MHBC Radio and Media News: Wednesday's Radio & Media News

Clear Channel Introduces 'iHeartRadio Talk'

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced the beta launch of a new iHeartRadio custom feature, iHeartRadio Talk – the first mass-market audio platform with the ability to offer on-demand listener-created talk content alongside popular news, celebrity and entertainment “audiosodes.” iHeartRadio Talk will also feature “Daily Pulse,” a customizable Talk channel featuring the most up-to-date news and culture highlights, which allows users to add content that is most important to them. In addition, iHeartRadio announced a unique new partnership with Spreaker, a rapidly growing company that combines simple, yet sophisticated Web and mobile broadcasting tools so audio creators can connect and stay connected with their fans in real-time. Beginning today, budding radio stars who use Spreaker on the Web and on iOS devices will be able to record their own shows and submit for potential inclusion in iHeartRadio Talk’s official library. Clear Channel has made a priority of talent discovery and development — and now, with Spreaker’s audiocast technology, up-and-coming radio personalities have the opportunity to have their show promoted alongside iHeartRadio’s most popular talents including Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mario Lopez and Elvis Duran, as well as hundreds of local talk personalities and other major content partners including ABC News, Fox Sports, The Wall Street Journal, American Public Media, HuffPost Live, TMZ, Jillian Michaels, Adam Carolla, Mashable, Bloomberg and more.

iHeartRadioTalk "Talk radio listeners are some of the most dedicated and engaged listeners in the world, and now with iHeartRadio Talk, we are giving those listeners access to their favorite talk content anywhere they are," says CCME President of Digital Brian Lakamp. "Plus, for the first time ever, listeners who have been accepted into the iHeartRadio Talk library will be able to record and instantly share their perspective on any topic they choose – it's basically like offering 'audio Twitter.' We are giving a voice to the everyman, and at the same time are enabling iHeartRadio users to discover and enjoy thousands of 'audiosodes' from the best talent around the country – something only Clear Channel is able to offer." Says Steve Jones, Vice President and General Manager of ABC Radio, "We're excited that millions of ABC TV viewers will have the opportunity through iHeartRadio to keep connected to their favorite ABC programs and personalities. From ABC News segments to exclusive content from 'GMA,' 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and 'The View,' iHeartRadio extends the digital reach of ABC so that whether you’re on your couch or in your car, your favorite ABC audio content always is at your fingertips."

Beginning today, users can access the beta version of iHeartRadio Talk on the Web and will have the ability to search for their favorite talk shows on iOS and Android phones – full mobile iHeartRadio Talk functionality will be available in the fall. With more than 50,000 "audiosodes" that span more than 20 categories – from business and news to comedy, lifestyle and sports – listeners will enjoy customizable, on-demand content from top-rated favorite shows like Good Morning America, TED Talks, Direct from Hollywood with Ryan Seacrest, Rush Limbaugh's "Rush Daily Update Minute," CollegeHumor Originals and more. Content from Jimmy Kimmel Live and The View will also be available beginning in September when their fall seasons launch on ABC TV. "iHeartRadio Talk not only opens up non-music content to the digital consumers at a scale that only Clear Channel Media and Entertainment can deliver, but it also opens up a powerful new advertising platform on digital for those advertisers who understand the power of talk, information and news," says CCME Chairman and CEO John Hogan. "We look forward to applying the creativity of our advertising partners to this new untapped digital content and platform." Read more from Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.

SiriusXM President Scott Greenstein Extends Employment Deal

SiriuxXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein has signed a new employment agreement, extending his service to the company until at least 2016. Under the new agreement, Greenstein will continue to earn $1.25 million in base salary, and will have the opportunity to earn up to $1.88 million in additional bonus money. Greenstein is also being given $6.5 million in stock options as well as $1 million in restricted stock. The new contract is similar to his existing deal except that it no longer includes a "golden parachute" excise tax gross-up. Instead, if Greenstein is terminated before 2016, he could be eligible for a lump sum severance payment that's equal to his base salary plus the last bonus paid to him, according to the company's latest SEC filing. Greenstein, who once worked at Miramax, has been credited with bringing Howard Stern to the satellite radio service.

