RBR+TVBR Spring 2020 Special Report

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COVID-19 AND TV: Protect and Serve STAFF SAFETY

REPACK IMPACT

HOW BROADCAST TV IS HANDLING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

CAN TV SALES STILL DELIVER A STRONG SALARY? THE SKINNY ON THE EVER-SHRINKING STATION VALUATION WHY ESPORTS AND PODCASTS COULD BRING RADIO STRONG NTR BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS: THE OFFICIAL LIST S PRIN G 2020 · RB R .C O M

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COVID-19 and TV

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BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS

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IS TV SALES A STRONG SALARY PROFESSION?

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BROADCAST MEDIA’S BIG SHIFT

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VISIONS OF TUMBLING VALUATIONS

How are TV companies ensuring their employees’ safety? Are equipment manufacturers impacted in supplying TV stations the goods they need?

Who’s on top of RBR+TVBR’s second-annual readers’ Honor Roll?

For the first time, this reader poll is ranked.

Just what does TV seller compensation look like as the first quarter of 2020 began — ahead of COVID-19 worries that have greatly impacted the global economy?

What can a company – especially one focused on audio consumption – do to keep the profits coming in the next decade?

Here’s what Beasley Media Group and Entercom are doing.

Have broadcast media deals – in particular in the radio industry — fallen off a steep cliff … with no way to climb back to the top?

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Chairman: Eric Rhoads Boca Raton, FL, 33432 Publisher: Deborah Parenti Phone: 561-655-8778 Editor-in-Chief: Adam R Jacobson www.rbr.com Director of Operations: April McLynn Twitter: @rbrtvbr

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COVID-19 AND TV: To Protect and Serve B

roadcast television has taken a lead role in delivering important information regarding the coronavirus pandemic to local communities across the U.S. But how are TV companies ensuring their employees’ safety? Then there is the repack process, and equipment manufacturers working diligently to supply TV stations the goods they need. What is the impact for all in the TV business?

Few expected such questions to take a front-and-center position in the Spring RBR+TVBR Special Edition, normally distributed at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. Thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic impacting most of Earth, the 2020 edition is being delivered via U.S. Mail and PDF download.

As “social distancing” gained acceptance across mid-March, local TV stations and their ownership groups went into overdrive in swift order, adding newscasts with determination as the desire for more information grew in city after city.

That said, protecting America’s telejournalists from the threat of the COVID-19 virus has become paramount. Unlike audio media, which can involve ISDN communication tied together from home studios, TV news needs a studio, and reporters in the field or at a satellite newsgathering center inside the newsroom.

Striking a balance is something Meredith Local Media is committed to.

All 17 stations in Meredith’s markets, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Nashville and St. Louis, remained open and operational as of March 19. If one or more stations were forced to close temporarily, Meredith developed a plan to keep all markets on the air and

online via its hubs in Phoenix and Atlanta. Each station has been practicing contingency plans, including producing news broadcasts from alternate locations.

NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS “Our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of our employees, and we also believe it is of the utmost importance to continue to provide the public with high-quality journalism they can trust during this time,” says Meredith Local Media Group President Pat McCreery. “Our stations are taking a number of preventative measures to do our part in flattening the curve, including asking all reporters, photographers and multimedia journalists to work remotely when possible, anchors staying at least six feet apart during newscasts and using several locations on the news set and in newsrooms, and advising all other employees not critical to news production to work from home.”

“Our news stations are a part of the communities they serve, and right now it’s important that we support those communities,” adds Gary Brown, Meredith Local Media’s SVP of Content.

At Cox Media Group, a daily Crisis Management Team began the week of March 16, helping its operations move quickly through the coronavirus crisis, EVP/Content, Product & Innovation Marian Pittman tells RBR+TVBR. “Cox Media Group moved quickly to provide the safest work environment possible,” Pittman says. “We quickly enacted a work-from-home policy. All non-essential onsite employees were mandated to work from home. This was to lower the risk of

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“We are producing many newscasts from home, which is something we never thought possible” — Marian Pittman, Cox Media Group

contamination for the people who needed to be on site. But that wasn’t enough, so we challenged our IT and engineering staff to find ways for us to broadcast from home.”

In a matter of four days, Cox Media Group’s TV stations were able to reduce the number of employees in a newsroom to 10 at any given time. “We are producing many newscasts from home, which is something we never thought possible,” Pittman says. “Reporters and photographers have been paired up and assigned to one vehicle — and never enter the building. All editorial meetings are done virtually.”

In the field, long stick mics are now the norm. Reporters are keeping a log of every person they are near each day, for use as a reference should they fall ill.

For election coverage or newsmakers reports, Skype replaced in-studio interviews. Surgical gloves became a must for shared equipment in the control room, master control, studio and assignment desk.

What if the newsroom becomes contaminated? A makeshift “safe area” has already been designated by CMG. “You should be cleaning your facilities three times per day,” Pittman advises.

Meanwhile, for those in-studio serving as anchors, distancing has gone into effect. Among the stations showing how this has impacted news operations is WSB-2 in Atlanta, Cox Media Group’s flagship property.

Similar efforts were provided to viewers of a Graham Media Group station in Orlando, WKMG-6, with Erik Sandoval showing how he’s working from a couch in his living room to continue to provide news pertinent to Central Florida viewers. Planning 4 · RB R .C O M · S PRIN G 2020

sessions are being conducted via online video chat.

Jamie Kaye Walters, Creative Services and Programming Director for Graham’s WDIV-4 in Detroit, notes that the company has taken “major steps to protect our employees while never wavering on our commitment to serve our public.” A company communique notes that all seven Graham stations “are working with significantly fewer than 50 people at the station,” and reporters and photographers are meeting in the field; vehicles are going home with employees.

“The skeleton crew of station personnel are heeding the social distancing directive and working with ample distance between people,” Walters says. “The assignment desk is now decentralized, with one person on site and the rest of the team answering calls, arranging crews and monitoring scanners from home. The majority of our news, digital, sales, creative services and business teams are working remotely, using Zoom, Microsoft 360 and Slack to communicate most effectively. Engineering has thinned out their staff with staggered crews as they work to get all of our teams up and running remotely with technology needs.”

Graham moved quickly in early March by establishing a coronavirus task force for all stations that includes WDIV medical reporter Dr. Frank McGeorge and longtime WDIV medical producer Sarah Mayberry.

“Many of these changes feel counterintuitive in such a hands-on, collaborative and time-sensitive industry,” notes Graham President/ CEO Emily Barr. “But in challenging times, we are proud of the swift efforts and seamless adoption of these new best practices.

And we are proud to show our communities that we ‘walk the walk’ when we report on the extreme safety measures that must be taken, even by essential personnel.”

On March 19, a stay-at-home order went into effect in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. Hours later, the entire state of California was directed to do the same by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

For the news anchors and reporters at KSBY-6, the NBC affiliate for the Central Coast recently acquired by The E.W. Scripps Co. from Cordillera Communications, “social distancing” and careful in-the-field reporting had already been in place. Afternoon and evening anchors Carina Corral and Richard Gearhart can be seen

seated at a table, with the necessary distance between the two clearly visible to viewers. Reporter Michael Torres was seen doing one report from outside of KSBY’s hilltop offices and studios with the city and U.S. 101 in the background — far from others.

While that’s not so different from any other TV station, KSBY is a small-market network affiliate with resources that may pale in comparison to NBC O&Os to the north in San Jose and to the south in Los Angeles.

As such, protecting the entire staff is essential for ensuring the continued delivery of news in the region; News Press & Gazette stations in the DMA are located Keith Pelletier John Shoemaker to the south, in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. With travel limited, KSBY is the lone TV station that can actively cover remotely. As such, there is no need for teams to travel or visit the northern portion of the market, home to wineries and Cal Poly broadcast media properties. That said, the coronavirus pandemic San Luis Obispo. has presented a conundrum for those in need of Qligent’s “Protecting the health and welfare of Scripps employees, services — it is the customer who may have difficulty in launching informing our audiences and maintaining business continuity are a product, as they may not be able to immediately access the our top priorities,” the company said in a prepared statement. “We hardware housed at a station. have dedicated a team to staying updated on the latest news and Still, Shoemaker believes the current crisis isn’t as severe for federal policies about COVID-19 so our company policies continue Qligent and its product users as the 9/11 terrorist attacks were. to reflect these priorities as circumstances change. Scripps has Then, CDs and jump drives were being mailed to customers. If that developed workplace guidelines on non-essential travel, workplace were still the main delivery mechanism for Qligent, a much more cleaning and working from home. Specific local and national difficult situation would be seen. business decisions are being handled on a market-by-market basis Qligent’s Dynamic OTT Monitoring platform, which the company and reflect state and local guidelines.” planned to showcase at the cancelled 2020 NAB Show, is perhaps Remote broadcast studios have also become the norm for an integral tool for TV broadcasters today, given the high level of radio stations in cities including Baltimore, where Comrex client streaming video consumed by Americans forced into quarantine WBAL-AM 1090 was spotted using the company’s software out over the last several weeks. in the field by reporter and morning host Scott Wykoff. At “We provide the ability to know what is going on with [a station’s] NPR West, Elise Hu stopped by the Culver City, Calif., facility on content distribution vis-à-vis monitoring of a signal,” Shoemaker March 17 so she could track from her home. In Collegeville, Pa., says. This includes what the viewer sees on a screen.

