TALKERS News Notes
Audacy Buffalo raises $117,000 for the SPCA Serving Erie County during its SPCA Radiothon, held on December 13 and hosted by news/talk WBEN-AM and country WLKK-FM. Audacy Buffalo SVP and market manager Tim Wenger says, “We’re thrilled to have been able to spearhead the radiothon effort for the SPCA in 2023 and excited we exceeded the goal and expectations for the event. The money raised is a testament to our listeners’ commitment to community and will go a long way toward helping the SPCA meet a growing need.”
ARC Software, Inc announces that RADIO.CLOUD enters into an agreement establishing ARC as its primary affiliate research and maintenance platform. RADIO.CLOUD account director Andrew Scaglione says, “Switching to ARC is a no brainer. Speaking from experience using both ARC and other systems in the past, it’s hands down the best CRM for the radio industry with reliable contact information and a seamless digital contract process. It’s going to play a key role in our future growth across the North American radio landscape.”
SiriusXM announces it is presenting 46 games this college football postseason. SiriusXM will carry live play-by-play of every Division I FBS bowl game – including the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship – as well as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Championship game and other postseason All-Star games. SiriusXM will carry Westwood One’s broadcast of the FCS Football Championship on January 7.
from the study include: 1) the proportion of AM/FM radio in-car listening rose 9% year-over-year and is on par with pre-pandemic levels of listening; 2) spoken-word content listening is at an eight-year high with 39% of ad-supported listening (including AM/FM, streaming and podcasts) devoted to news/talk, talk, and sports; and 3) looking at Persons 25-54, the share of ad-supported audio time spent with personalities/talk shows has increased the most – from 11% of ad-supported listening in Q4 2016 to 19.4% in Q3 of 2023. 
The lineup includes Westwood One talk hosts Dan Bongino, Chris Plante and Rich Valdes; Starnes Media Group’s Todd Starnes; FOX News Radio’s Guy Benson, Newsmax’s Rob Carson, and longtime Pittsburgh TV and radio personality Wendy Bell. It will also use FOX News Radio for network news. Hispanic Broadcasting president Matthew Velasquez says, “We’re excited to bring Houston listeners a better choice in news/talk radio. The mission of ‘Patriot Talk 920 AM’ is to become the leader in conservative talk radio with programming that reflects our core values of family, faith and freedom.” For more information, contact Steve Lapa at 
over Cumulus’ mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy. Bongino says, “It’s been a fascinating couple years of ups and downs both personally and in the political space. I love what I do, and I’m ecstatic that we’ve agreed to move forward with the show after changes were made. I want to thank all the shows’ supporters, the stations, and program directors for their continued support. I promise to keep my foot on the gas pedal.” Westwood One president Suzanne Grimes states, “‘The Dan Bongino Show’ is one of the greatest growth stories in network syndication, with Dan delivering programming unlike anyone else. As we head into what will surely be an unpredictable election cycle, we know Dan will be always insightful, sometimes provocative, and never disappointing, which is why our listeners are wildly engaged, and our advertisers have flocked to the show.”
and M&A), and investor relations efforts. Jones has led the Cumulus through several strategic transactions and growth initiatives including the acquisition of Westwood One in 2013. Additionally, he oversees IncentRev, the company’s e-commerce and daily deal platform. Cumulus CEO Mary Berner comments, “With his deep understanding of both Cumulus Media and Westwood One, Collin is uniquely qualified for this role and is well-prepared to harness the full power of our platform to help Westwood One grow. Collin has consistently demonstrated his savvy business acumen, effective management style, and collaborative spirit, and I have full confidence that he has the skills and the vision to build upon Suzanne’s considerable accomplishments.” Berner adds, “I would like to thank Suzanne for her invaluable contributions and her pivotal role in our success. Under her leadership, we launched the top-rated Cumulus Podcast Network, built the multi-platform Westwood One News/Talk franchise, and established the industry-leading Audio Active Group. Throughout her time with Cumulus, she has been a remarkable leader, colleague, and mentor to many, and we are certain she will accomplish great things wherever she chooses to share her talents next.”
be able to review podcasts to ensure they meet their brand’s safety and suitability standards. Brands are also able to monitor their ad-buys during and after the campaigns to ensure their standards are being upheld. Westwood One SVP, sales and digital partnerships David Cohn comments, “We are proud to provide Barometer’s transparency and accountability to the marketplace. Brand marketers now represent 61% of U.S. podcast revenue. Advertisers deserve a brand-suitability solution that is designed for the unique attributes of podcast content rather than the legacy systems that were designed for display and online video.”
AM/FM radio listeners are 39% more likely to pay $301+ to have their taxes prepared and show greater familiarity, interest, consideration, and usage of tax category brands; 2) AM/FM radio ads drive site traffic for tax preparation brands: In the LeadsRx attribution study of a tax preparation service’s multi-wave campaign, AM/FM radio generated between a 43% to 47% increase in website traffic; 3) Branding early and often in tax preparation service ads drives more site traffic: LeadsRx found the top three creative executions that drove site traffic for a tax preparation service had the marketer’s brand name within the first five seconds of the ad; and 4) compared to other radio formats, a 2023 tax prep campaign on news/talk and sports stations realized a higher percentage share of interactions than the percentage share of their Nielsen ad impressions. 
