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A Programmatic First Designed to Turbo-Charge Biddable Connected TV
OpenX Technologies, an omnichannel supply-side platform provider, has launched what it calls “an ongoing initiative to unlock the full potential of Connected TV.” How so? OpenX seeks to combine the top aspects of linear and programmatic buying models into its new “TV+” offering.
In a first phase of TV+’s rollout, OpenX will eliminate all resellers from its Connected TV inventory pool, a move it says ensures buyers have more working media and reduced invalid traffic. “This move also ensures that publishers get their fair cut of transactions to power the development of high-quality content for consumers,” OpenX said.
Additionally, OpenX is removing all non-TV content, including fireplace apps, gaming, UGC, OTT, and mobile, from its Connected TV inventory. While OpenX will continue to monetize these types of inventory as online video rather than Connected TV, this phase of TV+ “properly classifies content, providing more premium advertising experiences, a clear value for inventory, and more accurate measurement,” it says.
“This first step in the TV+ mission to transform programmatic CTV into a high-quality marketing opportunity allows publishers to confidently place their premium inventory into biddable environments while giving brands and agencies full transparency into what they’re buying,” the Pasadena, Calif.-based company says. “With these innovations, TV+ delivers a fair and transparent value exchange between publishers, agencies, and DSPs.”
AudienceXpress and Epsilon Partner On Convergent TV Buying
NEW YORK — A Comcast Advertising company has partnered with Epsilon, a global advertising and marketing technology company, to introduce a new capability for enhancing audience-based, convergent television buying.
Epsilon is now able to tap into AudienceXpress’s reach, scale and expertise across the Connected TV sector. This partnership, Comcast says, “accelerates Epsilon’s clients’ ability to harness the power of their first-party data and Epsilon’s data with the insights from AudienceXpress to activate, execute and measure campaigns with a greater degree of accuracy.”
The Comcast Advertising shop adds, “This new partnership taps into synergistic strengths on both sides of the integration and allows marketers to enhance audience reach and drive scale across today’s fragmented, complex and dynamic TV ad landscape.”
“The TV ad marketplace continues to grow, evolve and shift constantly and dynamically, and so we recognized the need to provide a way for advertisers to find and connect with their audiences when, where and how they want to consume media,” said Katy Loria, CRO of AudienceXpress and FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the TV ad industry that is also part of Comcast Advertising. “This new partnership brings together some of the core strengths and assets of two key industry players to deliver a much needed way for advertisers to navigate and thrive in today’s TV ad ecosystem.”
FCC Now Accepting NextGen TV License Applications For Multicast Streams
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With an official Public Notice distributed Thursday, the FCC’s Media Bureau says all ATSC 3.0 multicast licensing rules adopted in the Third Next Gen TV Report and Order are now in effect. As such, the Bureau is now ready to accept NextGen TV license applications hat involve simulcast multicast streams and/or non-simulcast 1.0 multicast streams.
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We Are Farmers … And We Want AM Radio
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A study from Katz Media Group recently used MRI-Simmons data to delve into the media habits of agricultural workers and, to little surprise, found a strong inclination of agricultural workers toward audio media.
And, as the National Association of Farm Broadcasters has been saying, both AM and FM radio have been found to be the farmer’s best friend, reinforcing the agricultural industry’s reliance on kHz-based signals in the most rural of America’s food-growing regions.
Approximately half of agricultural workers were categorized as heavy audio listeners, surpassing their engagement with other media forms such as the Internet and television, the Katz study shows.
This isn’t limited to time outside working, either. About half of agricultural workers were found to be light users of the Internet and TV, indicating that advertising campaigns focused solely on these mediums may not effectively reach this demographic. They are significantly more likely to listen to audio at work on weekdays and weekends compared to the average American adult.
With the AM For Every Vehicle Act among the key acts of legislation the NAB and radio broadcasters seek passage of before the end of the current Congress, AM/FM radio emerged as the most popular audio source among agricultural workers in the Katz study. In fact, 80% of agricultural workers tune into OTA radio, a preference that extends beyond streaming audio, podcasts, and satellite radio.
