This season, NFL fans have more options than in the past to stream local and primetime games on their phones and other Net-connected devices, reports USAToday.
That strategy could be a move to tackle declining NFL ratings and a growing audience of viewers without traditional pay TV. While down, NFL games still are among the most-watched TV broadcasts.
"They are trying to reach every possible viewer, partially because of ratings and partially because there are simply more ways to watch now," said Phil Swann, publisher of TheTVAnswerman.com, a TV news site.
For starters, it will be a lot easier to watch a lot of games, including those featuring your local team, on your mobile device this season. In the past, only Verizon wireless customers could watch local and prime-time NFL games on their smartphones and tablets.
This year, all wireless customers can use the NFL Mobile or Yahoo Sports apps to watch for free all in-market and national games including those on local CBS and Fox stations, NBC's Sunday Night Football games (and Thursday's game between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles), ESPN's Monday Night Football games and upcoming Thursday Night Football games broadcast on Fox. (Remember if you aren't on WiFi, data charges will apply.)
Beyond that, most Thursday Night Football games will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, which is among the benefits of Amazon Prime, which costs $119 annually, with the first being the Sept. 27 matchup of the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Not an Amazon Prime member? You can watch for free on Twitch, the video game-centric streaming service Amazon acquired for $1 billion four years ago.
You can watch Amazon Prime Video on smartphones, tablets and Net-connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, Nvidia Shield, many smart TVs and game consoles.
WEEI 93.7 FM's Kirk Minihane announced Thursday evening that he’s taking an “indefinite leave” from co-hosting the “Kirk & Callahan” morning show.
“Still battling mental health issues,” the radio host said on Twitter. “Truth is I came back to work too fast.”
I’m going on an indefinite leave from the show. Still battling mental health issues. Truth is I came back to work too fast. Wish I could be there with @GerryCallahan, @_ChrisCurtis and @KenLairdWEEI - I love those guys very much. I’ll be OK and sorry I’m leaving you all with Mut.
Minihane was off the air for about a week in early August to undergo treatment for depression. When he returned to work, he shared in great detail what had led him to check in to the Winchester Hospital emergency room with suicidal thoughts.
Entercom has announced it have reached a new broadcast agreement with Westwood One.
Under the deal, WWO's broadcast of NFL games will air on Sports KGMZ 95.7 FM The Game, the flagship home of the Golden State Warriors and Oakland Athletics, and KGMZ 1550 AM The Game.
Under the deal, which is exclusive to the Bay Area market, coverage of select 2018-19 regular season and postseason games, including Super Bowl LIII, will be heard on both stations.
"The Bay Area is home to NFL fans from all markets," said Entercom San Francisco Senior VP/Market Manager Gregory Nemitz. "As the unrivaled leaders in sports radio, this deal expands our portfolio and enables this region's fans to turn their dials to 95.7 The Game for even more coverage of their favorite NFL team."
Nike Inc.’s market capitalization is down $3.4 billion since the company released its latest ad campaign featuring controversial quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick.
But it’s not all bad news, reports Bloomberg. The latest estimates put the value of the media exposure from the campaign at more than $163 million, according to Apex Marketing Group -- almost four times the $43 million tallied in the first 24 hours since the ad debuted.
Although podcast listeners have historically been dominated by men, new research suggests that women are catching up partly thanks to smart speakers and connected car entertainment vehicles, AdAge reports.
That's according to a new study released Wednesday by Westwood One. And while more than two-thirds of advertising decision makers have discussed marketing in podcasts, "very little research has been done on the advertising environment within podcasts," the study says.
U.S. podcast ad revenue totaled $314 million in 2017, an 86 percent upswing from the previous year, and will grow to nearly $660 million by 2020, the IAB says. By comparison, digital audio as a whole saw $1.6 billion of ad revenue in 2017.
Cumulus-owned Westwood One is a mass media company focused on radio syndication and audio content. The study was released a day prior to the IAB Podcast Upfront in New York and surveyed some 600 people who listened to a podcast at least once within the past week.
"The 2018 year will be remembered as podcasting's year of the women," says Suzanne Grimes, executive VP of marketing for Cumulus Media and president of Westwood One. "There's an encouraging trend of compelling and diverse new content for women. While male audiences stabilize, the growth rate of the female podcast audience is soaring."
Listeners who use connected car entertainment systems to listen to podcasts increased 27 percent year-over-year while, so-called smart speakers saw similar growth in podcast use (21 percent).
Some 15 percent of Boomers said they listen through a smart speaker, up from 8 percent a year early. And 20 percent of women said they do the same thing, up from 12 percent year-over-year.
