Radio+Television Business Report

The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), and the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group will conduct its 13th annual Rising Through the Ranks program as a virtual event.

The program will be split into five days and will be taking place each Tuesday of the month of August, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT beginning August 3, 2021. As in years past, BMI will offer 20 scholarships for this year’s program. These scholarships will cover the cost of the professional development course, which is designed to foster and educate current and emerging female radio managers within broadcast radio.

“BMI has been a proud supporter of ‘Rising Through the Ranks’ since its inception,” said Dan Spears, vice president, industry relations, BMI. “Working with our MIW and RAB partners over the years has shown how vital this initiative is in providing the future female leaders the tools they need to succeed in the radio industry. We look forward to when we can host the program at BMI’s Nashville office once again, but until then, we’re thrilled that it is back this year as a virtual event.”

“Once again, MIW is thrilled to participate in the Rising Through the Ranks program,” said Ruth Presslaff, board president of the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group. “We meet so many women who are passionate about radio, and who continue to pay it forward by supporting the network they’ve built with each other, programs to help other women, as well as contributing to the industry with their strong performance. This event may be virtual, but the results will be real!”

“Rising Through the Ranks is a priceless opportunity for our scholarship recipients and we are excited to be bringing the event back this year,” noted Erica Farber, president and CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau. “With the tools and experience we’ve all had with virtual events, we know that this year’s program will be as engaging and inspiring as our in-person event.”

This year’s agenda and speaker lineup will be announced at a later date.

Scholarship applications and registration are available on www.rab.com and will be accepted April 26, through 6:00 p.m. CT on May 28, 2021. Scholarship recipients will be notified of their selection by the week of July 1, 2021. To find out more information, go to the RAB’s Rising Through the Ranks page here.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report is out, and it shows a big new entrant to the latest review of the top brands using AM and FM radio to reach consumers.

It’s a quick service restaurant chain, and it is the only one on the latest report.

And, it’s not the Golden Arches.

While McDonald’s has been an active user of broadcast media in recent months, it is Wendy’s that is alone in the QSR category in the latest report from iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors.

It arrives with some 31,806 spot plays, landing Wendy’s at No. 9.

Meanwhile, Indeed rises to the top as Progressive continues its audio media dominance with the overachieving voiceover artist obsessed with the bulbous walrus.

 

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report is out, and it looks like a QSR that’s heating it up at spot radio is equally fond of reaching consumers via spot television.

It’s a key takeaway from a report that shows auto insurance giants dominating the top five.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has selected the person who will be responsible for the development and implementation of “a multi-faceted communications and messaging strategy to advance awareness of public media and its value to American society.”

Taking the VP/Communications position is Brendan Daly.

“Brendan is a strategic communications leader with a proven ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders,” CPB Chief Operating Officer Michael Levy said. “His skill set and experience will be valuable assets as we look to increase communication across the public media system and with the American people.”

Daly is widely known for his nine years (2002-2011) as Communications Director for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Most recently, he served as Chief Communications Officer for the Recording Industry Association of America. Prior to that, he served as Senior Director of Communications for Save the Children Action Network and as Executive VP for Ogilvy Public Relations.

Daly has a print journalism background, and began his career as a reporter for the Waterbury Republican-American in Waterbury, Conn.

She’s led diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for 16 years.

Now, she’s joining the owner of such stations as WCVB-5 in Boston and KCRA-3 in Sacramento to serve as its first-ever D&I director.

Yasmine Osborn is joining Hearst Television, for the newly created position of Director of Diversity & Inclusion.

In her new role, Osborn, in partnership with corporate and local-market leadership across Hearst Television’s station group, will build upon diversity & inclusion (D&I) efforts already underway throughout the group, developing and leading new programs to recruit, support and advance a diverse workforce that represents the company’s markets, audiences and society as a whole.

Particular areas of focus will include employee resource groups, mentorship and sponsorship programs, training and development programs, external partnerships, and employee engagement utilizing opportunities such as cultural/heritage months and company town halls.

Osborn will partner with D&I leaders across other businesses of Hearst Television parent company Hearst in order to benefit from corporate initiatives and to share best practices.

“We established the director of diversity & inclusion role with the intention of building upon and growing our programs to cultivate a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for our employees,” Hearst Television SVP of Human Resources Katherine Barnett said. “We’ve already had encouraging initial success with efforts including town halls. Yasmine, who made a real difference at USTA, brings the right experience and vision to the important task of growing these programs and launching new efforts.”

Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb singled out Osborn’s “extensive experience, creativity and vision will clearly take our already strong efforts to the next level.”

