Industry News

KMBZ-FM, Kansas City Host Scott Parks Returns After Rehab Stint

Morning drive talk host Scott Parks (right) thanks his co-host Dana Wright (left) and his family members who staged an intervention that got him into rehab for saving his life. Parks returned to the morning show on im Audacy’s KMBZ, Kansas City yesterday (10/26) after spending the last month in a rehab program, according to a story in the Kansas City Star. Parks says he’s been addicted to alcohol for much of his adult life but had been sober for three years before an undisclosed family trauma in July led him back to drinking. Wright noticed Parks’ relapse and, fearing for his health, contacted Parks’ brother. Parks credits the resulting intervention with getting him the help he needed. Read the Kansas City Star story here.

Industry News

NRG Media’s Iowa Talking Points Goes on Remote

The cross-platform program “Iowa Talking Points” – produced by NRG Media and Mudd Advertising, took to the road last Friday (10/20) for a remote broadcast that featured GOP presidential candidatesim Gov. Ron DeSantis, Amb. Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott, Gov. Doug Burgum, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Ryan Binkley. “Iowa Talking Points” is produced for live video stream, imvideo and audio on-demand playback, and radio rebroadcast by NRG’s “News/Talk 1540” KXEL, Cedar Rapids-Waterloo and is hosted by KXEL program director and host Jeff Stein. Previous programs in the series have been produced in front of a live studio audience from Mudd’s state-of-the-art “Studio5@Mudd” facility in Cedar Falls. Last week, the team arranged a special live broadcast from the annual tailgate fundraiser sponsored by Iowa State Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Stein says, “There are very few opportunities to have access to this many candidates at one time. Engaging with them in this way gives our audience the best information free from sound bites and media filters.” Pictured here is Stein with DeSantis (left) and Haley (right).

Industry News

Larry Elder Exits Presidential Race

As reported by UPI, conservative talk media personality Larry Elder suspends his campaign for theim GOP presidential nomination and says he’ll put his support behind Donald Trump. “As I look at the path forward, and after careful consideration and consultation with my campaign team, I have made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign.” Elder was unable to get a spot on either of the two Republican presidential debates held so far. Read the UPI story here.

Industry News

PodcastOne Acquires “The Opportunist”

PodcastOne announces today it acquired the exclusive sales and distribution rights, as well as certain ownership and IP/derivative rights, to the top true crime podcast, “The Opportunist.” PodcastOneim president and co-founder Kit Gray says, “The Opportunist is an incredible complement to our existing slate of award-winning true crime podcast programming. There is no more fitting time than now to debut the show on our network. We look forward to growing the show’s existing audience.”

Industry News

Momo Vemireddy Named Regional Promotions Director for Audacy Austin

Audacy Austin names Manimala “Momo” Vemireddy as regional promotions director. In this role, she’ll work closely with market and brand leadership and regional promotions leads on the ideation,im implementation and management of all market events, promotions and contesting initiatives and support similar initiatives within the region that includes Dallas, Houston and New Orleans. Audacy Austin SVP and market manager Bob Mackay says, “Momo has all the mojo going as far as being connected promotionally in Austin. She loves live music and being out with the brands, which made her the perfect choice to work alongside our vice president of programming Nikki Nite, to help elevate the Audacy Austin marketing efforts.” Audacy operates news/talk KJCE-AM and three music brands in the Austin market.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories for Week of October 23-27

Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) is elected House Speaker after weeks of GOP maneuvering was most-talked-about story in news/talk media this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the Israel-Hamas war and the U.S. protests, followed by former President Donald Trump’s various legal battles at #3. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.

Industry News

Fred Toucher Signs Extension with “98.5 The Sports Hub”

WBZ-FM, Boston “98.5 The Sports Hub” morning drive personality Fred Toucher and Beasley Media Group agree to terms on a new, multi-year contract that keeps Toucher at the helm of the morning show “for years to come.” The station says, “Under Toucher’s tenure, the show has been recognized amongim the top sports morning shows in America and has won numerous national industry awards including a Marconi Award. Toucher was a foundational member of the launch of the station in August 2009. Prior to joining the ‘98.5 Sports Hub’ team, he worked at the former legendary rock station, WBCN.” Toucher comments, “I am thrilled to be able to work with my Beasley family over the coming years. I will continue my record of immense competence and brilliance.” Station PD Rick Radzik adds, “Fred has been entertaining ‘Sports Hub’ listeners each morning since 2009 with his compelling viewpoints and opinions on a wide range of topics. We are very pleased that he will continue on with us for years to come.” There’s no mention of morning drive co-host and Toucher’s longtime partner Rich Shertenlieb in the press release and the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn writes about the possibility Shertenlieb will exit the station soon. Read his column here.

