Industry News Bits FRI 5/15/26

May 16, 2026

Fundraisers this week .. New Life Radio/Griffin, GA .. WGTS/Wash DC .. WayFM .. WCLC/Jamestown, TN .. WGSN/Newport, TN .. Vision Christian Radio/Queensland .. Let us know when your Station Fundraiser takes place… news@hisair.net

Christian Radio Ratings on HisAir.Net are sponsored by Dunham+Company.

The MARCH Nielsen PPM release is complete. The APRIL PPM starts 5/18 …. Go HERE for latest PPM ratings.

After eight years with SoundStack and Live365 (A SoundStack Company), Matt Kellogg says he will move into a new season of his career. Matt will announce his future plans in the coming weeks.

Matt says, “It was a tremendous honor to work under the tutelage of the SoundStack executive team, including Scott Klass, Jon Stephenson, Mike Reznick, johnie floater, Jason Stoddard, John Morris, and Justin Ruoff. It would be impossible to work for a better and smarter group of people, and I’m eternally grateful for them bringing me on board. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of building the future of digital audio infrastructure.”

Salem Media Group Q1 2026 Quarterly Report (Released May 13, 2026)

Key Financial Highlights (Quarter Ended March 31, 2026)

Net Revenue: $45.9 million → Down 11.2% from $51.7 million in Q1 2025. → Approximately $4.1 million of the decline was due to completed station sales (mainly the divestiture of Contemporary Christian stations in late 2024/early 2025). On a same-station basis, revenue declined about 3.6%.
Net Loss: $2.6 million ($0.08 per share) → Significantly improved from a $7.13 million net loss in Q1 2025.
Operating Performance: The narrower loss was primarily driven by significant cost reductions, including the absence of $3.7 million in restructuring charges that were recorded in the prior-year quarter.

Segment Notes

Digital revenue declined to $18.1 million (from $19.7 million).
Broadcast programming revenue fell to $17.2 million (from $18.4 million).

HisAir Job Alert – sponsored by FaithSearch Partners

The Chief Impact Officer (CIO) is responsible for maximizing Hope Media Group’s external mission impact through the integrated leadership of Content, Technology, and Marketing. This role owns the end-to-end audience experience and translates HMG’s mission into compelling content, scalable platforms, and measurable reach.

If interested in this opening go HERE.

The K-LOVE Fan Awards has announced the lineup of talent set to perform and present when the show returns to OPRY on May 24, with GRAMMY Award winner Lauren Daigle and podcaster, author and speaker Sadie Robertson Huff set to host the 13th annual fan-voted celebration. The show will air exclusively on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) on May 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET. An encore presentation will air at 10:00 p.m. ET the same night and again on June 5. Coca-Cola Consolidated returns as title sponsor of the event.

The roster of presenters continues to develop and will feature an array of personalities from various fields, including FOX News Sunday host Shannon Bream, Dav Coretti and Brad Culver from The Promised Land, comedian, author and podcaster John Crist, star of the House of David television series Michael Iskander, pastor, author and podcast host Levi Lusko and Jonathan Roumie from The Chosen. Additional appearances throughout the evening will include acclaimed musicians Josh Baldwin, Blanca, Caleb & John, Franni Cash, Colton Dixon, Jenn Johnson, Rachael Lampa, Tasha Layton, David Leonard, Patrick Mayberry, Jon Reddick, Kristian Stanfill and Megan Woods.

Nominees were announced on May 8 with Phil Wickham leading with four nominations, and Lauren Daigle, Jamie MacDonald, Jeremy Camp, Josiah Queen, and Elevation Worship each receiving three. Fan voting is open through 6pm CT on May 22.

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The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2026 Marconi Radio Award nomination window is open through May 31. The prestigious NAB Marconi Radio Awards, established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, recognize stations and individuals for their excellence and performance in radio.

The winners of the 2026 Marconi Radio Awards will be announced during a special dinner program brought to you by Xperi, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at the Edison Ballroom the night before NAB Show New York held on Oct. 21 – 22.

The Marconi Radio Award finalists are selected by an independent body of broadcasters and will be announced in summer 2026.

All nominations must be submitted through the NAB member portal. The complete list of entry rules and qualifications can be found HERE.

Vidare Creative and Convoy of Hope are holding a Men of Radio party at Momentum in Orlando.

Date and Time: Tuesday night, 9pm.

Where: Room: Caicos 6, 8th Floor

Vidare’s Bill Scott says, “Yes, girls are welcome to attend as well. One of the rare moments we let the ladies join us. Make a RSVP, space limited. Just let me know you’ll be coming and how many with you.”

Christian Radio vet Dave Arthur continues to stay busy with filming new episodes of “Cockpit Karaoke” with Mission Aviation Fellowship (HQ’d in Boise, Idaho). He recently spent a week with the MAF crew in Nashville filming 10 new episodes to be released in the coming months on YouTube. Each flight took about 45 minutes as the artists belted out their music while flying above the beautiful Tennessee hills.They included David Zach (Remedy Drive), Nathan Sheridan, Todd Smith (Selah), Josh and Matt (The Afters), Mike Donehey (10th Avenue North), Evan Egerer, Natalie Layne, Brandon Heath, Ben Calhoun (Citizen Way) and a reunion of Audio Adrenaline with Mark and Will!

Ben Calhoun is helping to promote the work of Mission Aviation Fellowship and the work they do taking the Gospel to some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world through aviation. He recently wrote and recorded a new song for MAF called “Lift My Eyes”. You can see that video HERE.…

Dave currently holds down mornings on KEEH/Spokane (Shine 104-9) in Spokane with his wife Shauna, afternoons on Positive Life Radio covering Portland, OR; Tri-Cities, WA and beyond, as well as nights and weekends for 107.1 KSLT/Rapid City, SD.

Pictured L-R Dave with Brandon Heath

HisAir Christian Radio & Records Industry News TIMELINE – May 16, 2024

KJHM/Denver (Star 101.5) has added a new morning show hosted by Skip Mahaffey and Kristen James. The show airs 6-10am with Mahaffey in Cincinnati and James in New York. Skip will continue to host 9-11am on WAKW/Cincinnati (Star 93.3) where he is Director of Programming Operations.

Mahaffey joined Pillar Media as Director of Programming Operations in Oct 2023 after co-hosting mornings at K-LOVE for 7 years. James has been with Pillar since 2012 serving in various roles including Music Director, Promotions, Production, and On-Air.

Milestones:
Adam McNutt 2 years at Family Life Radio/Tucson
Andy Waits (KFIS/Portland) passed 2 years ago

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Go HERE to join the private HisAir Prayer Group group.

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