Saturday, October 24, 2026

Gomez Urges Broadcasters To Be More Aggressive With FCC


FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on Friday urged the broadcast industry to take a far more aggressive stance in confronting the Trump administration’s actions against major U.S. networks and stations.

Gomez, the Federal Communications Commission’s sole Democratic member, specifically called on the National Association of Broadcasters to push back against the administration’s multipronged efforts to challenge broadcasters. She highlighted a series of recent moves, including a warning from FCC Chair Brendan Carr that networks could violate their regulatory obligations by airing “entirely fake polls” ahead of the November 3 election.

The commissioner framed the administration’s approach as an escalating threat to independent journalism and the traditional role of licensed broadcasters. She argued that industry leaders should not wait for further regulatory or political pressure before responding, and instead should coordinate a stronger defense of newsrooms and station owners.

Brendan Carr
Carr’s comments on polls have drawn particular attention because they raise the prospect of formal FCC scrutiny of election-related coverage in the final days before voters go to the polls. Gomez’s appeal to the National Association of Broadcasters positions the trade group as a potential counterweight to the Republican-led commission and the White House.

Reuters reports the request comes amid broader tensions between the administration and major media companies, with the FCC under Carr signaling a willingness to revisit long-standing regulatory interpretations that govern broadcast content and ownership. Gomez has previously described such moves as attempts to intimidate news organizations rather than address genuine violations of the public-interest standard.

Industry reaction to Gomez’s call was not immediately available. The National Association of Broadcasters has historically preferred to engage regulators and lawmakers through lobbying and legal channels rather than public confrontation, a posture Gomez is now explicitly urging the group to reconsider.

Study: Podcaster Listeners Are Engaged Radio Listeners First


Radio stations already reach many of podcasting’s most engaged listeners, according to findings from The Podcast Study 2026 presented in the series’ final webinar on Tuesday, October 20.⁠

Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing hosted the free session, “What Radio Can Learn from The Podcast Study,” drawing on a national survey of 1,205 U.S. podcast consumers ages 18–54. The webinar examined what the research reveals for radio leaders about talent, advertising, audience development, and the overlap between radio and podcast audiences.⁠

Among the findings: 74 percent of podcast consumers listen to local radio weekly or more (46 percent daily). Among radio listeners with a favorite podcast, 81 percent say the host is a big part or the only reason they listen. Superfans and Prime Prospects—podcasting’s highest-value segments—also show strong radio use, with 79 percent and 82 percent, respectively, listening weekly or more. Daily radio listeners are more likely to be influenced by host-read ads and more open to host interaction, VIP clubs, and related offerings.⁠

Among daily radio listeners in the national survey of 1,205 U.S. podcast consumers, 47 percent said host-read ads strongly influence them to try or buy a product. This compares with an overall figure of about 40 percent across all podcast consumers who said a host-read ad strongly influences them, versus only 26.6 percent for a prerecorded ad.⁠

The advantage extends beyond purchase influence. After hearing a host endorsement, radio listeners were more likely to:

  • Notice the ad (54 percent)
  • Remember the brand (56 percent)
  • Trust the ad (49 percent)
  • Consider buying (46 percent)⁠

The findings suggest stations can leverage existing host-listener trust to strengthen both advertising performance and audience retention, while remaining mindful of ad-load sensitivity reported by a majority of listeners.

Edison Research Is Out With Top 50 Podcast List


Edison Research at SSRS announces the Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. from Edison Podcast Metrics™ based on reach for the third quarter of 2026 among weekly podcast consumers ages 13+.


The Joe Rogan Experience, Crime Junkie, and The Daily top the list, as they did in Q2 2026. The full list of Top 50 podcasts is below.
  1. The Joe Rogan Experience
  2. Crime Junkie
  3. The Daily
  4. Call Her Daddy
  5. Smartless
  6. New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce (+1 rank position since Q2 2026)
  7. This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von (+1 rank position since Q2 2026)
  8. Dateline NBC (-2 rank positions since Q2 2026)
  9. Rotten Mango (+4 rank position since Q2 2026)
  10. The Breakfast Club (+1 rank position since Q2 2026)

Fox News Unveils Extensive Midterm Coverage Plans


  • Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum to Co-Anchor “FOX News Democracy 26” November 3rd
  • FOX News Channel to Unveil Enhanced Augmented Reality and Data-Driven Graphics
  • FOX News App Debuts AI-Powered Election Chatbot, Interactive Maps
  • Ruthless to Bring Its Signature Insider Take FOX Nation and FOX News Digital
FOX News Media will provide special multiplatform coverage of the 2026 midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3rd and throughout the surrounding days. Beginning at 6 PM/ET, FOX News Channel (FNC) will kick off November 3rd’s election night coverage with FOX News Democracy 26, co-anchored by Bret Baier, chief political anchor and executive editor of Special Report, and Martha MacCallum, anchor and executive editor of The Story.

