News Corp Profit Surges

News Corp said quarterly profit rose nearly sixfold, driven by strong growth at its digital real-estate and book-publishing businesses as well as at Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co.

The New York-based media company, whose holdings include the Journal, HarperCollins Publishers and news organizations in the U.K. and Australia, reported a profit of $196 million, or 33 cents a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $34 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose by 18% to $2.5 billion, reports The Wall Street Journal.

On a call to discuss the company’s results, Chief Executive Robert Thomson touted content licensing payments from tech giants including Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.—as Facebook recently rebranded itself—which he said would “contribute annual revenues in the nine figures.”

The fastest growth came from the company’s real-estate services division, which posted a 47% rise in revenue to $426 million and 16% increase in segment earnings to $138 million. The division includes a majority stake in REA Group Ltd. , a publicly traded digital real-estate company based in Australia, and an 80% stake in Move Inc., an online real-estate business based in Santa Clara, Calif., that primarily operates the website Realtor.com.

News Corp’s news-media businesses saw advertising revenue improve, as the easing of the pandemic led marketers to increase their spending.

Dow Jones, the publisher of the Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch, reported a 15% rise in revenue to $444 million and a 32% increase in segment earnings to $95 million. The growth was primarily due to improved circulation and subscription revenue, higher advertising revenue and a $20 million contribution from the recent acquisition of Investor’s Business Daily, a financial news and research publication.

The Journal averaged more than 2.8 million digital-only subscribers in the quarter, up roughly 4% from over 2.7 million in the June quarter. Including the print edition, the Journal averaged 3.5 million subscribers for the period. Across the entire unit, Dow Jones reached an average 4.6 million subscribers in the quarter when including readers of Barron’s, MarketWatch, Financial News and Investor’s Business Daily.

News Corp’s news-media segment, which includes the Sun, the New York Post and the Times in the U.K., reported an 18% increase in revenue to $576 million, benefiting from higher revenue from digital subscribers and a rebound in the advertising market. The unit swung to a segment profit of $34 million, compared with a loss of $22 million a year earlier.

A busy news period has contributed to a digital subscription bonanza across the media sector. The New York Times on Wednesday said it notched one of its best quarters for digital subscription on record, adding 455,000 new online subscribers, 320,000 of which were for its core news offering and 135,000 were for lower-cost products such as Wirecutter, its product-review site.

Kenny Jay Joins Albright & O’Malley & Brenner Consulting

Longtime Country Programmer, record label executive and Consultant Kenny Jay joins Albright & O’Malley & Brenner as a VP/Consulting Partner.   A&O&B Chairman Emeritus Jaye Albright points out, “"When your Twitter handle is @kennyjayradio, that says it all and explains why we’re so thrilled to add a “K” and a “J” to AandOandB.  He’s gone from being a client of the company in his formative years, to making things happen for major radio stations and group owners. Plus he has worked on the music side at the highest level.  Kenny gets the culture of client-driven success that built our company from the start and yet, brings new ideas, perspectives and talents that will add much more to the services our clients have come to expect.”

Kenny Jay

According to founding partner Mike O'Malley, “Battle-tested doesn't begin to describe Kenny Jay. His successes as a Programmer spans all sized markets from Lacrosse, WI, to Seattle, and Chicago. He's a great thinker, strategist, organizer, and coach, as well as a fount of creative ideas. It's impossible to spend any time with Kenny Jay and not come away smarter and more inspired. I am thrilled to work alongside him and know our partner stations will reap enormous benefits from his presence at A&O&B.”

Partner Becky Brenner concurs, “Adding Kenny Jay to the A&O&B team is a no brainer.   His passion for content creation, knowledge of brand building, and success with talent development are contagious.  This man knows what it takes to create a winning radio station.”

Kenny Jay will begin working directly with all current A&O&B clients effective immediately as the company positions for further growth and service to media companies in the U.S. & Canada.   Kenny adds, “Having been a client, I know first-hand how passionate this team is about the country format and the work they do for their stations. I’m grateful to Jaye, Mike, and Becky for the opportunity to contribute to the success of their clients!

