Radio World

Clubhouse Drop-in audio chat app logo on the App Store is displayed on a phone screen. (Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

More than ever I am paralyzed by choice.

I first recognized this syndrome way back in the days of Blockbuster. I’d spend 45 minutes looking at movies and leave with nothing. I experience this now with Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and podcast platforms.

Trader Joe’s has capitalized on this uncomfortable consumer experience by offering fewer choices. Instead of 10 choices of mustard, there are two or three.

As I attempt to listen to the latest audio talk apps, 10 zillion podcasts and nearly every song ever released, I can’t stop thinking about choice.

In a world of many audio choices, broadcast radio is the solid utility. With finite choices on radio, it’s easy to decide; this obvious intrinsic advantage is one we take it for granted.

I hope the big guns in our industry are constantly engaging the auto industry regarding the ongoing expansion of the new immersive car dashboard. Ignoring broadcast radio’s placement on the evolving car radio real estate is perilous.

Stay focused

There’s no question that we continue to deliver our product to smart speakers, apps and other live streaming platforms, so we’re in the game and can continue to grow revenue.

However, let’s not lose focus! For the foreseeable future, we should continue to pour power into promoting broadcast properties and reasons to tune in. This is where radio wins.

[Related: “So, Where Does Radio Go From Here?”]

I’m not opposed to promoting listening on digital platforms, but there is limited air time and advertising money to invest in sparking interest for tune-in.

When I hear stations promoting listening on a smart speaker or app four times an hour, I wonder if the station is missing a chance to promote a reason to actually tune in. By now, don’t our audiences know we’re on all these platforms?

Growing audience on digital platforms requires a specific on-platform approach that is often missing from promotional strategy.

However I’d be remiss if I didn’t salute Clubhouse. This latest Talk app, is a natural social media evolution. Their promotional geniuses created demand and buzz by limiting listening to “invitation only.”

It was born on iPhone. Android arrived only in May.

Not listened yet? Browse topics, click on one and hear amateur hosts pontificate to micro-audiences. Raise your hand and join the conversation.

Sometimes it’s more like a conference call than a talk show. It’s sad news for Clubhouse that this is easy to replicate, as Clubhouse will be challenged by Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, Discord, Telegram, Reddit, Leher, Riffr, Spoon, and even LinkedIn.

A threat to local radio? Not in terms of obtaining consistently large local audiences, or competing for local advertising. Still, if I were searching for new talent, I’d be hunting for those rare natural hosts who could be groomed for radio.

What about podcasts? Talk about choices! I subscribe to 20. I listen regularly to four.

With hundreds of thousands of podcasts, discovery is an issue. The potential is huge with explosive younger listener growth.

Will podcasting steal hours from broadcast radio, or grow overall time spent listening to audio? I’m going with the latter, but so much depends on the quality of local radio. Jukeboxes will eventually fail. Winners will have compelling local talent; local information; local entertainment; local community involvement and yes even local news (bring it back!).

The future of local radio depends on the choices we make today.

[Read more Promo Power columns by Mark Lapidus.]

The post Your Listeners Have Many Choices appeared first on Radio World.

Talk about a really small mobile package for radio stations, Roland has beefed up its Go:Mixer Pro smartphone outboard audio mixer peripheral with features that a radio crew might find of use.

The battery-operable Go:Mixer Pro-X expanded support for Android and iOS mobile devices, a guitar/bass input pad switch, and the ability to use a headset mic or the inline mic on smartphone earbuds as a sound source.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

Up to seven audio sources can be used: XLR microphone (with 48 V phantom power), electric guitar or bass, a stereo instrument like a keyboard or drum machine and two stereo line-level devices. The headphone jack supports an additional mic feed, and a loop back function allows music and other audio from a connected mobile device to be mixed in as well.

Go:Mixer Pro-X is equipped with both USB Micro-B and four-pole TRRS analog jacks, providing plug-and-play operation with most iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Three different cables ship with the mixer, providing connection to Lightning, USB-C, and four-pole TRRS jacks on mobile devices. Power is via four AAA-size batteries or through the device connection when the USB Micro-B connector is used.

