TALKERS News Notes
Benztown president Dave “Chachi” Denes’ latest episodes of his “Chachi Loves Everybody” podcast feature Workhouse Media CEO Paul Anderson and former Greater Media chairman and CEO Peter Smyth. You can hear the podcasts here.
Hope Media Group announces that Mike McCall is named chief of donor engagement for the firm. He most recently served in a similar position with Educational Media Foundation. Hope Media Group says, “Mike has been blessed with a 30-year journey of building successful donor relationships and leading large teams of development officers.”
Mentioning a local street name won’t do it. Constant local references is not LOCAL LIVE, it’s a GOOGLE MAP!
podcasts, including “The Dumb Zone,” before they and Cumulus go into mediation over Cumulus’ charge that the two have violate their non-compete and other clauses in their contracts with the company. The court-ordered mediation was moved from yesterday (8/22) to next Tuesday (8/29).
Those are the two consultant buzzwords that hosts I coach are hearing in their sleep. And a couple more “E” words: Empathy and Empower.
voice acting services for cash or barter, directed by Benztown producers in collaboration with station program directors and producers, and totally customized to their needs… The actors call in to radio stations, asking questions, playing along with comedy bits, sharing local information, talking up contests and promotions, and more – all according to the specific needs of each station.” Benztown president Dave “Chachi” Denes says, “We live in a digitally overloaded world, and human interaction and connectivity have become increasingly crucial. Role Callers serves as an invaluable tool, effectively sparking live listener engagement on some of the nation’s most prominent morning shows.”
“The Daily” ranked #1 (based on unique U.S. monthly audience). NBC News’ “Dateline NBC” came in #3 and NPR’s “NPR News Now” was #4. The lone talk radio personality whose podcast landed in Podtrac’s Top 20 was Dan Bongino. His Cumulus Podcast Network show ranked #11.
HALF of all radio stations in the United States lose money – at least they did back in 1991. The NAB used to put out an annual report revealing how many radio stations were profitable. Usually half the stations in America lost money. Since consolidation, the NAB stopped putting out that report. It is reasonable to believe that far, far fewer stations lose money today. Shared costs, real estate, technical economies due to digital equipment versus analog all indicate that there must be fewer money-losing properties.
“Real Talk Radio Network” on Missouri stations KRTK-FM, Hermann; KVMO-FM, Vandalia; and KTRE-FM, Steelville, is being sued by the feds under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act for peddling false information about the COVID pandemic in order to sell supplements and vitamins. The trial is set to begin on August 21 and as a result of the rulings, Nepute is not allowed to testify as a medical expert as the judge ruled he does not practice medicine and has no “experience treating infectious diseases, and more specifically, COVID-19.” The judge also ruled that Nepute’s program is a form of advertising and as such falls under the laws that regulate commercial speech. 
When was the last time you went shopping for a quality living room rug? Not an oriental, because that is just too easy. We’re talking high quality living room rug that will blend in and stand the test of time… and the dog. Next to fighting with a credit card company, it’s the worst shopping experience ever.
who is considered the top personal finance guru in the country. But here in Central Florida, loyal listeners had to wait for rebroadcasts of the program late into the night. That changed this week when ‘The Ramsey Show’ began airing live weekday afternoons on ‘The Shepherd’ radio stations.” MARC chief revenue officer Scott Miller comments, “We couldn’t wait to bring ‘The Ramsey Show’ live to our Florida listeners. This is not just talk radio, it’s life changing. What more important message could we bring to our growing base of listeners than live financial peace based on The Greatest Book of All?”
When golf’s original championship is contested next week at Hoylake’s Royal Liverpool (England), SiriusXM will offer 45 hours of live coverage on its “Open Radio” channel (92). SiriusXM president/chief content officer Scott Greenstein comments, “We’re very excited to deliver our listeners another extensive week of programming for the historic Open Championship. Our coverage will feature live shot-by-shot commentary from voices who are excellent at capturing and conveying the character and excitement of Open Championship golf, as well as daily programming that will deliver all the latest news from the event and interviews with the competitors in the field.” Championship broadcasts will 
In celebration of Chicago Cubs play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes’ induction next week into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the team’s flagship – Audacy sports talk WSCR “670 The Score” – will air a series of special programming. WSCR vice president and brand manager Mitch Rosen opines that, “Pat’s induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame is a testament to his exceptional broadcasting career and unwavering dedication to the Cubs and ‘670 The Score.’ For 28 seasons, Pat’s voice has captured the essence of Cubs baseball. We’re delighted to recount the franchise’s cornerstone moments sound-tracked by his unforgettable calls and honor a fixture in Chicago sports.” Next Friday (7/21), WSCR will air “Pat’s Call to the Hall,” a three-hour (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm) audio retrospective of Hughes’ career. Hosted by Hughes’ radio booth partners Ron Coomer and Zach Zaidman, the special will feature interviews with – among others – former Cubs manager Joe Maddon; current Cubs skipper David Ross; sports broadcaster Bob Costas; and musician/songwriter Eddie Vedder. Next Saturday (7/22) following its broadcast of the Cubs game, the station will air Hughes’ induction speech from Cooperstown (New York) and will rebroadcast “Pat’s Call to the Hall.” In addition, WSCR is airing vignettes saluting Hughes’ career. The Baseball Hall of Fame named Hughes this year’s winner of the Ford Frick Award, which recognizes excellence in broadcasting. A nine-time Illinois Sportscaster of the Year, Hughes won the award three times in Wisconsin as the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers.
