Liberty Media Corporation today reported second quarter 2019 results.
Highlights include:
Attributed to Liberty SiriusXM Group
SiriusXM reported very strong 2Q 2019 financial results
Revenue increased to $2.0 billion; pro forma growth of 9%
Net income of $263 million; diluted EPS of $0.06
Adjusted EBITDA(2) climbed 22% to record $618 million
$898 million of common stock repurchased in the second quarter; total capital returns of nearly $1.9 billion to date in 2019
SiriusXM increased 2019 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance
Liberty Media’s ownership of SiriusXM stood at 71.1% as of July 26th
From May 1st through July 31st, Liberty repurchased 2.2 million LSXMK shares at an average price per share of $38.18 and total cash consideration of $85 million
Attributed to Formula One Group
Announced return of Dutch Grand Prix beginning in 2020 and renewal of British and Australian races
Kicked off 2019 Formula 1 New Balance Esports Series with record breaking 109,000 participants; Pro Draft completed by all ten teams on July 17th
Announced Season 2 of Netflix docuseries “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” which will air in 2020 and feature all ten F1 teams
Attributed to Braves Group
Team performance continues to be strong, with 68-48 record as of August 7th
SunTrust Park will host 2021 MLB All-Star Game
“It was another outstanding quarter for SiriusXM, again setting financial records. They further established their leadership and unique position in content, announcing a groundbreaking collaboration with Drake and hosting their first-ever combined event with Pandora featuring Lady Gaga,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO. “Formula 1 produced some phenomenal racing and the Braves continue to lead the NL East.”
Cumulus Media Inc. today announced operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.
Second Quarter Financial Highlights
As compared to the second quarter of 2018 on an As Reported GAAP basis:
Net revenue decreased 2.0%
Net income was $42.9 million
Adjusted EBITDA(1) decreased 6.8%
As compared to the second quarter of 2018 on a Same Station(2) basis, excluding the impact of political revenue:
Net revenue increased 1.8%
Digital revenue increased 69.1%
Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased 3.7%
Mary G. Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus Media said, “In the second quarter, we continued to make great progress against the goals we set when we emerged from bankruptcy a little over a year ago.
"We delivered a solid financial performance, with same station revenue and Adjusted EBITDA up 1.8% and 3.7%, respectively, on an ex-political basis, driven by continued growth in national and network revenue, as well as industry-leading digital growth. Additionally, we have now closed several strategic portfolio optimization transactions and announced one more. The $146.5 million of gross proceeds from the closed transactions along with cash from operations allowed us to prepay $165 million of debt since our last earnings announcement, reducing our total post-bankruptcy debt by approximately $250 million and net leverage to 4.8x."
She added, "Given the results of the past year, I am more confident than ever that the company will continue to deliver significant value to our investors, employees, listeners, and advertisers.”
The Company currently operates in two reportable segments: the Cumulus Radio Station Group and Westwood One.
iHeartMedia, the No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, Wednesday announced it will translate and distribute a slate of its hit podcasts across the globe by first quarter 2020, marking a significant step in internationally available, regionally targeted content for the podcast industry.
In the first wave, the iHeartPodcast Network will translate six hit podcasts series into the most spoken languages in the world, further extending the podcast medium across new international audiences and serving up incredible content from this exploding medium to listeners around the world, in their native language, at scale.
The first slate of translated shows include “Stuff You Should Know,” “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” “Stuff Mom Never Told You,” “Stuff To Blow Your Mind,” “BrainStuff” and “TechStuff” with many more to come. The six initial podcasts, which have more than two billion downloads to date combined, will be translated into Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, French, German and more, and will be available on all major international audio distribution platforms.
Over the last decade, podcasting has exploded into the mainstream. Listenership in the United States alone has grown exponentially with an estimated 17 million more monthly podcast listeners in 2019 than in 2018. Additionally, younger Millennials and Gen Z are embracing podcasts, with listening up 48 percent with people aged 12-24, according to an Edison Infinite Dial 2019 study. Through these new translations, iHeartPodcasts will now be available in the native language of more than a billion people across the globe.
“Our goal as the audio leader is to deliver exceptional content to listeners anywhere and everywhere they are, in the way they’d like to hear it,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network.
