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94.7 The Country Giant’s Phillip Gibbons Honored By Congress

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Phillip Gibbons, the well-known midday personality at Zimmer Broadcasting’s WGSQ (94.7 The Country Giant)/Cookeville, TN, was honored by Congress on Friday for his 50 years of broadcasting.

Representative John W. Rose (R-TN) highlighted Gibbons’ remarkable career, noting his induction into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame and his 40-year tenure as the voice of Tennessee Tech’s football and broadcasts. This was read in the Congressional Record.

Gibbons has been in the Cookeville market for 48 years. He is known for his charity efforts along with 14 consecutive years as guest announcer at the Grand Ole Opry on WGSQ’s night. He has also hosted CMA Fest on the Chevy Riverfront Stage multiple times.

“The Philip Gibbons Show” airs on WGSQ and reaches 49 counties across Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.

Diamond Sports Group Says It Intends to Drop All MLB Contracts Except Atlanta Braves

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Diamond Sports Group informed bankruptcy court today that it intends to drop all of its Major League Baseball contracts except for the Atlanta Braves as it reorganizes and tries to emerge from Chapter 11. Anthony Crupi of Sportico reported via his X account, “Diamond Sports counsel tells the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that it plans to drop nearly all of its remaining MLB contracts, with a plan to retain only the Atlanta Braves.”

Evan Drellich of The Athletic posted a response which was given by MLB attorney Jim Bromley that stated, “We have no information about what is being done. We’ve had no opportunity to review and now we’re in front of the court and being asked to make our comments.”

Drellich said the lawyer used the word “sandbagged.”

Diamond has expiring contracts with the Cleveland Indians, the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins. However, there are eight other teams which would be left to figure out their plans for next season and beyond should Diamond only continue with the Braves. Those teams are the Anaheim Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays.

KAUS 1480 Adds Podcast Radio to Several Dayparts

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Alpha Media has added another station to its roster of those utilizing Podcast Radio at KAUS 1480 in Austin, Minnesota.

KAUS 1480 will feature Podcast Radio from 6-8 AM, 11-12 PM, and 3 PM-12 AM, as well as in several spots in its weekend lineup.

In addition to adding Podcast Radio, it is also the first market to utilize a new feature of dedicated genre hours, with business, true crime, comedy, and music podcasts all seeing dedicated hours to the lineup at the Alpha Media station.

“We’re excited to be the first in Minnesota to introduce Podcast Radio’s innovative format to our listeners,” said Alpha Media Minnesota Vice President of Revenue Development Robert Mitheun. “With its curated genre hours and top-tier content, this partnership offers something unique for everyone. Aside from the content, I found the Podcast Radio development team to be immensely accommodating. Their can-do attitude was refreshing.”

“We’re excited to expand our Alpha Media partnership in Minnesota,” added KMG Networks CEO Gary Krantz, who is responsible for syndication for Podcast Radio in the United States. “The genre-specific hours give stations flexibility as they can be moved around the schedule, while the variety blocks also bring the best of the diverse podcast world to radio using innovative formatting.”

KAUS 1480 becomes the latest Alpha Media station to add Podcast Radio to its lineup. Earlier this year, several stations in Missouri began airing programming from the company.

Woodward Community Media Completes Purchase of Neuhoff Media Stations

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Woodward Community Media has finalized the acquisition of Neuhoff Media’s seven stations in Bloomington and Springfield, IL, for $4.3 million.

The company has stated that the acquired brands align with WCI’s focus on local community media properties in specific market sizes, catering to niche and lifestyle audiences. This move also marks an expansion of its presence in Illinois, bringing experienced teams and talent to the employee-owned company.

WCI President/CEO Tom Woodward said, “We are pleased to announce that today we successfully consummated the acquisition of Neuhoff Media’s radio stations and brands based in Springfield and Bloomington, IL. Over the past couple of months, we have gotten to know each other better, shared ideas, aspirations, etc. which in turn has created positive momentum and energy on which we can enhance our capabilities to serve our customers and communities.”

Woodward acquires Rock WIHN (Rock 96.7), Variety Hits WBBE (97.9 Bob-FM), Hot AC WWHX (Now 100.7) in Bloomington, Variety Hits WCVS (96.7 Bob-FM) WXJA (99.7 The Mix), Country WFMB-FM, and Sports 1450 WFMB-AM (Sports Radio 92.3) Springfield.

The deal’s closure also signifies the conclusion of Neuhoff Media.

ABC News to Cut 75 Employees in Latest Round of Disney Layoffs

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Another round of layoffs is affecting The Walt Disney Company, with this wave focused on ABC News and its owned and operated stations.

According to an internal memo, ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic shared that the move is a necessary one for the organization.

“Across the various ranks of ABC News, a limited number of our colleagues are being impacted by staff reductions. As you know, this has been happening across the broader company and the industry at large in recent weeks and months,” said Karamehmedovic.

“For us, it means shaping a team that embraces the new media landscape and evolves along with it, which we must do to continue serving our viewers.”

75 people inside the organization, between ABC News and the owned and operated stations, will be let go. No on-air talents have been affected as of this publication.

The news of more layoffs comes after The Walt Disney Company laid off another 300 employees in September across several different departments. That came on the heels of thousands of job cuts in 2023.

Newsmax Tabs Rob Finnerty to Host New Primetime Program

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Newsmax has announced it is adding Rob Finnerty to its primetime lineup, shifting the anchor from mornings to evenings in the process.

