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The One Thing News/Talk Radio Must Get Right in 2026

Peter Thiele
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The One Thing News/Talk Radio Must Get Right in 2026

What worked in 2025? What didn’t work? What are the challenges for news/talk radio for 2026? This is the time of year to review the past and anticipate the future.

Whether you are a news talk host, sports talk host, or a music station morning show host — it is time to reassess and look at how we can be even more vital in 2026. I certainly understand the pressures you are under.

What is next? It may be time to toss out the baby with the bathwater. That may be a little too extreme. Perhaps it is time to adjust the way you are playing the game. If you are essentially doing the same style of show you did five years ago, you are likely going to be obsolete. With competitive pressure from radio competitors, TV, streaming, podcasts, and other forms of distraction, we must adapt.

Most hosts are still following the Rush Limbaugh model in one way or another, which is now almost 40 years old. Rush’s innovations were monumental and turned the news talk industry upside down. His long monologues, lack of guests, and speaking directly to listeners were a completely different approach. Rush was the expert on all he discussed, and callers were carefully screened to add value to the show. It obviously worked very well.

So what is next? I believe a brilliant host will create something new. I also know radio executives, program directors, and market managers must have the patience to let this happen. Sadly, we are somewhat chained to revenue headwinds that show little understanding of how to create the next chapter. I acknowledge that money is the fuel that keeps our companies running, but our future cannot be dictated by playing defense.

Playing defense is safe. It has worked before, and it allows us to protect ourselves in hopes of surviving a little longer. I think this is a losing strategy. Innovation can drive growth in both audience and revenue. Trying something new is a risk and often leads to failure. Without failure, there is no success. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before creating the light bulb. Whale blubber was once an effective way to power lamps, but it had limits. We nearly wiped out the whales. Forced innovation is sometimes necessary, and radio is getting very close to that moment. The whale blubber in this case is the connected car. The radio station transmitter will likely become a thing of the past. So what is next?

It is called being essential. A listener-focused presentation that cannot be copied. With millions of competitors now in the marketplace, our mission must be laser-focused on a station’s target demographic.

There is no wiggle room. If your station or show is not delivering on its mission, there is no reason for listeners to stay. People are exceptionally selfish. Our listeners live very busy lives. If we are not providing what is expected, the listeners are gone. Radio still attracts a large swath of the community each week, but listeners are not staying as long. There are simply too many options.

You may have Spotify, Amazon Music, or a radio company app where you have built your own playlist. I have 800 songs, and most of them are not frequently played on radio stations. Some were never hits, others were hits from eras not popular in nostalgia formats, or new music that has not broken through. Music stations play well-researched songs that most people want to hear, and that is smart. The point is this: if you are not hitting your station’s mission, the audience will disappear.

For years, the mantra was that the AM band was losing cume and that if news/talk radio stations simply had great FM signals, the audience would return. The facts do not support the hype. Cume remains a major challenge for the format for many reasons. If news talk stations are not providing what they promise to listeners, it is a lost opportunity.

So what is new for 2026? It is up to you. You have the microphone. Experiment with your approach. Radio is still a winner, but competitive challenges mean it is time to adapt. Always focus on the biggest issues. Listeners expect topic A. If you are discussing the latest show you binged while your community is enraged over a real issue, you are losing.

I know the concern — audiences will tire of hearing about the drive-by shooting that injured five people last night. The data shows the average listening occasion lasts about 15 minutes. If you are not addressing the biggest issue during that time, you have failed the mission.

It is like a classic rock station playing a Billy Ray Cyrus song because listeners have heard Ozzy Osbourne too often. Consistent focus on the right priorities grows cume. News talk stations have the ability to discuss news in ways other media simply cannot.

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.

Could AI Redefine How Radio Ratings Are Measured?

Dr. Ed Cohen
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Could AI Redefine How Radio Ratings Are Measured?

Last week, I wrote about the relevance of radio ratings in the current state of the market. I noted that Xperi, with the DTS AutoStage product, can produce large-sample data for in-car listening.

