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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014

Study uncovers big opportunity for radio to tap email marketing budgets. There’s good news for broadcasters that have built monetizable listener email databases. A survey of nearly 400 marketers conducted by email marketing services provider StrongView shows continued reliance on email marketing for 2015. More than nine in ten (93%) marketers report their email marketing budget is either staying the same or increasing for the 2014-2015 holiday shopping season. According to StrongView, email marketing remains the top target for increased investment in 2015. In terms of overall marketing budgets, 54% of brands will see an increase and a third of those will be increasing it by more than 10% over 2014. While it may be considered slightly old school, email was already the radio industry’s second fastest growing digital channel in 2014, according to Borrell Associates, up 40% to $89 million. Should it continue at its current rate, it will surpass streaming audio as radio’s second biggest producer of digital dollars. “Email is one of the larger opportunities for radio, if not the largest,” Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell says. Stations have used loyalty programs and contests to build robust email databases. The next step is segmenting them to learn more about the individuals on the list to deliver more targeted audiences for advertisers. Real-time marketing is the latest trend email marketers are exploiting. It allows individual personalization based on an opener’s location, weather, temperature or device type to build real-time context. But getting the basics right comes first. Nearly one-third (32%) of consumers say email marketing messages are too small to read and interact with on mobile, according to the Relevancy Group.

EAS wake-up call: NAB wants FCC to convene group to look for fixes. The crew at “The Bobby Bones Show” may’ve expected the industry to lay into them for their errant activation of the Emergency Alert System in late-October. Instead, broadcasters are pointing to the incident as a wakeup call for what needs to be fixed. The National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to support an industry-led effort to address the concerns. “While the October 24th case was an isolated incident caused by someone with little familiarity with EAS, the next situation could involve a more purposeful, malicious breach,” NAB warns in a filing with the Commission, adding, “The potential for mischief is substantial.” The solutions being floated to keep a similar situation from happening again include changing the format of the activation codes to include the year, and the establishment of more uniform standards across the various manufacturers of EAS equipment. “Broadcasters have strong, market-based incentives to adopt cybersecurity measures to ensure reliable, resilient service,” the trade group says in a filing with the Commission. Because the improper alert was beamed by a syndicated show, the impact was felt in several markets. It was also tagged with a presidential code, which under FCC rules, requires stations to interrupt regular programming to air such messages immediately. So the NAB is asking the FCC to refrain from issuing a fine against stations that “passively” retransmitted the October 24 alert. Meanwhile, AT&T says the false alert disrupted its U-verse television service in 10 markets including Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville where the Bones show is based.

Is it time for a return of the Red Envelope? It sat in the control room for decades NEWS INSIDE >> during the Cold War era — a red envelope which contained codes to validate national activations by the President. The ease at which a fake alert with those codes spread SOUTH CAROLINA across numerous cities has some calling for the envelope’s return. The Broadcast OWNER DONATES HIS Warning Working Group, a group of EAS experts from radio and television engineering ENTIRE CLUSTER

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014 circles, believes a “virtual red envelope” could use EAS servers to distribute a short validation code. A non-match would trigger an alarm that would require a manual review of the alert message before it is broadcast to the public. The National Association of Broadcasters hasn’t taken a position on the idea, but says it at least deserves a closer look. The Working Group also thinks the FCC should standardize how EAS equipment responds to all events in the future. “We know this will not be an easy, painless nor inexpensive process,” the group says. It also suggests that the FCC adopt a requirement that television or cable EAS equipment no longer be set off by radio, and vice versa. The tech community believes broadcasters need to do more to educate corporate and air staff to help prevent similar mistakes in the future. “The opposite will make things worse,” the group warns. It suggests the FCC look at whether it’s appropriate to put pressure on YouTube to take down any video or audio clips that contain EAS tones.

Senate confirms O’Rielly to new FCC term. As lawmakers race to gavel out the 113th Congress into history, the U.S. Senate last night gave some stability to the Federal Communications Commission. It voted to nominate Republican commissioner Mike O’Reilly to a new term. The former Capitol Hill staffer had been serving out the term of former commissioner Robert McDowell since being sworn-in last November. The vote came without a fresh confirmation hearing. O’Reilly says he is “exceptionally honored” to be confirmed to a new term, writing on Twitter that there is “much work ahead” for him at the FCC. One radio item that he’s been pushing for has recently been jumpstarted as the agency advanced a rulemaking that would allow stations to post contest rules online. O’Reilly has also signaled he’s skeptical of some current media ownership limitations. Some broadcasters hope that means he’ll lobby for further relaxing regulations as the 2014 quadrennial ownership proceeding takes shape.