Industry News

NAB Announces 2023 Marconi Winners

NAB announced the winners of the 2023 Marconi Awards at last night’s ceremony at NAB Show Newim York. The spoken-word winners included: Legendary Radio Station of the Year – all-news KCBS-AM, San Francisco; Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year – Rich Eisen, Westwood One; Best Podcast of the Year – “The Letter,” KSL-FM, Salt Lake City; News/Talk Station of the Year – WTOP-FM, Washington, DC; and Sports Station of the Year – WBZ-FM, Boston.

Industry News

WGN, Chicago Wins Five Silver Dome Awards

Nexstar Media Group’s WGN, Chicago was honored with 2023 Silver Dome Awards in five categories from the Illinois Broadcasters Association at the organization’s reception on Tuesday (10/24) in Bloomington-Normal. The awards were: Best Continuing Coverage – “Highland Park Fourth of Julyim shooting”; Best Hard News Story – “The latest from Highland Park following the Fourth of July parade shooting” for news director Ryan Burrow (pictured holding two of the awards) and talk host John Williams; Best Radio Personality – John Williams; Best Radio Series or Documentary – “Ukraine-Russia War: Russia launches an attack on Lviv” (11/15/2022) for Bob Sirott, Joseph Lindsley, Joe Romano, Hayley Boyd; and Best Sportscaster – Dave Eanet. WGN Radio VP and general manager Mary Sandberg Boyle says, “These awards from the IBA serve as a compelling testament to our station’s ability to provide vital information to our local community during critical times. The collaboration between Channel 9, NewsNation, and our own newsroom proves the strength of our combined resources, ensuring that we remain a trusted source of news for Chicagoland.”

Industry News

SXM’s Mad Dog Won’t Retire; Will Do Stern-Engineered Stunt

After saying he would retire immediately if the Arizona Diamondbacks won their two final games againstim the Philadelphia Phillies to make the World Series – which they did – SiriusXM sports talk personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said on Wednesday’s “Howard Stern Show” that the retirement statement was a “throwaway line” and he would not retire. Stern then urged him to accept “punishment” in the form of a stunt: Russo would wear a Diamondbacks-themed bikini and walk down the street in Manhattan carrying a sign saying, “I am a liar and a dope.”

Industry News

Doug Stephan Shows Change Satellite Channels

Effective Tuesday (10/31), the “Good Day with Doug Stephan and Jai Kershner,” show along with Stephanim MultiMedia’s weekend programs, are migrating to new satellite distribution as the programming shifts from GCN Channels 1, 3, 4 & 6 to Wegener/Westwood One Satellite Channel A-1DBV165. GCN will continue to offer audio access via Echo Box.

Industry News

Newsmax Names McBride Morning Co-Host

Newsmax names Sharla McBride co-host of “Wake Up America” alongside host Rob Finnerty.im McBride most recently served with CBS affiliate WUSA-TV, Washington DC where she served as a news and sports anchor. McBride says, “I am excited to join an incredibly talented team at Newsmax and look forward to bringing Americans the stories that matter each morning. It has been my dream to work for network news, and I feel my 17 years of anchoring experience have prepared me for this new role of co-hosting ‘Wake Up America.’ It’s an absolute honor!”

Industry News

Mike Gallagher Show Adds Arthur Aidala Legal Segment

Salem Media Group announces that attorney and WNYM, New York host Arthur Aidala will join the Salem Radio Network program “The Mike Gallagher Show” for “The Arthur Aidala Power Hour Legalim Segment” every Friday at 11:45 am. Salem New York VP and general manager Jerry Crowley says, “At a time when politics and legal matters are inextricably linked, like at no time in America’s glorious past, AM970 has brought Mike Gallagher and Arthur Aidala together to make sense of it all.” Aidala adds, “Mike Gallagher consistently delivers informed and intelligent conversation to a vast national audience. I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit with him each Friday and provide context and insight to the legal issues of the day. I hope Mike and his listeners are as excited as I am.”

