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Friday, December 20, 2013
THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO
More classic hits stations decked the halls with holiday music this year. There’s
no place like AC radio for the holiday format… or is there? When radio first gave
rise to the Christmas format two decades ago, stations that played Elton John and
Celine Dion were its most natural habitat. But now that AC is more Katy Perry than
Mariah Carey, the segue to Burl Ives and Bing Crosby is more awkward. It’s not like
ACs that own the Christmas format are ready to give up the seasonal cume magnet.
But it is giving rise to a bigger crop of classic hits Christmas stations. The number
of classic hits outlet that went all Christmas is up 56% this year over 2012, Inside
Radio format tracking shows. Among them are CBS Radio’s KLUV, Dallas (98.7)
and WOMC, Detroit (104.3) and Beasley Broadcast Group’s WNCT-FM, GreenvilleNew Bern-Jacksonville, NC (107.9). They’re among two-dozen classic hits stations
that flipped the Santa switch for the first time this year. In the case of KLUV, its
sister AC, KVIL, gift-wrapped the holiday format and placed it under the cluster tree.
“We’re passing the torch from KVIL to KLUV,” says Ron Harrell, director of music
programming for the company’s Dallas stations. KVIL dumped its long-running “Lite”
moniker in May in favor of a “Best Variety…‘90s, 2K & Today” position. A month of
wall-to-wall holiday chestnuts from the ‘50s and ‘60s would likely slow momentum
for KVIL’s new younger-skewing direction. “It’s a natural move to complement the
contemporary progression that we’re making on KVIL and a spectacular fit for the
lifestyle of the KLUV audience,” Harrell says. In Detroit, CBS saw an opportunity to
grab a piece of the Christmas action that Clear Channel AC WNIC (100.3) typically
gets, after Greater Media’s August flip of WMGC-FM from AC to sports took it out
of the holiday game. Similarly, the number of oldies stations going all-Yule is up by
the same percent. While both formats are dwarfed by AC, which still contributes
the most holiday stations, their ranks are steadily growing.
‘Christmas classics’ in sync with audience lifestyle, seasonal nostalgia. CBS
Radio’s WOGL, Philadelphia (98.1) has found a natural synergy between classic hits
and Christmas music. “Nostalgia in general is at its peak this time of year, so classic
hits stations are perfect to pair with Christmas songs,” says program director Ann
Gress. WOGL brands its format as “Christmas Classics” and lives up to the name
with standards from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Ronettes, Nat King Cole, Elvis,
Springsteen and others. “Trust me, no adult wants to hear some pop tartlet doing
‘Deck the Halls’ this time of the year,” Gress says. “They want to be bathed in the
warm glow of the songs they heard as kids.” Despite the presence of a dominant
AC famous for turning holiday music into ratings gold, Gress only sees an upside in going all-Yule. “Classic hits listeners will
seek it out if you don’t give it to them, so best to keep your cume in-house,” she says. Christmas music appeals to the classic
hits demo and lifestyle, according to consultant Dan Vallie. “The demo has more life experiences and to generalize has more
depth,” he says. “It touches people, the music, the lyrics, the memories, the emotion.” Consultant Alan Burns agrees the age
of most Christmas music is more in line with classic hits. But despite the vintage of the songs, Christmas music is timeless,
The Metamorphosis Continues
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© Copyright 2013 RCS. All Rights Reserved. RCS, RCS Sound Software, GSelector and their logos are registered trademarks, and Music Scheduling Reinvented is a trademark, of RCS GSelector’s demand-based, goal-driven scheduling system is protected by US Patent 6,910,220.
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Friday, December 20, 2013
appealing to young and old, male and female, programmers say. “You can’t make the blanket generalization that the Christmas
format is for older people,” Burns says. Regardless of the originating format, Vallie says how the Christmas format is executed
is the real difference maker. “There will be classic hits and oldies stations that succeed in this in some markets but they can’t
just go, they have to do it right,” he says.
FCC’s O’Rielly says media review causing regulatory ‘paralysis.’ The law of unintended consequences is on full display
at the FCC, according to new Republican commissioner Michael O’Rielly. He says the quadrennial media ownership review
has led to “near-complete paralysis” which has allowed advocates for the status quo to “win by default.”
As a former congressional staffer, O’Rielly helped write the 1996 Telecom Act that requires the onceevery-four years look in the mirror. He told the House Telecommunications Subcommittee last week
that back then the original plan was to require the FCC to review media rules every two years but some
outside groups said that was too short a timeframe. Flash forward to today and the agency’s 2010 review
window is about to run into the mandated 2014 review. “This is unacceptable — the Commission needs
to complete its 2010 review and vote,” O’Rielly said. “The Commission has no authority to ignore the
statute.” Over the past decade further relaxing media rules has had more support among Republicans
on the FCC. While the Democratic majority made no mention of the quadrennial review when it appeared
on Capitol Hill, GOP commissioner Ajit Pai also expressed frustration with the timeline. “The time has
come for us to launch our next review, but we have not yet finished the last one — this is unacceptable,” Michael O’Rielly
he said. The newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban is among the rules Pai wants to see the FCC abolish.
