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Issued a forfeiture order in the amount of $1,400 to Christian Broadcasting of Yakima for public file violations for Station K27OO-D, Ellensburg, Washington

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Sea-Mar Community Health Center enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

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The FCC finds that 21 broadcast television licensees apparently willfully and repeatedly violated rules limiting commercial matter in children's programming and proposes a combined forfeiture of $3,374,000

DJRO Broadcasting, LLC enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has introduced a bill that, if passed, would repeal all broadcast ownership limits. The draft bill, titled the “Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act,” moves to abolish local radio and television ownership rules; all in the name of helping broadcasters better compete with Big Tech.

According to a press release introducing Paul’s bill, this proposed legislation “would give local broadcasters and newspapers much-needed relief from outdated government restrictions that are currently threatening their ability to succeed in an evolving media environment.”

In the release, Paul said his bill would exempt print, broadcast and digital news organizations from federal antitrust laws and authorities, such as the Department of Justice, to allow them to compete with and negotiate with national tech companies. Further, he said the legislation would allow local broadcast companies to merge without government interference, which would “allow those broadcasters to better compete against these tech giants.”

Paul’s bill is a simplified version of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) draft that was recently considered by a Senate committee.

At the The Media Institute’s Communications Forum this February, NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said Congress should act to rein in what he called “the gatekeeping ability of the Big Tech giants who are stifling the economics of local news.” The NAB supports passage of the JCPA, which LeGeyt said would allow stations to jointly negotiate the terms and conditions for their local content when it is accessed through the large tech platforms.

(Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

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Of course, being introduced so late in the Congressional session with no other declared political support, the bill has little chance of becoming law in this session of Congress, notes the Broadcast Law Blog and Broadcasting & Cable. It’s also worth remembering that movement in the legislative branch continues to be stifled due to an ongoing political gridlock as the FCC continues its work with a 2-2 partisan split and the Gigi Sohn nomination remains stalled.

The post Kentucky Senator Introduces Bill to Repeal Broadcast Ownership Limits appeared first on Radio World.

As RBR+TVBR reported late Wednesday, Sinclair Broadcast Group and a host of its shared services partners could be responsible for forking over millions of dollars in fines to the FCC for repeated violations of the Children’s Television Act.

Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks joined Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in commenting on a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture given to Sinclair Broadcast Group and several of its shared services partners for multiple violations of the Children’s Television Act.

Here’s what he had to say:

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Sinclair Broadcast Group and a host of its shared services partners, including Michael Anderson-helmed Cunningham Broadcasting, could be on the hook for a significant portion of the millions of dollars in fines totaled up for apparent FCC violations of its Children’s TV programming rules.

 

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As RBR+TVBR reported late Wednesday, Sinclair Broadcast Group and a host of its shared services partners could be responsible for forking over millions of dollars in fines to the FCC for repeated violations of the Children’s Television Act.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel offered a statement following the release of the Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture.

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Thanks to a newly forged partnership between a major Wall Street financial institution, a local two-year college and a foundation established by the owner of Circle City Broadcasting, a one-year degree program for news and media producers has been established for students.

This makes an Indianapolis junior college the first institute of higher learning to create a two-semester program focused on multimedia producing in the multicultural space.

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It’s a New York-based company led by CEO Kristin Dolan that’s become known for its TV and cross-platform measurement, analytics and attribution.

As of today, it will collaborate with a streaming analytics platform in an effort to bring de-duplicated standardized data to video and advertising industry consumers across the globe, “enabling full-census measurement of content and advertising across premium video.”

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The FCC has dismissed an appeal from a Chicago LPFM station that had objected to a proposed translator move-in by another broadcaster.

The translator isn’t moving though. The commission says the translator in question was never moved and its deadline has passed, so the appeal is moot.

Sound of Hope Radio is the licensee of WQEG(LP), which broadcasts on 98.3 in Chicago. It was upset when the FCC Media Bureau granted an application from Edgewater Broadcasting to move translator W256CL on 99.1 MHz from Park Forest, Ill., to Chicago. That translator rebroadcasts the signal of iHeart station WLIT(FM).

Sound of Hope asked the FCC to reconsider but lost; the commission then issued a construction permit. Sound of Hope then came back with an application for review and a motion for stay.

Subsequently, however, Edgewater handed the translator license to Ohana Del Sol, which now holds it.

“Ohana failed to construct the translator’s modified facilities as authorized by June 5, 2022, the expiration date of the permit,” the FCC wrote this week. Thus the CP expired and was automatically forfeited.

Given that outcome, the FCC said it didn’t need to act further on the LPFM’s legal arguments.

The post Chicago Translator Move-In Case Is Moot appeared first on Radio World.

A downed electricity pole on Monday in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Although little damage to the electrical grid was visible, over 1 million people were still without electricity two days after Fiona struck. (Photo by Jose Jimenez/Getty Images)

In the wake of Fiona, 10 radio stations and roughly 30% of cell sites in the affected area reported being off the air as of midday Tuesday, according to the Federal Communications Commission Disaster Information Reporting System, or DIRS.

DIRS remains active for Puerto Rico. The FCC has a web page that consolidates its announcements and updates regarding communication services affected by the storm.

