Official: Frank Ski Lands PM Drive At WHUR DC

Frank Ski

After months of anticipation and speculation, WHUR 96.3FM – Howard University announced today the new host of its coveted afternoon drive show is television and radio veteran Frank Ski.  He will make his debut on the Urban AC station on Monday, September 9th at 3 p.m.

Ski, a familiar voice to the Washington region, won the hearts of voting listeners and the coveted radio spot over nearly a dozen other broadcasting vets competing in “WHUR’s Next Big Voice Contest.”  Howard University Radio Network General Manager Jim Watkins says the news is exciting for WHUR and Washington’s radio listeners. “We are thrilled to welcome Frank to the WHUR family and we look forward to him bringing his love for radio and the community to the Washington region.”

“The Frank Ski Show” will be a mix of music; news and celebrity interviews; community activism; and lots of prizes and giveaways, providing listeners a well-balanced and intellectual perspective of urban radio.  “DC is like home for me.  This will be a powerful show featuring buzz-worthy pop culture and political topics ranging from election coverage to the latest antics of reality television,” said Ski.

Ski has a proven record of community engagement.  He has served as host and spokesperson for several charitable and educational initiatives, including the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, Rainbow Push Coalition, The Latin American Association, and 100 Black Men.  His “Frank Ski’s Kids Foundation” believes in exposing kids to their future through the arts, science, technology and athletics. The foundation has provided financial assistance to youth for over 10 years.

Ski began his radio career in Washington in the early 1990s before moving on to Baltimore and then to Atlanta in 1998 where he ruled the airwaves for over 14 years.  “The Frank Ski Show” airing from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Frank Ski, Wanda Smith

For now, Ski tells Rodney Ho at accessatlanta.com, he plans to fly up to D.C. during the week and come back to Atlanta on weekends (which includes weekly DJing gigs at his Buckhead restaurant Frank Ski's.)

He is doing the syndication on his own rather than attach himself to a big syndicator. "We had talked to some companies but I wasn't going to get the type of deal I wanted financially," he said. "By being the owner allows me to have better control over the things I want to do on the show."

Ski said it was not easy for him to walk away (December 2012) from a cushy job at WVEE V-103 (in Atlanta), where he and Wanda Smith were the No. 1 morning hosts for virtually their entire 14-year run.

But he said he wanted "to do something different. If I was going to make the move, I had to step out on faith. I had a lot of deep conversations with the family. I also had deep conversations with God. It was a very spiritual move. We'd do those daily inspirational vitamins. It just started talking to me. If you want to make a change in your life, you've got to make the sacrifice. It really gave me an opportunity to look at life for the value of what it is, not for the value it was worth."

He said the WHUR show will be similar to his V-103 show, a "lifestyle" focus where he'll be able to talk about a big social issue one segment, then "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" the next.

Read More Now.

DC Radio: Is Jack Diamond Ready To Return?

Currently on a cross-country road trip, veteran Washington, DC radio persoanlity Jack Diamond has hinted at a possible return to radio.

Jack's Road Trip 2013 - My last adventure, and Photo Project, before returning to Radio http://t.co/MWrQVqabwb See FB for details. Thanks!
— Jack Diamond (@JackDiamond) August 10, 2013

Diamond, a longtime fixture on Washington’s radio airwaves for more than two decades, was fired this past April from Cumulus-owned WRQX-FM Mix 107.3.

Boston Radio: WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Remain

Kevin Graham Could Be New PD

WEEI 93.7 FM morning men John Dennis and Gerry Callahan — blindsided by the firing of boss Jason Wolfe yesterday — said they have been assured that station suits want them to be “part of the solution” to the once-dominant sports station’s ratings woes.

Callahan, a Boston Herald sports columnist, said Entercom Boston general manager Jeff Brown told him and Kirk Minihane, who was added to the morning show in February, that “we’re going nowhere.” And Dennis, who is on vacation this week, said Brown called him after Wolfe got the ax to reiterate that the morning show was not in any danger.

“I take him at his word,” Dennis said. “I’m not worried.”

Wolfe, WEEI’s vice president of programming and operations, who oversaw the station during years of Boston radio dominance, was shown the door last week, the victim of spiraling ratings and competition from WBZ-FM 98.5 The Sports Hub, the upstart that stole much of the longtime sports-talker’s audience.