CBS uses a 30-second spot to wish happy holidays to its best clients. Why use a traditional greeting card or email to says
“happy holidays” to your biggest clients when you’ve got a more creative and pervasive canvas at your disposal? Apparently,
that’s the thinking at CBS Radio’s Altitude Group, which is using the airwaves to spread holiday cheer to its clients. But these
aren’t just any clients. They’re Fortune 500 companies that use the entire CBS repertoire of radio, TV, digital and events to
market their products and services. To says thanks and send good tidings, CBS created custom spots to air on its stations that
include shout-outs to the sales and marketing staffs of Geico, Allstate, Walmart and MasterCard, among other brands. “The
medium we all live and breathe everyday seemed like the best way to personalize a holiday message and show how locally
engaging radio can be,” CBS Radio SVP of communications Karen Mateo says. Listen to an example HERE.
Clear Channel’s latest TV deal is with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ new cable channel. Three
weeks after signing a multi-platform partnership with country music cable TV channel CMT,
Clear Channel has partnered with another music-based cable outlet. This time it’s music mogul
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Revolt TV channel, which will simulcast “The Breakfast Club” morning
show beginning in March. The new multi-genre music channel, co-founded in October by former
MTV executive Andy Schuon, doesn’t have the reach of CMT’s 92 million households. But it is
available on about 25 million households via Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Based at urban
“Power 105” WWPR, New York, “The Breakfast Club” is syndicated by Premiere Networks and
has received positive press from the New York Times and other publications. Launched in December 2010, it features a trio of
hosts who each have radio and TV experience: Charlamagne Tha God, host of MTV2’s “Guy Code,” “Girl Code,” “Guy Court”
and “Charlamagne & Friends;” Angela Yee, former morning show host on Sirius XM Radio’s Shade 45 channel and a cast
member from VH1’s “The Gossip Game;” and veteran New York radio personality and mixer DJ Envy, host of MTV2’s “Sucker
Free” and “Week in Jams.” The Revolt TV alliance is part of a larger cross-platform push that takes Clear Channel beyond radio
and into TV, events and digital. The company now has about 17 shows on TV, mostly specials on the CW Network, such as
this week’s Jingle Ball holiday concert, September’s iHeartRadio Music Festival and several album release broadcasts. “Taking
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Friday, December 20, 2013
this award-winning ‘Power 105’ morning show and extending its reach to television reinforces Clear Channel’s position as a
preeminent multiplatform entertainment company,” Clear Channel Entertainment Enterprises president John Sykes said in a
statement. Added Revolt president Andy Schuon: “Starting our day with ‘The Breakfast Club’ brings three more hours of live
daily programming to Revolt’s already expansive real-time coverage of music, music news and culture each day.”
Young-targeting indie rock station signs on in Kansas City. To varying degrees, non-commercial adult alternative stations
have backed off Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt and loaded up on the Head and the Heart, Phantogram and other indie bands.
Another step toward bringing younger audiences to public radio soft-launched in Kansas City this week Tuesday. Described
as “a new breed of public radio,” “The Bridge” KTBG-FM (90.9) plays a heavy dose of indie rock currents, local music and
eclectic library tracks. ”This is not your father’s triple A format,” says Paragon CEO Mike Henry who consults the station. “The
library is much newer and focused on the last few years, the currents are spinning fast and heavy, local music is prominent and
the surprises are aplenty.” The station, a former adult alternative/news/talk hybrid recently purchased by Kansas City Public
Television from the University of Central Missouri (UCM), is a move-in from Warrensburg, MO. With a sister TV station, it has
ample video production resources and performance rooms to create original video content from visiting bands, which has become
a hallmark for non-commercial adult alternative stations. With a slogan of “Tune in, turn on, listen local,” the station promises
to give local bands more than lip service. “Public radio contemporary music stations with 24/7 formats are taking major leaps
forward in programming strategy and execution,” Henry says. “‘The Bridge’ in particular is making a large generational leap in
its commitment to a younger target audience.” Local air talent is expected January 6.
Judge rules music publishers can withhold streaming rights from webcasters. Music that’s not in BMI’s repertory cannot
be licensed by BMI to Pandora or any other webcaster. That may sound pretty obvious, but it was at the heart of a legal decision
handed down this week in a federal court in New York. U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton concluded in a 14-page decision
that Pandora doesn’t have the right to play the songs owned by any record label that withdraws their digital rights from BMI.
