SiriusXM announced positive first quarter results on Tuesday, with the number of subscribers growing to an all time high of 22.3 million. The company also said that its retaining 45% of subscribers who got a trial subscription with the purchase of a new satellite radio equipped car. Its stock (SIRI) price jumped a bit–from $2.26 […]
Editors’ note: Since the publication of this article the smooth jazz format has returned to the Chicago airwaves. Read this December 31, 2014 update for more details. In a move whose logic I honestly don’t understand, Randy Michael’s Merlin Media has entered into a local marketing agreement with Venture Technologies Group, which owns the low-power […]
So, last night I wondered if the deletion of the non-commercial station fundraising item from the FCC’s open meeting agenda meant that they were going to release a proposal ahead of time. Today, the Commission answered that question by releasing a proposal to give non-commercial and educational (NCE) stations a limited ability to raise money […]
Remember that HD Radio enabled smartphone set to debut at the National Association of Broadcasters show last week? There was hoopla–mostly in the industry–leading up to the show. And, then, radio silence. I looked for news reports all last week and didn’t find a thing. Only a NAB email newsletter sent this week brought any […]
Wednesday the FCC announced that it’s dropping from Friday’s open meeting an item addressing non-commercial radio stations’ ability to fundraise on-air for other non-profit organizations. The item appears to deal with stations raising money for efforts like disaster relief. But, as I wrote earlier this month, this rulemaking might also address non-commercial stations being operated […]
The National Association of Broadcasters annual show and convention just started in Las Vegas, bringing together nearly every sector of the broadcast industry to show off new products, discuss trends and hob nob. Unfortunately, the Radio Survivor travel budget doesn’t yet cover more than cab fare across town, so we don’t have a correspondent on […]
Middle-tier radio owner Emmis Communications has announced that it will demonstrate an HD Radio equipped smartphone at a press event this coming Monday at the 2012 NAB Show. The prototype phone was developed in conjunction with Intel and iBiquity, which owns the HD Radio system, but few other details are available, including what operating system […]
A local marketing agreement (LMA) is when a station owner permits another broadcaster to rent the station, taking over the programming and advertising for a fee. However, the station owner retains all rights and liabilities for the station, including the license. LMAs have often been used to let a large owner, like Clear Channel, operate […]
I’ve long admired New Jersey non-commercial freeform station WFMU. It started life as the college station for Upsala College. When the college went bankrupt in 1995 the volunteers formed a nonprofit corporation to buy the license, rather than see it liquidated. Since then WFMU has been a strong voice for true freeform radio and an […]
Back in January I reported on Ft. Myers, Florida resident Albert Knighten, a retired Navy air traffic controller who was arrested in December 2011 on charges of unlicensed broadcasting for running a neighborhood community radio station. Knighten got in additional hot water when he missed his arraignment hearing in order to appear on a panel […]
