Milwaukee Gets Another Country

12-2-14

Magnum Communications debuts the All-New Q92.1 "Continuous Cuuntry." WEZY-FM, licensed to Racine, will change call letters in the coming days to WMKQ-FM. Owner Dave Magnum said, ?A key reason people choose to live in South-East Wisconsin is all of the great choices for entertainment.  There are just so many options.  Having just one Country radio choice in South Milwaukee ? Racine went against that grain.  Research showed that Country fans would like a new choice and now they?ve got it with Q92.1.? 

Magnum also recently acquired Country station 92.5 WBWI-FM licensed to West Bend which serves the North Milwaukee region, as well as WRJN-AM Racine and WBKV-AM West Bend.  The company now operates sixteen radio stations and three TV stations all in Wisconsin. 

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Can Townsquare Deliver Another Big Quarter?

11-5-14

This will be our second chance to hear from radio's newest public company. Townsquare reports earnings before the opening bell Thursday and will host a conference call at 8 a.m. Three months ago, Townsquare executives reported a 7.8 percent revenue increase while most other radio companies were flat. Townsquare focuses on being diversified (see WE Fest purchase) and experienced an increase of nearly 40 percent in its digital and events business in May, June, and July. The company also reported flat advertising revenue, blaming it on four markets, so we'll see if CEO Steven Price and his team addresses those markets on the earnings call. Since early August the Townsquare stock price has risen from about $10.75 to nearly $12.80.

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Another Name Change For Radio's Biggest Player

9-16-14
Another name change for Clear Channel. It was about two years ago when the company dumped "Radio" for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. On Tuesday, just a few days before the 4th annual iHeartRadio Music Festival in Vegas, the company will now be known as the much shorter iHeartMedia. In announcing the new name, CEO Bob Pittman said, "iHeartMedia reflects our commitment to being the media company that provides the most entertainment to the most engaged audiences wherever they go, with more content and more events in more places on more devices." The New York Times chimes in on the change. AdAge does the same.

From the company press release: "The newly named company includes a wide range of advertising-supported, consumer-focused media businesses, including 859 radio stations in over 150 markets, with more than 245 million listeners a month -- the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America; iHeartMedia Digital, with its more than 90 million digital monthly uniques; Premiere Networks, which syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 5,500 radio affiliates; the Total Traffic and Weather Network, reaching almost all U.S. commuters; 20,000 live music events, all of which generate massive consumer engagement on social media platforms and the largest of which are even televised; its related companies, including Katz Media Group; as well as Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the world's largest outdoor advertising companies.

Pittman went on to say, "We have massive consumer reach and influence across our platforms because we know how to program the live content people want to hear, see and share right now, we are the largest mobile media company in existence -- more than 60 percent of our broadcast usage is out of home, compared to just 30 percent for other mobile devices, and we deliver more live programming than any other media company today, built on the national and local on-air personalities who are the heart of our powerful broadcast radio franchises. Combined with Clear Channel Outdoor's reach of over half a billion people worldwide across 30 countries and five continents, it's clear that no other company can match our reach or broad spectrum of media platforms."

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings will retain the Clear Channel brand.

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Yet Another Way For Consumers to get Music

5-30-14

Everyone wants in the music delivery game. According to an exclusive at Buzzfeed, some Amazon.com customers will be able to listen to music in the next month or two while shopping on the Internet's largest retailer. We say some because you have to be an Amazon.com Prime customer, which you get for a fee. Amazon will give Prime members old and "newish" music for subscribers to stream on demand. The Prime music service, will not include new music. It will restrict its catalog to songs and albums that are 6 months old and older.

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Another Flat Quarter for Radio Revenue

5-16-14

Q1 2014 was the fifth consecutive quarter of flat revenue performance according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. Spot revenue was down 2%, Network revenue was down 8% while digital revenue, still a small percentage of radio's overall revenue, was up 16%. RAB President and CEO Erica Farber said, ?The double-digit gains in the Digital and Off-Air sectors this quarter highlight the growing interest among advertisers in utilizing Radio?s multiple facets. With Radio broadcasters increasingly dedicating their efforts to improving and supporting their digital channels, local and national advertisers alike will find these platforms increasingly attractive to reach audio consumers.? We'll have much more analysis of the RAB report in our Monday morning headlines.

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Another R.O.I Study From Clear Channel

5-7-14
Clear Channel has released another piece of data the company is hopeful will drive revenue from big advertisers -- this one in conjunction with a company called Marketing Evolution. The study measured the ROI on a new menu awareness marketing campaign for Romano's Macaroni Grill, which ran across national cable television networks and four Clear Channel radio markets ­-- Tampa, Cleveland, Denver, and Dallas ­-- from September 16, 2013, through October 13, 2013, targeting adults 25 ­to 54 years of age.