Osborn has had a stellar career in collegiate tennis, leading her to a position at the USTA in Orlando.

For the second consecutive year, the readers of the Radio + Television Business Report have spoken. And, with their input, the 2021 ranking of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders includes new names near the top of the list, and many shifts.

In a year that saw a great pause and, for some, a shift thanks to a pandemic, it’s perhaps fitting.

With the release of RBR+TVBR‘s Spring 2020 Special Report, radio and television industry leaders had been plunged deep into the Great Unknown, presented by Coronavirus. Falling share prices and ad cancellations – along with the postponement by one year of the Summer Olympic Games – began to devastate broadcast media.

Leaders commiserated. Plans of action were executed. And, in the television industry, swift recoveries — some, perhaps faster than others — came over the next several months. By the end of 2020, most broadcast TV companies were on solid footing, financially. There were even blockbuster deals to report, such as ION Media’s acquisition by The E.W. Scripps Co., which closed in early January 2021. Then, on February 2021, Quincy Media, Inc. revealed that Gray Television would be buying all of its television assets. The price: $950 million.

Thanks to record-setting political advertising and continued retransmission consent revenue cushioning dips in core advertising, broadcast television’s financial health is strong. On the air, reporters and anchors expertly adjusted to live newscasts from their homes, while covering COVID-19 testing and vaccination updates in their community. For some, social injustice protests thrust field reporters into emergency situations, putting them at high risk while delivering important news to local viewers.

Through it all, broadcast television shined — and the readers of RBR+TVBR have acknowledged this by saluting 15 exceptional leaders who have steered their ships through stormy waters that may still be a bit patchy, but today are relatively calm and full of hope.

Who are the Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders of 2021? You can find the rankings exclusively in the Spring 2021 RBR+TVBR Special Report!

Subscribers received a link to download the PDF of this report on Monday morning (4/26).

Not a subscriber? Become a RBR+TVBR Member today, and get access to our report while guaranteeing access to our three other quarterly Special Reports in 2021!

CLICK HERE TO GET ACCESS NOW! 

In many markets, vintage sitcoms and dramas can be seen on such digital multicast networks as Weigel Broadcasting’s Me TV and Nexstar Media Group‘s Antenna TV.

Now, Nexstar is doubling down on consumer thirst for classic fare by preparing to launch a more youthful companion to its 1960s and 1970s-focused existing offering.

FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER FOR INDUSTRY NEWS FIRST!

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

“So much can get misinterpreted in a sales call, business meeting or even a casual hallway interaction,” says sales training expert Barrett Riddleberger. “To avoid this, successful performers develop the communication skill of understanding personality styles.”

They learn their own style … and the style of the person with whom they are speaking.

“As a result, they minimize conflict between their two personality styles,” he says. “For the unaware person, it can quickly disrupt the conversation.”

This, Riddleberger notes, can be easily avoided by following the steps in this column.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A top Wall Street media sector analyst is apologizing for what some may consider to be an overly dramatic opening paragraph to a highly positive report on a multiplatform video content producer and distributor that sold its radio stations to Audacy, the former Entercom Communications.

In short, despite its recent surge and fizzle with its stock price, ViacomCBS deserves an upgrade, thanks to “a surprise comeback” giving renewed optimism even as “another life-threatening swoon” leaves the market on the edge of its seats.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

U.S. financial markets were largely in recovery mode on Friday, after concerns that the Biden Administration would increase capital gains taxes sent general indices down sharply on Thursday.

How did media stocks fare?

Townsquare Media gained 11 cents to finish at $9.88.

Also gaining ground: The E.W. Scripps Co., up 16 cents to $22.99.

Sinclair Broadcast Group also improved nicely, with a 26-cent rise to $32.62.

Heading downward on Friday was TEGNA, which is again fending off a quest by dissident shareholder Standard General for a greater presence on the company’s board of directors. At the closing bell, TGNA was at $20.97, off 19 cents.

 

Bay Area entrepreneur Ravi Kapur has emerged in recent months as a buyer of low-power TV stations.

He’s grabbed another one — this time in the birthplace of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

An AM/FM combo serving a community to the south of Cape Girardeau, Mo., is being sold.

The stations air a Country format and offer a simulcast to local listeners.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Nearly six months ago, local media reported that a 25kw Class C3 FM serving a rural area to the north of the Twin Cities was being transferred to a new owner.

Now, paperwork at the FCC has finally been filed that confirms the plan.

Who’s the buyer? A longtime owner and operator of radio stations in Minnesota.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION

Last night I had quite the dream. I was running a radio station, somewhere. There was lots of activity. I was at a desk, typing on a computer, using RCS Selector to put the final touches on a Top 40 radio station’s playlist.

