Radio+Television Business Report

It’s another steady-as-she-goes week for advertisers using national radio to reach consumers.

That said, a popular heritage convenience store chain is now in the Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report … and it’s a place we paid $3.59 a gallon for gasoline while visiting St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday.

Our shout-out goes to Circle K, which has a formidable footprint of quick-mart and fill-up sites across the U.S. With 7 Eleven stores expanding of late and competition in Florida from Philadelphia-area legend WAWA, the convenience store category is hot.

Furthermore, as Mintel research conducted in 2011 shows, African Americans overindex in their frequency and purchasing of goods at convenience stores, compared to the total population. This hasn’t changed today, giving the category a unique opportunity at Radio, given the R&B and hip-hop formats that make FM a prime listener destination in markets with a sizable Black population.

Overall, Circle K is No. 10 on the latest Spot Ten Radio report. It’s the lone new entrant, as Indeed remains the big No. 1 and both Progressive and Babbel continue their strong use of spot radio. In particular, Babbel spots were heard Saturday evening on WWLL-FM in Sebring, Fla., and have been heard on stations in Cambria, Calif.

This illustrates the continued importance of national radio in a media mix, and how brands can capitalize on reaching unique audiences in non-rated markets.

Online presentations can be a drag. But you can change that, says “Zoom expert” and veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal.

“How you open can make a huge difference in your ability to hold attention and make your content memorable,” she says. “Your opening can determine how much interest the audience will show later. The first few sentences you speak must capture their attention and arouse enthusiasm and curiosity. You need to make them understand that what you are about to say is important to them because at the heart of any audience is their own self-interest.”

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

If there was any doubt that Entravision Communications’ revenue is, today, being driven by its digital assets, it has officially been erased thanks to the company’s just-released Q4 2021 earnings report.

The company’s digital business, now global in scale, fueled growth in the final three months of 2021 and for the entire fiscal year. In fact, it comprises 73% of Entravision’s net revenue.

How did the company’s radio and television divisions, which superserve U.S. Hispanics consumers, perform?

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

That’s a question MMTC’s President Emeritus and Senior Advisor David Honig, President/CEO Robert Branson and Tech and Telecom Policy Counsel Danielle Davis asked, among others pertaining to Equal Employment Opportunity, during a March 1 Zoom call with members of the FCC.

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

A 3kw Class A FM serving the Fort Walton Beach and Destin areas of Northwest Florida is being sold by its court-appointed receiver.

The station is presently a part of “The Ticket Sports Network.”

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

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, the 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to the advancement of female leadership in radio broadcasting, has opened the application window for the 2022 Mildred Carter Mentoring Program.

Established in 2002, MIW’s heritage annual mentoring initiative connects mentees with accomplished women recognized as leaders, mentors, and game-changers within all aspects of radio broadcasting.

Four candidates from the radio broadcasting industry – within the sales, marketing, programming, and digital disciplines – will be selected for the 2021 program.

For mentee criteria and instructions on how to apply, please visit https://miw.secondstreetapp.com/MC-Mentor-App-2022/

The deadline to apply is March 21, 2022.

Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley commented, “It is a privilege to be part of an outstanding initiative which reflects the values of our company in nurturing, supporting, and promoting the advancement of women to senior positions in the radio industry.”

Karina Cerda, EVP of Marketing & Insights for Entravision Communications, added, “We are very honored to join MIW Radio Group’s mission to champion the professional growth of women executives in our industry through the Mildred Carter Mentoring Program. Entravision is very passionate about encouraging, empowering, and supporting our future female leaders and we look forward to doing our part in spotlighting the merit of this vital program.”

Broadcasting, digital media and publishing revenue was up. And, total operating expenses were down. The result?

Salem Media Group’s Q4 net income roared ahead, year-over-year.

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

He has his three FM stations back, for now. And, he continues to operate a Class B AM with 1kw during daylight hours from 2 towers and 300 watts at night from 3 towers.

Royce International Broadcasting, led by Ed Stolz, still faces the very real possibility of no longer operating the FMs he successfully wrestled back from court-appointed receiver Larry Patrick as part of a separate bankruptcy filing in a Nevada federal court.

All this time, the AM, serving Las Vegas, was immune to headlines and attention. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau just changed that.

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

Network radio programmer United Stations, radio station owner Audacy Corp., and AccuWeather have extended — and expanded — their three-way partnership. It is thanks to a new, multi-year agreement that provides for the continuation of AccuWeather’s services on existing Audacy affiliates.

