Cumulus

Posted on October 16, 2016 by kavincen

By: Kaitlyn Vincent and Cairo Spencer

Cumulus Logo

History

Cumulus was co-founded in 1997 by brothers Lew and John Dickey in Atlanta, Georgia. The company broadcasts local programming as well as sports, syndicated media, entertainment brands and much more. The company has 447 owned-and-operated stations in 90 different US markets. The two platforms of Cumulus includes Cumulus Radio and Westwood One which contribute to massive reach of 245 million listeners per week. [1]

Similarly, Cumulus is known for the station NASH, which launched in 2013 and is the Nation’s leading provider of country music. In addition to the NASH radio sector, NASH has a country weekly magazine, television, live events and their own record label. Cumulus is now the second largest radio company behind iHeartMedia. [2] [13]

Key Executives

Mary G. Berner – President and Chief Executive Officer

John Abbot – Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Richard S. Denning – Senior VP, Secretary & General Counselor

Affiliates

Cumulus Radio and Westwood One are both syndicated services of Cumulus Media. In 2013, Cumulus acquired Westwood One which focuses on selling syndicated advertisements. Together they have become the exclusive radio broadcast partner to some of the biggest brands in news, entertainment, sports and talk. This includes major sports such as NFL, the NCAA and the Olympics, major events such as the Academy of Country Music Awards, the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, and even the Grammys. Cumulus has risen to become the nation’s leading provider of country music and lifestyle entertainment through its renowned NASH brand; named for the country music center that is the Nashville, Tennessee brand. NASH caters to country music fans nationwide through the use of radio programming, exclusive digital content, and live events. Cumulus Radio serves a demographically-diverse group across its 90 US markets. [1]

Cumulus and Westwood One Stations

Management

Cumulus hired Mary Berner, a former CEO of Reader’s Digest Executive, as the new Chief Executive Officer to try and turnaround the company in 2015. Before Mary stepped in, Cumulus’ stocks were dropping tremendously. One of Cumulus’ major shareholders, Crestview Partners, pushed out the founder Lew Dickey as the CEO and replaced him with Mary Berner. Before the turnover, the shares had dropped 80% of their value whereas after the turnover the shares dropped 39% after a couple of months. [8] [13]

In the coming months Mary is striving towards a “multi-year exercise” starting with fixing the operational basics. Secondly, she’ll be working on retaining the employees and improving satisfaction within the company due to a 50% turnover rate in 18 months in the company of 6,000 people. Her final area of concern is the rating decline for the company. [5]

“This company has lost more than a dollar of revenue for every dollar of expense reduction over the past four years,” she said. “So I’m focused on intelligently managing the cost structure.” – Mary Berner [7]

Although Cumulus’ headquarters is in Atlanta, Mary Berner is stationed within New York City, within the large market in which its syndicated service Westwood One caters to. According to Mary, there are four challenging feats she is facing with Cumulus which includes inescapable clean-up items from prior years, non-existent investment in systems, annual cost escalation due to the dynamic industry, and major capital investments. [5]

The New Cumulus CEO, Mary Berner

Financial

Cumulus had a low third quarter with a $286.1 million in the quarter. This was down from the $289.4 million in 2015. The low numbers are due to CEO Mary Berner’s adjustment period, the falling rating decline, and the lack of company structure. Recently however, Cumulus is heading into the fourth quarter with a positive stride with a 35.58% increase over the past 5 days. The price target for the company is currently at $5.00. Consequently, the Wall Street analysts recommend a hold recommendation for investors. [5] [8]

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Cumulus Media Equity Stub 2016

Cumulus is consumed in $2.5 billion in debt ever since the former CEO, Dickey Berner bought up several stations and lost Citadel back in 2010. However, a spokesperson disclosed that enough generated operational cash and asset sales will prevent Cumulus from becoming bankrupt and expects to gain $200 million at the end of 2017 from real estate sales. Furthermore, “We have no plans to file for bankruptcy and the next maturity for debt is not for three more years until May of 2019, so we have significant runway to begin to stabilize and ultimately grow the business,” the Cumulus spokesman said. [16]

In terms of trends, as of November 28, the 14-day ADX for Cumulus Media is at 39.28 which indicates a strong trend for investors. However, this number reflects the trend strength but not the direction of the trend. In another technical reading, Cumulus presently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index of 31.93 which reflects the company’s normal oscillation since the reading is between -100 to +100. This represents how the Cumulus commodities are in a normal range between the overbought and oversold territory. These technical readings further reflect the positive direction for Cumulus entering into the fourth quarter. [6] [7] [12]

Recent Antitrust Lawsuit

Last April, Cumulus was sued for an antitrust suit by Talk Radio Network Enterprises LLC and three other Radio networks for allegedly conspiring with Westwood One, Cumulus’ advertising package bundler. This suit was filed in Oregon due to a group of radio producers claiming that Westwood One and Cumulus were trying to monopolize a national radio that solely benefits the Cumulus station while undermining independent programmers. By conspiring to monopolize, Cumulus Media and Westwood are violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. In addition, these companies are already thwarted due to Cumulus Media controlling 90% of the national syndicated ad bundling market. [9]

In a complex system of advertising bundling, the companies buying advertisements expect a certain amount of trust from Westwood One. These companies have been experiencing a lack of transparency of payment from Westwood. Similarly, Westwood has been accused of paying the companies lower than the deserved amount. However, this month the Oregon judges decided to gut the claim by rejecting half of the allegations based on prejudice. According to an attorney for the group of Radio Networks, they have no intent of stopping the suit. [10]

The Issue

While, Mary is working to solve the company’s problems, the main issue with the company is the large amount of debt it holds. This monetary debt is due to the former purchase of Citadel, a Nevada-based broadcasting holding company and the general decline in Radio revenue due to the amount of music streaming services online. Michael Harrison, a former radio station owner and publisher of RadioInfo agrees:

“Cumulus is suffering from the tail end effects of the era of consolidation… The biggest problem in the industry, he said, is “smothering debt,” – Michael Harrison [7]

Overview

The biggest question for Cumulus is how to combat the growing online streaming music services and the consolidation of radio amidst their staggering debt and turnover struggles. Cumulus must continue to cut spending and manage to find a solution that will boost revenue through services that can compete as opposed to services that tail behind the forefront of the changing world of radio. In terms of debt handling, the company has until May of 2019 to pay it off which should hopefully be enough time for Berner to stabilize the company.

Works Cited

[1] Cumulus Website. Retrieved: November 28, 2016.

[2] Jackson, Hazel. “Market Rating: Are Analysts Bullish Cumulus Media Inc (NASDAQ:CMLS) After Last Week?” Money Making Articles Hot Stuff. Retrieved: November 21, 2016.

[3] NASH Website. Retrieved: November 28, 2016.

[4] Cumulus Key Executives. Retrieved: November 28, 2016.

[5] “Big Challenges Remain For Radio’s Number Two.” Radio Ink. Streamline Publishing, Inc. Retrieved: November 28, 2016.

[6] Ho, Rodney. “Cumulus Media Drowning in Debt, Stock Slides.” Radio and TV Talk. Cox Media Group. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

[7] Grantham, Russell. “Cumulus Media Hit by Debt, Radio Industry Troubles.” Cumulus Media Hit by Debt, Radio Industry Troubles. Cox Media Group. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

[8] Karp, Hannah. “Cumulus CEO Aims to Revive Radio Broadcaster.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

[9] Sege, Adam. “Cumulus Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Advertising Payouts.” Law360. Portfolio Media, Inc. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

[10] Koenig, Bryan. “Cumulus Media Gets Advertising Antitrust Suit Gutted.” Law360. Portfolio Media Inc. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

[11] Oliveira, Michael Wiggins De. “Cumulus Media: A Highly Speculative Equity Stub.” Seeking Alpha. Retrieved: November 30, 2016.

[12] Weakley, Vanessa. “Looking at the Gauges on Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS).” Microcap. Retrieved: November 30, 2016.

[13] Atkinson, Claire. “Cumulus Media’s New CEO Can’t Stop Company Slide.” NYPost. Retrieved: November 30, 2016.

[14] “Struggling Cumulus Media Loses its CFO” American City Business Journal. Retrieved: November 30, 2016.

[15] “Organizational Leadership Changes at Cumulus Media” MusicRow. Retrieved: November 30, 2016.

[16] Grantham, Russell. “Radio Giant Cumulus Tumbles After Flying High”. Cox Media Group. Retrieved: November 29, 2016.

Scripps Interactive

Posted on October 16, 2016 by amsortal

By Ryan Lannum & Aaron Sortal

[1] Scripps Interactive Network Logo

Brief History [1]

Scripps Networks Interactive began in 1878 when Edward W. Scripps founded The Penny Press in Cleveland, Ohio. Jump forward a 100 years and Scripps Networks Interactive began buying and building cable television systems, making it one of America’s largest cable operators, which was later sold to Comcast. In the 1990s, Scripps Network Interactive began building their media network. After the purchase of Cinetel Productions, a Knoxville-based cable creator, it launched HGTV in 1994.

[1] Source: WBIR-TV 10 Knoxville / Scripps Network Interactive

After the launch of HGTV, Scripps Networks started more lifestyle networks including: Food Network (1997), DIY Network (1999), Fine Living Network (2002), Great American Country (2004), and Travel Channel (2009). The organization describes itself as a “niche broadband [of] channels that extend the core brands’ presence on the Internet with advertiser-supported, on-demand content” (Scripps Networks Interactive).

In 2007, the board of directors decided to split The E.W. Scripps Company into two publicly-traded companies. One of the organizations would concentrate on national television lifestyle brands and the other focus on innovative and enduring local media businesses.

