Nielsen Expects Classic Radio Christmas

Just like an old-fashion Nor'easter produces substantial snow depths, Christmas music stations can expect the upcoming "Holiday" survey to provide substantial ratings.

Nieklsen reports the December PPM's, which covered BNovember 5 through December 2, 2015, gives a peek into what the impact of holiday music on the radio will look like this season. And it’s no surprise that several of the formats that tend to see ratings surge the most during the holidays are once again rising in the ranks based on the December data.

The appetite for holiday music powered by radio stations that flip to an “All-Christmas” format at the end of the year is showing no signs of slowing down. Last year, 529 stations across the U.S. went “All-Christmas,” setting a record for the most stations ever to do so. So far in 2015, that trend appears to be keeping pace, with nearly 70% of the Nielsen-monitored holiday music stations making the change before the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Adult Contemporary (AC), historically the leader of the “All-Christmas” pack, followed up a strong November showing by jumping a full share-point in December, going from 7.6% to 8.6% among listeners age 6 and older. This puts the format just slightly ahead of last December’s pace (8.5% in 2014) and is the best December result since 2012. All of this sets AC up to have another highly successful holiday book, building on last year’s success.

Sister format Hot AC also capitalized on a strong November and kept the momentum going this month, posting its best December ever in PPM measurement across all three of the demographics Nielsen analyzed. Furthermore, Hot AC’s share with both 18-34 and 25-54 year-old listeners this month ties the all-time highs established earlier this year. Suffice to say, it’s been a very good year for HotAC, and it looks like it will end 2015 with a bang.

the real stars behind the ratings success of Christmas on the radio are the songs themselves report Nielsen.. Once again in 2015, the timeless appeal of classic holiday music continues to resonate, regardless of station or market.

Across the country, these were the most played Christmas songs during the December survey.

Most-Played Christmas Songs During December 2015 PPM Survey Period

Peyton Manning Considering Lawsuit Against Al Jazeera

Peyton Manning is hopping mad at Al Jazeera America for a documentary that claims he used human growth hormone (HGH).

He called the report "completely fabricated."

It's "complete trash," he said. It's "garbage," he groused. CNN is reporting the doctor who supposedly gave Manning the drug is disimissing the report.

Manning to me for NBC on suing Al Jazeera: “Yeah, I probably will. I’m that angry.” — Al J: Anti-aging clinic said Sly DID work there in’11.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) December 28, 2015

The network, under the gun, is sticking to its guns.


According to The Washington Post, Major League Baseball and the National Football League will investigate allegations in an Al Jazeera documentary that employees at an Indianapolis-based anti-aging clinic supplied performance enhancing drugs to a host of professional athletes including legendary quarterback Peyton Manning and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

CNN Anchor Passes Out On-Air

CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, who is six-months pregnant,  says she passed out while at the anchor desk on Monday, while introducing a segment about the latest CNN/ORC poll on Americans' attitudes about the war on terrorism.

According to Politico, Harlow's speech slurred as she discussed the results, and a gasp could be heard on air, though a poll graphic was on the screen as it cut to black. Twitter users immediately speculated that something must have been wrong.

Thank you all for your concern and messages! I am ok! Passed out briefly and am with the doctor now. So thankful to our amazing CNN team.

— Poppy Harlow (@PoppyHarlowCNN) December 28, 2015

The show returned with a segment featuring media reporter Brian Stelter, who then tossed back to Harlow, who thanked viewers for their concern.

"And for all of you on Twitter, who are asking if I'm OK, thank you so much. I got a little hot, and I passed out for a moment," she explained. "I am fine."

'Come Together' Tops The Beatles Stream

Beatles songs were streamed an astonishing 50 million times in the first 48 hours after they became available to listen to live on the internet for the first time, reports The Daily Mail.

The hits of the Fab Four, who broke up in 1970, are now being enjoyed by a new young audience, with 65 per cent of the Beatles’ listeners on streaming service Spotify under the age of 34.

The arrival of their songs on such digital formats has been delayed for years by bickering over contracts.



