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Cumulus Media Networks was 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, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (telecomm ...
owned and operated by
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...
. From 2011 until its merger with
Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
(ABC), which was broken up in 2007; Cumulus owned the portion of the network that was purchased by
Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
that year. The network adopted its final name in September 2011, following Cumulus's acquisition of Citadel; prior to this, it had been known as Citadel Media Networks since April 2009, after licensing the "ABC Radio Networks" name from
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
for nearly two years. ABC now operates a revived
ABC Radio Network Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...
that owns no stations but produces mostly short-form audio content. It was also (as ABC Radio Networks) the penultimate of the major radio networks to still be owned by its original founding company until 2007, CBS Radio being the last. Mutual Broadcasting Network was dissolved in 1999, and then NBC Radio Network, after selling all of its stations in 1988, followed suit in 2004. Prominent hosts carried by Cumulus Media Networks included
Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, '' Imus in the Morning'', was aired on various sta ...
, Geraldo Rivera, Mike Huckabee,
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admin ...
,
Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Na ...
,
Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album. ...
, Adam Bomb,
Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...
(
American Country Countdown ''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay ch ...
), and
Tom Kent Tom Kent (born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina), is an American radio personality and author. As the head of the ''Tom Kent Radio Network (TKRN)'', Tom hosts and produces syndicated daily, weekend and 24/7 programming each week on approximately ...
.


History

Cumulus Media Networks had its origins in an early network set up by WJZ (now WABC) in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
which provided programs to other stations over
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
lines.


WJZ/NBC Blue Network

WJZ (which is not related to the Baltimore TV station that currently uses those call letters), originally owned by Westinghouse and its informal network were absorbed into the National Broadcasting Company in 1927. To the parent company
Radio Corporation of America The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...
, WJZ and affiliates were known as the Blue Network while New York station WEAF (later
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
and now
WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...
) and its affiliates (also absorbed into NBC) were known as the "Red Network." On the air, both were identified as "NBC, the National Broadcasting Company;" the distinctions between the two networks were, beyond staff and advertisers, mostly a matter of the more popular and established programming appearing on NBC Red. Both NBC networks were owned by RCA; following a
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
investigation into the network's influence over advertising, strict ownership rules were introduced in 1941. RCA was compelled to sell one network and three local stations.


ABC Radio

RCA put an asking price of $8 million on the Blue network; after two years on the market, it was sold in 1943 to businessman Edward J. Noble, owner of
Life Savers Life Savers (stylized as LifeSavers) is an American brand of ring-shaped hard and soft candy. Its range of mints and fruit-flavored candies is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in paper-wrapped aluminum foil rolls. Candy manufacturer ...
candy and the
Rexall Drug Rexall was a chain of American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across th ...
store chain, for the asking price. After Noble took over, the network identified itself on-air as "The Blue Network." It was officially renamed the ''American Broadcasting Company, Inc.'' in June 1945 after the company bought the rights to the name from (what would later become)
Storer Broadcasting Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986. History 1920s–1940s In 1927, George B. Storer ...
. With about 65 affiliates, ABC began with few of the big names and popular shows the other networks offered, so counter-programming became an ABC specialty. Industry policy had been to forbid taped or pre-recorded programs; ABC lured some big-name stars by adapting the tape technology developed in World War II. To add to its programming, ABC bought stations KECA (now KABC) in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and WXYZ (now WXYT) in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, the latter home and originator of many popular serials such as ''
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...
''. Financially unable to match the larger networks, ABC merged with
United Paramount Theaters United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...
early in 1953. Through the 1950s, network radio declined in popularity, and ABC radio gradually became more oriented to its local stations, especially its two pop-music powerhouses, New York's WABC (formerly WJZ) and Chicago's WLS (which was owned and operated by the ''
Prairie Farmer ''Prairie Farmer'' is a weekly newspaper which covers agricultural and rural news in the state of Illinois. It was first published in 1841 in Chicago, Illinois by John Stephen Wright and was called ''The Union Agriculturist and Western Prairie F ...
'' in a time-share arrangement with ABC-owned WENR until both stations merged in 1954; ABC acquired the ''Farmer's'' minority stake in 1959). Some network programs held on into the television era: ''
Don McNeill's Breakfast Club ''Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'' was a long-running morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/ ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeill, the radio program ran from June 23, 1933, through Decembe ...
'', one of the first and longest-running morning shows in the country, hosted by Don McNeill, ran from 1933 to 1968. Other long-running ABC programs included the ''
National Barn Dance ''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stage for other ...
'', running from 1924 to 1960, and
Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...
's daily commentary, which ran from 1951 until his death in 2009. In 1958, ABC collaborated with its sister television network to produce the first national stereophonic sound broadcasts, when it simulcast ''The Plymouth Show'' (one of two shows hosted by
Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...
at the time); the TV side broadcast one audio channel and the radio side broadcast the other in synchronization; viewers had to tune into both devices to achieve the stereophonic effect.


