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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014

Coming off 4-book downtrend, Christmas poses new ratings challenge for country. Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year for AC stations that trade Sam Smith for sleigh bells. But the holiday format is more like Mr. Grinch to country radio. No format takes a bigger ratings hit from the seasonal format than country. Nielsen analysis shows the average country station’s 6+ share declined by 13% from the November survey to the Holiday book in each of the last two years. This year the holiday audience churn comes as country is coming off a four-month ratings slide. In what Nielsen says is unprecedented for the format under PPM measurement, country’s shares have been trending down since August. Despite the erosion, country still has enviable ratings: No. 3 in 6+ (8.0), No. 2 in 18-34 (9.2) and No. 2 in 25-54 (7.8). Based on historical trends, those shares are expected to sag in the next two surveys. How big will the Christmas ratings kiss be for AC? Last year, the average soft AC’s ratings surged 83% from the November survey to the Holiday book while AC shot up 61%. Track the fast-growing number of stations converting to all Christmas programming, continually updated at InsideRadio.com. Bucking trend, a country station owns Christmas in Kansas City. In a market with three strong country stations, one of them has boosted its ratings by commandeering the Christmas position for a fourth consecutive year. Opportunity knocked for “Country 94.1” KFKF-FM in 2011 when two Kansas City stations bailed on AC, leaving the holiday music format up for grabs. KFKF, which already played a lot of seasonal tunes around the holidays, jumped in to fill the void. When Christmas music by country acts didn’t pan out, it switched to traditional holiday fare with a few country Christmas songs tossed in for flavor. Last year that throttled up its 6+ share from an 8.6 in November to a 9.1 in December and an 11.4 in the Holiday book. Some listeners complained for the first two years. “A lot of them now understand that this is part of what we do and that we return to country after the holidays,” PD/morning man Dale Carter says. Going all-Christmas hasn’t hurt the station’s year-round performance he adds, noting that many country fans love Christmas music. “We’ve done very well with ratings and revenue,” he says. When Tim McGraw and Keith Urban return on December 26, things pretty much settle back to where they were. This past January, KFKF’s 25-54 numbers returned to their November levels. And from February to April they rose higher than during any non-holiday month this year. Plus the station’s 35-64 audience trended higher in January and February than in November. But Entercom’s country “106.5 The Wolf” WDAF went up a share in 25-54 in the December and Holiday books, suggesting some KFKF listeners moved up the dial to get their country fix. A cautionary Christmas tale for country stations. In many ways, the circumstances that made Christmas a winner for “Country 94.1” KFKF-FM are unique. Steel City Media owns two country stations in Kansas City. While there’s plenty of musical overlap, “New Country 104.3” KBEQ skews young with a harder edge while KFKF appeals to an older audience. Christmas fit better with the family-oriented KFKF, which has played country since 1963 and has a sizable 55+ audience. “We are more of the red, white and blue, God-family-country station,” PD/morning man Dale Carter says. But consultants caution against country stations in other markets blindly following KFKF’s lead, noting that all-Christmas works best on a

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 country station if it has the position all to itself. “There might be an instance where a third or fourth country signal in a market might take the plunge to get some attention,” consultant Joel Raab says. “However, that’s not a great proposition if there is already an established all-Christmas station.” Consultant Mike O’Malley notes that studies of country listeners from Edison Research in 2005-2006 found less than 20% said they’d be very interested in having their country station play all Christmas music while half said they wouldn’t be interested at all. Partner Jaye Albright says unless a company has a second country station that can absorb listeners disenfranchised by Christmas music, it’s a bad idea. “Going all Christmas in a two-country station market with two separate owners isn’t going to work,” Albright says. IHeartMedia streamlines national programming structure. Being big can have its advantages, and iHeartMedia will look to leverage those as it revamps the structure of its National Programming Platforms team. NPP president Tom Poleman tells employees that the changes being instituted to the four-year old team are designed to put more resources into improving ratings at the local market level. By leveraging iHeartMedia’s size and scale, he writes in a memo, the company will be able to make it possible for stations to do things that no single market could secure on its own. The move will roll iHeartMedia’s executive and senior vice presidents of programming into NPP, a change that is designed to streamline communication between executives and station programmers. “This is in an effort to place more control in the hands of markets,” Poleman tells staff. Two executives will also get expanded roles. SVP Maynard Cohen will head up its programming strategic review team. And VP Marc Chase will oversee NPP’s brand management team, which Poleman says will be expanded to bring in more programmers from around the country to help take a fresh look at how to do things. Chase will also oversee Critical Mass Media, the company’s research organization. It’s part of what Poleman says has been a several-month review process. Piolin begins broadcast radio comeback. Self-syndication is the avenue that Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo is taking as the veteran Spanish radio personality makes his return to the broadcast radio dial. His new “El Show de Piolin” will launch in January, four months after a short-lived stint at Sirius XM Radio came to an abrupt and still unexplained end. That’s when two American General Media regional Mexican stations — “Radio Lobo 97.7/94.7” KLVO, Albuquerque and “96.9 La Caliente” KEBT, Bakersfield, CA — will begin airing Sotelo’s program. Both were longtime affiliates of his previous show, syndicated by Univision Radio, until he split with the company in July 2013. “I am extremely excited about the return of Piolin to our family of stations,” AGM president Rogers Brandon says. When Sotelo left Univision his program cleared on more than 50 affiliates, and most stations have found new shows to fill the timeslot. An Inside Radio analysis in October 2013 showed stations saw their 25-54 shares decline between 11% and 50% or more in the three months after he signed-off for the last time. Station managers will now need to decide if they want to revert back to a show that drew ratings — or continue building up an audience for their replacement shows. Spotify sets sights on national spot market. A year after targeting network radio advertisers, streaming music service Spotify is now looking to build a national spot business. It has enlisted Triton Digital to supply ratings in the top 15 metros as it goes to market armed with new systems that will allow the webcaster to geo-target listeners in those cities. “We’re not looking to replace any radio stations on a plan,” VP Brian Benedik says. “If anything, Spotify is looking to be complementary to radio stations and other webcasters.” But with national radio budgets showing little growth Benedik concedes it’s likely to put Spotify into competition for those dollars. “Some will come out of terrestrial radio budgets, some will come out of Pandora, but we’re not looking to knock anybody off a buy sheet — we’re just looking to bring an audience to the table that today they’re not seeing on their plans,” he says. Spotify currently airs 2.5 minutes of audio ads per hour on its free service. The announcement comes as major ad agencies craft annual budgets and Benedik says there have been buyers clamoring for a national spot option. He didn’t release any client names, but says Millennial-focused categories such as telecom, automotive, gaming, and even some package goods advertisers are showing interest. What Benedik describes as “brisk” network sales have allowed the company to double its ad revenue in 2014. It hasn’t released results, although it’s likely to make Spotify more attractive with an IPO expected to be filed in 2015. With a 55-person sales team, Benedik expects the digital audio platform will eventually expand to selling national spot in the top 50 metros, but says moving into local, similar to what Pandora has done, is unlikely. “We have no designs to hire hundreds of salespeople across the U.S.,” he says.

