Alpha Media announced in the middle of the night that Lawrence R 'Larry' Wilson is stepping down as Chairman of the company's board of directors for the Oregon-based broadcast company he founded in 2009.
He will remain a member of the board.
Under Wilson's guidance, Alpha Media has become the largest privately-owned radio broadcaster in the U.S., operating 225 radio stations in 48 markets. Wilson is also known for his work within the country music industry, having served on the board for the Country Music Association from 1991 to 2001 and inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Larry Wilson
"Wilson is a respected colleague and pioneer in the broadcast industry," said Alpha Media President/CEO Bob Proffitt. "His vision helped craft today's broadcast and radio landscape."
Earlier in his 37-year radio career, Wilson co-founded Citadel Communications in Phoenix, AZ. There, he assumed the roles of Chairman and CEO and took the company public in 1998. Citadel expanded its radio presence to 26 states and ultimately grew to own and operate 205 radio stations in 42 markets. He then sold Citadel Communications to the Wall Street investment firm, Forstmann Little & Co. in 2001.
Wilson first began managing and investing in radio stations while he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Combined Communications. He joined Combined Communications after finishing his law degree at the University of Arizona and being a part of Snell & Wilmer Law Firm. At Combined Communications he handled all acquisitions and mergers and oversaw the broadcast, newspaper and outdoor billboard divisions. Larry received his undergraduate degree in accounting at Northern Arizona University.
Larry was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014 at the Country Radio Seminar. He served on the Board of Directors of the Country Music Association from 1999 to 2001 and was honored in 2001 by the National Association of Broadcasters when he received the National Radio Award. Twice, he has been voted “Executive of the Year” by Radio Ink; once in 2002 and again, in 2016. In 2007 he received the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. for his work and monetary contributions to numerous charitable organizations over the years.
Alpha Media will elect a new Chairman at their next scheduled board meeting.
iHeartMedia announced today that it has renewed and expanded its relationship with CMA and ACM Award-winning radio personality Bobby Bones, host of the hit national Country radio program The Bobby Bones Show.
Bones, who reaches more than 9 million people monthly as host of The Bobby Bones Show and Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones, in addition to more than 5 million monthly downloads of his morning show podcast, will continue his current role as host of both radio programs. Originating from WSIX in Nashville, The Bobby Bones Show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks on more than 100 radio stations, in addition to airing on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service. Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones is heard nationwide on more than 160 stations. Bones will also continue hosting his popular podcast BobbyCast.
iHeartCountry has more than 150 Country broadcast radio stations across the U.S. reaching more than 110 Country music listeners per month, making it the largest Country broadcast radio group in America. As part of the renewed agreement, Bones will become Vice President, Creative Director of iHeartCountry and will work with iHeartMedia on a variety of joint ventures and new creative programming initiatives including executive producing a new one-hour weekend program, Women of iHeartCountry. Co-hosted by Bones and Amy Brown from The Bobby Bones Show, Women of iHeartCountry will feature music from established female artists and up-and-comers, with weekly guest appearances by other iHeartMedia female on air personalities. The new program will be available to Mainstream and Country stations nationwide as well as on iHeartRadio beginning later this summer.
“This is the opportunity I’ve been chasing my entire career,” said Bobby Bones. “Thanks to Bob Pittman, Rich Bressler and Kevin Legrett for their years of support and for the space to build this partnership.”
“Country continues to be one of the fastest-growing music formats and Bobby is the leading on air personality connecting with Country fans across multiple platforms nationwide,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. “He has created a relatable, fun and engaging brand of entertainment that drives unmatched results for our advertising and partners. We’re proud to be in the Country music business with Bobby, and look forward to developing new and exciting ways to reach this expanding community.”
Over 2/3 of 14-24-Year-Old Likely Ratings Respondents and Nearly 1/2 of All Radio Listeners Believe Radio’s Tight Playlists Are a Cost-Saving Measure to Avoid Paying Licensing Fees
Nearly 60% of All Respondents and Close to 70% of Likely Diary and PPM Participants Conclude That Radio Stations Play the Music That Record Companies Pay Them to Play
NuVoodoo Media Services, a data-driven media marketing, programming and content intelligence provider, announces that it has recently completed its 12th and latest NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study of over 3,000 radio listeners between the ages of 14 and 54 across all PPM-rated markets.
