Insider was pleased to hear that McWhorter Media Group was re-investing  in the Out of Home space with their acquisition of Statler Billboards. We reached out to Deanna Berry, the Chief Operating Officer of McWhorter Media Group for her insights on the transaction and the trajectory of McWhorter going forward.

Welcome back. Pennsylvania is new territory as Horton Outdoor was Georgia based. Were you focused on the Northeast portion of the U.S. or was it the opportunity that led you into the Pittsburgh DMA?

Thank you, John.  It’s good to be back.  To answer your question, the Northeast portion of the US wasn’t even on our radar.  In fact, we’d put out a few feelers for the Southeast – in particular, Tennessee, South Carolina, and west of Alabama.  The Statler inventory just seemed to be a good fit…both size-wise and inventory mix.

As you re-enter the Out of Home market, why did the Statler purchase make sense for the McWhorter Media Group?

The Statler purchase made sense for several reasons.  1.) It’s great inventory.  The boards were well constructed, located, and maintained.  Almost all of them were built digital ready, so there are definitely some conversion opportunities there. 2.) The size and media mix of the plant worked really well for a smooth re-entry.  The number of structures is very manageable, but the trivision faces and digital opportunities give us a lot of ad spaces to work with.  3.) Kevin’s willingness to stay on and manage the sales side was definitely beneficial as we look to future growth of the footprint.

Was Kevin Dails’ willingness to stay on an important factor for you?

Absolutely.  We are excited for the opportunity to work with him.  I think he’s going to be a great asset – not only with ad sales, but also on the development side.

Do you plan on continuing to look for other acquisition opportunities and will you be operating under the Statler Billboards name? 

We do plan to continue growing the footprint – be that with new construction or with other strategically located plants.

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