News

After fielding a question about the possibility of more stations being sold, following the $12.2 million sale of WPZR-FM in Detroit, Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins wanted his employees to listen to what he had to say and not pay attention to rumors.

He was fired from SiriusXM in July of 2017, three years after his former radio partner Anthony Cumia was fired from the satellite company after going on a racist tirade on Twitter. On Wednesday, Westwood One announced it is launching a new podcast With Gregg "Opie" Hughes, one half of the former syndicated radio team, "Opie and Anthony." The first podcast will be May 7.

Beginning in June, Sun Broadcast Group will offer national ad sales support for the Envision's 24/7 Weather Network. Sun Broadcast Group CEO Jason Bailey said, “We know how important staying local and relevant is to our advertisers and we strive to deliver quality content to them—it’s great to have a partner like Envision Networks, who share that sentiment.”

For the fifth year in a row, WBGL/Champaign, IL, formed a team to participate in the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon to raise awareness about human trafficking. Together, WBGL listeners and those in the races raised over $83,000.

Cumulus Media has announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has confirmed the Company’s Plan of Reorganization. The Company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 before the end of the quarter, after the conditions to the Plan are satisfied.

Southern California Broadcasters Association President Thom Callahan is not a big fan of Spotify and he's put out an 'alert' to members as ammo to use with their advertisers. Callahan says, The PR spin machine for Spotify has been in overdrive this week after releasing its quarterly earnings. "We’ve seen this movie before and it was called “Pandora”. Remember them?"

Service Broadcasting (owner of K104 FM in Dallas) and DeDe McGuire are launching nationally, with Compass Media Networks managing the syndication, starting in July. McGuire has hosted her own morning show for five years now. She's no stranger to syndication, having served as co-host of The Doug Banks Show for over 10 years.

Peter Bowen is back in Chicago, now with Entercom as Director of Sports. Bowen will oversee all sales as it relates to play-by-play and The Score (WSCR). Bowen has been Vice President and Market Manager for Cumulus Chicago and also worked for CBS Radio in Chicago and Los Angeles. His first day back is May 14.

Salem has hired Gary Spurgeon as Senior Vice President for Special Projects. The broadcast veteran has worked for Renda, Cox, and for the last 6 ½ years, as VP/GM for Radio One in Dallas and Houston. Spurgeon was a Radio Ink General Manager of the Year for three successive years in 2014 – 2016.

Univision announced Tuesday that Liz Blacker has been appointed to SVP of Branded Content Revenue. Blacker will be based in New York and report to Lisa Valentino, EVP of Revenue Innovation for UCI.