The total station count has dramatically increased for 2018 with recent renewals, new affiliations, and more than 100 Westwood One affiliates converted from CBS News Radio to Westwood One News. The current total number of stations is 875 with many more in the pipeline.
The accelerated increase in stations is enhanced by Westwood One News’ growing industry recognition. This past weekend, Westwood One News won its third straight prestigious Golden Mike Award for correspondent Jim Roope’s reporting on social media bullying. The honor is for “Best News Reporting by a Radio Network or Content Syndicator,” and is the only award in the network category.
“As the radio landscape changes, Westwood One News is at the vanguard, with a highly in-demand award-winning product that provides national and international coverage and programs customized to accentuate station branding,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP, Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media and President, Westwood One. “We thank all the affiliates that have driven our explosive growth and for the tremendous feedback. This is unprecedented for a three year-old network that continues to expand its offerings and we look forward to more upcoming big announcements.”Westwood One News affiliated stations currently reach 25,753,600 Persons 12+, 24,256,100 Adults 18+, and 10,795,100 Adults 25-54*.
Westwood One News, launched in January 2015, was created to offer radio stations greater flexibility and local branding opportunities, enabling them to integrate network news into their local operation. In addition to 875 broadcast radio stations, Westwood One News can also be heard anywhere in the U.S. on Bloomberg Radio and the SiriusXM POTUS and Progress channels.
*Source: Nielsen Audio Spring 2017 Nationwide, DMA, Weekly Cume of all WWO News-affiliated stations, Mon-Sun 12m-12m