Thursday, September 9, 2021

And The 2021 CMA Awards Radio Nominees Are:


The Country Music Association has revealed the nominees for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards,” with Eric Church and Chris Stapleton topping the list at five nominations. 
  • The 55th annual Country Music Association Awards will take place on Nov. 10

Other top nominees include Gabby Barrett along with mix engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce each with four nominations, while Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs,  Miranda Lambert,  Ashley McBryde,  Maren Morris  and  Chris Young  secure three nominations each. Combs, Lambert and Carrie Underwood all return alongside Church and Stapleton  with  nominations in the Entertainer of the Year category, the night’s highest honor. Don’t miss “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” LIVE from Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00 – 11:00 PM/EST) on ABC. 

➤FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):     

Weekly National  

  • “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One 
  • “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One 
  • “Country Gold” (Terri Clark) – Westwood One 
  • “The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia 
  • “Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Compass Media Networks 

Daily National  

  • “The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek Haskins, Sean Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks 
  • “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez and “Utility Hillary” Borden) – Premiere Networks 
  • “CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks 
  • “The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Westwood One 
  • “The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard and Ania Hammar) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio 

Major Market 

  • “Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga.  
  • “Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.  
  • “Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas 
  • “The Morning Bull: George, Mo & Cowboy Dave” (George Lindsey, “Mo” Monica Lunsford and “Cowboy Dave” Bayless) – KILT, Houston, Texas 
  • “Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe with J.R., Launa and Kevin” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Launa Phillips and Kevin Ebel) – WQYK, Tampa Bay, Fla. 

Large Market 

  • “Jesse Tack” – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio 
  • “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.  
  • “Lexi & Banks” (“Lexi” Elena Abatgis and “Banks” Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah 
  • “Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis. 
  • “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Taylor Rosenberg) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn. 

Medium Market 

  • “Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.  
  • “Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. 
  • “Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. 
  • “Mo & StyckMan” (“Mo” Melissa Wagner and “StyckMan” Greg Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn. 
  • “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa 

Small Market 

  • “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore. 
  • “Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (Shane Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.  
  • “KTTS Morning Show with Nancy & Rick” (Nancy Simpson and Rick Moore) – KTTS, Springfield, Mo. 
  • “Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo. 
  • “Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va. 
 ➤FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):     

Major Market 

  • KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz. 
  • KNUC – Seattle-Tacoma, Wash. 
  • KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.  
  • WNSH – New York City, N.Y.  
  • WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.  
  • WYCD – Detroit, Mich.  

Large Market 

  • WFMS – Indianapolis, Ind. 
  • WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.  
  • WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C. 
  • WSIX – Nashville, Tenn. 
  • WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio 

Medium Market 

  • KATM – Modesto, Calif.  
  • KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa 
  • KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif. 
  • WQMX – Akron, Ohio 
  • WXCY – Wilmington, Del. 

Small Market 

  • KCLR – Columbia, Mo. 
  • KTTS – Springfield, Mo. 
  • WBYT – South Bend, Ind. 
  • WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va. 
  • WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala. 
  • WYCT – Pensacola, Fla. 

➦The Story Continues Here..
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Trump To Gutfeld: 'Your Ratings Are Fabulous'


Host Greg Gutfeld sat down for an interview with Donald J. Trump; discussing a range of pressing topics from his successor's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the porous southern border, and the Fox News late-night host's towering ratings, reports Fox News.

Trump, who has regularly touted ratings for his own previous television program "The Apprentice", remarked that Gutfeld has quickly risen to become "the king of late-night" in only a few short months.

"Your ratings are fabulous. I just saw you are the king of late-night," he said. "You are beating some very untalented people, to be honest with you so I'm not sure how great that is – But they are so bad. It's about time somebody came in and you're really beating them badly."



Gutfeld went on to ask if the ex-president recalled when the two had less of a cordial relationship, as "The Five" host was once a critic of the Palm Beach Republican during the campaign and early in his White House tenure.

"There was a brief period where you were not a fan – and then you started noticing things were getting done. You said ‘I may not like him but look, we have a good economy, we have good military; we have good everything’," Trump replied.

