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Every two years, the Federal Communications Commission now is required to publish a Communications Marketplace Report that assesses the state of competition across the broader communications marketplace in the United States. The FCC recently released the second such report.

Broadcasting is one of the many market segments included. The report makes for interesting reading and I recommend you check it out. The discussion of the audio market, including radio, appears on pages 142–156.

Here I thought I’d share six charts from the report that capture various aspects of the FCC’s discussion about trends in U.S. radio.

Station count

The FCC noted that the number of AM and FM stations licensed in the United States, below, has remained steady in recent years, while the number of LPFM stations has increased. It reminded readers that new stations are possible only through new allocations and award of licenses, either via an auction in the case of commercial stations, or a comparative system for non-commercial stations. (Also see my recent related story that compares the 2020 numbers to the year 2000.)

Top 10 radio station owners

To secure the highest ad rates and to compete for advertising market share, the FCC reminds us, stations strive to gain the largest audience of listeners possible to maximize the price for ad time sold. Below it ranks the top 10 largest radio station owners, by revenue.

“These owners control stations that are not confined to particular geographic regions; they are spread out across various geographical markets.” (And here’s a link to what the list looked like in 2006, though from a different research source.)

U.S. terrestrial radio revenue

The FCC observed that radio ad revenue had been virtually flat between 2010 and 2019 but that 2020 was expected to see a drop of around 15% due to the pandemic. “While these numbers are preliminary, the predicted decline in advertising revenue is substantial.”

The chart below also indicates that revenue never fully recovered from the recession following the 2008 financial crisis.

“In a recent report, S&P Global predicts that advertising revenue for terrestrial radio stations will face a tougher road to recovery from the pandemic-induced recession compared to broadcast television stations.”

The chart also captures the growth in revenue from online radio compared to OTA.

Stations by market size

The next image is a scatterplot of the number of stations within a market against the market size, measured by rank.

“The number of radio stations available decreases as the market size decreases, suggesting more choice in markets with higher populations. Not shown in the table, however, are additional choices that listeners have that include satellite and online radio …”

Programming formats for terrestrial radio

The commission said interference issues may have contributed to AM stations favoring talk formats relative to music; 63% of FMs identify with a music format, while only 34% of AM stations do. AMs favor Spanish and ethnic, news, sports, and talk. The percentages of stations that air religion are similar for AM and FM stations. Public and education format stations predominantly use FM. Nearly half of LPFMs are music; about 36% provide religious community programming.

US terrestrial and online radio weekly audience

“While broadcast terrestrial radio remains dominant in some respects … the gap in usage between broadcast terrestrial and online audio has declined over time.”

Over the past decade, the number of listeners to terrestrial radio grew annually around 0.55% on average, while annual growth in online radio was 29%. (Though part of online growth was due to listeners accessing AM/FM broadcasts online, the FCC said the figure below “illustrates the dynamic nature of audio as listeners continue to access online radio across a diverse range of devices.”)

The post Radio by the (FCC) Numbers appeared first on Radio World.

Film producer Jonathan Glickman’s Glickmania Media and iHeartMedia have announced a joint venture that will include a two-year podcast co-production deal, focusing on a slate of original music-driven podcasts.

The goal is two new podcasts per year.

The collaboration will kick off with this summer’s “Unsung” series, which will be created in partnership with the wildly popular Story Pirates, creators of the number one podcast for kids.

Additional co-produced titles will include the horror-musical “Diane’s Inferno” starring Maya Hawke and Yungblud, written and directed by Lisa Duva with original music overseen by executive producer Zach Dawes; “Lost You On The Dance Floor,” a murder mystery set against the rise and fall of the disco phenomenon, penned by renowned music journalist Matt Diehl; and from Jonathan Ezra and Robbie Roth comes the musical drama/journalism series, “Ballad Of An Outlaw,” which considers would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr.’s integration back into society.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by KHGI Licensee, LLC, (Licensee), licensee of KHGI- TV, channel 13, Kearney, Nebraska (KHGI or Station), requesting the substitution of channel 18 for channel 13 at Kearney in the DTV Table of Allotments. Licensee states that the proposed channel substitution for KHGI from VHF channel 13 to UHF channel 18 would allow KHGI to significantly improve its over-the-air service to the Station's viewers in the Kearney, Nebraska, area. Licensee states that the proposed channel change from channel 13 to channel 18 would result a substantial increase in signal receivability for KHGI's core viewers and enable viewers to receive the Station's signal with a significantly smaller antenna. Licensee maintains that KHGI, as a VHF channel station, has had a long history of dealing with severe reception problems exacerbated by the analog to digital conversion. The proposed migration of KHGI from channel 13 to channel 18, Licensee contends, will be a favorable arrangement of allotments based on the enhanced signal levels that will be delivered to a large percentage of the Station's population without any predicted loss of coverage. Further, Licensee maintains that the change will result in an predicted increase of more than 37,000 persons in the Station's overall population and the staff has determined there is no loss of service. Licensee concludes by saying that the public interest would be best served by promptly granting its Petition with the specifications set forth therein so that Kearney-area viewers may benefit from substantially improved over-the- air broadcast television service as soon as possible.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by Scripps Broadcasting Holdings, LLC (Scripps or the Petitioner), licensee of KRIS-TV, channel 13, Corpus Christi, Texas, requesting the substitution of channel 26 for channel 13 at Corpus Christi in the DTV Table of Allotments. Scripps states that it has received numerous complaints from viewers saying that they are unable to receive the station on channel 13, and that it is apparent that the KRIS-TV VHF signal is not providing viewers with the quality of service provided by UHF stations in the market. Scripps further states that the station is now silent, after a wind storm in April 2020 caused the tower to collapse, and Scripps would prefer to construct a new UHF facility on channel 26 in order to significantly improve off-air service, rather than replace the VHF channel 13 facility.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Gray or the Petitioner), licensee of KCBD, channel 11, Lubbock, Texas, requesting the substitution of UHF channel 36 for VHF channel 11 at Lubbock in the DTV Table of Allotments. Gray states that many of its viewers experience significant difficulty receiving the station's VHF signal and that all but 350 of the 414,091 persons currently served by KCBD will continue to be well served by at least five other stations, a number which the Commission has recognized as de minimus.

