Comcast Reports Revenue Miss

Comcast reported earnings for its first quarter of 2019 before the markets opened on Thursday. The stock dipped slightly on the news then was flat during pre-market trading, according to CNBC.

Here are the numbers Comcast reported:

• Earnings per share: 76 cents, adjusted vs. 68 cents expected, per Refinitiv survey of analysts
• Revenue: $26.859 billion vs. $27.203 billion expected, per Refinitiv survey
• High-speed internet customers: 375,000 vs. 353,000 net adds expected, per FactSet consensus estimate

Comcast said its revenue miss was due in part to the difficulty in comparing this quarter with the first quarter of 2018 based on the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl, which occurred in that period last year. Comcast had beaten estimates on the top and bottom lines for the last two straight quarters and seen its stock rise 25% over the past 12 months.

As analysts continue to anticipate a decline in Comcast’s video segment, the company has laid out plans to branch out further into streaming. This quarter Comcast lost 121,000 video customers compared to 96,000 during the same period last year.

Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, announced earlier this year that it will debut its free, ad-supported streaming service in the first quarter of 2020. The service will be available to any traditional pay-TV subscriber by logging in through a cable or satellite provider. Everyone else can sign up for about $12 per month.

Comcast reported revenue of $8.3 billion for NBCUniversal, a 12.5% decrease compared to the previous year, which had included $1.6 billion in incremental revenue based on the Olympics and Super Bowl.

Comcast’s report included performance for British broadcaster Sky for the second time following its acquisition last year. Comcast reported pro forma Q1 revenue for Sky of $4.8 billion, driven mainly by higher content revenue. Sky added 112,000 customer relationships for the quarter, which Comcast said reflected growth in all of its markets.

Here’s how Comcast’s other divisions did for the first quarter:

• Cable communications accounted for $14.3 billion in total revenue.
• Cable networks, excluding the Olympics, accounted for $2.9 billion in total revenue.
• Broadcast television, excluding the Olympics and Super Bowl, accounted for $2.5 billion in total revenue.
• Filmed entertainment brought in $1.8 billion in total revenue.
• Theme Parks brought in $1.3 billion in revenue.

WTOP Again Tops Best Radio Billing List

BIA Kelsey has released its Top Ten list of the Top billing radio stations in the U-S.

And there's a familiar station topping the list: Hubbard's Radio's All-News WTOP in Washington DC.

BIA reports that in 2018 WTOP’s revenue jumped to $69 million. That’s up from $67.8 million in 2017. In the past four years, as the number one billing radio station, WTOP revenue totals $270 million.

Mark Fratrik, SVP and Chief Economist, BIA Advisory Services stated, “Although local radio stations are still important players in their markets and are managing to maintain their position in the top five advertising platforms, we do expect the OTA advertising revenue of U.S. radio stations to decrease this year by 1-2 percent and through the next few years.”

He forecasts that combined radio revenues will remain relatively flat for at least the next five years, while digital platforms will hit $1 billion by 2020.

Phoenix Radio: Dee Garcia Joins KOOL-FM Morning Show

Dee Garcia

Entercom welcomes Dee Garcia as co-host of the morning show on Classic Hits KOOL 94.5 FM in Phoenix. Dee joins Nicholaus “Niko” Petrou on “The Niko Show,” airing weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. MT.

“Dee is a very talented market veteran and we are happy to have her join the KOOL family,” said Dave Pugh, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Phoenix. “Her and Niko will combine to form a fresh show as their listeners get ready for their day ahead.”

“I am honored to join Niko on ‘The Niko Show’ on KOOL,” said Garcia. “Niko and Abe [Producer, 94.5 KOOL FM] are positive, fun and hardworking; they are exactly the kind of people that you want to share your mornings with. I’d like to give a special thanks to Dave Pugh and Tim Richards [Program Director, 94.5 KOOL FM] for believing in me. I’m looking forward to bringing a daily dose of energy and fun to The Valley.” 

Prior to joining the station, Garcia served as an on-air personality for KMVA in Phoenix. She has held on-air roles for KKFR in Phoenix, WWKX in Providence, RI, KWYD in Boise, ID and KBFM in McAllen, TX. Garcia also serves as voice over talent for The Mix Group and has been heard on various radio stations throughout the country, including sister station Q100.5 (KXQQ-FM) in Las Vegas.

