Cumulus Reports 9.7% Revenue Drop, Digital Flat

"You Can't Cut Your Way To Profit".  The axiom proves correct again as Cumulus Media reports second-quarter 2026 net revenue of $167.9 million, a 9.7% decline from $186.0 million a year earlier, as broadcast radio weakness continued to pressure results. 

The company narrowed its net loss to $9.2 million from $12.8 million and saw Adjusted EBITDA fall 28.3% to $16.0 million from $22.4 million.

The results arrive as Cumulus works to emerge from Chapter 11. The company and certain subsidiaries filed voluntary prepackaged petitions in March; the Bankruptcy Court confirmed the reorganization plan on April 15. 

The plan’s effective date remains subject to FCC approval and other regulatory conditions.

Broadcast radio revenue dropped 13.2% to $102.9 million. Spot revenue fell 10.6% to $81.4 million and network revenue declined 21.5% to $21.4 million. 

Digital revenue was essentially flat at $38.7 million (down 0.3%), while other revenue decreased 8.4% to $26.3 million.

For the first six months of 2026, net revenue totaled $332.4 million, down 11.0% from $373.4 million. 

The six-month net loss narrowed to $26.1 million from $45.2 million, and Adjusted EBITDA declined 27.7% to $18.7 million. 

First-half broadcast radio revenue fell 16.3% to $203.6 million (spot down 13.3%, network down 23.6%). 

Digital revenue dropped 4.2% to $72.3 million, while other revenue rose 3.4% to $56.5 million.

“We are pleased to report our second quarter earnings,” said President and CEO Mary G. Berner. “With our plan of reorganization confirmed by the court and the FCC approval process well underway, we are positioned to emerge from Chapter 11 with a stronger balance sheet to capitalize on future market opportunities.”

Cumulus ended the quarter with $61.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, down from $82.0 million at the end of 2025. Capital expenditures were $3.2 million, compared with $5.5 million a year earlier.

Norfolk Radio: Cumulus Cuts Shaggy At Z104

Brandon Stokes Exits After 25-Years

Longtime Hampton Roads radio personality Brandon “Shaggy” Stokes is no longer with rhythmic contemporary Z104 after 25 years on the air, he announced Thursday.

Stokes shared the news in a Facebook post, noting it felt strange to write that he was leaving the station where he had spent most of his adult life.

During his tenure, Stokes built a following through his morning show, community events and Shaggfest, the music festival he hosted in the region. He also highlighted Stuff the Bus, the toy drive that has collected more than 1 million toys for local children over the years. Stokes said the initiative will continue this year and teased the return of Shaggfest.

He thanked listeners who tuned in during their commutes and parents who played the station while taking children to school. Stokes emphasized he plans to remain active in the Hampton Roads community.“I’m not going anywhere, 757,” he wrote.

Stokes did not detail his next career step but said he has “big ideas” ahead. “Different opportunities. Same Shaggy,” he added.

Columbia MO Radio: Rose, Gaines Exits Cumulus Media

Simon Rose, David Gaines

Popular KFRU hosts Simon Rose and David Gaines are no longer on the air in Columbia after being laid off in nationwide cutbacks by parent company Cumulus Media.

Rose, host of the midmorning “The Morning Meeting” and a local radio fixture for 37 years, and Gaines, a KFRU presence since 2008 who has hosted the drive-time “A Columbia Morning” since 2022, lost their positions this week. 

Rose, also a founding disc jockey at sister Cumulus station KBXR, said he was let go after his final show Monday.

In an interview, Rose said he was touched by more than 100 responses that arrived within hours of his wife’s Facebook post about the termination Wednesday night. “I got up this morning, and I think there was like over 100 posts, and I’ve been absolutely blown away by that,” he said. 

“I mean, I guess I was a part of their lives, and it just meant so much to me that they tuned in every day and put up with me enough every day to listen to me in the morning and in the afternoon.”

Originally from Manchester, England, Rose was inspired by BBC legends John Peel and Annie Nightingale. While studying communications at the University of Missouri, he discovered KCOU and fell in love with radio. Over the years he interviewed figures including President Jimmy Carter, NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton, Missouri-born musician Sheryl Crow, and numerous governors, senators and other politicians.

Rose said he will miss daily interaction with KFRU colleagues. He has no firm plans beyond continuing color commentary for University of Missouri women’s soccer games on the SEC Network via ESPN+. 

“I’d love to stay in radio in some way, shape or form, but you know the corporate takeover has made a difficult medium,” he said. “Everybody and their dog has a podcast; it could well be that I will join everybody and their dog at some point here.”