a host-read ad on a podcast or AM/FM radio show drives powerful brand impact and sales effect and positive emotional impact is what measures a successful campaign. System1 studied host-read ads and devised a rating system that correlates creative quality with long-term share growth – in layman’s terms, “the more you feel, the more you buy.” But the study found that only 17% of the ads tested rated high enough to have the sufficient emotional impact necessary to lift long-term brand share by between 1% and 3%. 
including many Cumulus radio stations, with station jingles, commercial jingles, and production music. TM also acquires the additional assets of the Drake Chenault catalog and all intellectual property associated with TM’s former product lines HitDisc and GoldDisc. Westwood One originally purchased TM Studios in 2009 and subsequently sold the company to former TM executives Greg Clancy, Dave Bethell, and Chris “UK” Stevens in November 2020. WWO president Suzanne Grimes states, “Westwood One is committed to partnering with companies that provide unique products and outstanding service, and TM fits that description perfectly. By extending our relationship with TM, we are assured that radio stations around the country will be able to access the best-in-class offerings TM has been creating for more than 50 years.”
the study found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases the Creative Standout score by 1%. Creative Standout is achieved when consumers say, “this ad stands out” and rate an ad with an 8, 9, or 10 on a one-to-ten-standout scale. Further it found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases web traffic by 0.25%. Creative Standout in audio advertising is strongly linked to ad response via website visits. For each 1% rise in Creative Standout achieved by an audio ad, website response rate increases by 0.25%. Also, the more messages that are included in the ad, the poorer the recall. An ad with four messages will have message recall of only 24%, compared to 43% for ads with just one message. The more messages an ad attempts to communicate, the lower the likelihood of a single message being communicated. 
ECHO box technology. He says, “GCN’s Adam Miller explains that their ECHO Files can easily be synced with most radio automation systems for easy delay broadcast with no new hardware needed and about fifteen minutes setup time! There is no need to have staff do daily chores like pulling files manually from an FTP or website. Those days are done! For live affiliates GCN has their ECHO Box that comes pre-programmed for the shows the affiliate carries. The ECHO Box can also do delay broadcast. They are sending these out with priority to stations that take the largest number of live hours, but eventually all live affiliates will receive them as dozens more of the very small ECHO Boxes will be coming in early November.” Affiliates with questions can call Adam Miller at 612-695-5982. 
advertising. In 2016 and 2017, direct response represented the vast majority of podcast advertising. From 2018 to 2021, the proportion of podcast ad spend was equally split between brand and direct response.” The post says there are four major implications of the shift to podcast brand advertising: 1) Targeting will become much broader: Wide campaign reach will become the priority with a goal of “being known before you’re needed”; 2) Creative will shift to become more entertaining and emotion based: The objective will be to stir passions and create positive feelings and associations with ads that people find interesting and enjoyable; 3) Brand safety and suitability measurement will become more crucial: Firms like Barometer will become powerful resources to help marketers find the right context for their campaigns with nuanced data; and 4) Measurement will focus on how well campaigns build memories to ensure brands are “easy to mind and easy to find”: Key performance indicators are brand awareness, brand consideration, and brand preference. 
York. The spoken-word winners included: Legendary Radio Station of the Year – all-news KCBS-AM, San Francisco; Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year – Rich Eisen, Westwood One; Best Podcast of the Year – “The Letter,” KSL-FM, Salt Lake City; News/Talk Station of the Year – WTOP-FM, Washington, DC; and Sports Station of the Year – WBZ-FM, Boston.
MultiMedia’s weekend programs, are migrating to new satellite distribution as the programming shifts from GCN Channels 1, 3, 4 & 6 to Wegener/Westwood One Satellite Channel A-1DBV165. GCN will continue to offer audio access via Echo Box.
2018, Nielsen’s Total Audience Report reveals the 18-49 weekly reach of live and time-shifted TV has dropped -26%. Over the same period, TV’s daily time spent is down -59%; 2) cord-cutting is a major driver of TV’s audience collapse: The MRI Simmons January 2023 “How Americans Watch TV” report reveals 51% have cut the cord; 3) While a huge number of Americans have abandoned traditional TV for streaming, AM/FM radio remains the dominant audio platform: According to Edison Research’s Q2 2023 “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio has a massive 69% share of U.S. ad-supported audio. AM/FM radio audience shares are over 17 times larger than ad-supported Pandora and ad-supported Spotify. 
and satellite delivery of programming. It contracts for that XDS satellite delivery from Westwood One. GCN CEO Ted Anderson tells TALKERS, “We’ve been working with Westwood One for almost 30 years and it appears that we are at an impasse with them contractually going forward. It has been a very positive and productive relationship, but it is time to move on. C-Band is a legacy technology that developed in the earlier days of talk radio but it is no longer a fundamental choice. We intend to provide our hosts and clients with modern, real-time audio with less delays than C-Band.”
were 33% more likely to say the brand “partners with all my favorite stores,” 81% more likely to indicate the e-commerce retailer “is a brand I trust,” 140% more likely to associate the brand for offering “the best sales and coupons”; 2) among those exposed versus those not exposed, brand equity measures surged, showing 54% growth in familiarity, 31% lift in average brand images, 37% greater consideration, 102% increase in purchase intent, and 55% growth in customer forecast; and 3) concluded that best practices to power direct-to-consumer marketing effectiveness calls for allocating 74% of marketing budgets to creating future demand (brand building) and 26% to converting existing demand (sales activation), targeting broadly to expand the customer base, employing emotional advertising to build direct-to-consumer brands and drive sales and profit, being known before you are needed, and buying lots of ads in all days and dayparts.