Last week’s column reviewed the new competition in the TV measurement space and the potential downstream impact on Nielsen’s audio measurement. I’m going to stick with video this week because announcements from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have caused a stir.
First, Netflix tried to put a number against its ad-supported service by creating a new metric called “Monthly Active Viewers” (MAV). Across 12 countries, Netflix claims to have 190 million MAVs, per Amy Reinhard, the company’s president of advertising.
How did Netflix arrive at this number? It’s simple. If you watched one minute of advertising on Netflix in a month, you’re a Monthly Active Viewer. Then, the company multiplied that number by a proprietary average number of people in a household. Ms. Reinhard said this would provide a “clear and understandable” benchmark for how many people see commercials on Netflix.
I agree that the MAV metric is clear and understandable. It’s also a load of cow dung (the original word used might not get through your corporate filter, but you get the idea) because we all gather around the Philco every night to watch Netflix as a family unit, right?
While I don’t look at LinkedIn very often, I happened to see a comment about Netflix’s assertion from Kym Frank at Fox, who’s been around the video research business for a while. She wrote, “If we used this trick to calculate the World Series, for example, it would inflate reach by 70%.”
Not to be outdone, Amazon said that Prime Video now reaches 315 million people. Take that, Netflix! In this case, rather than have their method ridiculed, they simply gave the number (it includes 16 countries). Amazon’s VP of Prime Video Advertising called the estimate “a transformative milestone.” That’s a reasonable statement if you are running up your own estimates!
Let’s compare this to radio measurement. Nielsen changed the traditional “five-minute” rule to three minutes for PPM at the start of the year. In radio, three minutes of listening gets you 15 minutes for one person. With Netflix, one minute gets you a month. Everyone else in the home is included as well.
Why do I have this image of Oprah in my head? “You get a month, and you get a month, everyone gets a month!” Here’s the link if you need a refresher from 2004. I wonder how many of those Pontiac G6s are still on the road.
My guess is that the calculation of Amazon’s metric isn’t far off from the Netflix version. Netflix might argue that the minute involves seeing an ad. With the spot load on many U.S. radio stations, I’ll bet we don’t need to worry about what would be a radio “ad cume.”
Another aspect of the Netflix and Amazon numbers is that they come from the companies themselves, not an independent third party, for example, Nielsen. If the RAB or Pierre Bouvard’s operation wanted some big numbers for radio, it wouldn’t be hard to do. An online survey of radio users? Guess what? Everyone listens to radio for at least a minute over the course of a month. You may not even own a radio, but you were in a store that had a radio on or perhaps an Uber or Lyft where the driver had his or her radio playing while you checked your phone.
Could Nielsen put together an equivalent number for radio? Of course. It’s called the National Regional Database, or NRD, which is a semiannual rollup of all listening across the country and runs on Tapscan (you must subscribe to it separately). Just ask for a quarter and select every station in the U.S. You’ll get a mighty big weekly cume number.
I’ll bet radio can beat Netflix’s 12-country number in the U.S. alone using just one week! And that would be a 12+ number while Netflix is stretching its estimate to everyone in the household, meaning 0+. We can fix that, too. Just add the percentage of the U.S. population that’s 0–11, apply the percentage from the Nielsen run (cume rating), and add it in. Radio might even match Amazon with 15 fewer countries and a lot fewer days.
In September, I wrote a few columns sketching out a measurement system for the future. One suggestion was one minute earns the quarter hour. When I wrote it, it felt like a stretch. Now that we see what Netflix and Amazon are doing, both of which have video ad revenues in the multi-billion range, yet the companies feel compelled to get “creative” with their reach. Maybe one minute for the quarter hour isn’t so far-fetched after all.
Let’s meet again next week.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
There are few markets that have had a more successful 2025 than sports fans in Seattle, Washington. “The Emerald City” was at the doorstep of the World Series, followed by a surprising start to the season by the Seattle Seahawks. It’s been a special run for fans to witness, and Mike Salk of Seattle Sports guides the Seattle sports fan through every weekday morning.
“This is why you get into it. These are the years where you feel like they shouldn’t even be paying you,” explained Salk about the fun of 2025 in Seattle sports. “The Mariners run was a blast. It came out of nowhere, and sometimes those are the most fun… It goes to show you none of us know baseball.”