Clear Channel says the study showed that radio ads are extremely successful in "sonic branding" efforts and drove an actual increase in top-of-mind awareness for Macaroni Grill, and that TV and radio work well together when consumers are exposed to both.

President of National Sales, Marketing and Partnerships for Clear Channel Tim Castelli says, "This study is crucial in showing the power that radio has to connect with consumers. This research proves that audio advertising is very effective, especially when combined with TV ads, in having a significant influence on diners' decisions on where to eat."

Senior Vice President and Managing Partner for Universal McCann, Eric Solomon said, "The test with Clear Channel provided us with valuable learnings. As the study showed, adding radio to the mix can positively impact not only short-term retail traffic objectives, but branding and sales metrics as well. We definitely take these learnings to heart, and in the future, will surely include radio in our consideration set as we work to achieve all of our clients' goals."

Here are several conclusions Clear Channel believes can be taken from the study:
?      For Macaroni Grill, modeling demonstrates that more impact was achieved with a 77 percent TV and 23 percent radio campaign-spend mix.
?      Radio is effective in communicating the "Great Taste" message for Macaroni Grill.
?      The campaign significantly increased Top-of-Mind Awareness (+8 points) for Romano's Macaroni Grill in the radio test markets.
?      Combining radio with TV had a stronger impact on Top-of-Mind Awareness per exposure than just TV alone.
?      The Marketing Evolution model shows that the 60-second radio spots were as cost effective as the 15-second TV ads and conveys longer, more custom engaging messages that drive consumer action.
?      The campaign areas that included radio impacted all stages of the purchase funnel, from brand awareness and affinity, to actual sales.

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Another Top Ten Market Getting NASH Affiliate

4-29-14

That's what Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said Tuesday. Could it be Chicago? Dickey didn't say and none of the analysts on the earnings call bothered to ask. Dickey says NASH has momentum. "We are well on our way to rebranding all Cumulus Country stations to NASH. Dickey said Cumulus will have 50 affiliates by the end of the year and in 2015 start offering the brand to other companies. Dickey also said he expects NASH to return 2 percent incremental growth for the company beginning in 2015. And that will be done with video, digital, live events, platform sponsorships, merchandise revenue, and another content vertical the company will announce soon.

(4/30/2014 3:08:48 AM)
"Let me repeat that for emphasis: After almost 7 months, the NextRadio platform currently services an average audience of 119 listeners."

http://www.markramseymedia.com/2014/03/is-nextradio-growing-or-sinking/

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Entercom Adds Another Live Show in Greenville

4-25-14

Starting Monday, Mark Sturgis is moving from a two-hour show on WCCP-FM in Clemson to a 3-hour 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. show on ESPN Upstate in Greenville, SC. Market Manager Steve Sinicropi said, ?Our sports coverage in terms of talent, teams and signal coverage continues to get stronger and stronger. ESPN Upstate has become the most dominant sports network in the market.

ESPN Upstate will now be live and local for six hours straight, beginning with ?In The Huddle? with Greg McKinney weekdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sinicropi added, ?Mark has a great live and local show right now, he has a network of sports contacts and he brings a passion for sports, strong knowledge and tremendous energy to the fast-growing EPSN Upstate audience. When you have a powerful brand like ESPN and the largest portfolio of radio stations in the Upstate to cross promote, it?s no wonder listeners and talent are coming to ESPN Upstate.? 

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Curtis Closes On Another Translator

4-16-14

Eastern Airwaves, an affiliate of Curtis Media in Raleigh, has closed on the purchase of the CP for FM Translator Station W226BV in Durham from Community Public Radio, a Georgia not-for-profit corporation. The purchase price is $130,000. Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group served as the exclusive broker representing the buyer in this transaction.

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Curtis Picks Up Another Translator

1-10-14

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based Don Curtis appears to be on an FM translator shopping spree. Curtis picks up the construction permit for FM translator station W226BV Durham, NC, from Community Public Radio, a Georgia not-for-profit corporation, for $130,000. Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group served as the exclusive broker representing the buyer in this transaction.

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Curtis Picks up Another Translator

1-10-14

The Raleigh North Carolina based Don Curtis appears to be on an FM translator shopping spree. Curtis picks up the construction permit for FM Translator Station W226BV Durham, NC from Community Public Radio, a Georgia not-for-profit corporation for $130,000. Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group served as the exclusive broker representing the buyer in this transaction.