Further, I covered a paper given recently at an audience measurement conference in Copenhagen that described cooperation between radio broadcasters and their supplier in Switzerland to develop a new system that will cost around half as much as their current system.

One thing I did not touch on was artificial intelligence (AI). AI is working its way into our business just as it is in many other industries. AI services can create spec spots in seconds, giving salespeople more ammo when meeting with clients. SonicTrek recently released a set of four AI formats.

But what about research? The term for using AI in research is “synthetic data.” In other words, the research company uses AI personalities trained on real human data to offer insights in hours instead of weeks.

One company, Toluna, is presently selling AI research services in multiple countries. Would you like your proposed ads to be tested quickly? No problem, because Toluna doesn’t have to recruit anyone. Their “synthetic AI personas” can see, hear, and react to dynamic stimuli like TV ads and online video.

Before you think, “they’re just making this up,” AI models have to learn from humans. In Toluna’s case, their AI personas, more than one million of them, are based on first-party data from 79 million people. The company claims to have “rich demographic, psychographic, lifestyle, and consumption attributes” from their data.

It’s easy to see how an AI system, whether from Toluna or a competitor, would be worth trying for a company that needs to test, in Toluna’s words, “ideas, claims, messages, flavors, or other product features at unprecedented scale and speed.” As I write this, the service is available in nine countries, including the US, with six more on the way.

For the moment, synthetic data and personas are not being used for audience measurement, at least not that I’m aware of, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this happening at some point in the not-too-distant future. If we can be certain of one thing, it’s that technology improves over time. Think about cell phones and how far the device has come in terms of capabilities.

With all the competition in the AI space, why couldn’t a research company, whether an incumbent or a new one started specifically for this purpose, come up with a large-scale set of synthetic AI “people” that would yield audience estimates?

Let’s play a mental game with that for a moment. We know how hard it is for Nielsen to recruit PPM panelists and diarykeepers. That’s not to fault Nielsen, as no company or even the US government can easily recruit survey respondents in 2025. Why not AI?

If we think about Nielsen for a moment, the company has data from hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of unique respondents in recent years. The company could match their listening and viewing data to other available first- and third-party information about these people to create the synthetic personas. Privacy issues? Probably not. Audience measurement is about aggregation, not individual responses.

To some extent, this isn’t new. We’ve been modeling data since the dawn of audience measurement. TV used genres of shows to model missing data from TV diaries. Radio has ascribed days from filled-in days in a diary to missing days for over 20 years. There are all kinds of edits and models used to deal with missing data in audience measurement. And if you think about it, weighting to populations is a form of modeling. Individual meter and diary data are weighted to make the survey look like the population.

Further, AI could take some of the “crazy” out of the system. A little AM in the top three because two heavyweight meters listened all day? A country station beating the local urban formats among Black listeners? An HD2 with a seven share? My guess is that won’t happen with synthetic data.

AI companies are moving quickly, with trillions of dollars being invested in chips, data centers, and people far smarter than me who can design the systems. These systems will get better, and at some point, someone, whether Nielsen or a new competitor, will figure out that an AI system can deliver near-real-time data that makes sense.

The investment in the design will likely be expensive, but the goal of nearly eliminating the recruitment, collection, and processing of human-generated listening and viewing data is very tempting. I don’t want to suggest when, but for my money, it’s inevitable.

Will advertisers and agencies push back? I doubt it, because the numbers they have today are just approximations anyway. AI ratings will probably smooth out fluctuations, which means fewer complaints about audience delivery.

Maybe this is just a crazy dream, but who would have imagined all the technology we have available to us today? Don’t bet against it.

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.

CNN Can’t Be Bullied By The Trump White House When It Comes to Stephen Miller

Garrett Searight
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CNN Can’t Be Bullied By The Trump White House When It Comes to Stephen Miller

CNN is learning, in real time, what happens when a media company feeds a political fire and then complains about the heat. A decade after propping up Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, the network is now being pressured by the Trump White House for not featuring Stephen Miller.

That demand isn’t about access or balance. It’s about control.

