XPost: alt.radio.broadcasting

RadioInsight

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Steve Rixx Joins KAYD As Program Director

Posted: 18 Apr 2022 12:29 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/223998/steve-rixx-joins-kayd-as-program-director/



Cumulus Media Country 101.7 KAYD-FM Silsbee/Beaumont TX has officially announced the addition of Steve Rixx as Program Director.

Rixx joins Cumulus from the Operations Manager role at HEH Communications Country 101.7 KSAM-FM and Classic Hits The Lake 1490 KHVL/94.1 K231DA/104.9 K285GE Huntsville TX. He has previously worked at multiple stations in
Lufkin TX and at 100.3 The Bull KILT-FM Houston.

In addition to programming KAYD-FM, Rixx will host afternoons on Country
96.1 KYKZ Lake Charles LA and 99.7 KBCY Abilene TX.

Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has appointed veteran
Country radio programmer and on-air personality Steve Rixx as Program
Director for Cumulus Beaumont’s heritage Country station 101.7 KAYD-FM.
Rixx will also be heard on-air in afternoons from 3:00pm-7:00pm on Cumulus
Lake Charles, LA, Country station KYKZ-FM (KYKZ-96). He will also be heard
on Cumulus Abilene’s 99.7 KBCY-FM. Rixx’s appointment is effective May 2, 2022.

Rixx brings over 30 years of radio programming and on-air experience to his
new roles. Rixx started his radio career in his hometown of Lufkin, TX, at Country stations KYKS-FM (KICKS 105) and KJCS-FM (103 The Bull) and at
Lufkin Classic Rocker KTBQ (Q107). Rixx then moved to Houston Country
station KILT-FM (100.3 The Bull), where he was on-air in middays and afternoons. Most recently, Rixx was Operations Manager and Program Director
for Country station 101.7 KSAM-FM and Classic Hits station KHVL (The Lake
94.1 104.9) in Huntsville, TX.

Elizabeth Blackstock, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Lake Charles Beaumont, said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have Steve join our team.
His deep experience in the Country format, his knowledge and love for
Country music, and true passion for the business make him the perfect fit
for KAYD.”

Steve Rixx commented: Im excited to begin a new chapter with such an
amazing company as Cumulus! Thanks to Elizabeth Blackstock for never giving
up on me, as well as Greg Frey, Josh Holstead, and Paula Divello for saying
all the nice things. I cant wait to get in the seat and do amazing local
things in these great markets!


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What Classic Hits Stations Added This Year

Posted: 18 Apr 2022 12:00 PM PDT https://radioinsight.com/blogs/223989/what-classic-hits-stations-added-this-year/



Classic Hits stations don’t report their new “adds” to the trades. You don’t see their calls in advertising for new releases. But you can still
get a good sense of what songs are making their way on to Classic Hits stations, especially from the ‘90s and beyond, by looking at their station monitors in BDSradio.

BDSradio shows a “first spin” date for every song monitored that week. Sorting by “spin date” won’t show you which older titles have been bicycled
back on to the radio station, or which have worked their way up from ‘80s weekends and specialty shows over the years (typically how songs are
filtered in on KRTH [K-Earth 101] Los Angeles, for example), but it will
show you the titles, typically newer ones, that received their first spin
in the last year or two.

It has been a truism over the years that “they’re not making any new oldies.” In reality, the movement of new listeners into a Classic Hits’ station’s demographic does result in significant turnover. The most noticeable change is in ‘90s or newer songs coming into playability and ‘70s titles being further whittled down, although the rise of randomly generated streaming stories has the possibility of putting a “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” back in the public consciousness at any time. 

To get a sense of how Classic Hits stations are evolving, I looked at those songs that had started receiving significant airplay in the last year or
two. In some cases, there are only a few obvious “adds” over the last five years. Other stations have significantly bolstered their ‘90s or even early ‘00s component over the last year or two. No inside knowledge of stations’ internal music process is claimed here. A half-dozen new titles typically indicates a new music test, but could also indicate a new PD or just an
attempt to freshen by looking at what similar stations were playing. 

Here is a sampling of major Classic Hits stations, covering most of the
major groups, and in descending order by market size. (Note, when I refer
to a station adding ‘90s titles here, I may also be lumping in an early ‘00s song as well, since most stations willing to delve into that era will also cross into 2K for certain retro-flavored titles, if they haven’t
evolved even further.)

