In this week’s issue… iHeart’s Philly AM move a sign of bigger things ahead? – Pamal shuffles Albany staff – Remembering LI’s Levine, Philly’s Fox – New signals, job titles in Maine
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*It’s been a long time since we’ve reported on iHeart – or, really, any of the biggest radio companies – making any moves to grow their portfolios of radio signals.
So it was kind of a big deal when our sister site RadioInsight exclusively reported last week that there’s growth coming for iHeart, apparently in connection with the Black Information Network programming initiative it launched a few weeks ago.
We know something’s coming in Philadelphia, which was rather conspicuously missing from BIN’s initial rollout: while iHeart registered domains for a BIN Philadelphia outlet, it didn’t launch in what we’d have expected would have been the obvious place, historically Black-oriented WDAS (1480) and its FM outlet at 102.5. Those signals now are used by “The Gambler,” another recent iHeart programming initiative with sports talk focused on online bettors.
Reports from Philadelphia last week indicated that iHeart is about to LMA a bigger AM signal, WTEL (610), from Beasley – and somehow, it appears that at least some of WTEL’s current mix of ESPN national sports and local leased-time programming will get mixed with “The Gambler,” either on 610 or 1480/102.5, with the other signal ending up relaunching as BIN’s Philadelphia outlet.
But it’s not in iHeart’s nature to make a move like this in just one market, which is why we’re keeping an ear out for more moves to come in other big markets that don’t yet have BIN outlets.
Is the company covering its bets, as it were, ahead of an upcoming election that could swing the balance of political power away from the conservative talk that has long been its AM go-to? Is there outside support from advertisers to expand BIN?
Something is happening – and we’ll be here to chronicle it, and the rest of this fall’s industry news. (But we may be taking a break now and again as Labor Day approaches, depending on the volume of news over the next couple of weeks. And we’re also working on the first big upgrade to our membership system in almost a decade… so if there’s a disruption here and there over the next week or so, we appreciate your patience!)
Behold, the 2025 calendar!
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
Other months feature some of our favorite images from years past, including some Canadian stations and several stations celebrating their centennials (can you guess? you don’t have to if you buy the calendar!).
We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for immediate shipping!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… WBUR backs off local talk - EMF's expansion in NY, nationally - Rochester broadcasters honored - Russell finds new PA radio home - Remembering Bruce Stevens - The new calendar's here!
In this week’s issue… Remembering WNY's Palvino, Harris - Will King sell Bangor stations? - Kay moves earlier - New signal on LI - Cumulus cuts hit PA, New England - Frizzell sells in NH
In this week’s issue… Saluting a small-town radio vet - Bell moves CP24 - Scott heads west - Burlington gets Air 1, "Experimental Radio" - Family Life heads down I-86
In this week’s issue… NY TV anchor, radio historian both retiring - XPN PD to retire - More Cumulus cuts - Rogers sells FMs as Corus makes big talent cuts By SCOTT FYBUSH Jump to: ME - NH - VT - MA...
