November 7, 2024 News@CountryAircheck.com

Two-A-Day: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for October 2024 (three-month rolling average, 7/18-10/9) compared with August and September. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight..

Albany, NY (Market 67)	WGNA Townsquare 6.5 (1) - 6.8 (1) - 5.9 (1t) WKLI Pamal 1.9 (13t) - 1.9 (13t) - 1.6 (14)
Syracuse, NY (102)	WBBS iHeartMedia 7.8 (2) - 9.1 (1) - 8.2 (1) WOLF FoxFur 4.0 (7t) - 4.2 (6) - 3.5 (7)

iHeart Restructuring Continues: The latest round of iHeartMedia cuts (CAT 11/4) now includes Baltimore Dir./Marketing & Promotions Leah Dickinson, whose oversight included WPOC. She had been with the cluster five years; her previous stops include the market's Hearst and Times-Shamrock clusters. Reach her here.

WIOV's Cobian Exits: Cumulus WIOV/Lancaster, PA afternoon host A.J. Cobian has exited after six years. He joined the station after 10 years at crosstown Adult Hits WRFY. No word on plans for the position. Reach him here.

Dubois To Retire: Saskatoon Media/Saskatoon, SK GM Vic Dubois, whose oversight includes CJWW-AM and CKBL, is retiring after 23 years in the role and 41 in the market. Dubois started in radio in 1969 and had a previous run at CJWW-AM as PD and GM from 1983 to 1993, when he became VP, and later President, of the station's then-owner, Forvest Broadcasting. Dubois was inducted in the Halls of Fame of the Saskatchewan Association of Broadcasters in 2014 and the Western Association of Broadcasters in 2016. No word on plans for the position.

Lose (Remote) Control: Luke Bryan, Ashley McBryde, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson will perform during The 58th Annual CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Nov. 20 on ABC and next day on Hulu.

Collaborations will include Dierks Bentley, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (“American Girl"), Post and Stapleton (“California Sober") and Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims (“Somethin’ ‘Bout A Woman” and “Lose Control"). Tickets are on sale here.

Reve-News: Townsquare reported a Q3 net revenue increase of 0.2% to $115.3 million from the previous year's $115.1m. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 6.3% from $27.2m to $25.5m. The company saw net income of $11.3m, compared to a loss of $36.5m the previous year. Digital represented more than half of revenue in the first three quarters of 2024. "We have executed and delivered on what we said we would do, while simultaneously building value for our shareholders through dividend payments, debt reduction and share repurchases," says CEO Bill Wilson. Full release here.

Milwaukee Gets Froggy: Following a week of stunting, Milwaukee Radio Alliance Oldies WLDB-HD3/Milwaukee, which is also heard on W262CJ and in South Milwaukee on W297BY, flipped to Country as "Froggy 100.3 & 107.3" today (11/7) at noon CT. No word on staff. The two translators operate with 99 watts and 250 watts respectively and go up against iHeartMedia's WMIL, which ranked sixth overall with a 4.8 share in the October Nielsen PPMs (PPM 10/31), and Magnum's WVTY and WMBZ, which rimshot the metro from the south and north sides and do not subscribe to Nielsen. Stream here.

Giving Thanks: Stations in iHeartMedia's Carolina region have teamed with meal delivery service Table & Twine and the Raleigh-based nonprofit Overflowing Hands for "A Thanksgiving To Remember," which will provide full, chef-prepared Thanksgiving meals to area families impacted by Hurricane Helene. WNCB/Raleigh will be donating $2 from every ticket sold to its Nov. 22 Rising Stars Concert at the Lincoln Theater to the initiative. The show will feature Dylan Marlowe, George Birge, Conner Smith, Matt Stell, Jackson Dean and Tigirlily Gold. Donate here.

Cowboys Criteria Too: The CRB/CRS Board of Directors has updated eligibility and selection criteria for the annual New Faces of Country Music Show as follows:

The Billboard Hot Country Songs chart joins the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart as a qualifying measure for eligibility.
Labels and artist reps assume responsibility for determining artist eligibility and managing the submission process.

These new criteria are in effect for the November 1, 2024 through October 27, 2025 qualification period, impacting the New Faces Show lineup for CRS 2026. Details here.

