening.[15]
In early January 2024, it was announced that Audacy would be preparing to file for bankruptcy within the upcoming weeks. On January 7, 2024, Audacy filed forChapter 11 bankruptcyprotection. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization, Audacy has made a deal with its creditors to transfer control to them while cutting approximately $1.6 billion of its debt.[16]
Investment firmSoros Fund Managementhas emerged as the largest creditor in Audacy's prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, holding over $400 million of its highest-ranking debt. This debt is planned to be converted into equity in the restructured company, making Soros a significant shareholder.[17]
This investment aligns with Soros' recent media interests, including involvement in the acquisitions ofVice Mediaand a minority stake inCrooked Media.Under its proposed plan, existing shareholders will be wiped out, while high-ranking creditors will receive equity in the reorganized company. The plan requires court approval.[17]
Content partnerships
editOn February 7, 2019, Entercom launched stations forCNN,CNN International,HLN,Bloomberg RadioandBloomberg Televisionon Radio.com along with podcasts fromTurner Podcast Networkvia deals withBloomberg L.P.andTurner Broadcasting.[18]Two weeks later, Radio.com reached deals to addBonneville InternationalandCox Media Groupstations and podcasts to the platform.[19]
On September 25, 2019,Salem Media GroupandAlpha Mediastations were made available on the service.[20]Beasley Broadcast Groupstations joined the service on November 11, 2020.[21]
On November 25, 2019,Disney Channels Worldwideagreed to terms to featureRadio Disneyand Radio Disney Country's streams on the service; they were removed in January 2021 as Disney wound down their American radio operations, excludingESPN Radio.[22]Disney-branded music stations returned to the Audacy app in a new deal in August 2022.[23]
On August 17, 2021, Audacy announced a content distribution partnership withUrban Oneto add its stations to Audacy.[24]On September 15, 2021, Audacy announced thatCumulus Media-owned radio stations and podcasts would be added.[25]
On May 23, 2023, Audacy signed a deal withAllen Media Group'sThe Weather Channelto carry the audio of the cable network, along with the streams of the Pattrn and Weather Channel en EspañolFASTchannels.[26]
After a five-year absence, Audacy's stations returned to TuneIn at the end of June 2023 as part of a new content partnership with the latter.[27]
Availability and supported devices
editIn addition to traditional desktop availability, the service is available viaiOS/WatchOSandAndroidmobile and tablet devices, along withAmazon AlexaandGoogle Assistant-compatiblesmart speakersand other devices.[28][29]
Streaming of Audacy content is Geo-restricted to the United States.[30]In addition, local advertising from the advertisers of the nearest Audacy cluster of stations to a listener issubstituted over a station's advertising,along with traditional national advertising,public service announcementsand Audacy features such as music news, trivia, and other minutia. Professional sports play-by-play are also geo-restricted to within the station's broadcast area, with either alternate/regular programming or a disclaimer airing instead online outside its market area.
See also
edit- AccuRadio
- Channel Q,anLGBTQ radio network
- iHeartRadio– main competitor
- TuneIn
References
edit- ^Venta, Lance (March 30, 2021)."Entercom Rebrands As Audacy".RadioInsight.RetrievedMarch 30,2021.
- ^"AUDACY CORP. Bankruptcy Filing".bankruptcyobserver.com.RetrievedJanuary 7,2024.
- ^Nash, Kim S. (September 30, 1996)."Dueling for domains".Computerworld.pp. 61, 64.RetrievedNovember 6,2018.
- ^Kramer, Staci D. (May 15, 2008)."CBS-CNET: CBS Will Own TV.com, Radio.com, MP3.com and News.com".Gigaom.Archived fromthe originalon March 20, 2015.RetrievedNovember 6,2018.
- ^"CBS Radio Launches New Online Player".RetrievedJuly 6,2018.
- ^"CBS Radio Launches Radio.com App For iPhone".December 6, 2010.RetrievedJuly 6,2018.[non-primary source needed]
- ^"CBS' Radio.com Launches Streaming Music Videos".TheWrap.December 2, 2015.RetrievedJuly 6,2018.
- ^Hu, Cherie (November 17, 2017)."Entercom Finalizes Merger With CBS Radio, Becoming No. 2 Radio Operator in US".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2017.RetrievedMarch 31,2024.
- ^"Radio.Com Expands To Include Entercom Roster – And Then Some".Inside Radio.November 21, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 16,2019.
- ^"TuneIn Tune Out For Entercom: Radio.com Gets Exclusive".Radio & Television Business Report.RetrievedJuly 21,2018.
- ^"On Radio.com, Listeners can Now Rewind Their Favorite Talk Radio Programs".PILOT.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
- ^Spangler, Todd (March 30, 2021)."Entercom Changes Name to Audacy, Kills Off Radio.com Brand".Variety.RetrievedMarch 30,2021.
- ^Audacy Places Radio.com Up For Auction- RadioInsight (published December 29, 2022)
- ^"'Radio.com' Auction Has Closed. Domain Remains With Audacy, For Now ".Inside Radio.June 1, 2023.RetrievedJune 1,2023.
- ^Rollout of Updates to Audacy App and Website Begins Today-Audacy, Inc.(published July 19, 2022)
- ^"Radio broadcaster Audacy files for bankruptcy".The Wall Street Journal.January 7, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 7,2024.
- ^abCarman, Ashley; Pollard, Amelia (February 14, 2024)."Billionaire Soros to Become Biggest Stockholder in US Radio Company".Yahoo! Finance.Bloomberg News.RetrievedFebruary 14,2024.
- ^Ink, Radio (February 7, 2019)."Radio.com To Launch Stations For CNN, Bloomberg".Radio Ink.RetrievedFebruary 7,2019.
- ^"Radio.com Adds Bonneville & Cox Stations To Streaming Platform".RadioInsight.February 22, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 24,2019.
- ^Alpha Media & Salem Media Group Stations To Join Radio.com- Radio insight (published September 25, 2019)
- ^Beasley Media Stations Join Radio.com- Radio Insight (published November 11, 2020)
- ^Radio Disney Joins Radio.com- Radio Insight (published November 25, 2019)
- ^"Digital Disney Station Debuts".August 22, 2022.
- ^Audacy Strikes Content Distribution Partnership With Urban One, Bringing Additional Premium Live and On-demand Audio Content to Digital Platform- Audacy, Inc. (published August 17, 2021)
- ^Cumulus Media Stations Join Audacy App/Streaming Platform- Radio Insight (published September 15, 2021)
- ^Audacy Adds The Weather Channel Networks to Streaming Platform-Radio Insight(Published May 23, 2023)
- ^"Audacy Extends Reach of its Streaming Content via Distribution and Monetization Agreement With TuneIn"(Press release). Audacy, Inc. June 21, 2023.RetrievedJuly 9,2023.
- ^"How to listen to radio stations online at Radio.com: FAQ".Radio.com.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^"Google Groups".Google Search.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^"Geo-Blocking Explained: What to Know and How You Can Get Around It".CNET.RetrievedNovember 3,2024.