Radio News

The FCC has issued a Public Notice seeking input on the state of the communications marketplace to inform the Commission’s required assessment of the state of competition in the communications marketplace in its second Communications Marketplace Report (2020 Communications Marketplace Report) to Congress.

It wasn't so long ago where many brokers and attorneys were looking at Monte Spearman and his High Plains Radio Network as an active buyer of radio stations. Multiple activity in the last week now suggests he's refining his stable of assets by selling those deemed non-essential by the regional broadcast company.

As the head of Radio One Buffalo, veteran Western New York radio broadcaster Buddy Shula has enjoyed considerable success in recent months with Oldies WECK-AM, and its two FM translators serving Buffalo and its closest suburbs to the north. Now, Radio One Buffalo is poised to benefit from two additional radio revenue sources. They're both based in Canada.

On June 1, 1992, a Top 40 programmer at a San Diego radio station was named PD of KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. The appointment of Kevin Weatherly to the post was a game-changer, as KROQ transitioned from the "ROQ of the '80s" to a hard-charging Alternative presentation that made it an iconic station. As of today, Weatherly is no longer associated with KROQ, or sibling "93.1 Jack FM."

The National Association of Broadcasters has announced the 50 finalists for the 33rd annual NAB Crystal Radio Awards, launched in 1987 to recognize radio stations for their outstanding year-round commitment to community service. Winners will be announced and the finalists honored at the We Are Broadcasters Celebration, held Tuesday, April 21 during the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The nation's No. 1 owner of radio stations in July 2019 filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling with the FCC stating that its OK for 100% foreign investment would serve the public interest. Now, the FCC has set a pleading cycle, allowing the public to say whether or not what iHeart wants is really in the public's interest.

The individual who has been Vice President of Sales for Entercom Communications' Buffalo-Niagara Falls cluster since 2012 has been promoted to the role of SVP/Market Manager. The naming of J. Timothy Holly to the role comes following an investigation by the FCC's Media Bureau into political programming practices at three of Entercom's stations in the Western New York hub.

Investors and observers alike have been scrutinizing Entercom Communications and when it will start to see big dividends from its Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger with CBS Radio. It appears that time has finally come, given the strong Q4 2019 results and positive outlook for 2020 offered by the company. Are investors convinced?

As RBR+TVBR first reported Friday, an expected surge in spending from the Mike Bloomberg for President campaign is something Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner is looking forward to. A Townsquare Media cluster is also now airing many spots from the Democratic presidential hopeful. It appears radio's Bloomberg-powered big bucks are finally arriving, the latest Spot Ten Radio report shows.

Friday marked the final day of CRS 2020, and among the featured presentations was one that delved into "exclusive research findings" conducted by Futuri Media and the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications that sheds some light on who lists Country as their favorite music format -- of seven options presented to them.

Thanks to its footprint, Cumulus Media's top executives are convinced that its own March Madness -- one that sees a flood of political dollars from the Mike Bloomberg for President campaign -- will greatly assist in achieving a Q1 2020 profit. Another free-spending candidate has also added to Cumulus' bottom line, while Bloomberg's spots are airing on another company's stations in N.Y.

An Order of Dismissal of the license renewals, Chapter 7 asset liquidation plan and Construction Permit application for a new FM translator in Highland, Ill., has been issued by the Commission's Administrative Law Judge. The decision essentially supplies the nails for the coffin the Commission has constructed for all of the assets of Entertainment Media Trust in St. Louis.

After 12 days of a mandatory quarantine aboard Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess cruise liner, one of the owners of an AM radio station with an FM translator offering hyperlocal programming to Los Angeles County communities including Valencia and Newhall contracted the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 while in flight to California. He is quickly recovering in an Omaha hospital.

The top two executives in the iHeartMedia C-Suite will be participating in one of the biggest institutional investor events on the West Coast, hosted by Morgan Stanley in San Francisco on March 4.

The High Plains Radio Network in recent years has received attention for growing its stable of radio stations. Now, it is a seller, with two Asset Purchase Agreements filed at the FCC on Tuesday -- just one business day after the company led by Monte Spearman spun an AM, FM, and FM translator to a broadcast ministry.