November 16, 2023 News@CountryAircheck.com

Columbia House: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for October 2023 (three-month rolling average, 7/20-10/11) compared with August and September. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Columbia, SC (Market 90)	WCOS iHeartMedia 6.5 (2) - 8.2 (2) - 8.4 (2) Largest share since Fall 2013. WUDE Midlands Media Does not subscribe.
Des Moines, IA (71)	KHKI Cumulus 6.1 (4) - 6.0 (3t) - 6.0 (3) KJJY Cumulus 5.2 (6t) - 4.2 (10) - 4.0 (9t)
Greenville, NC (99)	WRNS Dick Broadcasting 9.3 (1) - 9.6 (1) - 10.4 (1)
Little Rock, AR (93)	KSSN iHeartMedia 7.6 (2) - 7.4 (4) - 7.5 (4) KMJX iHeartMedia Cl. Country 5.4 (7t) - 4.7 (8) - 5.0 (6t)
Monterey, CA (97)	KTOM iHeartMedia 3.6 (6) - 4.3 (3) - 4.6 (2) Largest share since June 2022.
Spokane, WA (88)	KXLY Queen B 8.1 (1t) - 7.9 (1) - 7.7 (1) KDRK Stephens 4.5 (4) - 4.1 (5t) - 3.8 (7t) KICR Blue Sky 2.8 (14) - 2.6 (14) - 3.3 (10) KISC-HD2 iHeartMedia 1.4 (19t) - 1.1 (19t) - 0.5 (23t)
Springfield, MA (103)	WRNX iHeartMedia 4.5 (5) - 4.6 (3) - 4.2 (3)

Every Rich Way: Nielsen SVP/Dir. Sales Rich Tunkel will take over as EVP/Managing Dir. over the company's Audio division Jan. 1. He will succeed Catherine Herkovic, who is retiring at year's end. Tunkel has been with the company since 1999, initially in the Scarborough Research division of Arbitron.

CMA Cadre: CMA has hired Ryan Nelson as Sr. Dir./Event Operations and LeighAnn Rodd as Dir./Insights, while Victoria Rutledge joins the CMA Foundation as Dir./Major Gifts. CMA has also promoted Network Mgr. Justin Randall to Sr. Dir./Information Technology and Megan Wise from Dir. to Sr. Dir./Brand Partnerships.

Nelson arrives from the Sr. Dir./Global Recording and Concert/Event Production role at Yamaha Corporation. Rodd was Sr. Associate Mgr. for Cracker Barrel. Rutledge was Dir./Development at NAMI Tennessee. Reach Nelson here, Rodd here, Rutledge here, Randall here and Wise here.

All About That Face: Voting for the CRS 2024 New Faces Of Country Music lineup opens Nov. 27 and runs through Dec. 1 here. Candidates are Records Nashville's George Birge, 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse's Chayce Beckham, Riser House's Dillon Carmichael, RCA's Corey Kent, Columbia's Megan Moroney, Valory's Conner Smith and Warner/WEA's Warren Zeiders. The top five vote-getters will comprise the show’s lineup March 1 as CRS 2024 closes at the Omni Nashville Hotel; register for CRS here.

Festive All: Luke Combs, Dallas Smith and Nickelback will headline Country Thunder Saskatchewan in Craven July 11-14. The lineup also includes Jackson Dean, Josh Ross, Gary Allan, Tenille Arts, Lonestar, Shenandoah, Phil Vassar and Meghan Patrick; tickets here.

Special Delivery: Premiere Networks' After MidNite host Granger Smith will welcome guests Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, Craig Morgan, Lainey Wilson and others to his Thanksgiving-themed After MidNite Friendsgiving Special. The four-hour, barter-free show is available for affiliates to air between Nov. 22-26, and will feature a mix of hits and holiday music. Email for details here.

Signage: Big Loud Texas (CAT 11/6) signed its flagship artist, Dylan Gossett, with Mercury Records in collaboration with Range Media Partners. The signing follows the release of his debut EP, No Better Time, and single “Coal.” “When I first heard Dylan's song 'Coal,' I played it a few times because I wanted to catch all the ways he was sharing his life with us," says Big Loud Texas Partner Miranda Lambert. "To write and deliver something that is complex yet elegant lyrically and to also make it vulnerable is an art."

