-
Caroline Beasley
April 18, 2017
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
Now that the assimilation of Greater Media properties into the Beasley Broadcasting Group is complete, CEO Caroline Beasley can fully devote her energies into building the company's brand in an increasingly competitive and multi-platform business environment. Before she speaks at a keynote session on Global Audio at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Hollywood on May 4th, Beasley took the time to discuss her company's recent evolution and how she sees the industry moving forward.
Did you always want to work in the family business?
Yes, and actually I never thought about doing anything else. Growing up, my brothers and I were always in radio stations, whether with my Mom and Dad at work, or visiting a station while on vacation. You could say that we all caught the radio "bug" early on.
What have you enjoyed the most about the radio business?
The fact that radio is always changing and that we are able to make a difference for our clients' business, and provide entertainment to our listeners.
What's your impression of the impact of consolidation has on radio, pluses and minuses?
Consolidation has enabled some of us to be able to find back office/management synergies and then use some of these savings to reinvest in our products, in an effort to compete in an ever-changing environment. The negative is the over-leverage that consolidation has caused on the industry.
What has been the biggest challenges facing Beasley over the years?
The biggest challenges involve ever-changing technology and the resulting competing landscape. We must continue educating and training our employees on the necessity to sell to our clients differently and interact with our listeners differently.
How have the challenges changed and how has Beasley adopted the deal with them?
We've always had competing technology but never so many new entrants in such a short span of time as we have had over the last 10 years.
When did you realize the time was right to grow the company through acquisition of Greater Media?
We felt that we needed to increase scale in order to compete on a more level playing field. The Greater Media opportunity arose and we knew that this would be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our shareholders to acquire these amazing brands with such talented employees.
What's the best way to assimilate a different corporate culture into your own?
It is very difficult, and we are still learning. But the bottom line is embrace the best of the best ... employees, talent, principles, and products. The way we have done things for 50 years may not be best. Go in with an open mind toward creating a combined company that is greater than 1+1=2.
Obviously, you have seen reports of Entercom divesting stations after its CBS Radio merger. Do you feel Beasley is in a position to assimilate some of those stations, or are you too busy getting Greater Media's portfolio in the fold?
We have our hands pretty full now, but wow, what a great deal for Entercom, and I am so happy for David Field and his family to be able to acquire such amazing brands and strong clusters in the top markets.
How do you assess the impact of digital platforms on radio?
Digital platforms are very important to radio. Digital provides another means for our listeners to follow us anywhere and anytime. It also provides a different level of interaction with our listeners. In addition, we are able to provide more than just spots and dots for advertisers. The integrated platform that Digital helps create is an essential value proposition for our clients.
Other radio groups have branched out into concert promotion and other areas that generate non-traditional revenue. How does Beasley view this area?
We look at events as a complement to our business, and a means to generate non-traditional revenue. We haven't made outside investments in this area, as we do not have a great deal of experience in that arena. We would have to understand the ROI to shareholders before investing in an event company.
What's your view of the economic climate for radio and Beasley in particular?
The economic climate is generally good. The competitive climate is very robust, which is what we are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
With an incoming Republican administration and a seemingly more pro-business/consolidation FCC, how has that altered your corporate strategy when it comes to future acquisitions?
It hasn't altered our strategy just yet, as nothing has been done. If there were to be a relaxation on subcaps, or ownership in general, it would provide Beasley further opportunities to consolidate in existing markets.
What's the key to Beasley's success in the current economic climate and in the future? Are you bullish on 2017 and beyond and if so, how bullish are you?
The keys to our success are our employees, our content and delivering results to our clients. We will continue to focus on strengthening our balance sheet in an effort to position us to take advantages of diversifying our revenue streams, going forward. I am very bullish on radio and its ability to offer compelling, entertaining, local content.
-
-