iHeartMedia Unveils New Twin Cities Pro Basketball Deals
iHeartMedia Minneapolis announces new deals for streaming and radio partnerships with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. As part of this multi-faceted partnership, every Timberwolves game will be available on the newly created Minnesota Timberwolves channel on
the iHeartRadio app. This is the first team with an exclusive streaming channel on the iHeartRadio platform. In addition, sports talk KFXN-FM “KFAN 100.3” becomes the basketball organization’s new flagship radio station for select Timberwolves games and the majority of Lynx games. iHeartSports president Kevin LeGrett states, “We are excited about this partnership and honored to be the broadcast and streaming home of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. We are thrilled to deliver innovative Timberwolves and Lynx coverage, programming and integrations to millions of their fans across the state and beyond!”
radio and media company personnel focusing on where broadcasters are vulnerable and steps that should be taken to become more secure as well as comply with federal regulations. The 90-minute webinar will take place on Friday, October 20 at 2:00 pm ET.
The persistent liability of most talk stations is that they attract a high percentage of listeners over the age of 65. Consider that many of those older listeners are attracted to radio shows that are talking for companionship and comfort.
Friday (9/29). Cumulus objected to the two hosts publishing their “The Dumb Zone” podcast arguing that it violates the terms of their contracts, specifically the non-compete clause. McDowell and Kemp left “The Ticket” in July after being unable to come to terms on a renewal due to the two sides’ disagreement over digital initiatives. McDowell and Kemp had argued that Cumulus’ business is “the operation of terrestrial radio stations – old media – and it was only in that business that Plaintiff employed the Defendants.” Ultimately the two sides were ordered into mediation on the matter. The terms of the settlement have not been made public. 
monthly, and 77% have ever listened to podcasts. “All of this podcast and AM/FM radio audience duplication means there are great cross-promotion opportunities.” Among the podcast audience, over half the ad-supported time spent goes to podcasts themselves at a 53% share. AM/FM radio follows with a 37% share. Distantly following are ad-supported SiriusXM (4%), ad-supported Spotify (3%), and ad-supported Pandora (3%). Additionally, MARU/Matchbox was commissioned to study Cumulus Media radio listeners who listened for at least an hour to stations in Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and Atlanta and were exposed to promos for eight Cumulus Podcast Network podcast titles. Overall, 54% of the Cumulus radio audience were aware of the eight Cumulus Podcast Network podcasts. A much larger promotion of heavy AM/FM radio listeners (67%) were aware of the podcast titles, and a whopping 75% of the heavy AM/FM radio streaming audience were aware of the podcast titles. 
publicly traded company controlled by the conglomerate. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei says, “SiriusXM minority shareholders will also benefit from enhanced trading dynamics, including increased liquidity and likelihood of future index inclusion.” A merger between the two would result in SiriusXM minority investors owning about 16% of the new company, with Liberty Media controlling the rest. SiriusXM says it is evaluating the offer. 
journalists “ask tough, but respectful questions to get answers,” and 61% say it is very important they fact-check those candidates. RTDNA president and CEO Dan Shelley comments, “In our highly polarized society, Americans need to rely on their trusted local sources of news to get the facts about candidates, campaigns and other political issues. These findings offer a clear roadmap to ensure local reporters and news managers are providing voters with the information they crave to make critical decisions in the voting booth.” Other data from the study reflects news consumers’ attitudes about news organizations, finding that 47% of those surveyed said they were in strong agreement that the information they get from local news sources is accurate and correct. That number drops to 41% when local news outlets cover political issues. It also found that just 39% of people were in strong agreement that local news sources were balanced and represented all sides of an issue. 