Elf-is: Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Kacey Musgraves and The War and Treaty are among the artists performing on the Christmas At Graceland special, airing live Nov. 29 at 10pm ET/PT on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. Performers will celebrate the legacy of Elvis Presley and the holiday season from inside the Graceland estate in Memphis.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

Radio pros react to the CMA Awards in Country Aircheck Weekly.
Steve Hesky joined KXLY/Spokane, WA as morning show producer.
Tricia Gallenbeck was upped to Cumulus/Eugene, OR & Reno, NV RVP.
Cumulus/Indianapolis OM & WFMS PD Christopher “Boomer” Layfield exited.
Charly Salvatore and Warner Records partnered to launch Underscore Works Recordings.
Chronicle: Jim Vienneau.

ICYMI: Performances from last night's (11/15) CMT Smashing Glass included:

Patti LaBelle's "2 Steps Away"
The War And Treaty's "On My Own"
Mickey Guyton's "The Best"
Tanya Tucker's "Bring My Flowers Now"
Clint Black's "Texas (When I Die)"
Chris Janson's "It's A Little Too Late"

Dolly Parton continued her Rockstar press tour at SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show, where she talked plastic surgery, Miley Cyrus, writing songs and Elvis Presley.

Maren Morris confirmed she's working with Jack Antonoff on her next album and clarified where she stands with country music as a genre during an appearance on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live (11/15).

Dierks Bentley has partnered with Nashville-based beverage company WithCo Cocktails for their non-alcoholic cocktail mixes. He talked about his investment with Forbes here.

KPLX/Dallas Wake Up With The Wolf co-hosts Tara Ward and Ryan Fox got a shout-out from Sherri Shepherd. "I asked them if they knew Dolly Parton's fax number," she joked.

Chronicle: Veteran broadcaster Ken Squier passed Nov. 15. He was 88. Squire's family owned radio stations in Waterbury, VT and Daytona Beach, FL. In 1970, he co-founded Motor Racing Network (MRN) with NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., to produce NASCAR race radio broadcasts. MRN currently counts more than 300 affilliates. Squier anchored MRN's race coverage before moving to TV race coverage in 1979. He was an inaugural member of the Vermont Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame in 2018. No word on services.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for Nov. 15, according to Mediabase 24/7.

TIM MCGRAW/Standing Room Only (Big Machine) 4830 points
MORGAN WALLEN/Thinkin' Bout Me (Big Loud) 4156 points
DYLAN SCOTT/Can't Have Mine (Find You A Girl) (Curb) 4081 points
JELLY ROLL w/LAINEY WILSON/Save Me (BMG/Stoney Creek) 4061 points
MORGAN WALLEN/Everything I Love (Big Loud) 3204 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for Nov. 12-15 compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase 24/7.

TIM MCGRAW/Standing Room Only (Big Machine) +5603 points
JELLY ROLL w/LAINEY WILSON/Save Me (BMG/Stoney Creek) +1833 points
KENNY CHESNEY/Take Her Home (Warner/WEA) +1713 points
DYLAN SCOTT/Can't Have Mind (Find You A Girl) (Curb) +937 points
RILEY GREEN f/LUKE COMBS/Different Round Here (BMGLR) +817 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (11/17): Aaron Lines, Rick Alter, Scott Douglas, Bruce Hinton, Butch Waugh, the late Eddie Reeves, the late Doc Gonzales.

Tube Check Tonight (11/16): Craig Morgan, Fox Nation Patriot Awards.

Can't Do Attitude: Curb's Dylan Scott (holding plaque) celebrates the platinum certification of "Can't Have Mine" with the label's Jeff Tuerff, Bryan Stewart, Ciara Shortridge and Mike Curb, Scott, KP Entertainment’s Kerri Edwards, RIAA’s Jackie Jones and the label's RJ Meacham, Benson Curb and Colt Murski (l-r).

Let's Van Gogh, Girls: Valory's Mackenzie Carpenter unveils her new mural in Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood in honor of her latest single “Country Girls (Just Wanna Have Fun).” Pictured (l-r) are the label's Ashley Sidoti, Macy Kaiser and Athena Puharic, Carpenter and the label's Scott Borchetta, George Briner, Quinn Kaemmer, Laura Moxley, Darielle Schroeder, Allison Jones and Chris Palmer.

Stool Intentions: Leo33's Zach Top (r) with the label's Katie Dean and SiriusXM/Pandora’s Kathleen Shea and "Trapper" John Morris (l-r).

Jock Star: Stoney Creek's Jelly Roll plays KAJA/San Antonio’s Star Party. Pictured (l-r) are the station's Jason McCollim, the label's Lexi Willson, Mr. Roll, the station's Alek Halverson and iHeart's Maynard.