News

Thanks to broadcast attorney David Oxenford for simplifying this one for us. In his latest blog, Oxenford points out that the FCC is asking for comments on its proposed new fees, and the proposed fees go up significantly for broadcasters. The fees are meant to recoup the costs of the FCC’s regulation of the industries that it oversees.

That was partly due to two fewer selling days for radio's biggest ad category. GM, Ford and other manufacturers reported lower U.S. vehicle sales for May due to sluggish demand for sedans and those two fewer selling days. General Motors' sales fell 18 percent, Ford was down 6 percent and Toyota's sales dropped 10 percent compared to 2015. Volkswagen's sales were down 17 percent. Fiat Chrysler and Subaru saw slight increases. Hyundai's sales jumped 12 percent.

The company, owned by Duke Wright, purchased WNFN-FM in Millersville, Tennessee, from Joule Broadcasting for $3.75 million. Midwest now has three FMs in the Nashville area. Millersville is just north of the city. Eddie Esserman of Media Services Group was the exclusive broker on this deal.

Beasley Media Group, Inc. has hired Deirdre (“Deedy”) Palmer to serve as General Sales Manager for the company’s Las Vegas cluster. Palmer has two decades of radio industry experience in the Vegas market, along with magazine and custom publishing experience. Most recently, she was Vice President of Sales at a Las Vegas-based media company.

The two companies have signed a new ad sales agreement partnership. AudioBoom has been Undisclosed’s tech and platform partner since its debut, providing publishing, distribution, and production support. In February 2016, AudioBoom co-produced five episodes with Undisclosed from Adnan Syed's post-conviction relief hearing in Baltimore. The Undisclosed podcast investigates possible wrongful convictions.

And you can watch the event via Livestrem HERE beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern. The event begins with an introduction from Ramsey. His first guest is Lizzie Widhelm from Pandora at 1:20. The event runs for two days.

AdLarge Media has announced a digital ad sales agreement streaming content partner, idobi Network. idobi focuses on new music and artists in alternative, metal, and punk rock, such as Patrick Langlois, Darrin Pfeiffer, Mike Herrera, Mike Gunz, and Sébastien Lefebvre.

Gary DiGiuseppe was on his way to work Wednesday morning when a woman traveling the wrong direction on Interstate 430 hit him head-on. Video taken by a passerby indicates both vehicles erupted in flames upon impact. Both DiGiuseppe and the woman were pronounced dead at the scene. DiGiuseppe was the morning newscaster for First News with Kevin Miller on KARN, Little Rock, and also provided daily newscasts for the Arkansas Radio Network. More details can be found on the KARN website.

That announcement comes from Alpha Media in the Texas market where Robert Mueller will take over as Market Manager. Mueller is a 25-year vet who worked in Amarillo before moving to Oklahoma City in 2000. Most recently, Mueller served as an Alpha Media Corporate Product Manager. Alpha owns KGNC-FM, KXGL-FM, and KGNC-AM in Amarillo.

Mike Jenson is making the move from Las Vegas to Las Cruces where he'll be the GSM for Adams Radio's cluster. The stations include, KGRT FM (Country), KSNM FM (Classic Hits), KHQT FM (Hot 103), and KWML AM (Fox Sports).