Verizon Unsure About Yahoo Deal

A senior Verizon Communications Inc executive said on Thursday that the company was unsure about its planned acquisition of Yahoo Inc's internet business.

Yahoo came under renewed scrutiny by federal investigators and lawmakers last month after disclosing the largest known data breach in history, prompting Verizon to demand better terms for its planned purchase.

"I can't sit here today and say with confidence one way or another because we still don't know," Marni Walden, president of product innovation and new businesses at Verizon, said at the Citi 2017 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas.

Walden added that the merits of the deal still made sense and that there were certain aspects of the investigation that had yet to be completed.

She did not provide a time-frame for the completion of the deal.

"We think it will take weeks at least, we don't have a desire to have it drag on forever, that's not our intent," Walden said.

However, AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong told CNBC that he expected the Verizon-Yahoo deal would likely go through. AOL was acquired by Verizon in 2015 for $4.4 billion. cnb.cx/2iUh4pX

Yahoo's shares were up 3.09 percent at $41.30, while Verizon's shares were relatively unchanged in late afternoon trading.

RMLC Withdraws Injunction Against GMR

Irving Azoff

In the fight between Irving Azoff’s GMR and the radio industry, two days ago, the RMLC withdrew its motion for a preliminary injunction against GMR. SAccording to RadioInk, the injunction was withdrawn due the temporary agreement that was announced between the two organizations in late December.

The 9-month interim license between the two organizations provides stations that choose to accept it the ability to perform GMR compositions during the term of the interim license.

Stations have until the end of this month to decide if they want the deal the RMLC has worked out for them. After that GMR can take legal action against stations playing GMR compositions without having this interim license.

The Preliminary Injunction – which was ordered by the court – would have forced GMR to offer all radio stations a blanket license to GMR’s library “at a reasonable rate that is proportional to the annual rates each station pays to ASCAP or BMI on a weighted share basis,” until the court case was resolved. The injunction also prevented GMR from taking any legal action against stations.

Chris Berman Moving To New Role At ESPN

Sports broadcasting legend Chris Berman, the six-time National Sportscaster of the Year who arrived at ESPN a month after the network launched in 1979 and became one of the industry’s most popular voices during his almost four decades with the company, will assume a new role for ESPN after the NFL season.

Berman will make appearances on-air and will also serve in public-facing roles on behalf of the company, stepping away from his longtime position as the face of ESPN’s NFL studio coverage, NFL Draft and Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby.

Berman will continue to host ESPN’s NFL PrimeTime highlights show from the field after the Super Bowl as well as the NFL Conference Championship games. He will also offer opinion and perspective on historical events in the NFL, including still appearing weekly on Monday Night Countdown. In addition, he will handle play-by-play for ESPN Radio during the MLB Divisional Playoffs and participate in ESPN’s annual ESPYS Awards.

The 2016-17 season is Berman’s 31st consecutive and final year as host of Sunday NFL Countdown, more than double the previous record as the longest-running host of a weekly pro football studio show. The 2010 recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football, Berman has covered 34 Super Bowls, hosted the annual NFL Draft since 1987, and he has served as Master of Ceremony for the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction since 1999. His “Swami” segment on SportsCenter, dubbed “The Two Minute Drill,” has been a fixture for all of his 38 years at ESPN. In fact, his regular-season game picks record this year (51-32) is the best he’s ever had.

“The whole experience here has been a dream come true,” Berman said. “When we started in 1979, I was just 24. Nobody knew if ESPN would make it, or, for that matter, if cable TV would make it. I certainly wasn’t sure I would make it, but I really didn’t care. We were too busy having a blast, talking sports with viewers who were just like us, even if it was during the wee hours of the morning. We got to band together here in Bristol, Connecticut, and put out a product of which we were all very proud.

“I’ve been lucky enough to spend almost two-thirds of my life at ESPN, and I am honored to have lent a small hand in laying the cornerstone for what has truly become a beacon in sports.