But since being made available on Spotify, Amazon Prime, Apple Music and other sites from midnight on Christmas Eve, the band’s much-loved catalogue means their music is being enjoyed by a generation who are strangers to older forms of music technology.

The most popular Beatles song so far is Come Together, which has already been streamed more than 1.8 million times.

The complete Beatles top ten on Spotify is: 1. Come Together (1.84 million); 2. Let It Be (1.55m); 3. Hey Jude (1.32m); 4. Love Me Do (1.31m); 5. Yesterday (1.23m); 6. Here Comes The Sun (1.23m); 7. Help! (1.22m); 8. All You Need Is Love (1.17m); 9. I Want To Hold Your Hand (1.1m); 10. Twist And Shout (940k).


Tweets by @thebeatles

Report: D/FW NWS Short-Staffed

Staffing shortages at the local Dallas-Fort Worth National Weather Service office left forecasters scrambling to cover Saturday’s tornado outbreak and could slow the process of completing damage surveys, reports KXAS-TV.

NWS officials insist all weather warnings were issued in a timely way. But the union that represents forecasters says forecasters covered the storms with the help of meteorologists who volunteered to come in from home and managers pulling extra duty.

Tweets by @KRLD

The Dallas Morning News reports the Dallas-Fort Worth National Weather Service office currently has three vacant front-line forecaster positions. The meteorologist who serves as the union representative for the DFW area office says Saturday’s storms highlight the urgent need to fill those jobs.

“This office needs to be fully staffed. We shouldn’t have to be spending time trying to find people to cover shifts and do surveys after high impact weather,” said local National Weather Service Employees Organization representative Jason Dunn.

“We serve more than 8 million people. Densely populated with lots of weather,” Dunn said.

SiriusXM To Celebrate NYE With Concert Specials

SiriusXM has announced that it will broadcast concerts, DJ sets and special performances live on New Year's Eve.

SiriusXM's New Year's Eve Live Concert Lineup Includes:

• Dead & Company at the Forum in Los Angeles—airing live on SiriusXM's Grateful Dead Channel
• Jimmy Buffett at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn – airing live on SiriusXM's Radio Margaritaville
• Willie Nelson from Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater in Austin – airing live on SiriusXM's Willie's Roadhouse
• Morrissey at the Galen Center in Los Angeles – airing live on SiriusXM's 1st Wave
• Gregg Allman at the Atlanta Symphony Hall in Atlanta – airing live on SiriusXM's Classic Vinyl
• Widespread Panic at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta – airing live on SiriusXM's Jam_On
• Southside Johnny from the Court Basie in Red Bank, NJ – airing live on SiriusXM's E Street Radio
• KC & The Sunshine Band from the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA – airing live on SiriusXM's 70's on 7
• Countdown in San Bernardino—live DJ sets by Carnage, Flux Pavilion, Yellow Claw, Pierce Fulton, Baggi, The Chainsmokers and Kaskade—airing live on Electric Area

SiriusXM will also broadcast classic New Year's Eve concerts including Pearl Jam at the Academy in New York City in 1992 on Pearl Jam Radio; Bruce Springsteen at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA in 1975 and at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY in 1980 on E Street Radio; and Elvis Presley at the Civic Center Arena in Pittsburgh, PA in 1976 on Elvis Radio.

SiriusXM's The Pulse channel will air "Live in the Vineyard Concert," exclusive performances from vineyards around the valley and the Uptown Theatre, featuring performances by Rob Thomas, Barenaked Ladies, American Authors, James Bay, A Great Big World and For King & Country.

Additionally, SiriusXM will air year end countdown specials across fourteen music channels, including Alt Nation, Octane, SiriusXMU, Hits 1, The Pulse, BPM, Chill, Shade 45, The Highway and more, featuring the biggest songs of 2015.

Pitbull's Globalization, SiriusXM's exclusive channel in partnership with Pitbull, will feature Pitbull's New Year's Mega Mix, which includes more than 60 hours of exclusive DJ mixes created just for New Year's; 1st Wave will air a special New Year's edition of its Safety Dance mix show featuring 17 hours of new wave dance mixes.

