Pending Business: No Time for the Fat Lady
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
If you are a seller in the terrestrial radio business, please listen carefully. That faint voice you hear could be the Fat Lady warming up – old Brunhilde ready to wrap it up and put an end to that long, sad Wagnerian opera, known as traditional, transactional radio sales.
I’m not kidding here, folks.
When one of the big boys on the ownership side starts getting serious about real-time bidding for radio inventory, we are talking Google– YouTube– AdSense-style modeling and that can move your radio station’s ad inventory faster than the super computers used to create this year’s NFL schedule.
Did you hear about what it takes to appease CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Paramount, ESPN, Amazon, and YouTube when they spend $112 billion in rights fees? Let us just say, you can’t please all the buyers all the time, but if you want to please some of the buyers some of the time you forget the sticky notes and call in the super-computer guys. I digress.
Not familiar with the bidding process developed by Google for ads primarily on YouTube videos? It is as easy and as much fun as eBay, Vegas, and your favorite silent charity auction all rolled into one.
Recent estimates put Google’s YouTube ad income at about $30 billion, arguably double the size of the entire commercial radio business. This of course does not include the estimated $165 billion from Google search ads, etc. They know the real-time bidding process better than any of us.
Imagine yourself a radio station owner, like I was, only this time having the daily revenue responsibility of 16 commercials per hour on 25 news/talk radio stations. Even if you focus on Monday-Friday and the traditional 6A-7P model, do your math, then think like a pro. NFL 2023-style supercomputer or old school peddle power? The caveat? Has anyone reading this column spoken to a human seller from the Google bidding platform? OOPS! There goes that Fat Lady again, getting a little louder this time.
Not so fast, Fat Lady, there is a silver lining for the skilled, high-achieving seller in this high stakes, real-time bidding future. Remember, Bugsy Siegel started some of this “bidding” on the Vegas strip in 1946. “Monday Night Football” launched in 1970 moving TV coverage into a multi-billion-dollar ad machine and Google started the online version of all this somewhere in 2005. My point is that fine-tuning for profit takes time and resources. The big boys just gave you a peek behind the curtain and showed you the future. The sellers who worked for me heard this opera in 2007, when one million iPhones were sold. That number now is over 2.3 billion. The future is here and moves fast. Refine your skills daily, learn, grow, and become so valuable to your organization, your name is always at the top of the “Don’t even think about it” list.
Someone please tell the Fat Lady to stop warming up and find a different stage… for now.
Steve Lapa is the president of Lapcom Communications Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Lapcom is a media sales, marketing, and development consultancy. Contact Steve Lapa via email at: Steve@Lapcomventures.com
Many news/talk stations broker weekend hours to professionals who host ask-the-expert shows to attract new clients.
remained at #9, Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” rose one spot to #11, and FOX Audio Network’s “FOX News Hourly Update” fell one spot to #16. Other data from Podtrac from this report includes: 1) U.S. unique monthly audience increased for all but one of the Top 20 publishers in August 2023 over July 2023; 2) The average U.S. unique monthly audience for the Top 20 publishers was up 13% month-over-month and down 3% over July 2022; 3) Total global downloads for the Top 20 publishers were up 7% month-over-month and flat year-over-year; and 4) The combined audience for the Top Sales Networks was up 15% month-over-month.
2024 election season and beyond. ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’ will premiere exclusively on SiriusXM Triumph channel 111 on weekdays from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm ET, with the program later available on all major podcast platforms. The program will also air a special edition on September 14 when Kelly interviews former President Donald Trump. Kelly comments, “I’m thrilled to continue my relationship with the great people at SiriusXM who have been tremendously supportive of our show from the start. In an age where conversations are being stifled and news skewed to please the politics of only a small set of people, it is a privilege to work with a company that values free speech and open, respectful, elevated debate.”
radio stations for free to air around holidays including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day, as well as year-round programs. The Fisher House 
Foundation is a non-profit that provides housing for families of patients receiving care at major military and VA medical centers so they can be near their loved ones. O’Connor, who hosts the morning drive program at Cumulus Media’s news/talk WMAL-FM, Washington, has hosted the show in the past. Fisher House says, “This informational talk show will inspire listeners through stories of amazing service members, veterans, and their families. Producer and host Larry O’Connor’s love and respect for our military will only amplify these radio specials.”
“SportsRadio 910 The Fan,” beginning Monday (9/11). In addition to his work as a sportswriter, Phillips has been a frequent guest on “The Fan.” Audacy Richmond SVP and market manager Bennett Zier states, “Michael Phillips, for many years, has been highly regarded as the most respected voice of Richmond and Virginia Sports. We are delighted to have MP wear our ‘910 The Fan’ jersey for Audacy Richmond.” Phillips previously served at the Richmond Times-Dispatch as sports editor and interim executive editor. 
