Industry News

WPHT, Philadelphia Launches Live “Politics and Pints” Series

im

Audacy’s Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Philadelphia launched the first in a series of live presentations titled, “Politics and Pints,” hosted by its legendary midday (12:00 noon – 3:00 pm) personality Dom Giordano. It took place at the Zlock Performing Arts Center at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, PA last evening (4/12) between 7:00 pm and 8:15 pm. The event featured U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) as its inaugural guest, pictured above (r) in conversation with Giordano (l). A cash bar for soft drinks, beer, wine and cocktails available for purchase was set up in the lobby of the Center. Tickets for the successful presentation were $50.00+fees and included a signed copy of Senator Paul’s book: Deception: The Great COVID Cover-Up.

Industry News

WGAE Responds to Audacy’s Pineapple Street Layoffs

The union that represents writes at Audacy-owned podcast division Pineapple Street Studios is denouncing the company’s decision to eliminate a dozen positions. Writers Guild of America East says, “The Pineapple Street Union is devastated by yesterday’s layoffs, which impacted 12 talented colleagues — 11 of them within our union. This comes just six months after the company laid off threeim other members of our unit. First and foremost, we denounce layoffs in their entirety; we believe this form of ‘cost cutting’ is fundamentally avoidable, and we don’t think innocent, hardworking staff should ever lose their livelihoods over mismanagement at the highest levels of a company. As previously reported, our parent company, Audacy, filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of this year after racking up $1.9 billion in debt. This same company also gave out at least $3.2 million in executive bonuses just months prior… Today, our union began the bargaining process where we will be fighting for the severance that our colleagues deserve — compensation that honors the immense time, skill, and creativity that each of them dedicated to the company over the years.”

Industry News

PodcastOne Renews with Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky

PodcastOne announces that it enters into a new agreement with podcast host and comic Adam Carolla to continue producing and representing his long-running “The Adam Carolla Podcast”  and “The Adam and Dr. Drew Show.” PodcastOne says, “Since 2009, ‘The Adam Carolla Podcast’ with its host Adam Carolla has entertained millions of listeners. Completely uncensored, Carolla welcomes a wide range of guests such as Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Nicolas Cage, and Matt Damon in the studio for in-depth interviews and a front row seat to his unparalleled ranting. With an unsurpassed library of episodesim available, ‘The Adam Carolla Podcast’ has remained one of the most popular podcasts on the planet for well over a decade. Fans grew to love the pairing of Adam Carolla & Dr. Drew Pinsky that originated on the world famous KROQ radio and became a cultural touchstone and in 2012 they reunited the partnership for ‘The Adam and Dr. Drew Show.’ In each episode Adam and Dr. Drew take uncensored, nothing-off-limits, calls about sex, drugs, medical and relationship issues. Dr. Drew brings the medicine while Adam’s comedic rants are the spoonful of sugar to make it go down.” PodcastOne president and co-founder Kit Gray adds, “Adam Carolla’s contributions to the medium of digital audio entertainment are immeasurable.  From his devoted audience of listeners and advertisers, Adam has inspired legions of loyal fans who tune in daily to hear his comedic take on a wide array of topics. His camaraderie with Dr. Drew is the stuff of legends. This is a podcasting duo that will go down in history as one of the greatest partnerships. As we have grown as a network, so have Adam and Drew and we are thrilled to keep the momentum growing.”

Industry News

FOX News Channel Names Scarpino Correspondent

FOX News Channel announces that Madison Scarpino is named as an Atlanta-based correspondent,im effective December 4. Since January 2022, Scarpino has been serving as a FOX News multimedia reporter based out of St. Louis. In this capacity, she shot, wrote, and edited numerous enterprise and breaking news stories for FNC including the United Auto Worker strike, the Titanic submersible implosion and the border surge in Arizona and Texas. Scarpino is a 2020 graduate of the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism.

Industry News

Radio’s Pinfield and Holiday Talk on “Sound, Sobriety and Success”

im

Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks announces that KROQ, Los Angeles personality Megan Holiday joins rock journalist Matt Pinfield on the latest episode of the “Sound, Sobriety & Success” podcast. In the new episode, Holiday discusses her journey from her hometown of Rancho Cucamonga, California to becoming a personality at KROQ. She also shares the stories along the way of her recovery from addiction to drugs. Pictured above are (from l-r): Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks’ Darren Silva, Holiday, Pinfield, and Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks’ Dave “Chachi” Denes.

