Radio+Television Business Report

“Throughout the second quarter, the resumption of advertising in key categories combined with the success of our content monetization strategies resulted in year-over-year revenue growth across all fifteen of our markets,” Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley noted ahead of her company’s Q2 2021 earnings call — scheduled opposite Saga Communications’ call on Thursday.

What drove Beasley’s financial success in the quarter? “Healthy double-digit revenue increases” were seen in its biggest markets.

Those markets include Boston, where Beasley owns such stations as Sports Talker WBZ-FM 98.5 — an important asset that also comes with big expenses. Beasley also enjoyed double-digit revenue gains in Detroit and in both Philadelphia and nearby Wilmington, Del., where WJBR is in a fresh battle with independently owned WSTW.

Net revenue surged to $59.6 million, from $30.4 million, as Beasley eeked out $200,000 in net income ($0.01), swinging from a net loss of $17.7 million (-$0.63) in the COVID-19 ravaged Q2 2020.

Station Operating Income of $11.1 million was seen, shifting from a Q2 2020 negative SOI finish of -$11 million.

According to Ms. Beasley, there’s more growth percolating today: Q3 is pacing up 30%, with July up 40%, August up 29% and September pacing at 23%.

And, assuming events continue to come back the company is hopeful to return to 2019 levels in the near-term. However, 2022 is more realistic, she believes.

Ms. Beasley also took care in highlighting the sports betting category during its earnings call. She said sports betting was the seventh largest category for the company in Q2. “Our second quarter sports betting revenue increased 340% year over year and represented over 5% of our total revenue,” she said. “This was driven by our Philadelphia, Detroit and New Jersey market clusters.”

Massachusetts and Florida are in the process of legalizing sport betting, she said.

— With reports from Radio Ink

“Overall we had an extremely strong second quarter,” Urban One President/CEO Alfred Liggins III said Thursday ahead of his company’s earnings call.

Not only was Adjusted EBITDA up 82.4% year-over-year, but the media company superserving Black consumers also surpassed its Q2 2019 pre-pandemic Adjusted EBITDA.

Net revenue increased to $107.59 million from $76 million. And, even with increased expenses as the economy reopened from the pandemic, consolidated net income surged to $17.87 million ($0.33 per diluted share) from $1.42 million ($0.03).

Adjusted EBITDA? That came in at $44.77 million, increasing from $24.54 million.

The biggest takeaway for Urban One? One year ago, COVID-19 ravaged its Radio One division, lowering revenue to just above what the company sees from its cable TV affiliate fees.

In Q2 2021, Radio roared back.

Within the Radio Advertising segment is Reach Media, Urban One’s national media arm. In Q2, segment revenue climbed to $9.4 million from $6.3 million.

Meanwhile, Urban One enjoyed net revenue improvements in all of its radio markets.

With minutes remaining in Thursday’s trading on the Nasdaq GlobalSelect market, UONE was up 5.4% to $7.08. UONEK, the company’s preferred shares, was up 14.7% to $5.70 on lighter than average trading volume.

It was an exceptionally busy day, again, for media companies on Wall Street. No less than eight fresh quarterly earnings reports were released, including the fiscal Q4 2021 report from Fox Corporation and a Q2 ’21 report from Roku.

MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson reviewed each of those companies’ fiscal report cards, and RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson offers an audio summary of what he said in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

The podcast also offers a synopsis of the Q2 reports released August 5 by Beasley Media Group and Urban One, and comments about the use of “audio” vs. “radio” from Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian made during his company’s Q2 earnings call for investors and analysts.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: A Special Q2 Review” on Spreaker.

How much better was the second quarter of 2021 for Saga Communications than the same period of 2020?

For starters, there was no $3.76 million impairment charge. Second, net operating revenue rose by 66.3% in Q2 2021. According to CFO Sam Bush, Digital now accounts for 6% of the radio industry pure-play’s total revenue.

The rebound in revenue overshadowed an increase in expenses, allowing Saga to swing from a net loss to healthy income in Q2.

