Curtis Media Group is growing its North Carolina footprint. The company has agreed to purchase five radio stations and two translators from Capitol Broadcasting Company in the Wilmington market. The reported sale price is $1.75 million.
The acquisition adds significant format diversity to Curtis Media’s portfolio. Modern Rock 98.7 serves the Jacksonville area. Z107.5 delivers Top 40 to Southport listeners. Meanwhile, Jammin 99.9 brings Rhythmic Oldies to Boiling Spring Lakes. Sunny 103.7 covers the Wrightsville Beach market with Adult Contemporary programming. Additionally, 95.9 The Breeze serves Wilmington with Soft AC content.
The deal also includes an ESPN sports radio affiliate. ESPN 630 AM and its 101.7 FM translator serve the Wilmington market, rounding out a well-balanced group of stations across multiple formats and communities.
Kalil & Co., Inc. is serving as the exclusive broker for the transaction.
The purchase keeps Curtis Media firmly rooted in its home state. Furthermore, it positions the company as a dominant multi-format operator across one of North Carolina’s key coastal markets. Wilmington represents a growing media market with a diverse listener base spanning urban, suburban, and coastal communities.
Capitol Broadcasting Company built a strong cluster of stations in the region. However, the sale signals a strategic shift in the company’s portfolio priorities. Curtis Media Group steps in as a buyer with deep North Carolina experience and a track record of managing multi-format clusters effectively.
The deal remains pending regulatory approval.
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UEFA just scored big off the pitch. According to reporting by Bloomberg, the governing body of European football locked in a 40% increase on broadcasting rights for its men’s tournaments — including the Champions League — across 19 territories for the 2027–2031 cycle.
The deal spans Europe and the Americas, excluding the United States.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed publicly. But sources tell Bloomberg this deal and others in the pipeline will push UEFA’s annual broadcast and commercial rights revenue past 5 billion.
Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Skydance Corp. both entered the bidding, which in turn drove pricing up. Both wanted more sports content. Their presence created competition — and competition creates value.
European football’s U.S. audience keeps growing. The Champions League sits at the center of that surge. Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich draw eyeballs globally.
The tournament also expanded its format in 2024/25, adding a qualifying stage and more games.
Canal+ and DAZN landed preferred bidder status. The packages also cover the UEFA Europa League and Conference League. Relevent Football Partners managed the rights deal, designing packages to attract both traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms.
This builds on UEFA’s momentum from 2024, when rights in top markets — UK, Italy, France, Germany, and Spain — climbed roughly 20%.
The U.S. packages renew in 2030 with the FIFA World Cup headed to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, surely to draw more interest.
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Chad Hasty, the longtime host at 790 KFYO in Lubbock, has died unexpectedly at the age of 43.
Hasty had been with the station since 2006. From 2008 to 2021, he helmed mornings at the Townsquare Media news/talk outlet.
He later moved the show to the 5-7 PM window. It was then syndicated to news/talk stations in Abilene, Amarillo, Temple, and Wichita Falls.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by the sudden passing of our beloved KFYO family member, Chad Hasty. Chad was not only a brilliant on-air host, but an even better friend. Our deepest condolences go out to Jennifer and his baby girl, Ava. It’s hard to imagine not seeing his welcoming presence roaming the halls of Townsquare Media Lubbock.”
On Thursday, 790 KFYO aired a special tribute broadcast to the longtime host.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) shared his condolences to both 790 KFYO and to Chad Hasty’s family following the news.
“Chad Hasty was one of the finest broadcasters Texas has ever produced,” Abbott shared on social media. “My and Cecilia’s prayers are with his family as they mourn his sudden passing. Every day, Chad showed up to the microphone with conviction, informing Texans on the critical policy and political fights happening in the Legislature and our state. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and the countless listeners who welcomed him in their cars, homes, and offices. Chad will be deeply missed. May he Rest in Peace.
Chad Hasty was one of the finest broadcasters Texas has ever produced. My and Cecilia’s prayers are with his family as they mourn his sudden passing.
