Salary Survey 2014

THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO
FALL 2014
@INSIDERADIO
RADIO SHOW EDITION — INDIANAPOLIS
NEWS & UPDATES @ INSIDERADIO.COM
Mobilizing
Radio
Salary
Survey
2014
BUD
WALTERS
National
Radio Award
Winner
A Portal
To Digital
Dollars
DARREN
DAVIS
InsideRadio
Q&A
You Are So
Radio, If…
Drive-time
Dominators
Format
Scorecard
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 1
2 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Mobilizing
Radio
p.4
Mobilizing Radio
What radio’s doing to grab its share of mobile dollars
Salary Survey 2014
Who makes what and who is earning more
A Portal to Digital Dollars
Local groups find online success by thinking big
Cromwell’s Bud Walters
National Radio Award Winner
p.8
p.13
PAGE 4
Broadcasters are harnessing
apps to make richer listening
experiences, to strengthen
radio’s immediacy and
interactivity, and to make
ads more relevant. With a
sometimes deafening roar
from marketers to include
mobile elements in ad
solutions, mobile has become
more than just a buzzword. 8
p.16
2014 INSIDE RADIO
Salary Survey
Clear Channel’s Darren Davis
The Inside Radio Q&A
p.18
Drive-time Dominators
p.23
You Are So Radio, If…
p.24
Format Scorecard
p.26
WELCOME
TO INDY!
PAGE 8
How much rank and file
broadcasters are paid across
all industry segments is akin to
a connect-the-dots drawing.
The end game reveals a picture
of how the radio business is
doing in 2014. This year, a
solid majority of broadcasters
say their salary either grew
compared to the prior year,
or held steady. 8
Indianapolis and the state of Indiana are known as the Crossroads of America, connecting
Hoosiers with the rest of the country. This week, they serve as the crossroads for the radio
industry, linking broadcasters of all sizes and shapes with the shared goal of moving forward
in a media world where consumers are clearly in charge.
In that spirit, this special magazine edition of Inside Radio reflects the industry at its own
crossroads. We explore how some broadcasters are doubling down on digital, with mobile
apps that deepen listener engagement, and community web portals that help scale online
investments.
We talk to one of radio’s rising young stars about the fast-changing world of network radio.
We tell the unusual story of this year’s National Radio Award Winner and his FM translator
quest. And, we reveal the results of Inside Radio’s latest Salary Survey, opening a window
into who makes what and how you stack up.
So, welcome to the Crossroads. Enjoy the Radio Show! And thanks for relying on Inside
Radio to deliver the most trusted news in radio.
— The Inside Radio Team
GET YOUR NEWS EVERY DAY FROM THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO, INSIDERADIO.COM
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 3
MOBILIZING RADIO
MOBILIZING
RADIO
by Paul Heine
2014 has been called ‘the year of
mobile advertising.’ Here’s what
radio is doing to grab its share
A
n inherently mobile medium since cars became
equipped with radios in the early 1930s, radio
lost some of its mobile mojo once the transistor
radio and the Walkman became museum pieces.
Now that the smartphone is man’s unofficial fifth
appendage, apps and streaming are re-mobilizing radio and
helping redefine the medium. Broadcasters are harnessing
apps to make richer listening experiences, to strengthen radio’s
immediacy and interactivity, and to make ads more relevant.
With a sometimes deafening roar from marketers to include
mobile elements in ad solutions, mobile has become more than
just a buzzword.
“Mobile is a big part of the conversation from our advertisers,”
Hubbard Radio regional SVP Joel Oxley says. Emmis Digital
president Angie May Cook says marketers are starting to see
“real value” in radio’s mobile assets and are willing to pay a
premium for them. “It’s more than just an add-on to a radio
buy,” she says. Marketron VP of mobile solutions, Martin
Kristiseter, says mobile demand from advertisers is “forcing
stations to step it up.”
easy to consume and effective on mobile, because that will,
in turn, make the advertising more effective.” For instance,
Hubbard’s WTOP-FM, Washington (103.5) is converting its
website to responsive design, which automatically resizes the
content for optimum viewability based on the screen size of
the device being used. The all-news giant is also upgrading its
home-made content management system to Word Press and
developing a dedicated traffic app.
In a first, mobile is poised to blow past print, radio and out-ofhome advertising by year’s end to rank as the third biggest ad
medium with revenue of $17.73 billion, according to eMarketer.
While that’s extraordinary for a relatively new medium, mobile
ad spending still lags mobile consumption. It accounts for onefourth of American media time but only 9.8% of ad share,
per eMarketer. But, that could change. More than 90% of
advertisers expect to increase their mobile ad spending this
year, according to a survey by data company Jivox.
WTOP isn’t the only station working to up its mobile game.
Cox Media Group this year, launched new interactive, stationbranded apps for each of its news/talk radio brands, following
the introduction of individual apps for its music stations last
year. To date, Cox has over 600,000 app downloads and time
spent using them per visitor continues to grow every month.
Though marketers understand they need to be on mobile, best
practices for exploiting the channel are still being written. Due
to its relative youth, there’s confusion over how best to engage
in mobile advertising, Nielsen concluded in a recent report.
“We’re still experimenting with the advertisers to find the most
effective way to deliver their advertising message on mobile, ”
Oxley says. “We’re doing a lot of things to make our content
4 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
Cox radio director of digital audience, Tim Clarke says the
apps go well beyond just offering another way to listen to
station streams. The news/talk apps offer on-demand traffic
and weather, news in text format, weather and traffic maps, a
Twitter stream, alarm clock, click-to-call functionality, and an
Open Mic feature that lets users record a brief report to share
breaking news, severe weather and traffic tips directly with the
station, or to chime in on talk show topics.
Cox stations position their apps as a listener necessity for
MOBILIZING RADIO
getting the complete station experience. That involves making
them part of almost everything that happens on the air and
educating the audience about the deeper engagement they can
get from mobile. “The apps are just big shells of code if we don’t
fill them with content on a daily basis,” Clarke says. “They’re
nothing without the core radio product.”
air megaphone bounces people into the station app, where
they can use a feature to record their opinion on a topic being
discussed on the air, request a song or enter a contest. The
trampoline bounces them back to the station to hear the
outcome of their in-app activity. Client opportunities are only
limited by the imagination of the buyer and seller.
Integrating App and Station
Because it marries audio and video in the element first seen
when a station stream is launched, pre-roll video is mobile’s
hottest ad unit. Pre-roll is so in demand that some audio
publishers now offer mid-roll ad units that launch after the user
has unlocked their device screen during a listening session.
In their rush to mobile, broadcasters sometimes think they need
an app strategy. But, Clarke contends they need to integrate
mobile into their overall product strategy, linking the app’s
features to the core radio product, from contesting and requests
to texting and providing feedback. “Mobile makes it so much
easier to take those actions,” Simon Moy, chief operating officer
at mobile tech company Airkast, says. “They hit one button on
their phone and
they can do it
right from the
app.”