It was an early love of music, and the personal connection radio talent made with listeners that had Kenny interning in radio at the age of 16 and securing his first full time job at 18.

Spanning market sizes from 8,000 to 8,000,000, Kenny has programmed country radio stations across the U.S. for over 20 years.  Every position was a unique challenge including the launches of WUBB/Savannah and KMNB/Minneapolis, the turnaround of KMPS/Seattle, and the tight format battle in Chicago with WUSN.  

After Chicago, Kenny got a unique look at the music industry in various radio and content marketing roles with record labels and management.  “Seeing the entire business through those lenses has given me a unique perspective and new ways to spot opportunities for broadcast radio.”

Beyond winning numerous state broadcasting award honors, Kenny was named a top country PD by Billboard Magazine in 2016, CRS/Country Aircheck in 2019, and multiple times by Radio Ink. (2017-2019). 

Kenny can be reached at kenny@aandoandb.com.

Univision Rebounds With 37 Percent Revenue Jump

Spanish-language media giant Univision has been making a lot of changes since an ownership reorganization last year and grew core advertising 37% in the third quarter to $356 million, recovering from an upfront last year that CEO Wade Davis candidly says “was one of the worst in the company’s history,” according to TV Newscheck.

Univision reports that radio revenue rose 38.9% to $66.4 million in third quarter 2021, compared to $47.8 million for the same prior period. The return of advertisers and live events resulted in a 37.4% increase in ad revenue for the radio segment to $63.9 million, compared to $46.5 million one year ago. Total ad revenues at the Spanish-language media giant grew 20.3% year-over-year and were up 10.8% over pre-COVID 2019 levels.

Since the beginning of this year, Univision has hired more than 500 people, not only beefing up ad sales, but also adding functions that hadn’t previously existed, such as product design and development, next-generation data and analytics, and engineering.

The payoff? Davis points to a 17% improvement in ratings, with Univision’s networks now claiming 64% of Spanish-language viewership and 6.9% of total market — the highest ever.

He had something to report that we haven’t heard on any English-language TV company’s call this quarter.

Univision put in place a Washington, D.C.-based political ad sales operation for the 2020 election and increased political ad revenues by more than triple the 2016 election. That team is now expected to produce big results in the 2022 mid-terms.

“Historically, Univision’s gotten nowhere near its fair share of political advertising,” Davis noted.

“We’ve all read about the kind of tidal wave coming in political spend coming into the market. Obviously, our ability to perform is a function of the states we’re in and the states that have contentious races. And those line up well for us this year — we expect aggressive spending in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona. And the last thing I would say, with the Census data coming out, with Hispanic political affiliations being a little more fluid, it opens the door to spending from both parties,” the CEO said of next year’s campaigns.

Davis reported that all needed regulatory approvals have been obtained in Mexico for the pending merger of Univision with Televisa, but not yet in the U.S., although no issues have been raised. Rather than a fourth quarter closing, the companies are now looking to close early in the first quarter of 2022.

Entravision Reports Revenue Surge of 216 Percent

Entravision Communications reported third quarter net revenue was up 216% to $199 million from $62.9 million in 2020. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA gained 42% to $23.1 million from $16.3 million. Operating cash flow increased 50%, while free cash flow grew 112% $22.3 million from $10.5 million. The company posted a net income of $13.8 million (14 cents per diluted share) as compared to $9.06 million (11 cents) in the year-ago period.

"Entravision reported very strong results for the third quarter, with revenue improving 216% and adjusted EBITDA increasing by 42% over the prior-year period," said Chairman and CEO Walter F. Ulloa. "Thanks to the exceptional work of our entire team, we saw growth in core revenue across each of our business segments, with digital, in particular, making a significant contribution to our overall performance and now comprising 73% of total revenue."

Ulloa continued, "During the quarter, we continued to strengthen our digital segment, both organically and through acquisitions. At the end of August, we acquired the remaining 49 percent of Cisneros Interactive, which is now wholly-owned by us, expanding our reach in Latin America. Prior to that, in July, we acquired MediaDonuts, marking our entry into Southeast Asia."

