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Entercom of Bala Cynwyd to merge with CBS Radio

    by Bob Fernandez and Joseph N. DiStefano, Staff Writers
    Published 

Entercom Communications Corp., the Bala Cynwyd radio chain founded by Joseph Field and run by his son David, is merging operations with CBS Corp.'s radio stations in a tax-free deal, the companies said Thursday.

The combined companies will be the nation's second-largest radio station group, with 244 stations in mostly big-city markets and taking in $1.7 billion a year. That trails only IHeartRadio, with 862 mostly smaller-market stations and $2.6 billion in revenue last year, according to the industry analyst BIA/Kelsey, InsideRadio says here.

CBS is about three times the size of Entercom, and CBS investors, including JPMorgan and the Vanguard mutual funds, will hold most shares in the combined company. But the headquarters will be at Entercom's Bala Cynwyd offices, and the joint company will be run by David Field.

CBS's Philadelphia stations include KYW (news), WIP (sports), WPHT (conservative talk), WXTU (country), WOGL ("classic hits"), and WTDY (Top 40). Entercom owns stations in Boston, Denver, Miami, San Francisco, and dozens of other metro markets, and in Wilkes-Barre, but had not been in Philadelphia.

CBS had been seeking to sell its radio stations for some time as it focuses on its faster-growing TV business.