A familiar broadcast software manufacturer is affected by the Cumulus Media reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Broadcast Software International, better known as BSI, has been part of Cumulus since 1999. In late November it filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. BSI is in “joint administration” with Cumulus Media Inc., according to court records.
BSI is conducting normal business operations and will continue to do so, according to a Cumulus spokesperson.
“Cumulus has ample cash on hand, combined with funds generated from ongoing operations, to continue operating the company’s business, and that includes BSI, in the normal course. The company will continue to pay vendors, work with advertisers and provide great content to listeners,” the Cumulus spokesperson told Radio World in an email.
BSI was founded in 1989 by former President Ron Burley. The company developed a software version of the radio station cart machine, simply called Cart Machine, in 1991. BSI, based in Eugene, Ore., sells radio automation software and audio logging systems. Cumulus acquired BSI in 1999 and shortly afterwards said it would standardize its own studio operations using BSI products, according to BSI’s website.
Similarly, radio program syndicator Westwood One, another Cumulus subsidiary, with 8,000 radio station clients, also filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in “joint administration” with Cumulus Media Inc., according to court records.
Cumulus, the third largest radio broadcast group in the United States with 446 owned-and-operated stations in 90 markets, hopes to trim approximately $1 billion in debt by its move to voluntary bankruptcy protection.