WCBS-FM New York

A lot of the newer titles on CBS-FM first appeared as “Oh Wow Wednesday”-type spikes before making their way to rotation. The newest “First Spin” title, Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” isn’t in
rotation now, but “Baby One More Time” is 3-4x a week, and that first got played in 2014. The most-recently added titles in rotation are “Waiting for Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez (2017) and “This Is How We Do It,” which was provocative enough in 2016 that I wrote about it. 

KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles

The most recent adds of significance went in last December. Coldplay’s “Clocks” plays 6-8x a week now. So did Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Could You
Be Loved” (7-10x), a rare case of a recently added older title. One of the most provocative recent first spins on K-Earth hasn’t gotten another play since showing up over the holidays last December — Warren G & Nate Dogg’s “Regulate.”

WLS-FM Chicago

WLS has only a few outright adds in the last few years. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You” (4-6x) went on in 2018. A few months earlier, the station switched to the Jimmy Cliff version of “I Can
See Clearly Now” and Uncle Kracker’s remake of “Drift Away.”

WROR Boston

The oft-market-leading Classic Hits outlet appears to have either created
or expanded a ‘90s category this year. In February, it shows first spins on titles including:

Sting, “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”
Blind Melon, “No Rain”
Counting Crows, “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Mr. Jones”
No Doubt, “Don’t Speak”
Barenaked Ladies, “One Week”
Alanis Morissette, “Head Over Feet” and “Ironic”
Dave Matthews Band, “Crush” and “Crash Into Me”
Creed, “Higher”
Third Eye Blind, “Semi Charmed Life”


Some non-‘90s/’00s titles showing their first spin around the same time are Howard Jones’s “Things Can Only Get Better,” Paul Young’s “Everytime You Go
Away,” and Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”

KJEB (The Jet) Seattle

Train’s “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” and Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing”
went in last October. George Michael’s “Freedom ‘90” went in during 2020.
Ace of Base’s “Don’t Turn Around” shows its first spin in summer ’19. The
Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You” showed up a few months before that.

KOAI (The Wow Factor) Phoenix

KOAI’s BDS history only goes back to 2019, so even though the frequency has
a longer history of Oldies/Classic Hits, it’s more possible to see John Sebastian’s recent adds to The Wow Factor. While the line between rotation song and spike is blurrier on a station whose most-played song (“For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield) plays 9x a week, some recently added songs getting 2-3 spins are:

James Taylor, “Your Smiling Face”
Peter & Gordon, “I Go to Pieces”
Pablo Cruise, “Love Will Find a Way”
Barry White, “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything”
Carpenters, “Please Mr. Postman”


(Recent one-off first-time spins on the Wow Factor include both “People” by Barbra Streisand and “Samba Pa Ti” by Santana; the latter is one of the songs that became a secret weapon for the deep cuts Classic Hits stations
that popped up in the early ‘00s.)

KQQL (Kool 108) Minneapolis

Kool 108’s most recent changes of significance were about a year ago, when
it began playing Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and Train’s “Drops of
Jupiter.” Kool also seemed to put in a handful of Green Day titles around
the same time — “When I Come Around,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and
“Basket Case” — but none of those played last week. A year earlier, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” and the Smash Mouth version of “I’m a Believer” went in.

WRBQ (Q105) Tampa

Q105 hasn’t added many new titles outright in the last few years, and most
of those are in the 1-3x range. Jimmy Cliff’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” Gin
Blossoms’ “Follow You Down,” and Skid Row’s “I Remember You” have all shown
up since 2020. Cardigans’ “Lovefool” went on the year before.

WDUV Tampa

As the former Soft AC “Dove” evolves to a poppier version of Classic Hits, it had several flurries of new song activity during 2021, adding both newer
and older titles. The former include:

Sheryl Crow, “My Favorite Mistake” and “If It Makes You Happy”
Jesus Jones, “Right Here, Right Now”
Deep Blue Something, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
Blues Traveler, “Run-Around”
Del Amitri, “Roll to Me”
Dionne Farris, “I Know”
Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, “Stay (I Miss You)”


Older titles included:

A Taste of Honey, “Boogie Oogie Oogie”
Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”
Chic, “Le Freak”
New Edition, “Candy Girl”


KXKL (Kool 105) Denver

Kool 105 was first monitored playing a number of ‘90s and ‘00s titles last May, when it also appears to have either created or expanded a ‘90s+ category, including:

Mariah Carey, “Always Be My Baby,” “Dreamlover,” and “Emotions” Collective Soul, “December”
Backstreet Boys, “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)”
Matchbox 20, “Push” and “Unwell”
Creed, “With Arms Wide Open” and “Higher”
Foo Fighters, “Learn to Fly” and “My Hero”
Shania Twain, “That Don’t Impress Me Much”
Hootie & the Blowfish, “Only Wanna Be With You”
Barenaked Ladies, “One Week”
Britney Spears, “(You Drive Me) Crazy” and “Baby One More Time” Blink-182, “All the Small Things”
Sheryl Crow, “Soak Up the Sun”
Del Amitri, “Roll to Me”
OMC, “How Bizarre”
Linkin Park, “In the End”
Green Day, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know” and “Head Over Feet”
Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”
Semisonic, “Closing Time”
Edwin McCain, “I’ll Be”
Sugar Ray, “Someday”
Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way” and “Larger Than Life”
DNA f/Suzanne Vega, “Tom’s Diner”
No Doubt, “It’s My Life”


A few older titles also went on in that time, including the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated,” AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and the B-52’s’ “Roam.”

WKQC (K104.7) Charlotte, N.C.

K104.7 is gold-based AC, but it effectively serves as Charlotte’s Classic Hits station. So the station’s most-played song is “Safe and Sound” by Capital Cities, but it also recently added a number of ‘70s Classic Rock titles, a noticeable enough change that a reader called it to my attention. Those titles included:

Electric Light Orchestra, “Mr. Blue Sky”
Sweet, “Fox on the Run”
Bad Company, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
Kansas, “Carry on Wayward Son”
Kiss, “Rock and Roll All Night”
Jefferson Starship, “Miracle”


K104.7 also began playing Elton John & Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart” this year, perhaps the perfect recent title for a station that straddles the two
formats in this way.

KONO 101 San Antonio

KONO has been very successful over the years with an older and more rhythmic-leaning version of Classic Hits. In a market with a considerable rhythmic and new-wave heritage, KONO’s most-played title last week was Information Society’s “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy).” But KONO has been filtering in the ‘90s over the last five years. The most recent
handful of titles were first seen a year ago, including:

38 Special, “Second Chance”
Janet Jackson, “Escapade”
TLC, “Waterfalls”
Ricky Martin, “Livin’ la Vida Loca”
Uncle Kracker, “Drift Away”
Vanilla Ice, “Ice Ice Baby”
Mariah Carey, “Emotions” and “Always Be My Baby”
Hootie & the Blowfish, “Only Wanna Be With You”
Cher, “Believe”
Backstreet Boys, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
George Michael & Elton John, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”
Selena, “I Could Fall in Love”


KOLA Riverside, Calif.

Four years ago, when other stations were tiptoeing into the ‘90s, I wrote about KOLA forging into the early-to-mid ‘00s. As you’d expect from that pattern, it’s now pushing into the last golden age of CHR in the late ‘00s/early ‘10s. Usher’s “Yeah” and Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” went on to
KOLA in 2020. Last year, new airplay included:

Pink, “So What” and “Just Like a Pill”
Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
No Doubt, “Hey Baby”
Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold” and “Firework”
Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
Neon Trees, “Animal”


KOLA also added one older title, Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Jamming,” in that same spate of titles.


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SiriusXM Expands Brand and Consumer Marketing Team

Posted: 18 Apr 2022 08:04 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/223984/siriusxm-expands-brand-and-consumer-marketing-team/



Today SiriusXM, the leading audio entertainment company in North America, announced several new hires on its growing Brand and Consumer Marketing organization. On the heels of SiriusXM’s most successful national ad campaign, “The Home of SiriusXM,” the company is increasing its investment in top talent, expanding the team, and bringing in marketing executives
with diverse backgrounds and experience.
Chosen from top media companies such as Fox Sports, Hulu, and Disney, these
new additions will report to SiriusXM’s Senior Vice President of Brand and Consumer Marketing, Kimberly K. Wilson. As a team they will be responsible
for driving growth and brand awareness for SiriusXM, Pandora, and its core businesses through innovative marketing initiatives, partnerships and experiences.

