Industry News

Goodman Joins KOA’s Rockies Coverage

iHeartMedia’s KOA, Denver – flagship radio home of the Colorado Rockies – announces that Zach Goodman will join the KOA Colorado Rockies Radio Network broadcast team. Beginning tomorrow (4/4), Goodman will be on the call for all home and away games alongsideimg longtime “Voice of the Colorado Rockies” Jack Corrigan and executive producerJesse Thomas. Goodman – a Colorado native – joins the broadcast team after spending the past two seasons as the radio voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks AA affiliate, the Amarillo Sod Poodles in Texas. KOA and Rockies Radio PD Dave Tepper says, “I was immediately impressed by Zach’s natural, versatile talent first hearing him nearly two years ago. Rockies fans will appreciate his passionate, descriptive style, fueled by years of playing college baseball, alongside one of the great voices of the game, Jack Corrigan.”

Industry News

Triton Digital Partners with NBC Sports for Hosting and More

Triton Digital says NBC Sports has selected it to power key components of its podcast and digital audio infrastructure. Through a suite of Triton technologies, NBC Sports will leverage advanced hosting, monetization, audience measurement, and audience insights tools to support and scale its growing podcast and digital audio portfolio. Triton president and CEOimg John Rosso states, “We’re really excited to work with NBC Sports and support their continued growth in podcasting. Premium media companies are investing heavily in digital audio, and they need infrastructure they can trust to scale audiences and monetize effectively. Our goal is to make that easier – bringing together hosting, measurement, and monetization in one place so teams can focus on creating great content.”

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (March 30-April 3)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/30-4/3) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

Stories

  1. U.S.-Israel-Iran War / Trump’s National Address
  2. Gas Prices / Financial Markets Activity
  3. Bondi Exits AG Post
  4. DHS Funding / ICE Troops at Airports
  5. Birthright Citizenship Case
  6. White House Ballroom Construction Paused
  7. Trump’s National Voter List Order / SAVE America Act
  8. U.S.-Cuba Policy
  9. CPAC 2026 / “No Kings” Protests
  10. Lindsey Graham at Disney / Artemis II Launch

People

  1. Donald Trump
  2. Pete Hegseth / Marco Rubio
  3. Pam Bondi
  4. Benjamin Netanyahu
  5. Kristy Noem / Corey Lewandowski / Byron Noem
  6. John Thune
  7. Chuck Schumer
  8. John Roberts / John Sauer
  9. Mike Johnson
  10. Lindsey Graham

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.

Industry News

Warshaw Implies Cumulus Had Eyes on Audacy Before SFM Got Involved

The Jeffrey Warshaw vs Soros Fund Management case has brought up questions about how SFM became majority owner of Audacy. Connoisseur Media owner Jeffrey Warshaw is suing SFM for breach of contract, unfair trade practices and more in alleging that he had a deal with the company’s Michael Del Nin in 2022 and began working together “to try acquiring Cox Radio, with Del Nin agreeing that Warshaw wouldimg manage the business as CEO upon successful acquisition.” Warshaw also says he steered SFM and Del Nin to the deal that made SFM a majority stake holder of the new Audacy in early 2024 and alleges he was promised he’d be the next CEO of Audacy or that he would get 5% of SFM’s profits from the Audacy acquisition.

imgNow, in recent court filings, Warshaw claims that by mid-2023 he had identified HG Vora as the key holder of Audacy’s distressed debt and, through industry contacts, came to believe that HG Vora was already aligned with Cumulus Media to merge the two companies. But the filings stop short of proving that such a deal ever existed in a formal sense.

Warshaw relies on what he “deduced” from conversations in the market – not on a signed agreement, binding term sheet, or documented commitment between HG Vora and Cumulus. SFM’s response goes directly at that point saying it had been evaluating a potential investment in Audacy for more than a year before Warshaw’s involvement, positioning its eventual acquisition not as a hijacked opportunity, but as the result of an independent strategy already in motion.

Now we wait to see if Warshaw can prove a Cumulus-backed pathway was real or if SFM can demonstrate that it was already tracking Audacy. Whether the Cumulus-Audacy deal was a genuine near-transaction or simply informed speculation appears to hinge on what documents and/or third-party witnesses reveal.

Industry Views

SABO SEZ: Common Sense is Always the Solution

By Walter Sabo
A.K.A. Walter M Sterling
WPHT, Philadelphia
Sterling Every Damn Night
Sterling on Sunday Syndicated, TMN
Another Side of Midnight, WABC, New York

imgIn 1952, the success formula for today’s radio was discovered and put into practice by two hungry entrepreneurs:  Todd Storz and Gordon McLendon. Both men owned dying radio stations in medium and major markets. The industry was suffering from a lack of purpose or solutions due to the advent of television which drove the migration of hit network radio shows to television. Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, and Gertrude Berg were on radio first.

Storz and McLendon developed “Top 40” with their own brains and money. Top 40 was research and focus group based, as well as. Storz tried it first in Omaha, then Kansas City and Miami. McLendon in Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, and New Orleans. The formula was simple but not obvious. Their common-sense solution worked in all formats: music and talk.

