800.275.2840 MORE NEWS» insideradio.com THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 Scripps returns to radio. What began as a conversation in an out-of-the-way Italian restaurant one snowy night in New York in February 2014 between two chief executives came to fruition yesterday as the merger of Journal Communications and E.W. Scripps was completed. The deal has returned Scripps to radio for the first time since the 1980s. “This is a good opportunity to say we want to be in radio again,” CEO Rich Boehne tells Inside Radio. “We did the due diligence process and quickly came to love it and thought it would be a great part of the company.” Scripps’ radio unit will be managed by senior vice president of radio and television Brian Lawlor and VP of radio Steve Wexler, who previously oversaw the division for Journal. Scripps executives say they’re working to reeducate themselves on the radio business, but are already openly discussing the potential to expanding their portfolio. The Scripps map today shows television stations in five of the eight markets where it operates 34 radio stations. “We really like the idea of television and radio together in a market as we are trying to build a bigger voice for the community across platforms,” Lawlor says. The two-step merger also saw the newspapers owned by Journal and Scripps spun- off into the newly-created Journal Media Group. That includes the Journal Sentinel, which means Scripps’ radio-TV operation in Milwaukee will no longer butt up against the FCC’s newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership limits. “We could actually buy more radio in Milwaukee if the opportunity presents itself, and we so choose,” Lawlor says. Beyond the immediate business aspects, the addition of radio fits into a broader strategy underway at Scripps to “go deeper” in the cities where it operates. Read the Inside Radio Q&A with Scripps’ top executives on Page 7 or online HERE. Why radio drives TV tune-in. TV networks often rely on radio to drive tune-in, especially leading up to a premier or other primetime event. Radio uses TV to market a fresh format or a new morning show. A new report from Nielsen explains why each is so effective at driving consumers to the other medium. Analyzing heavy media users, Nielsen found that heavy radio listeners and heavy TV viewers are, for the most part, mutually exclusive. “Heavy TV viewers watch nearly double the amount of TV each week as heavy radio listeners, and conversely, heavy radio listeners listen to nearly double the amount of radio each week as heavy TV viewers,” the report says. The driving force behind these differences is, in a word, employment. Most radio usage comes from an employed audience while they’re away from home. Because the heavy radio listener is much more likely to be away from home more often, they’re highly unlikely to also be a heavy TV viewer. That explains why previous studies have shown that radio does what Nielsen calls “an exceptional job” at driving TV tune-in. “The consumers most likely to be reached by a tune-in promotion on the radio are not big TV viewers and therefore offer the most opportunity to convert a set of ears on the dial into a pair of eyes on the screen,” Nielsen says in the report. The reverse is also true: radio has long used TV marketing to increase cume. Heavy radio and internet users: connected at the hip. When it comes to the big four media, heavy radio listeners and heavy Internet users have the most in common. Not only are they of a similar age and working status, but there are similarities in how they spend their time. Heavy radio listeners spend nearly nine hours a week online, according to Nielsen, second only to the heavy internet group at over 16 hours weekly. Both groups are very likely to use social media to stay connected; nearly all (92%) heavy internet users also use social media, and three-quarters of heavy radio listeners do, too. Heavy radio listeners tend to be male and work full- or part-time. They also have a larger average household size than heavy users of other media (3.3 persons), ahead of heavy internet users (3.2), heavy print newspaper readers (2.9) and heavy TV [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 viewers (2.8). With an age of 44, the average heavy radio user is nine years younger than the average heavy TV user, seven years younger than the avenge print newspaper reader and two years older than the average heavy internet user. More than half (53%) of heavy radio users are male, 68% work full or part-time with an average yearly household income of $73,500. FCC’s O’Rielly makes the pitch for radio at advertiser conference. FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly briefly stepped outside his role as regulator and become an impromptu pitchman for radio yesterday at the Association of National Advertisers’ Public Policy Conference. “As your