Industry News

Yesterday’s (10/25) Top News/Talk Media Stories

Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) is elected new Speaker of the House; the Israel-Hamas war and the controversy in the U.S. over publicly declaring support for either Israel or the Palestinians; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles; the 2024 presidential race; the U.S. migrant crisis; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ forgiven RV loan; the FDA’s notice that COVID-19 vaccinations can bring an elevated risk of stroke if given in combination with flu shots to older people; and Hurricane Otis slams Acapulco, Mexico were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Industry News

Tucker Carlson’s Media Venture Inks Flagship Advertiser

Former FOX News Channel star Tucker Carlson is launching his new digital media platform Last Country Inc and has signed its first flagship advertiser. PSQ Holdings describes its PublicSq. as a “marketplace of patriotic businesses and consumers” focusing “on highlighting the patriotic, parallelim economy found on PublicSq.” The agreement includes collaborative content segments that will air on Tucker Carlson’s show on both X and Last Country’s own platform. Last Country CEO Neil Patel comments, “We are proud to announce that our new media venture will be partnering with PublicSq. as our first advertiser. PublicSq. is a key company in the parallel economy, specifically countering the Chamber of Commerce and Amazon. There is a wave of disruption coming to the media and economic establishment, and our companies will help accelerate this overdue shift.”

Industry News

Audacy Releases Modern Blueprint for Audio Advertising

Audacy is releasing the fifth installment of its bi-annual audio thought leadership series, State of Audio: Level Up, that it calls “a modern blueprint for audio advertising, designed to provide a go-to playbook – including planning tips, creative how-to’s and innovative trends – to help advertisers level up the performance of their audio investments.” Audacy chief marketing officer Paul Suchman says, “Audio is proving itself as a must-have media for marketers. Our advertisers are embracing the power of multiim-platform audio with media plans that utilize radio, digital audio and podcasts, working together to reach audiences with unprecedented precision and drive quantifiable outcomes for their brands.” Some of the findings within the guide include: 1) Audio advertising works harder – driving more than two times the attention of TV and social media at more desirable CPMs; 2) Radio and digital audio are stronger together. A multi-platform audio strategy is so powerful that advertisers see 1.5 times the return on ad spend compared to digital-only campaigns; 3) Advertisers are leaving upwards of $6 billion in revenue on the table by not including total audio – a balanced mix of traditional broadcast radio and digital audio – in their media mix, according to a study conducted by Audacy and Neustar. The report also offers actionable tips for producing effective ads under the section titled, “5 Ways the Best Audio Ads Crush the Status Quo.” Here, Audacy says, “Advertising on the #1 reach media — Audio — will get you the most ears. But to keep them, your creative can’t just be good — it needs to be really freaking great.” See the report here.

Industry News

FOX News and SiriusXM Renew Content Deal

SiriusXM and FOX News Media announce they have signed a new, longterm agreement for SiriusXM toim continue carrying FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network and FOX News Headlines 24/7 exclusively across SiriusXM’s platforms. Additionally, FOX News On-Demand Audio will remain available on the SiriusXM app. FOX News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace says, “We value our relationship with SiriusXM and are pleased to extend our broadcast agreement, ensuring their audience continued access to their favorite FOX News personalities and powerful primetime lineup.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

iHeartMedia Inc will hold an earnings call to discuss its financial results from the third quarter of 2023 and its business outlook on Thursday, November 9 at 8:30 am ET. The company will release its Q3 2023 financial report prior to the earnings call.

Beasley Broadcast Group Inc will report its 2023 third quarter financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, November 1. The company will host a conference call and webcast at 11:00 am ET that morning to review the results.

Red Apple Media’s 77WABC is saluting law enforcement today (10/25) with “Respect the Blue, Trust The Blue, Back the Blue, “an all-day tribute honoring the men and women in law enforcement who risk their lives every day to keep New York City and America safe.” The day’s events include a drive to raise money for the 77WABC Foundation’s Back the Blue Fallen Officer Family Fund.

iHeartMedia Memphis — including news/talk WREC-AM — announces the 8th annual “Cognac, Cars & Cigars” on Saturday, November 4. A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit local charity Merge Memphis, a non-profit with a mission to serve homeless women.

