Beasley Broadcast Group Q2 Net Revenue Up 2.8%.  The net revenue of $27.8 million represents a year-over-year increase of 2.8% for the second quarter of 2016.  For the first six months of the year, net revenue was $55.2 million, a year-over-year increase of 7.3%.  In a statement, Beasley Broadcast Group says the Q2 figure “primarily reflects higher revenue from its Tampa-St. Petersburg and Charlotte market clusters.  Station Operating Income declined 2.8% during the second quarter of 2016 because of “a $1 million, or 5.3%, increase in station operating expenses at the Tampa-St. Petersburg and Charlotte market clusters, partially as a result of higher bonuses earned, cash promotions, event/concert expenses and third party costs associated with digital services, which more than offset the increase in 2016 second quarter revenue.”  Interim CEO and chief operating officer Caroline Beasley states, “During the second quarter, Beasley’s clusters again outperformed the markets that report to Miller Kaplan on a combined revenue basis and we expect this trend to continue in 2016.  In particular, we saw very strong results at our Tampa-Saint Petersburg cluster though our Augusta, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Ft. Myers-Naples and Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville clusters also outperformed their respective markets on a revenue basis.”  Referencing the just-announced acquisition of Greater Media’s radio stations, Beasley says the deal will “significantly broaden our local radio broadcasting and digital platform, footprint and revenue base by adding stations that are geographically complementary to our existing operating base while presenting the opportunity for synergies with the company’s existing operations.  Specifically, the transaction is expected to increase our broadcast portfolio by approximately 40% and more than double our revenue and audience reach, giving us market leading stations, great brands and an opportunity to engage with brand new markets.”

CBS RADIO Dips 1% During Second Quarter.  The breakout of the performance of CBS RADIO’s stations doesn’t get real specific – the company lumps the division into the Local Broadcasting category with its O&O TV stations – but simply notes that revenue was off 1% for the quarter, as was the CBS Television Stations segment.  As a whole, CBS Corp. is reporting revenue for the second quarter of 2016 increased 2% to $3.29 billion from $3.22 billion for the same prior-year period.

‘ESPNLA 710AM’ and Time Warner Announce Simulcast Deal.  A five-hour block of sports talk radio from ESPN O&O KSPN, Los Angeles “ESPNLA 710AM” will be simulcast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.  The two parties are announcing a multi-year programming agreement to simulcast the “Thompson & Trudell” and “Mason & Ireland” shows beginning Wednesday, August 3.  The “Thompson & Trudell show” is co-hosted by Mychal Thompson and Mike Trudell, and airs from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.  The “Mason & Ireland” show is co-hosted by Steve Mason and John Ireland and airs from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. ESPNLA VP and general manager Scott McCarthy comments, “We are thrilled to work with Time Warner Cable SportsNet to increase the shows’ exposure, allowing Los Angeles sports fans to see another side of our fantastic personalities.  The synergy of our Lakers broadcast relationships makes this a natural fit and will provide fans compelling content on a daily basis.”

Cox Promotes Rohr to Ohio Market Vice President.  Taking over for the retiring Julia Wallace as Cox Media Group Ohio market vice president is Rob Rohr.  He rises from his previous post as senior vice president and general manager of CMG Ohio.  CMG EVP Mike Joseph says, “Selecting Rob for this role was an easy decision.  He is a proven leader with experience on the sales and content side of our business.  We also believe in promoting talent from within the company, so I’m proud to announce this move.”  In his previous role Rohr led the team responsible for producing and distributing news and information for WHIO-TV, the Dayton Daily News, country WHKO “K99.1” and news/talk WHIO-AM/FM, as well as the Springfield News-Sun and the Journal-News.

Benkiel Named Market Manager for Alpha Media’s Moberly-Macon, Missouri Stations.  Sales and management pro Mark Benkiel is named the market manager for Alpha Media’s  Moberly-Macon, Missouri station group that includes country KRES, news/talk KWIX-AM/FM, Christian contemporary KTCM, and oldies KIRK.  Benkiel most recently was general sales manager for Cumulus Media’s Macon, Georgia station group.  Alpha Media EVP Midwest region George Pelletier says, “Mark brings a terrific level of enthusiasm and experience to the Alpha Moberly team.  He understands community broadcasting and will be a great addition to the Alpha pack.”

Presidential Race and Party Conventions Top News/Talk Story of the Week.  The activities of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions were the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio this week, landing atop the Talkers Ten^TM.  At #2 this week was the DNC server hack issue.  Following at #3 was the Black Lives Matter movement and at #4 was the ISIS terror threats and the deadly attack on the church in France.  The Talkers Ten^TM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.  It is published every Friday at Talkers.com.  View this week’s chart here.

Tags: Beasley Broadcast Group, Caroline Beasley, CBS Radio, Cox Media Group, ESPNLA, John Ireland, Julia Wallace, KSPN, Mark Benkiel, Mike Trudell, Miller Kaplan, Mychal Thompson, Rob Rohr, Steve Mason, Talkers Magazine

Category: Front Page News, Industry News