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Issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $1,125 to Heritage Media of Kentucky, Inc., for failure to timely file a license renewal application for FM Translator W280FH, Leitchfield, Kentucky

Radio One Licenses, LLC enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

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Issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $1,500 to Carroll University, Inc., for failure to timely file a license renewal application for Station WCCX(FM), Waukesha, Wisconsin

Issued an Erratum correcting Second Report and Order, FCC 20-65, released May 12, 2020

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NEW YORK — Nielsen and Roku have announced a new strategic alliance that the companies believe will help shape the future of media and TV measurement.

As part of a just-signed long-term agreement, Nielsen ad and content products will be integrated into the Roku platform.

For the dominant provider of audience measurement services in the U.S., Nielsen “Always-On” Digital Ad Ratings “will help standardize ad measurement of smart TVs and CTV devices while the implementation of Nielsen Digital Content Ratings will offer publishers insights into the performance of their content.”

Roku will also stand to benefit from the use of Nielsen Total Ad Ratings as it builds out its own unique content.

The collaboration also expands Nielsen’s footprint of smart TVs and other devices, nearing 100 million in total.

This, Nielsen says, allows it “to continue to double down on enabling media sellers and buyers to measure and better monetize addressable advertising.”

And, the agreement allows Nielsen to further advance cross-media measurement product Nielsen ONE.

Importantly, the pact sees Roku agree to acquire Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising (AVA) business. This includes Nielsen’s video automatic content recognition (ACR) and dynamic ad insertion (DAI) technologies.

“The acquisition will accelerate Roku’s launch of an end-to-end DAI solution with TV programmers,” Nielsen notes.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

 

TV data and measurement company Alphonso in recent months enjoyed renewed and expanded agreements with such broadcasting companies as TEGNA, for its Premion service; CBS; and Cox Media Group.

Now, the entity that made its name by offering “granular TV and OTT measurement” — along with its “rapid closed-loop attribution to local advertisers” — is getting a rebrand.

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U.S. financial markets enjoyed widespread gains on Monday. But, not every media company took part in the upward activity. TEGNA, which released its Q4 and full-year 2020 results early Monday, saw its shares decline.

Radio broadcasting company Townsquare Media, which will report its Q4 and full-year 2020 results in two weeks, was also down from Friday.

For TEGNA, shares slipped 18 cents to $18.05 after recently reaching a six-year high.

TSQ, meanwhile, dipped by 20 cents to $10.70. The stock has also been on the rise in recent months.

Key gainers include radio pure-play Saga Communications, up $2.12 to $22.80 in one of its biggest single-say sessions in recent memory. Activity picked up in the afternoon hours, with trading more than four times its average volume.

Radio sector leader iHeartMedia shares now sit at $15, up 93 cents; Entercom shares grew to $4.80, rising 33 cents.

Meanwhile, Nexstar Media Group sits at an incredible $144.21, up $6.66 from Friday. And, Sinclair Broadcast Group is now at $32.65 thanks to a $1.72 gain.

 

Radio One Licensees, part of Urban One, is the latest radio ownership group to sign a consent decree with the Federal Communications Commission over online public files.

The commission continues to announce settlements with owners large and small in an initiative that became public  last summer.

That’s when it announced agreements with six major groups including Alpha Media, Beasley Media, Cumulus Media, Entercom, iHeartMedia and Salem Media Group. Since then it has announced many more.

These cases are all essentially the same. An owner files for a station license renewal, and the FCC Audio Division suspends the process because online public files aren’t kept up. The licensee acknowledges that and promises to takes steps including appointing a compliance officer, creating a compliance plan and reporting back to the commission by a certain date.

The commission for its part acknowledges that the pandemic caused a dramatic reduction in ad revenues, causing the industry significant financial stress, and drops its investigation. No money changes hands.

In the case of Radio One, the process was prompted by the license renewal application for station WHHL(FM) in Hazelwood, Mo. The FCC said Radio One was unable to certify compliance with the public file requirements during the past license term and failed to certify compliance in its applications because it did not comply with the Political Record Keeping Statute and Rule.

The post Radio One Joins Public File Scoldees appeared first on Radio World.

The latest Spot Ten TV report as measured by Media Monitors finds that one brick-and-mortar retailer is using spot television to reach audiences than any of its competitors.

It makes Target the lone member of its category on a chart dominated by auto insurance specialists.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report is out, and for the week ending Feb. 28, there’s not much movement among advertisers using national radio to reach consumers.

That’s actually good news, as this demonstrates brand consistency. Progressive remains the No. 1 paid brand, with more than 57,000 spot plays. Babbel is also a key user of spot radio, as are Indeed and Bank of America-owned Merrill.

New this week: Pfizer, a maker of the approved COVID-19 vaccinations.