John F. Kennedy assassination bulletin

ABC Radio broadcast the first nationwide report of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was shot in a motorcade in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
at 18:30 UTC on November 22, 1963 and ABC Radio's Don Gardiner anchored the network's initial bulletin at 18:36:50 UTC, minutes before any other radio or television network did the same. A surviving
aircheck In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes. A ''scoped'' (short for "te ...
from New York shortwave station WRUL includes the first ABC Radio bulletin. Gardiner interrupts Doris Day's recording of "
Hooray for Hollywood "Hooray for Hollywood" is a popular song first featured in the 1937 movie ''Hollywood Hotel'', and which has since become (together with " That's Entertainment" and " There's No Business like Show Business") the staple soundtrack element of any Ac ...
" to tell listeners at 13:36:50 EST (UTC−5):


ABC Radio Networks

Ralph Beaudin, group vice president, ABC Radio came up with the idea of splitting ABC Radio Network into four different networks. He felt that there was more product than stations could broadcast, causing a sale issue. The four separate networks would allow advertisers to better market to their preferred audience. Paul Harvey and the Breakfast Club were designated as Entertainment network features. Before the split, ABC obtained a waiver of the FCC's "Chain Broadcasting" rule on December 29, 1967, which had forced the sale of the Blue network in 1943. Though each of the four new networks were carried on the same 5 kHz telco line (3.5 in some cities), the move allowed ABC to have as many as four affiliates in one city – a major competitive advantage and a dramatic turning point in the history of network radio. However, the FCC insisted that there be no overlap of any ABC network broadcast in a single market, and the network required affiliates to get approval before any delayed broadcast of network programming. The new networks were launched on January 1, 1968. Two additional networks, ABC Rock Network and ABC Direction Network were added on January 4, 1982. ABC Rock's anchor affiliate was
WPLJ WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, K-Love. WPLJ's transmi ...
in New York City and had many
Album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...
formatted station move from American FM Network with a total of 40 affiliates. Executives in charge of ABC Rock at launch were vice president Tom Plant and program director Denise Oliver. The Direction Network was under ABC Entertainment Network's executive's charge and was for adult (25-45) formats stations and started with 57 affiliates. ABC Radio acquired Watermark Inc., best known as the syndicator of American Top 40 with
Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...
and American Country Countdown with
Bob Kingsley Robert Gibson Kingsley (March 19, 1939 – October 17, 2019) was an American country music radio personality and a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was best known as the host of two nationally syndicated radio programs: ''American Cou ...
, in 1982. Kasem left ABC in 1988, reclaiming the ''American Top 40'' name from ABC in 1998, and selling the AT40 brand to AMFM Radio Networks (later absorbed intro
Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...
). Kingsley left ABC in 2005 and 'ACC' continues to air as part of the ABC stable with
Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...
as host since 2006.
Dick Bartley Dick Bartley (born 26 July 1951), a popular American radio disc jockey since June 21, 1969, has hosted several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including the current ''Dick Bartley's Classic Hits'' and ''Rock & Roll ...
joined the network in 1991 with the AT40 spinoff '' American Gold'' and his live Saturday night call-in oldies show, before leaving at the end of March 2009. ABC launched a foray into
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
with ''ABC Talk Radio'' (similar to rival NBC's Talknet) in the 1980s. Among its most notable hosts were
Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
and
Barry Farber Barry Morton Farber (May 5, 1930 – May 6, 2020) was an American conservative radio talk show host, author, commentator and language-learning enthusiast. In 2002, industry publication ''Talkers magazine'' ranked him the 9th greatest radio talk ...
. However, the rising popularity of conservative political talk radio, fueled by ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...
'', led to the network's demise. After Snyder's retirement in 1992, ABC ostensibly filled the slot with Leslie Marshall, at the time the youngest syndicated host ever, but most major affiliates instead picked up Limbaugh. The network was shut down shortly thereafter, though one program from that network,
