Radio+Television Business Report

U.S. financial markets moved downward on Monday, with the Dow Industrials shedding 320.04 points to finish the day at 35,650.95 and the Nasdaq index losing 217.32 points, finishing at 15,413.28.

While the general indices were down, several broadcast media industry stock prices finished the day in the green.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group gained $0.49, to finish the day at $25.92, while Saga Communications was also on the rise.

That said, many companies were down, including Cumulus Media and Beasley Media Group, which saw its shares dip below the $2 mark to $1.96.

“Conversation experience management software” that combines voice optimized content management, cross-platform deployment, and voice-specific customer insights.

Who knew that such a technological advancement would be important to an audio content and distributor with podcasting and radio stations at the core of its business?

J.D. Crowley and the C-Suite team at Audacy did.

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It was inevitable. Years ago, ABC sold off nearly all of its radio stations and its national programming arm, now part of the Cumulus Media family. As of today, three big-market AMs tied to ESPN, ABC’s sibling within The Walt Disney Co., were all that remained of the company’s once-sizable radio broadcasting arm.

With the FCC’s blessing, ownership of those radio stations will soon end. Call it Good Karma, for Disney, ESPN and the buyer.

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When it comes to Wall Street wizards who have an active pulse on broadcast media, there are perhaps no two more-attuned analysts than Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson. Over the last several years, their MoffettNathanson has served as a leading voice of how media companies are performing and trending.

Soon, their equity research firm will be a sibling to Silicon Valley Bank.

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LOS ANGELES — He’s a national icon, on a scale perhaps even bigger than that of Frank Sinatra to the U.S. or Cliff Richard to Great Britain. From classic ballads including “Volver, Volver” to “Por Tu Maldito Amor,” Vicente Fernandez is perhaps the most iconic of all Mexican recording artists, with popularity spanning generations across Latin America and in U.S. communities with Hispanics of Mexican heritage.

Fernandez died on Sunday (12/12) at 6:15am local time, at a hospital in Guadalajara. He was 81 years old. News of his passing was first shared on his Instagram account, which had previously offered health updates after a recent fall in his home, which required an operation and injured his cervical spine; some 1.93 million likes have been made to the posting.

Within minutes, radio stations in Los Angeles and across the U.S. raced to scrap programming and devote their airwaves to Fernandez — recognizable to non-Hispanics perhaps for his trademark oversized sombrero.

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It has the ability to reach 140,000 TV households in Citrus County and portions of Hernando, Sumter, Marion and Levy Counties in Central Florida. It has coverage on Channel 16 on Comcast and Bright House Network systems in this region of the Sunshine State.

Soon, it will be the property of Christian Television Corp., bringing a new era to this hyperlocal television facility.

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The man who once led the HC2 Station Group and is now at the helm of Sovryn Holdings has just signed off on the latest purchase of a low-power television station.

It’s a sign that Philip Falcone desires a second stab at building a group of properties that can benefit from broadcast internet and the non-broadcast rewards that come with ATSC 3.0 technology.

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The second-deadliest tornado in history barreled through Kentucky through the wee hours of Saturday, December 11. The death toll is unconfirmed but believed to be above 100. The town of Mayfield was among the hardest hit communities.

For those seeking the most information associated with this devastating weather event, local television delivered, with “Local 6” in Paducah, Ky. — owned by Paxton Media Group LLC — and Marquee Broadcasting’s WNKY-40 in Bowling Green, Ky. among the standout media sources that have covered the tornado outbreak for the past 72 hours.

Given the importance of “Forecasting our Future,” Hearst Television on Monday said it is moving forward with a group-wide initiative “to address issues Americans face in navigating changing weather patterns and their impact on local communities and economies.”

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With Christmas just two weeks away and time running out to get gifts, one big-box retailer has committed to outdoing all competitors with respect to its television commercials.

And, that heavy activity can be seen across Spot Cable and Spot Television.

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A news network dedicated to covering “the unique perspectives, challenges, and successes of Black and Brown communities” has secured its latest wide-scale distribution agreement.

As such, subscribers to one major MVPD will now have access to the channel led by President/CEO Princell Hair.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report is out, and it shows a big leader for the week ending December 12, 2021.

No, it’s not for a big retailer at Christmastime. And no, it’s not an auto insurance specialist.

