Cumulus Media Group Goes Chapter 11 Again!

Another company on the verge of collapse.

American radio and media are on the decline. Once again can we give a round of applause to the private equity groups and capitalism?

These entities are the reason why America is in decline.

Larry and David Ellison will own Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Discovery Media. Those claims of Jews owning the media....

C'mon, I am not antisemitic.... I am just wondering why the hell two Jewish billionaires managed to own major movie studioes, television networks, cable news channels, social media and AI?

When the billionaires are mostly white, male, Jewish, Christian and born out of privilege, it makes me wonder why questioning the status quo isn't antisemitic?

Another bankruptcy of a longtime radio congolerate.

Cumulus Media Group is based in Atlanta and this bankruptcy will likely result in restructuring. It includes laying off employees and selling off radio stations in smaller markets.

Cumulus said in ‌its bankruptcy filing late Wednesday that its debt had become unsustainable due to unrelenting challenges such as increasing competition from digital audio and streaming platforms, changes in the advertising market, and recurring annual declines in its radio audiences. The company previously ​filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

On Thursday morning, Cumulus Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as the broadcaster entered into a prepackaged restructuring support agreement to eliminate roughly $600 million in debt between its more than 400 AM/FM stations and Westwood One network.

The move marks the second Chapter 11 for the company in the past decade, having previously undergone restructuring from November 2017 to June 2018.

The filing, made in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, is designed to substantially reduce the broadcaster’s leverage and set a financial structure aimed at long-term stability and investment. Cumulus said the restructuring will not affect day-to-day station operations as usual for employees, advertisers, and listeners during the process.

According to the proposed Plan of Reorganization, all existing funded debt will be canceled in exchange for 100% of the reorganized equity and $50 million in new convertible notes. The company’s revolving credit facility would be amended and restated to provide ongoing liquidity. Cumulus expects the court to consider approval of the plan within 60 days, with emergence dependent on receiving FCC approvals.

The move comes amid sustained periods of difficulty for the group.

In 2024, the Singapore-based Renew Group, led by billionaire Manoj Bhargava, quietly accumulated a 10% stake in Cumulus and signaled plans to push that holding to 20%. As Renew had previously acquired Sports Illustrated parent The Arena Group through a hostile takeover, Cumulus responded by deploying a shareholder “poison pill” in February of that year, diluting any entity that crossed a 15% ownership threshold.

By early 2025, Bhargava had begun selling down his stake, and Cumulus allowed the poison pill to expire with the threat apparently neutralized.

On another front, Cumulus filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen in October, accusing the ratings monopoly of using its market dominance to coerce broadcasters into purchasing local data products at set prices. The flashpoint was Nielsen’s “Network Policy,” which threatened to exclude markets from national ratings if local stations didn’t subscribe to Nielsen’s local service, a move Cumulus said would gut the value of Westwood One programming in the eyes of advertisers.

A federal judge granted Cumulus a preliminary injunction in December 2025, finding the company showed a strong likelihood of success on its claims. Nielsen then appealed, obtaining a stay of the injunction, and has since filed counterclaims alleging Cumulus secretly shared proprietary ratings data with rival Eastlan Ratings.

Buildings are going to start look empty.

Cumulus’ Q3 2025 revenue fell 11.5% to $180.3 million year-over-year, and net loss widened to $20.5 million. Excluding political and the exits of The Daily Wire and The Dan Bongino Show, revenue declined 5%.

Broadcast radio posted steep dips. Combined broadcast revenue dropped 17.2% to $115 million, with spot down 13.1% and network revenue down 26.5% amid a soft national market. Digital Marketing Services grew 34% on the strength of new accounts and larger campaigns, and normalized total digital revenue rose 8%. Podcasting increased 15%. Without normalization, digital slipped 2.6% to $39 million.

The broadcaster reported $7 million in annualized fixed costs during Q3, bringing year-to-date savings to $20 million and total reductions since 2019 to $182 million. The company forecast mid–single-digit revenue declines in Q4, excluding political and the two departed shows, and mid- to high-teens declines on a reported basis.

Cumulus President and CEO Mary Berner said, “While we have outperformed the market on many of our most important metrics, including share gains in both local and digital revenue, the broader macroeconomic and industry-wide pressures we have faced have remained unrelenting. Against that backdrop, it became clear that Cumulus’s remaining debt burden limited our ability to fully realize the Company’s potential, and this agreement represents a major step forward.”

Berner continued, “The prepackaged process is intended to address the Company’s debt efficiently with no disruption to our operations, our people, and our strategies. On emergence, a stronger financial foundation will better position Cumulus to continue investing in premium content, enriched audience experiences, advertiser performance enhancements, and the ongoing growth of our digital marketing offerings.”