Audacy to go private The FCC approved a controversial Audacy bankruptcy plan in a politically divided three-to-two vote in which Soros Fund Management becomes the biggest shareholder in the company with a 57 percent stake through the Laurel Tree Opportunities Corporation. As a result, Audacy – who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, will go private and David Field […]
Also: The Talk to end after 15 years; NCAA Women’s Championship draws record high; NHL team headed to Utah With the future of Paramount Global all the chatter, there could be some radio merger and acquisition action, too. A report in Radio Insight suggests Audacy – soon to be controlled by Soros Fund Management after coming out of bankruptcy – […]
Move was expected; no immediate effects With all the headlines focused lately on linear TV’s decline, there is another traditional communications medium who is also struggling, though it doesn’t generate the exact number of headlines. Audacy – who owns and operates more than 200 radio stations in the U.S., including several in the Chicago area, officially filed for Chapter 11 […]
Rachel Williamson promoted to President Of Local Sales Strategy and Innovation; Kevin Cassidy to succeed her as Chicago market president Audacy Chicago announced Tuesday the promotion of Rachel Williamson to a newly created role as President Of Local Sales Strategy and Innovation from the Chicago Market President. Replacing her is Kevin Cassidy, who comes in from a similar role in […]
Also: B96 hires Canavah’s replacement; Diamond Sports Group skips payments to Guardians and Twins; Extra renewed for season thirty The other shoe has dropped in Warner Bros.’ decision to exit the court genre as Marilyn Milian has signed with Allen Media Group for a new hour-long court show, Justice For The People With Judge Milan, debuting this fall. “We at […]
But a Santa ratings wave is coming to 93.9 Lite FM In the final ratings period for 2022 not impacted by holiday music (in other words, before Lite 93.9 FM dominates the ratings and demos for the next two months), Hubbard’s classic rocker The Drive (WDRV-FM) topped the ratings charts, despite a month-to-month drop. Lying in wait to take over […]
West’s comments about Jewish people and George Floyd put him on the spot, but a lack of outrage (outside of social media) may keep him on black radio [Editors Note: This post was updated on October 30.] Here we go again: former Chicagoan and rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye, but for the purposes of this item we’ll call […]
Also: The Drive promotes Janda Lane to middays; Nexstar closes the deal to buy The CW; NATPE files for bankruptcy; Svengoolie is hiring! The move was expected for months, and now it’s official: The Chicago Sun-Times announced Thursday it is removing the paywall for all stories. This comes as the newspaper and Chicago Public Media’s WBEZ-FM announced a non-profit merger […]
The Drive wins overall; WLS-FM finishes first in 18-34s At the start of the year, no one would ever guess Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV-FM) would top the ratings, let alone dominate them. And as it turns out, the classic rocker is performing a clinic on how to dominate. In September, The Drive’s ratings topped all Chicago radio stations, speeding up […]
Gives up morning show to do a nationally syndicated project with Audacy As first reported by Radio Insight Wednesday, Ed Lover is ending his run as morning personality at 104.3 Jams (WBMX-FM) after five years as he prepares to launch a new, nationally syndicated evening show with Audacy, the parent owner of the station. There were no details readily available […]
The Drive is tops for the third straight month; WOJO dominates demos Who needs Rudolph anyway? That’s the attitude iHeartMedia’s classic hits heavy-AC outlet WLIT has after scoring its highest non-Christmas ratings in years. According the July Nielsen Audio numbers released Monday, WLIT place second, up 13 percent from June, finishing behind Hubbard’s The Drive (WDRV-FM). Generally, WLIT dominates in […]
The country’s second-biggest radio owner rebrands It’s not exactly atrocious as Tegna or Tronc, but Entercom’s name change to Audacy is meant to reflect radio’s future. Or something like that. On Tuesday, Entercom disposed of its corporate name after 53 years and became Audacy, whatever it means. Also gone is the Radio.com name. “We have transformed into a fundamentally different […]
Exiting Entercom after just two years on job The Deacon has left the building. As first reported by Robert Feder Friday, Entercom Chicago senior vice president and market manager Jimmy deCastro is retiring after a little over two years being appointed to the position. A replacement will be named next week, with deCastro exiting December 13. The longtime Chicago radio […]
Also: Decades finds new station group; FCC votes to modify kidvid rules and strike down San Francisco apartment broadband law Hubbard Broadcasting continued its dominance of local Chicago radio in the recently released May PPM Nielsen rankings. As reported by Robert Feder, WTMX finished first again, with sister station The Drive (WDRV-FM) finishing a strong second. The Minnepaolis-based company also […]
Also: WLS-AM announces new PD; WBBM reigns supreme; New York’s WPIX sold One of Chicago’s prominent sports radio hosts has a new contract – and a new weekday slot. Longtime WSCR-AM (The Score) veteran Laurence Holmes is getting his own midday slot weekdays from noon to 2 p.m., beginning March 28 – coinciding with the start of the baseball season. […]