NBC5, KRLD radio strike a deal, ending the station's longtime partnership with CBS11

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s not 100 percent officially formalized yet, but nonetheless is a done deal.

Dallas-based KRLD radio (1080 AM) has a new partnership with Fort Worth-based NBC5.

The deal was struck shortly after Entercom Communications Corp. merged with CBS Radio Inc. and increased its holdings from 127 to 235 stations. The deal was closed in November. KRLD long had been wedded in D-FW to CBS11, but that’s come to an end.

The new partnership is still in its formative stages, but NBC5 meteorologists already have had a presence on KRLD. NBC Universal-owned Telemundo39 and Entercom’s newly acquired Spanish language radio station, KMVK (107.5 FM), likewise will have a content-sharing arrangement.

CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement that unloading the radio properties “will allow us to unlock more value for our shareholders and further grow our revenue.”

Entercom president and CEO David Field has a different view. In a memo to staffers, he said in part, “We are done playing defense. It is time to play offense. We plan to make big investments in our brands, people, capabilities and innovation. We are also done apologizing about radio, America’s number one reach medium, which is massively undervalued.”

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