"And then you started – and now I think, I don't know if it's love but it's getting close."

Gutfeld replied that his view is now one of "admiration" and that he was at the time focusing on the "words and not the deeds" in terms of Trump's governance.

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August PPMs Day 1: NYC, L-A, Chicago +Nine More Markets Just Out

Nielsen on Wednesday, Sept 8, 2021 released the first batch of August 2021 PPM data for the following markets:


  1  New York

  2  Los Angeles

  3  Chicago

  4  San Francisco

  5  Dallas-Ft. Worth

  6  Houston-Galveston

  8  Atlanta

  9  Philadelphia

20  Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island NY)

26  Riverside-San Bernardino CA

37  San Jose CA

43  Middlesex-Somerset-Union NJ

Click Here for topline numbers for subscribing Nielsen stations.
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Wake-Up Call: Ida Death Toll Rises In Louisiana

The death toll from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana rose to 26 yesterday after health officials reported 11 more deaths in New Orleans, mostly older people who died from the heat in the wake of the storm when they didn't have power. Still, there was some good news from the city, with electricity nearly fully restored and a nighttime curfew lifted. However, in areas outside New Orleans that were hardest hit when Ida came ashore on August 29th as a Category 4 hurricane, hundreds of thousands were still without power because of the destruction of power lines that it takes time to repair, and some places still didn't have water. Some 28,000 people are either staying in shelters or in hotel rooms being provided via the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

 


➤AP...FENCING RETURNING AROUND U.S. CAPITOL AHEAD OF PLANNED RALLY: The fencing that surrounded the U.S. Capitol for months after the January 6th attack is going to be reinstalled because of law enforcement officials' concerns about potential violence at a planned rally on September 18th, AP reported, citing a person described as being familiar with the discussions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested during her weekly press conference yesterday that there would be increased security measures, saying, "We intend to have the integrity of the Capitol be intact." The rally organizers say it's to demand, quote, "justice" for the hundreds of people who've been charged in the January attack, with intelligence indicating that far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are planning to attend.

 Meanwhile, the FBI released new video yesterday of the person they believed planted two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington the night before the January 6th attack. Also released was a digital map showing the suspect circling the RNC and DNC office locations.

➤TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE GETS EXECUTION STAY OVER RELIGIOUS ISSUE: The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution yesterday evening for a 37-year-old Texas death row inmate over a religious issue, issuing it about three hours after he could have been executed. John Henry Ramirez, who was convicted of killing convenience store worker Pablo Castro during a 2004 Corpus Christi robbery, claimed he state was violating his religious freedom by not allowing his pastor to lay hands on him and say prayers out loud at the time of his lethal injection. Texas prison officials says direct contact is a security risk, and prayers said out loud could be disruptive and would go against maintaining an orderly process. The high court directed its clerk to establish a briefing schedule so Ramirez’s case could be argued in October or November.

➤REPORT SAYS NAVY HELICOPTER WAS VIBRATING 'SIDE-TO-SIDE' BEFORE CRASH THAT KILLED FIVE: The Navy helicopter that crashed off the Southern California coast on August 31st, killing five crewmembers, was having "side-to-side" vibrations that caused the main rotor to hit the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while landing, and it fell off the deck, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Only one of the crewmembers was rescued, and five sailors on the carrier deck were also injured. The crash summary, which AP said was in a Navy Safety Center document, didn't say what might have caused the vibrations.

➤BIDEN REMOVES 18 TRUMP APPOINTEES TO MILITARY ACADEMY BOARDS: The Biden administration yesterday removed 18 appointees named to U.S. military academy boards by Donald Trump in the final months of his presidency. The 18 people, including former Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, press secretary Sean Spicer and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, were sent letters calling on them to resign by the close of business yesterday from their positions on the boards of the Air Force Academy, Military Academy or Naval Academy, or be terminated. White House spokesman Jen Psaki said yesterday, "I will let others evaluate whether they think Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer and others were qualified, or not political, to serve on these boards. But the president’s qualification requirements are not your party registration. They are whether you’re qualified to serve and whether you are aligned with the values of this administration." Several of the letter recipients spoke out against it.


