Armstrong & Getty have announced the show has been added to five new stations, including brands in Phoenix and Las Vegas, during the month of March.
The show is now airing at 1100 KFNX in Phoenix, AM 670 KMZQ in Las Vegas, KERN Radio in Bakersfield, KSMA 1240 in Santa Maria, and Fine Day Radio 102.3 FM in Cape May, New Jersey.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to add Armstrong & Getty to our lineup,” said AM 670 KMZQ Executive Vice President and General Manager Mraty Basch. “Adding them to morning drive, we now have the BEST talk for Las Vegas!”
“Armstrong & Getty bring it all: They are funny, knowledgeable, insightful and always play the hits,” added 1100 KFNX owner Bill Brady. “They are the prototype of the modern radio talk show. We are thrilled to have them on KFNX. They are a great addition to our line-up.”
The independently syndicated show helmed by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty is based at 650 KSTE in Sacramento.
In the latest rankings from Triton Digital, the program was the 21st most popular podcast in the Top Podcasts by Weekly Average Downloads category. It topped shows like The Mark Levin Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Jesse Kelly Show, The Chris Plante Show, The Buck Sexton Show, and The Michael Berry Show in the February rankings.
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The Country Radio Seminar’s CRS360 webinar series will host its first webinar of 2025. “Fitting In! Listeners Say What Music to Play and the Numbers to Back It Up” is available to stream.
The session delves deeper into the research presented at the recent CRS, including information that wasn’t included then. The panel includes Carolyn Gilbert, President and CEO of Nuvoodoo; Leigh Jacobs, Executive Vice President of Nuvoodoo; and Justin Chase, Chief Content Officer of Beasley Media Group.
The webinar is moderated by Clay Hunnicutt, who said, “At CRS 2025, we delivered some incredibly impactful data on the power of radio, the importance of air talent, how to retain listeners, and steps to grow the audience. But that was just the beginning. Through these CRS360s, we’ll share actual music research data for over 400 titles and how they fit in today’s unique music mix. We’ll also dive deeper into other areas we didn’t have time for at CRS.”
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The first quarter can be a challenging month for media companies attempting to entice advertisers to spend. That’s seen in the latest figures released by Magellan AI as 11 of the top 15 podcast advertisers decreased their spending during the second month of 2025.
The latest figures show that BetterHelp was the top podcast advertiser by a wide margin. During February, the company spent just shy of $5 million in podcast advertising during the month. Sports betting and daily fantasy firms DraftKings and FanDuel were second and third on the list. DraftKings spent $4.1 million in the space, while FanDuel was over $3.56 million.
The top five were rounded out by Shopify ($3.55 million) and T-Mobile ($3.2 million).
In total, only four of the top 15 podcast advertisers increased their spending during the month of February, as FanDuel (3rd), HelloFresh (6th), Oracle (11th), and Norton (14th) saw an uptick in marketing.
Of the top 15 marketers, 12 placed their biggest buys in the sports genre. Two companies — BetterHelp and Quince — saw their top genres as comedy, while Oracle spent the most in the news sector.
The top 15 podcast advertisers spent an estimated $43.6 million in the space, the projections from Magellan AI show. That figure is down considerably from previous months, as during the fourth quarter of 2024 the top three podcast advertisers alone averaged $41.3 million per month in spending.
The data from Magellan AI follows advertising metrics from the top 3,000 podcasts on Apple Podcasts in the United States. All figures in its data are estimated utilizing a variety of factors.
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Since his passing earlier this month, many things have been written and said about Bob Rivers. Rivers will be remembered as an incredible radio talent, a producer and songwriter of parody songs, and a contributor to the American Comedy Network.
The much-deserved accolades paint a picture of an incredibly talented person. But what was Bob Rivers like when the microphone was off? I asked two of his closest friends, radio host BJ Shea and his friend and long-time agent Paul Anderson, to paint that picture and discuss his lasting legacy.
Anderson said, “Bob was a relationship guy, but the thing that I will feed off of for the rest of my life is Bob’s insatiable curiosity for all things interesting. And his willingness to understand and listen to other people’s viewpoints.”
“He was a super curious guy, curious about everything, curious about technology, curious about information and politics, curious about pop culture, curious about music, curious about gadgets, curious about evolving media, just curious about everything.”
Shea said, “I think that he, to the best of his ability, and I think that’s something to be said about all human beings is being able to be empathetic. We all have different levels of caring. And I think Bob strived to care as much as humanly possible.”
“I believe that once he cared about something, he strived to make sure that everybody and everything he cared about received as much time as possible. There are a lot of people who will open their mouths and say, I care about A, B, and C, and you see it in today’s world, where people are just always giving their opinion about what’s right or what’s wrong in the world, and yet if you really cared about it, what are you doing?”