Bob Brinker Robert John Brinker (born circa 1941) is an American financial advisor and radio host. From 1986 to 2018, Brinker hosted the syndicated financial radio show ''Moneytalk''. He previously had a show on local New York radio on WMCA. Prior to that B ...
's ''Moneytalk'' is now in its twenty-fifth year nationwide. ABC acquired the
Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...
, the first satellite-delivered music radio network, and its nine channels of programming in 1989. The division continues to operate semi-autonomously as Cumulus Music Radio at Cumulus's Dallas-Fort Worth cluster. ESPN Radio Network was formed in September 1991 by both
ESPN, Inc. ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity wit ...
and
Capital Cities/ABC Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Company. It eventually proposed a merger of equals with The Walt Disney Company and ...
, Inc.'s ABC Radio Networks and launched as Sports Radio ESPN on January 1, 1992. Radio Disney was test launched in November 1996 in four markets by ABC Radio Networks with a Los Angeles station added on August 26, 1997. ABC again began building a talk network, this time with an emphasis on political talk, in 2001. Among the first hosts heard on the new ABC talk network were
Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is an American former reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He is best known as the network's White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) and as a panelist ...
of
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
television,
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
of WABC,
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 stat ...
of KABC, and
John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is New York's 710 WOR. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, world his ...
of WABC. Donaldson left his show after a short time.
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admin ...
was added in 2005 and eventually replaced Elder in 2007, and
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
of WBAP had a brief syndication run on the network in 2005. Hannity has been the most successful, displacing
Laura Schlessinger Laura Catherine Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947) is an American talk radio host and author. ''The Dr. Laura Program'', heard weekdays for three hours on Sirius XM Radio, consists mainly of her responses to callers' requests for personal adv ...
as the most popular host in the time slot within a few years (especially on the East Coast); the network shared the program with
Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...
from 2008 to 2013 before Premiere took over the program entirely beginning in 2014.


Sale to Citadel

In 2005, ABC began to explore the sale of its radio division. The two leading competitors for the purchase of the network, which included twenty-two of ABC Radio's top stations, as well as ABC's talk and music networks, were
Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separ ...
-based
Entercom Communications Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
and
Forstmann Little & Company Forstmann, Little & Company was a private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer from the burs ...
's
Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
unit. Citadel was chosen as the top bidder and the deal to purchase the stations and the network was struck in February 2006."Citadel to Buy Most of Disney Radio Assets," ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', February 6, 2006.
The deal did not include Radio Disney, ESPN Radio (or its Spanish counterpart
ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...
), any of the five ESPN Radio stations (or the myriad of Radio Disney stations) Disney owned at the time, or any of ABC's television assets (the ABC name, which also remained in Disney's hands, would be licensed to Citadel for two years).
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
unit will also still produce ABC News Radio programming for distribution by Citadel.ABC Radio to Merge with Citadel Broadcasting
" Official press release. February 6, 2006.
Despite the change in ownership, Citadel Media still lists "ESPN Radio" & "ESPN Deportes" as part of its advertising sales family.List of radio services
from CitadelMediaNetworks.com
The acquisition of ABC Radio by Citadel Broadcasting was officially completed on June 12, 2007
Official Press Release. June 12, 2007
and the "ABC Radio Networks" logo was licensed from Disney until April 2, 2009. Shortly after the announcement of the ABC/Citadel merger, the "FM" network was reactivated. It now provides an hourly two-minute newscast, similar in format to when the network formerly operated. Those newscasts carry the on-air brand "ABC News Now."