Greg Batusic Named Courtside Entertainment Group COO

Former Westwood One President of Entertainment Greg Batusic, reuniting with Westwood One founder Norm Pattiz, joins Courtside Entertainment Group in the newly-created position of Chief Operating Officer for the company. Based in Los Angeles, Batusic will report directly to Pattiz, while overseeing the day-to-day operations of Courtside Entertainment Group and Launchpad Digital Media & PodcastOne. "In the early years of Westwood One, Greg helped lead the way to the multi-billion dollar network radio business," says Pattiz. "Now, while we do the same thing to on-demand audio, Greg's expertise and leadership will be invaluable. He knows what it takes to build a company and an industry from the ground up and I'm happy to be working together again." Batusic adds, "It's my great pleasure to be working with Norm again. The vibe at Courtside is very much the same as it was at Westwood One -- a lot of life, contagious energy and innovative ideas. I'm excited to be a part of it." Batusic previously was EVP of Global Sales for Gibson Guitar. Prior to Gibson, he co-founded The Promotional LLC and served as the managing partner. Before that, Batusic spent over 15 years at Westwood One Radio Networks.

FCC Acting Chair Mignon Clyburn to Address Radio Show

Organizers of the Radio Show, jointly produced by the NAB and the RAB, announce that FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn will give keynote remarks to Radio Show attendees on September 18, following opening remarks by NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith and RAB President and CEO Erica Farber. The opening keynote is sponsored by vCreative. The Radio Show will be held September 18-20 in Orlando. Clyburn has served on the Commission since 2009. She became acting chairwoman following her appointment by President Barack Obama on May 20, following the exit of Chairman Julius Genachowski. In her two terms at the FCC, Clyburn (D) has been, says the Radio Show news release, "a strong advocate for enhanced accessibility in communications for disabled citizens. She has fought to promote strong competition across all communications platforms and media ownership that reflects the demographics of America. Clyburn has a long history of public service, having served for 11 years on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of South Carolina before joining the FCC. Prior to her service on the PSC, Clyburn was the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community. She co-owned and operated the family-founded newspaper for 14 years." Clyburn is the first woman to chair the FCC even on a temporary basis.

Miami's '97.3 The Coast' to Debut 'KVJ Morning Show'

Cox Media Group Hot AC "97.3 The Coast" WFLC-FM, Miami, is set to debut the "KVJ Morning Show" with Kevin Rolston, Virginia Sinicki and Jason Pennington as they bring their top-rated morning show in West Palm Beach for over 10 years to "The Coast." The show is moving to WFLC-FM from CHR-Top40 "Wild 95.5" WLDI-FM, as Kevin-Virginia-Jason (KVJ) move from West Palm Beach to Miami. Says CMG VP and Acting Miami Market Manager Ben Reed, "The KVJ Morning Show brings a new level of talent and content to 973 The Coast! We are very excited to welcome Miami’s next great Morning Show!" WFLC-FM Program Director Tom Calococci tells us, "I couldn’t be more excited to begin working with the KVJ Morning Show! These guys are the real deal, and after an amazingly successful run in West Palm Beach they will get the recognition and platform they truly deserve – moving from market 48 to market 11. But make no mistake – this is NOT a small market morning show! The chemistry, timing and pacing between KVJ is amazing and we are thrilled to have them become part of CMG Miami. Let the games begin!" The show began in 1999 on WLDI-FM, West Palm Beach, with Kevin and Virginia. Jason joined the show in 2004. "We are so excited to bring our brand of fun and topical radio just south down I-95 to the incredible Miami market and the 97-3 The Coast audience," says Rolston. "We have been entertaining listeners in South Florida for 15 years, so this is the natural evolution for The Kevin, Virginia and Jason Show. We look forward to working with Tom Calococci, Ben Reed and the team at 97.3 The Coast, and would like to thank EVP Kim Guthrie and VP of Programming Steve Smith for having the vision to make this all possible."

