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Clear Channel Launches '102.9 Now' in Seattle 
Clear Channel flips KNBQ-FM, Centralia, Washington, serving the Seattle market, from a simulcast of Sports Talk KJR-AM, Seattle, to Hot AC/Adult Top 40 "102.9 Now" KYNW-FM, positioned as "Hit Music for the Northwest." The new station launches with 10,000 songs in a row. We're not sure how soon the new calls for the new format will actually be in place. "We're excited to offer The New 102.9 Now to our listeners," says Keith Cunningham, VP of Programming for Clear Channel Seattle. "It's the perfect musical complement to KISS and KUBE and will soon feature one of the best talent line-ups in the country." Program Director Eric Powers tells us, "This new brand builds and expands Clear Channel Seattle's already strong options for our listeners and partners. The New 102.9 Now fills the need for this programming in the market and is the perfect radio home for artists like Adele, Train, Katy Perry, One Republic, Lady Gaga and more." The new "Now" will directly compete with Fisher Radio’s Hot AC "Star 101.5" KPLZ-FM. Since November 2011, KNBQ-FM had simulcasted KJR-AM, as "Sports Radio 950 and 102.9 KJR." The station's calls were not changed for that because sister station KJR-FM already had them on 95.7 FM. The new "102.9 Now" -- online at www.1029nowhits.com -- is expected to be patterned after sister Hot AC/Adult Top 40 "102.9 Now" KDMX-FM, Dallas-Fort Worth, according to reports from Seattle prior to the on-air launch. Fort Myers '770 ESPN' to Become '99.3 ESPN' 
Beasley Sports Talk "770 ESPN" WWCN-AM, North Fort Myers, Florida, will move from AM to FM as "99.3 ESPN" June 20. "Southwest Florida's Sports Leader" -- as the station bills itself -- has been an AM radio fixture on 770, but with the band change will displace/replace Active Rock "99X" WJBX-FM, as Beasley seeks a stronger FM presence for the Sports Talk station which has aired on FM via four translators. The station's current lineup includes local afternoon "Miller and Moulton Show" along with the national ESPN Radio programming. WWCN-AM has also carried the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays, along with Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees baseball, Florida Gulf Coast University basketball, Florida State Seminoles football, and USF Bulls football from their respective radio networks. The station aired Florida Firecats football, Miami Hurricanes football, Florida Gators football and basketball, and Fort Myers Miracle baseball in the past. "ESPN 770" also broadcasts NBA, Major League Baseball, and college football games from ESPN Radio, along with NFL games from Dial Global/Westwood One. Meanwhile, there's speculation as to whether the Active Rock programming of "99X" will survive its exit from 99.3 FM. One theory has it taking over the four FM translators which have been used by WWCN-AM. Ears in the market say WJBX-FM is promising a "major announcement." There's no official word about the future of 770 AM. Some believe it will be used for something different because of the reports that its programming will "move" to FM, while others think the FM will actually begin a simulcast. Summit Media Ups Karolyn Mulvaney to Greenville Market Manager 
Summit Media promotes Greenville South Carolina General Sales Manager Karolyn Mulvaney to VP and Market Manager for the Greenville cluster -- Urban "107.3 Jamz" WJMZ-FM, Rhythmic CHR "Hot 98.1" WHZT-FM, "97.7 Chuck FM" W249CB and "X98.5" W253BG. Mulvaney has been at the cluster since September 2006, advancing from a sales rep to Local Sales Manager, and since June 2011 she’s been GSM. Mulvaney succeeds Steve Sinicropi, who exited the cluster in last month after Summit bought the group from Cox Media Group. "As a passionate broadcaster and loyal fan of our incredibly talented team, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to step up to this new challenge," says Mulvaney. Summit Media CEO Carl Parmer tells us, "We are extremely happy to have Karolyn lead our outstanding Greenville team and are confident they will prove quite successful serving the Greenville community, our listeners, and our clients."
Arbitron Confirms Kansas City May Ratings Integrity 
Arbitron informs its subscribers that the "Listen Longer" website -- and the controversy surrounding it -- has not affected the integrity of its latest PPM ratings for the Kansas City market. As we reported Thursday, listenlonger.com received a cease and desist letter from Arbitron, which it posted online. Arbitron informed the site's owner to stop asking PPM panelists to identify themselves. The listener-operated site was also told it's not authorized to post Arbitron data. In a letter to Arbitron subscribers in the Kanas City market, Arbitron EVP of Service Innovation and Chief Research Officer Gregg Lindner writes, "During the May report period, a third-party website encouraged Kansas City radio listeners to support an unnamed local station, posted general information about ratings methodology and ratings data, and solicited information on PPM panelists. We want to assure subscribers that the website is not affiliated or endorsed by Arbitron and that Arbitron has taken substantial steps to ensure the integrity of the Kansas City PPM panel and all Arbitron audience estimates for the market. PPM households that disclose their participation to the general public or to any unauthorized party become ineligible to participate. Such panelists’ households are removed from the panel. Arbitron monitors social media sites daily, interacts with panelists on a regular basis, and has confidential processes in place to help identify panelists who may have disclosed their participation. We have also taken special measures in light of the Kansas City website to protect the integrity of in-tab panelists included in the recently-released May 2013 Kansas City data. Following a review of the information available, we released the May 2013 Kansas City audience estimates as scheduled. We will continue to monitor the panel, monitor the website, and to take on-going actions to protect the integrity of the data on which you rely."