Radio is in a
strong position
to leverage
m o b i l e ,
digital experts
say.
With
experienced
local sales
teams,
it
already has
trusted relationships with clients looking to make their mobile
move. Radio can offer the best of both worlds: the big reach of a
mass media and the hyper-targeted efficiency and transparency
of digital.
Mobile campaigns tied to an exclusive piece of artist content
are said to produce the highest engagement rates. Click rates
for basic banner ads are below 1% but jump to 10%-30% when
exclusive content, promotion or a contest tied to a hot recording
artist is integrated into the campaign.
“MOBILE IS KEEPING RADIO
SEXY AND RELEVANT AND
HELPING DELIVER A MORE
ENGAGING PRODUCT.”
— TIM CLARKE
Mobile also gives radio another way to surround the consumer,
adding a visual element to an audio medium. For example,
a streaming audio ad tells would-be car buyers to click on a
banner ad, which whisks them to a landing page where they can
view and search dealer inventory or click to call. “It’s two great
mediums that really play well together,” Kristiseter says.
Brands increasingly use mobile as part of integrated, crossplatform campaigns that run in tandem with other online and
offline media. A recent survey of advertisers and agencies from
Nielsen and the online publication Digiday, drilled down into
what media marketers are using mobile with. When it comes to
offline media, nearly a third of brands (31%) prefer to run mobile
ads alongside radio, compared with 41% for TV and 28% for
print. Agencies are a bit more pro-radio: 43% most often use
radio in combination with mobile, compared to 50% for print
and 45% for TV.
What’s Working
Like a trampoline tipped on its side, station apps function
like a springboard for integrating radio with mobile. The on-
Banner ads alone may not move product for say, a beer
distributor. But, a station’s mobile app can be used to increase
engagement with a beer brand on-site at an event, by tying in
with the station’s loyalty rewards program, which awards prizes
based on activity within the app. In one instance, listeners
to a Cox station were told they could earn a loyalty badge by
scanning the beer’s code into their mobile device at the event,
using the station app. “We can create an interactive program
that activates the customer through different touch points of
their experience with the brand,” Clarke says. “The idea is to give
brands a 360-degree access to that consumer.” | p.7 8
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INSIDE RADIO | 5
6 | INSIDE RADIO
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MOBILIZING RADIO
With year-over-year mobile listening up a massive 39.7%
in May, per Triton Digital, radio’s ace in the hole may be the
streaming audio ad unit. “Radio is unique in that it delivers an
audio ad unit that is interruptive,” Triton Digital president of
market development John Rosso says. “It stops the content
so you get the user’s full attention, but not in a way that they
change the channel and tune away.” Digitally-aggressive
stations are weaving couponing, store locators and landing
pages into banner ads, synched to audio ads. The arrival of geotargeting is allowing ads to be served that are more meaningful
to the consumer based on their location or the activity they’re
engaging in at the moment.
But, old standbys like email marketing remain a hot item.
Around three-fourths of internet users check email via mobile,
according to eMarketer. So it’s no surprise that 86% of U.S.
digital marketers use email regularly, according to research by
Gigaom, which called email “the digital marketing warhorse.”
ROI and Training Hurdles
Though consumer engagement can be measured and shared
with the client, accountability in mobile advertising still has a
long way to go. “Mobile marketers and media owners say their
inability to measure the effectiveness of their mobile efforts
consistently with other media is one of their biggest pain points,
and a significant barrier to mobile growth,” Nielsen concludes in
a recent report.
Schooling programmers, sellers and promotion directors on
mobile is also lacking, broadcasters say. “The biggest issue we’ve
seen is the training,” Marketron’s Kristiseter says, noting how
sellers are sometimes overwhelmed with station products to
sell. Daily one-on-one conversations and putting digital experts
on the road are seen as more effective training methods than
formalized webinar and PowerPoint presentations.
Broadcasters say mobile is bringing sexy back to radio. “Mobile
is keeping us sexy and relevant,” Clarke says. “We have a
screen now and can serve content visually, which makes radio
a more engaging product.” Airkast’s Moy maintains mobile is
satisfying consumer desire for instant gratification, the ability
to immediately text or call the station, access content on
demand and share it on social media. “Those are all the sexy
communication vehicles and having them built into radio apps
is an effective way to modernize the medium,” he says.
Broadcasters agree radio is still in the early innings of a mobile
game that will likely go into overtime. For most, mobile
“STATIONS THAT ARE
AGGRESSIVELY GOING
AFTER IT WILL SEE 15-20%
MOBILE GROWTH
THIS YEAR.”
– SIMON MOY
contributes a small but growing piece of the digital revenue pie.
Cox doesn’t break out mobile revenue separately in its radio
division but says that its digital revenue growth is up 30% year
over year.
Broadcasters that have been in the game for a while will see
double-digit mobile revenue gains, according to Moy. “Those
that have a lot of experience and dedicated sales forces that are
aggressively going after mobile will see 15-20% mobile growth
this year,” he forecasts.
But, mobile can pay radio dividends beyond revenue directly
attributable to it by helping lure dormant advertisers back to the
medium. “Mobile will grow radio revenue in two ways: direct
revenue from the app and the impact on core broadcast sales,”
Clip Interactive EVP/chief revenue officer Bill Freund says. “The
real growth opportunity is how do you get somebody back who
left for digital media or how do you get somebody who was
only doing search or display or video to come on board.”
Triton’s Rosso agrees that digital capabilities like geo-targeting
will bring new clients on board. “There’s a huge opportunity,”
he says. “If you start dividing up the audience into geographic
buckets, that makes radio efficient and affordable for even the
very small advertisers.” n
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 7
SALARY SURVEY
2014 RADIO INDUSTRY
SALARY
SURVEY
Who makes what and who
is earning more...
»»Presented by
About the Survey
We asked and many answered. The Radio Industry
Salary Survey, sponsored by Strategic Radio
Solutions, is based on responses from 4,086
broadcasters. Their honest and anonymous
disclosures can help industry professionals
compare their pay with their peers and determine
future earnings potential.
»» The sample size for the salary survey is up over 20%
compared to last year.
»» A majority of broadcasters say their total compensation
either grew or held steady compared to the prior year.
»» As expected, market managers who supervise a cluster
have the highest average salary at $208,600. But the pay
range for the position is also extremely broad.
»» The top-paid market manager taking part in the survey
reports earning $950,000 compared to $38,500 earned by
the lowest-paid.
»» Radio’s second-highest paid position is director of sales,
»» The top-paid personality taking part in our survey
reports a $1.2 million salary.
»» Some respondents say they’re earning less, primarily
those working in the sales department. The average pay
for a salesperson with five or more years of experience
is $112,200, with 39% earning less than the prior year.
The average for a salesperson with fewer than 5 years
experience is $59,000 and includes many first-year
sellers.
»» Only one third of all national sales managers who
responded saw their pay increase last year. But many
markets and companies no longer have an NSM.
