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(By Jeff McHugh) U.S. radio ad revenue is flat at best, some companies are losing money, and 2018 could be another tough year. Today’s successful on-air talent is stepping up the initiative in assisting the sales team in securing advertising sponsorships.  

This is the 16th consecutive year that KOST-FM has provided holiday music to Southern California. KOST Program Director John Peake said, “During the 2016 Holiday Season, KOST 103.5 averaged more than 5.2 million listeners weekly, making KOST one of the most listened to radio stations in the country during that period.”

Christmas Music in now playing on MAJIC 95.1 (WAJI-FM) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The station also sponsors the city’s Holiday Fest, featuring the “Night of Lights” where the community lights up Downtown Fort Wayne with the Santa and his reindeer. 2017 is the 30th Anniversary of the event.

Those are words we haven't heard up until now, from Cumulus CEO Mary Berner and CFO John Abbot, but they are hardly unexpected, as the company negotiates with lenders to try pull the company out from under $2 Billion of debt.

The decline in Q3 revenue is being blamed on a soft advertising environment and political comps. Over 70% of Cumulus' revenue comes from its radio stations which saw revenue drop from $206.1 million in Q3 2016 to $202.9 million in Q3 this year. Excluding political, radio was down 1.2%. Cumulus took in $9 million of political advertising in 2016.

As expected, The FCC has issued its order approving Entercom's deal to merge with CBS Radio. It has done so with conditions that Entercom divest stations, which the company is already in the process of doing. Entercom has a special shareholder meeting planned for Wednesday to seal this deal.

In a press release following the Entercom/CBS merger approval by The FCC, Entercom CEO David Field says the company is energized and excited by the announcement. "The Commission’s approval marks a significant milestone on our path toward completing the transformational combination of Entercom and CBS Radio."

As part of our big event Wednesday, Shark Tank star Daymond John will be sitting down for an exclusive interview with his mentor and marketing expert, Jay Abraham. In addition to being a Shark, John is a branding superstar. John will speak about his successes in small business, entrepreneurship, branding, and more.

After a mountain of criticism about what he said about the death of former pitching great Roy Halladay, WBZ-FM Boston host Mike Felger has quickly apologized. One of the things that got Felger in hot water was saying Halladay got what he deserved. Halladay was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Florida this week leaving behind a wife and two kids. Check out the Felger apology.

iHeartMedia and SAG-AFTRA have come to a tentative agreement for the employees at the all-news station about to change hands from Entercom to iHeart. SAG-AFTRA tells Radio Ink WBZ-AM employees will not have to interview for the jobs the currently hold. They will continued to be employed by iHeart.