A heads up about this one. It's a post from Allan Sniffen, owner of the popular New York Radio Message Board, with a rumor that would appear to be somewhat unconfirmed.We only post it here because, well, it's interesting...and Sniffen at least seems to be connected to the New York City radio rumor mill.Sniffen says the rumor would have former CBS/Infinity afternoon bad boys Opie & Anthony, now heard on XM Satellite Radio, return to over-air radio to take over for embattled Howard Stern … [Read more...]

Radio One is picking up a third station to add to its Cincinnati cluster. The urban broadcast giant reports the acquisition of WIFE(FM)/100.3 in Connersville IN, for a reported price of $18 million.The station currently runs a country format, and serves the eastern Indiana area northwest of Cincinnati, with basically no appreciable signal in the Cincinnati area itself. That'll change soon enough, as WIFE already holds a construction permit to move to a community of license of Norwood (a … [Read more...]

As it turns out, the Cleveland Plain Dealer did run a small item on WUAB/43's affiliation with FOX/NewsCorp's "My Network TV". (You'll have to forgive us...we don't subscribe to the PD, and their website often makes it hard to find articles.)WUAB/WOIO/Raycom Cleveland GM Bill Applegate tells PD media columnist Julie Washington that he was actually in New York City considering a pitch from My Network TV officials when rival WBNX/55 (WB) was announced as the CW Network's Cleveland market … [Read more...]

Three things out of Thursday's Akron Beacon Journal caught our attention:* TV columnist R.D. Heldenfels catches up with WUAB/43's affiliation with My Network TV. It's a pretty basic article, and doesn't contain any comment from WUAB/WOIO general manager Bill Applegate. We only note that because just once, we'd like to hear a comment from one of the new "My" affiliates...something to the effect that "we chose My Network TV because, frankly, it cost a lot less than The CW". So much for a lack … [Read more...]

Sports talk WKNR/850 lost its live Internet streaming feed - when the relationship between the Salem Cleveland station and long-time website provider SportsTalkCleveland.com soured last year, and STC backed out of the joint venture.Tonight, a message board post alerted us to the return of the WKNR live streaming feed via the station's own site at WKNR.com. We're listening to it right now, and it sounds fine.But...it took a while for us to get it going.The station is using MP3 streaming, but … [Read more...]

In their battle to gain listeners from over-air radio stations, satellite radio providers Sirius and XM have often highlighted their "commercial free" music channels. Back in 2004, XM joined Sirius in banishing advertisements from music channels, though both still air in-house promos that many listeners may consider to be similar content.After touting "100% commercial free music", XM is going to have to change that.Billboard Radio Monitor confirms a report that's been floating around the … [Read more...]

Unlike the move of Cleveland WB affiliate WBNX/55 to pick up the new CW Network in the fall, news of WUAB/43 (UPN)'s move to My Network TV is basically being greeted with indifference by the area's two largest local newspapers.A quick check of websites for both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal shows no mention of WUAB's new "network affiliation". Contrasting, both papers did full articles on the WBNX/CW move, and the Plain Dealer's Julie Washington even did a followup … [Read more...]

If there's one thing that seems to be as certain as death and taxes, it's a small market Clear Channel Ohio classic rock format station carrying Premiere's syndicated morning show "Bob & Tom". So much for certainty - we'll have to check that death and taxes thing.An alert reader on Radio-Info's Columbus board points this one out...as it appears Clear Channel's "Fox Rock Network" near Mansfield/Ashland (WFXN/102.3 Galion, WXXR/98.3 Fredericktown and WXXF/107.7 Loudonville) has dumped Bob … [Read more...]

Trade reports this morning say that the major creditor of Stop 26 Riverbend Productions has ended up with the company's five Ohio stations in a bankruptcy auction.The radio operation side of the D.B. Zwirn Special Opportunities Fund - Bernard Radio - now gets control of WRBP/101.9 Hubbard (urban) and AMs WGFT/1330 Campbell (gospel) and WASN/1500 Youngstown (Spanish/brokered) in the Youngstown market. Bernard also picks up Stop 26's WVKO/1580 Columbus (gospel) and WVKO-FM/103.1 Johnstown … [Read more...]

Having lost the new CW Network to current Cleveland market WB affiliate WBNX/55, UPN affiliate WUAB/43 has decided to go with the OTHER "new network" to start this fall.As part of a deal involving two other Raycom Media stations, Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports that WUAB will indeed air the FOX/NewsCorp-owned "My Network TV" starting in September. Other Raycom stations going with "My" include WBXH/Baton Rouge LA, and KFVE/Honolulu HI. The latter is rather significant, as KFVE is a … [Read more...]