»» There were a few positions that didn’t meet
Inside Radio’s established minimum reporting
requirements to ensure statistical validity for
average pay, but the data still allows us to share
sample salary levels. For example, a typical payroll
manager earns $87,500, but most of the responses
are from the top 25 markets, where that title is most
likely to exist.
earning an average of $176,700.
»» Regardless of whether compensation was up,
»» On the programming side, it pays to be an early riser.
down or stayed the same, 77% of those who took
the survey answered ‘yes’ to this question: If you
'had to do it all over again', would you choose a
career in radio? Only 23% said ‘no’.
Morning hosts earn an average $163,000, the most of any
on-air position.
8 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
SALARY SURVEY
Survey Respondents Say…...
Survey Tidbit:
If you ‘had to do it all over again’,
would you choose a career in radio?
77% said ‘YES’ — 23% said ‘NO’.
| continued p.11 8
»»
Disclaimer: Many of the above titles are unique, were
reported by the respondent, and did not meet minimum
reporting targets; Compare carefully!
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 9
10 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
RADIO SHOW 2013
SALARY SURVEY
INSIDERADIO.COM TALENT SPOTLIGHT
Survey Tidbit:
The average
Imaging
Director
earns
$71,600
Dana moved from
local to national
radio when
The Dana Show
was syndicated by
Radio America.
She recently talked
about her career:
You used to be a liberal, didn’t you?
That’s a generous way to put it. I was a
flaming bed-wetting liberal who was
a member of college Democrats and
campaigned for Clinton before I could
vote. I didn’t share every progressive
viewpoint, particularly on guns and
life, but I was raised a Democrat and
had not a single conservative political
influence in my life. Rage against the
machine was the status quo on my
campus which made the whole thing
seems homogenized and pretentious.
I had a mid-life crisis when I was 20.
When I became a mom at 21 I realized
that everything I ever stood for as a
single feminist was everything from
which I now wanted to protect my son.
Then 9-11 did the rest.
What’s the one moment in your
show that you really look forward to
each day?
I think my favorite moment is when
I get a call from someone on the left
who says that they opened their mind
and considered the possibilities and
see things differently now. As a former
liberal, I can’t tell you how much pride
you have to swallow to admit that maybe
you were wrong about some things. It
takes a very open mind. These people
need encouragement. Even if it’s just one
person every now and then, to me that
one person feels like a hundred people.
There is a lot of buzz right now about
the talk format losing audience and I hear you have a book coming out
yet this is the time that you’ve chosen this Fall?
to go into syndication. Why?
It’s called “Hands Off My Gun”. Mark Levin
It’s because the manner in which people said that it “obliterates every baseless
want their news and politics delivered argument made against the Second
is changing. When “The Daily Show” Amendment.” I delve into the history
winds up on a list of top five news of the Second Amendment, the racist
sources beating out MSNBC in the latest roots of gun control, how firearms are
Brookings study, that says something. the ultimate feminist equalizer, and
I’m a Gen Y-Xer and a hallmark of my debunk every gun control myth that’s
generation’s personality is to be cynical been made. I’m going to send a signed
and irreverent in a fun way. I’m a mom copy to Michael Bloomberg because if it
with two young kids so I know all about weren’t for him, I don’t know that I would
enjoying the absurdity in life.
have been able to write this book. n
»» Special Thanks to those who responded to this
year’s salary survey. For copies of the survey
results, visit www.insideradio.com.
Learn more about The Dana Show @
radioamerica.org/PRG_danashow.htm
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 11
Triton creates...
A better listener
experience
Research shows that more than ever, listeners hear audio on digital devices,
smartphones and computers, not on a traditional radio, even if it’s an AM/FM station.
A pioneer in the space, Triton Digital, has just launched a new ad platform to serve
traditional radio, digital radio and pureplays alike, but most of all, it helps deliver.
Triton Digital gets high marks for its new ad platform
for live and on-demand broadcasters...
A: We took our time, listened to our customers, and
Benjamin Masse
Tell me about the new ad platform...
For more information on Tap or Triton Digital, contact:
Benjamin Masse
benjamin.masse@tritondigital.com
Online@ www.tritondigital.com and twitter: @tritondigital
developed a great product for not only the publishers but
also the listeners.
A: The Triton Advertising Platform, known as Tap, is designed
to help radio and digital broadcasters monetize live and ondemand streaming. It’s an easy-to-use, solution-oriented
product that provides many benefits to both traditional
and digital audio publishers. Tap is not a new generation of
the old system, but rather a brand new product developed
after an exhaustive study of what stations need and how
advertising affects listeners.
How do broadcasters use it?
better targeting and listener data. Tap is a game-changer
for advertisers looking to target by platform, making it
possible to target listeners by device (i.e. iPhone) or
people listening on their desktops only.
I hear so many commercials repeated on older
systems...
A: Tap Live is for broadcasters who want to replace the
A: Frequency caps built into the system mean a listener
commercials that air on their stream. Tap OnDemand is
for digital broadcasters who want to fill a stop set. These
two versions combined, form a new generation platform
that allows a station to sell inventory more intelligently by
location, demo and listener interests. It’s a forward-thinking
solution for the advertiser and at the same time, will improve
the listener experience.
won’t have to hear two or three PSAs in a row. Also, if a
station has a long spot set to replace, Tap can program
music to fit the format instead of 6-8 minutes of
commercials in a row. If a listener tunes into a station
that is out of market, there is no benefit to hearing
local commercials, so Tap enables that inventory to be
converted to national spots so it’s more relevant to the
listener. n
It looks like Tap does a better job with commercial
inventory...
TAP INTO 400+ STATIONS
A: A station’s inventory, including any spot break, can be sold
locally or nationally, so out-of-market listeners will hear a
different spot. If your stations have listeners outside of your
trading area (outside of the broadcast area for local sales
or international), that listener will be of value to another
advertiser. The placement of spots is more precise.
So it can help create a better listener experience...
A: With Tap, everybody wins. Audio publishers benefit with
accurate forecasting and pacing reports, while advertisers get
12 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
Tap is currently being used at 400+ radio stations,
and will be installed at 7,000+ worldwide in the
coming months. Benefits of the platform include:
»»
»»
»»
»»
»»
More precise audience targeting by geo and demo
Easy management of audio, video and banner ads
Improved management of inventory including local, national, & international
Delivery of spot- or impression-based ads
Built-in competitive separation
A RADIO
PORTAL
TO
DIGITAL
DOLLARS
by Frank Saxe
Beyond the major markets, local
radio groups are finding success
by thinking big with their web
presence
A
s radio works to turn their station websites into a
revenue generator, one hurdle to overcome is the
reality that most sites just don’t have enough traffic
on their own to grab advertisers’ attention or make
a difference for local clients – especially outside
major markets. That’s why a growing number of groups have
turned to standalone local portals as their digital play.
In terms of content, most of the portals are driven by local
news, weather and listings of community events. Horizon
Broadcasting recently revived the MyCentralOregon.com site
for Bend, OR, incorporating lessons learned from its old site.
