Headlines

By popular demand, Envision is putting The Country Oldies Show Christmas Special in radio stations’ stockings this season -- three hours of country Christmas music. The special is available for download now and can be broadcast through December 25, 2017.  

The United Stations Radio Networks weekend program The Acoustic Storm will be broadcasting its 1000th episode later this month. The milestone is scheduled for the weekend of December 23 and 24 and will be programmed as the show’s annual Acoustic Christmas episode.

As iHeart works to trim its $20 billion in debt, a new SEC filing shows that the company is willing to sell a big part of its billboard division. The filing says "iHeartCommunications announced Monday it is exploring a possible private capital-raising transaction supported by the value of some or all of the 100,000,000 shares of Class B common stock of Clear Channel Outdoor."

Radio companies pay professional sports teams big bucks for the right to broadcast their games on their radio stations. That trend will continue, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Thanks to Impact Radio Group CEO Darrell Calton and KQBL APD Brenda Mee for sharing this great story about how they helped a local family. The Tillery Fund is a fund in the Boise community started to honor the memory of Joshua Tillery who died when the helicopter he was piloting was shot down in Iraq during a 2009 combat mission. The radio station became involved with the organization two years ago and what they pulled off this year was simply outstanding.

The FCC has sent letters to Wilifrid Salomon in Florida and Robin Dunham in Illinois. Salomon of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, was cited for operating an illegal radio station from his residence at 101.7 in August and September, and 87.9 in November. Dunham of Carthage, Illinois, is cited for operating an unlicensed station at 990-AM. Dunham's situation is a bit more complicated.

The annual Edison Research study at the 2018 Country Radio Seminar will focus on smart speakers. According to new research, 71% of smart speaker owners who listen to country radio said listening to their favorite AM/FM radio station is a reason they wanted the device.

According to Media Monitors, Amazon aired 38,924 commercials on radio stations all across the country last week to take the top spot. GEICO was second with 35,511, followed by jewelry chain Jared with 32,078. Rounding out the top five were The Home Depot with 31,368 and Walgreen's with 30,175.

iHeartMedia's KBPI (“Rocks the Rockies”) will now be simulcast on 106.7 in Denver, 107.9 in Fort Collins, and 107.9 in Colorado Springs. In addition, iHeartMedia Denver’s 107.9 KPAW, "The Rock of Colorado," will move its programming to 92.9 KYWY, which is a stronger signal.

The Southern California Broadcasters Association will mark its 80th year of continuous service for Southern California radio on December 13, 2017. The trade association was formed in Los Angeles on December 13, 1937. The SCBA membership covers 52,000 square miles of Southern California with an all-time high membership of 170 radio stations.