Salk has been the morning voice commanding Brock & Salk on Seattle Sports for most of the past decade. Alongside his co-host and former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, the morning duo has set the table for what has been a memorable 2025 so far in a town where it’s easy to celebrate the wins but more difficult to deliver through losses.
“Seattle is not interested the day after a loss. That has been our history, what we’ve seen with ratings and other concrete metrics,” said Salk. “Losing is death for us in Seattle sports radio.”
Understanding Your Audience
While Salk held his position as the morning voice for Seattle Sports. He also served as the station’s program director at one point during his career. He recalled gathering focus groups while serving as the brand’s leader to ask why the station’s most dedicated following was so turned off following a team loss.
It was feedback that he still recalls some aspects of to this day when crafting his program and content approach.
“You can’t let the audience tell you what to say. You still have to talk from the heart and say what you believe,” noted Salk. “Seattle doesn’t need to be as up and down as some of the East Coast markets. If a team is winning, like the Seahawks have so far. When they lose a game, it doesn’t mean the world is coming to an end.”
Every morning, Brock & Salk look to provide a healthy balance of sports conversation, mixing in familiar benchmarks and a roster of exclusive guests. The show has gone through change since debuting together over fifteen years ago, through multiple splits, digital recreations, and Salk leaving at one point for a short stint at Boston’s WEEI, only to return to his landing spot in Seattle.
Through all the changes and disruptions. The chemistry between the two continues to be the glue that listeners gravitate to every morning.
“At the heart of it is a familiarity of two guys talking to each other who enjoy each other’s company. Our former program director Brian Long once told us when a person buys a Coke, it better taste like Coke,” explained Salk. “When someone comes to the show, it has to be the show. We’re finding different ways to create Coke every day.”
An added ingredient to that formula this year is Huard’s departure from working play-by-play for FOX Sports. For the first time, the added workload of travel and preparation for a nationally televised football game was no longer in his purview, instead opting to take a coaching position with his son’s high school football team.
Salk says despite his radio partner handling his television duties extremely well for so many years, he never felt the show ever suffered then and won’t moving forward.
“I never felt like he was never focused at all. That was never a concern for me,” said Salk. “It’s just another evolution. Instead of getting stories from the road, I get stories from him about coaching and lessons learned… That’s one of the ways the show stays fresh. We’re learning more things in the rest of our life that we can apply to the show.”
Buying In & Thinking Different
Seattle Sports has been evolving for some time. In many cases, the Bonneville station began evolving well before many sports radio brands around the country evolved to appeal their content to a more on-demand and digital audience. The radio station has built a massive social and video consumer base with content housed in every corner of the digital content world.
Salk credits Bonneville for being “ahead of the curve” as traditional sports radio outlets continue to expand to new audiences and new revenue streams for success.
“We’re not just a radio station. We are a sports media company that creates content,” noted Salk. “I’m not in the sales department, but it sure feels like digital sales are the biggest growth portion of our business. Radio sales are the biggest declining portion, especially for Bonneville. It feels like national sales are not nearly as big a part of the business plan as local. The ratings don’t seem to be as important to the local folks. So, if we’re sacrificing ratings in order to be where the audience is, I don’t know how much it hurts us, if any.”
Despite their digital growth, Seattle Sports is a traditional ratings success. The station finished the October book as the top radio station in overall persons, capitalizing on the Mariners postseason run and early Seahawks success. For Salk, as a student of the industry, he understands that the definition of success will change as we move further into the future.
“If we call it the radio industry, it’s probably not that healthy. If we refer to it as the content creation business, especially for talk and sports radio, I think we’re doing great. There’s no shortage of audience,” said Salk. “People sure seem to know the show and station around the city. Whether Nielsen says that or not, I don’t really care. It feels like people find the content they want wherever they want it. We just have to figure out as an industry how to sell that.”
Enjoying Seattle Success
The opportunity to be the first voice deciding what the news of the day will be is something Salk doesn’t take lightly. He thoroughly enjoys the advantages of the West Coast time difference, with no game going past his bedtime. Although he left the market once before to chase an opportunity, Salk doesn’t ever see himself attempting that again.
— Mike Salk, Seattle Sports (@TheMikeSalk) May 23, 2025
“This is home and where I’m raising the kids… I like it here,” noted Salk. “It didn’t go well in Boston. I didn’t do a very good job. It wasn’t a very good fit. If I were to do it again now, there are a lot of things I would do differently. There were other issues at the station [WEEI] that had nothing to do with me. It was a bad enough experience to let me know that the grass isn’t always greener.”