The Go:Mixer Pro-X is expected to ship in August with a price of $149.99.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: www.roland.com

 

The post Roland Extends Go:Mixer Line appeared first on Radio World.

Streaming services provider Quortex has won a contract from the French radio/TV broadcaster and multimedia company M6 Group.

M6 will use Quortex I/O SaaS to stream its radio services. Both companies are based in France. M6 brands include radio stations RTL, RTL2 and Funradio.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

The announcement was made by Marc Baillavoine, CEO of France-based Quortex, and Valéry Gerfaud, chief of digital innovation technology at M6 Group.

Quortex said it provides “an end-to-end, turnkey service, from the mezzanine feed to the end-user” and is compliant with HLS streaming protocol.

Gerfaud was quoted saying, “M6 Group is the first mover in the French market regarding HLS, and we are looking forward to upcoming developments, such as the integration of dynamic ad insertion and content protection.”

Submit announcements for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post M6 Group Will Use Quortex Streaming appeared first on Radio World.

In People News: Don Brake has been promoted to become the new operations manager for Cumulus Media in Savannah, Ga.

That cluster includes country station KIX 96/WJCL(FM), urban outlet E93/WEAS(FM), urban station Magic 103.9/WTYB(FM) and classic rock station I-95/WIXV(FM).

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Brake will also be program director for KIX 96. He succeeds Gerry McCracken, who is retiring.

Brake will move from Beaumont, Texas, where he has been PD and host of a midday country music show. His background includes programming and operations positions for Cumulus and other companies in markets including Morgantown, W.Va.; Frederick, Md.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Hagerstown, Md./Chambersburg, Pa.

The announcement was made by Regional VP Eric Mastel.

Send news of engineering and executive personnel changes to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Brake Is Cumulus Ops Manager in Savannah appeared first on Radio World.

Further relaxation of ownership rules seems unlikely, but the FCC now is seeking to refresh the record before it completes its 2018 Quadrennial Review.

Inexpensive adapters help with an AoIP EAS connection.

A radio station in Ontario is delighted with the money it is saving by switching to wind and sun power.

Also: Promo Power, apps from AIM and products from AudioLogger, Shure, MOVO, Inovonics and ENCO.

Read it here.

The post Inside the June 23, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

WorldDAB is highlighting the number of new cars in Europe that now ship with DAB+ as a standard feature.

“In the second half of 2020, over 80% of new cars in key European markets came with DAB+ radio as standard, a dramatic increase on the same period in 2019,” the organization stated in releasing a market report.

“This step-change reflects the impact of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which, from December 2020, requires all new car radios in the EU to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio.”

President Patrick Hannon was quoted saying that the numbers “demonstrate that DAB+ is firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe,” and he said progress in Germany, France, Italy and Benelux “has been particularly impressive.”

The report stated that as of the end of 2020, about 100 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific, “up from 92 million six months year earlier.”

The organization also released a detailed infographic with the rollout status in various markets in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The post WorldDAB Celebrates Automotive Penetration appeared first on Radio World.

Automation provider WideOrbit has snagged a big win, reaching agreement with Salem Media Group to covert its radio properties to WO Automation for Radio.

Salem has 99 radio stations. WideOrbit said 56 of those in the top 25 U.S. markets.

Scott Foster is senior VP of engineering at Salem Media Group.

The announcement was made by WideOrbit VP of Radio Automation William “Dub” Irvin and Salem SVP of Engineering Scott Foster.

“Implementations are set to begin in July 2021 and will complete in 2023. Once implementations begin, 13 of the top 20 radio operators in North America will be powered by WO Automation for Radio,” the company said in its announcement.

Version 5 of the automation software was released this year; the manufacturer emphasizes its improved remote voice tracking capabilities and native apps to run live shows remotely.

Salem is an existing user of WO Traffic; the software company said integration with the automation platform will enable live log editing, playlist delivery, real-time reconciliation and automatic start and stop date synchronization between the two.

The automation system will also integrate with Salem’s MusicMaster music scheduling system.

Send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Salem to Standardize on WideOrbit Automation appeared first on Radio World.

This is one in a series of articles from the ebook “The Real World of AoIP.”

This story is excerpted from the ebook “The Real World of AoIP.” Click the cover to read it for free.

