Fred Jacobs, an award-winning consultant and programmer who has influenced public discourse about the business and future of radio in the United States, plans to relinquish most of his duties at Jacobs Media, the research and strategy firm he founded.
According to a press release, his brother Paul will succeed him as president at the end of 2026, while Fred will become chairman and remain involved in aspects of the business. “I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of years now, and I’m ready for a change,” he said.
“From the early days of the company and the birth of the Classic Rock format to our focus on technology in the 2000s, it’s been quite a journey.”
In 2025 Jacobs publicly announced that he has Parkinson’s disease. He says he has been considering this transition for two years.
Paul Jacobs said, “The core of the company will remain intact, but true to the Jacobs Media tradition, we’ll be making some changes to ensure we’re aligned with client and industry needs.” Director of Digital Revenue Chris Brunt and consultant Bill Jacobs will remain in their roles.
“Our primary focus will be helping clients with their overall strategies, including digital transformation and building profitable digital revenue programs. That’s what broadcasters need in 2026 and beyond, and that’s where we’ll focus,” Paul Jacobs said.
Jacobs Media will continue to conduct its Techsurveys of commercial, public and Christian music radio, with Fred participating in the design and implementation of the studies.
NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt issued a statement: “Fred Jacobs has spent more than four decades helping radio innovate, evolve and thrive. His impact on our industry is extraordinary.”
In a blog post Wednesday, Fred wrote that he founded Jacobs Media in 1983, working from a kitchen table in his Farmington Hills, Mich., apartment.
“The idea was to build a full-service consultancy to help client stations maximize their ratings, and by extension, their revenue. For the first two decades, it worked pretty much that way. But in this century, disruption from myriad sources and platforms necessitated radio having to change, pivot and defend its position,” he wrote.
He is considered the father of the classic rock format. Later, under his leadership, Jacobs Media introduced numerous innovations, several of which changed the direction of the industry or had major impact on how its leaders think about their businesses.
The company made a big move into app development in 2008 when it launched jacapps. It co-produced a series of DASH Conferences about radio’s role in car dashboards. It has led tours for industry executives on the floor of CES in Las Vegas. Fred’s daily blog is a widely read resource.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2022, he and Paul received the NAB National Radio Award. Fred has also received numerous industry honors in Michigan and beyond.
Prior to launching the company, he had designed and managed research projects as director of research for the radio and publishing divisions for Frank N. Magid Associates, a research and consulting firm. Later he became director of radio research for ABC’s FM owned-and-operated radio stations and subsequently program director for WRIF(FM) in Detroit.
“It’s been an amazing run, and I’m feeling nothing but gratitude,” Fred said in the press release.
“Starting next year, my day-to-day life will change, but I’ll still be reading the trades, checking the ratings, offering suggestions to Paul, talking strategy with select clients, giving the occasional speech or presentation, and working on the Techsurveys. But after nearly 4 million miles on Delta (mostly domestic), it’s time.”
He concluded his blog post: “I’ve fulfilled many the goals and aspirations I cobbled together while a student at Michigan State. Mine has been a dream career where I’ve had ample opportunity to make an impact in a profession that I love to this day. It doesn’t get better than that.”