Every day, Chad showed up to the microphone with conviction, informing Texans on the critical policy and political fights… pic.twitter.com/44oUhv79Yv
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60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi was the reporter at the center of the CECOT controversy late last year. She is now sharing her side of the story.
Alfonsi received the Ridenhour Prize for Courage from the National Press Club on Thursday evening. During her speech, she spoke about the situation where CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss reportedly cancelled the story’s debut.
“Some executives are asking not, ‘Is the story true?’ but, ‘Is it good for business?’” she said, while not naming any names.
She also said that she wouldn’t linger on the situation, but that it was important to discuss the topic.
“It wasn’t an isolated editorial argument,” said Alfonsi. “In my view, it was the result of a more aggressive contagion: the spread of corporate meddling and editorial fear. It’s hard to watch.”
Alfonis alluded to her future in the speech. She reportedly is not signed for the 59th season of the program coming up later this year.
“My hope recently has been that I still have a job. And every morning I wake up to another headline that says I’ve been fired,” she admitted. “If I am fired, it will not be the first time.”
Sharyn Alfonsi was joined in receiving the award by former 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens. He left the position in April 2025, citing differences with Paramount executives over editorial control of the show. Alfonsi heaped praise on her former colleague and further alluded to her potential exit from 60 Minutes.
“I always said I’d follow Bill over a cliff,” she said. “And apparently I did.”
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Five more state attorneys general have joined the already established eight states in aiming to block the merger between Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA.
On Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that those holding the same office in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont have joined the federal antitrust lawsuit as plaintiffs.
“This is not controversial stuff — this merger is illegal and will give Nexstar and TEGNA the ability to control and raise prices, fire journalists, and dominate the media landscape,” Bonta said in a statement.
The previous state attorneys general included in the lawsuit were from Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia, in addition to California. The attorneys general of Indiana and Kansas are both Republicans, while all the others are Democrats.
In a statement, Nexstar Media Group blasted those new members of the lawsuit, calling them “misguided” in the process.
“By aligning with private equity-backed DIRECTV, these misguided attorneys general are strangling local journalism – the most trusted source of independent, fact-based news available to Americans,” the Nexstar statement reads. “The AGs, none of whom has a track record of advocating for local media, would do well to understand the industry they purport to protect. They should also recognize the binding commitments Nexstar has made to increase the amount of local news coverage in many markets, including today’s settlement with the Ohio Attorney General. And they should be far more wary of the real drivers of the decline of local news: the unchecked rise of Big Tech platforms, the spread of misinformation on social media, and the economic pressures that have already led to widespread newsroom closures.
“Tellingly, none of them appeared on local broadcast news to discuss this issue, but their social media posts were immediate,” the statement continued. “In today’s media landscape, multi-billion-dollar technology companies compete directly with local broadcasters while facing none of the same ownership, reach, or size constraints, putting untenable pressure on the economic model that supports local news. The alternative to this deal is not more independently owned outlets – it’s the demise of your local broadcast station.”
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A federal lawsuit is taking aim at the $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. A group of consumers filed the complaint Thursday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The plaintiffs say the deal will hurt competition, drive up prices, and damage journalism.
Their filing argues the combined company would have increased ability to raise consumer prices, reduce theatrical output, and diminish the quality and diversity of news programming.
The suit invokes the Clayton Act, which bars anti-competitive mergers and allows private individuals to sue. Plaintiffs are asking the court to block the deal entirely. They also want Paramount Skydance stripped of any interest in Paramount Global.
The complaint targets three markets: premium video distribution, national TV news, and theatrical releases. On the film side, plaintiffs warn the merger would leave moviegoers with fewer titles, less genre variety, and fewer meaningful choices at local theaters.
“If Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is consummated, the combined firm would have increased ability and incentive to reduce theatrical film output and narrow release slates,” the filing states.
Paramount’s portfolio includes CBS News, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and Showtime. Warner Bros. brings HBO, HBO Max, Discovery Channel, HGTV, and Food Network.
Paramount announced the merger agreement in February. The company has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.
