Radio+Television Business Report

It describes itself as an independent nonprofit business development corporation, that consists of 33 licensees.

Public Venture Media Group stations “are led by some of public media’s most dynamic leaders, operating 130 television stations that serve over 240 million people,” it notes.

Now, it is gaining two low-power TV stations thanks to a donation by an active trader of LPTVs in recent months.

 

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The woman who serves as Executive Vice President of The Weiss Agency will be embarking on her second term as Chair of the boards of the Alliance for Women in Media & Foundation.

At the same time, the AWM Board is gaining two new radio industry leaders, while the AWM Foundation sees an Audacy Inc. join its distinct board.

Serving as the Chair for both the AWM Board and AWM Foundation Board is Heather Cohen.

Cohen will also serve as one of three chairs for the Gracie Awards, alongside Crown Media Family Networks Chief Communications Officer Annie Howell and veteran radio programming consultant Mike McVay.

Howell is also the incoming Chair for the AWM board, with Keisha Sutton-James, CEO and Founder of Sutton Button Productions LLC, serving as immediate past chair; Brenda Hetrick, Chief Revenue Officer of Matrix Solutions, serving as Treasurer; and Katina Arnold, Vice President of Corporate Communications at ESPN, serving as incoming treasurer.

New to the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) Board are:

• Catherine Badalamente, VP/Chief Innovation Officer (Incoming CEO), Graham Media Group
• Monica Bloom, VP of Marketing, First Look Media
• Thea Mitchem, Executive Vice President of Programming, iHeartMedia
• Marie Tedesco, Chief Financial Officer, Beasley Media Group

New to the AWM Foundation Board are Tim Clarke, SVP of Digital Audio Content at Audacy, and Vicki Lins, President and CEO of CTAM.

“The role of the AWM and Foundation boards is to lead our organizations and industry as we recognize, connect and educate women in all facets of media,” said Becky Brooks,  who serves as President of AWM/F. “The past two years have proven that leadership of an organization is critical to navigate through uncertain times. It is as important as it’s ever been to have insightful, diverse leadership. This year’s directors are dedicated to donating time and resources to guide us to the next level. We are thrilled to have these talented, accomplished women and men guiding our strategic initiatives.”

The following leaders will continue to serve as Directors at Large of AWM:

• Marsha Cooke, VP/Executive Producer, ESPN Films and 30 for 30
• Abby Greensfelder, Founder & CEO, Everywoman Studios
• Katherine Wolfgang, Head of Public Relations, CBC

McVay, along with Svetlana Gans, VP President and Associate General Counsel at NCTA – The Internet & Television Association (NCTA); Streamline Publishing’s Deborah Parenti, Publisher of RBR+TVBR, Radio Ink and Podcast Business Journal; Josie Thomas, retired EVP/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at CBS; and Christine Travaglini, President of Katz Radio Group will each continue to serve as a Director at Large of AWMF.

The TVB on Thursday (2/17) released new research conducted by GfK on its behalf that puts a spotlight on identifying the importance of media platforms in influencing consumers during the purchase decision process.

The study looks at consumers exposed to advertising across seven categories, through any of 20+ media platforms.

She’s the Chief Research Officer of the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, TVB. And, she’s the latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast guest. In this recent episode, Hadassa Gerber talks to RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson to talk about some very intriguing new info from the just-released GfK 2022 Media Comparisons Study. In short, it’s great intelligence for broadcast and cable TV.  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS!

 

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Full year 2021 radio billing stats for New York and Miami are being shared by Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS). 

Why? According to Miller Kaplan, one of their radio stations is the top-biller of the year, regardless of format or language, in la gran manzana. The same can be said in its home market of Miami.

Specifically, SBS’s flagship, Tropical WSKQ-FM “Mega 97.9” in New York, garnered the top spot in local total billing among all radio stations in the nation’s largest radio market, Miller Kaplan data shared by SBS show.

Spanish Adult Contemporary WPAT “93.1 AMOR” was No. 6 among all stations in 2021, in terms of billing, the Miller Kaplan data also show.

Meanwhile, SBS’s Spanish Adult Hits WCMQ-FM “Zeta 92” was the No. 1-billing radio station in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood market in 2021. Tropical/Reggaetón sibling WXDJ-FM “El Zol 106.7” was the No. 5 biller in Miami last year, Miller Kaplan data show.

