Tuesday's Radio & Media News - October 1, 2013

Phil Zachary Named Entercom Boston Market Manager Entercom Boston has hired Phil Zachary as its new VP and Market Manager. The cluster includes WEEI-FM, ESPN on WEEI-AM, WAAF, WRKO and The Boston Red Sox Radio Network. Zachary comes to Entercom from Curtis Media Group in Raleigh, NC, where he was President/COO. Prior to joining Curtis Media in 2002, he was VP/Market Manager for CBS Radio Washington DC. Zachary has held similar senior executive positions for HMW Communications and Voyager Communications in Raleigh and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment in New Orleans. Says Entercom Station Group President Weezie Kramer, "Phil is the right person at the right time for Entercom Boston. He is a leader and a listener. He understands the challenges we face but he also sees the tremendous opportunity we have. Phil believes in the strength of our brands, the dynamic nature of our content and the true potential of our team." Says Zachary, "The only reason to leave a great job in radio is for one of the absolute best jobs in radio. Make no mistake -- WAAF, WEEI and WRKO are not only some of the greatest call letters in Boston radio history, but some of the best brands in our industry. This amazing opportunity brings me back to my New England roots and the place I started my radio career. There are great challenges ahead, not to mention best of-class competition, but I look forward to it and can't wait to get started." Zachary starts at Entercom Boston October 21. For now, the company has retained the management consultant services of Joel Hollander to assist in the transition. Zachary replaces Jeff Brown, who is moving to join Cumulus in Atlanta. Mark Kassof: News Talk P1s: NOT 'In the Mood' "Friday, we discussed how mood-related motivations (especially 'to get in a better mood') were the top personal benefits listeners seek from radio. True, but more true for some formats' P1s than others," writes Mark Kassof today, as his Mark Kassof and Company releases more data from their latest "Listener Think P1" study. "Last week's reports on our ListenerThink P1 research focused mainly on the total 18-64 audience. This week, we break down and analyze the P1s of different formats." He tells us, "We didn't ask listeners the format of the station they listen to most…that would be research malpractice -- asking a question most respondents can't answer. Instead, we asked them the name and dial position of the station they listen to most. Knowing that and where they live, we were able to assign listeners to various formats." Kassof tells us, "Here's what we learned, starting out with News Talk P1′s. They are a different breed…far less motivated by emotional and mood factors than most listeners." When listeners were asked to grade different reasons for listening to radio, News Talk P1s scored "better mood," "relax," "take your mind off problem," "energy boost," "fun with others" and "memories" lowest of any format's P1s. "To hear things that get you in a better mood" was the top motivation for listeners as a whole, but not News Talk P1's, as 40 percent of them ranked this reason as "somewhat important." Says Kassof, "News Talk P1s do have strong motivations for listening to radio -- reasons that are more intellectual than emotional. More than any other group, they listen 'to hear things that get you thinking'." Those P1s rate "to get you thinking" the top motivation with 44% saying its "very important," compared to 27% for all respondents, and 41% as "somewhat important" compared to 36% for the overall total. "News Talk P1′s are also #1 for listening 'to hear what others are talking or thinking about' and 'to learn things that make you more informed than other people'," writes Kassof. "Bottom line: News Talk is the format for listeners that THINK (or, at least think they think). News Talk stations would do well to position themselves based on this motivation and psychology…for example, 'The Station for People Who Think' or 'The Station for People Who Know More'." Tomorrow, Kassof promises data on Country P1s. This year's study is based on 989 online interviews with 18-64 U.S. radio listeners, conducted September 12-15. Clear Channel Adds Turner Broadcasting Content to iHeartRadio Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced a deal with Turner Broadcasting, to offer select audio content including news from CNN, entertainment clips from TBS's "Conan" and sports programming from Bleacher Report, in its new iHeartRadio Talk feature. "The deal broadens the content available on iHeartRadio Talk, which includes thousands of popular news, culture and entertainment programs for the more than 225 million consumers who have downloaded the app," says the announcement. "The iHeartRadio all-in-one digital radio service will offer users both broad access to Turner programming and content including monologue clips from Conan, news segments from CNN such as Anderson Cooper 360, New Day, Piers Morgan Live, and The Lead with Jake Tapper, and sports clips from Bleacher Report. Full episodes of Anderson Cooper 360, Fareed Zakaria GPS, State of the Union, and Erin Burnett Out Front will also be accessible via iHeartRadio