Conal Byrne
“By expanding some of our most popular podcast content into new languages, we see a major opportunity to introduce podcast listening at scale to whole new audiences abroad. What has always set podcasting apart is the engagement of the audiences – the superfans. So it makes sense to engage international audiences further and to super-serve them with content in their own languages to build their relationship with the content. I’m looking forward to seeing how international audiences respond to shows like ‘Stuff You Should Know’ in their own languages – shows which have amassed unbelievable fanbases in the U.S.”
iHeartMedia has invested heavily in podcasting, from acquiring HowStuffWorks in 2018 to producing a slate of new original shows like “The Ron Burgundy Podcast,” “Disgraceland,” “Noble Blood” and “Committed,” as well as over a hundred podcasts from its on-air talent like “Bobbycast” and “The Breakfast Club.” All shows are distributed on all major podcast platforms, including the iHeartRadio app, which additionally distributes more than 250,000 shows. Making some of these podcasts available to international audiences is the next big step in cementing podcasting within the mainstream marketplace and expanding its influence globally.
iHeartRadio is America’s No. 1 commercial podcaster and the No. 1 streaming digital radio service. Its app is available on over 250 platforms and over 2,000 different connected devices — including smart speakers, digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables, smartphones, virtual assistants, televisions and gaming consoles.
Cox Media Group (CMG) San Antonio has named Rob Roberts the director of branding and programming for Classic Hits KONO 101.1 FM and AC KSMG Magic 105.3 FM.
In his new role, Roberts will lead and oversee on-air content, events, promotions and digital presence for the two stations.
“Rob is an experienced broadcast professional with a proven track record for achieving great success for high performing brands. We are excited to add his talents to the CMG San Antonio team and welcome him back to the great state of Texas,” says Jeff Garrison, director of operations for CMG San Antonio. “His vision and leadership will be key to the future of KONO 101.1 and Magic 105.3.”
Tim Clarke, VP of audience and content, adds, “Rob is one of the industry’s great programmers – and I am so thrilled he is now on our San Antonio team. We will benefit greatly from his experience and leadership.”
Prior to joining CMG, Roberts served as the program director and vice president of programming for WRQX-FM in Washington D.C. He’s spent his 27-year career elevating brands, improving market shares and developing talent in stations around the country, including WWWQ-FM in Atlanta, WHYI-FM in Miami, KDMX-FM in Dallas and KXKL-FM in Denver – just to name a few.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to become part of the Cox Media Group team in a city I love – it’s the job I’ve always wanted. Working alongside pros like Jeff Garrison and Keith Hastings while programming two highly-rated legacy stations is a dream come true,” says Roberts.
Salem Media Group has announced that Pat Kelley has been appointed as General Manager for the Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. market.
Pat Kelly
Kelley has previously served in management roles for Townsquare Media, iHeart Media, Viacom Media, and others including over 25 years in Chicago.
Kelley said, “I’m thrilled to be leading the charge in Upstate South Carolina as part of Salem Media’s local market leadership team. Great things are ahead!”
Salem Regional Vice President Val Carolin commented: “I’ve known Pat for many, many years and am excited to have a person of such high character and ability leading the terrific team in The Upstate. Pat is a strong leader, and a person of great integrity, creativity and skill. He will drive our operation to greater success and will be a true asset to Salem as a whole.”
Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday called racism "one of America's problems," adding that people should "calm down" a night after he said the problem of white supremacy in the U.S. is a "hoax."
America isn't a "white supremacist country plotting the slaughter of its own people," Carlson said in a post on Twitter that was accompanied by a message that was aired on his nightly program.
According to The Hill, Carlson came under heavy criticism throughout the day for his remarks the previous night that white supremacy wasn't a "real problem in America."
There’s been a tremendous response to last night’s show. The left wants to silence us. They won’t. Here’s a portion of our response from tonight’s show. Watch this video and watch #FoxNews at 8pm ET for more. pic.twitter.com/bMRdIeC33b
Those remarks followed a mass shooting by a long gunman in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead.
The suspect in the shooting is believed to have shared a racist manifesto describing an "invasion" of Hispanic immigrants before carrying out the attack. It followed a separate attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue last fall that killed 11 people, the deadliest attack in U.S. history on a Jewish community.