Radio World recently asked several manufacturers to identify the most important technical development or trend in the use of audio over IP.

“The biggest trend in 2021,” said Greg Shay, CTO of Telos Alliance, “is the empowering of live broadcast facilities to use the full range of IT industry resources, including public and private server resources, global fiber optic networks, failover redundancy, all at global competitive costs, and the personnel to support it all.”

He said the experience of the pandemic supercharged the demand for broadcasting from anywhere, from home, and forced less reliance on purpose-built facilities.

“Both sides, the broadcaster and the IT service provider, have learned more of what it takes to operate the Professional broadcast facility over IP,” Shay said.

“Social networks blazed a trail for personal broadcasting, using no more end equipment than a phone. The hitch is that it ‘works when it works, as well as it works.’ I maintain this is not due to the underlying technology but comes from assumptions made in how it is deployed.”

So far, he noted, professional broadcasters produce content with highly hardware-centric facilities.

“Where is the coming together in the middle? Is all that hardware plant, duplicating the global IT infrastructure, really required to reliably create, produce and deliver professional commercial content?

The answer to produce the reliable, always-on broadcast channel, Shay said, is to leverage the same global IT infrastructure that underpins the social networks, but with the resource allocation and planning for consistency needed by commercial users.

“It is not good enough ‘if it works when it works’, it has to always work,” he said.

“Audio over IP was the entryway for getting professional audio broadcasting onto the IT infrastructure. The IT infrastructure providers are now becoming aware of the needs and requirements of the commercial professional broadcasters, and are stepping up the level of their services, both operationally and contractually, to meet those needs.”

The post Greg Shay on AoIP Empowering Broadcast appeared first on Radio World.

Vittoria is a dual-Dante digital audio network controller and engine.

According to Glensound, Vittoria was initially designed for a specific project — serving as a backbone for a large legislative debating chamber. It proved successful and was put into commercial product development.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

Each of its two independent Dante networks has 32-channels of audio inputs and outputs for up to 96 kHz or 16 channels at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz. In addition there are fully redundant power supplies and word clock in and out. Glensound says that the sample rate converters between the networks are “high-quality” and they support sampling rates between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz. The networks can operate at different sampling rates.

Due to its original mission, to operate as part of the technical installation within a legislative chamber, the Vittoria network audio bridge has a strong firewall between the two networks. In essence one network cannot see the other network.

Glensound Managing Director Marc Wilson said, “There is increasing demand for products that provide isolated Dante networks or can work in Dante and AES67 simultaneously and independently of each other … This is something we have been asked for in recent years and we are very pleased to introduce Vittoria for this very specific but increasingly important application … and fulfills a growing need with the broadcast and sound markets.”

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: www.glensound.com

 

The post Glensound Introduces Vittoria appeared first on Radio World.

Several changes to U.S. radio technical rules are on the agenda for the July 13 meeting of the Federal Communications Commission.

“We’re cleaning up our broadcast radio rules,” wrote Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She said a notice of proposed rulemaking will be voted on that is intended to fix rules that are “redundant, outdated or in conflict with other rules.”

If this NPRM is approved, the commission would then take public comments on these proposed changes, for final action later.

What follows is a summary of the changes. The full proposal is posted on the Radio World website.

Maximum Rated Transmitter Power for AM Stations

This proposal would change section 73.1665(b) to remove the maximum rated transmitter power limit for AM stations.

“We tentatively conclude that an equipment limitation on potential transmitter power is outdated and unnecessary given our current reliance on actual operating antenna input power as the most accurate and effective means of ensuring that AM stations adhere to their authorized (nominal) power limits.”

The change would remove the maximum rated transmitter power for AM stations as set out in an appendix and delete a corresponding table.

NCE Community of License Coverage

This would change two rule sections that were adopted in 1997 to “harmonize” with the NCE FM community coverage standard in another section, which was adopted later.

“This change will create consistency across different rules regarding the requirement for community coverage for NCE FM stations,” the commission said.

The requirement in the newer section that stations reach 50% of their community of license or 50% of the population in their community would replace the more general requirement in the older sections stating that the station must cover “a portion of the community.”

