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RadioInsight

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Audacy Promotes Bob Philips To President of Audacy Networks & Multi-Market Sales

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 01:29 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/210991/audacy-promotes-bob-philips-to-president-of-audacy-networks-multi-market-sales/



Audacy has announced that Bob Philips will take on the new role of
President of Audacy Networks and Multi-Market Sales.

Philips had served as Chief Revenue Officer since the closing on the Entercom/CBS Radio merger in November 2017. He also held that title at CBS Radio beginning in October 2016 following sixteen months as Director of
Sales. Before taking on the corporate roles, Philips spent nineteen and a
half years as SVP/Market Manager of CBS Radio Baltimore from January 1996
to July 2015.

The company will begin a search for a new Chief Revenue Officer.

In a memo to staffers, Audacy COO Susan Larkin wrote,

Today, we’re announcing Bob Philips will be assuming a new role at Audacy
as President of Audacy Networks and Multi-Market Sales. We believe Bob will deliver significant revenue impact and client outcomes by focusing on
growing our Network and multi-market sales businesses as we continue to
execute our market growth strategy.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Bob was a catalyst for innovation and growth.
Under his leadership, we streamlined multiple revenue departments, launched
the Audacy Network and our in-house traffic network while also
revolutionizing our approach to national sales, bringing new brands and
bigger opportunities onto our platform. And, as the economy rebounds and
local and national advertising return to pre-pandemic levels, Bob will
build exponential value for our clients and for Audacy.

We will begin a search for a new CRO immediately, and during this
transition, I will be working closely with our sales leaders and teams.

We greatly appreciate Bob’s continued commitment to our future growth.



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iHeartRadio Adds Alexa Based Song Requests

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 01:03 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/featured/210988/iheartradio-adds-alexa-based-song-requests/



iHeartMedia and Amazon are launching new interactive features through Alexa.

Using an Alexa-enabled device, listeners will be able make song requests
and dedications at specific radio stations. This is marketed as a
first-time feature anywhere on the Alexa platform. Among the stations the feature is debuting on today are Country 97.5 WCOS Columbia SC and CHRs
104.7 Kiss-FM KZZP Phoenix, 106.1 Kiss-FM KHKS Dallas, and XL 106.7 WXXL Orlando.

iHeartRadio Chief Product Officer Chris Williams stated, “We’re excited that for the first time our listeners will be able to talk to us directly through Alexa. This is a direct line to allow our audience to talk back, to share their thoughts and help influence what you hear on the radio.”

iHeartMedia states it is working on further interactive features through
Amazon and Alexa including QAs with DJs and show hosts, voice-driven polls,
and contests. The new skill can be previewed here.


This posting includes a media file: https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/53c8d4f0-4da5-4d25-be51-d421cbc25e02

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Why I Still Believe in Radio: 2021

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 12:00 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/ross/210770/why-i-still-believe-in-radio-2021/



“The author is in complete denial about the radio business.”

That was a Twitter response to my column about whether jocks were doing
enough when they opened the microphone to sell the radio experience. Were
radio hosts being perfunctory? Were they providing companionship and
reminding people what they liked about radio? I still heard things I liked.
But I understood that not everybody would agree.

“Sure, there may be a few jocks doing sort of creative things, but this
will be their last job,” wrote Mara Davis. “The business will never evolve [because] humans cost money. The good content is in podcasts,” an area to which Davis, a former radio person, had segued, along with a successful transition to a new career in talent booking.

A week earlier, a related column about whether radio should offer a
jockless version of its own music had prompted an e-mail from a former PD
who wanted to let me know that he was done reading all the radio trade publications. “I’m deeply hurt by the fact that someone who worked 12+ hours a day … is moved on from an industry he loves,” he wrote.

In the Ross On Radio audience, there are veteran broadcasters who are long
and happily retired from the business, using the newsletter to keep up with
the business they love. There are, gratifyingly, still new broadcasters, teaching themselves radio the same way I did with Radio & Records decades
ago. Many readers are people who know the power of radio’s shared
experience. There are a few for whom joining the business now is an act of rugged individualism, because their peers are not. 

There are people who see any optimism about radio as boosterism or naïve
“he still loves radio, bless his heart.” I try to be clear-eyed about radio and provide a way forward for the business. For that reason, there are also
ROR readers who undoubtedly regard the column as too critical of radio’s efforts. This is how I feel about radio in 2021.

If you have moved on from radio, I completely understand. Whether people
still find the things they like about radio in the column often depends on whether they truly retired or were “retired” by euphemism. If you loved the radio industry and it did not love you back, I hear you. Radio could be
unkind to its people even when it was not consolidating, and it has been constricting for 25 years. Those lucky enough to still be in radio often disrespect their former co-workers by trying to position the personnel cuts they cannot avoid as an improvement; it is the worst thing the business
does.

I remain confident in the demand for “radio.” I am more confident after the last 16 months that listeners will continue to want some sort of shared experience and companionship as part of their audio entertainment. What I’m not sure about is whether broadcasters — the people who own AM/FM radio stations now — will be the ones providing it.

Broadcasters still know how to do “radio” better, but it’s changing. A decade ago, broadcast radio’s competitors were superior mostly on one
front, “continuous music.” The music itself seemed random. Now, I’m as excited about seeing what Spotify adds to Today’s Top Hits on Friday
morning as I was about what CKLW Detroit or WPGC Washington added on the Tuesdays of my adolescence. But I don’t yet get the radio experience I’m looking for, even as Spotify begins to experiment with adding jock content. When I do, I won’t be shy about embracing it. 

The chief exception has been Sirius XM. In the early 2000s, satellite radio mocked and promised relief from traditional broadcasting. Now, it’s where
you go to hear the hosts on the Triple-A channel, The Spectrum; advocate
for new music; or to hear a shotgun jingle on 70s on 7. Like the USPs, it
has addressed the spotload issue in a way that broadcast has not. And
people pay for it.

I still see a way forward. There was a lot of positive response to May
2020’s column “Six Things I Need To Tell You.” I still hold to that roadmap
for broadcast radio. Local stations that are truly local, even on Sunday afternoon. National stations that take advantage of being national, rather
than trying to hide it, becoming generic in the process. Broadcasters
offering one-stop shopping for all your audio needs something I hear emphasized more than ever in the on-air promos for Audacy and iHeart Radio.

I still hear things I enjoy on the radio. An infinite radio dial of more
than 100,000 worldwide station choices has made that one relatively easy.
To be fair, I’m starting with simple needs. I want to hear a new song I
might like. I want to hear an old song for the first time in a while. I
want to hear some creativity in the imaging that precedes these songs. I’d like to be amused by the backsell. I appreciate learning something about
your market in the process. Those things are still out there, and I know
how to find them. I also tape stations, so I don’t have to listen to seven minutes of car insurance ads at a pop. No, I do not expect non-industry listeners to do any of that.

I think broadcasters understand their issues. If anything makes me truly despair for radio, it is that I am still writing about spotload and particularly the streaming stopset experience after 15 years. I do hear glimmers of responsiveness among broadcasters these days — the creation of new local personality shows, the changes to the Top 40 format and some promising early results, the enterprise that went into Audacy’s expansion
of its side channels, the TikTok and SoundCloud collaborations. I am
careful not to make too much of that, because that would indeed be
boosterism. Also, because nothing really gets better until we address
spotload and the streaming experience.

Your mileage may vary. Ross On Radio readers have been in the business for
a year or for 40 years. They are in every format and every aspect of a
radio station. Over the last year, our look at “The Lost Factor” of various hit songs has expanded the non-industry audience looking to discuss music
or understand radio. A lot of those readers are the ones who were never entirely happy with what a radio dial of 12 local stations had to offer in their childhood. I’m glad if I can connect them with their wider variety of current choices. 

Everybody has a different relationship with radio, and I’m happy if I write something that resonates with yours every week or two. I understand that
there are both non-industry listeners and broadcasters who no longer engage with radio. I am encouraged by how many still do. 