The administration has spent recent days needling CNN for excluding Miller from its shows. The network’s been labeled the “Chicken News Network,” and Vice President JD Vance piled on by suggesting that if CNN wants to be “a real news network,” it needs to “feature important voices from our administration.”

That line might play well on social media. It’s also the Vice President of the United States demanding that a cable news network serve as a PR wing for the administration. It’s the same manipulation as a high school boy telling his naive girlfriend, “If you really loved me, you wouldn’t say no.” And the fact that that’s the second least disgusting thing to come from a White House-affiliated social media account in the last few days is maddening, but I digress.

This is the bind CNN put itself in years ago. In 2015 and 2016, the network treated Trump rallies like must-see television. Empty podiums got airtime. Chyrons did the heavy lifting. Trump received wall-to-wall coverage because it was good for ratings and easy television. CNN wasn’t alone, but it was a major participant. The political monster that Trump became didn’t just wander into the village. It was invited.

Now the same political force CNN helped amplify is demanding obedience. That’s the consequence of confusing access with accountability and spectacle with substance. When you help normalize a political brand built on grievance and intimidation, you shouldn’t be shocked when it turns those tactics on you.

CNN’s current predicament is a no-win situation. It can stand up to the administration and say, plainly, “I’m not going to do what you tell me to do.” That approach would be healthier for cable news and better for the country. It would also reinforce the idea that journalism doesn’t exist to launder talking points for those in power.

Or CNN can cower. It can book Stephen Miller, let him filibuster segments, clash with anchors about mundane topics, and pretend that this is what balance looks like in 2025. That choice would buy temporary peace while permanently staining what’s left of the network’s credibility. Viewers already skeptical of cable news wouldn’t suddenly return. They’d just roll their eyes and watch something else.

Does interviewing Stephen Miller add anything meaningful to CNN’s programming? Not especially. His views are well known. His style is combative by design. The exchanges would generate clips, and social media attention, sure. And they’d serve the White House’s interests far more than the audience’s.

But there’s another layer here that makes this mess even messier. CNN isn’t just a news organization right now. It’s an asset. A potential acquisition target. Names like Netflix and Paramount Skydance hover in the background, and Trump’s preference for the latter isn’t exactly subtle.

That’s where the pressure gets real. If CNN defies Trump and draws a hard line, does the likelihood of a Paramount Skydance acquisition increase? Yeah, I think so. And that appears to be very much not what people inside the building want. Corporate futures — as we saw earlier this year with the bribe settlement that Paramount paid President Trump to end his lawsuit over the 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris –have a way of shaping editorial courage, even when no one says the quiet part out loud.

On the flip side, doing the White House’s bidding comes with a cost. Another credibility hit. Another reason for an already dwindling audience to tune out. CNN has spent years trying to regain trust and redefine itself beyond the chaos of the Trump era. Handing programming decisions to political operatives would undo that work in a hurry.

So here we are. A hell of a conundrum.

Ultimately, the network can’t cower now. If it does, the message is clear that intimidation works. That’s a dangerous precedent, not just for CNN, but for every newsroom watching. Still, CNN would be wise to reflect on how it helped create this moment in the first place. The network didn’t invent Trump, but it certainly benefited from him. It profited and blindly promoted, laughing all the way to the bank.

But who’s laughing now? Actions have consequences. CNN is learning that lesson right now, live on air, with no commercial break long enough to make it go away.

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.

Fox News Sees Highest Rated Non-Election Year Ever in 2025

BNM Staff
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Fox News Sees Highest Rated Non-Election Year Ever in 2025

2025 was one for the record books for Fox News. The network saw its highest-rated non-election year ever.

In the weekday primetime window, Fox News averaged 3.2 million viewers for the duration of 2025. That surpasses even broadcast network channels like NBC, which averaged 3.1 million viewers in weekday prime.

64% of the cable news audience was held by Fox News in both the primetime and total day viewership categories. That marks the highest share for the network since it launched in 1996.

The success of the brand wasn’t limited to linear television, either. On YouTube, Fox News saw more than 4.3 billion views in 2025. That figure represents a 57% increase compared to the prior year.