The company announced Thursday that on November 1 it acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of stock of 365 Digital Media, a digital marketing solutions agency headquartered in South Africa, marking the company's entry into Africa, and bringing its digital presence to five continents. The transaction, funded from cash on hand, includes a purchase price of $1.9 million in cash.

Amazon Wants Us To Stop Talking to Alexa So Much

Amazon wants us all to stop talking to its Alexa voice assistant so much and get on with living our lives, reports CNBC.

Tom Taylor, senior vice president of Alexa, said “it may surprise you” that Amazon wants you to talk to Alexa less.

“We believe that the future of consumer technology is ambient intelligence, which uses AI to weave together devices and intelligent services,” Taylor said at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon. “This isn’t just more connected devices. It’s about adding intelligence throughout the system to make the devices better.”

The tech giants are all trying to improve their AI assistants so that they can anticipate what humans want and when they want it.

“It’s there when you need it and recedes into the background when you don’t,” Taylor said in reference to a future version of Alexa. Indeed, he said this would be the “next big leap forward” for technology inside and outside the home.

“Ultimately this means that you’ll reach for your phone a little bit less and you’re talking to Alexa less,” Taylor added. “It means you’re spending more time looking up at the world and the people in it.”


Amazon has already introduced Alexa Routines, which enables people to program Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices to perform certain actions at certain times. For example, turning off the thermostat when everyone leaves the house, or turning on local news when the alarm goes off in the morning.

These routines can also be triggered by sounds, such as a baby crying, and Amazon is introducing other triggers — including visual ones — according to Taylor. In September, Amazon introduced Ring custom event alerts that can be used to open a garage door when a package arrives, for example.

When Amazon introduced Alexa seven years ago, it was able to do just 13 relatively simple tasks like playing music. Today, there are more than 130,000 Alexa skills, Taylor said, adding that people interact with Alexa billions of times each week.

SiriusXM Radio: Launches ABBA Radio Channel

The limited-run channel celebrates the release of the Swedish quartet's first new studio album in 40 years, Voyage, also out November 5 via Capitol Records. 

ABBA Radio keeps the excitement going as a destination for listeners to have the full ABBA experience. With music from Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Björn Ulvaeus, that has sold millions of records across the globe and garnered massive pop-culture notoriety from the Broadway stage, TV and film, the channel will take listeners on a full musical journey.

ABBA Radio will feature classic favorites from the group's early career through their new songs from today. Björn and Benny will share insights on the new album, song by song, give a glimpse into their upcoming live stage show, and share memories of the band's early years and their work before ABBA. Additionally, listeners can expect to hear solo work from members of the group and cover versions of their most well-known hits.

ABBA Radio will be available, beginning tomorrow, via satellite on channel 54 through November 14, and on the SXM App through December 4.

"With the help of Björn and Benny, we are able to take some of the world's most enduring music and bring it to life again in one place for ABBA's legion of fans," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM. "ABBA's exuberant and iconic sound has inspired generations of pop music lovers around the world, and on this special channel we give listeners access to that rich catalog as well as celebrate their much anticipated new studio album."

Chicago Radio: Tribune Highlights Women In Male-Dominated Industry

Mix 101.9 FM Studio

Struck by what it says is a number of high-profile women departing radio jobs, the Chicago Tribune interviewed three dozen women in Chicago radio over the past 10 months, finding both enthusiasm for their work and widespread frustration with what many described as a male-dominated business. Ten women said they left their jobs because they were not happy with the way they were treated, while other female voices were reduced or silenced because of cost-cutting efforts by radio companies — including during the pandemic.

In Chicago, some station audiences can go hours without hearing a female host, according to the lengthy Tribune story.

“It’s unfortunate. The voices on the radio should reflect the community that they serve. Not only is it bad for women, but it’s bad for people of color,” said Lisa Dent, who lost her midday host job at WEBG  95.5 FM in September 2020 when the iHeartMedia station transitioned from country to rock. The Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee is currently heard on WGN 720 AM. “Outside of the Black radio stations in town, which are hugely successful and have great talent, you don’t hear many (Black) voices, especially women.”

