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Radio expands its events calendar.
New business opportunities for radio are increasingly sprouting up off the air. The type of events stations are staging this year is expanding far beyond concerts, to include beer festivals, dog carnivals and food fairs. That’s helping attract new nontraditional advertisers to radio.
Maynard returns to Clear Channel as programming SVP.
Clear Channel has added a new SVP of programming to its ranks, recruiting Maynard to the position from Hubbard Radio’s Seattle cluster. Maynard will work with the company’s national programming platforms and strategic services teams and with select local stations. The company says he’ll have a special focus on programming products and developing new innovative ways to reach listeners. MORE
Diamond reconnects with Cumulus.
Longtime Washington morning man Jack Diamond has reunited with Cumulus Media, but this time it’s in Chicago – and it’s on a short-term basis, at least for now. Diamond is co-hosting mornings on classic hits WLS-FM (94.7) this week alongside current host Brant Miller. On Twitter, Diamond calls WLS-FM a “truly great radio station [with] some of the best people and personalities in the business.” Diamond exited the former hot AC “Mix 107.3” WRQX in April 2013 and spent a short time working in Miami.
Veteran Seattle morning man Bob Rivers calls it quits.
After more than 25 years hosting mornings in Seattle, Bob Rivers has announced his final show on Clear Channel classic hits KJR-FM (95.7) will be August 8. Known for his “Twisted Tunes” song parodies, Rivers earlier hosted mornings on classic rock KZOK and rock KISW in Seattle as part of a 42-year radio career that began at age 16 and included 33 years in morning radio. MORE
Jay Green named AdLarge digital VP.
AdLarge Media has hired Jay Green as vice president of digital sales and content partnerships as the company further expands its sales rep business into the online world. Green most recently was working in sales at PodcastOne and previously he worked at Dial Global for a decade, most recently as VP of strategic operations. MORE
Mexico's Grupo ACIR joins iHeartRadio.
Continuing to expand its Spanish language content, Clear Channel will add a group of Mexican radio stations owned by Grupo ACIR to its iHeartRadio digital streaming platform. The expansion builds on an April alliance formed with Grupo Radio Centro, which launched the iHeartRadio Hispanic Network. As with Grupo Radio Centro, Clear Channel will become the digital ad sales provider for Grupo ACIR, replacing all local Mexican station ads with consumer-targeted U.S. ads. MORE
Apple to buy talk aggregator Swell: report.
Apple is reported closing in on deal to Swell, described by some as a Pandora-like service for spoken word content, currently pulls content from ABC News Radio, NPR, and American Public Media, among others. The price tag on the rumored deal is about $30 million. MORE
Radio ads have better recall than web: survey.
As marketers rush to go digital, a new survey commissioned by the Southern California Broadcasters Association shows consumers are more likely to notice their message on broadcast radio and other traditional media. MORE
After Fox pulls ads, Entercom suspends Boston talker.
Had sports WEEI-FM, Boston (93.7) morning show co-host Kirk Minihane simply apologized for calling Fox Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews a “gutless bitch” on the air, the controversy might have blown over. But Minihane dug himself in deeper with more derogatory comments last Wednesday. Now Fox Sports has informed Entercom that it will pull all of its advertising from all of the company’s stations and Entercom has reacted by suspending Minihane. MORE
KFWB to become L.A.’s fourth sports station.
During the height of the Donald Sterling controversy last spring, “News Talk 980” KFWB, Los Angeles went with wall-to-wall Clippers coverage. Come September, the Clippers flagship will take a deeper dive into sports, dropping its current format to become the market’s fourth sports station management confirms. MORE
Digital, NTR soften Q2 blow for Beasley.
Financial results reported by Beasley Broadcast Group offer more evidence of the difficult market conditions faced by the radio industry during the second quarter. On a same-station basis, local ad billings for the company tumbled 10% while national slid 13%. MORE
RTDNA: More part-timers in radio newsrooms.
The total number of employees working in radio newsrooms ticked higher over the past year, according to the annual Radio Television Digital News Association-Hofstra University survey of broadcasters. But it might not be in the way anyone working in radio news would like, says Hofstra emeritus professor of journalism Bob Papper, who oversaw the research for the RTDNA. MORE
IPO nets Townsquare $85 million.
Townsquare Media reports last week’s IPO netted the company $85,249,997 after underwriter discounts and commissions are factored in. That’s about $20 million less than it had earlier projected going public would net the company. But Townsquare cut its opening share price to $11 to adjust to market demand. Yet there was also some good news Friday for the stock. After dropping during its first day on the market, Townsquare’s stock price rose more than 2% on Friday to close at $10.50 per share.
Alaska PAC puts cash into radio.
With the Alaska state Republican primary just a few weeks away, more dollars are moving into radio. The Alaska’s Energy/America’s Values political action committee has announced it will adapt its TV ads into one-minute long radio commercials backing Dan Sullivan for the U.S. Senate. Politico says the super PAC is spending about $80,000 on the spots. MORE
Radio efforts gear up for back to school.
From collecting backpacks to school supplies for needy kids, back to school season is one of radio’s busiest times of years for community service. CBS Radio’s “News Radio 1020” KDKA, Pittsburgh will hold a radiothon on Wednesday (7/30) to help raise money for The Education Partnership. It’s a non-profit organization that provides school and classroom supplies at no charge to schools. In the coming weeks, KDKA says it will also be holding a number of remotes as part of the “Crayons for Kids” campaign to encourage listeners to drop off supplies for kids.
FCC urged to study Hispanic broadcaster impact.
After the FCC released its biennial ownership data showing the number of Latino radio owners is still low, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is pushing the agency to conduct an “aggressive slate of research projects.” NHMC EVP Jessica Gonzalez thinks regulators should know whether the current media ownership rules are doing enough to increase minority ownership. MORE