SBS’s WRMA “Ritmo 95.7,” with a specialty “Cubatón” Latin Urban format, was No. 6 in billing in Miami during 2021, total market.

“These leadership rankings are a testament to our people, our brands and the vibrancy and loyalty of the tremendous audiences we have attracted and sustained in these major markets,” said SBS President/COO Albert Rodriguez, in prepared comments. “Our ability to surpass every radio station, regardless of language, in local total billings in the nation’s largest radio market speaks volumes regarding the strength of our content and marketing initiatives, as well as our importance among advertisers looking to target Latino consumers. Likewise, advertisers recognize our radio stations in Miami as key platforms for connecting with the fast-growing Spanish-speaking population in South Florida. We remain committed to building on our success and consistently serving our audiences with the best music, the most compelling personalities and the most exciting content in these major markets, while continuing to strengthen our multimedia platform spanning radio, television, digital media and live events across the nation.”

In Gotham legal circles, it is considered to be one of the City of New York’s top real estate law firms.

Now, it is playing a key role in getting broadcast license agreements at 1 World Trade Center consummated.

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Until now, Regina Davis and her Buma Group has served as the licensee of a low-power digital TV station serving Texarkana, the market straddling Texas and Arkansas.

Now, the property is being sold. And, it marks yet another LPTV deal for the company that last year merged with Meredith Corp. and acquired Quincy Media, Inc.

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In September 2021, RBR+TVBR first shared the news of a proposed sale involving a Class A FM radio station with a signal blanketing a one-time Spring Break destination that remains a popular winter burg.

The deal, brokered by Jay Meyers’ Broadcast Management & Technology, has now closed.

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Following Tuesday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street, Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish had a big announcement to make. ViacomCBS was no more, as the company changed its name to Paramount.

That led Michael Nathanson, the respected Senior Analyst at MoffettNathanson, and colleague Robert Fishman to pen an investor note that asks the tough questions about now-Paramount’s finances for both today and tomorrow.

“Despite the big announcement … we are left with a similar question as we had last year: will the company be able to grow EBITDA and Free Cash Flow again to match prior levels?”

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The NAB on Wednesday (2/16) filed a 56-page letter as part of an ex parte brief with the FCC that the nation’s chief lobbying organization for broadcast media says “corrects numerous misstatements and mischaracterizations by other parties about the Supreme Court’s media ownership decision.”

That unanimous decision put the wheels in motion on the end to the local cross-media broadcast ownership prohibition.

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The ANA 2022 Media Conference is scheduled for March 2-4 in Orlando, and it is presented by A+E Network.

With in-person and virtual sessions on the agenda, the leading advertising and marketing industry advocacy group is this year partnering with the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters to give the diversity discussion an added boost.

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Next Wednesday, the two biggest audio content creation and distribution companies in the U.S. will each release their fourth quarter fiscal results.

For leader iHeartMedia, a pre-market call will be scheduled — a potentially good move for a company that in the past used a Thursday after-market time slot to evade press coverage of a blemish-filled report.

At 10am on February 23, Audacy Inc. will take the spotlight. For the former Entercom, the fiscal report card comes with its stock at a far lower price than it was a year ago.

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With bravado and confidence that it will fulfill its mission and “only focus” of creating the world’s biggest Spanish-language OTT platforms, the recently created TelevisaUnivision on Wednesday (2/16) unveiled to marketers and television industry press the name of its forthcoming dual AVOD and SVOD video streaming service.

To those closely following the evolution of Univision under CEO Wade Davis, it is hardly a surprise. It’s the name of the company Univision acquired in February 2021, and it’s a video on demand entity with a pre-existing footprint stretching from the U.S. through Latin America.

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In July 2021, he departed as President/General Manager of KCBS-2 and KCAL-9 in Los Angeles under a turbulent period at parent company ViacomCBS, now Paramount, centered on an investigation into accusations of workplace misconduct.

Now, he’s getting an opportunity to move on from that chapter by building on his rich experience as the new VP/GM of the CBS affiliate serving Southern Nevada, owned by Nexstar Media Group.

Taking the top position for KLAS-8, branded as “8NewsNow” across the Las Vegas market, is Jay Howell.