Previous MHBC Secondary Report Gets 'Second Life': 
"Clear Channel is taking on a glaring problem in the industry: second-rate advertising," reports AdAge. Earlier this week, we reported: "Clear Channel Media and Entertainment and Clear Channel Outdoor announce a new Creative Advisory Council (CAC) to help provide expert insights to guide the development of innovative approaches to audio and out-of-home advertising." Our Wednesday report basically stuck with the company's news release. But AdAge went beyond that, headlining their report, "Clear Channel Takes on a Challenge in Radio: Lame Ads." And today, others (starting with Tom Taylor and then All Access) picked up on the AdAge report, and gave it a second life -- one that's turning out to be bigger than our original report. And quoting Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman: "Talking to creative agencies, we all agreed that radio has been put to one side and not given the level of creativity it warrants, given the importance it has.” For the most part, AdAge, as now cited by others, goes on to cite the other information we reported previously. The only thing we didn't have Wednesday was Pittman's quote. In all fairness, we must note that AdAge also offered their report earlier this week. But it went viral today starting with the Tom Taylor Now newsletter.
CNet: 'iTunes Radio' Could Crush Pandora 
"Apple might seem late to the streaming-music world, but really the digital music revolution is just getting going, writes Paul Sloan for CNet in a report headlined "Yes, iTunes Radio could crush Pandora. But that's just for starters." So ASCAP and BMI aren't the only ones who want to "crush Pandora"? While many are skeptical that iTunes Radio -- which doesn't actually launch until later this year -- can hurt Pandora, Sloan, it seems, believes otherwise. "The current king of Internet radio, Pandora, made sure the press was aware of how large it was, with 200 million registered users, 70 million of whom are regular listeners, and 5 billion stations created. Even Nokia -- that's right, Nokia -- trotted out a VP who suggested Apple was playing catch up, proclaiming, 'We launched our streaming radio service in 2011'," writes Sloan. He notes that at Monday's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) announcement of the streaming music service, Apple iTunes Chief Eddy Cue "didn't once declare iTunes Radio awesome, or even delightful; nor did he describe it as the best streaming service around. And while other Apple executives participating in the keynote before him took turns slamming Android, Cue didn't make a single mention of Pandora, the service that most closely resembles Apple's. iTunesRadio." Cue's announcement, notes the CNet report, was low-key, and Apple still must "create the excitement" for the forthcoming streaming music service. "Assuming that it works well and that Apple's strategy plays out, that should happen." Sloan's conclusion: "This is a giant opportunity for Apple, which also makes it Apple's to mess up." Radio's 'Old Friend' musicFIRST Joins Pandora Bashing 
The last time we left the musicFIRST coalition they were bashing terrestrial radio for not paying performance royalties for music aired on over-the-air radio stations. Now with some broadcast companies -- led by Clear Channel -- making deals to share OTA and digital revenues with labels and artists, musicFIRST has been relatively silent about "real radio." But they are now joining in on the Pandora bashing, after the streaming music service revealed its plan to buy an FM radio station to help it fight high royalty rates for its digital service. Under the title "How Low Can They Go?" on their blog, musicFIRST writes, "This has to be some kind of sick joke. Pandora bought an FM radio station to game the system in order to pay songwriters less? Pandora continues to find new ways to give artists and songwriters a raw deal from the bottom of the deck. In their race to the bottom to see how little they can pay music creators, they have stooped to misleading legislation, bait and switch petitions, and now fronting as an FM radio station. I thought they wanted to 'disrupt' terrestrial radio, not BECOME it. While others negotiate with music creators as partners, Pandora has committed itself to a war on all fronts. We know they will keep pushing to cut performers pay by as much as 85% in the so-called IRFA legislation and they will continue to send out sign-on petitions to indie artists that obscure how those artists' names will be used. But if they are willing to buy an FM station to game the system, who knows what they will do next? It doesn’t matter. Music creators stand shoulder to shoulder in fighting these tricks. At the same time, they give lipservice that they 'value' music creators. Sounds familiar. Defensive much?" And, for once, we are with musicFIRST on this one! Steve Harvey Vacation Means Guest Celebrity Radio Show Hosts 
KMTT-FM Becomes Seattle's Green 'Mountain' 
Seattle's "103.7 The Mountain" KMTT-FM tells us it has "become the first radio station in the Seattle area to invest in new, renewable energy resources to offset its own electricity consumption." Hailing that the station "becomes Seattle's Greenest Station," KMTT-FM explains, "Partnering with Walker's Renton Subaru, The Mountain aims to reduce its own environmental impact and to encourage other businesses in the area to take advantage of renewable resources in an effort to minimize emissions. Listeners can tour The Mountain's Zero Emission Studios and learn more about renewable energy at 1037themountain.com." Says Operations Manager Dave Richards, "We're very proud to be the first radio station in the Pacific Northwest with Zero Emission studios. The Mountain connects to over 500,000 listeners, and we hope others will take these steps and join us." Walker's Renton Subaru owner Dale Walker is quoted as saying, "We are proud to be a partner with KMTT and Seattle City Light in supporting renewable energy in the Northwest. As a community partner, we feel it's important to invest in the future of the Seattle area by lessening our environmental impact and protecting our natural resources." As a Seattle City Light customer, all the electricity used by The Mountain to power its broadcast equipment, studio computers, lighting and more is already greenhouse gas neutral. Seattle City Light gets 90 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable hydroelectric resources and fully offsets all its carbon emissions. With this partnership, The Mountain is participating in the utility's Green Up program to invest in additional new, renewable energy. Green Up supports the development of energy from Northwest resources that won't pollute and won't run out, from Green-e certified suppliers located right here in the Pacific Northwest.
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From Mark Harris Broadcast Consulting
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday's Radio & Media News - June 14, 2013
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