Key findings of the new study will be revealed in a series of free webinars presented by NuVoodoo’s Leigh Jacobs, EVP, Research Analysis and Mike O’Connor, EVP, Marketing Insights. The webinars will be presented beginning Wednesday, August 1st through Monday, August 6th and are open to all radio professionals who register at: http://www.nuvoodoo.com/webinars.
NuVoodoo Ratings Prospect Study XII was fielded in June 2018 and shows that about half of all radio listeners under age 35 believe radio’s tight playlists are a cost-saving measure to avoid paying licensing fees. Among those respondents who are likely to accept a diary or meter, the perception jumps to over 2/3 among 14-24 year-olds.
NuVoodoo’s study also showed that nearly 60% of all respondents and close to 70% of likely diary and PPM participants conclude that radio stations play the music that record companies pay them to play.
Leigh Jacobs, Executive Vice President, Research Analysis, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “Our findings reveal a sharp younger-demo skew among those who believe that radio’s tight playlists are the result of cost saving measures on the part of stations seeking to avoid paying licensing fees. The younger the demo, the more pervasive the perception. When it comes to music-business collusion, that demo skew goes away – and it represents a majority across the demos (and strong majorities among likely ratings participants).”
The webinar series is part of NuVoodoo's ongoing effort to inform the industry of emerging trends and to help uncover opportunities for stations to improve programming and marketing efforts. The primary focus is on those who have accepted or are more likely to accept a ratings diary or become part of the PPM panel, since this small segment of radio listeners holds the key to any station’s financial success.
The webinar will also include updated study results about streaming and smart speakers - and their impact on terrestrial radio, as well as what marketing channels, from direct mail to digital, stations should emphasize when promoting themselves to likely panelists and diary keepers. Things have changed since Facebook’s recent data privacy scandal, and one competitor has clearly benefited in particular.
Carolyn Gilbert, President, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “Our entire team heavily relies on the findings from the semi-annual NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Studies. Our goal is to help clients dominate their competitors in the ratings, so knowing what motivates radio listeners, and likely ratings participants in particular, is the key to our strategies.”
Mike O’Connor, Executive Vice President, Marketing, NuVoodoo Media Services, added: “Digital behavior is an ever-evolving and fast moving target. It’s not enough to conduct these studies only once in a while. Our edge comes from the fact that these findings are very recent and directly relevant to stations.”
To register for one of five free webinars to be held on Wednesday, August 1 (12pm ET and 3pm ET); Monday, August 6 (1pm ET); Thursday, August 9 (11am ET); and Monday, August 13 (2pm ET), visit: http://nuvoodoo.com/webinars/.
Focus 360 has entered into an arrangement to exclusively bring “On-Demand Music Research” from Bridge Ratings to radio stations on a barter basis. Summit Media is the first radio group to sign on to the Focus 360 deal for its music stations in Birmingham, Louisville, and Richmond.
“On-Demand Music Research from Bridge Ratings is game-changing,” declared Phil Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Focus 360. “We’re excited to bring this advanced music research to radio and to launch our offer with the forward-thinking management team at Summit Media,”
“In today’s expanding music consumption marketplace, music directors need research designed for radio programmers,” said John Olsen, National Program Director of Summit Media. “Focus 360 made it an easy choice, and we’re confident the advanced music data will help our stations win ratings in their markets.”
Bridge Ratings has been tracking on-demand music streaming for more than four years, providing client stations with format-specific audience streaming intelligence. The research company has documented boosts in radio stations’ daily and weekly cume and tune-in occasions when music selection is driven by on-demand music streaming data.
“The team at Focus 360 has deep relationships with radio station program and music directors and understands what they need to succeed in their markets,” noted Dave Van Dyke, President, Bridge Ratings Media Research. “Focus 360 was the obvious choice for a network partner and I’m looking forward to welcoming more forward-thinking programmers.”
Stations interested in learning more about a barter arrangement for the Bridge Ratings On-Demand Music Research may contact Rob Magaziner at 917-580-6108.
Cumulus Media announces that it has appointed Megan Stone as Co-Host of WEBE 108’s “WEBE Wake Up Morning Show with Jay Michaels”. The popular morning radio show serves radio listeners in Fairfield and New Haven counties and airs weekdays and from 5:30am-10:00am.
