[RadioInsight] April 2022 (3/31 - 4/27) Nielsen Audio PPM Ratings Day 3: Record Highs For WEND, KLTH & KNRS

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April 2022 (3/31 - 4/27) Nielsen Audio PPM Ratings Day 3: Record Highs For
WEND, KLTH & KNRS

Posted: 18 May 2022 02:00 PM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/226195/april-2022-3-31-4-27-nielsen-audio-ppm-ratings-day-3-record-highs-for-wend-klth-knrs/



Day 3 of Nielsen Audios PPM releases are now available for Portland,
Charlotte, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh,
Orlando, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland and Columbus.

All the numbers can be found at RadioInsight.com/Ratings.

Portland

iHeartMedia Classic Hits 106.7 The Eagle KLTH breaks the station record
high rating set way back last month as it rises 9.1 to 9.3. iHeart AC K103
KKCW trends up to second 7.8 8.1 8.9. Public News/Talk 91.5 KOPB-FM dips
8.9 to 8.5. Alpha Media News/Talk 101.1 KXL is fourth 8.1 to 8.2. Audacy
Variety Hits 97.1 Charlie KYCH rises 3.8 to 4.7.

Not a good monthly for Country in Portland with Alpha Medias 98.7 The Bull
KUPL down 4.7 to 3.3 and Audacys 99.5 The Wolf KWJJ moving 3.7 to 3.3. Also
trending down is iHeartMedia Rhythmic Hot AC Jamn 107.5 KXJM 3.9 3.7 3.3.
Charlotte

iHeartMedia Variety Hits 102.9 The Lake WLKO trends up 5.1 5.6 6.7 to
take the lead for the first time since June 2019. Sister Alternative 106.5
The End WEND-FM makes an even bigger surge 3.9 4.8 6.2 to move into a
second place tie with Ratings Expert Chris Huff noting it is the largest
share ever for the station. Beasley AC K104.7 WKQC ties dropping 6.6 to
6.2. iHeartMedia Country 96.9 The Kat WKKT rises 5.0 to 5.6. Beasley Adult
RB V101.9 WBAV inches up 5.0 to 5.1.

Beasley Media CHR Kiss 95.1 WNKS rises 2.9 to 3.9, while iHeartMedia CHR
Hits 96.1 WHQC dips 3.9 2.6 2.1 as it resets with its new morning show.
Also trending down are Classical 89.9 WDAV 6.1 5.3 3.2 since its record
breaking monthly in January and Radio One Hot AC Mix 107.9 WLNK down 3.4
2.8 2.7.
San Antonio

iHeartMedia AC Q101.9 KQXT surges up 6.3 to 7.6 to move into a first-place
tie with Cox Classic Hits 101.1 KONO-FM (down 8.4 to 7.6). Cox Classic Rock
106.7 The Eagle KTKX places third 6.0 to 6.1. iHeartMedia Country KJ97 KAJA
dips 5.7 to 5.5, while sister News/Talk 1200 WOAI falls 6.2 to 5.3.

Following its flip to Tejano in February, Alpha Medias 95.7 KLEY-FM
continues to trend up 0.6 1.7 2.3. Univision Regional Mexican Que Buena
92.9 KROM trends down 5.2 4.8 3.4.
Salt Lake City

iHeartMedia Conservative Talk 570 KNRS/105.9 KNRS-FM surges up 8.4 9.9
10.8 to set a new station record. Bonneville News/Talk 1160 KSL/102.7
KSL-FM also rises 6.0 6.3 7.6. iHeart Classic Hits 94.1 KODJ is off 7.5
to 7.3. Bonneville AC FM 100 KSFI jumps up 5.0 to 6.3. KSOP Inc. Country
Z104 KSOP-FM dips 6.3 to 5.7.

