As Election Day approaches, campaigns are looking for ways to reach voters across an increasingly crowded media landscape. Television remains a major tool for building awareness, while radio, podcasts and streaming audio can extend campaign messages into commutes, workdays and other daily routines, according to iHeartMedia. Political campaigns are increasingly combining television and audio advertising as Election Day approaches, using the two media platforms to reach voters

The fight over who gets broadcasters’ cheapest political advertising rates is turning into a candidate-vs.-candidate showdown at the Federal Communications Commission, with Democrats pushing to narrow eligibility while Republicans argue changing course now would disrupt political buys already underway. At issue is the Media Bureau’s March guidance requiring radio and TV stations to provide lowest unit rate not only to candidates and their campaigns but also to qualifying cand

It’s been eight months since religion — which includes stations featuring religious teaching, hymns and other related content — became America’s most-programmed format, dethroning country’s 11-year run at the top of Inside Radio/PrecisionTrak’s monthly station counts by format. Since February, religion’s lead over country has increased significantly, from 22 stations during its first month on top to 40 in March, 65 for June, 70 in August, and now a new high, 81 outlets ahead

Despite an end-of-summer ad market lull, Guideline’s U.S. Ad Market Tracker recorded an eighth consecutive month of growth. It shows the U.S. ad market grew 0.7% last month vs. a year earlier. That was a stepdown from earlier in the summer, when the World Cup helped boost marketer spending. Newly updated data from Guideline shows total ad spending increased 19.1% in June and 12.5% in July. Guideline doesn’t release radio-specific data. But the firm does share national televis

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton brought a little of the “Clay & Buck Show” into the Oval Office, meeting with President Trump on Monday and later sharing details of the visit with listeners. The hosts of the nationally syndicated talk show met with Trump on Sept. 28 and described the encounter as a wide-ranging conversation that included media, foreign policy and college football. The visit also included interactions with several senior administration officials, according to the

It’s an advertising basic, but one that’s in danger of being forgotten in the digital age: using ads to make products or services known before they’re needed. AM/FM radio has proven to be highly effective in getting that job done. “To win sales at bottom of funnel, [brands] need to win the mind at the top of the funnel first. Mind share equals market share,” Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says in Westwood One’s blog. “We ha

The streaming ad boom is creating more places for marketers to spend their money, but all that new inventory is putting pressure on what sellers can charge. New data from Guideline shows U.S. digital ad prices continuing to fall as streaming platforms pump more advertising opportunities into the marketplace — a trend that has implications for broadcasters that increasingly sell digital inventory alongside their traditional radio spots. Guideline Chief Insights and Analytics O

The IAB Tech Lab is putting out to the public its proposed Programmatic Standard Practices as it seeks public comment on a document that looks to create a more common understanding between brands and media companies. The document is the first effort undertaken by the Programmatic Governance Council, as the IAB group aims to establish shared business rules, norms, and principles intended to improve market efficiency and advertising effectiveness, while also reducing transactio

Contagious has released its “Contagious Brands Report 2026,” naming 45 brands from around the world that it says are challenging category conventions and finding new ways to connect with consumers. The report includes 15 U.S. brands across areas including retail, consumer products, technology, social media, entertainment and artificial intelligence. The report examines brands through nine categories and focuses on business challenges and opportunities including media fragment

Leighton Media is headed toward 100% employee ownership under a $7.84 million stock deal that will put control of the longtime radio operator entirely in the hands of its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The ownership change is outlined in an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The filing shows five existing shareholders in the St. Cloud, MN-based company have agreed to sell their interests back to the company, clearing the way for the ESOP to b