Monthly Archives: August 2020

Monday, August 10, 2020

For Radio, There’s Townsquare Digital and There’s Not Exactly

There is only one radio group that is a major player in digital revenue and that is Townsquare.

Other radio groups envy them because with revenue off an average of 50% the second quarter year over year, they need new sources of revenue.

Podcasting, an arguably questionable source of future growth, is significantly not a big part of Townsquare’s digital revenue haul.

Townsquare has been relatively secretive about how they do so much digital business, but upon further investigation, this company consisting of tiny market stations has a huge business platform.

We now know how many people they have working to pull off this 50% digital miracle and how many clients contribute to the revenue stream plus the unique way it is sold and serviced – even the amount of revenue digital contributes to their bottom line.

And now Townsquare is getting ready to expand into markets where they don’t own stations which could be a wakeup call for their larger competitors.

Read the full article now

Newstips  

Friday, August 7, 2020

David Field Makes His Bet on Radio News — It’s Video

Entercom’s CEO David Field has hired an experienced video exec to become the company’s first Vice President to run the highly profitable legacy CBS all news franchise --  he has no experience in radio management or programming.

A painful transition is ahead that will affect all present employees.

A new model is coming for a company not comfortable with “the CBS way” of doing all-news.

It’s a big gamble with a lot of money on the line at a time when Entercom can’t afford to lose any of it.

Read the full article now  

Report Newstips  

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Entercom Considering Talent Changes

  • Talent changes get serious for Entercom after January 1.
  • Coming are some big changes in where and how Entercom will use talent.
  • New stipulations in performers’ contracts that favor the company.
  • Spillover to non-contract Entercom talent.
  • Digital disruption of on-air talent.

Read the full article now   

Report Newstips  

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

The SiriusXM Takeover of iHeart

  • Imagine SiriusXM/Pandora/iHeart together as one now that the DOJ has blessed Liberty Media’s 50% stake in the terrestrial radio giant, it’s only a matter of time.
  • I know, you’re asking, will it be more of the same (losing billions, firing people and cutting jobs).
  • Don’t expect the SiriusXM/Pandora/iHeart to be your father’s iHeart going forward as everything is going to change – everything.
  • The debt problem … a new programming philosophy … a new killer way for Katz to hamstring iHeart competitors … those 10,000 iHeart employees that remain.

Read the full article now   

Report Newstips  

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Radio’s Solutions for Record Q2 Losses

Starting this week, the excuses begin again as radio groups have to reveal record second quarter losses ranging from 25-57% year over year.

And things are not looking up in the current 3rd quarter as COVID and the economy are killing the radio industry.

You can bet the CEOs will doubletalk their way into making gigantic losses like little ones even though the 25-57% losses are Wall Street’s real estimates and do so at their own peril.

It’s impossible for any radio group to survive without bankruptcy or reorganization if these negative trends continue.

There are a few radio groups that actually have a plan that could work or at least mitigate this worst-case scenario.

Two will absolutely survive, two will very likely head into refinancing/bankruptcy in 2021, and one is planning something unorthodox for the radio business.

Read the full article now

Newstips  

Monday, August 3, 2020

Townsquare Fires Nielsen in All Markets

Read the full article now   

  1. Two major groups have now told Nielsen to shove it and Townsquare is not done cutting questionable expenses.
  2. The ways Nielsen is playing hardball with radio companies looking to cancel.
  3. Red flag:  Nielsen reportedly considering a retaliatory move of their own.
  4. When Liberty buys 50% of iHeart as the DOJ just okayed, do they keep Nielsen or do without?
  5. BTW, if you’ve never heard the beating Nielsen gave Saga over what some called trumped up charges of ratings theft, it has a surprise ending.