Appearing alongside Baier and MacCallum throughout the evening will be FNC’s Dana Perino, Brit Hume, Harold Ford Jr., Bill Hemmer, Sandra Smith, Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, Trace Gallagher, Harris Faulkner, Kayleigh McEnany and Jessica Tarlov. The program will provide viewers with the latest calls on House, Senate and gubernatorial races, as well as projections on the balance of power in both the Senate and the House via the FOX News Decision Desk. 

Gallagher will then take over coverage through 4 AM/ET, when a special early edition of FOX & Friends First begins.  Notably, FOX Business Network (FBN) will simulcast FNC’s coverage starting at 6 PM/ET on Tuesday, November 3rd until 6 AM/ET on Wednesday, November 4th.

Many Afffiliates Annoyed with ABC's Plans for Super Bowl Coverage


ABC affiliates are angered by Disney’s plan to air this year’s Super Bowl on Disney+, ESPN2, NFL Network and ESPNU in addition to ABC and ESPN, a move that could reduce related ad revenue by up to 35%, according to a station group CEO speaking anonymously.

Disney holds the rights under its 2021 NFL deal; ABC last broadcast the game in 2006.

The Super Bowl is a major revenue driver for ABC affiliates. While Disney owns some stations, most belong to groups such as Sinclair, Nexstar and Tegna. Roughly 3% of a typical local affiliate’s annual advertising revenue comes from the game when it airs on the station, a figure that can be substantially higher for large-market owned-and-operated outlets, which have generated about $10 million in Super Bowl advertising revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.

National Super Bowl advertising is highly lucrative. Fox reported more than $800 million in gross revenue across platforms last year. A standard broadcast features roughly 85 30-second spots; at an average of $8 million each, that equates to about $680 million for the primary network alone. Most campaigns are national, though some brands buy only major markets, leaving smaller markets to sell local inventory. Super Bowl LX drew 125.6 million viewers—far above a typical primetime audience of around 8 million—driving correspondingly higher rates.

Affiliates’ frustration is tied to longstanding reverse retransmission fees. Stations pay Disney (and other network owners) for the right to carry network programming. Disney spends billions on live sports rights and seeks affiliate contributions; affiliates in turn negotiate retransmission fees with pay-TV providers. For decades, Super Bowl exclusivity on broadcast television was a central justification for those payments. While networks have previously offered the game on both broadcast and streaming, Disney’s broader distribution this year further erodes that exclusivity.

The telecast is an ESPN production featuring the Monday Night Football announcing team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, which is expected to draw significant cable viewership. Disney is also placing the game on Disney+, a service not typically focused on sports. Unlike prior streaming efforts by Peacock, Tubi and Paramount+—which used geofenced dynamic advertising insertion so local affiliates could sell commercials to streaming audiences—Disney+ does not support that capability for this broadcast.

Manning Media Expands With Acquisition of Three Stations

Manning Media expands regional radio footprint with $700,000 acquisition of three VerStandig stations

Manning Media has purchased three additional radio stations from VerStandig Media for $700,000, bringing its total to eight stations across the Frederick, Hagerstown, Martinsburg, and Chambersburg, Pa., markets and strengthening its presence in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia region.

The newly acquired stations are 101.5 WAYZ, 92.1 BOB Rocks, and 100.9 NEXT. Combined with Manning’s existing holdings—Key 103, 106.9 The Eagle, Fred fm, 106.3 WARK, and 93.5 MAX Country—the expanded group now reaches an estimated 281,800 people.

Manning Media President and CEO Fred Manning said the deal grew out of years of friendly competition with John VerStandig. The two began serious discussions about a sale around June. Manning noted that many businesses already operate in both Frederick and Hagerstown, making the geographic overlap a natural fit for consolidation.

He said the acquisition will allow the companies to combine staffs, advertising sales efforts, and other services. “It makes perfect sense,” Manning said. “We’re now a regional powerhouse, I think.”

The transaction positions Manning Media as a larger operator in a multi-state area where radio still serves local news, music, and advertising needs across several mid-sized markets.

Comscore Launches Monthly Ad Exposure Report

August Ad Exposure

Streaming now reaches nearly half of US adults with ads, yet accounts for only 22% of television ad exposure—barely half the share of broadcast.

