The radio industry is currently enjoying a contest renaissance, with enthusiasm running high, especially among men and Black workers. In fact, newly shared research shows that among daily listeners of local radio, an overwhelming 79% express positive attitudes about contests, with more than half saying they’re likely to participate at least sometimes. That takeaway was shared Thursday in the third and final installment of a three-part webinar series called “What Workers Want.” Read moreAre Contests Worthwhile? Unquestionably Yes, New Research Finds.

Saturday’s iHeartCountry Festival in Austin will not only broadcast on iHeartMedia’s country-formatted radio stations across the U.S., but will for the first time be available on Hulu, with performances live-streamed exclusively to subscribers at no additional cost. This year’s festival features performances from Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Lady A, Riley Green, Ashley McBryde, Brothers Osborne and Walker Hayes. Read moreiHeartCountry Festival Will Run On Its Local Stations, Stream On Hulu.

While the lead story of Entravision Communications’ Q1 2024 earnings conference call was Meta’s termination of its authorized sales partnership with the company, executives are keeping the accent on the positive, especially given a digital- and political ad-driven revenue increase for the quarter. While Entravision posted a 16% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, driven by its digital segment and political advertising revenue, audio’s revenue was $11.7 million, down 7%. Read moreFollowing ‘Transformative’ Q1, Entravision Focuses On Post-Meta Future.

Meruelo Media recruits programming veteran Pio Ferro as Senior VP of Audio Brands and Content, effective May 13. Ferro makes the coast-to-coast move from New York City, where he has been serving as Senior VP of Programming for Mediaco’s WQHT and WBLS. At Meruelo Media, Ferro will oversee heritage rocker KLOS, rhythmic CHR KPWR, classic hip-hop KDAY/KDEY, and Spanish CHR KLLI. Read morePio Ferro To Oversee Meruelo Media Los Angeles Cluster.

“Uncle Johnny” (John Marino), a semi-regular cast member of “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,” has died. “This morning we say goodbye to our Uncle Johnny,” the show posted on Facebook, accompanied by a video of Marino offering a speech and singing at the 2019 wedding of Duran and Alex Carr. Read moreElvis Duran and the Morning Show Remembers ‘Uncle Johnny.’

WGTS Washington, DC partners with King Story Company to promote the new movie “Unsung Hero” based on the story of the Christian band For King & Country… Steve Inskeep, co-host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” celebrates 20 years with the national program… KUNC Fort Collins, CO was recognized with the top award for podcasting at the Colorado Broadcasters Association awards. Read moreNews Bites: WGTS, Steve Inskeep, KUNC.

Apollo Global Management, a majority owner of Cox Media Group, has made a joint $26 billion offer with Sony Pictures Entertainment to by Paramount Global. The deal would potentially make Cox Media Group’s 50 radio stations and 15 TV stations cousins to CBS and local CBS-owned TV stations. Read moreTwenty-Six Billion Reasons To Buy: Cox Owner Apollo, Sony In Bid For Paramount.

Libsyn Ads says the average one-minute ad sold on its platform had a $21.75 CPM last month. That is slightly under the $21.94 average CPM seen in March. The podcast genre with the highest CPMs remained Technology in April, which was followed by Education and Comedy. Bargain hunters found deals in genres like Games, Kids & Family, and Religion & Spirituality The data is derived from sales across Libsyn Ads’ network of more than 1,500 shows. Read moreHighest Podcast CPMs In April Were On Tech, Education And Comedy Shows.

There is growing opposition to the FCC’s recent order requiring stations to supply data about their employees. A group of 19 Catholic broadcasters argues that the agency not only went beyond its legal authority, but the inclusion of a gender non-binary option on the required Form 395-B compels Catholic broadcasters to affirm and endorse gender categories other than the traditional “male” and “female” options. Read moreCatholic Radio Operators Ask FCC To Rethink Employee Data Collections Over New Gender Option.