Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (Emet[1]) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which have notoriety for their Hip Hop Rhythmic format as well as WFAN, which was the world's first 24-hour sports talk radio station. In addition to radio, Emmis has invested in TV, publishing, and mobile operations throughout the U.S.
In 1980, Emmis Broadcasting founder Jeffrey Smulyan purchased his first radio station, WSVL-FM Shelbyville, Indiana. In July 1981, Smulyan changed the format from country music to adult contemporary and renamed the station WENS and later to WLHK.
In 1982, Emmis acquired WLOL in Minneapolis, MN and quickly became a top contender for ratings.[2]
Around 1984, the company bought Magic 106 in Los Angeles, California; at the time, L.A. Lakers player "Magic" Johnson was an early spokesperson for the station. Emmis also bought KSHE in St. Louis in the same year.
In early 1986, Emmis changed Magic 106, which focused on traditional top 40 rock, to Power 106 KPWR, which would focus on dance, top40, and shock-jock talk.[3]
In 1987, Emmis made a series of purchases including WQHT, WYNY, and WNBC in New York, WKQX in Chicago, WJIB in Boston, WKUU and KXXX in San Francisco, and KKHT in Houston. They also acquired WAVA-FM in Washington, D.C. from the Doubleday Broadcasting Company. Both KPWR and WQHT would pioneer the urban contemporary rhythmic format.[citation needed] Emmis transformed WHN into the world's first all-sports radio station, WFAN.[citation needed]
In 1988, Emmis entered the world of publishing. Emmis purchased Indianapolis Monthly and added WKQX in Chicago to its radio portfolio. Also, Emmis acquired five NBC radio stations in 1988.[4]
Emmis kicked off the 1990s by selling KKHT-FM in Houston to Nationwide Communications in May 1990.[citation needed]
In 1991, Emmis sold two more stations: WLOL to Minnesota Public Radio[6] and KXXX, San Francisco, to Alliance Broadcasting. Also in 1991, KMGG became KPWR, "Power 106" and became the first rhythmic contemporary-focused top 40 formatted outlet.[7][8]
In 1992, Emmis sold WFAN, New York, to Infinity for US$70M,[9] which was one of the highest prices ever paid for an AM radio station. Emmis also sold WAVA-FM, Washington D.C., to Salem Broadcasting[10] and WJIB, Boston, to Greater Media.[11] In the same year, Jeff Smulyan sold the Seattle Mariners to Nintendo.[12]
Emmis grew its publishing portfolio by adding Atlanta Magazine in 1993.[13] In the same year, Emmis launched its second hip hop station in America, Hot 97.[14] Emmis' Q101 in Chicago moved into an Alternative Rock Format.[citation needed]
In 1994, the company purchased WIBC (now WFNI) and WKLR (now WIBC (FM)) in Indianapolis from the Horizon Broadcast Corporation and WRKS in New York City from the Summit Communications Group. WKLR was changed from an oldies format to a classic hits format with the call letters of WNAP-FM in September 1994.[15] Emmis became a public company, EMMS on NASDAQ, with an IPO on March 4, 1994.[citation needed]
The following year, 1995, WQHT and KPWR were among the top rated radio station in each of their markets.[16] This resulted in a record-breaking accomplishment where Emmis was the first company to own top rated radio stations in the top 2 markets.[16] Later in 1996, WHHH (formerly WTLC-AM/FM) became top rated for Urban Adult Contemporary.[17]
Emmis entered the world of international radio in 1997 when the company was awarded a license to operate in Hungary, Sláger Radio, which debuted #1 nationwide and remained the country's most popular national radio station until the Hungarian government revoked the license in 2009.[18] Emmis added Cincinnati Magazine to its publishing group, as well as KIHT-FM and KPNT-FM in St. Louis to its rock collection.