“We propose to amend these two rules to state that an NCE FM station operating on a reserved channel must provide a predicted 60 dBμ signal to at least 50% of its community of license or reach 50% of the population within the community.”

FM Transmitter Interference to Nearby Antennas

The third change would eliminate section 73.316(d), “which we tentatively conclude is an unnecessary burden on applicants.”

The commission said this rule is used rarely and it tentatively concluded that the rule “does not prevent interference to any significant degree, if at all.”

The section says that applications proposing the use of FM transmitting antennas within 60 meters of other FM or TV broadcast antennas must include a showing as to the expected effect, if any.

The FCC says it is not aware of any industry complaints of this kind of interference over the 70 years that the rule has been on the books.

NCE FM Class D Second-Adjacent Channel Interference Ratio

Next, the FCC wants to change a section that sets out signal strength contour overlap requirements for NCE FM Class D stations, “to harmonize the requirements with the more permissive standard applied to all other NCE-FM stations.” It said it wants to be consistent across different NCE FM station classes regarding contour overlap limits.

“We tentatively conclude that the current Class D contour overlap requirement is not necessary given the proven efficacy of the less restrictive requirements for other stations and anticipate that this change will allow Class D stations greater site selection flexibility as well as the opportunity to potentially increase their coverage areas.”

Back in 2000 the commission said this change was warranted but it deferred action because of the pending creation of a low-power FM service.

“The LPFM service has now been established and is currently a relatively mature service, so we tentatively conclude that the time is ripe to extend the otherwise universal 100 dBu contour overlap standard for second-adjacent channels to NCE FM Class D stations.

Protection for Grandfathered Common Carriers in Alaska in the 76-100 MHz Band

Here, the commission would delete a requirement that radio stations in the 76–100 MHz band protect common carrier services in Alaska. It said there are no such services remaining.

Earlier, existing common carrier operations had been grandfathered in with the understanding that they would gradually move to other parts of the spectrum.

AM Fill-in Area Definition

The FCC wants to tweak the definition of “AM fill-in area” in one part of the rules to conform to the requirement in another part that the “coverage contour of an FM translator rebroadcasting an AM radio broadcast station as its primary station must be contained within the greater of either the 2 mV/m daytime contour of the AM station or a 25-mile (40 km) radius centered at the AM transmitter site.” The goal is consistency across the rules for fill-in translator transmitter siting.

International Agreements

Last, the commission plans to amend the allocation and power limitations for broadcast stations within 320 kilometers of the Mexican and Canadian borders to comply with current treaty provisions.

-The 1991 U.S.-Canada FM Broadcasting Agreement contains minimum distance separations but offers contour overlap parameters for short-spaced stations to demonstrate compliance, so the FCC wants to remove a reference to the agreement and include contour overlap-based protection for short-spaced stations. It would also replace an existing table with updated minimum distance separations agreed upon in 1997.

-Similarly, the commission wants to remove a reference to the 1992 U.S.-Mexico Broadcasting Agreement and include contour overlap-based protection for short-spaced stations.

-It proposes to update sections governing FM translators located near the Canadian and Mexican borders, to conform with the relevant treaties.

-Last, it would revise language about translator power limitations near the borders. The changes are intended to codify the international agreements, so if the NPRM passes, the commission will ask commenters “to focus on whether the proposed changes properly implement the relevant treaty provisions rather than suggest changes to any of the agreed-upon limits.”

The post Radio Technical Rules to Be Cleaned Up appeared first on Radio World.

Proponents of a power increase for LPFM stations in the United States can point to hundreds of comments in favor of raising the maximum power level for many stations to 250 watts. But the National Association of Broadcasters continues to express strong opposition.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal from REC Networks that would amend Parts 73 and 74 of the rules to create an LP-250 class of service with an effective service contour of about 4-1/2 miles. This would be in addition to the current LP-100 service. The proposal also would set a maximum HAAT for new or modified LP-100 facilities of about 1,480 feet.

The commission modified its low-power FM rules in 2020 to allow for engineering improvements that improved reception of some LPFMs and opened up options for station relocation. At that time it rejected a bid to allow 250 watts, and a recent FCC decision affirmed the actions in that order.