“Delivering another record-breaking year, outpacing broadcast networks, and reaching new highs on YouTube is a testament to the strength of our brand and our ability to meet the audience where they are,” said Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. “I am incredibly proud of our unrivaled team on and off camera, whose journalism, global newsgathering skills and powerful voices continue to set the standard in news and connect with Americans nationwide.” 

The 12 highest-rated programs in cable news were from Fox News. The Five, Jesse Watters Primetime, Hannity, Special Report with Bret Baier, Gutfeld!, The Ingraham Angle, The Will Cain Show, Outnumbered, The Faulkner Focus, America’s Newsroom, The Story with Martha MacCallum, and America Reports all saw double-digit growth in year-over-year metrics.

While Fox was up 14% in the primetime ratings, competitors CNN (-15%) and MS NOW (-25%) went down. The two networks saw double-digit ratings decline in primetime.

The only areas where Fox News did not see double-digit growth were in the Primetime ratings with the Adults 25-54 demographic, seeing a 2% decline compared to 2024. It also saw a 1% dip in the total day ratings in the same sector.

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.

Zach Gelb Won’t Be Part of Westwood One Sports, To Host Last Show on Friday

BSM Staff
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Zach Gelb Won’t Be Part of Westwood One Sports, To Host Last Show on Friday

With the change from the Infinity Sports Network to Westwood One Sports, many of the currently established hosts won’t be making the move. Zach Gelb is now included in that list.

On Monday, Gelb revealed that The Zach Gelb Show will end on Friday afternoon, as he will not be included in the new Westwood One Sports network lineup.”

“My employment on December 28th with Audacy is coming to a close. It’s coming to an end,” said Gelb. “Conversations before the new network was announced were had with me, and also the day after the new network was announced were had with me.

“I was under the impression, and what I was told from the people that run the new network is that I was going to have a spot on the new network,” continued Gelb. “And they kept talking to me about being their guy and their choice for 12 to 3. I don’t know what happened. I still don’t know what happened, and I’m just being fully transparent with you, but I was never extended an offer to continue The Zach Gelb Show on the new network. So that’s the announcement today, is that The Zach Gelb Show is coming to an end. Our last broadcast is going to be Friday.”

Gelb continued by noting he’s proud of his tenure with the network and looks forward to what is in store for his future.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve done here,” he said. “This is a great network, and this was a great network. I don’t know what the new network will sound like. I wish them nothing but the best. They have the right to pick who they want in their lineup. And for whatever the reasons, they didn’t want me a part of it. I think it’s a mistake. Time will tell. Maybe they got it right.

“I thought I deserved a little bit more transparency and respect from the new network. But hey, they’re entitled to make the decision however way that they wanted to,” he concluded.

Zach Gelb originally joined CBS Sports Radio in 2018, hosting the network’s 2-6 AM ET timeslot. However, he left the network in 2019 to work for SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio and SiriusXM NFL Radio.

In 2020, he returned to CBS Sports Radio to host the 6-10 PM ET window, moving to the 3-6 PM ET timeslot in 2023.

Westwood One Sports has yet to announce who will host the 12-3 PM ET timeslot when the network launches.

Currently, the lineup consists of:6-9 AM ET: Drake C. Toll
9 AM-12 PM ET: You Better You Bet with Nick Kostos
12-3 PM ET: TBD
3-6 PM ET: The Jim Rome Show
6-11 PM ET: Bet MGM Tonight with Brad Evans and Pat Boyle

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.

The Pat McAfee Show Sees 7% Ratings Increase During November

BSM Staff
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The Pat McAfee Show Sees 7% Ratings Increase During November

ESPN has seen ratings growth for several of its studio shows during November, with the news especially positive for The Pat McAfee Show.

During the month, the show, between both linear TV and YouTube, saw a 7% increase in overall viewership compared to the prior month. In November, the show averaged 445,000 total viewers, with a 17% increase in linear viewers.

That figure represented the highest-rated November in the history of The Pat McAfee Show.

Other shows in the ESPN lineup also saw ratings increases during the month. Get Up saw a 2% increase to 461,000 total viewers. First Take saw a 5% uptick in overall viewers to 518,000.

