Since April of last year, Newsmax has seen ample ratings gains with its cable TV network. As the network continues to build its TV product, Newsmax Radio continues to take shape under the guidance of CEO Lee Kinberg.
The organization features a nationally syndicated show — The Rob Carson Show — and podcasts hosted by former Boston sports talk host Gerry Callahan, a daily podcast hosted by Tony Marino, and a simulcast of the primetime TV show hosted by Greg Kelly.
After launching Carson’s show in 2021, many pondered if Newsmax had a 24/7 radio future in its sights.
That full-fledged radio network hasn’t come to fruition, but Kinberg believes in the “crawl, walk, run” theory to building the outlet.
“The first thing we did was really start to build a relationship,” Kinberg said, noting that players like WCBM 680 Program Director Sean Casey in Baltimore were a major help in getting The Rob Carson Show off the ground. “Rob does the show from his home and we send it from his home to Baltimore over the Comrex, and then they upload to Westwood (One) for us. They also do our traffic. They’ve done a lot.
“They worked with us hand in hand on the show and getting that relationship defined and built was the first thing that we did.”
Kinberg was quick to point out that Steve Lapa — the longtime radio executive who died last month and consulted Newsmax Radio — was instrumental in creating connections for the brand.
“We really were just kind of putting together a small but mighty band so that we can feed the beast every day and crank out the radio show and the podcasts.”
Like many news/talk outlets that aren’t coupled with behemoths like Premiere Networks or Westwood One, Newsmax Radio has to work extremely hard on the distribution front to ensure clearance of its offerings.
“Distribution is always a big challenge. I mean, for us, Newsmax is a good-sized and growing company. But when you look at us versus some of the other players in radio syndication and the programming that they have, the people that they have, sometimes it’s hard to get a foot in the door,” Kinberg said. “I would love to be in some other markets, but some of the stations that we’d like to be on are filled with products from Premiere or Westwood, either through an owned and operated relationship or through a syndication relationship where there’s a lot of leverage. They have other good shows, too.
“So we’re competing as hard as we can compete, and we were battling to try to get our foot in the door at the stations where we don’t necessarily have as long a relationship or as much leverage as some of the other programs that we’re competing with.”
While distribution can be challenging, Newsmax Radio has been able to highlight the connection Rob Carson has with his audience to potential advertisers, which is a powerful tool to unveil.
“When we’re selling (news/talk radio) to advertisers, we talk about the relationship between the host and the audience,” Kinberg stated. “Whether it’s inviting them into your car on your commute home, or inviting them into your home on a radio or smart speaker device. There’s just such a familiarity between the radio host and a regular listener.”
The Newsmax brand, which saw ratings growth of 128% in 2023, is another powerful tool in the arsenal for the radio division.
“ESPN used to say ‘We don’t have viewers, we have fans.’ Newsmax is a little bit like that. The thing that I’m always thinking about is — if we do a really good job of converting the fans — it’s going to work out great for us. Because once we got them, we do a really good job of keeping them,” Kinberg said, noting that recent ratings from the first presidential debate showcase that statement.
“We had one of our best nights in two years because I think people made the conscious decision to say ‘I’m going to the CNN debate on Newsmax.’ Maybe they felt like they were showing allegiance, maybe they wanted to see the analysis before and after, whatever it may be. People had the choice to go almost anywhere for it, and they delivered us a much bigger audience than we would get on a normal night. I think that was really interesting to see play out.”
Ultimately, Lee Kinberg wants to see Newsmax Radio grow in lockstep with the network’s television product, with an eye on potential options for its future.
“When the company grows, it’s going to open up more opportunities for us,” he shared. “Whether it’s deciding that there is a good deal out there for us and we want to own stations, whether it’s doing some sort of creative programming deal. I respect what I saw Bloomberg do with several stations, the way they’re controlling programming blocks, we’re open to those kinds of discussions. I’d love to do more of that.
“And I’d love to build podcasting because it’s a good way for us to kind of get around the distribution thing. Because everybody is on the internet. Everyone can get to most of those distribution places. We’ve got a pretty strong promotional tool in the rest of Newsmax in order to try to drive people to those podcasts.”
Growth for Newsmax Radio continues in earnest. In recent weeks, the network announced The Rob Carson Show was added to stations in Memphis and also the greater Los Angeles area. The show is now heard on nearly 30 affiliates nationwide.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