Gaines joined KFRU in 2008, co-hosted “A Columbia Morning” with David Lile and took over as sole host after Lile’s 2022 retirement. “As of this week, I’m no longer with Columbia’s heritage radio station KFRU. Corporate downsizing, the elimination of Cumulus Media positions nationwide, hit our market this week,” he wrote on Facebook. “That’s the nature of this business.”

“Despite this setback, I’m writing this with a sense of gratitude. These past 18 years have been such a wonderful stretch of my career,” Gaines added. “I’ve worked with so many talented and creative people. Been a part of countless wonderful events. Interviewed multiple local and state leaders, and interesting guests from all walks of life.”

ESPN Fired Bart Scott Moments Before Show Time

Bart Scott

Bart Scott was among the ESPN personalities let go in the network’s first round of summer layoffs, learning of the decision in a brief phone call as he prepared for his radio show.

“Hey, man, I was going into my radio show, and they called me, like, ‘Hey, uh, just to let you know, wish we could do it in person,’” Scott said this week on The Joint Venture Show with Craig Carton and Lil Wayne. “Like, no, you don’t, motherf*cker. ‘Oh, I wish I could do it in person!’ Nah. So, it’s like, ‘We’re not gonna renew you.’ My contract is expiring in September. So, I found out that way.”

Ryan Clark drew the most attention after ESPN pulled him off the air mid-broadcast of NFL Live on July 20 to deliver the news. Scott’s exit received far less notice even though the network used a similarly abrupt approach.

Bart Scott says ESPN fired him over the phone as he was walking into his radio show

"I was going in to my radio show and they called me like, 'Hey, just let you know, I wish we can do it in person.' Like, no, you don't"

"So it's like, we're not going to renew you. My contract… pic.twitter.com/qBjBUmdih3

— Arslan (@0xarslan) August 14, 2026

Scott said the lack of personal contact did not sour his overall experience or his outlook. “It’s part of the business,” he explained. “You understand the balance, and I don’t know what they had to do when they had to trim the fat. … Sometimes, losing your job can be some of the biggest blessings because it forces you to try and do something else and, sometimes, step out of your comfort zone.

“Listen, one thing that is constant is change, and I’ve been fired before. I understand the process, and I hold no ill will. … I did enjoy my time there. I enjoyed using the platform, keeping myself relevant. … I’m not gonna hold any ill will toward them. It’s my job to make them regret it.”

Scott entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens in 2002 and became a standout linebacker for the Ravens (2002-08) and New York Jets (2009-12). After retiring, he worked as an analyst on CBS Sports’ NFL Today. He joined ESPN in a limited role on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN 98.7 in 2017, became a full-time personality in 2020, and most recently co-hosted Bart & Carlin on ESPN New York while appearing on Get Up! and First Take.

Boston Radio: Sports Hub Mourns Loss of EP Jeremy Conley

Jeremy Conley, a longtime producer at Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, has died after a brief illness. He was 41.The station announced the death Friday. 

Conley had worked there for 15 years, since 2011, and served as executive producer for the New England Patriots and Boston Bruins broadcasts.

“We are sad to announce the passing of our colleague and friend Jeremy Conley after a brief illness,” the station said. “Jeremy had been a producer at the station since 2011, and was currently the Executive Producer for our New England Patriots and Boston Bruins broadcasts. He will be deeply missed by all of us at the Sports Hub. Our condolences go out to Jeremy’s family and many friends during this difficult time.”

Jeremy Conley

On Friday’s “Zolak and Bertrand” midday show, a choked-up Marc Bertrand remembered Conley as skilled, dependable and able to handle the inevitable problems that arise during live game production. “He was great at his job. He was great at what he did here,” Bertrand said. “Everybody that ever worked with Jeremy knew that. He was incredibly dependable and one of those people that, like so many of our producers, can handle it when something goes wrong.”

Bertrand also highlighted Conley’s humor and dry wit. “He was a funny guy, and in a way that as I told someone last night, had like a dry wit but wasn’t also afraid to laugh. And if you got Jeremy Conley laughing, if you really got him, you know that you had said something funny. It was sort of validation. I know that we’ll miss him, we’ll miss his laugh. We’ll miss everything that he brought to the job… We’re going to miss the producer Jeremy Conley, but more importantly we’re going to miss the person Jeremy Conley.”