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Sex sells, even in sports media. The fallout from photos of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former NFL insider for The Athletic Dianna Russini continues to play out across national media. While there haven’t been any new details about the relationship Russini and Vrabel shared, both professionally and personally, in some time, the story still commands collective attention nearly a month after the initial photos were released.
However, an interesting side story has developed over the course of the coverage. This involves how Boston-based media outlets have handled the ongoing controversy. From radio hosts to podcasters to digital outlets, there’s been an overarching critique of the media’s approach in the Patriots’ home market. The latest dig at the “soft” nature of the coverage ironically came from one of Boston’s largest media personalities, 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Mike Felger.
However, in his critique of the local media, Felger landed direct shots but also failed to recognize a key element of his argument.
Keeping in mind that all opinion is debatable, Felger’s history in the market adds weight to his words. His background in newspapers provides the journalistic backbone for the points he made in his critique of Boston media.
In speaking with Awful Announcing’s Brandon Contes, Felger laid into the “outlets” that didn’t act decisively enough to meet the moment and advance the story.
“I don’t blame the Patriots reporters, because that is a tough spot if you’re a beat guy that covers that team,” said Felger to Awful Announcing. “The outlets don’t even have the guy or the girl or the columnist or the reporter anymore to go cover it. And that’s what disappoints me the most. Do you want to sell the newspaper? Do you want people to watch the news?”
Where Felger Was Right
Felger, a former beat reporter and columnist, didn’t target those doing the work. Instead, he aimed at those who could have asked the necessary questions without risking access or favor with the organization.
“It’s kind of sad, and I don’t know if it speaks to Boston as a market that we’re a little soft, maybe,” said Felger. “It speaks more to the de-staffing of local traditional media outlets…it’s also just not the mindset…I don’t know if these places have the same mentality.”
That’s a fair point. Traditional print publications have borne the brunt of staff reductions and resource cuts for years. Reporters now face greater risk when asking tough questions, as access has become more limited and increasingly replaced by franchise-produced, carefully controlled narratives.
However, last time I checked, doesn’t Felger himself work for one of these Boston media “outlets”?
Felger & Mazz is one of the country’s most successful and widely listened-to sports radio programs. The foundation of the show is rooted in the deep journalistic experience both Felger and Tony Massarotti built during their years in traditional print media.
To their credit, Felger & Mazz have discussed the ongoing controversy involving Vrabel on several occasions. In fact, they even challenged longtime Boston writer Greg Bedard on air about whether the Vrabel/Russini story is something audiences care about.
Here’s where Felger’s criticism falls short.
Where Felger Missed
While he focused heavily on “outlets,” he didn’t consider his own. His critique targeted beat reporters, who, according to Patriots reporter Ben Volin, ignored team directives and did ask Vrabel questions during his limited availability regarding the controversy.
Meanwhile, Scott Zolak, who also hosts on 98.5 The Sports Hub, openly admitted he didn’t feel comfortable discussing the situation involving the Patriots’ head coach.
Earlier today, Zo talked about why he hasn’t commented on the Mike Vrabel & Dianna Russini situation citing that he likes his jobs with 98.5 & the Patriots. Although I feel like Zo is being pathetic with this, I can at least respect his honesty here. @MikeMutnansky@bostonradiopic.twitter.com/rM7c1TXKPa
“I like my jobs, and like working here. I like working with the Patriots, doing games on TV and being with the team. For me to sit there and cast stones at this guy would not do me great things. So there’s your answer in a nutshell,” said Zolak on April 16.
So what’s softer? Reporters asking limited questions during restricted access, or a talk show host refusing to discuss a topic the audience cares about because he values job security?
Yet Felger singles out “outlets” while pointing only to newspaper reporters and editors. Not his teammate at 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Felger isn’t wrong about what’s been lost. Newsrooms are thinner. Access is tighter. The appetite for confrontation isn’t what it once was when he ran the beat. All of that is real.
But credibility in today’s sports media ecosystem isn’t built on pointing to the past. It’s built on what you’re willing to do right now, in your own chair, with your own microphone.