I asked Anderson to share a memory that people wouldn’t know, which would demonstrate what it was like being River’s friend.
“Well, I called him a pussy when he wouldn’t get on a small airplane, and then he decided to overcome the fear of flying and became a pilot. He was afraid to get on a small airplane, and I said, ‘You’re a pussy.’ We’re getting on the plane because we were stuck on an island somewhere and had to get off.
“So I said if I can charter a plane, will you get on the plane? And he said, yeah, I’ll get on the plane, but you won’t be able to find one. And I found one in 10 minutes. And then he was like, I don’t think I can get on this plane. And I said you’re a pussy.”
“And then he said, I may die today, but I’m not letting my gay agent call me a pussy. That’s a true story. And then he became a pilot. It forced him to face his fear of flying, and he became a pilot. And not just a visual pilot but an IFR pilot.”
Shea’s experience involved a fish out of water moment in a restaurant.
“We were in this neighborhood where everybody did not look like us. I still, to this day, feel awkward if I walk into a situation where it’s like, I don’t blend here at all. I’m an adopted person, so I feel like I’m not welcome in a lot of places, just based on my childhood dynamic and dysfunction. So, the two of us have our awkwardness when it comes to restaurants.”
“We walked into this restaurant in a place where we felt we were the only ones that looked like we did. I think he felt a little bit like I hope it’s okay that I’m here—that kind of attitude. There are stories you hear over the years, depending on where you go in different places. If you look a certain way, they don’t want you there.”
“Now, whether these stories are true or not, Bob and I, we’re just like, we don’t want to become any of these statistics. But we went in, and I just started having conversations. I had conversations from where I was, and I shared my awkwardness and vulnerability, and I said, look, we don’t know what we’re doing; I don’t even know what the menu is.
“I have no idea, and if you look at us, you know we have no credibility in this restaurant whatsoever. Would you mind helping a bunch of idiots? And somehow, some way, that vulnerability and everything, the entire restaurant crew treated us great, loved us, and even interacted. I used a lot of self-deprecating humor, and I remember Bob was at the table, and he was like, how do you do that?
When I asked about River’s gifts and lasting legacy, Shea referenced the TV series “The Bear,” in which the restaurant’s leader and chef is extremely rude and insulting.
“Bob was never like that. But the similarities between Bob and this head chef was they both demanded excellence. They were both meticulous. They both wanted to be the best. And Bob had a much nicer way of getting the best out of you, but he would not settle for second best. He would not let you be second best.”
“I think out of everything because he had such a huge heart and he helped so many people, but his striving for excellence, and he walked the walk. To me, it is an important thing if you want to have a lasting sort of legacy in anything in the world. And especially, I think, with younger generations. I’m not sure they get that sacrifice, adversity, and sometimes even a little trauma. If you use it positively, it can make you the best,” Shea added.
“And that’s the one thing that Bob always strived for. He would sit there, and he would be, look, we’re not going to have a mediocre anything. That’s not what I’m about. And that pushed me to be the best I could be at something. I think that that’s the great gift, his striving for excellence.”
Anderson said, “I think he was a teacher until the end, showing us all how you can die with gratitude. He certainly didn’t want to die at 68. He was so young. But he just had such gratitude for his life and no bitterness at all. And stayed busy.”
Shea shared and directed me to a eulogy given by Rivers’ son, Andrew.
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The disagreement between Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith reached new levels of vitriol on Wednesday following remarks made by the former on The Pat McAfee Show. James emphasized that Smith missed the point of his problem with how he went about discussing his son, Bronny, which ultimately led to a confrontation courtside at Crypto.com Arena.
Smith took to his podcast to respond and emphasized that he would have swung at James if he put hands on him, which resulted in the Lakers forward posting an old video of Smith boxing on his Instagram page. Dan Le Batard, articulating that he was unable to “resist the siren’s call,” broached the topic on the Thursday edition of his show and admitted that it was great content.
Le Batard remarked that Smith referring to James as a liar was indicative of a new escalation within this conflict and something he has not seen from him that often. With Smith recently earning a new five-year contract extension with ESPN reportedly worth at least a total of $100 million, he divulged how he has been rewarded for everything he is. Moreover, Le Batard explained that James and McAfee ultimately led to content synergy and integration across ESPN programming as this topic continued to gain steam.
“But the childishness in it beyond, ‘I would have swung at him and he would have kicked my a**,’ and all the nonsense that men do when they’re being silly around the soap opera, the idea that LeBron is mad and that Stephen A. thinks he’s mad and keeps coming at him with, ‘You’re not my G.O.A.T. You’re not the best, you’re the second best Shannon Sharpe thinks you’re the best,’ it’s 7-year-olds,” Le Batard said. “That’s how 7-year-olds would do all of this, and it is passing for content I cannot resist. You can’t resist it.”