Rolanda Gaines, Vice President of Experiential and Partnership Marketing Tatiana Holifield, Vice President of Digital Content and Audience Engagement Joe Hanna, Senior Director, Brand and Platform Partnerships

“Coming off of a groundbreaking year we’re at a pivotal moment here at SiriusXM and the caliber of talent that we’re bringing in will surely help
us expand our leadership position in the audio space,” said Wilson. “Each hire comes in with a unique skill set, background and a proven track record
of understanding consumers needs. They will be integral in driving the
brands forward.”
Rolanda Gaines is a marketing and communications executive with domestic
and international experience in the sports, media, and entertainment space. Based in Atlanta, Gaines currently serves as Vice President, Experiential & Partnership Marketing for SiriusXM and Pandora. Prior to SiriusXM, Gaines
led marketing and communications for FOX Sports South and FOX Sports
Southeast (rebranded to Bally Sports in 2021), focused on driving awareness
and engagement of linear, streaming and digital platforms for eight professional teams across the NBA, NHL, WNBA, MLB, and MLS. She led a cross-functional department responsible for on-air promotion, public
relations, paid media, community relations, and activations. Additionally, Gaines held various positions at ESPN, including stints with ESPN
Enterprises, ESPN The Magazine, and ESPN Content Development. She
previously worked at Major League Baseball Properties in a marketing, advertising and licensing capacity, and also served in marketing and events roles at Nike, including Nike Sports Entertainment and NIKETOWN. Gaines
holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Fordham University, with additional studies at the Stanford Japan Center in Kyoto.
A seasoned marketing executive with 15 years of experience in media, sports
and entertainment, Tatiana Holifield has helped the world’s most
influential brands thrive amongst the evolving digital landscape.
Throughout her career, Holifield has launched new media practices, scaled global marketing divisions, and helped generate billions of earned and
owned media impressions. Holifield currently serves as Vice President,
Digital Content & Audience Engagement for SiriusXM/Pandora where she is responsible for transforming and driving digital growth for SiriusXM properties. Prior to her current role, Holifield was Head of Brand Social
for Hulu/Disney Streaming where she led the streaming giant’s social media accounts to drive earned media and brand awareness. Holifield also served
as Vice President/Head of Digital Strategy for Pacers Sports &
Entertainment where she was one of the Pacers’ highest-ranking women in leadership. Additionally, Tatiana has led marketing teams for Viacom’s BET Networks, NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution, SportsNet New
York, Gospel Music Channel, Disney Regional Entertainment’s ESPN Zone, Hampton Inn Hotel, Hard Rock Café and Taco Bell. Holifield was selected
into NAMIC’s prestigious Executive Leadership Development at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. She received her MBA from
Metropolitan College of New York and undergraduate degree from Columbia
College Chicago.
Joe Hanna is an award-winning marketer who has led customer growth and fan engagement strategies working with top industry brands including Disney,
ESPN, Google and AT&T. Hanna now serves as the Senior Director, Brand and Platform Partnerships for SiriusXM/Pandora. Prior to joining SiriusXM,
Hanna spent nearly 13 years at The Walt Disney Company, starting as a post-graduate intern within Disney’s Consumer Products division. He subsequently moved into roles at Disney Media and Entertainment
Distribution, where he spent the last 12 years. Hanna most recently served
as Director, Multiplatform Marketing, leading subscriber acquisition & retention partnership strategies across Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV, Sling TV
and others. A native of Los Angeles, Hanna is a proud graduate of San Diego State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in
Marketing.



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KBDS Moves Dana Cortez Show To Mornings

Posted: 18 Apr 2022 06:17 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/223977/kbds-moves-dana-cortez-show-to-mornings/



Chavez Radio Group Hip Hop Forge 103.9 KBDS Taft/Bakersfield CA has moved
the Dana Cortez Show from afternoons to mornings.

Cortezs show replaces Premiere Networks Big Boys Neighborhood in mornings
at KBDS. Chavez Radio Group made a similar move at their other Forge
branded station earlier this year when Cortez moved to mornings at “Forge 95.3” KBHH Kernan/Fresno.

Skyview Networks, a leading broadcast technology, syndication and network
audio sales solution company, is excited to announce that The Dana Cortez
Show is moving to morning drive on Chavez Radio Group’s KBDS, Bakersfield beginning April 18, 2022.

Led by Dana’s strong connection to females, millennials and Latino
audiences, The Dana Cortez Show is a proven revenue and ratings driver.

“The Dana Cortez Show has always stepped up to passionately support our global mission, offer ideas to increase our outreach and effectiveness, and bring daily entertaining, uplifting and inspiring content to our listening audiences in Bakersfield and Fresno,” commented Chavez Radio Group’s Program Director, Maria Barquin. “We are extremely proud to have Dana, DJ Automatic and Anthony A on our team and part of the Chavez Radio family.”