“Dateline NBC” at #3. Radio related podcasts in the top 25 of this ranker include: Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” at #7, Cumulus Podcast Network’s “Mark Levin Podcast” rising four spots to #19, and Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show” at #22. Just as it did last month, Triton notes that Cumulus experienced data collection issues with the Daily Wire shows (such as “The Ben Shapiro Show” which ranked #3 in the June report) during this period. 
credentials counseling a new couple every week. Couples will be played by a cast of esteemed actors and comedians including Fred Armisen, Ike Barinholtz, Kate Berlant, Janine Brito, Rachel Dratch, John Early, Tina Fey, and more. Executive producer Liz Cackowski says, “We are huge fans and listeners of podcasts in every genre. Love self-help podcasts, love true crime, love the celebrity interview show, all of it. And as comedians, we show our love through parody, which perhaps is something the next self-help podcast can help me work through. We’re excited to partner with Audacy to bring this series to life.”
Wagoner writes, “Why is KFI so successful – isn’t conservative talk dead? Yes, it is… and it’s been decades since KFI was considered ‘conservative talk’ (even when it wasn’t). There have always been a balance of viewpoints on the station; as it moved away from politically centered topics to more general topics, it matched the mood of listeners who wanted to be entertained more than they wanted to be angry.” 
for violation of his contract for working with the upstart platform that promoted Gargano as “coming soon” at its launch last week. PHLY is operated by the ALLCITY Network. The Inquirer reports, “Beasley said Gargano told ‘The Fanatic’ on Sept. 11, less than 24 hours before PHLY launched, that he intended to continue hosting his show while also accepting employment with the new sports outlet, where among other things he would write articles and appear on podcasts.” Beasley says that is in violation of his contract that runs through October of 2024, which states he is “prohibited from providing services to a competing business while he is employed by Beasley.” 
Phillip Lindsay’ begins a new era for the station’s flagship program airing weekdays from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Bye moves to afternoons after serving on the midday show. Replacing Bye as Brandon Stokley’s partner is Josh Dover on the “Stokley and Josh” program airing in the 10:00 am to 2:00 pm daypart. Dover previously served with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment’s KKSE-FM, Denver. At the same time, the station is extending the “Schlereth and Evans” morning show to air from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Bonneville Denver SVP and market manager Katie Reid says, “We are proud to usher in a new generation here on ‘104.3 The Fan.’ This new lineup will provide a stable and consistent listening experience for our audience. We’re extremely excited to welcome both Phil and Josh, as their high character, dynamic personalities and passion for their Denver community will resonate deeply with our audience.”
Kevin West died yesterday morning (9/18) at the age of 62 after suffering a medical emergency. West retired from the Cumulus Media station in June and had begun working as the public affairs director for the Chattanooga Police Department. West was a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, retiring two years ago with the rank of captain. He is survived by his wife Carlene and five children. 
Last week, with little time left on the clock, Disney and Charter Communications made a deal so that Charter customers could continue to watch Disney programming. Phew! Just in time for 15 million Charter cable customers to have access to that 53-year-old American institution called “Monday Night Football.”
station manager Cody Welling states, “‘97.1 The Fan’ and WBNS-FM/AM is a special brand that is very important to our community, our stakeholders, and our client partners. Matt’s love of sports radio and his track record of building strong teams, made him the right choice to lead our very talented group of broadcasters, content creators, and flagship partners.” Fishman comments, “‘97.1 The Fan’ is a juggernaut of a radio station. I’m privileged to get to work with an incredible team, a great lineup, and broadcast partners like Ohio State Sports Properties-Learfield, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Columbus Crew, ESPN and Westwood One.”
AM/WCFS-FM. Levy began his radio sales career with Katz Media and later became the director of sales for Univision. Doug went on to lead both the television and radio divisions as president and general manager of Spanish-language multimedia company TelevisaUnivision. He also served as a weekend personality on rock WXRT-FM, Chicago for 10 years.
comments, “Monument Circle has been Emmis’ home since 1998, and I’m proud of what we built, and the people who helped build it. As we divested assets, including our local radio stations, we weighed what to do with the building and ultimately decided that it made sense to look for a new owner.” Last year, Emmis sold its Indianapolis radio stations – including heritage news/talk WIBC-FM and sports talk “The Fan” – to Urban One. Those stations are still operating from the Monument Circle studios. FOX59 in Indianapolis reports that “the sale of the building would not immediately impact the current tenants, which include Star Bank and several Urban One radio stations such as WIBC. Emmis did not clarify, however, if these tenants would have to negotiate new leases with the eventual purchasers or if they could be required to relocate within a specific time following a sale.” 