Financials

Stock er-er the last 5 years [2]

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. has done very well financially the last few years. At the end of 2015, Scripps’ revenue totaled $3.02 billion, with a total net income of $606.83 million [2]. This is a great increase from the previous years, as its 2014 net income totaled 545.28 million, and its 2013 net income totaled $505.07 million. Their total net incomes are increasing at a steady rate, and will likely continue in the coming years. While their stock price is lower than it was five years ago, it being at $70.06 now and 76.50 then, it has increased greatly in the past year, with the price being only $59.04 in November of 2015.

In the fall of 2016, Scripps Networks reported a 6.6 percent increase in advertising revenues, which totaled to a $477.5 million in advertising revenue during the quarter [3]. This jump in advertising revenue also added to five of the six networks having a ratings boost. Focusing on ads that connect to the demographics that watch their channels resulted in tremendous success both in viewership and in revenue. The need for advertising revenue caused a major problem when it came to a subscription video on demand service deal with Netflix.

Netflix Deal Not Renewed for a New Season

Netflix Desktop [4]

During the fall of 2016, Burton Jablin, Scripps Networks Interactive’s COO, announced the organization would not be renewing its digital distribution deal with Netflix on the company’s quarterly earnings conference call [5]. This isn’t the first-time Scripps Networks Interactive has ended a subscription video on demand deal with a media distributor [6]. In February 2013, Scripps Networks Interactive had a deal with Amazon. That deal ended in March 2014. This prompted the Netflix and Scripps Networks Interactive deal that ended this past November. According to a Variety.com article, Scripps Networks could have lost about $11 million of licensing revenue from Amazon [6]. Unlike the deal with Amazon, the CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, Kenneth Lowe, commented on the company’s decision to leave Netflix. Lowe stated that a major reason for leaving Netflix was the loss of advertising dollars [7], which brought-in roughly $445 million dollars in revenue during the last quarter [3]. Jablin said in a Variety.com article: “In the end, it really is not the kind of dual-revenue model that best monetizes our content over the long term” (Spangler). [8] Over the past couple of months, Netflix has removed content from its database because the company wanted to create room for its original content. All of Scripps Network’s shows will not be removed until the end of the year [7]. Some of the shows that are being removed are: “Cupcake Wars,” “Chopped,” and “Man v. Food.”

AT&T Long-Term Distribution Agreement

http://www.csc.com/global_alliances/alliances/112505-at_t

AT&T Logo [9]

In September of 2016, Scripps Interactive reached a deal with AT&T, in which they agreed for a continuation of distribution of Scripps Networks for DIRECTV [10]. This deal will be made for multiple years, ensuring that DIRECTV will continue its widespread distribution of the Scripps Network channels. They also agreed to include Scripps Networks on DIRECTV’s streaming service, DIRECTV NOW. Programs on channels such as HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Great American Country, and Cooking Channel are included to be distributed through this deal.

As DIRECTV has over 20 percent of the market share of cable providers in the US, this deal will assist in allowing Scripps Networks’ programs to be distributed to as many people as possible [11]. DIRECTV is also expected to grow in market share in the next decade, so this deal will continue the great relationship Scripps has with AT&T. With DIRECTV NOW launching at the end of November, it will also allow people whom prefer to stream their content the chance to view Scripps Network shows [12]. The portability of DIRECTV NOW will allow its customers to view Scripps Network shows at anywhere at any time, which will increase the flexibility and make it more likely that the shows will be viewed a lot more often than before. DIRECTV NOW is also a lot cheaper alternative to established cable packages, so the low cost may also bring in a lot more viewers, in which can increase Scripps’ revenue and exposure.

DirecTV NOW Informational Video [13]

Pluto TV Financing

Pluto TV Logo [14]

Pluto TV is a television platform launched in 2014, which is solely internet-based [14]. They play content from over 75 different partners, including NBC, Bloomberg, Sky News, and Paramount Pictures [15]. The format is basically the same as a television network, as the programs are played in different time slots, as opposed to letting the viewer decide what they want to watch whenever they want to watch it.

In October of 2016, Scripps Networks participated in a $30 financing round, which was led by ProSiebenSat.1. With this participation, this will allow Pluto TV to air a great amount of Scripps’ content, giving more exposure and potential revenue as a result. Pluto TV is also available for free, so even people without cable can have access to Scripps’ content. With this plus the AT&T deal involving DIRECTV NOW, it can definitely be shown that Scripps Networks is investing a lot of money into online streaming services, as they can see the market for internet-based content is growing every year. If regular cable tv ends up being less popular and streaming services become the most used service to access television, Scripps will be ahead of the change and be able to retain and potentially gain a lot of revenue for the future.

Pluto TV Advertisement[16]

Sources

[1] Scripps Networks Interactive. “ History.” History | Scripps Networks Interactive, www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com/our-company/history/.

[2] “SNI Income Statement – YahooFinance.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, finance.yahoo.com/quote/SNI/financials?p=SNI.

[3] Littleton, Cynthia. “HGTV, Advertising Gains Power Scripps Networks Interactive’s Q3 Earnings.” Variety, 7 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/scripps-networks-interactive-q3-hgtv-travel-channel-1201911392/. [3] Littleton, Cynthia. “HGTV, Advertising Gains Power Scripps Networks Interactive’s Q3 Earnings.” Variety, 7 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/scripps-networks-interactive-q3-hgtv-travel-channel-1201911392/.

[4] Sebastian. “How to Watch Netflix While Abroad .” TigerVPN Blog, 4 May 2016, blog.tigervpn.com/howtowatchnetflixwhileabroad/.

[5] Szalai, Georg. “Scripps Networks Won’t Renew Netflix Deal, CEO Says ‘We’Re Big Enough.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2016, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/scripps-networks-wont-renew-netflix-deal-ceo-says-were-big-944709.

[6] Spangler, Todd. “Amazon Drops Discovery and Scripps Shows, with Scripps the Bigger Loser.” Variety, 26 Mar. 2014, variety.com/2014/digital/news/amazon-drops-discovery-and-scripps-shows-with-scripps-the-bigger-loser-1201147369/.

[7] Faulkner, Trisha. “Netflix Loses Scripps Networks Interactive Contract: Say Goodbye To HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, And More.” The Inquisitr News, 12 Nov. 2016, www.inquisitr.com/3709928/netflix-loses-scripps-networks-interactive-contract/.

[8] Spangler, Todd. “Netflix Losing Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel Shows at End of 2016.” Variety, 9 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-scripps-food-network-hgtv-travel-channel-shows-1201913874/.

[9] “AT&T.” Computer Sciences Corporation, CSC, www.csc.com/global_alliances/alliances/112505-at_t.

[10] “Scripps Networks Interactive, AT&T Sign Long-Term Multi-Platform Distribution Agreement.” Nasdaq GlobeNewswire , GlobeNewswire, 22 Sept. 2016, globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/09/22/873822/0/en/Scripps-Networks-Interactive-AT-T-Sign-Long-Term-Multi-Platform-Distribution-Agreement.html.

[11] Munson, Ben. “Top 9 Cable, Satellite and Telco Pay-TV Operators in Q1: Ranking Comcast to TWC to Charter to Cablevision.” FierceCable, 11 May 2016, www.fiercecable.com/special-report/top-9-cable-satellite-and-telco-pay-tv-operators-q1-ranking-comcast-to-twc-to.

[12] Rogowsky, Mark. “Is DirecTV Now The Video Service Cord Cutters Have Been Waiting For?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 Nov. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2016/11/29/is-directv-now-the-video-service-cord-cutters-have-been-waiting-for/#7781ae8330ef.

[13] CNET. “DirecTV Now Offers 100 Channels of Live TV Starting at $35 a Month.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=040r9p0oijk.

[14] “What Is Pluto Tv?” Pluto TV, Pluto TV, corporate.pluto.tv/.

[15] Pham, Alex. “Pluto TV Lands $30M Financing From Scripps Networks And ProSiebenSat.1.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/alexpham/2016/10/12/pluto-tv-lands-30-million-financing-from-scripps-networks-and-prosiebensat-1/#16d668db4e3f.

[16] PlutoTV. “Pluto.TV: Watch What’s Possible.” YouTube, Pluto TV, 31 Mar. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=atNBbc6ofiE.

Time Warner Cable

Posted on February 18, 2016 by smwarren

BY RICARDO SMITH

Time Warner Cable Logo [1].

Company Overview

Time Warner Cable is an American cable telecommunications company. It is the second largest cable provider in terms of revenue only behind Comcast [2]. Time Warner Cable serves over 16 million customers in 29 different states [1]. The company was formed in 1992 through the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications’ respective cable businesses, following the merger of the two companies in 1989 [1]. Time Warner Cable was spun off as an independent operation in March 2009 [1]. Since its inception, Time Warner Cable has been a trailblazer in the cable industry. They have lead the way in technical innovation through the use of fiber optics to enhance the customer experience. Time Warner Cable provides cutting edge technology, a diverse selection of entertainment content, and superior service to homes across the United States [1]. On April 25^th, 2016, a deal was approved by the U.S Department of Justice for the purchase of Time Warner Cable by Charter Communications [3].

A screenshot from a Time Warner Cable commercial advertising one-hour windows [11]

A screenshot from a Time Warner Cable commercial advertising one-hour windows [6].

Customer Service

Time Warner Cable has a reputation for poor customer service. According to the American Costumer Satisfaction Index, Time Warner Cable was the most unpopular company in America in 2014 with a score of 54 out of a possible 100 [4]. Their television service was the second worst ranked brand on the list, followed by Comcast’s Internet Service Provider [4]. Cable companies have recently come under scrutiny for their increasing subscription fees and lack of choice in the market [5]. Cable prices have more than doubled in the past ten years [5]. The rise of over the top subscription video on demand has caused a decline in cable subscriptions [5]. A leading industry analyst estimated that the top 8 cable companies lost 463,000 subscribers in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 141,000 in the second quarter of 2014 [5]. The decline has caused companies to raise their prices [5]. In response to their poor customer service ratings, Time Warner has taken a number of steps. The company launched an ad campaign acknowledging it’s poor customer service and promising to improve it [6]. The main focus of this initiative is a one-hour window for all customer appointments. In 2015, the company reported a 13% decrease in care calls per customer relationship, 98% on-time percentage for customer appointments, and 15% improvement in first-visit resolution [7].