➤SUPREME COURT RETURNING TO IN-PERSON SESSIONS: After hearing cases by phone during the pandemic, the U.S. Supreme Court announced yesterday that the justices plan to return to their traditional in-person proceedings when their new term begins on the first Monday in October. However, the courtroom sessions won't be open to the public, quote, "out of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees." The public will continue to be able to listen to live broadcasts of the arguments, a practice that began during the phone arguments. The last session in the Supreme Court building was on March 9, 2020.

➤ONE REASON MORE PEOPLE ARE QUITING JOBS..THEY'VE NEVER MET CO-WORKERS: More people have been quitting their jobs amid the pandemic after the initial shock to the economy in the spring of 2020, and the New York Times suggests one of the reasons is that many employees hired after the pandemic began who work in jobs that allow them to work from home may have never met their coworkers in person. Zoom calls and meetings aren't the same as daily in-person interaction, and the Times suggests that lack of connection had contributed to a, quote, "easy-come, easy-go attitude toward workplaces." Stanford University organizational psychologist and professor Bob Sutton told the newspaper, "If you’re in a workplace or a job where there is not the emphasis on attachment, it’s easier to change jobs, emotionally." To counter that, some companies have created positions like "head of remote" to help keep employees working well together and feeling motivated. Stanford postdoctoral scholar Jen Rhymer, who studies workplaces, told the Times that companies could also help workers by being proactive about socialization, through actions like scheduling small group activities, hosting in-person retreats, and setting aside time for day-to-day chatting.


➤PAT SAJAK AND VANNAH WHITE EXTEND 'WHEEL' CONTRACTS: Pat Sajak and Vanna White have extended their contracts to host Wheel of Fortune through at least the 2023-2024 season. Variety reports that as part of the new deal, Sajak will also serve as consulting producer in addition to his hosting duties. The news comes a week after the show lost its executive producer, Mike Richards. He stepped down following the controversy following his appointment as Jeopardy! host.

➤BOB ODENKIRK RETURNS TO 'SAUL' SET: Bob Odenkirk is back! The Better Call Saul star posted a selfie of himself getting prepped to film the AMC show’s sixth season on Wednesday. The actor suffered what he described as a “small heart attack” while on the Saul set in late July.

➤MEN WHO EAT VEGGIES FART MORE; TAKE LARGER DUMPS: Scientists have discovered that men who eat a more plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes fart more and have larger stools than men following a standard western Diet. Researchers from the Liver and Digestive diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre in Barcelona followed 18 healthy men and found that those following the plant-based Mediterranean diet farted seven more times per day and had stools twice the size as people following a Western diet on average although the number of stools was the same.

➤MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE TO RETURN IN 2021: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to New York City’s streets this year. On November 25th, the parade will be broadcast on NBC and feature the traditional giant balloons, celebrity performers, clowns and marching bands. However, there will be COVID-19 protocols in place, including a vaccination requirement for all parade volunteers. Face coverings will also be required, with exceptions for singers and some other performers.


🏈NFL SEASON KICKS OFF TONIGHT: The new NFL season begins tonight, starting with a game between the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys in Tampa. The contest will kick off a season that will for the first time in history feature 17 regular-season games, the first change to the season structure since 1978, when it became 16 games.

🎾DJOKOVIC INTO U.S. OPEN SEMFINALS: Top-seed Novak Djokvoic defeated sixth-seeded Matteo Berrettini in their quarterfinal match Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. He is now two wins away from getting the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since 1969 and a men's record 21st major championship. He'll face fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semis, after he beat Lloyd Harris in straight sets in their quarterfinal. There were two upsets on the women's side, including the U.K.'s Emma Raducanu defeating 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic, the gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, in their quarterfinal. The 150th-ranked 18-year-old became the first qualifier to make it to the semifinals at the U.S Open since the Open era began in 1968. In the other quarterfinal, 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari beat Number 4 Karolina Pliskova.

