He joined Nielsen in July 2016 as its VP of Finance, working his way up to SVP and Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer in December 2019.
Effective November 12, this C-Suite executive will no longer be a member of the Nielsen family.
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As traditional cable and satellite providers struggle to retain customers in the highly competitive and increasingly fragmented streaming media ecosystem, Black audiences, largely known as loyal cable and satellite television customers, are increasingly opting to cut the cord.
That’s the key takeaway from a new Horowitz study, released Wednesday.
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Virtual meetings will remain a major part of how we work for months, or perhaps years.
And, as longtime public relations professional and “Zoom” expert Rosemary Ravinal sees it, this will provide new opportunities for those who acquire the skills necessary to deliver world-class online presentations.
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With the final fate of his former FM radio stations still in limbo, as the FCC has not said yes to a transfer of control of the properties to VCY America from court-appointed receiver Larry Patrick, the most infamous licensee in the American West has moved forward with a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
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A broadcast company that says it is on the cutting edge of technology and the next generation of content delivery throughout the U.S. has just taken a big leap forward by selecting Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to power its next-generation ATSC 3.0 broadcast internet network — the potentially profit-generating benefit linked to what powers NEXTGEN TV.
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Audacy has acquired “an exclusive, perpetual license” to WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming technology and the related assets and operations of WO Streaming — a cloud-based distribution and monetization platform for live and on-demand audio streams.
The acquisition, recently hinted at by Audacy, Inc. thanks to an SEC fiing, gives the company formerly known as Entercom control of the WideOrbit digital audio tech business.
President/CEO David Field says it “perfectly complements” Audacy’s organic investments to make the company’s digital platform a top choice for listeners, clients and partners.
Audacy will operate WO Streaming under the name “AmperWave.”
Importantly, the entire WO Streaming team, led by John Morris, SVP of Streaming, has joined Audacy.
While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the WO Streaming deal is directly tied to Audacy’s October 13 statement that it planned to offer $45 million in aggregate principal amount of subsidiary Audacy Capital Corp.’s 6.500% senior secured second-lien notes due 2027.
The “Additional Notes” served as what’s called on Wall Street an “ad-on offering,” and it was done expressly for Audacy to complete “a small digital acquisition” for approximately $40 million.
That would be the price tag of this WideOrbit deal.
In addition to its radio and digital audio products, WideOrbit is highly active in the broadcast and cable television space, in addition to programmatic TV buying. Led by CEO and founder Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit is now poised to focused solely on visual media.
As announced in May, Gray Television has agreed to acquire Meredith Local Media. One month later, after an unsolicited counteroffer emerged, Gray sweetened its deal, agreeing to pay $2.825 billion in cash.
Now, in order for Gray to satisfy terms that call for Meredith Corporation shareholders to receive $16.99 per share in cash and 1-for-1 equity share in post-close Meredith, it is amending and restating its senior credit facility while concurrently seeking an additional incremental term loan valued at $1.5 billion.
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An AM/FM combo, along with an FM translator, serving a small Ohio municipality is being spun.
That could explain the buzzards flying around the building, if you will.
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“After a lighter-than-normal content slate in Q1 and Q2 due to COVID-related production delays in 2020, we are seeing the positive effects of a stronger slate in the second half of the year.”
That’s the collective assessment of Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings, CFO Spence Neumann, COO and Chief Product Officer Greg Peters, VP of Investor Relatons/Corporate Development Spencer Wang, as the OTT giant released its third-quarter earnings report following Tuesday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street.
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What is the role social communities play in influencing purchase decisions?
WARC, in partnership with TikTok and Publicis Groupe, came together for a just-released study that helps answer that question. Their work outlines what they say is “the huge potential for brands to engage with audiences and increase unplanned purchases by narrowing the funnel between product discovery and purchase.”
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Starting Monday (10/25), a pair of ABC affiliates in the Lone Star State owned by The E.W. Scripps Company will have a new VP/GM.