Since the El Paso shooting, leaders of both parties, including President Trump, have moved to condemn white supremacism.
Separately, FBI Director Christopher Wray said last month that the agency has made about 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October, with the majority tied to white supremacy.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Carlson said the U.S. is on the "decline" and that that frustration has led Americans to embrace new leaders, such as President Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
"But this country is not on the brink of genocide," he said. "It’s not even close to that. This is not a white supremacist country plotting the slaughter of its own people. It’s a kind country full of decent people of all races, who like all people everywhere make bad decisions from time to time."
Carlson announced at the end of his Wednesday night Fox News show that he will be taking a vacation.
"By the way," he said, "I am taking several days off -- headed to the wilderness to fish with my son." Carlson added, "Politics is important, fishing with your son, sometimes more important. So I'm doing it."
A Fox News spokesperson said the vacation had been in the works before Carlson had made his controversial remarks. The spokesperson added that Carlson will return back on the air from his vacation on August 19.
Fox Corp., which made two deals so far this week, will continue to look for acquisitions to boost its content holdings and forge closer ties to its audience, Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“We are pursuing a strategy to expand our portfolio of owned and co-owned content,” Murdoch told analysts on a call to discuss the company’s quarterly results. He said the company would be “strategic and judicious” in its approach.
The company on Wednesday said revenue for its fourth quarter rose 5% from a year earlier to $2.51 billion, boosted by stronger performances in its cable network and broadcast TV segments. Analysts had expected $2.45 billion.
Lachlan Murdock
On Tuesday, Fox said it was buying Bento Box Entertainment, a prolific producer of animated content including the Fox network show “Bob’s Burgers.” The price for that acquisition was under $50 million, a person familiar with the matter said.
Fox also struck its first deal with a major TV producer signing Jeff Davis, whose credits include the CBS drama “Criminal Minds” and the MTV hit “Teen Wolf” to create shows for the broadcast network. Mr. Murdoch said Fox also will have an equity stake in most of the shows on the network.
While analysts cheered the content acquisitions, there was confusion as to how Fox’s $265 million deal announced Sunday for a controlling stake in Credible Labs—a consumer-lending marketplace—fits the company.
Murdoch defended the acquisition, saying the deal was a “no-brainer.” Credible’s users, he said, are very similar with the audience for news at Fox’s various holdings including its local TV stations, Fox News and the Fox Business Network.
Fox said its fourth-quarter revenue growth was driven by a 7% jump in affiliate revenue, and partially offset by a 6% decline in advertising revenue—which the company said was due to fewer FIFA World Cup matches and political ads.
Fox posted a profit of $454 million, or 73 cents a share, down 3.6% from $471 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings were 62 cents a share, more than the 59 cents a share expected from analysts polled by FactSet.
As digital revenue becomes more central to the newspaper business, The New York Times Company on Wednesday reported second-quarter revenue growth of 5.2 percent compared with the same quarter last year.
Operating profit declined by the same proportion, to $37.9 million from $40 million a year earlier. In a statement, Mark Thompson, the company’s chief executive, said the dip in profit was “in large part a result of continued investment into growing our subscription business.”
The number of paid subscriptions, digital and print, reached 4.7 million, a high. Nearly 3.8 million people pay for the publisher’s online products, with the company adding a net total of 197,000 customers for its news, crossword and cooking apps during the quarter, a sharp increase from the 109,000 subscriptions added in the same period in 2018. Of those subscribers, 131,000 came for the digital news product.
Since introducing its web paywall eight years ago, The New York Times has sought to guard against industry declines in print advertising revenue by making most of its money from subscriptions, breaking from the traditional newspaper business model.
“We’re making steady progress toward our goal of reaching 10 million total subscriptions by 2025,” Mr. Thompson said.
Subscription revenue rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier, to $270.5 million. Digital-only subscription revenue makes up less than half that, $112.6 million, but grew more than 14 percent from last year’s second quarter.
In advertising, past trends held. Digital advertising revenue rose 13.7 percent year over year, while print advertising dropped 8 percent. Even so, in absolute terms, print ads brought in slightly more money than digital ads during the second quarter, $62.7 million versus $58 million — a sign that ads on paper remain lucrative.
