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David Kantor
September 14, 2021
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David Kantor is President and CEO Radio One Stations & Reach Media and oversees parent company Urban One’s radio segment, with oversight of 60 Radio One stations in 13 markets reaching over 25 million monthly listeners. Additionally, he runs Reach Media’s syndicated radio portfolio with over 2,000 affiliations programming to the African American audience reaching over 32 million monthly listeners. The company’s stations program Hip Hop, Rhythmic R&B, soul-stirring Gospel and provocative Talk/News as a place to which urban listeners turn for entertainment, inspiration and information engaging in the issues that impact Urban America.
Reach Media distributes several of the top syndicated radio shows including: The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, The D.L. Hughley Show, The Morning Hustle, Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell, The Russ Parr Show, The Willie Moore Jr. Show, the Donnie Simpson Show, Love and R&B with Al B. Sure!, the Quicksilva Show ft. Dominique da Diva, Incognito Posted on the Corner, the Nightly Spirit with Darlene McCoy, Praise Mixdown and Keepin’ it Real with Rev. Al Sharpton.
Kantor began his career in local radio research and programming, eventually moving into sales. A longtime radio executive, Kantor has been a leader in developing existing companies as well as launching new brands. He held executive positions with Cox Cable and Satellite Music Network prior to ascending to the position of President of ABC Radio Networks in the 1990s. In 2003, Tom Joyner and Kantor founded Reach Media providing syndicated radio programming, events and digital content to the African-American community. The majority of Reach Media was acquired by Radio One in 2005.
David Kantor holds a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Early in your career when you were working in Sales, what did you discover about yourself that made you think that a climb up the executive ladder would be an attainable goal?
I learned that if I worked hard and focused on creating solutions that worked for clients and agencies, the revenue would grow and follow.
Revenue still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. What indicators do you look at to see if whether or not things are getting “back to normal?”
Each month is getting better. We have had a temporary setback with the Delta variant and product shortages in certain categories. I watch very closely our own advance sales, as well as how our individual marketplaces are performing. I also spend a fair amount of time on both governmental and economic information; we can't get back to pre-COVID levels until the country is more fully recovered.
What does business look like for the rest of the year and in to the first part of 2022 look like to you?
I think the recovery will continue, but at a slower pace than we anticipated. We hoped to be out of this by fourth quarter but it’s now looking like that will be closer to second quarter 2022. I'm very bullish on 2022 because of the continued recovery and also it will be a competitive political year.
The word “radio” seems to be disappearing these days. Radio One proudly continues to wave that flag. Why is it important to you to keep “radio” in your name?
Radio is still the majority of what we do. While our other audio and digital business are growing, they still account for a small percent of our overall radio biz. We operate Radio Stations and Radio networks; it's a great business and we shouldn't shy away from the Radio word.
We all know how important having a digital presence is. What is the company’s strategy as far as digital goes?
Urban One has a digital division called Interactive One. Through that division we operate hundreds of websites, both local and national. We are one of the largest digital companies targeting the African American population.
Do you encourage Podcasts as a complimentary product or a stand-alone entity?
We were slow to enter the podcast business since our target population is more narrow than the general market. This year, with advertiser support we launched two very successful podcasts (“The Undressing Room” “More Than That”). We will be expanding our efforts in this area.
Your stations are an indispensable voice in the Black community. What did you learn about the power of the company and the medium last summer when George Floyd was murdered and then the subsequent trial?
Even with the proliferation of media outlets, our stations and network shows are still the place African Americans go for information they can trust. That is a responsibility we take seriously and are committed to super-serve our listeners.
When you and Tom Joyner started Reach Media in 2003 you couldn’t have predicted the massiveness that would follow. Syndicated programming is a big part of your portfolio—given 21st Century technology and the ability to literally create content from anywhere, what’s on the horizon as far as that goes?
We have been successful as a company that provides the best content for stations targeting African Americans. We started with one show, The Tom Joyner Show and have expanded into having 3 different daypart shows in each of the primary Urban formats (Mainstream, UAC and Inspirational). We also have a variety of weekend shows. I think we will continue to expand our offerings as the marketplace needs change.
You’re on the front line with dynamic personalities and folks who the audience looks up to and respects. When someone wades into controversial waters is there a corporate ‘playbook’ or are things evaluated on a case-by-case basis?
We trust our talent and producers; it is rare that our content ventures into something we would consider inappropriate. What is important is the fact that we have a unified position for the safety and education of our audience. We have smart talent and great programming support teams for each show and at our stations. We don't have very many company dictates unless there is a message that needs to be unified.
With listening patterns still a moving target, how are you walking your advertisers through the “new normal?”
We keep them informed and communicate as to what’s going on. We saw listening habits change dramatically during COVID, which was expected. Most listening is returning to pre-COVID levels except for morning drive and some of the younger demos. We are focused on improving those areas now.
As the business continues to shrink, where do you think the next generation of broadcasters will come from? And what would you tell them to prepare them for their future livelihood?
I think it’s going to be harder to find breakthrough talent that wants to do radio. Radio is hard work and requires a large time commitment. Talent and content producers have many more venues for their material. It's our job to identify the future stars and sell them on the benefits of including radio in the content they are generating. Most of our talent do other things besides radio, but what they all have in common is radio is their primary focus.
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