Industry News

Yesterday’s (10/24) Top News/Talk Media Stories

The failure of Congressman Tom Emmer to secure enough support to become the next House Speaker and Congressman Mike Johnson’s bid for the post; the Israel-Hamas war and the controversy in the U.S. over publicly declaring support for either Israel or the Palestinians; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles; the 2024 presidential race; the U.S. migrant crisis; and 42 states sue Meta saying Facebook and Instagram are addictive and target children were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Industry News

WWO: AM/FM Radio Tops TV Among Persons 18-49

The latest blog post from Cumulus Media | Westwood One’s Audio Active Group features data from Nielsen’s Total Audience Report for Q3 of 2023 that indicates “AM/FM radio’s persons 18-49 average audience is now +5% greater than television.” Other takeaways from the research include: 1) Sinceim 2018, Nielsen’s Total Audience Report reveals the 18-49 weekly reach of live and time-shifted TV has dropped -26%. Over the same period, TV’s daily time spent is down -59%; 2) cord-cutting is a major driver of TV’s audience collapse: The MRI Simmons January 2023 “How Americans Watch TV” report reveals 51% have cut the cord; 3) While a huge number of Americans have abandoned traditional TV for streaming, AM/FM radio remains the dominant audio platform: According to Edison Research’s Q2 2023 “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio has a massive 69% share of U.S. ad-supported audio. AM/FM radio audience shares are over 17 times larger than ad-supported Pandora and ad-supported Spotify. See the full blog post here.

Industry News

Lange Rises to VP, Client Success and Strategy for Audacy

Audacy announces that Ryan Lange is promoted to vice president of client success and strategy in its Midwest region. In this role, Lange will oversee sales strategy and digital fulfillment teams for Audacy’sim Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Madison, Milwaukee and Minneapolis markets. He has been serving the company as director of digital sales and strategy. Audacy regional president Rachel Williamson states, “Over the past four years, Ryan has played a pivotal role in developing our critical sales support team, and his invaluable contributions have been instrumental in building strong relationships with clients. We look forward to continued growth and innovation under his leadership across the region.”

Industry News

Study Says Podcast Listeners Favor Podcast Radio Concept

Podcast Radio reveals that a study by Coleman Insights concludes that 81% of respondents would be very likely or somewhat likely to listen to a radio station that broadcasts curated podcasting content. A description of Podcast Radio was tested via Coleman Insights’ Pod Predictor service. The appeal andim listener likelihood based on a description of Podcast Radio was measured among a panel of 500 18-64-year-old podcast consumers in the United States. Podcast Radio founder and CEO Gerry Edwards says, “Podcast Radio can help radio effectively play offense to the rise of podcasts as an in-vehicle, in-home and mobile entertainment choice. This new data reinforces that strong, engaging, spoken-word content continues to evolve in exciting ways to meet the needs of U.S. listeners. That can enable radio to remain competitive and provide an attractive alternative for radio stations and radio groups.”

Industry News

McNicholl Named FNC Miami Correspondent

FOX News Channel brings Danamarie McNicholl aboard as a Miami based correspondent, effective November 6. McNicholl is an Emmy Award-winning reporter who served with KFMB-TV, San Diego forim the past two years. Prior to that she served as a reporter and anchor for KREM-TV, Spokane. McNicholl holds a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast and electronic journalism from Gonzaga University and is currently finishing her master’s degree in criminal justice and cybersecurity at Boston University. She is also a member of The Miss America Organization and was named Miss Washington in 2018.

Industry News

ENCO, Benztown and Compass Partner on SpecAI Service

ENCO joins forces with Benztown and Compass Media Networks to bring its SpecAI ad creation solution to the North American radio broadcast market. The companies say the SpecAI technology can help broadcasters create spec ads for sponsors on demand, alleviating the time, energy, and costs of traditional production methods while accelerating the sales process and time to market. Compass CFO Hiram Lazar says, “AI adoption has swiftly moved forward over the last few months, and as the largest player in spec commercials for over 10 years we recognized it was time to offer an AI solution for our clients. Using Benztown’s libraries, we can now give our clients the option to produce ads with an AI voice or a live voice to customize prerecorded spec commercials.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

PodcastOne releases preliminary financial data for the company’s Q2 fiscal 2024 period ended September 30, 2023 estimating revenue for the period will be more than $10.5 million, an increase of 24%.

Cumulus Media will host a conference call on Friday (10/27) at 8:30 am ET to discuss its third quarter 2023 operating results. The company will issue a press release containing a summary of these results before the call at approximately 8:00 am ET.

SiriusXM launches its coverage of the 2023-24 NBA season tonight with the NBA Champion Denver Nuggets hosting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by the Phoenix Suns visiting the Golden State Warriors on the SiriusXM NBA Radio channel.

