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RadioInsight

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TT Torrez Rises To VP/Artist & Label Relations At WQHT

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 12:23 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/211428/211428/



MediaCo Rhythmic CHR Hot 97 WQHT New York has announced the promotion of TT Torrez to Vice President of Artist and Label Relations.

Torrez will continue to serve as Music Director and multi-media personality
for the station, which she joined in 2014. In her new role, Torrez will
oversee MedicaCo’s Artist event marketing, special events and promotions,
and artist audio and digital content strategy and campaigns.

She began her career on-air at WCHH Charlotte NC before moving to WSSP Charleston as midday host. She later spent five years at Music Choice as a programmer and host and worked part-time at WUSL Philadelphia before
joining Radio Ones WCDX Richmond as Music Director in 2008, a role she held until joining WQHT in October 2014.

MediaCo’s Hot 97 has announced TT TORREZ as Vice President of Artist and Label Relations. Torrez is the first woman of color to hold this position
at Hot 97. Torrez will oversee MedicaCo’s Artist event marketing, special events and promotions, and artist audio and digital content strategy and campaigns in her new post. Torrez joined HOT 97 in October 2014, was most recently HOT 97’s Music Director and Multi-Media Personality, and will continue her current duties in addition to her new role.

“I’m so excited about this role and the significance of being the first woman of color to hold this position at Hot 97. To look at where I started, earning my business degree during the pandemic and working hard to earn
this promotion, I’m fulfilling my dream of representing women of color in
the workplace. So often, Black and Brown women are underrepresented in leadership roles, and I’m proud to have a seat at the table. My most important role is to elevate and open doors for the women coming up. As
Harriet Tubman said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” Thank you, MediaCo, for allowing me to represent culture and community; where I can be
my most authentic self.”

MediaCo Senior Vice President of Programming, Pio Ferro, said, “TT is one
of the most respected execs and talents in our industry with incredible relationships with artists and labels. From day one, TT has been a
passionate advocate for Hot 97, our culture, our artists, and her
relentless devotion to the Hip Hop community. TT has played a pivotal role
in taking our prominence in Hip Hop to new heights, and I’m thrilled to announce this richly deserved promotion.”

HOT 97 and WBLS are owned and operated by MediaCo Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:
MDIA), New York. MediaCo Holding Inc. is a media company. It operates two radio stations, (WHQT-FM) HOT 97 and WBLS-FM, which serve the New York City metropolitan area.



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FCC Auction 109 Comes To An End; iHeartMedia Wins 107.9 Sacramento

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 11:54 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/211423/fcc-auction-109-comes-to-an-end-iheartmedia-wins-107-9-sacramento/



The FCCs Auction 109 of of 136 FM signals and 4 AM signals has come to an
end after eight days and 36 rounds of bidding with 97 of the potential
licenses won.

The auction brought in $13,770,950 in bids with a net of $12,344,110
following the use of bidding credits. The two biggest items in the auction accounted for most of those proceeds with iHeartMedia bidding $6,146,000
for the Class B 107.9 Sacramento allocation that had been surrendered by Entercom in 2017 and Tabbassum Mumtazs Radio Brands Inc. offering
$3,080,000 for the Class C3 104.1 Sanger TX that Cumulus Media turned in to
the FCC in 2013. Mumtaz is the CEO of Ampex Brands that owns hundreds of
chain restaurant and 7-11 franchises across the country and recently
acquired the Au Bon Pain chain. He also owns fifty percent of 700 KHSE Wylie/104.1 K281CS McKinney in the Dallas market.

Nelson Rodriguez wins the Savannah GA market 99.3 Pembroke GA Class C1 for $400,000. Other high bids include Eugene Cella bidding $395,000 for a Class
A on 106.9 in Fort Walton Beach FL, Sanford Cohens ITM LLC paying $266,000
for a 106.3 Class A in Desert Hills CA and an additional $190,000 for a
Class B on 103.9 in Essex CA, and Tracy Wood bidding $212,000 for 101.1 Coupeville WA and $194,000 for 93.5 Earlimart CA.

After falling second to iHeartMedia for the 107.9 Sacramento bid,
Educational Media Foundation came away with just a Class A on 103.3 Shelter Island NY covering the east end of Long Island for a $88,000 bid. Maria
Guels Mekaddesh Group Corporation won the most allocations netting seven signals in Texas including the 101.5 Crystal Beach/Galveston TX that
Cumulus Media surrendered in 2015 after the former KSTB was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

The four St. Louis area AMs that were added to the auction all went without receiving a bid. Other noticeable allocations to not receive bids were 94.1 Keeseville NY that wouldve covered Burlington VT and 102.9 Battlement Mesa
CO due to their high $75,000 opening bid requirement.