While approximately two-thirds of this group listen to streaming audio, including AM/FM streams and other services, more than half of these households subscribe to commercial-free services, emphasizing the importance of traditional radio, both over-the-air and station streams, for advertisers targeting this demographic.
In October, the Independent Beef Association of North Dakota, National Grange, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, Latino Farmers & Ranchers International, Livestock Marketing Association, National Farmers Union, North Dakota Farmers Union, and the Rural & Agriculture Council of America sent a joint letter to Congress urging the AM For Every Vehicle Act’s passage.
Then came this week’s 80th National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) convention in Kansas City, where the NAFB foundation raised $22,027 for student scholarships as attendees enjoyed insight from Joanna Guza on the benefits and opportunities of Trade Talk as a farm broadcaster.
— With reporting by Cameron Coats, in New York
For iHeartMedia CEO, A Cheap Investment In Deflated Stock
For individuals and institutions that have held shares of iHeartMedia stock, which trades on the Nasdaq GlobalSelect market under the “IHRT” symbol, long-term investment has delivered disappointing yields. In June 2021, shares were nearing $27 per share. Today, they’re trading just below $2.50.
On November 13, IHRT hit a post-bankruptcy low in its share price. That presented an opportunity for Bob Pittman.
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2024 NYF TV & Film Awards: Distinguished Judges Named
NEW YORK —The New York Festivals Television & Film Awards has unveiled the 2024 Grand Jury, and it includes award-winning executive producers, journalists, documentary filmmakers, directors, and screenwriters from two dozen countries.
Celebrated around the world for their innovative work, these individuals volunteer their time for the NYF selection process. “The 2024 jury panel embodies proven excellence in their diverse areas of expertise across all platforms ensuring each entry receives meticulous review and thorough evaluation,” New York Festivals shares.
“We are thrilled to welcome these globally recognized super-achievers to the 2024 Grand Jury,” said Rose Anderson, EVP and Executive Director for New York Festivals TV & Film Awards. “Their collective wealth of hands-on knowledge, their commitment to excellence, their passion, and their creativity across all genres underscores today’s fair and just peer review process.”
The 2024 Grand Jury includes the following U.S.-based executives:
- Ximena Cantuarias, SVP, Scripted Production, Telemundo Global Studios
- Robert E. Frye, Managing Director, Whistling Communications
- Brian M. Lockhart, Senior Vice President, ESPN+ Original Content and ESPN Films
- Jodain Massad, Director, Development & Innovation, NFL Films
- Bill McCullough, Chief Content Officer/Executive Producer, XFL
- Juan Ponce, SVP & GM, Telemundo Streaming Studios
View the 2024 TV & Film Awards Grand Jury HERE.
The deadline to enter the 2024 Television & Film Awards competition is December 31, 2023.
Grand Jury members view all entries during online judging panels to determine a score based on industry specific criteria. Juries determine Gold, Silver, and Bronze Trophy Winners. The top-scoring entries are honored with the prestigious Grand Trophy. Special Industry Awards honor Broadcaster of the Year, Production Company of the Year and Program Promotion Team of the Year.
Now in its third year, the WaterBear Award is bestowed to the highest scoring documentary across the Climate Change & Sustainability, Environment & Ecology, and Nature & Wildlife. This coveted award is a partnership between the free streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet WaterBear Network and New York Festivals. The winner will be announced during the 2024 Storytellers Gala in April.
New York Festivals TV & Film Awards celebrates “groundbreaking storytelling and honors the rich diversity of content created by today’s visionary storytellers for global audiences across all viewing platforms.”
The awards date to 1957.
All Entries in the 2024 competition will be judged online and screened by the TV & Film Awards Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Award-winning entries will be showcased on the TV & Film Awards winners gallery. To view the 2023 TV & Film Awards winner’s showcase visit: winners.
To view entry details and competition rules and regulations visit HERE.
For a complete list of the Television & Film Awards 2024 categories, visit HERE.