Instead, Salk looks to continue building on the success of the morning program alongside Huard, entertaining audiences and growing a connection with a city where the best times are all the time, celebrating success through a passion for sports.
“I really love working with Brock. That’s really the number one thing,” said Salk. “It does feel comfortable because of the crew I work with every day.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
If we’re fortunate, our day will come. Retirement day. Those notices are growing by the day in gold-based formats. Notifications of another radio industry giant hanging up the headphones and potting the mic down, signing off for the last time.
The listener hears the polished farewell break. Some welcome the exhale of the pressure to perform an A+ daily show after a 3am alarm, stressful ongoing ratings compression, and living life in in quarter-hours.
Others step away from the studio to find an uncertainty to the rhythm of their life, missing the ache of listener connection that for decades, only radio gave.
This week we explore the perspective of what veteran talent experience when the on air light dims and the next chapter begins.
St. Louis radio legend Guy Phillips grew up outside arguably the greatest radio city ever, Chicago, Illinois. He was energized by greats like Lujack, and Winston and Landecker. In the 70’s, Guy enrolled in New Mexico State University before opting out of the university life and heading to the South Texas town of El Paso.
Unlike other legendary talent, Guy made just a few other stops before landing in St. Louis in 1979 on 98.1 KSLQ, eventually changing call letters to KYKY in 1982. He anchored several variations of an ensemble morning show on the 98.1 frequency eventually becoming Phillips & Company. Nearly 40 years were spent on the same dial position. Guy spent a few years at crosstown KTRS-AM before stepping away in 2020.
Guy is widely known as the most popular radio and emcee host in St. Louis. He’s in The St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame and created The Guy Phillips Media Endowed Scholarship Fund at his alma mater New Mexico State University. His industry awards could fill an additional page in this column.
A Conversation with Guy Phillips
Kevin: In retirement from radio, aside from the ability to sleep in, what was the biggest adjustment?
Guy: The biggest adjustment for me was missing the camaraderie of the people whom I would work with every day. In a business where we strive to communicate with an audience we never see, the importance of having a connection to people who work around us is way underrated. As a radio personality, you forget that stories you glean from those with whom you work often make it onto the air in one form or another. At the very least, you get to bounce ideas off of those same people, each with their own unique perspectives. It’s like having a bunch of writer/show consultants at your disposal!
Kevin: What’s something about retirement that really surprised you or something you didn’t expect?
Guy: Two distinct impressions about retirement, hit me almost immediately. The first is, I did not like retirement at all. In my case, my retirement came after I was asked to take a pay cut due to fears of COVID related income concerns. Without hesitation I politely declined that invitation. Why? Because I had FU money. So if I could offer a bit of sage advice, it would be to save all of your “Sheckles” so that you can control when and how you exit any job.
The second thing, and the most awakening to me, was that I didn’t miss the business of radio. Only when I would listen to a show and hear something clever or interesting did I want to be in the middle of it. But when the off button was off I had no residual desire to jump back in. (Although when I’ve filled in or have been a guest on different shows, I enjoy the heck out of it!)
Kevin: Has stepping away from radio changed how you view our business now?
Guy: I’ve always remarked that I got into this business at the perfect time and got out at the perfect time. Over the years, I’ve seen enormous changes in radio. Some which I’ve admired and some which I’ve felt were constricting, they were all part of the process. I’m not a fan of syndicated shows in multiple markets with personalities recording 4-hour shows in 45 minutes. I am keenly aware of the financial burdens of station/group ownership though.
My personal opinion is that radio is wounded, down but not dead. It needs a Phoenician moment of resurrection. Hopefully that will come in the next wave of talented managers and owners.
George Lindsey left Audacy Country KILT/Houston in late 2024 after a wildly successful 10 year run. He’s a life-long radio personality having built his talent in rural Kentucky working his way north to Louisville as the Program Director and Morning Host of Alpha Media’s WMJX/Louisville while serving as the cluster’s Operations Manager.
The Kentucky Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame recognized his state-wide contributions with an induction just this year. George’s Houston Morning Show, The Morning Bullpen, added an Academy of Country Music Award to their trophy case too in 2023.
I caught up with George late last week in Houston, asking for his take on retirement as today he splits his time between Texas and Kentucky working in his wife’s travel company.
Kevin: What about radio today that makes you wish you were still part of it?
