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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Radio Still Tops For Discovering Tunes. While online streaming services may be gaining in popularity, a new study from Nielsen Music reinforces the fact that radio remains tops for discovering tunes. According to the fourth-annual Music 360 2015 report, 61% of U.S. music listeners say they discover new music from terrestrial or satellite radio. This represents a 7% increase over last year. In all, 91% of the U.S. population listens to an average of more than 24 hours of music each week, the study says. “Whether we’re in the car, at work, working out or surfing the web, we love listening to music,” Nielsen notes. Of the total that regularly listens to music, 75% tune in online, while 44% are now accessing music on smartphones, up 7% from last year. Streaming music continues to grow exponentially: While Americans streamed more than 164 billion on-demand tracks across audio/video platforms in 2014, they streamed 135 billion in the first half of 2015 alone. That is a 90% increase from the same period last year. Word of mouth is also important for discovery, particularly among teens: 65% say they find new music through family and friends, well above the average of 45% among all ages that rely on word of mouth. Additionally, 12% say that live events introduce them to new music.

Philly Stations Prep For Pope’s Visit. When Pope Francis comes to Philadelphia on Sept. 26-27, he brings with him blessings and some understandable municipal headaches. And the highly anticipated visit is making news for area radio stations, some of which are arranging for logistical solutions to report on the events. The pope’s East Coast tour brings him for a stretch to Center City Philadelphia, which will be cordoned off into security zones; major roadways and bridges will be shut down, including Interstate 76 and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Some broadcasters find themselves inside security perimeters, including several CBS Radio outlets, and execs are scrambling to adjust travel plans and staffing. Of course, these aren’t bad problems to have, considering the import of the story. At CBS-owned news powerhouse KYW (1060), station managers started a year ago to plan coverage and operations. Major news events such as this are a bonanza for news/talk stations, says KYW station manager Steve Butler. “There are so many stories to tell and we are usually a go-to source for travel and traffic information,” he says. In July, KYW launched a dedicated HD sidechannel, dubbed “The PopeCast,” devoted to all-things papal on 96.5 FM-HD3 and live streams online. Already, the channel has aired more than 100 stories, including news updates and lighter features, such as a story on the new Hyundai-built vehicle the Pope rides in, and a toaster that emblazons the Pope’s image onto bread. Papal Route—Read about the Pope’s more elaborate Philly itinerary at InsideRadio.com.

Hosting Francis Is Good Business In Philly. CBS-owned all-news KYW (1060) plans extensive coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia—and the station is also selling special ad packages and sponsorships. Buyers so far include Newman University and St. Mary Medical Center; whenever a Pope-related story airs, one of those two gets a billboard. For KYW, good wishes aren’t the only things Francis brings to town with him. The station has also sold several sponsorships for special traffic reports. On the HD “PopeCast” channel, which features minimal commercial interruptions, the station is selling title sponsorships; so far, those advertisers include Lourdes Urgent Care, First Priority Bank and The Penny Men. Station manager Steve Butler likens the event to a major snowstorm, and expects listening levels to be similarly strong, as locals tune in for news and traffic information, including school closings. “People want to hear how this will affect me and my business and my employees,” he says. Music

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stations shouldn’t necessarily expect the same bump. WBEB program director Chuck Knight says listening levels could go down if locals opt to leave town or adjust work schedules. However, the influx of visitors could result in higher listening as well, says WMMR station manager Bill Weston. For its part, WMMR is having a little fun before the Pope arrives. The station created a “Pope Bot” mascot—which looks a bit like Star Wars’ R2-D2 with a paper papal hood—to travel around town and take photos with Philadelphia residents. There’s even a Twitter handle, @popebotphilly, to chronicle his sojourn. And the weekend prior to the Pope’s Sept. 26 visit, the station is planning its own “dispensation” event, a play on Catholicism’s accommodation for people who are ill or infirm. To help entertain listeners stuck at home all weekend, WMMR’s plans to give away free beer and lawn games.

Logistics Key For Stations In Papal Visit. Local radio stations in the City of Brotherly Love are expecting the mother of all traffic snafus when the Holy Father comes to town Sept. 26. And they’re not alone—more than 1.5 million visitors are expected, causing traffic to snarl well beyond city limits, making it challenging for station employees to get in to report on the visit. Traffic restrictions may be shutting down large swaths of the city, but three-quarters of area residents say Philadelphia is overdoing it with preparations, according to a Philadelphia Business Journal poll. Still, stations are being safe rather than sorry. CBS Radio has a facility in the town of Bala Cynwyd, which sits on Philly’s Western edge, and the station plans to shift some operations there. But the company’s sports station WIP-FM (94.1) is located downtown, and is set to broadcast virtually all of its shows from remote locations that weekend, including from both Citizens Bank Park and a suburban sports bar. At KYW, the station is adding staff for the weekend, including weekday staffers and some employees who live in the city. KYW is also arranging a parking lot outside the security perimeter, so employees can park and walk to the station. Station manager Steve Butler says they’ve avoided renting hotel rooms because most lodging options are costly and have a multi-night minimum. “We’re trying to be smart about how we schedule,” he says. “We’re trying not to have sleeping bags at the station.” Plans In Place—See how other stations are bracing for the action, at InsideRadio.com.