Festive All: Riley Green, Keith Urban, Hardy and Bailey Zimmerman will headline Country Thunder Arizona April 10-13 in Florence, AZ. Additional performers include Tucker Wetmore, Justin Moore, Ashley McBryde, Jake Owen, Drew Green, Sara Evans, Chayce Beckham, Ashley Cooke, Dillon Carmichael and Josh Ross; full lineup and ticket info here.

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

iHeartMedia restructuring affected Clyde Bass, Nick Jordan, David "D.J." Taylor, Kia Becht, Greg Chance.
WYRK/Buffalo Clay & Company morning co-host Kadie Daye exited.
Jason Wilson joined iHeartMedia as Area Pres./Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas & Missouri.
KFKF/Kansas City's Tony Stevens is retiring, Jim Daniels is returning and Ed Walker is named MD/middays.
Chronicle: "Jesse James" Davis.

Bits & Pieces: All Access Enterprises Pres. Joel Denver and Community Marketing Revolution founder Seth Resler have teamed to launch Radio Rendezvous, a series of free "virtual mixers" where broadcasters can connect with others from around the country. The first event, set for Dec. 4 at 1pm (ET), will feature a conversation with WKSC/Chicago morning host Fred and iHeartMedia/Chicago SVPP James Howard. Register here. Starting in January, Radio Rendezvous events will be held on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month.

Crib Note: Singer/songwriter Eric Paslay and wife Natalie Paslay are expecting their second child. The new arrival will join five-year-old daughter Piper Lily (CAT 12/13/18).

Life Note: A celebration of life for Darius Rucker/Hootie & the Blowfish Production Mgr. Jason “DB” Parkin will be held Nov. 8 at 2pm ET at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh. The service will be livestreamed here for those unable to attend. Parkin died Sept. 30 at the age of 49 following a battle with heart disease (CAT 10/2).

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for the Nov. 6, according to Mediabase 24/7.

MORGAN WALLEN/Lies Lies Lies (Big Loud) 4177 points
JELLY ROLL/I Am Not Okay (BMG/Republic/Stoney Creek) 3547 points
KANE BROWN & MARSHMELLO/Miles On It (RCA) 3098 points
PARMALEE/Gonna Love You (Stoney Creek) 2721 points
THOMAS RHETT/Beautiful As You (Valory) 2582 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for Nov. 3-6 compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase 24/7.

MORGAN WALLEN/Lies Lies Lies (Big Loud) +2500 points
MORGAN WALLEN/Love Somebody (Big Loud) +1371 points
KOE WETZEL & JESSIE MURPH/High Road (Columbia/Records Nashville) +1025 points
TUCKER WETMORE/Wind Up Missin' You (Back Blocks/EMI Nashville) +881 points
GEORGE BIRGE/Cowboy Songs (Records Nashville) +802 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (11/8): Lauren Alaina, Dillon Carmichael, Bucky Covington, Bonnie Raitt, Kira Florita, Haley McLemore, Harold Shedd, Dave Hovel, JT Bosch, the late Patti Page.

Tube Check Tomorrow (11/8): Craig Morgan and Mickey Guyton, Salute To Service 2024: A Veterans Day Celebration (PBS).

Web Check Tomorrow (11/8): The 67th Annual Grammy Awards nominations livestream at 10am CT (live.GRAMMY.com and YouTube).

The Penn Is Mightier: Tony Joe White's son, Jody White, and inductees David Bellamy, Liz Rose, Dan Penn, Victoria Shaw and Al Anderson (l-r) at last night's (11/6) Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. Full recap in Monday's (11/11) Country Aircheck Weekly.

The First Prime: Black River's Kelsea Ballerini (c) talks new music and acting with Country Heat Weekly's Kelly Sutton (l) and Amber Anderson.

Buds Light: Big Loud's Hardy plays KMLE/Phoenix's third annual Beers with Friends show. Pictured (l-r) are the station's Chris Disney and Gunner Jackson, Hardy and the station's Cheyenne, Drew Bland and Rico Valeriano.

Space Jam: Artists and staffers at WGNA/Albany’s Secret Star show. Pictured (l-r) are Riser House’s Jeff Davis and Dillon Carmichael, the station's Matty Jeff, Nashville Harbor’s Brett Young, Grindstone Recordings' Craig Campbell and Nashville Harbor’s Andrew Thoen.

Signage: GCE Records' Wynn Williams signs with CAA. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Keith Gale, Parker Fowler and Joe Carter, Williams and CAA's Darin Murphy, Andrew Dominijanni and Brian Waymire.