ESPN President John Skipper added: “Chris is one of a kind. His innovation, passion, preparation and on-air acumen have helped define ESPN. He wrote the book on delivering highlights which still serves as the standard to this day. ESPN’s mission is to serve fans. No one has done that with greater resonance than Chris and his dramatic connection to fans played a significant role in establishing a successful ESPN. We look forward to Chris’s continuing contributions while understanding that his place on our Mount Rushmore is assured.”

Chicago Radio: WSCR's Terry Boers Signs-Off

Terry Boers

Minutes before Terry Boers was set to host his final show for WSCR 670 AM on Thursday, Mike North described his old radio teammate as shy and laid-back. "People would think that by (his) on-air persona he's completely different," North said.

Sure enough, The Chicago Tribune reports Boers wasn't so spent from a string of tributes at the "Toast to Terry" that he couldn't tap into his wry wit to tweak an old nemesis.

Former radio executive Harvey Wells set Boers up by hearkening to the "big bang" of his career in 1992, when former Bears coach Mike Ditka asked him, "Who ya crappin'?" The line has become the namesake of one of Boers' signature segments with on-air partner Dan Bernstein.

"God bless Mike Ditka. What a great American he is," Boers said with an eye roll. That line "kind of fell into our laps. You know, he was good for something. I wasn't sure what it was, but he was good for that."

"You rode that bit for 25 years, buddy," Wells said.

Boers did that and more during a quarter-century of a radio career that launched with the birth of WSCR, which marked its 25-year anniversary Monday. It became apparent last year that the station would lose one of its originals when Boers missed extended periods of time battling cancer in his jaw. In November, he announced he would retire.

Boers was in high spirits when discussing his health before the show Thursday, but he shared the toll that two surgeries — one in June and another in November — have taken on his body. Part of a fibula was used to replace bone in his left jaw, which is still swollen.

"I can't eat very well," Boers said. "I was on tube feeding for six weeks after the first surgery and five weeks after this surgery. ... I was down to 177 pounds (after the first surgery) and I started at 225."


The ex-Sun-Times columnist plans to work on a book and occasionally write for The Score's site. Operations director Mitch Rosen said he's looking at replacement talent "inside and outside" and expects to make an announcement within a month.

Saginaw Radio: Longtime Newsman Hal Maas OUT At WHNN

Hal Maas

For nearly 18 years, Hal Maas brought the news to listeners of such radio stations as WHNN, WIOG and WHEELZ every weekday morning.

But, reports MLive.com,  after going on air Tuesday morning, Jan. 3, the longtime radio newscaster was told he would be losing his job as news and public affairs director for Cumulus Media. He says he was one of three longtime employees who were let go in an effort to cut costs.

Maas used to start his work day at about 3 a.m. He delivered on the cumulus Cluster of stations including WHNN 96.1 FM, WIOG 102.5 fM and WILZ WHEELZ 104.5 FM.

The 66-year-old Detroit native got his start in radio in 1973 working for what he described as a "small country station" in Paoli, Indiana.

"You did everything. You did the morning show, you did news, you did sports. We had a 70-some-odd-year-old woman who came in five days a week and played live music, gospel music, on the piano and the organ, and my job for that hour was to fill in the gaps in between songs," he recalled.

Maas said he has seen a number of other colleagues who have 20 or 30 years of experience lose their jobs over the past several years, including former morning radio show hosts Johnny Burke and Blondie. The pair filed age discrimination lawsuits against Cumulus after they were terminated.

But Maas said he doesn't plan to file a lawsuit and he has no hard feelings.

Maas said he's not ready to retire, so he's looking for his next opportunity in radio or television.

Update: Broadcasting By The Numbers

The Federal Communications Commission has announced the following totals for broadcast stations licensed as of December 31, 2016:

Norway Saying Farewell To FM Radio

Retail clerk displays Digital Radios at store

By Joachim Dagenborg and Alister Doyle

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway is set to become the first nation to start switching off its FM radio network next week, in a risky and unpopular leap to digital technology that will be closely watched by other countries considering whether to follow suit.

Critics say the government is rushing the move and many people may miss warnings on emergencies that have until now been broadcast via the radio. Of particular concern are the 2 million cars on Norway's roads that are not equipped with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) receivers, they say.

Sixty-six percent of Norwegians oppose switching off FM, with just 17 percent in favor and the rest undecided, according to an opinion poll published by the daily Dagbladet last month.

Nevertheless, parliament gave the final go-ahead for the move last month, swayed by the fact that digital networks can carry more radio channels.

Switzerland plans a similar shift from 2020, and Britain and Denmark are among those also considering such a switch. A smooth transition to DAB, which is already beamed across Norway, could encourage these countries to move ahead.

The shutdown of the FM (Frequency Modulation) network, introduced in the 1950s, will begin in the northern city of Bodoe on Jan. 11.

By the end of the year, all national FM broadcasts will be closed in favor of DAB, which backers say carries less hiss and clearer sound throughout the large nation of 5 million people cut by fjords and mountains.

"We're the first country to switch off FM but there are several countries going in the same direction," said Ole Joergen Torvmark, head of Digital Radio Norway, which is owned by national broadcasters NRK and P4 to help the transition.

Torvmark said cars were the "biggest challenge" - a good digital adapter for an FM car radio costs 1,500 Norwegian crowns  ($174.70), he said.

One member of the ruling coalition was scathing, however, voicing concerns similar to those expressed by thousands of elderly and drivers in surveys and elsewhere.

"We are simply not ready for this yet," Ib Thomsen, an MP from the Progress Party, a partner in the Conservative-led government, told Reuters.

"There are 2 million cars on Norwegian roads that don't have DAB receivers, and millions of radios in Norwegian homes will stop working when the FM net is switched off. So there is definitely a safety concern," he said.

For the same cost, digital radio in Norway allows eight times more radio stations than FM. The current system of parallel FM and digital networks, each of which cost about 250 million crowns ($29 million), saps investments in programs.

Among other nations, Britain plans to review the need for a switchover once digital listening reaches 50 percent. That could be reached by the end of 2017 on current trends, Digital Radio UK spokeswoman Yvette Dore said.

 ($1 = 8.5861 Norwegian crowns)

R.I.P.: Roanoke Radio Legend Bart Prater Dies At 69

Bart Prater - 1982

Bart Prater’s first job in radio was shoveling ashes after a fire.

According to roanoke.com, he was a high school kid in Marion VA when the town’s radio station — good ol’ WOLD-AM — went up in flames. The station owner hired teenagers to clean up, but Prater told the man: “I could do more than that.”

From those studio ashes, Prater rose to become one the most prominent voices and personalities in Roanoke radio history, a disc jockey who brought national recognition to both Roanoke and himself.

He worked at WROV 1240 AM during the wild and crazy 1970s when rock ‘n’ roll was king and the station’s studios were located in a Quonset hut in an industrial section of Roanoke. Billboard magazine named him the mid-sized radio market Personality of the Year in 1975.

Later, Prater jumped to WXLK 92.3 FM K92 in the 1980s when it dominated the airwaves like no Roanoke station before or since.

And he ended his career away from the microphone, behind the scenes at public radio station WVTF, where he programmed satellite feeds and wrote computer codes. He retired in 2012 from doing what he always loved, working and tinkering in radio.

Prater died Wednesday night at age 69 after a couple of years of declining health, according to his son, Jay Prater.


Bart Prater was part of two of the most successful rock and pop music stations in Roanoke broadcasting history.

“Radio was king. Local personalities were the stars. We had to change our phone number a lot because people would call the house, just wanting to talk to my dad.”

Bart Prater was so good on-air, he could keep listeners riveted to funny sketches with just his voice — whether it was showing family vacation slides (on the radio, remember) or giving a tour of an imaginary WROV studio complete with DJ lounges and a chapel where the owner “could pray for money.”

He sang and played guitar on the radio, writing his own novelty songs, which included the ridiculous “Pickle Jar Lid” song, which was a local hit in 1969 (the song’s full name, according to an online history of WROV-AM, was “I Got a Pickle Jar Lid and I Carry it in My Pocket, Baby”).