Could Felger have done what he believes beat reporters failed to do? A drive to the Patriots facility wouldn’t have been too unreasonable. That’s what a responsible sports talk host does. When something is missing, you go out and do the work.
In Conclusion
Journalism remains the backbone of what makes Felger and Massarotti effective. The success of 98.5 The Sports Hub proves that.
But if the standard is to “meet the moment,” then it applies across the board. Even to your teammates, and not behind a broad label of ‘outlets.’ Not just to beat writers fighting for access. But to hosts with massive platforms, protected airtime, and the freedom to say what others can’t.
You can’t call out softness in the market while excusing it in your own building.
Because the audience can tell the difference between can’t and won’t. And they don’t reward the latter. That’s the part of this conversation that matters most.
It’s not about Boston being soft. It’s about who’s actually willing to be firm when it counts.
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Conventional radio programming wisdom supports the idea of shows having benchmark features. Pieces of content that run at the same time every morning. The idea is that listeners will know when that content will air and tune in to hear it, creating a daily appointment.
Many hosts push back against this idea, saying it’s too predictable. Especially if people listen in the same pattern every morning. The listener might only hear that one piece of content and never experience the full breadth of the show.
There are merits to both sides of that argument. However, what’s often missed in the discussion is what defines a true benchmark feature. Too often, the issue is that the content being used as a benchmark isn’t strong enough to drive listeners to make an appointment to tune in. In other words, any feature that doesn’t include enough dinosaurs.
At least that’s what Gregr of Audacy’s Alternative KNDD/Seattle might say. His signature benchmark is called Nerd Talk. A benchmark that’s lasted so long that he’s now into a second generation of nerds.
“Nerd Talk is the thing that I hear about the most,” Gregr says. “I recently had a mom say to me the only way she can get her kids into the car on time is at 7:45, you’re going to play Nerd Talk. So, we rush to get to the car to hear it.’”
Authenticity Works
That is what a true benchmark does for a radio show. It becomes a reason for listeners to tune in every day. There’s nothing easy about creating one that sticks with listeners like Nerd Talk.
Part of what drives the success of Nerd Talk is Gregr’s passion for the material. To be clear, this isn’t about superhero movies or TV shows with aliens. Nerd Talk focuses on real science, like dinosaurs and the recent NASA Artemis mission.
“I grew up with Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye. Being able to talk about science without having to be a teacher and deal with punk ass kids is awesome,” Gregr says.
When you listen, his enthusiasm for the content comes through clearly. A good lesson for hosts looking to find their signature bit.
“My excitement for what I’m talking about is legitimate. That’s what I think has worked for me on the radio forever,” Gregr says.
In addition, he’s happy to do his part to counter the giant wave of disinformation that’s exists. Gregr believes that internet has not helped people gather and understand information. Also the internet allows people to chase popularity for being wrong, because there is an audience for it.
Another element that’s helped propel the success of Nerd Talk is its sonic signature. A quick jingle that plays at the start of the feature. Gregr says that part came together with the station’s production director very quickly, and ended up being the feature’s identity for the past 15 years.
Endorsement Approach
While Nerd Talk may be Gregr’s signature benchmark, it’s far from the only thing he does exceedingly well. Another area in which he excels is making endorsements come alive. The best example is his Space Bed campaign which he started many years ago.
Originally, the campaign was an endorsement for a Tempur-Pedic bed that claimed to be made from “space age materials” used on the space shuttle. He began referring to it in the commercial as his Space Bed.
Over the course of the campaign, he got married and had a son which he affectionately dubbed Space Baby.
“Space baby was conceived in space bed which is how he got his nickname. It became a running joke. People still call him space baby and he’s eight now,“ says Gregr.
That campaign became so synonymous with Gregr that it came up during an interview with Pearl Jam.
“After the interview, Stone Gossard [Pearl Jam guitarist] asked me if I was going to try and sell him a mattress,” recalled Gregr. The request left Gregr confused until Gossard asked is Gregr was “the mattress guy.” At that point, it clicked for Gregr.