Time Warner Cable’s 2015 earnings report [7].

2015 Performance

In the fourth quarter of 2015, Time Warner Cable’s revenue grew by 4.9% [7]. The company earned $6.07 billion in 2015 [7]. This represents a 3.9% increase in yearly revenue, Time Warner’s highest in five years [7]. The company attributes the increase to accelerated growth in residential and business services [7]. The company’s operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) increased slightly for the fourth quarter and the whole year [7]. In their best year of residential subscriber performance ever, Time Warner added 618,000 new customer relationships, 1,000,000 high-speed data upgrades, and 1,036,000 voice subscribers in 2015 [7]. Time Warner made significant investments in 2015 to improve the customer experience and expand their network [7]. As a part of this effort, the company introduced an initiative to convert their infrastructure to an all digital system called TWC Maxx [7]. The new system results in increased Internet speeds, state-of-the-art television services, and improved overall reliability [7]. In 2015, TWC Maxx was fully implemented in six major cities and begun in 4 others [7]. The company has continued expanding the program in 2016 [8].

Comcast logo [11].

Proposed Comcast Merger

In November 2013, it was reported that Charter Communications was to put in an offer to purchase Time Warner Cable for around $135 per share [9]. As a result, Time Warner Cable stock rose by 10% [9]. Charter and Comcast stock also rose based on the rumor [9]. The offer was eventually rejected [10]. On February 13^th, 2014 Comcast announced that it intended to acquire Time Warner Cable through a stock swap [11]. The announcement was met with great opposition from government officials, industry executives, and consumer advocacy groups alike [12]. People were largely opposed to the merger based on Comcast’s behavior in past deals [13]. Following its acquisition of NBCUniversal, Comcast became a partial owner of Hulu [13]. As a part of the deal, Comcast was supposed to remain a silent partner and not influence or interfere with the operation of the company [13]. As of July 2013, Hulu was for sale [13]. In that same month, a meeting to decide the company’s fate took place between the operating partners; Walt Disney, 21^st Century Fox, and Comcast [13]. According to anonymous sources with knowledge of the conversation, Comcast told the other partners that it could enhance Hulu’s value, which caused them to decide not to sell the company [13]. This action directly violated the terms of Comcast’s NBCUniversal deal [13]. Other grievances included programmers experiencing continued difficulty in making their content available for streaming in Comcast markets and Comcast’s lack of promotion for a stand-alone broadband service that isn’t connected to a television package [13]. The proposed deal would have given Comcast a 57% market share of broadband services [13]. In April 2015, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler came out in direct opposition of the merger [14]. In light of the strong public reaction, Comcast terminated the merger ahead of the official FCC decision later that month [14].

Charter Communications logo [15].

Charter Merger

Following the failure of the Comcast merger, Charter Communications announced that it would be merging with Time Warner Cable on May 26^th, 2015 in a $56.7 billion deal that combined cash and stock options [15]. Charter also announced that they would be purchasing Bright House Networks, previously controlled by Time Warner, in a separate deal for $10.1 billion [15]. This deal was met with far less opposition based on the lower combined market share in broadband service and Charter’s lack of recent negative PR [16]. In order to smooth the approval process, Charter promised not to impose data caps and not charge online content providers for direct connections to its network [16]. On April 25^th, 2016, the U.S Department of Justice approved the sale with conditions [17]. On the same day, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler circulated his approval to other FCC commissioners [17]. The order is expected to get enough votes for approval [17]. In their official statement, the Department of Justice said they worked closely with the FCC to coordinate their reviews of the deal and devise comprehensive remedies for the issues that it presents [18]. As part of the approval, Charter is forbidden from including clauses in their Pay-TV contracts that bar content creators from exploiting their programming through online video on demand [3]. This condition was included largely because Time Warner is notorious for being the most aggressive provider with these clauses [17]. The conditions also forbid Charter from retaliating against programmers for licensing to online video on demand [3]. These conditions will last for seven years [3]. The sale will not become official until California public utility regulators submit their approval [17]. They are scheduled to vote in the summer of 2016 [17].

Overview

Time Warner Cable’s recent acquisition by Charter Communications will begin a new chapter in the company’s history, as well as the state of cable television altogether. Charter is expected to retire the Time Warner Cable brand [18]. Combining their resources will allow the two companies to cut costs and hopefully provide better prices for their customers. The new Charter’s future success will rely heavily on their public perception in the aftermath of this merger.

Sources

[1] Time Warner Cable. Company Overview for Time Warner Cable. Time Warner Cable. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[2] National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Industry Data. National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[3] The United States Department of Justice (April 25 2016). Justice Department Allows Charter’s Acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to Proceed with Conditions. The United States Department of Justice. Retrieved April 27 2016.

[4] American Customer Satisfaction Index. American Customer Satisfaction Index. American Customer Satisfaction Index. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[5] Darrow, Barb and Jones, Stacy (August 18 2015). Cable consumers keep cutting the cord. Can anyone blame them?. Fortune. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[6] Morran, Chris (October 5 2015). Time Warner Cable Admits Its Customer Service Stinks. Pinky Swears To Do Better. Consumerist. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[7] Time Warner Cable Inc. (January 28 2016). Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2015 Earnings Summary. Time Warner Cable. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[8] Time Warner Cable Inc. (February 8 2016). Time Warner Cable Takes Next Step to Transform TV and Internet Experience in Central and Northern New York. Time Warner Cable. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[9] Yousuf, Hibah (November 22 2013). Cable stocks surge on takeover chatter. CNN Money. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[10] CNBC (January 13 2014). Time Warner Cable rejects Charter’s $61B bid as inadequate. CNBC. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[11] Comcast (February 13 2014). Time Warner Cable To Merge With Comcast Corporation To Create A World-Class Technology and Media Company. Comcast. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[12] Steel, Emily (April 22 2015). Comcast Critics Cast Doubt on Its Intentions. The New York Times. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[13] Steel, Emily (April 21 2015). Comcast’s Track Record in Past Deals May Be Hitch for Merger With Time Warner Cable. The New York Times. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[14] Trefis Team (April 28 2015). Comcast-TWC Merger Called Off; Where Do These Companies Stand Now. Forbes. Retrieved April 26 2016.

[15] Charter Communications Inc. (May 26 2015). Charter Communications to Merge with Time Warner Cable and Acquire Bright House Networks. Charter Communications Inc. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[16] Economides, Nicholas (March 22 2016). Why a Charter-Time Warner Cable Merger Won’t Actually Kill Cable Companies. Fortune. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[17] King, Hope and Stetler, Brian (April 25 2016). Giant cable merger cleared by regulators. CNN Money. Retrieved April 25 2016.

[18] Morran, Chris (April 25 2016). 5 Things You Should Know About the Approved Merger of Time Warner Cable and Charter. Consumerist. Retrieved April 27 2016.

Spotify by Daniel Rakow

Posted on February 18, 2016 by smwarren

(5)

Executives

Daniel Elk Martin Lorenzton

History

Spotify was developed in 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded by the former CTO of Stardoll, Daniel Elk and the co-founder of TradeDoubler, Martin Lorentzon. They officially launched the music streaming service in October of 2008 for paid subscribers and in 2009 they made their service available for free subscriptions. The free subscriptions opened up the service to a bigger audience while slightly hindering their income. In 2011 Spotify crossed over into the United States market and also introduced the Spotify App for devices. (1)

More About Spotify

Since 2011, Spotify has solidified its spot as one of the top music streaming services along with Apple Music and Tidal. Today, Spotify features curated playlists that are made by their employees for paid subscribers. They have radio stations that allow the user to discover new music based on artists that are similar to the ones the user listens to. Along with that, they have a huge library of music consisting of 30 million songs. Their premium service allows users to access all of their songs and provides weekly curated playlists called Discover Weekly. Currently, they have over 75 million users with 30 million of those users being paid subscribers. (2)

Potential Change of Location

(Swedish Flag)

As of recent, Spotify has been hinting at a change of location for its headquarters. Since they started the company, they have been based in Stockholm, Sweden. However, recent circumstances have lead them to reconsider their choice to remain in their hometown. As Elk wrote in an open letter that he posted online, “We love Sweden and believe that this is basically the best environment for us. But at the same time we cannot magically remove the political obstacles. Thousands of Spotify jobs could go to the U.S instead of Sweden.” Spotify is frustrated with the Swedish governments inability to let businesses in their country grow. To start, Spotify believes the housing situation needs to be revisited. It’s extremely difficult to rent apartments in Stockholm because such a large amount are controlled by housing associations. It could take over 10 years to get a rental apartment which makes it extremely difficult for Spotify to bring in foreign talent. Another area Spotify argues needs change is their education system. They argue that the country doesn’t focus at their schools enough on technology. This leads to a lack of programmers for them to hire. The lack of knowledge causes them to have to train more workers, which could be avoided. Lastly, Spotify hopes to change Sweden’s stock options. The country’s rules don’t allow Spotify to grant their employees stock options which would attract brighter employees. (6) (7)

Competition

In the last month Spotify has had to deal with more competition than ever. Not only have they been going head to head with Apple’s streaming service Apple Music, they have also seen a few new players enter the streaming world. To start, Apple has signed exclusive contracts with big artists. These artists’ new albums debut on Apple Music and take a few weeks before they are available on Spotify. Artists like Drake have Spotify users growing impatient when he drops new content. He has 24 million monthly listeners and is the 7th most played artist on Spotify. This could hurt them eventually if it doesn’t change. Jay-Z music streaming service Tidal is another competitor with Spotify. In early February Rihanna took to Tidal to release her new album Anti. While it is now available on Spotify, for months it had users converting to Jay-z’s service to access it. Similarly, Kanye West exclusively released his new album The Life of Pablo on Tidal. However, The Life Of Pablo was recently made available on Spotify as well. Soundcloud, in the last month, has also entered the subscription space. They created Soundcloud Go which will also directly compete with Spotify. Even with all these competing services, Spotify has a loyal user base of over 75 million people that will be hard to take away from them. (8)