It’s an individual whose most recent TV industry role was as President/GM of the NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo affiliate serving Denver.
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Ed Woloszyn, the General Manager of dual CBS/Fox affiliate KEYC-12 in Mankato, Minn., recently died following a brief cancer fight.
Now, Gray Television has chosen the individual who will take over the station’s leadership role. It’s a woman who has been News Director for a former Quincy Media, Inc., property in Rochester, Minn.
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America’s Public Television Stations is cheering the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chair for recommending $565 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Fiscal Year 2024.
This chairman’s mark, courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), will likely serve as the basis for negotiations with the House of Representatives on the final appropriations bills. The U.S. House of Representatives has already approved the same $565 million for CPB in the two-year advance funding for FY 2024.
In addition, the draft Senate bill providing appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies also includes $30 million for Ready To Learn and $20 million for public broadcasting interconnection.
“This is an important day for public television,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “We lost $100 million in purchasing power over 10 years of flat federal funding, and this chairman’s mark would restore much of that loss — and with it our ability to provide the educational services, the public safety communications, the civic literacy and the beloved programming which millions of Americans need and value.”
Butler adds that APTS is also appreciative of the $20 million in FY 2022 for the annual station interconnection account, and for $30 million allocated for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America.
In mid-March, the septuagenarian owner of a Class A radio station serving a rural portion of Western Pennsylvania returned to the airwaves after a short absence. His return was controversial: on November 16, 2020 this individual was placed on a three-year “restricted probation” for a series of criminal sexual acts at a sentencing hearing that most believed would save him from a FCC license revocation hearing.
Seven months later, the Chief of the Commission’s Media Bureau has spoken up. Roger Wahl is on notice that he could loose control of WQZS-FM in Meyersdale, Pa., as a Hearing Designation Order has been sent to his attention.
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When Gordon Borrell, the respected local ad trend expert who serves as CEO of Borrell Associates, sits down with four top radio and television executives at Forecast 2022, their perspectives, projections and visions for the broadcast industry will likely be shared. A lively discussion of broadcast media’s opportunities, digital competitors and regulatory challenges is also expected.
What will they say? You won’t be able to read it here, or anywhere else, as it is an exclusive no-press session at Forecast 2022.
To hear what Borrell and his panelists have to share, you have to be in New York.
No press coverage. No recordings. Full freedom to express their thoughts with no cameras or microphones.
Who’s on the panel?
Caroline BeasleyDebra OConnell
Don’t miss out on hearing what these top leaders have to say — along with the chance to see them face-to-face.
We invite you to register NOW to secure your seat at Forecast 2022.
Check out the Full Agenda Here.
Katz Media Group has elevated a veteran of the media sales organization to the role of Katz Digital Audio president.
Taking the new post: Scott Porretti. He will continue to report to CEO Mark Gray.
Porretti has been within Katz Digital for several years, rising from SVP to EVP of Katz Digital after four years in May 2018. He’s also been a SVP of Katz Radio Group, overseeing a sales team comprised of more than 250 people working across seven sales divisions.
At Katz, Porretti is spearheading the rollout of the Katz Intelligence Manager (KIM), described by the company as “a state-of-the-art proprietary audience technology for the digital audio marketplace.”
Gray said, “Scott’s in-depth knowledge and vast background in developing audio solutions across a variety of platforms has helped Katz grow its diverse digital offerings and proprietary technologies. Scott’s effective team leadership style, and his extraordinary vision in this marketplace, has catapulted Katz Digital to a place where it is now viewed by advertisers as a one-stop-shop to reach diverse audiences with unparalleled scale.”
On Sunday, it became known to viewers across the U.S. that Sinclair Broadcast Group had suffered a cyberattack, crippling newsrooms across several markets. This ransomware incident follows similar incidents at Cox Media Group, Audacy, Urban One and Max Media.
How could this happen? What should a media company consider to prevent it from happening in their organization — or is a cyberattack inevitable?
