The Pulse Has Your Up-Date For Thursday, Nov 5

Radio Broadcasting

Podcast ROI: Most podcasts cannot generate meaningful revenue from advertising. Ad rates are modest, and the download numbers required for even modest payouts remain out of reach for the overwhelming majority of shows. MORE

FCC Hearing: The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a Nov. 10 hearing on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican Danielle Thumann Severs to the Federal Communications Commission. MORE

AI Music Mix: Spotify plans to launch an AI-powered remixing service for subscribers in early 2027, allowing users to create new versions of songs with a single click. MORE

Media Industry

NBC Ratings Romp: NBC News is #1 across the board on TV, dominating all broadcast and cable networks during last night’s midterm election coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen preliminary fast national data. Additionally, NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the #1 election livestream on YouTube last night, with a record 29 million views across all platforms. MORE

FNC Demo Ratings Jump: FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of October 26th with 1.9 million weekday primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. In Monday – Sunday primetime, FNC nabbed over 1.6 million viewers and 154,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, notably, posting a ten percent week-to-week growth in the demo. In Monday – Sunday total day, FNC delivered nearly 1.1 million viewers. MORE

Dem Media Scrutiny: With Democrats set to control both the House and the Senate, major media executives including David Ellison and Lachlan Murdoch are likely to face congressional inquiries and possible hearings focused on their business deals and relationships with Donald Trump. MORE

U-S News

Trump Wants DST: President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to pass the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent and eliminate biannual clock changes. The request follows a midterm election cycle where Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and 32 House seats.

Impeachment Probes Coming: As Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January 2027, several impeachment resolutions filed by departing lawmakers against President Donald Trump and his cabinet members may trigger new investigations. These include accusations against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth,

Oil Prices Sink: Oil futures sank to two-month lows Wednesday after the Democratic sweep of Congress in the U.S. midterm elections raised market expectations for a quick resolution to the conflict in the Middle East, and eased concerns of a possible U.S. military escalation.

With Dems In Control, Media Execs Expect Added Scrutiny

With Democrats set to control both the House and the Senate, major media executives including David Ellison and Lachlan Murdoch are likely to face congressional inquiries and possible hearings focused on their business deals and relationships with Donald Trump.

The shift in congressional power is expected to bring closer scrutiny of prominent media moguls whose companies have pursued significant transactions in recent years. Ellison, Murdoch, and other industry figures are among those anticipated to draw attention over the nature of those deals and the extent of any ties to Trump. Lawmakers could use their majority status to examine whether political connections influenced regulatory approvals, financing, or other aspects of the transactions.

TV Ratings: NBC News Wins Elex Night Coverage

NBC News is #1 across the board on TV, dominating all broadcast and cable networks during last night’s midterm election coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen preliminary fast national data. Additionally, NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the #1 election livestream on YouTube last night, with a record 29 million views across all platforms.

Anchored by Savannah Guthrie, Tom Llamas, Kristen Welker and Hallie Jackson, NBC News’ special coverage averaged more than 6.5 million total viewers, ranking #1 in total viewers for midterm election coverage for the first time in 24 years. NBC News led ABC by double-digit margins across all key demos and by more than 1.6 million total viewers (+33%).

Courtesy of RoadMN

NBC News averaged 2.5 million A25-54 viewers, exceeding the combined A25-54 audiences of ABC and CBS. This marked the first time NBC News ranked #1 in the key demo for midterm election coverage in 16 years.

NBC 'Kornacki Cam' Brings in Record 29M Views For Livestream

NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the #1 election livestream on YouTube last night, with a record 29 million views across all platforms.

Featuring 10.5 hours of nonstop coverage, the unfiltered, behind-the-scenes livestream gave viewers a continuous look at Steve Kornacki as he tracked and analyzed election results throughout the night. For the first time ever, Kornacki was able to simultaneously appear in NBC News’ special election broadcast coverage and his dedicated “Kornacki Cam” livestream, all from the same physical set at NBC News’ state-of-the-art election headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Weekly Ratings: FNC Posts 25-54 Demo Growth

FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of October 26th with 1.9 million weekday primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. In Monday – Sunday primetime, FNC nabbed over 1.6 million viewers and 154,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, notably, posting a ten percent week-to-week growth in the demo. In Monday – Sunday total day, FNC delivered nearly 1.1 million viewers.

News Corps Reports 42 Percent Net Income Jump

News Corp’s fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 6% to $2.28 billion, beating analyst expectations, as growth at Dow Jones, HarperCollins and its digital real-estate-services division lifted segment earnings 19% to $403 million. Net income increased 42% to $159 million, and adjusted earnings of 28 cents a share topped analysts’ 26-cent estimate.