January 6 Radio History

In 1838...Morse Code privately demonstrated

In 1939...Carleton E. Morse of One Man’s Family fame, introduced his second-best known radio creation, I Love a Mystery afternoons on NBC’s West Coast network.  It went national as a ni ghtly strip that October and ran for five years. A 30 minute weekly series titled I Love Adventure aired for 13 summer weeks in 1948 on ABC.  In 1949 ILAM was revived with a New York cast (including Tony Randall) and ran for 15 minutes nightly for the next 3 years on Mutual.

In 1941...actor Richard Widmark made his first radio appearance in "The Home of the Brave."




In 1957…Elvis Presley appeared for the third and final time on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show." After receiving viewer complaints about Presley's first two appearances on the show and worried about getting more negative audience reaction because of Presley's pelvic gyrations, Sullivan demanded that the cameramen shoot Elvis only from the waist up this time. Presley sang seven songs: "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Peace in the Valley" (at the request of the network), "Too Much," and "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again." After the last of Elvis' performances, Sullivan attempted to prevent any further controversy by declaring:"I just wanted to say that this is a real decent, fine boy. We want to say that we've never had a pleasanter experience with a big name than we've had with you."


In 1969...Veteran NYC personality Joe O'Brien started at WNBC 660 AM. He died in a car accident in 2005 at age 90.

A Yonkers native, O'Brien began his career in 1935 when he got his first radio job with WMCA-AM in New York City. He worked at the station for 34 years and became one of the Good Guys team of disc jockeys in the late 1960's. They played Top 40 hits and became nearly as popular as the music they played.

They had the same clean-cut hairstyles, wore matching suits and worked together at record hops and personal appearances. They also sang as a group and released an album. During that time, Mr. O'Brien was the No. 1 morning man in New York City.

In 1970 he left for WNBC-AM, where he handled morning duties until he was replaced by Don Imus in 1972. Mr. O'Brien then went to WHUD in Peekskill, N.Y. He retired in 1986, but continued to do weekend specials for WHUD until 2000.




In 1971...WJRZ 970 AM sold to Pacific Southern.  It changed its call letters on May 16 of that year and became WWDJ, known on the air as "97-DJ", attempting to take on WABC and replace WMCA as the New York market's second Top 40 outlet.

For a brief time, program director Mark Driscoll began imaging the station as "9-J", giving rise to a recorded parody of the station called "Nine" produced by a group that included future disk jockeys Howard Hoffman and Randy West.

The station was hampered by a directional signal that covered Manhattan and parts of New Jersey well but suffered in the rest of the Five Boroughs and was virtually nonexistent on Long Island and western New Jersey. Eventually, FM competition from WCBS-FM and adult top 40 station WXLO (now WEPN-FM), and an evolution to adult Top 40 by WNBC (now WFAN), began to eat into WWDJ's ratings. In November 1973 it was ranked 15th in the Arbitron ratings.


In 1974...the CBS Radio Network debuted "Radio Mystery Theatre."

Bob LeMond

In 1980...the "1940's Radio Hour" closed at the St. James Theater in New York City after 105 performances.


In 2008...one of the last surviving announcers of bigtime radio, Bob LeMond died of complications from dementia at age 94.

Beginning in the 1930’s he was a staff announcer at CBS .. and continued there well into the TV era, on such shows as Leave It to Beaver, The Red Skelton Show, Our Miss Brooks, My Friend Irma, Edgar Bergen’s Do You Trust Your Wife? and Life with Luigi.


In 2012...WFME 94.7 FM NYC (now WNSH) license changed from non-commercial to commercial.

Fox News To Move Tucker Carlson Into Kelly's Timeslot

Conservative journalist Tucker Carlson has been named as the replacement for Fox News star anchor Megan Kelly as she departs the network this Friday.

Carlson started in the 7 p.m. spot in November after longtime Fox anchor Greta Van Susteren left. His show, a mix of confrontational interviews and news coverage, has seen success.

He previously hosted shows on CNN and MSNBC, and is a former co-host of Fox's weekend morning show "Fox and Friends."