For the three-month period ending June 30, Saga saw net income of $3.25 million ($0.54 per share), swinging from a Q2 2020 net loss of $4.9 million (-$0.82).

Station Operating Income (SOI), a popular non-GAAP measure, surged to $8.38 million, compared to -$181,000 in Q2 2020.

With “a great deal of cash liquidity” one of Saga’s biggest strength, CEO Ed Christian hunkered down across the pandemic. As the economy reopened across its markets, the situation began to improve by leaps and bounds, leading Saga on June 21 to reinstate its quarterly dividend.

That liquidity, along with a stunning low leverage ratio of x0.51, make Saga unique among its peers — for good reason.

SGA was trading at $21.80, up 44 cents, on low volume as of 11:40am Thursday (8/5).

The NAB has responded to actions taken in both houses of Congress over the last two weeks that seek to bring the Minority Tax Certificate Program back to fruition — a move that African American media industry leadership has called for, in addition to several leading Hispanic market figures.

Is it a rallying cry from Gordon Smith? The Senate bill isn’t attracting co-sponsors, while the House bill introduced a week later lacks Member magnetism, too.

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It’s a step that many have been asking Nielsen about for years.

Starting next month, the nation’s dominant source of audience measurement and data analytics for broadcast media stations will begin placing a limited number of Portable People Meter (PPM) “Wearables” in a subset of its roughly 60,000 active panelists.

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With strong second quarter results and revenue that sailed past Zacks Equity Research estimates, Gray Television is the latest visual media company to release a bright fiscal health report.

While the Q2 numbers are positive, the Q3 outlook Gray offers may be even more delectable to investors.

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It’s the No. 2 licensee of radio stations behind iHeartMedia.

Now, the parent entity of the KLOVE and Air1 Christian Contemporary Music formats is adding one more FM to its ever-growing stable of properties.

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How can you take a playful approach to planning and practicing for your next gig? If you are going it alone without a public speaking coach, here are six steps from veteran PR pro Rosemary Ravinal you can take on your own to prepare for your presentation through playtime.

 

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Two items originally up for consideration at today’s FCC August Open Meeting have been removed from the agenda.

Why? With no opposition from the Commissioners, they’ll move forward.

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Graham Holdings Company on Wednesday released its second quarter results. But, how did the Media division perform within this highly diversified company that has its historical roots linked to Catherine Graham and The Washington Post?

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Chalk up another broadcast media Street Beat as the Q2 earnings parade makes it way through North Texas and Ventura County, Calif.

Salem Media Group, which has a presence in both locales, smashed the predictions of Zacks Equity Research by delivering very strong earnings per share and revenue performances in the second quarter.

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The NAB has revealed the finalists for the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards, honoring radio stations and on-air personalities for excellence in broadcasting. The winners will be announced October 13 at the Marconi Reception, held during the 2021 Radio Show in Las Vegas.

The Marconi Reception will begin immediately following Wednesday’s “Putting Podcasting to Work for Local Revenue and Marketing” session. A ticket to the Marconi Reception is included with Radio Show registration.

Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards is the industry’s signature awards program.

This year’s NAB Marconi Radio Award finalists are:

LEGENDARY STATION OF THE YEAR
WNCX-FM, Cleveland, OH
WSB-AM, Atlanta, GA
KIIS-FM, Los Angeles, CA
KYGO-FM, Denver, CO
WHUR-FM, Washington, DC
 

 

LEGENDARY MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Ben Downs, Bryan Broadcasting
Joel Oxley, WTOP-FM in Washington
Joe Bell, Beasley Media Group (Philadelphia)
Ben Mevorach, WINS-AM in New York
Mimi Brown, WEQX-FM in Manchester, Vt./Albany, N.Y.