The new deal adds 14 Audacy stations to the list of AccuWeather outlets — including FM stations in New York, Detroit, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Memphis, and Buffalo.

Additionally, AccuWeather, Audacy and United Stations collaborated on the creation of the newly introduced “Social Plus” service as well as the “AccuWeather Weather Protection Plan.” Both are expanded weather services that provide affiliates access to weather forecasts and expert reporting from AccuWeather meteorologists before, during and after severe weather events along with social media posts on the affiliates’ social media platforms. These additional AccuWeather services and the enhancements that they bring to each affiliate were “key ingredients” in the renewal process as well as important components to fulfill the needs of Audacy’s FM stations.

In marking the renewal and expansion of the three-way partnership, Fred Bennett, Senior Vice President of Revenue Analytics and Networks at Audacy Corp., said, “Our local radio station brands are deeply embedded in each of their communities, and this partnership helps us solidify our commitment to delivering the kinds of information that they depend on and trust.”

AccuWeather’s Ken Prehl added, “Developing new and creative ways of delivering the best weather forecasts, warnings and data around is always energizing, but it becomes extra compelling when we are helping legendary radio stations continue to fulfill their fundamental roles as broadcasters. Weather is still ‘lean in’ content, and we are extremely excited and proud to extend this important partnership.”

United Stations Chief Revenue Officer Greg Janoff commented, “Our job is to bring together great content, essential services and the most powerful brands in radio so that our marketing partners are in the most impactful environment possible. When you are talking about brands like WINS, WCBS-AM, WBBM, and WWJ it’s an impressive universe, and now that we are adding major market FM stations to the mix, it’s a milestone moment for everyone involved.”

Since December 2019, he has served as VP/GM of one of the newest members of The E.W. Scripps Co. family. Starting Monday (3/7), he’ll become VP/GM of the company’s NBC affiliate and its “FLORIDA 24 Network” over-the-air station serving the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County, Florida.

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

It’s been a year since the company’s stock went ex-dividend. The 1-year target price set by analysts was last seen on November 5.

That said, the worst may be behind Audacy Corp. as its stock continues its climb from pandemic-era depths that seemingly continued up to February 22.

Since then, AUD shares are up by more than one dollar per share.

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

Xandr has unveiled a new end-to-end technology platform solution for political advertising including its Invest DSP, Monetize SSP and Xandr Curate platforms in all 50 states.

Xandr’s “holistic approach for political” is comprised of multiple tools for advertisers and publishers to buy and sell political advertising programmatically.

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

Curtis LeGeyt, CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, will provide the opening keynote on June 22 at the Hispanic Radio Conference.

The conference will be presented June 22-23 in Miami at the Intercontinental at Doral.

The theme of the NAB chief’s remarks will be “Promoting a Strong and Diverse Radio Industry Through Public Policy and Industry Engagement.”

SAVE BIG WITH EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION NOW!

According to LeGeyt, “Radio’s ability to reach and directly serve diverse audiences is a cornerstone of the business. The Hispanic Radio Conference is an important forum for an ever influential and dynamic segment of the industry to convene, assess challenges, and discover opportunities in today’s complex and competitive media environment. NAB is a proud supporter, and I look forward to participating in this year’s event.”

Deborah Parenti, President/Publisher of Radio Ink and the Radio + Television Business Report, said, “We are especially excited and honored to have Curtis LeGeyt open the Hispanic Radio Conference. It will be a tremendous opportunity for Hispanic broadcasters to share their concerns and challenges with him as well as to hear his vision for the future of the industry.”

More agenda details are available HERE. Register now and save $200. The Hispanic Radio Conference is proudly supported by: PLATINUM SPONSOR Bronze Sponsor Medallas de Cortez Sponsor Corporate Sponsors Participating Sponsors Media Partners

He serves as President of Networks for Nexstar Media Group, and in addition to his role with NewsNation, the cable TV news channel, he also has a hand in ensuring that the company’s lone radio station — heritage spoken-word WGN Radio at 720 on the AM dial across the Midwest — remains a success.

That it has, based on the latest ratings results from Nielsen Audio. Sean returns to the InFOCUS Podcast to share more about WGN’s resiliency and rebirth in Chicago. He talks about the No. 1 performance of John Williams in middays and Bob Sirott in mornings, and the ongoing growth in afternoons; letting nighttime legend John Landecker be himself; and thanking Rollye James for turning a temporary gig into a long-term late-night program.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Sean Compton” on Spreaker.

Just past 10am Eastern on Thursday, Members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee stopped their activities, stood in unison, and applauded at length.

