The post-Labor Day political advertising rush has arrived, bringing a wave of spending that could make the next seven weeks especially lucrative for radio and other local media in the country’s most heavily contested markets. AdImpact reports $510 million in political advertising aired nationwide during the first two weeks of September alone. Texas and Ohio each attracted more than $70 million, while Cleveland was the nation’s biggest local market with $19.6 million, followed

iHeartMedia is making the case that Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles is a major opportunity for brands to reach consumers through audio, podcasts, streaming, influencers and live experiences. The company notes that the NFL reaches 205 million fans in the U.S., making football one of the nation’s most powerful cultural forces. For marketers, iHeartMedia argues that audio offers a way to connect with those fans through trusted personalities and programming across broadcast radio,

The fight over which political advertisers qualify for radio and television stations’ lowest unit ad rate is already back before a federal appeals court, just days after the Supreme Court weighed in with a ruling that impacts who broadcasters must give the discounted rates to. Four Democratic candidates are taking a new route in their challenge to the FCC’s expanded lowest unit rate policy, asking the Fourth Circuit to force the Commission to issue a final decision that could

Various research studies show that return on investment is not the profit generator marketers believe it to be. According to the Institute for the Practitioners of Advertising, since COVID, advertising ROI has improved by 4% while ad-driven profit has declined 11%. “The data reveals a dangerous trend: advertising is getting less effective,” Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says in Westwood One’s blog. “The advertising world’s

Nielsen has won a temporary reprieve from a federal judge’s order requiring it to make Cumulus Media a new offer for Nationwide ratings, with the Second Circuit putting the order — and its daily penalties for noncompliance — on hold while it considers Nielsen’s latest appeal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted Nielsen an emergency administrative stay last week, one day after U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas issued an order escalating the long-running

BIA Advisory Services has raised its forecast for the 2026 U.S. local advertising market to $186.1 billion, up $1.6 billion, or 0.9%, from its April estimate. The new projection represents approximately 9% growth from 2025, with stronger-than-expected political spending ahead of the midterm elections and continued mobile growth driving the increase. Excluding political advertising, BIA now expects the local advertising market to reach $176.4 billion this year, up 0.2% from it

Following the August release of its first NFL Fandom Index, using multiple metrics to rank NFL markets with the strongest fanbases, Nielsen Scarborough has introduced a similar study focused on local college football markets. The Nielsen Scarborough Local College Football Fandom Index again goes beyond simple viewership to look at eight measures of fan engagement: apparel purchases, general interest levels, live-event attendance, betting intent, social media engagement, radio

Radio remains an important source of timely, local information during hurricanes and other severe weather events, according to a report from Katz Radio Group. The report examines the role local radio can play in providing emergency information as hurricane season gets underway. The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with activity typically peaking around Sept. 10. Katz noted that a typical season, based on NOAA’s 1991-2020 climate averages,

ASCAP is asking a federal judge to hit a New Hampshire radio group with $315,000 in damages and bar its stations from airing music in the organization’s repertory after the broadcasters failed to respond to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in June. Music publishers represented by ASCAP have filed a motion for default judgment against White Mountains Broadcasting and several related companies that operate as Radio New England Broadcast Group, along with owner Brian Lunde

Call it football or fútbol, a new podcast will bring both versions of the game together with a series hosted by a pair of active pros. Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker and Los Angeles Football Club midfielder Timothy Tillman will host “Big Kick Energy,” a weekly iHeartPodcasts series that crosses the NFL-MLS divide to talk football, soccer and the culture surrounding both sports. The show debuts today (Sept. 11), with the two Los Angeles athletes comparing everythin