Radio News

The SVP/Market Manager of Emmis Communications' Gotham cluster has succeeded Ramon Pineda as Treasurer of the New York Market Radio Association (NYMRAD).

With all of the negative chatter of late regarding brick-and-mortar department stores, one has decided to use radio spots to help bring in the shoppers -- and keep the registers ringing. This venerable retailer is among the top five advertisers using AM and FM commercials. Who else is actively using radio? The answer is just a click away.

Albo Investments has been handed a Notice of Unlicensed Operation for pirate radio broadcasts that prevented radio listeners — including RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson — from receiving local Jazz noncomm WDNA-FM 88.9 in Miami while driving through downtown Hollywood, Fla. The NUO comes after Jacobson on May 3 tweeted a video of the pirate's signal and tagged the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai, and avid Tweeter.

Attention, Northwest Florida radio listeners. You are about to witness the birth of a brand-new radio station. As a result, you are about to witness the death of an FM translator presently using the signal to bring "AM revitalization" to an Urban AC. That's because a full-service station on that frequency is being added to the FCC's FM Table of Allotments.

A former McKinsey & Company management consultant who later served as CFO of HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital Corp. has agreed to a two-year contract extension as Jeff Smulyan's No. 2 leader at Emmis Communications.

The Chairman/CEO of NRG Media has been named a 2017 MIW Trailblazer by The Mentoring and Inspiring Women (MIW) in Radio Group. Mary Quass will receive the ninth annual MIW Radio Group Frances Preston Trailblazer Award on Sept. 6 during the 2017 Radio Show Wednesday Headliner general session.

Here's the skinny on The E.W. Scripps Co.'s Q2 earnings results, released early Thursday: Net income fell by 4 cents per share, despite an increase in operating revenue. Its TV revenues are flat, but its radio division suffered a 5.2% dip in its revenue. Even worse, the TV division saw a 6.6% dip in its segment profit, while the radio division's profit tumbled by 25.5% in Q2. 

The FCC on Thursday adopted a hearing designation order pertaining to an FM radio station in north-central Michigan to determine whether the station's license renewal application should be granted. The station has operated just one day a year since it was initially licensed in 2010, most recently on Oct. 17, 2016. It's owned by Radioactive LLC, led by the flamboyant former CEO of Tribune Co., Clear Channel and Jacor Communications.

Is Saga the "teflon" media company? Perhaps. Its stock is in positive territory after reporting Q2 results showing a slight dip in its net income on statistically flat net revenue. Saga CEO Ed Christian and CFO Sam Bush provided much color in their quarterly conference call on what ails the company, and also attributed its recent uncharacteristic stock dip to an "AI" flaw.

The first filing window for AM broadcasters to obtain new FM translator stations officially closed yesterday, concluding another chapter in the FCC's ongoing efforts to revitalize AM radio. According to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, more than 1,000 AM stations took advantage of it.

The head of a formidable group of radio stations targeting African-American consumers would love nothing better than new rules that would allow a company to own more stations. He made the revealing comments during Urban One's Q2 earnings call, which saw several members of the investment community listening in.

Starting Jan. 1, 2018, distribution, inventory management and sales of CBS News Radio and its associated programming will shift from Cumulus-owned Westwood One to Skyview Networks. Company executives tell RBR+TVBR the shift from longtime partner WW1 "has absolutely nothing to do" with Entercom's acquisition of the CBS Radio properties and is the result of due diligence on the part of the long-standing audio news operation.

Pandora Media investors continued to sell their shares on Tuesday, as the streaming audio company's stock closed down 3.4%, to $8.65. The dip could be tied to a series of price target hair cuts from Wall Street analysts.

Here's something to share with the programming team, and with the person who cuts your station's checks. A new radio station prep service that features, at its core, a daily feed of call-in comments from listeners intended to “spark” further audience engagement has been launched by United Stations Radio Networks.

Here's the good news for beleaguered Pandora Media shareholders: The company's total consolidated revenue in Q2 saw a 10% year-over-year increase. Additionally, its gross profit increased as did its all-important advertising revenue. What's disconcerting is the company's dip in total listener hours.