Editing CBS Radio (section)

=== Merger with Entercom ===
On March 15, 2016, CBS Corporation CEO [[Leslie Moonves]] stated that the company was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale or spin-off of CBS Radio. Cumulus Media had been named as one of the potential buyers.<ref name="variety-cbssell">{{cite web|title=CBS Plans to Sell Radio Station Group|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/cbs-radio-stations-sale-investors-1201730033/|website=Variety|date=March 15, 2016 |access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> In July 2016, CBS Radio filed for a planned IPO, which would have spun off the subsidiary as a separate, publicly traded company.<ref name="bloomberg-cbsradioipo">{{cite news|title=CBS Radio Files for IPO as Parent Plans to Jettison Business|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-08/cbs-radio-files-for-ipo-after-broadcaster-fails-to-find-a-buyer|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=July 8, 2016 |access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced that it had agreed to merge with [[Entercom]], at the time the fourth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States; the sale was to be conducted using a [[Reverse Morris Trust]] so that it would be tax-free. To comply with federal ownership limits Entercom had plans to divest 14 stations.<ref name="sacbee-moving">{{cite web|title=It's the end of The End 107.9. Format will move down the dial ahead of planned merger.|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article130697129.html|website=Sacramento Bee|access-date=February 4, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Entercom/CBS Radio Place Future Spin-Offs In Divestiture Trust – RadioInsight|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/117047/entercomcbs-radio-place-future-spin-offs-divestiture-trust/|website=RadioInsight|date=March 21, 2017}}</ref>

The transaction closed on November 17, 2017,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8039439/entercom-cbs-radio-merger-finalized-no-2-radio-operator|title=Entercom Finalizes Merger With CBS Radio, Becoming No. 2 Radio Operator in US|magazine=Billboard|first=Cherie|last=Hu|date=November 11, 2017|access-date=December 13, 2017}}</ref> ending the era of network-owned radio stations in America involving the original [[Big Three (American television)|Big Three]] ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[NBC]], and [[CBS]]). ABC, however, still owned a few stations outside its original network at the time, primarily under the [[ESPN Radio]] umbrella. Following the purchase, Entercom became the second-largest owner of radio stations in the United States in terms of revenue, with a total of 244 stations, and operations in 23 of the top 25 markets.<ref name="variety-cbsentercom">{{cite web|title=CBS Sets Radio Division Merger With Entercom|url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/cbs-entercom-radio-division-merger-1201976392/|website=Variety|date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2017/02/02/cbs-entercom-radio-merger/|title=CBS and Entercom Are Merging Their Radio Stations|website=Fortune|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

The CBS News Radio and [[CBS Sports Radio]] networks were not included in the sale. However, CBS Sports Radio was continued to be broadcast by Entercom stations that carried its national programming.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cbssportsradio.radio.com/stations|title=Stations|website=CBS Sports Radio|language=en|access-date=August 15, 2019}}</ref> Hosts and employees of CBS Sports Radio (which has since rebranded as [[Infinity Sports Network]]) are now employees of [[Audacy, Inc.]] (formerly Entercom).