Tips For Becoming a Better Speaker In 2024
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Saga Shareholders Get Another Big Reward
NEW YORK — For institutional investors such as Daniel Tisch-led Towerview LLC down to the single person who may hold a handful of sales, the rich dividends will continue for those with shares in the radio industry’s single most-successful publicly traded pure-play company.
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NAB and REC Seek More Time for Stations to Meet New EAS Requirement
Two unlikely compatriots are joining forces to ask the FCC to push back the deadline for radio broadcasters to have their EAS equipment compliant with latest mandated upgrades.
The FCC has said Dec. 12 is the date most U.S. radio stations must comply with a report and order adopted in 2022 to improve the clarity and accessibility of EAS messages.
Now, NAB and low-power FM advocate REC Networks — in a joint letter to the FCC — are asking for more time and pointing to an announcement by a major supplier of EAS equipment, who says not all of its customers will have time to install the firmware update by the compliance deadline.
The manufacturer has a “significant market share of both low power and full-power FM radio stations, and also serves numerous television and multiple video programming distributor EAS Participants,” wrote NAB and REC in their letter to the FCC.
The groups continued: “REC and NAB understand from broadcast stations across the country that a considerable number of EAS participants will be unable to implement the firmware update by December 12 due to the delayed release of this manufacturer’s firmware update.”
The joint letter doesn’t name Sage Alerting, but earlier this month the company said on its website it continues to work on the update for its Sage ENDEC EAS boxes. Sage, at the time, made the FCC aware that the update has taken longer to implement that anticipated. Sage told Radio World when asked for comment that the firmware is in final testing and is expected to be released soon.
As the year comes to a close, that delay means many entities will be unable to comply regardless of when the manufacturer releases the update, according to the joint filing. “Simply put, it is already too late for many EAS Participants to meet the current deadline,” NAB and REC said.
The advocacy groups remind the FCC it may grant an extension of a compliance deadline for good cause.
“Therefore, REC and NAB respectfully request a 90-day extension of the December 12 deadline, until March 11, 2024,” they told the commission.
[Related: “Sage EAS Firmware Update Is Still Pending“]
The new EAS regulations require broadcasters to prioritize the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)-formatted version of an EAS message on occasion it receives both a legacy version and CAP-formatted version of the same alert. The FCC in its report and order said the new requirements will make radio and TV alerts “clearer and more accessible to the public, particularly [to] people with disabilities.”
EAS participants must also display the new text for the national alert originator code (PEP), the national test code (NPT) and the national emergency code (EAN) by the deadline.
With the deadline looming, the NAB and REC expressed concern over the sheer number of radio and television stations — especially low-power and small, full-power stations that lack in-house technical personnel — that will be relying on contract engineers to implement the required updates during a very narrow window of opportunity.
“This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of EAS Participants must update their firmware by the same deadline,” the groups told the FCC. “In addition, some radio and television groups have dozens or even hundreds of EAS boxes that must be updated.”
An FCC spokesperson confirmed by email that the commission has received the NAB/REC letter and is reviewing the filing. The correspondence has been posted in PS Docket No. 15-94 in the FCC’s online database.
Radio World notes the NAB and REC are unexpected partners in this effort to move the broadcaster compliance deadline back since the two often find themselves on opposite sides of regulatory issues coming before the FCC. NAB represents the interests of commercial radio in Washington, while REC is often at the forefront of issues facing community broadcasters in the U.S.
[Related: “EAS Manufacturers Still Working on Those FCC Updates”]
The post NAB and REC Seek More Time for Stations to Meet New EAS Requirement appeared first on Radio World.
Meet The New Audacy/Milwaukee Market Leader
He joins publicly traded audio content creation and distribution company Audacy Inc. after leading a new business sales team for an HR Tech company in the SAAS space and, before that, overseeing advertising sales teams for Spectrum Cable.
Introducing the next SVP/Market Manager for the company formerly known as Entercom’s audio brands in Milwaukee, where he takes duties held by its market head in Madison, Wisc.
