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Mark Kassof: Now the Good News - 'Yep, Radio’s Important!' ListenerThink: Overall 70% of Respondents Agree Radio Is Important 
After giving us the bad news yesterday, Mark Kassof today offers the first of the good news for radio from this year’s ListenerThink P1 research. "One of radio’s problems is that too many in the business don't recognize the power of their medium. They don't get just how important radio is to most listeners. I think this year’s ListenerThink P1 research will set them straight," writes Kassof. "It's based on 989 online interviews with 18-64 U.S. radio listeners, conducted from September 12-15th. The focus of this research is to explore the role of radio in listeners’ lives from many angles -- one of them, radio’s importance. As Joni Mitchell once wrote: 'You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.' So we posed that possibility, and asked if they agree or disagree: 'If you couldn’t listen to radio, you’d feel something important was missing from your life'." Overall 70% of respondents agree -- 34% strongly, 36% slightly. Only 27% disagree, with only 10% of that total saying they disagree strongly. Kassof say the "bottom line" is "More than two-thirds agree that radio is an important part of their lives. And we see only small differences between demographic groups… 35-44′s and (especially) 45-54′s would miss radio most if it was gone; 18-24′s would miss it least. But even among 18-24′s, the majority (58%) agree that something important would be missing without radio. (Among 35-54′s, three-fourths agree.) Radio isn’t only important to the vast majority of listeners…it’s something they are involved and engaged with."
Bob Pittman: Advertisers Should Spend More on Radio, Less on TV 
The radio industry needs to better monetize its advertising inventory, says Clear Channel Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman. "The sector is way under-represented," while TV is over-represented in marketers' media mix, Pittman told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia investor conference in New York. Pittman noted that "TV is wonderful, is very effective, [but] doesn't deserve quite as much money as it has." People don't use TV instead of radio, but radio is under-represented in the advertising media mix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Clear Channel CEO said that TV spots draw three times the ad rates of radio spots, even though "all the studies show the impact is about the same." Says Pittman: "There is a huge opportunity in radio" which the industry needs "to monetize it better" and "sell it better." He cited the benefits marketers would see from moving 15 percent of their TV ad spend to radio. Pittman also said that radio remains the biggest mass medium in the U.S., while it continues to expand online and on mobile platforms. Radio has got "all the trends at its back," he said. "Radio is America's companion for all demographics. It's my wife versus my hobby." Radio's reach has been remarkably stable since 1970s, he added. Comparing Clear Channel's national reach with other media categories, he said, "we own 148 markets" in the U.S. and reach 240 million people. He also highlighted that the company is number one in reaching African Americans, followed by BET, in reaching Hispanics, followed by Univision, as well as mothers. Addressing competition from digital music service Pandora, Pittman said that "all of their stations together don't even make the top 10 in New York." And he argued that the consumption of radio and people's music collections are not cannibalistic, as studies show people use them at different times. Plus, 73 percent of people still say that broadcast radio is their main way of discovering new music.
Edison Research: Majority of Online Americans Listen to Internet Radio 
A new study from Edison Research shows that Internet Radio is now listened to by a majority of online Americans. "A consortium of leading Internet radio companies has united for the first time to collaborate on a definitive study of Internet radio consumption in the United States. The Streaming Audio Task Force, comprising Pandora, Spotify and TuneIn, engaged Edison Research to survey over 3,000 online respondents ages 12+ to ascertain their media usage and habits, and the results indicated that for the first time in history, Internet radio is used by the majority of online Americans (53%). In addition, the total time spent with audio is clearly expanding as people are now enjoying more audio from more devices in more places," writes Edison Research VP of Strategy and Marketing Tom Webster. The study -- "The New Mainstream: 2013" -- was originally presented at a special event collocated with Advertising Week in New York City on September 24, where Edison President Larry Rosin unveiled the results of the study and moderated a panel of executives from all three Streaming Audio Task Force participants.
CNet: iTunes Radio Outpacing Pandora 'At this pace, iTunes Radio beats Pandora in a month' 
"When iTunes Radio was unveiled in June, nay-sayers quickly denigrated Apple's late-stage attempt to enter the already-crowded arena of music streaming. But Apple gloated a little Monday when it announced iTunes Radio had notched more than 11 million unique listeners in the first five days since its September 18 launch on iOS 7 and the desktop iTunes software," says CNet. "That figure is nearly four times the number of unique listeners that Rhapsody -- the subscription-based music service that pioneered streaming when launched in 2001 -- had in July, according to ComScore. Rhapsody's unique listeners numbered just 2.89 million in that month." CNet says the "pace of iTunes Radio listener growth -- 11 million in five days -- also puts it on track to surpass the current leader of Internet radio in less than 30 days." The report notes that the leading streaming music service, Pandora, "had 64.9 million unique listeners in July, compared with 20.2 million for No. 2 Spotify, 14.4 million for iHeartRadio, and 5.4 million for Slacker." And writes CNet's Joan Solsman, "If Apple can keep up its momentum, it will have 66 million unique listeners in 30 days post-launch" putting iTunes Radio ahead of Pandora (and all the rest).