Veteran radio personality Trish Biondo — a mainstay at WUSN-FM 99.5 until her 2013 exit — told the Tribune she had a “fabulous career” with “many wonderful bosses and co-workers” but left the country station after more than 27 years because of what she described as a “culture of unprofessionalism” that stemmed from station management’s attempt “to be edgier.”

Biondo said in a statement that before her departure she was “consistently presented” with material to talk about on air she “felt was degrading to women” and received a suggestion from one of her bosses to pose for a “strategically covered topless photo” for the station. Biondo, who now serves on the board of advisers for Loyola University’s School of Communication, also described the photo suggestion and other alleged incidents in a Facebook post in 2017, as the #MeToo movement gained steam.

“There are things that women have to deal with in radio that I think women have to deal with in every profession. You ignore it, overlook it and even laugh at it until one day you say it’s not worth it,” Biondo wrote to the Tribune. “When you leave, the standard line is ‘she wants to be with her family.’ The part they’re leaving out is ‘because it’s not worth being away from family to work in an environment like this.’ ”

When Biondo left US99, it and six other stations in the Chicago market were owned by CBS Radio, which merged with Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications in November 2017. One of several out-of-town broadcasting giants that operate multiple stations in Chicago, Entercom recently changed its name to Audacy.

Audacy declined to comment on alleged incidents from when CBS Radio owned its stations. In a statement to the Tribune, Audacy said “providing a working environment where employees of all genders, race and backgrounds thrive is a top priority, and we do not tolerate any forms of discrimination or harassment.”

➤Read More Here.

November 5 Radio History

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers

➦In 1911...Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye (Died of heart failure at age 86 - July 6, 1998). Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his golden palomino, Trigger; and his German shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, Rogers lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.

➦In 1946...This ad appeared in the NY Times...

➦In 1948...Jack Sterling started at WCBS 880 AM.

The "Jack Sterling Show," aired Monday to Friday from 1948 to 1966, was noted for its relaxed chatter, joking, storytelling, interviews, features on news and sports and tips on fishing sites.  For seven of those years Sterling hosted a TV Show in Philadelphia in a bid to launch a television career.

The show was one of the last radio programs to offer live music -- by a quintet occasionally joined by the host's drumming. Sterling succeeded Arthur Godfrey in the local show when that humorist joined the CBS network.

Sterling, a six-footer with a trim mustache and contagious laugh, described his style this way: "It isn't pleasant for most people to get up early in the morning, so we use the undersell, quiet approach."

Alec Cumming · Jack Sterling's Tenth Anniversary 11/6/58

At age 24, he turned to radio, working for stations in Peoria and Quincy, Ill.; St. Louis; Bridgeport, Conn., and Chicago. He worked for CBS and its affiliates for 25 years and retired in 1979.

Sterling died November 1, 1990 at his home in Stuart, Fla. He was 75 years old.

The Big Show with Tallulah Bankhead (far right)

➦In 1950...a 90-minute radio spectacular to battle the TV onslaught, 'The Big Show' was launched by NBC Radio. “The greatest stars of our time on one big program” was the introduction by hostess/actress Tallulah Bankhead.  It was a big show all right. The peacock saw red as losses exceeded a million dollars in the three years the program was on the air.

➦In 1988...The Beach Boys set two records with their #1 hit, "Kokomo." It  marked the group as having the longest gap between chart-toppers (21 years and ten months from 1966's "Good Vibrations") and the longest stretch of career #1s (dating back to their first, "I Get Around," 24 years and four months earlier).

➦In 1988...CBS flips KHTR St. Louis to oldies, continuing a year-long trend moving its FM stations from Top 40 to classic hits. By the winter book of 1989, the station improved to #2 in 12+.

➦In 2011…Longtime Pittsburgh radio personality Perry Marshall died at age 86. 

Born, Sheldon Roy Lewis, he worked as "Roy Silver" in Chicago before coming to Pittsburgh. In Chicago he began his career as a writer and editor of news at WBBM.