Sports Talk WIP-FM in Philadelphia talk host Jon Marks was also On March 18, viewing a local TV newscast via the NewsOn app using Comrex equipment. on Roku yielded a very distorted picture — a sign of trouble at the station. Qligent’s product can detect bitrate problems, offering CLOUD DEPLOYMENT IN STORMY SEAS “Quality of Service” and “Quality of Experience” needs for a For many of the technology companies serving broadcast broadcaster. television, ensuring timely delivery of necessary products has Ensuring quality audio for consumers in a time of crisis is an become one of the greatest needs — and fears — for many leaders. equally important concern, and Orban President David Day says This includes Qligent, which strategically, by plan, has what things are as normal as they can be. Most U.S. employees are Asheville, N.C.-based Director of Sales John Shoemaker calls a working from home. Orders are still being received. But, Day “very remote workforce.” He said on March 19, “We are spread out says, business is slower than usual. On March 20, two orders from all across the Southeast, and employees in our corporate office Broadcast Supply Worldwide (BSW) were being fulfilled. Orban was have the option of working from home. About half are.” still receiving a fair amount of repair work, too. This type of work Qligent provides monitoring, visualization and delivery requires people to be in a facility. analytics products for broadcasters, and its systems are deployed With “stay in place” orders increasing as RBR+TVBR went

HOW NAUTEL IS COPING WITH COVID-19 RBR+TVBR on March 20 asked Nautel CEO Kevin T. Rodgers what (if any) impact the coronavirus is having on Nautel in the U.S. Rodgers said, “First of all, our thoughts go out to your readers and the broadcasters doing everything they can to maintain transmission continuity. As for Nautel, at the time of your interview, the locations of our two North American factories have been somewhat spared, with only a few COVID-19 cases statewide. We realize that things are changing rapidly, so we acted early on to move a significant portion of our staff into self-isolation but still have enough of our team in the factory to maintain full production and test capacity. For the most part, our support staff is working remotely, which they have always done on evenings and weekends anyway. The safety of our staff is critical, so we watch this situation on a daily basis.

“At this point, our customers aren’t facing any delays at either of our factories. Nautel is unique in that we are fortunate to have two factories that have similar production capabilities. If one of our facilities was forced to close, we can maintain production of most products in the facility that would remain open. We also maintain our support team in multiple locations, and they are quite accustomed to working remotely. As our industry manages through this challenging period, we’ll be working hard to ensure that customers can count on parts and support assistance for their Nautel transmitters when they need it.”

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to press, it is uncertain how Orban will be impacted. Its repair facility is in the Phoenix area; other facilities are in New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. Then there is the engineering group in California, where company founder Bob Orban and his team are working from home.

Day says, “Product development is still going on. And, in a way, we are pushing ahead — a little slower than normal.”

With SBE meetings suspended, putting a hold on Bob Orban-hosted teleconferences on audio processing and loudness control, the focus is on IBC this autumn, as well as NAB initiatives slated for October. There, Orban will give attention to its new partnership in Canada with Ross Video and products allowing virtual radio and TV processing in the cloud.

QUINCY’S TWIN ENGINEERING NEEDS Few outside the broadcast media industry may know of Quincy, Ill. However, the small Illinois city plays an outsize role for TV stations across the U.S. In addition to being home to station owner Quincy Media (QMI), the city is home to manufacturing facilities for Broadcast Electronics (BE) and GatesAir. For transmitter manufacturing, both BE and GatesAir rely on these production plants.

On March 20, BE COO Perry Priestly confirmed that an Illinois “stay-at-home” declaration would not adversely impact its business.

“It doesn’t mean that we will close our factory,” Priestly said from his home outside of Washington, D.C., in Maryland. Some 20 of the 40 employees in Quincy were reporting to work, with the remainder at home using equipment provided by BE. “Obviously, you can’t build transmitters from home,” Priestly said.

Because of its international business, BE began preparing for the worst-case scenario on March 1. As such, some 160 transmitters for radio and TV were built in preparation for any delays, international or domestic. BE’s business is split 50-50 between the U.S. and foreign territories.

On March 20, there was bad news: BE received word it could not ship two large orders to India. With orders to Indonesia and the Philippines also in queue, Priestly’s concerns were heightened.

Domestically, some 40,000 transmitters are always in need of spare equipment. Some stations in California put in orders. Not all were delivered. That’s because United Parcel Service (UPS) has refused to go into certain areas of the Golden State. The result?

The product gets held at a regional center and is then shipped back to Illinois.

Despite these challenges, morale was high domestically. At BE’s Italian operations, not so.

That is in contrast to the Brescia, Italy, operations center that serves as GatesAir’s recently added European hub. The facility is between Milan and Verona, in one of the world’s biggest COVID19 hot zones, but GatesAir CEO Bruce Swail is lucky; he said on March 19, “Fortunately, Brescia has had the least impact of all of the surrounding villages in that area. Our plant is still open there.

We have amended work practices, and density of employees was already low, so it was easy to spread people well beyond the sixfoot guidelines.”

To assist Italian workers, GatesAir shipped face masks for use in its facility.

Back in the States, “It’s a little bit of uncharted territory, as you can well imagine,” Swail says. “We have met frequently, the executive team, in the last few weeks, and there is no playbook.

That’s the unique thing about it — we have to use good judgment, 6 · RB R .C O M · S PRIN G 2020

“We have met frequently, the executive team, in the last few weeks, and there is no playbook.

That’s the unique thing about it — we have to use good judgment.”

— Bruce Swail

and we are very strong followers of the CDC guidelines. Because of the size of the operation in Quincy, the public health department reached out to us, since we have a good number of people there.”

GatesAir shipped the majority of its repack transmitters before the end of the year. Field service crews that are either turnkey or can assist local site staff are on call.

Then there are the tower crews and other vendors. “Those could be problematic,” Swail said.

On the factory and production floor, Purell bottles can be found every 10 or 15 feet. By design, production cells have always been very distant from one another. Still, work in the Quincy plant is voluntary during the COVID-19 crisis.

With a supply chain background, Swail, along with Quincy operations executive Ryan Burke, has worked hard to ensure GatesAir stays ahead of its needs through June. “We’re not beholden to anyone to meet our commitments for the first half of this year,” he says. “We’re not material-constrained. It could get tight in the second half if this goes on for months and months. We are seeing early signs of China going back to work, and that’s a helpful sign.”

KEEPING REPACK ON TRACK “Temporary changes to business operations” were put in place at Maine-based Dielectric on March 18.

Even so, VP/GM Keith Pelletier discussed with RBR+TVBR how Dielectric will remain in business, with manufacturing staff onsite and general business operations continuing from home offices.

Fifteen employees are stationed in Lewiston, Me., while 65 are in Raymond, Me. With FCC Chairman Ajit Pai alluding to tower crews being pulled from the field in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Pelletier says Dielectric was in good shape prior to the virus’ spread in the U.S with respect to the post-spectrum-auction repack process for TV. It is presently working on 20 antennas that need to be built, with some in assembly.

“Barring any additional issues with this outbreak, we were already well ahead of the installers, based on what we have in storage,” Pelletier said.

But that’s the challenge: With the situation changing day by day, it was impossible to assess how rural Maine would be protecting its residents come late April. As of March 19, four big-tower installers had taken a two-week hiatus to assess the situation, Pelletier said.

For Dielectric, and other product manufacturers, attention will now turn to getting new product information out to the trade press.

NEXTGEN TV opportunities are front and center, too.

Social media and virtual presentations will help. Still, the new reality caused by coronavirus is one that many are still adjusting to, including Pelletier.

“For the next few months, it is going to look a lot different.”

Broadcast Television’s

BEST LEADERS Who’s on top of RBR+TVBR’s second annual reader Honor Roll?

These are trying times for the United States, with the novel coronavirus COVID-19 disrupting lives and businesses. As of early March, this publication was slated for distribution at the 2020 NAB Show. Today, we are delivering it to you via the U.S. Postal Service and electronically, via digital communications.

No business understands the art of digital delivery of visual media better than television. And, in a time of international crisis, the leaders in charge of local over-the-air television — the lifeline for communities large and small — have shined.

From the Central Coast of California to the Big Apple, local television has served as the hub of news and information. It’s also the perfect destination for a respite from the latest details on coronavirus.

With this as a backdrop, RBR+TVBR is privileged to acknowledge the individuals in command of local television with the naming of the 2020 Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. These individuals have demonstrated in various ways how to motivate their local and regional teams to success. They are all winners, and for the first time, appear in a ranked list based on RBR+TVBR reader voting. These power players represent an industry that’s sprung to action in a time of crisis, and they deserve full commendation for their leadership today.

For the first time, Radio +Television Business Report is pleased to present a ranked listing of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. The list was compiled from nominations made by RBR+TVBR readers — in other words, people who know the television industry from the inside — followed by research and editorial evaluation.

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PERRY SOOK

Nexstar Media Group, President/ CEO

Perry Sook

Placing at the top of the 2020 Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders list is an individual who has emerged as one of the most recognizable, and influential, leaders in the TV industry today: Perry Sook.

In 1996, Sook founded Nexstar with the purchase of a TV station in Scranton, Pa. Today, the company is the nation’s largest local TV and media company, operating nearly 200 stations across 115 markets. That is thanks, in large part, to the merger of Nexstar and Tribune Media, which received FCC approval on Sept. 16, 2019. As such, Nexstar is now the owner of such venerable stations as KTLA-5 in Los Angeles, WGN-9 in Chicago and WPIX-11 in New York.