Following the addition of the 105.5 translator, Broadway Media Variety Hits
100.7 Bob-FM KYMV jumps up 1.8 to 3.1. Trending down in Salt Lake are
iHeartMedia CHR 97.1 ZHT KZHT (4.6 4.0 3.2), Cumulus CHR Power 94.9/101.9
KENZ/KHTB (3.7 to 2.9), Classical 89.1 KBYU (5.0 3.8 2.6), and
iHeartMedia Classic Rock Rock 106.7 KAAZ (3.9 2.5 2.2).
Sacramento

Audacy Classic Rock Eagle 96.9 KSEG remains on top dropping from its record
high last month 11.3 to 10.0. Bonneville Country 105.1 KNCI jumps up to
second 5.9 to 7.6. iHeartMedia News/Talk 1530 KFBK/93.1 KFBK-FM (6.5 to
6.6) and Bonneville AC Mix 96 KYMX (7.2 to 6.6) tie for third. iHeartMedia
Soft AC 92.5 The Breeze KBEB jumps up 4.6 to 5.5.

iHeartMedia Classic Rock 93.7 The River KYRV trends down 4.2 3.5 3.2.
Bonneville Hot AC Now 100.5 KZZO dips 4.3 4.0 3.2. Entravision Spanish AC
La Suavecita 104.3 KXSE trends up 1.2 1.5 2.0.
Las Vegas

Beasley Media Classic Hits 96.3 KKLZ extends its lead 7.1 to 7.2, while
iHeartMedia AC Sunny 106.5 KSNE trends down 7.4 6.9 5.6. Audacy Hot AC
Mix 94.1 KMXB trends up 4.2 4.6 5.0. Lotus Classic Rock 97.1 The Point
KXPT falls 6.1 to 4.8. Entravision Regional Mexican La Tricolor 105.1 KQRT
jumps up to fifth 3.5 to 4.7.

Univision Regional Mexican Zona MX 103.5 KISF jumps up 2.7 to 4.5, while
sister Spanish Rhythmic Latino Mix 99.3 KRGT trends up 1.6 2.1 3.0.
Trending down are Beasley Adult RB Jammin 105.7 KOAS (5.2 4.8 4.3),
Entravision Regional Mexican La Buena 101.9 KWID (4.7 to 3.5), and SOS
Radio Christian AC 90.5 KSOS (5.0 3.9 2.7).
Pittsburgh

iHeartMedia Classic Hits 94.5 3WS WWSW dips 11.4 to 10.4 but stays on top
of the market. Steel City Media Variety Hits 96.9 Bob-FM WRRK moves up to
second 8.5 to 9.1. iHeartMedia Classic Rock 102.5 WDVE dips to third 8.8 to
8.7. Audacy Sports 93.7 The Fan KDKA-FM is off 7.6 to 7.1. Renda AC Wish
99.7 WSHH rises 5.0 to 5.7.

iHeartMedia CHR 96.1 Kiss WKST-FM trends up 3.7 4.3 5.0. Both Country
stations rise with Audacys Y108 WDSY up 3.7 to 4.2 and iHeartMedias Big
104.7 WPGB (2.7 3.4 3.5). Audacy News/Talk 1020/100.1 KDKA slides 4.8
3.9 3.5.
Orlando

iHeartMedia CHR XL 106.7 WXXL regains sole possession of the lead holding
steady at an 8.3 share. iHeartMedia AC Magic 107.7 WMGF slips to second 8.3
to 7.9. Cox Adult RB Star 94.5 WCFB jumps up to third 6.2 to 7.2, while
sister Classic Rock 98.9 WMMO is off 7.5 to 6.7. iHeartMedia Spanish
Tropical Rumba 100 WRUM-FM rises 5.6 to 6.0.

Following the sign-off of Cox CHR Power 95.3 WPYO at the end of March, the
station dropped 2.4 to 0.1 while simulcasting News/Talk 580/107.3 WDBO.
While WXXL was the direct in-format competitor, the big gainer from the
loss of Power was iHeartMedia Hip Hop 104.5 The Beat WTKS-HD2, which surged
up 2.4 to 5.7.