“That’s when I realized the idea that I was the mattress guy was a real thing in Seattle. It made me so happy to know that talking about a mattress and making a baby in it, I made a fan out of a guy. One, who by the way, is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Gregr believes it’s that the best endorsement campaigns are the ones where he can be himself. He’s happy to read any script for a client. However, the ones that really catch fire are when he gets to be creative.
“I love getting to be weird,” sais Gregr. “The wonderful people at Sleep Country and at Lexus have let me do that. They wanted me to be me.”
Relating To Your Audience
Another piece of Gregr’s career success can be attributed to being inclusive. He stay’s away from divisiveness—other than maybe occasionally making fun of one certain group.
“I try make things about Seattle when I can. Making sure that everyone who wants to be a part of the show can be,” Gregr says. “Sometimes, I’ll throw a zinger at the sort of faceless billionaires which everyone can relate to. People don’t like their jobs. They’d rather be playing in the Super Bowl or going to the moon. So, it’s easy for an old punk rocker to say the billionaires are holding us back. It’s their fault.”
But he never goes too far with anything that might upset listeners. Gregr says he’s not interested in making people uncomfortable with any of his content. Instead, he’d rather make dumb jokes about dinosaurs.
He believes it’s the attitude that has helped him maintain a long, consistent career.
“They are in good hands with me. For almost two decades, they’ve trusted me not to go too far and not to say the wrong thing,” Gregr says. “If I think something is a little coarse there is always a way to rephrase it. I’m not trying to be safe but there’s always a way of punching it up and rewriting it. Finding a sillier way to say it.”
That approach builds trust with the audience and with station management.
“My motives are pure because I think it’s fun to be on the radio,” explains Gregr. “I’m not trying to see how close I can get to saying a slur. Instead, I’m more focused on how I can make a fart joke about Jupiter by calling it a gas giant.”
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The most dangerous part of the Brendan Sorsby story isn’t that it happened. It’s that it makes perfect sense. A highly paid star college quarterback tied to major gambling activity involving his own team. Reportedly “thousands” of bets ranging from games, props, and even individual plays. Now, he’s in sports betting rehab.
That should hit like a thunderbolt. Instead, it lands like a warning we’ve been ignoring. If you’re in sports media—on air, in production meetings, selling inventory, shaping coverage—you don’t get to treat that as someone else’s problem.
This isn’t just about players anymore. It’s about the system we’ve built around them.
Start with the leagues. The NFL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA didn’t cautiously step into gambling partnerships; they sprinted. Billions of dollars, integrated platforms, official data deals, naming rights, sponsorships.
This wasn’t survival. It was expansion.
Then came the networks, and this is where the media angle stops being passive and starts being active. Pregame shows that once broke down matchups now open with lines and movement. Halftime shows don’t just tell you what happened; they explain what it meant compared to the spread. In-game broadcasts casually reference odds like they’re part of the box score. Postgame shows frame outcomes not just in wins and losses, but in covers, with segments on ESPN celebrating bad beats.
A Growing Risk
The language has changed, and with it, the way the audience consumes the game.
Now it’s gone even deeper. Player props, micro-markets, and hyper-specific wagers on individual performance. Yards, rebounds, strikeouts, even sequences within games.
Add in the rise of prediction-style markets. Where outcomes tied to performance, availability, or even decisions can be speculated on in real time. Suddenly the experience isn’t just about who wins. It’s about everything. Every play, every possession, every substitution becomes a potential financial event.
That’s where the risk explodes.
When gambling focused only on outcomes—Team A versus Team B—there was at least a buffer. Compromising that result required something big, obvious, and difficult to execute. When the market shifts to player props and micro-events, the barrier drops dramatically.
You don’t need to fix a game. You just need to influence a moment.
A missed free throw, dropped pass, or a quiet defensive lapse or minutes reduction that doesn’t quite add up. These are small actions, almost invisible in the flow of a game, but significant in the context of a wager.
Now consider who sits at the center of that. Players. Especially college players.