Alternative 'Area 102.9' Launches In Albuquerque

As we first reported briefly in our BTM section, "Area 102.9" billed as "New Mexico's Modern Rock" launches in Albuquerque, on FM translator K275AO fed from KARS-AM. American General Media launches the new Alternative featuring music from the 1980s through today, featuring artists such as U2, Police, INXS, Depeche Mode, Sheryl Crow, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette, Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. The station launches with 10,000 songs in a row, commercial-free. "It's an exciting time in New Mexico where we've just celebrated the 66th anniversary of the Roswell sighting of flying saucers and UFOs, and now, a new music station is being invaded and broadcast to Albuquerque and the galaxy from 102.9 with the new Area 102.9", says Regional Director of Programming Bob Lewis. Market Manager Suzy Rufail adds, "I'm thrilled that we're able to serve the listening audience with a unique blend of music that transcends traditional rock boundaries. As an extension of the uniqueness of the format, we will also be offering distinctive cross-platform marketing solutions to our advertising partners that aren't available elsewhere in the market. Stay tuned." The new "Area 102.9" will be available online at www.area1029.com. Prior to upgrading, the 102.9 transltor served a portion of the Albuquerque metro with a simulcast of AGM's Classical 95.5 KHFM-FM.

Pew Study: Radio Declines As News Source for Hispanic Americans
More Hispanics Get News in English, Declining Share in Spanish

More Hispanics consume news in English, while a declining share do so in Spanish, and radio is in a decline among them in favor of television, according to a new Pew Research study that looks at how Hispanic Americans get their news. An increasing number of Hispanic adults say they get least some of their news in English -- 82% in 2012. That's up from 78% in 2006. Just half say they get their news in both languages, down from 57%. The percentage of Hispanic adults getting all of their news in English rose from 22% to 32%, while the percentage getting their news entirely in Spanish declined from 22% to 18%. Television is the dominant news source for Latino adults. Some 86% get their news from TV on a typical weekday, outpacing radio at 56%, the Internet (also 56%), or newspapers (42%). Radio news usage dropped from 64% in 2006 to 56% in 2012. Among radio users, 27% get their news from only Spanish-language stations, 41% use only English-language stations, and 32% use both. These changes in news consumption patterns reflect several ongoing demographic trends within the Hispanic community. A growing share of Latino adults speak English proficiently -- 59%, up from 54% in 2006. And as immigration to the U.S. has slowed, the share of Hispanic adults who are foreign born has declined. Today about 51% of Hispanic adults were born in another country, down from 55% in 2006 and 54% in 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. With the slowdown in immigration, the average number of years lived in the U.S. among Latino adult immigrants has grown, from 17 years in 2006 to 20 years in 2011. Also, the number of U.S.-born Latino adults is on the rise. Annually about 800,000 young U.S.-born Latinos enter adulthood. Many are the children of immigrants, and a significant share are third or higher generation. These groups are much more English proficient than are immigrants. Even though the share of Hispanic adults who consume news media in Spanish has declined, the number of potential Spanish news media consumers is growing as a result of the rapid overall rise in the number of Hispanics in the U.S.

Renda Broadcasting Gets More Time to Answer Arbitron Lawsuit

Renda Broadcasting has been granted an extension of time to reply to Arbitron's lawsuit alleging unauthorized use of ratings data for the Jacksonville market. Renda Broadcasting had until July 23 to respond to Arbitron’s infringement lawsuit, on which we reported last month. Renda, though, told the Florida court that its original legal counsel couldn't take the case because of a possible conflict of interest, and it needs more time to obtain new counsel. An extension was granted to August 23. Renda assured the court in a written motion that the extension request was "made in good faith and not for the purposes of delay." Arbitron agreed to the one-time extension. On June 24, we reported that "Arbitron is suing Renda Broadcasting for copyright infringement. In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Florida, Arbitron claims that Renda used Jacksonville ratings without paying for them -- that Renda's contract to use the data expired in December 2010, but that between May 2011 and at least December 2012, Renda 'illicitly obtained' copies of the Jacksonville ratings from an unnamed advertising agency. The suit says a senior exec of the ad agency 'was a long time friend and business associate of Bill Reese' - Renda's Jacksonville General Manager."

AURN and Entravision Solutions Form Joint Sales Agreement

American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) and Entravision Solutions, a national Spanish-language media sales and marketing firm, announce a joint sales agreement with the introduction of the Vida*Urbana Radio Network (VURN), which, we're told, combines AURN's 300 Urban affiliates with over 300 of Entravision's Spanish-language radio stations, along with the respective companies' web platforms. According to the joint announcement, "The deal forms the largest multi-cultural, multi-media platform reaching both the African American and Latino audiences in the U.S." The sales organizations from both companies will also collaborate to develop new business opportunities among radio and non-radio advertisers for VURN, under the agreement. "With minorities representing 35% of the country's total population and African Americans and Hispanics accounting for 82% of all minorities, it is imperative that we educate the advertising community about the importance of reaching the African American and Latino communities," says AURN President of Network Sales Howard Eisen. "Through this partnership, we will increase our presence in the marketplace and provide the advertising and marketing community with new opportunities for reaching this growing diverse audience." Entravision Chairman/CEO Walter Ulloa tells us, "Our partnership with American Urban Radio Networks reflects our commitment to further strengthen our growing sales and marketing platforms. With the creation of VURN, we are leveraging the strength of both the Entravision and AURN networks to create a truly unique national marketing platform for advertisers, which will allow them to directly reach Latino and African American consumers."

