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THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
IHeartRadio gains ground on streaming competitors. Since relaunching in 2011, iHeartRadio has
been adding registered users at a pace of about 10 million every six to seven months. The streaming
radio service has now surpassed 60 million registered users, putting it in closer proximity to competitors
such as Pandora and Spotify. Comparisons of iHeartRadio to pureplays are difficult. First, iHeart doesn’t
require users to register to listen to live radio streams so its total reach is larger than the number who have
registered. Second, pureplays offer free and paid services making apples to apples compassions difficult.
That said, Spotify in early January said it had over 60 million active users globally, including 15 million paying
subscribers. Active uses are defined as those that have used the service in the past 30 days. As of last
year’s third quarter, Pandora had 76.5 million active users and more than 200 million registered users. In
other metrics released Friday, iHeartRadio said it hit nearly 90 million unique visitors, nearly 80 million social
media followers and 75% brand awareness. The iHeart app has more than 500 million downloads. The new
metrics follow first-time deals with Sony, LG and other partners that have put the service into more than a
dozen more devices, spanning auto, in-home entertainment and gaming. At the 2015 Consumer Electronics
Show, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman told Adweek listening will continue to grow as apps are embedded in more multi-purpose
devices, such as game consoles, home entertainment systems and connected cars.
One station and five EAS tones lead to repercussions for all Univision stations. It was supposed to be a humorous
morning show skit, but the FCC didn’t find the misuse of Emergency Alert System tones a laughing matter. So it’s slapped
Univision Spanish CHR “X-96.3” WXNY-FM, New York with a $20,000 fine for the January 28, 2014 violation. The station
wasn’t able to plead ignorance to the rules during the investigation. After all, morning personality Luis Jimenez and his crew
openly acknowledged during the sketch that using the EAS tones was illegal. Even so, they repeatedly played the tones five
times during a comedy routine that was a mix of Spanish and English. “I think it’s illegal — eso es para emergencias (that’s
for emergencies),” Jimenez said to his co-hosts. The FCC was alerted to the violation by an unnamed New Jersey listener.
“Misuse of the emergency alert system desensitizes the public to the importance of the tones and poses a serious danger to the
nation’s public safety, whether those tones are transmitted with programming that is in English, Spanish, or any other language,”
Enforcement Bureau chief Travis LeBlanc says in a statement. Under a settlement with the FCC, Univision has agreed to pay
a $20,000 fine and put a three-year compliance and employee training plan in place for WXNY and every other Univision Radio
station nationwide. Univision tells the FCC it’s already begun taking steps to educate on-air talent and staff about the proper
use of EAS. It also points out that its decision to dismiss Jimenez and his co-hosts last July was unrelated to the EAS violation.
Alpha Media adds Fredericksburg cluster. In the end, Larry Wilson won the cluster he’d been looking at for months — even
after sitting out of the auction held to sell the Fredericksburg, VA cluster. Wilson’s Alpha Media has struck a deal to buy the
four stations from the private equity firm that earlier emerged as winner at a bankruptcy sale. Sandton Capital Partners is
selling “New Country 93.3” WFLS-FM, rhythmic CHR “99.3 The Vibe” WVBX, classic rock “96.9 The Rock” WWUZ and talk/
sports WNTX (1350) to Alpha. Employees were informed of the long-rumored sale on Friday and Wilson tells Inside Radio
he’s especially excited to acquire the market’s top-rated WFLS-FM. No management or programming changes are expected.
Financial terms of the sale weren’t immediately released. As a lender to Free Lance-Star, Sandton emerged as the owner of the
stations last May during a bankruptcy auction. The private equity firm submitted a $30.2 million bid, which included a credit bid
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MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
of $13.9 million — the most the court would allow. Wilson says it was a number that convinced him to walk away without Alpha
putting its own bid into the mix. After the Federal Communications Commission rejected Sandton’s request to keep the cluster
and its grandfathered ownership with the Free Lance-Star newspaper intact, it had 12 months to find a buyer. After a few return
trips to Fredericksburg, Wilson says a deal was hatched. “The stations will be in very capable hands,” Sandton partner Robert
Orr says in a statement. The firm continues to look for its next radio investment. Alpha Media has grown to 93 stations, including
nearby clusters in Richmond, VA; Hagerstown, MD; and Bluefield, WV.
