News

GEICO has upended The Home Depot after the big-box chain was radio's number one advertiser for 18 weeks in a row. According to Media Monitors, GEICO aired 43,287 commercials last week as The Home Depot aired only 35,468, way down from the 72,599 spots it ran a week earlier.

(By Randy Lane) The one-two punch that propels female-targeted shows to big ratings is the combination of a sticky relationship benchmark and relevant personal stories from the cast. Those stories connect best with the female audience (and the male audience) when they are vulnerable, self-deprecating, and humorous.

Providence College Athletics has announced a five-year agreement with Cumulus Media to become the official radio home of the school's men’s basketball on NewsTalk 99.7FM & AM 630 WPRO. John Rooke and Joe Hassett, who have been the voices of Friar Basketball for more than 30 years, will call all Friar games this season.

San Diego Classic Rock station KGB-FM is bringing back the DSC show to morning drive, from Monday, August 6. The new DSC will include show members Dave Rickards, Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, Chris Boyer, Nina “Ruth 66” Reeba, Emily Maguire, and Sarah Beebe. It will broadcast weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. 

Nicole Somerville is celebrating her 20-year anniversary with ratings outfit Research Director, Inc., of Annapolis, MD. “In today’s world it’s unusual for employees to stay with one company long enough to reach such a significant milestone. We thank Nicole, not only for her years of service to our clients, but her excellence at meeting their needs,” said Marc Greenspan, partner. 

Radio programming veteran Jimmy Steele has been named Program Director for 97.5 WABD-FM/Mobile, AL. Steele will continue in his current roles as Operations Manager, Cumulus Media-Mobile, and midday personality for WABD.

Eddie Haskell has been named SVP of Programming for iHeartMedia Fort Collins, CO. He will report to Amy Griesheimer, Area President for iHeartMedia Denver. Haskell joins the Fort Collins Market from KYGO-FM, where he most recently served as PD.

The Bobby Bones Show is joining BIG 95.5, Chicago’s New Country, effective August 13. The show will broadcast weekdays, 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., joining more than 120 stations across the U.S. and Canada.

Radio Ink Editor Ed Ryan was a guest on The New Media Show with Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee. They discussed the relationship between the radio industry and the podcasting industry. Is there a great divide? Find out by watching the show HERE.

The CEO's and President's of ten radio companies have joined forces to pen a long letter to the radio industry in full support of more deregulation. The group want to keep the pressure on the FCC as it considers lifting ownership caps during its upcoming quadrennial ownership review. They also want to rally the industry to their side.