Entercom CEO David Field Offers Employees 'Midyear Update'

Entercom's President and CEO offers employees "A Midyear Update From David Field" in a company-wide memo. He addresses employees following management meetings held last week. Field writes:
"Last week, all of our Program Directors and General Managers gathered in Minneapolis for management meetings. We heard presentations from a number of programming, research and digital thought-leaders from across the country on the state of radio and how we can continue to develop, improve and grow. We also celebrated the wonderful job our programming team has done to build the incredible brands we are fortunate to own. We have terrific content, large audiences, outstanding personalities, great ratings, and powerful listener engagement. I found the meetings extremely motivating and informative and really enjoyed the time with our team of top-notch programming leaders. Coming out of these meetings, I’d like to share with each of you my thoughts on where we are headed, focusing on a few key principles that will continue to guide us as we build our company and invest in our collective future.

"INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE – We strongly believe in the importance of investing in our people. We are continually looking for ways to improve the quality of tools, resources, coaching, and training we provide to support each of you and enable you to grow and achieve success in your careers. Over the past couple years, we have added significant new capabilities and many talented professionals to our support team. Just last week, we created a new Director of Audience Digital Engagement position and named Kim Reis to this role. Kim will work full-time as a resource to our PD’s and air talent to enhance their effectiveness across all digital and social media platforms. We also announced that Lorna Ozmon of Ozmon Media, who has built a stellar reputation coaching air talent, will now be spending a significantly greater portion of her time with Entercom helping our personalities improve their shows. We intend to continue to make additional investments in great training, coaching and support. I would add that providing internal career advancement opportunities for our top performers remains a core value in our Company and we intend to emphasize that even more in the future. As an example, we take great pride from the fact that over half of our General Managers were promoted from within.

"INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE – We live in an era of hyperchange with a rapidly evolving competitive landscape. Our listeners and customers have lots of choices and to stay competitive we need to get better every day. We are making a number of changes to enable Entercom to grow and thrive in the years ahead. While some of these changes are difficult and painful, we need to recognize that we are investing tens of millions of dollars in adding new positions and capabilities that are enabling us to do a better job of serving our listeners and customers. Over the past couple years, we have launched a number of terrific new brands, added lots of great content (including a number of new air personalities and sports play-by-play partners), enhanced our digital platforms, hired a Revenue Management team, created a Sales Resource Center, and upgraded our operating systems. These are just a few examples of the recent investments we have made. We have a number of other exciting projects in the works and will continue to work tirelessly to identify opportunities to improve ourselves by investing in various ways that make us more attractive to our listeners and our customers.

"MAKING ENTERCOM A BETTER PLACE TO WORK - As you know, Weezie Kramer assumed the role of Station Group President a few months ago. She immediately embarked on a “listening tour” to reach out to many of you across the country to hear your thoughts on how we could improve the Company. She then initiated an employee survey so that everyone in the Company had a chance to weigh in and share their thoughts. The level of engagement was terrific as 86% of you completed the survey. Candidly, while there was a lot of very positive feedback, there were also a number of issues and concerns raised and suggestions on how we can improve. We learned a lot from the survey and I can assure you that she and I and the entire management team are taking the feedback seriously and viewing it as an opportunity to make Entercom a better place to work and a stronger organization. Weezie formed a task force to review and consider the issues that have been raised and make recommendations on how we can improve. Making sure that Entercom is a great place to work is important and we are committed to that goal.

