Radio News

As you read this, our Editor-in-Chief's mother-in-law is driving from South Florida to New York, as thousands of Snowbirds do each Spring. In years past, she could be tuning to a multitude of radio stations in between CDs. Today? Nope. This begs the question if Radio is missing out by not courting highway travelers, as it desires to be more local than ever.

The NAB Marconi Radio Awards finalists are selected by an independent task force of broadcasters and will be announced in July. Winners will be recognized during a special event at the Radio Show, held October 13-14, 2021 in Las Vegas, and co-located with NAB Show.

In a repeat of an already successful partnership, Procter & Gamble Co. in June will again team up with iHeartMedia for the return of "Can't Cancel Pride," a virtual relief benefit for the LGBTQ+ community as part of the company's Pride Month observances.

When Educational Media Foundation agreed to purchase a big FM serving Northern Virginia, it didn't get the station's intellectual property. Seller Centennial Broadcasting II shifted it to a pair of Class A FMs, continuing the "WINC" brand. Now the company led by industry veteran Allen Shaw is agreeing to sell those stations, too.

Thursday's release of March 2021 data from one of Nielsen Audio's biggest non-PPM markets, Buffalo, immediately led our Editor-in-Chief to start asking questions. Several stations were missing from the report. They were subscribers. What's the problem? That's a question not clearly answered as of yet, he notes in this RBR+TVBR Observation.

Select Live365 stations are now available to audio streamers via the iHeartRadio app, a move that significantly increases the visibility and discoverability of Live365 stations and the entire Live365 network of music enthusiasts who fork over a monthly fee to create their own radio stations.

In this latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Pamal/Hudson Valley Market Manager and former Interep executive Bruce Feniger shares how Pamal has carved a niche within the nation's No. 1 DMA — and attracts advertisers and consumers in ways New York City-based radio and TV stations can't.

Enrique Santos, the syndicated Spanish-language morning talent based at iHeartMedia's WZTU-FM "Tú 94.9" in Miami, is known for discussing such topics as "Do you tell your partner when someone flirts with you?" and "My co-worker asked me to be his lover." That will continue, along with Santos' other corporate duties, thanks to a new contract.

"SiriusXM turned in a great performance across the board," company CEO Jennifer Witz said as she opened the satellite radio company's first quarter earnings call on Wednesday. "Like many companies, we are benefiting from Americans getting back on the road, growing auto sales and consumer incomes bolstered by significant federal stimulus."

How did it go for popular audio streaming company Spotify in the first quarter of 2021? Futuresource Consulting lead market analyst for music and audio Alexandre Jornod digested the numbers early today from London, and offers up the details.

In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Jacobson catches up with the CEO of Pacific Media Group, gaining insight into whether or not COVID-19 curbed rapid growth for the company, which today includes local news-focused websites competing head-to-head with Oahu-based TV groups. LISTEN HERE

In 2015, after working in Washington, D.C., for several years, she joined iHeartMedia. Most recently, this radio industry pro served as Region SVP of Sales for the company once known as Clear Channel Communications in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood market. Now, she's been promoted to Market President.

The Silicon Valley-based technology company says the investment will help bring AI-fueled voice ads to more brands, audio and video content publishers, and consumers. Progress Ventures leads the round, with Accomplice and Google Assistant Investments participating.

From 1959 through June 2005, he was a fixture on Dallas radio — even though he used a fictitious identity for his first six years in North Texas. Now, the radio industry is pausing to mourn one of its most beloved air personalities of all time.

Our editor-in-chief had a dream last night that he was running a Top 40 radio station. After recalling the key points of what he saw as he slept, he wishes that it wasn't a figment of a fantasy, but rather a blueprint to fix a format reliving 1991 — not a good thing, for all you kids out there.