Heavy podcast listeners, which the study describes as those who listen more than 6 hours per week, represented 43 percent of those surveyed, up from 36 percent. In contrast, those who listen for 3 to 5 hours declined to 31 percent from 36 percent. And those who listen less than three hours slipped to 26 percent from 28 percent.
Millennials represented 64 percent of "heavy podcast listeners."
Westwood One announced Thursday at the IAB Podcast Upfront the launch of The Empow(h)er Podcast Network, debuting with nine podcast series to inspire the medium’s rapidly growing female audience. Growth in time spent by women listening to podcasts weekly is 6x faster than that of men over the last year — and for the same time period, women’s average weekly time spent with podcasts is up 20%, according to the recently released “Westwood One’s Podcast Download — Fall 2018 report.”
With women making political waves on the Hill and across the country, Westwood One has introduced “Run Like a Girl”— an Empow(h)er Podcast Network series that shines a nonpartisan light on women running for office, in the hopes of helping elect more women to the halls of power. Each week listeners will meet a different woman candidate who is running the race of her life. In addition, through Election Day, the series will give listeners exclusive access to the Gretchen Whitmer campaign, one of the most competitive gubernatorial contests in the country, happening right now in Michigan.
Several brands are already supporting the show, including Sun Basket, the San Francisco-based subscription meal delivery service. “Run Like a Girl” is live now.
Suzanne Grimes
Another featured podcast in the line-up is “On Her Turf,” from NBC Sports Group. The show is based on the popular Instagram account of the same name. It celebrates female athletes and inspires all women to be the best version of themselves, on and off the field. The series kicks off September 19.
“NBC Sports Group is very excited to partner with Westwood One to build a community of avid supporters of female athletes, championing the cause of equality in all its forms,” said Jenny Storms, CMO, NBC Sports Group. “This show celebrates female athletes with the attention, acclaim, and accolades they deserve, on and off the field – inspiring the next generations of amazing women.”
“It’s undeniable that women are a cultural force with momentum like never before, which is why the time is now to launch The Empow(h)er Podcast Network,” said Suzanne Grimes, Executive Vice President, Marketing for Cumulus Media and President of Westwood One. “Women are listening to more podcasts than ever, and brands recognize this, as many have already come on board to support women and this new network.”
Other series coming to The Empow(h)er Podcast Network:
Suze Orman’s Women & Money Show: Suze Orman’s Women & Money podcast will speak to every mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, and wife. It will give women the opportunity to tap into Suze’s unique spirit, people-first wisdom, and unparalleled appreciation that for women, money itself is not the end goal, it’s the means to living a full and meaningful life.
Straight Talk with Ross Mathews: Ross Mathews is the go-to guy for anyone who needs a BFF to give them guidance, direction, or a good ole' slap in the face. Straight Talk (a.k.a. Advice & LOL's from the Gay Best Friend You Wish You Had and Know You Need) tackles relationships and dating, friendship, and beyond—no topic is off limits or too taboo.
Pop Talk with Ross Mathews: In Pop Talk, Ross with his friend and co-host Trish Suhr break down the top 10 stories of the week — in the fabulous way only these two can. Full of drama and debate, their take on celebs and sports, scandals, and more, give listeners a dose of pop culture fun found nowhere else. This is a new show coming this fall.
Women Want to Hear Women with Elaina Smith: This series is reclaiming the flawed narrative suggesting female artists don’t deserve airtime on country radio because listeners only want to hear male artists. Elaina shines her spotlight on some of country music’s most talented female artists as she interviews legends, up-and-comers, and everyone in between! Dolly Parton was an early interviewee, and Carrie Underwood is joining Elaina this week. The show was added over Labor Day weekend.
Bad Mamas with Jayde: Capturing all the wonders and weirdness of motherhood, radio personality and mom Jayde Donovan shares it all, while acknowledging that no one actually knows what the — f — they’re doing. Jayde can be heard mornings in New York City on WPLJ and weekends on her Westwood One nationally syndicated show, Jayde. “Bad Mamas” launches February 7.
40 Weeks with Jayde Donovan: On “40 Weeks,” Jayde takes listeners on a beautiful—and brutally honest—journey about what it’s like to be pregnant. This is a special 40-episode podcast series designed for pregnant women as they experience the wonders and “whoas” of their own pregnancies. “40 Weeks” starts gestation March 18.
Cumulus Media announces that Des Moines classic rock station KGGO 94.9 FM will welcome “Nights with Alice Cooper” to the station’s programming lineup.