Rather, it is a maker of a COVID-19 vaccine and an approved booster.

In a sign of the times, Pfizer leads all in the latest Spot Ten Radio report, and by a sizable margin over No. 2 Indeed, the job search and employment portal.

State Farm, eBay and McDonald’s are also big players this week, and are their respective category leaders, by far, at the AM and FM radio stations tracked by iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors.

At 103.9 MHz on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is a heritage rhythmic Top 40 station that in recent years has been owned by the Ron Stone-led Adams Radio Group. In June, Stone indicated that the station would be sold, as part of a wholesale exit from the Salisbury-Ocean City market.

Now, it’s official: Adams has spun the last remaining assets it had on the Delmarva Peninsula.

For $550,000, Adams is selling WOCQ-FM 103.9 in Berlin, Md., and FM Translators W282AW at 104.3 in Salisbury and W286BB at 105.1 in Ocean Pines to the Craig Jahelka-led parent of WBOC Inc., known as Draper Media.

It follows the sale of WGBG-FM 107.7 in Fruitland, Md., for $600,000 and the $1.6 million spin of WZBH-FM 93.5 in Millsboro, Del., to Draper Media/WBOC Inc. and the consummation in late June 2021 of the $300,000 sale of WUSX-FM 98.5, with a signal covering Salisbury, Md.; Georgetown, Del.; and the Bethany Beach, Del.; area; to Mark Giuliani-led DataTech Digital.

How does the acquisition of WOCQ fit within local ownership limits? Thanks to BIA Advisory Services, an adjustment of the market definition for Salisbury-Ocean City was made in response to Nielsen Audio inadvertently counting some Draper stations toward the market, although they do not serve the market. This would pair WOCQ with WZBH, WGBG and WBOC-FM.

WBOC Inc. and the Draper family have long been known as the owner of WBOC-16. But WBOC Inc. doesn’t just own this longtime station, which has been a CBS affiliate since 1956. It also owns and operates “FOX21 Delmarva,” housed on a WBOC subchannel; WBOC-LD 42, a Telemundo affiliate; and WRDE-LD 31, an NBC affiliate since June 2014 that filled a local network assignment gap, with WBAL-11 and WRC-4 from Baltimore and Washington, respectively, serving Southern Maryland and WCAU-10 serving Delaware prior to WRDE’s sign-on.

Then, there is the WBOC Inc. radio properties, which had been sold off prior to August 2015. That’s when RBR+TVBR reported on the company’s acquisition of WOLC-FM, in Princess Anne, Md. from Maranatha Inc. The station became WBOC-FM, today an Adult Contemporary station.

The Draper family’s re-entry into radio was accelerated in March 2018. That’s when WBOC Inc., under the direction of Draper Media President Craig Jahelka, closed on its $700,000 purchase of the following stations from MTS Broadcasting in a transaction brokered by Patrick Communications:

• Class C WCEM-AM 1240 in Cambridge, Md., which serves the resort community of St. Michaels and nearby Easton
• Class A WCEM-FM 106.3 in Cambridge, which also serves the communities listed above
• Class A WAAI-FM 100.9 in Hurlock, Md., also serving St. Michaels, Easton and Cambridge
• Class A WTDK-FM 107.1 in Federalsburg, Md., which covers the Delaware cities of Georgetown, Seaford and Milford in addition to Denton, Md.

On November 28, every FOX Network affiliate and owned-and-operated station in the U.S. aired what appeared to be a 45-second promotional message that, in its first three seconds, features the Emergency Alert System (EAS) tone. The penalty could be severe for FOX as the FCC investigates the incident.

How big could that fine get? A proposed financial penalty presented to Beasley Media Group for a single instance at a Talk station serving Las Vegas provides a hint at what could come for FOX.

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The fate of Roger Wahl, who could be stripped of the ownership of his Class A FM radio station in Pennsylvania, will become that much clearer come January 13, 2022.

That is the date of an initial status conference to be conducted virtually as part of a Hearing Designation Order led by the FCC’s Administrative Law Judge, Jane Hinckley Halprin.

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LATHAM, N.Y. — Since March 2015, he’d been the VP/GM of TEGNA‘s FOX and The CW Network affiliates serving the Constitution State.

Now, he is joining Hubbard Broadcasting to take the top role at the NBC affiliate serving New York’s Capital District.

