Industry News

Broadcaster Maria Garcia Dies at 52

Radio pro Maria Garcia passed away on July 12 at age 52. During her career, she served with WINZ, WIOD,im and WHQT in Miami; WCBS-AM, New York; WINS, New York; and WBLI, WALK, and WKJY on Long Island. She was a two-time Gracie Award winner and was a recipient of other honors and awards. Her greatest joy was her son Ethan, who she shared with her former husband Andrew Kalb. Garcia loved her animals and fostered many kittens through the years as well. Those wishing to do something in her name, might consider a donation to the North Shore Animal League.

Industry News

SiriusXM Reports Q1 Financial Results

Satellite and internet broadcaster SiriusXM reports its 2024 first quarter financial results and reveals revenue of $1.68 billion, a decrease of less than 1% from the same period in 2023. The company reports net income of $265 million, an increase of almost 14% over Q1 of 2023. However, the figure getting the most notice from industry watchers is the loss of 359,000 self-pay subscribers. Additionally, self-payim subscriptions to Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium services fell by 64,000. During the analyst conference call, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz admitted that the focus on the company’s new streaming app has been disruptive, but she says they feel good about their goal of getting new, younger subscribers for the streaming-only service. “We are confident that our app platform relaunch and the product improvements coming in the car are putting us on the right path.” She says in a press release, “We have significantly stepped-up the pace of experimentation and innovation, a critical lever in our mission to deliver improved subscriber performance while maintaining a disciplined approach to spending in our focus on profitability.”

Industry News

“SportsRadio 610” in Houston Releases Contributor John McClain

According to a report in the Houston Chronicle, longtime pro football writer and broadcaster John McClain – who retired from the Chronicle in 2022 – is being let go from his role with Audacy’s sportsim talk KILT-AM “SportsRadio 610.” McClain’s role with the station included appearing on the station’s programs, writing stories for its website and co-hosting a podcast with station personality Sean Pendergast. The 72-year-old McClain tells the Chronicle that he’s not ready to leave the Houston radio market, adding, “I’ll see if people are interested. I’m a free agent now.” Read the Chronicle story here.

Industry News

Tim Hall Named APD at “97.1 The Fan” in Columbus

Tegna announces that Tim Hall is named assistant program director at sports talk WBNS-AM and FM, Columbus “97.1 The Fan” and “1460 ESPN.” Hall is currently the host of “The Buckeye Show” (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm) and Ohio State football and men’s basketball post-game shows from Learfield. Programim director and operations manager Matt Fishman says, “Tim’s extensive background in the sports talk format is invaluable as we continue to grow ‘97.1 The Fan’ and ‘1460 ESPN’ here in Columbus. I look forward to watching Tim grow in this new role and seeing his impact on the team and the overall product.” Station manager Cody Welling adds, “For the last several months, Tim has expressed the interest and ability to grow as a broadcaster and as a programmer. As ‘97.1 The Fan’ continues to innovate as one of the elite sports radio properties in the United States, I’m excited to see the contributions that Tim will deliver for our station and the community.”

Industry News

Afflicted Broadcaster Raising Awareness of Need for Organ Donors

Western Massachusetts broadcaster and public relations pro Mark Auerbach (pictured) has revealed his dramatic battle with stage 5 kidney disease in an effort to raise awareness of the need for organ donors and hopefully find a donor for his own situation. Auerbach hosts “ArtsBeat,” “On The Mark,” and “Athenaeum Spotlight,” on WCPC-TV 15 and WSKB, Westfield, MA. He’s also the ArtsBeat reporter for Pioneer Valley Radio. Auerbach says people can help by taking any of three steps: 1) becoming an organ donor upon your death; 2) consider donating while you’re alive (get details at kidney.org); and 3) donating to him at Mass General Hospital’s living donors program (https://mghlivingdonors.org/). If you choose the third option, please indicate that you are specifically interested in donating an organ to Mark Auerbach.