The FCC will release a public notice within the next several days that
provides official notification to winning bidders, specifies the deadline
for payments and long form application filing, and gives details for other post-auction procedures. This public notice will be mailed overnight to all bidders. Each bidder should review the public notice to determine its post-auction obligations. Additionally, this public notice will be posted
on the Auction 109 website at www.fcc.gov/auction/109.

The full list of provisionally winning bids can be seen here:
Bid Amount Frequency City State Cl Winning Bidder Winning Round $37,000
99.7 Medicine Bow WY C3 Valdez-Schwartz, Nanette 30 $54,000 100.1 Ludlow CA
B1 Lynett, William R 30 $45,000 102.9 Randsburg CA A ENT Inc. 32 $190,000
103.9 Essex CA B ITM, LLC 35 $34,000 100.7 Caliente NV A SSR
Communications, Inc. 28 $36,000 104.5 Kahlotus WA A Xana HD Solutions, LLC
28 $19,000 92.3 Hugo CO A ScarboroughRadio, LLC 27 $95,000 98.9 Albany TX A WesTex Towers, Inc. 24 $28,000 96.1 Chama NM C3 glover, richard m 23
$129,000 100.9 Tomahawk WI C3 The Salvation Poem Foundation, Inc. 23 $4,100 96.9 Grand Marais MN C3 Wireless LLC 22 $58,000 103.1 Crandon WI A The Salvation Poem Foundation, Inc. 22 $48,000 104.3 Olney TX A Two Way Communications, LLC 22 $19,000 98.9 Rison AR A Deltaplex Radio, LLC 20
$85,000 101.5 Crystal Beach TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation 20 $25,000
106.9 Carrizo Springs TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation 20 $6,146,000 107.9 Sacramento CA B iHM Licenses, LLC 20 $124,000 101.3 Pigeon MI A Thumb Broadcasting, Inc. 19 $89,000 104.9 Maryville MO C3 Eagle Communications,
Inc. 19 $266,000 106.3 Desert Hills AZ A ITM, LLC 19 $9,800 94.5 Cartago CA
A NYX Communications, Inc. 18 $64,000 103.5 San Isidro TX A Xavier Entertainment, LLC 18 $400,000 99.3 Pembroke GA C1 Rodriguez, Nelson 17
$51,000 99.9 Custer MI A Hit Radio Media, LLC 17 $1,500 103.3 Junction TX
C3 American Broadcasting of Texas 16 $3,080,000 104.1 Sanger TX C3 Radio Brands, Inc. 16 $17,000 92.3 Tusayan AZ C1 Estrella Broadcasting LLC 15
$4,300 94.1 Salome AZ A Estrella Broadcasting LLC 15 $17,000 94.5 Bruce MS
A SSR Communications, Inc. 15 $3,700 94.9 Richland Springs TX A QXZ
MediaWorks LLC 15 $38,000 99.9 Carney MI A Henderson, Suzanne D 14 $7,600
92.7 Tonopah NV A RxDIO.com LLC 13 $91,000 96.3 Houghton MI C1 Houghton Community Broadcasting 13 $32,000 100.7 Premont TX C3 Christian Ministries
of the Valley, Inc. 13 $76,000 106.3 Maplesville AL A WKLF LLC 13 $39,000
93.3 Onekama MI C3 Henderson, Suzanne D 12 $35,000 98.7 Wells TX A American Broadcasting of Texas 12 $9,200 99.3 Marbleton WY C1 Wind River
Broadcasting, Inc. 12 $58,000 102.9 King City CA A Dimes Media Corporation
12 $47,000 93.5 Carrizo Springs TX A Xavier Entertainment, LLC 11 $194,000
93.5 Earlimart CA A Wood, Tracy K 10 $35,000 95.1 Trout Lake WA A
