At the 2023 BNM Summit, one of the final panels of the conference featured a Shark Tank style competition for three news/talk brands competing to win a $4,000 advertising contract from Direct Results and Omaha Steaks.
Contestants in the live version of Shark Tank had three minutes to present their pitches to “sharks” Direct Results Founder/CEO Jill Albert, Andy Bloom, and Peter Thiele for why Omaha Steaks should place a $4,000 buy with individual radio station.
The contestants included 93.1 WIBC Program Director David Wood, Audacy Buffalo Market Manager Tim Wenger, and Guaranty Media President Gordy Rush.
“Sharks” Jill Albert, Peter Thiele, and Andy Bloom chose 930 WBEN as the winner of a $4,000 advertising buy from Omaha Steaks.
After each contestant made their pitches and were asked difficult questions, the “sharks” ultimately decided the Tim Wenger and 930 WBEN was named the victor of the competition.
“It was interesting to be able to make up a pitch for one of our brands, and I just thought it was important to bring to the table the passion that the people have on the air for that town, and it goes two ways the audience has a passion for the people and the personalities on the air,” Wenger said.
Wenger’s pitch centered on the station’s role in informing the Buffalo community during a blizzard that killed 47 people on Christmas weekend in 2022. He shared the station’s role in helping save the life of a listener who had been stranded in his car for two days and how six employees volunteered to spend three days inside the station to inform the community.
“We proved that last year in very extreme circumstances. And ever since, every endorsement campaign that these guys have done have been super successful. The clients love it. No one leaves. We have a waiting list. So I mean, this is awesome news. And the other two presentations were were great. There’s no losers here. It was a fun way to present something to this audience.”
“I think that we always choose people that we trust — first and foremost — over the excitement and the numbers and the ‘Wow‘ that goes along with with personalities,” added Albert. “So it’s important to have a great personality that’s super passionate, but it’s also important to have a sales team that you believe in that can stick with you that describes their their product in a way that is believable provides connectivity and allows for partnership.”
When asked how rare it is to view the connection with listeners as bigger than seeking strictly scale and broadest audience, Albert said connection has always been an important factor.
“When it comes to marketing and strategy, it’s all about connecting with people. And in this world right now that we’re in where everybody is so fragmented in their time and their attention, we have to figure out a way to connect with them,” Albert, the Direct Results Founder and CEO, concluded. “And that can only be done with some time some thought and some leaning in to do a great job.”
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.
Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].
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.”
Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].
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.
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.”
Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].