Talk." Clear Channel President of Digital Brian Lakamp tells us, "This marks yet another significant milestone for iHeartRadio Talk. We are continuing to identify and add quality partners to iHeartRadioTalk to continue to deliver our listeners even more content that is relevant and entertaining anywhere they are." Launched in July, iHeartRadioTalk is the first audio platform offering on-demand, listener-created talk content alongside popular news, celebrity and entertainment audiosodes. iHeartRadio recently unveiled new mobile app features for its Talk feature, making it easier for the on-the-go consumer to find, listen and save Talk programs. ESPN Deportes Radio Acquires NFL Broadcast Rights ESPN Deportes Radio has signed a new multi-year agreement for media rights to the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 National Football League seasons. Under the agreement, ESPN Deportes Radio will have exclusive Spanish-language rights to "Monday Night Football," the 2013-2104 National Football Conference playoffs, the 2014 Super Bowl, 2015 Pro Bowl and the 2014-2015 American Football Conference playoffs. "We're incredibly excited to add NFL to our diverse roster of programming" says ESPN Deportes Radio General Manager Oscar Ramos. "U.S. Hispanics are becoming avid NFL fans and this new deal allows us to deliver the content they want in the language they prefer." NFL VP of Fan Strategy and Marketing Peter O'Reilly adds, "ESPN Deportes has been a long time partner of the NFL and we are pleased to expand the partnership to ESPN Deportes Radio. ESPN Deportes Radio will bring more NFL programming to our growing Hispanic fan base in Spanish." NextRadio Reports 85% App Retention Rate NextRadio -- "The smartphone app that puts FM radio back in your pocket" -- says "NextRadio + TagStation Insights" -- has had over 30,000 app downloads with an 85% app retention rate." The retention rate, we're told, involves "a new metric" that "we were just waiting for a substantial sample to show off. According to Flurry, the average rate of retention for a music app is less than 50%. NextRadio enjoys a current retention rate of 85%." And that's "the best vote of confidence we could get from consumers: They’re downloading, listening, and coming back for more." Also, says the post, there are "nearly 3,700 stations tuned to from the app" and so far "over 7,000 hours of listening through NextRadio, and again, these numbers are climbing daily." The September 30 post by The TagStation Team at tagstation.com adds, "Bottom line: You saw a major jump in downloads? We noticed too. Cheers to all the great recent events below that helped influence that jump." NextRadio, of course, is the industry initiative to make FM broadcast radio available on mobile phones. TagStation provides "cloud services" and "empowers the radio industry with a platform to manage album art, meta data and enhanced advertising that are sent to the phone in sync with the broadcast." NextRadio and TagStation were created in partnership with Emmis Communications and HD Radio developer iBiquity. FCC Staffers on Furlough with Federal Government Shutdown As a result of the federal government shutdown, approximately 98 percent of the FCC's staff has been put on furlough. A contingency plan -- "FCC Plan for Orderly Shutdown" -- was released Friday that stated the shutdown would result in only a handful of FCC employees working fulltime during the shutdown. All employees were expected to report today, but only to conduct an "orderly shutdown of operations" before going home until the stalemate ends. The FCC employs 1,754 employees at last count. With the furloughs now in effect, 38 employees -- including Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, two Commissioners and three full time information technology workers and one part-time IT worker -- will remain at work, says the plan. Among those who are exempt are staff at the High Frequency Direction Finding Center who operate the high frequency antenna system, the plans says, invoking an exemption to furloughs that permits workers to stay at their posts if their functions are necessary for the protection of life and property. The center locates sources of electromagnetic interference to public safety communications. In addition, the FCC is retaining 15 full time contractors at a rate of 12 per day for information technology (IT) support. Senate Committee to Vote on Michael O'Rielly FCC Nomination The nomination of Michael O'Rielly for the Federal Communications Commission will be put to a vote by the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday (Oct. 3). O'Reilly would fill the open Republican seat of Robert McDowell on the FCC if approved by the full Senate. It's expected that after the Committee approves O'Rielly, his nomination and that of FCC Chairman nominee Tom Wheeler, a Democrat, will be brought to a vote by the full Senate. Thursday's committee hearing pairs O'Rielly and Democratic FTC nominee Terrell McSweeny for votes on their respective nominations. On September 18th, the Senate Commerce Committee held a nomination hearing for O'Rielly, who expressed the need of the FCC to be "flexible" and "light handed" in its regulations. He also indicated a need to address the fraud and abuse in the agency's Lifeline program. This raised questions by some Senators concerning his ability to work with the Democratic majority Commission. There are few doubts that O'Rielly will be confirmed. Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has indicated he will push for a swift vote out of the committee and onto the Senate floor. The FCC is currently down from five members to three, the fewest it can have. Cox Orlando Promotes Heather Stricker to GSM Cox Media Group (CMG) Orlando Radio names Heather Stricker as General Sales Manager of WMMO-FM and WPYO-FM. She will report to CMG Orlando Radio Director of Sales Tammie McGrath. Stricker has a long history with CMG Orlando. She joined the cluster in 2003 as a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida as an Account Manager. She then went on to hold several positions including Senior Account Manager for WDBO, where she was a CMG President's Circle winner in 2011. Stricker has previously been, separately, LSM for both WMMO-FM and WPYO-FM, and was, most recently, LSM for CMG Orlando Radio's cluster. "Heather's intense business acumen, solid knowledge of our foundation and natural ability as a coach make her a great leader," says Tammie McGrath. "This new role will allow Heather to leverage her natural strengths and help elevate our cluster to the next level." Says Stricker, "I appreciate the opportunities I have been given during my time with CMG Orlando Radio. I look forward to working with the existing Sales leadership and Sales team to find ways to make this strong cluster even better." Triton Digital Partners with Lotame to Streamline Audience Targeting Triton Digital announces a partnership with Lotame to integrate its unifying data management platform (DMP) into a2x, the industry's first programmatic exchange for streaming audio advertisements. The partnership will enable a2x publishers, including Entercom, CBS, Univision and many others, to integrate first- and third-party data from multiple sources in one place, streamlining the user experience and enhancing targeting capabilities and audience segmentation to improve advertising campaign results and inventory forecasting. "Lotame's platform will add even more value to a2x’s inventory, as users can now integrate first- and third-party data from multiple sources in a single, easy to use interface," says John Rosso, President of Market Development at Triton Digital. "This new functionality will enable better audience segmentation, delivering increased value to advertisers and publishers alike." Lotame's DMP enables publishers to collect, understand and activate audience data from any source, including online, offline and mobile. Lotame also provides Triton with a powerful forecasting tool which includes audience segmentation across multiple data sources to better predict volume based on targeted audience segments. "Our unifying DMP enables Triton's a2x clients to access data from all of Lotame’s great partners within a single source of contact," says Kevin Kohn, Chief Revenue Officer at Lotame. "This delivers better visibility, more control and ultimately makes a2x's streaming audio inventory even more attractive to advertisers." a2x is the first audio advertising exchange that enables real-time bidding and programmatic buying of targeted online and mobile audio inventory for advertisers, enhancing the ability to manage, buy and sell third-party advertising campaigns. The platform’s automated, exchange-driven method of buying and selling ad impressions facilitates rapid and precise transactions, eliminating waste and resulting in the highest price for publishers and the greatest efficiency for advertisers. Behind the Microphone: The Ins and Outs of Radio Fordham University's noncommercial WFUV-FM, New York, has made some programming adjustments "to focus more on providinng a local contemporary music service" -- including replacing NPR news headlines with all local newscasts, and dropping top-of-the-hour NPR newscasts, although the station remains an NPR member station. While continuing as a Triple-A station, WFUV-FM, we're told, will bring forward its role as New York's source for music discovery ... "Rewind 94.9" WREW-FM, Cincinnati, rebrands as "The New 94.9" featuring "Cincinnati's Best Mix". There are no changes to the station's on-air lineup ... Country "100.9 The Big Pig" WPGI-FM Horseheads-Elmira, NY, rebrands as "100.9 The Wolf" under new owner Community Broadcasters. The station is currently running jockless ... Country WQRS-FM, Olean, NY flips to Classic Rock as "98 Rocks" ... At Rock WNNX-FM, Atlanta, the contract of Eric Von Haessler (of "The Regular Guys" morning show) is not being renewed. Also, night host Lewis Alston exits WNNX-FM ... Market veteran Andy Barber joins Classic Hits "92.9 Bob FM" KBEZ-FM, Tulsa, as morning host. Most recently, Barber hosted mornings on crosstown Classic Rock "Star 103.3" KJSR-FM ... "True Oldies 1070" KLIO-AM, Wichita, Kansas, flips to Spanish Sports Talk as "ESPN Deportes 1070" ... Country "99.7 The Mountain" KMTK-FM, Bend, Oregon, Program Director and morning host Donna James exits after four years. Contact MHBC News News Releases Welcomed