Fairfield County Business Journal 042318

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APRIL 23, 2018 | VOL. 54, No. 17

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

westfaironline.com

Greenwich’s Townsquare Media thrives in radio as giants falter BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

W

hat do you do when you’re the third-largest company by revenues in your industry — and the top two have recently filed for bankruptcy protection? If you’re Townsquare Media in Greenwich, you pretty much keep doing what you’ve always done. “We’ve always focused on small and medium-size radio markets,” said Dhruv Prasad, co-CEO of Townsquare at its 240 Greenwich Ave. address. “We started out with radio broadcasting, and have rolled out our digital and live products over time.” Townsquare’s assets include 317 radio stations and more than 325 local websites in 67 U.S. markets; an estimated 550 live events with nearly 18 million attendees each year in the U.S. and Canada;

a digital marketing services company, Townsquare Interactive, that serves more than 12,000 small- to medium-sized businesses on a monthly subscription basis; and a digital advertising network focused on music and entertainment that reaches more than 50 million unique visitors each month. Last month the company announced that its net revenue for the year ended Dec. 31 was $507.4 million, down 1.7 percent from the previous year’s $516 million. That’s a far cry from market leader iHeartMedia’s and its 855 stations; it recently said it expected to report consolidated revenue of about $6.2 billion for 2017 — down from $6.26 billion in 2016 — and second-place Cumulus Media, with 445 stations and 2017 net revenue of $1.13 billion, down from the previous year’s $1.14 billion. » » TOWNSQUARE

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Bill Wilson, left, with Dhruv Prasad. Photo by Kevin Zimmerman

Newtown looking to grow business outreach, commercial development BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

N A rendering of the community center.

ew tow n First Selectman Dan Rosenthal is taking a

breath. “It’s been a pretty intense few months,” he said at his office in the Newtown Municipal Center at 3 Primrose St. “But we’re just getting started.” Indeed, with a plethora of commercial and residential developments either in process or under serious discussion, and with the imminent appointment of nine local businesspeople to a new business advisory council, there’s been no shortage of

action coming out of the first selectman’s office since he was inaugurated on Dec. 1. The Newtown Business Advisory Committee (NBAC), something that was a cornerstone of Rosenthal’s campaign, is quickly coming into focus. Limited to nine members — with no more than three each from a given business sector — representing businesses located in the town, the committee would essentially serve to keep the Board of Selectmen apprised of concerns and developments. Rosenthal would also like to have a number of nonvoting members join the NBAC’s quarterly meetings, depend-

ing on the agenda. Those could include Economic Development Commission Chairman Wes Thompson or a designee; Chamber of Commerce President Brian Amey or a designee; and/ or journalists covering Newtown and Fairfield County, he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback on the idea,” he said, noting that his preliminary research has revealed no other such town committee in the state. Meanwhile, development at the 185-acre Fairfield Hills campus — which includes the Municipal Center — is continuing apace. Construction is underway on a 45,860-square-foot com» » NEWTOWN

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