Host Matt McCarthy called Conley “a hell of a producer and a hell of a guy,” adding that he is irreplaceable and that the station will never be the same. Ty Anderson said he always loved talking with Conley about music, TV or anything else. James Stewart, executive producer of “Felger and Mazz,” described him as an outstanding producer with great instincts for audio, timing and technical work, and a wonderful person who will be missed by many.

Syracuse Radio: Scott Dixon Exits WAQX

Popular Syracuse radio host Scott Dixon is leaving rock and alternative station 95X (WAQX-FM), he confirmed on Facebook.

Dixon had worked at the station since February 2012 as a host, assistant program director and music director. He also hosted the Sunday night shows “The Fringe,” an alternative underground program, and “Locals Only,” an hour devoted to music from Central New York.

Scott Dixon

His departure was part of nationwide layoffs this month by parent company Cumulus Media, which owns 95X and other Syracuse stations. 

The cuts affected on-air talent, programming, podcasting and sales staff across multiple markets and coincide with the company’s financial restructuring and planned exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In his Facebook post, Dixon wrote: “To all the local bands who have stitched the fabric that was Locals Only, please keep creating a community in which you can thrive. Be good to each other. I will ALWAYS have your back.”

His next steps remain undecided. “As for the future?” he wrote. “We shall see. I’m going to go have fun until after Labor Day and enjoy at least a little bit of this summer.”

Dixon has long been a fixture in the Syracuse music community

NYC Radio: Boomer Believes CBS Sports Will Move On

Jim Nantz, Tony Romo

Boomer Esiason believes Tony Romo’s future at CBS Sports is over following the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback’s high-profile OWI arrest, which has sidelined him ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

“If I had to guess, purely speculation given what’s going on right now, I would think it’s over,” Esiason said this week on WFAN’s “Boomer & Gio.” “He may end up going somewhere else and getting things straightened out.”

The longtime CBS commentator, who left the network in 2023 after two decades, made the remarks as speculation intensifies across the sports media landscape that CBS could move on from Romo. J.J. Watt is currently filling in on the network’s lead NFL broadcast team alongside Jim Nantz, and his rapid rise as a fan favorite has positioned him as a potential permanent replacement if he continues to gel with Nantz.

Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS in 2020. With several years remaining, $72 million is still owed before the season begins in September, leaving the network in a position where it could potentially exit the deal.

Nantz, who has built strong on-air chemistry with Romo, described their long-standing personal relationship. “Tony is a great friend of mine and has been for years. He and I go back to 2011 when he got married, I was invited to his wedding,” Nantz said. “So, this was not someone in 2017 when he entered the booth I was just getting to know for the first time. So he’s a great friend, continues to be, always will be.”

FCC Urged To Not Get Involved In Station Network Affiliations

Americans for Tax Reform and 20 other conservative-leaning organizations have told the FCC it should not impose additional regulations on relationships between the big four broadcast networks and their local affiliates.

In a letter, the groups argued that private commercial negotiations between networks and station owners are best left to market forces. Government intervention, they warned, could “distort” media markets and create precedents that future administrations might use to investigate deals they find “politically inconvenient.”

The organizations praised the FCC’s broader effort to reduce regulation across media, broadband and the space economy, saying the agency’s deregulatory agenda removes barriers to investment, innovation and competition. “It is in that spirit that we respectfully urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to avoid intervening, either directly or indirectly, in affiliation agreements freely negotiated between broadcast networks and local television station owners,” the letter stated.

Broadcasters, the groups said, are fully capable of deciding whether and when to enter or end affiliation agreements. “The FCC should not substitute its own judgment for that of the market participants themselves.”

They expressed particular concern that affiliation changes could trigger heightened scrutiny during license renewals or other regulatory consequences. License renewal, they argued, should not become a tool for influencing lawful private negotiations or pressuring parties toward government-preferred outcomes.

Radio History: Aug 15

 ➦In 1877…Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh suggesting that the word "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting than "ahoy" when answering the telephone.

➦In 1935...radio humorist/philosopher Will Rogers and his pilot, Wiley Post, died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. Rogers was aged 55.

➦In 1945...Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.

After meeting with the Soviet Union in Potsdam, near Berlin, to determine post-war terms for defeated Germany, the governments of the United States and Great Britain (together with China) issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government in late July 1945. It offered a simple choice: surrender unconditionally to the Allies in World War II, or risk total annihilation. In their carefully worded reply, the Japanese failed to capitulate completely, and on 6 August, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another such bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The threat of further nuclear attacks drove Japanese officials on 10 August to accept the terms put forth by the Potsdam Declaration and submit their unconditional surrender.

