Edison Research’s Top Podcasts for October ‘22 – March ‘23
Edison Research publishes its latest podcast rankings from October 2022 through March 2023 based on weekly reach among those age 13+. Edison notes that the top four podcasts in this list of 50 did not change from its previous ranker. Those are: 1) The Joe Rogan Experience; 2) Crime Junkie; 3) The Daily; 4) This
American Life. Other radio related podcasts that placed in the top 50 include “The Ben Shapiro Show” (#8), “The Ramsey Show” (#17), and “The Dan Bongino Show” (#25). The latest ranker from Edison Podcast Metrics shows the Top 50 Podcasts based on weekly audience reach and reflects two significant updates to the service that were implemented last year. The sample has been expanded to include weekly podcast listeners age 13-17. This measurement allows podcast producers and networks to understand the teen segment of the Gen Z podcast listeners. The ranker also includes increased sample size, which allows for more recency in reporting and robust cuts of data. The latest ranker includes measurement from the previous two quarters with a total sample size of 10,797 weekly podcast listeners age 13+.
Cooper 360” with 447,000. The new 9:00 pm ET show “Chris Plante The Right Squad” pulled an audience of 325,000 impressions, defeating CNN’s “Whole Story” with 293,000. And at 10:00 pm ET “Greg Kelly Reports” took first place with 278,000 viewers, compared to Chris Wallace giving CNN an audience of just 263,000. Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy says, “Newsmax has witnessed a consistent, positive trend for weeks and we are looking forward to enormous interest in the network as we draw closer to the GOP primaries and ’24 election.”
There are media and there are media. There are platforms and there are platforms. Not all cultural artifacts are equal in terms of their utilitarian versus cultural value. Damn the tone-deaf corporate bean counters who are ripping the heart out of the spirit that gives humanity its life force! Marketplace obsolescence should not solely be determined by profit and loss. With all due respect to the idea of public service, what about the concept of loyalty? Shame on the automobile industry! Not only is it turning its back on the needs of millions of people, it is in the process of betraying one of its historic partners in not only commerce – but romance and glory. In other words, the automobile industry owes the radio industry a huge debt. The relationship between cars and radios goes a century deep and has been nothing less than a two-way street. Yes, auto industry, don’t be so hasty to save a few bucks by rushing AM (and then FM) radio out the door. You might just find in the long run that “radio” outlasts the private “car” as a fixture of human activity.
publicly killed. Someday I’ll find that stupid bitch and fix that problem. Scott is the only voice of reason on that show.” The message references Wright’s co-host Scott Parks. Wright posted the text so her listeners could see it and wrote, “This particular threat is not the first— BY FAR — we have received, and I know that it will not be the last. I am sharing this — because I am done being quiet about it.” Wright tells the Star, “What concerns me about cases like this is the level of violence we are seeing against people in all different forms of media. And a lot of those people who lash out blame their rage on things like alcohol and other problems they might be having in their lives or some warped sense that the political landscape is responsible for every problem they’ve ever had.” 
Rich Shertenleib had taken a sick day, so the two haven’t worked together since Toucher accused his co-workers of not reaching out to him while he dealt with what was thought to be a cancer scare. He was ultimately diagnosed with leukoplakia, something that can be caused by smoking. Toucher told his listeners, “I have two pieces of advice: Do not smoke and get a second opinion. They thought that I had cancer. If you saw pictures of the original thing they took of my throat, there was a big lump on my vocal cord, like a big lump. I wasn’t supposed to talk for two weeks. And now it just turns out to be Leukoplakia.”
– News & Talk category, for its coverage of Old Glory Honor Flight #59. “WOSH Morning News” host Phil Cianciola traveled with nearly 100 U.S. military veterans (including one WWII vet) to the D.C. memorials and submitted 19 featurettes aired throughout the one-day broadcast event on WOSH. WOSH also claimed second place honors in the Best On-Scene Reporting category for Phil Cianciola’s first-hand coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian from Sanibel Island, Florida. The honors were bestowed at the 2023 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards Gala on May 6.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, “quantifies annual podcast advertising revenues generated over the past year, analyzes revenue share by ad category and content genre, and forecasts future revenues through 2025.” The study says the top revenue-generating content genres are Sports (15%), Society & Culture (14%), and Comedy (14%) and have taken the lead from News and Political Opinion content (down from 19% to 12%). IAB VP, media center Eric John says, “In-person sports, lifestyle events, and in-store shopping have come back in a big way, taking the lead from news which held the top revenue genre spot since 2018. Podcasting revenue naturally reflects that shift in consumer behavior and it will be interesting to watch how the balance changes going forward.” He adds, “Both mass and niche advertisers like the audiences, targeting, and ROI along with the brand-safe and suitable environments that podcasting offers.” 