New York translator sold for $3.5 million. In the latest example of how lucrative translator deal-making has become, the second-highest price tag for a signal has just been agreed upon. Chicago real estate investor John Bridge will buy the translator W292DV at 106.3 FM in New York from Michael and Tammy Celenza for $3.5 million. The signal will relay an HD subchannel from suburban WVIP (93.5), according to a filing with the FCC. The translator has had a bumpy existence. A move to Times Square was blocked by Press Communications, which said it caused interference on co-channel country “Thunder 106.3” WKMK in the adjacent Monmouth-Ocean, NJ market. Covering a potential audience of 1.034 million people, the translator is now licensed to an apartment building in Queens with 25 watts. But the seller has applied to drop down to four watts and move to the nearby 50-story Citibank building. “This has been a long and winding road, maybe what you would expect to drop a translator into the most densely populated market in the country,” Hoffman Schutz Media president Dave Schutz says. “Perhaps the buyer feels that with a foothold atop the highest New York City structure east of Manhattan, it will be a beachhead for future power increases that will build its population base.” That could explain why Bridge is paying $3.50 per person covered by its 60dBu contour signal — a hefty price for a secondary service. There’s no word on what Bridge plans for the translator’s format, but earlier this year Bridge paid $1 million for a Chicago translator at 103.9 FM and last week soft-launched the smooth jazz station “The Groove” with holiday music. A formal launch will come after Christmas. The sale becomes radio’s second-biggest FM translator sale in history, with only a $4.6 million deal filed in July by Elroy Smith’s Integrity Radio Communications for a Chicago signal topping it.

Ervin Broadcasting to donate all of its Greenville-Spartanburg stations. A year after former South Carolina Circuit Court judge and gubernatorial candidate Tom Ervin took over a trio of stations in the Greenville-Spartanburg market he’s donating the cluster to The Power Foundation. “It is a miracle that this could happen,” Foundation president John McClure tells the Independent Mail. Staffers were told this week that “Classic Hits 103.1” WRIX-FM and WANS (1280) as well as the now-silent daytimer WRIX (1020) will be transferred to the religious broadcaster. Ervin tells the paper his decision to donate the stations is in the “best interest of the community and the stations.” The deal reportedly came together quickly with Ervin and McClure beginning their discussions just a month ago. “I’ve been in radio for 20 years and I’ve seen some crazy stuff but this is the weirdest,” general manager Aly Haley tells the newspaper.

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FTC goes after auto dealers for ads with rapid-fire disclosures. The Federal Trade Commission has gone after two dozen auto dealer groups with more than two dozen retail stores across five states for, among other advertising violations, airing radio commercials with rapid-fire disclosures. The FTC says the violations amount to deceptive advertising related to the terms it offered for buying or leasing a car. Billion Auto, a chain of 20 family-owned automobile dealerships in Iowa, Montana, and South Dakota, and a family-controlled advertising company, Nichols Media, will pay a $360,000 fine to settle the FTC’s charges. The agreement also specifically addresses how its radio spots will sound in the future. “The disclosure shall be delivered in a volume and cadence sufficient for an ordinary consumer to hear and comprehend it,” the settlement states. Similar wording is in a $16,000 settlement with Ramey Motors, which owns dealerships in Virginia and West Virginia. The FTC says it too failed to make credit disclosures clearly and conspicuously. The agency has brought more than 20 enforcement actions in the auto market in recent years. “If auto dealers make advertising claims in headlines, they can’t take them away in fine print,” says Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “These actions show there is a financial cost for violating FTC orders.”

Report: Bose is latest audio manufacturer to jump into streaming waters. The universe of audio hardware manufacturers adding complementary streaming music services is about to grow by one. Bose, best known for making speakers and headphones, is preparing to move “quickly” to build its own “next generation streaming music platform,” according to Hypebot. The Massachusetts-based company has taken out an ad for a senior user experience designer of cloud music services. According to the ad, the company wants to “invent and realize exceptional experiences that will enable millions of customers to rediscover their love of music.” Bose isn’t shy about telegraphing an interest in a designer experienced in building streaming music platforms. The ideal candidate has worked for Pandora, Spotify, Apple Google Play, Songza, Beats Music, SiriusXM, TuneIn, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio or another well-known player in the field, the ad says. Bose would join a growing group of companies that make both hardware for listening to music and the software that plays it. Apple, which wrote the book on hardware tightly integrated with software, is preparing to relaunch Beats Music, which also makes Beats headphones. Audio entertainment manufacturer Harman owns Aha Radio, which includes several broadcast radio partners. And last year Panasonic struck deal to buy the German-based audio streaming company Aupeo.