Listeners can tune in to 94.5 KOOL FM (KOOL-FM) in Phoenix on air, as well as nationwide on the RADIO.COM app and website. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Ft. Myers Radio: Beasley Makes Programming Changes

Matt Mangas

Beasley Media Group has announced the following programming changes at the company’s Ft/ Myers radio cluster:

WJPT 106.3 FM Program Director and Morning Personality Matt Mangas will walk down the hall to become the new Program Director and Midday Personality at WRXK 96.1 FM. Mangas originally joined WJPT in December of 2017.

Chris Randolph has been named as the new Program Director and Morning Show Personality at WJPT-FM. He most recently served as the Night host at WAKY in Louisville, KY.

Both individuals will officially begin their new positions on May 6th, 2019.

Chris Randolph

“Both Matt and Chris are proven and experienced programmers,” said Beasley Media Group Executive Vice President of Programming Justin Chase. “These two great radio brands are in the hands of winners!”

“I have worked closely with Matt Mangas for years and have witnessed his passion and programming knowledge first hand,” said Operations Manager Adam Star. “He made it an easy decision to move him cross the hallway from WJPT to lead WRXK as the new Program Director.”

Star added, “Trying to find a replacement for Mangas on WJPT was a challenge until we met Chris Randolph. Randolph’s velvet voice and extensive Major market experience was a perfect fit to win on WJPT as the new Program Director & Morning man.”

Entercom, Nielsen Ink Long-Term Measurement Deal

Entercom and Nielsen have announced a multi-year strategic agreement for a comprehensive suite of measurement tools aimed at enhancing Entercom’s data-driven capabilities for advertisers.

As part of the agreement, Entercom will enhance its portfolio of Nielsen tools with new products including Nielsen Media Impact, RHIZA, Nielsen Marketing Cloud and the Tally Engine API. The agreement also includes other Nielsen products, such as the Nielsen Radio Market Report, Tapscan, and the nationwide and national regional database, as well as Arbitrends, Weeklies, PD Advantage Web, Gracenote and The Analysis Tool, in select markets across Entercom’s robust portfolio of 235 radio stations.

Nielsen Media Impact is the industry-leading cross-platform media planning solution. In 2018, Nielsen Media Impact introduced the addition of national AM/FM radio in Portable People Meter radio markets, allowing media buyers to understand the value of radio and the incremental reach achieved by including radio in the media mix.

“We are excited about the possibilities that this portfolio of measurement tools brings to our business,” said Weezie Kramer, Chief Operating Officer, Entercom. “This agreement is part of our strategy to demonstrate the impact of including radio in an advertiser’s media mix to deliver optimal campaign reach and frequency.”

“As an industry leader, Entercom is on the vanguard of all things audio,” said Brad Kelly, Managing Director, Nielsen Audio. “Nielsen is pleased to continue our long standing collaborative relationship with Entercom. Despite the fragmentation that exists across the broader media ecosystem, radio remains remarkably resilient with American consumers. Effective measurement and documentation of this consumer dynamic is central to Nielsen’s core mission. Entercom is a trusted and indispensable partner as we evolve the Nielsen Audio suite of services to better understand and demonstrate audio’s unique relationship with listeners and its exceptional value proposition for advertisers large and small.”

Rush Limbaugh Faithful To Terrestrial Radio

Syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh Wednesday told listeners why his show is not available on SiriusXM.

According to Limbaugh, it's all about loyalty...to traditional radio.

During his Wednesday broadcast, Rush share that he is often asked, “Rush, why aren’t you on satellite?”

Accord to El Rushbo, there’s one word that answers this, but it requires some explanation.

"The word is “loyalty,” says Limbaugh.

"When this program started, there was no satellite radio. Not commercially broadcast. There were satellite uplinks; programming was delivered this way, but not to the consumer. Without radio stations, this program would never have happened. Without the loyalty of radio stations, this program would never have happened. We’re on 600-plus of some of the greatest radio stations in the country, and I wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t have enjoyed the immense success that we’ve all enjoyed without them.

"I have never thought, I’ve never even considered ditching them. Even keeping the program on radio and going to satellite, that would not be fair to the affiliates who have been with me from the get-go.

"So that’s why. Some of you say, “Well, if it was on satellite, I could get you when I’m driving around parts of the country that there aren’t any radio signals.” I understand that. That’s why there’s the RushLimbaugh.com app now. You may not be able to get an AM radio signal some places, but you can get cellular."

