Hyper-conservative Rush Limbaugh - heard weekly by nearly 20 million listeners on about 600 radio stations nationwide - renewed his contract with Premiere Radio Networks and Clear Channel Radio, continuing syndication of The Rush Limbaugh Show.
The Tampa Tribune is laying off 11 newsroom staffers; the newsroom will eventually shrink by 50 employees under the current cost-cutting measures.
Triton Media Group is continuing to strengthen its online radio capabilities - which are focused on developing web strategies for radio broadcasters - with its acquisition of Radio Companion, a company that creates web applications and online tools for radio stations.
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ZenithOptimedia has downgraded its forecasts for ad spend growth in 2008 from 3.7 percent to 3.5 percent for North America and from 3.9 percent to 3.7 percent for Western Europe, citing credit-crunch worries by investors, consumers and advertisers in Western markets, reports MarketingCharts.
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A majority of companies - about 45 percent - have some kind of marketing accountability program in place, according to a survey by the Association of National Advertisers and Marketing Management Analytics. That’s an increase of 14 percent over last year, the survey found.
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Three senators have sent a letter to FCC chair Kevin Martin, saying they believe the merger conditions set forth by Martin, that Martin is ready to accept to allow Sirius and XM to join, don’t go far enough.
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Clear Channel has announced that all of its 350 HD2 radio stations are now compatible with iTunes Tagging, allowing songs played on those stations to be added to an iPod when tagged by a tagging capable receiver.
Arbitron this week released its June 2008 RADAR radio network audience reports (RADAR 97), covering the period April 5, 2007 to April 2, 2008 and including PPM and diary respondents. It had issued preliminary findings last week, MarketingCharts reports.
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Interactive media’s share of worldwide advertising expenditures is expected to hit 15 percent in 2009, almost double from four years ago, and will remain the main source of growth as ad spending in traditional media continues to decline, finds a study from WPP’s GroupM, MarketingCharts writes.
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Arbitron’s July book will include info on listening for internet streaming and HD-R multicast stations in PPM markets.
Bonneville’s KSWD (100.3 FM) radio station is displaying “now playing” title and artist info on Clear Channel Digital Outdoor Network’s electronic billboards in Los Angeles.
Spending on internet advertising will overtake radio spending in 2008, according to Steve King, head of Publicis Groupe SA’s ZenithOptimedia unit.
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Don Imus is once again treading on thin ice with comments he made on the air Monday that were seen by many as racist. Imus insists the comments were being twisted.
Fox Business Network will begin airing nationwide on XM Satellite Radio channel 128 beginning July 14.
Sirius Satellite Radio’s E Street Radio, a station devoted to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, has extended its run on Sirius and will now continue through mid-2009.
The highest growth in radio revenue is expected to be centered in western cities between now and 2012. San Diego is expected to pull a 2.0 percent compound annual growth rate, followed by Riverside, Calif., at 1.9 percent, according to SNL Kagan.
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Some 96% of adults age 18-49 with a college degree and an annual household income of $50,000 or above tune into radio over the course of a week, according to preliminary findings from Arbitron’s RADAR 97 June 2008 Radio Listening Estimates.
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Radio revenues for May were likely worse than Wall Street predictions. Revenues may have slipped between 5 and 6 percent, according to CL King & Associates analyst Jim Boyle.
Despite intense opposition from the radio industry and consumer groups, FCC chair Kevin Martin is recommending approval of the merger of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. A final vote needs approval by at least two other commissioners to pass.
Despite protests from some of its PPM clients and others calling for MRC accreditation, Arbitron announced today that it will resume the commercialization of its PPM radio ratings service in eight markets. Commercialization will begin on October 8, 2008.