It’s an impressive rise for Sook, who briefly worked as a television news anchor at WDTV-TV, the CBS affiliate in Clarksburg, W. Va., at the start of his career. Many years later, Sook still has his hand in Clarksburg — sort of. Nexstar in November 2015 purchased WDTV’s competitor there, WBOY-TV. With a run as Chairman of TVB from 2018-2019, Sook has also taken on a lead role in championing the new sales opportunities ahead for over-the-air television that can come via NEXTGEN TV, and the ATSC 3.0 being introduced on a voluntary basis in such pioneering markets as Portland, Ore. As RBR+TVBR reported on March 13, Meredith Local Media and Nexstar Media Group have jointly announced plans to launch the first NEXTGEN TV service in Portland, DMA No. 22 in the U.S. RBR+TVBR caught up with Sook in early March, before the escalation of COVID-19, 8 · RB R .C O M · S PRIN G 2020

which made outreach to all of the 2020 Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders a most difficult task.

We asked Sook how the voluntary rollout of NEXTGEN TV is poised to revolutionize the company.

“Nexstar has been at the forefront of the development and rollout of NEXTGEN TV for some time,” Sook says. “We have embraced this technology and believe in the benefits it will deliver to consumers and broadcasters alike. Consumers will enjoy a dramatically improved video/ audio experience as well as robust content opportunities in conjunction with Internet connectivity. We can also help our advertising and marketing partners better target their messaging to a more focused group of consumers. At Nexstar we think of NEXTGEN TV as a platform opportunity, enabling us to open up a secure and efficient information-delivery system to all kinds of applications. The best ideas probably haven’t even been conceived yet.”

Asked what has made him a great leader throughout his career, Sook says, “I believe the following characteristics have helped me throughout my career leading Nexstar: decisiveness — the ability to understand and tolerate risk and make decisions accordingly; the ability to communicate and articulate a vision to Nexstar’s various audiences — consumers, investors and employees; and optimism and a sense of humor.”

RBR+TVBR also asked Sook how television can continue to see strong revenue from advertising as retransmission fees are helping to soften a growing challenge by bringing broadcast TV rates deemed fair by station owners.

“Studies show that viewers still turn to television for news and information more than any other broad medium,” he says.

“Television will continue to see strong advertising results as long as it continues offering high-quality news, sports and entertainment programming. At Nexstar, our focus is local, serving the communities in which we are located with live, exclusive local news programming, and helping our advertisers sell goods and services.”

He continues, “Scale is also extremely important in generating both advertising and retransmission revenues. Our most recent acquisitions, of Tribune Media last year and Media General in 2017, helped Nexstar achieve scale and better positioned the company to offer national advertising opportunities and to negotiate with our cable, satellite and network partners.”

Lastly, Sook was asked the following question: What are the top three charac-

teristics needed to lead people in broadcast television through 2030?

His reply: “First, a willingness to innovate and adapt to change quickly. Second, the ability to articulate a vision and direction for the company and its employees.

Third, as I said above, optimism and a sense of humor.”

Anne Schelle

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ANNE SCHELLE

Pearl TV, Managing Director

Does Anne Schelle qualify as a television leader?

Before taking the role of Managing Director of ATSC 3.0 consortium Pearl TV, Schelle was acting Managing Director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (from 2008-2012) and represented an alliance of more than 900 TV stations in advancing mobile digital television. At Pearl TV, she is perhaps the No. 1 person driving the transition to NEXTGEN TV. She was one of a select group of TV-industry professionals at a November 2019 Media Bureau symposium on current and future trends in the television industry.

Indeed, Schelle is an important TV-industry figure shepherding TV’s push into the future and, while not a CEO or a station owner, she has been recognized

by RBR+TVBR’s readers as the No. 2 broadcast TV leader, behind Perry Sook of Nexstar Media Group.

For the record, Pearl TV companies reach more than two-thirds of the U.S. population, with more than 750 local TV stations operated by Pearl TV members.

RBR+TVBR conducted a Q&A with Schelle via e-mail on St. Patrick’s Day, just as the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to all nonessential Amazon shipments and TV

stations across the nation added additional newscasts to help serve local consumers in their respective markets.

RBR+TVBR: What has made you a great leader throughout your career?

ANNE SCHELLE: I believe it’s my ability to cast a vision of the future, have passion for that vision, and the ability to work with companies, stakeholders and their leaders to develop consensus and actionable roadmaps that achieve rapid results. It’s also important to be decisive, be courageous, and have a sense of humor.

RBR+TVBR: How can television continue to see strong revenue from advertising as retransmission fees are helping to soften a growing challenge by bringing broadcast TV rates deemed fair by station owners?

SCHELLE: Local news is highly valuable content, and that trusted information will continue to remain valuable in the foreseeable future. Local news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic is just one example of the valuable public service broadcasters provide. Local content is what drives consumer viewership, and also advertising. Those are key elements to maintain retransmission fees — regardless of distribution platform.

RBR+TVBR: What are you or your organization doing to mentor future leaders?

SCHELLE: By investing in an innovative platform — NEXTGEN TV — we are making broadcasting “cool” again. That will bring in new companies, new investments and new opportunities for future broadcasters. With innovation on our side, we’re able to attract new talent to broadcasting.

NEXTGEN TV helps us diversify and revolutionize our broadcasting workforce by attracting innovators.

RBR+TVBR: What are the top three characteristics needed to lead people in broadcast television through 2030?

SCHELLE: Have a vision; be able to change course to manage inevitable failures and setbacks; and have integrity and humility.

3

ADAM SYMSON

The E.W. Scripps Co., President/ CEO

As was the case in 2019, Scripps merits two appearances in the 2020 Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders list.

With Local Media head Brian Lawlor also represented, RBR+TVBR readers by and

Adam Symson

large singled out Adam Symson, who oversees all of the company’s operations, for his leadership.

Symson ascended to his role in August 2017, when Rich Boehne stepped aside and segued to Board Chairman. In December 2019, the Scripps board affirmed Symson’s leadership by approving a new three-year contract with the President/CEO. “Since assuming the President and CEO role in August 2017, Adam has overseen tremendous value creation and growth for Scripps,” said Boehne. “We have doubled the size, reach and durability of our television station portfolio. In addition, he has made a strategic and accretive national media acquisition, executed share repurchases, introduced a dividend and delivered financial results that have met or exceeded expectations. Adam has created shareholder value while solidifying Scripps’ position as an industry leader as well as supporting the role of journalism in our democracy.”

Prior to becoming CEO in August 2017, Symson was Scripps’ COO, overseeing the company’s broadcast TV, radio and digital media divisions. He joined Scripps in 2002 as the Executive Producer of Investigations and Special Projects for KNXV-15, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Phoenix. He held a variety of roles in the television and interactive divisions before being tapped to lead digital operations in 2011.

Early-career stints include roles as an investigative journalist for CBS O&O WBBM-2 in Chicago and KCBS-2/KCAL-9 in Los Angeles. He’s also been in that role at KNBC-4 in L.A. The UCLA graduate began his career at Saul Levine-owned Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters, working primarily with KGIL-AM 1260 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

4

JACK ABERNETHY

FOX Television Stations, CEO

Of the broadcast TV “Big Four” networks that have garnered the most attention, and viewers, in the 2019-2020 season, none has garnered kudos like FOX. With a focus on non-scripted programming and live sports, FOX’s engine was chugging along at full steam. Then came the coronavirus, which will temporarily impact network programming.

For its O&Os, a commitment to news has kept many FOX stations winners in their respective communities. Much of that success is tied to the leadership of Jack Abernethy, who has served as Chief Executive of the owned-and-operated stations since 2004. In September 2018, he was named Broadcaster of the Year at the TVB Forward conference.

Today, Abernethy oversees 28 FOX O&Os and is directly responsible for the creation

Jack Abernethy

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of MyNetworkTV, currently in its 12th season. He has also led the success of syndicated programs such as “Wendy Williams,” “TMZ,” “Page Six TV” and “Divorce Court.”

Abernethy was a keynoter at NATPE Miami, held in January, the last global television industry conference to be staged before the COVID-19 outbreak. Much of the discussion was focused on National Football League rights, a revival in the syndicated programming marketplace, and the addition of properties in Seattle and Milwaukee.

Abernethy served as EVP of FOX News from 1996-2004, where he was integral to the successful launch of the channel.

Prior to his current role, from August 2016 through May 2018, he served as Co-President of FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network. Before FOX, he had a distinguished 15-year career with NBC, where he held a variety of executive finance management positions for the NBC Television Stations division, driving CNBC’s early growth as VP of Finance and Operations.

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Otto Padron

5

OTTO PADRON

Meruelo Media, President/CEO

In 2019, Otto Padron was singled out by the readers of RBR+TVBR for many of the contributions to Hispanic media seen across his career. “Under Otto’s leadership of on-air content and promotions, Univision Television Network became the fifth-largest TV Network in the U.S. regardless of language,” one reader noted. He’s also been a Director of

Programming at Telemundo.

Today, Padron is the Chief Executive for Meruelo Media, a Los Angeles operation that has grown substantially in the last 12 months. Formed in 2011 with the acquisition of KWHY-TV in L.A., Meruelo began to expand in 2017 with the purchase of a second TV station — KBEH-63. Then came an entry into radio, with the purchase of KPWR-FM “Power 106” in Los Angeles.

In May 2019, Meruelo agreed to acquire KXOS-FM 93.9 in L.A., today a reggaetónpowered Latin Urban FM engaged in an outdoor advertising campaign targeting bicultural, bilingual Hispanics across the Southland. It closed on the deal in July 2019, when it also grabbed KLOS-FM 95.5 in L.A. from Cumulus Media.

