Radio News

Emmis subsidiary TagStation LLC on Tuesday revealed that its NextRadio app is now available in the nation of South Korea. And, it's not a streaming audio version that's being touted. Rather, this app -- like that available to Android-powered smartphones in the U.S. -- allows listeners to tune in live-and-local FM radio stations over their phones.

U.S. programmatic digital display ad spending will reach $32.56 billion by the end of 2017. If that wasn't eye-opening enough for broadcast media executives, here's another big projection from eMarketer: By 2019, more than four in five US digital display ad dollars, or $45.72 billion, will flow via automated means.

Half of higher spending small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) plan to maintain their current ad spend in 2018. And now, the disappointing reality facing radio and TV station owners: The SMBs surveyed report they intend to allocate 62.2% of their budget to digital media to promote their businesses, an increase of 6% from 2015. Broadcast and cable allocations are projected to dip.

Could everyday household Smart Speakers be the new home AM/FM radio? Why not? More listeners are making user-friendly personal smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home their first choice for audio. Can the industry capitalize on this to expand radio's reach? The answers will come at Forecast 2018 on Nov. 15 in New York.

Are radio broadcasting companies primed for a strong Q3? With encouraging preliminary results from Cumulus Media released last Thursday, coupled with the Q3 results reported today from Beasley Broadcast Group, there's a strong sense the answer will be yes. For Beasley, the all-important pro-forma net revenue managed a small gain. Expenses were down by more than $2.3 million.

Here's something that's cool, and definitely establishes Radio as the one media that can truly connect with local listeners in ways Spotify, Pandora, and even TV stations and newspapers can't do. It's all about going live -- and that includes all on-air elements, including commercials. Entercom is the company behind this "more than just a stunt" opportunity — and it's something that could get your stations get noticed, and more listener love, too.

The Supreme Court for the State of Florida has unanimously sided with a decision rendered by the state's Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming that common law in the Sunshine State does not recognize an exclusive right of public performance in pre-1972 sound recordings. Translation: Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, otherwise known as "Flo & Eddie," co-founders of 1960s pop act Turtles, have lost their copyright battle waged in Tallahassee.

Could iHeartMedia lenders who have steadfastly refused to participate in an exchange of debt securities notes and signal approval to amendments to a pair of outstanding term loans be ready to work with the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company on resolving an impasse that has stretched for some seven months? That's what iHeart's hoping for. On Tuesday, it provided its lenders with a counter proposal.

Set your alarm and perk the office coffee pot early on Thursday, Nov. 9. That's because Cumulus Media has set an 8am Eastern conference call with Wall Street investors to discuss its official Q3 2017 earnings results. The No. 2 radio broadcasting company on Thursday morning released "selected preliminary operating results" for Q3, however, and it sends the message to all that President/CEO Mary Berner and her team are working hard to make progress at a company that's excessively overleveraged. By 9:58am Eastern, Cumulus shares were up more by 100%, to 64 cents.

"One of the most powerful forces in government is inertia," says FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "Rules that get on the books stay on the books, sometimes long after the rationale that underlay their adoption is gone." And, with those words, the head of the Federal Communications Commission laid out his rationale for Thursday's revelation of an actual order set for introduction at its November Open Meeting that would bring major changes to the agency's media ownership rules.

Roughly one hour east of San Antonio lies the city of Gonzales, Texas. On the FM band, one can hear the primary station for an increasingly popular Americana network branded as "Sun Radio" — KCTI-FM 88.1. Those call letters presented a problem to Texas Public Radio. Why? Those are the same call letters of its station on the AM dial, licensed to Gonzales. The FCC's Media Bureau reviewed the matter, and it has now rendered its decision.

Neither headwinds from slowing auto sales nor the impact of severe weather across the U.S. could deter the nation's satellite radio provider — the longtime home of personality Howard Stern (pictured) — in Q3. SiriusXM enjoyed a robust July, August and September 2017 — so much so that it increased its 2017 guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. 

Cumulus Media has acted on its Jan. 2014 "Put and Call Agreement" allowing it to convert its LMA of two big Chicago FMs to outright ownership. This results in the official end of Merlin Media's foray into radio broadcasting.

Don't think for a minute that Democratic FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn had the backing of multicultural broadcasting companies with respect to the soon-to-die Main Studio Rule enacted in 1939. The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) on Tuesday immediately responded to the Commission's 3-2 party-line vote to kill the rule by offering its congratulations.

Come July 2018, Brigham Young University's broadcast media operations will have completed a major consolidation effort announced today by the collegiate institution based in Provo, Utah. The school announced today that it is merging its three TV entities into one national network, while its radio broadcasting arm will be combining its SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel with its Class C over-the-air property along the Wasatch Front.