industry explores the rewards and challenges of the ongoing digital sea change, there is no doubt that traditional media such as TV and radio continue to play a strong role and bring in the lion’s share of revenue,” he told the Washington crowd. Speaking to marketing executives, O’Rielly said the radio marketplace is “notably difficult” right now. For ad buyers especially shaky on AM, O’Rielly acknowledged the band is facing several technical issues and a shrinking audience. But he said the FCC is working to fix some of those issues. “The Commission has before it a number of proposals to help revitalize the industry by removing barriers and restrictions,” O’Rielly said. “I hope the FCC will act very soon on this item.” O’Rielly also focused on the upcoming television spectrum-clearing auction. “There will certainly be a reduction in the number of television broadcast stations,” he told marketers. O’Rielly predicted about 200 of the 1,800 licensed full-power TV stations are likely to disappear. But no issue is causing greater concern among big marketers than a potential change in the advertising deductibility rates as part of tax reform efforts circulating in Congress. O’Rielly said he “fully understands” marketing’s importance to the economy. “A threat to your industry also means risking significant job loss and competition in the many business sectors that are only able to survive and grow because of advertising revenues,” he said. NextRadio hits 2 million downloads. A combination of more FM-enabled handsets in the market and the launch of a consumer awareness ad campaign for NextRadio have pushed the app across the two million download mark. That’s a 15% increase compared to a month ago when the industry’s marketing efforts were just beginning. NextRadio developer Emmis says the number of listening hours now recorded through the app went up by 18% during the past month to 3.06 million hours. The number of stations accessed also increased to 11,450 FMs. The marketing campaign’s second phase is scheduled to begin later this month and continue through June. It will focus on the benefits of an activated smartphone FM radio. Those spots have received the best response, according to Emmis. Meanwhile, new NextRadio-ready phones are arriving in stores. Sprint has begun selling the LG G Flex 2 and HTC One M9 preloaded with the NextRadio app. Sprint has also begun pre-loading NextRadio on the Moto E. Salem triples its FM portfolio in Little Rock. On the heels of buying its first FM in Little Rock from the Walt Disney Company last year, Salem Media Group has taken over the operation of two more FMs in market No. 84 in a deal with Crain Media Group. Under a local marketing agreement that began last night, it began operating talk “96.5 The Voice” KHTE-FM and sports “93.3 The Jock” KKSP, which began airing Salem’s contemporary Christian format. Insiders say Salem will eventually buy one of the two stations outright, but no paperwork has been filed at the FCC. The deal follows a move by owner Larry Crain to buy out his business partner Steve Renfro, ending a dispute over management of the cluster, which also includes country “Y-107.1” KCNY. The additions are the latest moves by Salem, which has struck several deals in the past year to grow its radio portfolio. CEO Ed Atsinger told analysts last month he’s been “quite busy” looking at deals. “We still find interesting, strategically-attractive tuck-in opportunities,” he said. From iHarpRadio to a soft rock reprise in Philly, April Foolery played it safe. Radio traded fake reports of methane gas and dead mayors for kinder, gentler April Fool’s Day pranks this year. Greater Media classic rocker WMGK, Philadelphia [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 2 NEWS insideradio.com THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 dusted off its old PAMS jingles and rode the time machine back to the ‘70s as “Magic 103.” For 30 priceless minutes, the station rocked Philly easy with a velvety smooth set that included Barry Manilow, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Pilot, Carole King, the Captain & Tennille and “the great Neil Sedaka.” There were plugs for “Lovers’ Magic,” a block of night-time love songs, and the station’s first wine and cheese party. After coming clean on the prank, the station got back to business with, appropriately, the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Meanwhile, iHeartRadio “pulled some strings” — quite literally — launching an online channel devoted to harp versions of CHR hits like Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” John Legend’s “All Of Me,” Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” Charlie XCX’s “Boom Clap,” and a rip-roaring interpretation of Fallout Boy’s “Centuries.” Branded as iHarpRadio, the site included cascading cat .gifs, a virtual harpist and an embedded feed of #iHarpRadio tweets.