Car dealers become the foot soldiers of satellite radio. Sirius XM Radio added a record 1.3 million used car trial subscriptions
during the third quarter of 2014, showcasing how important the pre-owned market has become for the company. Since SiriusXM
began working with local dealers to make satellite radio available to their used car customers in mid-2011, more than 15,000
dealers have joined the program that gives buyers of a vehicle with a factory-installed receiver three months of free satellite
radio. There are more cars on the road today with a receiver built into the dashboard, many of which aren’t activated, and that
has SiriusXM looking at fine-tuning its pricing and promotions to appeal to those drivers who may not think it’s worth adding
another expense to their lives. “We’re experimenting with what’s the best way to get the best yield out of those trial funnels as
that wider disparity of incomes and demographics come through,” CEO Jim Meyer said during a recent conference call. The
number of self-paying customers who drop the service –—the so-called churn number — has remained pretty steady at roughly
2%. January is typically the month that SiriusXM loses its biggest number of customers as annual plans end.
Inside Radio News Ticker...CRS returns unemployment rate...The economy may be improving, but there are still plenty of
people struggling. So the Country Radio Seminar has announced it will offer a $99 “unemployment rate” to its annual Nashville
conference. The discounted registration requires proof of joblessness. It will be the first time CRS has offered the discount in
consecutive years. CRS will also offer single-day and single-panel passes. The pricing flexibility has allowed CRS attendance
to grow despite tighter company travel budgets...Tulsa morning host ‘Biggie’ dead at 40... An impromptu memorial has been
created outside the studios of IHeartMedia rock KMOD-FM, Tulsa (97.5) following the Friday death of morning personality Shay
“Biggie” Adams. He’d been off the air since November battling an undisclosed illness. Adams was 40. He and radio partner
Corbin Pierce had been on KMOD-FM since 2012 after moving over from rhythmic CHR sister “92.1 The Beat” KTBT. “We have
all lost a treasure,” Pierce said in his statement. Read more People Moves HERE.
SALES SPECIAL: How to win the radio sales game in 2015. Regardless of the sport, every team begins the season with a
winning record. It’s not so different for radio salespeople. They stare at the January page on the calendar as a yearly reset to
their annual billing and personal bottom line. Inside Radio caught up with several sales consultants and asked them the best
way AEs can win the game in 2015.
The (sales) past is (sales) prologue. The relatively slower pace of January is a prime opportunity to crunch last year’s numbers
with a mission to use that information to strategize for 2015. Consultants say sales reps should look at what the average client
spent each month, what the value of the typical order was, and where areas of potential growth may exist. Consultant Jim
Taszarek calls it a “treasure trove” of sales information. “It tells you what a salesperson was good at last year, what worked for
them, the client and the station, and gives them a map for how to duplicate and expand on that this year.” Consultant Mark Levy
says the results of that data can then be used to craft a tailored pitch focused on adding another daypart, station or day of the
week to their typical buy. He also suggests presenting a client with an explanation for why each spot will cost at least an extra
dollar in 2015. For a station with 12 units an hour around the clock, Levy calculates that will add up to an additional $104,000 a
year out of the gate. And while sales managers and clients may be in an annual mode, Levy thinks elongating the calendar by
a month or two can pay off. “Consider rewriting annual contracts so you don’t have to renew in January or February, which are
notoriously slow business months,” he says.
Take a hard look at the client list. Client needs analysis is certainly nothing new, but the start of a new year gives sales reps a
once-a-year opportunity to focus on key accounts. “Key clients are doing the same thing as a salesperson — they’re looking
ahead into the year and trying to figure out how they’re going to maximize their business,” Center for Sales Strategy president
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MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
Jim Hopes says. “So it’s good to be part of that planning.” He
points out there’s a mathematical reason as well. “Getting new
business from key accounts has more impact than just about
anything else you could do” he explains.