Perry Marshall

His first Pittsburgh radio job was at WPGH in 1951. From there, he became the morning deejay at WEDO in McKeesport using the name Roy Lewis.. He then became the first Top 40 Rock & Roll deejay in Pittsburgh at WEEP when it went top 40 in October, 1957.

He was given the name "Perry Marshall" when he went to work as a DJ at WEEP.  In 1961, it was back to Chicago and WIND. In March, 1963, Marshall reached 18% of the afternoon audience at WIND, while competing against WLS.

He returned to Pittsburgh and WTAE in the mid 1960's. He then became part of the talk format at WJAS in 1968. On November 6, 1972, Marshall joined KQV.

Perry remained at KQV until March, 1974 when he moved over to KDKA part time. That part time job led to long career at KDKA. Perry replaced Jack Wheeler in overnights at KQV and the rest is history. Perry retired from full time work at KDKA in May 1988.

(H/T:  to Jeff Roteman's KQV page)

Elke Sommer is 81

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Harris Yulin (“The Hurricane,” “Scarface”) is 84. 
• Actor Chris Robinson (“General Hospital”) is 83. 
• Actor Elke Summer is 81. 
• Singer Art Garfunkel is 80. 
• Singer Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits is 74. 
• TV personality Kris Jenner is 66. 
• Actor Nestor Serrano (“24″) is 66. 
• Comedian-actor Mo Gaffney is 63. 
• Actor Robert Patrick (“The X-Files”) is 63. 
• Singer Bryan Adams is 62. 
• Actor Tilda Swinton (“The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” ″Adaptation”) is 61. 
• Actor Michael Gaston (TV’s “Unforgettable,” “The Mentalist”) is 59. 

• 

  Tatum O'Neal is 58

  Actor-singer Andrea McArdle is 58. 
• Actor Tatum O’Neal is 58. 
• Singer Angelo Moore of Fishbone is 56. 
• Actor Judy Reyes (“Scrubs”) is 54. 
• Actor Seth Gilliam (TV’s “Teen Wolf”) is 53. 
• Keyboardist Mark Hunter of James is 53. 
• Actor Sam Rockwell is 53. 
• Country singers Jennifer and Heather Kinley of The Kinleys are 51. 
• Guitarist-keyboardist Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead is 50. 
• Actor Corin Nemec (“Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”) is 50. 
• Singer-guitarist Ryan Adams is 47. 
• Actor Sebastian Arcelus (“Madam Secretary,” ″House of Cards,”) is 45. 
• Actor Luke Hemsworth (“Westworld”) is 41. 
• Actor Annet Mahendru (“The Americans”) is 36.
• Guitarist Kevin Jonas of The Jonas Brothers is 34.

CMG Promotes Chris Eagan To VP/Audience, Operations

Cox Media Group has announced that Chris Eagan has been named VP of Audience and Operations, CMG Radio effective immediately. 

Eagan succeeds Steve Smith who resigned Wednesday as VP of Programming for Cox Media Group, a role he has held for the past decade. HSmith joined Cox as Director of Radio Programming in 2011 and had served as a consultant there since 1994. Smith’s previous roles include VP of Programming for Emmis and AMFM and Senior VP of Programming for then-Clear Channel.

In this role Eagan will lead the overarching programming strategy, audience development, and multiplatform distribution for CMG Radio. He will also lead the CMG Digital Content team and partnerships to drive innovation for CMG Radio.

Chris Eagan

Eagan previously served as Senior Director of Operations for CMG Atlanta Radio, where he led the continued evolution of operations, brand presence, and programming for CMG Atlanta radio’s top-rated brands B98.5 (WSB-FM), News Talk WSB (WSB-AM), 97-1 The River (WSRV-FM), and Kiss 104.1 (WALR-FM).

Eagan joined Cox Media Group in 2008 as the program director at WEZN. In 2012, he assumed the role of director of branding and programming, responsible for on-air programming for WSB-FM and WSRV-FM in Atlanta. He also provided expert consultation with six of CMG’s radio markets as AC/Hot AC Format Leader to achieve target ratings in the adult contemporary brand.