REC Networks in the meantime submitted a fresh proposal that it believes resolves the FCC’s earlier concerns. Comments on that were due yesterday, and the vast majority favor an increase, citing the benefit to local communities.

However, NAB urged the commission to reject the petition, saying it is similar to petitions that have already been rejected on technical and policy grounds. It says the proposal would risk significant overcrowding of the already congested FM band, cause increased interference with other services and take LPFM beyond its original intention as a hyperlocal service.

Passionate support

The support for REC’s “Simple LP250” among grassroots advocates revealed the passion of some LPFM listeners and station operators.

“In Chicago, WLPN(LP) has been on the vanguard, with 24 hours of programming in multiple languages, with a focus on serving the historically underserved members of the community,” wrote radio listener Keefer Dunn. “Allowing a station like WLPN to increase its signal strength would allow it to reach more Chicagoans on the South and West sides, two areas of historic underinvestment.”

The proposal is supported by WQFB(LP) in Flagler Beach, Fla. “With an increase in power WQFB has an opportunity to obtain additional underwriters and listeners … to assist with the funding needed for equipment upgrade and additional programming and staff,” the station wrote.

Wayne Johnson, station manager for WGPG(LP) in Battle Creek, Mich., told the FCC the station would be thankful for any power increase to enable it to increase coverage area.

“Our signal strength is very weak, causing a lot of static in the main business district on the south side of town. This discourages our listeners from continually listening to our broadcast as they travel through town. We are a religious station and we believe that we are providing unique programming to the Battle Creek residents. It would really help our effectiveness if the maximum wattage output was raised from 100 to 250 watts,” Johnson wrote.

KFXY(LP), licensed to Mesa, Ariz., commented: “KFXY supports this small increase in power as it would help our station and many others with getting our signal into buildings in our 60 dB and fighting off interference from distant stations.”

Even the mayor of Monona, Wis., wrote on behalf of WVMO(LP), which is licensed to her city: “WVMO went on the air in August of 2015. Since that time the radio station has become a tremendous asset to Monona and the east side of Madison, Wis. Our little station has provided hyperlocal programming,” wrote Mary O’Connor.

O’Connor hosts a weekly interview segment on the station called “Monona Lowdown” in which she answers citizen’s questions and updates the community on the latest happenings.

Opposition

NAB based part of its opposition to LP-250 on the potential of overcrowding a congested FM band.

“Moreover, (a power boost) is simply unnecessary. The FCC has already bent over backwards to improve LPFM service coverage by permitting the use of translators, boosters and other measures,” it wrote.

“Essentially, LPFM advocates are asking that LPFM stations be permitted to enjoy the same (or even greater) coverage as full-service Part 73 FM stations, but without the same public interest and regulatory obligations. Such an obvious end-run around the commission’s rules would set a dangerous precedent.”

NAB continued: “The petition still fails to justify a total overhaul of LPFM service. FM broadcasters report that too many LPFM stations already transmit at higher than authorized power or from an unauthorized location, cause frequent interference and hinder translator service, among other problems, under the current 100-watt regime. Allowing LPFMs to substantially increase their power would unnecessarily exacerbate these harms.”

If REC’s proposal is ultimately approved, NAB asks that the FCC create a system for ensuring technical compliance by LPFM stations.

NAB said it understands “that authorizing LP-250 service would allow some LPFM stations to slightly expand the reach of the few LPFM stations that actually provide meaningful local content,” but on balance, “it is far more important to preserve reliable access to the news and information provided by incumbent radio broadcasters.”

The FCC, which has indicated another filing window for new entrant LPFM construction permits is on the horizon, says there is no reply comment period for this petition.

The post LP-250 FM Petition Draws Lots of Interest appeared first on Radio World.

Does it really matter if your broadcast facility is just a little off — say 256 feet — from its permitted coordinates? What about if those coordinates are more than two miles off?

Those were the issues up for debate between the Federal Communications Commission and a low-power broadcaster in Nevada who is now is left with an expired license and deleted call letters after failing to convince the FCC that an unauthorized broadcasting claim was just a simple mistake.