In 1998, Emmis Broadcasting changed its name to Emmis Communications[19] and moved into its current headquarters on Monument Circle in Indianapolis.[20] Emmis acquired a lot of media in the same year including Texas Monthly,[21] WRXP in New York, WTHI and WWVR in Terre Haute, and six television stations in Honolulu, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Mobile, Alabama, from SF Broadcasting and in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Ft. Myers, Florida, from Wabash Valley Broadcasting[22] RadioNow was launched in Indianapolis as a Top 40 format.
Emmis purchased Country Sampler Magazine in 1999[citation needed] and Liberty Media purchased 2.7 million shares of Emmis for approximately $150M.[23]
2000s
In 2005, Emmis changed the format of its first radio station from its long-term adult contemporary format to country, and the call letters were changed from WENS to WLHK. Emmis was also named one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For.[citation needed] In March of that year, Emmis Communications and 98.7 KISS-FM, New York, celebrated Women's History Month by introducing their first annual salute to Phenomenal Women (also referred to as the Phenomenal Woman Awards).[24]
From 2005 to 2013 Emmis owns three radio networks in Bulgaria: Radio FM+, Radio Fresh! and Star FM.
In 2006, Emmis flipped KZLA Los Angeles to Adult Rhythmic Contemporary as "KMVN, Movin' 93.9". The move gave Emmis a companion station to complement KPWR. However, on April 15, 2009, KMVN switched to Spanish-language programming, KXOS, under a seven-year Local Marketing Agreement with Grupo Radio Centro of Mexico City.[25]
On June 9, 2009, Emmis announced it had formed a strategic alliance with StreamTheWorld, the radio industry's streaming technology and services company, to put all Emmis radio stations on a new streaming platform.[26]
2010s
On January 12, 2011, the share price of Emmis stock surged 42% as insiders speculated that the company could be close to selling off several of its radio stations. In its January 2011 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company reported that it had the necessary cash to survive through February 2011. "Absent asset sales, which the company is actively pursuing," Emmis attorneys stated in the regulatory filing, "the company believes it is unlikely it will be able to maintain compliance with the financial covenants after Sept. 1, 2011".[27]
On August 16, 2013, Emmis launched the NextRadio smartphone app on HTC One Android phones from Sprint.[28][29] A deal struck between the radio industry and Sprint facilitated the launch[30] which subsequently enabled FM radio support for the app on additional Android devices available on the Sprint wireless network.[31]
On October 12, 2016, Emmis announced that it would sell its radio stations in the Terre Haute cluster to Midwest Communications and DLC Media. Midwest Communications would acquire WTHI-FM and the intellectual property of WWVR while DLC Media would acquire WFNF, WFNB and the broadcast license for WWVR. Midwest Communications would also sell WDKE to DLC Media to stay under FCC ownership limits. The sale was consummated on January 27, 2017.[32][33][34]
On March 1, 2017, Emmis announced it had sold four of its magazines (Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Orange Coast) to Hour Media Group, LLC for $6.5 million. It also sold Texas Monthly to Genesis Park, LP for $25 million.[35]
On May 9, 2017, Emmis announced that it would sell KPWR to The Meruelo Group for $82.75 million. The announcement came after Emmis made a deal in April with its lenders to seek $80 million worth of divestments by January 2018 to amend its credit agreement. The Meruelo Group began operating the station under an LMA on July 1, 2017, until the sale was consummated on August 1, 2017.[36][37][38]
In June 2019, Emmis announced that it would sell its controlling stake in its Austin stations to its minority partner Sinclair Telecable Inc. (d/b/a Sinclair Communications, unrelated to Sinclair Broadcast Group).[40]
On July 1, 2019, Emmis announced that it would sell its New York City stations WQHT and WBLS to Mediaco Holding—an affiliate of Standard General—for $91.5 million, a $5 million promissory note, and a 23.72% stake in the new company. Mediaco Holding will be a public company, and Emmis will continue to manage the stations.[41] The sale was completed November 25, 2019.[42]
2020s
On March 11, 2020, Emmis announced that it had purchased sound masking technology company Lencore Acoustics.[43]
On April 24, 2020, Emmis announced that it would voluntarily delist from the Nasdaq, citing cost-saving concerns.[44]
On June 13, 2022, Emmis announced it will sell its Indianapolis radio properties to Urban One for an undisclosed amount.[45]
Company portfolio
Lencore Acoustics