Comscore’s new monthly Score Report, launched this week, quantifies that gap for the first time by tracking the percentage of total TV Ad Exposure Time across platforms rather than relying on traditional viewership figures. The inaugural August edition shows broadcast platforms still commanding 43.2% of ad exposure time, cable 34.5%, and streaming just 22.3%.

The disparity is narrowing. Streaming’s share has climbed 6.2 percentage points from 16.1% over the previous 12 months. In the three months before August 2026, 130.6 million US adults—47% of the adult population—used a free or ad-supported streaming service.

“The Score Report measures where audiences are actually reachable with advertising and gives brands an understanding of how ad viewership is changing as the media landscape continues to transform,” said Kevin Burns, Comscore’s interim chief revenue officer. The company argues that “viewership no longer serves as a sufficient proxy for ad-addressable audiences, as audiences migrate across channels, platforms, and devices.”

Because most major streamers only recently introduced ad-supported tiers, their share of commercial inventory lags well behind their growth in viewers. Comscore plans to publish updated Score Reports every month to give advertisers a clearer, more timely picture of where ads can actually reach audiences.

Ronn Owens Daughter Gets Jail For False Pregnancy Claims

Former KGO Talker Ronn Owens and Daughter

Laura Owens, daughter of Bay Area radio legend Ronn Owens, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail and up to seven years of supervised probation for four felony convictions related to false claims that she became pregnant with twins by two men, including former “Bachelor” star Clayton Echard.

The Mercury News reports Maricopa County Judge Jeffrey Rueter imposed the sentence after a hearing in which prosecutors sought prison time. Owens, 36, pleaded guilty in August to perjury, identity theft of an ultrasound, and two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices. She originally faced 14 felony counts; the plea carried a possible sentence of up to 12.5 years.

In Court
Echard called her calculating and manipulative and urged jail time to prevent other victims. Prosecutor Ed Leiter said investigators found at least four men over a decade against whom she made false pregnancy claims, and that she made “a mockery” of the courts through lengthy litigation. Rueter said he viewed her not as a sophisticated schemer but as someone whose “poorly thought-out, attention-seeking behavior” stemmed from mental health issues.

Owens tearfully apologized for the pain and expense she caused and said she was “terrified of jail.” Her father, speaking from a wheelchair, pleaded for leniency, citing his Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and limited time left. Owens has said she was his primary caregiver.

Prosecutors described how she sent falsified medical evidence and stolen ultrasound images to convince the Arizona men she was pregnant, then claimed miscarriage or abortion. Her claims against Echard, which began after a single 2023 date, drew national attention, “Bachelor” fan interest, and became the subject of the podcast “Love Trapped.” The criminal case followed a family court judge’s referral after her 2024 paternity trial, citing lack of good faith and serial fabrications.

Radio History: Oct 24


➦In 1861
…The transcontinental telegraph line across the United States was first completed.

Rudy Vallee

➦In 1929...one of radio’s first “really big shows” The Fleishmann Hour starring Rudy Vallee was broadcast for the first time over NBC radio. Actually, the Rudy Vallee show had several different titles over the years, all of which were referred to by the public as The Rudy Vallee Show. Megaphone-totin’ Rudy and his Connecticut Yankees band were mainstays on radio into the late 1940s.

➦In 1930...Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson Jr. born (Died – February 3, 1959). He was known as The Big Bopper, he was a musician, songwriter, and disc jockey. His best known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number-one hit in 1959. 

He was killed in a plane crash in Iowa in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens and the pilot Roger Peterson. The accident was famously referred to as "The Day the Music Died" in Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie".

Richardson worked part-time at Beaumont, Texas radio station KTRM (now Gospel KZZB). He was hired by the station full-time in 1949 and quit college. He soon was promoted to supervisor of announcers at KTRM.

In March 1955 he was drafted into the United States Army and did his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He spent the rest of his two-year service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

Richardson returned to KTRM radio following his discharge as a corporal in March 1957, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 am to 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday. One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot, and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3:00 to 6:00 pm, and he soon became the station's program director.

From the Dick Clark Saturday Night Show on ABC-TV in 1958...

Richardson is credited for creating the first music video in 1958, and recorded an early example himself.

➦In 1989...Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, the Four Tops, the Four Seasons, Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Kinks, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the Platters, the Who, plus Simon & Garfunkel were all inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Friday, October 23, 2026

YouTube TV Viewing Hits Record


Television viewing cooled in August after a two-month World Cup-driven surge, according to Nielsen’s August 2026 Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge reports. Total TV usage fell 4.4%, reflecting the quiet period between the end of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in July and the start of the football season, along with the usual back-to-school drop among kids and teens. Although time spent declined across every Gauge category from July to August, both cable and streaming still gained share, reaching 18.9% and 49.6% of television, respectively.