Stone was previously on-air at WBEC-FM in the Berkshires and joins Cumulus Media from WEZN in Bridgeport, where she was on-air host, middays. Stone makes her debut on WEBE’s weekday morning show on Monday, August 6th.
Danny Lyons, Operations Manager, WEBE-Bridgeport, said: “It is exciting to welcome Megan to the Cumulus family and I know her enthusiasm for radio, as well as for her listeners, will shine through every morning on WEBE 108.”
WEBE 107.9 FM (50 kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Stone said: “It is such an honor to join the team at WEBE 108 and to be a part of this legendary radio station. I cannot wait to work alongside Jay Michaels in the morning. I am also thrilled to remain in my home state and become a voice that helps wake up my friends and neighbors. Thanks to Steve Chessare, Danny Lyons and the rest of the Cumulus family for this once in a lifetime opportunity. ”
YEA Networks announces that “KiddNation TV” debuts today in Dallas and Houston featuring YEA Networks’ “The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show”. Hosts Kellie Rasberry, J-Si Chavez, Big Al Mack and Jenna Owens are back on FOX TV after appearing on FOX’s Dish Nation for 4+ seasons.
A daily 30-minute show, KiddNation TV expands on the daily radio show’s existing content and follows the hosts outside of the studio. It will feature popular show staples such as A-List Celebrity Interviews, “Love Letters to Kellie” and “Does That Make Me Crazy?!” In addition, viewers will follow the cast and crew behind the scenes and out of the studio. Part reality show, part variety show, KiddNation TV will be a fun, fast-moving addition to the Dallas and Houston television lineup. Shows will also be available for streaming a few days after they air on KiddNation.com.
Co-host Kellie Rasberry said: “I'm really excited about expanding our KiddNation family to include a TV audience! And it's truly fun to be at this stage in my career and have a new creative challenge. We've always been very open about our personal lives on the radio, but with KiddNation TV, we're allowing the audience to know us on an even more intimate level. I'm excited to hear what people think!”
“Kellie, Al, J-Si and Jenna are Texas radio icons, and we’re delighted to bring them back to TV every afternoon,” said John Kukla, VP/Creative Services for KDFW-KDFI. “They are so much fun to work with, and will be a great addition to our lineup in Dallas AND Houston!”
Dallas-based Distillery Media has been tapped for production of the series.
Catch all of the KiddNation TV action weekdays in Houston at 12:30pm on FOX 26 and in Dallas at 4:30pm on FOX 4 More, Channel 27.
President Trump on Sunday disclosed details of a private meeting he had with the publisher of The New York Times, A. G. Sulzberger, and Mr. Sulzberger flatly disputed the president’s characterization of an exchange they had about threats to journalism, reports The NY Times.
Trump said on Twitter that he and Sulzberger had discussed “the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media.
A-G Sulzberger
In a five-paragraph statement issued two hours after the tweet, Sulzberger said he had accepted Trump’s invitation for the July 20 meeting mainly to raise his concerns about his “deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric.”
“I told the president directly that I thought that his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous,” said Sulzberger, who became publisher of The Times on Jan. 1.
“I told him that although the phrase ‘fake news’ is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists ‘the enemy of the people,’” Mr. Sulzberger continued. “I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence.”
Trump has continued to assail the news media at rallies and even at more formal presidential events, encouraging his audiences to chant “CNN sucks!” and to vent their anger at the reporters assembled in the back.
The president invited Sulzberger to the Oval Office earlier this month, according to The Times, continuing a tradition of meetings between presidents and the paper’s publishers. James Bennet, the editorial page editor of The Times, accompanied Mr. Sulzberger to the meeting.
In a statement, Mercedes Schlapp, a White House communications adviser, said, “The president regularly meets with members of the media, and we can confirm this meeting took place.” She did not provide any further details of the meeting or explain why the president chose to publicize it.
The White House had requested that the meeting be kept off the record, according to the statement from The Times.
“But with Mr. Trump’s tweet this morning,” the statement said, “he has put the meeting on the record, so A. G. has decided to respond to the president’s characterization of their conversation, based on detailed notes A. G. and James took.”
