Radio News

When it comes to the future of the radio broadcasting industry, access to stations is paramount. For Emmis Communications CEO and founder Jeff Smulyan, that means being accessible in the one electronic device used more than any other on a daily basis: the smartphone. It also means being front and center in the soon-to-arrive "connected car," Smulyan said Wednesday during a Hispanic Radio Conference interview conducted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and reorganization plan isn't exactly grim news for the company widely known for its iHeartRadio App, its just-concluded iHeartRadio Music Awards and an array of superstar talent including Ryan Seacrest, Elvis Duran, and Bobby Bones. In fact, iHeart Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman praised the moves as necessary for a "highly successful operating business" to get fiscally fit.

After a tug of war with its lenders regarding the percentage of iHeartMedia's consenting stakeholders allowed to participate in the media company's Chapter 11 restructuring, and several back-and-forth rounds of negotiations to determine the equity stake in a recapitalized iHeart lenders would take, a Restructuring Term Sheet filed Thursday morning (3/15) with the Securities and Exchange Commission is now finalized. RBR+TVBR grabbed its magnifying glass and a few web browser windows to compare notes on what's been codified, compared to what iHeart had been seeking.

With iHeartMedia's Q4 2017 earnings release scrubbed as part of its decision on Wednesday (3/14) to move forward with a bankruptcy petition in a Texas federal district court, the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company revealed preliminary unaudited financial results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2017.

If you're in the smallest of Nielsen Audio-rated markets, or in a city where there are no ratings, attracting listeners — and advertising — has its challenges. But, what if you're serving a unique audience you can "own"? Spanish-language radio stations have emerged in that role, and in the first of a regular series of podcasts designed to educate and inform the media industry on the power of Hispanic radio, RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson takes seven minutes to learn how Tomás Martinez, owner and CEO of Solmart Media, has developed a cluster of stations in a rural portion of Southwest Florida by targeting Latinos with no other local media choices.

After being called out by Entercom in the company's Q4 and full-year 2017 earnings call for nonpayment of services, leading to a $4 million write-down of revenues, United States Traffic Network (USTN) has completed a management-led buyout of the company. The buyout was spearheaded by its President.

Lotus Communications President Jim Kalmenson is widely known across the West Coast of the U.S. as the leader of a family-run business with a diverse portfolio of radio stations that includes Classic Rock and Active Rock FMs in Tucson, a Classic Rocker in Las Vegas, and a Farsi-language format targeting Persians across Southern California. But, it is Lotus' Spanish-language stations and their performance that has led Kalmenson to receive the 2018 Medallas de Cortez Award as Broadcaster of the Year.

Now playing on iHeartRadio: "Give Me Just A Little More Time." The nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company has won another 24 hours to work with its Consenting Lenders on a $106 million interest payment iHeartMedia voluntarily chose not to pay on February 1. It mirrors a 24-hour extension agreed to on Monday.

There's an 850-watt Class A FM serving Arkansas' largest metropolitan area that uses the tagline, "We R Hip HOP." That's certainly set to change, thanks to a transaction filed Tuesday with the FCC. The incoming owner is Salem Media Group, and it's a safe bet "Streetz" will be repaved once it closes on this deal.

Futuri Media has bulked up its sales and development ranks by bringing in a Cox Media Group/Tampa veteran as its new Product Manager for #engage and its Futuri Mobile product, and welcoming a pair of National Account Managers. At the same time, the company now seeks a new Director of TopicPulse Strategic Initiatives.

An air personality who has made a name for himself in Phoenix and across the Southwestern U.S. hopes he'll soon be widely known across all of America. Thanks to YEA Networks, the producer and syndicator of The Bert Show and the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, the Phoenix-based Tino Cochino Radio program is now available across the nation.

ESPN Radio has renewed its license of the Veritone aiWARE platform for its sports talk programming and live event coverage. The renewal allows ESPN Radio to expand its analysis of the 24/7 programming across multiple ESPN-branded platforms, including broadcast radio and, for the first time, ESPN Deportes Radio.

Among the big tower owners based in Boca Raton, Fla., is SBA Communications, the firm that in the third quarter of 2016 acquired a tower from Saga Communications in Norfolk for $1.35 million. Now, Saga and SBA have conducted business again — this time in New England, in a deal brokered by Boca Raton-based Michael J. Bergner of Bergner & Co.

As we get ready for the 2018 Hispanic Radio Conference, which begins Tuesday (3/13) in Miami, Nielsen Audio Managing Director Brad Kelly chats with RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson in this latest podcast. Kelly is ready for a little sunshine and a respite from some tough winter weather -- and he's eagerly anticipating one of his favorite conferences. What makes the Hispanic Radio Conference such a well-liked event?

In February 2017, Neal Ardman, President of NIA Broadcasting, made headlines for acquiring WTMP-AM in Egypt Lake, Fla., and WTMP-FM in Dade City, Fla. — stations that had entered receivership. Ardman received much more attention for a deal he made two weeks later that saw him team up with Bruce Maduri’s Genesis Communications in its purchase of a translator that moved to St. Petersburg. Now, RBR+TVBR has confirmed that Maduri and Ardman have teamed together in a slightly different way.