Radio+Television Business Report

If the audio media company formerly known as Entercom ever needed a shot in the arm from a Wall Street analyst, it arrived over the weekend.

The Insiders Forum, which reviews “attractive small- and mid-cap” stock insiders are buying, says now is the time to purchase Audacy shares. Why?

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For more than 10 years, New York Spectrum Holding Company — controlled by Chau-Chi “Charles” Wong — has engaged in the acquisition of low-power broadcast TV stations. Among the licensee’s leaders across its history is Vern Fotheringham, CEO of ARK Multicasting.

In recent weeks, Wong has emerged as a seller, and has agreed to spin LPTVs in Florida to Ravi Kapur. Now, Wong is exiting Houston.

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One month ago, a licensee led by Will Hill agreed to purchase an AM/FM combo, along with an FM translator, in a deal brokered by two individuals who know the lay of the land — Cody, Wyo.-based Larry and Susan Patrick.

Now, it is known that Hill is adding another Wyoming FM, this time in the municipality of Hudson.

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A Hubbard Broadcasting Country station’s morning show has a feature devoted to it. Memes and internet stories refer to it regularly, too.

The “Florida Man” and its regular use in stories highlighting some of the Sunshine State’s random acts of stupidity led John Caracciolo and his JVC Media to brand his company’s Hot Talk stations targeting male listeners “Florida Man Radio.”

Now, JVC is spinning one of these stations — an FM serving the market that’s home to the University of Florida.

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Salem Media Group’s podcast network on Thursday revealed that it will add former Trump Campaign Attorney Jenna Ellis to the lineup, starting January 13.

It seems that has some merit among investors as Salem’s stock was on the rise across Friday’s trading session.

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As the competition for consumer attention heats up with traditional, big-tent broadcasters continuing to launch their own streaming services — i.e. Peacock, Paramount+, and Discovery+ — one big question arises. How can local TV broadcast networks stay competitive with streaming apps of their own?

JW Player, the platform used to play videos by the likes of Fox, Univision and Vice, recently conducted a survey across their network of broadcasters to reveal opportunities for them to capitalize on the continuous growth in digital video.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The NAB; Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC); and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) have filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a FCC order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming.

In the petition, the organizations argue that the FCC adopted unnecessary and overly burdensome rules that impose on every broadcaster onerous requirements to make specified inquiries of, and conduct independent research on, all the entities with whom broadcasters currently or will in the future have lease agreements. The requirements would be particularly burdensome for smaller broadcasters, including stations owned by women and people of color and new entrants seeking to gain experience through leasing arrangements.

In the FCC order, broadcasters — which collectively have many thousands of contracts for the lease of time to air programming — would need to determine and announce whether the sponsor of programming is a foreign governmental entity or its agent. These determinations would be required even if the leased programming (such as an infomercial or local religious broadcast) poses no colorable risk of foreign sponsorship.

Broadcasters would also need to conduct inquiries and investigations at the time any lease is initially entered into and repeat them every time that same lease (with the same, already-investigated party) is renewed. Stations also must memorialize those inquiries and investigations and maintain that documentation.

The new regulations authorized by the FCC’s order are imposed only upon broadcasters, even though the problem that the Commission purports to address — the failure to identify a foreign government entity that is the source of the programming — is almost entirely associated with satellite and cable channels and, above all, with social media and the Internet.

In a joint statement, the NAB, MMTC and NABOB said they are “deeply concerned with the FCC’s misguided attempt to develop uniform rules for disclosing foreign government-sponsored programming. The Commission’s decision to require broadcasters in all circumstances to investigate the source of leased programming exceeds its statutory authority, is arbitrary and capricious and violates the First Amendment. Broadcasters strongly oppose foreign interference in American elections, but the Commission’s order fails to even address this core objective. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”

Among the big gainers on the NYSE in Friday’s trading is Audacy Inc., the audio content and distribution company formerly known as Entercom. As of 12:48pm Eastern, AUD was trading at $3.40, up 13.3% after sequential dips came following the result of a lackluster Q2 2021 earnings report.

While that’s good for shareholders, a high-profile departure from the company’s executive leadership team is generating greater industry chatter.

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ORLANDO — With a tag line straight out of Procter & Gamble Co. Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard‘s much-repeated presentations of late, the 2021 ANA Masters of Marketing conference is moving forward with a four-day affair at its favored locale of choice — the Rosen Shingle Creek.

The event, which immediately precedes the NAB Show and co-located Radio Show in Las Vegas, has one key differentiator with respect to attendance.

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It’s a key position that involves the retransmission consent agreement reached with DBS providers DirecTV and DISH, and with every MVPD across the U.S.

And, Sinclair Broadcast Group — presently gearing up for a war with DISH — has given it to a Senior Corporate Counsel in that role for six years.

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It owns and operates the “River Radio Network,” comprised of a Weirton, W. Va.-based AM/FM combo and an FM translator.

