Headlines

(By Bob McCurdy) The first step toward creating an effective media campaign is determining who should be targeted with the messaging. Get this wrong and the odds of succeeding drop dramatically.

(By Randy Lane) Artist interviews can be a trouble spot in PPM when they aren't executed properly. Conversely, they can turn viral when the guest is part of the fun instead of the standard  Q&A session. Try playing Never Have I Ever with the next band that visits your studio.

(By Ryan Wrecker) Music discovery has become less organic and more calculated. A similar shift just happened in cable TV. Last year, Netflix surpassed cable television in subscribers, forcing the industry to rethink how they distribute and introduce content. Suddenly the restraints of strict network programming were lifted and left behind altogether. But what about radio?

WTMJ Radio and 94.5 KTI COUNTRY -- both of Milwaukee -- combined to win 15 awards for excellence from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association on Saturday night. The awards included News & Talk Station of the Year, News Operation of the Year, and Social & Digital Media Operation of the Year for WTMJ.

This comes from a recently filed bankruptcy court document and involves contracts between the two companies. Those agreements include such things as affiliation agreements for Westwood One News, Satellite Services, Chicago Bears Football and The Carson Daily Show.

The streaming pure-play took in $319.2 million in revenue in Q1 of 2018, a 12% increase over Q1 of 2017. Advertising revenue in Q1 was $214.6. Subscription revenue was $104.7 million. That's 63% higher than Q1 of 2017. Pandora now has 5.63 million subscribers paying for the service, 19% higher than Q1 of 2017. Furthermore, 140,000 net subscribers were added in Q1.

Despite the big revenue gain in Q1, Pandora is still losing a lot of money. In the first quarter of 2018, Pandora's net loss was $131.7 million compared to a net loss of $132.3 million in the same quarter in 2017. Here are all the details...

Back in March, Entercom CEO David Field said United States Traffic Network was unable to pay its $4 million bill due to Entercom in Q4 2017. Field went public with the network's financial problems. He said USTN was having “significant financial issues." On Thursday, it was announced that Entercom signed a new deal with the traffic network that includes an equity position.

The University of Oregon and Entercom's 1080 The Fan (KFXX-AM) in Portland have signed a four-year broadcast deal through the 2022 season. The partnership includes play-by-play of the university’s football, basketball, and baseball games. Alpha Media had been carrying Ducks games in that market. And it sounds like Entercom won a Ducks bidding war.

Sports Gambling company VSiN has signed a deal with Entercom's 670 The Score (WSCR) in Chicago. VSiN will deliver daily Chicago-focused updates for the station. The Score will run VSiN updates covering Chicago sports betting markets. VSiN will supply two reports on weekday afternoons from Las Vegas.