Radio+Television Business Report

There’s little change in activity shown in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report. However, the big new No. 1 is noteworthy, as it reflects a big investment in broadcast by Sanofi US for a treatment for skin disorders.

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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has helped in bring to fruition a study that seeks to offer a better understanding of how young people are engaging with media today.

Roughly 50 tweens and teens were asked, among other things, how they find new shows, apps, or videos. Their findings conclude that young people crave authenticity as they grapple with the issues of today.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot 10 Radio report is out, and there’s a lot of iHeartRadio-focused activity for the week ending May 23.

This actually helps paint a clear picture as to what brands are committing to Radio, and which brands use it sporadically or … not at all.

As shown below, Progressive — fueled not by Flo or Jaime but that tongue twister-loving voiceover artist that’s become more omnipresent than ever for the auto insurance brand — is a big No. 1.

The Home Depot is back in action, with a new effort putting it some 5,000 or so play counts behind Progressive.

Their activity pushes Indeed to No. 3 among fully paid advertisers, as Wendy‘s is upping its Radio activity.

GEICO and Babbel are each softer for the week.

 

With its stock in recovery mode and forward momentum at its secular spoken word AM radio stations, Salem Media Group is gearing up for appearances at a pair of investor conferences.

The first of the two events is scheduled for Thursday morning.

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Starting June 28, TEGNA will have a new Director of Consumer Marketing.

It’s a woman who is joining the broadcast TV station owner from a soon-to-conclude daytime talk program seen on some of its own stations, including WGRZ-2 in Buffalo and KGW-8 in Portland, Ore.

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Travel to the south of downtown Dallas along U.S. Highway 67, and chances are you’ll see the Cedar Hill cluster of broadcast media towers off to the west.

Among the transmitters on these towers is one for a recently upgraded FM translator licensed to rebroadcast a HD multicast channel assigned to an Urban One station.

This translator has just been sold.

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Live and in-person, the Chief Executive Officer of Beasley Media Group will be bestowed with the National Radio Award come October 13 in Las Vegas.

It’s another sign that the pandemic’s concerns are fading as each day at the NAB progresses.

Caroline Beasley will receive the honor during the Radio Show Opening Session on Wednesday, October 13.

The Radio Show, co-produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau, will be co-located with NAB Show and held October 13-14.

“We are thrilled to honor Caroline Beasley and commemorate her impact on the radio industry with the National Radio Award,” soon-to-depart NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith said. “Her business savvy and extraordinary leadership have propelled Beasley Media Group to new heights, while her passion for radio perfectly illustrate the spirit of broadcasting.”

A 38-year veteran of the radio industry, Caroline was appointed CEO of Beasley Media Group in 2017. The company was founded by her father, George Beasley, in 1983.

Caroline Beasley also serves as the chair of the BMI Board of Directors, on the FCC Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and on the NAB Leadership Foundation Board of Directors. She is the immediate past chair of the Joint Board of the National Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors and is a former NAB Radio Board Chair.

 

Discovery Inc., which is acquiring WarnerMedia‘s assets in a Reverse Morris Trust-fueled tax free deal, saw its stock slip by 21 cents in midday trading, to $31.26, on Monday.

Could a further slice of its share price be on the way, following a downgrade from an influential Wall Street watcher?

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On Monday (5/24), as RBR+TVBR on April 20 first reported would occur, Cumulus Media ceased analog broadcast transmissions for an AM radio station licensed for 1,000 watts from 1 tower located in southern Westchester County, N.Y. It’s now operating solely in HD Radio, with a Talk format including The Dan Bongino Show the centerpiece of what’s being branded as “AM1230Digital.”

While that transition points to a possibly rosier revitalization of the senior radio broadcast band in an era where Tesla electric vehicles do not come equipped with AM radios and most kHz-based properties benefit from FM translators to attract younger audiences, present-day challenges for some operators may be too demanding to even consider a future benefit.

No less than five AM radio stations in the last week have surrendered their respective licenses to the FCC. In one case, the move avoids a license revocation hearing. But, for the other AMs, it is simply a realization that FM and audio streaming are more viable options for local consumers.

