CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks, sometimes simply referred to as ''CRN'' or ''CRN Digital Talk'', is a syndicator and distributor of radio programs and talk radio networks.
History
CRN was founded in 1983 as Cable Radio Network to provide commercial radio programming to local cable television systems. CRN founder Michael Horn (who, at the time, was an on-air personality at Los Angeles’
KFI AM
KFI (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel station, clear-channel List of ...
) read an article in the trade publication ''
Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' that mentioned Los Angeles radio station
KMET earned ratings points in the Phoenix market. Horn learned KMET was the audio source for a channel on a local cable system in Phoenix.
Horn brought the radio-on-television idea to
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
cable provider King Cable, where he soon programmed a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
channel. Seeking a more mass appeal, Horn changed the channel's format to
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
music. Two other cable systems – Valley Cable and Falcon Cable – then became interested and was used on a few
Electronic Program Guide
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
s across America.
Broadcast hookups were initially conducted through phone lines before the method became cost prohibitive. Horn invested more money and switched to satellite transmission. A branding change from "Cable Radio Network" to "CRN Networks" eventually followed.
Noncommercial music channels from companies such as
Digital Planet
''Digital Planet'' (previously known as ''Click'' and originally ''Go Digital'') is a radio programme broadcast on the BBC World Service presented by Gareth Mitchell. Alternating as contributors are Bill Thompson, Ghislaine Boddington and Angel ...
and
DMX eventually were picked up by cable providers. Instead of competing with them, Horn switched CRN's programming to a talk radio platform. CRN Networks then became "CRN Talk" and, in 2007, "CRN Digital Talk Radio". The company's legal name remains Cable Radio Networks, Inc.
Horn commissioned a company that worked with
Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
(now
Nielsen Audio
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
) to determine CRN.s listenership. Results indicated that CRN shared a similar-size audience as
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
,
Cinemax
Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...
, and
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
.
In 2013, CRN Digital Talk Radio Launched CRN Digital Magazine, its own online magazine (no association with ''
CRN Magazine
''CRN'' is an American computer magazine. It was first launched as ''Computer Retail Week'' on June 7, 1982, as a magazine targeted to computer resellers. It soon after was renamed ''Computer Reseller News''.
History and profile
Originally laun ...
'') featuring lifestyle and entertainment stories written by CRN personalities.
Programming
CRN programs are produced both in house and in collaboration with other broadcasters. CRN broadcasts eight audio feeds: a main feed that carries mostly in-house offerings; direct network feeds from
Sports Byline USA
Sports Byline USA is an international sports radio network based in the United States. ''Sports Byline USA'' is also the name of the flagship program on the network. It was the first national sports talk show and was launched on October 24, 1988. ...
,
The Answer,
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the Un ...
,
Radio America;
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
History
In 2003, ...
,
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...
;
iHeart Radio
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHear ...
, and others. CRN also airs a
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
of
XEAAA-AM
XHEAAA-FM is a radio station on 92.7 FM in Santa Ana Tepetitlán, located in the municipality of Zapopan, Jalisco. It is owned by Promomedios.
History
XETZ-AM received its concession on May 18, 1965. The Tequila-based station was owned by Julio ...
(a female-oriented Spanish-language station based in
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico); and a seventh channel that duplicates and
timeshifts some of the other feeds' programs. It is distributed, as its former name implies, mostly through various
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
providers, much in the way the more widely available
Music Choice
Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. Music Choice reaches 65 million househol ...
is distributed. However, it is also available via
C band satellite, various terrestrial stations across the nation and on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Some of CRN’s first talk offerings included “Polka Parade” with Dick Sinclair and television and radio personality
George Putnam’s “Talk Back” (which became a CRN exclusive). Former
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson co-host
Ed McMahon
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...
also hosted his weekly ''Lifestyles Live'' program on CRN.
Don Ecker’s “UFOs Tonight”,
and the
pro wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
themed “Squared Circle” hosted by James "Shadowe" Boone
were also CRN original programs.
CRN Digital Talk Radio announced in June 2015 it would become the home for
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
radio and television personality
Larry Elder
Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American right-wing political commentator and conservative talk radio host. Elder hosts ''The Larry Elder Show'', based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio stati ...
’s show.
Less than two months later,
Salem Radio Network
Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group.
Network information
Salem Rad ...
announced it would add Elder’s program to its own national syndication lineup.
Actor
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...
hosted his own CRN program until his death on February 8, 2020, and
Barry Farber
Barry Morton Farber (May 5, 1930 – May 6, 2020) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative radio talk show host, author, commentator and language-learning enthusiast. In 2002, industry publication ''Talkers magazine'' rank ...
hosted his own show until his death later that year. There are also several food and wine lifestyle programs, such as the "What's Cookin'" franchise.
References
External links
CRN Home PageCRN Digital Magazine
{{American broadcast radio
American radio networks
Digital-only radio stations
Cable radio