The nationally syndicated show, hosted by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper, will debut on 95 KGGO on Monday, September 10, 2018, and will air Monday-Friday from 7:00pm-Midnight and Sunday in the same time slot. Cooper, credited as the architect of shock rock, will appear in concert on October 23, 2018, at the Des Moines Civic Center, and 95 KGGO will be out in full force to welcome its newest on-air personality.
Cooper, whose singing, songwriting and acting career spans over 50 years, is credited with helping to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and has been described as the artist who first introduced horror imagery to rock music. “Nights with Alice Cooper” debuted in 2004 and is now heard on over 100 radio stations in the U.S. and around the world.
KGGO 94.9 FM (100 Kw) Red=City Coverage
Chad Taylor, Program Director, KGGO-FM, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome this classic rock icon to the KGGO family, and can’t wait for Des Moines to hear the show! Alice will join us on air this Friday afternoon at 3:00pm CDT to talk about the show and what central Iowans can expect to hear on Nights with Alice Cooper.”
Almost half of the young adults in the U.S. who use Facebook deleted the app on their phones over the past year, according to The Hill citing a new study examining Americans' changing relationship with Facebook.
The Pew Research Center study, published on Wednesday, found that 44 percent of adults between ages 18 and 29, which is composed of Gen Z and millennials, had deleted the app from their phones.
The study is only the latest to find that Facebook is losing its grip on younger users, who are increasingly turning to other platforms including YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram, the latter of which Facebook also owns.
Overall, 26 percent of Americans polled have deleted the app in the past year.
Two-thirds of Republicans think search engines are biased toward the left, according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll published Thursday.
The Hill reports the poll found that 67 percent of Republicans surveyed believed search engines like Google are biased to favor liberals, while 22 percent believe they are not biased, and only 9 percent believed there is a bias towards conservatives.
Among independents in the sample, 54 percent saw no bias, while 29 percent saw bias towards the left and 13 percent towards conservatives.
Among Democrats polled, 66 percent saw no bias, 13 percent saw bias towards the left and 15 percent towards conservatives.
The poll comes after President Trump last month accused Google of suppressing conservative voices and rigging its algorithm to favor liberals.
"Google search results for 'Trump News' shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media," Trump wrote. "In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out."
BBC Radio 3 will devote a monthly slot to relaxing sounds such as church bells or boiling kettles to help people ‘escape the frenzy of everyday life’.
According to The Daily Mail, The half-hour ‘slow radio’ program will also include the noise of clocks ticking, a steam engine chugging through countryside, and the sound of cattle being blessed by a priest in Ireland.
Station boss Alan Davey said he hopes it will attract younger listeners by giving them ‘a chance for quiet mindfulness’.
Burt Reynolds has died at the age of 82. The actor suffered a heart attack Thursday in Florida. He was transported to a hospital after going into cardiac arrest. His family was by his side when he passed.
The 911 call, made just after noon, revealed a male caller telling emergency operators that Reynolds was experiencing trouble breathing and had chest pain. He was awake, but not answering questions. Reynolds had heart problems for years and underwent major heart surgery in 2010.
In the early part of his career, after starring in TV shows such as Gunsmoke and Dan August, Reynolds rose to fame in the ‘70s for his breakout role as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance. The actor, who had nearly 200 film and TV credits, also starred in multiple successful films including 1974’s The Longest Yard, 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit, 1996’s Striptease and 1997’s Boogie Nights. The latter of which earned him an Oscar nomination.
Most recently, he was cast alongside Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's story of Charles Manson, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but according to a TMZ source, he had not shot his scenes yet. Reynolds’ movie, Defining Moments is set to be released in December of this year.
The Hollywood Icon was once married to Judy Carne from 1963 to 1965 and Loni Anderson from 1988 to 1993, they have an adult son Quinton Anderson Reynolds. He also famously dated Sally Field on and off for five years in the ‘70s and ’80s. And in a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair, he called her "The one who got away."
Celebrities React To Burt Reynolds Death
Sally Field: "There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later. My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy."
Mark Wahlberg: "Rest in peace to a legend and a friend."
Dolly Parton: "Oh how sad I am today along with Burt‘s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly.
Russell Cowe: "R.I.P Burt Reynolds. He was a friend of mine. R.I.P Judge, R.I.P Old Bear, R.I.P Innocence, R.I.P Youth. Remembering every member of the Mystery, Alaska cast and crew, what a lovely community that was, I hope you are all happy and busy."
