Industry News

How much better was the second quarter of 2021 for Saga Communications than the same period of 2020?

For starters, there was no $3.76 million impairment charge. Second, net operating revenue rose by 66.3% in Q2 2021. According to CFO Sam Bush, Digital now accounts for 6% of the radio industry pure-play’s total revenue.

The rebound in revenue overshadowed an increase in expenses, allowing Saga to swing from a net loss to healthy income in Q2.

For the three-month period ending June 30, Saga saw net income of $3.25 million ($0.54 per share), swinging from a Q2 2020 net loss of $4.9 million (-$0.82).

Station Operating Income (SOI), a popular non-GAAP measure, surged to $8.38 million, compared to -$181,000 in Q2 2020.

With “a great deal of cash liquidity” one of Saga’s biggest strength, CEO Ed Christian hunkered down across the pandemic. As the economy reopened across its markets, the situation began to improve by leaps and bounds, leading Saga on June 21 to reinstate its quarterly dividend.

That liquidity, along with a stunning low leverage ratio of x0.51, make Saga unique among its peers — for good reason.

SGA was trading at $21.80, up 44 cents, on low volume as of 11:40am Thursday (8/5).

The NAB has responded to actions taken in both houses of Congress over the last two weeks that seek to bring the Minority Tax Certificate Program back to fruition — a move that African American media industry leadership has called for, in addition to several leading Hispanic market figures.

Is it a rallying cry from Gordon Smith? The Senate bill isn’t attracting co-sponsors, while the House bill introduced a week later lacks Member magnetism, too.

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It’s a step that many have been asking Nielsen about for years.

Starting next month, the nation’s dominant source of audience measurement and data analytics for broadcast media stations will begin placing a limited number of Portable People Meter (PPM) “Wearables” in a subset of its roughly 60,000 active panelists.

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Nielsen PPM Wristband model

In September, Nielsen will begin placing 3,000 new Portable People Meter Wearables in its pool of active PPM panelists.

“PPM Wearables feature an updated design that is smaller and more aligned with current wearable technology trends,” the research company said in the announcement.

Pendant model

“The new PPM Wearable comes in a variety of ways to wear including wristbands, clips and pendants, which are more appealing among demographics that typically have lower compliance. In addition, a new companion app will help improve communication, encourage participation and enable data transmission when the device is outside the home.”

It said the companion app will allow it to add features and adapt to technology trends more seamlessly.

The designs were first introduced in 2019 at the NAB Show. This week’s announcement was made by Mainak Mazumdar, Nielsen’s chief research and data officer.

The new PPMs are seen by Nielsen as providing “foundational support” for its work toward Nielsen One, a platform that it hopes someday will deliver “a single, deduplicated metric for media consumption” across TV, digital and audio, which includes radio.

Clip-on model

There are about 60,000 active PPM panelists, so the first batch will be used by a subset of that population. The company said it will share top line findings in the second quarter of next year for the subset phase, and a full rollout of PPM Wearables in new panel households is planned for the second half of 2022.

“PPM Wearables have been through a series of rigorous tests and the system has performed very well in each phase,” it stated. “These tests included lab, focus group and dual-carry testing that measure how the wearables detect codes versus the current PPM among the same panelists.”

Portable People Meters are used by Nielsen in measuring audiences for audio, including radio, as well as local and national TV. First developed by Nielsen predecessor Arbitron, PPMs are carried by people in the Nielsen panels in larger markets to measure exposure to media.

[Related: “Nielsen Releases PPM Software Encoder for FMs”]

 

The post Meet Nielsen’s New PPM “Wearables” appeared first on Radio World.

With strong second quarter results and revenue that sailed past Zacks Equity Research estimates, Gray Television is the latest visual media company to release a bright fiscal health report.

While the Q2 numbers are positive, the Q3 outlook Gray offers may be even more delectable to investors.

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It’s the No. 2 licensee of radio stations behind iHeartMedia.

Now, the parent entity of the KLOVE and Air1 Christian Contemporary Music formats is adding one more FM to its ever-growing stable of properties.

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How can you take a playful approach to planning and practicing for your next gig? If you are going it alone without a public speaking coach, here are six steps from veteran PR pro Rosemary Ravinal you can take on your own to prepare for your presentation through playtime.

 

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Two items originally up for consideration at today’s FCC August Open Meeting have been removed from the agenda.

Why? With no opposition from the Commissioners, they’ll move forward.

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A view from the floor of the Texas Association of Broadcasters annual convention.

The Texas Association of Broadcasters said attendance at its two-day annual convention this week was slightly over 1,000, “more than we anticipated and not too far from our normal attendance of 1,400,” according to a spokeswoman.

The event was one of the first in-person conferences for the broadcast industry since the pandemic hit the United States 17 months ago. It was held the JW Marriott in downtown Austin.

Other state associations having annual events in the next five or six weeks include those in Nebraska, Vermont and Wisconsin, as reported on the Radio World events calendar. The Alabama Broadcasters Association postponed its August event to January, as we reported yesterday.

Photos provided by Radio World’s John Casey or the Texas Association of Broadcasters.

From the floor of the Texas Association of Broadcasters 2021 annual convention – the crew manning the Lawo booth, left, and Paul Stewart of Summit Technology Group, right.

 

The post TAB Show Draws 1,000 to Austin appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters released the list of finalists for the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards.

The awards honor stations, managers and air personalities for excellence in broadcasting. Winners will be announced at the fall Radio Show in Las Vegas in October.

