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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Radio 2015: Big ideas on the Washington agenda. It will be the year of copyrights, predicts one radio industry lobbyist, as a new Republican-controlled Congress takes over and big issues dominate the agenda. Inside-the-Beltway players say the issue for 2015 will be how far lawmakers can get with their lofty goals, a list that includes many potential pitfalls for radio. While radio royalties may win the prize for best staying power across multiple sessions, radio’s biggest challenge in the 114th Congress may have nothing to do with music. “The fallout from the election strongly suggests that tax reform is one of the first things that are going to be on the table,” says Dan Jaffe, head of the Association of National Advertisers’ government relations office in Washington. It’s one of the few areas where there seems to be agreement between the White House and Capitol Hill, with an interest in, at the very Radio 2015: All this least, stretching out the timeline for marketers looking to deduct their advertising expense. Tax reform week Inside Radio will examine the also polls well with voters. “It’s the biggest threat to the ad deduction ever,” Jaffe warns. A coalition biggest issues facing of groups is working the backrooms of Congress, trying to maintain the status quo. But with an issue broadcasters, along that crosses partisan lines, no one is ready to predict which way a tax reform bill could come together. with trends to be on What about the radio royalty? Another session of Congress came to a close without a freestanding the lookout for in the coming year. bill proposing a performance royalty on radio. And with a majority of House members against the idea, it may not have mattered. But as radio heads into 2015 with new lawmakers and new committee chairs, some unanswered questions remain. Judiciary Committees in both the House and Senate are angling to begin a rewrite to copyright law, which many in the record community and in Washington believe hasn’t kept pace with how Americans consume music. That’s a conversation that has increasingly been used to lasso a radio royalty into the mix. California Republican Darrell Issa may play a big part in radio’s 2015 with his selection to serve as chair of the House Subcommittee on the Internet, Courts and Intellectual Property. Issa has been an ardent supporter of a performance royalty on radio stations. He cosponsored the bill in 2009 that would have levied a fee and called the lack of one a “worldwide embarrassment” that shows an “ignorance of intellectual property rights” by Congress. It’s not just a radio royalty but other copyright issues that could impact radio, such as an expansion of copyright law to cover pre-1972 musical works that are currently exempt from payment. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the last rewrite of copyright law took place in 1976, completing an effort that began in the 1950s. “There’s so much stuff that comprehensive copyright review can take years,” Washington attorney David Oxenford says. Still he acknowledges it’s possible some issues could be peeled off and debated more quickly. Old issues remain in cue at the FCC. Potential fixes to help AM radio, possible changes to media ownership regulations, and scores of pending indecency complaints — it’s a bit of a time warp for radio at the Federal Communications Commission as another year begins with each of those issues still unresolved. Media ownership rules aren’t likely to be revised until next year, when FCC chair Tom Wheeler has pledged to hold a vote on the 2014 quadrennial review by mid-year. In the meantime, the agency is quickly advancing a proposal to require radio stations to post their public file online. If the current outline is adopted, stations in the top 50 markets will be first to face the new mandate. All other stations will get an additional two years to prepare for the requirement. Wheeler has shown little interest in wading into broadcast indecency regulations, with a plate full of other hot-button issues, including next month’s expected release of new net neutrality rules

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 which ultimately could have an impact on radio as its streaming business grows over the coming years. The FCC is certain to face tougher oversight hearings by the GOP-controlled Congress. NAB president Gordon Smith predicts there will also be some “increased pressure” on how the FCC operates as reform legislation, proposed by former radio station owner Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), gets a fresh airing. Wheeler has said that a review of AM revitalization proposals continues inside the Commission, but he’s offered no timetable for how soon anything could materialize. Even ideas that appear to have near- universal support, like an AM filing window for translators, remain in limbo. More certain, according to agency staffers, is that radio will deliver its second-ever national EAS activation by the end of 2015.

