Townsquare Media
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | : TSQ |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, United States |
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Key people
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Steven Price (Chairman and CEO) |
| Services | Digital media, radio |
| Owner | Oaktree Capital Management (47%) |
| Website | townsquaremedia |
Townsquare Media (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American media company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting with the acquisition of the MOG Music Network and later a group of former blogs owned by AOL. As of 2016, Townsquare was the third-largest AM–FM operator in the country, owning over 310 radio stations in 66 markets.
Townsquare Media was established as Regent Communications by Terry Jacobs in 1994. Jacobs was formerly the CEO of Jacor Communications, a radio broadcasting company which he created in 1979. Bill Stakelin later shared chief status in the company with Jacobs, and the two established JS Communications, later selling Regent to Jacor in 1997. Stakelin and Jacobs resurrected the Regent name to replace JS, with approval by Jacor. Jacobs left the company in 2005.
On October 27, 2008, Regent Broadcasting joined Radiolicious and began streaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Regent is the first major radio group to contract for all of its streaming stations to be available through the Radiolicious application.
Regent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 1, 2010, with $211.3 million in debt, $166.5 million in assets, and a pre-arranged plan for exiting bankruptcy, with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The filing plan made Oaktree Capital Management the majority owner of Regent after the bankruptcy and gave the old shareholders 12.8 cents per share. After the privatization, the company was renamed Townsquare Media.Gap Broadcasting Group, another radio group owned by Oaktree, was merged into Townsquare, giving it ownership of 171 radio stations in 36 markets.
In December 2010, the company began to expand its digital media operations, overhauling its stations' websites and launching a new country music news website known as Taste of Country.
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Wikipedia