Podtrac Unveils New Multi-Channel Podcast Ranking
Podtrac releases the first edition of its Multi-Channel Podcast Ranking that now includes the following when constructing its rankings: audio episode downloaded on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast apps; Video
episodes viewed and streamed on YouTube and Spotify; and Podcast video clips played on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Under this new format, Podtrac’s Multi-Channel Podcast Ranking for December 2025 ranks “The Meidas Touch Podcast” #1, followed by “The Joe Rogan Experience” at #2, and “The Rest is History” at #3. Other news/talk media related shows of note include: “The Tucker Carlson Show” at #12, and “The Ben Shapiro Show” at #17. See more about this ranker here.
Media Federation and its streaming network Festiva TV syndication partnership. The deal will make Valdés’ late-night show exclusively in Spanish to Roku’s 90 million+ subscribed households. Valdés’ English-language show continues to be available via iHeartRadio, and Valdés says he is “completely open to English syndication opportunities across terrestrial radio, cable television, and streaming platforms like Rumble—building on my ongoing work in those spaces.”
serve in the public interest, the FCC yesterday issued a Guidance on Political Equal Opportunities Requirement for Broadcast Television Stations. While the memorandum is written to television stations, it obvious applies to radio stations as well. The memo ultimately addresses the 1959 order that exempts broadcasters from providing equal time to qualified candidates on any: (1) bona fide newscast; (2) bona fide news interview; (3) bona fidenews documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject or subjects covered by the news documentary); or (4) on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events (including but not limited to political conventions and activities incidental thereto). Programs such as “The Tonight Show” and “The View” are cited as entertainment shows in which an interview segment can qualify as a bona fide news interview. Regarding this, the memo concludes with two important paragraphs:
appeal of the District Court’s ruling on Cumulus’ request to seal the record and protect witnesses’ identities. That request was granted by the District Court. Cumulus Media is suing Nielsen alleging that the company is illegally leveraging its dominance over national and local radio audience data to stifle rivals and charge inflated prices. At the heart of the complaint is the charge that Nielsen is providing access to the national broadcast radio ratings only if the client spends a lot of extra money on the separate local ratings. Cumulus argues that Nielsen’s policy forces them to buy ratings in U.S. markets where it doesn’t operate stations in order to have the complete national ratings data.
(1/20) on make his debut on FOX News Channel’s “Hannity.” Priebus is a former Republican National Committee chairman and served as White House chief of staff to Donald Trump in 2017. He currently is president of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, chairman of Michael Best Strategies and is a senior adviser to Centerview Partners. He also holds roles on President Trump’s Intelligence Advisory and Oversight boards.
the way the commission is operating. She took issue with FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s interpretation of how the Commission should ensure that licensees operate in the public interest. She stated, “For months, this FCC has asserted an apparent roving mandate to police speech that this Administration does not like, invoking an undefined and unchecked concept known as the ‘public interest’ standard.
audience engagement – a considerable value add for Cumulus Media and its stakeholders and an important next step in the development of advanced capabilities for the audio sector.” Cumulus adds that Eon Media is an award-winning technology company for media that harnesses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence that is fully built in-house to extract metadata from media assets, including segments, stories, categories, audio transcription, music recognition, people mentioned, demographics, and much more. Cumulus Media president and CEO Mary G. Berner says, “We are excited to join forces with Eon Media to create innovative solutions that will provide Cumulus Media with access to new market opportunities and untapped monetization paths. Importantly, this partnership will significantly enhance our ability to drive greater discoverability. By expanding touchpoints and engagement opportunities, we ensure our listeners and audiences can connect with our content more easily and more often than ever.”
Often, when visiting client stations, I ride shotgun on a sales call, and it’s always a masterclass. Retailers have a canny, insightful feel for their customers (our listeners). And accompanying these reps, I feel like I’m “Dancing With The Stars.”
almost 4 years, and raising the ratings over 300% in some areas, I was informed that I was leaving my job to ‘pursue other opportunities.’ I didn’t even know I was looking at other opportunities. I wanted to ask them what they were, but they got off the phone before I could. (Yes. They did it over the phone.) So, if anybody knows what these ‘other opportunities’ are, could you let me know?” Cumulus is seeking Bartholomew’s replacement for the 9:00am to 11:00 am show. See the job opportunity below.
