Radio News

Twenty-four hours after Saga Communications announced that Warren Lada will be retiring, the radio industry pure-play has upped its leader in Columbus, Ohio, to the newly created position of SVP/Operations.

In February 2017, a radio industry pro approaching his second anniversary as Director of Sales for three Entercom radio stations in New Orleans took a sabbatical. Now, after nearly a year as a Knoxville-based Business Development Manager for a large regional audio/visual company, he's heading back to the Big Easy — for a big job.

Every publicly traded radio broadcasting company in the U.S. has shared their Q1 2018 earnings results except one — Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS). In fact, the Miami-based company on Wednesday evening just presented their Q4 and full-year 2017 results. How did SBS do? Not great.

UPDATE: In response to a Stay Petition and a Petition for Reconsideration filed in early April 2017 by Prometheus Radio Project, the Commission's top leadership late Tuesday offered a firm decision on the 40-mile limit for an FM translator's move. This FCC decision could be related to the informal objection filed May 16 by Prometheus, as the Commission had not acted on its filings from last year -- as Prometheus noted last week. 

Saga Communications has just announced that COO Warren Lada will retire at the end of June 2018. Ed Christian offered a brief statement on Lada's pending exit following Wednesday's Closing Bell on Wall Street.

Lotus Communications is one of the few radio broadcasting companies that owns radio stations with Spanish-language and English-language programming. How is the company capitalizing on this? And, is there one thing that's particularly important when inking that contract with a client? Company President Jim Kalmenson shares all in this latest Hispanic Radio Podcast.

Since the start of 2017, Northern Kentucky University, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and an Indiana-based Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Church of God put their radio stations on the market. Now, another school in the Hoosier State is entertaining buyers for its facility.

Six days ago, iHeartMedia submitted a "NT 10Q" filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission with details on what the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company expected to report as its Q1 2018. We now know that iHeart was mostly correct with its math. It turns out that the company's consolidated net loss is a bit wider than it predicted.

There'll be a little less Fishing in Nebraska's biggest market. That's because Salem Media Group has agreed to sell a station carrying its Christian Contemporary format branded as "The Fish" to a school of higher learning. However, any programming changes are expected to be minimal.

When it came time to select a new VP of National and Network Sales at Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), the Miami-based company focused on Hispanic media consumers selected the individual who most recently served as SVP/National Sales at a company that recently conducted a big round of layoffs.

In October 2016, a radio industry veteran left the business. He joined an Austin-based marketing and advertising shop, serving as a senior account manager. The radio bug just bit him again: He's just been named a Market Manager for a cluster of iHeartRadio stations in a top 50 market.

The next two weeks will prove to be busy for a Houston-based U.S. bankruptcy court, and for the nation's largest radio broadcasting company. Why? It is iHeartMedia's desire to retain two financial advisory firms. Creditors last week filed objections to this -- and now iHeart objects to their objections. Could Liberty Media be involved? The creditors believe so.

In 2011, Joe Reilly concluded a remarkable 31-year run as the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA)'s first and only leader. He wasn't ready for retirement and started a radio company. Today, it no longer has the FM it started with, and its remaining stations went dark on Sunday.

Townsquare Media on Monday held its 2018 annual shareholders meeting, at which a vote on the reelection of three board of directors was held. Were there any surprises? It depends on how you the view the millions of dissenting votes.

It may be classified as an Informal Objection, but if you're awaiting FCC approval on a pending translator application, Commission affirmation make take a little longer -- or be thwarted altogether. Nearly 1,000 FM translators are at stake, with opposition coming from groups that are against commercial licensee growth.