Cumulus Media's 2016 Q1 Net Revenue Down Slightly; Challenging Quarter for Westwood One. New CEO
Mary Berner says that her company is in the "early stages of a multi-year turnaround." The first quarter saw
Cumulus Media's net revenue reach $268.5 million, that's down just 0.9% compared to the same period in 2015. Adjusted EBITDA was $41.9 million, a dip of 6.1% year-over-year. Berner says, "Our first quarter results and second quarter pacings are consistent with the considerable challenges we must overcome. However, we are seeing some signs of progress in each of our turnaround initiatives – enhancing operational
blocking and tackling, instituting a strong and positive culture, and driving improved ratings." It was not a good quarter for
Westwood One. Unlike
iHeartMedia, which reported growth in its syndication sector (especially in the news/talk realm) during Q1, net revenue for
Westwood One was $91.5 million – down 3.2% from the same period a year ago. And Westwood One has exclusive national radio rights for the
NFL and the
NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, both of which took place during the first quarter. Berner tells investors on Thursday's conference call that decline at WW1 was the result of "a noteworthy falloff in scatter demand as the quarter progressed." She continues, "Westwood One is facing difficulties in the second quarter, currently pacing down high-single digits, with virtually all upfront account in at this stage we saw a pretty meaningful weakening demand in the scatter market with limited dollars in the pipeline in relation to what we saw during the same period a year prior. While some of this weakness appears to be market driven, our challenges in the network have some unique elements which will take more time to address, given the new leadership of the business and the much longer sale cycle. At this stage, we're working to tactically influence the back half of the year while more strategically positioning the business for the 2017 upfront cycle." Thanks to
Seeking Alpha for the transcript of the conference call. Members can read the whole transcript
here.
Analysis: 2016 Moms & Media. Media consultant
Holland Cooke took in Thursday's webinar from
Edison Research (sponsored by
Triton Media) in which Edison VP
Melissa DeCesare presented data from the company's 6
th annual "Moms & Media" study. The good news for radio is that 77% of moms use radio weekly (either AM/FM or online). Moms are very connected with 91% owning a smartphone. For moms, online listening averages 12 hours and 19 minutes per week but 46% of that TSL is added media consumption time – it's time that's not taken from another medium. For more about the media habits of this demographic – one that often is in charge of much of a family's decision making – click
here.
You Station Is in Danger of Being Hacked. RadioInfo legal editor
Steven J.J. Weisman warns station operators of the new and insidious ways in which your radio station could easily be hacked. Chances are you're aware of recent stories about hospitals being made victims of ransomware. They were forced to pay the hackers ransom in order to regain control of their computer systems. As Weisman writes, ways of preventing this crime – or others like it – happening to your station exist and are affordable, but the first step begins with your employees. Read this insightful column
here.