James Woods: "I finally got to work with one of my heroes in 2006. #BurtReynolds led a really fun cast in Spokane and we laughed all day, every day he was on the set. A wry humor and a warm heart defined this wonderful man. He will be sorely missed. #RIPBurtReynolds"
Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes. He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me. He also had a great sense of humor - check out his Tonight Show clips. My thoughts are with his family."
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Stroker Ace was born to race" Much respect to you Burt Reynolds. RIP"
Marilu Henner: "Noooo! Not Burt Reynolds! He was the most generous, talented, special man, co-star & friend EVER! I loved him so much & was lucky to work w/him 5 times. So many great memories!"
Reba McEntire: "My good friend has started a new journey. Rest in my peace my friend. I’ll never forget the wonderful times we spent together."
Reynold's Family Statement:
“It is with a broken heart that I said goodbye to my uncle today,” his niece Nancy Lee Hess tells Us in a statement. “My uncle was not just a movie icon; he was a generous, passionate and sensitive man, who was dedicated to his family, friends, fans and acting students.”
The statement continues, “He has had health issues, however, this was totally unexpected. He was tough. Anyone who breaks their tail bone on a river and finishes the movie is tough. And that’s who he was. My uncle was looking forward to working with Quentin Tarantino [on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood] and the amazing cast that was assembled.”
“So many people have already contacted me, to tell me how they benefitted professionally and personally from my uncle’s kindness,” Hess says. “I want to thank all of his amazing fans who have always supported and cheered him on, through all of the hills and valleys of his life and career. My family and I appreciate the outpouring of love for my uncle, and I ask that everyone please respect our family’s privacy at this very difficult time.”
➦In 1929...the forerunner to Let’s Pretend, a Saturday morning radio show for kids was heard for the first time on CBS Radio Network. The Adventures of Helen & Mary became Let’s Pretend 5 years later, all of it written & directed by Nila Mack, and hosted by ‘Uncle’ Bill Adams. It continued for a quarter-century, until 1954.
➦In 1934...Daniel Trombley "Dan" Ingram was born. Ingram is an American radio icon with a fifty-year career on radio stations such as WABC 770 AM and WCBS 101.1 FM in New York. "Big Dan" started broadcasting at WHCH Hofstra College, Hempstead, New York, WNRC, New Rochelle, New York, and WALK-FM, Patchogue, New York.
Ingram is a well regarded DJ from his era. He was noted for his quick wit and ability to convey a humorous or satiric idea with quick pacing and an economy of words—a skill which has made him uniquely suited to, and successful within, modern personality-driven music radio.
He is among the most frequently emulated radio personalities, cited as an influence or inspiration by numerous current broadcasters. One of Ingram's unique skills was his ability to "talk up" to the lyrics of a record, meaning speaking over the musical introduction and finishing exactly at the point when the lyrics started.
Dan was well known for playing doctored versions of popular songs. The Paul McCartney & Wings song My Love Does it Good became My Glove Does it Good. The stuttering title refrain of Bennie and the Jets went from three or four repetitions to countless. In the same vein, the distinctive refrain added to Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, Ooga-ooga-ooga-chucka would start repeating and listeners would never know when it would end. (Other examples include Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, and "rearranging" the spelling of "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y" on the Bay City Rollers' Saturday Night.)
Dan's longtime closing theme song was "Tri-Fi Drums" by Billy May. An edited version of the song was used for broadcast.
Dan commented occasionally about the pronunciation of his name: jingles often are heard pronouncing his last name as "Ing-ram," but Dan has said it is correctly pronounced "In-gram."
Ingram died June 24, 2018
➦In 1936...rock & roll innovator Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock Texas. His name was misspelled on his first record contract and he decided to leave it that way. He was killed in a plane crash Feb 3, 1959 along with Ritchie Valens and J.P.Richardson (Big Bopper.) Holly was just 22.
➦In 1949...Windsor (Ont.) radio station CKLW, later to become Canada’s all-time most listened-to station (due to its huge US audience), increased power from 5000 to 50,000 watts. The station had moved from 1030 to 800 KHz, a Canada/Mexico clear channel, in the great frequency shuffle of 1941.
➦In 1979...ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, made its debut on US cable TV as the world’s first fulltime sports TV channel.
➦In 1985...Newcomer John Parr hit #1 on this date with "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", overtaking "The Power of Love" from Huey Lewis & the News.