SiriusXM will also launch a limited-run party music channel on New Year's Eve, New Year's Nation. The limited-run channel is the ultimate soundtrack to New Year's Eve parties around the country and will feature the biggest, upbeat party hits from genres across SiriusXM's music platform. New Year's Nation, which will be available on channel 18 and via the SiriusXM app for smartphones and other connected devices and online at siriusxm.com, Thursday, December 31 at 12:00 pm through Saturday, January 2 at 3:00 am ET.

2015 Best TV News Bloopers

Colin Cowherd Sells Naples FL Home

Fox Sports Radio and FS1 television host Colin Cowherd has sold his home in Naples, FL for $3.9 million. The buyer was Allen Lenzmeier, former president and chief operating officer of Best Buy Co.

The two-story contemporary-style house, designed by architect Matthew Kragh and completed this year, features a floating steel-and-wood staircase, mosaic stone walls and porcelain tile floors.

Open-plan living and dining rooms, a center-island kitchen with a wavy pearl backsplash, an office and a lofted area are within the 3,562-square-foot interior. Rows of windows and bi-folding glass doors bring the outdoors inside

The house came to market in April for $4.25 million, public records show. Cowherd bought the property in 2013 for $1.325 million.

The sale caps off a string of real estate moves for Cowherd, who in August joined Fox Sports as an on-air personality after more than a decade at ESPN.

Earlier this year, the radio host sold his house in West Hartford, Connecticut, for $1.15 million. The Colonial-style home, on nearly 2 acres, has a media room, a library and five bedrooms.

He then paid $3.095 million for a five-bedroom house in the Tree Section area of Manhattan. Trimmed in white, the East Coast-inspired residence boasts wide-plank wood floors, open-plan living areas and a paver patio with a built-in barbecue.

R.I.P.: Easybeats Frontman Stevie Wright Has Died at 68

Stevie Wright - 2013

One of Australia's best loved rock stars and the lead singer of The Easybeats, Stevie Wright, has died aged 68, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

He had fallen ill on Saturday and died in Moruya Hospital on the NSW south coast on Sunday night.

Wright was in Leeds, England in 1948 and moved to Australia with his family when he was nine years old, living in Melbourne first and then Sydney.

He formed The Easybeats in 1964 at the age of just 16 with a group of other young migrant teenagers - Harry Vanda, George Young, Dick Diamonde and Snowy Fleet. Within a few years the band had become one of Australia's most popular musical groups, inspiring their own brand of Beatles-style fandom, dubbed 'Easyfever'.

Their best known song, Friday On My Mind, reached the number one spot on the music chart in Australia in 1966, and later went on to become a top ten single in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy and a top 20 hit in the United States.

Des Moines Radio: R.I.P. WHO-AM APD Cheryl Pannier

54-year-old Cheryl Pannier died unexpectedly on Christmas Day at her home.

Pannier was Assistant PD at WHO 1040 AM and cohost of the Saturday morning show.

In a statement, iHeart Media Regional Market President Joel McCrea said, "We are all saddened by Cheryl's passing. We will miss her unique sense of humor and her leadership as WHO Radio's assistant program director. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family today."

WHO talk host Simon Conway remembered Pannier with a Facebook posting:

My friend and colleague is no longer alive. For the past five years since I arrived in Iowa, Cheryl has been my friend, my source of advice and a constant joker! She and I have seen each other just about every morning at 6.30 as I informed her that the daily promo for my show was complete and she scheduled it for the day. We always shared a joke and a kind word. I always pointed out how cold it was while she was wearing shorts and telling me I should have Iowa blood by now.... I am still in shock, but I am grateful for the time I got to spend with Cheryl Pannier. 

Rest in Peace my friend.

December 28 Radio History

In 1915...announcer Dick Joy was born in Putnam, Connecticut.