NFL Live saw a 15% increase in overall viewers to 445,000 total, matching The Pat McAfee Show. NBA Today saw a month-over-month increase of 23% to 342,000 total viewers.

The most-watched studio show in the ESPN lineup during November was Pardon The Interuption with Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. That show saw an average audience of 717,000 total viewers, up 6%.

Between the various editions of SportsCenter, viewership ranged from 320,000 viewers (2 PM ET, up 23%), to as high as 527,000 (6 PM ET, up 18%).

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.

MS NOW to Host Primetime Special with Michelle Obama

BNM Staff
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MS NOW to Host Primetime Special with Michelle Obama

MS NOW has announced plans for a primetime special featuring Michelle Obama to discuss her latest book.

On Thursday, December 18th, Obama will sit down with Jonathan Capehart to discuss “The Look“, her new book.

The former First Lady’s book is centered on the role that fashion and self-expression played during her time in the White House.

Capehart — one of the hosts of the network’s The Weeend, airing on Saturdays and Sundays from 7-10 AM ET — will lead the discussion from the Blackbird House, a community co-working space in Los Angeles.

The Look: A Conversation with Michelle Obama will be broadcast at 8 PM ET on MS NOW. It will also be made available on the network’s digital channels.

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.

Cara Banks Departs Golf Channel for Role with NBC Sports

BSM Staff
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Cara Banks Departs Golf Channel for Role with NBC Sports

Golf Channel host Cara Banks has announced she’s leaving the network to join NBC Sports in a full-time capacity.

Banks has spent more than a decade with Golf Channel as a studio host and reporter with the network.

With her new role at NBC Sports, Cara Banks is helping lead the network’s golf coverage, as well as working on the Olympics and the Premier League.

In a post on social media, Banks shared the news, as well as her excitement for the move.

“I will never forget the leap from England to hosting live studio shows here in the U.S. in 2015 and grateful to everyone who held my hand as I grew along the way,” Banks said.

Cara Banks makes the move from Golf Channel to NBC Sports comes as the split between NBCUniversal and Versant — which encompasses the former cable assets of NBCUniversal like Golf Channel, CNBC, and MS NOW, among others — nears its completion.

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.

Cumulus Launches 3rd Country Station in Dallas With Debut of Country Legends & Texas Classics 93.3 HD2

BMM Staff
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Cumulus Launches 3rd Country Station in Dallas With Debut of Country Legends & Texas Classics 93.3 HD2

Cumulus Media has announced the launch of its third country station in the Dallas-Fort Worth market as Country Legends & Texas Classics 93.3 HD2 hit the airwaves on Monday.

The station signed on the air at Noon on Monday with “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” by George Strait serving as the first song.

According to a statement from the company, the station will feature classic country artists like George Strait, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and Reba McIntyre among others.

“We are doubling down on our long-term commitment to Country music in Texas by launching Country Legends & Texas Classics 93.3 HD2,” Said Cumulus Dallas Regional Vice President Dan Bennett. “This station will give a voice to great Country hits from the 70’s and 80s. 

“Paired with our fan favorite DFW Country stations, 99.5 The WOLF and New Country 96.3, this creates a wall of Country for our station group and for the passionate Country music lovers in the DFW area and strengthens our belief in this incredible format,” Bennett concluded.

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.

WWE Returning SmackDown to 3 Hours on USA Network in 2026

BSM Staff
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WWE Returning SmackDown to 3 Hours on USA Network in 2026

WWE SmackDown is expanding in 2026, with USA Network airing three hours of coverage beginning when the calendar flips.

Previously, the show was on for two hours from its debut in 1999 to earlier this year, when the show moved to USA Network after previously being seen on FOX.

After slimming the broadcast to two hours in the middle of the year, USA Network will now broadcast a three-hour show beginning on Friday, January 2nd.

The news was announced on Friday’s latest episode of the two-hour version of SmackDown.

With the expansion of the show back to three hours each week, WWE now has more than eight hours of live weekly television programming between the Raw, NXT, and SmackDown brands.

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.

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