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An agreement has been reached between Merlin Media and Cumulus over two Chicago radio stations Cumulus is now operating under an LMA. Cumulus had agreed to buy WLUP-FM and WKQX-FM for $50 million back in 2017. As part of a court-approved agreement Cumulus will no longer be obligated to purchase the stations. Here are all he details.

You may recall Cumulus taking similar action back in November 2017, choosing not to make an interest payment of $23.6 million on 7.75% senior notes due 2019. At the end of that month Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 and is now in the middle of restructuring its debt. The $106 million interest payment iHeart is passing on is on junior debt.

According to an SEC filing Thursday, Cumulus' Executive VP of Corporate Marketing and President of Westwood One, Suzanne Grimes will be paid a salary of $650,000 as of July 1, and her contract has been extended through July of 2020

It’s a fact. Some stations have great “numbers,” but unless those numbers translate at the cash register, they may be ringing the wrong ears. That’s because numbers don’t tell the whole story, especially Hispanic radio’s rich and vibrant story. And in small markets or for independent operators, sometimes numbers aren’t even available — or affordable.

Our thanks to Centennial Fredericksburg Market Manager Mark Bass for sharing this success story. Mark tells Radio Ink, Modern Ballroom Dancing is a small local business just starting up, training people in ballroom dancing. "Lance Carmine one of Centennial's senior AEs took them through the 'why radio' pitch, and specifically what WBQB-B101.5 could do for them, and they signed."

According to BIA/Kelsey, local advertising on mobile devices sold by pure-play mobile providers in 2018 will reach $19 billion. $3.1 billion of that total will go to newspaper, TV, and radio, with radio getting about $104 million of that $3.1 billion pie.

(Ryan Wrecker) In our history as broadcasters, we've seen many new devices emerge in the tech world, Some have been embraced, others dismissed. Some personalities have embraced the digital components of radio and done well, but not everyone has found the level of success they desire.

The reason for the big penalty against The Cesar Chavez Foundation's KNAI-FM in Phoenix and KUFW-FM in Woodlake, California, is for violating the Commission’s underwriting laws by broadcasting announcements that promoted the products, services, or businesses of its financial contributors.

Alternative Rocker FM 94/9 (KBZT-FM) is now "ALT 949." And, Sunny 98.1 (KXSN-FM) and KYXY 96.5 (KYXY-FM) have made programming changes. Here are those changes.

The Conclave is calling for nominations for the First Annual Conclave Radio Awards, honoring the radio industry’s best radio stations. The awards are determined exclusively by the nominations and votes of radio industry professionals at large, and will recognize stations in major, large, medium, and small markets.