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Cumulus Media has a lot on its hands right now. It’s balancing a weak national advertising climate while trying to tamp down expenses and fend off a potential hostile takeover.

Newly released financial numbers for fiscal 2023 reflect its challenges. The company posted a net loss of $117.9 million in 2023, compared to net income of $16.2 million a year earlier. Total revenue in 2023 was $844.5 million, a decline of 11.4%, according to a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Broadcast revenue continues to shrink, though the category is still by far the largest reporting business segment for the company. Spot revenue was off 14% for the year at $412 million.

Even worse was the performance of the company’s Westwood One Radio network, which reported total revenue for last year of $182.5 million, down 20.6% from the year before, according to the filing.

The company said during an earnings call that it generated digital revenue of $146.4 million in the 12 months ending Dec. 31, an increase of 2.9% YoY. Digital represents 17% of total revenue. Cumulus increased streaming revenue by 16% thanks to audience growth from NFL streaming, but podcast revenue was off 8%.

In the fourth quarter specifically, the company reported net revenue of $221.3 million, a decrease of 11.9% from the same period in 2022, and it had a net loss of $98 million in Q4. Its broadcast revenue for the quarter was $153.5 million, down a whopping 18.2%.

Some of that loss was attributable to a reduction in political advertising from the year prior, it says. Cumulus booked $1.6 million of political revenue in Q4 compared to $8.3 million in the same quarter in 2022.

Digital growth in Q4 2023 was up 5% led by streaming. Total digital revenue for the quarter was $39 million.

Nevertheless President/CEO Mary Berner says the company is making some progress. “While 2023 was a tough year across the media landscape, we were able to offset some of the effects of the weak national advertising climate through strong execution in our key focus areas. Specifically, we grew our digital businesses, meaningfully reduced fixed costs, and improved our balance sheet.”

The company reported $14.8 million in cash proceeds from selling its share in BMI. It also trimmed its expenses by $33 million in 2023 through what it called efficiency measures and “rationalizing” its real estate footprint. In all, Cumulus has found about $120 million of annualized fixed-cost reductions since 2019, Berner says, about 26% of its annual fixed costs.

Looking ahead, the company is seeing revenue pacing down in the low single digits in the first quarter “despite some encouraging signs from national advertisers,” Berner said on the call.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Lopez-Balboa said the company’s cap-ex spending in 2023 was $24.8 million and that he expects it to be around $30 million in 2024.

Cumulus, with about 400 owned-and-operated stations in 85 markets, retired $43.6 million face value of debt last year. It reported $675.8 million in total debt as of Dec. 31. Lopez-Balboa said the company expects to prioritize debt reduction efforts in the near term.

The earnings report comes a week after Cumulus launched a limited-duration shareholder rights plan in an attempt to hold off a possible hostile takeover by Renew Group, led by Indian American businessman Manoj Bhargava, the founder of 5-Hour Energy.

Several analysts asked about this “poison pill” plan during Tuesday’s investor call, but Berner and Lopez-Balboa for the most part referred to an earlier press release last week outlining the effort.

As of January of last year, Renew Group held a 10% stake in Cumulus. Renew Group has told Cumulus that it hopes to eventually acquire a 20% stake in the company but Cumulus hopes to throttle its investment strategy by limiting the investment to no more than 15%, the point at which measures take effect to make Cumulus less attractive to activist investors and prevent them from grabbing a controlling interest.

 

The post Cumulus Revenue Tumbled 11.4% in 2023 appeared first on Radio World.

Student Chief Engineer Corey Carpenter, left, and former student Chief Engineer Steve Floyd stand with the new Nautel transmitter.

College radio is alive and well at Virginia Tech, with WUVT-FM celebrating 75 years of broadcasting last year.

The anniversary was marked with a festive alumni reunion weekend and the installation a few months later of a new transmitter and remote control system.

WUVT, broadcasting on 90.7 MHz at 6.5 kW from nearby Price Mountain, operates today as a community-focused public radio station, with studios in the Squires Student Center on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The students are responsible for all aspects of running this popular station.