Back in early August 2019, Chinese Voice of Golden City filed an application to modify its license for KQLS(LP) in Las Vegas to correct the coordinates of its antenna site.

[Read: LPFM Station Faces $25,000 FCC Penalty]

An “inadvertent error” led Chinese Voice to actually operate its facility 256 feet away from the spot specified in the license, the broadcaster said. Chinese Voice was confused why the FCC granted its initial application in mid-August 2019 and then four days later rescinded the license grant, saying that it was never told why —  the station continued operating in full compliance with the commission rules, albeit at a location 256 feet away from its licensed spot.

Chinese Voice said that since its Chinese-language programming serves the public interest, the FCC would do well to grant the station a Special Temporary Authority to keep broadcasting at the same site.

The Media Bureau responded to say that while the licensee correctly determined that its coordinates were off by 256 feet, any change in station geographic coordinates can only be made after a construction grant permit has been approved. That means that Chinese Voice has been operating at an unauthorized site for more than a year.

The actions from those kinds of unauthorized actions are significant: expiration of the license and deletion of call letters for stations operating at an unauthorized facility for 12 months or longer. As a result, the bureau dismissed both the earlier modification application request and the request for an STA and outright deleted the station’s call sign.

Chinese Voice filed a petition for reconsideration but that too was denied. The facts of this case do not support reinstatement of the license, the bureau said, for two reasons. One, Chinese Voice used a license modification application to request the coordinate change (which is the wrong way to go about it). Two, the FCC can only reinstate an expired license when failure to broadcast at the proper site “was for a compelling reason beyond the licensee’s control.” That was not the case here, the bureau said.

Chinese Voice tried again, filing an application for review and asking the bureau to review its earlier decision. It was at this point that the results of the Enforcement Bureau’s 2019 investigations were revealed.

The Enforcement Bureau found that even though the station admitted that it had been using a mobile facility to operate 256 feet away from the official permit site, it also subsequently relocated the station —without commission approval — to a different rooftop location that is nearly 2.3 miles from the permitted site. Following Enforcement Bureau inspections, Chinese Voice then stopped operating from that site and resumed operations at its mobile facilities.

Failing to mention that the station had been operating for 15 months a spot more than 2 miles away was a significant finding. In its final opinion and order on the matter, the Media Bureau found that Chinese Voice may have “withheld material information … and made incorrect statements to the commission … when it repeatedly claimed that the station’s actual transmitter site was never changed.” As a result, the bureau speculated that the licensee had perhaps “engaged in misrepresentation and/or lack of candor.”

The result: The call letters for KQLS have been deleted and the license has expired. Looking ahead, the bureau said it will require Chinese Voice to attach a copy of its final reconsideration order to any broadcast application filed within the next five years.

The nonprofit Common Frequency called the decision a “major let-down,” saying the FCC’s final opinion and order reveals a weakness in LPFM rules. How accurate does an LPFM permittee need to be when building their facility, asked Todd Urick, program and technical director of Common Frequency. “The commission’s Section 73.1690(c)(11) of the rules gives leeway to many facilities that currently are not exactly on the cross-hairs of their licensed coordinates. Is that same comfort not extended to LPFM?”

“This oversight in the rules needs further clarification or amendment within the LPFM rules,” he said.

 

The post LPFM Sees Call Sign Deleted After Unauthorized Broadcasting Claim appeared first on Radio World.

Photo: Tim Feagan

iHeartMedia station WOOD(FM) in central western Michigan is off the air due to a fire at its transmitter facility.

According to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters the station in Grand Rapids/Muskegon suffered a lightning strike during a severe thunderstorm and the signal “may be down for a week.”

MAB posted this image, which was taken by iHeart’s Market President Tim Feagan.

The WOOD website says its signal at 106.9 is down and “is currently being worked on.” It pointed listeners to WOOD Radio at 1300 on the AM band, its website or the iHeartRadio app.

 

The post Fire Is Not Good for WOOD appeared first on Radio World.

Kim Komando is offering a new one-minute vignette program at no cost to radio stations.

 It’s an afternoon tech news update with a 60-second commercial.

“Examples of the digital insider tips that Komando will deliver to her radio audience include how to stop robocalls by changing one smartphone setting, ransomware prevention secrets and the best parental control smartphone apps,” her company stated in a press release.