The NCAA asks 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to exist in a world where gambling is everywhere. Advertised, discussed, normalized—while telling them they are completely off-limits from participating.
Yes, NIL money has changed the equation for some, but not for most. Most players aren’t cashing life-changing checks. They’re watching an entire ecosystem profit off wagers tied to their performance down to the smallest detail, while being told, “Don’t touch it.”
That’s not a guardrail, it’s a contradiction.
The Prop Problem
These contradictions create pressure. For the star quarterback, the risk isn’t worth it. For the backup, the role player, or the athlete without a financial cushion, the equation looks different. The system itself has made it clear how valuable even the smallest piece of performance can be.
That’s where this becomes dangerous. Not just for individuals, but for the integrity of the sport.
The nightmare scenario isn’t players placing bets. It’s players changing outcomes on a micro level. Not throwing a game in the obvious sense, but nudging moments. Influencing props. Affecting the margins that now matter just as much as the final score.
Once that possibility becomes credible—not proven in every case, just believable—the damage is done. Fans don’t need proof. They need doubt, and doubt spreads faster than any scandal.
So where do networks fit in? Right in the middle.
Network Responsibility
They’re not just covering games anymore; they’re contextualizing them through a gambling lens. Every mention of a prop, sponsored segment breaking down “value plays,” and every integration of prediction-style markets reinforces the idea that every element of performance has a price attached.
That’s a powerful message, and it comes with responsibility.
Right now, that responsibility is handled like a legal disclaimer. The quick “If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800…” graphic. The checkbox. It exists, but it carries little weight compared to the hours of programming that normalize—and now glamorize—gambling as part of the experience.
That imbalance matters. You can’t spend three hours making something look fun, accessible, and essential, then spend three seconds warning about the downside and call it responsible. That’s not education, it’s cover.
Hence, that’s why the cigarette comparison isn’t over the top; it’s instructive. There was a time when smoking wasn’t just accepted—it was embedded in culture. Athletes endorsed it. Ads glamorized it. The warnings existed, technically, but messaging drowned them out.
It took years, and real damage, before the system recalibrated. Gambling is following a similar path. Only faster, and with more direct ties to the product itself.
Which brings us back to the central question. Do networks run risks by diving this deep into sportsbook advertising and gambling-driven content? Of course they do, and those risks are growing.
Every added layer—props, micro-markets, prediction-style betting—tightens the connection between performance and money. The tighter that connection becomes, the more fragile the perception of legitimacy becomes.
Leagues have accepted the revenue. Networks have built it into broadcasts and are being paid a premium for it. Sportsbooks have expanded the menu. Everyone has a stake. That also means everyone shares responsibility.
A Shared Responsibility
Leagues need stronger guardrails, especially at the college level. Not just enforcement, but real education on how these markets work and how easily they can pull players into compromised situations.
Networks need to recalibrate the balance. Gambling can be part of the conversation, but it doesn’t need to dominate it. Not every pregame show needs to open with lines, and multiple odds updates. Not every postgame show needs to frame the night through betting outcomes.
The game itself must remain the centerpiece.
The messaging—the responsibility side—must be more than an afterthought. It needs to be more visible, more consistent, and more real. Right now, the industry is trying to have it both ways: profit from gambling while minimizing its impact.
Promote it relentlessly while warning about it briefly. That works, until it doesn’t.
Sorsby is a warning. Not the worst-case scenario—not even close. The worst-case scenario is the moment fans stop debating outcomes and start questioning them. Not just who won, but what was influenced along the way. The moment a missed free throw isn’t just a miss, but a question. The moment a quiet fourth quarter becomes something more than strategy.
That’s when the fabric starts to tear, and we may already be there.
No amount of ad revenue, partnership, or innovation in betting markets will matter. Sports don’t survive on wagers. They survive on belief. Right now, that belief is starting to feel like the riskiest bet of all.
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What would you rather have in your favor, perception or facts? Rockternative and radio always chooses facts, the audience doesn’t. And the fact is: perception can beat fact every time.