Taking the role for a station group comprised of Top 40 WXSS “103.7 Kiss FM” and Hot Adult Contemporary WMYX “99.1 The Mix” in Milwaukee is Jason Bjorson. He will also oversee digital multicast brands “Hot 105.7,” on the HD2 signal of WXSS, and the LGBTQ-focused “Channel Q” offering on WXSS HD3.
Since September 2021, he has served as Director of Sales and Business Development for Circa, leading a team of six managers, 40 enterprise and mid-market account executives and 20 sales development reps in the “HR Tech” industry.
Before that, Bjorson spent four years at Spectrum Reach, serving as Director of Sales in St. Louis and, prior to that, as Local Sales Manager in Milwaukee.
For radio industry veterans, Bjorson is likely familiar for his former role as General Sales Manager of Journal Broadcast Group‘s two stations in Milwaukee, which were sold to The E.W. Scripps Co. and today flagship properties of Craig Karmazin’s Good Karma Brands.
He rose within Journal over a 14-year period, and was LSM in Milwaukee after serving as a Senior Account Manager in Knoxville for WWST-FM. Bjorson is a 2001 University of Tennessee graduate and was raised in Louisville.
“I am excited to welcome Jason to lead our Milwaukee cluster,” said Audacy Regional President Rachel Williamson. “His experience across radio, video and digital combined with his deep knowledge and relationships throughout the Milwaukee market brings an increased expertise to our cluster and clients.”
The Milwaukee radio stations have been overseen in recent times by Andrea Hansen, who is SVP/Market Manager for Audacy in Madison, Wisc., and has risen through the sales ranks for that station group.
“I’m thrilled to join the Audacy Milwaukee team, with some of Milwaukee’s most iconic brands and an innovative broadcaster,” said Bjorson, who has also worked for Cox Media Group in Jacksonville. “I’ve competed with this team and tried to recruit them for years, so I know how much talent is here. I’m looking forward to working with them to win big here in Milwaukee!”
NAB NY + AES = 20,000 Attendees
The Audio Engineering Society says attendance to last month’s AES Show in New York grew 15% over the year before.
It reported about 8,100 registered attendees. Last year was the first physical show post-COVID.
Separately, NAB said the NAB Show New York, held concurrently with AES at the Javits Center, drew about 12,230, an increase of 28%.
The AES floor had 127 exhibitors while NAB had 270. The exhibit floors were separate but adjacent, with traffic moving between them via hallways.
A crowd shot at this year’s AES Show (courtesy of AES)“Last year’s AES convention and NAB Show New York shared an exhibition hall,” AES said in its summary. “This year, AES’s 20+% growth in the exhibitor count, and the resulting bigger footprint, pushed each group back into their own halls.”
The next AES International Convention will be held in Madrid, Spain, in June of next year. The NAB New York and AES Shows will return to the Javits Center in New York next October.
[For News on This and Other Shows See Our Show News Page]
The post NAB NY + AES = 20,000 Attendees appeared first on Radio World.
Dielectric Signs Mach as Argentina Partner
Dielectric has signed on Mach Electronics as a business partner in Argentina.
The RF equipment manufacturer says it is working to build out its Caribbean and Central American markets “as the company capitalizes on emerging business opportunities throughout the region, partially fueled by complex digital transition timelines and regulations that vary across each country.”
Mach Electronics is a supplier and integrator for broadcast, broadband and telecom systems; it has a network of distribution partners in Argentina. Broadcast work includes design, integration and commissioning of headend and delivery systems for FM and TV.
Nicolas Jose Bloise, president and CEO of Mach Electronics, was quoted in the announcement saying that this is a time of substantial change and opportunity for Argentinian broadcasters, with a pending analog TV sunset and the potential expansion of the FM band, similar to what has been done in Brazil.
“Discussions about potential government regulations to expand the FM band to include 76 to 88 MHz frequencies are currently underway,” Dielectric noted, though no decisions have been issued.
Dielectric is part of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
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The post Dielectric Signs Mach as Argentina Partner appeared first on Radio World.