In the most recent ratings period, The Sports Hub’s top-rated morning show, Toucher and Rich, dominated with a 13.4 share. Dennis and Callahan finished fifth with a 6.0. The Sports Hub was No. 1 overall with men age 25-54, both stations’ target audience, while WEEI was fifth, according to Arbitron.

Kevin Graham

However, both Dennis and Callahan have a year remaining on their contracts and the station’s move last February to dump longtime afternoon drive host Glenn Ordway didn’t do anything to improve numbers.

There have been reports that Brown’s choice to replace Wolfe is Kevin Graham, program director at KFAN in Salt Lake City. Brown declined to discuss it other than to say he will make an announcement in the next couple of days.

Wolfe’s successor will have to try to figure out how to increase listeners and decrease station costs — a tough act to pull off especially given the fact that WEEI is saddled with a whopping 10-year, $200 million contract to air Red Sox games that runs for three more years. The station also has the broadcast rights to the Celtics.

Read More Now

CEO Gary Knell Leaving NPR

Gary Knell

The board of trustees of the National Geographic Society announced today that Gary E. Knell has been selected to succeed John M. Fahey as president and chief executive officer. Fahey will continue to serve as chairman of the board. Knell's appointment will occur later this year, following a transition from his current role as president and CEO of National Public Radio.

Knell has served as president and CEO of National Public Radio, one of the country's most influential news organizations, since December 2011. Under his leadership, NPR has solidified its position in a rapidly changing media environment due to Knell's ability to leverage the organization's extensive network of member stations, drive cross-platform journalism and cultural programming, grow philanthropic and corporate underwriting support and draw new audiences to NPR's distinct offerings. A strong advocate of innovation, Knell has made possible the exploration of new technologies that advance NPR's core mission and grow audience for all of public media.

MRC Accredits Eight Additional PPM Markets

Arbitron Inc. today announced that the Media Rating Council Inc. (MRC) has accredited the radio average-quarter-hour monthly ratings data produced by the Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings service in eight additional markets: Cleveland, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver-Boulder, Detroit, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Pittsburgh, Portland OR, and Nassau/Suffolk (Long Island).

The MRC has also voted to continue accreditation in eighteen markets–Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee-Racine, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

In total, 26 markets now display the MRC double checkmark logo for the radio average-quarter-hour monthly ratings data produced by the Portable People Meter radio ratings service.

The MRC voted to not grant accreditation at this time in the remaining 22 PPM markets, and therefore PPM data in those markets continue to be unaccredited.

"MRC accreditation for our PPM markets is a company-wide priority at Arbitron, and we are pleased the MRC continues to recognize our ongoing efforts to improve Sample Performance Indicators and other quality metrics in our Portable People Meter ratings services," said Gregg Lindner, executive vice president, Service Innovation and Chief Research Officer, Arbitron Inc. "Continuous improvement remains our watchword, for PPM and for all our ratings and software offerings and we are focused on earning accreditation for the balance of our PPM markets."

"We congratulate Arbitron for the continued improvements of its quality metrics and on earning accreditation in eight additional markets," said George Ivie, Executive Director, Media Rating Council. "Arbitron has clearly made progress in meeting MRC requirements, particularly in most of the larger PPM markets. We look forward to future audits and continued progress."

B'ham Radio: Cox Counters DuBose Bonus Claim

David DuBose

Cox Media Group has filed a court response to a lawsuit filed by former Birmingham VP/Market Manager David DuBose.

DuBose is suing Cox for failture to pay him $310K a-stay-in-place management bonus.  He says the company promised Dubose the bonus when it was selling is Birmingham cluster to Summit Media.  

Debose is currently EVP/COO for Summit.

In a court filing, Cox’s counterclaim says DuBose violated a Cox directive to not make “any significant decisions” without consulting corporate. Cox says DuBose hired WJOX PD Ryan Haney from Cumulus, a violation of its directive.  Cox says DuBose hired Haney in hopes of luring local sports personality Paul Finebaum to its then-sports WZNN.

CMG suits further claims the Haney hiring was solely for “Summit’s benefit”.

Cox maintains it decided to fire DeBose, but was dissuaded by Summit Media investor Carl Palmer.