Spotify x Billboard

(Billboard)

On April 21 Billboard announced it’s partnership with Spotify for 2016. This is a huge win for Spotify over Apple Music. Billboard will bring all of its users to Spotify instead of Apple Music. Billboard’s charts are turning to Spotify to make it easier for its users to access today’s hits by streaming songs directly from their weekly charts. Now, when viewing the Hot 100 or Billboard 200 the user is able to listen to the songs they are analyzing. There are 30 second previews directly next to the song on the chart that also give the option to stream the full version on Spotify. Billboard will also be publishing 3 new spotify driven charts on billboard.com. One will be a 30 song Velocity Chart which will include the 30 most trending songs on Spotify. The next will have a Viral 50 chart which will consist of the 50 most shared songs across social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Lastly there will be a Velocity Chart with 30 songs with 5 songs for each decade (1960-2000). To take a look at the Billboard Hot 100 with Spotify streaming click here. (9)

Money

Spotify recently has raised over 1 billion dollars in debt financing. This is a substantial amount especially for a company that is financially stable. It is no doubt that Spotify now has money to spend but the question is: what will Spotify decide to do with all this extra money? forbes.com went into detail with ways that Spotify is planning on improving. Firstly, they are expected to get into the video space. Apple and Tidal already both have video content on their service. Spotify, being their number one competitor, will definitely start exploring music videos, behind the scenes, artist episodes, tour videos, and live footage. One major area they will have to work on is their payment rates. Their current rate per stream is .004. This rate tends to anger artists because they believe they are not being compensated for their art. This has lead artists like Taylor Swift and Adele to not allow their catalog of music to be included on their streaming service. With the extra money Spotify is planning to start working in these areas. (10)

Sources

(1) Streatfield, Brooke. Rise of a Tech Giant: The History of Spotify. The Telegraph. Retrieved: April 25, 2016

(2) Person, Adam Pasick. The Magic That Makes Spotify’s Discover Weekly Playlists so Damn Good. Quartz. Retrieved: April 25, 2016

(3) Bertoni, Steven. Spotify’s Daniel Elk: The Most Important Man In Music. Forbes. Retrieved: April 24, 2016

(4) Sloan, Paul. The Future of Music. CNET. Retrieved: April 24, 2016

(5) Spotify. Vulcan Post. Retrieved: April 25, 2015

(6) McIntrye, Hugh. Spotify May Soon Leave Sweden. Forbes. Retrieved: April 23, 2016

(7) Swedish Flag. Eduniversal. Retrieved: April 23, 2016

(8) Apple Music’s Biggest Swipe at Spotify Yet. Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved: April 24, 2016

(9) Billboard Staff. Billboard Announces Spotify as Exclusive Playback Partner of The Charts. Billboard. Retrieved: April 24, 2015

(10) McIntrye, Hugh. What Can Spotify Do With The $1 Billion It Just Raised? Forbes. Retrieved: April 24, 2015

Singleton, Micah. Spotify Hits 30 million Subscribers. The Verge. Retrieved: April 25, 2016

Sirius XM Radio – Joshua Weisleder

Posted on February 18, 2016 by smwarren

1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

James E. Meyer | Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM

Scott Greenstein | President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM

Dara Altman | Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, SiriusXM

About

SiriusXM delivers quality ad-free satellite radio programing to its subscribers ever since its early inception in Washington, DC in the early 90’s. The broadcasting company transmits satellite radio services like Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius XM Radio anytime and and anywhere for its subscribers in North America. Users can access the service in their car, computer, and smartphone and tablet devices. Sirius also has constructed deals with every major automaker while also providing weather and traffic updates for automobiles, trucks, boats, RVs and aircrafts. In regards to content, Sirius offers musical stations from various genres and time periods, sporting entertainment from all major professional leagues and top notch talk show programming across its hundreds of channels. SiriusXM also allows users to individualize their content by using MYSXM which lets users listen to hours of on-demand programing so they will never miss a beat. In regards to revenue, SiriusXM is the biggest in the market and recently reached 30 million subscribers during its first quarter of 2016(1). The American based company also has a Canadian subsidiary called SiriusXM Canada, which has a user base of 2 million users.

New Programming

This past year, SiriusXM has added more quality programs to its already impressive collection of stations. Some of their new content includes SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, SiriusXM Comedy Greats, FOX News Headlines 24/7, Velvet (a vocalist curated station for the likes of John Legend and Adele), SiriusXM Fly (Hip/Hop and RnB from the 90’s and early 2000’s) and KIDZBOP Radio(2).

SiriusXM also schedules in limited time channels throughout the year to test out potential ratings or to celebrate particular events or musical artists. In anticipation for the acclaimed music festival, Sirius launched Coachella Radio on April 11 to feature music by artist that are scheduled to perform(3). Last January, recently after his death, Sirius added a commemorative David Bowie station on channel 30 to celebrate his legendary career(4). As well, with the recent passing of Prince, they created a station in his honor on channel 50(5).

This past march, SiriusXM provided all users access to every second of every game of the 2016 NCAA March Madness on their satellite radios and internet connected devices. They provided extensive coverage for both mens and women’s basketball with insight analysis from Mike Krzyzewski, Bobby Cremins, Tom Brennan, Steve Lappas and Mateen Cleaves(6). In addition, at the beginning of April, SiriusXM expanded its broadcasting coverage for Golfs biggest event, The Masters. There programing included commentary and hours of live play-by-play coverage from Augusta National(7). As well, Sirius will broadcast all the NBA and NHL playoff action this postseason while also providing MLB and NFL regular season and playoff games throughout the rest of 2016 and beyond.

Finances

Currently, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. has a share price of $3.96 on NASDAQ(8)

In 2015, the company recorded its highest revenue at $4.6 billion while having their Net Income reach $510 million(9). Their Net Subscriber base grew by 2.3 million in the previous year, which helped them propel to 30.1 total users in 2016. In addition, their EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization(10)) surged 13% to an all time high for the company by reaching $1.66 Billion at the end of 2015 which eclipsed its 2014 mark of $1.47 Billion. For 2016, the company projects a 1.4 million net subscriber increase, $4.9 Billion rise in revenue, an EDBITDA of roughly $1.78 Billion and a Free Cash flow of around $1.4 billion. In addition, highly regarded financial analysis and TV personality for Mad Money, Jim Cramer, publicly stated earlier in April that: “When you see a lot of cars being sold — and we have a remarkable number of cars being sold — you want to own Sirius(11).” With SiriusXM having market control of satellite radios with the main automobile manufactures, its safe to say that SiriusXM will continue to be profitable.

Howard Stern

The king of SiriusXM’s programing is unquestionably Howard Stern. He has two stations on the service, Howard 100 and Howard 101, attracts millions of listeners and has generated huge earning for the company. As the highest paid radio broadcaster in the country, there was speculation if Stern would leave SiriusXM to purse a new distribution medium like Apple Music or Netflix(12). However, he decided to renew his contract with SiriusXM last November to give him a 5 year $90 Million per year deal, which is an annual increase from his previous $80 million yearly salary. By locking him up, SiriusXM can ensure that there biggest star is happy and still an integral part of their growing business(13).

Broadcasting Partners

Despite having several fantastic musical stations, SiriusXM has established great partnerships with several sports, news and talk programming corporations. Some of their partners are BBC, Bloomberg Radio, CNBC, CNN, the Dave Ramsey Show, ESPN, NPR, Playboy, Radio Disney, and the Weather Network(14). By having a strong group of media corporations available for users within the Sirius ecosystem, it gives users tons of options to recieve quality news and talk.

Automobile Partnerships

With a major source of listenership generated from car owners, SiriusXM has partnered with almost every major car manufacture in the market. They have existing deals with Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Harley Davidson, Honda, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Toyota, and many more manufacturers(15). By having SiriusXM accessible with both American and non-American automobiles and in both luxuries and more affordable cars, the company is allowing all drivers the opportunity to subscribe to their service and its setting themselves up to be the go to place for in car audio entertainment in North America.

Closing Statements

SiriusXM provides a service unmatched in the industry. Despite heavy competition in the streaming market, SiriusXM is the only provider of ad-free satellite radio with a multitude of stations to entertain any kind of listener. From your favorite pop songs on Hits 1 to breaking news on CNN, you have 100’s of channels to choose from. After following another successful fiscal year, locking up their biggest entertainment asset in Howard Stern and continuously locking down automobile partnerships, theres nothing slowing down the satellite radio giant.

Sources

Billboard – April 23rd, 2016
SiriusXM: Channel Update – April 23rd, 2016
SiriusXM: Investor Update – April 22nd, 2016
SiriusXM Blog: David Bowie – April 24th, 2016
SiriusXM Blog: Prince – April 24th, 2016
SiriusXM: Investor Update Golf – April 22nd, 2016
Marketwatch – April 23rd, 2016
SiriusXM Investor Update – April 22nd, 2016
SiriusXM 2015 Financial Report – April 15, 2016
Investopedia – April 24th, 2016
The Street – April 22nd, 2016
TechTimes – April 22nd, 2016
Today – April 23rd, 2016
SiriusXM Partners – April 24th, 2016
SiriusXM Automobile Partners – April 24th, 2016

Pandora Radio

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Rachel Blackman

By Rachel Blackman

Company

Pandora Radio is an online and mobile personalized radio model that utilizes the Music Genome Project.