represents an expanded commitment to one of iHeartMedia’s most premium products allowing advertisers to engage audiences with creative, longform native content.” iHeartMedia goes on to say, “Ruby’s branded podcasts allow advertisers and their brand partners to spend upwards of 30-45 minutes with their target audience in a unique environment, with opportunities for storytelling that are not possible anywhere else in their media mix including social video. With distribution across the iHeartRadio app and all other major platforms, native podcasts from Ruby connect brands to audiences by translating brand messaging, products and services into original and engaging stories that audiences love.” 
Broadcast Advertising revenue was $45.9 million (down 4.8% over Q1 of 2022), and Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions revenue was $21.5 million (down 1.3% over Q1 of 2022). Townsquare Media CEO Bill Wilson says, “I am pleased to share that Townsquare’s first quarter results exceeded our previously issued guidance for both net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, due primarily to the continued strength of our digital and local advertising platform and solutions… In the first quarter, we grew cash flow from operations to $9 million, due to the strong cash generation of many of our assets, and opportunistically repurchased more than $12 million of our Unsecured Senior Notes at a discount. We ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $42 million and maintained our all-time low net leverage multiple of 4.29x. Our growth engine has been and will continue to be our digital solutions. We believe that our Digital First business model and strategy position us to navigate the current macro-economic environment better than most, and that our revenue, profit and cash flow results will be among the best in the local media industry, particularly when compared to 2019 pre-COVID financials given our growth in revenue and profit since 2019. Our confidence is directly tied to the Townsquare team’s efforts and talent, as well as our large, growing, and profitable digital platform which contributes more than half of Townsquare’s total net revenue and profit.”
he’d undergone a medical procedure earlier in the day and was not feeling well. Carr’s family tweeted, “Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for Howie. During his show today, he fainted. He is getting care now and doing better.” Carr’s flagship station is iHeartMedia’s WRKO, Boston and he’s heard throughout the Northeast via The Howie Carr Radio Network. 
talk/AC/sports station WOMT-AM/W300EE, Manitowoc was named News Operation of the Year winner in Medium Market News and Talk Radio. Midwest Communications’ news/talk WTAQ, Green Bay was erroneously named the winner on Saturday night. The WBA says the stations have been informed and awards will be produced and delivered to the stations. WBA president Michelle Vetterkind says, “We are very sorry for the error. The points awarded for social/digital media categories were not attributed to the News Operation of the Year award calculation. In previous years, points for those categories did not go toward News Operation of the Year. That rule change was made for the 2022 contest but wasn’t incorporated into the tabulation process.”
Tik-Tok is hot (largely among users too young to be heavy AM/FM listeners) and it’s in-the-news (about its possible ban). And, yes, Facebook remains T-Rex in the social media jungle. But people on Twitter seem to live there.
You have still have six weeks to make Father’s Day your sales success. Stop taking for granted, this always undersold 100-plus-years-old celebration.
contributor to the Red Apple Media station, will host a Sunday talk show, although a firm start date has not been announced. Red Apple CEO John Catsimatidis tells the Post, “She is one smart lady and she is one tough lady and you know how much I appreciate smart tough ladies.” DeRosa says her show will tackle “the major headlines driving national news and New York news. It will be a mix of insiders conversation but also I want it to have broader appeal to everyday New Yorkers.” 
vice president of BetQL Network. Audacy Chicago VP of programming and operations Greg Solk says, “Mitch Rosen is ‘The Score’ and has led his team for nearly two 
decades of unprecedented success. He has a keen eye for talent and has the deepest relationships in Chicago sports media. We are all excited about the future of ‘The Score’ with Mitch leading the way.” At the same time, the company promotes assistant brand manager Ryan Porth to program manager, reporting to Rosen. In this role, Porth will assume day-to-day responsibilities of the station’s programming. Rosen comments, “Ryan Porth came into “The Score Clubhouse” in January of 2022 and has fit in like a veteran. We are excited about his next step in helping to guide the future of Chicago’s sports powerhouse.”
quarter to $21.7 million compared to the same period last year. A significant part of the increase in station operating expense for the quarter was due to a $272 thousand increase in our self-insured health care costs and a $446 thousand increase in employee compensation, including payroll taxes at the station level. After a number of years of holding the company’s compensation expenses flat, we decided that adjustments in our employee compensation were warranted in consideration of the economic times and inflationary environment.” 