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Flow 105.3 Debuts In Jacksonville

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:30 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/210978/flow-105-3-debuts-in-jacksonville/



Norsan Media has debuted Spanish Rhythmic Flow 105.3 on its recently
acquired 105.3 WYKB Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville FL.

The station is listing Daddy Yankee, Karol G, J Balvin, Anitta, Maluma,
Becky G, Bad Bunny, Rosalia, Nicky Jam, Natti Natasha, Annuel AA, Ozuna,
and Wisin y Yandel as core artists. The station is currently running
jockless, but intends to add an airstaff.

Norsan agreed to purchase then Classic Country Jax 105.3 WYKB from NIA Broadcasting in April for for $1 million.












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All Sinatra Coming To KKGO-HD3 Los Angeles

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:08 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/210979/all-sinatra-coming-to-kkgo-hd3-los-angeles/



Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters will flip 105.1 KKGO-HD3 Los Angeles to
all-Frank Sinatra on Friday, July 23.

Unforgettable FM will feature Jerry Sharell has an on-air host while Pat
Welsh serves as Program Director. Mount Wilsons Russ Maloney and Dan Feely
will be technical directors, Adam Bookbinder social media director, Saul
Levine as general manager, Natalie McVeigh as local sales manager with
Michael Levine as general sales manager.

KKGO-HD3 most recently rebroadcast Long Beach State Universitys K-Jazz 88.1 KKJZ Long Beach.



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WBT Fills 12-3 Slot With Pete Kaliner

Posted: 20 Jul 2021 03:21 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/210964/wbt-fills-12-3-slot-with-pete-kaliner/



Radio One News/Talk 1110 WBT Charlotte/99.3 WBT-FM Chester SC has become
the final station to fill its 12-3pm slot following the end of the Rush Limbaugh Show.

Pete Kaliner will return to the station to fill the slot as WBT goes all
local from 5am-7pm. Kaliner previously worked at the station as a news
anchor, reporter and host from to 1999 to 2011 before spending eight years hosting afternoons at iHeartMedias 570 WWNC Asheville NC. Since being let
go from WWNC as part of iHearts massive January 2020 layoffs, Kaliner has hosted a daily Asheville focused podcast.

Kaliner will debut on Monday, July 26.

Radio One and News Talk 1110 99.3 WBT have hired radio and podcast veteran Pete Kaliner to host a daily talk show from 12 PM to 3PM.

‘The Pete Kaliner Show’ will explore the important issues facing our nation, welcoming participation from the Charlotte audience, as part of
WBT’s live and local weekday lineup from 5 AM to 7 PM.

Known for his quick wit and asking thoughtful questions intended to
highlight all sides of a topic, Kaliner has spent the better part of the
past decade hosting afternoon drive at WWNC, Asheville, and producing a
daily news-based podcast that explores national and state issues. Returning
to WBT where he spent twelve years as a highly respected news reporter and host, Kaliner looks forward to re-engaging with the Charlotte audience in middays. And, just as WBT has supported the community of Charlotte for over
99 years, Pete will join in this commitment to service by raising awareness
to anti-poverty and animal welfare organizations as WBT approaches its Centennial celebration in 2022.

“For three decades, ‘Noon to 3’ has been synonymous with an icon that is irreplaceable,” said Marsha Landess, Regional Vice President and Market Manager for Radio-One Charlotte. “We know that no one will ever replace
Rush, and we’re not attempting to replace him. Bringing Pete Kaliner back
to WBT represents our commitment to serving this community, which includes
his decades of experience in covering national issues and how they affect
us here. We are excited by the future that having Pete on this team brings.”

“Returning to WBT is somewhat surreal, as it has been such a huge part of
my life. Being a part of WBT for all those years meant being a part of Charlotte’s unique and inspiring story. WBT and Charlotte are inextricably connected by a century of history. I am sincerely humbled and honored to be entrusted to help contribute to the next chapters,” said Kaliner.

The Pete Kaliner Show debuts on July 26, 2021, on News Talk 1110 99.3 WBT.

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