Pandora Logo [6]

The Music Genome Project is an algorithm set by music analysts that matches people to other music they may like based on their taste in artist or song [1]. Essentially, the listener may pick an artist/band, genre, or song and, based on the characteristics and technical elements of their choice, music that has similar traits will be played in accordance in a channel format. Comedy has also recently been added to the Pandora portfolio, so there is the option to explore that realm in the same streaming/radio hybrid system.

Pandora also has a blog section and benefits such as exclusive presale opportunities for concerts as well as premade stations for those who just want to listen to a less narrow selection.

There is a freemium version of the service with advertisements between songs, and a premium subscription service, Pandora One, that costs $4.99 a month for no ads.

Brief History

Pandora Radio is, in many ways, looked at as the originator of the personalized streaming service craze that is so prominent in the world today. Founded in 2000 by Tim Westergren and Jon Kraft, the company began humbly as just the idea of the Music Genome Project.

Come 2005 and beyond, Pandora was fully formed and blew up with popularity[2]. People were discovering music and finding the ease of having it on demand and tailored to their own tastes, a model that every competitor has been utilizing since.

Pandora x Ticketfly Merger [13]

As Spotify exploded and streaming services grew, the attention faded a bit from Pandora, but it is on its way back. At the end of last year, Pandora purchased the concert ticketing entity Ticketfly for $450 million in one of its biggest moves ever[3]. With this merger, Pandora is going to be able to sell tickets through its service, adding to its attraction and uniqueness.

Rdio Logo [14]

Next, Pandora purchased the streaming service Rdio’s assets for $75 million in efforts to make it into the digital streaming world as direct competition to players like Spotify and Apple Music[4].

The company is currently in a transition period where it is implementing these new acquisitions in order to get ahead of the game in streaming in 2016 and beyond.

New Features

Browse Graphic [5]

January 28, 2016, Pandora launched a new feature for their app: Browse. Browse recommends and assists people in discovering artists they may like based on their music taste. There is also an analysis level to the feature where listeners can view how many others are enjoying an artist they love, a useful resource for both the creators and the fans. Along with Browse, the app was redesigned to look cleaner and be easier to use[5].

Another exciting and innovative new idea Pandora implemented March 8^th is their AMPcast service. AMPcast allows artists to speak to their followers through audio messages they can record on their cell phones and upload to their music channel[6], a valuable form of connection for the artists to their fan base that has not yet been utilized anywhere else.

Live Music

Pandora Discovery Den [15]

Pandora has been making huge strides in the live music game this year as well. For example, this was their first year as the official streaming partner to the popular and forward-thinking music festival/conference, South By Southwest in Austin, TX. This year, their fittingly named stage Discovery Den hosted hot up-and-coming acts from March 16-19. From hip-hop artists like Kevin Gates and Anderson .Paak to electronic like Louis the Child[7], Pandora was thoughtful and current in its choices and tapped into young, hip audiences in the perfect setting to do so.

Concert poster for The ATL [8]

April 6^th, Pandora announced the lineup for its leap into the hip-hop world via their Pandora Presents: The ATL concert taking place May 5^th. Featuring wildly popular rap and hip-hop acts Young Thug, K Camp, and Dej Loaf, Pandora is targeting a key young and musically active audience that they have not been as present with until now[8]

Company structure

The company has been going through some executive changes in 2016, including naming cofounder Tim Westergren as CEO March 28^{th [9]}. Westergren is a musician himself and has always seen the importance in discovering new talent, something Pandora is putting a lot of attention into currently and a concept that will keep them relevant.

Along with this change, there was a restructuring of the upper offices including instating Mike Herring as President and CFO, promoting Sara Clemens from CSO to COO, and putting Chris Phillips in the Chief Product Officer seat [9].

Revenues

Pandora’s 2016 first quarter financial review has not yet been released, but will be made public April 28. Given the numbers from last year, it would appear as though the company is on an upward trend. Their fourth quarter revenue at the end of 2015 was up 25% year-over-year at $336.2 million, and their total revenues for all of 2015 were $1.164 billion, a growth of 26% year-over-year[10]. It is reasonable to expect that this years numbers will be even greater, especially given their acquisitions of Ticketfly and Rdio and their movement into live music.

As for right now, Pandora Media’s stock has gone up 0.04 since its last close with a volume of 9.06m[11].

Finally, Pandora just hit the $2 billion mark on April 18^thfor artist and songwriter royalties[12].

Overview/Looking to the Future

Pandora is making big moves towards being a powerful player through their innovative new streaming updates, their live music target on hip-hop in particular, and their company restructuring. It should be fascinating to watch how effective their strategies prove to be in execution.

Sources

[1] “About The Music Genome Project®.” (n.d.): n. pag. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[2] “Origin Story: The Founding of Pandora Radio.” Startup Grind. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[3] Sisario, Ben. “Pandora Buys Ticketfly, a Competitor to Ticketmaster.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2015. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[4] “Pandora’s Rdio Acquisition Sets Stage for Epic Streaming Music Battle.” Variety. N.p., 2015. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[5] “Pandora Debuts New Personalized Destination to Discover Music.” Press Release Distribution, EDGAR Filing, XBRL, Regulatory Filings. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[6] Lunden, Ingrid. “Pandora Raises Its Social Media Game with AMPcast, DIY Audio Messaging For artists.” TechCrunch. N.p., 2016. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[7] “Pandora Reveals Initial Lineup in Its First Year as the Official SXSW Streaming Partner – NASDAQ.com.” NASDAQ.com. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[8] “Young Thug, K Camp & DeJ Loaf To Perform At Pandora ATL Concert.” Vibe. N.p., 2016. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[9] “Pandora Brings Back Founder Tim Westergren As Newest CEO.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[10] “Pandora Reports Q4 and Full Year 2015 Financial Results.” Press Release Distribution, EDGAR Filing, XBRL, Regulatory Filings. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[11] “Pandora Media Inc.” P Stock Quote. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[12] “Pandora Hits $2 Billion in All-Time Royalties for Artists and Songwriters.” Press Release Distribution, EDGAR Filing, XBRL, Regulatory Filings. N.p., n.d. Retrieved 25 Apr. 2016.

[13] Dufree, Rachel. “Pandora and Ticketfly Join Forces to Create the World’s Most Powerful Music Platform.” Ticketfly. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[14] “Rdio Adds Free Streaming With Nearly 500 Live Broadcast Stations – Next Geekers.” Next Geekers. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[15] “Discovery Den at SXSW 2016: Four Days of Your New Favorite Music.” South by Southwest 2016 Music, Film and Interactive Festivals. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

CBS Radio

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Rachel Lipsitz

By: Rachel Lipsitz

CBS Radio logo [1]

Contact Information [2]

1271 Avenue of the Americas FL 44

New York, NY 10020

212.649.9600

Cbsradio.com

Key Executives [3]

Andre Fernandez, President

Scott Herman, Chief Operating Officer

Ezra Kucharz, President, Local Digital Media

Chris Oliviero, Executive Vice President, Programming

Jo Ann Haller, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Bob Phillips, Senior Vice President and Director of Sales

Overview

CBS Radio is the nation’s number 2 radio group, including 117 stations, 26 of which are in the largest radio markets in the country. In 2015 alone, CBS radio estimated generating around $1.3 billion in revenue[4]. CBS Radio’s geographically dispersed stations serve to target many different demographics through a broad range of formats, including: rock, classic, adult contemporary, top 40, sports and country [5].

History

CBS Radio was created as a radio network in 1927. From 22 stations that started to air in 1928, the company grew to 114 stations in just a single decade and by 1932 was earning an annual profit of $3 million [6]. In the late 1940s, CBS Radio was able come out on top due to its development of long-playing records by its Columbia Records division. In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired CBS for $5.4 billion. In 1997, Westinghouse changed the name of his new company to CBS Corporation and moved its headquarters from Pittsburgh to New York City [7]. In 1999, entertainment conglomerate Viacom announced that it was taking over CBS in a deal worth $37 billion, but only lasted until 2005 when CBS split into two, where CBS Radio became a part of CBS Corporation under its broadcasting division [8].

Competitors

iHeartMedia logo [29]

Emmis Communications logo [30]

Entercom Communications logo [31]

CBS Radio has four direct competitors: Emmis Communications, Entercom Communications, iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio competes within their respective markets for audience, advertising revenues and programming with other radio stations [9]. These company’s radio stations, which also include their online internet streaming services, compete with services like Spotify and Pandora.

Financials

CBS Interactive Stock Chart from Yahoo Finance updated April 23, 2016 at 3:30 pm [10]

CBS Corporation is a publicly traded company and on April 23, 2016, was traded at $56.59 per share, which is is down from last years price, which was $60.63 per share. Right now, the company’s stock value lies between the 52 week low of $38.51 per share and the 52 week high of $63.95 per share [11].

The majority of CBS Radio’s revenues are generated from the sales of local and national advertising [12]. In 2015, CBS Radio’s radio revenue decreased by 6% and took a $484 million write-down on the value of its FCC radio licenses [13].

Financials CBS Radio of Local Broadcasting [14]

Due to the fact that CBS Radio is a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, the financials for the radio division are combined with the financials for the local broadcasting television division.The Local Broadcasting revenues for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $719 million. CBS Radio revenues were down 5%, which reflected the continued decrease in the radio advertising marketplace [15].

CBS Sports Radio

CBS Sports Radio Logo [34]

CBS Sports Radio was launched in January 2013 and offers 24/7 national sports coverage and programming to over 330 stations, including stations in all of the top 10 markets. CBS Sports has many different programs across across multiple weekdays and weekend time periods that feature expert sports commentary by very experienced broadcasters [16].

98.5 The Sports Hub [33]

Most recently, CBS Radio’s 98.5 The Sports Hub finished first overall during the three-month winter Nielsen Audio Ratings period as sports talk continued to dominate the Boston radio market [17]. The Sports Hub earned an 11.8 share overall from the period of December 31 to March 23, which is a higher than the station got last winter, when the New England Patriots were in the SuperBowl [18].