CCM+E To Partner With Global Poverty Project

The Global Poverty Project today announced a partnership with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment to support the 2013 Global Citizen Festival and promote the Global Citizen Tickets Initiative, a program designed to incentivize social activism with concert tickets.

To participate in the Global Citizen Tickets Initiative, users can register on the Global Citizen platform at globalcitizen.org and earn points for each action they take, from sharing a video on Facebook to signing a petition, which they can use to win free concert tickets. To create additional awareness around the music-infused program, Clear Channel's iHeartRadio digital radio platform is launching a dedicated digital radio station titled "Global Citizen Radio" that features music from over 60 contributing Global Citizen artists including Pearl Jam, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, JAY Z, Bruce Springsteen, One Direction, John Mayer, Tim McGraw, No Doubt and more.

"Global Poverty Project's purpose of inciting action in local communities to generate positive global change is an important one to share with our listeners," said Clear Channel Director of Community Engagement Jessica King. "The Global Citizen Tickets Initiative is a fun way to introduce our listeners to the Global Poverty Project and reward them with some incredible music experiences for taking action."

Additionally, Clear Channel's family of six New York radio stations Q104.3, Z100, 103.5 KTU, Power 105.1, Lite FM and WOR will again support this year's 2013 Global Citizen Festival, which is presented in proud partnership with the Cotton On Foundation.  This free ticketed festival will take place on the Great Lawn of New York's iconic Central Park on September 28, 2013 with Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, and John Mayer. 

Clear Channel will provide Global Poverty Project with more than $700K of donated media.

Boston Radio: Firefighters Shutdown Nearby Pirate

Firefighters driving to work at the Pleasant Street station in Brockton on the edge of downtown first started reporting interference on their car radios last week. Then, according to enterprise.com, music started playing over the speakers in the station used for dispatching fire engines and garbling emergency communications.

“In the station, those speakers are used to alert firefighter to an incident, and that’s how we get the type of call and location,” said Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Galligan. “Any interference is a serious issue.”

Galligan called officer Scott Uhlman, the Brockton Police Department’s radio guru, and City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli to help him find the source of the interference.

DeNapoli arrived with a frequency finder, an electronic device that can track the source of radio signals. They discovered a satellite dish and an FM antenna on a radio mast directly across the street from Fire Station 1 at 69 Pleasant St..

The antenna extended nearly 60 feet in the air and an unlicensed station was broadcasting on 88.9 MHz, right next to WERS in Boston, DeNapoli said.

The antenna was atop a one-story building that houses several storefronts, one advertising shipping to Haiti and another the Cardoso Driving School.

Uhlman said they approached a group of Haitian men hanging out behind building and asked who owned the radio equipment.

The men did not give a straight answer, but when Uhlman climbed on the roof with a pair of wire cutters, they quickly found the owner, he said.

The station was shut down immediately and the next day, the antenna and radio equipment were gone.

Read More Now.

SiriusXM, MLB Extend Broadcast Deal

Sirius XM Radio and Major League Baseball announced today a six-year extension of their agreement, which will now make MLB game broadcasts available on both Sirius and XM satellite radios, starting today, August 19.

SiriusXM, which has been the Official Satellite Radio Partner of MLB since 2005, will continue to air live play-by-play of every regular and postseason MLB game, as well as select spring training and Spanish-language game broadcasts, through the 2021 season.

All MLB games will be available for the first time to subscribers with Sirius radios on either a Premier or All Access package. All MLB games will continue to air on all XM radios.

"Baseball has been an essential part of our programming lineup and we're very happy to extend our relationship with MLB to deliver the games to our subscribers for many years to come," said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM's President and Chief Content Officer. "We're especially pleased to now offer the games to SiriusXM subscribers whether they listen through Sirius radios, XM radios, the SiriusXM App or online."

"SiriusXM has been a valuable partner providing our fans with the ability to listen to every MLB game on the growing platform of satellite radio," said Tim Brosnan, MLB Executive Vice President, Business. "We are proud that Major League Baseball content has been an important contributor to the growth of satellite radio and we look forward to continuing this relationship into the next decade."