Global Ad Spending Shifts: Mobile Up, Newspapers Down. As the advertising domain continues to endure an ongoing evolution, a just-released study from ZenithOptimedia reveals that next year, mobile advertising will overtake newspapers for the first time. “Mobile advertising remains the driving force behind the growth of the entire advertising market, contributing 83% of all new ad dollars between 2014 and 2017,” the agency says. ZenithOptimedia’s Advertising Expenditure Forecast says that in 2016, advertising via mobile will rank as the third-largest advertising medium, with 12.4% of the global adspend, behind television and desktop Internet. Mobile advertising will grow 38% in 2016 to $71 billion, while newspaper advertising will shrink 4% to $68 billion, or 11.9% of the total spend. “Print adspend continues to decline across most of the world, as it has done since 2008,” ZenithOptimedia says. “We predict newspaper adspend will shrink an average of 4.9% a year through to 2017, while magazine advertising will shrink by 3.2% a year.” Their combined share of global adspend has fallen from 39.4% in 2007 to 19.6% in 2015, with an expected drop to 16.7% by 2017. The picture isn’t a lot prettier for television. By 2018, Internet advertising will trump TV around the world. In all, global advertising is on course to grow 4% by the end of 2015, the study says—although that forecast is down 0.2 percentage points since June, due to “broad-based deceleration across the world,” with Brazil and Russia in recession, and “China slowing down. We expect Mature Markets North America, Western Europe and Japan to contribute more to global adspend growth this year than Rising Markets, for the first time since 2006.”

Trump Fires Up Spanish-Language Radio. You don’t have to like him to listen. That appears to be the mantra for Spanish-language radio listeners, who are “fixated” on Donald Trump, according to an ABC News report. While the Republican presidential candidate has not backed down from egregious comments about immigration laws and Mexican borders, Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, says that Hispanics are, “literally tuned in. Because they are working in construction, working in the fields, working in the hotels, they don’t have time to look at television. They listen to radio.” Interest in Trump and the vast field of Republican candidates is also altering the overall tenor of the format, both in terms of advertising content and content. The ABC story notes that immigration advocates and others have used Spanish-language radio to advertise against

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Trump and other Republican candidates. In Las Vegas, Culinary Union Local 226 “saturated the Spanish-language airwaves” with an ad denouncing Trump and ultimately, drawing more than 1,000 to an August rally at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Likewise, ABC says that liberal organization People For the American Way has produced Spanish-language radio ads against Republican Marco Rubio in Denver and Miami, and against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Milwaukee. In addition, among the 500+ Spanish-language radio stations in the U.S., only about 30 stations carry news or talk programming—but now even music outlets are engaging the political discussion. Hispanic media expert Federico Subervi tells ABC, “A deejay who would not normally say anything about politics and the immigration debate is now talking about it, thanks to Donald Trump.”

New Milestone for Dave Ramsey. Not just one - but five major milestones for Ramsey Solutions, the Tennessee-based parent company for The Dave Ramsey Show. Dave is now heard on 562 radio stations nationwide. And one of Dave’s best known books, The Total Money Makeover, has sold over 5 million copies. EveryDollar.com, an online budget tool and companion app that is helping people from every walk of life get control of their money and on the path to reaching their financial goals, passed 500,000 users after only five months. Ramsey Solutions now has more than 500 team members, and hopes to add an additional 180 team members over the next 12 months, with more than half being in technology fields. Ramsey Solutions has been voted one of The Nashville Business Journal’s Best Places to Work eight times. Among the new team members was the fifth Ramsey Personality, Anthony ONeal. Ramsey Solutions has strategically added new personalities in an effort to offer expert advice and coaching in areas beyond money, and prepare the company for long-term success. Along with ONeal, Ramsey Personalities includes Chris Brown, Rachel Cruze, Chris Hogan and Christy Wright. No ‘5’ here, but this fall, Ramsey will close the deal on 47 acres in Williamson County, TN, for a campus that will include three 200,000 square foot office buildings and a 50,000 square foot conference center. And for the first time, the company has released revenue data. Ramsey Solutions has surpassed $100 million in annual revenues for the first time in company history. Since it began in 1992, the company has been completely debt free. “God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams,” said Dave Ramsey, CEO of Ramsey Solutions. “When I started the company 23 years ago I was selling a self-published book out of the trunk of my car, trying to get a radio show off the ground and teaching our financial classes at night using an overhead projector. I never imagined five New York Times best-sellers, 500 team members and a collection of digital products.”