Howell is already at the helm of one of the traditional ratings leaders in DMA No. 40, competing against Sinclair Broadcast Group’s NBC-affiliated KSNV-3, Gray Television’s recently acquired FOX-affiliated KVVU-5, and The E.W. Scripps Co.’s ABC affiliate, KTNV-13.

Howell reports to Nexstar Media SVP/Regional Manager Matthew Rosenfeld.

Howell’s career in broadcasting dates back more than three decades, and his first executive-level position came in 2001, when he was appointed VP/GM of FOX affiliate WNAC-TV and CBS-affiliated sibling WPRI-TV in Providence, R.I., under LIN Television ownership.

Howell rose to a Regional Vice President role within LIN in 2012, gaining oversight of 13 television stations across 7 markets, including Dayton, Ohio; Norfolk; and New Haven, Conn. A year later, he was promoted to VP/Television for LIN, gaining oversight of all 46 TV stations licensed to the company.

LIN’s former assets are today within the Nexstar family, thanks to its merger with Media General, which absorbed LIN in 2015. That deal gave Howell the role of VP/Broadcast Markets for Media General.

Howell exited Media General in 2017 with its sale to Nexstar, joining CBS’s Sacramento operations as VP/GM in August of that year. In July 2018, Howell transferred to Pittsburgh, taking on similar duties for CBS’s television stations in Western Pennsylvania. With the retirement of Steve Maudlin in May 2019, Howell moved to Los Angeles to succeed him at the helm of KCBS-2 and KCAL-9. It was a move made by Peter Dunn, the former President of CBS Television Stations, who also departed in 2021 as part of ViacomCBS’s misconduct probe.

Now, Howell has an opportunity for a fresh start within an organization he’s likely highly familiar with. “Jay is an ideal choice to lead Nexstar’s Las Vegas media businesses,” Rosenfeld said. “He is a proven leader with an unmatched depth of experience who understands the expectations of viewers, advertisers and marketers. He’s thoughtful, innovative, and will be dedicated to delivering outstanding local content and service to the greater Las Vegas area. His ability to deliver exceptional ratings and sales results
through unique local partnerships and superior customer service will serve him and the team at KLAS-TV very well. I am looking forward to working with Jay as he assumes his new duties and expect much success in the future.”

Commenting on his appointment at KLAS, Howell added, “I am deeply grateful to Nexstar for giving me the unique opportunity to lead the company’s Las Vegas broadcast and digital operations. As the legacy news brand in the market and an important broadcast partner of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, KLAS-TV has a strong foundation on which to build future growth. In addition, when you combine Nexstar’s commitment to hyper-local content and the unique and innovative cross-platform advertising solutions offered to its viewers and clients, the result gives us a distinct advantage over our competitors. I am excited by what
lies ahead, and I am looking forward to deepening the presence of KLAS-TV and 8Newsnow.com in the communities we serve in Las Vegas and southern Nevada.”

 

In somewhat of a surprise announcement made during a splashy self-promotion of its content offerings, ViacomCBS President/CEO Bob Bakish and the company’s majority shareholder, National Amusements Inc. President and ViacomCBS Chairman Shari Redstone, ushered in a new era for a company she single-handedly create with the December 5, 2019, reunification of Viacom and CBS.

ViacomCBS is no more, and will now be known as Paramount. 

Investors may be nonplussed by the move, which in some ways puts the entire company’s future on the present-day push for the Paramount+ OTT platform and a movie studio that in the not-so-distant past has seen its fair share of financial struggles.

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The NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television serving Jackson, Miss., has been selected to take a key role in the creation of a media training program designed to prepare students for “today’s unique operating environment.”

At the same time, Gray seeks to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in media with its creation.

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For 11 years, he was a key member of the original team that launched “Univision Atlanta” in 2002. Now, he’s been named President/GM of the operation, while also taking similar duties for Univision’s Raleigh operations.

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Diamond Sports Group and  Diamond Sports Finance Company, indirect subsidiaries of Sinclair Broadcast Group, have commenced a private exchange offer to eligible holders of 5.375% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2026.

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How many people tuned to NBC’s telecast, or Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage, of Super Bowl LVI? 

A combined metric courtesy of iSpot.tv has been released.