George: The key words for me in that question are “radio today” and the answer is honestly, nothing. The negatives have outweighed the positives for a while for me!
Kevin: What’s something about retirement that really surprised you or something you didn’t expect?
George: Sharing the mornings with my wife has been wonderful and rejuvenating for us. That was a worry. We’ve been married 40 years and I’ve done a morning show the entire time, so there was concern what it would be like. She has a routine so it was important how I fit into that!
Kevin: Do you stay connected to radio or have you made a clean break?
George: I have wonderful friends who are still in the biz but for me, I’m out. I did get to do a really cool thing though, hosting the local, hometown morning show at the radio station that I started at 50 years ago at age 15! And I was informed that I was inducted into the Kentucky Radio Hall Of Fame. It was so great!
Kevin: What is one piece of advice you would offer someone who’s been in radio and thinking about retirement?
George: 3 things: You have way more transferable skills than you think, you are more valuable than you have been lead to believe, and find a purpose. You have been mission focused all of your career. That doesn’t go away when you leave.
When you begin your radio journey at age 14, you’re branded for life. That’s what industry giant Bobby Rich did in rural Ephrata Washington before embarking on a cross-country storied career that took him to Davenport, Miami, New Haven, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia before landing and creating The B Morning Zoo at San Diego’s B-100.
In the early 90’s, Bobby moved to Tucson becoming Program Director and morning host. He became a market staple at 94.9 Mix FM for decades, then moved across town to two more stops before bowing out of the industry in 2023.
Bobby’s trophy case holds recognition hardware from Radio & Records and Billboard Magazine as Program Director and Personality of the year. He’s also in The Arizona Broadcaster Hall of Fame. His new book Bobby Rich: My Life in Your Radio hits Amazon this week.
I spoke up with Bobby recently to get his thoughts on being retired.
Kevin: Tell me about your journey. What best thoughts are you left with after retirement?
Bobby: I always loved being on the radio starting at age 14 and retired at 77. I was fortunate to make it to the Bigs, choosing the excitement and enjoyment and it worked out. Oh, I was also fired seven or eight times. Maybe nine. But I always stepped up and out to a better situation.
Kevin: What advice do you have for those after checking out for good?
Bobby: Maybe take a break and get the negative thoughts out of your mind. Do not bad-mouth the industry because you had a bad experience. If we are ever to bring radio back it will require a whole new mindset.
Kevin: After retiring, in a few words how do you feel about your radio path?
Bobby: After almost 60 years, I can’t imagine a better past and can only hope for a comfortable future for me and my family. Take a break, rebound to the time you were happy and proud to be part of a wonderful and exciting way of life that very few others have experienced. Radio was my first love. It will be my last.
As more heritage radio talent hang up the headphones, Program Directors are left a tough task. They have to fill a chair that listeners expect to entertain and love. Most times, it’s a cultural shift for the entire radio station.
Smart leaders are already in succession planning mode to avoid panic hiring. The next generation of creators are being seeded on easy entry digital platforms like TikTok, Instagram and/or You Tube. This is far from the usual stack of résumés and aircheck recruitment. Tapping into emerging local personalities and fresh talent already living inside the building are your best options
Avoid seeking a clone. Discover the personality fit for your next era.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The NFL season is at the midway point. College Football is gearing up for bowl season and playoffs. The NBA and NHL fill the gaps between snaps, and sports radio faces a new challenger each and every November. It’s not anything they have ever prepared for, because there is no playbook to defend against it.
The market-by-market format flips to Christmas music. Bah humbug!
Every year, music radio races to be the first to capture the holiday spirit and the audience that comes with it. Just yesterday, at least 95 more stations across the country made the call, flipping to the only music format that is a proven juggernaut in the ratings. Holiday music is the new Q4 combatant for sports radio. In the words of Mariah Carey, “It’s time” to think differently about how sports radio can close out the fourth quarter with a better gameplan than the status quo.
Football is king. There’s no question that the game drives audience, engagement, and listening cume. Every September book, from Seattle to Tampa Bay. The influx of interest rises all boats in all three categories of relevance: audience, revenue, and engagement.
However, when the calendar flips to November. Half of the NFL teams are out of the playoff picture, and the best college headlines may not involve your local school or conference of choice. Interest may wane on the week-to-week storylines of losing or just bad football. You can’t always lean into the spin for the positive, or everyone on the firing line week to week.
