Charlamagne Tha God has been named to Forbes’ list of the Highest-Paid Podcasters of 2026, with the publication estimating his annual earnings at approximately $27 million. The earnings are driven in part by a renewed deal with iHeartMedia reportedly worth up to $200 million over five years. The agreement supports The Black Effect Podcast Network, which Charlamagne founded and owns 51% of alongside iHeart. The network has grown to more than 60 shows, with Charlamagne telling

With fewer than 100 days until the election, political ads are sure to ramp up. As campaigns decide where to place their ad buys, new Edison Research data suggests there is no single audio platform that efficiently reaches every voting bloc. Instead, listening habits vary by party affiliation, creating opportunities for campaigns to better target audio ad spending. The latest Share of Ear data shows 81% of voting-age Americans use ad-supported audio daily, making the medium a

Kelly Sutton takes over Ryman Hospitality “WSM Radio” WSM-AM (650) Nashville’s morning drive Aug. 10 with the launch of “The Kelly Sutton Show,” airing weekdays from 6am-10am CT. The Grand Ole Opry announcer will lead the new program with fellow Opry host Charlie Mattos as producer and co-host, joined by WSM Studio Director Annie Ney. WSM personality Amber Anderson, who co-hosts Amazon Music’s “Country Heat Weekly” podcast with Sutton, will contribute regularly. Segments will

Urban One Dallas has announced key leadership appointments for its revitalized Dallas-Fort Worth cluster, with Maurice Potts promoted to Vice President/General Manager, Karl Whittingham named Director of Sales and Kevin Jenkins joining the company as Local Sales Manager. The moves follow Urban One’s $22 million purchase of Service Broadcasting’s urban AC “Smooth 105.7” KRNB and urban contemporary “K104” KKDA-FM, which join rhythmic CHR “97.9 The Beat” KBFB in the cluster. Pot

Following an announcement earlier this year that iHeartMedia would bring video to its iHeartRadio app in the U.S., a similar move has now gone live on its sister app in Australia. The Australian Radio Network has announced its co-branded iHeart app in the market will now include video content. Alongside full-length video podcasts, ARN has launched iHeart Highlights — a new vertical short-form video feed that brings together standout moments from podcasts and radio shows into

The Democratic candidates challenging the expanded lowest unit rate guidance are telling a federal appeals court that the FCC’s reliance on former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s 2024 campaign only proves broadcasters have long misapplied the law — not that the agency’s new guidance is legal. In a reply brief filed with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the candidates respond to the FCC’s recent assertion that the March guidance merely reflects longstanding industry practice. Th

Podcast listening continues to reach new audiences, but the medium is evolving into something much broader than an audio format as Americans increasingly watch podcasts, follow creators across multiple platforms, and look for ways to engage beyond the weekly episode. That’s according to MRI-Simmons’ annual Podcast Study, which finds 34% of U.S. adults —about 89 million people — listened to a podcast during the past month, while 28% listened during the past week. Monthly podca

As political campaigns spend billions of dollars ahead of November's midterm elections, a digital media firm says radio, streaming audio and podcasts represent an opportunity to reach voters that increasingly saturated television buys may be missing. The argument comes from the advertising intelligence platform Digital Remedy, which has released survey findings showing one-third of voters say being overexposed to political advertising leaves them annoyed with a campaign. But

Following SiriusXM’s announced rebroadcast of 42 Audacy sports, news and talk stations beginning Sept. 1, the satcaster will also launch its new audio sports subscription package, “SiriusXM Sports Pass,” that same day, including Audacy’s 23 local sports stations as well as Good Karma Brands’ “710 ESPN” KSPN Los Angeles, along with 16 SiriusXM-exclusive channels and seven national sports networks. The plan, which includes all sports play-by-play and live events carried by Siri

Less than two weeks after winning a major appellate victory, Cumulus Media is back in federal court accusing Nielsen of delaying compliance with a federal court injunction, telling a judge the ratings company has spent two weeks stalling rather than offering a court-compliant price for its Nationwide ratings product. The wrangling comes against the backdrop of new legal maneuvers by Nielsen, which has filed a motion seeking a rehearing by the full Second Circuit for a reheari