Pew:
Average radio revenue dropped fairly sharply in 2020 – by 24% – for stations in the all-news format, according to Pew Research Center analysis of MEDIA Access Pro & BIA Advisory Services data. Average station revenue for stations in the all-news format dropped from $18.1 million in 2019 to $13.9 million in 2020. (The BIA Advisory Services database contains revenue data during these years for only 16 of the 25 all-news stations, therefore, only those stations are included in the averages.)
Average revenue for a combination of stations in the all-news, news/talk, and news/talk/info formats is substantially lower than when looking at all-news stations alone – in 2021, $2.1 million per station. This likely stems from the fact that this category contains a sizeable number of stations with low total revenue. (The BIA Advisory Services database contains revenue data during all of these years for 361 stations in this category.)
Matthew Keys at The Desk:
A San Francisco talk radio station stunned listeners on Thursday when it abruptly went off the air in the middle of a program.
On Thursday, Cumulus Radio’s KGO (810 AM) announced it was ending its “legendary” news and talk format immediately, with plans to announce a new line-up of programming next week.
“We thank you for your loyalty and for trusting KGO to be your source for information,” a spokesperson for the station said in a message posted online. “We also want to sincerely thank all the talented men and women that worked so hard over the years to produce award-winning programming on KGO.”
The shake-up happened around 10 a.m. while the station was airing “The Mark Thompson Show.” In the middle of the program, the audio feed suddenly switched to a pre-taped announcement about the format change.