Mergers and acquisition deal-making for media and telecommunications companies revealed a mixed picture in the second quarter.
The number of deals dropped to 194 from 244 in the first quarter of this year, according to PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). Second-quarter deals this year were also down versus second-quarter 2017, when the total was 219.
Trends and highlights:
Overall, deal volumes slightly declined by 4% in the first half (H1) of 2018 vs. 2017, while Q2 2018 deal volumes declined by 20% from the prior quarter.
Announced deal values increased by 197% in the first half of 2018 and 19% in Q1 2018 vs. the prior quarter, fueled by megadeal activity. Megadeals accounted for approximately 66% of year-to-date announced deal value.
10 deals greater than $1 billion in value were announced during H1 of 2018, the largest of which was the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint for $26.8B.
The Advertising & Marketing and Internet & Information subsectors continue to lead in deal volume in H1 2018, with 143 and 97 announced deals, respectively.
The biggest media deal was T-Mobile's announced $26.8 billion deal for Sprint. After this was a merger of two TV station groups: Gray Television’s $3.6 billion deal for Raycom Media, which will create the third-largest U.S. TV station group.
Since the start of this year, three companies have announced deals in the first half of 2018 were valued in excess of $5 billion.
For the first half of this year, there were 143 advertising/marketing deals; 97, internet/information; 54, publishing; 41, telecommunications; 33, film/content; 30, recreation/leisure; 26, broadcasting; 7, music, and 5, cable.
Broadcasting
As PwC noted last quarter, broadcasting deals have been on the rise as a new round of consolidation has resulted in not only acquisitions, but also divestitures, as a result of directives from the regulators.
The number of announced deals in H1 2018 were up 44% over the same period in 2017. While there was certainly more activity in the subsector, disclosed deal value remained stable at approximately $5.5B. Sellers in the quarter included Sinclair and Tribune, who were required to divest certain assets in order to obtain regulatory approval for their merger. HC2 Holdings continued to be an active acquirer in the subsector, being involved in almost half of the announced television deals.
While often lower profile deals, PwC notes it continued to see steady interest in radio deals, accounting for almost a quarter of Broadcasting deals in the first half of 2018.
When Apple launched Apple Music in June 2015, many people thought it would be a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ Apple would catch up with and eventually surpass Spotify. Apple’s financial and marketing power combined with an installed base of hundreds of millions of iOS devices seemed like a tough combination to beat for the Swedish music streaming pioneers, according to Flix Richter at Statista.
And yet, ever since Apple launched its own streaming service halfway through 2015, Spotify has managed to keep Apple Music at arm’s length. If anything, Spotify appears to be pulling away from Apple Music in terms of paid subscribers. As the following chart illustrates, the gap between the two streaming services has gradually widened from 20 million when Apple Music was launched to around 40 million subscribers, which is where it is today.
Broadcast TV's slavish adherence to the rhythms of the calendar can make for a whole lot of deadly summer programming, and if the ratings are any indication, it appears that America's tolerance for hastily revived game shows and lazily construed ripoffs of existing competition-series formats is at low ebb.
According to AdAge citing Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, the networks may have been better served if they'd simply hung up a "Gone Fishin'" sign and flooded their summer schedules with a torrent of repeats. Midway through the 18-week sweaty season, only six broadcast shows are averaging north of a 1.0 rating in the adults 18-to-49 demo, and just one series (ABC's "To Tell the Truth" reboot) is currently out-performing its year-ago ratings. Meanwhile, the summer scripted-series revival that was heralded a few years ago by the remarkable success of CBS's "Under the Dome" is deader than the diplodocus, as the Big Four's slate of 15 dog-days productions and burnoffs is sputtering along with an average draw of a 0.4 in the demo, which works out to a little more than 515,000 adults 18 to 49.
Now in its 13th season, NBC's "America's Got Talent" remains the solstice's ratings champ, beating all comers with an average draw of 11.6 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the target demo, good for some 2.8 million adults 18 to 49. No other show comes anywhere near "America's Got Talent" in the summer ratings race; trailing the million-dollar competition series are CBS's "Big Brother," ABC's "The Bachelorette" and "Talent" lead-out "World of Dance," all of which are now averaging a 1.4 in adults under 50.