On the afternoon of 14 August, a Japanese radio broadcaster told the public that Emperor Hirohito would soon make an Imperial Proclamation announcing the defeat. The following day at noon, Hirohito went on the radio himself, blaming Japan’s surrender on the enemies' use of "a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which is incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives." The emperor was not only a political leader in Japan, he was also revered as a near-god, and many Japanese did not fully accept the news of defeat until they heard him speak those unthinkable words.

As sadness and shame engulfed Japan, joy spread around the Western world. In the United States, news of Hirohito's announcement reached airwaves on 14 August (due to the time difference), and that day was declared Victory in Japan – or V-J – Day.

That afternoon, President Harry S. Truman addressed a crowd that had gathered outside the White House, saying "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbour. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."

That day, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped one of the most famous photos ever published, a shot of a sailor in full uniform kissing a nurse in the middle of New York City's Times Square. The photo, published by Life magazine, became a symbol of the general atmosphere of jubilation in the United States following the end of World War II.

Impact On Radio Could Spell Trouble For 'Sunshine Act'

President Trump urged Senate Republicans on Wednesday to quickly approve the House-passed Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent year-round and end twice-yearly clock changes. In a Truth Social post, Trump argued that the biannual shifts “cost Millions of Dollars” and can be “bad for your health in the anxiety it creates.” He wrote: “I am asking Republican Senators to PASS THE SUNSHINE PROTECTION ACT, ASAP.” 

The measure cleared the House about a month earlier by a 308-117 bipartisan vote but has stalled amid resistance from GOP senators representing states that would experience significantly darker winter mornings. Proponents say permanent daylight saving time would deliver more evening daylight, potentially boosting outdoor activity, retail, and energy savings while eliminating the disruption of clock changes. 

Critics, including some Republican senators, counter that it would leave schoolchildren waiting for buses and early-morning workers commuting in darkness during winter months, raising safety concerns—issues that contributed to the quick reversal of a similar 1970s experiment.

A particularly acute concern involves U.S. AM radio stations, especially the roughly 1,000 daytime-only (Class D “daytimer”) outlets and many others required to reduce power or use directional signals after local sunset. These rules stem from the physics of AM signal propagation: daytime ground-wave signals stay relatively local, while nighttime skywave propagation can travel hundreds of miles and cause widespread interference. The FCC therefore ties full-power operation to local sunrise and sunset times. 

Under permanent daylight saving time, winter clock times would advance by an hour relative to the sun. In many northern and Midwest locations, sunrise could slip past 8 a.m.—and in places such as Grand Rapids, Michigan, or Williston, North Dakota, approach 9:15–9:45 a.m. That would force numerous stations to remain off-air or at low power through much or all of the critical morning drive period (roughly 6–10 a.m.), the daypart that generates the bulk of advertising revenue and carries essential local news, traffic, weather, school closings, and emergency information. 

Industry groups including the National Association of Broadcasters and National Religious Broadcasters have warned that the change would shrink audience reach and revenue for hundreds of stations—estimates suggest more than 75% of AM outlets could be affected in some form—while only partially offsetting losses with later afternoon sign-off times. 

Rural communities, faith-based broadcasters, and areas reliant on AM for public-safety alerts could face reduced service precisely when many listeners are commuting. Some stations already use FM translators or online streams to extend coverage, but the core over-the-air morning signal would still be constrained. 

The bill now sits with the Senate, where leaders have signaled it may not advance easily under unanimous consent and could consume scarce floor time. Trump’s renewed public pressure keeps the issue alive, but regional opposition tied to winter darkness—and the downstream effects on sectors such as AM radio—continues to complicate passage.

Paramount Board Has Already Approved a Relocation Plan

Paramount’s board has approved relocation plans proposed by CEO David Ellison that could include selling the studio’s 65-acre Hollywood lot and, if its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery succeeds, the larger Warner Bros. campus in Burbank, according to The LA Times citing people familiar with the matter.

The sales would generate revenue to help cover merger costs, one of the sources said. Ellison shared the concept with his executive leadership team last Wednesday but indicated his preference was to remain in California, the people said. 

The sudden relocation proposal has further unsettled Hollywood, already reeling from thousands of job losses in recent years. California Attorney General Rob Bonta condemned the strategy in a statement, calling it “another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through.”

Buffalo Bills Broadcasts To Air In Canada

The Buffalo Bills have announced a significant expansion of their radio affiliate network.

The franchise has partnered with Bell Media's TSN, Canada's Sports Leader, to extend its coverage into Canada, adding major markets Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa to the team's growing media footprint, with national coverage available through iHeartRadio Canada.