Case Study — FLX Local Media
In January 2026 I took over operations of a seven-station New York radio group and its daily news brand — a profitable, well-run legacy business with almost none of its growth instrumented. I ran the same playbook I build for clients. Here's what happened.
The Situation
Local radio is a good business that mostly runs on memory. FLX was no exception: real relationships, a loyal audience, steady billing — and a revenue engine held together by spreadsheets, one person's recall, and a sales team selling the way it always had.
There was no single view of what was booked versus billed versus collected. No fast way to see which advertisers, stations, or formats were actually growing. And AI was something the team used quietly, if at all.
The Approach
Instrument the revenue, unify the data, sharpen the team, deploy AI, build the audience asset. The order flexes; the destination doesn't. The point was never a deck — it was a working system the team runs without me.
What I Built
None of this is a slide. Each piece is a working system the team uses every week — and now owns.
Before & After
The numbers moved because the visibility moved first. Same stations, same market, same team — a different operating picture.
| The question | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| What's booked vs. billed vs. collected? | Spreadsheets & memory | One live dashboard ✓ |
| Which advertisers and formats are growing? | Anecdote | Measured by station, rep, month |
| How do reps know where to push? | Gut feel | Segmented market + outcome reports |
| Which market should we buy next? | Instinct | Scored on coverage & demographics |
| Where does AI fit? | Used quietly, if at all | Live across news & sales ✓ |
The Result
Revenue grew faster than the team that runs it — on the same headcount, with a system the team now operates itself.
The organic-search gain has its own story — AI-driven technical SEO on the news brand, rebuilt from acquisition to storm-proof in 100 days.
What's Next
The same playbook — instrument the revenue, sharpen the team, deploy AI, build the data asset — applies to comparable markets across the country. The market-evaluation tool is already scoring the next ones.
This is what I do for clients. Now it's what I'm doing for myself — on a real P&L, with my own capital, in public.
Figures are 2026 first-half and Q2 results versus the prior owner's 2025, on a comparable basis. FLX Local Media operations are run by TOTIB; the station acquisition is pending final FCC license transfer.