CBS Corporation Potentially Getting Rid of Radio Division

Leslie Moonves, Chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation [35]

CBS Chairman and CEO, Leslie Moonves, recently made a public announcement about exploring other options for CBS Radio due to the fact that it is no longer the crown jewel of the company. Some of the options that Moonves is referring to is either spinning off the radio divisions as a separate company or selling the stations as a whole [19].

“We have 117 radio stations and we think that will be a great standalone company. As a standalone high-cash, relatively low-growth business, it will do really really well and it’ll do better as a standalone than part of the other divisions of CBS” [20].

-Leslie Moonves

On March 30, 2016, Andre Fernandez sent a memo to the CBS Radio staff informing them what was discussed in a meeting with Leslie Moonves, regarding the future of the company. In the memo, Fernandez tells the staff that the primary course of action by CBS Corporation is to split CBS Radio off via an IPO [21]. By making CBS Radio an IPO, the goal would be to become their own publicly traded company, which would allow the radio division to define their own operating strategy. The memo also stated that there are other options that are being explored for how the company should handle the situation: there is the possibility that CBS Radio will become part of another company [22].

Due to the fact that CBS Radio has acquired many assets throughout the decades, the company should have major tax consequences depending on how the sale of the division is structured [23].

Some Restructuring Within the Company

Karen Mateo, SVP/Communications, who has played an integral part at CBS Radio’s management division for 13 years, announced that she will be leaving the company.

Todd Cavanah was recently named the new vice president of programming for CBS Radio Chicago. Cavanah will be in charge of program oversight for the six Chicago radio outlets and will be in charge of identifying opportunities to improve ratings, which are directly connected to each station’s ability to generate ad revenue [24].

Chad Fitzsimmons was promoted to VP of Music Initiatives at CBS Radio. His new position will put him in charge of creation and execution of CBS Radio’s concert series, which includes We Can Survive and The Night Before [25].

“The exponential growth and critical acclaim that our national events have experienced over the last few years is a direct result of Chad’s vision and passion for the unique and powerful marriage of radio and the music industry” [26].

-Chris Oliviero

2016 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards

Edward R. Murrow Awards logo [36]

At the 2016 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, The Radio Television Digital News Association announced the winners, where 11 respected CBS Radio stations received a total of 25 awards. Stations in San Francisco and Philadelphia were honored with the Overall Excellence award for Large Market Radio stations [27].

“It brings me great pride to see our stations recognized for their continued excellence in journalism. Telling the stories that mean something to the local communities we serve has been the hallmark of CBS Radio for decades, and that long standing commitment to our audience is the foundation upon everything we do as broadcasters” [28].

-Leslie Moonves

Future

Considering the recent announcement that CBS Radio is thinking about becoming an IPO, the future of the company can be going in a few different directions. Throughout the coming weeks and months, people will be keeping a close eye on what Leslie Moonves and Andre Fernandez decide to do with the company, and how much of their decision they decide to share with the public and with their investors. The fact that CBS Radio is making new management changes gives hope to many that the structure of the company should not change much if they decide to become an IPO, but watching what happens in the future with CBS Radio and CBS Corporation will be interesting.

Sources

CBS Radio: Houston @ Dave Farra. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Radio Contant Information. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Radio Executives. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Fitch Expects CBS Radio To Remain Sound. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Corporation, Investor Relations, SEC Filings. Page 10. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Erickson, Harold. January 26, 2016. CBS Corporation. Britannica. April 24, 2016.
Columbia Broadcasting System. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Columbia Broadcasting System. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Corporation, Investor Relations, SEC Filings. Page 11. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Interactive Stock Chart. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
CBS Historical Stock Quotes. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Corporation, Investor Relations, SEC Filings. Page 11. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Kelps, Kevin. April 10, 2016. Radio Dials Up Doubt For Stations. Crain’s Cleveland Business. April 24, 2016.
CBS Corporation, Investor Relations, SEC Filings. Page 20. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Corporation, Investor Relations, SEC Filings. Page 20. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
CBS Sports Radio, About Us. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Finn, Chad. April 13, 2016. Sports Hub Dominates Latest Boston Radio Ratings. Boston Globe. April 24, 2016.
Finn, Chad. April 13, 2016. Sports Hub Dominates Latest Boston Radio Ratings. Boston Globe. April 24, 2016.
Wagoner, Richard. March 25, 2016. Is CBS Getting Rid of its Entire Radio Division? Daily News. April 24, 2016.
Moonves: CBS Radio Will Do Better On Its Own. Retrieved April 24, 2106.
Andre Fernandez Addresses the Future of CBS Radio in an Email to Staffers. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Andre Fernandez Addresses the Future of CBS Radio in an Email to Staffers. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Morgan, Richard. March 31, 2016. CBS Plans to Spin Off Radio Business With an IPO. NY Post. April 24, 2016.
Lazare, Lewis. April 21, 2016. CBS Radio Adds New Management Layer to Chicago Programming Ranks. Chicago Business Journal. April 24, 2016.
CBS Radio Promotes Fitzsimmons. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Chad Fitzsimmons Elevated to VP/Music Initiatives at CBS Radio. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
Ross, Kevin. April 19, 2016. CBS Radio Stations Honored with 25 2016 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Radio Facts. April 24, 2016.
CBS Radio, Press Room. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
iHeartMedia Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
Emmis Communications Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
Entercom Communications Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
Cumulus Media Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
98.5 The Sports Hub Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
CBS Sports Radio Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
Leslie Moonves Executive Picture. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
Edward R. Murrow Awards Logo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.

Sirius XM Radio

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ryan Luckman

by RYAN LUCKMAN

Headquarters

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York City, New York, U.S.

Key Executives

James E. Meyer- CEO

Scott Greenstein- President & CCO

History

SiriusXM was originally two separate companies, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. Sirius Satellite Radio was founded in 1990 by Martine Rothblatt, David Margolese, and Robert Briskman. XM Satellite Radio was founded in 1988 by Gary Parsons and Hugh Panero. Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio merged in 2008, to become SiriusXM Radio. They were the United States’ only two satellite radio services. The merger was being questioned for years because many people thought that it would make it a monopoly. To this date, that has been proven wrong, because it is not a monopoly and terrestrial radio is still doing fine.

About

SiriusXM is a subscription-based radio service, which currently has 27.3 million subscribers (1). SiriusXM is commercial-free, and creates and broadcasts over 175 channels. These channels range from live sports, entertainment, talk and news shows, to any genre of music imaginable (2). The company also has SiriusXM Traffic and NavWeather, along with other options to provide details on traffic and weather. SiriusXM can be listened to in a car, plane, or even on a boat, as well as on a smartphone and tablet. Click here to find out the vehicle availability of SiriusXM. SiriusXM likes to say of their service that “It’s wherever you are,” and, “It’s wherever you go.” SiriusXM’s main competitors are Clear Channel Communications, Cumulus Media, and WestwoodOne (3). These companies are competitors because of their involvement in radio, except they are terrestrial radio companies, not satellite.

Financials

SiriusXM is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq. Its past 52-week range is 2.98-4.04 (4). SiriusXM repurchased 739 million shares in 2014, which returned $2.5 billion to the stockholders. The company also returned to the number one shorted Nasdaq stock (5). SiriusXM announced that they will be releasing the First Quarter results of 2015 on April 28th. As for 2014, their yearly revenue rose 10% to $4.18 billion. Their net income rose to $493 million, which was an increase of 31% from its net income of $377 million in 2013. Its fourth quarter net income was $143 million, compared to $65 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. These increases are staggering, but might come from the large amount of total new subscribers that SiriusXM received, 1,751,777, which completely exceeded their expectations of 1,250,000 (6).

Live Broadcasting

Recently, SiriusXM seems to have been attempting to make a huge splash with live broadcasting. The company has been and will continue to broadcast live sports and music festivals. In March, they announced that they would be offering live coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Championship (7). In April they announcedthat SiriusXM would be covering the 2015 NBA playoffs. With this coverage, they will include daily programming of the SiriusXM NBA Radio (8). Also in April, SiriusXM Canada announced that they will have live coverage of every single NHL Playoff game. To broadcast the NHL playoffs, they will be using SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, SiriusXM’s main station for hockey (9). In March, SiriusXM announced that they would be broadcasting live coverage from the 2015 PGA Masters. With this, they had a total of 24 hours of live coverage spread throughout the four day tournament, plus 80 hours of never before heard audio from the Augusta National archives (10).

In March, SiriusXM had a live coverage of DJ sets from Ultra Music Festival (11). This was major because they even made a temporary station solely for this purpose, titled UMF Radio. On this station, they had the live DJ sets as well as interviews. Also, for the first time ever, Coachella, the two weekend music and arts festival in Indio, California, was broadcasted live and exclusively on SiriusXM Radio. It was broadcasted over a variety of stations, some of which are BPM and Electric Area (12).

Recent News

SiriusXM just concluded their 2015 MLB Spring Training Tour. The hosts were Mike Ferrin, Casey Stern, former General Managers Jim Bowden, Jim Duquette, and Steve Phillips, as well as World Series Champion Todd Holandsworth (13). SiriusXM does this tour yearly to provide the most in-depth coverage of the MLB Spring Training available on any radio format. Also, SiriusXM is the only radio broadcaster that covers every game live, play-by-play for every single team in the league throughout the season.

SiriusXM announced in April 2015 that its subsidiary, Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services, made a deal with Nissan. The services that they will offer are for convenience, safety and security (14). Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services are in nine different car manufacturers, including Nissan. On the Nissan models, there will be three different packages, the NissanConnect Services, the NissanConnect Services Premium, and the NissanConnect Services Premium Plus (14). Also in the vehicle industry, Jaguar and Land Rover announced that they will use Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services in a way where it can connect to the vehicle’s already made infotainment systems to provide call center support for safety and security reasons (15). SiriusXM and Jaguar and Land Rover have all been working together for over ten years now, so it is a good sign that they are beginning to use SiriusXM for more reasons other than just entertainment. SiriusXM is clearly trying to expand their horizons in the vehicle industry, so that they are not just a radio service.

