Radio News

When it comes to local television stations, the leaders who run these broadcast facilities will often share how consumer trust is a key factor in their continued success. It appears the heads of Audacy Inc. and iHeartMedia have the same story to share when it comes to the love of Radio among those who consume it.

Beleaguered streaming audio company Pandora Media will release its fourth quarter 2017 results on Wednesday following the Closing Bell on Wall Street. What can investors expect from Pandora? Zacks Equity Research offered a preview based on its own estimates and research on the company's stock. 

Its reputation battered by local media for a series of changes, Audacy has now looked to the station's 1990s glory years as a way for KROQ to gain audience share against fierce competition from the likes of iHeartMedia, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge. It's welcoming back an individual who exactly 30 years ago was named to succeed Andy Schuon at the storied FM.

To help AMs and FMs on their path to success, the Radio + Television Business Report is pleased to present the first in a series of short podcasts focused on Hispanic radio — and its power — in advance of the 2018 Hispanic Radio Conference. In our second installment, RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson chats with Francisco Montero, co-Managing Partner of Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, on the importance of AM and FM radio during an emergency — including a hurricane, wildfire, flood or blizzard.

Audacy Corp. was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but its fundamental picture is finally improving. That's the assessment of Daniel Jones, author of "Crude Value Insights" distributed by Seeking Alpha. This is good, Jones says. Alas, he believes it's not good enough.

The final three months of 2017 resulted in mixed results for Christian and conservative-focused Salem Media Group. The Camarillo, Calif.-based owner of radio stations and a publishing arm saw its net broadcast revenue fall to $50.7 million, from $52.2 million, in Q4. Digital media revenue was also down, leading to a consolidated net revenue loss. But, net income was on the rise, and it is all thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. 

Earlier this year, a "Bigfoot" was spotted across Scranton and Wilkes Barre, as Seven Mountains Media grew its Country radio brand across Northeastern Pennsylvania's biggest burghs. Now, WARM-AM and WLGD-FM 107.7 are getting a sibling, thanks to a deal with an individual whose also worked with them in the Twin Tiers region.

If Duncan's American Radio were to see a Roseanne-like reboot in 2018, there's one chapter that may be larger than any others: Chapter 11. The fourth radio broadcasting company to seek federal bankruptcy protection since Jan. 1 made its move on Tuesday (3/27) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. This company's stations, however, are located outside of Chicago.

Abel de Luna, through his Luna Foods Corporation, has agreed to purchase two AM radio stations and their respective FM translators in Sonoma County, Calif. The transaction comes with a risk — De Luna is agreeing to assume the potential lack of availability of the tower site for one of the AM stations he's willing to buy.

The city of Charlottesville, Va., is home to the University of Virginia and Cavalier athletics. It is also home to a group of stations owned by Monticello Media, led by one of the nation's top media brokers. The cluster just named a VP/GM.

He is a veteran of the Portland, Ore., radio market, and has been associated with iHeartMedia and its predecessor companies for a quarter century. Now, this individual who started out as an account executive in 1997 has risen to the top for the company's stations in the Rose City.

It's not often that the FCC sets a Hearing Designation Order to conclude whether or not a licensee should be granted a renewal for one of its stations. Yet, that's exactly what will take place for a Phoenix-based broadcast company that is supposed to be actively operating an FM licensed for broadcast in Gillette, Wyo. The station has been silent three times as long as it has been in operation, and that silence has gotten the Commission's attention.

It's called fuze32, and its an in-house marketing and creative agency at Zimmer Communications in Columbia, Mo., launched in 2015. Why? One of the big reasons was to share information and attract leads via the website. The benefit has been big, and Zimmer's Cathy Atkins discusses how Zimmer's "Radio Advertising Resource Guide" came to life in this exclusive RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

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.

The audio streams for Cumulus Media's broadcast radio stations are available to all who select the TuneIn app as their preferred connection point for bringing live AM and FM stations to their digital devices. That's not going to change anytime soon, thanks to a new agreement between the two companies. In fact, more Cumulus content is on the way to TuneIn users.