Industry News

Audacy Names Two to Leadership Roles at Pineapple Street Studios

Audacy announces a new leadership team at is podcast unit Pineapple Street Studios as it promotes head of operations Bari Finkel and executive producer Je-Anne Berry to co-heads of the studio, reporting to Jennaim Weiss-Berman, Audacy’s EVP of podcasts. Also, Pineapple Street co-founder Max Linsky is been named senior podcast strategist for Audacy’s podcast division. In this imrole, he will continue to executive produce projects, as well as collaborate on podcast strategy for the company overall, advise Finkel and Berry in their new roles and work closely with key partners. Linsky says, “As everyone who has worked with Bari or Je-Anne knows, they are the perfect team for this job. Bari has been here since day one, and Je-Anne joined once we were part of Audacy — the combination of those two vantage points, plus the shared vision for where podcasting is headed, makes me just so excited for this next era.”

Industry News

LiveOne Issues Update on PodcastOne Spin-Out

LiveOne provides an update on the planned spin-out of PodcastOne. The previously announced plan would make PodcastOne a separate, publicly traded company on the Nasdaq exchange. LiveOne states that after the spin-out, it would own 74% of PodcastOne’s outstanding shares. For LiveOne shareholders, they would receiveim .048 shares of PodcastOne in the special dividend for each LiveOne share they own. LiveOne also says that the spin-out would allow for repayment of $3 million of PodcastOne’s convertible debt. However, LiveOne also states that “PodcastOne’s planned direct listing, amount of the special dividend and LiveOne’s shareholders’ dividend eligibility shall be subject to obtaining approval from the applicable national exchange and compliance with applicable rules and regulations and trading and listing requirements. There can be no assurance that PodcastOne’s efforts will result in the consummation of the proposed direct listing and/or special dividend.”

Industry News

LiveOne Extends PodcastOne Spin-Out Date to April 20

LiveOne states that its previously announced plan to spin-out PodcastOne as a separate, publicly traded company is being extended to April 20. LiveOne also says that it anticipated that shares will open at between $8 and $12 per share. The good news for LiveOne shareholders is the company expects to increase the dividend of PodcastOne shares to between 12% and 16%. After completion of the successful spin-out – which the company notes is not guaranteed to happen – LiveOne will own approximately 86.3% of the PodcastOne common stock. LiveOne also reports that PodcastOne has repaid $1 million of its debt convertible at $3 and expects to repay an additional $1 million to $2 million. LiveOne intends for PodcastOne stock to be traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol PODC.

Industry News

LiveOne Reports Operating Results; Files to Spin-Out PodcastOne

LiveOne – parent company of audio services PodcastOne and Slacker – reports operating results for its third quarter of Fiscal 2023 and the first nine months of Fiscal 2023. At the same time, it announces that it is following through with its plan to spin-out PodcastOne into a separate company by filing an S-1 with theLogo - Font Securities Exchange Commission. For the company as a whole, LiveOne reports Q3 Fiscal 2023 revenue of $27.3 million – a decrease of 17% from the same period in Fiscal 2022. However, the company has reduced its net loss for the quarter from $11.8 million in Fiscal 2022 to $3.2 million. Its Audio Division that includes PodcastOne and Slacker produced record revenue of $22 million in Q3 Fiscal 2023 compared to $19.1 million in the same period in the Logo - Fontprior year. LiveOne’s CEO and chairman Robert Ellin comments, “Over the past year, we have been laser focused on optimizing and streamlining our operations, led by our audio business, which includes Slacker Radio and PodcastOne. The combination of improving Contribution Margins, coupled with over $30 million in annual expense and overhead reduction, is resulting in record operating results. We are excited about the continued strong growth of paid memberships coming largely through B-to-B partnerships, including our nine-year relationship with Tesla. We expect our strong operating performance to continue for the foreseeable future led by our Audio Division and for it to collectively achieve revenue in excess of $88 million in Fiscal 2023 and generate more than $18 million in Adjusted EBITDA.”

