Radio News

That's the headline on a newly written Insider Monkey article from Abigail Fisher that answers the question, "Is iHeartMedia, Inc. worth your attention right now?" Fisher's response? "Prominent investors are becoming less hopeful."

"We're in business to help your business grow." That's the brand promise associated with Zimmer Communications, the owner of nine Mid-Missouri radio stations in addition to a publishing arm, a digital media services division, and branding and voiceover segment. Now, Zimmer appears to be intent on growing. It's doing due diligence on a possible deal.

The individuals who have served as the Radio Board chair and the Television Board chair, respectively, of the NAB Executive Committee will not be relinquishing their seats for a while. The results of the Executive Committee Board of Directors elections are in, and the result is the re-election of the two media executives.

A copyright fight involving the songs of such salseros as Celia Cruz was brought to a halt three years by a Federal court in New York, bringing dances of victory to SBS. Now, SBS leaders are likely cheering over the latest twist in this legal matter: A judge has ruled the media company is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees and costs.

To the far northwest of Abilene, a 19kw commercially licensed FM facility lays silent, after unsuccessfully bringing MVS Radio's "La Mejor" regional Mexican format north of the Rio Grande to this rural part of Texas. Now, the licensee is selling the property, and it's about to make a religious move.

As many radio industry observers know, having an FM translator from a tower on Red Mountain can bring an operator considerable coverage of the Birmingham metropolitan area. As such, even a low-power facility with a tower here has considerable value. That seems to be the case for Maria Rivera, who is finally moving forward on a deal struck in mid-2019.

In a major move that impacts one of Canada's biggest media companies, Colette Watson -- a thirty-year company veteran -- is stepping down as SVP of Television and Broadcast Operations at Rogers Media. Her last day at Rogers is set for Monday, June 15. From then, Julie Adam (pictured) will take on an expanded role.

Cox Media Group has promoted its Director of Branding and Programming for its Tampa-St. Petersburg radio stations by giving him additional duties as Operations Director. The move comes 24 hours after the individual who held that title for CMG's top-rated AC serving the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market exited after 20 years thanks to a downsizing move.

Don Curtis has made a name for himself as a radio and digital media owner dedicated to North Carolina. After 50-plus years in broadcasting, he's still as committed as ever. His Curtis Media Group is expanding by acquiring an AM and two FMs in a coastal city.

On May 22, three central Pennsylvania properties were transferred from Michael Stapleford's Magnum Broadcasting. This came one week after the court-ordered approval of his company's purchase of a FM located in Monroe County, Fla. Now, this Magnum -- not to be confused with Dave Magnum's Magnum Media -- is forming a three-station cluster in the Florida Keys.

Don't look now, but Entercom Communications may very well be on Wall Street's express lane to stock value restoration, as the audio media company's stock on Thursday surpassed the $2 mark for the first time since St. Patrick's Day. It's a highly positive feat for ETM, which was at 95 cents on May 13.

Until October, an AM serving Roanoke, Va., offered listeners a mix of Urban Adult Contemporary and gospel music as "Power Sound 1480." At that time, the station's call letters were deleted, as the licensee failed to file a timely license renewal application. Yet, the station continued to operate. While a proposed fine has been handed to the station's owner, the Media Bureau is allowing it to come back from the dead.

In February 1984, Tom and Susan Thornburg purchased an AM station serving Polk County, Fla., with country music. They changed the station's format to Full Service, and began calling it "WBF," chopping off the first W in its call letters. Today, WBF is still on the air. Only, it is now primarily reaching listeners by way of an FM translator the Thornburgs just purchased.

Call it an "update." Call it a scrub. What's clear is that the 2020 Radio Show, scheduled for Sept. 13-16 in Nashville, has become the latest large gathering to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entercom Communications President/CEO David Field took a moment to reflect on the previous seven days of events impacting the nation -- and many of the markets in which his company owns and operates radio stations -- by way of an internal memo distributed Monday by the audio media company. These locales includes Minneapolis, where Entercom has a trio of stations.