If "Talent" deliveries have slipped somewhat compared to its year-ago performance—at this time in 2017, the show was averaging 12.6 million viewers and a 2.6 in the dollar demo. If you were to transfer the show's demo deliveries to the regular season, "Talent" would rank fourth among all non-NFL broadcast programs, trailing only the now defunct "Roseanne" (3.5), "The Big Bang Theory" (2.7) and NBC's own "This Is Us" (2.7).
While "Talent" does reach a crowd that is a bit long in the tooth (season-to-date, the median age of the viewers who watch the show is just shy of 59 years old), it also boasts the sort of multi-generational appeal that ensures a decent turnout of younger fans. In each of the eight nights it has aired thus far this summer "Talent" has earned bragging rights as network TV's top draw among the 18-to-34 set, and is the only show that averages more than 1 million members of that particular demo week in and week out.
This will mark the fourth straight season in which "Talent" will finish out the summer as the season's top-rated show—or the fifth if you factor in its 2014 performance, when it tied "Big Brother" for the lead.
In an era when millions of Americans are cutting the cord and ditching traditional TV, many more are still holding firm. according to AdAge.
More than 90 million households still subscribe to some form of pay TV, and they often can't envision a life without their hundreds of channels, live sports and generously sized remote controls.
Cable and satellite companies are counting on never-cutters to support their business at a time of record defections. The number of viewers abandoning pay TV is expected to increase by a third to 33 million this year, according to research firm eMarketer.
AT&T and Comcast, the two largest pay-TV providers in the U.S., may be able to replace those customers by signing up people for online TV packages. But those services typically bring in less revenue. Charter Communications, the industry's No. 3, will update its subscriber rolls when it posts second-quarter earnings next week.
The picture for cable companies may not be as bleak as people think. Dire predictions about pay-TV defections may not pan out. The top cable companies lost about 305,000 subscribers in the first quarter, an improvement from the 515,000 defections in the year-earlier period, according to Leichtman Research Group Inc.
There are still about 92 million pay-TV subscriptions in the U.S., the firm estimates.
Jay Roth, chief marketing officer at Dish Network Corp., sees fully functional remote controls as one factor that may keep customers loyal. Customers also want niceties like channel guides and access to local channels, he said.
While there is a profound shift underway in how households consume content -- and where they get it from -- there is still no perfect substitute for the full cable-TV bundle, said New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin.
For a household of four with diverse viewing habits, it's hard for online TV services to offer the same value. Plus, the family will probably have to pay more for internet access to handle the increase in streaming.
"The death of the big cable bundle has been greatly exaggerated," Chaplin said. "This suggests there will be a place for the traditional cable bundle in most households for a very long time."
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is threatening to take legal action against the Associated Press over a report from the wire service about an incident on his book tour, accoridng to The Hill.
Spicer’s attorney Michael J. Bowe said in a statement Saturday night that the AP “recklessly republished a categorically false accusation about Sean Spicer.”
“The claim is a lie. Absent an immediate retraction, Mr. Spicer will take legal action Monday,” Bowe said.
The AP report, published Saturday, documented an incident at Spicer’s book signing in Middletown, R.I., on Friday during which a black man claiming to be a former classmate of Spicer’s at Portsmouth Abbey School accused Spicer of using a racial slur.
A publicist for Spicer told the AP that the former press secretary was "taken aback" by the "outrageous" claim.
Regnery Publishing publicist Lauren McCue said Spicer "can’t recall any incident” like the one Lombard described.
Video of the encounter published by NewportRI.com shows the man, identified as Alex Lombard, approaching Spicer at event.
Spicer is currently on tour promoting his new book, “The Briefing: Politics, The Press, and the President,” about his time in the White House. The former aide left the White House last summer.
New York is moving to ban Charter Communications from operating in the state after regulators said it failed to live up to the commitments it made when its merger with Time Warner Cable was approved in 2016.
The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) voted Friday to revoke its approval of the merger, calling the company's behavior since the deal closed "brazenly disrespectful."
"Charter's repeated failures to serve New Yorkers and honor its commitments are well documented and are only getting worse," PSC Chairman John Rhodes said in a statement. "After more than a year of administrative enforcement efforts to bring Charter into compliance with the Commission's merger order, the time has come for stronger actions to protect New Yorkers and the public interest."