In its report on Wednesday, the company said it expected digital subscription revenue to continue to rise steadily in the third quarter. At the same time, it warned that the outlook for ad revenue was not so promising for the second half of 2019, with expected drops in total ad revenue and digital ad revenue from strong third and fourth quarters last year.
White House is reportedly exploring potential executive action President Trump could take to address his and other Republicans' allegations of anti-conservative bias among social media companies.
Politico reported Wednesday that the White House has circulated a draft proposal, though it is unclear what exactly the order would do or how it would target tech companies. One source told the outlet that the details of the proposal remain in flux.
“If the internet is going to be presented as this egalitarian platform and most of Twitter is liberal cesspools of venom, then at least the president wants some fairness in the system,” a White House official was quoted telling the outlet. “But look, we also think that social media plays a vital role. They have a vital role and an increasing responsibility to the culture that has helped make them so profitable and so prominent."
A White House spokesman told The Hill that the administration is looking at "all policy solutions."
“The President announced at this month’s social media summit that we were going to address this and the administration is exploring all policy solutions,” the spokesman said in an email.
Social media companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter have all denied that they discriminate against users based on their political ideologies.
A controversial movie about privileged vacationers hunting “deplorables” for sport is ruffling feathers more than a month before its scheduled release and after tragic mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, reports Fox News.
“The Hunt” is billed as a satire that follows wealthy thrill-seekers taking a private jet to a five-star resort where they embark on a “deeply rewarding” expedition that involves hunting down and killing designated humans. The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that “Universal is re-evaluating its strategy for the certain-to-be-controversial satire" following the shootings after ESPN reportedly pulled a trailer for the film that had been previously cleared to air on the sports network.
“The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum's Blumhouse follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals,” THR’s Kim Masters wrote. “It features guns blazing along with other ultra-violent killings as the elites pick off their prey.”
Characters in the film refer to the victims as “deplorables,” which is what Hillary Clinton famously dubbed Trump supporters during the 2016 election. The report noted that a character asks, "Did anyone see what our ratf--ker-in-chief just did?"
"At least The Hunt's coming up. Nothing better than going out to the Manor and slaughtering a dozen deplorables," a character responds, according to THR.
"Out of sensitivity to the attention on the country’s recent shooting tragedies, Universal Pictures and the filmmakers of The Hunt have temporarily paused its marketing campaign and are reviewing materials as we move forward," a Universal Pictures spokesperson told Fox News late Wednesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, conducted a nationwide emergency alert test on Wednesday afternoon to gauge its ability to send warnings if the internet were to go down.
The test was of the Emergency Alert System – a warning structure designed to “save lives and protect property during times of national, state, regional, and local emergencies,” according to ABC News citing FEMA.
This test was different from the "Presidential Alert System" that was tested back in October. The "Presidential Alert" system uses the same wireless alerts smartphone users receive on AMBER alerts or severe weather warnings but allows the president, or another authorized official, to send simultaneous warnings to almost every smartphone in the country at the same time.
The FEMA test did not include cell phones.
The test happened at 2:20 p.m. EDT and was seen and heard on television and radio stations and networks across the U.S. It's the fifth time a test like this has been conducted, the last one taking place in October 2018.
The test was supposed to last only about one minute, FEMA said.
➦In 1933...singer Joe Tex was born Joseph Arrington, Jr. in Baytown Texas. This soul and Disco singer-songwriter was most popular during the 1960s and 1970s leading the Joe Tex Band. His style of speaking over music, which he called “rap”, made him a predecessor of the modern style of music. His hits include I Gotcha, Hold What You’ve Got, Skinny Legs and All, and Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman. He died following a heart attack Aug 13, 1982 just days after his 49th birthday. ➦In 1952...Robin Quivers, famous sidekick to Howard Stern, was born.
Robin Quivers
In 1979 after military service, Quivers returned to her hometown of Baltimore where she studied at the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland and worked in a hospital. She landed her first job in the radio industry with a newscasting position at WIOO 1000 AM in Carlisle, PA, followed by WCMB 1460 AM in nearby Harrisburg. She then moved back to Baltimore for a consumer reporter role at WFBR, where she also read newscasts with morning disc jockey Johnny Walker.
In March 1981, radio personality Howard Stern started his new morning program at WWDC in Washington, D.C.. He wanted an on-air newscaster to riff with him in the studio on the news and current affairs. That was when station program director Denise Oliver played Quivers a tape of Stern interviewing a prostitute on the air. She "had never heard anything like it...I just said, 'where do I sign? I’ll do anything just to meet this guy!'"
➦In 1952..WMCA 570 AM NYC banned singer Rosemary Clooney's latest hit 'Botch-A-Me.
➦In 1963..."Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen was released and some radio stations thought it contained obscene lyrics.
➦In 1966...WABC moved to 1330 Avenue of the Americas
➦In 1982...WNBC-AM, New York City began broadcasting in AM Stereo.
➦In 1986...legendary DJs, Bobby Ocean and Dr. Don Rose aired their last shows on KFRC 610 AM, San Francisco.
From 1973 until 1986, Dr. Don Rose (Born Donald Rosenberg July 5, 1934–March 30, 2005) was KFRC's morning air radio personality.
With earlier experience at WQXI 790 AM in Atlanta and WFIL 560 AM in Philadelphia, he was known for his one-liners and sound effects. One of Rose's characteristic "sound bite" mannerisms around this time period was to state the words "that's right" in a continuous fashion that was intended to sound "crazy", or funny, which also served to represent the overall morning zoo radio format, style and "feel" of his show. Rose revealed in a Risky Business 1980s television interview that he earned in excess of $300K a year, still incredible compensation by today's radio personality standards.
With Dr. Don as anchor, and a supporting cast that included Bobby Ocean, Rick Shaw, Dave Sholin, Harry Nelson, Bay Area Hall of Fame inductee Don Sainte-Johnn, "Marvelous" Mark McKay and John Mack Flanagan, KFRC was "Station of the Year" four times by Billboard Magazine. Rose was considered by many to be the king of radio in the Bay Area during the last decade of AM's musical dominance. KFRC program directors during this period included Michael Spears, Les Garland, Gerry Cagle and Mike Phillips.
KFRC was known for its award-winning news department. It covered Bay Area news stories with tight writing, use of natural sound, short sound bites, live reports. Some of the best news anchors and reporters worked at KFRC in the '70s and '80s including Jo Interrante, Dave Cooke, Paul Fredricks, John Winters, Vikki Liviakis, Robert McCormick, Dave MacQueen, Stephen Capen, Mike Sugerman, Ken Bastida, John Evans, Joanne Greene, Jane Dornacker, and reporter, anchor and later News Director William Abbott. Known for his unique, confident style, would end each report with the station's signature, "This is William Abbott, KFRC 20/20 News".
Among the disc jockeys at KFRC during the 1980s were, in addition to Ocean and Rose, Chuck Geiger, future AT&T Park public-address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon and future Los Angeles radio programmer Jack Silver, who would be the last voice heard when KFRC ended its Top 40 era. Technically, Don Sainte-Johnn was the last Air Personality on KFRC (with all respect to Programmer Jack Silver, who was a manager, not considered Air Talent for KFRC). Sainte-Johnn had been specifically hired for KFRC as an Air Personality.
With the decline of the Top 40 format by mid-decade, KFRC's programming was flipped at 6 AM on August 11, 1986, to an adult standards format, and was known as "Magic 61", while still broadcasting in stereo. The last song to be played before the change was "Lights" by Journey, which had also been used in KFRC's TV advertising. Today, 610 AM is home to KEAR, a non-commercial traditional Christian radio station. KEAR is the flagship station of Family Radio,
➦In 2002...New York's WNNY 1380 AM changes call letters to WLXE. Today 1380 AM is home to WKDM, an ethnic brokered radio station owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and airs programming in Mandarin Chinese,
➦In 2017...singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor Glen Campbell died at age 81, three years after moving into an Alzheimer’s long-term care home. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting his own music and comedy variety show on CBS television, from January 1969 through June 1972.
He released more than 70 albums in a career that spanned five decades, accumulating over 45 million record sales worldwide.
Wall Street punished radio giant Entercom Communications on Wednesday as second quarter revenues fell short of projections. Entercom stock cratered 42 percent in morning trading to $3.04 a share.