Ruth Meyer was Storz’s PD in Kansas City and I worked with her at ABC. She was very clear when outlining the Storz history, “It was all Todd.”

Success ingredients

The formula: Target one demographic. Play their hits – often. Call out the names of as many people in the audience as possible – make the listener a star.  Present with enthusiasm. Promote at every local crowd event possible. Repeat.

All of the McLendon and Storz stations grew instantly, usually to number one.

That ingredient list works repeatedly for station after station for decades. But, and here’s the but, all of those ingredients have to be in the recipe. Leave out promotion, for example, or research, and it doesn’t work. But the full ingredient list does work for every single format.

I asked Mickey Luckoff, who ran talker KGO as the number one station in San Francisco for most of our lives, how he selected his on air talk hosts to which he replied, “They all come from top 40 because I can teach them talk but I can’t teach them radio.” His promotions were non-stop and smart, TV campaigns were non-stop and research, yes, research – non-stop!

When Adult Contemporary was evolving, my team was responsible for the NBC FM properties. Corporate finance people who went to Wharton urged me to go slow, layer in expenses when launching this odd new format. I knew layering was a recipe – for failure!!! All the ingredients had to be rolled out at once. In 1981, WYNY in New York had a $2 million dollar cash and a $2 million barter promotion budget. Result, a $3 million profit and a 5 share.  Thanks to PD Pete Salant and GM Al Brady Law. We used the Storz/McLendon recipe with AC music and Dr. Ruth, it obviously works.

WGMS-FM was a classical station in Washington, DC. When it was owned by RKO and run by visionary Jerry Lyman, it applied the Storz/McLendon recipe to classical music. Their promos announced that WGMS played “Real Oldies – Your favorites from the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s!” WGMS aired a tight playlist of hits. Special weekends were popular, such as a “Beethoven Weekend” with t-shirt giveaways. The station was a profit monster, top 10 in Washington DC.

Five years ago, WABC-AM was about 28th in NYC as a result of cutting costs, by god the cost cutting was epic and so was the failure. Today, John Catsimatidis, the owner, and Chad Lopez, the president, have grown the station to a 4 share and number eight in New York. An AM talk station, number eight and growing. What? How? They put in all the ingredients. The station is data driven. The talent is live. External paid ads run for WABC almost every single day. The air team goes to local events to meet the crowds. WABC airs live listener music requests and dedications on the weekend with Cousin Bruce Morrow and Joe Piscopo – live. Did I mention live?

Today not history

The team is happy. They are making radio. This isn’t nostalgia. Mr. Cats is a very current based businessman who expects results. Like Storz and McLendon he is an entrepreneur, a private owner deploying common sense. He’s doing what is proven, what works. Bravo.

Conclusion: There is nothing wrong with radio. Just stop. Include every ingredient in the proven recipe; expect stunning results.

Walter Sabo has been a C-Suite action partner for companies such as SiriusXM, Hearst, Press Broadcasting, Gannett, RKO General, and many others. His nightly show “Walter Sterling Every Damn Night” is heard on WPHT, Philadelphia. His syndicated show, “Sterling On Sunday,” from Talk Media Network, airs 10:00 pm-1:00 am ET, and is now in its 10th year of success. He recently began hosting “Another Side of Midnight” weekends on WABC, New York. He can be reached by email at sabowalter@gmail.com or phoned at 646-678-1110.

Industry News

Asheville’s WWNC Adds FM Signal

iHeartMedia’s Asheville news/talk outlet adds an FM signal to its broadcast as it begins simulcasting on translator W225CJ-FM, Asheville. iHeartMedia Carolinas area president Drew Salamon states, “Extending News Radio 570 WWNC to 92.9 FM gives Western North Carolinaimg greater access to trusted news and talk at a time when local information matters more than ever. This expansion reflects our ongoing commitment to serve Asheville and the surrounding communities with credible voices, local connection and meaningful conversations.” iHeartMedia area SVP of programming Zac Davis adds, “After our post–Hurricane Helene broadcast, it became clear just how essential WWNC is to Western North Carolina. Over the past year, we’ve focused on expanding our ability to serve the community, and this next step allows us to reach even more listeners. It’s a natural extension of the incredible work our Asheville team has already done.”

Industry News

Cumulus Names Wirthlin to Lead Salt Lake City Cluster

Cumulus Media appoints Joyce Wirthlin vice president/market manager for its Salt Lake City station group that includes news/talk KKAT-AM and four music brands plus its digital marketing services for local advertisers. Wirthlin most recently served as market president for iHeartMedia’s Salt Lake City operations. Cumulus Media president of operations Daveimg Milner comments, “Joyce is an experienced market leader with deep relationships across Salt Lake City, enabling her to bring sharp local insight and credibility to every client partnership. She excels at delivering integrated marketing solutions, helping clients leverage our multi-platform strategies that maximize the combined power of audio and digital to drive results. Joyce will be a tremendous asset to our Salt Lake City team and a growth catalyst for our clients.”