President Keith Shipman says 91% of people went to the portal
for local news, 7% wanted the weather, and 1% wanted to listen
to the police scanner.
There’s a growing urgency to build
a more robust digital property says
Shipman, who points out that Ford
and other automakers are requiring
local dealers to allocate half of their
co-op dollars to the web. “When a
local dealer calls, we have to create
a vehicle for us to be in play for
those dollars,” Shipman says. “And they’re not the only client
that’s thinking about that in today’s world.”
Nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Clark Broadcasting
created myMotherLode.com for the Sonora, CA region. Clark
president H. Randolph Holder says the portal draws a mix of
on-air clients who want to extend their buy to digital, like a local
hospital that sponsors the health section on the website. “It has
allowed us to provide an advertising vehicle for smaller mom
and pop businesses,” Holder says.
Ten months after launching ColaDaily.com for Columbia, SC,
Hometown Columbia Media president Kirk Litton says growth
has been “fantastic” as the local online portal has “taken on a
life of its own.” The site, which brings together radio and digital
newspapers assets for Virginia and North Carolina, broke even
after six months, and now is generating some profit without
the “shell game” Litton sees many radio companies playing
with digital revenue. “These sites are real dollars,” he says.
“Clients are buying a radio schedule along with a fully-funded
digital advertising plan. It’s not bastardizing one at the expense
of the other.”
Portals and other new ways to go after digital revenue could
help narrow the revenue gap among stations in market No. 200
and beyond, which a Borrell Associates survey found averaged
less than $30,000 in digital revenue last year. That’s well below
the $166,490 for the average station across all markets in 2013.
MyMotherLode.com went live more than a decade ago and
today Clark Broadcasting gets 15% of its total revenue from
digital. The website averages about 135,000 unique visitors per
month, who rack up roughly 2.2 million pageviews. To put those
figures into perspective, Holder points out the two-county area
where it operates has about 100,000 residents.
“There are people who we sell to that we’ve never been able
to get on the radio, but they’ll buy the internet,” Holder says,
many of whom are pulling dollars from their newspaper budget.
“They can afford that one-by-two inch print ad, but they could
never afford a radio schedule that would have done them any
good. This allows us to serve them with a large number of gross
impressions each month for a reasonable fee.” While digital
sales are growing, Holder doubts MyMotherLode.com will never
| p.14 8
bring in enough to out-bill one of his radio stations.
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 13
Clark Broadcasting doesn’t sell MyMotherLode.com ads based on
click rates. Instead, pricing is tied to guaranteed impressions. For
Hometown Columbia Media, reps offer clients a combination of
internal metrics and Google Analytics, Litton says. “It’s a lot more
real data than what’s coming from Nielsen diaries based on 1% of the
population,” he says, adding, “It’s helped us get beyond the ratings.”
Companies that have created digital standalone websites say those
web properties are remarkably resistant to bonusing. “There isn’t one
free ad on that site, there
hasn’t been since day one,”
Litton says, referring to
the Columbia, SC-focused
ColaDaily.com.
Horizon Broadcasting says MyCentralOregon.com is a “cash-only”
site as well. “We have individual station websites,” Shipman says,
“and if added-value exists, it will be on those sites.” There’s no
dedicated sales team for MyCentralOregon — Horizon reps pitch the
portal. “Every call they go on, we’re asking them to make a pitch for
digital so we can identify what kind of budget is available from the
advertiser and then hopefully be a good competitor for those digital
dollars,” Shipman says.
Litton says his sales reps don’t even bother selling ads for their two
Columbia stations’ websites, seeing them as more of a promotional
tool. He believes digitally native brands are also more resistant
to freebies. “These sites can stand on their own, whereas a radio
station’s website can’t, because the larger piece of that is the actual
broadcast signal,” he says.
24/7 Commitment
After attempting to syndicate a portal product to other small
market operators didn’t get far, Holder says he’s learned that many
broadcasters worry that a robust portal will draw away on-air
listeners. But he thinks that’s the wrong way to view things. “You’re
not going to cannibalize your listenership,” he says. “You exploit it to
run traffic to the portal and that enables you to sell the advertising to
make it a standalone asset.”
Community portals and digital news sites require more time, effort
and expense than station websites to get off the ground and maintain.
But having sister radio stations brings lots of built-in assistance on all
three counts. While Horizon Broadcasting has hired a digital media
director — a rare position in Bend, OR — Shipman says his company
is “cross pollinating news” from news/talk KBNW (1340, 104.5)
and ABC News Radio for MyCentralOregon.com. “I don’t dedicate
manpower to just the local site, but there will be a day when we have
to do that in order to remain competitive,” he predicts.
Holder says he’s also leveraging a radio news staff. The biggest startup
expense for MyMotherLode.com was creating the evergreen content
about local parks, for instance. It ran into the low five-figures. It also
takes as much commitment to manage the website as another radio
station, he says.
With a digital newspaper, Litton says ColaDaily.com required an
even larger commitment, hiring five reporters and an editor. “We’re
14 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
ANOTHER PORTAL
PERSPECTIVE
Growing digital revenue is among the ways
that many broadcasters believe the industry
will continue to grow its bottom line, so there’s
good reason to think beyond just inserting
audio ads into webcasts as the primary digital
play. Borrell Associates calculates just 1% of
all locally spent digital dollars are allocated
to in-stream ads. Yet, in a survey the firm
conducted for the Radio Advertising Bureau
earlier this year, nearly one-in-four stations
reported streaming ads are their largest single
source of revenue.
Digital media spending
trends make a strong
case for radio to diversify
its interactive revenue
streams. Borrell projects
radio’s local online ad
revenue will grow 22%
to $520.1 million in
2014. That’s half of the
GORDON BORRELL
growth rate of local online
adverting overall, which is
projected to jump 43% to $35.2 billion this
year. But before every station makes the plunge
and launches their own local web portal, media
ad consultant Gordon Borrell has some words
of caution.
“Community portals are rapidly becoming a
thing of the past, born at a time when media
companies still thought the internet was a
website where they’d put content and people
would come,” he says. “Today’s reality is that
information is far more likely to reach people
than people actually come to content.” n
reporting local news, so it’s stuff people want 24/7,” he
explains. Yet Litton sees a big potential upside. “Maybe
someone isn’t a listener to one of our stations, but in some
way we are touching them in the community that we’re
in,” he says.
Holder agrees. “We can only charge for people who listen
to the station,” he adds. “So if I can expand our reach across
three radio stations and then extend that with a portal that
cuts across all listener preferences, it’s a win-win. It’s like
having another radio station, one with a ubiquitous appeal
to the entire market.” n
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 15
NATIONAL RADIO AWARD
His first FCC
license came
as a lark. Now
the DIY group
owner becomes a
pioneer in using
FM translators
B U D
T
W A L T E R S
he radio industry nearly lost Bayard “Bud” Walters to a
life of a “Mad Men” era advertising honcho. But 45 years
later, Walters is owner and president of The Cromwell
Group. At September’s Radio Show in Indianapolis,
Walters is being honored for his years of service to the industry
as he’s presented the National Radio Award by the National
Association of Broadcasters.
