Come Sunday, August 30, some 962 affiliates of Cumulus Media’s Westwood One News will receive their final news update from the service. After that 11:30pm Eastern report, editors and journalists associated with the 5 1/2-year-old operation will be out of a job.
What happens next for all of those stations? While Westwood One is offering AP Radio News as a replacement, a host of competing organizations have ramped up their jockeying for soon-to-be former WWO News affiliates.
There’s money in those affiliates — not only for the stations but for the networks selling inventory. And, the quest to sign them up is turning into a big battle as COVID-19 concerns continue to eat away at profits. Aligning with the right network could aid any recovery of lost ad revenue.