Now, its owner has signed off on an asset purchase agreement giving it three FMs, and an AM with an FM translator, in the nearby Wheeling market.

With Tim Ohalek and Cindy Taylor the driving forces of River Radio Network, parent company Ohio Midland Newsgroup is growing beyond WEIR-AM & WCDK-FM in Weirton by agreeing to acquire the following properties from Forever Media:

• WLIE-AM 1290, licensed to Bellaire, Ohio, on the left bank of the Ohio River. It is a 1kw Class D with 30 watts at night and associated with FM translator W261DH at 100.1 MHz in Wheeling. It airs a Classic Country format as “Willie,” a homage to Willie Nelson.
• WBGI-FM 100.5, also licensed to Bellaire. It is a Class B 48kw facility branded as “Biggie 100.5,” airing a contemporary Country format.
• WUKL-FM 105.5, in Bethlehem, W. Va. It is a Class B1 13.5kw facility known as “Kool 105.5.” It is an Adult Hits station with a playlist ranging from Haddaway to England Dan and John Ford Coley.
• WRQY-FM 96.5, in Moundsville, W. Va. The Class A is a Classic Rocker, branded as “Rocky 96.5.”

Ohio Midland Newsgroup, a subsidiary of Cody Barack-led Morning Star Media, is paying $885,000 for the properties, with Lynn Deppen signing off on the agreement for Forever Media. A $50,000 escrow deposit has been made to Forever by Ohio Midland.

In return, Ohio Midland is spinning silent FM translator W235BX at 93.9 MHz in Colliers, W.Va. to Forever Media for a token price of $10.

The translator will be used to rebroadcast what WOHI-AM 1490, licensed to East Liverpool, Ohio.

Forever Media is owned by Kirby Confer and Donald Alt.

Given what MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson calls The Walt Disney Co.‘s “relatively flat share price performance” through the first 8 1/2 months of 2021, his Wall Street financial house believes there is “ongoing tension” in the market between those that look at the drivers of Disney’s Earnings Per Share and those that look at the drivers of Disney’s valuation multiple.

What is the main driver right now? Theme parks are driving the U.S., not Disney+. The latter is fueled by international growth.

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The Media Ratings Council late Thursday responded with stern words to a formal request from Nielsen to enter an MRC accreditation hiatus period for its National Television measurement service.

First, a decision on Nielsen’s request has not yet been made by the MRC. Second, the MRC notes the National TV measurement service is challenged by “deep-rooted, ongoing performance issues.”

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — The creator of the podcast “Your Own Backyard” — Chris Lambert, who’s credited with renewing interest in murder of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, may testify on August 30th in the case against her alleged killer Paul Flores.

Flores is accused of killing Smart and hiding her body. Flores’ defense team sent Lambert the subpoena because of his podcast interviews with witnesses before their client was arrested.

According to The Tribune when authorities arrested Paul Flores and his father in April, the Smart family thanked Lambert and credited him with breakthroughs in the investigation.
Paul Flores is charged with murdering Smart. His father is being charged as an accessory.

It’s alleged that Paul Flores, now 44, was the last person known to have seen the 19-year-old freshman alive after walking her back from a party toward campus in 1996.
The case is being heard in San Luis Obispo Superior Court

MediaCo Holding Co., led by CEO Rahsan-Rahsan Lindsay and formed as a partnership between Emmis Communications founder and CEO Jeff Smulyan and Standard General’s Soohyung Kim, has filed paperwork with the SEC indicating that it wishes to offer millions of dollars worth of shares in the open market to investors.

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The Walt Disney Co.’s stock price zoomed upward by 5.3% in early after-hours trading on Thursday, as the diversified entertainment and communications company that owns ABC and its ESPN arm delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.

How did the Broadcasting division perform? Over-the-air TV performed better in the quarter.

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As of August 2, Adrienne Roark began serving as a President of CBS Stations, serving the East Coast following a tenure in Portland, Ore.

Now, two other veteran local television executives have earned the President/CBS Stations title at ViacomCBS.

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Meredith Corp. on Thursday (8/12) released its fiscal Q4 and full-year 2021 earnings results, which will be the last fourth-quarter fiscal health report from the company that includes its broadcast TV arm.

How did Meredith Local Media perform in the three-month period ending June 30? Net revenue rebounded from a COVID-19-influenced dip to break the $100 million mark as adjusted EBITDA and operating profit were each on the rise.

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It’s pronounced “E-VOCK-A,” and it is the next-generation television service under development in Boise, Idaho, that deserves a closer look. Why? It is built on ATSC 3.0 and IP-based.

With a Phoenix rollout in the works, ahead of additional markets, the individual behind Avoca, Edge Networks President/CEO Todd Achilles offers an exclusive update in this new InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Todd Achilles” on Spreaker.

The CEO and the CFO of Townsquare Media have confirmed that they will participate in a two-day virtual investor conference scheduled for August 18-19.

The “Local First” radio station owner and digital media solutions provider will appear on the second day of the online affair.

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