Many notable broadcast engineering and media professionals have benefited greatly from the practical experiences and enthusiasm unique to WUVT.

Its alumni are appreciative and supportive. During reunion weekend, a plan was conceived to raise funds to provide a new transmitter to replace its aging system. In less than three months the required funds had been donated by station alumni. After careful research, the university purchased a new Nautel GV5 transmitter and Burk ARC Plus Touch control system funded entirely by station alumni — a 75th anniversary gift to the students at WUVT.

The new equipment was installed professionally as a donation by Virginia-based Radio Cardinal Communication Service. RCCS owner and WUVT alum Josh Arritt and field techs Jon Light and Jason Perdue accompanied student staff and other alumni on the installation day work.

Carrier-current roots

WUVT, in one form or another, has been on the campus of Virginia Tech since its founding as an experimental station in 1948. It is one of the longest-running noncommercial stations in the state.

It began operations at 640 kHz when a student built an unlicensed carrier-current AM transmitter system in a dormitory room. The station quickly became popular, providing music programming and local news not available elsewhere.

WUVT eventually became a formal student organization on campus. WUVT-FM, 90.7 MHz, signed on as a licensed noncommercial station in 1969. Along with other student media organizations, it is a division of The Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, an independent governing body for student mass media. Its board includes Virginia Tech faculty and staff, students and members of the Blacksburg community.

WUVT is known for its eclectic programming, covering a wide swath of past and present music styles. The volunteer DJs typically are students or alumni, and they select content based on their personal preferences within a daily “block” format. WUVT serves the wider community by offering music and local news rarely heard on commercial stations. Activities such as engineering, management, fundraising and programming are the responsibilities of the student staff.

Sadly, readers may remember that on April 16, 2007, a mass shooting on the campus took 33 lives. WUVT provided accurate news reporting to major news outlets and the local community in the immediate aftermath, showing professionalism and compassion to the world media.

Kevin Sterne, WUVT’s student chief engineer, was critically wounded that day in a classroom. Thankfully he survived.

Those events called attention to the station’s infrastructure needs. Donations from several broadcast equipment manufacturers allowed the station engineers to move the WUVT transmitter site off campus to its Price Mountain site location, where it enjoys improved antenna height and a power increase to 6.5 kW. [Read about that effort in this Radio World story from 2009.]

Today WUVT’s young broadcasters represent the future of industry talent. It is up to all of us to stay actively connected to our favorite college radio stations, offering generous financial support and encouragement, making sure student stations continue to bring future generations of passionate people into the industry.

The station’s new equipment was placed into service in November. WUVT thanks Nautel and Burk for their support and encouragement, and Radio Cardinal Communication Service for the installation. The station now sounds better than ever. Student staff enthusiasm is sky high. And the generosity of station alumni has now positioned this unique radio station for continued success.

Hear the station at www.wuvt.vt.edu/listen-live or search for WUVT on your streaming app.

The post Virginia Tech’s WUVT Celebrates 75 Years appeared first on Radio World.

NASHVILLE — A six-year-old company offering “a complete and robust radio management platform powered by advanced AI” has teamed up with the parent company of HD Radio and DTS AutoStage and station ownership group Cumulus Media for the launch of two new HD Radio digital multicast brands.

These channels, the companies say, will serve as a testing ground “for exciting new radio programs and related services” — some 20 years after in-band, on-channel HD Radio multicasts first arrived in the U.S.

While iHeartMedia and Audacy Inc., to a lesser extent, have been champions of HD multicasts, other companies have been slow to build out channels that can extend listener engagement opportunities and attract more advertising. In some markets, HD Radio isn’t present at all on an HD-1 signal.

The Super Hi-Fi, Cumulus Media and Xperi Corp. partnership seeks to convince the naysayers that investing in HD multicast programming can pay dividends.

In Nashville, the three companies ahead of this week’s Country Radio Seminar (CRS) gave birth to HD Radio multicast stations “The Hill” and “Nashville Songwriter Radio.”