NETWORK/SYNDICATED PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
DL Hughley, Reach Media
George Noory, Premiere Networks
Rickey Smiley, Reach Media.
DJ Digital – XXL Higher Level Radio, Townsquare Media Group
Ace & TJ Button, iHeartRadio

MAJOR MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Joe Soto, WVAZ-FM, Chicago, IL
Ellen K, KOST-FM, Los Angeles, CA
The Musers, Dunham, Miller & Keith, KTCK-AM, Dallas, TX
Melissa Forman, WLIT-FM, Chicago, IL
Hawkeye in the Morning, KSCS-FM, Dallas, TX

LARGE MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Jack Harris, WFLA-AM, Tampa, FL
Ann Kelly, WDUV-FM, Tampa, FL
C4 and Bryan Nehman, WBAL-AM, Baltimore, MD
Mike Calta, WHPT-FM, Tampa, FL
Dan Mandis, WWTN-FM, Nashville, TN

MEDIUM MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Dan Potter, KRMG-FM, Tulsa, OK
Kevin Miller, KIDO-AM, Boise, ID
Harlen the Sports Guy and Pigskin Bob, KYKX-FM, Tyler, TX
Simon Conway, WHO-AM, Des Moines, ID
Buzz Jackson, KIIM-FM, Tucson, AZ

SMALL MARKET PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Cosmo and Lauren, KTXY-FM, Columbia, MO
Chris and Rosie, WUSQ-FM, Winchester, VA
John Raynar, KKHJ-FM, Pago Pago, American Samoa
Brian Lee and Chris Wolfe, KZOQ-FM, Missoula, MT
Frito and Katy, KNDE-FM, College Station, TX

MAJOR MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
WQHT-FM, New York, NY
WKYS-FM, Washington, DC
WBZ-FM, Boston, MA
KYW-AM, Philadelphia, PA
WINS-AM, New York, NY

LARGE MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
KTMY-FM, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
WALK-FM, Nassau-Suffolk, NY
WTMJ-AM, Milwaukee, WI
WVKL-FM, Norfolk, VA
WKRQ-FM, Cincinnati, OH

MEDIUM MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
WSGW-AM, Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI
KRMG-FM, Tulsa, OK
WHO-AM, Des Moines, IA
WHBC-AM, Canton, OH
WERO-FM, New Bern, NC

SMALL MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR
KVOM-FM, Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR
WJJY-FM, Brainerd, MN
WFMD-AM, Frederick, MD
WTAW-AM, College Station, TX
WNRP-AM, Pensacola, FL

BEST RADIO PODCAST OF THE YEAR
“We Need to Talk,” WGTS-FM, Washington, DC
“Pregnancy Pearls,” Audacy
“Garage Logic,” Hubbard Radio
“Purple Daily,” KSTP-AM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
“Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis,” Premiere Radio Networks

AC STATION OF THE YEAR
WLTW-FM, New York, NY
WTMX-FM, Chicago, IL
WREW-FM, Cincinnati, OH
KSTP-FM, St. Paul, MN
KOIT-FM, San Francisco, CA

CHR STATION OF THE YEAR
KNDE-FM, College Station, TX
KTXY-FM, Columbia, MO
WHTZ-FM, New York, NY
WPOI-FM, Tampa, FL
WBLI-FM, Nassau-Suffolk, NY

CLASSIC HITS STATION OF THE YEAR
KRTH-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WOGL-FM, Philadelphia, PA
WCBS-FM, New York, NY
WMGK-FM, Philadelphia, PA
WXGL-FM, Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL

COLLEGE RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
WRHU-FM, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
WMSC-FM, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
WRRC-FM, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
WPSC-FM, William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ
WSOU-FM, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

COUNTRY STATION OF THE YEAR
WYCT-FM, Pensacola, FL
WXFL-FM, Florence, AL
KNUC-FM, Seattle, WA
KCLR-FM, Columbia, MO
WYCD-FM, Detroit, MI

NEWS/TALK STATION OF THE YEAR
WSB-AM, Atlanta, GA
WTOP-FM, Washington, DC
KSSZ-FM, Columbia, MO
WLW-AM, Cincinnati, OH
KNX-AM, Los Angeles, CA

RELIGIOUS STATION OF THE YEAR
WGRB-AM, Chicago, IL
KKJM-FM, St. Cloud, MN
WGTS-FM, Washington, DC
KLTY-FM, Dallas, Fort Worth, TX
KFIA-AM, Sacramento, CA

