NFL Browns Express Excitement Over New Radio Deal

Jim Donovan

Excitement reigned as the Cleveland Browns announced their new radio partnership with 92.3 The Fan, ESPN 850 WKNR and 98.5 WNCX at the Cleveland Browns’ Berea training facility on Thursday.

Beginning in the 2013 season, the Browns will have a “triplecast” of their games on three local radios through a partnership with 92.3 The Fan, WKNR and WNCX.

According to Matt Florjancic at clevelandbrowns.com,  the partnership will allow the Browns to have more than 1,000 hours of radio programming throughout the entire year, more than double what the team had during the 2012 season.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Jim Donovan, the radio voice of the Browns since 1999. “It’s a very unique deal, really, the first of its kind in the NFL to have three stations covering the Cleveland Browns. It’s really a testament to the appetite and how big it is for Browns fans to get coverage of their football team.

“It’s 24 hours a day, 12 months a year, seven days a week, so the more, the merrier. It carries on a tremendous tradition of the Browns and radio. It’s such a precious thing in the town, the coverage of the football team, that I’m excited for the stations. I hope they’re excited to be a part of the Browns’ family.”

The radio deal will kick off in time for the 2013 NFL Draft, which starts Thursday, April 25, and goes through Saturday, April 27.

Between the three stations, the Browns will have nine daily/weekly radio shows, as compared to one each for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.

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NJ101-5’s Jim Gearhart NJBA-HOF Bound

Jim Gearhart

Townsquare Media-NJ is congratulating  WKXW New Jersey 101-5 FM Personality Jim Gearhart on his nomination and confirmed inductee to the NJBA Hall Of Fame.

Gearhart has reigned as morning voice  for 23 years on New Jersey 101.5 and he’ll be inducted at the NJBA’s 66th Annual Conference this summer in Atlantic City.

According to a posting on the station website Gearhart will be acknowledged for providing quality content, news, public affairs and diverse entertainment to New Jersey. 

“Jim’s contributions to the longevity and success of our industry in New Jersey will be recognized.”

Raleigh Radio: What’s Up At CC’s ‘The River’?

Update 4/1 9:30AM: At 9am after stunting with a loop of AC/DC’s “Back In Black” 100.7 relaunched as “Classic Rock 100.7 WRDU”.    At the same time its recent call letters of WTKK have moved to 106.1 FM as “Rush Radio rebrands.

UPDATE Sunday 11:30AM: ‘The River’ is airing sweepers this weekend that state ‘The River has dried-up”. Listeners can expect more info Monday 4/1 at 9am.

Earlier posting....

Kitty Kinnin

Will The River run dry in Raleigh?  Word came Thursday via morning show host Kitty Kinnin’s Facebook page that she it out. (Although as of Friday morning, she was still listed on the station website).

She cites “different direction” at the station where she’s been morning show Host & Host/Producer of The Sunday Brunch on 100.7 The River in Raleigh, NC.

The Radio Discussions Board is humming about The River 100.7, which just this week has adopted new calls WTKK.  They were last used by Greater Media-Boston for its former talk station.

WTKK 60dBU Coverage Area

It should be noted that April 1^st is Monday.

Atlanta: CCM+E Blows up ‘Wild’ for Alternative Rock

Clear Channel Atlanta has flipped WWVA-FM  from rhythmic top 40 station Wild 105.7/96.7 to an alternative rock station called Radio 105.7.

This is filling a large gap on the FM dial left by the departure last fall of adult rock 92.9/Dave FM and alternative station 99X, according to Rodney Ho at aj.com.

Aly Young, last heard on another dead rock station Project 9-6-1, is the first DJ on the station, which changed over at noon today.

The station is also bringing back Jordin Silver, the former night jock on Project who will take over afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. Roche  (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Michael Jones (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) will be voicetracking from Clear Channel's rock station DC101 in Washington.

LISTEN-LINE: Click Here.

Wild 105.7 was deemed superfluous the minute it flipped Project 9-6-1 to top 40 Power 96.1 last August yet kept Wild around for more than six months. 

According to Ho, Clear Channel is positioning the station and it includes a quote from Clear Channel Atlanta honcho Matt Scarano.

SEE PLAYLIST: Click Here.

"Our goal is to offer Atlanta listeners a different genre of music while providing the best programming and listening experience available," said Matt Scarano, Market President, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Atlanta.  “The area is home to Talk, Hip Hop, Country, Top 40 and Classic Hits formats, but Radio 105.7 will bring fresh alternative music back to Atlanta – which is something our listeners are currently missing.”