Starting in local LA radio while a USC journalism student he became the youngest staff announcer in CBS radio history at age 21. On radio he worked on The Danny Kaye Show, The Sad Sack, Vox Pop, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Blue Ribbon Town, Dr. Kildare. Silver Theatre, New Old Gold Show, The Saint, and The Danny Thomas Show.  On TV his assignments included December Bride, Perry Mason, Have Gun – Will Travel, Daktari, Lost in Space, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., and Playhouse 90.

He died Oct. 31 1991 at age 75.


In 1953...Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia was born.

The son of a Methodist minister, Pittman was born in Jackson, Mississippi, but raised in Brookhaven and became a radio announcer at the age of 15 to earn money for flying lessons.

He was an announcer in a number of cities and then successfully programmed radio stations in Pittsburgh, Chicago and finally at the NBC flagship station, WNBC-AM, in New York when he was 23 years old. He also produced and co-hosted a music video and news show in 1978 that ran on NBC's O&O Television stations.

He did learn to fly, and has been a pilot for almost 40 years: He now has over 6,000 flight hours; currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot's license for airplanes; and is rated for helicopters and 3 types of jets.


In 1981...WEA Records (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) raised the price of its 45 rpm records from $1.68 to $1.98. The company was the leader of the pack with other labels soon boosting their prices. Within a few years, the 45 rpm record was “boosted” right out of existence by the arrival of the CD.

December 27 Radio History

In 

1932...Radio City Music Hall, in New York City, began operation with the first event open to the public.




In 1939...“The Glenn Miller Show”, also known as “Music that Satisfies”, started on CBS radio. The 15-minute, three-a-week big band show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and was heard for nearly three years.




In 1947...Bell Labs invented the transistor.


In 1958...Buddy Holly made his first appearance in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas since becoming a major recording star. Along with broadcasting "live" over KLLL radio from a fruit and vegetable store, he returned to the station's studios to record "You're The One," a song that station management challenged him to write in half an hour.


In 1963..."The Animals" performed on the BBC radio show, "Saturday Club", their first radio appearance.


In 1964...The Beatles' scored their sixth No. 1 song when "I Feel Fine" hit the top of the charts. Their previous No. 1 hits that year were: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"; "She Loves You"; "Can't Buy Me Love"; "Love Me Do" and "A Hard Day's Night."





In 1968...Don McNeils' "The Breakfast Club" signed off the ABC Radio network, after 35 years of successful broadcasting.

Don McNeil 1942

In Chicago during the early 1930s, McNeill was assigned to take over an unsponsored early morning variety show, The Pepper Pot, with an 8 a.m. timeslot on the NBC Blue Network. McNeill re-organized the hour as The Breakfast Club, dividing it into four segments which McNeill labeled "the Four Calls to Breakfast."

McNeill's revamped show premiered in 1933, combining music with informal talk and jokes often based on topical events, initially scripted by McNeill but later ad-libbed. In addition to recurring comedy performers, various vocal groups and soloists, listeners heard sentimental verse, conversations with members of the studio audience and a silent moment of prayer. The series eventually gained a sponsor in the Chicago-based meat packer Swift and Company. McNeill is credited as the first performer to make morning talk and variety a viable radio format.

The program featured Fran Allison (later of Kukla, Fran and Ollie fame) as "Aunt Fanny", plus Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers and various comedy bits. Every quarter-hour came the "Call to Breakfast" -- a march around the breakfast table. A featured vocalist on the show, under her professional name of Annette King, was Charlotte Thompson Reid, who later became an Illinois congresswoman for five terms (1962–71). Eileen Parker became a vocalist with the program in 1953.

The Breakfast Club initially was broadcast from the NBC studios in the Merchandise Mart. In 1948, after 4,500 broadcasts from the Merchandise Mart, the program moved to the new ABC Civic Studio. It was also heard from other Chicago venues: the Terrace Casino (at the Morrison Hotel), the College Inn Porterhouse (at the Sherman House) and "the Tiptop Room of the Warwick Allerton Hotel on Chicago's Magnificent Mile," as well as tour broadcasts from other locations in the U.S. It remained a fixture on the ABC radio network (formerly the NBC Blue Network; it became known as ABC in 1945), maintaining its popularity for years and counting among its fans Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas.