“I worked at the college radio station as an extracurricular
activity and I just really loved it,” Walters says, looking back on
what launched his more than four decades in the business. It came
with an early lesson in community service for the communications
undergraduate at Indiana’s DePauw University. “My first year I did
the farm news because I’m southern boy and I had an accent and
so they thought it fit the job,” he says. While he didn’t know much
about hog futures, a few years later Walters says radio was even
more appealing. “A light bulb went off during my junior year and I
said I want to do this as a career,” he remembers.
But Uncle Sam put that plan on hold for four years as Walters
went into the Air Force. Because of his communications degree
he spent most of his time in Atlanta doing public relations work.
Once back in civilian clothing, Walters returned to academic life at
Indiana University pursuing his M.B.A. During a class in 1969, the
assignment was to fill out an FCC application. “Everyone else did
a dummy application, but I filled out a real one,” says Walters, in
what turned out to be a turning point in his life. He applied for the
construction permit for a new AM station in the Owensboro, KY
market. When it came time to award the license, Walters beat a
bid by an also young-and-upcoming Ed Atsinger, who today heads
Salem Communications, and former Kentucky Governor Edward
Breathitt. His winning strategy was choosing to locate the station
in Hawesville, KY, giving the community its first radio service.
But that’s also where radio almost lost Walters to the
advertising business. As his application crawled through the FCC,
he graduated Indiana University and was in need of a job. The
ad agency Leo Burnett snatched up the fresh graduate for its
Chicago office and Walters began working as a media buyer, later
transitioning to account services.
16 || INSIDE
16
INSIDE RADIO
RADIO
FALL
FALL 2014
2014
by Frank Saxe
“After three years I finally got the CP to build this little daytimer
in Kentucky,” he says. “I had to make a decision because I would
have to go there and run it – but Burnett gave me a two year leave
of absence to go build the station.” So he packed his bags in 1972
and headed to the small town of 1,500 residents. “We started the
station and it was a success – even as a daytimer,” Walter says.
“But after two years I had to make a decision again, and this time
I decided I didn’t want to go back to Chicago to spend the rest
of my life.” With WKCM (1160) now on its feet, he headed to
Nashville in 1974 for a job at the ad agency, Noble Dury Agency.
But by 1977, radio became his full-time career for good. Today,
The Cromwell Group owns 22 stations across five markets.
The DIY Radio Group
Some companies and executives are known as the
consummate deal-makers, buying and selling signals. But Walters
has taken more of a DIY approach. Over the years, Cromwell has
owned and operated 32 radio stations, 20 of which were startups
or upgraded from their original license. “We couldn’t get FMs at
the time, so we went through the CP process, often times buying
licenses from people who didn’t realize what a big job it is to start
a radio station,” Walters says. Sometimes it also meant taking some chances with
programming, such as in 1988 when he embraced Lexington,
KY’s breeding heritage by signing-on the talk station WHRS which
talked about the horse industry 24 hours a day.
Other times Walters thanked friends in novel ways, such as
when he honored former DePauw professor Elizabeth J. Turnell
for her post-retirement help at his first station, WKCM. When it
came time to give new call letters to an FM he purchased in her
hometown of Decatur, IL, Walters picked WEJT. They remain in
use today on adult hits “105.1 Jack FM.”
“I’ve always worked under the premise of being important
where you are,” Walters says. “We’re never going to be a large
company, but the idea is that if in central Illinois there is an
opportunity for us to add a station or a translator that would help
Bud Walters
us be more competitive, then that’s what I did. That’s how we
ended up with as many stations as we have. Going forward, we
would add another station only if it fit within that concept.”
Translators, however, are a different story. “We do want all
the translators we can get,” Walters says. His company sought 20
signals during the 2003 filing window and has already signed-on
some of the translators it won. Leveraging his years of building and
upgrading stations and skills at navigating the FCC process, Walters
has championed using FM translators for AM stations more than
just about anyone.
“I hope everyone who has an AM can have a translator,” he
says from his Nashville home. “All of our AMs now have an FM
translator. It gives them new life and new hope. Our heritage
station in Owensboro, ‘Greatest Hits 1420’ WVJS (1420, 100.5),
had almost fallen off the map and now with the FM it’s a real radio
station again.”
That’s why, in November 2012, he and attorney John Garziglia
filed what’s become known as the Tell City waiver request.
Walters says it was borne out of a situation that developed with
oldies WTCJ (1230) in Tell City, IN. “I couldn’t find a translator
that I could do anything with,” he recalls. “But Way FM had one
they were willing to sell me. But it didn’t meet FCC criteria and
that was the genesis of this waiver case.” In a nutshell, Walters
asked the FCC to help struggling AMs by permitting them to move
a translator larger distances than is normally permitted. Nearly
two years later, the agency hasn’t acted on Cromwell’s waiver
request but instead has included its suggestions in the current
AM revitalization rulemaking. While anxious to get a decision,
Walters says he understands the FCC’s methodological approach.
“If they approve it, then everyone will try to do it everywhere in
the country, so they really have to decide if it serves the public and
if they can handle it,” he says.
Yet as the Commission searches for ways to grow women
and minority ownership levels, Walters also sees the slow pace of
decision-making as a deterrent to entrepreneurs. “The process
is so onerous that most people don’t have the money to wait it
out,” he says, remembering it took three years for his first AM
license back in the sixties. “That sets up a situation for investor
types, because they’re the ones who have the money to wait,”
Walters adds.
A Shift of Generations, and Platforms
While Walters has no plans to sell his privately-held company
anytime soon, several other longtime family-owned broadcast
groups have announced their exits this year, including the
Engelbrecht family’s deal with Midwest Communications and
Rolland and Paula Johnson’s sale of Three Eagles Communications
to Digity Media.
“We are in a generational transition of ownership,” Walters
says. “The last generation turned over in the 1960s and ‘70s, and
now we have another generation turning over.” He points out familyrun operators like Duke Wright-led Midwest Communications,
Steel City Media, and Hubbard Radio are growing through some of
the biggest deals of the past few years.
Undoubtedly the biggest shift in radio is one toward digital,
which is something Walters says impacts even his smallest markets.
“We have to add digital as part of what we do because our clients
are seeing it and asking about it, and so we have to be in a position
to be their expert,” he explains.
NATIONAL RADIO AWARD
“The real question is how we make money with it, because right
now we can’t make money on streaming, which is actually a new
expense.” Even so, Cromwell has created the iGoRadio app which
streams all of its stations.
Walters believes NextRadio will be part of the solution as
more people download the Emmis Communications-created app
that enables over-the-air FM listening on smartphones. “We can
look down the road to the time when everyone in America has a
radio in their pocket and that has never existed before,” he says.
Walters says the challenge for broadcasters operating outside the
large metros will be to offer a NextRadio product that’s just as
compelling as someone using the app in a major market.