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Another Rock Station Bites The Dust

12-31-13

The aging rock format took another lethal body blow over the holidays. This one in Houston. The 20-year rocker owned by Clear Channel turned into "93-7 The Beat." The format will be Hip Hop and R&B and will include music from Kanye West, Drake, Chris Brown, J.Cole, Jay-Z,  Rihanna and Beyonce. Just last month legendary 40-year Long Island rocker WRCN was flipped to all news by JVC Broadcasting."

Clear Channel Market Manager Eddie Martiny said, "93-7 The Beat is ready to write a new chapter in Houston radio history. We?re defining real hip hop and R&B. Many of the biggest stars in this format live in Houston, so to move the station in this direction was a natural choice. In addition, The Beat format will perfectly complement the five other radio stations in our cluster by making us more attractive and diverse to our advertising community."

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Pandora to Offer Another 10 Million Shares

9-17-13

On Monday Pandora announced plans for a second public offering, this one of 10 Million shares of common stock. An additional 4 Million shares will be offered by the selling stockholder. The company also intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.1 Million shares to cover over-allotments, if there are any. Pandora says it will use the money from the offering for "general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures."

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Schnitt Files Another Lawsuit

6-11-13

After losing his case against Bubba The Love Sponge, Todd "MJ" Schnitt has now filed a lawsuit against his former attorney claiming legal malpractice. The circus-like trial about radio in Tampa was fueled by the arrest of Schnitt's attorney Philip Campbell on a DUI charge. The Schnitt team claimed he was set up by an employee from the law firm representing Bubba. Schnitt has already paid Campbell's firm $1 million and according to The Tampa Bay Times Schnitt owes $1 million which he refuses to pay. In his lawsuit Schnitt is asking for his original $1 million back.

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Clear Channel In Another Label Deal

4-9-13

This one is with independent label Wind-Up Records. Clear Channel will share over-the-air revenue with Wind-Up in exchange for a favorable deal from the label on digital fees. Wind-Up Records launched rock artists, including Evanescence, Creed, Finger Eleven, and Seether, and has helped the careers of Five for Fighting, O.A.R., and The Darkness.

Wind-Up has garnered seven multi-platinum albums, including Creed's diamond-certified "Human Clay," and seven gold albums. Earlier this year, Wind-Up signed Filter, whose sixth album, "The Sun Comes Out Tonight," is scheduled for release June 4, 2013. In addition, Wind-Up has scouted and developed several emerging artists, such as Civil Twilight, Young Guns, The Virginmarys, Aranda, and Jillette Johnson.

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EMF Buys Another Texas Station

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Sold

TEJAS BROADCASTING, LTD, LLP is selling Country KOUL/REFUGIO-CORPUS CHRISTI, TX to EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION  for $1.2 million plus an LMA/affiliation agreement with EMF's AIR1 network before closing.

KIM GIRDNER's MS. KIM MEDIA, LLC is transferring Silent KYHN-A/FT. SMITH to her husband DARREN F. GIRDNER's G2 MEDIA GROUP LLC for no consideration.  The station was one of the facilities donated by CLEAR CHANNEL to the MINORITY MEDIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL to be sold to female and minority operators, and was sold to KIM GIRDNER for $50,000 in late 2012.

TURQUOISE BROADCASTING COMPANY LLC is selling FM translators K259BK/SEWARD, AK and K257ES/DELTA JUNCTION, AK to ALASKA VILLAGE MISSIONS, INC. for $10,000.

LA PROMESA FOUNDATION is donating Religion WQHC-A/HANCEVILLE, AL to FATIMA FAMILY APOSTOLATE INTERNATIONAL, INC. for no consideration.

WHFB BROADCAST ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP has requested a Silent STA for WHFB-A/BENTON HARBOR, MI because "licensee does not have the financial resources to operate WHFB and is engaged in ongoing efforts to sell the station in order to return it to full time on air operations under new ownership."

ONE MINISTRIES, INC. has filed for a Silent STA for WAZQ/ISLAMORADA, FL in advance of transferring the station to CALL COMMUNICATIONS.

And COCHISE BROADCASTING LLC has applied for an extension of its Silent STA for KXJW/NORTH ROCK SPRINGS, WY as it builds out its permit for a channel change.  COCHISE is also requesting an extension of its Silent STA for KTBX/TUBAC, AZ while it "finalizes programming plans."

And in a deal yet to be filed with the Commission, receiver WAYNE KLEIN has sold another station formerly part of MORGAN SKINNER's LEGACY COMMUNICATIONS group, with TED AUSTIN's MAIN STREET BROADCASTING, LLC buying Silent KPTO-A/POCATELLO, ID for an undisclosed price. GREG MERRILL of MEDIA SERVICES GROUP is the court-appointed broker for the deal.