Helping Padron as of Sept. 3, 2019 is Winter Horton, who serves as Meruelo Media’s COO. He came on board from the entity formerly known as LBI Media (now Estrella Media), where he spent 20 years as COO. Outside of broadcast media, Padron has a longstanding commitment to the U.S. Army. For nearly 16 years, he has held various roles in California for the Army, and he is currently Commander of the First Brigade of the Pacific Division of the 84th Training Command. That’s the U.S. Army

Reserve, based in Garden Grove, Calif.

What did Padron have to say about the honor? “Thanks! It is proof positive that our industry does have a sense of humor,” he joked. “Again, thanks.”

6

PAT LaPLATNEY

Gray Television, co-CEO

Since the start of 2019, Pat LaPlatney has been fully associated with Gray Television, serving as a co-CEO alongside Hilton Howell III. Last year, RBR+TVBR readers for the most part saluted LaPlatney for his previous role, as President/CEO of Raycom Media. The combination of Raycom and Gray is largely thanks to LaPlatney’s leadership at Raycom, which began with his appointment as VP/Digital Media in August 2007. Today, he has arguably a much more visible role as the head of a company that is among the largest broadcast TV entities in the U.S.

with other broadcasters to bring the ATSC 3.0 technology and its benefits to the viewers in our communities.”

7

RALPH OAKLEY

Quincy Media, Inc., President/ CEO

Ralph Oakley has received many honors over his long career. In 2012, he received the Vincent Wasilewski Award from the Illinois Broadcasters Association for a lifetime of excellence in broadcasting.

Now, he’s been honored by the readers of RBR+TVBR for his efforts as the head of family-run QMI. The story of QMI is a tale of two families and five generations of leadership that nurtured a single newspaper, the HeraldWhig, into a multi-media company now employing more than 1,000 people and serving markets in 14 states. QMI entered the broadcasting field in 1947, the year it started Quincy’s first commercial FM station, WQDI. The following year QMI purchased Quincy Broadcasting Co. to operate WGEM, the city’s second AM station. WQDI then became WGEM-FM. In 1953, Quincy Broadcasting launched WGEM-TV, the first television station in Quincy. Today, it owns WSIL-TV in MarionCarbondale, WEEK-TV in Peoria and WREX-13 in Rockford, Ill.; other properties across the Midwest; WVVA-6 in Bluefield, W. Va.; WBNG-12 in Binghamton, N.Y.; and perhaps its newest prize: NBC affiliate KVOA-4 in Tucson, a former Cordillera Communications station.

RBR+TVBR asked Oakley about the traits he believes have made him a great leader.

“We have been successful in creating an

Pat LaPlatney

His efforts include striking an OTT partnership with TEGNA through the acquisition of a minority stake in Premion, and being the company’s leader in bringing NEXTGEN TV to audiences.

“With Gray’s focus on operating leading television stations with continued growth in mind, we are proud to be a part of Pearl TV and the efforts to move to the ATSC 3.0 standard,” LaPlatney says. ”We know the advanced technology will allow us to better serve our communities with Ultra High Definition content, delivery to mobile devices, enhanced audio experiences, and emergency communications. Additionally, these efforts will lead to more sustainability for local broadcasters in the future as they continue to compete with international online and digital services. We look forward to working in our 90+ markets

environment that has allowed us to attract and retain an excellent group of people,” he says. “That environment allows for personal and professional growth. Further, we try to establish clearly defined goals and ask and expect our people to achieve those financial and operational goals.”

What about TV’s increased competition for eyes, and dollars? “Broadcast television remains the most effective source of advertising for most clients, particularly locally based clients,” Oakley responds.

“Most of our focus is on further developing relationships with both existing and new local clients.”

Given his experience, what does Oakley believe are the top three characteristics needed to lead people in broadcast television through 2030? “First and foremost is helping the current and future generations to understand the obligation, opportunity and privilege we have as station licensees to serve our viewers,” he says. “Senior management needs to understand the new workforce, its goals and aspirations, and have ongoing communication to match the needs of the company and its people.”

And, when it comes to the TV industry’s future leaders, QMI has “always worked hard” to develop them, Oakley believes.

“We annually have meetings involving hundreds of people from all of our stations, and education is a key component of those meetings,” he notes. “We also take advantage of educational opportunities provided by the NAB, state broadcast associations and other organizations.”

Oakley acknowledges that careers’ end is nearing for the current generation of leaders in the TV industry. As such, QMI has established “a very defined future leaders program that involves meetings, mentors and specific education opportunities to prepare this group to move into senior leadership and direct the company into the next generation.”

8

Ralph Oakley

CHRIS RIPLEY

Sinclair Broadcast Group, President/CEO

It’s been an interesting year for Sinclair Broadcast Group. Much of that has to do with live sports. With COVID19 concerns leading large-capacity restaurants and retailers to close in mid-March for at least two weeks, anything involving a crowd has been shelved.

Given Sinclair’s exposure to sports through the August 2019 acquisition of a collection of FOX regional sports networks, Wall Street hasn’t been kind. Yet Sinclair has much more to offer, and local news is part of that mix.

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Dave Lougee

Chris Ripley

Sinclair is also on board with NEXTGEN TV’s rollout, and in February it became a full-fledged member of Pearl TV, the industry consortium dedicated to bringing what is now branded as “NEXTGEN TV” to full public consciousness — and, ultimately, to the public’s video delivery devices.

Much of these efforts can be attributed to Chris Ripley, who rose from Sinclair CFO in January 2017.

Before coming on board at Sinclair in April 2014, Ripley was a managing director at UBS Investment Bank’s Global Media Group and served as head of the Los Angeles office, where he managed, advised and structured various financings and merger and acquisition transactions in the broadcast and entertainment sectors.

Before that, this University of Western Ontario business school graduate was a principal in Prime Ventures, and an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.

9

DAVE LOUGEE

TEGNA, President/CEO

Dave Lougee, who heads the TV stations owned by the company formerly known as Gannett, in midMarch found the company he leads the focus of an unconfirmed bidding war.

According to Reuters, a $20-per-share cash/stock offer for TEGNA had been made

by Gray Television — an offer reportedly withdrawn on March 17. Apollo Global Management was said to have made a similar offer, as did Byron Allen’s TV group.

Add in Soohyung Kim’s Standard Media and its desire for seats on the board of directors — including one for former Tribune Media President of Broadcast Media Larry Wert — and it’s clear that Lougee is in charge of a broadcast TV com12 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

pany that’s proven very attractive.

Lougee is a TEGNA veteran, and during his tenure saw the purchase of Belo Corp. and London Broadcasting, nearly doubling the TEGNA broadcast portfolio. He came to TEGNA through Belo, where he was EVP/ Media Operations.

Lougee’s roots are in TV news, and earlier in his career he served as VP/News for NBC O&O WRC-4 in Washington, D.C., and as VP/News Director for KUSA-9 in Denver for TEGNA. Lougee serves as Chairman of the NBC Affiliates Board and is the immediate past joint chairman of NAB. He is also on the Board of Directors for BMI and the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and is a past chair of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) Board of Directors.

While TEGNA’s future may be in flux, or not, RBR+TVBR readers made it clear that Lougee deserves recognition for all he has done with the company’s stable of stations, including WUSA-9 in Washington, WGRZ-2 in Buffalo and KGW-8 in Portland, Ore.

10

CESAR CONDE

NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, Chairman

Cesar Conde was selected as a broadcast TV standout in 2019 for many of the same reasons RBR+TVBR readers voted for him in 2020. As the head of the Telemundo division of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, Conde has taken a front seat in expanding coverage of the coronavirus pandemic while affirming the network’s mix of telenovelas, sports and unscripted programming.

Conde has been at NBCUniversal since October 2013, and before that was at Telemundo’s primary rival in Hispanic media, Univision, as President of Univision Networks. However, if someone were to go back to 2002-2003, they’d

Cesar Conde

find him in Washington, D.C. He served as a White House Fellow for Secretary of State Colin Powell, in the administration of George W. Bush. This followed roles at StarMedia, the first Internet company focused on Iberoamerica and Portuguesespeaking web users, and a stint in the mergers and acquisitions group at Salomon Smith Barney.

Social and community initiatives are core to Conde’s business approach. At NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, he spearheaded the launch of “El Poder En Ti,” the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative. At Univision, he created a national education initiative with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

11

BRIAN LAWLOR

The E.W. Scripps Co., President/Local Media

Previously SVP of the Broadcast division, Brian Lawlor, as President of Local Media since August 2017, has overseen the rapid growth of Scripps’ broadcasting assets from 10 TV stations in 2009.

In addition to the company’s 36 television stations, Lawlor has responsibility for the local digital operations, Scripps’ local programming initiatives and the four Katz Television multicast networks.

That puts Lawlor in a positive position as the COVID-19 crisis cripples several broadcast media companies that are particularly exposed in the live entertainment and sports categories. Thanks to digital multicast Katz Networks, podcast platform Stitcher, and digital audio technology and measurement brand Triton, Scripps’ platform mix could keep the company stronger than others in the months impacted by

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regional news network in the country.

Staab has worked in local television for more than 30 years, primarily at the ABC Owned Television Stations, where she served in a variety of roles in general management, research and creative services. Before joining NBCUniversal, she was President/GM of KGO-7 in San Francisco for eight years.

“As a lifelong local broadcaster, I know very well how important local TV stations can be to our communities,” Staab says.

