CBS Radio Revenue Declines 5%
CBS Corporation reported strong revenue growth in Q4 of 2015. Profits fell by 37% because the company took a big charge to write down the value of some of its radio stations, "to reduce the carrying value of radio FCC licenses to their fair value." Revenue at CBS' radio stations was down 5% in Q4, blamed on "continued softness in the radio advertising marketplace and lower political advertising."
Is Pandora For Sale?
Fortune Magazine
and The New York Times
say yes. And Fortune goes so far as to say, "The money-losing music service has put itself on the block," and calls it nothing more than a fire sale. The Times reports Pandora has taken the step to hire Morgan Stanley to shop the company around. Fortune says that with Pandora losing about $10 million every month, "it’s difficult to see who would see such a deal as attractive."
Pandora Will Be A $4 Billion Business
CEO Brian McAndrews says Pandora will achieve that goal within five years. In 2015, Pandora took in $1.164 billion in revenue. Here's the plan McAndrews laid out which gives him the confidence his company can hit that $4 billion number by 2021.
Pandora Rev. Up 22%. 154 Sellers Now On The Street
The streaming pure-play ended the fourth quarter of 2015 with revenue of $336.2 million. Excluding revenue from ticketing services, revenue was $326.0 million, an increase of 22% compared to $268 million in total revenue for the same quarter last year. Advertising revenue increased 22% in the fourth quarter of 2015 to $269.0 million, compared to $220.1 million in 2014.
We Now Have 10% Of All Radio Listening
It's a number they've never really been able to prove, or that any analyst covering the company has ever challenged them on, but Pandora now claims to be "at an all-time high of more than 10% share of U.S. radio listening."
Nielsen Revenue Down Slightly In Q4
Nielsen announced that Q4 2015 revenue was $1.6 billion down 0.6%. The company said the decline was due to the impact of foreign exchange, and was up 5.6% on a constant currency basis, compared to Q4 2014. It was Nielsen's 38th consecutive quarter of constant currency revenue growth. Revenue was $6.17 billion for the year, down 1.8% again due to the impact of foreign exchange. It was up 5.% on a constant currency basis, compared to 2014. Nielsen's audio division (which includes radio) decreased 6.9%. That decrease was blamed on the impact "of delivery timing," which most likely means when contracts for ratings are signed.
Glenn Frey Drive Approved
The City of Royal Oak, Michigan and the Royal Oak School Board have approved the renaming of a section of Willis Ave in Royal Oak to Glenn Frey Drive to honor Frey, who grew up in that city. Greater Media's WCSX-FM found a stretch of Willis Ave that can be renamed Glenn Frey Drive. On Thursday, the vote was passed.
We Are In Our Strongest Position Ever
Those are the words of Entercom CEO David Field as he looks out at the lay of the land for 2016 and states "our business is off to a great start." And, perhaps it's the start of the revenue tide turning for radio as Field was as optimistic as a public radio company CEO has sounded in quite some time. Field ticked off the reasons why things are going well at Entercom
Managers: Talent Wants and Needs Your Feedback
When was the last time you took that simple step of walking into the studio to tell your on-air talent he or she was doing an excellent job serving the local community? It's all about building trust between management and talent that makes that relationship thrive in radio.
Is Your Station Creating FOMO Every Day?
In case you were unaware, FOMO stands for the Fear Of Missing Out? And it was part of the Edison Research presentation at CRS this week. FOMO is radio's big advantage over the competition according to Edison, and with smartphone use increasing and more competition in the automobile for ear time, making sure your radio station creates that Fear of Missing Out with listeners is key. Edison's Larry Rosin says, "FOMO protects you from the competition."
Our Print Magazine: Radio Ink
With Lou Paskalis
Radio's Top 20 Leaders
Information Or Transformation?