The Dana Cortez Show is the first nationally syndicated morning show hosted
by a Latina.

Cortez commented, “First Fresno and now Bakersfield! We appreciate the continued support of the Chavez Radio Group and are excited to wake up with
our listeners, each and every day, in Bakersfield and across the country.”

In addition to Dana, The Dana Cortez Show includes DJ Automatic, who is her executive producer and husband, and comedian Anthony Almanzar, their best friend.

Dana Cortez was recently named the recipient of a Gracie Award for
nationally syndicated radio host.

Skyview Networks is the exclusive distributor, affiliate sales
representative and network sales partner of The Dana Cortez Show. For more information on affiliation, please contact affiliation@skyviewsat.com and
visit skyviewnetworks.com/dana-cortez-show.


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Key Networks To Distribute Beasley's Daily ESports Segments

Posted: 18 Apr 2022 06:08 AM PDT https://radioinsight.com/headlines/223973/key-networks-to-distribute-beasleys-daily-esports-segments/



Key Networks has announced it will offer Beasley Media Groups ESports Quick Hits and Game Pop shortform features in syndication.

ESports Quick Hits is targeted for Sports stations and will now be heard on
Gow Medias SportsMap Radio network. Game Pop is targeted for music
stations. Both are 30 second segments with a 30 second network spot for
airing weekdays between 6am and 7pm.

Key Networks, a next generation radio syndication company, announces that
it will offer to radio stations across the U.S. the esports features Quick Hits and Game Pop through a partnership with Beasley Media Group. Esports
Quick Hits (for Sports stations) and Game Pop (for music-oriented stations) deliver high energy, entertaining video gaming and pop culture content that ties esports to the traditional sports world by keeping listeners up to
date on the latest esports and pro-gaming news. Both are available now
through a minimum of five 30-second segments each with a 30-second network
spot for airing Monday through Friday from 6am-7pm. Quick Hits and Game Pop
are produced by Benztown, and are upbeat, relatable, and easily sponsorable
for both sports and music stations as a primetime benchmark feature.
In addition, SportsMap Radio will be running the feature on over 100 U.S. stations on the SportsMap network four times a day every Monday through
Friday.
Esports and video gaming is one of the hottest and fastest-growing sectors
of the sports and entertainment industries. As the younger market continues
to migrate its entertainment interest to gaming and esports, stations can deliver short-form, easy to understand, entertaining audio content segments that will turn every sports enthusiast or pop culture fan into a video game-savvy tastemaker. With 600 million viewers watching esports, and 79%
of esports fans falling under the age of 35 including 1/3 of all men aged 18-34 spending more time playing and watching video games than watching TV
– esports is on the brink of passing the NFL in terms of fan popularity,
and video gaming is now displacing Pop Warner Football, Youth Hockey and
Little League.
Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer, Beasley Media Group, said: “Beasley Media Group and our Beasley Esports division couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership! Key Networks is very aligned with us on developing and distributing next-generation content that reflects the
growing popularity of digital sports.”
David Gow, CEO, Gow Media, owner of SportsMap Radio, commented: “Esports is an exciting, high growth content category. We are excited to partner with Beasley and Key Networks to add this high-quality content to our SportsMap Radio Network. We are confident our affiliates and audiences will enjoy the feature.”
“Airing Quick Hits & Game Pop is a great short-form way for our P1’s to discover and embrace the cool, exciting personalities and happenings in the exploding esports and video gaming space—which keeps our audiences
relevant, illuminated and ahead-of-the-curve,” cited Mac Edwards, VP &
Market Manager, Beasley Media Group/Detroit, representing a few of the many stations presently carrying the Esports Network.
Dennis Green, Chief Operating Officer, Key Networks, noted: “Key Networks continues to partner with best-in-class brands, and we are delighted to
bring the esports features Quick Hits and Game Pop to stations across the country. Our partners at Beasley Media Group discovered early on that
esports appeals to a young audience that continues to grow by leaps and
bounds. Now is the time to get on board, as the future for esports is NOW!” For more information or to lock in Quick Hits and Game Pop for your market, visit:www.keynetworks.com or contact Dennis Green, Chief Operating Officer,
Key Networks, at 844.KEY.NETS or dennis@keynetworks.com. For advertisers
and sponsors, contact Deidra Hoye, SVP, Ad Sales, Key Networks, at
310.739.8015 ordeidra@keynetworks.com.

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