JVC Media Country 103.1 The Wolf WOTW returns to the public numbers for the
first time since Holiday 2019 with a 1.5 share. Cox Country K92.3 WWKA
trends down 4.6 4.0 3.8.
Cincinnati

iHeartMedia News/Talk 700 WLW rises 12.2 to 13.4. Cumulus Classic Hits
103.5 WGRR dips 11.1 to 10.8. Hubbard CHR Q102 WKRQ is off 7.8 to 7.0.
iHeartMedia Conservative Talk 550 WKRC moves up to fourth 5.1 to 5.4, while
Public News/Talk 91.7 WVXU moves in reverse 5.4 to 5.1.

Cumulus has three stations trending up as AC Warm 98.5 WRRM rises 4.2 to
5.0, 96 Rock WFTK (2.6 to 3.5), and Cat Country 94.1 WNNF (1.7 2.1 2.3).
iHeartMedia Rock 102.7 WEBN falls 4.6 4.1 2.9.
Kansas City

Cumulus Media Classic Hits 94.9 KCMO-FM surges up 7.3 to 9.0 to retake the
lead from sister Classic Rock 101 The Fox KCFX (down 8.7 to 8.2). Audacy
News/Talk 98.1 KMBZ-FM is third down 7.3 to 6.3. Audacy Hot AC 99.7 The
Point KZPT continues its surge up from its 2.4 last December as it rises
4.3 to 5.2. Audacys 98.9 The Rock KQRC dips 5.7 to 5.1.

Audacys 610 Sports KCSP surges up 1.5 2.3 4.6. Steel City Media CHR Mix
93.3 KMXV rises 3.2 to 4.4, while Cumulus CHR 95.7 The Vibe KCHZ rises 1.9
to 2.4. Trending down are Public News/Talk 89.3 KCUR (6.5 5.7 4.6) and
Steel City Media AC KC 102.1 KCKC (3.1 2.6 2.4).
Cleveland

Radio One Adult RB 93.1 WZAK remains on top 10.4 to 10.2. Audacy Classic
Rock 98.5 WNCX is second 8.7 to 8.6. iHeartMedia Classic Hits Majic 105.7
WMJI dips 8.3 to 7.7. Audacy AC Star 102 WDOK holds steady at a 7.3.
iHeartMedia Variety Hits 106.5 The Lake WHLK rises 6.0 to 6.6.

iHeartMedia Country 99.5 WGAR trends up 5.1 5.5 6.5, while sister Rock
100.7 WMMS rises 5.0 5.4 6.4. The merger of Public News/Talk 89.7 WKSU
and 90.3 WCPN onto WKSU and 104.9 WCPN (formerly WCLV) saw WKSUs 2.2 share
and WCPNs 3.2 share combine as a 4.7 share. The move of Classical WCLV from
104.9 to 90.3 saw the station dip from 1.8 to 1.5.
Columbus

iHeartMedia News/Talk 610 WTVN rises 8.7 to 9.2. iHeart CHR 97.9 WNCI rises
to second up 6.7 to 7.6. Public News/Talk 91.1 WOSU-FM falls 8.5 to 7.1.
TEGNA Sports 97.1 The Fan WBNS-FM drops 8.6 to 7.0. Following the launch of
Country 103.9 WJKR halfway through the monthly, iHeartMedia Country 92.3
WCOL dips 6.7 to 6.1.

Saga AC Sunny 94.7 WSNY trends down 6.1 5.7 5.4, while Sister Classic
Hits Rewind 103.5/104.3 WNND/WNNP rises 2.6 3.0 3.2. Radio One Adult RB
Magic 95.5 WXMG trends up 2.3 2.6 3.0.


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Roy Brown To Depart MRL Show At Kiss 95.1 Charlotte

Posted: 18 May 2022 12:02 PM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/226205/roy-brown-to-depart-mrl-show-at-kiss-95-1-charlotte/



After seven years as part of the Maney, Roy and LauRen Morning Show at
Beasley Media CHR Kiss 95.1 WNKS Charlotte, Roy Brown announced on-air
today that he will be leaving the station later this summer to follow his
fiancé to Cincinnati.

Brown joined the station in February 2015 after spending five years at Mel
Wheeler Inc. in his native Roanoke VA in positions including Imaging
Director and night host at both CHR K92 WXLK and Country 94.9 Star Country
WSLC-FM. He also serves as a Podcast Captain within Beasley Media.