“That is why we’ve dedicated significant investments to our NBC and Telemundo stations to help strengthen their news operations and weather forecasting capabilities.

We brought back the I-Teams across all markets, and introduced a first-of-its-kind consumer investigative unit that is helping English- and Spanish-speaking consumers recover millions of dollars they are owed. Our bilingual newsrooms reflect the realities of our bilingual and multicultural communities, while our community affairs programs are helping viewers get access to vital information and resources they need to help them thrive in their daily lives.”

Brian Lawlor

coronavirus.

Then there are Scripps’ local stations and their strong commitment to local news. This includes Scripps Local Media’s KSBY-6 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., which became a Scripps-owned property in May 2019 with its sale by Cordillera Communications. Under Scripps, KSBY has become a leader, with anchors Richard Gearhart and Carina Corral household names. The anchors on March 16 shifted to a table positioned mid-studio, offering a single camera shot with recommended distancing to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

Similar protocol is being seen across Scripps’ stations, as Lawlor oversees a group of properties in a manner that resulted in RBR+TVBR reader nominations as one of the 2020 Broadcast TV’s Best Leaders.

12

VALARI STAAB

NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, President

With the coronavirus highly impacting broadcast TV groups, Valari Staab on March 17 was actively moving forward with the sign-off of new local news programming in early fringe and late-night.

That’s one way NBC O&Os seek to retain viewership, as local news teams take center stage in offering COVID-19 pandemic coverage to anxious viewers in markets such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York.

But even before the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head in the Big Apple, where Staab resides, RBR+TVBR readers had nominated her for her exceptional leadership of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.

“I am honored to be recognized and very

13

Valai Staab

proud to work with an exceptional group of journalists and broadcast professionals who are committed to making a positive impact in their communities,” Staab says.

Staab oversees a division of NBCUniversal that includes 42 NBC and Telemundo local television stations and their subsidiary digital businesses, a regional news network, multicast networks COZI TV and TeleXitos, and the newly launched LX, a news brand designed for Gen Z and millennial audiences.

She joined NBCUniversal in June 2011 as President of the NBC Owned Television Stations, a position she held for two years before expanding her responsibilities to include the 30 Telemundo local stations the company owns as well as NECN (New England Cable News), the largest 24-hour

PETER DUNN

CBS Television Stations, President

Since November 2009, Peter Dunn has led CBS’s group of 27 owned-and-operated television stations and the stations’ digital platforms. This has continued following the reunification of CBS Corporation and Viacom.

Dunn also serves as President/GM of WCBS-2 and WLNY-55 in New York. He’s been in charge at CBS2 since 2005; WLNY was acquired in 2012.

Under Dunn’s leadership and with the support of CBS Interactive, the company has launched CBSN Local services in New York, Los Angeles and Boston and is rolling out services in the 10 other markets where the CBS Television Stations group has local news operations.

Before coming to CBS in 2002, Dunn served as EVP/Sales and SVP/Sales & Marketing for the NBC Television Stations Division. He also worked as local sales manager, national sales manager and account manager for WNBC-TV in New York, which he joined in 1997.

Dunn’s selection by the readers of RBR+TVBR follows his November 2019 honor at the Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards. The award recognizes women and men who’ve had a profound and lasting effect on the broadcast TV industry — as does his naming as one of the 2020 Broadcast TV’s Best Leaders.

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14

EMILY BARR

Graham Media Group, President/CEO

As head of the TV broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Co., a role she has held since July 2012, Emily Barr has had a big year — and big presence representing the broadcast TV industry on Capitol Hill.

Barr oversees seven local television stations, located in Houston, Detroit, San Antonio, Orlando, Jacksonville, and in Roanoke, Va. Prior to joining Graham Media Group, Barr served as President/GM of ABC O&O WLS-7 in Chicago, holding that role from April 1997 until July 2012.

But she’s also Television Board Chair for the NAB. In this role, Barr in October 2019 appeared at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing to share her view — and those of many local broadcast television companies — on the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELAR).

Barr stood her ground in defense of local TV against Golden West

Emily Barr

14 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

Telecommunications CEO Denny Law, and DirecTV’s key legal counsel.

Then there is her commitment to fighting disinformation. Under Barr’s direction, Graham Media Group and WPLG-10, the Miami-based ABC affiliate presently managed by a Berkshire Hathaway company, recently teamed for the launch of a new initiative expressly created to combat what it believes are nothing short of “fake news” campaigns targeting local media.

“Nothing is more important than getting the story right,” says Barr. “We are providing timely training and processes to our six newsrooms to help in the fight against misinformation campaigns attacking local news.”

These efforts and the continued strong performance of Graham stations across the U.S. led RBR+TVBR readers to select her as one of the 2020 Broadcast TV’s Best Leaders.

15

KIM GUTHRIE

Cox Media Group, President

In 2019, Kim Guthrie was selected by the readers of RBR+TVBR for her leadership of Cox Media Group’s TV stations.

She’s still the leader of Cox Media Group, now a much different entity than it was before February 15, 2019. That’s when Apollo Global Management said it would take a majority interest in Cox Media Group’s TV stations, the Dayton Daily News and CMG’s radio properties in the Miami Valley. It is a is $3.1 billion deal.

This saw Cox’s TV stations melded with those of Brian Brady’s Northwest Broadcasting. This only affirmed Guthrie’s position as a highly admired and respected leader of an operation with a deep and lasting commitment to local news. This was dem-

Kim Guthrie

onstrated across 2019 at WHIO-7 in Dayton, Ohio, which was acknowledged for its coverage of the Memorial Day tornadoes and the August mass shooting in the Oregon District.

Guthrie rose through the ranks as EVP/ National Ad Platforms and President of CoxReps and, before that, as a well-liked EVP/Radio at Cox Media Group. She first joined Cox in 1998 as VP/GM for its NassauSuffolk (Long Island), N.Y. radio stations.

Guthrie previously held management positions with Hubbard Broadcasting, Heritage Media and All Pro Broadcasting.

Kim Guthrie started her career as a journalist, having spent several years as a television news reporter, TV news anchor and TV weatherperson.

ABOUT BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS: This ranked Honor Roll is produced from RBR+TVBR reader nominations, which were gathered via e-mail over a period of several weeks in early 2020. © 2020 Streamline Publishing.

Is TV Sales A Strong Salary Profession?

In recent years, broadcasters have struggled to compete to hire quality sellers. With “normal” now changed, we know more people will be out of work and looking for their next career. While this will open up the number of available candidates, it is still crucial to “hire for the long run.” Keep in mind, the mindsets and habits of the younger generations won’t change — they will not stick around if their needs are not met.

Turnover will continue at a higher rate than in the past. Job seekers want to know they are joining a company that has their back, and compensation is a big part of that picture. We don’t know yet if this will affect the ability for people to relocate, but trends have shown people want to be near family, so knowing what and how local companies compensate will be helpful in attracting the right talent to your team.

Just what did TV seller compensation look like as the first quarter of 2020 began — ahead of COVID-19 worries that scrapped March Madness and put a suspension on MLB Spring Training and NBA, NHL, Major League Soccer and international fútbol matches?

To find that answer, Media Staffing Network (MSN) and Radio + Television Business Report teamed up to present the 2020 TV Sales Compensation Study.

Originally, results were to be released during the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

With the event cancelled, we are pleased to share the results here.

As Laurie Kahn, CEO of Media Staffing Network, sees it, the response for the inaugural TV Sales Compensation Study was

highly satisfactory.

“I’m thrilled with the number of different companies and market sizes that participated in the Salary Survey,” she says.

Respondents from some 33 different companies active in the broadcast TV industry are represented in the survey, with, Kahn adds, a “good, even base between markets.”

There are many key takeaways. The first deals with the number of sellers on a broadcast TV station’s team. One in four respondents work at stations with fewer than five total sellers. However, this could very well reflect market size.

The largest group of sellers (44%) work on teams of five to eight sales professionals.

How are TV stations finding their next sales stars? That’s a question Kahn finds vexing, as some managers aren’t consider-

ing the total potential pool in their market or region when engaging in the hiring process.

“I am a big proponent that TV and radio have to change how they are doing business, or they are never going to get anyone to work there,” Kahn says. “I’m very frustrated that they only want to find and hire media people, and in a small market, they are never going to find them.”

Don’t bother using media fairs as a talent-search lily pad for a sales standout ready to leapfrog into TV. Those attendees, Kahn observes, “all want to be the next onair talent.”

The inaugural MSN/RBR+TVBR TV Sales Compensation Study saw participation break down as follows: Of the respondents, 89% work on staffs that combine traditional and digital media

S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 · R B R . C O M · 15

sales — a sign that TV is not behind the curve on providing marketers the avenues they seek in reaching consumers via visual media.

COMPARING COMPENSATION Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the MSN/RBR+TVBR TV Sales Compensation Study is what companies provide in the way of salary for new hires versus established sellers.

Some 46% of respondents said there is no difference between the compensation plan offered to new hires and what established sellers get.

Are new hires paid a guaranteed salary for an initial period of time, while being trained?

Yes. But that is highly unsatisfactory for Kahn. Some 32% of respondents are on a 90-day plan. Some 25% are on a 180-day plan. Some 23% of respondents have a year of guaranteed income.

“That’s horrible,” Kahn says. “Only 23% of companies are offering a year. Smaller markets don’t have a talent pool to draw from, so they’d better be prepared to offer them a secure guarantee period for a year.

