Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at Salem Media Group, Inc. right after a major strategic shift in 2025, and honestly, the numbers tell a clear story about their pivot from traditional media. As an analyst who's seen these turnarounds before, I can tell you their 4Ps-from their core Christian/conservative content product to their promotion via the $10 million advertising deal with EMF-are all being re-calibrated. The key takeaway from their Q3 2025 results, showing net revenue at $51.3 million despite a 13% year-over-year dip, is that their broadcast core is still the engine at $40.7 million, but the digital future is being aggressively built out. Let's break down exactly how their Product, Place, Promotion, and Price strategies are set up now to navigate this new landscape.

Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) - Marketing Mix: Product

The product offering from Salem Media Group, Inc. centers on delivering specialized content across audio, digital, and publishing verticals, targeting Christian and conservative audiences.

Christian and conservative spoken word radio content forms the historical core. As of December 31, 2023, Salem Media Group, Inc. operated approximately 97 radio stations across the United States. The programming mix includes Christian teaching, talk shows, and news talk formats, with broadcast revenue contributing $40.7 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Digital media platforms represent a significant, though recently contracting, revenue stream. This segment includes a collection of niche digital properties. The company's digital media sector generated $10.6 million in net revenue for the third quarter of 2025, a decrease from $10.9 million in the third quarter of 2024. The digital portfolio encompasses what is described as over 100 niche websites.

The growing Salem Podcast Network (SPN) is a key digital product, featuring syndicated shows from prominent conservative voices. In a late 2024/early 2025 context, the Salem Podcast Network was ranked the 11th most listened to podcast network on the Triton Digital platform, reporting 17 million average downloads per month. Recent content additions include "That KEVIN Show" joining the SRN lineup starting November 24, 2025.

Subscription-based financial newsletters and investment services are a component of the Digital Media segment, intended to drive stable, recurring revenue. Specific offerings mentioned include Eagle Financial Publications and DayTradeSPY.

The Salem News Channel (SNC) is Salem Media Group, Inc.'s conservative video content offering, described as a fledgling FAST channel (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) devoted to news and insight.

The following table summarizes the financial performance of the Digital Media segment, which houses many of the non-broadcast product lines, for the first three quarters of 2025:

The company's overall product strategy is focused on its niche, as evidenced by the content focus and the strategic divestiture of its Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) stations in April 2025 for $80 million.

Key product-related activities and content highlights as of late 2025 include:

• "Call Sign Courage: The Matt Lohmeier Story" now streaming exclusively on SalemNOW as of November 17, 2025.
• The Salem Podcast Network adding The Josh Hammer Show in partnership with Newsweek as of October 13, 2025.
• The company's focus on building a strong first-party data set across its distribution platforms.

Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) - Marketing Mix: Place

Salem Media Group, Inc. distributes its content across a multi-platform ecosystem designed to reach its Christian and conservative audiences wherever they consume media. This distribution strategy relies heavily on established broadcast infrastructure supplemented by modern digital channels.

The core terrestrial radio distribution involves the Salem Radio Network syndicating talk, news, and music programming to approximately 2,900 affiliate stations nationwide, complementing the 91 owned and/or operated radio stations as of late 2025.

Digital distribution is managed through the Salem Web Network and dedicated mobile applications, ensuring content availability outside traditional radio signals. The digital segment generated $10.6 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2025. This digital presence includes platforms that facilitate direct-to-consumer transactions.

• Salem Web Network supports over 100 Christian content and conservative opinion websites.
• Mobile apps accounted for approximately 11.9 million sessions per month.
• Web platforms saw about 120 million sessions per month.

For television broadcast, Salem News Channel (SNC) launched on over-the-air television in 55 markets following an agreement made in 2022. The SNC is also available on various streaming platforms, including Fubo, Sling TV, Apple TV+, Local Now, Xumo, Pluto TV, Google TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung TV Plus, and Vizio.

Direct-to-consumer sales are primarily channeled through its Publishing division and digital subscription services. Subscription-based services, such as Eagle Financial Publications and DayTradeSPY, are noted for driving stable, recurring revenue. Publishing revenue for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.6 million, down from $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2024. For the third quarter of 2025, publishing revenue was reported as negligible following a divestiture.

Salem Media Group, Inc. also utilizes local and regional live events to engage its audience base directly. The company maintains divisions for Christian Events and Conservative Events. The distribution of content via these events is a key component of its overall market presence, though specific attendance or revenue figures for late 2025 events are not detailed in the latest financial reports.

The distribution channels and their recent financial contribution are summarized below:

The company's broadcast revenue remained the largest component of its distribution, representing 77.7% of overall revenue in the second quarter of 2025.

Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

Promotion for Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) centers on integrating its remaining core assets-Christian Preaching and Conservative Talk-across all platforms to reach its target audience, which is now exclusively focused on spoken word content following the divestiture of its Contemporary Christian Music stations in late 2024/early 2025.

Omnichannel integration across radio, digital, and publishing assets is crucial, as the company seeks to maximize reach from its broadcast footprint and digital properties. The strategic exit from music programming allows for a sharper promotional focus on talk content.

The performance of the digital segment, which includes the work of the in-house agency, shows the scale of this promotional effort, though recent figures indicate headwinds:

The dedicated in-house digital marketing agency, Salem Surround, is a key promotional execution arm. This agency, launched seven years prior to late 2025, has a history of significant scaling, having grown from a $6 million business to one generating over $40 million in revenue at its peak. However, digital media revenue in Q3 2025 was reported at $10.6 million, reflecting a year-over-year decline from $10.9 million in Q3 2024.

A significant component of the promotional and partnership strategy involves the strategic $10 million advertising agreement with EMF (K-Love). This agreement was established in conjunction with the sale of seven Christian AC stations for $80 million in late 2024/early 2025, ensuring Salem Media Group continues to have a promotional presence through the EMF network, which reaches approximately 18 million listeners weekly.

Promotion heavily relies on leveraging high-profile conservative and Christian talk hosts across Salem Media Group's platforms, including properties like Twitchy, RedState, and Townhall. This talent drives audience engagement across the remaining broadcast segment, which generated $40.7 million in revenue in Q3 2025.

The company has recently focused on executive alignment to drive digital promotion effectiveness:

• Executive promotion of a Chief Digital Officer to unify digital strategy: In September 2025, Jamie Cohen was promoted to Chief Digital Officer to unify and oversee all digital operations, with a mandate to break down silos.
• Mr. Cohen's predecessor in digital focus, Brad Parscale, was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in January 2025, specifically to contribute his expertise to the expanding mission and digital initiatives.

The digital revenue for Q1 2025 was $10.2 million, down from $10.7 million in Q1 2024.

Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) - Marketing Mix: Price

The pricing element for Salem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) is fundamentally realized through the monetization of its audience reach across broadcast and digital platforms, which translates directly into the prices charged for advertising inventory and content access. This involves setting rates for business-to-business (B2B) advertising sales, which form the bulk of the income stream, and structuring fees for specialized content distribution.

The primary revenue source is B2B advertising sales across its radio and digital properties. While specific rate cards aren't public, the realized price is reflected in the segment performance. For instance, the Broadcast revenue in Q3 2025 was $40.7 million, making it the largest segment, down from $46.0 million in Q3 2024. This indicates the pricing power or volume achieved in selling airtime to advertisers targeting their Christian and conservative demographics.

A significant component of the pricing strategy involves block programming sales to ministries. This is a specialized B2B transaction where ministries purchase blocks of time to air their content, effectively paying Salem Media Group for distribution access to their specific audience base. This is a critical, non-traditional advertising revenue stream that relies on the perceived value of access to Salem Media Group's loyal listener base.

The company employs a mixed digital model that incorporates both advertising revenue and potential subscription fees for premium content. The Digital Media revenue for Q3 2025 was reported at $10.6 million, a slight dip from $10.9 million in the prior year's third quarter. This figure represents the realized price from digital advertising placements and any premium digital offerings, such as subscription tiers for ad-free listening or exclusive content access.

The overall pricing realization for Salem Media Group, Inc. in the third quarter of 2025 shows market pressure. The Q3 2025 total net revenue was $51.3 million, representing a 13% decline year-over-year from the $58.72 million reported in Q3 2024. This suggests that either advertising rates were lowered, or inventory sell-through decreased, impacting the average realized price per unit of inventory.

Here's a quick look at the revenue realization for the third quarter of 2025:

External factors, like the overall economic conditions affecting advertiser budgets, definitely play a role in the final negotiated price for advertising slots. Furthermore, the company's strategic shifts, such as the sale of its Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) stations in April 2025 for $80 million, impact the base upon which future pricing power is measured, as the remaining portfolio is more focused.

The pricing structure is also influenced by the audience profile they sell access to. Salem Media Group quantifies this value through audience metrics:

• RADIO Listeners: 7.4M (Owned & Operated and Affiliates)
• PODCASTS & STREAMS: 20.3M per month
• WEB Sessions: 120M per month
• EMAIL Subscribers: 5M
• CHURCH LEADER Contacts: 275,000

The last twelve months revenue ending September 30, 2025, stood at $216.78M, which is down -11.10% compared to the prior twelve-month period. This sustained revenue trend suggests that the pricing realization across the entire year has been under pressure, reflecting competitive market dynamics for their specific advertising inventory.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.