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There’s very little in common between CBS and iHeartMedia these days. They’re no longer competitors in the radio industry, and that’s perhaps one reason why a pair of up-and-coming air personalities in the nation’s biggest market have been given the all-clear to be one group of contestants on the upcoming season of one of the CBS Television Network’s top reality competition series.

WKTU-FM 103.5 in New York nighttime pair Lulu y Lala  — a.k.a. twin sisters Marissa & Marianela Gonzalez — are taking their talents on the road, if you will, by seeking to win “The Amazing Race.”

The Latina air personalities are 10-year veterans of radio and TV, and first found fame at Univision as correspondents on the network entertainment show “El Gordo y La Flaca,” following a stint alongside Luis Jimenez in mornings at WXNY-FM “X96.3” in New York. They then worked as co-hosts on the “Ty Loves NY” morning show on what is today WNYL-FM in New York; at the time, CBS Radio owned it and competed against iHeartRadio’s WKTU and Z100 with a Top 40 format.

In November 2014, the Cuban-Salvadoran pair moved to Miami, where they took afternoon hosting duties at Cox Media Group’s WFLC “Hits 97.3” in Miami. Lulu y Lala returned to New York for the WKTU job exactly five years ago.

Viewers to “The Amazing Race” can catch episodes featuring the women starting January 5, 2022. The competition show features pairs of contestants engaging in a series of challenges, both mental and physical, across the globe. The first group to arrive at the final destination will win “The Amazing Race” and the $1 million prize.

The 33rd season will kick off with a special two-hour premiere on January 5, from 8pm-10pm ET/PT. From January 12, it will take the 9pm ET/PT Wednesday time slot. “The Amazing Race” is available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

“I am beyond excited to be part of Season 33 of ‘The Amazing Race’,” said Lala. “I promise you will see a whole new side of Lulu & Lala! It’s a special season for sure!” “She’s right! With Lala’s lack of sense of direction and my OCD on wanting to control everything, this season is one you don’t want to miss,” said Lulu. “We hope we make our family and listeners proud!”

The 33rd iteration of The Amazing Race began production on February 22, 2020. Leg 1 was in London, with social media photos showing contestants at John F. Kennedy International Airport and at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Destinations include Scotland, France, Switzerland and Portugal. After three legs, production was shut down. It resumed in fall 2021, and recently wrapped up production, TVLine reports.

“We implemented many new safety features that made this historic season possible, including having the cast and crew fly by private chartered plane,” co-creator and executive producer Elise Doganieri told TVLine in a statement.

Joining Lulu y Lala are married teachers from New Jersey, a married couple from Charlotte, male childhood friends from Sacramento, best friends from mid-Missouri, a father and daughter from Michigan, a Twentysomething long-distance-dating pair, a pair of female flight attendants, “internet personalities” Kim and Penn Holderness, “YouTube” stars Taylor and Isaiah Green-Jones, and singing police officers from Buffalo.

In three weeks, New Year’s Eve will be here, ushering in the end of 2021.

If your TV station is planning their on-air, online and social coverage of New Year’s Eve, perhaps this year’s official Times Square New Year’s Eve content, courtesy of Countdown Entertainment and the Times Square Alliance, is of interest.

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The fate of Gigi Sohn, the White House’s nominee for the fifth seat on the Commission, appears to be a bit cloudier. An Executive Session of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will not consider nomination during a December 15 executive session.

What does this mean for the liberal Democrat assailed by key Senate Republicans for President Trump-era Tweets lambasting Fox News as “state-sponsored propaganda”?

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He’s been VP/GM of TV stations in Palm Springs, Calif.; and GM of News-Press & Gazette Co. stations serving Columbia, Mo.

He’s also been associated with such stations as WTTG-5 in Washington, D.C.; WBFS-33 and WCIX-6 in Miami; and KPHO-5 in Phoenix over a career that spans 41 years. Now, he’s working for Brian and Pat Lane.

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The “Great Resignation” has defined 2021. Many employees are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. As workers hit the reset button, sales organizations have a great responsibility to reevaluate the way they attract and retain talent.

Those are the opening words to the 15-page Media Sales Report 2021 from the Center for Sales Strategy, which notes that, according to expert prognosticators, “we are facing a significant war on talent.” In fact, 53% of sales managers already admit recruitment is the
hardest part of their jobs today.

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