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NFL Cleveland Browns Ink New Radio Deal

The Cleveland Browns have brought the city's two all-sports talk radio stations together for a long-term partnership that is believed to be the first of its kind in the NFL.

According to Crain’s Cleveland Business, the team on Thursday morning made it official that its games will be featured on three radio stations this season — WKNR-AM, 850; WKRK-FM, 92.3; and WNCX-FM 98.5. The latter two are CBS Radio affiliates, and WKRK, known as “The Fan,” is the chief rival of WKNR, an all-sports talk station owned by Beaver Dam, Wisc.-based Good Karma Broadcasting.

The Browns had been radio partners with Clear Channel since returning to the NFL in 1999, but the contract recently expired. When the team sent out feelers for its radio rights deal last fall, it was approached with a unique idea by a pair of competitors.

WKNR will air an official four-hour Browns pregame show, and The Fan will take over for two hours following the game.

“Cleveland Browns Daily,” hosted by Browns senior editor Vic Carucci, will remain on WKNR, but will expand from one to two hours each weekday. In addition, Browns coach Rob Chudzinski will host a weekly coach's show that will air on both all-sports talk stations.  Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken will continue in their play-by-play and analyst roles.

Clear Channel, which has radio rights for the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers, eventually dropped out of the running.

“I'm really excited,” Good Karma Broadcasting president and CEO Craig Karmazin said in an interview with Crain's. “It's been a long time coming, so it's really exciting that it will be a reality.”

Mr. Karmazin and ESPN Cleveland general manager Keith Williams likened the new agreement to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which has its games televised by CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV.

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iHeartRadio Music Fest Returns September

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced the return of its historic, two-day, star-studded music event – the iHeartRadio Music Festival. Back for its third consecutive year, the iHeartRadio Music Festival will return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 20 and 21, 2013.

Clear Channel also announced today its continued partnership with Macy's, the famed department store with over 800 locations nationwide, to bring back Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star, a campaign designed to spotlight America's emerging musicians and find one lucky artist or group to perform at the iconic iHeartRadio Music Festival.

The Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star campaign, back for its second year, will again conduct a nationwide search for new music. Clear Channel's industry experts and Macy's have selected 25 up-and-coming musicians to present to fans across America, who will then vote for an emerging artist who will be given a chance to perform alongside music's biggest stars at the iHeartRadio Music Festival 2013 and at Macy's Glamorama events this summer. Clear Channel listeners, iHeartRadio fans and Macy’s shoppers will select their favorite emerging talent and vote online at iheartradio.com/RisingStar or at iheartradio.com/Macys.

The artist with the most votes will perform at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. Voting begins April 1 and will run through May 12.

Radio Sees Online Growth Increasing at Faster Pace

Radio industry over-the-air revenues inched slightly upwards in 2012, increasing to $14.3 billion, a 1.5 percent change from the year before, according to the first edition of “Investing In Radio® Market Report,” a quarterly report published by BIA/Kelsey, adviser to companies in the local media industry.

That slight change is due in large part to the sluggish overall economy for 2012 and the increased competition radio faces in the local media market. The company also notes that station revenue mix will continue to shift somewhat and income from online advertising is expected to rise at a rate of about 10.8 percent annually over the next five years versus 2.5 percent from over-the-air.

For 2013, BIA/Kelsey forecasts over-the-air radio revenues should see 2.3 percent growth, or $14.7 billion, again due to the slightly stronger economy.

In 2012, online radio ad revenues reached $491 million, representing 3.3 percent for the industry. Markets such as Boston saw 14.2 percent in online radio revenue with overall numbers rising by 3.6 percent. BIA/Kelsey forecasts radio's online revenue growth will reach $818 million by 2017, while the industry's combined total revenue will reach $17 billion by 2017.

"As the digital marketplace continues to rise in all sectors of advertising, radio is improving its listener engagement online and benefitting from the value of its web and mobile assets," said Mark Fratrik, vice president and chief economist, BIA/Kelsey.

"Overall, the industry is still recognized as an important part of the media mix as it continues to meander around, rising slightly with the rate of inflation but not keeping up with the economy."

DC Radio: WTOP Again Tops Radio Billing Nationwide

Hubbard Radio's WTOP has once again taken in the most revenue among radio stations nationwide. The Washington area's top-rated all-news station collected $64.6 million in 2012, up from $64 million in 2011, according to a story at bizjournals.com.

