Cumulus Media, Inc.
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| Public | |
| Traded as | OTC Pink: |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, US |
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Key people
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Mary G. Berner, CEO, President & Director; John F. Abbot, EVP, Treasurer & CFO; Richard S. Denning, Senior VP, Secretary & General Counsel; Suzanne M. Grimes, EVP of Corporate Marketing and President of Westwood One; Suzanne G. Smith, CAO & VP |
| Products | Radio broadcasting |
| Revenue | $1,141,400,000 (2016) |
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Number of employees
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3,646 full time |
| Subsidiaries | Westwood One |
| Website | cumulus.com |
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Entercom and iHeartMedia, Inc. Cumulus lists ownership of 446 stations in 90 markets, as of July 1, 2017. It also owns Westwood One. Its headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Its subsidiaries include Cumulus Broadcasting LLC, Cumulus Licensing LLC and Broadcast Software International Inc.
The company was started in August 1998 by radio consultant Lewis Dickey Jr. and media and technology entrepreneur Richard Weening. The Telecommunications Act of 1996, among other things removed restrictions on the number of radio stations a single owner could control in a market and overall. Dickey, then a nationally known radio programming consultant, was acting as a consultant to a small radio group in which Weening had a personal investment. Dickey and Weening joined forces around Dickey's idea to acquire and operate radio stations in mid-size markets where giant Clear Channel was not focusing. Dickey was the radio expert and Weening was the corporate finance and start-up CEO. Dickey was President of Stratford Research his radio consulting firm and also president of his family company, Midwestern Broadcasting with two stations in Toledo, Ohio which would later be acquired by Cumulus. Weening had successful experience as a start-up CEO in book and magazine publishing, online services and enterprise software systems. He was then CEO of QUAESTUS & Co., Inc., a private equity firm specializing in media and technology start-ups. A student of classics, Weening came up with the name Cumulus which means "accumulation" in Latin and best described Dickey and Weening's plan to acquire stations in 50 or more markets. QUAESTUS provided the seed capital to make the first station acquisitions as a model for the Cumulus strategy.
The next significant milestone was a $50 million investment from closely watched and highly respected State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) [[]] previously an investor in Weening's magazine publishing company. Full scale operations started on May 22, 1997. Weening assumed the role of Executive Chairman focusing on acquisitions deal structuring, corporate finance and internet from headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dickey selected stations to buy and oversaw radio programming, operations and strategy as Executive Vice Chairman. Dickey brought in highly regarded radio operator William Bungeroth to serve as President of Cumulus broadcasting from new offices in Chicago's Hancock Center. Bungeroth had a reputation as an advertising sales leader. He would oversee market level tactical execution including the integration of newly acquired stations into market operating units. John Dickey, Lew's brother and himself an experienced programming consultant would oversee station content.
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