Martha MacCallum

According to The NY Times, Martha MacCallum, co-anchor of Fox News’s morning news show “America’s Newsroom,” is to succeed Mr. Carlson at 7 p.m..

MacCallum’s 7 p.m. hosting duties will initially be for the first 100 days of the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, the people said.

Carlson’s selection is a swift conclusion to an anchor sweepstakes that only emerged on Tuesday, when Ms. Kelly, the No. 2 anchor in cable news ratings, behind her colleague Bill O’Reilly, announced that she would be leaving Fox for NBC News. Her new role there will include a daytime news show and a Sunday newsmagazine that will compete against CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

“In less than two months, Tucker has taken cable news by storm with his spirited interviews and consistently strong performance," said 21st Century Fox and Fox News executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, in a statement. "Viewers have overwhelmingly responded to the show and we look forward to him being a part of Fox News’ powerful primetime line-up.”

Tucker Carlson Tonight will feature powerful analysis and spirited debates with guests from across the political and cultural spectrum. Carlson will bring his signature style to tackle issues largely uncovered by the media in every corner of the United States, challenging political correctness with a “Campus Craziness” segment and tackling media bias and outrage during “Tucker’s TwitterStorm.” Additionally, viewers will have the chance to interact with Carlson live throughout the hour using the hashtag #Tucker across all social media platforms.

Carlson joined FNC in 2009 as a political contributor and was named co-host of FOX & Friends Weekend in 2012. He also played an integral role in 2016 election coverage, most recently serving as a key contributor on election night. In 2010, he founded The Daily Caller, a 24-hour news site featuring original reporting, commentary and breaking news. Carlson will remain a passive owner of The Daily Caller, but will no longer serve as the website’s editor-in-chief.

Boston Radio: Entercom Flips WKAF To UrbanAC

In a move to provide the only full-signal, Urban radio format to America’s 10th largest market, Entercom Communications today announced the debut of The New 97.7, Boston’s #1 For R&B.

Since 2006, the frequency had been simulcast with the company’s heritage rock station, WAAF 107.3 FM, but delivered little appreciable audience beyond the primary station’s booming signal. The present WKAF call letters will remain for The New 97.7 which ends its simulcast with WAAF today at 11:00AM.

Leading the venture is Program Director Chris Malone, recruited from Cumulus Media’s WRBO and WKIM in Memphis. He’s joined in the new station’s brain trust by Urban radio veteran and consultant Jay Dixon, KBLX/KRBQ San Francisco Director of Programming and Operations Elroy Smith, and Sean Ross, VP of Music and Programming, Edison Research. The New 97.7 will launch with 10,000 songs-in-a-row affording listeners a chance to experience the full breadth of the station’s deep playlist for weeks without interruption.

WKAF 97.7 FM (2.05 Kw) Red Local Coverage

Entercom New England VP/Market Manager Phil Zachary says The New 97.7 fills a massive void for an underserved market. “Boston has a higher concentration of African-American consumers than San Francisco or Los Angeles,” he said, “but no rated Urban signals. The prospect of reaching almost 8% of the population with one radio station in a Top-10 market is almost inconceivable in 2017.”

Malone has been working off-site to prepare the launch and says Boston is long overdue for a station targeting adult Urban listeners. “Urban AC is the most listened-to radio format among African-American consumers in Nielsen’s metered markets, so we expect the audience response to be emotional and immediate. Entercom has given us the research, the talent budget and the marketing resources to become an instant contender with Adults 25 to 54.” Malone says his immediate priority is hiring a local air staff.

Philly Radio: CBS Relaunches WZMP-FM as “Today’s 96.5”

CBS RADIO Philadelphia has relaunched Top40 WZMP-FM as Today's 96.5.

The station promises “Better Variety, Fewer Commercials” featuring an adult-contemporary format serving fans in the Delaware Valley with today’s most popular hits from both new and established artists, including Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, P!NK, Taylor Swift, and more. Today’s 96.5 will also feature limited commercial interruptions. Bobby Smith will serve as the station’s program director overseeing the music line-up, events and partnerships and community engagements.

