Susquehanna Sells Radio, Cable for Nearly $2 Billion

[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
Cumulus Media, the 11th largest radio group, and a group of investors, have inked a deal to purchase Susquehanna's 33 radio stations for $1.2 billion. Comcast has agreed to purchase SusCom, Suquehanna's cable and broadband assets for $775 million. As the largest privately owned radio group in the U.S., Susquehanna Radio was one of the most sought-after collection of radio stations in the nation, with stations in some of the nation's largest markets including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and York (PA), Susquehanna's headquarters. Through a management agreement, Cumulus Media will manage the new group for $4 million a year, bringing the number of markets in which Cumulus manages stations from 61 to 67. In effect, Cumulus Media be managing the third largest portfolio of radio stations in terms of revenue after No. 1-ranked Clear Channel and No. 2-ranked Infinity Broadcasting. Cumulus, which operates 293 stations, had annual 2004 revenue of $284.5 million. Susquehanna had annual revenue of $228.9 million. For Comcast, which had already owned 30 percent of Susquehanna's cable and broadband services division, the purchase of SusCom adds another 225,000 cable subscribers in Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Mississippi, many in close proximity to systems already served by Comcast.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10013...

* MAP Demands FCC Review Comcast's Susquehanna Deal
October 31, 2005 MAP filed a motion demanding that the FCC include a review of Comcast's latest cable deal to acquire Susquehanna as part of Comcast/Adelphia/Time Warner transaction. The proposed Susquehanna deal would further consolidate Comcast's grip on Northeast. Increased regional consolidation poses a real threat to democracy as it erodes marketplace competition and concentrates power over quality, price, and content.
http://www.mediaaccess.org/