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Nautel plans to incorporate audio player and playlist functionality into its VX FM transmitter series.

“With the audio player functionality, users will be able to upload content locally or remotely via an IP connection to make a playlist; no USB, addition cards, or site visits are necessary,” it said in an announcement.

“The built-in audio player can use the file playlist as an audio source and is often used as an audio loss backup. This capability is slated for availability later this year.”

The VX line was introduced in 2022 and began shipping last year. It is available in power levels from 150 watts to 6 kW. The company said shipments are approaching 1,000 units. 

NAB Show booth: W3042

[For More News on the NAB Show See Our NAB Show News Page]

The post Nautel to Add Audio Player and Playlists to VX Series appeared first on Radio World.

With the 2024 NAB Show just a couple of days away, Radio World is asking exhibitors about their plans and expectations.

Ken Frommert

Ken Frommert is the president of ENCO.

Radio World: What is the most important technology issue or trend for radio engineers and facility managers in 2024? 

Ken Frommert: Navigating a fast-growing universe of AI applications. The rapidity of AI development can appear overwhelming, but there is no question that many of the tools coming to market now are effective, easy to use and beneficial to business operations and technology workflows. The upside is huge.

RW: In what way(s) will AI-based tools change radio broadcasting workflows most substantially?

Frommert: AI can help to automate the entire content workflow, including creative processes and the insertion of dynamic content. Our SPECai solution is an example of the former, leveraging generative models to create multiple scripts within seconds and then creating an audio file of synthetic speech for the winning script.

The voice sounds very human, and the user can adjust how the voice sounds. After selecting a music bed, the client has a complete spec commercial ready to go that was created right there on the spot.

RW: What news will your company feature at the convention — any new products or services? 

Frommert: We will also show aiTrack, which we previewed last year but have enhanced with more features. aiTrack is a module that can be turned on within the DAD automation infrastructure. aiTrack represents the dynamic content side of the equation. It is more of a voice tracking application, and like SPECai uses synthetic voices to produce natural-sounding and engaging content between songs or at scheduled times.

aiTrack will also be available in our WebDAD remote production workflow, and WebDAD adds DAD’s familiar Presenter on-air interface. Our customers will see us continue to tighten the workflows between DAD and WebDAD in ways that further streamline DAD systems in the studio.

RW: Are there any other important technology trends that you’d like to comment on? 

Frommert: Cloud-based access will continue to grow in stature with the radio broadcast community. Content producers especially need remote access to improve production and on-air workflows from anywhere, and engineers want the freedom to manage their automation systems from engineer. The cloud provides that and we will see more of that coming to fruition.

RW: What else will you be watching for at the convention?

Frommert: It’s probably no surprise that we will be looking at AI development from other exhibitors, both on the radio and TV side. Virtual production is also of big interest to us, given our launch of the Qimera virtual production workflow at last NAB. I see potential to use this technology in visual radio applications as well.

ENCO booth: W1743

The post Exhibitor Preview: ENCO at the NAB Show appeared first on Radio World.

ElevenLabs logo

One of the largest radio groups in the U.S. is escalating its use of synthetic voices.

Audacy announced on Friday that it is partnering with ElevenLabs, a voice AI research and deployment company, “to augment its existing programming and production workflows.”

Audacy said it plans to build “a robust library of voices for Audacy to deliver custom experiences for listeners and advertising clients. Audacy will infuse creator-led ideas and concepts with ElevenLabs’ technology to further bolster its programmers’ and talents’ unique ability to engage deeply with audiences at scale.”

It quoted EVP and Head of Programming Jeff Sottolano as saying the media company is “experimenting” with ElevenLabs’ synthetic voice capabilities. “We’re transforming how we connect with our listeners and create value for our advertising partners.”

He made the announcement with Carles Reina, vice president of revenue at ElevenLabs, who said one benefit of the technology is that “we can produce more creator-led content faster, keeping up with the speed of today’s world.”

ElevenLabs creates “realistic, versatile and contextually aware AI audio, providing the ability to generate speech in hundreds of new and existing voices in 29 languages.”

[Read the free Radio World ebook “Artificial Intelligence in Radio.”]

The post Audacy Expands Use of Synthetic Voices appeared first on Radio World.

Audacy is partnering with a voice AI research and deployment company to augment its existing programming and production workflows, the audio content creation and distribution company emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection announced on Friday.

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ZTransform has named Mark Brown as its SVP of solutions and development, a newly created position. 