In addition to MLB game broadcasts, SiriusXM will continue to offer baseball fans 24 hour coverage of their sport on the MLB Network Radio channel, available on channel 89 for XM subscribers and channel 209 for Sirius Premier subscribers. MLB Network Radio airs 365 days a year with daily shows hosted by former GMs, players and other baseball insiders, in-depth coverage of spring training, the winter meetings and other events, as well as simulcasts of certain MLB Network television programming, including the Emmy Award-winning studio show "MLB Tonight."

Report: WOR's Yankees 710 Bid Includes FM Simulcast

So says sports media writer Bob Raissman in Sunday’s NYDailyNews.

The bidding for Yankees radio rights is coming down the stretch and regardless of who eventually gets radio rights, things look good for the Bombers’ bank account.

Previous reports put Clear Channel’s bid at $14 million for the Yankees’ radio package, which would air on WOR 710 AM. Industry sources now say the offer is somewhere between $18 million and $20 million per year.

That’s major cash. Still, it isn’t enough to scare incumbent WCBS 880 AM away, according Raissman. CBS is getting back in the race — even at these prices.

Also, if Clear Channel lands the Yankees package it could simulcast the games on WOR and one of its FM properties, according to Raissman.

Sac Radio: Walt Gray Returning to TV News

Walt Gray

Walt Gray, the longtime Channel 3 (KCRA) television newsman whose jump last fall to a Sacramento morning radio show was cut short by a round of layoffs at the radio station in July, is returning to TV news at Sacramento's Channel 10 (KXTV).

According to sacbee.com, Gray will anchor News10's Saturday and Sunday 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. newscasts and handle multiple journalistic chores that include breaking news, investigative pieces and features.

He will take over his new duties on Sept. 6.

Gray stunned many last September when he announced that he was leaving Sacramento radio station KSEG The Eagle 96.9 FM  “Sacramento's classic rock" station.

Gray this past weekend

KCRA - where he reported on and anchored news and sports coverage for nearly a quarter century - to take a job with

On Oct. 22 last year, he began hosting a new morning weekday program, joined by Kat Maudru, a longtime KSEG morning show host.

On July 24, Gray said he was laid off from 96.9, one of several job cuts made by the station. Gray said the station and its parent, Entercom Communications Corp., were aiming to cut costs.

Read More Now

San Diego Radio: KOGO Talker Slammed Over Comments

Peggy Shannon

KOGO 610 AM radio personality is in the hot seat for making comments about the appearance of the latest Bob Filner accuser to come forward.

According ABC10 News, during his Thursday "Voice of Merrill" Show, KOGO radio host Chris Merrill said he would not be making fun of 67-year-old Peggy Shannon's appearance, which was then followed by a list of names he read on-air.

Shannon claimed she was the latest victim of unwanted sexual advances from San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, making her the 16th victim to come forward.

"Can you imagine Bob Filner trying to get it on with her, he spent all kinds of time trying to figure out which way she's facing, it's not funny!" exclaimed Merrill on his show. "It does appear he targeted pretty much everyone, I believed the disabled are the ones that are pretty much left ... am I wrong?"

Chris Merrill

The references to Shannon's appearance were discussed for several minutes during Merrill's four-hour long program.

"This is not acceptable," said Shannon's attorney, Gloria Allred. "If he is willing to follow a Filner example of hurting women because he can I think he needs to get educated."

But Merrill said the comments he made were out of humor, not hate. He says he won't apologize, though he says he may have gone over the line.

"If I have any regret, it's that the people are not focusing on Bob Filner, and that's what we should be focusing on," said Merrill.

According to utsandiego.com, there is talk of a boycott and at least one woman saying he should be fired after he explained on air that he would not be using a host of terms to describe the accuser, some of which he read, and then posted the list on KOGO's website.

As his show began Friday, Merrill quipped, "We're under fire today. This could be it," then said he gets people calling for him to be fired frequently.

Here is what Merrill put on KOGO's website. 

Here they come.  Get ready for the faux outrage and threats of boycott from people who don’t listen to the show.  They are mad about a bit I did yesterday that discussed what we will NOT be saying about Filner's V16.  People who sit high on their horse of self-righteousness are condemning me with the most colorful of descriptions: "fat, balding guy . . . who apparently doesn't own a mirror." However, like the high and mighty condemning Hooters, the critics are not customers.  Threats are empty and comical.  But, I appreciate threats.  They get news.  I have ZERO ad budget so any word of mouth I can get for the program is appreciated.  Continue to read more

FoxSports1 Has Weekend Debut

America’s new sports network debuted at 6am (Eastern) Saturday..