With the financial hit that many are taking, this will be a big part of the decision-making process for job seekers.”

The survey found that 47% of new hires can earn commission on top of a guarantee, while 33% of new hires can earn a commission against a draw. Some 20% of new hires do not have the ability to earn a commission.

Further alarming to Kahn is that there isn’t a lot of non-revenue judging for new sales hires.

“As we all know, you’re not going to develop a list of businesses and live off of that in 90 days,” she says. “The younger generations that are going to come into the 16 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

workforce will not put up with that kind of stuff, and they are going to bolt.”

Some 67% of respondents stated that non-revenue accomplishments/goals are not part of the compensation plan for new hires.

SALARY DISPARITY RBR+TVBR and MSN asked respondents to share the current annual income of their top seller.

Then, they were asked to share the amount closest to the current average income of their TV station’s sellers.

The disparity is tremendous. Kahn has an idea why.

“I think a lot of it is that 57% of them are on 100% commission,” she says. “That could be part of it. Are those 41% just saying what their salary is? Veterans who have been there forever are getting all of the accounts, and new people aren’t getting the opportunities.”

That, in a nutshell, is the biggest conundrum facing broadcast TV sales. Kahn is adamant about having companies limit the number of accounts a seller should retain.

She compares the 27-year-old account executive out in the field for a year to the three-decade veteran who has established relationships and a fat account list, giving them a healthy annual salary. What happens to the young, potentially successful talent? “They will go to trucking, or medical/pharma or any job with better pay, benefits and training,” Kahn laments.

“Radio and TV have never done a good enough job of promoting how they can help someone’s career. That is exactly why we are not getting the great people.”

Some 25% of respondents say their top seller earns between $110,000 and $149,000. Another 20% say their top seller earns more than $150,000.

Yes, market size does play a role.

But consider this: the current average income for 44% of all sellers, regardless of market, is between $60,000 and $79,000. Some 25% are earning an average of $80,000 to $110,000 per year.

What is the change agent?

“When somebody steps out of the herd and does something about it and creates a good company culture,” Kahn says. She singles out a “GAFAN” giant, Alphabet-owned Google, for how they treat their employees. Of small, successful companies such as Quincy Media Inc., she says, “There are a lot of good selling points to go there.”

Still, broadcast TV’s battle for new sales talent is all about how to increase the number of people coming into the workplace who are aware of what a career in broadcast TV sales can bring.

“Perhaps they should be talking about how many people are earning high money,” Kahn says of the positives of broadcast TV sales.

She adds, “Companies that do not have a talent acquisition strategy in place are still going to struggle to hire quality talent in the future, and we have Gen Z and millennials, who have a totally different game plan than boomers.”

She’s encouraged by how many people are making good money, but also wants to see more people brought into it. This doesn’t involve a national talent search.

“We aren’t doing enough to encourage younger people, and relocation since 9/11 and now probably COVID-19, is down, down, down,” Kahn says. “Broadcasting used to be a career where, if you wanted to get ahead, you’d move. Now, people will not relocate for an entry-level job.”

The decade ahead offers promise for new talent acquisition and retention, only because thousands of baby boomers will retire between now and 2029. “Most sales staffs out there are full of ’em,” Kahn says.

With retirement a reality, GSMs will be faced with the following question: Do I teach the new people how to sell traditional or the old people how to sell digital?

“It’s a problem we will only have for the next few years,” Kahn notes.

As such, a future in TV sales for a recent college graduate could be a bright one, if only the compensation at the start were something most could truly consider.

“I have to think for a lot of these markets, it is an above-average income,” Kahn says. “We just need to get it spread around a little more.”

Broadcast Media’s Big Shift

You’ve read the doom-andgloom reports about decreas-

stations, money is flowing from ancillary avenues that just may redefine what a broadcast media company is in the 2020s.

ing ad revenue trends for

FULLY IN THE GAME

radio. TV is moving forward with a NEXTGEN TV transition that could reignite over-theair video content consumption — or fall victim to a rapid embrace of 5G, becoming HD Radio with pictures. While that latter prediction is one few, if anyone, sees coming to fruition, the expenses tied to keeping broadcast radio and TV relevant over the next decade continue to rise.

What, then, can a company — especially one focused on audio consumption — do to keep the profits coming? Two companies rooted in the radio business have each shown that by looking beyond their

On February 18, Lori Burgess was just about settled into her new office in Houston, in a key role for Naples, Fla.based Beasley Media Group.

Those familiar with Beasley will note that the company owns no radio stations in Houston.

Why is she there? It’s all about the Overwatch League.

If you have no idea what that is, you’re not aware of the global surge in popularity for esports. No, we’re not talking about fashion brand Esprit. Rather, we’re talking about interactive video games that have spawned teams, fans — and big bucks for the companies involved.

Enter Beasley, which in November 2019 purchased an Overwatch League esports team, the Houston-based Immortals Gaming Club, for an undisclosed price. The league is now in its third season, which began in February.

The Outlaws purchase follows an April 2019 investment by Beasley in Team Renegades, a Detroit-based esports organization consisting of five teams, and CheckpointXP, a weekly syndicated esports lifestyle show acquired by Beasley in October 2018.

CheckpointXP programming is currently featured on approximately 70 radio stations across the United States on the Sun

“We have to find ways to diversify our revenue. We have spoken to investors and have given them our vision.”

— Caroline Beasley

Broadcast Network; on daily podcasts on Amazon’s video game streaming platform, Twitch; and, on CheckpointXP on Campus, the first collegiate-based esports show in the U.S. Overwatch was created by globally acclaimed publisher Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard), and was built from the ground up for online competition, with “memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most engaging gameplay and spectator experiences.”

If you’re a high school senior and love building computers while spending hours playing interactive video games with online friends near and far, Overwatch is very much a part of your world.

So how in the world did Burgess end S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 · R B R . C O M · 17

“Marketers that really believe in the younger consumer have a big opportunity here. And the companies that will be successful are the ones that have the vision to go the long haul.”

— Lori Burgess

up in Houston, serving as COO of the newly formed Beasley Esports following her January 2020 rise from Chief Digital Content Officer?

“I was a magazine publisher for virtually my entire career until I joined Beasley,” Burgess says. “Magazines are fixated on figuring out who their consumers are.

Really understanding why an audience comes to a magazine was what we were all about. If someone is interested in home design, they are not interested in a men’s magazine. When I came to radio, everything was about ratings and very much about where they made you stand in a marketplace and what the consumer’s behavior was in terms of products and what they bought. But the understanding and psyche behind it is the key.”

Thinking like a 17-year-old, and about how to monetize a demographic that is ever less likely to consume traditional radio, helped Burgess and Beasley move into the esports universe.

“We have lived in a culture where the baby boomer dominated the trends and shaped culture for so long,” says Burgess, who served as Publisher of Seventeen magazine from 1993-1999 and pioneered the venerable publication’s website. “For the first time, Gen Y and Gen Z outnumber that generation. That means there is a change going on in our culture, and the boomer is less in charge every single day.

The group they are passing the torch to is the millennials, who have very different psychographic systems and priorities, and they do things differently.”

That includes how they enjoy their favorite music, or perhaps a spoken word pro18 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

gram, despite Nielsen Audio data that continues to spread the message that radio’s reach remains strong among all potential listeners. Understanding this, with a frame of mind that harks back to Burgess’ experience targeting teens at the dawn of the digital age, is what is powering Beasley’s next chapter as a media company.

Thus, Beasley Media Group is no longer a company focused solely on broadcast radio. That is thanks, in part, to the identification in 2016 of ways the company could grow its brand and diversify its products.

This led CEO Caroline Beasley to come to a realization that radio has been supported by audiences that are slightly older.

She recalls, “A couple of years ago we started doing a lot of research in this space because viewership was increasing, and it continues to increase. And we were looking for ways to reach Gen Y and Gen Z, and we know Gen Z isn’t listening as much to over-the-air radio. Finding the content to connect advertisers with these consumers led us to go down this road, and to diversify our revenue streams.”

With a plan for investment in media platforms and on the media content that matters to younger consumers, Beasley set its eyes on esports. “When you start looking at the options, we are a content company and, in the last year and a half, have been very focused on digital,” Burgess says.

But why esports? “It is so incredibly exciting. It largely attracts a 12-34-year-old demo, and Overwatch is really one of the hottest leagues in the world.”

From a corporate perspective, Beasley puts forth its “three pillars,” with tradi-

tional radio providing a foundation for spending on digital and esports initiatives.

The money fueling Beasley’s digital opportunities, including podcasting, is already bringing benefits to the company, Caroline Beasley says. “We expect to see ROI in the next three to five years grow dramatically. Esports is two years out.

We’re looking for the long term in growing our company and feel that we have a path for the next 10 years.”

A BOOST FROM FRIENDLY RIVALS For those still not convinced that a company rooted in radio should be investing in esports, a recent event in Philadelphia may lead you to change your mind.

On the afternoon of Feb. 13, WMMR-FM morning show personality Maria Magnatta served as host of the first-ever Path to Pro … How to Be a Player in eSports. Panelists including Nerd Street Games COO Rob Johnson, World Gaming Network CEO Wim Stocks, Outlaws Coach Matt “Flame” Rodriguez, and two players from the Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch esports team offered attendees an insiders’ perspective on esports and the many paths an individual can take to pursue a career in professional gaming.

Magnatta is also the host of gaming and esports-focused FTW Philly, airing on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Burgess notes that Magnatta is just one of many air personalities in the Beasley family eager to get into the gaming world, meshing their programs — and their stations — with esports. “They are doing this stuff, and are early adopters,” Burgess says.