New 925 foot tower being build in Tennessee, 2006
Looking Forward
Walters says he’s encouraged to see broadcasters coming
together on the NextRadio rollout and several other industry
initiatives, believing membership in trade groups like the National
Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau is
more critical than ever so the industry can present a united front in
Washington and to marketers.
In terms of radio dealmaking, the sale of stations by many
investors may be flooding the market at the moment but he thinks
that’s also part of the economic recovery. When they’re gone,
Walters predicts, station values will start to stabilize. “Once that
inventory clears out, then there’s the possibility of values going up,”
he says.
And even though financial firms and their analysts don’t always
speak kindly of the medium’s prospects, Walters thinks radio’s
outlook is much better than the industry gets credit for. “We’ve
always had competition from cassette tapes, CD players and for
more than ten years satellite radio, and they are all expanding the
use of audio,” he says. “For radio stations, we are competing for
time spent listening – but as long as we give people the things they
want to listen to in their communities, we have got a bright future.” n
FALL
FALL 2014
2014 INSIDE
INSIDE RADIO
RADIO || 17
17
INSIDE RADIO
Q&A
DARREN
DAVIS
by Paul Heine
I
n a little over 20 years, Darren Davis has risen from
an intern at Washington AC WASH (97.1) to one of the
highest ranking executives at radio’s largest company. As
a programmer, Davis was typically first to raise his hand
at the invitation to accompany an AE on a sales call, helping
prepare him for his current role where one foot is planted in
programming, the other in sales. Likewise, his work on Clear
Channel’s Premium Choice air talent program helped pave
the way for making Clear Channel a more nimble platform for
advertisers. As president of Clear Channel Networks Group,
Davis, 41, oversees Premiere Networks, the Total Traffic and
Weather Network, the 24/7 News Network and iHeartRadio.
What results have you seen from bundling local
and network radio together for advertisers as the
iHeartRadio Networks?
We’ve heard both internally and externally that it’s made
things a lot easier. If nothing else, it makes it easier for our
sellers to succinctly tell the story about what we have to offer
a brand. If you go back six months, when a retailer came
to us and wanted to reach country fans, it just wasn’t easily
packaged together. Now we can sell somebody on the idea of
the iHeartRadio Country Network, which gives you coverage
across 120 of America’s best country stations, plus our
syndicated country shows and digital country channels and
websites in a nice, easy package. And as with all the things we
offer, it’s totally customizable.
Is it making radio easier to buy?
It seems to be. Now it takes 10 seconds to plant the idea
in someone of all that we can do to reach a country fan as
opposed to showing a whole bunch of pages of stats and charts
and graphs and station lists. It gives us a much cleaner elevator
pitch to tell the story and that’s been helpful.
Radio is relying more on endorsements, DJ
chatter and social media add-ons to differentiate
itself for advertisers. How is that changing the
role of air talent?
18 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
It makes them even more important than ever, doesn’t it?
And that will only continue to grow. It’s the word of mouth
recommendations from your friends, in this case, the DJs,
that make radio so powerful. You need look no further than
iHeartRadio to see what a powerhouse radio can be with DJ
recommendations. We turned that into something huge and
we didn’t buy TV spots, didn’t place an ad in the newspaper,
didn’t even use outdoor very much. We just talked about it
on the radio. Our DJs made that happen. More and more, the
DJ’s job doesn’t stop with just talking into the microphone in
the studio. Their voice on social media is becoming equally
important.
It helps when the personality has an affinity for
the product they’re endorsing.
There was no one better than Paul Harvey at it. He was just
so passionate. The Bose Corporation didn’t have to send Paul
Harvey a list of talking points about their product. They sent a
box with the radio in it and said, “Here, try it out.” And he fell in
love with it and talked about it on the radio. That’s the best way
for it to come together.
How can the industry retain its competitive
advantage as a local medium when much of the
content is national in origin?
A lot of the content has always been national in origin. The secret
is the mix. I always talk about the secret sauce that comes from
the seamless weaving of the national elements with the best
local content. The very best stations, starting with Z100 [CHR
WHTZ,
New
York] have that
combination.
The program
directors
positioned to
be the stars of
tomorrow are
the ones who
do a fabulous,
expert
job
at taking all
those
parts,
regardless of
where they’re
coming from,
and make them
sound
like
they’re part of one cohesive product. When you hear a
station where they’ve taken a national show and they don’t give
it any TLC, it can sound disconnected. That’s not good for the
station or for the show.
You rose through the ranks through the
programming department. How did you school
yourself on what advertisers are looking for?
I got into radio at just the right time, in the early ‘90s.
Competition was taking off and radio was very clearly a
business. I knew from the day that I started as an intern at
WASH that revenue was king. We weren’t there to get ratings,
we were there to make money. Great ratings are often the way
you make money but we were there to run a business and that
was made clear from the day I walked in the door. That was a
very different upbringing in radio than a lot of programmers
had back in the ‘80s. Because of that, I’ve never looked at
myself 100% as a programmer. I’ve always described myself
as a business person who happened to know more than the
average bear about programming.
What attracted you to radio?
Going back to our Paul Harvey conversation, that’s what made
me want to get into radio. The absolute magic and power of
hearing someone at the other end of that microphone, sitting
in a mystery room somewhere, conveying a message and
capturing my imagination. I always gravitated to going off with
the clients and figuring out ways to make their messages work
because that’s why we’re here.
How is the company’s extensive national
infrastructure making it a more agile solution
for advertisers?
It works completely seamlessly so that we can have a message
spread across all our stations in just minutes, whether it’s
something we need the DJs to mention or actual recorded
commercials. Those things literally take days to change in TV.
It’s a huge competitive advantage. That’s something we talk a
lot about with advertisers, especially ones who want triggerbased advertising based on a snowstorm or some sort of local
event that they can’t predict ahead of time.
‘I ALWAYS GRAVITATED TO
GOING OFF WITH THE CLIENTS
AND FIGURING OUT WAYS
TO MAKE THEIR MESSAGES
WORK BECAUSE THAT’S
WHY WE’RE HERE.’
– DARREN DAVIS
3Pictured Left: Darren Davis at WASH-FM in 1973
Can you give some examples of how marketers
are leveraging technology to use radio in new
and innovative ways?
Our partnership with AdsWizz is one. It’s exciting because it will
give our advertisers the ability to very specifically target their
messaging across iHeartRadio. They’ll have targeting options
that will expand from contextual criteria, things like the format
or radio station, to the type of device the listener is using and
demographic info that we get from our registered users. It will
be a game changer for advertisers and listeners. It’s a better
listening experience when the ads are things you care about.
It’s not just about advertisers getting their messages out more
effectively, it’s about making a better listening experience too.
What progress are you making in convincing
buyers to adjust their media mix to include radio
more equitably?
