By: Carter Wyckoff

Radio Ink

July 20, 2018

 

With the addition of Country powerhouse WXTU, Beasley Media Group now has five FMs and two AMs in Philadelphia, strengthening up its cluster to better compete with Entercom, which has six stations (four FMs and two AMs); iHeartMedia which also has six stations (five FMs and one AM); and Radio One (three FMs). Here’s what Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley had to say about the purchase of the station it was once the owner of.

“As the former owner of WXTU-FM, Beasley originally launched the station’s Country music format in 1983 against the advice of a number of industry pundits who believed it wouldn’t succeed in the Philadelphia market. Instead, the station thrived and resulted in our successful exchange of WXTU-FM in 2014, as part of a larger asset exchange agreement with CBS Radio. Today, WXTU-FM remains one of the best and most listened-to Country music stations in America. We are proud of this heritage and confident in our ability to continue the growth and success of WXTU-FM as part of the Beasley family of stations.”

She also spoke about what acquiring WXTU means for the company’s business. “Our acquisition of WXTU-FM represents a strategically and financially compelling growth opportunity for our shareholders and further enhances our revenue and competitive position with a strong cluster of five FM and two AM stations in a key, top-10 market. Importantly, the addition of WXTU-FM is consistent with Beasley’s disciplined approach to growing our platform by executing accretive transactions that deliver valuable synergies and the potential for SOI margin improvement, all with a limited impact to our leverage.”