Radio News

When it comes to D.C. activities of significance to broadcast media, there is perhaps no bigger topic of conversation today than the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as the full Chairman of the FCC and the selection as a Democratic nominee for FCC Commissioner of Gigi Sohn. Sohn’s chances of winning a seat on the Commission is vitally important, and a Forecast 2022 session tackled the subject.

"Our third quarter results evidenced continued solid financial performance as we again delivered double digit growth in both net revenue and adjusted OIBDA, driven by the strong growth of our radio business," said Raúl Alarcón Jr., Chairman/CEO of SBS.

New York Festivals Radio Awards honors storytellers from around the globe. Since 1957 NYF has celebrated excellence and innovation across all genres and platforms, keeping pace with industry-wide developments and global trends.

A Class B AM serving the Gateway City as a Sports Talker since April 1993 is changing hands. The transaction has been in the works for months, and led to the August resignation of John Hadley as General Manager over "poor communication" between him and the incoming owner.

Twelve months after escaping a hostile takeover bid, Cogeco remains a major media force in the markets where it owns stations, including Montréal. And, thanks to the ongoing recovering from a difficult pandemic, the company's revenue grew by nearly 5% in its fiscal Q4. The problem? Adjusted EBITDA declined by 2.1% as Free Cash Flow tumbled by 34%.

NPR has partnered with Edison Research in placing a magnifying glass on "the continued increased consumption of spoken word audio in the U.S. and the drivers behind the growth." To NPR's benefit, the latest "2021 Spoken Word Audio Report" finds "consistent growth in spoken word listening, particularly among young and more multicultural audiences."

The filing window for applications for new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits has closed. As such, the Media Bureau has placed a temporary freeze on the filing of any amendments to NCE FM new station applications submitted in the November 2021 filing window.

He's largely known across the radio industry as the former President/COO and equity investor and partner in the Dick Clark-founded United Stations Radio Networks (USRN). Most recently, he was President/CEO at national radio entity Key Networks. Now he's teaming up with the Managing Partner of Gen Media Partners for the launch of a new radio content and service provider and producer.

"When we see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) in conjunction with a declining base of capital employed, that's often how a mature business shows signs of aging," financial blog Simply Wall St. notes. "This reveals that the company isn't compounding shareholder wealth because returns are falling and its net asset base is shrinking." On that note, a magnifying glass was placed on Saga.

Of some 1,060 recent and prospective car buyers surveyed in the U.S., some 89% say a broadcast radio tuner should be standard equipment every car. That's according to new research released earlier today in London by Edison Research — a trend that is consistent across age groups.

In one week, on November 16, American Urban Radio Networks CEO Chesley Maddox-Dorsey will appear as the Moderator of a highly anticipated Forecast 2022 roundtable discussion. As a preview of what's to be shared, Maddox-Dorsey chats with Adam R Jacobson in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.fm. LISTEN HERE

Audacy selected as its new Chief Revenue Officer the founder and former President of Katz Digital — an individual who also served as President of Christal Radio within the Katz Media Group and General Sales Manager for iHeartMedia's East Coast Top 40 flagship, "Z100."

Historically, The Home Depot has been one of the most prolific users of audio advertising to connect with consumers. Of late, however, its biggest competitor had been the bigger user of spot radio, according to Media Monitors data. That could soon change.

With Friday's trading concluded, Salem Media Group shares rose a healthy 7.2%. Investors appeared pleased as the company known for its conservative Talk radio stations and its Christian-themed print and audio media content surpassed analysts' estimates with its Q3 2021 fiscal report card.

Radio appears to gain strength late in the season, compared to last year. That's the head-turning takeaway from James Fennessy and his team at Standard Media Index (SMI). How does this compare to other media SMI measures?