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AGs slap Sirius XM for strong-arming customers to keep service. Sirius XM Radio has agreed to a $3.8 million settlement with the attorneys general of 46 states to close an investigation into the satellite radio company. The states alleged SiriusXM used misleading advertising, improper billing practices, and telephone sales efforts that were overly aggressive. “This company unfairly profited by misleading customers on pricing and contract practices,” Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said in a statement announcing the settlement. The attorneys general said SiriusXM not only made it difficult for people to cancel their service, but it also dragged its heels on crediting payments from consumers, and used automatic renewals without consumers’ notice or consent, often at rates that were much higher than anticipated. SiriusXM had claimed its consumer practices complied with all federal and state laws. But under the agreement with the states it also agrees to pay restitution to resolve complaints from eligible consumers who had problems canceling their services or obtaining refunds since July 2008. “This settlement will put a stop to the numerous unfair and deceptive practices Sirius employed to overcharge customers,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. Canceling satellite radio just got easier. Under its agreement with the state attorneys general, Sirius XM Radio has agreed to more clearly and conspicuously disclose all of its billing and renewal terms to subscribers, as well as detail its cancellation policy. The company also pledges to give customers advance notice about upcoming automatic renewals for plans lasting longer than six months. And it agrees to revise its cancellation procedures, making it easier for subscribers to pull the plug. “Consumers shouldn’t have to read the super-fine print or jump through hoops to understand and cancel their service contracts,” Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler said. The agreement should also do something about those aggressive service agents. SiriusXM has agreed to stop giving bonuses to reps for retaining a customer who attempts to cancel. “This settlement will require SiriusXM to change its practices to ensure that future abuses do not occur,” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said. Separate investigations by the Florida and New York attorneys general offices continue.

Westwood One replaces Billy Bush with Zach Sang. Westwood One will end syndication of “The Billy Bush Show” on December 31 and replace it with “Zach Sang and the Gang.” Bush’s nighttime daypart show for CHR stations was originally developed by Dial Global, before Cumulus Media bought the network in 2013 and merged it with its own. Before that, Cumulus had dropped the Bush show from more than 50 of its stations to carry celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. Now Westwood One tells affiliates that it will end production of both the weeknight show and the weekend countdown program hosted by the “Access Hollywood” anchor. Instead it’s offering “Zach Sang & The Gang” live from 7p-12midnight ET, hosted by the 20 year-old Nickelodeon personality that it currently syndicates with WYD Media. Westwood describes the show as “a national CHR radio hangout with trending content and music for the lost generation created by their peers, integrated seamlessly with essential real-time digital and social engagement.” Bigger role for Ron Insana as biz news shakeout continues. The shutting down of the Wall Street Journal Radio Network continues to shake up the business news space and Compass Media has told stations it will not only pick up the Gordon Deal-hosted morning drive program, but it will also begin to offer short-form business news reports. While they won’t air 24/7 as WSJRN had offered, Compass tells affiliates they’ll take a “boutique approach,” targeting morning and afternoon drive. It will also raise the profile of veteran CNBC anchor Ron Insana, who’d already been hosting short-form features for Compass. He’ll now anchor afternoon drive business news updates. None of the programming will hold onto its Wall Street Journal branding. But that hasn’t seemed to have bothered most affiliates. Word is Compass has already signed three-quarters of current affiliates, including group deals with iHeartMedia and Saga Communications, to continue airing Deal’s early-morning program. United Stations Radio Network is also gaming for a larger piece of the money news business with Bloomberg programming, while Westwood One is marketing CNBC programming. Saga spins-off network operations in two states. The state network business doesn’t bill what it once did. With the impending arrival of a new competitor in one of the three states it operates in, Saga Communications has opted to spin- off its decades-old networks in Michigan and Minnesota to Learfield Communications. In both states the company has operated both state news and farm news networks with more than 100 affiliates. “We are pleased to reach this agreement