Pandora had argued a five-year blanket license that it signed starting last January covered that music. But Stanton said that
deal allows publishers to withhold their streaming rights. “The relevant compositions are within BMI’s repertory, and it lacks the
power to license them to any applicant, including Pandora,” the ruling says. Stanton’s decision means that as of January 1,
Pandora must either directly license tracks from publishers, including Universal Music Publishing and BMG, or stop offering
that music to its users. It’s the course Pandora has had to take with Sony/EMI which withdrew its new media licensing rights
from BMI in September 2012. With the clock ticking, Pandora’s legal team yesterday asked the judge to clarify several points,
saying the scope of the ruling isn’t clear.
Radio’s collecting toys, food and cash for the needy. The final weekend
before Christmas will bring lots of station staffers to local malls to collect toys
and food for the needy. Among some of the recent events, in Knoxville, TN
South Central Communications classic rock WIMZ-FM (103.5) afternoon drive
personality Billy Kidd camped out in the front parking lot of a local furniture
store. His “Camping for Cans” effort asked listeners to donate food for the
needy. WIMZ collected $16,000 in cash plus five tons of canned food. This
year’s donations will go towards feeding 800 hungry families of four for a week,
according to local food banks. Meanwhile in Las Vegas, after 12 consecutive
The KLUC team
days, the official numbers are in for the 15th annual “Chet Buchanan & The
Morning Zoo” toy drive sponsored by CBS Radio rhythmic CHR KLUC, Las Vegas: 5,014 bikes filling 25 fifty-foot trucks, along
with $322,132 in cash and gift cards. That broke last year’s records. The event will aid over 3,000 families in southern Nevada.
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Friday, December 20, 2013
Entravision raises $1.4 million for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. From Honolulu to New York City, Entravision
used its network and digital footprint to raise $1.4 million during last weekend’s 36-hour radiothon. The money will benefit 24
children’s hospitals. It was the sixth annual radiothon for the Entravision networks — José, Super Estrella, El Gato, La Tricolor,
La Nueva, and Maria. They broadcast live from the lobby of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. COO Jeffery Liberman says the
success of this year’s event is a “testament to the vast reach of Entravision’s national radio platform and our on-air talent and
staff that rallied the great force of our Spanish-language listeners.” More than 300 stations participate in Children’s Miracle
Network Hospitals radiothons, raising about $50 million each year for local hospitals.
Inside Radio News Ticker… Mars took CHR to ‘Heaven’ in 2013… Robin Thicke’s homage to Marvin Gaye ruled the CHR
airwaves this summer but it was Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven” that took the crown as 2013’s most played song at the
format. There’s a little bit of everything in CHR’s top 10 for the year: EDM, rhythmic pop, alternative rap, even a folky sing-along.
That variety is what’s keeping CHR at the top of the 25-54 ranker, programmers say. Read the Mediabase wrap-up of the year’s
most played songs, acts and record labels HERE…New ‘Party’ spot in Gainesville…Rhythmic CHR “Party 99.5” WBXY will
have a bit better coverage of the Gainesville market starting December 26 when it moves up the dial to the frequency that’s been
home to “Smooth FM 100.9” WXJZ until its recent Christmas format took over. Both are Class A signals. JVC Broadcasting
is operating the stations with a pending deal to buy the Asterisk Communications cluster. It hasn’t announced what’s planned
for 99.5 FM…The “Rajun Cajun” will rage no more on FM…The new year will bring a new format to Coastal Radio’s ethnic
Cajun blend of music and local talk on New Orleans market KLRZ (100.3). The station, which calls itself “Rajun Cajun,” will
flip to sports using ESPN Radio on January 1. The bayou flavored format will be consolidated on KLEB (1600). “We’re trying
to diversify our programming,” owner Truck Gisclair says. He tells the Daily Comet that he’s been considering the change for a
while and the sports format will bring a larger opportunity to grow. ESPN Radio had been airing on Entercom’s WWWL (1350)…
Early bonus for Radio One executives…The holidays will be a bit brighter for two Radio One executives who’ve been awarded
their 2013 bonuses a bit earlier than normal. The board approved paying $250,000 apiece to CFO Peter Thompson and chief
administrative officer Linda Vilardo. A filing with the SEC says the rest of the executive team will get its 2013 bonuses at a later
date…Two-thirds now own smartphones…Nielsen reports 65% of Americans now own smartphones. That’s a jump from
56% reported at the start of the year. Nielsen says Android remains the most popular platform, used by 52% of smartphone
owners. That compares to 41% for the Apple iOS system. More smartphones means more app usage. Nielsen says Facebook
is the most-used app, reaching 103 million unique users each month…Tune in, win hundreds of millions…The winner of half
of the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history didn’t discover she had the winning lottery numbers from social media, Pandora or
even TV. She found out by listening to the radio. Ira Curry said she was driving to work Wednesday, listening to the radio, when
she heard her lucky number 7 was the Mega Ball, along with the five other winning numbers she had, good for half of the $648
million lottery jackpot...People Moves...A new morning show in Houston, a Detroit morning man inks a new long-term contract,
and a Philly sports stations tweaks its lineup. Read People Moves HERE.