⚾JETER, WALKER, SIMMONS, MILLER INDUCTED INTO BASEBALL HALL OF FAME: Former New York Yankees star shortstop and captain Derek Jeter led the class of 2020 that was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday in a ceremony that was delayed by more than year due to the pandemic. A crowd of some 20,000 was on hand in Cooperstown, New York, for the event, at which Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and the late Marvin Miller were also inducted. Walker, just the second Canadian in the Hall, was selected in his 10th and final year, having played for Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis. The 72-year-old Simmons had a 21-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee and Atlanta, and Miller built a strong players union, the Major League Baseball Players Association, which he led from 1966 to 1983, and led the charge for free agency in the 1970s.

 
🏒PENGUINS' CROSBY TO MISS START OF SEASON AFTER SURGERY: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss the start of the NHL season, with the team announcing yesterday that the 34-year-old will be out at least six weeks after having wrist surgery. General manager Ron Hextall said Crosby had been dealing with the injury for years and that they'd tried all the minimally invasive options before deciding on surgery. The Penguins play their first game of the season on October 12th.

🤼WWE LEGEND 'TRIPLE H' RECOVERING AFTER 'CARDIAC EVENT': WWE legend Paul "Triple H" Levesque is recovering after suffering what was described as a a "cardiac event." The WWE said yesterday that the 52-year-old underwent a procedure last week following a "cardiac event" that was caused by a genetic heart issue, and is expected to make a full recovery. Levesque, a 14-time WWE world champion who hasn't wrestled since 2019, is now the WWE's executive vice president of global talent strategy and development. 
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NYC Radio: Longtime WEPN GM EXITS As LMA Looms


WEPN 98.7 ESPN New York’s GM Tim McCarthy will be out at the end of the month, McCarthy confirmed to The NYPost. McCarthy emailed his staff with the news Wednesday morning.

Tim McCarthy
The 58-year-old McCarthy has been with Disney for more than three decades, and has spent nearly a quarter-century as the New York radio GM, between WABC and ESPN New York.

In July, The Post reported that Good Karma Brands is expected to take over ESPN New York, as well as KSPN 710 ESPN’s station in Los Angeles.

While the deal is not finalized eventually ESPN Radio will still be responsible for programming, while Milwaukee-based Good Karma handles sales and marketing. ESPN already has a similar relationship with WMVP 1000 AM in Chicago.  That LMA started in 2019.

In New York, ESPN is the clear No. 2 sports station in the city, behind WFAN 660 AM /101.9 FM. Most of its issues have been induced by its schedules constantly changing, because of ESPN’s commitment to national programming.

McCarthy doesn’t know yet what he is going to do next as he has focused on taking care of the station.

“While it is bittersweet to say goodbye, I am excited and ready to begin a new chapter,” McCarthy said. “The adventure continues! I am certain that our paths will cross again.”

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NYC Radio: MediaCo Names Kristin Roderick As VP/Sales

Kristin Roderick
MediaCo Holding Inc., owner of WQHT HOT 97.1 FM, WBLS 107.5 FM, and Fairway Outdoor, announced Wednesday that Kristin Roderick has been named Vice President of Sales.

Roderick, a long-time industry veteran, was most recently the Vice President of Partnership Sales for Townsquare Media where she utilized data-driven, integrated marketing programs to accelerate incremental revenue growth for their flagship 14 station New Jersey cluster. She will lead the sales team for the two iconic brands.

Market President Ron deCastro said, “Kristin is the perfect person to lead our sales effort at HOT 97 and WBLS. She has extensive experience building integrated campaigns that satisfy customer goals. She is a natural leader and will take our two national brands and massive digital platform to new levels.”
Roderick will lead HOT 97 and WBLS’ sales efforts with a focus on its accelerated digital growth strategy, providing insight and solutions for advertisers, while delivering tangible results. 

“I’m so excited to be part of the MediaCo team and two of the nation’s most legendary brands: HOT 97 and WBLS. I started my career at HOT 97 as an account executive and feel like I’m returning home. I look forward to growing our best-in-class sales operation and leveraging our extensive multimedia platform to satisfy customer needs and support our community.”
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TV Ratings: Americans Are Ready For Some Football


Three college matchups scored among the Nielsen company’s four most-watched television programs last week, reports The Associated Press.

