Radio History: July 26

Burns & Allen

➦In 1895...Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was born (Died of a heart attack at age 69 – August 27, 1964). She was a vaudevillian and comedienne who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man appearing with her on radio, television and film as the duo Burns and Allen.

For her contributions to the television industry, Gracie Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6672 Hollywood Boulevard, while she and Burns were inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1988.

Co-star Bea Benaderet said of Allen in 1966: "She was probably one of the greatest actresses of our time."  Today, the annual Gracie Awards are named in her honor.

The Burns & Allen Show debuted on radio in 1932, and ended on TV with Gracie’s retirement 25 years later.

➦In 1903...Donald Voorhees born (Died at age 85 – January 10, 1989, Cape May Court House, NJ. He was a  composer and conductor who received an Emmy Award nomination for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the television series, The Bell Telephone Hour.

Donald Voorhees

Starting in 1926, Voorhees' orchestra recorded prolifically for Columbia, Edison, Pathe, Perfect, Cameo, and Hit of the Week, playing the piano in early recordings. His recording career mostly ended in 1931, when he approached the bigger opportunities radio offered at the time. His first broadcast work was NBC Radio's The Texaco Fire Chief Show, which starred comedian Ed Wynn. Other of the programs he worked for was the Maxwell House Showboat, appearing in a 1933 "picturization", the short Captain Henry's Show Boat.

From 1935 to 1941, and from 1949 to 1953 (with Ardon Cornwell), Voorhees was the musical director and conductor for the radio and television show, Cavalcade of America.

Voorhees also served as conductor of the Bell Telephone Hour orchestra for 26 years, from its first broadcasts on radio in 1942 until its final television episode in 1968. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1966 for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the series.

➦In 1921...Jean Parker Shepherd Jr. born (Died – October 16, 1999). He was a storyteller, radio and TV personality, writer and actor. He was often referred to by the nickname Shep. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted, based on his own semi-autobiographical stories.

Jean Shepherd

After military service, Shepherd began his broadcast radio career in early 1945 on WJOB in Hammond, Indiana, later working at WTOD in Toledo, Ohio, in 1946. He began working in Cincinnati, Ohio, in January 1947 at WSAI, later also working at Cincinnati stations WCKY and WKRC the following year, before returning to WSAI. From 1951 to 1953, he had a late-night broadcast on KYW in Philadelphia, PA, after which he returned to Cincinnati for several shows on WLW. After a stint on television, he returned to radio. "Shep," as he was known, settled in at WOR 710 AM in New York Cit at the end of February 1955, and on an overnight slot in 1956, where he delighted his fans by telling stories, reading poetry (especially the works of Robert W. Service), and organizing comedic listener stunts.

When he was about to be released by WOR in 1956 for lack of sponsors, he did a commercial for Sweetheart Soap, not a sponsor, and was immediately fired. His listeners besieged WOR with complaints, and when Sweetheart offered to sponsor him he was reinstated. Eventually, he attracted more sponsors than he wanted.

His last WOR broadcast was on April 1, 1977. His subsequent radio work consisted of short segments on several other stations, including crosstown WCBS 880 AM, and occasional commentaries on NPR's All Things Considered. His final radio gig was the Sunday night radio show "Shepherd's Pie" on WBAI in the mid-1990s, which had him reading his stories uncut, uninterrupted and unabridged. The show was one of WBAI's most popular of the period.

Throughout his radio career, he performed entirely without scripts. His friend and WOR colleague Barry Farber marveled at how he could talk so long with so few notes.

He died Oct. 16 1999 at age 78.  In 2005 he was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

➦In 1944...The New York Times took-over ownership of WQXR AM & FM in NYC.

➦In 195?...WCBS 101.1 FM NYC PD Jim Ryan was born.

TV Ratings: A Busy Week Belongs To Fox News Channel

Only one network truly dominated during the 2024 Republican National Convention: Fox News. The network topped both the broadcast and cable nets during the convention’s four days. 

The busy news week, which ended with the breaking news coverage of President Joe Biden withdrawing from this year’s presidential election, added to Fox News’ dominance as it saw its best week in total day and primetime since the 2020 presidential election. All this led the network to boast 70% of the audience share during primetime and 66% during the total day, the highest share in the network’s history.