 “It is offered to music, talk and sports radio stations as well as podcast and streaming platforms free of charge.”

Komando’s weekend radio show has 420 affiliates and is heard on the American Forces Radio Network. She does a daily morning tech news update that is heard on 389 stations.

“The new daily afternoon tech tip stems from an increase in listener demand.”

Komando began her career in tech as a salesperson pitching Unisys mainframes to corporate clients. She started writing and broadcasting about digital in the early 1990s and launched her radio career with a late-night call-in show about computers on an AM station in Phoenix.

 

The post Komando Launches Afternoon Tech Update appeared first on Radio World.

Cumulus Media named James Robinson as its vice president and market manager for Birmingham, Ala., where the company has five stations. Robinson steps into the role previously held by Bill Gentry, who is no longer with the company.

Robinson is former VP and director of sales, radio, television and digital for Univision Communications in San Antonio.

He has also held sales leadership roles for Radio One in Houston and for iHeartMedia in Washington, St. Louis and Memphis.

[Read: Boden Will Run Cumulus D.C. Cluster]

Robinson said the Cumulus stations in Birmingham “are iconic brands that have a history of deep commitment to the community and partner success.”

The cluster comprises urban AC station Hot 107.7/WUHT(FM) and several sports outlets. They are JOX 94.5 WJOX(FM), JOX 2 100.5 ESPN WJQX(FM), JOX 3 690 WJOX(AM) and Talk 99.5 WAPI(AM)/WZRR(FM).

The announcement was made by Mark Sullivan, senior vice president, operations at Cumulus.

 

The post Cumulus Tabs Robinson in Birmingham appeared first on Radio World.

The DRM Consortium says one of the benefits of its digital radio technology is the potential savings on power bills. Now it is promoting a calculator tool that it says can determine how much energy would be saved by a user that switches from analog to Digital Radio Mondiale.

The calculator was created by Simon Keens, sales and business development manager of Ampegon Power Electronics AG, which is a member of the consortium.

“The DRM Energy Efficiency Calculator (https://energyefficiency.drm.org) has been created using typical performance data from transmitter manufacturers,” the organization stated.

“It then calculates total expected energy usage for up to 10 transmitters by considering operational mode, time on-air and broadcasting technique assessing the energy consumption and electricity costs, based upon local market information.”

It said in the announcement that by comparing data sets for analog and DRM digital operations, it can estimate the potential “and often huge” savings broadcasters might expect from switching over to DRM.

DRM says the tool can be programmed into an Excel spreadsheet and distributed in PDF reports summarizing the findings.

The consortium will demonstrate it in an upcoming webinar on June 30.

 

The post DRM Calculator Highlights Power Savings appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC’s Media Bureau is reminding U.S. broadcasters that this is an odd-numbered year, so they’ll have to file their biennial ownership reports this fall.

It issued a public notice reminding them that the window for filing Form 323 or 323-E will open in October.

This applies to licensees of commercial and noncommercial AM and FM radio stations, full-power television, Class A TV and low-power TV stations.

“Reporting such information has long been a fundamental obligation of broadcast licensees,” the Media Bureau said in a public notice.

“The accurate, and timely, filing of ownership information is critical to ensuring that the public knows who owns, operates, and controls broadcast stations. Additionally, accurate and timely ownership information is crucial to an understanding of the broadcast industry as a whole, including an understanding of the diversity and multiplicity of owners.”

Radio and TV stations are in the midst of the license renewal process. The license renewal application, Form 2100, Schedule 303-S, requires broadcast licensees to certify compliance with the biennial ownership reporting requirement.

“We remind licensees that, as part of its review of license renewal applications, Bureau staff will be reviewing whether licensees have filed their 2019 and 2021 biennial ownership information and whether they have certified truthfully concerning compliance with the filing requirement.”

Stations also must maintain a current ownership report in their Online Public Inspection Files.

The bureau encouraged licensees to prepare in advance for the window that opens Oct. 1 “and to review carefully their compliance with the filing requirement as they prepare and file their license renewal applications.”

