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Young Vermonters learn the ins and outs of working at WGDR/WGDH, which is now the only full-power community owned and operated noncommercial radio in the state. Photo: Central Vermont Community Radio

Nearly 50 years after its first broadcast, a Vermont community radio station has announced that is officially owned by the public — a rare feat in the annals of radio ownership transition.

Station WGDR/WGDH was built and operated by Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., as a college and community radio station. In 2020, the newly established nonprofit Central Vermont Community Radio (CVCR) was gifted the radio station from the college, making it the only full-power community owned and operated noncommercial station in Vermont.

The transfer represents “a huge milestone nationally for the public and community radio industry,” the station said in a release. The move is noteworthy, especially for a college station, since university- and college-owned stations across the country are often sold to meet budget shortfalls, the station said.

[Learn more about community broadcasting with our Community Broadcaster column]

Under CVCR’s ownership, the station will continue its affiliation with the Pacifica Network, a community of independent radio stations that give local communities a platform on which to share local issues on a national level. The Pacifica Network also airs nationally broadcast programming like “Democracy Now” and live coverage of international events.

With this move, Goddard College is saying that their commitment to residents, students and the local culture is far greater than money, said Ernesto Aguilar, executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. “When institutions like Goddard say they want to pass the torch of media access in this way, it’s worthy of thanks and celebration,” he said.

The transition allows WGDR/WGDH to continue to broadcast a diversity of ideas, stories and culture to Vermonters across the northern part of the state.

“Radio is more relevant and relatable today, especially on a local level,” the station said in its statement. “When you tune in to community radio, you hear the voices of your neighbors, which, during the pandemic, has proven to be a powerful tool in remaining connected.”

CVCR said it will continue the mission of the station, providing a forum that covers issues such as social justice, arts and music and protection of the environment.

“As an independent station, WGDR/WGDH will be able to pursue a variety of ways to diversify not just what is broadcast, but who is given a voice on the air, uplifting the stories of those who are underrepresented in the current Vermont media landscape,” the station said. “CVCR takes this deep responsibility of community radio to heart as it takes on ownership of WGDR/WGDH. CVCR invites all to tune in to help program what comes next.”

 

The post Vermont Station Celebrates Transition to Public Ownership appeared first on Radio World.

Adthos has introduced what it calls “the only free ad-serving technology built specifically for radio.”

Adthos Ad-Server is an ad sales application that replaces playout of ads by an existing automation system, allowing digital audio and radio “to be sold seamlessly within a single integrated campaign.”

The company said the accompanying “integrations” provide users more flexibility; replace audio live and quickly without having to take multiple actions; and send reconciliation back to the user’s traffic system. The system also can facilitate local insertion on boosters and translators, and integrate workflows between the user’s digital and broadcast products.

Its streaming encoder encodes streams in AAC, HE-AAC and MP3, and is compatible with major streaming servers.

The platform is free to stations, and Adthos says further releases are planned later this year.

Adthos is a trademark of Wedel Software. The introduction was announced by CEO Raoul Wedel.

“Adthos Ad-Server can be installed without the need for multiple integrations and zero downtime. Radio stations gain the ability to easily sell, schedule and execute multi-platform campaigns with minimal intervention and with many tasks completely automated,” the company stated.

“In the first release, users can enjoy features such as instant reconciliation and an intuitive customer interface providing for updates and insights on campaigns at a moment’s notice, while the ability to replace spots in real time delivers incredible responsiveness.”

The post Adthos Ad-Server Is Free Ad-Serving App for Radio appeared first on Radio World.

There’s a new Market President for the iHeartMedia radio stations serving Salt Lake City.

At the same time, a member of the sales team has been elevated to a Sr. VP position in that department.

Why are the changes being made? Stu Stanek, who has been with iHeartMedia for more than 20 years, on Monday retired.

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The woman who has served as President/CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) is no longer in the role.

Effective today, Maurita Coley has retired from the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

Her replacement is immediately taking over her position.