It’s okay to say goodbye. Dead weight may be the politest way
a salesperson will refer to a client who eats up lots of time, but
ultimately places just a few buys with a station. “I would get rid
of those and the only way to do that is to have an alternative
by choosing healthy prospects,” says Jim Hopes. The Center for
Sales Strategy president says that, in general, radio reps spend
too much time chasing prospects that might be able to spend just
a few dollars. “The reality is every human has a limited inventory
of new business development time so who to spend it with is
going to make a difference in their year,” Hopes says. “If they
spend with bigger, higher quality prospects with greater potential,
where they can get access to key decision makers, their new business this year is going to do well.” Consultant Mark Levy says
AEs could also try a different sort of “trade” deal. “If you have clients who have not gotten anywhere with, you might want to think
about swapping with someone else who’s in a similar situation,” he suggests.
Don’t pitch the station, pitch the solutions. Number one in the ratings is an enviable position, but as every seller knows, nearly
everyone finds a way to be up top when standing in front of a client. Center for Sales Strategy president Jim Hopes says the
solution is to stop pitching the station. “Change the conversation and start showing that the station has all sorts of resources
to solve problems,” he says. “So many broadcasters today have all sorts of resources that they never had before, especially on
the digital side. Many of them are set up almost as marketing agencies.” When confronted with digital skeptics, consultant Jim
Taszarek tells them it’s akin to trying to stop a freight train. “Embrace it rather than fight it, because you’re going to get run over
otherwise,” he says. “When their perception is radio is old and digital is new, adapt and point out that radio has all sorts of new
things too — and that when you put the two together it enhances a buy.”
Sell the station, and yourself. More than ever the salesperson is just as important a brand as the station. Sales pros say that’s
why accurate and detailed LinkedIn pages or personal websites with their own success stories for clients will help sell new
advertisers on radio. “Your business card these days is Google,” says CSS president Jim Hopes. While showing up with a smile
and even a joke may be great for some clients, consultant Mark Levy says it’s a good time of year to focus on the client’s serious
goal of making money. “Salespeople should ask themselves what do they need to do to be taken more seriously than any other
seller who calls on a client — from the guy who sells new checkout registers to other media sellers,” he says. Levy believes
it’s an attitude that will pay off when a client decides which station to spend money with. With all the things radio can do today,
consultant Jim Taszarek says salespeople should position themselves as one-person ad agencies. Hopes says the personal
attention will become more important, especially in the age of programmatic buying. “All of this is built into a personal brand,
and at the end of the day clients are buying people and expertise,” he says. “Spots are easy to buy, computers can make that
happen.”
Party like its December. It’s no secret station year-end thank you gifts aren’t what they once were, and experts say a personal
“thank you” to a client that does business with a company goes further than one might think. But consultant Mark Levy says the
social doldrums of January and February present a prime opportunity for stations. “We in radio do such a terrible job saying
thank you in our business, why not have a party for clients where no pitching is allowed, just to thank them for their business,” he
suggests. “A lot of times the banquet centers aren’t as busy so they might be more open to a trade, and because it’s a slower
time of year there’s a better chance people will show up.”
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MONDAY
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MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
Take The Hassle Out of Prize Winner Tax Reporting!
It’s January, and the deadline for your promotions teams to generate 1099 forms and prizewinner reports is rapidly approaching.
Eliminate this stressful, time-consuming process and get your promotions teams back to generating exciting revenue and
ratings driven ideas for your brand. Make the monotonous task of manually sifting through the entire year’s list of winners
who need 1099 forms a thing of the past.
Triton Digital is excited to announce that we’ve integrated bulk and single winner tax processing solutions within AMP
Promotions Management. AMP Promotions Management keeps track of those winnings automatically — no more hours
of wasted time! What’s more, there is a mechanism within the tax handling process that finds winners who have won prizes
from various stations within a market. This allows station admins to link them together so that their winnings are combined
in the forms.
“It is incredibly easy to navigate and pulls the exact [tax] information
I need,” says Danielle McKenzie, promotions coordinator at Summit
Media. “I finished all four of our stations in fewer than two hours today.”
Turn wasted time into productive time and ensure that your paperwork
is in compliance.
For a demo of our tax handling solution, please visit us at:
http://promotionsmanagement.tritondigital.com/ or contact
[email protected].
A new idea for your local car dealers.
We hear from sales managers in many markets that automotive
dealers aren’t buying spots in local markets. But Borrell Associates
forecasts the auto category will grow 5.2% for radio in 2015. So if the
local dealer isn’t buying spots on your station, what might they buy?
You still have an audience that is still buying cars and trucks. Most
dealers are conditioned to want more.