"WHY WE MATTER – In Minneapolis, we heard from a number of prominent outside speakers who reminded us of the hugely important role Radio plays in the lives of our listeners, our customers, and our communities. Immersed in our day-to-day jobs, it is sometimes hard to see the big picture, but when you take the time to step back and focus on what makes Radio so special, it is truly remarkable. We entertain and inform over 230 million Americans weekly. We provide companionship and connect people with news and information about their local communities. We set the mood; we can help people work more productively or provide them with a relaxing escape from life’s pressures. We enable music discovery and curate to provide the best songs of today and yesterday. We are the primary way new music and artists are introduced to the American public. We deliver sports play-by-play and commentary. Our personalities form meaningful connections and engagement with their audiences. We literally save lives by providing a lifeline in times of emergency. We connect the public with thought-leaders who offer their opinions and moderate local town hall discussions on issues of topical significance. We help our communities heal in the wake of tragedies. We rally our communities to rescue our neediest neighbors and support our most worthy charitable organizations. We help Americans become better people through our public service campaigns. We move people to action, on behalf of their communities or our advertisers. We serve the American public in all of these important ways and yet charge them nothing in exchange. WHO ELSE DOES ALL OF THIS? Who comes even close to matching what we do? Nobody. It is true that we are sometimes overlooked and underappreciated, but the bottom line is that WE TRULY MATTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE…….. in a very big way. And Radio is thriving. More people listen to AM/FM Radio than ever before in history. And AM/FM Radio has more than 9x the combined listening of all satellite and internet radio combined. The addition of our digital platforms has enabled us to engage our audiences and serve our advertisers in unprecedented ways. We have generated hundreds and hundreds of case studies demonstrating our effectiveness in delivering results for our customers. And we have a huge opportunity to grow our revenues significantly by taking a much larger share of our customers’ marketing budgets from challenged competitors like newspaper, direct mail, yellow pages, television and others. The simple fact is we offer our customers a much better value proposition than these competitors and should get a much bigger share of customer budgets.

"FINAL THOUGHTS – It is truly a privilege to work in Radio and impact the world in so many profoundly important ways. Again, we don’t always reflect on that, but it is the truth. Entercom will continue to strive to be among the best local radio and digital companies. We will continue to strive to be among the best local marketing solutions companies. We will continue to strive to be a great corporate citizen and to provide a fulfilling workplace for our people. Like every business in today’s ever-changing world, the road ahead will have some bumps and there will be some tough decisions along the way. But we remain fundamentally committed to making big investments in our people, our workplace, our brands, and our capabilities to ensure that we succeed and thrive in the years ahead.

"I thank you for all you have done and all you will do to make Entercom special.
All best wishes,
David"

Behind the Microphone: The Ins and Outs of Radio

Clear Channel Talk WHAS-AM, Louisville, host Mandy Connell is moving to sister Talk KHOW-AM, Denver, for mornings, beginning August 9 ... Operations Manager Derek Moran officially adds Brand Manger duties at Midwest Communications CHR-Top40 WIFC-FM, Wausau, following the recent exit of Tony Waitekus. Moran already is Brand Manager for Country sister WDEZ-FM ... Morning co-host Shannon Steele exits CHR-Top40 WKDD-FM, Dayton, announcing on Facebook, "I no longer work for WKDD as I was let go today." Regional Programming manager and WKDD-FM morning host Keith Kennedy is now in search of a new morning co-host ... Thom Abraham will host a morning show on the new AM Sports Talk duo in Fort Meyers. We've previously reported that WFSX-AM and WNOG-AM split from a trimulcast with News Talk WFSX-FM, with the two AMs launching "The Fan" ... Afternoon host Bryan Laroche announces he will exit CHR-Top40 "Channel 95.5" WKQI-FM, Detroit, next month. Laroche also is the station's Assistant PD and Music Director. No word yet on where he might be going, but could it be a PD gig at a sister station in another market? ... Afternoon host Justin Taylor is promoted to Assistant PD and Music Director at County "The Eagle" KEGA-FM, Salt Lake City.

New TPM Component Charts Now Available
Just a reminder. The new TPM Component Charts -- CHR-Top40, Hot AC, and AC -- from BDSRadio are now online at MHBC's TotalPopularMusic.com. New National Airplay Charts for the three formats are published every Wednesday by Nielsen BDS and automatically updated on our dot com website. Currents and recurrents are listed for each format. And we also have the "Indicator Charts" for each sub-division of "Total Popular Music"! (These charts are offered in addition to our media-based "Daily U.S. Radio Airplay Updates" from the "other" major airplay-monitoring service!)