Radio+Television Business Report

Sinclair Television Group has announced that it intends to amend and extend the existing term loan B-1 tranche under its credit agreement.

This, Sinclair says, includes the incurrence of new term loans in order to refinance such term loan B-1 tranche.

This tranche currently has a maturity date of January 3, 2024.

The goal for Sinclair is to reach new term loans which will provide for, among other things, a maturity date that is seven years after the effectiveness of the amendment.

Sinclair notes that this credit facility amendment is subject to market and other customary closing conditions.

 

RBR+TVBR EXCLUSIVE

On Tuesday, it was widely reported that Global, the U.K.-based media company that boasts such British radio brands as Heart, Capital, Radio X, LBC, Gold and Classic FM, wants a greater stake in iHeartMedia.

In fact, its Washington-based counsel wrote to the FCC to advance regulatory approval for the acquisition of nearly 50% of non-voting equity in iHeart — five times what iHeart sought from the Commission.

RBR+TVBR has now learned that there’s a bit more to the story: iHeartMedia found itself in violation of FCC’s foreign ownership rules only after learning of Global’s initial investment.

What a company does when faced with a situation may be the biggest new concern for every publicly traded radio or TV entity in the U.S. today.

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She’s enjoyed a career in news and journalism that includes three decades of service at ABC News, rising to SVP/News, a role that saw her lead newsgathering across ABC’s news bureaus worldwide; business, law and justice, medical and investigative units; and ABC News Radio. 

Now, this longtime ABC executive who has also handled affiliate relations needs has been selected as the first head of The E.W. Scripps Co.‘s national TV networks business, starting April 12.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC on Wednesday moved forward with a plan to seek comment on procedures for the auction of 100 MHz of mid-band spectrum in the 3.45–3.55 GHz band — spectrum that can be used to facilitate 5G deployment across the contiguous United States.

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For years, the leading advocacy group focused on U.S. Hispanic marketing, advertising and public relations was known as the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. To broaden its appeal, a name change to the Culture Marketing Council was made.

As of today, the “Hispanic” is back in the forefront for this Washington, D.C.-based group.

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“With Hispanics fueling U.S. culture shifts and population growth, the Culture Marketing Council: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing is sharpening its focus, re-invigorating its advocacy for Hispanic marketing, and rebranding,” the group says.

Introducing the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC).

“At a time when intentional approaches via segment marketing have never been more critical, the HMC continues to be the only organization devoted to promoting the critical role of Hispanic marketing, media and specialist firms in today’s marketplace,” it says.

With a population of 60 million and growing, Hispanics accounted for about half of all U.S. population growth between 2010 and 2019, according to Pew Research. They are also the country’s second largest racial or ethnic group, behind non-Hispanic whites (NHW).

While commanding $1.9 trillion in buying power, “corporate focus on the Hispanic audience continues to lag,” the HMC says.

“Hispanics continue to be the largest underserved audience that fuels demographic changes, cultural transformation and economic growth in the U.S. Segment marketing is critical, and brands must realize Hispanics are a crucial part of the American mainstream with Hispanic marketing as a core practice for achieving sustainable market relevance and growth,” said HMC Chair Gonzalo Del Fa, President of GroupM Multicultural. “As we are the only organization representing Hispanic marketing subject matter experts, we felt it necessary to sharpen our focus and further clarify and crystallize our name—for both marketers and our own member constituency. The Hispanic Marketing Council needs no tagline and allows us to be specific about the power of our leadership and expertise.”

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DON’T WAIT: REGISTER NOW! FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, speaking at the 2018 Hispanic Radio Conference (Photo: Radio Ink)

A data driven, direct response agency with headquarters in Sheldon, Conn., and offices in Chicago has signed a multi-year agreement to become a new client of Nielsen’s National and Local TV measurement services in all markets.

Barrington Media Group signed the deal on Tuesday. It offers advertising services to clients in the insurance, healthcare, consumer products, and business services verticals.

David Hohman, Managing Director of Nielsen Media Demand Side at Nielsen, commented, “We are confident Nielsen’s measurement and planning capabilities will help support Barrington Media Group’s business objectives, furthering the company’s goals as a data and analytics agency that takes pride in campaign-driving insights.”