Los Angeles station KIIS, home to Ryan Seacrest, ranked second again this year. The station, owned Clear Channel Communications Inc., recorded $56.8 million in 2012 revenue, down from $57 million in 2011. New York's WHTZ, also owned by Clear Channel, was third with $48.2 million, up from $48.1 million.

Eight of the top 10 billing radio stations are in Los Angeles or New York. Besides WTOP, the only other top 10 biller outside of the nation's two biggest markets is WBBM in Chicago, an all-news station owned by CBS Radio Inc. It had $45.7 million in 2012 revenue, ranking sixth.

WTOP is the only top 10 biller not owned by CBS or Clear Channel, reports Jeff Claybaugh at the Washington Business Journal.

Chantilly-based media consulting company BIA/Kelsey Advisory Services said overall radio industry over-the-air revenues rose 1.5 percent last year to $14.3 billion. It forecasts a 2.3 percent increase in on-air revenue this year to $14.7 billion.

Top 10 billing radio stations in 2012, according to BIA/Kelsey:

• $64.6 million, WTOP, D.C.
• $56.8 million, KIIS, Los Angeles.
• $48.2 million, WHTZ, New York.
• $47.2 million, WCBS, New York.
• $46.0 million, KFI, Los Angeles.
• $45.7 million, WBBM, Chicago.
• $43.0 million, WLTW, New York.
• $41.5 million, WINS, New York.
• $41.0 million, WFAN, New York.
• $39.3 million, KROQ, Los Angeles.

MLB Broadcaster Tim McCarver Announces Retirement

Tim McCarver HOF Broadcaster

The upcoming season will be the last for baseball analyst Tim McCarver, who announced on Wednesday he will step away from the FOX broadcasting booth following this season.

According to mlb.com, McCarver, 71, said on a conference call Wednesday that he does not plan to negotiate a new contract with the network when his current one expires at the end of this summer. The two-time All-Star catcher has provided commentary on national television for a record 23 World Series and has covered 28 consecutive Major League Baseball postseasons.

"Although I am neither tired of broadcasting baseball nor have I in any way lost my interest in baseball, with which I have been associated as a player and broadcaster for 55 years, it's time to cut back," McCarver said.

"Tim McCarver has chronicled the national pastime on our biggest stages, including a record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games, for a generation of baseball fans," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "As an analyst, he has always thought like a manager in the dugout, and in the process he helped redefine what sports fans expected from the broadcast booth.

McCarver hit .271 with 97 homers and 645 RBIs while winning two World Series titles in a 21-year Major League career with the Cardinals, Phillies, Expos and Red Sox from 1959-80.

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NBC Denies Plans To Replace Matt Lauer

Matt Lauer

While rumors have spread like wild fire that Anderson Cooper is being eyed to replace Matt Lauer on "Today", a top NBC executive claims there's no plan for a shift on the morning program.

Aceshowbiz.com reports news executive Alex Wallace said on Wednesday, March 27, "Matt Lauer is the best in the business. We want him in the 'Today' show anchor chair for many years to come."

Wallace's denial came after Deadline reported that NBC's execs had reached out CNN news anchor Cooper about replacing Mauer as the "Today" host before the end of the year.

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St. Louis Radio: Miklasz Leaving WXOS

Bernie Miklasz

The major upheaval in St. Louis sports-talk radio now is shifting to hit the market leader in the format.

Bernie Miklasz is set to leave WXOS 101.1 FM to expand his duties at his primary employer, the Post-Dispatch and its STLtoday.com website.

According to Dan Caesar at stltoday.com, the move, announced Wednesday, is to take effect after Miklasz’s radio contract expires at the end of April.

Miklasz has been a Post-Dispatch sports columnist since 1989 and said a long thought process led to his decision to stop hosting a sports radio show — something he has been doing in St. Louis since he returned to the Post-Dispatch and succeeded Kevin Horrigan in giving his opinions on sports. Miklasz has mixed his writing work with stints at KMOX 1120 AM, KFNS 590 AM, what currently is KXFN 1380 AM.

His impending departure from hosting a midday sports-talk show comes at a time of unprecedented turmoil locally in the format. It recently was announced that KFNS, the longest-standing station in jock-jabber, will switch to ‘’guy-talk’’ this spring and its sister outlet, KXFN, will drop sports for programming that targets women.

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