They’re the HD2 and HD3 offerings, respectively, now heard on WGFX-FM 104.5, the Gallatin, Tenn.-licensed Cumulus-owned Sports Talker with a Class C1 58kw signal.

As Super Hi-Fi, Xperi and Cumulus see it, these two multicast stations can be “testing grounds for next generation broadcast radio services and programming in the connected car.”

In particular, there’s a business opportunity at play for Super Hi-Fi, as its “Program Director” Radio Operating System is powering “The Hill” and “Nashville Songwriter Radio,” eliminating the need for a human to spend their time crafting what could ultimately be a niche audio offering.

The Hill is described as a station “designed with the tastes of high school students in mind,” featuring a mix of popular and emerging music across Pop, Hip-Hop, Alternative, and Country genres. Developed in partnership with Green Hill High School in Mt Juliet, Tenn., the station, Super Hi-Fi says, “offers students a unique opportunity to engage with programming and on-air activities, fostering a practical learning environment within the broadcasting field using next-generation programming and operations tools.”

It could also prove to be a competitor to iHeartMedia’s WRVW “107.5 The River,” in a way, as that station has been the default Top 40 home in Nashville since Midwest’s WNFN in June 2023 switched to Country music.

“By partnering with Super Hi-Fi and Xperi, we are adopting innovative technology that allows us to connect to new, local communities with targeted programming by leveraging our HD radio ancillary channels that have the potential to reach different audiences around the country,” Cumulus Media Chief Technology Officer Conrad Trautmann said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The individual who led the Federal Communications Commission for the majority of Jimmy Carter’s tenure as U.S. President has died.

Charles Ferris, a Name Member of the law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., in Washington, D.C. who once headed the office, died on February 16, 2024.

A longtime aid to Sen. Mike Mansfield, Ferris played a key role in the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” legislation during his presidency.

A decade later, in 1977, Ferris was nominated by President Carter to chair the FCC. Before assuming the chairmanship, Ferris worked initially as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and from 1964 to 1977 as general counsel to the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee and chief counsel to Senator Mansfield. He also served as general counsel to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr., in 1977.

Following the election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President, Ferris departed the Commission in April 1981, beginning a 32-year career at Mintz. In particular, Ferris established the firm’s communications practice.

“We are grateful for Charlie’s countless contributions to our clients, our people, our culture, and the communities that Mintz serves,” the law firm said in a statement. “We will remember him as a distinguished lawyer, trusted colleague, and cherished friend.”

 

Cumulus Media has launched new radio formats on two FM HD Radio channels in Nashville using Super Hi-Fi’s Program Director platform.

Super Hi-Fi, Cumulus and Xperi announced the partnership jointly. They said these channels will serve as a “testing ground for exciting new radio programs and related services” to enhance radio’s prominence in the digital dashboard.

The formats are called “The Hill” — which involves input from a local high school — and “Nashville Songwriter Radio.” They are now being broadcast on the HD2 and HD3 channels of Cumulus station WGFX, which airs on 104.5 MHz, and can be heard by any vehicles with HD Radio receivers in the market.

The announcement was made by Super Hi-Fi CEO Zack Zalon, Xperi SVP of Broadcast and Digital Audio Joe D’Angelo, and Conrad Trautmann, the CTO of Cumulus Media.

Trautmann was quoted saying Cumulus hopes to “connect to new, local communities with targeted programming by leveraging our HD channels to reach different audiences around the country.” The stations are also participating in Xperi’s DTS AutoStage platform.

The formats “are designed to explore the potential for using the HD Radio spectrum more broadly to deliver human-curated radio experiences that are designed to speak directly to a local audience, with local programming and a local feel,” the companies said.

Super Hi-Fi Program Director is described as a radio “operating system” driven by artificial intelligence.  We asked for more about how the technology is being applied here.

“These stations are curated by the Super Hi-Fi team, and programmed using Program Director,” a spokeswoman said by email. “We’re also working with world-class voice talent to brand and host the stations. Program Director uses Super Hi-Fi’s production AI to create all of the segues as well as insert and mix voice tracks and branding elements. But the stations are hand-curated by our human music experts.”