Gracies Awarded To 5 Cumulus, Westwood One Personalities

L-R: Jayde Donovan, Elaina Smith,Jillian Barberie, Roula Christie, Tara Granahan (Jockline Daily composite)

• Westwood One Nationally Syndicated Host Jayde Donovan for Host/Personality, Weekend Program-National;
• Westwood One Nationally Syndicated Host Elaina Smith for Podcast Host, Entertainment;
• Jillian Barberie, Co-Host for KABC Los Angeles’ “The Morning Drive” for Co-Host (Talk/Personality), Large/Major Market-Local;
• Roula Christie, Morning Host for KRBE-FM’s “The Roula and Ryan Show”, for Host Morning Drive, Large/Major Market-Local;
• Tara Granahan, Midday Talk Host for NewsTalk 99.7 FM & AM 630 WPRO, for Radio Host, Non-Morning Drive (Talk/Personality) Program, Small/Medium Market-Local

Cumulus Media announces that the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) will honor Cumulus programming and personalities with a total of five 2019 Gracie Awards, which celebrate women by recognizing their outstanding achievements and exemplary programming created by, for and about women in all facets of media and entertainment.

Among this year’s honorees are two-time Gracie winner Jayde Donovan, Host of the Westwood One nationally syndicated weekend radio program, “The Jayde Show”, who earned a Gracie for Radio Host/Personality, Weekend Program-National; Westwood One nationally-syndicated host Elaina Smith, who earned a Gracie for Podcast Host, Entertainment, for “Women Want to Hear Women”; Jillian Barberie, Co-Host for KABC-FM Los Angeles’ “The Morning Drive”, who earned a Gracie for Co-Host (Talk/Personality), Large/Major Market-Local; Roula Christie, Morning Host, “The Roula and Ryan Show”, KRBE-FM, Houston, TX, who earned a Gracie for Host Morning Drive, Large/Major Market-Local; and Tara Granahan, Midday Talk Host on NewsTalk 99.7 FM & AM 630 WPRO, Providence, RI, who earned a Gracie for Radio Host of a Non-Morning Drive (Talk/Personality), Small/Medium Market-Local.

The 44th annual Gracie Awards support AWMF’s educational programs, charitable activities, public service and scholarship initiatives that benefit the public and women in media. Jayde Donovan and Elaina Smith will accept their Gracie Awards along with fellow national honorees including: Sandra Oh, Patricia Arquette, Leah Remini, Connie Britton, Rachel Maddow, Elizabeth Perkins, Tisha Thompson, Rachel Bloom, Maura Tierney and Robin Roberts, on May 21, 2019, at the 44th annual Gracie Awards Gala at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Jillian Barberie, Roula Christie, and Tara Granahan will accept their Gracie Awards on June 26, 2019, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, at the Gracies Awards Luncheon honoring local market and student award winners.

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (formerly known as The Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television) supports and promotes educational programs, charitable activities, public service campaigns and scholarships to benefit the public, the electronic media and allied fields.

Westwood One News Earns Another Prestigious News Award

Westwood One News has won its second consecutive Sigma Delta Chi award from The Society of Professional Journalists for Radio Breaking News Coverage Reporting, this year for its coverage of the Parkland Florida School shooting and aftermath in February, 2018.

 The “Radio Breaking News Reporting Award” recognizes resourceful and complete coverage of a major breaking news event, emphasizing both deadline reporting and continuing coverage as the story develops over succeeding days. The judges called Westwood One News’ coverage “riveting, with lots of details and eyewitness accounts.” Last year Westwood One Newswon for its coverage of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.

The Sigma Delta Chi award comes less than a week after Westwood One News won the National Headliner award for radio breaking news for its Parkland school shooting coverage.

The awards illustrate the scope and scale of the on-scene reporting and eyewitness accounts, live anchored special reports, newscasts and contributions from the entire Westwood One News staff.

Westwood One News, airing on more than 900 stations, launched in January 2015. It was created to offer radio stations greater flexibility and local branding opportunities and enable them to integrate comprehensive network news coverage into their local operation. What can Westwood One News do for your station? Learn more by contacting Jim Jones at jimjones@westwoodone.com or (202) 840-7933.

Facebook Expects $5B FTC Fine

Facebook stock rose as much as 9% in after-hours trading despite the company announcing that it could take a one-time charge of as much $5 billion due to an ongoing Federal Trade Commission inquiry.