Industry News

Comrex Now Shipping BRIC-Link III

The BRIC-Link III IP audio codec that Comrex unveiled at NAB 2022 is now shipping. Comrex says that this latest model “features a new, more powerful processor for improved reliability in addition to enhanced front panel indicators, including four buttons which will trigger contact closures by default and are configurable for auto-connections to other Comrex IP audio codecs.” Comrex adds that the new BRIC-Link III includesElectronics - Audio signal CrossLock VPN technology, its proprietary suite of reliability tools which offers an expanded array of techniques including improved congestion detection, redundant transmission, forward error correction, and deadline-sensitive retransmission. Plus, with the ability to use multiple IP networks for increased bandwidth in addition to the intelligent monitoring and dynamic adjustment of data packets, CrossLock optimizes audio for transmission over the public Internet and provides peace of mind to broadcast engineers. BRIC-Link IP audio codecs are commonly used in home studios, as STLs, for voice-over delivery, for sportscasting, and for many other situations that require point-to-point connections. With additional operation modes like HTTP and IP Multicast, BRIC-Link III can also function as a streaming server or send audio to multiple locations (depending on network bandwidth), making it an incredibly versatile hardware codec with an entry-level price point. BRIC-Link III is compatible with all other Comrex IP audio codecs, including the ACCESS codec line as well as older BRIC-Link models. It also includes EBU 3326/SIP mode for interoperability with third-party manufacturer codecs. BRIC-Link III works with Comrex Gagl, a new service now available for remote contribution. Gagl turns any Comrex IP audio codec into a hub for up to five participants. Learn more by visiting Comrex.com.

Industry News

Broadcaster Dick Chapin Passes at 99

Dick Chapin died at age 99 on January 5 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Nebraska Broadcasters Association says Chapin got his start in broadcasting in March 1953 when he joined KFOR, Lincoln as an account executive.  He soon rose to general manager for KFOR-AM and KFOR-TV. In 1958 he was named VP of the stations’ owner, Stuart Investment Company. In 1989, he formed his own media brokerage firm, Chapin Enterprises. He also went into station ownership purchasing radio station KSYZ, Grand Island which he helped manage and later sold in 1999. Chapin served as chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters, a position that capped 11 years of NAB service. In 1974, he received the NAB Distinguished Service Award. He also was elected chairman of the Radio Advertising Bureau in 1983.

Industry News

LiveOne Slashes $5 Million in Costs; Plans to Spin Out PodcastOne

Digital content platform LiveOne announces that “as part of its focus on generating cash from operations on a consolidated basis, (it) is implementing additional cost and expense reductions from both operations and corporate overhead, which is anticipated to increase the previously implemented annual cost savings to a total of over $30 million in its fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.  On December 29, 2022, the company revealed that Courtside Group, Inc. (dba PodcastOne) has filed an S-1 with the SEC for its planned spin-out and special dividend to LiveOne’s stockholders of record on January 16, 2023. The company says that PodcastOne is expected to record revenue of $25 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2023 ending December 31, 2022.

LiveOne adds, “PodcastOne’s proprietary internal Content Management System allows creators and producers to track metrics about shows on an episode-by-episode basis.  CMS is the platform where podcast episodes are uploaded, RSS feeds are created and distributed to listening platforms, and the listening data is analyzed and displayed in a dashboard for the creators/producers to see. This fully owned and operated enterprise CMS rivals other paid platforms such as Megaphone (Spotify-owned), Art19 (Amazon-owned) and SimpleCast (SiriusXM/Pandora-owned). The CMS’ day-to-day operation and maintenance is managed by a vendor we contract with and is constantly being updated to be a best-in-class system. LiveOne remains committed to spinning-out PodcastOne as a separate public company to be listed on a national exchange. In connection with such spin-out, LiveOne has moved the record date to Jan. 16, 2023 for PodcastOne’s special dividend to LiveOne’s stockholders of record. In addition, LiveOne intends to explore spinning-out SlackerOne as a separate public company during its 2024 fiscal year.”

Industry News

KLIF-AM, Dallas Adds Brian Kilmeade to Daily Lineup

Cumulus Media adds FOX News Channel and FOX News Audio star Brian Kilmeade to its KLIF-AM/KSCS-HD2, Dallas-Fort Worth program schedule airing his daily show in the 9:00 am to 12:00 noonim daypart, starting Monday (5/6). KLIF program director Bruce Collins says, “We are extremely excited to add Brian Kilmeade to the 570 KLIF-AM/96.3 FM-HD2 weekday radio lineup, especially as we head into the election season. Brian will be talking each day to the movers and shakers in the political world, keeping DFW up to date. Together with Sean Hannity weekday afternoons from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, we have the national political scene more than covered.” Kilmeade comments, “I am thrilled to be joining a great station with a rich history like KLIF and enter the fourth biggest market in the country. I’m honored to be a part of this first-class lineup right in the middle of this historic election season, and in short order will be in Dallas to meet all the listeners in person!”