The quarter ended Sept. 30. News Corp also improved its profit margin, though the company did not provide a margin figure in the supplied report.

TV Ratings: Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers

Monday Night Football’s Week 8 NFC heavyweight showdown between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks drew 16.4M viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+. The audience ranks as Monday Night Football’s most-watched ESPN-only game since November 2019, a span of 76 games airing on ESPN. Bears-Seahawks is also Monday Night Football’s third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).

Complementing the traditional telecast, Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli (ESPN2) drew 864K viewers, peaking at 1M viewers shortly before halftime.

Hearing Date Set For FCC Nominee Danielle Thumann

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a Nov. 10 hearing on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican Danielle Thumann Severs to the Federal Communications Commission. The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST in Room SR-253 and will be livestreamed. Three other nominations will also be considered.

Thumann Severs, a former legal adviser to then-Commissioner Brendan Carr, was nominated in August. If confirmed, she would become the FCC’s fourth commissioner, giving Republicans a 3–1 majority.

Most Podcasts Can't Make Meaningful Revenue Via Ads

Most podcasts cannot generate meaningful revenue from advertising. Ad rates are modest, and the download numbers required for even modest payouts remain out of reach for the overwhelming majority of shows.

Podcast ads are typically sold on a CPM basis (cost per mille, or cost per 1,000 downloads or impressions). Programmatic and dynamically inserted ads generally range from $5 to $18 CPM. These are pre-recorded or automated spots that platforms insert into episodes after the fact, rather than ads read live by the host. As a result, they function more like digital display ads or radio banner spots: they lack the personal endorsement and listener trust that host-read ads provide.

Spotify To Allow AI-Powered Remixing...For A Price

Spotify plans to launch an AI-powered remixing service for subscribers in early 2027, allowing users to create new versions of songs with a single click.

The music-streaming platform is developing tools that would let paying users generate remixes and covers directly inside the app, according to a report from The Financial Times. Examples include converting a folk song into a dance track or making it appear as though one artist is covering another’s music. The service is expected to carry an additional cost beyond a standard Spotify subscription.

R.I.P.: Harold Greene, Longtime L-A News Anchor

Harold Green (1943-2026)

Harold Greene, a longtime Los Angeles television news anchor who appeared on KABC, KCBS, and KCAL over a career spanning nearly four decades, died Tuesday night at age 82, his daughter Courtney Greene announced on social media.⁠

Courtney Greene said her father “signed off for the last time” and that she and her mother were with him when he passed. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Harold passed away last night. My mom and I were by his side, and there was an extraordinary amount of love in the room,” she wrote. “We have a feeling he’s already settling into the great newsroom in the sky, no doubt with a few suggestions on how things should be run. He was so very loved, and we know he will be missed by many.” No cause of death was released. The family plans a memorial after the holidays and invited people to share photos and memories.⁠

Radio History: Nov 5

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers

➦In 1911...Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye (Died of heart failure at age 86 - July 6, 1998). Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his golden palomino, Trigger; and his German shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, Rogers lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.

➦In 1946...This ad appeared in the NY Times...

➦In 1948...Jack Sterling started at WCBS 880 AM.

The "Jack Sterling Show," aired Monday to Friday from 1948 to 1966, was noted for its relaxed chatter, joking, storytelling, interviews, features on news and sports and tips on fishing sites.  For seven of those years Sterling hosted a TV Show in Philadelphia in a bid to launch a television career.

No Sign Of Viewer Fatigue At MS NOW

MS NOW’s audience appears to be growing as Fox News’ ratings decline, according to Versant Media CEO Mark Lazarus, who told investors Tuesday that his network is seeing no signs of “viewer fatigue.”

“Some of the viewership is leaving other places and trying us,” Lazarus said, adding that audiences are spending more time with MS NOW because they see value in its coverage. He also described the network’s upcoming Election Day coverage as “the Super Bowl for the news organization” and said he expects its audience to keep growing.

Mark Lazarus

Variety reports the comments followed Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch’s remarks Monday that Fox News viewers were experiencing fatigue, contributing to lower ratings in the third quarter and October. 

Murdoch said he did not believe those viewers were switching to other news channels; instead, they were watching slightly less television. 

He cited unusually strong audience interest in major stories over the past year, which made year-over-year comparisons harder, and said Fox News executives had a “playbook” for navigating the trend.