Cumulus Media Files for Prepackaged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Photo Credit: Melinda Gimpel

With an eye on shedding around $600 million in debt, Cumulus Media has once again filed for prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Atlanta-headquartered radio group formally disclosed its latest bankruptcy plan today, about 10 months after being delisted from NASDAQ due to a badly sagging share price. And those share-value woes, we explored in detail, arrived as the company was grappling with a considerable debt burden, declining revenue, swelling losses, and related cutbacks.

Now, the Westwood One parent is looking to right the ship with the mentioned plan, which, in keeping with the restructuring-geared nature of Chapter 11 filings, is expected to have “no impact to employees, partners, or listeners.”

As described by Cumulus, its sweeping reorganization framework, which follows a 2017 bankruptcy filing, has the support of “the requisite majority of debtholders.”

Assuming it’s therefore approved by the appropriate parties and then the court, the proposal would see said debtholders swap their claims for equity interests in the overhauled Cumulus. Consequently, the Cumulus Podcast Network owner would exit the public market; NASDAQ delisting aside, shares are technically still trading via the OTCQB.

Additionally, Cumulus is expected to issue $50 million worth of exit convertible notes to certain stakeholders. There are, of course, plenty of other components to the voluminous plan – once it’s effective, Cumulus’ existing board will officially dissolve, to name one. But those are the proposal’s brass tacks.

Regarding execs’ long-term objectives for the post-bankruptcy Cumulus, president and CEO Mary Berner emphasized the belief that “a stronger financial foundation” will set the stage for continued content investments, “enriched audience experiences,” digital marketing growth, and more.

“While we have outperformed the market on many of our most important metrics, including share gains in both local and digital revenue, the broader macroeconomic and industry-wide pressures we have faced have remained unrelenting,” said Berner, whose business owns and operates about 395 radio stations.

“Against that backdrop, it became clear that Cumulus’s remaining debt burden limited our ability to fully realize the Company’s potential, and this agreement represents a major step forward,” she continued.

As for where the process goes from here, the presiding bankruptcy judge today fired off a multifaceted interim order that, among different things, teed up a final hearing for March 26th.

In the bigger picture, amid streaming’s well-documented user growth and feature additions, Cumulus isn’t the only radio giant facing operational obstacles. Audacy filed for bankruptcy in 2024, made substantial layoffs in 2025, and kicked off the current year by triggering a realignment around “verticals” as opposed to “market geography.

On the other hand, iHeartMedia shares (NASDAQ: IHRT) climbed about 10% today to $3.40 a pop – for a 114% increase from early March 2025 but a roughly 20% slip from 2026’s beginning.