Cumulus-backed Rdio upgrades user experience on a pair of devices. Cumulus Media’s foray into digital music is getting some user experience enhancements on a pair of devices. Streaming music service Rdio has released a major update for its Microsoft Phone app that brings it up to speed with those for Android and iOS devices. Rdio users on the Windows Phone now have access to voice commands, better live tile support and more emphasis on Rdio’s curated content, such as streams based on emotion or activity. Curated programming is one way Rdio hopes to stand out from the steaming audio crowd. Cumulus plans to launch new curated content offerings on Rdio, utilizing premium content from Westwood One along with its producer relationships. Cumulus represents all ad inventories for Rdio. Separately Rdio is increasing its presence in the home entertainment marketplace. The service has been available on Roku TV boxes and sticks for some time but last week, Rdio expanded its partnership so that the music service is more deeply integrated with Roku’s platform. The update includes a new Rdio channel shortcut button on Roku remote controls that instantly launches the Rdio channel with just one press. There’s also a new interface, and the ability of subscribers to the paid Rdio Unlimited service to be billed directly through their Roku accounts.

Growth, but also challenges, for streaming vendor. The transition to an advertising-based model is paying off for StreamTrack Media, the digital service provider that works with broadcasters and digital-only companies. In its annual report to shareholders, the startup says that by moving away from a lead generation strategy, its revenue per listening hour has increased by more than 50% in the past year. StreamTrack’s RadioLoyalty platform allows stations to replace audio ads with video commercials on a web player. More than 5,500 broadcast and web-only stations are now using the technology. The three and a half-year old company reports total revenue increased to $1.6 million in fiscal 2014, an increase of more than 80%. It still posted a net loss — totaling $1.2 million — but that was less than half of a year earlier. CEO Michael Hill

[email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 3 NEWS insideradio.com WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014 says the switch to an ad-supported model was the right decision. “We look to replicate this same model across multiple verticals and further expand our global advertising reach,” he says in a statement. While the financial metrics are moving in the right direction, in its annual report StreamTrack acknowledges getting working capital remains tough and company executives use their personal credit cards to fund operations “on a frequent basis.” It’s also behind on lease payments for its servers. And while the company plans to launch several new products in the coming weeks, StreamTrack says it’s also going to need “significant capital” for further product development, including figuring out how to make its products work on Apple’s mobile devices.

Mike Huckabee picks a new syndication partner. The imminent split of conservative commentator Mike Huckabee and Cumulus Media’s Westwood One network at year’s end will take the former Arkansas Governor into the world of self- syndication. He’s announced that WYM Media Management will handle affiliate relations and advertising sales. The six- year old “The Huckabee Report” airs on more than 500 stations. WYM president Debbie Greenbaum says going forward they’ll target not only talk stations for the daily commentaries, but also country and classic rock stations. Huckabee is reportedly considering making a second bid for the White House, but a spokeswoman says any decision on a political run will come next spring.

Inside Radio’s News Ticker...AudioBoom partners with AdLarge...The digital social media audio platform AudioBoom has inked a deal with AdLarge Media to sell its national advertising inventory. AudioBoom content ranges from sports to news and celebrity interviews with a focus on audio sharing. AdLarge VP Jay Green says the growth of on-demand spoken word content is giving marketers a new way to connect with their core demos. AudioBoom joins a roster that also includes fellow web audio aggregators BlogTalkRadio and Live365...USRN picks up Carruthers feature...Mike Carruthers’ long-running “Something You Should Know” daily 90-second feature has moved under the United Stations Radio Networks umbrella. USRN will begin handling syndication duties for the show. It offers informational content that Carruthers describes as “wisdom and advice for life.” The feature started on one radio station in 1980 and today it airs on about 140 stations... FCC fines Nebraska station over staffing...The FCC has proposed a $7,000 fine against adult standards “Magic 1490” KOMJ, Omaha, NE which it concludes failed to meet main studio requirements by failing to have fulltime staff at the station. Owner Conchise Broadcasting had admitted it didn’t fully staff the station, but it has since hired a fulltime receptionist and there’s now a fulltime general manager. But the FCC says it’s still on the hook for the prior violations. To regulators, the issue is there’s someone at the station to give visitors access to public inspection files.

