Radio News

It's hard to imagine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Cumulus Media-owned Westwood One not having an audio content distribution partnership. Thanks to a new deal, there won't be any need to even think about such a scenario.

Add yet another twist to the ongoing saga involving FM radio stations formerly owned by Ed Stolz and his Royce International Broadcasting. The FCC has issued a pair of Notice of Violation warnings to Stolz's Palm Springs, Calif., operation for problems tied to two FM translators in the market he owns.

That's according to Audacy CFO Rich Schmaeling, and the comment was one of many offered during the company's hour-long earnings call on Friday. Schmaeling also offered an update on net leverage goals, while adding that the depth of active advertisers is significantly higher than in recent months.

"Throughout the second quarter, the resumption of advertising in key categories combined with the success of our content monetization strategies resulted in year-over-year revenue growth across all fifteen of our markets," Caroline Beasley said. What drove Beasley's Q2 success? "Healthy double-digit revenue increases" were seen in its biggest markets.

"Overall we had an extremely strong second quarter," Urban One President/CEO Alfred Liggins III said Thursday ahead of his company's earnings call. Not only was Adjusted EBITDA up 82.4% year-over-year, but the media company superserving Black consumers also surpassed its Q2 2019 pre-pandemic Adjusted EBITDA.

How much better was the second quarter of 2021 for Saga Communications than the same period of 2020? For starters, there was no $3.76 million impairment charge. Second, net operating revenue rose by 66.3%. Furthermore, CFO Sam Bush says Digital now accounts for 6% of the radio industry pure-play's total revenue.

It's the No. 2 licensee of radio stations behind iHeartMedia. Now, the parent entity of the KLOVE and Air1 Christian Contemporary Music formats is adding one more FM to its ever-growing stable of properties.

Despite some softness across July, Cumulus Media shares are poised for a full recovery. The company just reported Q2 earnings that, while not stellar, easily surpassed Street expectations — sending CMLS up 20 cents to $12.71.. A big Nashville real estate deal has also closed, giving Mary Berner and her team a sizable cash injection.

The winners will be announced that the 2021 Radio Show, a live and in-person co-production of the NAB and the RAB scheduled for early October in Las Vegas. Click here for all of the details on who is up for the prestigious industry honor!

In one of the more novel promotions to involve a radio brand in recent memory, the nation's No. 1 owner of AMs and FMs has teamed up with the Connecticut Lottery on the rollout of an instant win scratcher game that could give the lucky winner a top prize of $10,000.

A pandemic protection plan has paid off for Townsquare Media, fueling the company's return to 2019 levels with a greater quest of exceeding them. But, is Q3 falling short of the performance seen two years ago — setting up a difficult narrative for Townsquare's peers?

Twenty-four months and one day after MTV's debut on August 1, 1981, Scott Shannon signed WHTZ on the air from 333 Meadowlands Parkway in Secaucus, N.J. Today, MTV is remembered for what it was. Shannon, and the station he built, are still going strong and very much part of today's consumer choices. As such, it isn't MTV's launch that should be celebrated.

Bloomberg Radio is responding to the thirst for African American-focused insight and information by launching "a daily look at the intersection of culture and commerce affecting Black American audiences."

No less than six earnings calls are on Thursday's calendar, with the latest addition to the slate of Q2 2021 releases just announcing their conference call time. Their earnings call will be held opposite that of Gray Television.

According to Nielsen Power Buying data, 41% of U.S. podcast listeners are non-White with Hispanics gravitating to podcasts more than any other ethnic group. They also represent growth rate of 6x, well above the 4x rate among Whites. How can Hispanic radio take advantage of this exploding audio platform? A Hispanic Radio Conference session provides answers.