Co-hosts Steve Maney and LauRen Merola and producer Nicole Weaver will
remain in place with them noting that no discussions have begun as to
whether or how to replace Brown on the show.


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How Not To Buy A Radio Station

Posted: 18 May 2022 09:00 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blogs/226172/how-not-to-buy-a-radio-station/



Paul Izard Communications acquired then Silent 105.9 WGWE Little Valley NY
in September 2021 for $25,000. The Seneca Nation had taken the former
Classic Hits station off the air at the end of March 2021 citing financial
distress including long-term losses in its operation of the station that
have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The 7kW/191m Class B1 signal covered much of the southwestern corner of New
York including the Jamestown and Olean markets, the latter of which it had
a 1.7 share in the Fall 2020 Nielsen Audio ratings. Izard, who had been
operating Dance webcaster Energy Radio Buffalo, would assume operations of
WGWE on January 3 and restored the station to operational status on
February 28 with the Dance format from the webcaster targeting the city 50+
miles to the north where WGWEs signal didnt reach.

By April 14, the station surrendered its license.

That would normally be the end of the story, with Izard going from closing
on its acquisition to license surrender in 102 days but FCC filings this
week bring much more into focus, including why the license was surrendered
so quickly and resurrection of its license.

Izard has requested and already been granted a reversal on the license
surrender. In a petition for reconsideration filed on May 13 and granted on
May 17, Izard stated that following the license surrender that he was
contacted by Family Life Ministries CEO Richard Snavely with an offer to
purchase the station if the license could be restored. He also details all
the issues he faced during his brief tenure owning WGWE and the mistakes he
made along the way.

Izard starts, In the weeks following the acquisition, I learned that
serious defects in the WGWE transmitter sold to me rendered it inoperable
without costly repairs. I was completely unfamiliar with radio broadcast
equipment but eventually retained assistance to repair the transmitter and
upgrade wireless technology at the transmitter site.
As a first-time broadcast station owner, I became confused and frustrated
about the serious equipment issues and repair/maintenance costs. I also
later discovered that the tower lease has an escalation clause that causes
the rent to almost double. Without reliable assistance and facing
uncertainty, I made a hasty and uninformed decision to just turn in the
WGWE license and get out of broadcasting. I did not think at the time that
selling the station was viable given the equipment issues and lease
expenses. I failed to consider how the public would benefit from having
another listening choice with WGWE.

Izard admits to multiple failings immediately. He failed to perform due
diligence ahead of the purchase and finding people to assist with the
maintenance on equipment. Had a qualified engineer inspected the station
before closing on the purchase, the seller would have either been liable
for the necessary repairs, Izard could have renegotiated the terms of the
deal, or walked away.
In the days following my voluntary cancellation of the WGWE license,
Richard Snavely, Jr. contacted me about the station, indicating that his
non-profit organization Family Life Ministries, Inc., was interested in
acquiring WGWE from me if the license could be reinstated, the station was
authorized to return to on-air operations, the license renewal application
was granted, and the FCC consented to assigning the license to Family Life
after we filed an assignment application. Around that time, I became aware
that the WGWE transmitter site lease (which had not formally been
transferred to my company at the closing but will be) has 28 months
remaining on it and therefore the obligations on the lease did not end with
the cancellation of the WGWE license. I agreed to explore the possibility
of a sale to Family Life, signing a letter of intent on April 29, 2022.
After brief negotiation and agreement on a purchase price of $1.00 plus the
expenses to get the WGWE license reinstated and renewed, I signed an asset
purchase agreement with Family Life on May 13, 2022.