“There is nothing we love more than being able to promote internal talent to fill crucial roles such as this one,” said Rob Babin, SVP-Head of Radio. “Chris is an excellent leader who has demonstrated continued success in every role he has held at CMG. He has the unique ability to combine strategic vision, team alignment, and operational execution leading to successful outcomes. His experience partnering across CMG divisions and partners will be a tremendous asset to our team.”

Jaleigh Long, VP and General Manager of Atlanta radio added, “Eagan has been instrumental in recruiting top talent and connecting our premiere brands with the Atlanta audience for the past nine years. It’s remarkable to have him in this role to make a greater impact across CMG.”

A graduate of Emerson College, Eagan began his radio career holding various positions in Boston, Mass. and in Providence, R.I.

“This is an exciting time for our industry and our company, and I am honored to be tapped for this role,” said Eagan. “I look forward to working with our markets on further enhancing our award-winning radio brands and looking to the future for new partnerships and areas where we can grow our audiences”.

P1 Media Group Updates The Best Holiday Hits List

P1 Media Group and MRC Data have again tested the appeal of the 40 most-played and 40 most-streamed Christmas songs from the 2020 Holiday Season, a total of 60 unique songs, according to BDSradio, one of MRC Data's most widely used tools showcasing airplay, sales, and streaming side-by-side. 

P1 Media Group conducted a survey with radio listeners nationwide likely to listen to a local all-Christmas music radio station this holiday season.

For the fifth consecutive year "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms is America's #1 testing Christmas song. "Christmas music's appeal remains as strong as ever amongst American radio listeners who listen to All Christmas stations 'frequently' or 'sometimes' and personally enjoy Christmas music on a local radio station during the holiday season," said P1 Media Group Partner and co-founder Ken Benson.

"As we often see, there is lots to learn when we compare radio airplay to on-demand streaming data, even with holiday music. Understanding streaming data can help broaden the appeal of your station," added MRC Data Head of Independents Haley Jones.

A total of eight songs from the Top 40 most-streamed songs list tested better with likely Christmas radio listeners than eight songs from the Top 40 most-played songs list. The data suggests these eight songs can be played more on all-Christmas radio stations:

• Frank Sinatra - Jingle Bells (ranked #47 on the 2020 BDS Airplay chart)
• Jimmy Durante - Frosty the Snowman (#50)
• Perry Como - It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas (#69)
• Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run (#70)
• Earth Kitt - Santa Baby (#78)
• Dan Hathaway - This Christmas (#84)
• Michael Bublé - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (#182)
• Nat King Cole - Deck the Halls (#1,119)

The Holiday Classics rule the Top 20 including "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "two versions of "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock," and three versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" from 1994 is the newest song in the Top 20.

There are six new entries on the list for 2021:

#19 Amy Grant - Winter Wonderland
#32 Donny Hathaway - This Christmas
#35 Jackson 5 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
#36 Earth Kitt - Santa Baby (Madonna's version was #55 in 2020)
#53 Faith Hill - Where Are You Christmas
#56 Bing Crosby - Mele Kalikimaka

Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me," 2014, and Kelly Clarkson's "Underneath the Tree" from 2010 are the two highest testing original Christmas songs from the Millennium ranking #46 and #48.

🎅The Christmas Music Top 40:

ViacomCBS Reports Streaming Costs Drag Profits

ViacomCBS saw some increases in streaming revenue in Q3 2021. Paramount Pictures still didn’t pitch in all that much during the quarter — not from movie theaters, at least, reports The Wrap.

Wall Street had forecast ViacomCBS earnings per share (EPS) of 76 cents on $6.57 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance. ViacomCBS reported an adjusted EPS of 76 cents on $6.61 billion in revenue — so it was right in line with expectations, thanks to that adjustment.

Profits were down, however, compared to the same quarter in 2020. ViacomCBS’ Q3 expenses jumped 32% year over year.

ViacomCBS reported it had reached 42 million worldwide subscribers across Paramount+ and Showtime at the end of Q2. In February, so this is an increase of 4.7 million global streaming subscribers; ViacomCBS said it expects to reach 65-75 million combined global subscribers by 2024.