On top of that, Christmas music begins on November 1. Three weeks before Thanksgiving and almost two months ahead of Kris Kringle. For sports radio, this means the December ratings book and the close of the most important quarter of the broadcast calendar.
Is there any way that sports radio can combat the loss of listeners to Bing Crosby and “Old Blue Eyes?” It’s time (there’s that phrase again) to think differently.
Pick up the Promotions
In order to combat the competition, you need to think like the competition. Getting creative with promotions has lacked massively in sports talk, whereas music radio capitalizes. This is especially true during the holiday shopping season. Instead of clients or partners loading up their holiday giveaways for the music station, think about what plays to your sports radio audience.
Jewelry stores, car dealers, travel companies, and resorts are just a few areas where a little creativity and the promise of the engaged sports radio listener could prevent audiences from finding other options on the radio dial. Set those appointments not just with guests, but with text-to-win contests for holiday travel vouchers or a massive ladder of gift card giveaways to the local jeweler for that one-of-a-kind Christmas gift that will never be forgotten.
It’s amazing how your content, mixed with the right promotions at the earliest point of the holiday shopping season, can keep the audience engaged with the station.
Invade Enemy Territory
It’s no secret: cross promotion always works best. If you’re on a sports radio brand where your sister station flipped to Christmas, you’re going to hear a lot of cross promos in unsold inventory with sponsor messaging and plugs to drive the audience away from your show or station.
Fight back.
What about topical and relevant cross plugs on the flipped music station driving listening appointments back to the sports radio brand? Don’t think that could be done? Why is it being done on a sports radio station in the first place? The flipped station needs that audience you cater to. Put it in reverse with some crafty and effective cross plugs of your own, and fight the battle within. The more people who come to both brands more often wins the day.
Want to really leave a dent in the Christmas surge? Have sports radio talent host the songs in specific key dayparts for cross promotion. What better way to showcase your talent to a new audience and use that marketing machine to drive new listeners?
Force A Turnover
The obvious way to battle for the holiday cume is to mix up your playlist on your sports radio station. Every bit of research shows that listeners love holiday music, hence why more stations are flipping earlier than ever before. Get into the party, mix it up with holiday favorites of your talent, and get creative with it on social media.
Every little bit of insertion helps, but it doesn’t have to be a full dive-in. The listener’s expectation is still the same: compelling content will always be the focus. That’s what your listeners expect, but putting up some lights and a little tinsel never hurts. Especially considering the average time spent listening is on the decline, dig into the B-sides and run wild for fun.
Building Community
Lastly, think community. People who consume your brand come from all backgrounds and demographics—rich to poor, young to old, male to female. A massive number of people struggle to make the holidays memorable and affordable. Instead of a cluster-wide food or toy drive, create your own and make it unique for your station. Find those top-dollar clients willing to match every donation, and unique experiences that can give a family in need a helping hand during the holidays. If sports can bring people together, there’s no reason sports radio can’t, too.
Jolly old St. Nick is out for your cume this holiday season, and there’s no end in sight to see how far he will go. While the holiday book for many sports radio brands is a throwaway, the December book is massive for closing out the most important quarter of the year.
The bottom line: sports radio doesn’t have to surrender to sleigh bells and snowflakes. With creativity, smart partnerships, cross-promotion, and a touch of holiday spirit, stations can not only protect their audience but grow it. The key is thinking differently, acting early, and leaning into what makes sports radio compelling in the first place—engaging talent, relevant content, and a connection with the community.
So, this holiday season, don’t just watch the ratings slide toward jingles and bells. Fight for every listener.
Deck the halls, mix in some fun, and make your station the destination your audience doesn’t want to leave. Because while Santa may be coming to town, the real winners will be the sports radio brands that treat December like game seven.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
When Disney and YouTube TV went to war, cable news executives watched like it was a heavyweight fight. But when the dust settled, it was pretty clear there were no winners.
YouTube TV lost subscribers who were tired of waking up to find their favorite networks suddenly missing. Disney only reinforced the idea that it is a money-hungry monolith determined to squeeze every last dollar out of American households. Both sides came out looking worse than they went in.
And that should terrify every major news network.
The biggest lesson from the fight is simple: viewers do not care where they watch. They care that they can watch. Distribution is irrelevant to them. Consumers have zero platform loyalty. They want what they want, when they want it, on whatever device they have in their hand. If a network or provider makes that harder, they will look somewhere else without a second thought.