Izard now admits to not knowing the contracts he was assuming falsely
believing that the license surrender would remove his liability for the
remaining 28 months on the existing tower lease. While he will be losing
the money spent in the original acquisition and all costs of operations and
maintenance during his brief tenure as owner, Family Lifes pending $1
purchase of the license has provided an escape hatch from the two plus
years remaining on the lease.
My company has or will have continued lease rights at the transmitter site,
and it therefore remains possible, subject to FCC authority, to return the
station to on-air operations at that site, at temporary reduced power if
necessary due to the transmitter issues. I am prepared to do so as soon as
the FCC authorizes a resumption of operations. I am also prepared to
respond to any inquiries related to renewal of the WGWE license. Had I been
better informed and less overwhelmed as a first-time broadcaster, I would
not have voluntarily cancelled the license but would have found a way to
sell the station or continue operating it for the benefit of the public. My
decision to sell WGWE to an experienced broadcaster like Family Life for
nearly nothing is intended to correct my mistaken decision and restore an
aural programming option in the station’s market so that the public has
additional listening options.

Izard is keenly aware of the mistakes he made on the operational side. Its
also not fair to judge on placing his previously existing webstream on a
station far away from its target as that may have been filler while dealing
with the technical challenges he faced. Izard is far from the only new
owner to come into a station completely unaware of how many unknowns will
be faced on a regular basis.

If we as an industry want to grow the pool of station operators, more must
be done to make owning a radio station easier. Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai
had proposed an incubator program to encourage greater diversity in and new
entry into the media business giving existing owners the ability to exceed
the ownership caps once the new operator was through the process. But that
still would not give potential buyers the information they need or make it
easier to find a property they want in the area they seek to operate.

Most stations for sale are never publicly listed with brokers and other
owners merely sharing the information with one another or if listed are
done so in the vaguest of generalities. This is a listing I came across
this week, This long- established station is quite profitable and has
excellent growth potential. Seller Financing is NOW available. Priced at
current market multiples. This opportunity is definitely worth looking at.
The listing doesnt even give a location or starting price to let anyone
know if its something viable. Compare that to how real estate is listed on
commercial sites like LoopNet or generic businesses on a platform like
BizBuySell. The purpose of a listing is to get a potential buyer interested
in a property and giving as much information as possible. Radio brokers
mostly treat their listings as if they are going in the classifieds of
Radio & Records in 1992.

Engineers and other technical consultants need to do a better job of making
their services known. A Google search for the keywords radio station
technical advisor or radio station engineering consultant brings up no
accurate first page results. Instead we get some paid results for
podcasting ad tech companies, programming consultants, and a twelve year
old news story about a new LPFM. This is money being left on the table by
engineers and firms that have been in business for decades and have let the
digital world move past them.

Perhaps most damning is this result:



Now we see why Paul Izard ran into so many difficulties as owner of WGWE.
Even if he did find one possible consultant to help him in his process, he
still would have had lots of obstacles. But how was he even going to find
one person to assist?


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Naima Joins Brian Oake In Mornings At Cities 97.1

Posted: 18 May 2022 08:17 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/226189/naima-joins-brian-oake-in-mornings-at-cities-97-1/



iHeartMedia Modern AC Cities 97.1 KTCZ-FM Minneapolis has announced the
return of Naima to co-host mornings alongside Brian Oake.

The UK native previously hosted nights at the station from 2012 to 2016.
Since then she has been based in the United Arab Emirates most recently
co-hosting mornings at Radio 1 UAE with current Q102 WIOQ Philadelphia
evening host Sam ‘Nugget’ Dababneh.

Oake returned to KTCZ-FM as morning host in May 2021. He previously worked
at the station from 2001 to 2012 in afternoons and then mornings. He has
also hosted mornings at Alternative “Rev 105” from 1994-1997, successor
“Zone 105” from 1997 to 2001, and AAA “89.3 The Current” KCMP from 2016 to
2019.

iHeartMedia Minneapolis’ Cities 97.1, Uniquely Twin Cities, announced today
that Naima will join “Brian Oake in the Morning,” effective immediately.
“Brian Oake in the Morning” broadcasts weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m.

“Brian Oake in the Morning” features Oake’s signature irreverence and quick
wit while he banters about music, popular culture and all things Minnesota.

“It’s always great when I can bring back a prior employee who our audience
loved,” said Rich Davis, Program Director of Cities 97.1. “Naima’s
infectious energy both on and off the air and her unique accent make her
instantly recognizable. She’s the perfect talent to help anchor our
Uniquely Twin Cities music mix along with the one and only Brian Oake.”

