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Media Beat: March 27, 2020

By David Farrell

Radio listening soars during coronavirus crisis

Radio listening figures have experienced a boom as a direct result of coronavirus, new figures suggest.


Global, which owns Capital FM and LBC, has said online listening rose by 15 percent in the last week, with many favouring the radio over streaming apps.

In contrast, data from US analytics companies suggests that the use of streaming apps such as Spotify has dropped by about 8 percent.

Journalism has become an essential service during COVID-19 crisis

It’s clear that our reliance on the professional media will only grow in the difficult months to come, even as the commercial viability of these news gathering companies becomes increasingly dire. The massive demand destruction that looms ahead will kill advertising, subscriptions, cash-flow, etc. This is a giant problem.

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So what should we do? – John Lorinc, The Star

Government’s promised help for media leaves news orgs disappointed

“We didn’t expect to be singled out but we also didn’t expect to be shunted aside, and that’s what’s going on here,” Bob Cox, publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press and News Media Canada chair said, noting the federal program in place to aid the industry still hasn’t started operating.

“We haven’t got the (program) money so we don’t actually have this cash to operate our businesses (and) until we get that, we’re screwed,” Cox continued. – Mary Ormsby, The Star

NPR station dumps Trump briefings for spreading disinformation

“KUOW is monitoring White House briefings for the latest news on the coronavirus — and we will continue to share all news relevant to Washington State with our listeners,” the station tweeted Tuesday. “However, we will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact-checked in real-time.” – Ted Johnson, Deadline

Edison Research: Streaming inches up in share of AM/FM radio listening

The report found that at its most recent update, streaming now holds an 8% share of Americans’ AM/FM radio listening. Traditional over-the-air listening accounts for the remaining 92%. – Anna Washenko, RAIN News

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How Covid-19 can negatively impact rental property rates

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Influence Media Wins Bid to Acquire Anthem Entertainment’s Music Assets
Business News

Influence Media Wins Bid to Acquire Anthem Entertainment’s Music Assets

Sources say the BlackRock-backed company bid slightly above $650 million for the assets, though the deal has yet to close.

Apparently, the third time really can be the charm, as sources say Influence Media Partners has emerged as the winner in the auction for the music assets of Anthem Entertainment, the Canadian music firm that houses music publishing assets and recorded masters royalties from the likes of Rush and Timbaland.

While two earlier efforts to sell the firm in 2017 and 2022 came up short, sources suggest that in the third go-round, the successful Goldman Sachs-shopped deal saw at least two bids come in above the $600 million mark, even though most other bidders were said to be in the $500 million to $600 million range before dropping out. In all, sources suggested that about a dozen suitors kicked the tires on Anthem.

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