Finnerty will air at 8 PM ET, which was previously occupied by Eric Bolling before his exit from the cable channel earlier this year. Previously, Rob Finnerty had been hosting Wake-Up America alongside Sharla McBride from 6:30-9 AM ET.

“For far too long cable news has been a monolith – with very few options available to the American people, but Newsmax is proof that the model is changing and I feel incredibly honored to be a part of that change,” says Finnerty.

“Ever since I got here, Newsmax has kept growing and growing, which is amazing for this industry,” Finnerty added. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to Newsmax and its team led by CEO Chris Ruddy.”

“Rob has demonstrated success in our morning show and connects with our audience in a powerful way, and we believe he will continue that success in primetime,” CEO Chris Ruddy added.

The new primetime program will debut on Tuesday, October 8th.

‘The Oasis Oldies’ Format Back On The Air At WOXY Cincinnati

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Randy Michaels’ Radio Active LLC WOXY (97.7)/Mason-Cincinnati has brought “The Oasis” Oldies format back to the market.

Michaels purchased the station from Lazo Media for 1.8 million dollars earlier this year (BMM 8/21) and began simulcasting WNKR (106.7 The Oasis)/ Williamstown, KY.

Grant County Broadcasters, owned by Jeff Ziesmann, purchased WNKR last year. The station covers the area between Cincinnati and Dayton.

Michaels told Cincinnati Public Radio station WVXU, “Jeff Ziesmann is a master of serving and selling the audience in the metro collar often ignored by other broadcasters. While every other station chases a younger audience, The Oasis serves the people who have the most money and the people most likely to use radio. The age 45+ audience is often ignored by the cookie-cutter corporate stations.”

The stations are positioned as “Where The Music Went” and emphasize the 1970s with a playlist that ranges from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Listen here.

Dave Ramsey: ‘I’m Perfectly Fine’ Angering Some Listeners By Interviewing Donald Trump

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Dave Ramsey has released his interview with Republican nominee Donald Trump, and he doesn’t especially care if some are angered by the fact that he sat down with the former President.

After previously revealing that he had offered each candidate the opportunity for a wide-ranging interview but only Donald Trump had responded, Ramsey released the interview Wednesday on his social media and YouTube channels. As he introduced the conversation, Ramsey noted to those potentially unfamiliar with his show that it is not inherently political in nature.

“If you don’t know what The Ramsey Show is, it’s a show about life, about money, about relationships. It’s not a show about politics,” Ramsey said. “We specifically over the years have tried to remind you over and over again that what happens in your house is more important for your success than what happens in the White House. We also recognize that this is a really important time right now. People are really looking at what’s happening. There’s a real divisiveness in the air, a lot of anger in the air.”

When sharing his reasoning for recording the interview, Dave Ramsey shared that he didn’t feel he needed to explain why he wanted to interview presidential candidates, but believes listeners and viewers were served by the discussion.

“We wanted to talk about ideas, to talk about what’s going to happen, not what has happened, and not about personalities and not about name-calling, because both sides are pretty good at all of that stuff,” said Ramsey.

“The fact that I sit down with either one of these candidates is going to piss some of you off, and frankly, I’m perfectly fine with that,” he continued. “It’s something I wanted to do, and I felt like it was something we needed to talk about. So I find myself sitting here in Trump Tower getting ready to interview President Trump for a few minutes. I think you’re going to find this really interesting.”

Fox News sees Second Highest-Rated 3rd Quarter in Network History

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July, August, and September 2024 were tumultuous months in the political sphere. Ratings for Fox News show that’s the case, as the cable network saw its second highest-rated third quarter in network history.

In total day viewership, the network averaged 1.6 million viewers. In primetime, the network delivered an average of 2.6 million viewers. The network was the highest-rated cable news network in both sectors during September, marking the 43rd consecutive month topping the list of total day viewers.

Those finishes during the month of September, Fox News was up 34% in total day viewers compared to the same month in 2023. The primetime lineup grew 46% compared to September 2023 overall, and was up 71% in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic.

The Five — led by Greg Gutfeld, Jeanine Pirro, Jesse Watters, and Dana Perino — was the highest-rating program in cable news for the quarter, finishing with an average of 3.47 million viewers. Jesse Watters Primetime (3.45 million), Hannity (3.23 million), Gutfeld! (2.78 million), and The Ingraham Angle (2.7 million) rounded out the top five spots in the cable news sphere, with Fox News taking all of the top five places.

During the final month of the quarter, the Fox News late-night program hosted by Greg Gutfeld topped the Adults 25-54 demographic with an average of 403,000 viewers. For the duration of the quarter, Sean Hannity’s program finished in first place with an average audience of 457,000, Jesse Watters Primetime (430,000), Gutfeld! (413,000), The Five (359,000), and The Ingraham Angle (324,000) rounded out the top five places in that demo.

ESPN Digital Finishes First in Sports for 30th Consecutive Month

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For the 30th consecutive month, ESPN Digital was No.1 in the U.S Sports category in the month of August. ESPN data shows they reached 111.2 million unique fans in the month. When ESPN Digital is added to YouTube and the ESPN social platforms, ESPN reached 194.6 million unique fans, which is 70% of all adults in the United States.

The ESPN app was No. 1 in the mobile sports app category with 24.8 million unique fans. 

On the social side, ESPN social topped the sports category for the 38th straight month and generated just shy of 700 million engagements.

ESPN also said that over the course of the 2024 Summer Olympics, which ended in August, ESPN social outlets generated 555 million engagements.