For nearly four and a half years, he has been linked to a group of Cumulus Media stations comprised today of WSBN-AM “ESPN 630” and highly regarded Talker WMAL-FM in Washington, D.C.
Before that, he led sales for iHeartMedia’s D.C. and Baltimore stations as a Sr. VP of Sales, a job he took in September 2009.
Sadly, his current post at Cumulus will be his last, as Ken Roberts has passed away. According to one media report, he was 65 years old.
Cumulus Media EVP/Operations Dave Milner confirmed Roberts passing, with a statement distributed to radio trade publications early Monday. “This is such tragic news and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” Milner said of Roberts. “Ken was a passionate and smart professional, who cared greatly for the team in D.C. He had been a friend and coach to so many in radio and we’re all better because of our time with Ken. We send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Ken’s family, and are grateful for the time we had with him.”
Roberts in November 2020 had been promoted to VP/Market Manager from VP/Sales of the Cumulus/D.C. duo. He succeeded Jake McCann, who “returned home” to Philadelphia in
late December to lead The HOW Group, a real estate investment group.
With that promotion, Roberts said, “I am proud to continue our mission of super serving our listeners, employees and client partners. I am humbled to be part of our great history and excited to be part of our future.”
Among those already mourning the loss of Roberts is Jay Rosenberg, President/CEO of Rosenberg Media. “We lost a friend, a great husband and father, and great leader in the radio community.”
According to Rosenberg, Roberts died on Saturday. The cause of death has not been formally released. However, RBR+TVBR has learned that Roberts suffered from a suspected heart attack.
Roberts arrived in the Baltimore-Washington corridor in fall 2009, after spending 19 months in Phoenix as Director of Sales for Bonneville’s stations. From March 2001-February 2008, he was GSM of Susquehanna Radio’s former Dallas station group. It was his entry into radio, having served before that as VP of Videoaxs, which created “unique revenue programs that incorporated advertising and content distribution platforms.”
Roberts is a graduate of Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.
Funeral arrangements were not disclosed by Cumulus Media.
He is not to be confused with original KROQ station owner Ken Roberts, who passed away in May 2014 at the age of 73.