Industry News

Nielsen and Edison Research Partner for Quarterly Audio Listening Report

Nielsen and Edison Research are working together to offer a quarterly report called, The Record, that tracks the share of daily time spent with ad-supported audio. Nielsen says, “Marketers need to stay onim top of these trends when developing cross-channel media strategies. That’s why we created The Record – a quarterly look at how U.S. audiences spend their time with audio. An important tool imfor advertisers, artists, broadcasters, and podcasters alike, The Record offers a unique view of time spent with ad-supported content. The total use of audio is significant – Americans spend more than four hours with audio every day – and it’s important to view it from multiple lenses. Consumers give nearly 70% of their daily ad-supported audio time to radio, 20% to podcasts and the rest to streaming audio (music services) or satellite radio (select channels). Data from the first quarter of 2024 indicates that (for over-the-air and streaming combined), by format news/talk was tops with the 35+ demographic with a 12.3 share of total audience and was also first in persons 18+ with a 10.8 share of total audience.

Industry News

Jeff Katz Drops Puck for Special Needs Community

im

Pictured above dropping the puck is WRVA, Richmond afternoon host Jeff Katz who “put on the foil” to help Virginia’s Law Enforcement Patriots hockey team this past Saturday (4/27). The Patriots hockey team is comprised of Central Virginia law enforcement officers who compete in charity games to raise awareness of, and funds for, a variety of special needs organizations. After Katz dropped the first puck for this week’s Autism Awareness game, he was presented with a custom jersey as he was named “Honorary Captain” of the team to salute him for his longstanding support of the team, law enforcement officers and the special needs community. The game was a huge success, raising more than $12,000.

Job Opportunity

Baltimore Station Seeks GSM

A heritage radio station in Baltimore, MD is seeking a creative, hands-on manager with a passion for helping account executives develop their skills and meet and exceed company goals.

Candidates should have a record of success in media sales and management, experience selling a conservative talk format, and a strong background in digital sales. The ideal candidate should be an expert in coaching and developing all levels of sellers.

This is a full-time position with compensation to include salary, overrides, and incentives.

Please send your resume or contact information to radiosalesmanager@gmail.com.

Industry News

Corinne Baldassano to Receive MIW’s Trailblazer Award

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc names Corinne Baldassano, the 2024 MIW Frances Preston Trailblazer. Baldassano most recently served as SVP of programming & marketing at Take On The Day, LLC/“The Dr. Laura Program.” The Trailblazer Award is named after music industry pioneer and longtime BMI president and CEO Frances Preston and is presented annually to a woman who,im through her leadership and accomplishments in the industry, champions and creates opportunities for other women in radio to further their careers. MIW board president Ruth Presslaff comments, “Corinne’s remarkable career firmly establishes her as a Trailblazer. In addition to all she’s accomplished, her selfless devotion to mentoring women and men, and absolute delight in helping them achieve their goals, is the essence of who she is. She is truly a mentor of mentors. We are thrilled to recognize her with our highest award.” Baldassano says, “I am honored to accept this year’s Trailblazer Award from MIW. As I built my career, it was natural for me to offer guidance to others who also wanted to take a similar path.  And it’s turned out to be one of the most important and satisfying things I’ve ever done.  I’m proud of those I have mentored, and I’m humbled to be recognized by an organization committed to fostering the growth of broadcasting’s next generation of women. I’m happy to see my work and theirs come full circle. Thank you!”

Industry News

WWO: Marketers Underestimate Sales Effect of Creative

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog post looks at the results of an ongoing study by Advertiser Perceptions that surveys brands and media agencies on the sale contribution of five advertising effectiveness factors: Brand, Creative, Reach, Recency, and Targeting.im Interestingly, marketers and media agencies massively underestimate the immense sales effect power of creative. NCSolutions says that creative drives half of sales, about two-and-a-half times what advertisers perceive. The Advertiser Perceptions February 2024 study reports brands and media agencies say creative only represents 19% of total sales effect. NCSolutions science reveals creative generates an eye-popping 49% of incremental sales. According to System1 chief customer officer Jon Evans, “Creative is the number one factor in explaining the performance of your advertising and yet most marketers still don’t realize it. That means that those who focus on getting the creative right have a huge competitive advantage. Firstly, marketers need to wake up to the importance of creative and secondly realize it isn’t some dark art but something you can measure and improve to give you an advantage over the competition who haven’t realized this yet.” Read the blog post here.