“I’m ecstatic to be rejoining Cities 97.1 and returning home to where it
all started for me. Plus, I’m beyond chuffed to be partnering with Brian
Oake to wake up the Twin Cities! Massive thank to Rich Davis and the Twin
Cities management team for welcoming this weird Londoner back into the fold
once again,” said Naima.

Naima joins the Minneapolis market from Radio 1 in the United Arab
Emirates, where she most recently served as Morning host. Prior to that,
Namia worked at Gulf news as a Digital Content Editor for their radio
stations and as a Production Manager at Swerve Entertainment both in Dubai.
She began her career at Cities 97.1 in 2012 as a board operator and part
time host and eventually graduated to hosting the weekday night show. She
has a BA Hons degree in television and theatre production from
Buckinghamshire University in England.












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NPR Inks Transcription Deal With Take 1

Posted: 18 May 2022 04:00 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/226186/npr-inks-transcription-deal-with-take-1/



The leading public radio network of the United States, National Public
Radio (NPR), has contracted Take 1 to transcribe their news, analysis and
podcast programming for the next three years.  Under the contract, which
started in January 2022, Take 1 is providing NPR with highly accurate,
XML-based transcriptions for over 30 daily and weekly programmes and
limited series, with turnaround times ranging from a few days to just a few
hours.
NPR is an independent, non-profit media organization that was founded on a
mission to create a more informed public through excellence in journalism.
53 million audience members experience NPR content every week across a
range of platforms including radio, smart speakers, social media, live
events and NPR’s website, apps and podcasts.  The organization boasts over
1000 partner radio stations and NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things
Considered” are consistently among the most-listened-to news radio shows in
America.
The multipurpose nature of NPR’s transcripts means that accuracy and fast
turnarounds are equally important to the organization.  In addition to
being distributed to NPR’s network of member stations, the transcriptions
that Take 1 produces are published on the NPR website to make the content
accessible.  Academic publishers also distribute the transcripts to
libraries across the world where English is spoken (as well as Latin
America and China) where they are made available as searchable data in
research platforms that partner with NPR: LexisNexis, ProQuest, Westlaw,
Dow Jones, EBSCO, Gale Cengage and Newsbank.  Finally, Take 1’s transcripts
are a critical part of NPR’s content production process for shows like
“Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” and are supplied as XML to
integrate with NPR systems’ internal workflows.
“Almost all of my searches for transcribers show most U.S. providers cannot
handle NPRs high volume, high accuracy, and rush deadlines at an affordable
price, and competitive businesses based abroad are unfamiliar with the
intricacies of American-English accents, slang, idioms, and cultural
references,” says Laura Soto-Barra, NPR RAD chief (Research Archives & Data
Strategy).  “NPR poses an added challenge due to the many specialized
subjects we cover, from world politics to science and medicine.  Still
additionally, the tech requirements and the format that allows the
transcript to be ingested in the NPR systems present additional challenges
not all companies can resolve.”  She continues, “We’ve known the Take 1
team for many years, we’ve used their translation services in the past, and
they were one of the very few I knew that could deliver against this brief.”
As pioneers in data-driven transcription workflows, Take 1 has supported
the delivery of transcriptions as XML data for many years.  The
transcription, access and localization services provider also has a global
network of transcribers and linguists, including an established, full-time
team in the US.  To meet NPR’s stringent timing and accuracy requirements,
Take 1 devised a workflow that combines the speed of ASR with a human-led
editing and quality control process.
“NPR’s social responsibility to provide highly accurate information is
central to their values, and the fact that they’ve entrusted a critical
part of this – the integrity of their transcription data – to Take 1 is a
real privilege and testament to our reputation,” said Take 1 CEO, Louise
Tapia.   “When this contract was originally put to tender in 2010, Take 1
wasn’t in a position to meet its demanding requirements.  However, after
expanding our team, services and technology extensively over the last
decade, we’re thrilled to be one of the few – if not the only – provider
with the capabilities to deliver this contract.”
Find out more at www.take1.tv