The most popular game was ABC’s Saturday night telecast where Georgia handed third-ranked Clemson a loss in Charlotte, North Carolina. The other popular matchups paired Notre Dame and Florida State and Ohio State and Minnesota.

It’s all a warmup act for pro football, which starts its season this week and promises to dominate live television viewing.

Since it showed two of the three games, ABC was the week’s most-watched network in prime time, with an average of 4.4 million viewers. CBS had 2.6 million, NBC had 2.53 million, Fox had 2.49 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 1 million.

➤The Top 20 Most-Watched Shows:

1. College Football: Georgia vs. Clemson, ABC, 8.86 million.

2. College Football: Notre Dame vs. Florida State, ABC, 7.75 million.

3. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 7.19 million.

4. College Football: Ohio State at Minnesota, Fox, 6.3 million.

5. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 6.1 million.

6. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 5.91 million.

7. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Monday), Fox News, 4.31 million.

8. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 4.1 million.

9. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 4.01 million.

10. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.85 million.

11. “Hannity” (Monday), Fox News, 3.84 million.

12. “NCIS,” CBS, 3.83 million.

13. “College Football Pregame” (Sunday), ABC, 3.82 million.

14. “CMA Summer Jam,” ABC, 3.68 million.

15. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 3.67 million.

16. “Hannity” (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.62 million.

17. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.52 million.

18. “The $100,000 Pyramid,” ABC, 3.514 million.

19. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 3.505 million.

20. “Hannity” (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.393 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” led the evening news ratings race with an average of 8.2 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.9 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million.   This season, the CBS EVENING NEWS continues to close the gap with the competition in both adults 25-54 and total viewers. The flagship CBS News broadcast is in its closest competitive position with NBC Nightly News in 26 years (since the 1994-1995 season), closing the gap from last year in adults 25-54 by 36% and by 20% among total viewers.

Fox News Channel led the cable networks, averaging 2.59 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.218 million, ESPN had 1.217 million, HGTV had 1.05 million and TLC had 921,000.



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Taliban Reportedly Will Allow Afghan Evacuation Flights


Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are allowing some 200 Americans and other foreign citizens to leave the country on a flight to Qatar scheduled for Thursday, the first such departure by air since U.S. forces withdrew last month, reports The Wall Street Journal citing Qatari and American officials.

It is unclear if any of six private planes were chartered by syndicated talk host Glenn Beck's Nazarene Fund and Mercury One charity, are included. 

The Taliban grounded the flights after a breakdown in negotiations with the U.S. State Department, according to an NGO official. tar Airways Boeing 777 would mark the resumption of international passenger operations at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, and is expected to be followed by daily air links to foreign countries, a senior Qatari official said.

The Qatari official said it wasn’t an evacuation flight as all the passengers hold foreign passports and, if required, visas to their destinations, and have been ticketed by the airline. Qatar is facilitating the movement to the airport in a convoy of minibuses that were parked Thursday morning in a Kabul hotel, one of them with a bullet hole through the windshield. Most of the foreign citizens still in Afghanistan are dual nationals.

The Taliban have consistently pledged to allow foreigners to leave unimpeded. At Tuesday’s press conference announcing the formation of their new government, the movement’s spokesman and new deputy information minister, Zabiullah Mujahid, said problems with international travel would be resolved soon. “When Afghans and foreigners want to leave Afghanistan, they should do it lawfully, having a passport and visa,” he said.

U.S. forces rendered the radar and other equipment at the Kabul airport inoperable as they left on Aug. 30, concluding an emergency airlift that transported some 120,000 foreigners and Afghans who had helped the West during the 20-year war. Since then, Qatar sent a team of technicians to restore some flight-control capabilities, and Ariana Afghan Airlines resumed flight-by-sight domestic connections to the cities of Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar and Herat on Saturday.