ROCK STATION OF THE YEAR
KLOS-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WPLR-FM, New Haven, CT
WGBF-FM, Evansville, IN
WIYY-FM, Baltimore, MD
KCMQ-FM, Columbia, MO

SPANISH STATION OF THE YEAR
KLLI-FM, Los Angeles, CA
WXNY-FM, New York, NY
KLNV-FM, San Diego, CA
WLZL-FM, Washington, DC

SPORTS STATION OF THE YEAR
WMFS-FM, Memphis, TN
KXNO-AM, Des Moines, ID
WIP-FM, Philadelphia, PA
KTCK-AM, Dallas, TX
WXYT-FM, Detroit, MI

URBAN STATION OF THE YEAR
WALR-FM, Atlanta, GA
WGCI-FM, Chicago, IL
WEDR-FM, Miami, FL
WWPR-FM, New York, NY
WMBX-FM, West Palm Beach, FL

To the far northwest of Amarillo, Tex., is a Class C2 33kw FM that has mainly served the area’s Hispanic audience in recent years.

Now, that service is likely to continue, as the property has been sold to Viva Media.

Want to learn more about the potential benefits of operating a Spanish-language radio station? Consider attending the 2021 Hispanic Radio Conference!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL OF THE DETAILS!

 

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Microsoft Corporation has asked the FCC to take another look at an Order that revised its rules governing Distributed Transmission Systems (DTS).

That action led the NAB and the association representing the interests of public television stations across the U.S. to formally respond by assailing Microsoft’s request.

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In the marketing and advertising world, the term “Latinx” has emerged in recent years as one used when discussing Hispanic Americans within Generation X. Some have argued that the term needs to be retired, as few GenX Hispanics use the term themselves.

A new Gallup poll solidifies this argument, while also showing that Blacks aren’t clamoring to be defined as “African American.”

Discover the true power of the Hispanic consumer, no matter how you choose to refer to them. Attend the Hispanic Radio Conference, Sept. 22-23, in Miami. CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS!

 

 

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TEGNA has promoted the woman who holds the dual roles of LSM and GSM of its ABC affiliate in Lexington, Ky., to the role of President/GM of its bigger Bluegrass State sibling in Louisville.

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Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) has selected a VP of Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships with the highly focused role of representing all platforms associated with its African American-targeted brand theGrio.

Taking the role is Jocelyn Langevine. Her task: to bring advertisers to theGrio website, the broadcast and digital television network theGrio.TV, and theGrio free-streaming app to be introduced later this year.

Langevine comes to AMG from ViacomCBS, where she held both Director of Integrated Marketing and Senior Director of Integrated Marketing titles. Prior to ViacomCBS, Langevine worked at ESSENCE magazine, where she was Director of Marketing & Multiplatform Development of ESSENCE and Executive Director of the ESSENCE Festival. Langevine also held previous marketing and branding positions with NBCUniversal Media, BET Networks/Viacom, and CBS Outdoor.

TheGrio free-streaming app aims to provide super hyper-local news, information, weather, sports, and traffic geo-fenced to the user’s zip code, as well as free movies, television shows, documentaries, and entertainment channels.

Langevine will also focus on cross-platform initiatives and brand integration for theGrio.

Langevine reports directly to Cindy Kelly, President of Advertising Sales for AMG’s Entertainment Studios Networks, and is based at the AMG offices in New York City.

The parade of second quarter fiscal report cards ramped up on Tuesday, with the nation’s largest owner of broadcast television stations sharing their results as the sun rose across North Texas.

For Nexstar Media Group, it was a fine three-month period ending June 30, with earnings per share and revenue surpassing Street estimates.

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One year ago, Cumulus Media‘s stock price was six cents below the $4 mark, a far cry from the $20.90 closing value seen in late August 2018, just weeks after CMLS began trading on the Nasdaq GlobalMarket following the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Today, despite some softness across July, Cumulus shares are poised for a full recovery. It just reported Q2 earnings that, while not stellar, easily surpassed Street expectations — sending CMLS up by nearly 3% as of 11am Eastern.

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