🗼The Radio Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2026 on October 8 in Chicago (hosted by Bobby Bones). The eight honorees are Boomer Esiason (WFAN New York), Dennis Green (COO, Sun & Fun Media/Key Networks), Shotgun Tom Kelly (SiriusXM 60s Gold), Helen Little (WLTW New York), Bob Pittman (Chairman/CEO, iHeartMedia), Rickey Smiley (Urban One/Reach Media), Charlie Van Dyke (voiceover/veteran personality), and Fred Winston (Chicago veteran). Nine legends were also recognized posthumously.
🗼The Supreme Court, via Chief Justice John Roberts, paused a 4th Circuit order that had required the FCC to rule by noon on October 9 on Democratic candidates’ challenge to the agency’s public notice extending lowest-unit-charge political ad rates to party committees and joint fundraising committees. The pause (with responses due from challengers by October 10) keeps the expanded policy in place for now amid the midterms.
🗼Nominations (Call for Entries) opened for the 52nd Annual Gracie Awards (honoring 2026 work by, for, and about women). Podcasts now have a dedicated division; new categories include local radio PSAs/community engagement and various video/podcast formats. Eligibility is January 1–December 31, 2026; early-bird deadline December 10, 2026; final January 21, 2027. National winners will be recognized May 25, 2027, in Beverly Hills.
🗼Spotify renewed its multi-year licensing agreement with Joe Rogan for The Joe Rogan Experience (announced October 8). Terms are reportedly similar to the prior deal (estimated ~$250 million earnout); the show remains non-exclusive and available on other platforms, with new episodes continuing weekly. It has 18 million Spotify followers and ranked as a top podcast.
🗼Audacy’s WCBS-FM (101.1, New York Classic Hits) launched “The Morning Show with Trey and Loren Raye” (Trey Morgan and Loren Raye) weekdays 6–10 a.m. ET, filling the slot left by Race Taylor’s September exit. Both have major-market experience, including New York and Boston.
🗼The Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed October 6, valued at roughly $110–111 billion, creating the combined company Skydance under Chairman/CEO David Ellison (with co-CEO Ynon Kreiz). It unites major studios, networks (including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS), and streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max, with ~$70 billion in annual revenue (and significant debt). Shares trade as SKYD.
🗼A federal judge in Washington heard arguments October 6 in Disney/ABC’s lawsuit seeking to block the FCC’s early review of licenses for its eight owned-and-operated stations (not due until 2028–2031). Disney argues the process (tied to employment-practice inquiries) chills First Amendment rights and is retaliatory; the FCC seeks dismissal on jurisdictional and procedural grounds. No immediate ruling; further filings were ordered.
🗼Edison Research’s Q3 2026 Podcast Metrics (via SSRS) show YouTube as the platform used most often by U.S. weekly podcast consumers. Spotify ranks second (17%), Apple Podcasts third (9%), and Netflix seventh (3%). This underscores the shift toward video platforms.
🗼Audacy Insights’ NFL Attention Index ranks top fandom markets by avidity/engagement/performance: Buffalo (135), New Orleans (120), Cincinnati (119), Dallas-Fort Worth and Kansas City (tied at 115), followed by Baltimore, Milwaukee, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York (113), Philadelphia (111), and Columbus, OH (110). Audio is highlighted for high concentrations of avid sports fans.
🗼WHYY named Fred Vigeant (formerly VP/Chief Audience Officer at WITF Harrisburg) as General Manager of WPSU (news/talk FM and PBS TV) in State College, PA, effective October 26. This follows WHYY’s October 1 acquisition of the Penn State-owned public media outlets.
🗼K-Love closed its $2 million purchase of the 94.5 FM facility in the San Jose/Gilroy area from Connoisseur Media. The station is now KJNV-FM for Christian programming; Connoisseur retained the KBAY Country brand and moved it to 98.5 FM (with classic rock KUFX shifting to HD2/online).Mediaconfidential.blogspot
🗼Urban One realigned programming across its Dallas-Fort Worth cluster: KBFB (97.9 The Beat) features Rickey Smiley in mornings (5 a.m.), Jazzi Black middays, Bryhana Monegain afternoons, and “Posted on the Corner” evenings; KKDA (K104) keeps DeDe McGuire mornings, with Michael Shawn middays, Hollywood Bay Bay afternoons, and Lil D evenings; KRNB shifts to a 1990s–today R&B focus as “105.7 RnB.”
➤Look Ahead: October 12–16, 2026
- Watch for further developments in the political ad-rate litigation (as responses and potential Supreme Court action play out before the November midterms)
- The Disney/ABC license-review case (additional filings due).
- Industry gatherings include the Ohio Association of Broadcasters Exchange (October 14)
- CBI National Student Media Convention (October 14–17 in Philadelphia).