Charter, which operates under the name Spectrum, is New York's largest cable provider. The commission on Friday ordered the company to come up with a plan to transition its 2 million customers in the state to new service providers.
➦In 1889...Vladimir Zworykin, called the “Father of Television” was born in Russia. He invented the iconoscope in 1931 while in the employ of RCA, the parent company of NBC. He died July 29 1982 on the eve of his 93rd birthday. ➦In 1914...radio/TV writer John Meston was born in Pueblo Colorado. He is best remembered as the co-creator and main screenwriter for both the radio & TV versions of the iconic western series ‘Gunsmoke.’ He supplied 183 half-hour scripts for the CBS radio show, and 196 mostly-hour-long scripts for the -CBS-TV version, which ran for 20 years. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage March 24 1979 at age 64. In ➦1930...the long-running radio crime drama The Shadow aired for the first time on CBS. It would bea radio favorite for the next 24 years, mostly on Sunday afternoons on Mutual. ➦In 1937...the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) was organized. It was part of the American Federation of Labor. The union was for all radio performers except musicians. The union later became The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to include TV folk, as well.
➦In 1942...Stage Door Canteen began its three-year run on CBS Radio. Bert Lytell MC’d the weekly show aired live from Times Square in New York City; 500 servicemen were entertained each week by celebrities who freely donated their time for the war (WWII) effort.
➦In 1942...crooner Frank Sinatra waxed the last of his 90 recordings with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on RCA Victor. His last side was There are Such Things, which became #1 the following January. Sinatra moved on to the Columbia label (1943-1952) as a solo singing sensation.
Arthur Peterson, Mercedes McCambridge, Helen Behmiller, Henrietta Ledro
➦In 1952...the popular radio soap opera, The Guiding Light, was seen for the first time on CBS television. It debuted on NBC radio Jan. 25 1937. The daytime drama aired its final telecast Sept. 18 2009.
➦In 1954...Elvis Presley made his professional concert debut in two shows at Memphis. He was one of several acts opening both afternoon and evening performances by country star Slim Whitman. His leg-hip gyrations drove the female part of the crowds wild.
➦In 1964...station WNEW 1130 AM in New York - a top-rated adult music station, bans all comedy records that “ridicule the United States Government, its processes, institutions, officials, lawmakers and political candidates.” The station said the new policy was triggered by a new album entitled “I’d rather Be Far RightThan President.” - an album that spoofs Republican Presidential nominee BarryGoldwater.
Says John Sullivan, vice president and general manager of WNEW -“I would say the situation came to a head because of national conventions andan election year. But the taste level of some of these comedy recordings hasgrown progressively worse and there is a lot of cheap, badly done stuff in thefield. What I resent is that anyone can put something on a record and it is passedoff as entertainment. The radio industry should take a look at what it plays.”WNEW plays music from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Steve andEydie, Dean Martin and other popular non-rock artists
➦In 1966...WOR 98.7 FM, New York changed it's programming to a Rock format.
The original WOR-FM disc jockeys were Scott Muni (formerly of WABC and WMCA), Murray “the K” Kaufman (formerly of WINS), Rosko (Bill Mercer) and Johnny Michaels.
According to musicradio77.com, WOR-FM became extremely popular on college campuses. It began to carve out an audience that had not been served by radio up until then. It was achieving decent ratings (for an FM station) without taking audience away from the AM stations by appealing to new listeners. This was significant. A Columbia University survey of its undergraduates found that 93% listened to FM as well as AM and that they listened to WOR-FM for 3 1/2 hours daily as compared with AM stations WMCA (1 1/2 hours) and WABC (1 hour). WOR-FM grossed anywhere from $500 to $1000 a week from record company commercials because of its reach into the college campuses.
Even so, owner RKO wasn’t satisfied. Bill Drake had been consulting RKO’s two West Coast stations; KHJ in Los Angeles and KFRC in San Francisco. These were both extremely successful AM Top 40 stations built around the “Drake-Chenault” philosophy of playing just the hits while minimizing almost everything else. In July of 1967 RKO hired Drake to consult its remaining radio properties which consisted of CKLW, Detroit; WRKO, Boston; WGMS, Washington DC; WHBQ, Memphis and, of course, WOR-FM.