Some of the key findings of the study include: 1) Heavy radio listeners engage in a staggering 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations, outpacing heavy users of other media channels, including TV, social media, magazines and newspapers; 2) The study underscores for advertisers’ radio’s dominance across 15 business categories, including sports, financial services, technology and more; 3) A staggering 51% of brand conversations among heavy radio listeners result in an intent to purchase, surpassing the national average of 49%. This remarkable impact is particularly pronounced in sectors like automotive, sports, telecom, technology, beverages and healthcare. RAB CEO Erica Farber states, “Radio is often referred to as the original social medium because of its ability to engage listeners through conversation, entertainment and information. This study underscores radio’s ability to drive word of mouth brand conversations for advertising partners, more so than any other media.” The webinar is free for RAB members. 
recently director of sales at the company’s Beaumont, Texas/Lake Charles, Louisiana operations. The cluster includes news/talk WJCW-AM, sports talk WXSM-AM and two music brands. Walker says, “I’m extremely excited to be joining our Tri-Cities team. Cumulus Media is a great company to be a part of, supporting its employees with many great resources for our success. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve our Tri-Cities team, advertisers, and community. I have family in the market and can’t wait to call Tri-Cities home.”
society alike to learn from the mistakes made before, during and after the tragedy so as to prevent such an atrocity from happening again. Carter tells TALKERS, “On the Sunday after 9/11, I listened to a sermon titled, ‘Making Sense of the Senseless.’ Its overriding message was: We cannot allow all these people to have died in vain. We need to do good in their name. And so to honor and remember all those who died, all those who survived, all those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts, as well as all those whose lives will never be the same, I have written and recorded a moving, memorable and thought-provoking piece, ‘Never Again Should There Be a 9/11,’ with the music, ‘Help is on the Way’ composed and performed by composer, David Friedman. It is all the more compelling when you watch the video on YouTube.” Carter adds, “We came together then. Can we come together again for the sake of the well-being of our nation and world. And what will it take to prevent such a horrific act from happening again? Thank you for caring and getting the vocals, the music and the video to as many people as possible around the world – including government officials who need to ensure our safety and security.” 
series titled, “Behind the Mic,” that features radio personalities Angela Yee, Dana Cortez, and Patty Steele. The webinar takes place on Wednesday, September 20 at 2:00 pm ET. MIW board president Ruth Presslaff comments, “MIW is proud to announce this free ‘Tools of the Trade: Behind the Mic’ webinar focused on the women who have blazed trails as on-air personalities and are integral members of their communities.” 
place to be in the radio world than iHeartRadio. Thanks to the finest broadcasting executives around, Tom Cuddy, Thea Mitchem and Bernie Weiss for making it all happen. Walking to work every day is like walking through the Radio Hall of Fame. Just to get to my studio, I pass Elvis Duran, Jim Kerr, Charlamagne tha God, Angela Yee and other all-stars.” WOR program director Tom Cuddy adds, “When I joined WOR almost 11 years ago, Mark was my first hire. Since then, it’s been a blast watching Mark grow into becoming the highest-rated radio talk host in his time slot, along with digital numbers that are among the highest in the country.”
“Overreaction Monday” on September 4 that expands on the most popular segment of his flagship podcast, “The Rich Eisen Show,” into its own weekly podcast with Eisen and co-host Chris Brockman reflecting on the biggest fan- and hysterical media-driven overreactions from the previous weekend’s professional and college football games. To support his growing podcast network, Eisen has built an expanded studio and team in El Segundo, California with state-of-the-art recording equipment and set design. Eisen says, “Since joining the Cumulus family, they have shown unwavering support for my vision in growing my brand. As I have expanded my suite of services, they were the only ones I wanted to do business with, and I couldn’t think of a better place for my voice and productions to be heard over the coming years.” In addition to his podcast network, Eisen hosts the pregame and halftime shows for Westwood One’s syndicated “Monday Night Football” coverage and anchors “The Rich Eisen Show,” also syndicated by Westwood One for national radio.
August 2023 PPM Data – Information for the August 2023 ratings period has been released for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Jose, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union (New Jersey).
Which is the more important “check the box” trait – persistence or passion?
director of operations and sports programming Chase McCabe (left). Middle Tennessee State alum Dubin was an original host on “The Game” when the station flipped to sports talk in 2012. He has also hosted programs on WNSR-AM, WKRN-TV, and WSMV-TV. McCabe says, “This is a surreal moment for me. After being able to watch Joe on TV, intern with him and then produce his shows on “The Game,” I am thrilled to be able to finally co-host with him. Joe is one of my mentors who always taught me to laugh and we will be doing a lot of that each weekday. I’m so glad to have him back on the team.” 
For decades the power-lunch spot in Manhattan was the beautiful Four Seasons restaurant. Check it out: 
station features Michigan talk personality Justin Barclay in morning drive, followed by Premiere Networks’ daytime lineup of “The Glenn Beck Show,” “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,” Sean Hannity, and Jesse Kelly, supplemented by “Our American Stories” and some FOX News Radio content. Adell bought the former Radio Disney station in January of 2015 and launched “910 The Superstation” featuring Black talk hosts who were not on the payroll but were given the platform to get their message out. Ultimately, Adell says it wasn’t financially successful. He told the Detroit Metro News, “When you look at it, no one supported it. I couldn’t get the community to support it.”
Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp has its next court date on September 15 for Cumulus’ Renewed Emergency Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Request for Preliminary Injunction. Cumulus is suing the duo for alleging they have violated their non-compete and other clauses in their contracts with the company. The two sides have been ordered to mediation over the matter.
Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. It will be broadcast live on FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel and Univision. It will also be livestreamed via FOX Nation. FOX News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace says, “We are very proud to have Stuart Varney and Dana Perino co-moderating the second debate with Univision to provide Americans with a comprehensive view of the qualifying candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president.”
remains ranked #1 with 281,120 Average Active Sessions. Following at #2 is NPR Member Stations (69,006 AAS) and Audacy at #3 (62,853 AAS). Cumulus Streaming Network is #4 (36,554 AAS), Beasley Broadcasting Corporate comes in at #7 (15,728 AAS), followed by Hubbard Broadcasting at #8 (13,478 AAS), and Urban One at #9 (9,131 AAS).