made clear, broadcasters are different than every other distributor of media. Specifically, broadcasters are required by both the Communications Act and the terms of their FCC-issued licenses to operate in the public interest. This sets them apart from cable channels, podcasts, streaming services, social media, and countless other types of distributors that have no public interest obligation. The FCC’s broadcast hoax rule, its news distortion policy, its political equal opportunity regulation, its prohibition on obscene, indecent, and profane content, its localism requirements — all of those and more apply uniquely to broadcasters. Congress has instructed the FCC to enforce public interest requirements on broadcasters. The FCC should do exactly that.” Carr added, “To ensure that broadcasters can meet their public interest obligations, the FCC has taken a number of actions, including seeking public comment for the first time in more than 15 years on the relationship between the large, national programmers on the one hand and the many local broadcast television stations on the other. Comments in that proceeding suggest that many local broadcasters are concerned that the national programmers have amassed enormous power and influence in recent years and have made it more challenging for local broadcasters to fulfill their public interest obligations. The FCC is going to continue its efforts to empower local broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations.”
having a first-class digital experience alongside fantastic local programming. Audiospace understands that and they understand radio. They’re not just building apps and websites, they are helping us connect with our listeners while also unlocking new revenue opportunities for our advertisers. We thrilled to be working with Audiospace, we expect this partnership to help take Connoisseur Media’s digital game to the next level.” The first websites and apps were successfully launched in early December, with additional releases scheduled in the coming weeks.
commercially unreasonable rate for its Nationwide Report may cause it to have to do away with the Nationwide Report altogether. This testimony accompanied Nielsen’s request for a stay pending appeal as it appeals to the Second Circuit. This is the latest in action in Cumulus’ suit alleging that 
Nielsen is illegally leveraging its dominance over national and local radio audience data to stifle rivals and charge inflated prices. Judge Vargas denied the stay pending appeal but did grant an administrative stay will be in effect only until January 16, 2026, to allow Nielsen time to file a motion for a stay in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Tunkel’s testimony states that the order would cause Nielsen “significant irreparable harm if required to comply with the Court’s ruling during the pendency of Nielsen’s appeal… As a result, Nielsen would not be able to apply that policy in any of the at least ten negotiations with clients that Nielsen expects to have in 2026. If Nielsen is unable to apply the Network Policy, then it will be hindered in its ability to ensure that it can recover the costs of collecting the local radio-ratings data that make up the Nationwide report and spread those costs appropriately across the customers that use the products generated from those joint costs. If Nielsen cannot recover these costs, then it may have to retire the Nationwide report, similar to when Nielsen retired its other national data product, RADAR. If it does not retire the Nationwide report, it may have to pass a higher share of the costs of collecting local data on to other customers, including local radio stations, hurting Nielsen’s negotiating position with respect to those customers, as well as those customers themselves.”
the Post that he’s “been left with ‘tears in my eyes’ amid a bitter feud with his longtime ‘brother’ Rudy Giuliani — which escalated when the former mayor filed suit against him Monday.”
SXSW in Austin on March 16. Nominees for Podcast of the Year include: “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” “The Breakfast Club,” The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” “The Daily,” “The Rest Is History,” “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Heavyweight,” and “Giggly Squad.” The nominees for Best Political podcast include: “Pod Save America,” “The Bulwark Podcast,” “Breaking Points,” “Hacks On Tap,” and “The Ben Shapiro Show.” 
discoverability capabilities to small and mid-sized businesses that are being excluded from emerging search and discovery channels due to cost, complexity, and technical barriers.” Audacy SVP of digital Jenny Sutton says, “Local advertisers can be overwhelmed by the pace of change in digital marketing and discovery. By partnering with Next Net, we’re giving our clients a future-ready solution that integrates AI discoverability directly into the media and marketing strategies they already know and trust, without requiring technical resources or additional burden on the business owner.”
solutions-oriented conversations about the political, cultural, and social issues shaping Americans’ lives… expected guests in the show’s first days include James Carville, Bob Costas, Mark Cuban, former Senator Joe Manchin, Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Rand Paul and more. Cuomo comments, “Too much of our politics is about teams instead of truth. ’Cuomo Mornings’ is going to be about breaking through those barriers, asking better questions, and bringing people into the conversation instead of talking past them. We need to prioritize common sense, accountability, and real dialogue, and SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S. channel is exactly where that belongs. I’m very excited to be back on the platform and to engage with callers every day. Let’s get after it.”
