Barry CourterNot too much was made locally of the announcement last week that Entercom/CBS Radio reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that will allow it to swap stations around the country with iHeartMedia.
This is important to you perhaps because it involves several local radio stations. WUSY-FM 100.7, WLND-FM 98.1, WKXJ-FM 103.7 and WRXR-FM 105.5 will now be owned and operated by Entercom.
These represent country, adult hits, Top 40 and mainstream rock stations, respectively, in our market.
Entercom/CBS Radio is looking to grow its footprint in the South and other markets and, as part of the deal, made similar station swaps in San Francisco, Boston and Richmond, Va. Some reports have the swap occurring as soon as next week.
While no changes have been announced to the local stations that I'm aware of, the new owners have a reputation for being aggressive, progressive and not afraid to spend a little money to get what they what. It will be interesting to watch not only what happens at those stations, but what happens at competing local stations.
» And, since we are talking radio stations, in case you are in need of some Christmas music, WLND is playing it 24-7.
» I had the occasion to get a tour of the Walker Community Theatre at Memorial Auditorium and it is pretty exciting what has gone on there and what might happen there.
First of all, for those of you who have no idea where or what this space is, it sits, as it has for decades, upstairs at Memorial Auditorium. It is a beautiful space that was renovated just a few years ago.
Just a few weeks ago, the Tivoli Foundation paid to permanently install lighting and sound equipment in the Walker. This makes it more attractive for promoters to book it as they won't have that expense.
They've also reconfigured and remodeled some of the bathrooms, dressing rooms (which as one employee described to me "looked like they were built before the building was built"), hallways and concession areas, and EPB has installed enough new internet technology that Tivoli Foundation Executive Director Nick Wilkerson said the space is the most advanced anywhere.
This won't impact the next concert you see there, but it could help attract events such as gaming conventions.
The space has a capacity of 850, so look for a bunch of new shows from big-time touring acts and hopefully some cool local stuff, as well.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.