The first sense of change came when memos appeared from management dictating to the air staff not to play certain cuts. Next the disc jockeys were removed from the new record listening sessions and not allowed to have input on the playlist. Next the playlist became all singles with only an occasional new record and it had to be from an established artist.
Murray the K had the highest rated FM show in New York; a 4 share on one ratings survey, a 3 on the next. This was higher than many AM shows and a terrific FM rating for New York. He would have no part of these changes and his protests cost him his job. He was fired by the station in September 1967. His parting comment about the changes at WOR-FM was “Who can live with that? Music has reached a maturity... people in radio are still treating it as if it is for teenie boppers."
Murray had a point. WOR-FM was different from the other RKO properties in that it was FM stereo as opposed to AM. It had built a solid audience by attracting a different group of people. Giving up on it after only a year seemed premature. Record companies had found the station highly valuable at influencing sales of rock albums especially of new artists and groups like Cream, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The format was noted for playing new records first, often playing new artists that the local AM stations wouldn't play.
➦In 1984...The FCC raises the number of radio and television stations that a company may own from a total of 14 radio stations and 7 TV stations to a new ceiling of 24 radio stations and 12 TV stations.
➦In 1986...RCA Victor Records dropped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, ‘What Are We Making Weapons For’. The song reportedly upset the record label’s new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US.
➦In 2004...Shock duo Opie and Anthony announced they are joining XM Satellite Radio beginning Oct. 4. They were yanked of the air back in August of 2002 after broadcasting a live account of a couple having sex inside St. patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
➦In 2012...Al Brady Law - WOR FM, WWDJ, WXLO, WNBC, WABC (PD) died at age 67.
Al Brady-Law
Al first came to New York as Al Brady late in 1969 as the night jock at WOR FM. Late in 1970 he left for WINZ in Miami but promptly turned back up in New York as the night jock at WWDJ. He eventually moved to afternoons and then left again for Denver. But he returned once more, this time as program director at WWDJ. In 1973 he moved over to WXLO as program director.
In March of 1974, Al would move on to WNBC where did some weekend shows and was also the station's assistant program director. In September of 1974, he became the station's program manager, but only for a month. He would go back to weekends and the APD spot. In 1976, it was off to Boston and in 1978 he took over as program director of the NBC Owned and Operated stations. After a brief sojour down to Washington, DC, Al returned to New York, yet again, this time as program director of WABC. In 1979, WABC was still reeling from the "disco inferno" of the October/November, 1978 book where WKTU rocketed to the top. They were, in essence, trying to right the ship. Brady did what he had to do. In fact, he came under a lot of criticism when three of his moves involved letting go Harry Harrison, George Michael and Chuck Leonard. Al always defended his moves and always insisted it was the right thing to do. He always said he never regretted any of it.
From WABC, Al returned to Boston and then one more time to New York where he was to assume the position of Vice President and General Manager of WYNY. Under Al's guidance, WYNY became a major presence in the New York market, finally cracking the ratings top 10 in the Summer, 1981 book.
From WYNY, al took over as Vice President of Programming of NBC Radio. After leaving this post, Al moved around the country working at various radio stations. His most recent being the operations manager at KABC in Los Angeles.
Al was a very important part of New York radio history. From disc jockey to management, he was always top-notch. Al Brady was one of those disc jockeys that I always listened to in awe. He was great.
Terry Lee
➦In 2013…Longtime Pittsburgh radio and TV personality (WIXZ, WMCK, WIIC-TV, KDKA-TV, WPGH-TV) Terry Lee died of lung cancer at 70.
He started working as a DJ at teen dances at 16. That launched his radio career at the former WESA-AM in Charleroi, which was followed by stints at stations in Carnegie and Canonsburg. At 21, he joined the former WMCK-AM in McKeesport, which later became WIXZ (1360). That little station was the place where Mr. Lee really began shaking up the airwaves. His evening show was one of the most popular in the city throughout the '60s.
In the late '60s throughout the '70s, Mr. Lee hosted dance shows on TV: "Come Alive" on the former WIIC (now WPXI) and "The Terry Lee Show" on WPGH and later on KDKA.