Prior to joining ZTransform, Brown was director & principal solutions architect at Warner Brothers Discovery. His experience includes video streaming, TV broadcast and adjacent video technology projects for companies like Yankee Entertainment & Sports Network, Madison Square Garden, Staples Arena, ABC, Disney, Sony Pictures and other major media entities.

Mark Brown

“Brown will work closely with the senior leadership team to strategically identify and respond to new business opportunities in new sectors and regions, as well as manage pre-sales engineering, and proposal development,” the company said.

“His responsibilities will also extend to cultivating and managing strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, vendors, and other external entities to enhance business growth potential and ensure that proposed solutions meet the evolving and dynamic needs of Ztransform customers.”

Brown began as a systems engineer at SAIC and has worked for companies including Tektronics and Sony Systems Integration Center. He was CTO and executive vice president of SignaSys Inc. and held executive leadership roles at Ascent Media, Verizon Digital Media Services and MPS Broadband. 

ZTransform also recently named Bob Hawkanson as senior VP of sales for North America and Paul Catterson as general manager.

[Related: “Utter Associates Changes Its Name to ZTransform”]

The post ZTransform Names Mark Brown to Key Solutions Role appeared first on Radio World.

On August 5, 2021, a local marketing agreement was forged that gave Epic STL LLC, doing business as News Talk STL Radio, the right to operate a Class C3 FM serving a rural portion of the St. Louis DMA well to the northwest of the metropolitan area. In June 2023, News Talk STL Radio exercised its option to acquire that facility in a transaction brokered by Greg Guy.

Now, News Talk STL Radio is acquiring the FM translator it uses as its main full-metro signal.

Pending FCC approval, K270BW at 101.9 MHz in Bellefontaine, Mo., will formally become a sibling to KNBS-FM 94.1 in Bowling Green, Mo., purchased by News Talk STL Radio from Gateway Creative Broadcasting last year.

Selling K270BW is Educational Media Foundation. It anticipates an October 2024 closing date.

EpicSTL Managing Partner Joe Rusch said, “This agreement secures the future of NewsTalkSTL on the St. Louis radio dial, and we are grateful to EMF for their support.” NewsTalkSTL President of Programming Jeff Allen added, “As big corporations continue to dominate today’s radio dial, we are thrilled to be able to return local market radio to local market ownership and programming.”

A LMS filing with deal details including the purchase price is forthcoming.

— With reporting by Cameron Coats, in Troy, N.Y.

The National Association of Broadcasters is openly venting to the FCC about its proposal to prioritize licensing and application procedures for stations providing a certain amount of local content. The advocacy group even suggests it has a growing concern that the FCC has lost touch with broadcasters.

In new reply comments this week, the NAB said it appreciates that the commission is looking at ways its policies impact broadcasters’ decisions to serve their communities. However, the advocacy group also said there appears to be a growing disconnect between the FCC’s regulatory actions and broadcasters’ natural incentives to provide quality, local service. 

The NAB goes on to list a number of issues it says indicate that the FCC fails to comprehend the competitive complexities broadcasters face in the modern media landscape.

“Whether it is this proposal, the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review order, the current boomerang proceeding on foreign sponsorship identification or the Media Bureau’s effective denial of the proposed transaction between Standard General and TEGNA, the commission appears lost at sea when it comes to understanding broadcasting in the context of today’s remarkably competitive media marketplace,” NAB commented.

The FCC is currently mulling a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to boost local journalism that, if adopted, would prioritize review processes like renewals, transfer and assignment applications to licensees that certify their station provides an average of at least three hours of locally-originated programming each week.

[Related: “FCC Proposes to Prioritize License Application Review for Stations With Local Content“]

NAB says the proposal would have a negligible positive impact on a very small number of broadcasters.

“The commission’s prioritization proposal will do nothing to incentivize broadcasters to provide more local journalism or generate other locally originated programming because it fails to grasp the fundamental economic and competitive realities underpinning broadcasters’ programming decisions,” NAB said in its most recent comments. 

NAB goes on to remind the commission that broadcasters are the only FCC-regulated entities required to provide a free service to the public. “This requirement is something the FCC takes for granted even though it is both substantial and unique; no other service is required to provide its product directly to the public through local outlets for free,” NAB said.

In fact, the proposed rules could do more damage than good, the NAB says, when it comes to FCC efficiency. “To the extent that the proposed priority system would limit FCC staff’s flexibility to address applications in the most efficient manner possible, NAB observes that the proposal here could result in prolonging, rather than expediting, the review process for applications overall.”