Streaming usage was down 3.2% month-over-month, but the drop was smaller than the overall TV decline, so the category picked up 0.6 share points. YouTube crossed a critical threshold in August as the social video platform captured more than 15 percent of time spent with television in American households. YouTube stood out by setting a platform record at 15.8% of TV as its viewing rose 6%. While viewing among 6- to 17-year-olds faced back-to-school pressure, YouTube saw a 9% increase among adults 50 and older. Disney Streaming and Paramount Streaming each gained 0.1 share point, finishing at 4.8% and 2.3% of TV. Peacock slipped to 1.6% (−1.0 point) after Telemundo’s World Cup coverage and the latest season of Love Island USA ended in July, though it was still up 0.2 points from August 2025.

Trump Called Musk to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions

Elon Musk

President Donald Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on a military-grade version of Starlink in Ukraine that the SpaceX chief had throttled, U.S. officials said. The system was working more normally Thursday, shortly after their conversation, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. Some Ukrainian officials said the system was not restored to full functionality but was operating at higher speeds than under the previous cap.⁠

The restrictions, imposed last week, capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite network at roughly 100 miles per hour (about 160 km/h). This rendered some Ukrainian offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless, disrupting attack missions and air-defense operations against Russian forces and sparking panic in Kyiv.⁠

Trump expressed frustration to Musk that the speeds remained limited, according to officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier Thursday that full speeds had not been restored and that he hoped for discussions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days. Trump later told reporters that Musk had “put it back,” while declining to confirm whether he himself had made the call.

TV Ratings: TODAY No. 1 In Total Viewers and Key Demo


  • TODAY’s Ireland Broadcast Drives Audience Growth Across All Four Hours
  • TODAY Marks 38 Straight Weeks of Year-Over-Year Total Viewer Growth, Its Longest Streak on Record


NBC News’ TODAY won in total viewers and the key demo A25-54 for the week, while remaining the #1 morning news program across the board season-to-date.


TODAY averaged 2.823 million total viewers, beating GMA by +136,000 (+5%) and CBS by +1.017 million (+56%). The show has now posted 38 consecutive weeks of total viewer growth compared to prior year, its longest streak on record.

Katz: Here's How Radio Drives Digital Engagement


A summer 2026 radio advertising campaign generated more than 16,000 radio-attributed website sessions and hundreds of modeled purchases, according to a new Katz Radio Group insights report that quantifies radio’s ability to drive measurable online consumer activity.

The study, “From the Airwaves to Action: How Radio Drives Digital Engagement,” examined a campaign for a leading experiential brand and found that its 15- and 30-second commercials produced an estimated 16,000-plus website sessions from nearly 10,000 unique visitors during the tracking period.

CBS Sports Extends JJ Watt As Lead NFL Analyst


Future Hall of Famer and current CBS Sports announcer JJ Watt has been named lead analyst for the NFL ON CBS in a new multi-year agreement. The announcement was made Thursday by David Berson, Chairman, Global Sports Group, Skydance.

Watt will continue to call the Network’s top games alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sports’ lead NFL announce team, including next season when they call Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta.

“I’ve had a front-row seat to JJ’s growth as a top-tier broadcaster, watching him tackle this role just like he did his hall-of-fame playing career,” said Berson. “He’s insightful, entertaining, passionate, meticulous in his preparation, and the ultimate teammate. He has a unique ability to see things and communicate to fans of all levels. We are thrilled to have him leading our NFL coverage.”

America's News Sources On Social Media


Facebook and YouTube continue to outpace all other social media sites when it comes to news consumption: 40% of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on Facebook, and 34% say the same about YouTube, according to as Pew Research Center survey.


Smaller shares of Americans regularly get news on Instagram (23%) and TikTok (20%). Fewer say they get news on X, formerly known as Twitter (10%), Reddit (9%), Nextdoor (8%), LinkedIn (6%), WhatsApp (5%), Rumble (2%), Truth Social (2%) or Bluesky (1%).

CNN Losing Another News Anchor


CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga is leaving the network after nine years, announcing her departure Thursday for an opportunity she said she “couldn’t pass up” and teasing more details soon.⁠

Golodryga, co-anchor of CNN International’s One World alongside Zain Asher since 2023, posted on X that she was exiting after “nine wonderful years,” thanking colleagues for the experiences and support while promising “exciting news to share very soon.” A CNN spokesperson confirmed the departure; her final day is Friday, when she is expected to sign off on air. Asher will continue anchoring the program.⁠