The network started off with FOX College Football Kickoff, their preview for the 2013 season.

Erin Andrews, Mike Pereira, Joel Klatt, Clay Travis, Eddie George and Petros Papadakis will dissect the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12 with the help of Fox Sports 1’s regional stations.

Today, Regis Philbin returns to TV with a 5pm (eastern) daily sports variety show, Crowd Goes Wild. He’s joined by a wide-ranging panel of talent, including Georgie Thompson, Jason Gay, Michael Kosta, Trevor Pryce and Katie Nolan. Monday's first guest is boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya.

For more, check out the Crowd Goes Wild show page.

IMG’s Sports Dwarfed W.Va. Radio Bid For WVU Sports

West Virginia Radio Corp. projected the WVU Athletics Department would earn $5.7 million over the next 10 years if the university let the company handle its multimedia rights, according to bid documents obtained by the Charleston Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, eventual rights winner IMG College was initially willing to guarantee West Virginia University $78.3 million over the next 10 years if it was awarded the rights.

Last month, WVU signed a 12-year deal with North Carolina-based IMG allowing the company to manage the athletic department's so-called Tier 3 multimedia rights, which include radio, digital and some television.

IMG agreed to pay the university a guaranteed minimum of $86.5 million over the next 12 years. It was the second time IMG prevailed in WVU's multimedia rights bidding process.

On Thursday, following a Freedom of Information Act request, WVU provided the Daily Mail with copies of all proposals submitted during both bid processes.

They range from simple, typed pages outlining plans to elaborate, 70-plus-page presentations containing artist renderings and audio and video demonstrations.

In its first proposal, submitted last October, IMG guaranteed WVU a minimum of $78.3 million in royalties and other payments over the next 10 years. It also included a sample audio clip of what its radio broadcasts would sound like.

It also included drawings of potential stadium upgrades, including new scoreboards and video monitors, and the placement of other advertising.

Morgantown-based West Virginia Radio had the least-thorough proposal in the first round. West Virginia Radio proposed keeping in place the current structure of the athletic department's Mountaineer Sports Network, which handled WVU's multimedia rights for decades.

Instead of outsourcing that department, West Virginia Radio touted the advantages and popularity of its award-winning broadcast team, four members of which had accumulated more than 30,000 followers on Twitter, and the statewide network of radio affiliates the company already has in place.

It also touted past marketing successes for the university, claiming the success of the "Stripe the Stadium" promotion at last year's Baylor game was a result of more than $50,000 in free radio advertising provided by the company to promote the event.

WVA Radio Corp. is now suing in Monongalia County Circuit Court, and according to AP  is asking a judge to block the deal and reset the clock to June as it tries to salvage broadcasting work it had for 70 years. WVU has declined comment on the litigation.

Read More Now.

Aussie Radio Prank Cost Austereo

Mel Grieg, Michael Christian

Poorly rating TV programs and the royal radio prank have hit Southern Cross Austereo's revenue.  But the TV and radio broadcaster still managed a slight rise in full year profit, and says it is confident its key TV program supplier, the Ten Network, can turn around its fortunes.

According to The West Australian, revenue from the company's metropolitan radio network, which includes the Today and Triple M networks, fell four per cent to $262.5 million.

Regional radio revenue improved slightly to $176.2 million.

Scandals involving presenter Kyle Sandilands and what the company called the "UK incident" hit its market share and ad revenues.

Austereo suspended all advertising on 2Day FM after a scandal involving the suicide of a British nurse, who was taken in by a prank call by presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian.

The pair phoned the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for a pregnancy-related illness, pretending to be the Queen and Prince of Wales.

The prank reportedly cost Austereo about $7M as market share fell to 33.3 per cent earlier this, before recovering to 35 per cent.

Its market share hit a peak of 38.7 per cent two years ago.

Still, the TV and radio broadcaster made a net profit of $96.1 million in the year to June 30, up 1.2 per cent on the previous year.

Chief executive Rhys Holleran described the advertising market as difficult, and does not expect it to get any easier.

Read More Now.