Radio News

Seven U.S. radio broadcasting industry companies are owed several millions of dollars from iHeartMedia. Much of it is "trade payable," but there's one company that sticks out from the others in regard to the cash it hopes to collect from the nation's top radio station operator. That would be Nielsen.

Thursday, June 21 is the first day of summer. It is also the first day of an auction of FM translator Construction Permits designated by the FCC as "Auction 83." Procedures and minimum opening bid amounts for this closed auction were released Friday.

Four leading women in media that includes Hubbard Radio CEO Ginny Morris and Cox Media Group EVP/Digital Strategy and Research Marian Pittman have agreed to participate in a NAB Show panel focused on "the impact of disruptive forces on audience, revenue and the workforce."

The Media Bureau has released its Auction 100 FM translator filing window for long-form applications, with complete "Form 349" applications due in early May. This window specifically deals with the filing of FM translator new station construction permit applications for 669 “Tech Box” proposals.

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. 

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.