We sure are having a lot of eye-opening conversations with a
lot of big advertisers and agencies and causing them to have
that ah-ha moment, which is all you can expect in the very first
conversation. I don’t think it’s realistic to think that we’re going
to walk out after an initial 30-minute conversation and have
people shoveling over suitcases full of cash that they weren’t
previously. It’s going to take more and more conversations.
| p.21 8
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 19
20 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
Darren Davis with country artist, Luke
Bryan, at the iHeartRadio Theater
And it certainly has
opened a lot of doors
for the next discussion,
which, in a lot of
respects, is all I can
hope for.
Right. We could do that. Right now, if you listen to an AC station
like Lite-FM in New York [WLTW], we’re going to assume that
you enjoy Elton John. We might learn from your behavior in
iHeartRadio you personally don’t enjoy Elton John but you do
enjoy Bruno Mars. We could serve up different kinds of content
to you specifically.
You’re a short
time into adding
ove r s i g h t
of
iHeartRadio.
What do you see
ahead for it in
terms of growth?
What’s a typical working day like for you?
This is an exciting time
for iHeartRadio. I look
at it as halftime in a football game. It’s a good chance for us to
step back, catch our breath and take a look maybe through a
different lens at what’s worked well and what we can do better
and what we’re really trying to achieve and decide how we
want to come out of the locker room and play the game in the
second half. No one should look at this as a huge change or a
revolution of iHeartRadio. Quite the contrary, we’re just trying
to build on what’s been put in place by Brian Lakamp and his
team. Hitting 50 million registered users was a huge feat. Now,
the challenge is where do those next 50 million come from.
Clear Channel station streams insert a lot of
original content when the broadcast station is in
a spot break. With the AdsWiz partnership, do
you envision hiking online spotloads?
There is definitely some headroom there. We could add some
without it becoming anything even approaching a bad listening
experience. The custom product has always been commercialfree and that is still the plan going forward. The content
you’re referring to – whether it’s an Elton John artist profile or
Madonna’s top 10 songs of all time – that’s all created by the
iHeartRadio Networks team. We create that material for 14
different radio formats. With the AdsWiz technology, we’ll be
able to target that stuff even more specifically to just the right
people, which ought to make it an even better experience.
So, I might hear an Elton John profile and you
might hear Madonna?
At any given moment I’m probably sitting with someone,
talking about things and I’m also emailing and hopping on a
phone call and sending a text message and there’s a good bit of
travel in between. My day consists of me with a smartphone
in my hand 18 hours a day. If I’m awake, I’m working but I have
more fun than anyone I know. Even though I’m always working,
I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life because I’ve always
wanted to work in radio. It was a dream come true.
‘THE STAR PROGRAM DIRECTORS OF
TOMORROW ARE THE ONES WHO
DO A FABULOUS JOB AT TAKING
ALL THOSE PARTS, REGARDLESS
OF WHERE THEY COME FROM, AND
MAKE THEM SOUND LIKE THEY’RE
PART OF ONE COHESIVE PRODUCT.’
– DARREN DAVIS
What’s your advice to companies on how to
groom the next Darren Davis?
I think you’ve got to tolerate the eager pups coming in the door,
even though they may ruffle some feathers. Sometimes they
need to be ruffled. You have to encourage the up and comers
from the very early stages that it’s okay to make mistakes
and try new things. Ultimately they’re going to become a
far better employee. You want to encourage them from the
very beginning that it’s okay to break a little glass, because
we’re all working for the same goal, which is making stations
sound great and making the product work for our advertisers. n
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 21
22 | INSIDE RADIO
FALL 2014
TOP15 DRIVE TIME LEADERS
AM 6+ CUME
PPM Cume Avg., Jan-July 2014
6-10am
Station
Market
Format
Talent/Title
# Listeners
WHTZ FM
NY
CHR
Elvis Duran & the Z100 Morning Show
1,332,600
WLTW-FM
NY
AC
Bronson & Christine
1,160,600
WINS AM
NY
News
1010 WINS News Team
1,102,200
WCBS FM
NY
Classic Hits
Scott Shannon in the Morning
1,076,500
KIIS FM
LA
CHR
Ryan Seacrest
1,069,000
WCBS AM
NY
News
Newsradio 880 News Team
1,034,800
WKTU FM
NY
Rhythmic AC
KTU Mornings with Cubby & Cindy
936,800
KAMP FM
LA
CHR
Carson Daly
905,100
KBIG FM
LA
Hot AC
Valentine in the Morning
897,200
WAXQ FM
NY
Classic Rock
Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show
876,700
KPWR FM
LA
Rhythmic CHR
Big Boy’s Neighborhood
828,200
WWFS FM
NY
Hot AC
Jim & Kim
808,000
KOST FM
LA
AC
Mark Wallengren
804,400
WBBM AM
Chicago
News
Pat Cassidy & Felicia Middlebrooks
770,300
WBLS FM
NY
Urban AC
The Steve Harvey Morning Show
762,300
PM 6+ CUME
PPM Cume Avg., Jan-July 2014
3-7pm
Station
Market
Format
Talent/Title
# Listeners
WHTZ FM
NY
CHR
JJ
1,997,000
WLTW FM
NY
AC
Rich Kaminski
1,898,700
KIIS FM
LA
CHR
Boy Toy Jesse Lozano
1,754,100
WKTU FM
NY
Rhythmic AC
Sean ‘Hollywood’ Hamilton
1,706,800
KBIG FM
LA
Hot AC
Dave Styles
1,549,000
KAMP FM
LA
CHR
Booker
1,461,400
WCBS FM
NY
Classic Hits
‘Broadway’ Bill Lee
1,445,100
KPWR FM
LA
Rhythmic CHR
Felli Fel
1,315,600
KOST FM
LA
AC
Bruce Scott
1,315,000
WWFS FM
NY
Hot AC
Dylan
1,228,800
WAXQ FM
NY
Classic Rock
Ken Dashow
1,148,100
WQHT FM
NY
Rhythmic CHR
DJ Enuff
1,142,600
WWPR FM
NY
Hot AC
Angie Martinez
1,140,700
WBMP FM
NY
CHR
All Music
1,080,500
WSKQ FM
NY
Tropical
Raymond, El Vacilón de la Manana
1,028,700
Source: Nielsen Audio. Jan-July 2014, 6+ cume average using standard dayparts, which may not match host/show times. Number of listeners rounded to nearest hundred.
FALL 2014
INSIDE RADIO | 23
... your wardrobe
consists mostly of
station t-shirts.
... at least half of your
wardrobe needs to be
replaced every time you
take a new job.
... you remember your
wedding anniversary
by what year THE song
hit #1.
Find More online
@ insideradio.com.
... you put Z100
stickers all
over your
toddlers
tricycle.
... each of
your kids
was born in
a different
town - even
the twins.
Thanks to all
who contributed!
... you don’t listen to
a competitor in your
car for fear that
someone in the next
car has a PPM device.
... when watching MLB,
College Football or the
NFL... you turn down the
TV play by play audio and
Turn up the Radio play by
play audio.
... you actually turn
on the Clock/Radio in
your hotel room. Bonus
points if you set it to
the AM dial.