This year’s NAB Marconi Radio Award finalists are:

LEGENDARY STATION OF THE YEAR
WNCX-FM, Cleveland, OH
WSB-AM, Atlanta, GA
KIIS-FM, Los Angeles, CA
KYGO-FM, Denver, CO
WHUR-FM, Washington, DC

LEGENDARY MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Ben Downs, Bryan Broadcasting
Joel Oxley, WTOP-FM
Joe Bell, Beasley Media Group
Ben Mevorach, WINS-AM
Mimi Brown, WEQX-FM

NETWORK/SYNDICATED PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
DL Hughley, Reach Media, Inc.
George Noory, Premiere Networks
Rickey Smiley, Reach Media, Inc.
DJ Digital – XXL Higher Level Radio, Townsquare Media Group
Ace & TJ Button, iHeartRadio

MAJOR MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Joe Soto, WVAZ-FM, Chicago, IL
Ellen K, KOST-FM, Los Angeles, CA
The Musers, Dunham, Miller & Keith, KTCK-AM, Dallas, TX
Melissa Forman, WLIT-FM, Chicago, IL
Hawkeye in the Morning, KSCS-FM, Dallas, TX

LARGE MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Jack Harris, WFLA-AM, Tampa, FL
Ann Kelly, WDUV-FM, Tampa Bay, FL
C4 and Bryan Nehman, WBAL-AM, Baltimore, MD
Mike Calta, WHPT-FM, St. Petersburg, FL
Dan Mandis, WWTN-FM, Nashville, TN

MEDIUM MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Dan Potter, KRMG-FM, Tulsa, OK
Kevin Miller, KIDO-AM, Boise, ID
Harlen the Sports Guy and Pigskin Bob, KYKX-FM, Tyler, TX
Simon Conway, WHO-AM, Des Moines, IA
Buzz Jackson, KIIM-FM, Tucson, AZ

SMALL MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Cosmo and Lauren, KTXY-FM, Columbia, MO
Chris and Rosie, WUSQ-FM, Winchester, VA
John Raynar, KKHJ-FM, Pago Pago, AS
Brian Lee and Chris Wolfe, KZOQ-FM, Missoula, MT
Frito and Katy, KNDE-FM, College Station, TX

MAJOR MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
WQHT-FM, New York, NY
WKYS-FM, Washington, DC
WBZ-FM, Boston, MA
KYW-AM, Philadelphia, PA
WINS-AM, New York, NY

LARGE MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
KTMY-FM, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
WALK-FM, Long Island, NY
WTMJ-AM, Milwaukee, WI
WVKL-FM, Norfolk, VA
WKRQ-FM, Cincinnati, OH

MEDIUM MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
WSGW-AM, Saginaw/Bay City, Midland, MI
KRMG-FM, Tulsa, OK
WHO-AM, Des Moines, IA
WHBC-AM, Canton, OH
WERO-FM, New Bern, NC

SMALL MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
KVOM-FM, Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR
WJJY-FM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
WFMD-AM, Frederick, MD
WTAW-AM, College Station, TX
WNRP-AM, Pensacola, FL

BEST RADIO PODCAST OF THE YEAR
“We Need to Talk,” WGTS-FM, Washington, DC
“Pregnancy Pearls,” Audacy
“Garage Logic,” Hubbard Radio
“Purple Daily,” KSTP-AM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
“Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis,” Premiere Radio Networks

AC STATION OF THE YEAR
WLTW-FM, New York, NY
WTMX-FM, Chicago, IL
WREW-FM, Cincinnati, OH
KSTP-FM, St. Paul, MN
KOIT-FM, San Francisco, CA

CHR STATION OF THE YEAR
KNDE-FM, College Station, TX
KTXY-FM, Columbia, MO
WHTZ-FM, New York, NY
WPOI-FM, St. Petersburg, FL
WBLI-FM, Long Island, NY

CLASSIC HITS STATION OF THE YEAR
KRTH-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WOGL-FM, Philadelphia, PA
WCBS-FM, New York, NY
WMGK-FM, Philadelphia, PA
WXGL-FM, St. Petersburg, FL

COLLEGE RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
WRHU-FM, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
WMSC-FM, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
WRRC-FM, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
WPSC-FM, William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ
WSOU-FM, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

COUNTRY STATION OF THE YEAR
WYCT-FM, Pensacola, FL
WXFL-FM, Florence, AL
KNUC-FM, Seattle, WA
KCLR-FM, Columbia, MO
WYCD-FM, Detroit, MI

NEWS/TALK STATION OF THE YEAR
WSB-AM, Atlanta, GA
WTOP-FM, Washington, DC
KSSZ-FM, Columbia, MO
WLW-AM, Cincinnati, OH
KNX-AM, Los Angeles, CA

RELIGIOUS STATION OF THE YEAR
WGRB-AM, Chicago, IL
KKJM-FM, St. Cloud, MN
WGTS-FM, Washington, DC
KLTY-FM, Dallas, Fort Worth, TX
KFIA-AM, Sacramento, CA

ROCK STATION OF THE YEAR
KLOS-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WPLR-FM, New Haven, CT
WGBF-FM, Evansville, IN
WIYY-FM, Baltimore, MD
KCMQ-FM, Columbia, MO

SPANISH STATION OF THE YEAR
KLLI-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WXNY-FM, New York, NY
KLNV-FM, San Diego, CA
WLZL-FM, Washington, DC

SPORTS STATION OF THE YEAR
WMFS-FM, Memphis, TN
KXNO-AM, Des Moines, IA
WIP-FM, Philadelphia, PA
KTCK-AM, Dallas, TX
WXYT-FM, Detroit, MI

URBAN STATION OF THE YEAR
WALR-FM, Atlanta, GA
WGCI-FM, Chicago, IL
WEDR-FM, Miami, FL
WWPR-FM, New York, NY
WMBX-FM, West Palm Beach, FL

 

The post NAB Announces Marconi Radio Award Finalists appeared first on Radio World.