In March, it was announced that comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy will launch their own channel exclusively with SiriusXM. The two comedians will produce the channel and have live comedy shows that can only be heard on their channel with SiriusXM, and nowhere else (16). Another new channel that was announced in March will be executive produced by Andy Cohen, the talk show host of “Watch What Happens Live.” All that is known is that he will personally select what is spoken about on the show when the time comes (17).

Overall

SiriusXM had a great year in 2014, which can be proven by the incredible amount of new subscribers and also by the revenue and net income comparisons to 2013. Hopefully these ecstatic numbers continue and SiriusXM continues to be a dominant force in the radio industry in the years to come.

Sources

1- Corporate Overview, SiriusXM Radio Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

2- SiriusXM, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

3- Competitors, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

4- SiriusXM Stock, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

5- Shorted Nasdaq Stock, 24/7 Wall Street, Retrieved 17 April 2015

6- Investor Relations, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

7- Men’s Basketball, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

8- NBA Playoffs, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

9- NHL Playoffs, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

10- PGA Masters, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

11- UMF Radio, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

12- Coachella, SiriusXM Electric Area Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

13- MLB Spring Training, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

14- Nissan, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

15- Jaguar and Land Rover, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

16- Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

17- Andy Cohen, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

CBS Radio

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Wyatt Dillon

by WYATT DILLON

CBS Radio Logo – Courtesy of Billboard.com [a]

Contact Information: [1]

1271 Avenue of the Americas FL 44

New York, NY 10020

(212) 649 – 9600

www.cbsradio.com

Key Executives:

Dan Mason – President and CEO

Anton Guitano – Chief Operating Officer

Scott Herman – Executive VP, Operations

Michael Weiss – President, Sales

Additional Executive Biographies

Top Competitors:

CBS Radio’s largest competitors are iHeart Media, Inc. and Radio One in addition to digital players such as Pandora.

Brief History:

A division of Columbia Broadcasting System Corporation, CBS Radio was founded in late 1927 by Arthur Judson. In 1999, Viacom acquired CBS Corporation for $37 billion from Westinghouse Broadcasting [2]. Starting in 1996, CBS Corporation’s Radio division was called Infinity Broacasting until it reverted back the historical CBS Radio in 2005.

In 2006, CBS Corp. and Viacom split into two publicly traded companies and are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Current Events:

Going Digital-

In early January of 2015, CBS Radio invested in the digital radio platform and developed the new podcasting network, Play.it [3]. Available online and via mobile apps, Play.it combines hundreds of original podcasts with content from leading media brands ranging from sports to 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. With content available to stream or download, CBS Radio hopes to compete in the growing digital radio market.

By further extending the CBS Radio brand to the digital market, CBS Corp. plans to see a growth in annual radio profits. CBS Corporation CEO and President Leslie Moonves explained in a recent interview:

“Radio also continues to be profitable, … and we continue to build new audiences in radio, by extending our big-market content into the digital world.” [4]

– Leslie Moonves

Financials:

CBS Corporation Stock Index as of 12:50pm on April 17, 2015 [5] courtesy of Yahoo Finance [b]

CBS Corporation is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and on April 17, 2015, was traded at $60.63 per share. Due to a strong fourth quarter by CBS Corp., the company’s stock value lies between the 52 week low of $48.83 and the 52 week high of $65.24 [6].

CBS Corporation reported a strong fourth quarter on December 31, 2014. Although total revenue for 2014 was down 9.67% from 2013, reporting $13.81 billion, the fourth quarter numbers saw a spike compared to the previous year’s final quarter. Due to Thursday Night Football and the Midterm Elections, the total advertising revenue for CBS Corp. rose 4.1% to $2.14 billion, and CBS Radio revenues increased by 2% in the fourth quarter of 2014 [7].

The 2015 first quarter earnings report for CBS Corporation is scheduled to be announced on May 7, 2015 [8].

Stronghold in Sports-

Thus far in 2015, sports has been at the epicenter of conserving CBS Radio’s dominance in many major markets. In early January, CBS Radio announced its new deal with the Chicago Cubs to stream all games at live performances at Wrigley Field [9]. Purchasing the rights for seven years, CBS Radio’s deal with the Chicago Cubs dismisses a 90 year relationship between the Chicago baseball team and WGN-AM 720.

Also in January, CBS Radio announced it will become the exclusive program provider of the Baltimore Orioles on 105.7 WJZ-FM. After being out-bid in 2010, CBS Radio regains the rights to broadcast Orioles games [10].

These two tremendous deals improve the amount of sports programming CBS Radio controls, adding more content to the already impressive 330 AM and FM stations, including some in each of the top 10 markets [11].

In addition, CBS Radio announced in late March a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and SportsRadio 94WIP for a multi-year broadcast partnership. This deal furthers CBS Radio’s control in major market sports play-by-play. The deal includes a new HD Radio station devoted to yearly around the clock Eagles coverage.

In addition to the Philadelphia Eagles, CBS Radio provides play-by-play broadcasting to NFL Franchises including the New York Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and many more.

New Leadership:

Arguably the largest story of 2015 for CBS Radio is the sudden retirement of CBS Radio President and Chief Executive Officer, Dan Mason [12].

After 17 years total with the company and 15 years as President and CEO, Dan Mason finds a successor in Andre Fernandez, previously President and COO of Journal Communications. Dan Mason leaves CBS with a legacy of launching dozens of new stations, refurbishing failing stations in major markets, moving CBS to the digital game with Play.it, and incorporating HD stations to the arsenal of CBS Radio.

As for his successor, Fernandez has a long history of success in the broadcasting industry, working in key financial roles at the General Electric Company and Telemundo [13]. In CBS Radio’s press release on the matter, CBS Corp. President and CEO, Leslie Moonves said:

“Andre is a terrific executive who brings a wealth of experience to this role – operations, financial management, programming and digital distribution, among many other attributes [14]”

-Leslie Moonves

Broadcast Stations:

In addition to housing top-rated play-by-play sports stations in over a dozen major markets in the United States, CBS Radio owns and operates all 10 top rated stations rated by Nielson Audio. CBS Radio claims to reach over 72 million consumer weekly, owning 117 total radio stations in 26 markets [15].

Recently, CBS Radio has been reformatting stations to obtain higher ratings. In early December 2014, CBS Radio traded 14 stations in Tampa, Philadelphia and Charlotte for 5 stations in Miami and Philadelphia [16]. One station, WRDW-FM 96.5, struggled with a consistently low share of the market, constantly being outperformed by iHeartRadio’s WIOQ 102.1. 96.5 Amp is currently ranked 19 in the Philadelphia market with a share of 2.3, and iHeartMedia, Inc.’s WIOQ hold a share of 4.7, currently ranked 8 in the market [17]. On April 10, 2015, CBS Radio announced its Philadelphia station 96.5 FM will reformat from Rhythmic CHR to a pop mainstream contemporary hit format [18].

The Altitude Group:

Leading the advertising department of CBS Radio is the Altitude Group. Directed with connecting consumers with companies, the Altitude Group’s client list includes Walgreens, Allstate, MasterCard, Mercedes, and much more.

On March 9, CBS Radio named Tony Mennuto as Vice President, Branded Content Solutions of the Altitude Group. His position is essential to promoting the CBS Radio brand through original content as well as through live-venues and performances. CBS Radio hopes Mennuto will bring fresh advertising content to be distributed throughout all stations and assets, from television to digital media [19].

Community Outreach:

On June, 16, CBS Radio’s 830 WCCO-AM in Minnesota is receiving the Service to America Award from the National Association of Broadcaster’s Education Foundation. The award honors outstanding community service by local television and radio broadcasters [20].

Due to the WCCO-AM’s Public Service Announcements, events, and fundraisers for the Minnesota community [21], the station assisted the hungry through a year-long campaign, collecting 1.73 million pounds of food [22].

CBS Radio Operations:

While revenues for CBS Corporation have slowed in growth in past years, the company continues to stand behind its radio business, CBS Radio. Despite a hedge fund lobbying the corporation to merge with Cumulus Media, CBS Corp. understands the value of CBS Radio’s assets in the digital market [23].

Because CBS Radio possesses a highly diverse presence in a large number of markets, advertisers see a value in the ability to select a station that fits their target audience. This proves to be valuable to the revenue of CBS Corporation, and with a growing audience in all 10 of the top markets, the value of CBS Radio can not be understated [24].