While Philadelphia is a key market for Beasley, the Outlaws purchase brought Beasley to a major U.S. locale where it had no presence or relationships.

Enter Entercom Communications, a rival in Philadelphia that on a national level offers Checkpoint XP on Campus through its Radio.com platform in video and audio formats.

“They wanted to carry it because of their heavy Sports programming, and they realize they have to offer it to local consumers,” Burgess says of Entercom.

“Then we arrive in Houston, and we don’t know anybody. Who came first? Entercom/ Houston, which developed a promotional plan for us so people would know the team and what Overwatch was all about.”

The help from Entercom also brought Beasley an advertiser who, until now, hadn’t been actively using Beasley radio stations to connect with consumers. “We are so new to this, and for radio we are getting national ads for Mercedes-Benz, who haven’t been large national radio

“Anybody who loves this business is going to want to participate in all of the channels and platforms that touch the consumer. Not everything makes sense, but those that do can benefit your business.”

— J.D. Crowley

advertisers,” Burgess says. “They just want to reach younger consumers, and this is programming that resonates with them. Marketers that really believe in the younger consumer have a big opportunity here. And the companies that will be successful are the ones that have the vision to go the long haul.”

In Houston, TEGNA has also been a partner with Beasley, with Market Manager Bobby Springer getting kudos from Beasley’s C-Suite for his support of the Outlaws. TEGNA owns CBS affiliate KHOU11 in Houston.

For Caroline Beasley, a positive impact on Beasley’s P&L requires more sales successes such as this.

“It’s just getting the story out and communicating It properly,” she says.

“There is a bit of a tug-of-war externally and internally, and we are committed for the long term. We have to find ways to diversify our revenue. We have spoken to investors and have given them our vision, educating them on esports. There are some that do not know anything about esports; it’s not as mainstream today.

Educating investors and bankers on what it is and what the opportunities are and finding them comps of other companies out there with esports in the portfolio — and the valuations of these companies — can be pointed to. It’s education, just like anything else. Then, it is outlining our strategies.”

Is Beasley standing alone as a traditional media company invested in esports? “I would like to say so,” Caroline Beasley says. “But we really are a pioneer in this space.”

MOVING CONTENT TO WHERE CONSUMERS PLAY The aforementioned Radio.com platform, acquired by Entercom through its merger with CBS Radio, is a key revenuegeneration tool for the company — also rooted in radio. Today, Entercom is perhaps best described as an audio content creation giant, with a particular expertise in spoken word content.

This is punctuated by the company’s investment in podcasting, as it now owns five-year-old podcast company Cadence13 outright and also has podcast business Pineapple Street in its stable.

“At Entercom we are fortunate because our digital business is pretty diverse,” says New York-based Chief Digital Officer J.D. Crowley.

Entercom’s digital platform business, which very much includes Radio.com, is growing rapidly, he adds. “We have a lot more inventory than we did last year, and that is a good problem to have.”

Advertisers are acknowledging this, and that includes publishing and websites, with content creation on the news and entertainment side for websites, Crowley notes.

“We’ve got all of these great sellers who have deep relationships with real people who own 10 restaurants in a whole city, or big hospital groups, building up trust,” he says. “They are buying endorsement packages, with social and digital. They are buying streaming.”

Then there is the podcasting arm, which Crowley says is “rapidly growing and super dynamic.”

He shared the circumstances at an event earlier this year in Los Angeles,

where agent after agent from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) approached Cadence13 leaders expressing interest in the content and hosts. This year, “a lot of originals” are headed to consumers. This will help fuel further dollars for the podcast network business.

Meanwhile, Entercom is getting noticed for such podcast talent as Ronan Farrow, Dr. Brené Brown, and actress Lena Dunham.

That said, how is Entercom going to marketers and advertisers to share its wares?

Crowley points to private listening parties and major events such as Podfront L.A.

CULTURE, INTEREST & UNDERSTANDING Crowley and his team are devoting much time to the way Entercom, on a national level, is evolving with its local markets. This includes educating sellers across the nation on what the company is offering to the listener — and how the client understands that they are not just pitching a schedule.

“None of this is a replacement for radio, and it is still growing for us,” Crowley says.

Entercom is also open to helping smaller radio broadcasting companies monetize in places it doesn’t have the scale to do so.

This includes Radio.com, where four partner companies including Cox Media Group are using the platform to connect with consumers digitally. More deals are on the way, Crowley hints.

What’s next for Entercom, or Beasley, or any other company that until 2019 was perhaps “radio first” in its focus? For Crowley, it involves answering the following question: How does this offering or strategy work in the context of a radio company?

Within that framework, one can start to focus on a consumer who very much craves audio, but is receiving it in a way that goes beyond MHz or KHz. Crowley concludes, “We are very lucky to work in this industry. We get to entertain people and tell stories to people and help people in their lives, and on the advertising side, we get to partner with businesses and help them grow that business. For a media that just turned 100 years old, those dynamics have not changed. Anybody who loves this business is going to want to participate in all of the channels and platforms that touch the consumer. Not everything makes sense, but those that do can benefit your business.”

S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 · R B R . C O M · 19

Visions of Tumbling Valuations Once upon a time, reporting on radio or TV station transactions was a daily task, with multiple asset purchase agreements filed with the FCC available for public view. In recent months, there have been strings of days in which a station sale isn’t to be found. The dearth of deals is certainly concerning, leading one to ask if the marketplace has fallen victim to a sickness — perhaps one that can easily be cured. Can it? Or have broadcast media deals — in particular in the radio industry — fallen off a cliff with no way to climb back to the top?

“This is a very down time for our industry as far as deal-making … there are no deals,” says veteran media broker Michael J. Bergner, of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Bergner & Co. “I would put it on par with the recession of 1991 and everyone’s favorite, 2008 or 2009.”

RBR+TVBR spoke with Bergner before the week ending February 29. Until then, the stock market was at a record high every day — a vexing conundrum that contrasts with the station-deal downturns seen over the last 30 years, as the U.S. economy was seemingly fine until COVID19 coronavirus fears fueled a sharp “correction” on Wall Street.

The media companies with the armor to defend against a virus that could dent their earnings, and station valuations, in the coming months are mostly in the broadcast TV arena. Radio broadcasting 20 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

companies, even those seeking to profit from the podcasting boom, are perhaps on the precipice of an asset valuation meltdown.

A CONFLUENCE OF CAUSES February 18, 2020: A definitive agreement to sell the facilities associated with WAAF-FM 107.3 to Educational Media Foundation (EMF) for $10.75 million in cash has been reached by Entercom. It has owned the venerable Active Rock station since November 1996, when it paid $22.8 million for the station and an AM now under the WVEI call letters.

December 30, 2019: A 108-page asset purchase agreement is finalized and signed

by TEGNA SVP/General Counsel Akin Harrison that effectively transfers the licenses of KFMB-AM & FM in San Diego to Local Media San Diego Acquisition LLC. TEGNA is selling the stations for a total price of $5 million.

June 27, 2019: For two decades, a 50kw Class A AM radio station with a tower famously located where New Jersey Route 17 meets Interstate 80 en route to the George Washington Bridge was America’s most-listened-to radio station. This station today is Talk WABC-AM 770 in New York, and Cumulus Media has sold it to John A. Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Media for $12.5 million.

We could go on. But you get the point.

Station valuations are swooshing down a mountain faster than Lindsay Vonn could travel downhill in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Bergner is blunt when asked for his opinions about the low valuations seen for once-big stations that have been sold in the last year. “It is a radio issue,” he says.

“All of the consolidation has taken place, and unless we get deregulation, we are not going to have big-market stations trade at big-market prices. That is obscured by the fact that — at least statistically — the economy is doing just fine.”

Is there a root cause?

“Technology changes very fast, and it really is just long-term trends peaking and reaching inflection points at the same time,” Bergner believes. “Of course, there is the Internet, which has changed advertising, and you could write 10 books on that. Streaming, satellite, audio choices, podcasting — all of these confluences of

interests are just marching onward.”

Then there are the institutional investors that have a big chunk of publicly traded broadcast company stock, and leverage goals to get to 4x by the end of 2020. That seems to be an attainable goal — barring any revenue-ravaging catastrophe.

Bergner continues, “There is no doubt about it. Pricing on a 15-year trend line shows that the cash flow multiples are coming down — and anyone who was to look at this would come to the same conclusion.”

When you’re in it for 32 years, you get some perspective, and Bergner traces his own perspective to 1985, when he was an associate lawyer at a firm working on radio deals. He recalls, “The senior partner handed me papers for a closing on a station in New Orleans, and the deal is for $5 million. I replied, ‘I don’t understand this. What is this guy buying for $5 million? There are no assets here.’ The senior partner replied, ‘It is only one of five FM licenses there.’ Oh … I got it. It is an exclusive franchise; there aren’t any more. This conversation encapsulates every single radio industry issue in the business today.”

Bergner points to the sale of KFMB-AM & FM in San Diego as one of the more eyepopping sales of late.

“The punch line is successful businesses will always sell on a multiple of cash flow,” he says. “But when you’re selling cash flow, the multiple you are willing to pay is based on growth. Right now we have low growth, so the multiple has to be lower.”

ACCESSIBILITY LOSS For more than 40 years, Dick Kozacko — the founder of Kozacko Media Services — has been a full-time media broker specializing in stations on the East Coast of the U.S. Kozacko was in Orlando when first reached by RBR+TVBR. He recalled his experience when trying to tune his rental car “radio” to a local AM radio station.

It took him 15 minutes to figure how to access the AM radio band from his in-dash entertainment system. SiriusXM was easily accessible.

“I really had to play around with it,” Kozacko says. “I stopped on the side of the road, to finally get AM to display.”

That’s just one of the challenges facing owners of radio stations operating on the

“This is about as bad as I’ve seen it in 32 years, obscured by the fact that — at least statistically — the economy is doing just fine.”

— Michael J. Bergner

senior band — no pun intended.

“When we talk to an owner and we talk about selling, we talk about business performance — profits, cash flow and rate of return,” Kozacko says. “And they are going to compare the rate of return to alternate types of investments.”

It’s the result of fewer “proven” radio station buyers for a seller to pitch a deal with. “This is not great,” Kozacko admits.

If one were to put radio industry revenue totals on a 10-year spreadsheet from 2015 to 2025, a potential buyer might think again about that investment opportunity.

There’s a good reason for that: revenue figures from five years ago are higher than what BIA Advisory Network shows will be the total come 2025.

“Almost any product that you bought five years ago and would want to buy five years from now would be more expensive, but they’re saying no,” Kozacko says. “It’s kind of an unusual mark about a marketplace.”

Bringing better valuations, and perhaps bigger radio revenue projections for 2025 and beyond, could involve increased

foreign investment. Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia each petitioned the FCC to allow for greater foreign ownership percentages. Then there is Border Media — the New York State operator wholly owned by a citizen of the United Kingdom and his Polish wife. Under Border, stations left for dead by a financially strained owner came back to life in an underserved area of the Adirondack Mountains.

That’s just a smidgen of what foreign investment could bring to the radio business. “This would help the marketplace and help bring values up,” Kozacko says. Some foreign investors have contacted Kozacko.

How would this benefit the owner? “I think prices increase if a Canadian company or a company from England invests here, and they would need to recognize that they would be paying a higher dollar for getting the right property.”

Kozacko points to foreign investment in the grocery business, in particular Lidl, which after early struggles turned the corner in mid-2019 and in January 2020 announced plans to build a fourth U.S. distribution center in Covington, Ga.

“I think prices increase if a Canadian company or a company from England invests here, and they would need to recognize that they would be paying a higher dollar for getting the right property.”

— Dick Kozacko

For Kozacko, Lidl’s persistence in making its U.S. growth plan a success is a sign that radio opportunities exist for a non-U.S. entity, too.

BUYER ID CHALLENGE While some look to the UK’s Global and Canada’s Cogeco — owner of MVPD Atlantic Broadband — and Corus as potential investors in U.S. media, in addition to Mexican media giants such as Grupo Radio Centro, MVS Comunicaciones and Grupo ACIR, others continue to ponder the possibilities of a sale that doesn’t include a non-secular broadcast ministry.

“There is almost no change in Broadcast Cash Flow,” Kozacko laments. “We are still talking about 5x to 6x cash flow. When we work with a seller, we have to talk to them to see if they have a digital or nontraditional revenue source.”

Such revenue additives could also help radio broadcasting companies in tackling another big problem as seen by Bergner — attracting talented people to the industry.

“If you’re a young person graduating college and you have any interpersonal skills, you can be a successful salesperson,” he says. “Are you selling something tech-related, or are you selling radio time?

There are so many aspects of this business that are challenged right now, and I don’t have the answer.”

Few people do have an answer, and as such they’re waiting … and hoping the FCC deals with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals remand of cross-ownership rule revisions that had erased 1975 prohibitions on a company in a given market owning a newspaper and/or a TV and radio station. With McClatchy Co. in bankruptcy and Saturday editions now a thing of the past across the company’s entire slate of newspapers, proponents of greater deregulation are pointing fingers at the judges for the decline not only at McClatchy but across the entire newspaper industry.

Those with an opposing view put the blame on years of mismanagement and an improper embrace of digital technology at newspaper companies coast to coast.

Where does this put radio owners looking to sell? The future is murky, Kozacko laments. “Some people are waiting. Others are simply accepting the current multiples and have to sell. If they have to sell, they have to sell in the same market — somebody in the city to complement other stations. In some cases we are turning stations down because we don’t see a logical buyer for them.”

What about the small market guy who wants out: will he ever get out?

“Possibly,” Kozacko says, with a sigh.

S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 · R B R . C O M · 21

“I think I’ve seen this movie before. In late 1980s and early 1990s, everything looked like it was coming to a screeching halt. And it didn’t.”

— George Reed

“We still do a fair number of deals and we see a lot of things happening, but it is a changed business from what it was 20 years ago. It’s a very different kind of business.”

THREE DECADES OF CHALLENGES George Reed has been actively involved in the broadcasting industry since The Hollies, Al Green and Gilbert O’Sullivan were all vying for the Billboard No. 1 slot with current hit singles.

That’s not to say Reed is old, but that he’s witnessed massive changes to the radio industry across his 47-year career: AM radio’s decline, and rise, thanks to spoken-word stars including Rush Limbaugh and sports talkers. He began his lengthy tenure as a media broker in 1987, and co-founded Media Services Group in 1989.

The past 30 years have been fraught with challenges for the radio industry.

The 1990s opened with CHR/Pop’s nearcataclysmic meltdown, and station owners with financial challenges despite the entry of Docket 80/90 FMs in mid-sized and small markets across the U.S. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 brought massive consolidation. The 21st century brought bankruptcies, and job cuts.

Are the 2020s the decade when radio station valuations melt down? Or is the industry experiencing a lengthy period of indigestion — something more than a hiccup but not requiring major surgery or long-term care?

“I’m not sure anybody knows the answer to it,” Reed says. “Having done it for so long … I think I’ve seen this movie before. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, everything looked like it was coming to a screeching halt. And it didn’t.”

Why? Deregulation. “We were on the verge of a similar catalyst in fall 2019, when the FCC tried to move forward with further deregulation,” Reed says. “The Third Circuit ruling took the wind out of 22 · R B R . C O M · S P R I N G 2 0 2 0

the sails, and buyers and sellers stepped back. Everybody had an idea of what would happen, and absent of that ruling, what wouldn’t happen.”

Despite a COVID-19-infected stock market, Reed points to some enticing facts about the deal-maker marketplace: Interest rates are low, the economy was booming before Feb. 25, and both iHeartMedia and Cumulus have fresh balance sheets, post-bankruptcy. “There are bright spots on the horizon,” Reed says.

What is lacking is the catalyst to start the fire. What it will be, and when, is the question. Reed thinks ignition will occur … at a forthcoming date to be determined.

“The radio business is evolving, as it has done for decades and decades,” Reed believes. “The radio operators are embracing the digital world and learning how to operate in that mode. But I do think we have competition unlike anything we have seen before — Facebook, Google, local digital — taking significant funds out of the local marketplace. But it is a robust business and I am cautiously optimistic about the future.”

OWNER OBSTACLES OVERCOME Aside from his years as a media broker, Reed is also in the unique position of being a station owner, with Monticello Media — operator of stations in the college towns of Blacksburg, Va., and Charlottesville, Va. Monetizing those stations has meant leaping into the online realm. “One thing that we’ve done in both markets is we’ve gotten into the digital business,” Reed says. “While the dollars are not huge, it is important that we be there.”

Why? For Monticello Media, it is about establishing relationships. With 13 years in Charlottesville, Reed says, “We try to be very local, and one of the things we have to do is be mindful of cost. We watch the expense lines very carefully, and it is a necessity and a prudent way to operate.”

With local talent out on the street and

behind the mic, the local focus is something Monticello Media can do and has served Reed well.

In November 2013, Reed wrote in RBR+TVBR about how broadcast cash flow multiples have always been the top discussion topic with radio and television station buyers, sellers, bankers and brokers, “particularly in the convention bars.” Nearly seven years later, what are his thoughts on this as a determinant on pricing?

“Multiples are still a top topic with buyers and sellers, but they are really just a risk-adjusted way to look at a rate of return, given the risk of the business and given the likely cash flow for the operator,” Reed says. “It’s been sort of the de facto way of valuing radio properties for as long as I can remember. Like any market, they go up and down and go sideways, and that’s pretty much been the direction for the last decade. It’s the market speaking of their risk of the business and of their rate of return.”

When interest rates are low, multiples tend to be higher, and vice versa, Reed points out. “We’ve been in a low interest rate environment for a long time, and multiples haven’t gone up, and it looks broken.

But that’s not really accurate. The growth expectation has been lacking. And we’re lacking a catalyst for that to happen.”

That would be deregulation, Reed says.

In mid-February, an increase in chatter was seen at Media Services Group. “It was very, very quiet in January, but there appears to be some talk now, and that’s usually a precursor for trading activity to pick up,” Reed says. “But it is very slow, and there is no denying it.”

Even when times are slow, people die, or get divorced. Private equity companies look and see an opportunity to get into a Free Cash Flow business with low cash multiples. As Reed says, there are always things on a micro level that go on that will prove to be deal catalysts.

GOOD TIMES AHEAD Could the tepid deal-making market result in fewer media brokerages in the next 10 years?

Bergner says, “I still hold myself out as a radio broker, but there’s no lifetime guarantee that radio stations will continue to trade actively. This is not a forever thing.

I got it.”

For Reed, “It is a good time to be a buyer. Prices don’t have upward pressure, and, frankly, as I talk to potential sellers over the past few months, my counsel to them is to wait.”

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