Key Points
- BIA Advisory Services says 197 radio stations changed hands during the first half of 2026 for a combined value of nearly $112 million.
- June was one of the slowest months of 2026, with 19 radio stations sold for approximately $11.5 million.
- Larger broadcasters including Audacy and Cumulus Media are selling selected stations as they reduce debt and redirect investment toward digital businesses.
Nearly 200 radio stations changed hands during the first six months of 2026, though transaction activity remained below the pace recorded a year earlier as buyers concentrated on smaller, strategically focused acquisitions.
BIA Advisory Services said 197 radio stations were sold through the end of June for a combined value of nearly $112 million. June was among the year’s slowest months, with 19 stations sold for approximately $11.5 million.
The year-over-year comparison was affected by Connoisseur Media’s acquisition of Alpha Media, which boosted transaction volume during the first half of 2025.
Television station sales were comparatively stable: BIA recorded 39 television station transactions during the first half of 2026, two fewer than during the same period last year. The combined value remained unchanged at approximately $78 million, the firm noted.
In an interview with Inside Radio, BIA Managing Director Rick Ducey said the radio deal market is showing signs of renewed activity, though the factors driving acquisitions differ from earlier periods of industry consolidation.
Ducey said sluggish capital markets, limited private equity exits and persistent gaps between buyer and seller valuations continue to restrict larger transactions. Buyers are instead pursuing individual stations and regional clusters that can strengthen an existing market position or produce a near-term financial return.
“There’s probably not huge appetites for mega M&A activity,” Ducey said in the Inside Radio interview. “It seems like what the industry is doing is playing a smarter, case-by-case, strategic acquisition game where you can see the payoff short-term rather than expecting long-term synergies and scale efficiencies.”
Some of the industry’s largest operators, including Audacy and Cumulus Media, have sold stations in recent months as they work to reduce debt and direct more capital toward digital platforms. Ducey characterized many of those transactions as portfolio adjustments rather than a broad retreat from radio.
Connoisseur has also sold individual stations and clusters, particularly in the Midwest, to in-market operators and local management groups. Ducey said locally focused owners may be better positioned to strengthen direct advertising relationships and community ties than national companies overseeing larger portfolios.
Lower prices attached to some transactions do not necessarily indicate distressed sales, Ducey said. Buyers often acquire clusters containing a combination of stronger signals and weaker-performing properties that provide strategic or operational value when operated together.
Ducey also expects valuations to increasingly reflect a broadcaster’s wider media business rather than its radio licenses alone. Streaming, podcasting, digital advertising, content production and other revenue sources are becoming more important in determining what companies are worth.
“It’s not just radio anymore,” Ducey said. “It’s media.”
