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iHeartMedia and Cumulus Predicted to Show Ad Revenue Growth

“We believe there’s an increasing likelihood that national brands start spending more aggressively on advertising in [the second half of 2023, especially in fourth quarter]…”

Maddy Troy

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cumulus media logo and iheartmedia logo

B Riley Securities has released a financial preview of iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media. The investment firm forecasts that national ad revenue is about to take a positive turn and show some growth.

“We believe there’s an increasing likelihood that national brands start spending more aggressively on advertising in [the second half of 2023, especially in fourth quarter] after holding back budgets earlier this year amid fears of a potentially severe U.S. recession ahead,” B Riley Securities analyst Daniel Day said.

Typical broadcast radio stations get less than 20% of their revenue from national advertisers, but both iHeart and Cumulus have sizable network radio and podcasting divisions that leverage national ad dollars “that can be dialed up and down relatively quickly,” Day points out.

Day sees iHeart doubling its free cash flow from 2023 to 2024 “driven by a rebound in brand advertising spend as well as a resurgence in presidential-year political revenue.” Along with iHeart buying back more of its debt at “a sizable discount,” will put the company “in a favorable position” to begin pushing out its debt maturities, Day predicts. These factors, combined with improving sentiment about ad-supported businesses, will help drive iHeart’s stock price up, he predicts.

In terms of Cumulus, B Riley says buying back 1.7 million shares of its own stock at $3.25 a pop for less than $6 million hasn’t made an impact on its stock price. Day sees “little downside risk” to the second quarter revenue guidance Cumulus has issued and notes it has “considerable dry powder” to keep buying back bonds at a discount ahead of an expected uptick in earnings.

Like iHeart, Cumulus will be in a favorable position to push out debt maturities, Day says.

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Media Business

CBS News Adds New Roles, Duties for Editorial Leaders

CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews announced on Thursday the various changes.

Eduardo Razo

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A photo of the CBS News logo

On Thursday, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, the recently appointed president of CBS News, revealed several changes to the editorial leadership.

Terri Stewart is now the senior vice president of domestic newsgathering at CBS News. Furthermore, Stewart will oversee the domestic bureaus and manage bookings. Kaci Sokoloff will support her in this role.

Shuffling doesn’t stop there. London bureau chief Andrew Roy now oversees all CBS News international bureaus. Jose Diaz, who leads the network’s foreign desk, will now report to Roy.

David Reiter’s team at CBS News will extend their role to cover significant reporting beats beyond Washington, D.C. They will work with CBS Stations and the Innovation Lab to find prospects for joint national and local news coverage and continue producing special events programming.

Additionally, Kate Zuckerman was promoted to VP of affiliate relations and special events planning. Beth Boyle was elevated to national and planning editor, overseeing editorial content and managing desk operations.

CBS is adding two political investigative producers, led by Matt Mosk, to its growing investigative team. The group will now be incorporated into the Washington D.C. Bureau and report straight to bureau chief Mark Lima.

Finally, Ciprian-Matthews notified staff that the network is hiring an Executive Producer of Daily News.

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Media Business

Experts ‘Don’t See a Buyer’ for ABC

Sources close to the situation say Nexstar isn’t in a good place to pay what Disney would probably demand for ABC.

Eduardo Razo

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A photo of the ABC logo.

Last week, The Walt Disney Company found themselves in the news after a report surfaced noting that they could be looking to offload ABC. Bloomberg revealed that Nexstar Media Group had initial talks with Disney to acquire the television station.

Furthermore, media mogul Byron Allen has offered $10 billion to buy ABC. Still, despite the rumors of a possible sale, various insiders tell The New York Post that they don’t believe Disney will be offloading ABC.

Sources close to the situation told the Post that Nexstar isn’t in a good place to pay what Disney would probably demand for ABC.

“Everyone is way ahead of their skis on this story,” a banker told the Post. “They don’t know what is happening here. Disney taking a meeting doesn’t mean you’re ready to sell, it means you’re getting offers. This is something evolving over many weeks.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in June that legacy television assets, such as ABC, may not be deemed core assets for the company going forward. Nevertheless, some cynics noticed it as Iger inviting a deep-pocketed bidder to come forward. Thus far, none have emerged.

“He told the world if someone wants to put a really big number on these assets he will sell,” a second banker told the Post. “I just don’t see a buyer.”

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SiriusXM CEO: New Streaming App to ‘Enhance’ Subscription Value

Witz shared the company’s planned launch of a next-generation streaming app later this year to draw younger, more diverse audiences and deliver improved search suggestions and other elements.

Eduardo Razo

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SiriusXM Logo

SiriusXM aims to increase listenership beyond cars and enhance channel personalization and mobility.

Last month, it was revealed that Suzi Watford was tasked with constructing what she anointed the “next-gen SiriusXM” for its 34 million paying subscribers, helping it reach listeners outside the car.

Recently, CEO Jennifer Witz shared an update on how the process is going for SiriusXM in their efforts to reach listeners on different platforms during a webcast session at the recent Bank of America Securities Media, Communications, and Entertainment Conference.

“It’s really about how do we continue to enhance the value of our subscriptions and [showcase] this tremendously valuable set of content that really speaks to every audio genre,” Witz said. 

Witz shared the company’s planned launch of a next-generation streaming app later this year to draw younger, more diverse audiences and deliver improved search suggestions and other elements.

“The biggest gap we found is being able to get consumers into the content they love,” Witz added. “In the car, it’s been very much about turning the dial or hearing the on-air promotion, or get the email and then go find the content.

“We’re going to be able to make it much easier for our in-car subscribers to carry their listening forward into streaming devices, and vice versa, in a very seamless way. So ultimately, I think it’s not going to be about streaming subscribers or in-car subscribers, but really just about subscribers, because we’re pretty indifferent as to how they listen or where they listen.”

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