In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Lisa Plaggemier, the interim Executive Director with the Washington, D.C.,-based National Cybersecurity Alliance, offers important insight and intelligence on the subject in an exclusive interview with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: National Cybersecurity Alliance” on Spreaker.
Cyber Threats and How to Protect Your Organization Cyber threats are coming fast and furious nowadays. Every day we hear of another ransomware attack or data breach, and it seems that the cyber adversaries are taking over companies unopposed. Cyber security expert Steve Morgan, founder of Cybersecurity Ventures and Editor-in-Chief at Cybercrime Magazine, sits down with Juliet Huddy for a provocative interview that will cover, in non-technobabble, how the cyber adversaries are doing it, why people and companies are in the dark when it comes to cybercrime, and what they can and should do to protect their organization.Attend this session in person ONLY at Forecast 2022!
Radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles company Benztown has promoted its Custom Imaging Manager to Director of Custom Imaging.
Concurrently, Benztown has filled the Custom Imaging Manager spot with a 13-year veteran of Audacy’s Rhythmic Top 40 known as “Power 93.5” in Wichita.
Royce Stevenson, formerly of KDGS-FM in Wichita, is stepping into the role previously held by Thomas Green.
That’s the individual who in 2019 joined Benztown after serving as Audio Producer for the popular Australian morning radio show “Fifi, Fev & Byron.” Green was also Audio Producer for “Carrie & Tommy” and for multiple Hit Network programs across Australia.
Green is currently based in Brooklyn, NY.
During his 13-year tenure with KDGS, Stevenson was the Production Director for the station cluster and did station imaging for KDGS-FM and KEYN-FM, a Classic Hits station. He was most recently Assistant Brand Manager/Music Director for KDGS-FM, and hosted afternoon drive on the station.
Resource management software company Xytech has scheduled a four-day webinar series designed to showcase new features associated with its MediaPulse 10 product.
Each day of the series, scheduled from from Oct. 26–29, will focus on a different feature of the system.
From Oct. 26–27, a MediaPulse Overview is planned. On Oct. 27–28, time will be spent showcasing MediaPulse Personnel; on Oct. 28–29 company executives will highlight MediaPulse Transmission.
“Until we can once again meet in person, these webinar series are essential communication tools to the community,” said Xytech COO Greg Dolan. “With the version 10 update, MediaPulse provides every user with exactly the functionality they need, when they need it, on the device of their choosing, creating a reliable solution able to operate anywhere. Something the pandemic has made crucial.”
MediaPulse Overview
On Oct. 26, Xytech will host a webinar at 1pm ET/10am PT.
During this first webinar, attendees will learn how MediaPulse 10 simplifies scheduling, automation, asset management, billing and cost recovery for broadcasters, media services companies and transmission facilities in a scalable platform-independent solution.
MediaPulse Personnel
To be held on Oct. 27 at 1pm ET/10am PT, this webinar will showcase the upgrades to the MediaPulse 10’s Personnel Management features.
MediaPulse Transmission
The final webinar in the series will be held Oct. 28 at 1pm ET/10am PT.
To register for any of the MediaPulse 10 Webinar Series, please visit: https://www.xytechsystems.com/webinar/
To some, he’s the heir apparent to the late Rush Limbaugh. A New York Police Department officer from 1995-1999 and a Secret Service agent for the following 12 years, Dan Bongino took a career pivot and found success as a conservative Talk Radio host at Cumulus Media‘s WMAL in Washington.
Following Limbaugh’s passing, several radio broadcasting companies scrambled to fill the void. For Cumulus and its Westwood One national radio arm, a full court press to get stations across the country to embrace The Dan Bongino Show was put into motion. On May 24, Bongino officially went national, taking the Noon-3pm Eastern slot and gaining affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Today, Bongino’s future with Cumulus and Westwood One is in question. He has practically given his employer an ultimatum. It’s all about the company’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Bongino isn’t budging … and he’s vaccinated.
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