Sunnylands Broadcasting, LLC 10 $31,000 97.9 Englewood TN A Smile FM 10 $212,000 101.1 Coupeville WA A Wood, Tracy K 10 $395,000 106.9 Fort Walton Beach FL A Cella, Eugene 10 $6,300 102.7 Centerville TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation 9 $3,500 106.5 Wheatland WY A Michael Radio Company, LLC 9
$85,000 95.3 Teague TX C3 Max Frequency LLC 8 $45,000 97.3 Coalinga CA B1 Gomez, Nelson 8 $83,000 102.7 Milano TX A Max Frequency LLC 8 $138,000 97.3 Orange MA A Wendell, Steven 7 $46,000 97.7 Cross City FL C3 CircuitWerkes,
Inc. 7 $3,900 105.1 Haynesville LA A Peebles Broadcasting Group Inc 7
$49,000 97.3 Bogata TX A Max Frequency LLC 6 $2,000 98.3 Big Lake TX C2
Matos Barreto, Juan C 6 $78,000 98.9 Lake Isabella MI A Smile FM 5 $56,000 102.9 Narrowsburg NY A Bold Gold Media Group, L.P. 4 $88,000 103.3 Shelter Island NY A Educational Media Foundation 4 $50,000 94.5 Sagaponack NY A
Bark Out Loud Dogs Media, LLC 2 $2,500 104.3 Albin WY C3 Michael Radio
Company, LLC 2 $5,000 105.9 Rising Star TX C3 Henderson, Suzanne D 2 $5,000 107.5 Rawlins WY C2 Michael Radio Company, LLC 2 $37,000 92.1 Cottonwood CA
A Bustos Media Holdings, LLC 1 $25,000 92.9 Rockford IA A VCY America, Inc.
1 $18,000 93.5 Roscoe TX A WesTex Towers, Inc. 1 $7,500 94.1 Boardman OR C3 Xana HD Solutions, LLC 1 $20,000 94.7 Overgaard AZ C1 Estrella Broadcasting
LLC 1 $21,000 95.1 Hale Center TX C1 Matos Barreto, Juan C 1 $25,000 95.5 Edgefield SC A Glory Communications, Inc 1 $10,000 95.9 Skyline-Ganipa NM A Davis, Don 1 $7,500 97.1 Stratton CO C1 KNAB Inc. 1 $10,000 97.3 Jefferson
NH A Lakes Media, LLC 1 $2,500 97.9 Encino TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation
1 $16,000 98.1 Bayard NE A Flood Communications West, LLC 1 $10,000 98.5
Ft. Bragg CA B1 Rubin Broadcasting, Inc 1 $2,300 98.5 Rule TX A WesTex
Towers, Inc. 1 $750 98.9 San Isidro TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation 1
$15,000 99.1 Gackle ND C1 Zeller, Jordan 1 $7,500 99.3 Eckley CO C1 KNAB
Inc. 1 $20,000 99.5 Paragonah UT A Frandsen, M. Kent 1 $1,500 100.3 Clayton
OK A Mega Moo radio company 1 $15,000 100.5 Fort Stockton TX C Mekaddesh
Group Corporation 1 $25,000 100.9 Westfield NY A The ERIE Radio Company,
LLC 1 $25,000 101.5 New Albany MS A Kennedy Broadcasting, LLC 1 $45,000
101.7 New Augusta MS A Blakeney Communications, Inc. 1 $7,500 102.1 Lockney
TX C3 GRACE COMMUNITY CHRUCH OF AMARILLO 1 $3,500 102.7 Cora WY C2 Wind
River Broadcasting, Inc. 1 $5,000 103.3 Mullins TX A Goehl, Bradley S 1
$60,000 103.9 Dunkerton IA A VCY America, Inc. 1 $15,000 104.1 First Mesa
AZ C Across Nations 1 $1,500 104.9 Sells AZ A Estrella Broadcasting LLC 1 $10,000 105.3 Huntington UT C3 Eastern Utah Broadcasting Company 1 $7,500
105.5 Lovelady TX A Mekaddesh Group Corporation 1 $25,000 106.1 Abingdon IL
A Galesburg Broadcasting Company 1 $29,000 107.5 West Rutland VT A Vermont Public Co. 1 $7,500 107.9 Raymond WA A Sunnylands Broadcasting, LLC 1
$7,500 107.9 Boonville CA A Henry, Brian 1



