Radio News

A 105-watt FM translator serving the northern portion of the Atlanta metropolitan area has been ordered by the FCC's Media Bureau to cease operations until it eliminates all interference to a co-channel Class A located just to the northeast. But, the translator's owner has won a battle with the FCC in that it successfully negated a reduction in power to just 10 watts.

Former NAB Joint Board Chairman Steve Newberry has another job aside from his role as President/CEO of a Kentucky-based radio broadcasting company. Newberry has just been tapped to serve as the EVP for Strategic Planning/Special Projects for the broadcast media industry’s biggest advocacy and lobbying group.

At first glance, one would believe that Emmis Communications had a disappointing fiscal Q2 2018. But, there's more to the story. Emmis can't compare year-over-year results because it no longer owns radio stations in Terre Haute, Ind., and in Los Angeles. The company has also shed much of its glossy publications. Pro forma, radio revenue is up in the just-completed quarter—good news for the company led by Jeff Smulyan.

With CBS Radio and Entercom revealing late Tuesday that 16 additional stations have been selected for divestment, industry chatter immediately turned to two companies as likely buyers. One, Hubbard Radio, has grown by leaps and bounds and is primed for further expansion after no recent acquisitions. The other is Bonneville International -- a radio station owner that, while smaller than in previous years, is profitable and easily able to grow, one veteran media broker notes.

Now that it's known which CBS Radio and Entercom properties have been earmarked for divestment, chatter concerning who is buying the stations has resulted in much speculation from brokers and radio observers. Most believe Hubbard Radio and Bonneville International are all but assured stations. But, there are swaps to be had, and one broker says another company is likely involved: iHeartMedia. Meanwhile, one Boston market veteran sees Cox Media Group building in Beantown.

A Texas state appeals court in San Antonio on Wednesday sided with iHeartMedia in ruling that a stock transfer was allowed under the terms of its loan agreements. The decision is a blow to creditors who attempted to declare a default on billions of dollars of the company's debt, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Three separate groups have asked the FCC to tweak their respective FM translators, so as to diminish interference from fully licensed co-channel FM stations. One of these owners is The Walt Disney Co. The other is a company that was forced to shut down a controversial translator in the Raleigh-Durham area, which made Lakes Media Network owner Tom Birch very, very happy.

Investors are once again expressing confidence in a solid Wall Street performer that recently became the newest pure-play radio broadcasting company in the U.S. After a shaky summer that saw its shares dip from $49.25 on June 1 to $37.75 on July 24, Saga Communications is clawing back toward the $50 range.

Region 31 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Los Angeles has made good on its September pledge to move forward with a formal complaint on unfair labor practice charges filed by SAG-AFTRA against Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS)‘s two FM radio stations in Southern California.

Three years ago, American University's NPR member station in Washington, D.C., closed on its acquisition of a station in Virginia that would serve as a simulcast partner, bringing its coverage to an ever-expanding region south of Quantico. Now, the school in Northwest Washington is retreating from the Old Dominion.

There are two individuals taking similarly big jobs in the Big Apple and the New York Tri-State Region for iHeartMedia. Concurrently, there's a new Regional SVP of Sales for iHeartMedia's Pittsburgh/West Virginia region, and she'll be starting hew new duties on Monday, Oct. 16.

Is it true, or false, that the heavier the modulation, the further an AM radio signal will reach? Featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner says it is a widespread fallacy. Yet, some radio stations remain unconvinced. The result is a cacophony of audio assailants that can perhaps be easily preventable. 

A solid Q2 performance shows that turnaround strategies implemented by Cumulus President/CEO Mary Berner are working. However, Wall Street remains wary of Cumulus' towering debt, and the company's stock and stockholders' equity levels are too low for Nasdaq to keep CMLS stock on the exchange. Cumulus is appealing the twin reasons for a delisting, but does it have any option left aside from an OTC Markets move?

Interim CFO duties have been handed to Lisa Knutson, as the owner of radio and TV stations works out a severance agreement with Timothy M. Wesolowski. Details were outlined in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing made Friday by The E.W. Scripps Co.

The FCC in December 2016 received a minor modification request for the CP of a noncommercial FM in Coggon, Iowa. An informal objection to the licensee's request came on Feb. 7, from Kirkwood Community College. Subsequent oppositions to the objection and reply comments were then submitted to the FCC. The Media Bureau has now rendered a decision in the matter.