Entercom Communications has released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2020. Net revenue for Q4 was $319.5 million, down 23 percent from the year before, but up 19 percent compared to Q3 in 2020. Digital revenue grew by 23 percent compared to a year earlier, reaching $58.8 million.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Entercom’s events revenue fell 98 percent compared to Q4 of 2019. Station expenses for the quarter declined 16 percent to $238.8 million compared to the prior year and corporate expenses declined 6 percent to $20.2 million. Operating loss for Q4 was $204.9 million, which included a non-cash impairment charge of $247.4 million, compared to an operating loss of $455.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
David J. Field, Entercom President/CEO, stated, “I am pleased to report that Entercom continued to drive strong sequential operating improvement with revenues up 19% and EBITDA more than doubling vs. the third quarter. Digital, podcasting, sports betting and network radio all posted strong double digit growth over prior year and we are continuing to drive innovation across these businesses to enhance future growth potential. While the pandemic continues to hobble a large number of our advertisers, particularly locally, we are optimistic about a strong recovery in our local ad sales later this year driven by vaccinations, fiscal stimulus and pent-up consumer demand in heavily impacted categories.
“During the quarter, we announced and completed the acquisition of the QL Gaming Group, a rapidly emerging sports betting data and predictive analytics platform that ideally complements our unrivaled position in the sports audio business. In addition, we announced a landmark multi-year partnership with Fan Duel, which we believe is the largest advertising deal in the history of the radio industry.”