In order to measure interest in podcast content pre-launch, Coleman Insights is having 1,000 United States and Canadian podcast listeners (in the 18 – 64 demo) rate podcast show titles and elevator pitches on a one to five scale. Regarding this “Pod Predictor” concept, Coleman Insights vice president/consultant Jay Nachlis comments, “So much money and time is invested in the launch of new podcasts without any intel as to how that content will be received. With ‘Pod Predictor,’ podcasters can determine how appealing their concept is at an affordable price point, allowing them to refine their marketing message before launching it to the public.” Possessing the ability to test one or multiple concepts, “Pod Predictor” is available to individual publishers and networks. Results will be delivered with total results, as well as breakdowns by age, gender, ethnicity, geography, and category interest.
According to Podtrac’s latest stats, the average U.S. “Unique Monthly Audience” for the Top 20 publishers dipped 3% month-to-month, but improved by that same percentage compared to June 2022. “Total Global Downloads” for the Top 20 publishers remained steady month-to-month; however, it declined 3% versus this time last year. The combined audience for the Top Sales Networks was up 5% month-to-month. The top ten podcasts by US Unique Monthly Audience (June 2023) are: “The Daily” (New York Times); “Dateline NBC” (NBC News); “Morbid” (Wondery); “Up First” (NPR); “NPR News Now” (NPR); “SmartLess” (Wonderly); “The Ben Shapiro Show” (Daily Wire); “Stuff You Should Know” (iHeartPodcasts); “Pardon My Take” (Barstool Sports); and “The Dan Bongino Show” (Dan Borgino). With a US “Unique Monthly Audience” of 31,625,000 (and 833 active shows), iHeartPodcasts is the top podcast publisher. It is followed by Wondery; NPR; NBC News; New York Times; Daily Wire; The Walt Disney Company; Barstool Sports; Vox Media; and PRX.
Coinciding with the Independent Broadcasters Foundation’s fourth anniversary are new enhancements (including a redesigned website which unveils today) and policies. To more effectively focus on members’ needs, the IBA implements a cap of 300 company members, with no limit on number of stations under a company. According to IBA president/executive director Ron Stone, “These improvements allow the IBA to grow into the best possible organization representing independent radio stations. Future members will have market exclusivity to IBA membership. All current members that share a market will be grandfathered in and are not affected by this change. A group is considered one company. Once we reach the 300-mark, membership will be closed. New members will only be received if the number of member companies drops below 300.” National cash contests will now include text-to-win capability and Stone states, “Participating member stations have experienced as much as 30X ROI from [those contests].” Only IBA member stations can participate in the September National Cash Contest; the deadline for stations and groups to register is in less than three weeks (7/31). An IBA member may be a single station or a group of stations, as long as the company is not traded on a public market.
Simulcasting on 98.7 HD-2, iHeartMedia Washington, DC launches “Freedom 104.7 – DC’s Real News. Real Talk.” Senior vice president of programming Jeff Kapugi states, “We are excited to welcome a number of best-in-class personalities to ‘Freedom 104.7.’ We are confident [the station] will quickly become a favorite destination for DMV talk radio listeners.” Premiere Networks executive vice president of affiliate sales Peter Tripi adds, “We’re thrilled to have our industry-leading talk lineup join ‘Freedom 104.7 & 98.7 HD-2.’ These stellar talents will provide entertaining, unique and insightful views on the latest news, politics and events that Washington, DC listeners are looking for.” The station’s weekday lineup includes: “America’s First News” (6:00 am – 9:00 am); Glenn Beck (9:00 am – 12:00 noon); Clay Travis & Buck Sexton (12:00 noon – 3:00 pm); Sean Hannity (3:00 pm – 6:00 pm); Jesse Kelly (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm); “Our American Stories” (9:00 pm – 12:00 midnight); “Coast to Coast Early Edition” (12:00 midnight – 1:00 am); and “Coast to Coast AM with George Noory” (1:00 am – 6:00 am). Approximately six months ago (1/5), WWDC-HD2 and 104.7 translator station W284CQ became “iHeart Sports DC”; it was not listed in Nielsen Audio’s May 2023 sweep. Among persons 6+ in that ratings period, American University public radio news/talk WAMU ranks first (11.4); Hubbard all-news WTOP & WTLP “Washington’s Top News” is second (8.0); Cumulus Media news/talk WMAL “105.9 FM – Where Washington Comes To Talk” finishes seventh (4.7); and Audacy business news WDCH “Bloomberg 99.1 FM” ranks #22 (.5).
Ciorciari says, “Taking a legacy AM radio station and re-imagining it into an additional radio format in a local market is an exciting expansion of Bold Gold’s local broadcast portfolio, and is a testament to an incredible team of local broadcast professionals, a supportive community, and the importance that local radio continues to have to provide local news, talk and information.” Bold Gold Media New York director of programming Chase Daniels comments, “The launch of ‘Catskills News Talk’ marks another BOLD move in our New York market as we expand our programming offerings and bring back the heritage ‘Voice of Sullivan.’ Putting this station together required a lot of well-thought-out decisions and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to bring it all together.” Beyond morning drive, the company has not revealed programming details other than to say, “Popular radio shows covering a variety of topics including financial market updates, investing, lifestyle, health, politics, sports and others will round out the station’s programming.”