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Westwood One Sports Launches New NFL Season


CUMULUS MEDIA's Westwood One, the largest audio network in the U.S., embarks on its 35th consecutive year as the exclusive network radio partner of the National Football League. The season will kick off on Thursday, September 9, when the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys. Pregame coverage will begin at 7:30 pm ET with Emmy-nominated broadcaster Rich Eisen assuming the hosting duties as part of his newly expanded role with the network.

Westwood One Sports will provide play-by-play coverage of the NFL's 2021-2022 national regular season primetime games including Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, and Sunday Night Football plus Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, the entire postseason, including the Wild Card and Divisional Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Conference Championship Games, the Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This season marks the NFL's biggest ever, with each team now playing 17 regular season games over 18 weeks.

Millions of passionate listeners and football fans will be able to hear Westwood One Sport's NFL broadcasts this season on nearly 500 terrestrial radio stations nationwide, as well as on SiriusXM, TuneIn, and NFL Game Pass.

Kevin Harlan, two-time NSMA Sportscaster of the Year, and Hall of Fame Quarterback and NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner will be the lead broadcast crew, calling opening night, Monday Night Football, and Super Bowl LVI for the network. This marks Harlan's 12th full season behind the microphone and Warner's eighth season as an analyst for the network. Rich Eisen will also anchor the pregame and halftime portions of Monday Night Football.

Ian Eagle, Ryan Radtke, Kevin Kugler, Tom McCarthy, Brandon Gaudin, and Dave Pasch will also serve as play-by-play announcers for the primetime package. Other game analysts this season will include Hall of Famers Rod Woodson, Terrell Davis, and James Lofton, as well as Ron Jaworski, Mike Holmgren, Tony Boselli, Mike Golic, Trent Green, Ross Tucker, Ryan Harris, Anthony Becht, Ben Leber, and Derek Rackley. Scott Graham will return for his 13th season with the network and will once again be the host of the pregame/halftime/postgame shows for Sunday Night, Thursday Night, and the entire postseason.

In addition to live game coverage, Westwood One Sports will also offer the features NFL Insider, NFL Preview, NFL101, and NFL Fantasy Forecast.

For more information on Westwood One Sport's NFL programming, contact Rich Burg at rburg@westwoodone.com or (212) 824-2994.
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SiriusXM Radio To Air Comprehensive Coverage Of NFL


Throughout the 2021 NFL season, kicking off tonight, SiriusXM will deliver comprehensive coverage for fans across the country, with live broadcasts of every game on SiriusXM radios and on the SXM App, as well as new exclusive shows and in-depth 24/7 news and talk on the SiriusXM NFL Radio channel.

The 102nd NFL season begins tonight, 8:20 pm ETwhen Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl LV Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott. Subscribers nationwide can listen to this game - and every game thereafter through Super Bowl LVI - in their car and on their phone and connected devices at home with the SXM App.

The SXM App offers play-by-play channels dedicated to the official radio broadcasts of every NFL team, which gives fans access to both the home and visiting team broadcasts for every game. All 32 NFL team play-by-play channels are also available in vehicles equipped with next generation SiriusXM with 360L radios.

The schedule of NFL games on SiriusXM can be found at SiriusXM.com/NFLschedule.

On SiriusXM's 24/7 SiriusXM NFL Radio channel, fans get exceptional insight into the league and all its teams through daily shows hosted by a deep roster of NFL experts, interviews with players, coaches and executives, and special programming not found anywhere else.

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre will return to host The SiriusXM Blitz with Brett Favre and Bruce Murray every Tuesday (11:00 am - noon ET).

2002 NFL MVP quarterback Rich Gannon is returning to SiriusXM NFL Radio's roster of hosts and will be reuniting with his former partner, Bruce Murray, on The SiriusXM Blitz. Gannon previously hosted on SiriusXM NFL Radio from 2009 to 2016.

SiriusXM NFL Radio listeners will also hear a weekly replay of Let's Go! – the exclusive show with five-time NFL Super Bowl MVP champion quarterback Tom Brady, All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Hall of Fame Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Jim Gray – every Monday night at 6:30 pm ET.