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Does Streaming Speed Up Radio? Just A Lil Bit

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 11:00 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/ross/211179/does-streaming-speed-up-radio-just-a-lil-bit/



It was clear early on that “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes was going to be a song that nobody liked except the audience. The first PD I talked to was cringing at the notion of playing it. The one thing we agreed on was that
the time was now, to take advantage of its social media and streaming
activity. Even in a Country format where non-superstar records develop glacially, “Fancy Like” wasn’t a record that audiences were going to take 40 weeks to become familiar with or understand. 

At this writing, “Fancy Like” is up 48-38 on BDSRadio’s Country chart with
920 spins and +344 spins from last week, all in its fifth week since
cracking the 100-spin mark. It’s a fast start for a non-superstar title. It is also, as Country Insider editor Brian Mansfield notes, the No. 1 Country streaming song. Citing the streams vs. airplay difference for Nelly &
Florida Georgia Line’s “Lil Bit” as well, Mansfield asks if radio is acknowledging streaming enough. The radio-station programmers he interviews
are split between those trying to react more quickly to streaming stories
and those still skeptical of whether they’ll translate to familiarity or preference in other research.

As Country radio grapples with the chasm between a glacial chart and other metrics, one of the issues has been that the chart covers stations on three different templates, as if Mainstream AC, Hot AC, and CHR stations all
reported to one pop chart, in which no song could go No. 1 until making it
to WLTW (Lite FM) New York, roughly 9-15 months after release. Nashville
has resisted the concept of multiple charts, but wouldn’t an “Active Country” and a “Mainstream Country” chart create more stories that could reinforce each other?

Through all of this, I’ve wondered which stations count as “Active Country.” Is it the Cox stations that are relatively aggressive on new
music and triage it more like CHR stations? Is it the big-market outlets
that have CHR-like high spin counts, but still add songs to daytime
rotation slowly? Using Mansfield’s story as an impetus, I used BDS to put together a custom chart of stations playing Walker Hayes, Nelly/FGL, and a third streaming hit, Elle King & Miranda Lambert’s “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” I also threw in a few other stations I considered
aggressive on new music. 

I tried the chart with and without Sirius XM’s The Highway. That version
also included Nashville rimshotter (but monitored) WYCZ (Young Country), a Country reporter, but really a young-end CHR that plays Country music when it’s hot at its own format, not much later. I looked at mostly stations in the top 125 markets; I found myself with about 70 reporters, half of what
BDS uses overall.

Walker Hayes is a different type of song from the Nelly/FGL and
Elle/Miranda debuts, which bend the parameters of the format for some programmers. But they are the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6 most-streamed Country songs, according to BDS. I figured a station that would champion any of the three would be one that shows some enterprise on music. I looked for
stations playing any of those songs at least 10x a week and took out a few where 70% or more of those spins were in overnights.

So who was playing all three? KUPL (the Bull) Portland, Ore. KWNR (the
Bull) Las Vegas; WCKN (Kickin’ Country) Charleston, S.C.; WIL St. Louis;
WJVC Long Island, N.Y.; WWKA (K92) Orlando (and rival WOTW). Not
surprisingly, WYCZ was playing all three. The Highway was playing only the Walker Hayes song.

So how much did looking at the custom panel speed up the chart process? Not
so much, except, as you’d expect for the songs in question:

Wade Hayes was No. 29 on our custom panel vs. No. 38 overall;
Elle King & Miranda Lambert was No. 31 vs. No. 39;
Nelly/FGL was No. 38 vs. No. 50.


Beyond that, my custom panel’s differences were relatively modest, usually within a chart position or two of the full chart. But there were a few
other boosts:

Old Dominion, “I Was on a Boat That Day,” No. 13 custom panel vs. No. 17 overall;
Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood, “If I Didn’t Love You,” No. 23 vs. No. 27;
Chris Stapleton, “You Should Probably Leave,” No. 27 vs. No. 30
Eric Church, “Heart on Fire,” No. 37 vs. No. 40.


With the exception of Stapleton, who has always benefited from streaming stories, most of those songs were already on a relatively fast track. The Aldean/Underwood duet is a fast-breaking song already; it’s just faster yet at our group of stations. Same for Old Dominion, which was able to get on a fast track by being summer-themed. 

There are a few other streaming hits that weren’t much different on either chart. Dan + Shay’s “Glad You Exist” was No. 3 custom chart vs. No. 4 overall. Ryan Hurd w/Maren Morris’ “Chasing After You” is No. 4 in streaming, but only one position higher (No. 19) on our custom chart. 

Even those stations that are responsive to a high-profile story or two
aren’t that much faster than the overall chart, in part because they’re part of the same chart process as everybody else. If there were two Country charts, those stations would be worked on different label priorities. With everybody still reporting to one chart, even the most aggressive station is going to be asked to power a 44-week-old song on its quest for No. 1.

To some extent, it’s going to be hard for radio programmers in any format
not to trail a song’s rank in streaming for a while, especially now that streaming can often propel a song to No. 1 in its first week. A song such
as BTS’s “Butter” that is top 20 after 10 days is both slower than its streaming story and faster than any other BTS single to date. The question
for the Hayes single now is whether the initial boost moves the song onto
the fast track usually reserved for superstar and summer songs, or whether programmers are still wondering if it’s power-rotation-worthy in November.



