News

SiriusXM is expanding into the domain of social justice, announcing Thursday the launch of Last Mile, Second Chances, a new show about formerly incarcerated women moving back into society and how communities can help in the transition. The show airs on SiriusXM's Urban View channel 126 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

During his Q3 earnings call on Thursday, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said advertising took a "pretty significant downturn" in the last six months of 2017. And, as digital and social continue to make significant advertising revenue gains, Smulyan predicted 2018 would be up only 1% for radio. He also said radio "could be flat or it could be down slightly. He was also asked about the CBS/Entercom merger.

Same-station revenue was down 4% for Emmis' 3rd quarter which includes September, October, and November of 2017. The markets in which Emmis operates were down 2%. CEO Jeff Smulyan said, "There was nothing great about our performance." He added these are challenging times in the broadcasting industry and pointed out what other companies were facing. No doubt he was referring to Cumulus in bankruptcy and iHeartMedia's $20 billion in debt.

(By Stuart Rosen) There has been some confusion in the industry following last month’s decision by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which affirmed Judge Stanton’s ruling that the BMI Consent Decree does not prohibit fractional licensing. BMI views the decision as a welcome, stabilizing event, and we genuinely believe the rest of the industry should as well. Allow us to explain why and hopefully alleviate any concerns.

Apple's CarPlay dashboard system was not friendly to radio. While the technology shows navigation, apps and even podcasts on the dashboard automobile, it does not integrate AM/FM radio. Drivers would need to switch out of the CarPlay interface over to the regular radio if they wanted to listen to their local station. Thanks to Gracenote, there's now an app for that.

Marketers see the future and it is on the automobile dashboard promoting a movie, telling drivers where the closest fast-food location is, or how to navigate to the nearest Starbucks. AKQA Media Managing Director Scott Symonds tells AdWeek, "Radio once held drivers hostage as the only form of in-car entertainment."

Freddy Rivera has been named Afternoon Drive Host for 102.9 Now, “Dallas/Ft. Worth’s Variety from 90s to Now,” effective February 5. Rivera will broadcast weekdays from 2–7 p.m.

Newsman Drew Scott is joining the team of JVC's Long Island News Radio (WRCN).  In addition to working at News 12 (Long Island TV), Scott was the founding news director of WLNY TV 55 and worked as Washington Correspondent at the White House for Tribune Broadcasting.

The SoundExchange Board announced Wednesday that President and CEO Michael Huppe will continue to lead the company through 2021. Huppe took over at SoundExchange in 2011.

Chris Soechtig has been named Market President for iHeartMedia's Tampa Bay market. Soechtig replaces Sam Nein and will report to Linda Byrd, President of iHeartMedia’s North Florida Region.