SiriusXM NFL Radio's team of analysts also includes Hall of Famers Gil Brandt, Derrick Brooks, Tim Brown, James Lofton and Bill Polian, former NFL executives Mark Dominik and Pat Kirwan, and former players and coaches including Alex Boone, Erik Coleman, Charles Davis, David Diehl, Bruce Gradkowski, Todd Haley, Brad Hopkins, Ryan Leaf, Ed McCaffrey, Jim Miller, Torrey Smith, Max Starks, Charlie Weis and Solomon Wilcots.

SiriusXM NFL Radio voices also include a number of NFL insiders and radio veterans including Howard Balzer, Vic Carucci, Adam Caplan, John Clayton, Brian Custer, Zig Fracassi, Mike Keith, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Dan Leberfeld, Bill Lekas, Alex Marvez, Lance Medow, Bob Papa, Tom Pelissero, Shae Peppler, Amber Theoharis, Steve Torre and Evan Washburn.

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Susan Zirinsky To Oversee Docs For ViacomCBS

Susan Zirinsky
Former CBS News chief Susan Zirinsky is taking on a new role at the division’s parent company ViacomCBS, where she will oversee documentary programming, reports The L-A Times.

The company announced Wednesday that Zirinsky, 69, will head See It Now Studios, which will produce long-form news shows and documentary films that will be shown across ViacomCBS channels and its streaming service Paramount +.

The See It Now nameplate is a tribute to the 1951 CBS News series hosted by TV journalism legend Edward R. Murrow. Zirinsky joined CBS News in 1972 and has a deep connection to the division’s storied history.

Zirinsky will report directly to George Cheeks, president and chief executive of CBS. She will collaborate with Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon, presidents and co-heads of CBS News and Stations on projects for CBS News.

After many years as an executive producer for CBS News, Zirinsky was named president of the division in January 2019, succeeding David Rhodes. She became the first woman to lead a broadcast TV news division.

Zirinsky has always been most comfortable in a dark control room or editing suite where programs are created. She was said to be less happy with the administrative aspects of the news president job, which included layoffs of 75 staff members as the pandemic put economic pressure on the division.

Zirinsky stepped down in May, replaced by Khemlani and McMahon as part of a restructuring at CBS.

The company made the executive changes amid a housecleaning at its TV stations division following a Los Angeles Times investigation that led to the ouster of its former president Peter Dunn and his second in command, David Friend. The investigation alleged that the pair cultivated an environment that included bullying female managers and blocking efforts to hire and retain Black journalists.

Zirinsky’s move to a new role after leaving the president’s job is unusual in network TV, as most executives would depart after losing a post of such stature. But Zirinsky’s experience in turning around long-form programs remains valuable to the company as streaming has increased the demand for original content across ViacomCBS.

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Audiences Eager To Return To Live Shows


Live entertainment is back, says Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation.

CNBC reports the company, which owns Ticketmaster, said 8 million people attended its shows during August, building on momentum from the second quarter, when revenue climbed 677% to $575.9 million compared with the previous year.

“All of our festivals — Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Governors Ball — are selling out faster than ever,” Berchtold said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

“We’ve only had a 2% cancellation rate. That’s gotten a few headlines. But, in reality, our attendance has been great, the shows have continued, the fans are glad to be back.”

Attendance for the rest of the year is expected to continue to track lower than 2019 levels, Berchtold said, but 2022 “will be bigger than 2019 was.” He said the company’s concert pipeline is up double digits from this time two years ago.

Berchtold said the company’s vaccine policy requires audience members to either be fully vaccinated or provide a negative coronavirus test to gain entry to events. More than 90% of the attendees of Lollapalooza were vaccinated, he said. Of those, 12% said they got vaccinated because they wanted to attend the festival.

“We feel it’s our responsibility and part of what we need to do to make sure that everybody can gather safely,” he said.

He said less than 1% of ticket holders are showing up at venues without proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.

A number of high-profile musicians, bands and even stand-up comics have recently announced amendments to their tours or have outright canceled them. Korean pop group BTS and country band Florida Georgia Line both canceled their tours because of the ongoing pandemic. Michael Buble, Stevie Nicks, Korn, Kiss, and Nine Inch Nails have also amended their performance calendars.