 

The post FCC Ownership Report Season Is Ahead appeared first on Radio World.

An image from the Xperi Mexico website.

Xperi said that as of this month, HD Radio has been in use in Mexico for 10 years. The technology company took the occasion to report that 41% of the country’s broadcast audience now can hear a digital signal, covering a potential listening population of 50 million.

It said there are about 200 digital channels available and that 25 car brands have integrated HD Radio technology in 128 car models.

[Read: Xperi Has Big Ambitions for DTS AutoStage]

Xperi quoted José Luis Rodríguez Aguirre, the president of the board of the commercial broadcast association CIRT, saying, “We will continue supporting the implementation of HD Radio technology to further expand digital radio coverage in Mexico.”

The anniversary was noted by Xperi Mexico’s Fabián Zamarrón, who was quoted, “Radio continues to be the anchor for consumers’ media diet, with nine out of 10 vehicle owners surveyed saying it is important to have radio in their dashboard.”

Globally, Xperi said HD Radio technology is available in 75 million automobiles and is integrated by over 40 auto manufacturers. Its estimate is that including HD subchannels, there are about 4,700 channels of programming in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

 

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Audacy is making a bigger bet on sports gambling.

Continuing its rampup, it has announced format changes for seven broadcast stations that now become part of the BetQL Network.

All are on the AM dial, and there is one associated FM signal.

The company says its gambling-oriented programming can now be heard in 12 U.S. markets.

Here are the stations flipping to “The Bet”:

• Baltimore – The Bet 1300AM (WJZ-AM)
• Detroit – The Bet 1270AM (WXYT-AM)
• Houston – The Bet 650AM (KIKK-AM)
• Kansas City – The Bet 1660AM (KWOD-AM)
• Las Vegas – The Bet 1140AM (KXST-AM)
• New Orleans – The Bet 1350AM and 92.9FM (WWWL-AM) (launching June 28)
• Washington D.C. – The Bet 1580AM (WJFK-AM)

Audacy previously launched “The Bet” on an AM station in Denver and on two HD Radio multicast channels, one in Chicago, the other in L.A.

It says “BetQL Network” programming also can be heard on 560 The Joe WQAM (WQAM-AM) in Miami, The New Sportsradio 910 AM / 105.1 FM The Fan (WRNL-AM/FM) in Richmond and 980 The Team (WTEM-AM) in Washington D.C.

“Future stations will be announced in the coming months as markets legalize sports betting,” it stated. Also the company plans to distribute the network “via affiliate opportunities with additional network providers,” details yet to be announced.

The announcement was made by Jeff Sottolano, executive vice president of programming. Audacy also introduced an updated daily programming lineup for the network.

Sports is huge for Audacy, which describes itself as “the unrivaled leader in sports radio, reaching three times more people than the leading competitor.” It bases that on owning 39 all-sports stations and a portfolio that it says reaches 30 million sports fans monthly and is home to 41 professional teams and 50 Division I college programs. Its investment in radio programming centered around sports betting will be closely watched.

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Bob Moore, more recently, and Bob Moore on the cover of Broadcast Engineering in August, 1978.

Bob Moore, a retired radio engineer also known in the industry for refurbishing PR&E consoles later in his life, has died at age 72 at his home in Fremont, Mich.

According to his obituary he died following a lingering illness after a 2017 motorcycle accident.

He was former chief engineer at WJNL in Michigan, WBAP and KSCS in Fort Worth/Dallas, KTNQ in Los Angeles and WCBS in New York. His friend and colleague Tom Atkins, vice president/director of engineering of Saga Communications, recalls first meeting Moore in 1978 at WKBW in Buffalo, where Moore was an assistant to Peter Burk for several years.

From 1985 to 1991, according to his LinkedIn page, Moore was “customer service guru” for Pacific Recorders. Later, after retiring in 2000, he returned to Michigan and started Mooretronix, which specialized in the sale and service of Pacific Recorders & Engineering consoles, modules and accessories for the broadcast community.

In 2017 Moore was involved in a motorcycle crash in Anchorage, Alaska. According to a Radio World news article, Moore and friends were returning from a motorcycle vacation to the Yukon Territory in Canada when the accident occurred.

 

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