Emmis acquired Lencore in 2020. They build systems for Sound Masking, Paging and Audio with applications in a variety of industries. Major clients include: Amazon, AT&T, CVS Health, Coca-Cola, Ford, Ernst & Young, Michelin among many others.[citation needed]
Digonex
Emmis acquired Digonex in 2014. Digonex is a technology company.[citation needed]
The NextRadio smartphone app was developed by Emmis, with support from the National Association of Broadcasters, to enable FM radio reception on mobile devices with activated internal FM receivers.[46] NextRadio allows users of many FM-enabled smartphones to listen to broadcast FM radio—with no need for Internet connection or use of phone data—and receive supplemental data such as album art, program information, and metadata over the Internet if connected.[47][48] Launched in August 2013 through a radio industry agreement with Sprint Corporation,[49] the app was preloaded on some devices, and available for download in the Google Play Store of Android applications.[50]
The NextRadio app is powered by TagStation, an Emmis-developed cloud data service for enhanced radio broadcasting.[51][52] TagStation allows broadcasters a web-based platform for managing supplemental content for delivery to the NextRadio app,[53]HD Radio receivers,[54] and connected car dashboards.[55]
During the quarter ended November 30, 2018, Emmis decided to dramatically reduce the scale of operations in TagStation, LLC and NextRadio, LLC. In connection with this decision, the company recognized $1.2 million of severance related to the termination of 35 employees.[56] Emmis Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan said on the company's second quarter earnings call that Emmis was "unwilling and unable" to continue funding the NextRadio and TagStation businesses.[57]
In January 2019, Radio World published a long article analyzing NextRadio's operation and failure, suggesting that the long-term, unfulfilled, hope was that the radio industry could eventually monetize the NextRadio app, in part by providing advertisers with good analytical information and insights into radio's return on investment.[58][59]
As of the end of 2021 version 6.0.2492 (January 2, 2019) of the NextRadio app remained available on the Google Play Store.[50]
WorldBand Media HD Radio deal
Emmis announced on September 9, 2008, that it had teamed up with digital radio network WorldBand Media and would be using the "HD-3" subchannels to produce programming for the South Asian communities in Chicago (on WLUP), Los Angeles (on KPWR), and New York (on WQHT), and would include a combination of local and international content that should be available by mid-October 2008.[60]
In May 2005, Emmis announced its intent to sell some or all of the 16 television stations they owned at the time. In August 2005, the company announced the sale of nine television stations, as well as four more in October, an additional station in May 2006, another station in February 2007, and its final station in May 2008. Emmis no longer owns any television stations.[62]
Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license.
↑ WKQX's intellectual property was divested to a third party in 2011 and was used for an internet radio station bearing the "Q101" name; Cumulus re-acquired this intellectual property in 2022.
↑ License owned by Entertainment Media Trust d/b/a "Insane Broadcasting" but controlled by Robert Romanik; Emmis programmed the station under a local marketing agreement.
1 2 3 4 Traded to Bonneville International in exchange for KZLA-FM in Los Angeles.
WBLS is an urban adult contemporary formatted FM radio station, licensed to New York, New York. It is currently owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Corporation under a shared services agreement, along with sister stations WLIB and WQHT. The three stations share studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, and WBLS' transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. It was previously owned by YMF Media LLC, owned jointly by investor Ronald Burkle and Magic Johnson, which had assumed control of WBLS and WLIB's former parent company, Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, on October 19, 2012, at a purchase price of $180 million.
WEPN-FM is a radio station in New York City. Owned by Emmis Communications, it broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format. Its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
KSJN is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), this station serves the Twin Cities region as the flagship of "YourClassical MPR", MPR's classical music network. KSJN's studios are located at the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown Saint Paul, while its transmitter is located on the KMSP Tower in Shoreview. KSJN broadcasts using HD Radio technology, and uses its HD2 subchannel to carry American Public Media's Classical 24 network.