CarPoint is a new idea that car dealers will love. CarPoint combines
the power of radio with digital to produce actual leads for automotive
dealers, new and used, that advertise on your station. It’s already
PROVEN to work, and was developed for and BY radio.
Wouldn’t you love to get credit for leads and sales made by dealers
that advertise on your station? That’s now possible with CarPoint.
It’s an easy way to generate incremental advertising revenues while
providing local dealers with a program that is accountable and
measurable. CarPoint is an easy way to add a digital element to your
radio station schedule — and the combo really works.
CarPoint is a station-branded, turn-key lead generation system that connects your listeners, who are looking to buy a new or
used car, with the automotive dealers who advertise with you.
CarPoint offers accountability. We know radio works. Now radio can deliver sales leads directly to the automotive dealers
who already advertise with you.
CarPoint was developed by a ‘radio guy’ in California out of necessity. His stations wanted to hold on to the advertising dollars
that car dealers were spending and they wanted some of the dollars that were going to other media. Car dealers were always
asking for digital, and they finally developed a program that worked. Now, the program is expanding to other markets.
Don’t let your competitor get CarPoint first. Call Rob at 1-800-735-0060 or write [email protected] and ask to hear
success stories from other markets. (Sun Fun Media is the exclusive agent for CarPoint.)
Great ideas and products featured in Must Read Monday come from innovative companies, sponsors and our
greatest resource-our readers! If you have a success story or idea to share, email: [email protected]
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CLASSIFIEDS
qual
insideradio.com
GENERAL MANAGER - MINNESOTA
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Rare GM opening for Hubbard radio in northern Minnesota!
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is looking for an energetic, motivated
and creative manager to lead our five radio stations in Bemidji, MN.
As GM you will oversee sales, marketing and operations of KZY 95.5,
Z99, KB101, WQXJ 104.5 and KBUN. The last management team
was in place for over 25 years so it’s a rare opportunity to lead our five
strong brands in a robust and competitive market. Sales background
is preferred but not required. The opportunity provides the best of
both worlds—small market localism with major market resources.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Send letter & resume to: Dan Seeman,
[email protected]
Equal Opportunity Employer
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS SALES - ANY U.S. LOCATION
Triton Digital’s Publisher Development Team is responsible for
building Triton’s audio publisher network through the direct-sale and
licensing of Triton’s AMP Platform and Triton’s Audio Platform.
Success in this digital solutions role will require proven talent in
sales, a knowledge & passion for digital media, as well as the ability
to manage through a complex sales process. Strong communication
& presentation skills are essential as well as an entrepreneurial desire
to help prospective and current clients grow their business with Triton
solutions. E.O.E.
If the description above depicts you,
send resume to: [email protected]
tritondigital.com/about-us/careers
Beasley Broadcast Las Vegas
seeks dynamic AE.
Do you have the ability to
develop relationships and create
customized marketing solutions
for clients? Do you have a
strong work ethic, a positive
attitude and references to back
it up? Do you have a passion for
developing new business?
If so send your resume to:
[email protected]
Equal Opportunity Employer.
ABSOLUTE AUCTION!
Arizona C-2 FM
Construction Permit.
Major market rimshot.
Request bid package and
auction registration
requirements by writing:
broadcastbroker@
livingston.net
GSM - CHICAGO
qual VP, NETWORK PROGRAMMING — DALLAS, TX
Reach Media is seeking an experienced VP,
Network Programming to oversee their network
radio programs. Ideal candidate will have
minimum 5 years management experience in
radio programming at a network, group or large
market. Candidate must have quantifiable success in Urban Radio
programming; developing and managing major talent and possess
excellent leadership, communication and problem solving skills.
Candidate will oversee programming and technical operations of a
large operation encompassing multiple locations: remote broadcasts;
talent and staff; growing ratings and developing new shows.
The most respected and imitated
Classic Rock station in the
country has a rare opening for
a General Sales Manager.
Candidates should have at least
4 years of experience in leading
veteran team of quality sales
executives. This position requires
a depth of knowledge in new
business development and
new digital sales applications.
To apply, visit:
www.wdrv.com/jobops.php
If your abilities match our requirements, please submit resume,
salary requirements or history and recent references via email to:
[email protected]
Reach Media, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.
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Equal Opportunity Employer.
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