Iconic Motor Racing Voice Ken Squier Dies
The co-founder of Motor Racing Network, the same individual who served as its first anchor, has passed away. He had just entered Hospice care on Wednesday (11/15), hours before his passing, following a long series of illnesses.
Ken Squier is also widely known for his time broadcasting NASCAR on the CBS Television Network and later with TBS. Yet it was Squire who was personally selected by NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. to build a nationwide network of radio stations to cover the growing sport.
Squier started with his family-owned WDEV-AM & FM in Waterbury, Vt., and Daytona Beach, Fla.’s WNDB-AM. Both of these stations still air MRN programming today, more than 53 years after the very first MRN broadcast of the Daytona 500, in 1970.
“Whether from a bed of a logging truck at the Morrisville, Vt., Speedway, or high atop the grandstands of ‘The Great American Race’ in Daytona, Ken Squier’s eloquent voice entertained and educated millions of race fans, no matter the medium,” said Chris Schwartz, President of Motor Racing Network. “His passion for stock car racing contributed mightily to its rapid growth throughout his 70-plus year career. An entrepreneur to the end, Squier set the course that the network follows to this day. We will continue to honor his unique way of storytelling by bringing the excitement and passion of this incredible sport to core fans, casual fans, and first-time fans alike.”
Motor Racing Network plans to share retrospectives of his life on MRN signature program NASCAR LIVE at 7pm Eastern on Tuesday, during the NASCAR Champions Celebration & Awards broadcast on November 30th at 7pm Eastern, and again during the 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony broadcast at 8pm Eastern on January 19, 2024.
Kansas LPFM Hit With $2,500 Penalty for Antenna Construction Error
Regardless of the reason, a station must remain in compliance with its operating parameters. Or a civil penalty may be around the corner.
That’s the lesson a low-power FM station in Kansas learned after it found its antenna was constructed at the wrong height. In February 2021, Sunflower Community Action filed an application to renew the license of KYOM(LP) in Wichita, Kan. In its application, the licensee revealed that the station’s antenna has been constructed at the wrong height — at 13 meters above ground level instead of the 24 meters that was authorized by the Media Bureau.
After the station discovered the issue, Sunflower sought authority from the commission to remain silent and to operate the antenna at the lower level of 13 meters. FCC rules state that any change in antenna height of more than 2 meters above or 4 meters below the authorized value requires authorization from the commission.
And, as the bureau has reminded stations before, a licensee is responsible for maintaining and operating its broadcast station in a way that complies with the original authorization.
In an order released on Nov. 14 by the bureau, Sunflower acknowledged the violation and agreed to enter into a consent decree with the FCC, including submission of a civil penalty payment of $2,500 within 30 calendar days. If Sunflower abides by the stipulations laid out by the consent decree, its license renewal application for the station will be granted.
[Related: “LPFM in Queens Hit With FCC Penalty“]
The post Kansas LPFM Hit With $2,500 Penalty for Antenna Construction Error appeared first on Radio World.
The InFOCUS Podcast: Vince Bodiford
Forecast, presented by Streamline Publishing’s Radio + Television Business Report and Radio Ink, is now a wrap. The capacity crowd enjoyed a full day’s worth of informative and engaging panel discussions and keynote speakers, and among the participants is Vince Bodiford.
Bodiford, who is based in Cheyenne, Wyo., is Chief Executive Officer and Head of Media for Bridge Media Network, the parent of NEWSnet, SportsNews Highlights, TravelHost TV networks, and some 84 owned-and-operated television stations.
Bridge Media Network is based in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Mich. To learn more about its growth plans and the vision for both NEWSnet and its fledgling sports operation, RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson sat down with Bodiford for an exclusive one-on-one conversation at the Harvard Club.
We’re pleased to offer their chat in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.
Bodiford has more than 35 years of experience in media and marketing. He has owned media outlets in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming via his company, Golden Media, Inc. He has held leadership roles with Cabela’s, Inc., Gannett Co., CommunityMedia Corp., and GateHouse Media and is a noted expert in the automotive, retail, and media industries.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Vince Bodiford” on Spreaker.
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