According to the NAB, the FCC’s notice also ignores key facts such as the ever-increasing cost of providing local programming. In short, to promote localism effectively, the NAB says the commission should focus its efforts on policies that enable broadcasters to compete in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, rather than potentially injecting further complexity and uncertainty into its application review process.

The NAB in its filing continues to reject what it deems to be overzealous regulation by the FCC of an industry that provides a free service to listeners. The group says it wishes the commission would focus more on policies that would facilitate broadcast competitiveness in today’s marketplace

“It is perplexing that a commission effort to promote local journalism and other local programming ignores current realities and instead supposes that prioritizing the review of certain complex applications will somehow push broadcasters that do not already have the resources necessary to invest in locally originated programming to do so.”

[Related: “FCC Localism Proposal Draws Limited Comments“]

Other groups, like REC Networks, have told the FCC the proposal is “ambitious, but not practical.” 

National Public Radio said it agrees with other commenters that the proposal offers little incentive for broadcasters. “The commission should consider reducing regulatory burdens for stations that provide local programming when appropriate. As NPR and others noted in their comments, the proposed priority processing likely will have limited impacts,” NPR said.

NPR says it hopes the FCC will “go further by reducing regulatory burdens for stations with local programming when appropriate.”

NPR also says the FCC could do more to expand the reach of public radio — thus boosting local journalism — by offering more tailored incentives and further reducing the burden of regulations. It says these incentives could include a processing priority for stations producing and airing locally-originated programming that could be adopted in the context of applications for new non-commercial radio stations or applications to expand the signals of existing radio stations through the use of translators, boosters or power increases. 

It also says the commission could prioritize public radio stations with a history of providing local programming in NCE FM license windows “so that they can expand local services into new communities, or relaxing compliance requirements in certain circumstances for radio stations.”

Comments on the FCC’s NPRM (MB Docket No. 24-14) on broadcast localism can be read online at the FCC’s website. 

[Sign Up for Radio World’s SmartBrief Newsletter]

The post NAB Says FCC Proposal to Promote Local Journalism Is Flawed appeared first on Radio World.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With hours remaining before the start of the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, a collection of the nation’s top broadcast television station owners have come together to lead “a collective venture that will revolutionize over-the-air television audience measurement.”

They claim it will also expedite the deployment of “innovative applications by broadcasters and receiver manufacturers.”

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The world’s largest producer of Spanish-language audio and video content, which ended 2023 by pushing more than $1 billion in debt repayments from 2025 to 2028 at a higher interest rate, is coming off of a tough end to last year.

Just how the first three months were, fiscally speaking, for TelevisaUnivision will become clear on April 25.

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As RBR+TVBR exclusively reported on Thursday (4/11), Ralph Oakley, who led the former Quincy Media, Inc., until its collection of television stations were sold to Gray Television and Allen Media Group, respectively, is returning to ownership and coming out of retirement.

A new LLC formed by Oakley is acquiring a Nexstar Media Group TV property. And, we now know who served as Nexstar’s broker of record in the transaction.

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The FCC has upheld a forfeiture against Shelby Broadcast Associates, licensee of an FM translator in Tarrant, Ala.

In January, the Media Bureau had issued a notice of potential forfeiture for $16,500 for an unauthorized transmitting ERP on the translator, failure to file for an STA and false application certifications.

Shelby responded in February. It did not dispute the violations but said that the forfeiture should be cancelled or reduced based on its inability to pay the fine. It cited the size of the fine in contrast to its gross revenue and expenses, indicating that the station has operated at a loss in two of the last three years.

But the commission remained steadfast in its assessment. It said that “due to licensee’s history of noncompliance, including unauthorized operations, and the extended duration of the violations, we find no basis to reduce or cancel the proposed forfeiture and affirm the NAL.
Shelby has a pending sale of the translator to Rivera Communications for $184,000. Rivera is operating W252BE as a relay of WAYE(AM) Birmingham, with a regional Mexican format known as “La Jefa.”

The commission noted the sale price in its response to Shelby and said the forfeiture is just 8.9% of the pending sale price. It said the sale, combined with Shelby’s gross income, demonstrates its ability to pay the forfeiture amount.

(Read the decision.)

 

The post FCC Upholds Penalty Against Shelby’s Ala. Translator Violations appeared first on Radio World.

Digigram has acquired OROS, a company that specializes in noise and vibration testing.