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 3 NEWS insideradio.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 with such a quality organization to now operate these networks that are so important to the regions they serve,” Saga CEO Ed Christian says in a statement. The companies say the Saga networks will continue to operate and distribute their current program schedules with current announcers and reporters, who’ve become employees of Learfield. “We are very pleased to now have these important news and agriculture information services as members of our stable of radio networks,” Learfield CEO Greg Brown says in the announcement. Saga will hang on to one other network — a state news operation in Illinois. The additions allow Learfield to add scale to its state radio network business. It already owns the Brownfield Ag News network and it has news operations in Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Carolina and Nebraska. With the addition of the Saga operations, Learfield will provide news services to 431 affiliates, and 382 stations are now served by its agriculture programing. In Michigan that size may be particularly useful as it faces off with the Michigan News Network, a new creation of CBS Radio and Townsquare Media. Learfield grows its sports marketing business. The impact of Providence Equity Partners’ buyout of Learfield Communications is evident in its growth curve. Not only did the company announce yesterday that it’s bought two state networks from Saga, it also revealed it had bought the sports marketing company Strategic Marketing Affiliates (SMA). SMA manages the trademark licensing program for more than 347 colleges, universities, and conferences. The 20-employee Indianapolis-based SMA will be rolled into Learfield’s Licensed Resource Group, which the company purchased six months ago. The division helps college athletics monetize their sports properties beyond broadcast play-by-play rights. Since the start of the year Learfield has bought Sidearm Sports, a digital content platform that works with more than 700 college and university athletic programs, and Nelligan Sports Marketing, which put 41 additional college sports properties under the Learfield Sports umbrella. CEO Greg Brown has called Providence a “perfect fit” for Learfield saying the firm will provide the company with the needed cash and expertise to move forward with the “aggressive growth plans” he’s laid out. Beasley drops sports in Tampa as Bubba teases a return. The first programming change after the multimarket swap between CBS Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group has come in Tampa. That’s where Beasley has pulled the plug on sports “98.7 The Fan” WHFS-FM. The station is currently airing Christmas music and promising a new format will arrive January 5. That’s the same day Bubba the Love Sponge Clem is indicating he’ll return to the Tampa airwaves, in what’s probably not a coincidence. Beasley also airs Clem’s show in Ft. Myers. A format flip on WHFS-FM isn’t surprising. Nielsen says the station had a 0.7 share (6+) in November, trailing iHeartMedia’s WDAE (620, 95.3) which had a 2.2 share. Sports remains on “CBS Sports Radio 1010” WHFS. Inside Radio News Ticker...Thieves ravage Charlotte station...Gospel station “AM 760 The Cross” WCIS is off the air after thieves struck its transmitter building yesterday, trashing the building and causing an estimated $50,000 in damage. Owner John Whisnant tells WSOC-TV they made off with a few hundred dollars’ worth of copper. Employees discovered the damage when they showed at the daytime-only station. Whisnant hopes they’ll locate a backup transmitter by early next week. “It’s December — it’s our biggest month,” he said...Cadillac switches ad agencies...In a move that may have implications for its media buying strategy, Cadillac has dropped IPG’s Lowe and Partners as its agency of record after nearly two years. The luxury carmaker has hired Publicis Worldwide as its new agency. “This appointment is designed to accelerate the global expansion and elevation of Cadillac into a truly global luxury brand,” chief marketing officer Uwe Ellinghaus says. According to Kantar Media, Cadillac spent $280 million in measured media in 2013...YEA Networks gets more skin in the game...An upstart skin care company is taking radio endorsement ads to the web. Foru International has teamed up with YEA Networks to sell its line of nutrition and skincare products. J-Si Chavez and Jenna Owens, two hosts on the syndicated “Kidd Kraddick Morning Show,” will serve as “product ambassadors” according to Foru, which says the pair will promote its products on YEA’s online properties...Payout for Entravision shareholders... Entravision shareholders will pocket $2.2 million in payouts under a just-approved quarterly dividend by the company’s board of directors. Stock owners will get two-and-a-half cents for every share they own on December 15. Entravision says it expects to continue paying dividends to shareholders in 2015...People Moves...There are new morning shows in Pittsburgh and Charlotte. Check out the latest People Moves HERE.

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 4 CLASSIFIEDS insideradio.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 qual SALES MANAGER - CALIFORNIA DOS & GSM

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