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With the Memorial Day holiday weekend leading one department store chain to bump up its ad spend, one health and beauty brand greatly accelerated its spending at spot TV to finish at No. 3 in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report.

At the same time, a big Procter & Gamble Co. brand is back on the weekly report.

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By Rosemary Ravinal

Masks off! … If you are fully vaccinated.  Yet, some people may opt to continue to WFH, at least part of the time.  Knowledge workers have become accustomed to working remotely, and splitting time between the office and home is expected to become the new normal, according to a PwC’s Remote Work Survey 2021.

How should businesses combine the flexibility of remote work with the opportunities of in-office interactions?  Hybrid solutions provide the best of both worlds with employees rotating in and out of offices configured for the virtual world.

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When it comes to retransmission consent fees, there’s perhaps no more touchier subject for both broadcast TV station owners and for MVPDs that earn revenue for bringing crystal-clear signals of these stations to their customers.

For companies such as Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group, TEGNA and The E.W. Scripps Co., retrans consent revenue is more important than ever, as broadcast TV’s core advertising trends remain hazy against local digital growth and evolving viewer habits.

Then, there are the “cable” and satellite TV providers, who consistently finger-point at broadcast TV owners for demanding more and more from them, even with substantial investments in local news departments and ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV transitions.

The MVPDs have lamented that they have no choice but to pass the increased cost in carrying local TV stations on to customers. That’s exactly what is now happening for those who rely on Charter Communications’ Spectrum services. Higher bills are on the way.

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HOBE SOUND, FLA. — Until now, a licensee of radio stations in Upstate New York and the South has seen the involvement of two principal owner-operators and the investment of a Palm Beach County-based private equity and growth-oriented entity “that provides patient capital to exceptional management teams.”

It seems this investment has proven to be a smart one, and puts Jim Leven and Bruce Mittman in a positive light. They have filed paperwork to buy out this equity investor’s stake in their company, Community Broadcasters.

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On October 19, 2020, a broker release obtained by RBR+TVBR revealed that Ramar Communications had agreed to sell The CW Network affiliate in Lubbock, along with two low-power facilities, to Gray Television.

The FCC eventually approved the deal, consummated by Ramar following the February 11, 2018, death of its founder, Ray Moran, at the age of 82.

Now, Moran’s legacy will live on as Ramar is purchasing a low-power TV station in Colorado.

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Many know him as the face of Wedel Software. Now, he’s the CEO of a brand-new ad sales platform for radio advertising called Adthos.

Raoul Wedel joins RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson from the Dutch city of The Hague to share more about the new product release.

How does Adthos from what is presently available in the marketplace? The Adthos Ad-Server is free … so how does Wedel make money?

Get the no-nonsense answers to these questions in this fresh podcast, presented by dot.FM!

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Raoul Wedel” on Spreaker.

It’s “listener-supported radio from Towson University” that brings the Baltimore metropolitan area a blend of eclectic Adult Alternative music that’s not so dissimilar to widely known WXPN, just up the road in Philadelphia.

That will soon change, however. But the new owners of WTMD-FM promise there will be no other differences, once this deal closes.

And, we’ve got the price tag to share.

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Workflow automation, media processing, quality monitoring and test and measurement product maker Telestream has brought to market a cloud-native service that the company describes as an API-driven, cloud agnostic, media processing and transcoding service.

Introducing Telestream Cloud Transform, “built from years of proven media transcoding and workflow technology.”

Leading up the rollout is Tim MacGregor, the Senior Director and Head of Strategy and Product Development for Telestream Cloud.

“We’ve taken proven technology, the Telestream Media Framework, that’s the foundation of Telestream media workflows all over the world and built a cloud-native, API-driven, media processing and transcoding service that runs on our customers’ cloud provider of choice. Transform’s media processing pedigree ensures a future-proof path as standards and technology evolve, even as organizations develop their own workflow orchestration solutions.”

