Radio News

The latest Spot Ten Radio report from iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors shows that, for the week ending August 21, two brands in particular powered up a significant amount of spot plays — putting these advertisers well ahead of others using spot radio.

In the Nordic language, "saga" means "an ongoing adventure." And, the story has it, this is one of the primary influences as to how Saga Communications, founded by the late Ed Christian, got its name. "This is how I view my company and my life," Christian said in a long-ago interview with a media outlet. "Our company is really an ongoing adventure." This is the story of how a 1986 acquisition built the foundation for Saga.

With the unexpected passing of Ed Christian, the founder and President/CEO of Saga Communications, on Friday, Warren Lada was appointed interim President/CEO by the company's board of directors. If all goes according to plan, Lada will only be holding the role for a short period. And, to be placed in a role, a shift in Saga's Finance and Audit Committee had to transpire.

Over a 50+-year career in radio, Mark Driscoll established himself as an audio promo and voice narration specialist while embarking on a radio programming career that made him, in the words of WPAW-FM "93.1 The Wolf" in Greensboro morning host Dale O'Brian, "one of radio's great talents." Now, Driscoll's voice has forever been silenced, as the industry veteran has died at the age of 72.

Until Thursday, it was a Class B AM that powered down to 243 watts at night, serving the Delmarva Peninsula. This AM also enjoyed a bit of "FM revitalization" for its "Timeless Favorites" musical programming, with an FM translator. Today, the broadcast facilities are inoperable. A blaze devastated the Birach Broadcasting-owned station's offices and studios.

With a 12 cent per-loss share in the second quarter of 2021, a wider loss in Q2 2022 was experienced by the technology company actively gaining radio and TV industry clients. Analysts lowered their outlook for Veritone, which had seen growth in its stock since post-pandemic lows experienced in May. On Friday, however, a dip was seen on Wall Street.

With a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.2x Townsquare Media, investor watchdog blog Simply Wall St. says the local media company that puts digital first "may be sending bullish signals at the moment." However, the blog notes that it isn't wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation as to why it is "limited." Does this mean that Townsquare may not be as "mispriced" as Simply Wall St. thinks?

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) has made its entrance into the world of digital marketing solutions. The company superserving Hispanic consumers across broadcast media and through its LaMusica app and web portal has launched a pure-play digital marketing department.

For nearly a week, Meyersdale, Pa., now has a second full-power FM radio station to tune to. A nonprofit organization fired up its new facility after a move from a low-power FM licensed to a different radio frequency. The upgrade comes as embattled license Roger Wahl awaits a final decision from the Commission on a license revocation tied to his status as a convicted felon.

Along with Lotus Broadcasting's Bakersfield-market "Radio Lobo," "La Ley, "El Gallito," and English-language Oldies "Q92.1" is a AM simulcasting KWKW-AM in Los Angeles' "Tu Liga"-branded Spanish-language Sports Talk format. Soon, the home for "Tu Liga" in the city north of L.A. will be handed to a new owner. And, in a separate deal, an AM in Fresno will be spun to the same buyer.

It's called fuze32, and its an in-house marketing and creative agency at Zimmer Communications in Columbia, Mo., launched in 2015. Why? One of the big reasons was to share information and attract leads via the website. The benefit has been big, and Zimmer's Cathy Atkins discusses how Zimmer's "Radio Advertising Resource Guide" came to life in this exclusive RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

Jim Thompson, who fought a valiant struggle against throat cancer for nearly a year, passed away last night in Summit, N.J., at the age of 75, surrounded by his family.

On Thursday evening, another act of violence rocked Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This time, four individuals associated with a radio broadcasting company serving listeners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border were killed.

On May 25, RBR+TVBR shared the story of Mario Rangel, a key employee at South Texas Radio and the chief of the Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department in Uvalde, Tex. Rangel had just departed the elementary school when a gunman entered and opened fire. His daughter was safe; 19 Robb Elementary students perished. One month later, economic challenges silenced South Texas Radio. Now, its stations have been sold.

The final results of a cash tender offer to purchase up to 1 million shares of its Class A common stock have been released by Emmis Corporation, the Indianapolis-based operation founded by Jeff Smulyan that is exiting radio station ownership to focus on other technology-driven endeavours.