Schurz is Selling its Broadcast Properties. Schurz Communications has agreed to sell its radio and television stations to Atlanta based Gray Television for $442.5 million. The deal includes 9 television stations (not including satellite stations) in 7 markets, and 11 radio stations in 3 markets; Rapid City, SD, plus Lafayette and South Bend, Indiana. “In a rapidly consolidating industry where size and scale matter more than ever before, we have come to the realization that Gray Television would be the best steward to ensure our stations succeed over the long-term,” Todd Schurz, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement. The deal would expand Gray’s reach to 49 TV markets in 28 states. Gray Television doesn’t currently own any radio stations, so do they plan to stay in the radio business? Gray is hosting a conference call today at 9am and will probably be asked that question.

Richard Branson Remains a Radio Fan. The Virgin Radio owner visited his company’s radio studios in Bangkok, Thailand last weekend and talked about this commitment to the radio, noting that “radio will continue forever even with the advent of digital technology such as music streaming.” Branson added, “People can listen to the radio whether they are in the car or at home, and via many platforms such as mobile phone and social media like Facebook. What makes radio different from other social media is that it has fun and human interaction between DJs and listeners.” Branson admits that the global music industry had seen many changes in the past 10-20 years, with some businesses disappearing, such as music shops. But “today’s music listeners have not changed, they still listen to free music on radio stations. But now they have music download, and are not buying music products like in the past,” he said. Neil Thompson, managing director of BEC-Tero Radio, believes the Thai radio business will continue to grow. Radio audience is on a rise due to the growing number of listening platforms such as computers, mobiles and

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social media. And here’s a unique stat: At its Virgin Star station, 80% of listeners tune in to the station via personal computers at work. According to Nielsen Thailand, radio advertising revenue in that market is up 2.9% in the first seven months of this year.

Sign Up/Register/Nominate/Hold The Date. The Conclave has announced the dates for its 41st summer Learning Conference. #Conclave41, will be held July 13-15, 2016 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites, in Minneapolis/Bloomington, MN. The 41st annual event kicks off the evening of Wednesday, July 13 with a reception followed by two days of educational seminars....The 39th annual NABOB Fall Broadcast Management Conference and 15th annual Power of Urban Radio forum are coming up October 7-8 at the Washington Marriott Georgetown Hotel in D.C. While there are still rooms available, the special rate negotiated by NABOB will expire today. Visit NABOB.org to book a room, or for more information. The keynote speaker during the event is former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder...Nominations for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2016 are being accepted through November 17. Nominations can be submitted at www.countryradioseminar.com. The 2016 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced at CRS 2016, which will take place Feb. 8-10 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville, TN. The Country Radio Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the radio industry over a 20-year period, 15 of which must be in the Country format.

Radio Show Starts in Two Weeks. The NAB/RAB Radio Show officially starts in 14 days at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. The day begins with a Career Networking Event, followed by the Kickoff Party Tuesday evening from 7:30 until 9pm. But the buzz we’re hearing is concentrated on three sessions. One hot ticket is “Unlocking Programmatic’s Potential”, scheduled for the Marriott Marquis Atrium Ballroom at 4pm on Wednesday, Sept 30. The description states “you’ll learn everything you need to know about automated buying and selling of advertising through online marketplaces and the proprietary intelligence, insights and data that is unleashed through its technology.” And look for overflow crowds to attend the Technology session titled “Modern Streaming Audio: Leveraging New Technologies to Attract Today’s Listeners.” The presentation is by Ioan Rus, a software engineer with Telos Systems, makers of Voltaire. That session is Thursday, Oct. 1 at 2:30, right after Nielsen’s “PPM Encoding Update” at 1:30. If you haven’t made hotel reservations yet, take note; The Hyatt Regency Atlanta is sold out. The Marriott Marquis (the host hotel) has very limited availability, but the Hilton Atlanta Hotel still has availability. There are two other hotels located nearby. The Hyatt Place Atlanta/Downtown is two blocks from the host hotel, and the Aloft Atlanta is just three blocks away. www.radioshowweb.com

Automotive Update: New Vehicle Leasing Attracts Buyers. New vehicle leasing reached 27% of all automotive deals in July according to Experian Automotive data, and has now been at 25% or more since the first quarter of last year. With the average lease length of a lease at 36 months and the average loan term at 67 months, leasing “creates a nice steady stream of customers coming into the showroom,” a VP at J.D. Power commented. In other automotive news, AutoNation has stopped sales of any vehicle that has an open recall on it. “The recall situation for the U.S. auto industry is a black eye,” CEO Mike Jackson said. “It is a dysfunctional nightmare that the industry should be ashamed of.” Speaking of recalls, General Motors it’s recalling 121,000 Cadillac ATS sedans because the rear-window defroster can overheat and potentially catch fire. The automaker said it is aware of four fires related to the defect, but not of any crashes, injuries or deaths.

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SEALED BID AUCTIONTAMA BROADCASTING

STATIONS

WTMP AM & FM Tampa, FLWJSJ-FM

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To request an “Invitation to Bid” for terms, procedures, Station

Offerings and LOI form, please contact: Scott Savage,

Receiver for Tama Bdcstg. scott@savagemediagroup.net

Sealed Bids will be opened on September 30.

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