Audio giant Entercom changes to name to ‘Audacy’

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Radio and audio media giant Entercom has changed its name to Audacy, it announced March 30, 2021.

The company, which owns over 200 radio stations nationwide, including the former CBS Radio stations, as well as podcast, live event and experience ventures, says the new name is meant to represent its as “fundamentally different and dramatically enhanced organization,” according to a statement, where it also labeled itself a  “scaled multi-platform audio content and entertainment leader.”

The new name is an amalgamation of “audacity,” “audio” and “odyssey” — the latter of which is essentially how the made up word is pronounced.

Audacy.com will become the new domain for its radio station websites, previously hosted under its Radio.com brand, which the company is sunsetting. There is also a new corporate site at audacyinc.com and the company has swapped up the “@audacy” handle on Twitter as well as related ones for its corporate and consumer support arms.

The handle is taken on both Facebook and Instagram, however, with the former belonging to a French IT company by the same name that uses the domain audacy.fr.

The two podcast companies Entercom acquired, Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios, will remain consumer facing brands, as will its Podcorn podcast monetization and influencer platform and BetQL sports betting brand created through a joint venture with FanDuel.

As part of the new name, the company also introduced a new logo design — with “dot” and “backslash” like shapes suggesting the outline of an “A.” Its color scheme calls for a red-orange hue combined with dark blues and violets, often in gradient form.

The brand also leverages both horizontal and vertical “bar” patterns — some thin and some bold — to represent audio waves.

The company will also change stock symbols from ETM to AUD on or about April 6, 2021.

In addition to the new name, Audacy also announced an exclusive deal with Demi Lovato to create her first ever podcast produced by OBB Sound and SB Projects under the Cadence13 banner. More details will be announced in May 2021.

It will also launch new digital shows with Boomer Esaison and Big Tigger and plans to launch a new version of “Loveline” in the summer of 2021. Audacy also announced it has inked a distribution deal with “The Rich Eisen Show.”

The company will also partner with BetMGM to enhance its sports betting offerings and, through Global Music Rights, will “add significantly enhanced on-demand and other interactive features to its digital platform.”

Entercom was founded in 1968 and grew quickly thanks to both the rising popularity of the FM band and relaxed FCC radio ownership rules that allowed the same company to own duopolies.

It has grown to be the second largest radio station owner in the U.S. — owning properties on both the AM and FM dial, behind iHeartCommunication’s iHeartMedia division (formerly Clear Channel) and its name was primarily known to listeners as part of a tagline on station IDs.

Like many radio owners, the company also diversified, expanding into streaming and podcast productions through acquiring .

It also launched the digital portal Radio.com to serve as hub for its local stations.