This is the part cable news outlets cannot ignore. For decades, legacy brands enjoyed the illusion of leverage. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and now MS NOW have spent years believing their name alone kept viewers in place.
But the era of forced loyalty is over. Viewers have options at every turn, and many of them are free or dirt cheap. If a channel disappears from one service, people will not wait for it to return. They will move on and fill the gap with something else.
The Disney–YouTube TV dispute proved that. When channels vanished, subscribers didn’t shout about which side was right. They shouted about the inconvenience. They shouted about the annoyance. They shouted about how none of it mattered because they just wanted to watch their shows. If they couldn’t do it on YouTube TV, there were ten other services ready to welcome them with open arms.
Cable news must understand that this is the new reality. Your distribution strategy is not a point of strength. It is not a bargaining chip. It is not a hill to die on. It is a potential weak spot. If viewers think you are playing games with access, they will move on in seconds.
The goal used to be reaching households. Today, the goal is to reach habits. Audiences have no patience for corporate standoffs or carriage disputes. They are not interested in which company is being unfair or who should “stand strong.” They want seamless, frictionless access. Anything that interrupts that experience erases brand equity you spent decades building.
Think about how bold you have to be to assume your network is so essential that viewers will stick with a distributor waiting for your channel to come back. That mindset feels almost quaint now. NewsNation, Newsmax, and even the biggest names in the space cannot operate like it is still 2005. Nobody is irreplaceable anymore.
Cable news outlets love to believe they have the upper hand because of their reach, their ratings, or their influence. But reach means less when audiences have hundreds of options across streaming, digital, social, and connected TV. Ratings mean less when viewers bounce between platforms. Influence means less when consumers trust individual creators more than cable networks.
The Disney–YouTube TV fight should be a wake-up call. If those two giant brands can walk away bruised, what chance does anyone else have?
The smartest networks will stop pretending distribution battles are a mark of strength. They will focus on being available everywhere, all the time. They will remove friction. They will make access easy. They will put viewers first, because the viewers are holding all the power now.
The audience doesn’t care how hard you negotiated. They don’t care who was “right.” They care about convenience. Give it to them, or someone else will.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
If you have walked through the sales area in your radio building, you have probably seen “The Sales Funnel” posted on the wall in a black-rimmed picture frame.
It’s a nice reminder for our Account Executives to continue searching for new clients. But what about us in Programming? What is our Listener Funnel? Realize this: we must always meet the expectations of our mission.
AWARENESS: Frequently, this is the most mentioned concern from air personalities. Any Market Manager or Program Director has heard the complaint: “My ratings would be better if the station had an advertising campaign on billboards or TV.”
Just because people are aware of you doesn’t mean they will consume your product. Awareness does not mean potential listeners will like you. Awareness is nice, but it will not create ratings and revenue.
INTEREST: Are potential listeners interested in your station or show? This may be a humbling thing to consider, but a lot of people are not interested in you or your interests.
Should everyone be? Well, yes… but that is not reality. In today’s media landscape, where you have millions of choices, you must appeal to those who are genuinely interested in the ideas expressed on your show and station.
CONSIDERATION: If there is a big story, are you considered the first source of information? This is about meeting expectations.
Back when radio news departments were central to ratings and revenue, there was a great radio war in Atlanta. WSB was, and still is, the radio news station in Atlanta. This is a reputation that the brand has never squandered. WGST attempted to knock off WSB. WGST’s news strategy was to always be first on the biggest stories. They often were, with live on-air reports when major local stories broke. But even if WSB was five minutes behind, it didn’t really matter. The people of Atlanta trusted WSB, and the station never abused that trust.
Are you meeting the expectations of those who may not be daily or consistent listeners? If your station is being considered during a tornado warning and you are not actively covering it, you are falling short. What does that mean for future consideration? If your city council is meeting tonight to raise property taxes and you are not discussing it, will you be considered in the future when something important happens?
DEVOTED LISTENERS: These are what we call the P1s. They are daily listeners who love your show or station. These people are totally devoted to your brand. It is called the “Halo Effect.” A frequent mantra in the industry is to super-serve the P1 listener.
This is a losing strategy. You can only lose devoted listeners. Over time, the station’s CUME will continue to fall as time spent listening seemingly grows because fewer people are enjoying your station.