Tina Turner had #3--"We Don't Need Another Hero", swapping places with Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love". The rest of the Top 10: Bryan Adams from Reckless with "Summer of '69", Dire Straits with their biggest hit since "Sultans of Swing" in 1979--"Money for Nothing", Kool & the Gang and "Cherish", Phil Collins with his fifth consecutive Top 10 song "Don't Lose My Number" and Prince registered his 16th hit "Pop Life", with exactly half of those reaching the Top 10
➦In 1991...A pretty good Top 10 on this date--something you usually didn't find after about 1986--Bryan Adams scored week #5 at the top with "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Paula Abdul moved up to challenge with "The Promise of a New Day" and Boyz II Men were up from 9 to 3 with "Motownphilly". C+C Music Factory had the #4 song--"Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..." and KLF had song #5 with "3 A.M. Eternal". The rest of the Top 10: Color Me Badd moved from 15 to 6 with "I Adore Mi Amor", Seal's first release "Crazy" hit #7, the Scorpions owned the #8 position with "Wind of Change", Michael Bolton enjoyed his 11th hit "Time, Love and Tenderness" and Hi-Five dropped with "I Can't Wait Another Minute".
➦In 1999…Viacom announced plans to buy CBS.
➦In 2012...WEPN 1050 AM om NYC switched to ESPN Deportes
CBS's board is deep in settlement talks with CEO Les Moonves that would result in his departure from the company and the appointment of COO Joe Ianniello as the interim CEO, according to CNBC, citing people close to the negotiations.
Les Moonves
The talks between Moonves and his board have been going on for some time but have yet to reach a conclusion given continued back and forth about his exit package.
While under his contract he is due as much as $180 million in severance and a production deal, sources say the board is offering a roughly $100 million exit package made up almost entirely of CBS stock and wants the right to claw back some of that compensation if at the conclusion of an ongoing investigation into charges of sexual harrassment, Moonves has been found to have committed other inappropriate acts.
As was widely reported Wednesday, CBS and its controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc. are currently negotiating a settlement to end their litigation about whether the CBS board has the right to vastly dilute the voting power of NAI. While it is possible the settlement with Moonves and between CBS and NAI could be announced simultaneously, sources tell me they are not linked.
U.S. political advertising for this year’s midterm elections will climb 8% to $8.9 billion versus the same election four years ago, according to Borrell Associates. Digital media spending is forecast to see skyrocketing gains.
According to MediaPost, the local advertising research company says less than one-third of all political money has already been spent. Borrell raised its earlier revenue estimates by $400 million. Overall political midterm spending will hit record levels this year.
Broadcast TV is projected to get the bulk of the overall spending -- $3.5 billion -- although Borrell says its share of the market is a quarter of what it was four years ago: a 40% share.
Digital media will see spending soar -- to $1.8 billion, for a 20% share. It was $70 million in 2014, according to Borrell
This year, it expects display will command the biggest part of digital, at $706 million. Digital video will hit $373 million, while email marketing will get to $362 million and search will reach $353 million. Overall, the researcher says more than 60% of every dollar will go toward social networks in terms of display and video advertising.
Cable TV is projected to get to $1.1 billion (12.5% share). Radio will see $689 million (7.7%); newspapers/magazines, $723 million (8.1%); telemarketing, $501 million (5.6%); out-of-home, $406 million (4.5%); direct mail, $225 million (2.5%); and other print, $100 million.
In the report, Borrell says: “There are more dollars flowing to races below the state level than we initially anticipated. That will principally benefit local media, including TV, radio, newspapers and cable.”
A new report from Morning Consult reveals consumer opinions of Nike have shifted rapidly since announcing their new campaign with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Across nearly every demographic, perceptions of Nike’s brand have fallen, including among key consumer groups.
The report features over 8,000 interviews conducted among American adults, including 1,694 interviews pre-campaign launch (8/26/18 – 9/3/18) and 5,481 interviews post-campaign launch (9/4/18 – 9/5/18). Additionally, Morning Consult conducted a study among 1,168 adults in the U.S. about Nike’s ad and the decision to choose Kaepernick as the face of the campaign.
Key Findings
Nike’s Favorability Drops by Double Digits: Before the announcement, Nike had a net +69 favorable impression among consumers, it has now declined 34 points to +35 favorable.
No Boost Among Key Demos: Among younger generations, Nike users, African Americans, and other key demographics, Nike’s favorability declined rather than improved.
Purchasing Consideration Also Down: Before the announcement, 49 percent of Americans said they were absolutely certain or very likely to buy Nike products. That figure is down to 39 percent now.
The Effect on the NFL Seems Small, For Now: Forty percent of consumers said Nike’s campaign does not make them more or less likely to watch/attend NFL games — 21 percent said more likely and 26 percent said less likely (14 percent didn’t know).