Media | Westwood One says, “The relaunch marks Bongino’s most extensive digital commitment to date, designed to meet increasing audience demand for long-form and in-depth content. The two-hour format strengthens the show’s position as a major voice in independent media, offering a highly engaging, daily destination for listeners seeking headline analysis, guest interviews, cultural commentary, and special ‘Bongino Army’ segments.” Bongino comments, “I’m excited to get back behind the mic and reconnect directly with the audience. This show has always been about cutting through the noise and talking honestly about what matters. We’re coming back bigger, bolder, and always unfiltered — exactly how people want it.” Westwood One and Cumulus Podcast Network president Collin Jones adds, “Dan Bongino is back! Few voices in talk media command the loyalty and firepower that Dan brings. His audience? Formidable. His influence? Undeniable. This promises to be an incredible journey as Dan drives the national conversation daily on the most important issues at hand, with authority that has been hard-fought and well-earned. Westwood One is beyond proud to help power the next chapter of ‘The Dan Bongino Show.’”
councilor Cliff Ponte. WPRI-TV, Providence reports that the new owners say “they’re going to shift programming to cover 100% local content focusing on Fall River and its suburbs while still keeping Celtics and Patriots broadcasts.” Ponte tells WPRI, “This station has been a part of my life for more than two decades. I got my start behind the microphone here as a teenager, learning the ropes at WSAR and later moved to other stations in Cape Cod and Providence.” The report says that Silvia will serve as the station’s general manager, Ponte will serve as program director, and current station general manager Sue Nadar will move to the role of sales manager. 
Evidence that your correspondent is a nerd: my airplane read for my CES back-N-forth was Successful AI Product Creation: A 9-Step Framework by Shub Agarwal (Wiley). If you haven’t got time for all 307 pages, here’s what I gleaned, pertinent to radio:
Talk show hosts are not motivated or driven like disk jockeys or salespeople. Most general managers have never managed talk show hosts. Few program directors have managed talk show hosts. My career has been blessed with daily exchanges with the best talk show hosts in history. Here are some suggestions I would like to share on how to have a superior relationship with talk stars.
Circus Came to Town.” The Minneapolis-based former DJ, programmer and radio exec tells TALKERS, “In full disclosure, this song was created on suno.com using V5. The lyrics are all mine, and the orchestration is mine too by virtue of having given all of the instructions to create the track. Regardless of how all the controversy about artificial intelligence plays out, I am releasing this opinionated and highly emotional song purely as an expression of my free speech and artistic expression – not for commercial marketing purposes.”
stations; Jennifer Wells is promoted from business manager to controller after 25 years with the company; after 16 years of service and “proven sales leadership,” Tami Grashof is promoted to regional sales manager; and Brittany Capparelli is elevated event marketing specialist to director of client experience. Galaxy Media CEO Ed Levine says, “These promotions are a pivotal moment for Galaxy Media. We’re energized to celebrate our team’s growth and excited for the leadership, creativity, and drive they bring as we shape the next chapter of our company.” Among Galaxy’s stations is sports talk WTLA-AM/W249BC, Syracuse “ESPN 97.7/100.1.”
dashboards and API access that support automated reporting and portfolio-level insights. The collaboration will also support select broadcast attribution initiatives within Audacy’s radio portfolio, complementing existing measurement partners. Audacy president of digital sales Michael Biemolt says, “Audacy consistently strives to deliver measurable results for advertisers, and our partnership with Podscribe further strengthens that promise. With enhanced attribution and transparency across our portfolio, we’re giving clients even greater confidence in how Audacy drives performance at scale.”
president. NYSBA chairman Chris Musial states, “David is doing an outstanding job, but he believes the time has come to turn over management of the Association to the next generation. The Board of Directors is delighted he will continue to lead our lobbying efforts in Albany and Washington. The NYSBA Board and Executive Search Committee look forward to advancing the important work of Broadcasters on Multiple Platforms as we begin this search.” Donovan comments, “It has been a great run. Our goal is to bring someone on board earlier in the year to have a smooth transition. NYSBA has an outstanding Board of Directors and the best staff of any association in America.” Resumes will be accepted until February 28, 2026. 
of conversations with world leaders, artists, activists and others who shape our world and “somewhere along the way I’ve realized that the art of conversation is dying.” Because of this he’s creating practical courses in the “art of conversation.” He adds, “I’m going to teach what the past 40 years have taught me: how to have conversations that matter… conversation is a skill and like any skill, it can be taught.” The titles of the six course are: The Anatomy of a Great Conversation, How to Know More Than Your Interlocutor Thinks You Do, Generous Listening as a Superpower, Handling Difficult Conversations and Conflicts, Creating Memorable Moments, and Why Conversation Matters in Democracy. 
midday talk host Allen Stiles (right) to afternoons to join “The Drive Guys with Kevin Gleason” (left) as a co-host, effective January 12. The station says, “Allen is no stranger to Sactown Sports listeners. He has already been a key part of the Sactown Sports family as the host of ‘The Allen Stiles Show, which currently airs weekdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, building a strong connection with the audience through his knowledge, passion, and engaging style.” The station has not indicated its plans for the midday daypart.