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Another Good Year For Auto up Ahead

1-2-13

Bloomberg reports sales of new autos will grow again in 2013 after a spectacular 2012. The increase will be 6.6% according to a report Bloomberg cites. The report says, "About 15.3 million new light-vehicle sales will be registered in 2013, up less than 1 million from last year. There's going to be growth, but some demand has been satisfied at this point. The spigot has been on, but it hasn't been on at full blast."

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Salem Launches Another Conservative Talker

12-3-2012

This one, at 100K watt WMUU-FM in Greenville, South Carolina, will be called "Conservative Talk 94.5" and the lineup will include Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, and Mark Levin. Former CBS Morning News Co-Host and Greenville native Jane Robelot will anchor the station's morning news beginning in January. This is Salem's 26th News Talk station.

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Another Life Taken Too Early

10-30-2012

Cancer doesn't discriminate. Your lot in life has no meaning to this deadly disease and how hard you fight it doesn't guarantee you will beat it. The radio industry has lost another young life to cancer. 49-year-old Cumulus Market Manager Greg Jessen has died after a courageous battle with cancer. Jessen had more than 30 years in the business including on the air, in sales, and as a Market Manager. Jessen has two young sons, Kyle (13) and Andrew (11).

Greg's radio family in Green Bay has set up a fund for the kids called the "Kyle and Andrew Jessen" fund as a way to honor Greg's memory and provide for his sons. Checks made payable to the fund can be mailed to:
Cheryl Bellin
810 Victoria Street 
Green Bay, Wisconsin (54301).

Funeral services will be held on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Malcore West Funeral Home on West Mason Street in Green Bay. For more information about the fund contact Jeff Schmidt at jeff.schmidt@cumulus.com

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Another Body Blow For Rock Radio?

10-10-12

The CBS purchase of Merlin's WRXP in New York City is being called another setback for Rock radio by the New York Times. In fact, Times writer Ben Sisario says, "Rock stations around the country have been suffering for a decade, a symptom of rock?s fading popularity as well as the rise of a more dance-oriented sound on the Top 40 (Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna)." Consultant Fred Jacobs doesn't really agree with Sisario's assessment.

In the case of New York City, this had a lot less to do with the rock format as it did with CBS needing an FM frequency for WFAN. With ESPN now on FM in New York City, AM listeners growing older, and the CBS sports network launching in January, it was perfect timing to have Merlin put its FM frequency up for sale. But does Sisario have a point that Rock radio is riding off into the sunset?

Sisario writes, "In the mid-2000s, a clutch of rock stations around the country changed. Recently rock stations in Atlanta and Boston have flipped to formats that play a variety of pop and rock hits ? a sound that is sometimes called adult hits, and has been likened to an iPod on shuffle." Jacobs says, "The Merlin 'double-take' in NYC says more about them and less about the state of rock (or alternative). And, Long Island got a new rock station -- the Shark -- just a few weeks ago. When I see an alternative station like KNRK (Portland, OR) score #1 25-54, it tells me that great execution still wins. It's just a little harder these days."

And in Atlanta, Atlanta Journal Constituion writer Rodney Ho says the Rock format is fading. "For several years, Atlanta has had five FM rock stations. Combined, though, they drew only a slightly bigger audience than top-rated V-103, Atlanta?s powerhouse hip-hop/R&B station. While classic rock acts from the 1970s and ?80s have sustained popularity, most current ones aren?t getting mass-appeal airplay. As a result, two stations? rock formats have been killed and one altered because station owners felt other options could bring in more revenue."

Sisario points out that there is still classic rock, on WAXQ (known as Q104.3) in New York. "A handful of rock stations in neighboring areas, like WHDA in New Jersey, reach parts of the city. Non-commercial stations like WFUV also play some rock in addition to other music. But with the loss of WEMP, the city will have no rock station, as defined by the ratings service Arbitron ? which includes playing new songs."

(10/10/2012 6:41:06 AM)
Ed, thanks for "consulting" me on this piece but the theme is getting old.

Between Merlin's desperate need for cash and CBS's desire to find an FM home for WFAN, this had nothing to do with the rock format. "The new WRXP" was just a couple months old - not established enough to even be considered as a major player. And Merlin telegraphed early that the format was just a hold card until something better came along - in this case, a new owner.

Oh, and you have to lose that awful picture of Mick Jagger before he sues you.

Thanks for thinking of me.

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