You must always be refilling your listener funnel. It is healthier for your show and your station. It is called meeting expectations. Just as a Classic Rock station only plays the hits of that format, you must play the hits—the biggest stories of the moment. It is not about hoping listeners should be interested in the topics, observations, and opinions. It is about what people are interested in. I think a lot of hosts can fall into being aspirational instead of reflecting actual realities. I have mentioned this before, but it is worth writing again. And I often ask hosts about their competition.
If the listener’s expectations are not met the moment they tune in, where are they going? You will get a wide variety of answers. I have heard more wrong answers than correct ones. I had a host focused on country music. He loves it, which is great. He was convinced his show’s biggest competition was the country stations in the market. I had to walk him through Nielsen data on where the station’s listeners were coming from and where they were going when they turned our station off. He was shocked.
I want us to always be refilling the Listener Funnel with new people. There are strategies you must follow for growth. Make it easy for new listeners to quickly understand what your station is about. You must be focused on Topic A. Most days there is not a huge story. There are a few to choose from, but on days like when the government is shutting down, you must be totally focused on it. PPM data shows listeners are with you for about 14 minutes per listening occasion.
This is a big tell. If flights are canceled at your airport because of the shutdown, you need to be on it. If a casual listener’s expectations are not met, you are losing a major opportunity. And if you are interviewing the dope from a think tank or chatting with your producer about the weekend, you are failing. I cannot stress enough the importance of the reset. Reintroducing yourself, your station, and the guest or topic is about welcoming new listeners.
There is a war for people’s attention. It’s a huge battle. It starts with making sure your station or show is focused on the right things. Are you focused on the station’s target demographic like a laser? Are you always leading with Topic A? Can you be certain you are consistently inviting more people to the party by introducing yourself to those giving their precious time to you?
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For nearly two decades, The Big Time with Whitney Allen has been a familiar companion to country radio listeners. At its height, the show reached an astounding 180 affiliates — an achievement any independent program would envy. Now, after an extraordinary national run, the team behind the brand has announced the show will sign off on Wednesday, December 31st, 2025.
It marks the end of an era that began with a modest idea and a handful of believers. Long before The Big Time became a fixture in national syndication, there was America’s Hotlist — a one-hour daily show airing on just four stations. It didn’t look like the beginning of a broadcasting powerhouse, but the momentum was unmistakable. That early spark led to The Big Time Saturday Night. The weekend program rose to 56 affiliates, proving the connection between Whitney Allen and country fans was something special.
From there, the natural evolution took shape: a five-day-a-week syndicated show built from scratch, without corporate backing or group ownership behind it. The Big Time wasn’t a product of consolidation, strategy decks, or boardroom mandates. It grew the old-fashioned way, earning trust one station at a time. That independence, the team says, became the show’s defining character and one of its greatest achievements.
As the program prepares to close its final chapter, gratitude is top of mind. Agent Eric Weiss is credited for his quiet but steady guidance from the earliest days. Affiliate sales manager Marc Amazon helped expand and sustain the show’s footprint across the country. Producers Justin Michael, Tim Winebrenner, and Jackie Stevens kept the content sharp, the energy high, and the show’s voice unmistakably authentic.
Affiliates — past and present — also receive heartfelt thanks. Their belief in the product, the personality, and the mission made The Big Time a national presence. “We never took a single clearance for granted,” the team notes, underscoring just how personal and hard-won each partnership was.
The show also acknowledges syndication partners Katz Media, Westwood One, and Dial Global for years of collaboration and support.
As the final broadcast approaches, the team promises no victory lap. It’ll simply provide the same heart, hustle, and gratitude that fueled the show from day one. The last year is being framed as a celebration of the people who built it, the stations that carried it, and the listeners who made it, fittingly, BIG.
Connoisseur Media is preparing to exit a significant portion of its Missouri portfolio. They announced an agreement to sell fifteen stations to Carter Media LLC and Carter Media Too LLC. The Carrollton, Missouri–based broadcaster will assume control of the full cluster pending FCC approval, with the transaction expected to close early next year.
The deal covers a wide geographic footprint across northern and central Missouri. Carter Media will acquire KAAN-AM/FM in Bethany; KWIX-FM in Cairo; KKWK-FM and KMRN-AM in Cameron; KIRK-FM in Macon; KTCM-FM in Madison; and KRES-FM and KWIX-AM in Moberly. The company is also purchasing KJEL-FM and KBNN-AM in Lebanon, along with KFBD-FM, KOZQ-FM, KJPW-AM and KIIK-AM, all licensed to Waynesville.