Although advertising spending on radio has fallen in recent years from 6% in 2013 to 4% in 2014, these numbers do not include digital radio, in which CBS is beginning innovate and create products and platforms to break into the digital industry [25].

play.it logo. Courtesy of play.it [c]

Text Sources:

[1] CBS Radio Contact Retrieved April 15, 2015

[2] CBS Merges with Viacom Retrieved April 16, 2015

[3] CBS Radio Develops Play.it Retrieved April 16, 2015

[4] CBS Radio Rises with Good 4th Quarter Retrieved April 16, 2015

[5] CBS Corporation Stock Retrieved April 16, 2015

[6] CBS Corp. Annual Income Reports Retrieved April 15, 2015

[7] 2015 CBS Corporations 4th Quarter Finances Retrieved April 15, 2015

[8] CBS Corp. to Report 2015 First Quarter Earnings on 05/07 Retrieved April 15, 2015

[9] CBS Radio announces WBBM-AM as Chicago Cubs Radio Stationc Retrieved April 16, 2015

[10] Orioles Return to CBS Radio after 5 Years Retrieved April 16, 2015

[11] CBS Sports Radio Retrieved April 16, 2015

[12] Andre Fernandez Named Mason Replacement in Press Release Retrieved April 15, 2015

[13] Andre Fernandez Replaces Mason Retrieved April 16, 2015

[14] CBS Radio Press Release, Andre Fernandez Replaces Dan Mason as President Retrieved April 16, 2015

[15] CBS Radio Profile Broadcasting Retrieved April 16, 2015

[16] CBS Radio trades with Beasley Broadcast Group Retrieved April 17, 2015

[17] Philadelphia Market Share Retrieved April 17, 2015

[18] CBS Radio Reformats New Philadelphia Station Retrieved April 17, 2015

[19] Tony Mennuto Named VP Branded Content in Press Release Retrieved April 17, 2015

[20] Service to America Awards Recipients Retrieved April 17, 2015

[21] CBS Press Release 830 WCCO-AM to Win National Community Service Award Retrieved April 17, 2015

[22] CBS Radio Local Station leads state’s largest food drive Retrieved April 17, 2015

[23] Forbes Ad Spending on Digital Changes CBS Radio’s Value Retrieve April 17, 2015

[24] Hedge Fund Pressures CBS to Merge Radio with Cumulus Retrieved April 17, 2015

[25] Marketing Charts Advertising Trends Retrieved April 17, 2015

iHeart Media

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Stephanie Zolan

by STEPH ZOLAN

iHeartMedia Logo. [1]

iHeartMedia Headquarters
200 East Basse Road
San Antonio, Texas, 78209
(210) 822-2828

Executives:

Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia

Bob Pittman, Chairman & CEO [2]

Richard Bressler, President, CFO and CEO of iHeartMedia

Richard Bressler, President, CFO, & COO [2]

Wendy Goldberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

Wendy Goldberg, Executive Vice President & Chief Communications Officer [2]

Gayle Troberman, Executive Vice President and CMO [2]

John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises [2]

History:

iHeartMedia began with the purchase of a single FM radio station by Lowry Mays and Red McComb under the name Clear Channel Communications. As the company progressed, they acquired not only more broadcast and digital radio stations, but also Clear Channel Outdoor. In addition, iHeartRadio was launched as a website in 2008, and now acts as a digital aggregator for radio brands. In 2014 the company officially rebranded as iHeartMedia in order to create a more cohesive and connected brand. iHeartMedia is now the largest mass media company in America. [3]

Radio:

iHeartMedia currently owns and operates over 850 broadcast radio stations in more than 150 United States markets. They have over 245 million listeners each month, making iHeartMedia the largest multi media company in the country. In addition, the company’s digital music service, iHeartRadio, allows users to create custom music stations. In January, the service exceeded 60 million registered users. [4]

iHeartMedia also operates Premiere Networks, which produces, distributes, or represents over 90 syndicated radio programs and services for more than 5,500 radio stations affiliates. [5] Some of the radio company’s syndicated programs are produced in house, which cater mostly to local markets. In addition to syndicated programming, iHeartMedia also produces Programming for iHeartMedia radio stations greatly varies in order to reach audiences in many different markets. The different radio formats include Alternative, Urban, Smooth Jazz, News talk, Sports talk, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Hits, Country, Oldies and Classic Hits, Rock, Spanish, and Religious. [6]

Another technique iHeartMedia uses to draw in listeners, is employing trusted radio personalities. For example, On Air With Ryan Seacrest is a syndicated program that is available on over 150 radio stations across the country, and has made Seacrest a household name. [7] His home station, KIIS-FM in Los Angeles produced the most revenue of any United States station in 2014 earning $65.9 million. iHeartMedia continues to increase the awareness of their radio personalities through events. [8]

[9] One of the most well known radio personalities in the country.

Events:

iHeartMedia is more than just the largest owner of radio stations in the United States. The company also specializes in digital media, outdoor advertising, and event production. The national events are used to promote their top notch radio personalities as well as the most popular music on the radio.

[10] 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards logo, from NBC.

Most recently, they hosted the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Musicians were not the only ones who brought home awards that night. The event itself won the Nielsen TV social ratings and the top trending show on Twitter for both the night and the entire week. During the promotional period and the show, The iHeartRadio Music Awards generated 14 billion social media impressions, which is a huge increase in comparison to last year’s 8.5 billion. [11] Local radio station personalities were engaging with viewers through social media, helping draw in the audience. This included live Twitter Periscope broadcasts of behind the scenes footage, and an iHeartAwards Snapchat Story that featured audience members, nominated artists, and radio host Ryan Seacrest. [12]

Clear Channel Outdoor Logo. [13]

Clear Channel Outdoor:

In addition to owning and operating radio stations and producing events, iHeartMedia also specializes in outdoor advertising. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings is a subsidiary of iHeart, and is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies worldwide. They have over 640,000 displays including billboards, street furniture, retail advertising, airport advertising, transit advertising, and posters. Clear Channel Outdoor operates across 40 different countries. [14]

iHeartMedia in the Industry:

As a radio focused company, the main competitors for iHeartMedia are Cumulus Media and CBS Radio in the broadcast radio marketplace. SiriusXM has also become a competitor, and iHeartMedia has purchased two satellite stations of their own in order to expand into the satellite market. Since the company has also increased their digital presence with iHeartRadio, they now compete with Pandora and Spotify as well. [15] iHeartMedia’s ability to stand out is largely attributed to their availability across so many different platforms and formats. The scale of the company allows them to reach a large and diverse audience, and their creativity and tools enable iHeartMedia to effectively target their content and advertisements. [16]

Another factor is brand awareness. In December of 2014, iHeartRadio reached 75% brand awareness, which is a huge accomplishment considering they were at 10% only 5 years ago. iHeartRadio has over 500 million app downloads and 80 million social media followers. [17]

Aside from simply reaching such a large audience, iHeartMedia is able to analyze and more effectively monetize from their radio stations. On April 8^th, 2015 the company announced a partnership with the cloud-based advertisement platform, Jelli. Together, they will work to use technology to target their advertisements programmatically. By automating ad sales, it allows advertisers to make informed advertisement purchases. The system will use psychographics to determine groups that are related to music genres, weather and traffic patterns, and consumer purchase behavior. Advertisements have been programmatically sold online for the past 10 years, and iHeartMedia is now adapting the technique to be used with radio. [18]

Finances:

The majority of iHeartMedia’s revenue is derived from selling advertising times or placements on their radio stations or websites. Between 2013 and 2014, the company’s consolidated revenue increased by $75.5 million, from $6,243,044 to $6,318,533, with $29.9 million attributed to political advertising, traffic and weather, broadcast radio and digital revenues. Unfortunately, their revenue from americas outdoor advertising decreased by $37.3 million, mostly due to lower national account revenues and the nonrenewable airport contracts. [19]

Future:

The next move for the company, is the establishment of iHeartMedia SoundBoard. This entertainment studio will be used to connect brands with iHeartMedia’s available talent and radio personalities to create original audio, video, and experiential content. The studio is primarily audio focused since iHeartMedia is mainly a radio company, but everything that is produced will be accessible across all of iHeartMedia’s platforms including broadcast and digital radio, mobile apps, and live events. The success of this program will be made possible by iHeartMedia’s extensive connections and experience in the entertainment industry as well as the company’s knowledge of both consumers and brands. This development will introduce a new method of creating and distributing content to the market, which may have a large impact on the storytelling industry. When the iHeartMedia SoundBoard studio will launch has yet to be confirmed. [20]

Sources:

[1] IHeartMedia. Digital image. Brradio. Published September 16 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[2] iHeartMedia Corporate Team. iHeartMedia. Retrieved April 17, 2015

[3] Clear Channel Becomes IHeartMedia. iHeartMedia. Published September 16, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[4] About iHeartMedia. iHeartMedia. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[5] Hampp, Andrew. Clear Channel Changes Name to iHeartMedia. Billboard. Published September 16, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[6] Station Search. iHeartMedia. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[7] All Stations And Times. Tune In. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[8] Overall U.S. Radio Industry Revenues Remain Steady at $14.9 Billion in 2014. BIAKelsey. Published April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[9] On Air With Ryan Seacrest Logo. The Drum. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[10] iHeartRadio Awards Logo. NBC. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[11] iHeartRadio Music Awards” Generates 14 billion Social Media Impressions. Digital Media Wire. Published April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[12] 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Generates More Than 14 Billion Social Impressions. Business Wire. Published April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[13] Clear Channel Outdoor Logo. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[14] Company Overview. Clear Channel Outdoor. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[15] iHeartRadio Grows Even More: How Will This Impact Sirius XM And Pandora? Seeking Alpha. Published June 27, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[16] Sisario, Ben. Clear Channel Renames Itself iHeartMedia in Nod to Digital. The New York Times. Published September 16, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[17] iHeart Media Surpasses 60 Million Registered Users Continuing to Demonstrate Accelerated Growth, Engagement and Strong Brand Awareness. Business Wire. Published January 23, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[18] Marshall, Jack. iHeartMedia Will Sell Radio Ads Programmatically. Wall Street Journal. Published April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

[19] iHeartMedia 2015 10-K. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Published February 19, 2015. Accessed April 17, 2015.

[20] iHeartMedia Announces “iHeartMedia SoundBoard,” A New Multiplatform, Audio-Centric Branded Content Studio That Invites Brands, Talent and Fans To Join in Developing Original Productions. iHeartMedia. Published February 3, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Tag Archives: Radio Business

Cumulus

Scripps Interactive

Brief History [1]

Financials

Netflix Deal Not Renewed for a New Season

AT&T Long-Term Distribution Agreement

Pluto TV Financing

Sources

Time Warner Cable

Spotify by Daniel Rakow

Sirius XM Radio – Joshua Weisleder

Pandora Radio

CBS Radio

Sirius XM Radio

CBS Radio

iHeart Media

History:

Radio:

Events:

Clear Channel Outdoor:

iHeartMedia in the Industry:

Finances:

Future:

Sources: