Harker Bos Group and Crowd React Media have unveiled a new study that shows just how imperative radio is to the Spanish language media ecosystem.

According to the study, 69% of respondents said that radio plays at least a somewhat influential role in their media habits. News radio is even higher, with 71% saying they consume content from the genre. Additionally, 79% say podcasts are an influential medium in their audio consumption.

In total, 72% of respondents in the study said they listen to radio regularly, with 70% claiming they listen to at least one hour of AM/FM radio daily. While music is the biggest draw, 53% claimed they were regular news/talk listeners, dwarfing that of other formats like sports (26%).

There are also important takeaways for advertisers from the study. 40% of Spanish-language listeners claimed they were more likely to purchase products advertised in Spanish than strictly in English.

In total, more than 500 Spanish-language media consumers were surveyed by Harker Bos Group and Crowd React Media. The entire study will be made available on Tuesday, July 9th.

Political advertising is expected to make a large increase in 2024, and the radio industry will be a beneficiary of that growth.

Political advertising is projected to grow to $10.7 billion in 2024, according to a study from AdImpact. That figure represents a 19% increase compared to what was spent in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.

Of that $10.7 billion, $381 million is estimated to be spent on terrestrial radio. A projected $5.35 billion will be spent on broadcast television, with cable TV to see $1.93 billion.

“As Presidential spending rapidly increases after the party conventions this summer, the 2024 cycle will set its pace to become the most expensive political cycle of all time,” the company said about its projections. “A concentration on seven key general battleground states will drive spending in the category.”

Senate races in those battleground states — coupled with competitive polls in the presidential campaign polls — will see high dollar figures spent.

More than a billion dollars will be spent in California alone while Arizona is projected to see $803 million, with Pennsylvania ($800M), Michigan ($684M) Nevada ($577M), Florida ($464M), Ohio ($464M), New York ($453M) and Wisconsin ($423M) all expected to see more than $400 million in political advertising spent during the 2024 campaigns.

Cumulus Podcast Network Senior Vice President and Executive Editor John Wordock has announced he has departed the group.

“After a fun and productive five-year run at Cumulus Podcast Network, I have some news. I have officially left Westwood One,” Wordock said in a post to social media. “I’m now actively looking for a new home for my podcast talents in this exciting industry. As an award-winning editorial leader, I have 18 years of experience across content creation, platform partnerships, audience development, business planning, show promotion, and content acquisitions.”

Before joining Cumulus and Westwood One, Wordock served as the Executive Podcast Producer for The Wall Street Journal. He also served in a similar role at Dow Jones and the MarketWatch Radio Networks.

Under his tutelage, the Cumulus Podcast Network has grown to become the seventh-largest sales network by weekly average downloads, according to Triton Digital.

The network has five podcasts in the top 100 by average weekly downloads, featuring shows hosted by Dan Bongino, Mark Levin, Shawn Ryan, Ed Mylett, and Lala Kent, according to the latest rankings from Triton.