Transform is designed to empower development teams writing their own code for media processing pipelines to access Telestream’s transcoding and media processing technology. According to the company, Telestream Cloud Transform represents “the most efficient way to process video content using a cloud-native API, taking full advantage of the performance and scalability offered by a range of popular cloud providers.”

MacGregor said, “As more companies seek to adopt the cloud for cost and efficiency reasons, many have determined that their unique requirements preclude a one size fits all approach. These organizations need a service that can be started within minutes with a powerful API that allows easy automation with their existing systems.”

Telestream Cloud Transform supports a wide variety of codecs and formats including AVCI, AVC Ultra, DNxHD, DNxHR, IMX, J2K, XAVC, XDCAM, and ProRes 422/444.

For company and product information, visit www.telestream.net.

Inovonics has released its new DAVID IV 719N FM/HD Radio Broadcast Processor with Network Interface.

The updated offering adds Web Access for set-up, control, and increased networking capabilities to the company’s existing DAVID IV 719 processor.

And, the new model comes minus any price increase.

Ben Barber, President & CEO of Inovonics, says the addition of a Network Interface to the 719 processor gives it two important features. One, the Web GUI can be controlled from any web enabled device; adding SNMP “makes remote management and control a breeze.”

The 719 DAVID IV processor dates to 2011.

The new model adds an intuitive, menu-driven Web interface for remote set-up, monitoring and control.

For more information about price and availability, please contact Inovonics at 831-458-0552

Something new and exciting is on the horizon for radio stations, an answer to today’s most
pressing challenges – changing consumer behavior, ROI expectations of advertisers and of
course keeping step with developments in the digital space.

But before we find out more about that, let’s look in more detail at how the land lies currently.

The world of radio continues to evolve, new innovations and changes in consumer habits
are forcing broadcasters to think in ever more creative ways to target listener advertising.
New technology allows the integration of finer data points such as location, device and even
audience profile to support truly targeted approaches. And with the continuing steady
creep of digital into the space we can expect to see an even split between terrestrial/digital
ad-playout before too long. Campaigns are now routinely multi-platform, highly targeted
and data-driven, creating multiple challenges for broadcasters. Radio advertising is arguably facing the biggest upheaval in its long history.

So, all of this begs the question – how can radio stations make the most of these changes
and not be left behind? After all, so many are dealing with legacy systems, with manual
tasks often needed to bridge the gap between these and new technologies. And where
there are manual tasks there are inefficiencies, and by association an impact on flexibility.
How long before the march of progress threatens to overwhelm the capability of
broadcasters to deliver true value for their advertisers?

What’s the answer?

But instead of focusing on what’s lacking, let’s look instead at possible answers to these
questions. Any solution should be easy to integrate – or even better, require no integration
at all – with existing technology. No overhaul or replacement (or downtime or high cost) to
plan for and manage. The ability to easily sell, schedule and execute multi-platform
campaigns with minimal intervention and maximum automation should also be high on the
wish list. And not forgetting the flexibility and capability to make the most of all that
valuable data to support truly targeted ads.

A breakthrough in broadcasting

It’s this set of needs that have led to the creation of the Adthos Ad Server, the first of its
kind ad-serving technology specifically created for radio. A lightweight yet powerful addition

to any existing traffic or playout system that allows digital audio and radio to be sold
seamlessly within a single integrated campaign. Instant reconciliation and an intuitive
customer interface provide for updates and insights on a complete campaign at a moment’s
notice, with the ability to replace a spot in real time delivering incredible responsiveness.
And this is just the first release of many that Adthos will do this year.

But perhaps the most surprising thing about the Adthos ad-server: it’s absolutely free.

Want to know more? Of course you do.   www.adthos.com

 

With The Home Depot in command at spot radio, its biggest national competitor has responded by upping its radio spot load.

Meanwhile, a big retailer is back, thanks to a Memorial Day Weekend ad campaign designed to woo shoppers to its stores.

That’s the gist of the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report.

As shown below, Macy’s and Lowe’s are back on the report, while Indeed and Progressive are bested by Home Depot.