A lot of RockTernative stations conduct research. Perceptual, music, focus groups, online surveys. Asking the audience what they’re thinking is essential for any type of business. But that’s also when things can go sideways.
Research is only as good as its interpretation. Data isn’t the problem, it’s how it’s viewed. Two headlines can reveal the same result but lead to different actions.
Nearly half (49%) say Rock 99 is too repetitive.
The majority (51%) say Rock 99 is not too repetitive.
1 in 5 hates the morning show.
8 of 10 don’t hate the morning show.
One out of three RockTernative fans dislike Artist X.
Two out of three RockTernative fans like Artist X.
Same numbers. Same data. Different headlines. Possibly different actions. If this were a court setting, you might hear, “Leading the witness!” Science experts look at the same data and end up throwing punches over global warming. It should then be no surprise the audience can come to some wild perceptions about their local RockTernative station.
Opinions can be rooted with some fact, but they aren’t always fact. A programmer can think a song is bad, but it can still be a hit. A label can claim they have a smash on their hands, but the audience may say otherwise.
The lens we look through matters.
And in radio, the lens can get warped by personal tastes, wishful thinking, or inexperience. I’ve seen an entire room agree on data, then someone new comes in and sees something different — something they’d like to believe.
Three cautionary tales worth carrying around, all real from the rock-o-sphere.
A station just days away from a format flip was saved by their new PD who actually understood the research. Executives wanted the flip, the data wasn’t so sure. The PD won the argument and that station is flourishing today.
A major market format tweak and brand name change backfired because ownership ignored two critical steps from the research plan. They cut corners. Eighteen months later, they had to flip to something entirely different.
Music tests can get derailed when personal tastes overrun strategic thinking. Put Metallica in a Hot AC test or give Eurythmics a few slots on a Rock list and their big hits may actually look good. Garbage in, garbage out.
The takeaway here is research doesn’t always make the end decisions, interpretation does. And interpretation is a learned skill that requires real education or experience.
But what we often get is the “I know better” approach:
“I know the study says to follow Steps A and B, but we can skip those.”
“Yes, the research says that, but I think it really means this.”
This is how brands talk themselves into trouble. Ignoring or misreading is easy to do, so be sure to have an expert in the room — because it all eventually leads to action, which leads to audience usage, which leads to perceptions.
And while perceptions may be slow to form, once they do, they’re like cement. We see it in other areas: a common TV sports and news model is two “experts” arguing over differing opinions and perceptions about the exact same player or news story.
And bad perceptions can plague a brand — or even an industry — for years. Here are some historical perceptual realities still facing RockTernative.
Too repetitive, predictable
Too many commercials
No control for listeners
Too many bribes
Positioning that doesn’t match the playlist
These aren’t attacks by me. I’m on radio’s side. Those come from the audience. Every station you’ve ever worked at has heard them. And they’re largely ignored — not much has been done to combat them, other than smoke and mirrors, which don’t work anymore.
The no-repeat workday
45 minutes non-stop
The only home for Real Rock
#1 for New Rock
On-demand lunches that aren’t really on-demand
The listeners see through it.
Radio also knows some key facts it’s not given credit for.
The repetition problem is caused by other issues, occasions, and TSL
There’s no choice but to run this many commercials
If music control is given up, it’ll be the all-stiffs lunch hour
And the biggest truth — just look at the industry’s reach
True. True. And twice more.
But facts don’t always win wars or change perceptions. And as any good street corner therapist would say, “You must understand why you’re here before you can move forward.”
I am very bullish on radio’s future — the industry has everything it needs. And while the fight to be more digital and mobile is necessary, the battle to overcome some negative perceptions is just as important.
It’s absolutely doable.
But it won’t be done by positioning slogans, gimmicks, or tricks. It won’t be won by playing Power Golds one or two more times per day, or by giving away free tanks of gas (although keep doing that). And it won’t be won by screaming facts like reach that may stack on paper, but are blah, blah, blah for outsiders.
Overcoming perceptions requires real actions — doing things differently. Maybe not 24/7, but in noticeable bursts. Because perception beats facts every day of the week.
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