TV Newser citing Nielsen live plus same-day data for the Week of July 15 reports FNC average 5.001 million total viewers and 790,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up in total viewers by +29% and +40% in the A25-54 demo relative to the week prior (the week beginning July 8).

Fox News averaged 2.508 million total viewers and 376,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing. It was up +22% in total viewers and +28% in A25-54 from what it averaged in those measurements the week prior. Among all basic cable networks, Fox News was No. 1 in total primetime viewers and in the primetime demo. In total day, it continued to lead in total viewers and in the total day demo for the Week of July 15.

MSNBC in primetime averaged 1,115,000 total viewers and 143,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the Week of July 15. The network was the only one to be down in total viewers as it fell by -7% but rose by +4% in the advertiser-coveted demo from what the network averaged the week prior.

CNN averaged 1,008,000 total primetime viewers and 280,000 A25-54 viewers in the demo during primetime for the Week of July 15. CNN was flat in total viewers but had a +11% gain in the demo compared to the previous week. 

Once again Fox News occupied all 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with Jesse Watters Primetime taking the top spot with 5.580 million viewers at 8 p.m. ET.

Hannity remained the top show in the Adults 25-54 demo, averaging 885,000 demo viewers at 9 p.m. ET. Fox News again cleaned house in the demo, taking all 15 cable news shows overall.

Breaking News and Keeping Listeners Engaged

A new report from Audacy. shows AM/FM radio is unparalleled in immediacy and the way it serves its audience in the most critical moments in our history.  And the time when President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 Presidential election was no different. 

Radio’s displayed agility in reaching millions with breaking news and powerful coverage.  According to Audacy,  New York’s 1010 WINS was at the pinnacle of the news cycle, connecting with audiences and infusing the airwaves with the latest facts. The announcement met with a significant flux of listeners, as news is an integral part of Audio consumers’ daily lives and quality content from trusted voices is just what the nation needs in times of social tension and dizzying political announcements coming at audiences from every angle.

From the moment of the announcement and throughout the day, 1010 WINS had 15% more listeners than the previous week. This is even more impressive considering that the previous weekend had already seen a spike in engagement due to the assassination attempt that kept the audience glued to their radios. 

Similarly, Los Angeles’s KNX saw an 11% increase in listeners compared to the previous week. These gains highlight how crucial newsradio is for timely and reliable updates, especially during major events. Audiences’ quest for radio news drove a +43% increase in Audacy app downloads and installs compared to the same day last year, underscoring the growing importance of digital platforms in complementing traditional radio broadcasts.

Report: Murdoch Family Feud Simmering

Rupert Murdoch is locked in a secret legal battle against three of his children over the future of the family’s media empire, as he moves to preserve it as a conservative political force after his death, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times.

The NYTimes reports Murdoch, 93, set the drama in motion late last year, when he made a surprise move to change the terms of the Murdochs’ irrevocable family trust to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, would remain in charge of his vast collection of television networks and newspapers.

The trust currently hands control of the family business to the four oldest children when Mr. Murdoch dies. But he is arguing in court that only by empowering Lachlan to run the company without interference from his more politically moderate siblings can he preserve its conservative editorial bent, and thus protect its commercial value for all his heirs.

Those three siblings — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — were caught completely off-guard by their father’s effort to rewrite what was supposed to be an inviolable trust and have united to stop him. Lachlan has joined on Murdoch’s side. Remarkably, the ensuing battle has been playing out entirely out of public view.

Last month, the Nevada probate commissioner found that Murdoch could amend the trust if he is able to show he is acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs, according to a copy of his 48-page decision.

A trial to determine whether Murdoch is in fact acting in good faith is expected to start in September. Hanging in the balance will be the future of one of the most politically influential media companies in the English-speaking world.

NBA Media Rights To ESPN, NBC, Amazon, But Not TNT

The National Basketball Association said it has signed landmark media-rights deals worth $77 billion with Disney’s ESPN, Amazon.com and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, turning away a last-minute bid from current rights holder Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT.

The new 11-year deals, which go into effect following the 2024-2025 season, will more than double the fees the NBA receives each season, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Disney has agreed to pay an average fee of $2.6 billion a year to keep NBA games on ESPN and ABC, up from $1.5 billion a year under the current deal. NBCUniversal agreed to pay $2.5 billion a year to air games on NBC and its Peacock streaming service, while Amazon Prime Video has offered $1.9 billion a year for a streaming package. 