The Hill, on 104.5 WGFX HD2, is “designed with the tastes of high school students in mind, featuring a mix of popular and emerging music across pop, hip-hop, alternative and country genres.” It was developed in partnership with Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

Nashville Songwriter Radio, heard on 104.5 WGFX HD3, “serves as a platform for the vibrant songwriter community in Nashville.”

The post Cumulus Deploys Super Hi-Fi on Nashville HD Subchannels appeared first on Radio World.

With an expected $1.3 billion in political advertising to be spent on Connected TV in 2024, campaigns have a crucial impetus to “get it right” as linear broadcast TV remains a key media choice. Now, a new Madhive local Connected TV marketplace is designed to further boost OTT campaigns.

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NEW YORK — S&P Global Ratings expects defaults or subpar exchanges in the U.S. telecom and cable sector will be elevated over the next 12 months because of the increasing number of issuers rated ‘CCC+’ or below.

That’s according to a report published today by financial market analysis group.

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In April 2019, The E.W. Scripps Company hired a former GM for the NBC affiliate serving Johnstown, Pa., as its new VP/GM and Director of Sales for the ABC station serving the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Now, he’s leaving the Golden State and settling in on the border of Virginia and Tennessee, home to Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol and will once again be a Sinclair Broadcast Group employee.

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With a shareholder rights plan enacted to prevent a hostile takeover, Cumulus Media seeks to thwart efforts engineered by the man who invented the 5-Hour Energy liquid supplement to take control of the company led by CEO Mary Berner.

Now, the company is gaining attention for a move that’s not directly related to that plan’s enactment, but is tied to the party that prompted the decision to move forward with the effort.

 

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The “Cumulus Media New Holdings Inc.” subsidiary of the Atlanta-based audio content creation and distribution company helmed by Mary Berner has moved ahead with an exchange offer that pushes out the publicly traded company’s debt by three years.

By doing so, however, Cumulus Media is agreeing to a two percentage-point hike in its interest rate.

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Rob Bertrand

Text has been updated to correct Bertrand’s title.

Rob Bertrand is among those who lost their jobs when big public radio station WAMU in Washington, D.C., announced substantial staff cuts last week.

Bertrand was senior director of technology of the station, which is licensed to American University, for eight years. According to news reports, the station cut 15 positions in total.

“I’m not sure what’s next, but I’m excited for it,” Bertrand wrote on his LinkedIn page.

“This past week’s failure of AT&T’s cell network was sort of a terrifying reminder of the critical role that radio continues to play in our lives. There will be more. I want to remain in broadcasting. I think the work we do as broadcasters is so critically important, and it’s where my deepest passions lie.”

During his tenure at WAMU, Bertrand led construction of Washington’s largest community antenna system, a project that was profiled in Radio World. He also launched a new newsroom system, web CMS, CRM platforms and traffic and automation systems.

Prior to WAMU, Bertrand worked for a decade for CBS in New York, first as engineer at WCBS(AM) and later as chief engineer for CBS Radio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in visual art with a focus on video production and a master’s degree in organization development.

WAMU is an NPR member station and considered one of the country’s top public radio outlets; in January it was the top-rated station in the D.C. market, according to Nielsen Audio (AQH share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid).

Radio World asked the station for comment and to learn how engineering will be managed now; we will post any reply.

[Related: “Bertrand Combines Tech With Leadership”]

The post WAMU’s Bertrand Among Those Let Go in Staff Cuts appeared first on Radio World.

Faidr app promotional image

Auddia Inc. believes many AM/FM streaming listeners are willing to pay to listen to their favorite stations without commercials. To advance that goal, it plans to acquire streaming app Radio FM to grow its user base.

Auddia is an AI platform for audio identification and classification; its stock trades on NASDAQ, though it has just executed a reverse stock split hoping to avoid delisting.