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MIAMI — If one were to pen a “History of U.S. Hispanic Radio’s Programming Greats,” names such as the late Bill Tanner or Billy Forquet, or perhaps David Gleason, Pio Ferro, Alfredo Alonso and Enrique Santos may come to mind.

Another longtime programming leader, one based in Los Angeles, is also on that list of veteran Spanish-language radio cognoscenti. And, he’s just joined Meruelo Media after a long stint at Univision Communications.

Haz Montana, who had been Vice President of Content for Univision Radio since September 2012 and, before that, the Operations Manager for its Los Angeles radio stations, has taken the role of VP/Audio Brands for Meruelo.

This puts Montana in a key role overseeing what comes out of the speakers for those listening to Rocker KLOS-FM 95.5, Classic Hip-Hop KDAY-FM & KDEY-FM, Hip-Hop KPWR-FM “Power 106” and the lone Spanish-language FM in the Southern California stable, KLLI-FM “Cali 93.9,” a reggaetón-focused station in a direct format battle with Spanish Broadcasting System’s KXOL-FM “Mega 96.3.”

Registration is now open for the in-person, all-informative 2021 Hispanic Radio Conference. For full details, and to lock in your seat at the special Early Bird rate, click here!

 

In a statement released late Sunday (5/23), Meruelo Media President/CEO Otto Padrón explained that “after an exhaustive national search getting to know some of this country’s most amazing leaders in our craft of audio,” the locally based, highly respected Montana chose to accept the position.

“Haz brings the right balance of audio art and hard science perfectly nested within his steady brand of leadership, personal values and the confident entrepreneurial spirit we energetically embrace here at Meruelo Media,” Padrón said. “These very essential qualities are must-have requirements to steer our team and legacy audio brands.”

At Univision, Montana most recently had direct oversight of three national audio brands, found across six markets where Univision owns radio stations.

Montana joined Univision as its L.A. radio operations manager in 2005, following a six-year run as Program Director of the former KSSE-FM “Súper Estrella” — a massively successful rock en español-influenced Spanish Contemporary station that rode the Ricky Martin-to-Shakira wave. He launched KSSE under EXCL Communications, continuing through Entravision and winning a direct format war with the former operator Big City Radio’s “Viva 107.1” in L.A.

Before that SoCal success, which saw him steer KLVE “Radio Amor” and KRCD/KRCV “Recuerdo,” Montana had already made his mark in Hispanic radio. From December 1995 through August 1998, he served as PD of SBS’s WRMA-FM “Romance” in Miami, then a ratings leader following its debut under prior ownership led by Russ Oasis.

Furthermore, from 1991 to 1994, he was a “mental weapon” for Critical Mass Media, extensively traveling to consult with radio clients in their programming and marketing decisions. That experience led him to WRMA, and a career in Hispanic media.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Montana began his career in 1984 at Goodrich Broadcasting, a Grand Rapids operator of Rock and Top 40 stations that today owns a R&B station in the market.

“Hip Hop, Rock, Throwbacks, Latin Rhythm, and passionate talent — this opportunity is a dream come true,” Montana said. “I’m honored to be starting today with Team Meruelo. Above all, I’m excited about chartering a bold path in this newly reimagined role.”

Montana, who has won numerous Radio Ink honors, will be based in Los Angeles and reports to Padron.

Montana recently completed a course on Digital Business Strategy from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

A plan has come to fruition that would see the issuance of senior notes due in eight years, and a series of senior notes due in 10 years, as a way the nation’s dominant audience measurement and data analytics company can prepay a series of term loans agreed to in June 2020.

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The owners of a Macy’s warehouse located on Gandy Blvd. midway between downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., have moved forward with buying the neighboring property due east of the facility facing the Selmon Expressway.

It’s a multimillion-dollar deal. And, it will see the relocation of iHeartMedia’s radio stations serving the Tampa Bay region.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the company will pocket $3.8 million from the real estate deal for 4002 W. Gandy Blvd.