Bob Pittman sees ‘turnaround’ in 2015 ad market. “My sense is the economy is looking stronger,” iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman says. “People are getting more confident in putting their marketing dollars out there.” Speaking on CNBC yesterday, the radio executive delivered a bullish outlook about 2015. “I sense a turnaround and I sense in talking to the advertisers that this is the year in which they stop the slowdown and get back to playing on offense,” he told the cable biz channel. Asked whether upstart rivals like Spotify or Pandora could cut into broadcast radio’s growth, Pittman downplayed their impact. “Both of those are very tiny options if you need scale,” he pointed out, noting that 90% of all radio listening remains to broadcast radio. During his conversation with CNBC, Pittman went on to say that big data is allowing marketers to better assess their media buys, and that should play into FM/AM’s favor. “The advent of all the big data is not that we’re going to target better, it’s that the advertiser is going to demand from us that we give them return on their investment because they can actually track attribution,” he explained. While television and digital typically deliver a two-to-one return, Nielsen data shows radio’s return can be as much as six-to-one. “It’s stunning to have that much better ROI,” Pittman said, adding, “What that really reflects is that radio has been underpriced for a long time.” Inside Radio Readers’ Survey: Digital’s a double-digit business for more stations. Digital continues to play a larger role for radio and Inside Radio’s annual year-end survey shows fewer stations say they received nothing from digital sales and a larger number report it represented a bigger portion of billings compared to a year earlier. Nearly one-in-ten (9%) say digital contributed 11% or more of their 2014 revenue, a 50% increase from 2013. For most however, digital remains a single-digit budget line. More than a third (35%) says digital made up 1-3% of revenue. Another four-in-ten (24%) said it amounts to 4% to 6% of their billings. While another 17% report digital contributed 7% to 10% of the bottom line. Website display advertising accounted for the biggest piece of digital revenue once again, according to 34% of people who took our survey. But with the digital menu growing longer, more stations said they sold a bigger variety of inventory. The fastest-growing digital money-maker last year was the sale of internet-related services to clients, with 11% of readers saying that was their station’s biggest source of digital revenue. Daily deals, while not getting as much attention as they once did, continue to be a steady revenue stream for many. Twelve percent said daily deals and social commerce were their biggest digital revenue source, the same number as a year earlier. Others got their biggest digital bang from database marketing (4%), mobile ads (4%) and video advertising (3%). In-stream audio sales keep growing. Nearly half of Inside Radio readers (48%) who took our unscientific survey said they made more money in 2014 from the sale of in-stream audio advertising. That’s on par with a year earlier. Nearly as many (44%) said their streaming commercial sales were flat versus 2013. And another 7% said they made less from in- stream spot sales. While the overall trend line is still moving up, at the same time in-stream audio ad sales accounted for a smaller portion of total interactive revenue as digital ad sales are diversifying. One-in-five (22%) of readers said in-stream ads were their biggest digital revenue generator last year. That compares to a third who said that in 2013 and a quarter who reported that in 2012. Where are those dollars coming from? Readers are evenly split —17% say digital is bringing in new advertisers, while 18% think dollars are shifting over from existing on-air advertisers. A majority (65%) say it’s a combination of the two. Radio 2015 continues — including more from our year-end survey — in tomorrow’s Inside Radio. Home Depot remains radio’s biggest-volume advertiser for third year in 2014. Using a combination of different spot lengths and tailoring its creative to fit the seasons, retailer Home Depot remained radio’s most-aired advertiser in 2014.