It also owns the audio app faidr, which allows listeners the ability to listen to any AM/FM streamer with added personalized content and no commercials, as well as podcasts with an interactive digital feed.

Michael Lawless, CEO of Auddia, said in the announcement, “We are seeing strong subscription conversion numbers off the faidr free tier, which is solidifying our confidence that a large number of AM/FM streaming listeners are willing to pay a subscription to avoid commercials while listening to their favorite stations.”

He said Auddia’s challenge now is how to grow its free-tier user base in a cost-efficient manner to increase its pool of potential subscribers.

“The Radio FM acquisition allows us to acquire 4.6 million retained users at a customer acquisition cost that is approximately 70% lower than the cost to acquire a free tier user through our direct marketing methods.” He said this is a more economical and faster way to “build revenue, reduce burn, drive subscriptions, and achieve sustainability.”

Completion of the deal is subject to financing. The acquisition is priced at $13 million cash with an additional $2 million paid in six months if certain performance milestones are met.

Auddia said Radio FM has $2.3 million in 2023 revenue and represents 4.6 million monthly active users on its free tier. It said that in January, Google selected Radio FM as an Editor’s Choice app in its Play Store, only the third app in the Radio category to get that badge, after iHeart and Pandora.

The company has just completed a 1-for-25 reverse stock split to avoid being delisted on NASDAQ. In December it named a new CFO, John Mahoney, to succeed Tim Ackermann, who resigned last summer.

Auddia has said it has letters of intent for two other possible pending acquisitions “and will provide an update on their status in the coming days.”

The post Auddia Plans to Acquire Radio FM App appeared first on Radio World.

Cumulus Media on Tuesday morning released its fourth quarter earnings report. On its surface, it is a downbeat assessment of the audio content creation and distribution company’s final three months of 2023, as net revenue was down by some $30 million year-over-year. A $65 million-plus non-cash impairment charge on its station licenses was also seen.

But, is there more to the story, as Cumulus registered higher expenses and saw its net loss significantly widen in the fourth quarter of last year?

 

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At the NAB Show Lawo will exhibit the new iteration of its crystal mixing console for broadcast and pro-audio applications, introduced late last year.

It is available in light and dark finishes and integrates with Lawo’s Power Core, a 1RU software-sefined DSP mixing engine.

“This integration ensures seamless compatibility with Ravenna/AES67, MADI, Dante, AES3 and analog signals, future-proofing radio and TV broadcast operations,” the company states.

Crystal has dual-mode operation capabilities, “Power Core” and “Controller.” It integrates via “Controller” mode with Lawo’s mc² systems or third-party DAW applications supporting the Open Sound Control protocol, providing enhanced flexibility and workflow efficiency.

The company also offers the diamond modular broadcast console for IP-native mixing in radio and TV applications. It is compliant with AES67/Ravenna standards and ST2110-30/-31 and ST2022-7, sharing workflow principles and design with the new crystal.

“Featuring new stand-alone VX and short desktop frames, diamond, powered by the Lawo Power Core Engine, offers expandable I/O, supporting AES67, MADI, analog, AES3 and Dante audio sources and destinations.” It is available in configurations from two to 60 physical faders. Fatures include fader-adjacent color displays and dual fader layers tp optimize task management.

Power Core is a versatile solution for high-density I/O, mixing, processing and routing in broadcast operations. It provides up to 512 Ravenna/AES6- and 256 MADI-native channels and supports customization for radio and TV applications. Power Core features up to 96 DSP channels and mixing features such as AutoGain, AutoMix and AGC Loudness Leveler.

In connection with the NAB Show, Lawo is releasing a new user interface and software for remote audio productions and radio software package 8.1, featuring remote sync support plus a new virtual interface for on-air radio applications.

Info: www.lawo.com

The post Lawo Will Highlight New Crystal at NAB Show appeared first on Radio World.

LOS ANGELES — Can AI advancements in audio effectively address the challenges that radio stations increasingly face in collecting listener audio from the public? Benztown, the company that’s home to President and co-founder Dave “Chachi” Denes led by CEO Andreas Sannemann thinks so.