A slowing second-quarter advertising market and weak ticket sales to Entercom events produced a 2.3 percent boost to revenues in the second quarter, which was significantly lower than the 4 percent that Entercom CEO David Field had projected earlier this year
Investors seem to have lost patience with Entercom, which acquired the former CBS Radio empire in 2017 with plans to create a national radio juggernaut of news and sports, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
David Field
But the combined Entercom/CBS Radio has repeatedly run into problems merging the two radio companies in a difficult business environment for legacy media platforms. At the time the deal was announced in early 2017, Entercom’s stock traded between $15 and $16 a share.
An investor fear is that Entercom could drown in its debt if it can’t grow revenues and service its debt. Based on Wednesday’s trading, Entercom, the nation’s second largest radio company, had a stock-market capitalization of about $465 million but debt of $1.6 billion.
Entercom chief financial officer Richard Schmaeling said that the company should make progress cutting its debt by late 2020. He also said that expenses -- though they rose slightly in the second quarter -- would decline slightly for 2019.
“We are certainly sobered by the slowdown” in the second quarter, Field said in the conference call.
But Field also believed there was a “complete disconnect” between how Wall Street sees the company and what those inside Entercom view as its prospects, particularly with its new digital offerings, podcasting and national audio sports network.
Field noted in the conference call that the former CBS Radio stations such as those in Philadelphia performed better than the legacy Entercom radio stations. Entercom owns 235 radio stations nationwide.
Second Quarter Highlights
Net revenues for the quarter were $380.7 million, up 2.3% compared to $372.1 million in the second quarter of 2018
Total operating expense for the quarter was $315.9 million, which included $4.9 million in merger, restructuring and integration costs and $1.9 million in expense related to the Company’s issuance of 6.5% senior secured second-lien notes. This compared to $344.6 million in the second quarter of 2018, which included $10.9 million in merger, restructuring and integration costs and a $29.0 million impairment charge.
Operating income for the quarter was $64.8 million, compared to $27.6 million in the second quarter of 2018
Net income per diluted share for the quarter was $0.19, compared to $0.01 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2018
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $87.6 million, up 7% compared to $82.1 million in the second quarter of 2018
Entercom, a leading media and entertainment company and the nation’s unrivaled leader in local sports radio, today announced the creation of the RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network – an all-digital, daily, live, subscription-free sports network that will feature over 75 hours of original podcast content weekly. The RADIO.COM Sports brand, which was initially launched in February as Entercom’s national sports platform that sits atop the company’s vast array of broadcast and digital sports assets, will now expand its footprint into native digital original content for the first time.
The digital network will launch with over 65 hours of daily, live programming available exclusively on the RADIO.COM platform in both audio and video. In addition, short-form, on-demand versions of these shows will be distributed in real time through leading podcast distribution services. The podcast product offering will also feature four weekly podcasts, with more to be announced soon.
In addition, the network will serve as the digital play-by-play home for Notre Dame and Clemson football and basketball, as well as other league and team partnerships which will be developed over time.
Already, advertisers such as ZipRecruiter and HIMS have committed as launch partners of the new network.
“We are very excited to be rolling out the new RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network with an outstanding lineup of native digital content,” said David Field, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Entercom. “It is the perfect complement to our unrivaled platform in local sports which includes most of the nation’s leading sports talk stations and personalities along with the most desirable play-by-play relationships.”
New daily and weekly RADIO.COM Sports Originals will include the following:
➤Home and Home hosted by Ross Tucker and Dave Briggs (M – F Live 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET)
This show features national conversation around the sports stories making news. The content is brought to the listener through a unique lens as the show will incorporate frequent live drop-ins on Entercom local sports broadcast stations around the country. This local perspective will tee up topics for Tucker and Briggs, as well as special guests like Michael Lombardi, Ric Bucher and Joe Girardi, to debate from a national point of view. Tucker is a former NFL offensive lineman and a current sports broadcaster with NBC Philadelphia on Eagles pre-season television. He also works as a RADIO.COM NFL Insider and on Westwood One NFL Network Radio among others roles. Briggs is a veteran sports broadcaster and the current co-anchor of CNN “Early Start.” He has previously anchored the network’s Super Bowl programming.