WQHT is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund, and operated by Emmis Corporation under a shared services agreement.
WKTU is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
KPWR – branded as Power 106 – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Alex Meruelo's Meruelo Group, through licensee KPWR Radio Holdings LLC, and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studios are based in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, and the transmitter is on Mount Wilson. Meruelo acquired KPWR from Emmis Communications for $82.75 million in May 2017, officially bringing the station under common ownership with KDAY, KDEY-FM, KWHY-TV, and KBEH on August 1, 2017.
KXOL-FM is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by the Spanish Broadcasting System and airs a Spanish CHR radio format. KXOL-FM's studios and offices are on West Pico Boulevard. The transmitter is located in the Verdugo Mountains, near Glendale, California. KXOL-FM is also heard on a 14-watt booster station in Santa Clarita, KXOL-FM-1 at 96.3 MHz.
KRRL – branded Real 92.3 – is a commercial urban contemporary radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving much of the Greater Los Angeles area. Owned by iHeartMedia, KRRL serves as the flagship for Big Boy's Neighborhood. The KRRL studios are located in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, while the station transmitter resides on Mount Wilson. Besides a standard analog transmission, KRRL broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via iHeartRadio.
KBPA is a commercial radio station licensed to Austin, Texas, United States. Owned by Sinclair Telecable and operated under the name Waterloo Media, it broadcasts an adult hits radio format. Its radio studios and offices are located along Interstate 35 in North Austin.
KLLI is an FM radio station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by the Meruelo Group, it broadcasts a bilingual Latin pop/rhythmic contemporary format. The station has studios located in Burbank, while its transmitter is based on Mount Wilson, and broadcasts in the HD Radio format.
WYXB, branded as "B105.7", is a commercial radio station owned by Urban One in Indianapolis, Indiana. The studios are on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. WYXB is one of two adult contemporary stations in Indianapolis; the other being WNTR, "107.9 The Mix". WYXB switches to Christmas music for part of November and December.
WTLC is a commercial AM radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by Urban One and broadcasts an urban gospel radio format, with some Christian talk and teaching shows heard middays and afternoons. The studios and offices are downtown at the corner of Meridian and St. Joseph Streets.
KLBJ-FM is a commercial radio station in Austin, Texas. It broadcasts an album-oriented rock radio format billed as "The Rock of Austin." It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc.. KLBJ-FM is licensed under the name Waterloo Media. The station was once owned by the family of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and still carries his initials as its call letters.
WYHX is a non-commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It airs a Christian radio format and is owned by Bible Broadcasting Network.
WHHH is a radio station licensed to Speedway, Indiana. Owned by Urban One, it broadcasts an mainstream urban format serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Its studios are co-located with its sister stations at Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis, with its transmitter located on the city's east side. WHHH is licensed to broadcast in the HD Radio format.
KTAR-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Glendale, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International, a profit-making division of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. KTAR-FM broadcasts a news/talk radio format.
KROX-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Buda, Texas, and serving the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. and broadcasts an alternative rock format. The station has studios along Interstate 35 in North Austin, and the transmitter site is located off Waymaker Way at the West Austin Antenna Farm.
WFNI is a commercial radio station licensed to Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by Emmis Corporation and carries a sports radio format, featuring ESPN Radio programming. The studios and offices are located at 40 Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
KDEY-FM is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Ontario, California and serves the Inland Empire area. The station is owned by Meruelo Radio Holdings Ltd. and broadcasts a classic hip hop format. The KDEY-FM transmitter is located on Heaven Mountain to the north of Ontario. KDEY-FM simulcasts with co-channel station KDAY in Redondo Beach, California to fill coverage gaps in KDAY's eastern coverage area.
Jeffrey Howard Smulyan is the founder and chief executive officer of Emmis Communications.
1 2 "NextRadio Free Live FM Radio". Google Play. Retrieved December 29, 2021. From reviews: it is necessary to set the location to 'other'; if a location is specified the app will not work as it is unable to connect to the discontinued NextRadio server to download station information.
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