The iHeartMedia/Tampa station group is comprised of Top 40 WFLZ, once Jacor’s famed “Power Pig”; Adult Contemporary WMTX “Mix 100.7,” Rock WXTB-FM “98 Rock,” Country WFUS-FM “US 103.5,” Hip-Hop/R&B WBTP-FM 95.7 “The Beat,” Sports WDAE-AM and FM Translator W237CW, Talk WFLA-AM 970, “Impact Radio” WHNZ-AM, “Throwback Tampa Bay,” and Tropical WRUB-FM 106.5 in nearby Sarasota.

According to the Times, Hillsborough County property records indicate the iHeartMedia facility was sold on April 29 to LBA LVF VII XII Company LLC. It shares an Irvine, Calif. address with the buyers of a 39-acre Macy’s warehouse property just to the west of the iHeart facility.

The Macy’s property sold in late December 2020 for $32 million.

Xperi subsidiary DTS and Cumulus Media have reached a deal that will see the integration of the audio media company’s AM and FM radio stations into a “connected car infotainment platform.”

That would be DTS AutoStage — described by Xperi as a global hybrid radio platform that’s currently coming to market in the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class series of vehicles.

The DTS AutoStage platform is open and available to all broadcasters at no cost, at this time.

Cumulus SVP/Technology Conrad Trautmann notes, “DTS AutoStage is helping elevate radio into the connected car future, while enabling our radio stations to benefit from economies of scale and service simplification.”

Cumulus station metadata will be represented in the DTS AutoStage in-vehicle infotainment ecosystem.

Among the content partnerships DTS AutoStage has with major broadcast groups and aggregators around the world are BBC, Bauer, Global Radio, NPO, Audacy, Beasley, Cox Media, Commercial Radio Australia, radiko, FM World, and Germany’s SWR.

With Urban One stock exploding in value on Thursday, it was only natural that some investors may want to cash out and enjoy a handsome profit.

That’s exactly what transpired on Friday, as UONE went on a wild ride that saw shares jump and quickly recede, leading to a 13% dip for the day.

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A Chicago-based live and virtual event production company is the latest company to have adopted a “go to” solution for connecting remote presenters into virtual events.

It’s technology that broadcast TV executives may wish to consider for their own operations.

Signature Production Group is using Quicklink Studio and Quicklink ST102’s tools, provided to them through Key Code Media, a U.S.-based systems integrator for A/V, broadcast, and post-production solutions.

Joel Paige, General Manager of Signature Production Group, comments, “At first, it looked like the product we were looking for didn’t exist due to our simultaneous use of NDI video and Dante audio. But the Quicklink developers stepped up and customized a solution that fit our workflow perfectly. The collaborative relationship between our companies has been a big part of the key to the success we’ve had with the Quicklink solutions.”

For more information on Quicklink ST55 click here, and for more information on Quicklink’s ST102, click here.

… and the Catz, too.

Meredith, who gained full control of Powell Meredith Communications Company in a 2009 divorce settlement, is selling a 40-watt FM translator serving an Arizona community to the northwest of Phoenix.

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A longtime public radio leader who served as President and GM of North Carolina Public Radio has passed away.

She had been on medical leave since February. However, details about the cause of death were not shared by the family.

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The Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance is hosting a virtual summit next week that will bring together broadcasters and other private sector players with the nation’s largest alerting authorities to discuss next generation emergency messaging.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER!

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It seems the creditors to the regional sports networks owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group that recently took on the Bally Sports brand through a wide-ranging integrated partnership with the gaming company are in the process of signing non-disclosure agreements to start talks on lowering the RSN’s $8 billion debt load.

That’s according to “people with knowledge of the matter” who spoke with two Bloomberg reporters on Friday.

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Esteemed GroupM Global President of Business Intelligence Brian Wieser has singled out three key areas that have been transformed the most for his firms clients over the past months.

While e-commerce and “responsible investing” are two of these areas, it is the third — linear and Connected TV — that deserve the industry’s attention.

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