Inside Radio Deal Digest —
Long Island, NY — In New York’s Hampton’s region a program director and midday personality becomes an owner. Lauren
Stone, along with her father Roger Stone, files a $3.2 million deal to buy CHR “Beach 101.7” WBEA, AC “Lite” WBAZ (102.5)
and adult alternative “Progressive Radio 92.9/96.9” WEHM/WEHN from Long Island Radio Broadcasting. Lauren Stone has
programmed WEHM/WHEN since 2007. She’ll hold a controlling 69% interest in the stations, and her father Roger will own
the balance. He is a CEO of the Kapstone Paper & Packaging Company in Northbrook, IL. Broker: Berner & Co.
Reno, NV — Howard Kalmenson’s Lotus Radio files a $200,000 deal to buy sports KFOY (1060) from Huth Broadcasting. Lotus
has been operating the station under a local marketing agreement. It owns five other stations in the market including “Rock 104.5”
KDOT, classic rock KOZZ-FM (105.7), “Fox Sports 630” KPLY, “ESPN Radio 94.5” KUUB, and “ESPN Deportes 1450” KHIT.
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CLASSIFIEDS
qual
VP SALES/MARKET MANAGER
Live and work in a city where millions pay to vacation!
Cumulus-Charleston has an immediate opportunity for
VP Sales/Market Manager. At your disposal, the most cutting
edge tools and resources to hire, train and develop a high
performance sales team. If you are looking to take that next step
in your career and build upon the current success of our 5 station
cluster, here it is - historic Charleston, SC! Our search will include
candidates with both Market Manager and successful upper sales
management experience. This is a fabulous opportunity to join the
fastest growing company in our industry – Cumulus Media!
Inquiries will be held in the strictest confidence:
[email protected] E.O.E.
MARKETING & PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR - SEATTLE
KCMS-FM (SPIRIT 105.3) & KCIS 630 AM are looking for
the next great Marketing and Promotions Director
CRISTA Media brings Christian faith and vocation together; a
place where people with exceptional professional skills use radio
broadcasting and digital media to transform lives.
l Is marketing and promoting radio stations part of your DNA?
l Can you bring creativity and strategic thinking together?
l Are you a peson who leads by example and inspires others?
If this fits you, we are interested in hearing from you.
CRISTA Media is a leader in operating
Contemporary Christian Music stations.
To learn more about us or apply online,
visit: www.crista.org
E.O.E.
VP OF PROGRAMMING - CINCINNATI, OH
Clear Channel Media & Entertainment seeks a VP Programming,
Cincinnati OH. The VP Programming is a senior leader role responsible
for managing the strategy and execution of the market’s brands and
increasing audience engagement for CCM+E’s broadcast (ratings
growth), digital (uniques / streaming TSL growth), and live entertainment
products (audience). The VPP supports the Market President and the
VP of Sales in driving revenue growth while developing & maintaining
a market’s stations brand identities. The VPP is expected to act as the
Program Director for one or more brands within a market. The VPP is
a senior member of the market’s management team, and role models
the values and operating principles of CCM+E with programming staff
and broader market employees.
CLICK HERE for more information or to apply now for this position.
CCM+E is an equal opportunity employer.
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Friday, December 20, 2013
BUSINESS MANAGER
CONTROLLER,
ATLANTIC CITY
Immediate opening for handson Controller with leading
nine-station radio group. Current
Business Manager retiring after
15 years with the company.
Successful candidates should be
well- organized, detail-minded
& proficient in MS Office, Mas90, Excel & Marketron with
excellent accounting skills. Job
responsibilities include: basic P&L
& monthly closing preparation,
strong general ledger accounting,
billing, A/R, A/P, collections,
commissions & payroll with
a
demonstrated
history
of
preparing financial statements.
Accounting or finance degree
& 3-5 years media business
experience preferred but not
required. This is a long-term
position with a successful, private
company. Salary negotiable.
Please reply in confidence to:
Gary Fisher, President,
Equity Communications LP:
[email protected].
EOE.
SALES MANAGER
COASTAL FLORIDA
Are you a sales leader held
back by corporate dictatorships?
Put the wind back into your
creativity and fly again with us.
Strong independent group of 4
radio stations in a fast growing
community. Must love local
events, be sharp with social
media and know how to have
fun making money. EOE.
Send confidential resume to
[email protected]
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