Citadel Media

On April 2, 2009, the staff at Citadel Broadcasting changed the branding of this network from ABC Radio to "Citadel Media" to reflect on its current ownership of a major radio network. However, "ABC News"; and its programming/satellite format listings would remain.


Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...
absorbed all the assets of Citadel Broadcasting, including Citadel Media in September 2011, and the name change to "Cumulus Media Networks" immediately took effect upon acquisition. Previously, Citadel turned down previous acquisition offers months after emerging from bankruptcy. On August 29, 2013, Cumulus Broadcasting purchased Dial Global (
Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
as of September 4). Cumulus paid $260 million in cash for this programming syndication service, part of which has paid off Dial's debt before it was folded into this network service. Cumulus funded the sale by making a pair of station deals with
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
. On July 31, 2014, Cumulus acquired the rights to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
’s content to distribute to radio stations (the company had held CNN radio rights since its acquisition of Dial Global, but CNN had not produced any radio content since April 2012). The content would be distributed by its newly acquired Westwood One network and allow stations to implement the content under their own branding. As an example Cumulus stated that its "Nash" branded Country stations would run the content under the Nash News name. The programming deal started on January 1, 2015 when its broadcasting rights to ABC's news division expired. ABC relaunched an entirely new ABC Radio network (known as
ABC Audio ABC Audio is a radio syndicator, radio network and digital audio network in the United States. It is under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company, parent company of American Broadcasting Company (ABC), with satellite distribution being handle ...
as of 2019). ABC Audio renewed an affiliation with most of the Cumulus stations in 2020 when Westwood One made the decision to fold its news division. The merger of Cumulus Media Networks into Westwood One was completed in mid-2015.


Programming

The following programs, previously on Cumulus Media Networks, can be heard on Westwood One.


Cumulus Media Radio Network


Weekdays

*''
Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octobe ...
'' *''
The Herman Cain Show Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's de ...
'' *''
The Mark Levin Show ''The Mark Levin Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Mark Levin. The program is broadcast nationwide on Westwood One and reaches an estimated seven million weekly listeners, according to an estimate from ''Talkers Magazine''. The ...
'' *''
The Savage Nation ''The Savage Nation'' (also called ''The Michael Savage Show'') was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Michael Savage. The program was heard by approximately 11 million listeners a week, which made it the 7th most listened to radi ...
'' *''The
John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is New York's 710 WOR. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, world his ...
Show'' *''
Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history throug ...
''


Other

*Moneytalk with
Bob Brinker Robert John Brinker (born circa 1941) is an American financial advisor and radio host. From 1986 to 2018, Brinker hosted the syndicated financial radio show ''Moneytalk''. He previously had a show on local New York radio on WMCA. Prior to that B ...
*
Larry Kudlow Lawrence Alan Kudlow (born August 20, 1947) is an American conservative television personality and financial program host for the Fox network who served as the Director of the National Economic Council during the Trump Administration from 2018 ...
* America's Most Wanted (short form feature) * Focus on the Family daily commentary (short form feature) *Radio Perez with
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid ph ...
(short form feature)


Country music (

Nash FM Nash or NASH may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Nash, Buckinghamshire * Nash, London, a hamlet near Keston in the London Borough of Bromley *Nash, Newport, Wales * Nash, south Shropshire, a small village and parish in southern Shropshire * Nas ...
)