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West Virginia Radio Corp. Tabs George Pelletier As President

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 06:30 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/211434/west-virginia-radio-corp-tabs-george-pelletier-as-president/



Following the retirement of longtime West Virginia Radio Corporation President/CEO Dale Miller, the company has announced it has hired former
Alpha Media Midwest Regional President George Pelletier as his successor.

Pelletier oversaw 28 of Alphas 42 markets after joining the company
following its 2016 acquisition of Digity where her served as Chief
Operating Officer. Pelletier also served as COO for GoodRadio.TV and
previously was Chairman of the RABs Small Market Advisory Committee.

WVRC Chairman John Raese stated, “After an extensive search, George
Pelletier was the clear choice to lead West Virginia Radio Corporation into
the future. Given his extensive background and experience in smaller and
medium markets, we knew right away that George was the right person for
this very important position in our company.”



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Katrina Walburn Joins WAJI's Andy In The Morning

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 05:39 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/211410/katrina-walburn-joins-wajis-andy-in-the-morning/



Sarkes Tarzian AC Majic 95.1 WAJI Fort Wayne has announced the addition of Katrina Kat Walburn to their Andy In The Morning hosted by Andy Beckman.

Walburn has spent the past several years as Regional Marketing Manager at Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center but previously worked at Sarkess Fort
Wayne cluster as Promotions Director for 101.7 WLDE. She also worked on-air
in Louisville earlier in her career.

Beckman joined WAJI as morning host in September 2020 after a nine year run
at Federated Media Hot AC 97.3 WMEE.

WAJI, Majic 95.1 FM owned and operated by Sarkes Tarzian Inc., announced
that Katrina Walburn (Kat) is the new full-time personality on the Andy in
the Morning Show with Andy Beckman!

After nearly a year of searching far and wide, going through hundreds of applicants and dozens of potential on-air candidates, we finally have a
winner!

Kat was a part of that search right from the beginning, throwing her hat in
the ring and never giving up despite the competition and the hurdles of COVID-19, which in itself hindered the search process.

She began her radio career in 1994, eventually made her way on-air in Louisville. She packed her bags and made the move to Fort Wayne in 2006,
where she worked in television for 3 years, was Promotions Director at WLDE 101.7 FM and most recently was the Regional Marketing Manager at Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center. Kat resides in Fort Wayne with her husband and two sons.




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Nielsen To Deploy New Wearable PPM Meters

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 05:24 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/211407/nielsen-to-deploy-new-wearable-ppm-meters/



Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) today announced that starting in September 2021, it
will begin placing approximately 3,000 new Portable People Meter (PPM) Wearables in a subset of its nearly 60,000 active PPM panelists.  The deployment of PPM wearable devices and technologies is part of Nielsen’s continued efforts to modernize its panels and improve the panelist
experience, drive broader adoption among existing and new panelists and increase engagement among more challenging demographics.

The PPM is currently used to underpin Audio, Local TV and National audience measurement. It is used to measure both in-home and out-of-home tuning for Audio and Local TV and out-of-home tuning for Nielsen’s National TV estimates.  The next-gen wearable PPM metering will serve as foundational support for Nielsen ONE, a cross-media solution that will deliver a single, deduplicated metric for total media consumption across TV, Digital and
Audio.

PPM Wearables feature an updated design that is smaller and more aligned
with current wearable technology trends. The new PPM Wearable comes in a variety of ways to wear including wristbands, clips and pendants, which are more appealing among demographics that typically have lower compliance.  In addition, a new companion app will help improve communication, encourage participation and enable data transmission when the device is outside the
home. The companion app will also allow Nielsen to add new features and capabilities and adapt more seamlessly to new data and technology trends.

“By modernizing our panels with the PPM Wearable, we are not only improving the overall panelist experience and increasing engagement, but also
ensuring our measurement is durable and can adapt to evolving technology changes,”  said Mainak Mazumdar, Nielsen’s Chief Research and Data Officer.  “This is another example of how Nielsen is continuing to innovate in our march towards Nielsen ONE in order to create a better media future
for the entire industry.”

Nielsen plans to share top-line findings in Q2 2022 of this subset of
panelists phase, with the full rollout of PPM Wearables in new panel
households planned for the second half of 2022.  PPM Wearables have been through a series of rigorous tests and the system has performed very well
in each phase. These tests included lab, focus groups, and dual-carry
testing that measure how the wearables detect codes versus the current PPM among the same panelists.

PPM Wearables are part of Nielsen’s ongoing commitment to innovation that enhances the quality of our panels and makes cross-platform measurement a reality in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

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