For Connoisseur, the move reflects a broader strategy to streamline operations and focus resources in markets viewed as long-term growth priorities. The company has been reshaping its footprint following its September acquisition of Alpha Media markets. Leadership said the Missouri stations fell outside the vision for its next stage.
“These Missouri markets did not fit into the long-term plans we have to grow Connoisseur,” CEO and Founder Jeff Warshaw said. “We looked for another broadcaster that had success in and served these communities. We are pleased that we have found that trusted party in Miles Carter and the history of his family-oriented company.”
Carter Media has built a reputation across rural Missouri for its emphasis on local news and community engagement. According to owner Miles Carter, the opportunity to expand aligns with the company’s mission to elevate regional storytelling and provide reliable service in markets where local radio continues to play a central role.
“We have wanted to expand for a while. When the opportunity came, we were eager to talk with Connoisseur,” Carter said. “As we look toward the new markets, our mission remains the same. Bring trustworthy local news, agriculture coverage, and community-focused storytelling to areas that need a stronger voice. Expansion isn’t about getting bigger. It’s about serving more people with the kind of reliable, hometown broadcasting Carter Media was built on.”
While Connoisseur prepares to hand off the Missouri stations. The company continues to position itself as both a traditional broadcaster and a digital marketing force. Its combination of audio platforms and targeted marketing services reaches roughly 20% of U.S. listeners nationwide.
Kalil & Co. brokered the transaction. Connoisseur was represented by Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, while Carter Media received legal counsel from Telecommunications Law Professionals, PLLC.
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Cumulus Media’s 104.1 KRBE in Houston is moving forward without one of its most recognizable morning voices. Longtime co-host Ryan Chase has exited The Roula & Ryan Show with Eric, bringing an abrupt end to a 19-year run at the station and a partnership with Roula Christie that spanned more than two decades.
Chase’s departure occurred late last week, surprising both listeners and industry observers familiar with the morning show’s stability and longevity. He, Christie, and producer Eric Rowe first teamed up at Mix 96.5 in 2002, building chemistry that helped elevate the trio to KRBE in 2006. Their show became one of Houston’s most enduring morning franchises, maintaining strong ratings while weathering format shifts, personnel changes, and an increasingly competitive market.
On Monday, Christie and co-host Eric Rowe addressed Chase’s departure on-air. “We’re gonna miss a lot of things. Nobody plans for this. We just signed a five-year deal. I know you want us to tell you things, but we cannot,” Christie said. Rowe added, “I’m in shock. I’m bummed.”
In February, the team signed a new five-year contract extension. The updated agreement also led to a rebranding of the program as The Roula & Ryan Show with Eric, a move that seemed to reinforce the show’s core lineup for the foreseeable future.
However, Chase’s sudden exit now raises questions about how KRBE will navigate a transition that few saw coming.
Before rejoining KRBE in 2006, Chase held several notable roles across major markets. He served as APD at New York’s Z100, worked overnights at the former 92.3 K-Rock, and co-hosted mornings at KDGE “The Edge” in Dallas. He also spent time at KRBE in the mid-1990s, giving him deep roots both at the station and in Houston radio.
KRBE has already updated its website to reflect the change. The station now lists the morning program as The Roula Show with Eric ft. Special K & Sam, signaling an immediate shift in branding while retaining the key voices who have helped shape the show’s identity.
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After seven years in afternoon drive at Q106.7 in Lafayette, Indiana, Gina Quattrocchi has departed, with Julie Koehrer stepping into the daypart.
Friday was Quattrocchi’s — who spent more 20 years in local television at WLFI in the market — final day with the station after joining as it signed on the air in 2018.
“Today, we say goodbye to one of our earliest cheerleaders and dearest friends as she prepares to sign-off one last time to start a new chapter in her life,” the station shared. “It’s been a wild ride and we’re so incredibly grateful to have had Gina by our side these last seven years. Thank you, Gina — for everything!”
On Monday, the station announced that Julie Koehrer will step into the role vacated by Quattrocchi’s exit.
Previously, Koehrer worked as an account executive for the Woof Boom Radio station. She originally joined the company in July 2024. She has also spent time on classic rock and AAA stations in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Iowa, among others.
Julie Koehrer will be heard from 2-6 PM on the station.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