According to PowerOutage.us, roughly three-quarters of the territory remained without power Wednesday.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday that the FCC was deploying staff to the affected areas “to perform post-landfall, on-site surveys of communications services and infrastructure as well as to assist with coordination and oversight of communications restoration.”

She said the FCC was coordinating with FEMA, CISA, other government partners and communications providers. The commission gave a two-day extension of this month’s regulatory fee filing deadline for payors in the affected areas. The Media Bureau also extended the deadlines for affected stations to put material from the previous quarter and EEO public file into their public inspection files to Nov. 14.

“Hurricane Fiona has caused significant damage within its path, including storm surge, wind damage, mudslides and flooding,” the FCC noted. “It also has caused substantial damage to the communications network, resulting in service disruptions and outages throughout areas in Puerto Rico.”

Rosenworcel said in her statement: “It was five years ago that Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and now Puerto Rico confronts another storm with Hurricane Fiona. In times of crises, staying connected takes on new urgency. I saw that firsthand during my visit to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and now some of those same areas have been hit once more.”

[Related: “FCC Adds Resilient Networks Requirement”]

The post FCC Tracks Comm Outages in Puerto Rico appeared first on Radio World.

The Media Rating Council on Wednesday released its final version of its standards on Outcomes Measurement and Data Quality.

The document is the end result of a project led by MRC that included a working group representing over 100 organizations from across the advertising and media industries, with the endorsement of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the 4A’s, and the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA).

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MIAMI — It’s a tiny player in a city home to 100,000-watt giants including “103.5 The Beat” and “99 JAMZ,” the iHeartMedia and Cox Media Group-owned FMs long-serving fans of hip-hop and R&B across a four-county region.

That said, “Vibe 92.7” has found an audience with a 64-watt LPFM facility that can barely reach South Beach or Doral, where the Radio Masters Sales Summit begins tomorrow following today’s sessions for Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA) members.

Now, “Vibe,” which boasts a HD2 offering, is being spun to a new owner.

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When exploited effectively, social media, YouTube and other digital media can be the best friends that broadcast radio ever had. That’s the lesson that was taught by Alex Poon, General Manager of Tech and Shared Services at Malaysia’s Media Prima, during his ‘Driving Audiences from Digital to FM’ talk at Radiodays Asia. This was a two day in-person/online conference staged at Malaysia’s Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur hotel September 6–7, 2022.

Digital Media and Radio Go Together Alex Poon

Poon’s premise during his talk is that digital media can serve as a promotional vehicle for broadcast radio, while also improvising two-way communications between on-air talent and listeners. 

Poon said 97% of radio listeners are listening directly on home, office or car radios, or indirectly through their computers, mobile phones and via apps such as AUDIO+, which hosts his company’s five radio streams. Of those listeners, 35% are spending more time interacting on radio stations via social media pages, he added, an increase that is strengthening their ties to the Media Prima brand.

It is for this reason that “we are friends with the digital platforms, not enemies,” Poon said. “Combining radio and digital improves the two-way connection and engagement with the listeners.” 

Leveraging Social Media to Boost Radio Listenership

According to Poon, Media Prima’s five FM radio stations (collectively known as Media Prima Audio) collectively have about 20 million social media followers. This kind of following allows his radio division to grab attention by staging live concerts on Facebook, or by leveraging the marriage of a famous Malaysian celebrity online by announcing that one of her favorite songs would be played on one of Media Prima Audio’s FM stations tomorrow morning.

“This is how we actually drive the audience from digital back to FM,” said Poon.

Taking Advantage of YouTube

Another way that Media Prima Audio uses digital to drive its radio listenership is by live-streaming its radio broadcasts on YouTube, where the company has some 976,000 subscribers. In this model, the company’s radio fans can listen to Media Prima Audios on FM in the car, then continue listening at work via YouTube.

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Encouraging Interaction via the App

Media Prime Audio’s decision to consolidate its five station feeds onto the AUDIO+ app is making it easier for listeners to chat with its on-air-talent, in addition to accessing all of the company’s FM audio streams. Poon noted that litener interactions with on-air talent can be a challenge due to time constraints. But when the feedback has been sent to them via the AUDIO+ app, they can review and respond to it “any time that they want.”

Media Prima Audio is also happy to share its streams with potential competitors such as Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify, said Poon – because these sites offer the opportunity to extend his company’s reach. As a result, instead of being enemies, “we become frenemies,” he joked.

Online Radio Saves Data Usage

In his closing remarks,  Poon pointed out that, for those who don’t have direct access to radio at work and have to go to the web for entertainment, online radio is the irmost economical choir when it comes to paid data consumption. 

The reason? On an hourly basis, online radio “only consumes 21.6 megabytes of data,” he said. In comparison, “simply scrolling through social media pages for 60 minutes consumes about 100 meg.” Meanwhile, watching an online video at a resolution of 360 pixels consumes about 160 MB of data.

Poon urged all radio stations to communicate this data-saving fact to their online listeners. What he didn’t say – but is worth noting – is that encouraging people to take pocket FM radios to work with earbuds uses no paid data at all, which is the ultimate cost argument for tuning to radio everywhere.

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