“We are excited to debut Today’s 96.5 with a mix of music that will engage our audience on air, on-line and onsite at concerts and local events,” said David Yadgaroff, Senior Vice President and Market Manager of CBS RADIO Philadelphia.  “Today’s 96.5 will bring fun and upbeat programming to Philadelphia radio.  We will also offer the local and national advertising market unique sponsorship opportunities across all of our platforms.”

WZMP 96.5 FM (9.6 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Program Director Bobby Smith added, "This is a station that will make you forget that you're still at work with one great song after another while delivering on the promise of having fewer interruptions so you can always look forward to hearing another great song."

NYC Radio: WABC's Bernie & Sid Get An Extra Hour

Talk WABC 770 AM announces that it has expanded the highly popular daytime talk radio show “The Bernie and Sid Show”, to deliver an additional hour of entertaining and provocative programming to New York talk radio listeners.

Beginning Tuesday, January 3, 2017, “The Bernie and Sid Show” airs each weekday from 9AM until 12PM Noon EST, following “Imus in the Morning”. The show, which successfully debuted on 77 WABC in January, 2016, formerly aired from 10AM until 12Noon EST, and features the dynamic duo of talk radio hosts, Bernard “Bernie” McGuirk and Sid Rosenberg. The expanded program features McGuirk and Rosenberg’s passionate conversation about the biggest topics in New York and across the nation, with more incredible guests and interaction with great New York listeners.

McGuirk is the executive producer of the “Imus in The Morning” radio program and an on-air personality on the Imus show. He was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York, where he worked in his younger years as a taxi driver. He has worked in radio and television since 1986, after he graduated from College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York. He will continue his role with the “Imus in the Morning” radio show, in addition to his work on “The Bernie and Sid Show”. McGuirk is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor”.

Rosenberg continues in his role as Sports Anchor for 77 WABC’s “Imus in the Morning” show. He started his 20-year radio career on “The Drive,” heard on SportsLineUSA.com. The show eventually moved to broadcast radio, and was syndicated nationally in more than 40 markets by SportsFan and Westwood One. He also co-hosted the NFL Today pre-game show heard nationally on Westwood One for three seasons. Rosenberg co-hosted “The Sports Guys,” heard mornings on legendary radio station 102.7 WNEW FM. Later, Rosenberg hosted middays with Jody McDonald and later, with Joe Benigno on WFAN in New York City. He also did sports on the “Imus in the Morning” program through 2005. Rosenberg moved to South Florida working at 790 The Ticket and Miami’s WQAM-560 AM. He also worked as morning drive sports reporter for 1010-WINS New York and recently hosted morning drive on 640 AM Sports/WMEN in Royal Palm Beach, FL.

WABC 770 AM (50 Kw)

Chad Lopez, Vice President/Market Manager for Cumulus New York said: "Introducing a new talk show in New York is rare. Rarer still is to have such incredible growth in such a short period of time."

Craig Schwalb, Program Director for 77 WABC Radio said: "Bernie and Sid came out of the chute strong and haven't slowed down. We are thrilled to add more time to this great show."

For more information, visit: www.wabcradio.com.

Emmis Q3 Radio Revenue Down, Income Increases

Emmis Communications Corporation today announced results for its third fiscal quarter, ending November 30, 2016.

Emmis' radio net revenues for the third fiscal quarter were down slightly, from $42.6 million to $42.5 million. Per Miller Kaplan reporting, which excludes barter and syndication revenues, Emmis radio revenues were down 1.8% in markets up 2.5%.

For the third fiscal quarter, operating income rose to $23.8 million from $11.6 million in the same quarter of the prior year, due to a gain on the sale of Texas Monthly, which closed during the third quarter.

Reported publishing net revenues were down 18% in the third fiscal quarter, from $16.6 million to $13.6 million.  Pro forma for the sale of Texas Monthly, publishing net revenues were down 6%.

