Cumulus Media has set a target window for its Chapter 11 exit for the first time since filing in March, a move that matters now because the company’s reorganization will reshape control of a major radio group while key regulatory and legal tracks continue to run. The broadcaster is projecting an emergence by late summer or early fall, but that depends on FCC approval of its reorganization plan.
Bankruptcy timeline now has a target
Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 on March 5 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, using a prepackaged restructuring that secured creditor support before the filing. US Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo R. Pérez confirmed the reorganization plan on April 15, 41 days after the filing and within the 60-day window the company had initially projected. Cumulus filed its FCC applications on May 20.
The company’s June 9 joint status letter puts the process at roughly five to six months from petition to exit.
FCC access and ownership rules stay in focus
President and CEO Mary Berner and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development Collin Jones both met with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr within the past week. The meetings were part of the continued push from radio executives for quick and substantial relaxation of the radio ownership rules under the Commission’s 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review.
That regulatory piece matters because Cumulus says its exit still hinges on FCC approval.
Nielsen fight runs on a separate track
The New York filing comes from Cumulus’s lawsuit against The Nielsen Company, which has been on hold since the bankruptcy stay took effect in March. A separate Second Circuit appeal is also and is now before the panel after oral arguments on May 7.
Nielsen is seeking a permanent end to the preliminary injunction, while Cumulus wants it upheld. Cumulus’s access to Nielsen’s Nationwide product expires when the next data set is released around Labor Day, putting the appeals process on a collision course with the company’s projected bankruptcy exit window.
Debt conversion will hand control to lenders
The reorganization converts roughly $660 million in debt to equity and hands control of the 400-plus station group to its secured lenders. When Cumulus emerges, it will also deregister under the Exchange Act and go private, with the current board replaced and new securities unlisted on any US or foreign exchange.
What to watch next: FCC approval of the reorganization plan, the Second Circuit appeal after oral arguments, and the release of the next Nielsen data set around Labor Day.
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