Tag: "Little Rock"

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Les Moonves Still Says CBS Likes Radio.  If CBS is interested in selling its radio properties, CBS president and CEO Les Moonves isn’t spilling the beans.  CBS presented at Deutsche Bank’s DbAccess 21^st Annual Media and Telecom Conference yesterday and when asked by Deutsche Bank’s Douglas Mitchelson about the flat performance of radio in general, Moonves said the company still likes radio for its cash.  “We like radio.  Once again, low-single digit growth, revenue, OIBDA.  It’s still a very great cash business with great margins.  We still like running it.  We have no intent to sell it as many people are watching terrestrial radio today as watching 10 years ago, even with all these things going on with satellite and everything else.  It is what it is.  We like the business, it produces cash every year.  We like having the amount of cash we have, where our balance sheet is certainly in great shape, partially because of radio.”

Cumulus-Cox Suit Over Birmingham Sports Programmer Settle; PD Returns to WJOX.  The battle between sports talkers WJOX – owned by Cumulus Media – and crosstown start-up WZNN – owned by Cox Media Group but soon to be officially acquired by SummitMedia along with Cox’s other Birmingham stations – has been a hotbed of legal action over the past couple of years.  But as the closing by SummitMedia on WZNN “97.3 The Zone” nears, one battle appears to have been settled.  Programmer Ryan Haney – who jumped from WJOX to WZNN back in late January only to have his move challenged in court by Cumulus – returns to WJOX.  The Birmingham News reports neither side is commenting on any such deal.  Haney’s contract had expired more than two years ago but he’d been working as an at-will employee.  He left WJOX the same day popular sports talk personality Paul Finebaum left at the expiration of his contract.  Finebaum is not working in the business as he is expected to join WZNN after his non-compete expires.

So, You Want to be Syndicated?  Noted radio consultant and TALKERS columnist Holland Cooke says, “I can help you…but first, can I talk you out of it?  Even though being syndicated seems to be the dream of most local or even wannabe radio talk show hosts, having your show run on a string of stations around the country is a goal that 1) is extremely difficult to attain; and 2) might not be worth the effort at this point in the industry’s evolution.  Read Holland Cooke’s fascinating, eye-opening explanation of what you will be facing, in addition to suggesting workable and realistic alternatives, in a blunt, informative article by clicking here.

KYW, Philadelphia Promotes Cherri Gregg to Community Affairs Reporter.  CBS Radio all-news KYW, Philadelphia ups reporter Cherri Gregg to community affairs reporter.  In this new role, Gregg will be shedding light on the numerous issues, neighborhoods and area leaders affecting community life in the Delaware Valley across a variety of time periods for the station.  Gregg joined KYW in 2011 as a general assignment reporter while completing a Masters in Journalism at Temple University.  She came to the station from the legal field where she had practiced for eight years at two Am-Law 100 law firms.  The company says that although she enjoyed the practice of law, her true passion is reporting on stories that matter to the community.  In January 2010, she quit her job at a top Philadelphia law firm to pursue her passion full time.  Director of news and programming Steve Butler states, “Cherri has been a terrific addition to the KYW Newsradio staff and we’re pleased she will be focusing on developing stories from the grass roots,  Covering all aspects of the Delaware Valley community is job-one for our staff, and we’re glad to have her continue that Newsradio legacy.”

KGOW, Houston Shuffles Lineup; Granato and Pendergast to PM Drive.  The lineup at Gow Broadcasting’s KGOW, Houston will feature Yahoo! Sports Radio morning personality Steve Czaban and current AM drivers John Granato and Sean Pendergast will move to the PM drive slot beginning Monday, March 11.  The Houston Chronicle reports Adam Clanton and John Wessling – the afternoon drive team since last August have exited the station.  In the Chronicle piece, owner David Gow addresses the station’s recent poor ratings which have failed to have the station appear in the most recent survey.  “We look forward to our ratings coming back up with this lineup.  We’ve been frustrated with the Arbitron results for a period of months. But the driving factor is the chance to put together this new lineup that will roll out on Monday.”  Czaban will be followed by DIRECTV/Fox Sports Radio’s Dan Patrick with John Harris hosting the 11:00 am to 3:00 pm program.

Odds & Sods.  Sports USA is presenting exclusive national terrestrial radio coverage of all three legs of horse racing’s Triple Crown.  The company is partnering with Mike Penna’s Horse Racing Radio Network for the events.  Each two-hour broadcast will begin at 5:00 pm ET and will feature the live call of each race from the track announcer along with live trackside reports…..ESPN Radio’s Championship Week coverage begins with the inaugural “Greenberg & Greenberg in the Morning” show this Friday, March 8 from 6:00 am to 10:00 am ET where Mike Greenberg will be joined by former Virginia Tech men’s head basketball coach Seth Greenberg for a hoops-heavy, four-hour broadcast.  The network is also airing the Big 12 Semifinals and Championship as well as every game of the ACC Tournament……SiriusXM teams former NFL QB Rich Gannon with Bruce Murray for “The SiriusXM Blitz” program that airs weekdays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm ET on its NFL Radio channel.

A Capitol Idea.  KARN-FM, Little Rock afternoon drive host and program director Dave Elswick is hosting live broadcasts twice per week from the Arkansas State Capitol in order to keep his listeners up-to-date on the latest state political news (and, of course, Dave’s opinions concerning said news!).  Pictured here at a recent broadcast from the capitol building are (from l-r): guest host Laurie Lee, Elswick, Saline County Clerk Dennis Milligan, and Arkansas Tea Party activist David Crowe.

Sequestration Issue, North Korea Threats/Dennis Rodman Remarks, Iran Nuclear Build-Up, Surging Dow, and Jeb Bush in 2016 Rumors Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (3/4).  The ongoing sequestration issue; North Korea’s threats against South Korea and Dennis Rodman’s cozying up to Kim Jong-Un; Iran’s nuclear build-up; the surging Dow Jones industrial average; and Jeb Bush’s not ruling out a run for president in 2016 were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS.