Radio+Television Business Report

No, Tony Stark has nothing to do with it.

But, it could prevent a super new way for audio media purveyors to profit from what AI experts at Veritone are calling “hyper-realistic synthetic voices.”

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

With pre-market trading not as brutal as after-hours action had been for The Walt Disney Co.‘s stock, investors are now perhaps looking beyond shaky Disney+ OTT subscriber rolls and less-than-hoped for theme park attendance and revenue by looking at other segments of the company.

Among them, of course, is Broadcast. And, the fiscal Q2 tale shows network growth on a balance beam with owned-station revenue slowdowns.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

By Jeffrey Hedquist

Every day you can see and hear commercials that were created by committee: politically correct, watered-down, automatically written ads that offend no one…and motivate no one.  Commercials that sound like…well, like commercials.  They make you want to change the station, or at best, ignore the message.

If you want your spots to make it all the way from the senses to the brain, you’ll need to take a few risks.Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

As anticipated, the radio industry took “a very big hit “in 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent cutbacks in overall spending activity.

Over-the-air advertising revenues dropped to $9.7 billion, a 23.6 percent decline from $12.8 billion in 2019.

That’s according to the first quarter edition of BIA Advisory Services’ 2021 Investing In Radio Market Report.

To little surprise, BIA also determined that Digital ad revenues at stations demonstrated their continued strength, posting only a slight decline to $939 million in revenue in 2020 versus $1 billion in 2019.

“Local radio stations have been feeling the impact of new competition for the past few years; unfortunately, the pandemic just exacerbated the problem and it will take some time to recover,” said Dr. Mark Fratrik, BIA Advisory Services’ SVP and Chief Economist. “The shining star continues to be radio’s online digital advertising revenues, which will outpace over-the-air growth this year and moving forward. Those broadcasting groups that have invested-in and oriented their companies toward digital will benefit faster from that foresight.”

Fratrik forecasts 2021 total local radio revenues to reach $11.7 billion, with $1 billion coming directly from online revenues; a 9.7% increase over 2020.

Transactions Down

“Mirroring the economic climate in 2020, radio station sales fell to levels that hadn’t
been seen in years,” BIA notes.

Only 534 stations were sold in 2020 for an estimated value of $139 million — a
stark contrast from the 1,080 sold in 2011 for $1.1 billion.

NextGen TV provider Evoca is partnering with a skills-to-jobs marketplace to develop “a critically missing piece of national educational infrastructure for adult learners.”

It will see Evoca work with Unmudl to create “the first locally relevant television channel for adult learners seeking short-term courses and credentials to advance their job prospects and navigate the future of work.”

Unmudl and Evoca will curate and produce multi-platform programming and services to inform learners about training and job opportunities and to connect them with community and technical colleges, employers, and social supports.

This new channel, called Path, enables research and development opportunities for interactive experiences and “seamless handoffs” to educational providers and employers, extending Unmudl’s online marketplace to the new medium.

In partnership with others, the pair will design and test the effort in Phoenix and in the Idaho cities of Boise and Twin Falls.

Initial efforts as part of this collaboration include highlighting stories and voices of learners and their educational and career experiences, changing the narrative around skills and technical education based paths.

“Television has been a missing piece of the picture in reaching adult learners. We can actually do something about that with the reach, efficiency, capacity and interactivity of our platform,” said Evoca President/CEO Todd Achilles. “The current approach leaves many unaware of their options and their potential. We are excited to work with Unmudl and their collaborative network of community colleges and employers.”

Variety reports that Joe Budden has fired his co-hosts Rory Farrell and Jamil “Mal” Clay from the popular Joe Budden Podcast.

In episode 437 of the show, Joe berated his hosts on-air for disrespecting him in some way and fired them.

On Twitter Joe seemed to indicate that he may be ending the show when he responded to a fan by saying, “There are millions of podcasts, ppl will survive.”

So far, the episode has only been officially released to his Patreon subscribers and the episode is titled “You Want It To Be One Way…”

— Podcast Business Journal

The last time ViacomCBS had anything to do with audio, CBS Radio was a part of CBS Corporation, and a reunification of CBS and Viacom hadn’t yet been consummated.

Guess what? ViacomCBS is talking audio. Only, the discussion is fully focused on podcasts.

