Audacy, the radio and podcast giant, said Sunday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas to reduce its debt.
The restructuring agreement will allow Audacy to reduce its total debt load by 80% to about $350 million from about $1.9 billion, the company said.
“Over the past few years, we have strategically transformed Audacy into a leading, multi-platform audio content and entertainment company,” David Field, CEO of Audacy, said in a statement.
However, Field added that the “perfect storm” over the past four years of macroeconomic challenges “facing the traditional advertising market” has led to a sharp decline in radio ad spending.
“These market factors have severely impacted our financial position and necessitated a restructuring of our balance sheet,” Field said.
The Philadelphia-based company owns hundreds of radio stations and is one of the top radio stations in the United States