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R.I.P.: Tony Banks, iHM Director of Talent Development

Tony Banks
Tony Banks, Director of Talent Development at iHeartMedia and a nearly 38-year radio vet, has died from COVID-19.

Banks coached, trained and mentored many of the company’s top air talent, following a successful career as a programmer and on air talent. The Sebastian, FL resident, whose real name was Anthony Mario Napoleoni, Jr., passed away Sept. 5 at the age of 53, according to InsideRadio.

Dennis Clark, iHeartMedia’s VP of Talent Development, to whom Banks reported, said it was “an honor and a blessing” to work with Banks as both a friend and colleague over the years.

Banks joined the company in January 2012, first as a Regional Senior VP of Programming for its West Region including California, Las Vegas, and Tucson, before transferring to St Louis as Senior VP of Programming for its Midwest region.

Along with his work at iHM, Banks did voiceover and imaging work with his own company, Tony Banks Voiceovers, which he founded in January 2001.

His nearly 38 years in radio also included programming and on-air positions at Cumulus Media, NextMedia Group, Clear Channel Radio, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Walt Disney Co., and Capital Cities/ABC Radio.

Known as “TJ Napp,” Banks jocked at heritage CHR “92 Pro-FM” WPRO-FM in his native Providence. He was given the air name Tony Banks by Tom Cuddy and Scott Shannon in 1995, when he joined ABC’s flagship FM radio station WPLJ New York. In 1996, he landed his first programming position as PD at WKRZ Wilkes Barre-Scranton, which he took to No. 1 in the market while also working on air. From there it was off to legendary CHR “Y-100” WHYI Miami as Assistant PD. Banks then programmed NextMedia's Coastal Carolina top 40 stations, including flagship “Bob 93.3” WERO and WA1A in Melbourne, FL.
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R.I.P.: Jerry Blair, Veteran Music Executuive

Jerry Blair (1961-2021)
Jerrold “Jerry” Blair, a music promoter who worked with artists such as Mariah Carey, Will Smith, Lauren Hill, Bruce Springsteen and Ricky Martin, died on September 8th after a battle with COVID-19. 

He was 60.

Blair started his career in music as a college rep at CBS Records but later transitioned to Chrysalis Records, where he served as Director of Wet Coast Operations.

He also held senior roles at Arista, Sony Music, and Columbia Records, where he served as SVP of Promotion for almost a decade.

While at Columbia, Blair helped to take Latin Music mainstream in North America, working with rising stars such as Ricky Martin and Shakira.

He also led MonarC Records, a specialized label that served as a channel for Mariah Carey’s music until 2004 when she shifted to Island.

Blair’s later ventures included the Fuerte Group, a partnership with Rich Isaacson, where he managed and promoted Latin talent, and founding Global Entertainment Management/Perspeciva Music, a music management company.
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R.I.P.: Phil Schaap, Longtime WKCR-FM NYC Jazz Expert

April 8, 1951 - Sept 7, 2021
Phil Schaap, who explored the intricacy and history of jazz in radio programs that he hosted, Grammy-winning liner notes that he wrote, music series that he programmed and classes that he taught, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. 

He was 70, according to The NY Times.

His partner of 17 years, Susan Shaffer, said the cause was cancer, which he had had for four years.

Schaap was host of an assortment of jazz radio programs over the years, but he was perhaps best known as a fixture on WKCR-FM, the student-run radio station of Columbia University.

He did more than write and talk about jazz; he also knew his way around a studio and was especially adept at unearthing and remastering the works of jazz greats of the past. He shared the best historical album Grammy as a producer on the Holiday and Davis-Evans recordings, as well as on “Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings” (2000).

Over the years he imparted his vast knowledge of jazz to countless students, teaching courses at Columbia, Princeton, the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, Rutgers University, Jazz at Lincoln Center and elsewhere.

“They say I’m a history teacher,” he said in a video interview for the National Endowment for the Arts, which this year named him a Jazz Master, the country’s highest official honor for a living jazz figure, but he viewed his role differently.

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