Emmis Cuts 35 NextRadio and TagStation Employees

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, December 14, 2018 | 12:46pm CT

NextRadio

After announcing last October that Emmis could no longer afford to pay for the industry-wide initiative NextRadio on its own, the Indianapolis-based company has laid off 35 employees working for the NextRadio and TagStation businesses. Last October, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said the operations of of both services would be downsized after tens of millions of dollars in losses.

"After exploring several alternatives, we have made the difficult decision to dramatically reduce the scope and scale of our operations, which includes the termination of 35 employees of these businesses," Smulyan said in a statement. He also noted that those exiting are being given "generous severance packages," and added that Emmis "will provide certain product support and maintenance for the foreseeable future."

"NextRadio and TagStation are efforts that I and many others championed and spent enormous energy supporting," wrote Smulyan in a staff memo. "We believed in the success of these businesses. To come to this day is a difficult one, not just for the employees directly impacted, but for Emmis and the radio industry."

NextRadio and TagStation President Paul Brenner will remain with the company. He's held various executive roles at Emmis since 1998.