Headlines

Thirty-five Salem Media Group stations have signed on to use Anchor Dashboard from KMG Networks. Anchor Dashboard is a customizable real-time dashboard that delivers information directly to news anchors in the studio.

WGN Radio in Chicago is now delivering newscasts on Weigel Broadcasting’s MeTV FM 87.7. The “MeTV FM News Minute” will be featured twice hourly during morning drive. These news, weather and sports updates will be anchored by WGN Radio’s Andrea Darlas, Steve Grzanich, Ryan Burrow and Vic Vaughn.

In a Tuesday night SEC filing, Beasley Media Group detailed for shareholders exactly how much this $240 million 21-station merger with Greater Media will cost them, both in long-term debt and short-term fees.

And do we ever really see this happen in a radio deal? But just in case, there is a multi-million dollar reason to make sure it does close. Beasley writes in the SEC filing that it expects this merger to close before January 19, 2017.

In that SEC filing, information about the new Beasley board, once the deal closes, was detailed. The Beasley Media Group Board of Directors will increase from eight members to nine and that extra slot will be filled by Peter Bordes Jr. He was chosen by Greater Media stockholders to fill that slot.

November will be here very soon and that means another gathering of some of the smartest minds both in and out of the radio business. Our goal: to help you understand where the economy is headed in 2017 and help you navigate your station to higher revenues. Check out our agenda for Forecast 2017 HERE

Pandora has finalized direct licensing agreements for recorded music with Merlin Network, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group, along with The Orchard and over 30 other independent labels and distributors. CEO Tim Westergren said, "This was a truly collaborative attempt to find a solution that would support artists while profitably growing our respective businesses. And that is exactly what we achieved."

Over the next five years (by 2020), Pandora hopes to have 100 million active and engaged users. And the goal is to get 10% of those users to pay for a streaming product. Here's how...

There had been some speculation that Pandora's new streaming service would be available any day, however, CEO Tim Westergren said the new service would be launched "by the end of the year."

That's according to research from eMarketer, which reports that by the end of 2016, US digital ad spending will hit $72 billion, passing TV at $71.29 billion