NYMRAD Set to Showcase NextRadio at Ad Week 
NextRadio, the industry initiative to make FM broadcast radio available on mobile phones, will take the spotlight in a special event presented by New York Market Radio (NYMRAD). The event takes place during Advertising Week tomorrow (Sept. 26) at the Times Center in New York City from 5-7:30pm. Says NYMRAD Executive Director Deborah Began, "With FM radio chips and the NextRadio tuner app, local radio stations can be broadcast over mobile devices without the costly data fees that come with streaming. Radio has always been a free, mobile medium, and this technology ensures that broadcast Radio remains the leader in audio entertainment and information.” The event begins with a one-hour panel of media, tech, and entertainment titans, who will explore the ground breaking arrangement between Sprint and America's broadcasters. New York Times Technology Columnist David Pogue will moderate a panel that includes Emmis Founder/CEO Jeff Smulyan, Sprint VP/Product David Owens, Columbia Records EVP/GM Joel Klaiman and RCA Records EVP/GM Joe Riccitelli. Following the panel discussion, NYMRAD will host a special “meet and greet” reception with New York radio’s top personalities. More about the event is available here. More Legal Opposition to Cumulus' Dial Global Acquisition 
Shareholders continue to announce potential legal challenges -- and one actual lawsuit -- to the Cumulus Media $260 million acquisition of Dial Global/WestwoodOne. Dial Global stockholder Guarang Shah and the law firm of Brodsky and Smith have now filed a class action lawsuit in New York state court, alleging the Dial Global Board of Directors breached its duties to shareholders in the terms of the merger. Also, Faruqi and Faruqui have issued a news release saying they plan to "investigate" Dial Global's board and its fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. The news release says Faruqi and Faruqui is investigating whether DG's board of directors breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders by "failing to conduct an adequate and fair sales process prior to agreeing to this proposed transaction." Other such "investigations" have previously been announced by other law firms (which is par for the course in major media merger/acquistions).
Night Host Steve Kostan Out at Detroit's WCSX-FM 
Greater Media Classic Rock WCSX-FM, Detroit, night host Steve Kostan exits the station after 18 years, as his contract, which expires October 1, was not renewed. In a statement, Greater Media spokes Heidi Raphael says, "We have not renewed Steve Kostan's contract at WCSX-FM in Detroit. We are going in a different direction. We are very grateful to Steve for the contributions he made to the station over the years." Kostan tells us, "This isn't completely out of the blue. The vibe this year has been for everyone, that the glory days of radio have changed a little bit. I've had three different Program Directors in the last few months. It's hard to get to know someone in that time." WCSX-FM says Dave Dahmer will host nights on an interim basis until a replacement for Kostan is named. Kostan, who is also a musician, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. APM Announces Carmen Wong Ulrich to Host 'Marketplace Money' 
After an extensive nationwide search, American Public Media (APM) today announced that personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich will be the new host of Marketplace Money, APM's weekend personal finance program, with programs airing the weekend of November 2. Ulrich will be the signature voice of Marketplace's personal finance coverage across all Marketplace programs and online at Marketplace.org. As the host of Marketplace Money, she will be the face of the show's social media presence, interacting with the show's online audience daily and with the listening audience weekly via the nationally-distributed program. She will host the weekend Marketplace Money show, blog at MarketplaceMoney.org and appear on the daily Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report shows.
Premiere Networks to Broadcast CMA Awards Preview Special 
Premiere Networks tells us its 2013 CMA Awards Preview Special will be hosted by reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year, Little Big Town. The four-hour radio special, which airs in advance of "The 47th Annual CMA Awards" features music and interviews with Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Eric Church, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band and Lady Antebellum, among others. In addition to presenting a live radio broadcast of the Awards telecast and red carpet interviews with the stars, Premiere will host the country's top radio groups and stations as they broadcast their shows from Nashville in the days leading up to the awards presentation. Last year's strategy resulted in triple the number of stations participating and doubled the reach to more than one million listeners, according to Premiere. "The 47th Annual CMA Awards" will air live from Nashville on ABC-TV at 8pm ET, November 6. Behind the Microphone: The Ins and Outs of Radio 
Adult Variety Hits "92.9 Bob FM" KBEZ-FM, Tulsa, appoints veteran programmer Paul Kriegler as Program Director. Most recently, he programmed crosstown Alternative "Z104.5 The Edge" KMYZ-FM and Classic Hits "94.1 The Sound" KTSO-FM ... Summit Media rebrands Hot AC "103.7 The River" WURV-FM, Richmond, as "103.7 Play" with the slogan "90s, 2K and Today." Program Director Melissa Chase says research showed listeners were looking for more current hits in addition to music from the 90s and 2000s ... Cumulus CHR/Top 40 WZOK-FM, Rockford, Illinois, brings in Aricka Page to be morning co-host with Steve Shannon, replacing Andi Brooks who previously exited. Page arrives from WBTI-FM, Port Huron, Michigan ... Gulf Coast State College will drop its NPR affiliation from WKGC-AM-FM, Panama City, Florida, retaining their local programming and adding BBC News and American Public Media programming. The change is set for October 1 ... Cox Media Group "Lite Rock" AC "B98.5" WSB-FM, Atlanta, names Jeremy Powell as Producer of the "Jeff and Melissa" morning show ... Triple-A "105.5 Triple M" WMMM-FM, Madison, Wisconsin, Progam Director Pat Gallagher exits as the position is eliminated ... Entercom "News-Talk-Weather 930" WBEN-AM, Buffalo, says it will end its FM simulcast on WLKK-FM, September 26 at 12noon.
Contact MHBC News
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From Mark Harris Broadcast Consulting
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday's Radio & Media News - September 25, 2013
Meanwhile, Pandora's Tim Westergren predicts only a "modest" hit from iTunes Radio. The Pandora Media co-founder made that assessment at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia investor conference in New York. Westergren said that half of Pandora users listen on devices other than those from Apple. "They launched with a huge marketing budget and no commercials, and Pandora's market share only continued to grow," Westergren said. But CNet said in a review last week that Apple has built a superior Web radio service for iPhones and iPads, and noted that Apple has access to more music than Pandora, with fewer commercial breaks and more relevant stations built around artists, genres and events. "ITunes Radio may be late to the party, but it's still better than Pandora when it comes to streaming programmed radio" on Apple's iOS mobile operating system, wrote CNet reviewer Jaymar Cabebe.
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