Legacy

So, who are the top 10 advertisers of 2019 by ad spend? How much did these companies spend on TV advertising? Ad sales business intelligence firm MediaRadar crunched the numbers, and has revealed the details just in time for New Year's Eve. One interesting takeaway: There were more than 2,000 newcomers to television advertising in 2019, including PostMates.

As many suspected would happen, the company formerly known as Gannett has decided to spin off the radio stations that came in a multi-million dollar media deal that gives it the CBS affiliate in San Diego. The price TEGNA is selling the radio stations for is jaw-dropping -- because of how low the dollar amount is.

For three generations of radio listeners, WRQX in Washington, D.C., and WPLJ in New York served listeners with rock, then Top 40 and, until 7pm today, Hot Adult Contemporary music. As many bid farewell to the stations, the industry could forever be changed by the stations' sales.

At 9am Central on July 2, 2019, a most unexpected and somber Tweet appeared. With "great shock and sadness," fans and listeners of a popular syndicated radio show were delivered the news of the "untimely and sudden" passing of one of the show's hosts, John Walton.

An immensely popular TV meteorologist is no longer delivering live reports from West 67th Street and Columbus Avenue starting at 4:30am each weekday. Instead, he is settling into the Program Director chair at a radio station facing Upper Sag Harbor Cove in a placid corner of Long Island, N.Y.

On September 9, Entercom Communications suffered what EVP/CFO Rich Schmaeling described during the media company's Q3 earnings call as a "cyberattack" that cost the company $400,000 in lost revenue. It now appears Entercom's IT services have been hit again, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Haven't yet submitted your nominations for the most prestigious and highly coveted symbol of excellence in Hispanic radio — the Medallas de Cortez? There's no better time than now: The nomination window will close Friday, Dec. 20, so don't delay and get your votes in today!

Under the terms of the merger agreement, the shares of TiVo and Xperi stockholders will be converted into the shares of the new parent company based on a fixed exchange ratio of 0.455 Xperi share per existing TiVo share. Upon completion of the merger, Xperi stockholders will own approximately 46.5% and TiVo stockholders will own approximately 53.5% of the new parent company on a fully diluted basis.

In early December, the antitrust division of the DOJ weighed in with a Statement of Interest relative to the RMLC’s longstanding litigation with Global Music Rights (GMR). It wasn't exactly favorable to the Radio Music License Committee, led by Executive Director Bill Velez. On Wednesday, the radio industry group filed a response to the Justice Department statement.

A German manufacturer of digital audio solutions will officially launch its ADI-2 DAC FS product during the upcoming 2020 NAMM Show, to be held January 16–19, 2020.

On Friday, an indirect subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group elected to redeem 300,000 of its preferred units, using cash dividends from another indirect subsidiary -- both of which are tied to regional sports networks.

He first found fame as a "Fly Jock" in an era long before multi-market satellite-delivered live shows and is today one of the most renowned African American hosts to ever sit behind a microphone.  At 10am Friday, "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" came to its end, with Joyner officially heading into retirement.

With nary a Member present, an affirmative voice vote came midday Tuesday to the Television Viewer Protection Act. Now comes a needed vote in the U.S. Senate. If passed, the legislation would establish "good faith" negotiation between MVPDs and TV broadcasters, while ending "hidden cable TV fees."

Broadcast media executive and avid mountain climber David Field, of Entercom, has something to celebrate: The company's stock is on track to finish at its highest point in four months. Will the momentum continue into 2020?

Attention, radio industry leaders: Apple is moving one step closer to making the next generation of iPhones completely cordless. Consider it the official death knell for activated FM chips in headsets.