And, iHeartMedia is involved.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Of all of the audio media companies to report its quarterly earnings results, one sticks out for its bold decision to dare to compare its Q1 2021 results to that of Q1 2019.

That would be Townsquare Media, where digital ad prowess is now propelling its stock in noteworthy ways.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The Walt Disney Company has ended its fiscal second quarter of 2021 with 103.6 million Disney+ subscribers.

Uh-oh. Disney+ in early March said it surpassed 100 million subscribers for the first time, and it appears the excitement over the over-the-top platform is slowing down.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Its shares now bear an aggressive 1-year target price of $4.13. Its publishing arm is performing well, and its non-secular spoken word AM Talk stations could win over listeners to the late Rush Limbaugh.

All seems great for Salem Media Group, yet its stock price is now two months into a decline that has put a firm break on a big Wall Street recovery.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Standard Media Index, known for its global advertising spend and pricing data, has just released key findings from its Q1 2021 “Anglo Market Report.”

It’s a comprehensive look at English-speaking markets, looking primarily at North America, Australia and New Zealand, and the United Kingdom but not Ireland.

In these locales, SMI finds, combined ad spend has lifted 4% above the total recorded in Q1 2020 and 1% above the pre-COVID Q1 2019 period.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

From the south side of historic St. Augustine, Fla., sits a broadcast tower that’s home to a Class B AM with 230 watts after dark and 2kw when it’s light out. It uses an FM translator to give a little “revitalization,” too.

Now, both are heading to a new owner.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

On March 1, a California company focused on how cable television companies “can maintain its relevance” in the coming years as subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) continues to gain market share voluntarily reorganized by seeking federal bankruptcy protection.

At the time, the company, MobiTV, stressed it was “committed to working with its lenders and stakeholders towards a speedy and successful resolution” of its filing for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

It’s now known that the successful resolution to its fiscal woes is a sale at auction of its assets to the highest bidder. The winning bid went to the parent of HD Radio.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

On Tuesday, Saga Communications shares rocketed upward by 30%. This immediately led to questions as to why that even CFO Sam Bush couldn’t answer, when contacted by RBR+TVBR.

Now, a SEC filing shows what led to the jump, and small retraction in share value seen Wednesday. And, it only presents more questions regarding Saga — and its largest shareholder.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Shares of Black consumer-centric Urban One improved by 27 cents, to $4.87, on a day when nearly every media company stock price dipped — swept up in inflation fear worries.

The Dow Industrials were down by 2%, to 33,587.66. The Nasdaq index was down by 2.7%, to 13,031.68.

Joining UONE in a gain: Hemisphere Media Group, owner of Puerto Rico-based WAPA Television. HMTV gained 2%, to $12.25.

Otherwise, it was a dreary Wednesday for media stocks.

Audacy was down 5.4% to $4.02.

Veritone slipped 7.8% to $17.69.

Meanwhile, following its 30% surge on Tuesday, Saga Communications was down 8.5% to $25.10.

Now more than ever, companies are looking for ways to engage the remote workforce.

“A year after most of us were forced to work from home, I cringe when I hear from online meeting managers that they still struggle to get participants to turn on their cameras,” says noted communications and PR veteran Rosemary Ravinal, most recently with Univision Communications. “Speaking to a black tile on screen is a morale crusher. But when combined with overall lagging engagement and short attention spans, the situation becomes part of the broader challenge of team building on Zoom or your video platform of choice.”

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

More radio stations reported running local news in 2020, new research from the RTDNA finds.

There’s one twist to that data, however. An increase among AM stations was seen, offsetting a slight decrease among FMs — even with NPR member stations experiencing a pandemic surge in consumption.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Three unbuilt construction permits for low-power TV stations in Illinois, New Mexico and North Dakota, respectively, are being purchased by Roseland.

OK, so most New Yorkers may only know the former Roseland Ballroom on 52nd Street. One Gothamate knows of another, and it’s a Vice President at HC2 Broadcasting — the entity selling the facilities.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Despite facing revenue shortfalls, budget cuts and unprecedented operational challenges, local TV stations aired more news in 2020 than ever recorded.

That’s the finding of a new RTDNA newsroom survey that also reveals 2020 saw a record amount of local TV news for the second year in a row.

In addition, a record number of stations are running local news.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)