ViacomCBS’ streaming revenue rose 62% in the recently wrapped quarter, crossing $1 billion for the first time ever. Advertising revenue at Pluto TV and Paramount+ increased 48% year over year. Subscription revenue rose 79% on that combined Paramount+ and Showtime OTT growth.

Pluto TV, which is free for subscribers, saw revenue nearly double (+99%) year over year, with monthly active users (MAUs) increasing to more than 54 million. International was a big contributor there.

Film revenue slipped 2% this quarter. Though box office sales increased from just $6 million in summer 2020 quarter to $61 million, that’s still not a material number to a company this large. A decrease in licensing revenue more than offset that activity.

Theatrical releases in Q3 included “Paw Patrol: The Movie” and “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.” “Paw Patrol” was released in theaters and on Paramount+ on the same day, and was free with the streaming subscription.

“A Quiet Place Part II” made it to Paramount+ on July 12, following its 45-day theatrical window. “Snake Eyes,” which came out in theaters on July 23, is still only available on digital release and Blu-ray.

“ViacomCBS continued to show tremendous momentum across the business as we executed against our strategy,” Bob Bakish said in a statement accompanying the financial results. 

“We added 4.3M global streaming subscribers, raising our total to nearly 47M, driven by the scaling of the diverse content offering on Paramount+. Looking forward, we’re thrilled about the fresh array of content coming to Paramount+ in the next few months and can’t wait to share it with our global audience. Our strategy is clearly working and we’ll continue to use the power of global content, distribution and market expansion to drive scale.”

Cumulus Media Reports 3Q Exceeded Expectations

Cumulus Media Inc. has announced operating results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of CUMULUS MEDIA, said, "Our third quarter results exceeded expectations across the board, despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. This performance is yet another strong example of the continuing success of our evolution from a one-dimensional radio company to a multi-dimensional, audio-first media company. 

"We see significant and continued upside potential and multiple drivers of shareholder value, which include additional radio market recovery, several fast-growing digital business lines, attractive free cash flow conversion, a strong balance sheet and liquidity profile, and substantial optionality regarding future capital allocation.”

Key Highlights:

• Released new investor presentation on September 20th highlighting the Company’s strategic positioning and levers to drive future shareholder value – the presentation (updated through 3Q) can be found on our website
• Delivered continued positive revenue trajectory across all ad channels
• Increased total revenue by 21% year-over-year
• Increased digital revenue by 67% year-over-year
• Further strengthened balance sheet through cash generation, M&A and debt forgiveness
• Generated $13 million of cash from operations and $34 million of gross proceeds from Nashville land sale
• Finished quarter with total cash balance of $153 million
• Received forgiveness of $20 million of PPP Loans (after quarter end)
• Reported total debt of $826 million as of September 30th and net debt of $673 million, an approximately 45% reduction since June 30, 2018 ($653 million pro forma for PPP Loan forgiveness)
• Reiterating 2022 EBITDA guidance range of $175 - $200 million
• Implied 2022 revenue of approximately $1.0+ billion
• Maintain expectation of more than $70 million of permanent fixed cost reductions vs. 2019

Mary Berner

Berner used the quarterly call with analysts to talk up the company’s new strategic positioning as it moves from a traditional radio model to “the multi-product, multi-channel, on-demand, audio-first media company that we're building today.” Cumulus now generates “billions of monthly impressions from a wide variety of audio sources,” she explained, which its 800-person salesforce can sell in tandem with a complementary suite of digital marketing services. This “reimagination” of its core assets allows Cumulus to play in a $30 billion market of radio, digital audio and digital marketing services instead of just the $14 billion radio ad pool, reports Inside Radio

Digital, once again, was the quarter’s main growth driver, surging to $33.4 million, a 67.1% increase over $19.9 million one year ago. Digital now accounts for 14% of revenue and has plowed $115 million into the company’s topline during the past 12 months. The Cumulus Podcast Network generates more than one billion downloads a year, helping the company land in the top five on Podtrac’s ranker of the top podcast networks in Q3. Sales of digital marketing services to local businesses grew more than 50% in the quarter.