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Entercom-CBS Radio merger passes another milestone with shareholder vote

Entercom shareholders OK merger with CBS Radio, creating a 235-station company. Entercom CEO David Field says the $100 million in cost cuts related to the merger will not hurt the listener experience.

David (left) and Joseph Field, at the Entercom Communications Inc. special shareholders meeting. Joseph launched the company in the late 1960s. His son, David, now runs it. The CBS Radio merger will make Entercom the nation’s No. 2 radio operator with 235 stations.
David (left) and Joseph Field, at the Entercom Communications Inc. special shareholders meeting. Joseph launched the company in the late 1960s. His son, David, now runs it. The CBS Radio merger will make Entercom the nation’s No. 2 radio operator with 235 stations.Read moreBob Fernandez / Staff

Entercom Communications Inc. shareholders on Wednesday approved a merger with troubled CBS Radio that will transform the Bala Cynwyd company into the nation's No. 2 radio operator. The deal is expected to close on Friday.

Only four people attended the meeting that was chaired by Joseph Field, 85, the company founder whose son, David, now heads Entercom.

Entercom has said it will cut about $100 million in costs as part of the merger. In interviews on Wednesday at the Hotel Sofitel, Field said that "we will not take one cent away from the quality of the listener experience or the value we provide to advertisers."

Entercom will "reinvest tens of millions of dollars into brand and into our data analytics," Field said. He said that iconic CBS Radio was not "broken" as a company but had been "under managed." He said Entercom has the right to use CBS Radio branding for a year after the deal closes.

Field has said that the Entercom and CBS Radio merger will create a national platform for advertisers, particularly for its sports shows. He called radio "the most undervalued medium in the U.S."

The Entercom-CBS Radio will own and operate 235 radio stations in 48 of the top 50 markets, reaching 100 million listeners. Among the stations now owned by Entercom are six CBS Radio stations in Philadelphia — WIP, KYW, WTDY, WXTU, WPHT, and WOGL.

The only larger radio operator is iHeartRadio. Field said they would continue to look to acquire radio stations.