Amin Elhassan, who was co-hosting the show from the Meadowlark Media studios, conveyed that he could resist it and was ashamed to see what happened. In fact, he urged NBA commissioner Adam Silver to get on the phone and tell Smith and James that this is enough, contending that it was an embarrassing moment for the sport. On top of that, he called out James for averring that Brian Windhorst thinks he is his best friend, defending his objectivity and credibility as a journalist.
“LeBron has a responsibility, just like Stephen A. has a responsibility, that when the say things – yes, they’re human; yes, their feelings get hurt; yes, they react and lash out,” Elhassan said, “but the problem is when you’re at that place, you can’t do that because your words hold more credibility than a regular person just lashing out and saying, ‘Oh man, that dude thinks he’s my friend or whatever.’”
Le Batard admitted that this occurrence is shameful, but he added that it is part of the game and does not believe Silver should step in the situation. The part that could be bad for the sport is that the discussion surrounding James is focusing on the dispute with Smith rather than him hitting a game-winning buzzer-beater on Wednesday night.
After Le Batard underscored that attention is currency in this environment, Elhassan proceeded to outline that Silver has a responsibility to make sure things do not cross a line and threaten the structure of the business. In addition, he stated that the Commissioner’s Office cannot control everybody, which resulted in Le Batard verbalizing that the entity cannot control Smith either. Elhassan vehemently disagreed with this premise, on which Le Batard expounded later in the conversation.
“I can tell you having run into these clashes at ESPN with Rob Manfred, who was trying to control what I was saying, that ESPN could not do that to me, and while Stephen A. is the only person at that company who has told me on the phone after a conflict with that company, ‘Hey Dan, you can’t go against the company,’ I would say that Stephen A.’s present power is such is that he could absolutely buck the people involved,” Le Batard elucidated, “and if Adam Silver calls him, I’d say he’s got a responsibility to tell people that Adam Silver has called him and tried to mute the conflict as a journalist.”
Le Batard discussed the ostensible intentionality of James deciding to appear with McAfee, but characterized it as trying to please a corporate partner. Elhassan, claiming that Le Batard was naïve in this situation, divulged that James likely chose that venue to essentially take a shot at Smith on the ESPN airwaves, contextualizing it as doing a “nuclear strike from inside the building, not from miles and miles away.” As the duo discussed whether or not this was good for ESPN, Le Batard asked what the people want and how it assists certain vested parties.
“The conflict is your television partners with somebody, but this is dream scenario on a Wednesday when there’s not a lot going on,” Le Batard said. “Your big guy is fighting the league’s big guy in a way that makes for good media that I guarantee you the ratings go up when McAfee is interviewing LeBron and he is saying those things, but this is the conflict in the partnership. It’s the conflict, and it’s the conflict in the world happening around the partnership as the sport feels like it deteriorates a little bit because it’s storylines and highlights instead of games.”
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Thursday’s edition of First Take on ESPN got off to a red-hot start as Stephen A. Smith took to the airwaves in a nearly twenty-minute opening segment, primarily focused on his responses to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ appearance on The Pat McAfee Show the day before. As the day progressed, tensions between Smith and James only escalated. Overnight, the Lakers forward posted a video of Smith attempting to box while recovering from surgery. This was in response to Smith’s earlier remark that he would have “immediately swung on him” if James had touched him during their recent courtside confrontation at a Lakers game.
At the beginning of the show, Smith expressed his belief that James continues to engage with him through the media because of his obsession with not being universally recognized as the greatest basketball player of all time. As a result, Smith used the show’s chyron to sarcastically highlight James in an overly positive light—not just as a basketball player but also as a father, philanthropist, and human being.
“You’re LeBron James,” said Smith. “Are you that butt hurt over the things that I’m saying that you would post the video? When has LeBron James ever done something like that? But suddenly you’re doing that as it pertains to me. This man is in his feelings, I wonder why?”
Following this, Smith delved into why he believes Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan holds the title of the greatest player of all time, while still acknowledging James’ immense impact on the game. He then reiterated how frequently he has praised James as one of the best players in history.
“I mean, my God, I’ve done everything but put diapers and a bib on this brother,” Smith explained. “But it ain’t enough because one thing matters to him, and one thing only. That’s him being recognized as the greatest of all times. Well, you’re not. In my book, that belongs to Michael Jordan.”