Jeff Smulyan

On August 18, the Company announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives for its publishing division, excluding Indianapolis Monthly magazine.  The Company also announced it was exploring strategic alternatives for its Terre Haute radio stations and WLIB-AM in New York. Emmis expects to close on the sale of its Terre Haute radio stations at the end of January, and is working to close additional asset sales before the end of its fiscal year in February.

"Emmis Radio is not accustomed to underperforming its markets," said Jeff Smulyan, Chairman & CEO of Emmis. "I was disappointed in our performance, but remain hopeful that recent ratings gains in Los Angeles and Austin, coupled with continued stellar performance in St. Louis, will lead to better performance in fiscal 2018.

"The general sluggishness in the radio industry makes the need for NextRadio all the more important," Smulyan continued.  "NextRadio, the smartphone app that provides free, portable FM radio listening, recently surpassed 10 million downloads and 25 million listening hours.  The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are now FM-enabled across all major wireless carriers in the United States and we reached an agreement with Sprint that keeps NextRadio preloaded on their Android devices.

"If NextRadio succeeds, as I believe it will, it will help solve major challenges for every radio station, including ours: establishing a one-to-one relationship with our listeners, regaining our portability, and making us relevant to a generation that thinks terrestrial radio is uncool. NextRadio gives us new, interactive revenue opportunities with current and potential advertisers – and it takes the compelling content created every day and provides a new platform for it," Smulyan said.

Smulyan also noted that Digonex, the dynamic pricing service that Emmis began operating in June 2014, has begun integrating with several ticketing platforms, helping to accelerate client adoption.  Booked business heading into calendar 2017 is nearly triple that of calendar 2016.

2016 Saw Slowest Market For Radio Deals In Three Decades

U.S. broadcast station mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume reached $104.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, and closed the year at $5.83 billion as tracked by SNL Kagan, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Radio deal volume in fiscal year 2016 reached $522.6 million, which is the lowest year on record going back to 1982.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, 92% of the U.S. broadcast station deal volume ($96.2 million) came from radio deals. Due to the ongoing FCC quiet period on TV transactions as a result of the ongoing spectrum auction, the TV deal market registered a mere $8.2 million.

October was the busiest month for radio deals in Q4 with 79% of the total transactions taking place in that month. Following the optimistic outlook of the NAB Radio Show in Nashville on September 21-23, the month of October brought a surge of transactions registering 11 deals above $1 million. All three top radio deals in Q4 also happened in the month of October.

The top deal of the fourth quarter (and the second-largest deal of the year) came in the wake of the Beasley/Greater Media merger. In August, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. placed three stations it bought in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C. market in a trust to comply with FCC regulations. In October, Beasley sold the stations WLNK-FM and WBT-AM/FM, together with WFNZ-FM and an FM translator, to Entercom Communications Corp. for $24.0 million, equating to a 6.0x cash flow multiple. In the absence of any other large deals, Beasley became not only the year's top buyer but also the top seller by deal volume.

The fourth quarter of 2016 also brought the year's largest single-station deal, which involved the same station as had the year's top-ranked single-station deal at the time. KFWB in Los Angeles changed hands for the second time this year, delivering a $3.2 million profit to short-time owner Universal Media Access, which in February paid $8.0 million for the station, intending to keep it, but could not refuse Lotus Communications’ $11.2 million offer.

Following the FCC’s AM Revitalization Act, the U.S. deal market experienced a surge of sales of FM translators. In total, 489 FM translators and 447 translator construction permits sold for $31.9 million and $16.7 million, respectively. The total number of 936 translator stations and permits, more than twice as high as in 2015 (458), stands for 65% of all radio stations and permits sold in 2016.

In spite of the FCC Incentive Auction quiet period on TV station transactions, Northern Lights Media, Inc., a unit of Gray Television, Inc., announced the acquisition of a trio of TV stations in America’s northernmost market, Fairbanks, Alaska, paying $8.0 million (a 7.0x cash flow multiple) to owner/operator partners Tanana Valley Television Co. and Chena Broadcasting LLC.

In the wake of the $4.6 billion merger of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. and Media General, Inc., the TV market closes the year with a total of $5.30 billion, 87% of which stems from just one deal.