It wasn’t for any of the 10 presidential nominees up for a Committee vote, including Gigi B. Sohn, but rather for Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N. Mex.). The Senator is recovering swiftly from suffering a stroke, which delayed the vote on Sohn.

Sohn’s nomination remained contentious right up to the vote, and Luján’s vote proved to be the decisive one for the nominee, with an expected tie the outcome.

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

One month ago, Connected TV advertising and measurement platform Innovid struck a deal to acquire television measurement company.

The acquisition has just closed, and creates what Innovid calls “an end-to-end, independent TV measurement alternative that brings together streaming and linear television.” As such, founder and CEO Calum Smeaton is transitioning to a strategy role in support of the integration between the company — TVSquared — and Innovid.

For TVSquared President Jo Kinsella, leading the measurement business at Innovid is Job One.

So is making Innovid’s “Nielsen’s newest competitor.”

“We believe the combination of independent global ad serving and cross-platform measurement sits at the heart of solving TV measurement’s biggest challenges,” said Zvika Netter, CEO and Co-founder at Innovid. “We’ve spent over a decade building foundational ad delivery and personalization technology to power TV across channels and devices. Now, together with TVSquared by Innovid, we provide advertisers a complete view of the total TV and digital universe through a scalable, currency-grade measurement platform.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Innovid acquired TVSquared for $100 million in cash and 12.5 million in Innovid stock. Shares were at $3.85 as of 10am Eastern on March 3.

The broadcasting company controlled by Apollo Global Management with radio stations in four Florida markets, in addition to three other cities, and a collection of television stations that even includes the NBC and CBS affiliates in Eureka-Arcata, Calif., has inked a multi-year renewal with the nation’s dominant audience measurement and consumer data analytics provider.

The new deal allows Cox Media Group‘s local TV stations in 10 full service radio and TV markets to continue to use various Nielsen measurement services.

The new agreement also includes CoxReps, which provides television sales representation of broadcasters with a wide network of advertising agencies.

Included in the agreement is Nielsen Local Media Impact, which has been licensed by CMG radio stations in Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Tampa-St. Petersburg.

CMG radio stations will also have access to the National Regional Database (NRD), a customizable tool of radio listening information for every market that Nielsen Audio surveys.

Furthermore, the new Nielsen pact renews access of CMG radio and TV stations and CoxReps to Nielsen Scarborough, which provides local market research and measures 2,000 market categories. The stations will continue to have access to Scarborough MARS Healthcare Module.

CMG television stations also subscribe to Arianna, which delivers local market overnight TV audience estimates providing analytics on program performance as well as trending programs and time periods, and Nielsen’s Local TV View (NLTV).

There’s more.

CMG will also use Grabix, a web-based application that combines Nielsen’s minute-by-minute television audience metrics to actual audio and video content.

Lastly, Cox also subscribes to Nielsen Radio County Coverage data, which provides local insights by breaking out of the standard Nielsen Radio metro boundaries for a broader understanding of listeners.

While CMG has a presence in some of the nation’s smallest markets thanks to Apollo’s acquisition of Brian Brady’s Northwest Broadcasting and subsequent combination of the TV station assets, it owns and operates TV stations in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dayton, Jacksonville, Memphis, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Seattle-Tacoma, Tulsa, Spokane, Syracuse and Yakima-Tri Cities, in addition to the small markets of Eureka-Arcata and Yuma, Ariz.; Alexandria, La.; Medford, Ore.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Greenville-Greenwood, Miss.

“We had another very strong quarter, with revenue exceeding expectations,”  Urban One President/CEO Alfred Liggins III said in prepared comments as the company superserving Black consumers released its Q4 results.

On the surface, it appears Urban One didn’t do well, as the results showed net income down while net revenue rose. But, political dollars in Q4 2020 proved to be big for Urban One, too.

So, how did Urban One do in Q4 2021 in comparison to two years earlier?

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

It uses digital Channel 30 and enjoys a PSIP of Channel 7. For the past year, it has been owned by Craig Ruark, who acquired the property from a Christian-focused broadcasting entity.

Now, Ruark is spinning the LPTV station serving Southern Nevada.

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

The next batch of Q4 2021 earnings results from key media companies arrive on Thursday, with a morning dispatch of Urban One‘s fiscal health report and post-Closing Bell distribution of the Q4 financial results from both Salem Media Group and Entravision Communications.

For Hispanic consumer-centric Entravision, the results could further propel its shares, which enjoyed a strong 6.6% gain to $6.62 on Wednesday.

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