Industry News

Yesterday’s (10/23) Top News/Talk Media Stories

The Israel-Hamas war and the various protests against Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks; eight House members line up for House Speaker post; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles; the 2024 presidential race; Saudi Arabia’s global investment conference; and the UAW strike expands to a Dodge Ram facility in Michigan were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Industry News

Tony Bruno Launching Sports Talk Network

Philadelphia sports site Crossing Broad shares a press release from sports talk media personality Tony Bruno that announces the debut of his new sports talk venture, the Tony Bruno Sports Network. The network will feature “The Tony Bruno Show” in afternoon drive (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm ET), along with “The Pete Sheppard Show” (7:00 am to 10:00 am ET), “Defo & Lubie” (10:00 am to 12:00 noon ET), andimMartinez & Company” (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm ET), with the early afternoon daypart to be announced. The press release states, TBSN will debut October 30th  with LIVE programming every weekday with sports talk radio from 7am to 8pm to start. Additional time slots and weekend programming will be added over the following months. TBSN is available to listeners nationwide online via LIVE365.com and on the ‘Tony Bruno Sports Network’ app for Android and iPhone.” Bruno adds, “I want to thank all of my fans who have followed and supported me through the years. I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged me to return and who still want to hear my daily fun approach to sports and current affairs, which has been my forté for over five decades in broadcasting; this time, I’m bringing friends! I hear over and over again that fans are tired of X’s & O’s sports radio. I plan to bring back exciting, sports talk radio again, with a Florida flair. What better place to launch a new nationwide sports network than in Florida, a true melting pot of fans from all over the nation.”

Industry News

BIA Advisory: Political to Drive 2024 Ad Spend

BIA Advisory Services releases its 2024 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast in which it predicts that revenue across all media in the U.S. will be $175.6 billion next year, primarily due to the political season. “The 8.6% increase over 2023 is slightly shadowed by concerns of an economic downturn and overall lower ad spending. With the forecasted political revenues removed, BIA’s projection in 2024 is $164.6im billion in total local advertising, only a 2.2% increase in local advertising year-over-year.” BIA VP of forecasting & analysis Nicole Ovadia adds, “As expected, 2024 will be driven by political spending, and, even in markets that are not highly contested there will be a large amount of political advertising. Local political advertising will be fueled by the presidential and senate campaigns as well as issue-based advertising. When we look at the forecast without political, we expect only a slight increase in ad spending due to both global and local economic trends that may create more cautious spending.” See more about the forecast here.

Industry News

Remote News Service and McVay Media Collaborate

Remote News Service and McVay Media announce a deal for the latter to consult the news providingim organization. Remote News Service provides radio anchors and reporters for news and traffic content. McVay Media president Mike McVay says, “I was very familiar with RNS and the company imthat president Lesley Lotto has built. I like what they do and what they offer. Given the economic situation that media finds itself in today, the question has become how can we be cost effective without diminishing the quality of the content? Remote News Service is the answer to that question.”

Industry News

Outkick Reports Q3 Audience Up 34%

Sports media platform OutKick says that its third quarter audience data from Comscore indicates it had the “highest year-over-year growth amongst its competitive set averaging more than 5 million totalim multiplatform unique visitors, which is up 34% versus 3Q of 2022.” The platform also delivered 67 million total multiplatform minutes and 64 million total multiplatform views. Outkick founder Clay Travis says, “Once again OutKick finishes the quarter with strong numbers that highlight our consistent growth across the platform. Our in-depth and common-sense reporting continue to be the driving force and differentiate us from your standard sport sites.”

Industry News

WBZ-FM, Boston and Celtics Renew Broadcast Deal

The NBA’s Boston Celtics and Beasley Media Group sports talk WBZ-FM, Boston “98.5 The Sports Hub” announces a multiyear extension of their broadcast agreement. The station has been the officialim flagship Station of the Boston Celtics Radio Network since 2013. Under the terms of the pact, Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell will continue to be the voices of the team radio broadcast. In addition to the games, “98.5 The Sports Hub” will also air Celtics related programming throughout the season, including a weekly call-in from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on “The Zolak & Bertrand Show” each Wednesday during the season.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories Over the Weekend

The Israel-Hamas war and the various protests against Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks; Jim Jordan’s failure to gain the House Speaker position and the numerous House members now vying for the post; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles and the Georgia election case defendants agreeing to plea deals; the Russia-Ukraine war; the investigation into the shooting death of a Maryland judge; and the murder of a Detroit synagogue president were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media over the weekend, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.