 

Not so long ago, Mike O’Rielly found himself the victim of a White House plan to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. A strict constitutionalist, the Republican FCC Commissioner found himself at odds with the Trump Administration’s desire to apply an eraser to a rule that states “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

O’Rielly’s nomination for another term as a Commissioner was rescinded. Enter Nathan Simington, who reportedly played a role in the White House plan to redo Section 230.

With Simington at the Commission, and Chairman Ajit Pai signaling a Section 230 rule review would commence, all eyes were on the Republican leadership at the FCC on when, not if, it would act at Trump’s behest.

Then came the November 2020 presidential election. Trump today is in Palm Beach, Fla. Pai has yielded the FCC’s Chairman role to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. With little chance of Section 230 reform coming under Rosenworcel’s watch, Congress has opted to act in what is being called a “bipartisan” show of support.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A longtime Washington, D.C. media executive known to many as “Andy O.,” has died at the age of 92.

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The U.S. broadcast station industry, in particular television companies, enjoyed record 2020 political revenue.

Now that those dollars are in the past, broadcast media has what Kagan analyst Justin Nielson calls “a transitional year” ahead.

This means investors and C-Suite leaders should keep those seatbelts fastened, and keep expenses under control while cash reserves are in a tight and locked position.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a 2018 false incoming missile alert freaked out Hawaiians, The National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 required the FCC to adopt rules to strengthen emergency alerting in various areas.

The Commission today moved forward with meeting that goal by adopting a NPRM to ensure that more people receive relevant emergency alerts.

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Do you have something to say to the FCC about Gray Television‘s proposed acquisition of all of Quincy Media, Inc.‘s TV stations?

Here’s your chance to voice your opinion, before it is too late.  Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Shares of iHeartMedia stock catapulted upward in one of the company’s biggest-ever buying sessions on Wall Street.

As the Closing Bell rang on the Nasdaq GlobalSelect Market on Tuesday, IHRT was up by more than 11% from Monday.

The reason? There are two.

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In April 2020, a Class A FM licensed to rural Effingham, Kansas, some 65 miles from Kansas City International Airport was in the headlines as its owner sought FCC approval for a silent STA extension.

Now, that licensee — Cumulus Media — is selling that station.

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On January 26, Nassau, Bahamas-based Honeycomb Investments Ltd. (now named the Global Media & Entertainment Investments Trust) snapped up a total of 9,631,329 shares of iHeartMedia stock.

This gave the entity 8.8% attributable interest in iHeartMedia, leading sleuths to connect one of the key individuals involved in the investment to one of the biggest commercial radio station owners in Great Britain.

Now, this company that boasts such brands as Heart, Capital, Radio X, LBC, Gold and Classic FM wants a greater stake in iHeartMedia. And, its Washington-based counsel has written to the FCC to advance regulatory approval for the purchase.

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The Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group, a volunteer organization dedicated to developing management and leadership skills for women in radio broadcasting, is pleased to introduce the MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program’s Class of 2021.

A total of four candidates from the radio industry — within sales, marketing, programming, and digital disciplines — are selected annually for the MIW Group’s heritage mentoring program.

Now in its 20th year, this opportunity matches up-and-coming women in radio with female professionals recognized as leaders in all aspects of the industry. vCreative, the provider of media workflow solutions, is the lead sponsor of this year’s program.

The 2021 class is comprised of the following professionals:

• Lisa Kirkman, National Accounts Director for Ruby Radio in Northeastern Nevada
• Jenna Miller, Integrated Sales Manager (GSM) for Cox Media Group in Tampa
• Tonee Roper, On-Air Personality & Promotions Director for Neuhoff Media in Springfield, Ill.
• Ashley Wilson, Director of Country Programming for the Kentucky/Indiana Region, iHeartMedia

The MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program is named in the memory of Mildred Carter, who, along with her husband Andrew “Skip” Carter, founded the first African American-owned radio station in the U.S. in 1950, when they turned on KPRS-AM in Kansas City. Mrs. Carter ran the Carter Broadcast Group for many years, after the death of Skip Carter, before turning over control of the company to her grandson Michael Carter in 1987.

