Back to press releasesNewark, N.J. March 27, 2003 – IDT Media today announced the formation of an Owned and Operated Stations Group. Veteran broadcast manager Jim Weiskopf has been named President of the newly formed division. IDT Media is a division of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, technology and telephone company.
“Our plan for the Owned and Operated Stations Group is moving from vision to reality. We’re now taking the practical steps necessary to build out a significant broadcast base,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “Going forward, IDT’s radio group will focus on acquiring solid major market broadcast stations that can be improved with quality management.”
IDT Media recently acquired WMET 1150AM in Washington, D.C. IDT Media’s long-term strategy is to acquire radio stations in major U.S. markets in order to establish a significant and influential broadcast organization with a national reach.
The Owned and Operated Stations Group will complement Talk America, IDT Media’s syndicated radio network. The two divisions will have a natural operational synergy. The original programming created by stations of the Owned and Operated Group can be syndicated on the Talk America network, while some programming from Talk America could be cleared on O&O stations on a program-by-program, and market-by-market basis.
“As we build out our Owned and Operated Stations Group, our aim is to make strategic acquisitions that not only enlarge our broadcast reach but make business sense as well,” said Mitch Burg, IDT Media’s CEO. “With his extensive broadcast management experience Jim Weiskopf will play an important role towards the realization of those goals.”
Jim Weiskopf’s career in radio spans 19 years and includes successful positions in sales and management. Most recently, Mr. Weiskopf was the General Manager of Clear Channel’s three Washington AM stations – Sports Talk 980/WTEM, Talker WTNT AM570 and Money Talk WRC AM 1260. Mr. Weiskopf’s appointment as President of the IDT Media Owned and Operated Stations Group will be effective as of April 7, 2003.
IDT Corporation, through its IDT Telecom subsidiary, is a facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. IDT Telecom, by means of its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT and Liberty Media Corporation own 95% and 5 % of IDT Telecom, respectively. IDT acquired the assets of Winstar Communications in December 2001.
IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT and IDT.C. As of March 13, 2003, there were about 54.4 million shares of Class B common stock (IDT) outstanding, and about 25.1 million shares of common stock (IDT.C) Of these, approximately 4.0 million shares of Class B common stock and approximately 5.4 million shares of common stock were held by IDT Corporation.
In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in our most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: potential declines in prices for our products and services; our ability to maintain and grow our retail telecommunications services, particularly our prepaid calling card business; availability of termination capacity; financial stability of our customers; our ability to maintain carrier agreements with foreign carriers; effectiveness of our marketing and distribution efforts; increased competition, particularly from regional bell operating companies; our ability to manage our growth; competitiveness of our Winstar subsidiary; impact of government regulation; our ability to obtain telecommunications products or services required for our products and services; and general economic conditions, particularly in the telecommunications markets. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