Benztown, known for its radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles, has brought to market an “AI Listener Voice Generator,” an audio production tool designed to simulate “listener” audio for on-air use.

The application is housed within the Benztown Imaging Libraries. It enables library subscribers to simulate “listener” audio with Text-to-Speech (TTS) capabilities, including
Speech-to-Speech technology that “accurately captures” subtle variations in intonation.

For the radio station on the user end of the tech tool, access to multiple voice types can be had. Benztown notes that the voice generator can adjust such parameters as
speed and tone to customize the generated audio that best meets their specific needs.

Sannemann believes the new tool offers Benztown customers “with the most compelling listener material possible; the listener audio they actually need for every specific piece of production.”

While the concept of AI-generated listeners may yield more tales of gloom for the radio industry from some market observers, AI-generated programming options from on-demand music giant Spotify are poised to bring listeners simulated radio. Already, AI-generated radio hosts are in test mode, with Futuri‘s “AI Ashley” getting attention for its use at Alpha Media’s KBFF “Live 95.5” in Portland, Ore.

 

To access this feature and the Benztown Imaging Libraries, visit benztownbranding.com or contact Masa Patterson at mp@benztown.com

By Brian Galante and Adam Jacobson

NASHVILLE — The live People’s Choice Country Awards went off without a hitch on September 28 of last year, with a telecast appearing on both NBC and Peacock from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Little did viewers realize that the live show relied on three mobile units, a task that proved to be a first for a local live production specialist.

Handling that task was TNDV, which employed its “Exclamation,” a 53-foot double expando tractor trailer with four wired and 10 wireless Sony HDC-4300L 4K/HD cameras, for the event’s presenters and performances.

“Aspiration,” a 40-foot single unit with an expanding side and six HDC-4300Ls, was used to broadcast and stream the pre-show festivities and interviews on the red carpet as well as interviews with winners and crowd members during the main show.

Lastly, “Vibration,” a 45-foot sound mixing trailer with a Studer Vista 9 console capable of 384 inputs, was used to record separate audio mixes of all artists including a complete backup of each performance.

Exclamation and Vibration were tied together with fiber to get the audio signals back and forth and to communicate via intercom, which was tied in with some of the house intercoms. Aspiration was dedicated to producing the red-carpet pre-show, which was completely separate from the awards ceremony.

“We have an excellent working relationship with the Grand Ole Opry because of all the shows we’ve worked on there,” Rob Devlin, President of TNDV, noted. “A large truck like Exclamation was perfect for this event because it allows the production pros from many different departments, such as lighting, script, wardrobe and makeup, to have the working space in front of the reference monitors to check their work.”

Vibration, which handled all the music mixes, allowed every band that performed to get the music dialed in the way they wanted. The number of inputs and presets allowed the audio mixer to easily go from one band to the next. Just by pushing a button, all new inputs generated for the event automatically surfaced. Every instrument for every artist was transferred from the stage through TNDV’s fiber MADI stage box.

“All tracks go through both Pro Tools and a JoeCo recorder, so there’s a redundant backup for each multi-track configuration,” said Devlin. “If any issues arise, there’s always a backup. Having Vibration on site also frees the production truck from all the audio fine tuning, so they can focus on transmission, recording, playback and all the other critical visual program elements.”

Additional audio inputs came from around two dozen audience mics stationed around the Opry venue.

With all three trucks together, TNDV was able to provide a simultaneous recording and transmission of two live network-quality program feeds, an awards show and a red-carpet, behind-the-scenes program, as well as a large volume of live performance and multitrack audio recordings for archive.

Part of Live Media Group Holdings, TNDV has access to a fleet of 29 remote production trucks of all sizes. Please call 877-959-TNDV or visit www.tndv.com for more information.

With worldwide sports events large and small forthcoming, some leagues and game-day coverage rights holders may need to think efficiently and economically when it comes to delivery of the live play-by-play.

Quicklink may have a solution, based on its recent work with the Professional Squash Association.