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Media Monitors says the home improvement retailer ran 2,316,016 commercials last year on stations it tracks, a 3% increase over the prior year. Promos for iHeartRadio are included on the ranker, and they enter the top ten at No. 2 in terms of the number of plays. That pushed Geico down one position to third, airing 1,976,492 spots or a decrease of 5% compared to 2013. McDonald’s remained in fourth place for a second year, despite cutting its radio ad volume by 3% last year. Thanks to a second-half surge in radio spending, Walgreen’s returned to the top five from No. 12 a year earlier as it boosted radio ad volume 83% last year. The remainder of the top ten included AutoZone, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Macy’s, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and True Car. Dropping out of Media Monitor’s Spot Ten for 2014 were State Farm (now No. 11), Walmart (now No. 13) and AT&T Wireless (now No. 19). Easily the biggest-volume ad category last year on stations tracked by Media Monitors was insurance, with nearly 5.9 million ads aired. Fast food was second (4 million ads), followed by wireless (3.85 million), automotive (3.84 million), discount/department stores (3.5 million), banks/credit unions (2.8 million), and television tune-in spots (1.3 million). Read Media Monitor’s top 100 advertisers list for radio HERE. Field: Entercom’s digital marketing agency poised for ‘dramatic growth.’ After launching in a handful of markets last spring, Entercom says its SmartReach Digital (SRD) marketing solutions division has expanded to 13 markets and it now has hundreds of clients. In a letter posted on the company’s website, CEO David Field says the unit has “made dramatic progress” and now employs a staff of more than 70 people. Intended to serve the growing market for digital marketing services among small- and medium-sized local businesses, SRD is being run as a separate business with a joint management team and a dedicated sales staff. The goal is to leverage Entercom’s existing customer relationships, marketing capabilities and local station brands. During the company’s financial results call, Field said that the division’s impact was “pretty negligible” in the third quarter but it’s on track to amount to just over one half of 1% of company revenue in the fourth quarter. He noted SRD revenues were “ramping nicely” but that the new venture was still at an “early stage” of development. In the “Thoughts on the Year Ahead” letter, Field called SmartReach “the perfect complement to our radio stations, enabling us to serve our customers with the best lineup of radio, digital and experiential products.” The business unit is “primed for dramatic revenue growth in 2015 and beyond,” he added, “and will enhance our customer building efforts across the country.” The connected home becomes ground zero for new streaming audio gear. It’s not just cars that are quickly becoming internet-connected entertainment zones. Living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms are being transformed into new audio arenas, where family members can easily stream their favorite radio and music on everything from game consoles and TVs to wireless speakers. The 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show showcases the home as the new streaming sound stage with iHeartMedia alone announcing seven new integrations involving more than a dozen new iHeartRadio- enabled devices. In a partnership that makes thousands of radio stations accessible to millions of PlayStation users, Sony has integrated iHeartRadio into its PS4 and PS3 gaming consoles and some TVs and mobile devices. It marks the first time Sony products have added the iHeart service. The company has also unveiled new partnerships with Google for its Google Cast for Audio software and with LG for its LG Music Flow Wi-Fi series. iHeartRadio, Rhapsody, Spotify, TuneIn and others streaming providers are natively integrated into LG’s Music Flow Player app, which controls LG WiFi speakers and sound bars in the home. Dish is getting in on the action, too, with a whole-home music system powered by TV set-top boxes that turn Hoppers and Joey speakers into music streaming zones that are controllable from a new Android or iOS smartphone app, which includes iHeartRadio, Pandora and TuneIn. TiVo, meanwhile has announced it will begin integrating iHeartRadio into its TiVo Roamio, TiVo Mini and TiVo Premiere line of devices. IHeart CEO Bob Pittman says the digital products are just another way for consumers to listen to their favorite radio stations. “When they leave their car and they have to walk to the office, we want them to listen on their phone,” he tells CNBC. “When they’re playing video games, we’d like them to put on their favorite radio station. By putting it all there I think it increases our listening but it also intensifies the relationship we have with the consumer.” IHeartRadio recently reached 50 million registered users.

CES 2015: Google casts streaming radio into the living room. The quest to make it easier to stream radio and music at

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 3 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 home is getting a shot in the arm from Google. The tech titan unveiled Google Cast for Audio at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Google now intends to do for audio what its Chromecast dongle did for video, making it simple to stream movies from the web to a TV. Listeners using a compatible streaming app, like iHeartRadio, NPR One or Pandora, can press the “cast” button in the app and select a compatible device to send the audio stream to, like wireless speakers, a sound bar or other audio gear. In what turns the smartphone into a home audio remote control device, the audio will then begin streaming directly from the cloud to the speakers. Because it’s cloud-based, Google Cast for Audio is said to improve audio quality and allow users to continue to multi-task on their phone, tablet or laptop – without straining the battery. The technology simplifies the task of streaming in the home and makes for smoother segues between headphones and speakers. A Google demo video shows a man removing his earbuds after entering the house, pressing a button on his smartphone and shifting the audio over to a pair of speakers. The software works with compatible Android and iOS devices and the web and with nearly 100 radio and music apps, including Rdio, TuneIn, Songza, Google Play, radioPup and Vevo, in addition to iHeartRadio, NPR One and Pandora.

Other news from CES — • As Cumulus Media programming becomes more integrated on Rdio, it will find distribution in a number of new devices. Rdio has announced it is working on new partnerships with DTS, Google, Hisense and LG Electronics on a variety of connected home devices, such as smart TVs and wireless speakers. Cumulus has a content, marketing and sales partnership with the digital music service. Rdio says details for each partnership will be released later this year. • QNX Software Systems has unveiled a technology concept car that includes iHeartRadio Drive Anywhere Radio, which would allow drivers to continue listening to their favorite AM/FM radio station, even after driving out of signal range, by automatically switching to the digital iHeartRadio station. • Clarion will integrate iHeartMedia’s Total Traffic Network info into its navigation system and include iHeartRadio among its apps.

CBS enlists Bloomberg for business reports on its all-news stations. Faced with the loss of 24-hour business reports from the Wall Street Journal, which shut down its radio operations at the end of the year, CBS Radio has turned to Bloomberg. Its all-news stations in a dozen markets have begun airing twice-per-hour business updates, co-produced with Bloomberg Radio. Al Mayers, head of Bloomberg Radio, calls the alliance a “natural fit” between the business news provider and radio’s largest all-news station operator. “It’s an important milestone for Bloomberg as we expand our audience of business decision makers,” Mayers says in a statement. The high-profile distribution should also help attract advertisers to Bloomberg Radio, whose ad sales are currently repped by United Stations Radio Networks. The CBS addition comes in the wake of Bloomberg’s launch of new local market 24-hour stations in San Francisco and Boston in 2014.