According to CNBC, the company exceeded revenue expectations and matched estimates for its daily active user growth. Here’s what Facebook reported:

• Earnings: 85 cents per share (can’t be compared to analyst expectations because of a one time charge)
• Revenue: $15.08 billion, vs. $14.98 billion, forecast by Refinitiv
• Daily active users: 1.56 billion, vs. 1.56 billion forecast by FactSet
• Monthly active users: 2.38 billion, vs. 2.37 billion forecast by FactSet
• Average revenue per user: $6.42, vs. $6.39 forecast by FactSet

The company said it counts 2.7 billion monthly users across the its family of apps, which is unchanged compared to last quarter. Facebook saw its user base in Europe grow to 286 million daily active users, up from 282 million last quarter. The company’s user base in the U.S. and Canada remained flat quarter-to-quarter at 186 million. The company said average revenue per user was $6.42, up 16% from $5.53 a year ago.

The FTC has been probing Facebook since March 2018 following reports that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly access the data of 87 million Facebook users. To date, the FTC’s biggest fine against a tech company was in 2012 when Google agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty due to its privacy practices.

Mark Zuckerberg

The company is undergoing a major transition from News Feed ads as it grows ad revenue from its newer Stories products. CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp’s Stories features now have 500 million daily active users, joining Instagram, which hit that mark in January. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday said the company now has 3 million advertisers using Stories ads across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.

Stories was the largest contributor of year-to-year impression growth for the company during the first quarter, Chief Financial Officer David Wehner told analysts on Wednesday.

During the call with analysts, Zuckerberg touched on his March call for regulation, saying he doesn’t think people “want private companies making so many decisions around speech, elections and data privacy without a more robust democratic process.”

“There should be a public process for determining what is allowed and required for keeping harmful content to a minimum,” he said.

The company’s shift to privacy will “be a central focus for the company for the next five years or longer,” Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. He added that he does not expect the privacy pivot to be a real contributor to Facebook’s business for “the next couple of years.”

Click Here for Zuckerbeg's podcast.

Envision Webinar Offers Tips To Make Air Talent Great

In an Envision Networks’ first, a successful video version of the popular Coffee with Envision webinar series was conducted on April 23. The webinar, held in conjunction with SuiteRadio, featured a roundtable of top-market programmers and air personalities who shared their 5 tips for air talent to implement right away to be successful.

The “Air Talent Is Great! Building Up Personalities That Listeners Love” video is now available online for FREE.

General Managers, programmers and air talent attended the webinar to see moderator Cruz and personalities Steve Robison, Donna McKenzie, Pam Kelly and Rowdy Yates give solid advice and tell personal stories from their careers that will help others produce better shows. 

The 5 tips discussed throughout the webinar were how to talk to your listeners, respecting the music, living inside each break, knowing your listeners and it’s not always about the clock.

"The webinar was a blast for the SuiteRadio personalities who participated, and I'm thrilled by the level of talent and the great information they shared,” said Cruze, president of SuiteRadio. “There's no doubt that personality is the single most important element separating broadcast radio from playlists and algorithms, and I'm excited that we could offer the tips and share our enthusiasm."

Click Here To Watch The Webinar.

For more information on Coffee with Envision, contact Dave Hintz at 216.831.3761 or daveh@envisionnetworks.com.

Alexa Knows Where You Live

Amazon employees charged with auditing Alexa users' commands can access customer location data and home addresses, according to Bloomberg.

The Alexa review team is based on three continents and transcribes, annotates and evaluates a percentage of voice recordings Alexa picks up, to help the digital voice assistant adapt to and respond to commands, according to Bloomberg, citing five employees familiar with the program.

But the employees told Bloomberg that access to Alexa customers' geographic coordinates can easily be used to find home residences through third-party mapping software. While there is no evidence that the data has been used to locate individual users so far, members of the team told Bloomberg they were concerned Amazon was granting overly broad data access that could easily be used to identify individual users.

"Anytime someone is collecting where you are, that means it could go to someone else who could find you when you don't want to be found," Lindsey Barrett, a staff attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown Law's Communications and Technology Clinic, told the publication.

While much of the information stored by the software can't be traced back to individual users, Amazon also collects location data to allow Alexa devices to answer requests specific to local conditions such as restaurants or weather. An Amazon team member gave Bloomberg a demonstration in which they pasted a user's coordinates into Google Maps and were able to find their address, according to The Hill.

Opry Entertainment, Gray TV To Launch Country Lifestyle Channel

Opry Entertainment Group has announced it has teamed with Gray Television to launch a new linear multicast and over-the-top channel dedicated to country music and the country lifestyle.

The new service, which will be based in Nashville and is set to launch next year, will feature content that highlights country music artists and the passions, hobbies and love of music they share with their fans.

