Radio News

For one hour last night, air personalities participated in a fun conversation focused on music, and what LP shaped their teenage years -- and that of listeners who connected via Zoom. Some 300 individuals, all fans of KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., engaged with station staff. It was a perfect online gathering commercial radio stations should steal, our editor-in-chief argues.

“The challenges that we have faced due to COVID-19 were unprecedented and had a severe, negative impact on our revenue in the second quarter.” Those are the words of iHeartMedia Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman, and he wasn't mincing them. The nation's largest audio media company saw a nearly 50% revenue decline in Q2. But, the podcast business is booming.

just how far did some radio broadcasting companies sink in the three month period ending June 30? The answer to this question will fully unfold over the next three business days as iHeartMedia, Entercom and Cumulus Media each roll out their Q2 2020 results. For Saga Communications, which distributed its results Wednesday, a 47.6% slash in year-to-year net revenue is the first takeaway.

There was no formal press release but rather "A Message from David Field" distributed as an internal memo to all Entercom Communications employees. While the message from the President/CEO opens with a pep talk, the focal point of the memo from Field are the promotions of 10 Entercom staffers to executive-level roles. There's also a new News leader.

The technology company founded by Joe Harb in 2007 devoted to the monetization of RDS in-car radio station displays has just inked a multi-year deal with the publicly traded owner of radio stations offering a mix of spoken word and non-secular music formats.

If you have a Roku device, you may already be using the iHeartRadio app. Now, Entercom Communications is ensuring that its Radio.com app, acquired in the company's tax-free merger with CBS Radio, can be accessed from an array of smart televisions as a built-in app.

From the suburbs of Philadelphia comes a newly launched peer-to-peer show prep service. It's led by an Entercom on-air talent that is today the morning host at "96.5 TDY," in the City of Brotherly Love.

Set your alarm a little earlier than normal and be sure to grab a big cup of coffee. Townsquare Media is once again delivering its quarterly results on a Monday at 8am Eastern. What can investors expect from the "local first" company with local radio, programmatic and local digital capabilities?

A bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives now supports the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) after 12 House Members added their cosponsorship to the resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations.

Two big "media modernization" rule changes are on the agenda for Thursday's virtual FCC Open Meeting, and one is bound to draw the attention of many radio broadcasting company executives. The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would address the radio duplication rule. What can the industry expect?

Have you heard some of the great reports found in the all-new RBR+TVBR INFocus Podcast? Now's your chance to catch up with what some of the broadcast media industry's key news makers have to share on what's impacting broadcast radio and TV.

First, it was the Miami Marlins. Then, COVID-19 crippled the St. Louis Cardinals. Will there be a truncated Major League Baseball season in 2020? If so, Oakland A's fans can find their team on the radio again -- in yet another audio coverage shift for the team known for "Moneyball" man Billy Beane.

"The success of any endeavor is directly proportional to the dedication of those involved," says alternative broadcast inspection specialist Ken Benner. In this Media Information Bureau column, Benner offers what he considers to be "one classic example" of these premise. It involves a Class C1 FM serving the second-largest metropolitan area in the 49th state of the union.

With shares in the high $5 range, now may be a good time to purchase Sirius XM stock. A key Wall Street analyst just set a new target price of $7.50, and says the satellite radio operator is navigating the economy much better than expected.

Getting full-market coverage in Boston for the former WAAF was always a concern. Now, the station — now a KLOVE Christian Contemporary noncomm owned by Educational Media Foundation — has it. And, it is thanks to GEO Broadcast Solutions, the company seeking FCC approval for its "Zonecasting" technology.