It’s the most effective tactic in marketing: Free samples. And the attorneys, financial advisors, real estate agents, veterinarians, and other ask-the-expert hosts who broker time for weekend call-in shows can drum up lots of new business…IF they execute well.
Are you desperate enough to be a superstar seller or great manager?
in London, Springer got a law degree from Northwestern University, served on the Cincinnati City Council before exiting in a prostitution scandal, returned to the Council a year later and eventually served as mayor of Cincinnati. He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Ohio as a Democrat. He moved into television news and won regional Emmy Awards before debuting his own soon-to-be-a-hit TV show that began as an issues-oriented program. Springer was part of the Air America liberal talk radio experiment during the early 2000s in which he hosted the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon ET show. In 2005, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian (who then was special features editor for Inside Radio) interviewed Springer. 
Notwithstanding the enormity of accomplishments that enveloped this exceptionally bright and learned broadcaster, Jerry Springer remained as humble and refreshingly an “ah shucks” individual as you’ll ever hope to meet.
state-of-the-art broadcast complex that will operate from the heart of South Beach. Stern will broadcast live May 1-3 from Miami in what SiriusXM calls “a star-studded week of programming live from SiriusXM Miami.” Stern will be joined live in the studio by special music and celebrity guests. The new SiriusXM Miami studios features a 50-seat performance space and several artist-first radio and recording studios, in addition to office space.
One out of three American AM/FM radio listeners are reached monthly by AM radio. From the Edison study: 1) AM/FM radio dominates listening in the car with an 88% share of ad-supported audio; 2) AM/FM radio’s near-90 share of in-car ad-supported audio has been steady as a rock for the last six years; 3) AM/FM radio’s ad-supported shares in the car are dominant across all demographics, even among 18-34s; and 4) ‘Perception’ vs. ‘reality’: Agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences (‘Perception’ from Advertiser Perceptions data). MRI Simmons shows Ford owners represent 20% of all U.S. AM radio listeners and are more likely to listen to AM radio. Cumulus chief insights officer Pierre Bouvard comments, “AM stations serve very unique, targeted constituencies and represent many languages and voices. As automobile manufacturers consider eliminating AM radio, it’s important to underscore that the AM dial is one of the most diverse media platforms in the world. Why would we eliminate this variety from the car?” 
I’m one of the lucky ones. In my marketing work I get to speak with radio/audio sellers and managers around the country at companies privately and publicly owned, as well as that increasingly rare breed – the radio station owner/operator. They all share one common fault. Yes, I said fault. Can you guess what it is? Probably not, because you too may share the same fault.
March 2023 PPM Data – Information for the March 2023 ratings period has been released for Portland, Charlotte, San Antonio, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Columbus, Austin, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford.
commentator on FOX and has hosted the Saturday night show “Unfiltered” since 2021, as well as the “Canceled in the USA” program on FOX Nation. Bongino said on his radio show and podcast that they just couldn’t agree on a new deal. “It’s not some big conspiracy. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t like some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension.” The report indicates Bongino may even make guest appearances on FOX in the future. 
executives up to date with industry trends, and making it easier for brands to use audio to reach the largest addressable audience of media executives in audio.” iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group CEO Conal Byrne says, “We know that marketers are hot on podcasts with the majority planning on increasing their advertising spend in audio this year. While marketers are spending more, they’re also listening for longer, which is why we wanted to create a network of podcasts specifically for their industry with content that inspires and educates. iHeartMedia’s B2B Podcast Network brings this highly strategic audience into focus and provides the platform brands need to access them authentically.” Podcasts included on the network is “Math and Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing,” hosted by iHeartMedia chairman and CEO Bob Pittman.
The first thing we heard was an earful from NAB president & CEO Curtis LeGeyt regarding automakers dropping AM receivers from new cars: “This is an issue we consider to be absolutely existential.”
Welcome to the NAB edition of Pending Business.