-anchor 2024 election coverage and host “The Bret Baier Podcast” on FOX News Audio. President and executive editor Jay Wallace says, “We are thrilled to have Bret continue leading our political coverage as we head into the 2024 election season and beyond.” Baier has been the anchor of “Special Report” on FOX News Channel since January 2009, when he took over for the legendary Brit Hume who created and launched “Special Report” in 1998.
Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders. Compass SVP and general manager for sports Michelle Salvatore says, “Wow! What an incredible way to open our 15th season of NFL coverage with a quadruple header! Our schedule gets even better this coming weekend with the Chiefs at the Jaguars followed by Jets at the Cowboys. Thank you to all our affiliates and sponsors for supporting us all these years.”
Dependency upon a PPM panel to deliver high time spent listening is a bad business model. Would you rather count on one person listening for one hour or four people listening for 15 minutes? Right.
airing the program yesterday (9/11) and WVON starts on October 2. Additional networks and stations picking up the “Tavis Smiley” show this month include the “We Believe Radio” network in Mississippi and its affiliates. Smiley says, “In little more than a month, our radio show is now heard in three of the nation’s top five markets. We’re excited that more of America now has access to our innovative and empowering programming with groundbreaking and exclusive conversations. Our rapid expansion is filling a void for African American and progressive listeners in a growing number of markets throughout the United States during this critical presidential election season.” WURD Radio CEO Sara M. Lomax comments, 
“WURD Radio is excited to bring the ‘Tavis Smiley’ show to our listeners in Philadelphia and beyond. Tavis brings a powerful mix of dynamic interviews, pointed social and political commentary and a roster of A-list guests. He is a welcome addition to WURD’s lineup of progressive Black talk programming. Our listeners will be informed, entertained and enlightened by the insightful conversations with notable and influential figures Tavis hosts on his program every day.” WVON chief Melody Spann Cooper says, “We’re excited about Tavis’ return to Chicago radio. He has had a long association with WVON. His show is a perfect fit to offer a national perspective on Black America.” Tavis Smiley recently received the coveted “Freedom of Speech Award” at the Talkers 2023 conference held on June 2, 2023.
me that they intend to be the most conservative radio station in America. I just didn’t fit the bill anymore.” Although Howell doesn’t profess to be conservative or liberal, he’s been a talk host for years (in addition to his work at country outlet WUSN-FM), not only with WLS-AM but with Salem Media Group’s crosstown conservative news/talk WIND-AM. However, he’s made no bones about his contempt for former President Donald Trump. He laments to Axios, “Nobody broadcasts anymore. Everybody narrowcasts.” WLS-AM has not revealed its permanent plans for the afternoon drive daypart other than to slide the syndicated Mark Levin program into the 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm slot. 
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.
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.
Philadelphia. Newsmax EVP of programming Elliot Jacobson states, “Growing up in a small Pennsylvania town next to a family-owned farm to covering big stories in some of the nation’s largest cities, Bob has developed a reporter’s instinct about the news that’s important to Americans.” Brooks comments, “I am glad to go national on a network like Newsmax, with a growing news brand and a team of talented professionals who care about news and the public’s right to know.” 
Rosenworcel says, “Congratulations to Anna Gomez on her confirmation by the United States Senate. I look forward to welcoming her to the Commission. Anna brings with her a wealth of telecommunications experience, a substantial record of public service, and a history of working to ensure the United States stays on the cutting edge of keeping us all connected. Her international expertise will be a real asset to the agency. I look forward to working with her to advance the agency’s mission to ensure the benefits of modern communications reach everyone, everywhere and that the United States can continue to lead in the digital age.”