*''America's Morning Show'' with
Blair Garner Blair Garner is an American radio personality best known for his work in country radio. Garner spent over two decades as a nationally syndicated overnight disc jockey, first hosting ''After Midnite'' for Premiere Networks and then ''The Blair Gar ...
*''Nash Nights Live'' with Shawn Parr *
American Country Countdown ''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay ch ...
with
Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...
*''Kickin' It with Kix'' *''
Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overview ...
On Air'' with Lisa Manning (short-form feature)


Music

* Flashback and the Flashback Pop Quiz *
The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Premier ...
(joins January 2014) *
The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show ''The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'' (formerly ''Kidd Kraddick in the Morning'') is an American ensemble morning radio show that originates from Dallas, Texas. The show is heard weekday mornings on flagship station, KHKS, and on dozens of other r ...
*Your Weekend with
Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album. ...
*The Adam Bomb Show *
Backtrax USA ''Backtrax USA'' is a weekly two-hour radio program hosted by former WHTZ (Z100) disc jockey Kid Kelly that premiered in 1992. The original show highlights hit music from the 1980s. Since 2003, ''Backtrax USA'' has also offered a 1990s version of ...
*The Daly Download with Carson Daly *''Cafe Mocha'' with
MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...
,
Angelique Perrin Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...
and
Loni Love Loni Love (born July 14, 1971) is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer. While working as an electrical engineer in the early 2000s, she switched to music engineering, until later launching a caree ...
(produced by Miles Ahead Broadcasting)


Satellite formats

In 1989, ABC Radio Networks acquired The
Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...
which originally started in Chicago. To this day, the division, known as "Westwood One Music Radio" (formerly "Citadel Music Radio" and "ABC Music Radio"), provides 10 satellite-driven formats to affiliate stations, mostly in small & mid-size
markets Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...
and on major market HD Radio subchannels. However, they can also be used on some major market stations as alternative or permanent programming. They could operate their stations virtually unmanned with nothing more than a computer and a satellite hookup offering major market talent that some radio stations could never afford. The "clock" included options for a 2-, 3-, or 5-minute newscasts at the top of the hour, followed by other holes for local spots. While some of the programming is Live radio, live (some is done by voice tracking), DJ's had to avoid references to the weather or anything else that would not be appropriate in many time zones (time reports, for instance, were given only in minutes before or after "the hour"). An 800-line was eventually added, allowing the live DJ's to take phoned in requests. Cumulus Media Networks's 24-hour-music formats before CMN's closure included:


Other network holding(s)

= Active on terrestrial radio affiliates through Westwood One.
= Active on a seasonal basis.

= Discontinued.


Former network properties of ABC Radio/Citadel Media/Cumulus Media Networks


Stations

From the very beginning of its broadcast days until the 2007 sale of the original ABC Radio, Inc. to Citadel Broadcasting and then subsequently to Cumulus Media, and again until 2015, when Radio Disney discontinued terrestrial broadcast service—with the exception of KRDC (AM), KDIS in Los Angeles, Disney/ABC owned and/or operated several radio stations in numerous markets, big and small. ABC also owned and operated several Cumulus Media Networks#Programming, radio formats and networks, mostly during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Today, only one ESPN Radio station is still owned and operated by Disney.


Current Stations


Former Stations


Notes

* † ''Stations listed by their call letters at the time they were sold.'' * ♦ ''Stations built and/or signed on by Disney or ABC.'' * ♠ ''Stations acquired by ABC with its merger with Capital Cities in 1986.'' * ¤ ''Stations sold off with the sale of the original ABC Radio, Inc. to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007.'' * ♣ ''Stations sold with the discontinuation of terrestrial service by Radio Disney in 2014-2015 to focus on digital broadcasting.''


AM Stations


FM Stations


References

{{American broadcast radio Westwood One, Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1927 Radio stations disestablished in 2013 Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company Defunct radio networks in the United States Defunct radio stations in the United States