Radio News

Two of the nation's largest audio media content and distribution companies have set the days on which they will release their Q3 fiscal report cards.

She has experience at the now-defunct Regent Communications, and joined Townsquare Media with that company's acquisition of Regent more than a decade ago. Starting in Flint, Mich., this sales executive shifted to New Jersey and then returned to Flint at the end of 2013 after a year working for iHeartMedia in Chicago. Now, Zoe Burdine-Fly is flying off to Alpha Media.

The acquisition, recently hinted at by Audacy, Inc. in an SEC fiing, gives the company formerly known as Entercom control of the WideOrbit digital audio tech business. President/CEO David Field says it "perfectly complements" Audacy's organic investments to make the company’s digital platform a top choice for listeners, clients and partners.

On May 24, WMAL-FM in Washington talk host Dan Bongino went national, as part of a major effort led by Cumulus Media's Westwood One to gain as many affiliates of the Rush Limbaugh Show it could following the host's death earlier this year. Today, Cumulus and Bongino are squaring off over the company's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. And, Bongino is vaccinated.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak suggests investors consider acquiring Liberty Sirius XM Group Series A shares as a more favorable choice over Sirius XM stock. Why? A new research report explains his thought process.

On September 10, Lotus Communications completed its purchase of the Seattle-Tacoma radio stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Today, as Sinclair deals with a crippling ransomware attack across its TV stations, it is now known that the radio properties -- still housed within Sinclair's KOMO-4 -- are also impacted by the cybersecurity incident.

As Sunday came to a close on the East Coast of the U.S., it became very clear that Sinclair Broadcast Group had apparently become the latest owner of radio and/or TV stations to become victim of a crippling ransomware attack. With cybersecurity concerns bigger than ever for broadcast media, expert Steve Morgan's Forecast 2022 appearance couldn't be more timely.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report is out, and it shows that the brands that believe in AM and FM radio are sticking with the medium.

In a filing made this week with the FCC, it became known that GeoBroadcast Solutions, the technology company behind Maxxcasting, seeks Commission approval of the estimated March 2022 deployment of its Maxxcasting service at Adult Contemporary KOIT-FM 96.5, Top 40 KMVQ-FM "99.7 NOW," and Adult R&B KBLX-FM 102.9.

In broadcast circles, the host of TV's "Wheel of Fortune" is also known as the licensee of an AM radio station that has served Maryland's state capital since 1949. Now, Pat Sajak is selling the station's license, while listing the land where this property's studios and towers lie for a bit more than he's collecting for the 72-year-old broadcast facility.

The presentation of the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards and the annual "State of the Industry" Address by NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith will take place virtually on the second Wednesday in November — just days before his appearance at Forecast 2022 in New York, perhaps his last industry event before Smith's year-end retirement. 

Audacy has confirmed that it plans to offer, subject to market conditions and other factors, $45 million in aggregate principal amount of subsidiary Audacy Capital Corp.'s 6.500% senior secured second-lien notes due 2027. They are “Additional Notes," and it's a $45 million ad-on offering for the audio content creation and distribution company.

Radio dollars are on the rise. But, the big takeaway from just-released BIA Advisory Services' 2022 domestic local advertising forecast is that, for the first time, digital will rank No. 1 over local media with respect to total ad dollars. Could deregulation for broadcast media further help Radio, and over-the-air TV too? It's a topic BIA's Dr. Mark Fratrik will delve into at a Forecast 2022 session on November 16 in New York.

Several radio industry professionals known across the U.S. have just wrapped up a two-day event full of discussions and insight on the future of radio, and of audio. With an in-person and virtual option, Radiodays Europe concluded its postponed event five months after its originally scheduled date on Monday in Lisbon, Portugal.

Harker Bos Group recently fielded a study documenting the consumption habits and voting trends of Hispanic Radio Listeners. A cursory overview of some findings was shared at the Hispanic Radio Conference in late September. Now, an eight-page report with further details is available for public view.