From left: Yannick Balter of OROS and Jérémie Weber and Xavier Allanic of Digigram

“This acquisition marks the acceleration of the group’s build-up strategy focused on critical audio,” Digigram said in the announcement. Terms were not disclosed.

It said the sale expands its headcount to approximately 60 employees. Both companies were founded in 1985 in Grenoble and are based in France, but Digigram said it now has offices “stretching from the headquarters in Montbonnot to the companies’ subsidiaries based in Singapore, the United States and China.”

“While the two companies already operate in different segments of the critical communications market, with customers in the civil and military aerospace and maritime sectors, their joint endeavors will increase their presence in the industrial, defense, security and transport markets,” Digigram said.

Digigram products familiar to broadcasters include IP-based IQOYA codecs and ALP-X sound cards.

OROS systems serve the energy, maritime, aeronautics, automotive, production and automation markets.

Last fall Digigram acquired AuviTran, a specialist in installation, live sound and public address.

The post Digigram Acquires OROS appeared first on Radio World.

With the 2024 NAB Show starting on Saturday in Las Vegas, DigiCAP is sharing the news that the first installation of a new system to automate ATSC 3.0 security certificate management is now complete.

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From La Junta east to Granada, Country music fans have a 100kw FM to tune to for their favorite artists and local information. Pending FCC approval, this station will be under new ownership.

The individual acquiring the FM is highly familiar with the property.
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NEW YORK — As of the end of 2023, Gray Television‘s biggest institutional investors were Blackrock Inc., with 8.11% interest; Morgan Stanley, with 5.86% interest; and Darsana Capital Partners, with 5.8% interest.

Then came Gray’s No. 4 investor, which has shared on a “Form 13F” filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission that it has decreased its holdings in the company.

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The Radio Automation sales team at WideOrbit is growing, with the addition of two industry veterans to the company. They’re both in-bound from PromoSuite.

Rachel Field is the newest member of the WideOrbit sales executive roster, and previously spent a quarter-century at PromoSuite, where she served as Chief Revenue Officer.

Field will oversee AFR accounts in the western United States.

Meanwhile, Drew Bennet is settling in as a sales team member after joining WideOrbit in February. Prior to joining WideOrbit, Bennett was Director of Sales at PromoSuite. He has held similar positions at MusicMaster and RCS.

Bennett will be working with WO Automation for Radio customers in the central regions of the United States.

WideOrbit will be at the 2024 NAB Show in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (booth W2225). Both Bennett and Field will be present from Sunday. 

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Just in time for the 2024 NAB Show, the Frank Foti-led Telos Alliance has brought forth a software update for its Jünger flexAI platform.

The changes incorporate the AIXpressor and flexAIserver, the broadcast audio technology company shares, as “Version 2023-12r4” brings performance and convenience enhancements to its users.

V2023-12r4 brings an overhaul of AoIP integration, including full support for SMPTE ST 2110-30 and -31 Level A, B, and C as well as Livewire+ live streams, to AIXpressor. As Telos Alliance sees it, the product is an deal high channel-count AoIP interface. Support for NMOS IS-04 and IS-05 is also available, making both AIXpressor and flexAIserver more useful in ST 2110-based workflows. There is also integration with key industry orchestration systems.

On the production and processing front, an improved voice-over automixer ensures dialog is kept in proper balance with other program elements, while Jünger Audio’s latest generation upmixer brings center channel replacement technology to the table. In addition, two new channel strips are now available: A matrix mixer with up to 16 input and output channels to simplify copying and shuffling channels, and a multichannel delay with 16 individual channels and up to 20 seconds of total audio delay.

FM broadcasters may also find interest in Jünger Audio’s MPX and Pre-Emphasis Limiter, available on the flexAI platform as the new FM Conditioner. This feature provides transparent loudness management in the composite domain in regions adhering to the ITU-R BS.412 MPX Power regulations.

For television customers, support for the vendor-agnostic Serial ADM (S-ADM) professional metadata format comes to the flexAI product.

For broadcasters using MPEG-H, flexAI now offers the complete MPEG-H 3D Audio toolset from Fraunhofer IIS, including an immersive monitor controller.

Security enhancements include the option to use an HTTPS web interface with an integrated security certificate, password-protected login, and LDAP access control for users and groups.

Additional convenience features round out the V2023-12r4 upgrade. These include a convenient CPU meter for real-time monitoring of system performance and an integrated web-based console terminal, eliminating the need for administrators to initiate a separate terminal session during system setup and maintenance.

Finally, native browser-based audio monitoring now makes it possible to hear audio from any patch point in the audio processing chain.