... you quit a radio station
as a sales executive, then
missED it so much that you
learnED how to produce your
own radio show and BOUGHT
air from another station.
... the the act of
talking to yourself
outloud does not
seem strange.
... when riding in the
car, you turn the
music down and turn
the commercials up.
... you’re STILL trying
to FInd a decent alarm
clock that plays AM at
Radio Shack.
24 || INSIDE
24
INSIDE RADIO
RADIO
... your home has
(at least) ONE
radio in each
room.
FALL
FALL 2014
2014
... you have a
notebook in
your car with all
the notes from
billboards you saw
ON your way home.
... there is
always a
radio on
somewhere in
your house.
... you judge
someone
based
on their
presets.
... your kids think
you can get them
into any concert
just because you
work in radio.
... you have
nightmares about
not being able
to FInd the next
record to play.
... you’ve worked with
the same people at
3 or more different
companies.
Special FALL 2014 Edition
News & Updates @
www.insideradio.com
STAFF
... your kids are
named after
Call Letters!!!
KARL, WALT...
EDITORIAL
FRANK SAXE
frank@insideradio.com
PAUL HEINE
paul@insideradio.com
... you have ever
answered your home
phone with: ‘Good
Morning, WXYZ radio
request line.’
... you have
permanent
‘headphone hair.’
ART DIRECTION/
PRODUCTION
KELLI GRISEZ
graphics@insideradio.com
... you see towers
along the highway and
wonder what stations
they are for.
... you match your
headphones and mic to
the color of your hair!
(Pink, in my case!)
... you met anD married
your husband who is also
in radio and all of your
children can set up and
execute a live broadcast
like a pro!
PUBLISHER/
GENERAL MANAGER
GENE McKAY
800-248-4242 x711
genemckay@insideradio.com
... you get a
rush when your
competitor has
dead air.
SALES MANAGER
KARYN BAK
800-248-4242 x705
karynbak@insideradio.com
... you use 1/4 tape as a
hair tie
... when YOU drop
off a rental car
YOU pre-set all the
buttons to YOUR
radio station.
... the EAS tone is
your ringtone.
... you FInd the idea
of actually paying
for a concert ticket
almost unthinkable.
... you have more gold
records on your walls
than family pictures!
DATA/RESEARCH
CATHY DEVINE
cdevine@insideradio.com
LIZ NALDRETT
lizn@insideradio.com
DREW SIMPSON
Sales/Precisiontrak.com
800-248-4242 x707
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... you’ve made
friends after
complimenting
each other’s
segues.
... you can reFIll
your coffee and
go pee all in the
time it takes to
play a :60 and
a :30.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
KATHRYN LAMBIS
800-248-4242
kathryn@insideradio.com
... you’re sitting
in the Dr’s oFFIce
talking Yanni up to
the post.
INSIDE RADIO
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www.InsideRadio.com
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. No portion
of this issue of INSIDE RADIO may not be copied,
faxed, retransmitted, or reproduced in any form
without the written permission of the publishers.
All efforts are made to keep the data as accurate
as possible. However, errors and omissions are
unavoidable. Formats of stations listed reflect
the analysis and groupings of the M Street
Database /Precisiontrak.com and may differ from
the station’s opinion or interpretation. INSIDE
RADIO is published weekdays and available on
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... some of your
fondest memories
are of sitting in
front of a radio
trying to tune in
distant stations at
night.
FALL
FALL 2014
2014 INSIDE
INSIDE RADIO
RADIO || 25
25
FORMAT SCOREBOARD
COUNTRY HITS 10-YEAR HIGH
»» Fueled by a new wave of hot country
artists and record-high ratings, the
number of country-formatted stations
has reached its highest level in more than
a decade. There are 2,053 radio stations
airing the best that Nashville has to offer,
the most since 2003.
»» Country makes up 19% of commercial
radio stations on the air, a six-point
advantage over news-talk’s share.
»» Despite a mid-term election year, the »» There are now more hot AC stations on
number of news-talk stations has fallen
the air than at any point in history.
to a five-year low as the format faces »» As a result, the number of classic hits, AC
ratings challenges.
and oldies stations ticked lower during
»» Radio’s other big spoken word format
the past year.
continues to post record gains.
»» Also setting yet another new record
»» During the past decade the number of
is Spanish-language radio, with all
sports stations has jumped 68%.
the formats under that umbrella now
»» Pop music’s vitality (and variety) has also
representing 8% of commercial radio
led to a record-setting year.
stations.
Format
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Country
News/Talk
Spanish
Sports
Classic Hits
Adult Contemporary
Top 40
Oldies
Classic Rock
Hot AC
Religion*
Rock
Adult Standards
Black Gospel
Contemporary Christian
Southern Gospel
Urban AC
Ethnic
Soft AC
R&B
Alternative Rock
Modern Rock
R&B Adult/Oldies
Variety
Pre-Teen
Jazz
Rhythmic AC
Gospel
Easy Listening
Classical
Modern AC
Format Not Available
TOTAL STATIONS
Stations off the air
2022
1326
696
508
271
683
503
762
461
374
319
269
404
286
172
206
156
115
324
150
103
151
53
37
60
84
n/a
36
19
28
23
1
10602
72
2038
1338
706
535
429
660
484
725
456
378
311
276
368
267
150
208
167
116
302
136
108
134
47
35
58
78
n/a
32
21
29
20
11
10623
88
2027
1368
786
564
477
665
472
709
456
373
287
281
369
253
153
204
161
115
242
134
120
125
41
37
57
73
27
26
19
23
19
5
10668
92
2018
1365
799
595
524
670
472
708
474
373
299
287
358
244
136
211
161
118
223
135
121
122
36
37
56
60
24
26
16
22
21
7
10718
135
1995
1416
803
634
582
626
484
649
477
409
324
298
327
242
162
209
162
121
204
127
107
114
40
42
52
40
18
25
18
23
20
4
10754
223
1997
1437
806
665
637
634
495
637
481
417
322
294
265
235
166
197
159
127
173
128
99
111
48
43
44
38
18
26
19
19
18
16
10771
253
1987
1455
818
670
657
607
523
628
477
435
332
301
251
225
166
188
155
131
161
134
101
101
50
45
39
24
16
25
17
22
20
12
10773
261
2020
1503
816
692
657
597
559
597
477
420
342
295
240
214
171
170
152
132
156
132
102
93
51
49
35
36
17
23
19
20
15
12
10814
264
2042
1453
835
740
678
605
573
566
486
428
336
299
227
212
172
172
158
142
141
131
101
96
46
46
33
28
21
19
18
16
14
36
10870
237
2053
1409
844
788
754
597
577
476
486
465
324
302
221
211
157
169
167
152
131
131
105
100
48
44
25
27
20
13
16
14
16
41
10883
216
Construction Permits
238
358
435
377
329
341
321
356
295
287
Source: M Street Database, July 2014. Format Counts for All Commercial U.S. Stations (does not include HD stations) produced every July. *Teaching, Variety. All data provided by PrecisionTrak.com.
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