Smith then pointed to several controversial topics involving James that he had previously chosen not to discuss. This included James’ absence from Kobe Bryant’s memorial service following his tragic passing, as well as his decision not to attend former teammate Dwyane Wade’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith clarified that he had avoided addressing these situations in the past because they involved James’ personal life. However, when it comes to on-the-court matters, he made it clear that he will not hold back.
“The brother ain’t scaring me. Ain’t nobody shivering this way,” stated Smith. “I don’t care what he feels or what he has to say. I stand by the things that I said. I have never, ever gone after somebody’s family, and I would never do that. He is creating this narrative because he can’t accept the fact that I won’t kiss the ring and acknowledge him as the greatest ever. Why? Because he is not.”
To further drive his point home, Smith referenced his newly signed multi-year contract with ESPN, emphasizing that James will have to continue dealing with his criticism both during his playing career and long after it ends.
“He knows, like everybody else, it’s going to be a little while before I go away,” explained Smith. “I’m going to be here when he’s gone. You got to deal with that, bro, plain and simple.”
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YouTube is changing the definition of how it calculates views on its YouTube Shorts platform, the short-form video rival to TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Previously, YouTube counted a view as at least 30 seconds of watch time from an individual user. Now, the company is enacting a policy similar to its rivals TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Beginning on Monday, March 31st, Shorts views will count how often a video starts or is replayed, similar to other short-form video apps.
The previous metrics of 30 seconds of watch time will be labeled as “engaged views” within the YouTube Analytics system. Creators of YouTube Shorts will be compensated by the YouTube Partner Program by these video views and not the overall view count.
According to the company, the changes are being made so creators better understand how frequently their videos are being seen on the platform.
The Google-owned platform believes the transparency will give a better understanding of true reach and will allow creators to give more intricate figures to potential advertisers and brand partners.
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Alyssa Siebken has been promoted to Assistant Program Director at Urban Power 106.9 in Omaha. Known on air as HBIC, Head Biscuit In Charge, she has been with the station for six years.
Siebken is an American Idol veteran who competed in season 13. She has previously hosted middays on sister station Hot AC Sweet 98.
Siebken said of her promotion, “I am beyond excited to step into the role of APD at Power 106.9! This station has been my home for years, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to continue growing with our amazing team. Power 106.9 has always been about connecting with our listeners, celebrating the culture, and bringing the best vibes to Omaha. I can’t wait to keep that energy going, take things to the next level, and prove that biscuits really can rise!”
NRG Media Operations Manager Steve King said, “I’m excited to have the Head Biscuit in Charge finally in charge. Alyssa’s passion for the business, knowledge of the format, strategic mind, and complete dedication to the station and to the team made it an easy decision to promote her to lead the charge for Power 106.9. Simply put, there is no one better for the job… and now I can call her the HBICAPD.”
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Educational Media Foundation (EMF) is about to acquire nonprofit 88.1 KDHX in St. Louis. K-Love, Inc., based in Tennessee, is a national Christian radio network.
EMF operates K-LOVE and Air1 networks that feature Christian music.
As reported by the St. Louis Business Journal, Double Helix Corp, the station licensee, said, “This decision secures the organization’s ability to continue its mission and creates a solid foundation for a successful transition, thus responding to current changes in the media landscape.”
The President of the KDHX board, Gary Pierson, said, “We’ve tried to do the right thing and put the organization in a position where it could have a future,”
The station filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month.
The price is reported at $4.35 million, but it could rise to $4.8 million if the sale is completed quickly.
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Dennis Prager is set to return to the Salem Radio Network lineup in June after a November fall left him paralyzed from the neck down. Colleague Larry Elder is urging President Donald Trump to give the longtime radio host the Presidential Medal of Freedom when he returns.
Larry Elder shared that his long run in the talk radio world can directly be attributed to Dennis Prager, and believes the Salem Radio Network host is deserving of the award.
“Thanks to Dennis, I’m now past the 30-year mark in my nationally syndicated radio career, a journey that has led to so many other wonderful opportunities,” said Elder. “Dennis and I are great friends and have enjoyed many deep conversations about religion, politics, and life. The man is an international treasure and deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
In November, Dennis Prager fell at his Los Angeles area home, injuring the C3 and C4 vertebrae in his neck. After intense rehabilitation, he has regained several functions and is slated to return to the Salem Radio Network lineup in June in a reduced capacity. Host Carl Jackson has helmed the radio show in Prager’s stead, with Salem passing Prager’s previous affiliates to The Charlie Kirk Show beginning on Monday, March 31st.
Should Trump heed Elder’s request, it wouldn’t be the first time he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a radio host. Donald Trump famously bestowed radio legend Rush Limbaugh with the honor during the 2020 State of the Union address. Limbaugh was given the award just over one year before dying from lung cancer.
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