The league said it rejected a proposal from Warner to keep basketball games on its TNT network, setting the stage for a potential legal showdown. TNT had exercised a clause in its contract that gave it the right to match a rival bid. The Journal reported that TNT is seeking to match Amazon’s offer. 

The deals—each of which has a substantial streaming component—embody a seismic shift in the way consumers are watching sports. Amazon’s entry points to the growing power of technology companies in sports.

The media-rights deals “will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement.

In calls detailing the news, executives for the media companies said the NBA would help them boost and retain subscribers for their platforms, and reach younger and more diverse audiences.

NBCUniversal’s package will include 100 games per regular season across NBC and Peacock as well as first and second-round playoff games and six conference finals series. 

Disney is taking on a smaller package of games than under its current deal. Its package will include 80 regular-season games per season, the NBA Finals, plus early-round playoff contests and Conference Finals series in 10 seasons, the league said. All games will be available on ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service. 

Amazon will offer 66 regular-season games, including Thursday double-headers starting in January, plus Friday evening double-headers and select Saturday afternoon games. Prime Video also will air “play-in” tournament games and will have early playoff coverage, plus six Conference Finals series.

As part of the agreement media rights deals were also secured for the WNBA. That will include 25 regular-season games on Disney’s platforms, 50 regular-season games on NBCUniversal’s platforms and 30 regular-season games on Prime Video. 

RTDNA Survey Shows Mixed Bag On Radio News Salaries

After three years of meager salary increases — all of which lagged inflation — this year is worse. Overall, radio salaries actually fell 2.5%. With inflation at 3.1% for the year, that means real wages dropped by 5.6%. But why they fell may surprise you.

In terms of real wages (actual wages minus inflation), radio salaries lost 0.5% in 2021, 6.6% in 2022, 1.9% in 2023, and 2.5% in 2024. That’s a total wage loss of 11.5% over the last four years.

There is some good news in radio salaries. For news directors, the median salary stayed the same, but the average salary went up 6.7%. 

According to the Radio Television Digital News Association Reporters salaries are also mixed, with the average salary dropping 0.9%, but the median salary is going up 12.5%. News producers did even better with average salary up 5% and median salary up 10.4%. But that’s where the good news stops. 

News anchor, sports anchor and sports reporter all lost ground in both average and median salaries. Web producer/editor dropped slightly on average and held even on median.

Now one can see more clearly what’s happening in radio salaries. 

Historically, non-commercial radio salaries have been substantially higher than commercial radio salaries. This year, that’s not the case. When looking at large and major markets, all the average commercial salaries are higher than non-commercial salaries, and median salaries are fairly close. But the actual story is what took place between last year and this year. Overall, commercial radio salaries — for the four positions above in large and major markets — went up a whopping 23.5%. Non-commercial salaries went down 8% from a year ago. So the drop in radio news salaries lies almost entirely in the non-commercial world.

Fox News Proposes Harris-Trump Debate

Fox News has proposed a debate on Sept. 17 in Pennsylvania between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter to both campaigns dated Tuesday.

“As you recall, despite not having a Democratic debate in 2016/2020, Fox News was able to secure town halls with Democratic candidates,” Fox executive Jay Wallace wrote in a letter to Harris campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon that was obtained by The NY Post.

Wallace sent a nearly identical letter to Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. The letter included a variety of stats boasting about Fox News being the ratings king in key timeslots.

Specifically, he suggested that Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum could host the debate to “foster informed political dialogue.”

“We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location — with or without an audience,” Wallace stressed in the letter.

NYC Radio: Stugotz Lobbies For WFAN Gig

Jon “Stugotz” Weiner is making a strong push to join WFAN in New York. While filling in on the “Boomer & Gio” show this week, Awful Announcing was first to report he’s been vocal about his desire to work for the station. 

Stugotz, who has a long history with Dan Le Batard at WAXY in Miami and ESPN, turned down the program director position at WFAN earlier this year due to limited on-air opportunities and lower pay.

"I am telling the people here that run WFAN, this will be your last opportunity to get me."