According to results from iSpot.tv’s second-by-second cross-platform measurement, the NFL’s championship, which aired on NBC and Telemundo between 6:33pm Eastern and 10:09pm Eastern on Sunday, drew an “average minute audience” of 121 million viewers.

With Peacock data included in the total, iSpot.tv seeks to get ahead of Nielsen in offering a gauge of just how many people watched the game’s dual-language coverage in homes and/or public venues across the U.S.

Among iSpot.tv’s key findings:

• Some 56% of U.S. Households tuned into the telecast on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock, reaching a total audience of 149.9 million people who watched all or some of the broadcast.

• The total linear average minute viewership was 98.1 million, including 2.9 million average minute viewers on Telemundo, which contributed to a total in-home reach of 134.5 million people on NBCU networks.

• The average streaming minute audience was 10.5 million viewers and 15.5 million total viewers, which includes sensor-level streaming viewership data from CTV, mobile and tablet consumption provided in partnership with Conviva.

• 70.1% of those streaming the Super Bowl came from “cord cutters” or  households without bundled pay TV service.

• The total Out-of-Home (OOH) average audience for the Super Bowl was 12.5 million, as measured via iSpot’s partnership with Tunity Analytics.

• The Super Bowl’s 81 national ads accounted for more than 40% of all TV ad impressions on linear TV for February 13.

• The average ad reached 106 million viewers, while the game generated 4.39 billion verified household ad impressions across all platforms in 216 minutes.

• During the Super Bowl, the commercial attention rate was 36% higher than the average across all networks and shows on the day, and the commercial completion rate was 98.6%

• iSpot’s Ace Metrix Creative assessment found ads increased purchase intent to 47%, while 60% of the ads were funny, 53% sparked curiosity, and 47% prompted nostalgia.

DRE DAY

The well-received halftime show presented by Dr. Dre and featuring the legends of hip-hop was a major attraction. In fact, it may have brought viewers who weren’t watching the game — a change from years where Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl” was a popular alternative to lesser-received halftime performances during the “big game.”

Viewership peaked during the halftime show, with an overall increase of 12% or 10.5 million net new average minute viewers.  

Meanwhile, iSpot.tv data also show the following:

• Ads that ran during the halftime show generated an average viewership of 116.8 million verified impressions for in-home viewing.

• The animated 2 minute NFL ad at 8:08 pm during the halftime show had the highest in- home audience at 119 million viewers across NBC, Telemundo and Peacock.

• The persistent attention to the telecast of the game afforded advertisers a completion rate peak of 99.5%, just before the start of the third quarter.

Taking a page from intimate Forecast conferences held each November in New York, the CEOs of the nation’s two leading radio station owners, which today position themselves as audio content creation and distribution companies, will join the head of the NAB in a NAB Show 2022 conversation “to discuss the evolution of radio, embracing change from the top and building a future-focused culture.”

Specifically, the NAB says Audacy Corp. President/CEO David Field and iHeartMedia Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman will discuss how they have “transformed” their business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a NAB Show session titled “Transforming Radio in the Audio Renaissance.”

The chat with Field, Pittman and NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt is scheduled for Monday, April 25 at 2pm Pacific at the NAB confab in Las Vegas. It will be the first conference and expo for the NAB in three years, if all goes according to plan.

The announcement came following LeGeyt’s appearance on Tuesday (2/15) at the Media Institute, where he was a featured speaker at the Washington think tank’s Communications Forum luncheon.

His prepared remarks focused on “the importance of local television and radio and our advocacy to protect broadcasters’ vital service.”

LeGeyt commented, “In my decade at NAB, I have never been more proud to represent this industry. Whether they are radio or television, small market or large, network or affiliate, I’ve seen that broadcasters’ public service commitment is the rule rather than the exception. In today’s media landscape, we are the antidote to social media disinformation and cable news politicization. We are serving our audiences with fact-based reporting, entertainment and information that binds communities together rather than dividing them.”

He then reiterated the NAB’s chief policy positions and what the organization’s efforts are focused on at this time.

The FCC on Tuesday (2/15) has moved forward with the adoption of rules that the agency says will “unlock” broadband competition for those living and working in apartments, public housing, office buildings, and other multi-tenant buildings.

It’s a move that could end favored-nation status for MVPDs who have exclusivity in such locales, bringing a major change in the dynamic of residential HOAs, office building management and apartment complex owners.

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