Don McNeil with comedian Sam Cowling 1956

After ABC Radio was split into four networks in 1968, The Breakfast Club was moved to the new American Entertainment network, and was known for its last months on the air as The Don McNeill Show.


In 1974...the Dear Abby 5-minute show ended its run on CBS radio after 11 years.

Tulsa Radio: Iconic Country Personality Billy Parker Signs-Off

Billy Parker, a five-time national country music disc jockey of the year, made his radio debut in 1959 and has been on the air continuously in Tulsa since 1971. This past week he taped his last show.

The farewell show will air twice on KXBL 99.5 FM Big Country this weekend — from 8-10 a.m. Saturday and 8-10 p.m. Sunday.

Click Here To Listen

The Tulsa World reports the 78-year-old Parker a love of music drove Parker to become a picker, singer (he turned “pro” at 14) and disc jockey. He launched his DJ career hundreds of QuikTrips ago.

The convenience store chain QT has 725 stores now. Parker started working for QT when the convenience store chain had only three stores. He was sweeping the floor at store No. 6 when he was listening to the radio and heard Ron Blue of KFMJ say the station needed a part-time disc jockey.

Parker put the broom away and asked the store manager if he could zip over to the radio station. He drove as fast as he could to get there because he didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“It didn’t pay much, but I wanted it, and I took it,” he said.

When another DJ at the station failed to show up for work a few times, Parker was promoted to full-time status.

Parker has been on the air in Tulsa for 44 consecutive years, he thought about going for 50. But long enough is long enough. It’s time, he said.

“You know what? I feel like the best time to quit is when you are ahead,” he said. “I feel like I’m ahead from the standpoint of friendship and everything else.” He said he has worked for four corporations since he started with KVOO in ’71 and has never been dissatisfied with anyone.

But Parker thinks it’s a shame that, with the exception of stations like KXBL, you don’t hear songs by great artists like Price anymore. He said he would have continued to play the “old” country he cherishes, with management’s blessing, if he had stuck around.

“But in my mind and in my heart I knew it was time to leave because of all the changes — not in management and not in anything except the music and the lacking of the older (artists). The younger demographics, you know, are running the show.”

China To Expel French Journalist

Ursula Gauthier

(Reuters) -- China will force a French journalist who criticised its treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority to leave the country, her employer, the weekly l'Obs news magazine, said on Friday.

The press visa of Ursula Gauthier, the magazine's Beijing correspondent, expires on Dec. 31 and Beijing has refused to grant an extension, saying a report she wrote supports acts of violence by Uighurs that China considers terrorist activity.

The story, dated Nov. 18, suggested that China was using last month's Paris attacks to justify crackdowns on Uighur people in northwest China's Xinjiang region.

Hundreds have been killed in recent years in the region, beset by ethnic tensions which Uighur groups blame on repressive government policies while China denies any human rights abuses and says it faces a campaign from Islamist radicals and separatists.

L'Obs said Gauthier was the subject of editorials in state-controlled media and even death threats after her article was published.

Foreign Correspondents Club in China/ Statement https://t.co/qcsUXVmY6Y

— Ursula Gauthier (@ugauthier) December 26, 2015

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said the article "openly supports terrorist activity, the killing of innocents and has outraged the Chinese public." His comments appeared in a question-and-answer posted on the ministry's website on Saturday.

Lu added that because Gauthier did not make a public apology, she could not work in China.

R.I.P.: William Guest, Co-Founder of The Pips

William Guest

William Guest, one of the original members of Gladys Knight and the Pips, has passed away at the age of 74.

According to Guest’s sister-in-law, Dhyana Ziegler, he died Thursday (Dec. 24) in Detroit of congestive heart failure.

Guest was a member of the Grammy winning group from 1953 to 1989. He performed background vocals on hits such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

“My heart is broken, but I know his legacy will live on,” said Guest’s daughter, Monique Guest, in a statement.

Gladys Knight and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.


With the death of Guest on Thursday and Edward Patten in 2005, the only remaining Pip is Gladys Knight’s brother, Merald “Bubba” Knight.