Entercom VP of Agency Partnerships Lindsay Adams, Chair of the 2021 MIW Group Mentoring Committee and a 2006 graduate of the program said, “The pandemic created such a demand and need for mentoring to aid in career development and advancement. The sheer quantity and quality of candidates desiring to develop their careers in audio tripled this year. Given the challenges we have all faced over this last year, the program will prove to be even more valuable to our 2021 mentees who highly reflect the excellence we’re seeing in applications. Let the mentoring begin!”

To read about these amazing finalists and former mentees visit: https://www.radiomiw.com/mentees

SAN FRANCISCO — A former FCC appellate lawyer has joined Davis Wright Tremaine’s San Francisco office as a partner in the technology and communications practice, where she will focus on matters before the California Public Utilities Commission, the FCC, and on other appellate and regulatory matters.

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MIAMI — One of the nation’s biggest Spanish-language media companies has secured a long-term agreement for services from the nation’s dominant source of radio industry ratings and audience listening estimates.

It’s a multi-year renewal that allows Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) to continue to benefit from Nielsen Audio audience measurement data in five PPM markets where the company owns radio stations, and the diary-based Puerto Rico marketplace.

Also benefiting from the new Nielsen deal is SBS’s national radio arm, AIRE Radio Network.

The agreement also allows SBS access to Nielsen Scarborough and the nationwide dataset are included.

SBS owns 17 radio stations that collectively reach a third of the U.S. Hispanic population.

JACKSONVILLE — On March 12, iHeartMedia promoted a 20-year sales veteran to the new role of SVP/Multicultural Sales for its Markets Group.

We now know who is succeeding Nicky Sparrow in her former role as the head of iHeart’s North Florida station group, headquartered in this fast-growing metropolis home to financial services and the U.S. Navy.

Taking the role of Area President for North Florida is Paul Rogers, which sees him assume oversight for a newly configured North Florida region for iHeartMedia that includes not only Jacksonville but also Florida’s state capital, Tallahassee, and Panama City, on the Panhandle in the Central Time Zone.

Rogers reports to Division President Linda Byrd, who has worked with Rogers for more than 35 years. She says, “His integrity, judgment, professionalism and competitiveness are what any manager would look for in a market leader. He is the perfect choice as a successor, and I have no doubt that he will take this area to the next level.”

Byrd also thanked Sparrow “for the great work she has done in getting Jacksonville to where we are today” and congratulated her on her new role within iHeartMedia.

Rogers, in essence, is adding Jacksonville to his current responsibilities. He’s been Market President for Tallahassee and Panama City since 2017, and before that served in multiple local, statewide and national roles for iHeartMedia while working in Jacksonville for 18 years. He began his career at WLAK-FM (now WLIT-FM) in Chicago in the late 1980s.

“I am beyond excited by this new challenge and to be given the opportunity to finally lead the Jacksonville market where I have spent so much of my career and where I still have family, many dear friends, teammates and customers,” Rogers said. “We have a strong and diverse staff, and so many of iHeartMedia’s leaders and many of our industry’s greatest air personalities have come from this area. But mostly, it’s a chance to once again work with Linda Byrd, who’s been my mentor for my entire career.”

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The trade association that represents the interest of local TV station owners and management on a national level, similar to how the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) works with AM and FM radio stations, has renewed its agreement with “a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms.”

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As such, Comscore will continue to provide the TVB with local, network and digital audience information including Comscore’s Advanced Automotive Demographics segments.

“Comscore provides TVB, and all Comscore clients, with the measurement solutions that are most capable of delivering stable and predictive audience insights to help clients drive their businesses successfully.” said Steve Walsh, a Comscore EVP.

In a year full of challenges, some radio station owners continued to see COVID-19 related impairments in the fourth quarter of 2020. Others have rebounded strongly, thanks to hefty political dollars and a strong digital story.

For Townsquare Media, CEO Bill Wilson and EVP/CFO Stu Rosenstein have perhaps the best recovery story in the local media industry. Why? Digital fueled the growth, setting the stage for a most impressive fourth quarter finish that crushed even the best forecasts company numbers-crunchers came up with last autumn.

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