Jon "Stugotz" Weiner says his contract is up early next year, he's only doing one more...and he wants it to be at The Fan pic.twitter.com/0EGwuKvvcf

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 23, 2024

Stugotz has made it clear that his current contract with Meadowlark Media ends next year, and he wants to sign one more contract to fulfill his dream of being a full-time host at WFAN before retiring1. He emphasized that this is WFAN’s last chance to hire him and that he’s not looking to take anyone else’s job.

Judge Allows Trump Defamation Lawsuit vs ABC To Proceed

A Florida judge rejected ABC's motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against the Disney-owned network and its anchor George Stephanopolous by former President Trump, allowing it to move forward.

The lawsuit stems from comments Stephanopoulos made in March when he falsely asserted that Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case against the Republican White House hopeful. 

"A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context. But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate," Judge Cecilia Altonaga of United States District Court in Miami ruled Wednesday. 

Stephanopoulos' comments were made during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on his Sunday program "This Week" in March.

After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked her, "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?" 

"You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll. 

Stephanopoulos repeated that claim a whopping ten times during his ugly spat with Mace, despite the fact that a jury actually determined Trump was liable for "sexual abuse," which has a distinct definition under New York law.

Radio History: July 25

Hal Peary

➦In 1908...Harold (Hal) Peary born in San Leanadro, CA (Died at age 76 – March 30, 1985). He was an actor, comedian and singer in radio, films, television, and animation remembered best as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a supporting character on radio's Fibber McGee and Molly that moved to its own NBC radio hit, The Great Gildersleeve, the first known spinoff hit in American broadcasting history.

Born as José Pereira de Faria in San Leandro, California, to Portuguese parents, Harold Peary (pronounced "Perry") began working in local radio as early as 1923, according to his own memory, and had his own show as a singer, The Spanish Serenader, in San Francisco, but moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1937. While in San Francisco, he also had "several parts" in Wheatenaville, a program broadcast on NBC's Pacific network beginning September 26, 1932

Peary worked as a disc jockey at radio station WMGM 1050 AM in New York City. Beginning in 1953, he had a one-hour program Monday-Saturday.

➦In 1922...AT&T Western Electric began broadcasting WBAY New York City, the predecessor of WEAF, WNBC, WRCA and the current WFAN.  AT&T broadcast assets within a few years were early NBC properties.

➦In 1925...2XAG (now WGY 810 AM) in Schenectady, NY became the first radio station in the U.S. to broadcast with a 50,000-watt transmitter.

Birthday Boy Scott Shannon with mini-Scott (2018)

➦In 1947...Radio personality-programmer Michael Scott Shannon was born.  He retired last December 2022 as morning host at Audacy's Classic Hits WCBS 101.1 FM in New York City, and he continues to host America's Greatest Hits syndicated nationally via United Stations. He has also worked for WHTZ, WPLJ, The True Oldies Channel, and he is the voice for the syndicated Sean Hannity Show.

He began his radio career during an Army stint at WFBS 1450 AM in Spring Lake, North Carolina (later WFBX). From there he moved to WCLS 1580 AM in Columbus, Georgia. After leaving the army, Shannon worked full-time in radio at WABB in Mobile, Alabama, where he acquired the name Super Shan.  After a brief stint at WMPS in Memphis he moved to Nashville, where he was the evening disc jockey at WMAK 1300 AM, later becoming that station's program director.

Shannon left Nashville to take a job as a record promoter with Casablanca Records.  Scott returned to radio in Washington, D.C. as program director of WPGC 95.5 FM, taking that station to the #1 spot in the Arbitron ratings. From there, he moved to WQXI 790 AM in Atlanta. Then, in Tampa, Florida, Scott, along with partner Cleveland Wheeler, he developed the 'morning zoo' radio format while at WRBQ 104.7 FM Q105.

Shannon is particularly known within the radio broadcasting industry for his work on WHTZ 100.3 FM Z100 in New York City in the mid to late 1980's. Along with former disc jockey Ross Brittain of WABC's "Ross & Wilson Show", he founded the "Z Morning Zoo." He was the driving force in helping Z100 go from worst-to-first in New York City within a mere 74 days of signing on the air.

Secret Service Urges No More Outdoor Rallies for Trump

Secret Service officials encouraged Donald Trump’s campaign to stop scheduling large outdoor rallies and other outdoor events with big crowds after the assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pa., according to The Washington Post citing people familiar with the matter.

In the aftermath of the shooting, agents from the Secret Service communicated their concerns about large outdoor rallies going forward to Trump campaign advisers, three people familiar with the matter said.

The people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.

For upcoming events, Trump’s team is scouting indoor venues, such as basketball arenas and other large spaces where thousands of people can fit, people familiar with the request said. The campaign is not currently planning any large outdoor events, a person close to Trump said.

A Trump campaign spokeswoman declined to comment. A spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency does not comment on its protective methods.

Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, often bragging about — and sometimes falsely inflating — his large crowds. They have become something of a cult favorite among his most passionate fans, with tailgate parties in parking lots, vendors lining open areas near the rally and large parades of traffic, often with gargantuan pickup trucks.

They usually include large rosters of speakers before Trump takes the stage, with crowds sometimes enduring the heat or the cold for many hours. The crowd sometimes departs before Trump, who is regularly late, finishes speaking.

The rallies are often held at airports but are also held at fairgrounds, football stadiums or other large outdoor venues.

Indoor rallies are more expensive, campaign advisers said. But one campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private plans said the indoor events are inherently safer because it is easier to control who comes through a finite number of doors, and there are fewer line-of-sight issues.

New Rooftop Bodycam Video Emerges

Bodycam footage taken from law enforcement shows the body of the shooter who opened fire on former President Trump from a rooftop as authorities worked through the confusion following the chaotic shooting.

Sen. Chuck Grassely, R-Iowa, posted the three-minute video on social media Tuesday. The footage shows authorities on the roof of a building in Butler, Penn., where Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead by snipers after shooting Trump. 

"Beaver County snipers seen him, sent the pictures out. This is him," someone off-camera is heard saying as Crooks' body is seen on the roof next to a trail of blood and several feet away from what appears to be a rifle.  

"Rifle's right there," one law enforcement officer says as he points at the weapon. 

The footage was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, Grassley posted on X. Fox News Digital has blurred the image of the body

Amazon Expected to Launch Paid Tier For Alexa Soon

Amazon.com’s Alexa Echo speakers are the type of business success companies don’t want: a widely purchased product that is also a giant money loser.

The Wall Street Journal reports Chief Executive Andy Jassy is trying to plug that hole—and move away from the Amazon accounting tactic that helped create it.

When Amazon launched the Echo smart home devices with its Alexa voice assistant in 2014, it pulled a page from shaving giant Gillette’s classic playbook: sell the razors for a pittance in the hope of making heaps of money on purchases of the refill blades.

A decade later, the payoff for Echo hasn’t arrived. While hundreds of millions of customers have Alexa-enabled devices, the idea that people would spend meaningful amounts of money to buy goods on Amazon by talking to the iconic voice assistant on the underpriced speakers didn’t take off.

Customers actually used Echo mostly for free apps such as setting alarms and checking the weather. “We worried we’ve hired 10,000 people and we’ve built a smart timer,” said a former senior employee. 

As a result, Amazon has lost tens of billions of dollars on its devices business, which includes Echos and other products such as Kindles, Fire TV Sticks and video doorbells, according to internal documents and people familiar with the business.  

Between 2017 and 2021, Amazon had more than $25 billion in losses from its devices business, according to the documents. The losses for the years before and after that period couldn’t be determined.

It is a high-stakes miscalculation the tech giant made under founder Jeff Bezos that current CEO Jassy, who took the helm in 2021, is now trying to change. As part of a plan to reverse losses, Amazon is launching a paid tier of Alexa as soon as this month, a move even some engineers working on the project worry won’t work, according to people familiar with those efforts.

As Jassy tries to fix it, he is rethinking the obscure Bezos-era metric inside Amazon that helps explain why Echo and other devices could accrue such huge losses for so long with little repercussion. Called “downstream impact,” or DSI, it assigns a financial value to a product or a service based on how customers spend within Amazon’s ecosystem after they buy it. 

Downstream impact has been used across Amazon business lines, from its Prime membership program to its video offerings and music.

Cloud Computing, Search Ads Boost Alphabet's Revenue

Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported second-quarter revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, boosted by demand for cloud-computing services and advertising on its search engine.

Bloomberg reports sales, excluding partner payouts, were $71.36 billion in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts had projected $70.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income was $1.89 per share, compared with Wall Street’s $1.84 per-share estimate.

Google once had a head start in the AI race because it developed much of the technology underpinning popular chatbots. Now, the company aims to prove that it can withstand competition from the likes of OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. as they try to draw people away from traditional web search, pushing chatbots that can answer users’ questions in a conversational fashion. Google has rushed to weave artificial intelligence into all of its widely-used products, including Gmail, Google Docs and search, occasionally with mixed results.

It’s also providing cloud-computing services to fast-growing startups, fueling consistent profitability for that business after years of losing money.

“We’ve certainly seen the benefit of our strength in AI, AI infrastructure, as well as generative AI solutions for cloud customers,” Alphabet Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said on a call with media. “There is no question customers are turning to us as they are building out their capabilities.”

Google Cloud brought in profit of $1.17 billion, beating analysts’ estimates for operating income of $982 million. Google still trails behind Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft in the cloud computing market, but in the past year, the unit has attracted business from artificial intelligence startups. Investors are also eyeing Google Cloud as the unit with the most potential to grow Alphabet overall, especially as its search business matures.

Quarterly search advertising revenue was $48.5 billion, compared with the average analyst projection for $47.6 billion.

YouTube reported $8.66 billion in revenue, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $8.95 billion. Of Alphabet’s various businesses, YouTube has been the most vulnerable to swings in the digital-ad market.

SanFran Radio: Cumulus Promotes Mike Hohler To Sports PD

Cumulus Media has announced that it has promoted Mike Hohler to Program Director for San Francisco Bay Area Sports stations KNBR-680 AM/104.5 FM, KGO The Spread 810 AM, and KTCT 1050 AM. Hohler is currently Assistant Program Director for the stations, and joined Cumulus San Francisco in 2002 as Midday Producer for KNBR.

Mike Hohler

In addition, Cumulus San Francisco has promoted John Kerley, Producer of the Murph and Markus morning show on KNBR, to Assistant Program Director for KNBR-AM/FM, KGO, and KTCT. He will continue in his role as KNBR morning show producer. The appointments are effective Monday, July 29th.

Larry Blumhagen, Regional Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco-Los Angeles, said: “I am excited to see Mike Hohler take the reins as Program Director of these dynamic, listener-driven stations. Mike has been a dedicated member of this terrific team for over two decades and knows every working part of our programming operations. He has meaningful relationships with our broadcast partners, which he will continue to build upon and grow in his new leadership role.”

Blumhagen added: “John Kerley brings a strategic approach to the Assistant Program Director role for our Sports stations. We are fortunate to have such a talented and collaborative sports programming team and are in very capable hands with Mike and John at the helm. Our all-star lineup – including all the great talent in our Bull Pen – makes for a winning team and positions these stations for continued success!”

Gutfeld! Delivers Largest 11PM Audience During RNC Week

FOX News Channel’s Gutfeld! was the highest-rated program in late-night television last week during its special 11 PM/ET live programs in Milwaukee (Monday-Thursday) for the Republican National Convention (RNC), according to data from Nielsen Media Research. 

From July 15th-18th, Gutfeld! averaged 3.3 million viewers and 643,000 in the 25-54 demo, topping The Daily Show (head-to-head), CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and CBS’ After Midnight with total viewership. 

In fact, Gutfeld! drew in more viewers than The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon combined. Additionally, Gutfeld! outpaced The Daily Show and Meyers in the younger 25-54 and 18-49 demos.

 Last week, during its first live shows in program history, Gutfeld! delivered its most-watched week ever in viewers, the younger A25-54 demo and A18-49. 

Since its launch in April 2021, Gutfeld! has continued to increase its audience across the board and is the highest-rated cable news program in the younger A25-54 demographic for the year so far. 2024 to date, the program has averaged 2.3 million viewers and 316,000 amongst the 25-54 demo, outranking The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight. Additionally, Gutfeld! draws the most affluent audience within that demo and the most politically balanced audience in its cable news timeslot with more Democrats and Independents watching than any of the competition, according to data from Nielsen and Nielsen MRI Fusion, respectively.