Compass details lineup for new biz network. Compass Media Networks is picking up more former Wall Street Journal Radio Network personalities as it aims for a bigger piece of the business news market with its new weekday lineup of business reports. Jennifer Kushinka, who has served as morning drive news-anchor for WSJRN for the past nine years, will remain in that daypart for Compass. CBS Radio’s all-news WCBS, New York business anchor Ray Hoffman, who previously worked at WSJRN, will take middays. And Frank Miller, who has worked with Compass on other business news products, will take afternoons. Compass, as well as CNBC Radio, Fox News Radio, and Bloomberg Radio are looking to pick up stations following a decision by Dow Jones to close its business news service for radio.

Ford’s newest connected car expert is ex-FCC chief Bill Kennard. The mobile internet and in-car entertainment systems weren’t even on the drawing board when Bill Kennard chaired the Federal Communications Commission from 1997 to 2001. But his more than a decade at the agency is being touted by Ford Motor Company as Kennard joins its board. “As we accelerate our work in the areas of in-car connectivity and mobility, his unique perspective will help guide our strategy,” chairman Bill Ford says. Kennard, 57, most recently has been the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. He earlier spent his post-FCC years as managing director of The Carlyle Group, where he led the firm’s investments in the telecommunications and media sectors.

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FLORIDA TRANSLATORS qualLOOKING FOR A MARKET MANAGER TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE FOR SALE Are you sick of corporate radio and want a piece of the action in a Over twenty built translators dynamic market with proven stations? and translator CPs available in multiple Florida locations Wilks Broadcasting is seeking a proven leader to run its Country including Jacksonville, Ocala, Station - 92.1 The Wolf, Classic Rock - 100.9 The Bandit, and AAA Venice, the Treasure Coast, Station - 100.1 The X in Reno, Nevada. and South Florida. This position requires the ability to lead by example; desk jockeys need For information, not apply. Our Market Managers become our partners with real equity so write to: you must be a dynamic leader, a consummate salesperson, love to make FLtranslatorsale@gmail.com sales calls, have a strong work ethic, desire to build a great team, believe in honesty at all times, and be able to handle tough coaching.

SALES - NEW YORK You must be a radio professional with experience as a Salem Radio in New York is Sales Manager, Director of Sales or Market Manager. looking for a dynamic individual to join the sales team for Note “Mkt Mgr” in the subject line when sending your AM 970 The Answer and resume and salary requirements to: [email protected]. E.O.E. the legendary WMCA 570, qual New York’s Christian Talk. SALES MANAGER - CALIFORNIA

Compensation is commensurate It’s warm and sunny today in Southern California! with degree of experience Riverside/San Bernardino’s All Pro Broadcasting Alt Rock X1039 and skills. This is a fabulous (KCXX) is looking for an aggressive, high energy sales leader with career opportunity for the right a proven track record to lead our sales department. Must possess individual with one of the finest excellent organizational and time management skills along with a “can broadcasting do” attitude. Candidates must be self motivated, self disciplined, a great companies in America. communicator and a positive leader. Please contact VP/GM Bill McNulty at: Media experience a must. [email protected]. No calls, please. All Pro Broadcasting is an Equal Opportunity employer.

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT RADIO MANAGEMENT OR SALES PRO? Email cover letter and resume to: PLACE YOUR JOB OPENING HERE! [email protected]. EMAIL: [email protected] FOR A QUICK QUOTE. Salem Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 37 TRANSLATORS IN 13 STATES - $250K Opportunity for savvy industry investor or strategic buyer to purchase entire group of 37 FM Translators from First Ventures Capital Partners, Inc. at well below acquisition and sign-on cost. All licenses are current and most can be economically relocated to nearby markets with ERP’s as high as 250 watts with no transmit antenna height restrictions. Diverse group of mostly smaller markets includes: Arkansas (5), California (1), Colorado (3), Iowa (3), Illinois (2), Indiana (2), Kansas (4), Michigan (1), Missouri (3), Mississippi (5) North Dakota (1), South Dakota (2), Texas (3), Wisconsin (2).

For more information, please call Debra Morrison at (214) 273-6443 or, email: [email protected]

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