If only it wasn’t a dream.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

He is a Michigan Law grad from Saskatchewan with experience at Brightstar Corp. and, most recently, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

How does the professional experience of Nathan Simington, the newest Commission on the Federal Communications Commission, give the agency a whole new perspective on how to consider its policies and rules?

“Well, I think my experiences in the private sector, particularly with cellular devices and long-term deals, gives me a somewhat unusual perspective at the Commission,” he says in an exclusive interview.

Get the full story on where Nathan Simington stands on bringing “light touch” regulatory policies and rule “modernization” to broadcast media ONLY by receiving your copy of the Spring 2021 RBR+TVBR Special Report — our latest magazine. It’s also the ONLY home of the much-anticipated Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders ranking of 2021. And, it arrives in subscriber e-mail inboxes Monday at 11am Eastern!

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO RBR+TVBR TO SECURE YOUR COPY TODAY!

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

How one interprets research is key to understanding the root of any problem, or sniffing out all of the facts, when it comes to something that could greatly impact your employer — or your job.

That’s why RBR+TVBR had to put the sniff test to a report stating that, based on a poll of U.S. adults aged 18-29, local TV news leads compared to other sources.

Yes, that’s true. But, the real story is just how few Americans in this age group are tuning to local TV news — or any other news source, for that matter.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

More and more consumers are choosing streaming video packages and are opting out of pay-TV video bundles.

The finding from S&P Global Ratings affirms the belief that “cord-cutting” hasn’t ceased, despite pandemic-fueled reports of a resurgence in MVPD subscriber rolls.

And, S&P Global Ratings views more cord-cutting and fewer pay-TV bundles as a negative for the entire television sector’s credit quality.

It’s a new view on the impact of MVPD abandonment among U.S. video content consumers, leaving a strong broadband internet connection as the lone reason they’d be a customer to Comcast, Charter Spectrum, Cox or any other entity some still view as the “cable company.”

The report, “How The Decline In The U.S. Television Ecosystem Could Squeeze Credit Ratings,” updates S&P Global Ratings’ U.S. pay-TV video subscriber forecast, which it based on a rollup of our individual company forecasts.

S&P last updated its forecast in January 2020.

“Even though cord-cutting trended downward in the second half of last year compared to the first half, we estimate the rate of legacy pay-TV subscription losses was modestly worse in 2020 at about 7.9% versus 7.3% in 2019,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Naveen Sarma said. “We’ve updated our pay-TV video subscriber forecast and, in this report, discuss how any changes could affect our ratings on companies in the pay-TV ecosystem.”

The report notes that the ratings impact of the decline of pay-TV on the cable sector will be muted due the strength of its broadband service. Media companies will feel the heat on their TV operations, but it’s difficult to say which companies could face negative rating actions because many have diversified businesses.

Importantly, S&P notes that this report does not constitute a rating action.

To view the report in its entirety, please click here.

Nielsen Holdings plc has selected its newest member of the company’s board of directors. She took her seat on Wednesday (4/21), and will also serve on the board’s audit committee.

The news came as Nielsen revealed when it will share its first quarter 2021 financial results.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

In a August 2017 webinar moderated by Radio INK editor-in-chief Ed Ryan, Veritone ‎Managing Director of Enterprise Radio Solutions Paul Cramer offered participants some eye-opening details on a new, “AI”-powered way to “aircheck” for an advertiser of an AM or FM station.

The webinar came on a day when Google’s Chrome browser was experimenting with a “mute” setting for autoplay video ads that start playing when one scrolls to the ad on a web page.

The timing was perhaps perfect, and still resonates today.

How many people do you know hit a “mute” button when a commercial comes on the radio station they are listening to?

The very idea is absurd, and gives the radio industry yet another weapon in its advertiser ammo box.Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Concerns about higher capital gains taxes, courtesy of President Biden, fueled a sharp decrease in general indices on Wall Street.

Did the Thursday dips include media stocks?

Nope.

Audacy reversed a downtrend with a 2.6% improvement, bringing AUD to $4.75.

Also up: Cumulus Media, rising 4 cents to $9.63, and iHeartMedia, rising 17 cents to $19.62.

Among broadcast TV companies, Nexstar Media Group shares finished at $154.32, rising 31 cents. Sinclair Broadcast Group stock improved by 70 cents, to $32.36.

The day’s big gainer: Dish, which gained $1.01 to $41.95 on word that its Sling has an audience measurement accord in place with Comscore.