➤Scal & Pals featuring Brian Scalabrine & Others (M – F Live 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET, effective September 23)
This show features the charismatic Scalabrine, also known as the White Mamba, talking all things NBA. Scalabrine played for 11 seasons in the NBA and was a member of the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics. He is currently a Celtics analyst on NBC Sports Boston and a RADIO.COM Sports NBA Insider. More details will be announced in early September with this show scheduled to launch on Monday, September 23.
➤Swing & Mrs. hosted by Jennifer and Cody Decker (M – F Live 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET)
Originating out of Los Angeles, this show combines sports, lifestyle and pop culture with a slightly left coast bias. Jennifer (Sterger) Decker is an actress, comedian, writer and a current reporter for DAZN. She teams with her husband Cody, a recently retired professional baseball player who spent most of his career in the San Diego Padres system and was a member of Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in both 2013 and 2017. He hit over 200 home runs in his minor league career. Together the Decker’s will form the only married couple sports podcast team. In addition to their daily show, Jenn and Cody will also produce a weekly podcast entitled Love at First Fight which will highlight their different perspectives on current events and life in general.
➤You Better You Bet featuring Nick Kostos & Others (Live 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET)
This show will focus on the fast-growing world of sports betting, including line changes, odds and more, with live looks and commentary around each evening’s live games. Fantasy sports will also be a focal point. Kostos is an industry leader in sports gambling and fantasy sports. He is an analyst for the Sports Illustrated sports gambling platform and a former host for CBS Sports Digital, as well as a writer for Bleacher Report. Kostos will be joined by a regular cast of contributors which will include Eli Hershkovich, Joe Ostrowski, Danny Parkins and Ken Barkley. This show will also air a special Sunday edition from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. during the NFL regular season through the big game in February.
➤Prevent Defense with Brian Baldinger & Eliot Shorr-Parks (Weekly Tuesdays)
This weekly podcast is for the ultimate NFL fan. Baldinger, who is an analyst for the NFL Network as well as aRADIO.COM NFL Insider, is renowned for his commitment to film study and every week will bring a depth of knowledge to the audience that is unsurpassed. Shorr-Parks is an Eagles analyst for SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia and adds outstanding insights. They will be joined each week by a variety of guests including Jason La Canfora, Armando Salguero, and Channing Crowder, as well as current players and coaches from around the league.
“We are thrilled with the extraordinary lineup of talent we have assembled to launch this new venture,” added Mike Dee, President of Sports, Entercom. “The introduction of OTT video distribution from the outset, as well as the commitment to create and distribute 25 hours of dedicated sports betting audio and video weekly to super serve that growing audience, are both examples of how the network will utilize technology and adapt quickly to the new trends that are shaping both consumer and advertiser interest. We look forward to the onboarding of more great content to the network in the coming months.”
Entercom owns and operates 35 all-sports stations across the U.S., including WEEI (WEEI-AM/FM) in Boston, WFAN (WFAN-AM/FM) in New York and SportsRadio 94WIP (WIP-FM) in Philadelphia. Additionally, it is the flagship home of 44 professional teams and over 50 Division 1 collegiate programs, including the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and University of Oregon, Clemson University and digital rights to University of Notre Dame, among others. This broadcast portfolio reaches over 31 million sports fans monthly and boasts the nation’s leading collection of radio play-by-play coverage.
The first slate of translated shows include “Stuff You Should Know,” “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” “Stuff Mom Never Told You,” “Stuff To Blow Your Mind,” “BrainStuff” and “TechStuff” with many more to come. The six initial podcasts, which have more than two billion downloads to date combined, will be translated into Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, French, German and more, and will be available on all major international audio distribution platforms.
Tim Clarke, VP of audience and content, adds, “Rob is one of the industry’s great programmers – and I am so thrilled he is now on our San Antonio team. We will benefit greatly from his experience and leadership.”
Prior to joining CMG, Roberts served as the program director and vice president of programming for WRQX-FM in Washington D.C. He’s spent his 27-year career elevating brands, improving market shares and developing talent in stations around the country, including WWWQ-FM in Atlanta, WHYI-FM in Miami, KDMX-FM in Dallas and KXKL-FM in Denver – just to name a few.