The PSA’s SQUASHTV broadcasts more than 960 matches across the year, including the PSA World Tour, the “pinnacle” of world squash. The PSA and SQUASHTV required a solution for facilitating remote commentary that elevated broadcasts of smaller tournaments.

Enter Quicklink, which allowed PSA to implement high-quality audio from remote commentators into their broadcasts.

This was accomplished via a web-based interface for commentators who can view a real-time, high-quality feed of the event, while commentating from any location. “With minimal equipment required beyond a laptop, headset and internet connection, commentators of all technical skill levels can contribute high-quality audio,” Quicklink said.

The Quicklink solutions were supplied to The Professional Squash Association through Auriga Networks, known for IP video distribution over both satellite and terrestrial platforms.

The PSA will continue to utilize the Quicklink Remote Commentary and Quicklink
Cre8 solutions for the 2023-2024 squash season and in future years.

For more information about Quicklink Remote Commentary, please click here.

Broadcast engineering and commercial AV products maker Technical Services Group (TSG) has fully integrated Georgia Copper into its operations, following its January 2023 acquisition of the company.

As part of the move, Georgia Copper’s Cleveland, Ga., headquarters has closed, with operations now housed in TSG’s Baton Rouge, La., main offices.

With the purchase, however, the Georgia Copper product line is very much continuing, as TSG has launched a new e-commerce website specific to the brand long-known for the manufacturing and sale of U.S.-made copper grounding and bonding products.

Often hard to source, these products are in high demand at TV and radio broadcast facilities, data and emergency response service centers, RF systems integration firms and electrical engineering companies.

“TSG’s integration of the Georgia Copper preserves its trusted name, and TSG continues to market the products under that brand,” TSG says.

The product catalog includes core copper, lightning, and surge suppression products, such as copper straps, copper braids, ground clamps and bars, protector bars, wire, and tools.

“This new site is all about keeping the ordering process convenient for our customers, and improving their overall service experience,” said TSG CEO Bo Hoover.

The Georgia Copper acquisition broadens TSG’s existing portfolio of RF, studio and facility infrastructure solutions. TSG also believes the transaction strengthens its value proposition as a full-service provider, which spans installation, commissioning and technical support services, along with its own growing product line.

— With reporting by Brian Galante

The Indianapolis market General Sales Manager for Sarkes Tarzian, which operates its radio stations under the “ST Radio” brand, has been promoted to corporate Director of Sales.

Brian Green will now oversee sales and management efforts across ST Radio’s stations in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Bloomington. He will also steer the ST Digital Solutions arm.

Green has previous radio sales management experience with Saga Communications and Schurz Communications in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.; Lafayette, Ind.; and Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island.

As ST Radio makes the announcement about Green, the Indiana broadcast media company also shared that Fort Wayne market Director of Sales Bart Schacht has exited;  a search for his replacement is underway. Meanwhile, the positions of production director and digital content manager, previously held by Steve Brelsford and Valerie Wallis, have been eliminated. Zack Skyler, previously a programming assistant at WGBJ, is now the station’s Program Director.

In January, Sarkes Tarzian rebranded its six radio stations into the singular ST Radio, with company VP Brad Holtz taking the helm as Division President.

 

Audacy and Live365 have announced a content distribution agreement.

“As part of the partnership, content from hundreds of Live365 stations spanning multiple genres will now be available on the Audacy platform,” they said in a press release.

The announcement was made by Tim Clarke, SVP of digital audio content for Audacy, and Jason Stoddard, president of Live265.

Clarke explained the benefits to Audacy this way: “Live365 empowers creators of all styles, and we’re excited to leverage our platform and reach to give broadcasters a home for their content and introduce them to new audiences.”

Stoddard said the partnership helps bring wider distribution to Live365’s content creators.

Live365 began in 1999 as an internet radio and broadcasting company. It shut down in 2016 but later was brought back under the ownership of the company now known as SoundStack.

The post Audacy Partners With Live365 appeared first on Radio World.