The joint venture will link Opry Entertainment’s network of entertainment venues, programming archives, and licensed and original content to Gray’s television and streaming presence. Gray Television offers coverage in 93 U.S. markets (including 24 percent of U.S. households), while together, Gray Television and Opry Entertainment Group’s parent company Ryman Hospitalities reach a combined monthly digital audience of 46.6 million.

The companies expect to launch the channel across television stations located throughout the country, including those owned by Gray. Digital media executive Drew Reifenberger will lead the staffing, development and launch as General Manager for the joint venture.

Colin Reed

Colin Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ryman Hospitality Properties said, “For more than 93 years, the Grand Ole Opry has provided a platform for country music fans to discover and connect with artists. This partnership with Gray is the next step in the continued evolution of our Company’s position as a country music discovery point for fans. Its distribution network closely aligns with our fan base and will allow us to quickly scale our delivery of existing and original artist-centered content to help reach the 110 million country music fans in the United States.”

Pat LaPlatney, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Gray, said, “We have believed for some time that tremendous opportunity exists to bring differentiated entertainment offerings that celebrate country music to our audience base. Opry Entertainment’s unparalleled history in the country music industry combined with their special and enduring relationship with the artist community makes them a natural partner to help us deliver this premium content to our local communities.”

Scott Bailey, President of Opry Entertainment, said, “Country music fans have long been known to be tremendously dedicated to the genre. As a company, we have recognized that there is a gap for these consumers in where they can go to watch great artist-centered programming on any device, wherever they happen to be. We believe there is a significant opportunity to become the category leader in country lifestyle entertainment and to play an important role in delivering this content and experience.”

Jedediah Bila Lands Fox & Friends Weekend Gig

Jedediah Bila

Fox News announced Wednesday it has named Jedediah Bila, an alumna of ABC's "The View," as a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," according to The Hill.

Bila first joined Fox News as a contributor in 2013 before joining the ABC roundtable opinion program for the 2017-2018 season. She rejoined Fox News in 2018 as a contributor and has guest co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend" for the past several months.

“The opportunity to co-host a program within the FOX & Friends franchise is truly an incredible milestone in my career. I am really excited to build an even stronger relationship with FNC’s loyal viewers and to spend weekends doing great work with an amazing team," Bila said Wednesday in a network release.

Bila's first day in her permanent role will be Saturday. She will join co-host Pete Hegseth and a rotating third co-host, according to the network.

“Jedediah’s thoughtful analysis and endearing personality have cultivated a connection with our audience that has grown exponentially over time. We are confident that she will make an excellent addition to the FOX & Friends family," Lauren Petterson, senior vice president of morning programming and talent development, said in the announcement.

Study: Twitter Really Is An Echo Chamber

A tiny fraction of the Twitter’s ­users are responsible for the lion’s share of tweets — and they tend to be younger, wealthier and more liberal than the national average, according to a Pew Research Center study published Wednesday.

“Twitter users as a group express distinct opinions relative to the public as a whole on some political values, particularly when it comes to views having to do with race, immigration and gender,” researchers wrote.

And they are responsible for an outsized share of messages posted to the platform, reports The NYPost.

About 22 percent of Americans use Twitter.

And roughly 10 percent of those users are responsible for 80 percent of tweets — meaning just 2 percent of Americans are contributing to a majority of the site’s dialogue, the researchers noted.

The prolific tweeters send out missives about 138 times a month — while most users post just twice monthly, found the study found.

The “tweeple” are also disproportionately women who post regularly about politics, according to Pew.

And of all Americans who lean toward either major political party, 52 percent lean Democrat, while 60 percent of Twitter ­users lean that way.

Fewer people, meanwhile, lean Republican on the site (35 percent) than in real life (43 percent).

Politics aside, however, the views of “Twitter users are not dramatically different from those expressed by all US adults,” the researchers wrote.

Twitter represents just a thin slice of American demographics. The country is nearly split between people ages 18 to 49 and those 50 and older. But 73 percent of US tweeters are under 50.

Researchers based their findings on a 2018 survey of 2,791 ­users who agreed to share their Twitter handles with them.

R.I.P.: Morris James, Former Ozark Radio Newsman

Morris James

One of the biggest news voices in Ozarks radio history has been silenced after the passing of former KTTS News Director Morris James.

James passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. according to The Ozark Independent.

“He was an award-winning newsman who has great relationships with his listeners, his news sources and his entire community,” current KTTS News Director Don Louzader told OI. “Morris had a great sense of humor and was a genuinely nice guy.”

James served two tours as KTTS News Director, first from 1974 to 1982 and then 1998 to 2004.