Oprah dropped from Sirius XM lineup. The queen of daytime talk is no longer talking on radio as Sirius XM Radio dropped Oprah Radio from its channel lineup at the start of the year. Oprah Radio launched in late 2006 on XM Satellite Radio. Following the company’s merger with Sirius, it found a spot in the programing lineups for customers of both services. Sirius XM isn’t offering an explanation to customers other than saying the channel is no longer available. But it may be related to the satellite company’s goal to cut programming costs. While no figures were ever released, it’s believed Winfrey’s initial three-year deal in 2006 with XM was worth $55 million.

Inside Radio News Ticker...FCC downsizes Florida fine...The FCC has cut an $8,000 fine against Onda Mexicana Radio Group’s “Onda Mexicana Radio 1340” WWFL, Clermont, FL by 20% based on its history of compliance with the rulebook. The Enforcement Bureau announced the fine last May, saying WWFL failed to respond to its request for information as the FCC investigated a possible violation. Onda says it did drop a reply in the mail but for some unknown reason it never made it to the FCC. Still unknown is what the FCC is investigating WWFL for, however...People Moves...There are new general managers in Charlotte and Oxnard-Ventura. Plus a top programming manager leaves his corporate gig. Read the latest People Moves HERE.

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE qualEXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY IN COLUMBUS, OHIO FOR THE RIGHT CANDIDATE Wilks Broadcasting in Columbus Ohio is seeking a sales leader to be our DOS/GSM. Our cluster includes heritage Classic Rock WLVQ.

You need to be a street warrior as this in an active sales role where Beasley Broadcast Las Vegas you lead by example and personal revenue generation. The successful seeks dynamic AE. candidate is willing and eager to maintain and grow their own list in addition to leading a talented team. In addition you must be performance- Do you have the ability to driven and results-oriented, with excellent communication, analytical, develop relationships and create organizational, leadership skills and a strong work ethic. customized marketing solutions for clients? Do you have a This opening includes competitive strong work ethic, a positive compensation and benefits packages. attitude and references to back it up? Do you have a passion for Note DOS/GSM in the subject line when sending developing new business? resume to: [email protected]. No phone calls/recruiters please. All correspondence will be held in the strictest of confidence. If so send your resume to: Wilks Broadcast-Columbus, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. [email protected]

Equal Opportunity Employer. NEWS MAGAZINE HOST - BROADCAST PRODUCER/MANAGER KJZZ in Phoenix, AZ is hiring for a Broadcast Producer Manager who will host and produce radio programs by delivering on-air content and technical continuity among all segments of programming. The Maricopa County Community College District is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

HOW TO APPLY: KJZZ is being assisted in this search by Livingston Associates. Visit www.livingstonassociates.net/openings for the full job posting and to apply. Inquiries are welcome with Livingston Associates. EOE.

For best consideration apply by January 9, 2015. qual GENERAL MANAGER - CHARLESTON, IL

If you have a reason to be in the South Central Illinois area, and if you are a “selling manager”, Cromwell Radio Group has a great position for you. Growing area, college town on interstate. Not a turn- around. Performing wonderfully. Need the right GM with solid business and digital knowledge to keep it that way and growing. We have three FMs, two being the most listened to Country and CHR stations in the region. Great community involvement.

This is a position where you can make a difference and see it. It is not a position for “ratings or transactional” selling GM. It’s a “roll your sleeves up, get the job done, serve the community and be a leader” position which is always appreciated in smaller markets. Base plus bonus and good benefits for the right person. Current 11 year GM leaving on great terms for a position she can not pass up and we support her. Candidate must be involved in the community and be able to lead by example. E-mail resume and cover letter to: [email protected]. E.O.E.

INSIDE RADIO, Copyright 2015. www.insideradio.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication MORE OPPORTUNITIES may be copied, reproduced, or retransmitted in any form. This publication cannot be distributed @ INSIDERADIO.COM >> beyond the physical address of the named subscriber. Address: P.O. Box 567925, Atlanta, GA 31156. Subscribe to INSIDE RADIO monthly subscription $39.95 recurring payment. For information, visit www.insideradio.com. To advertise, call 1-800-248-4242 x711. Email: [email protected].

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