Radio+Television Business Report

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLA. — In a blow to one of the nation’s biggest broadcast television companies, the FCC‘s Media Bureau on Wednesday (4/21) in a memorandum opinion and order denied a “Good Faith” complaint against Frontier Communications in response to the discontinued distribution of the ABC affiliate focused on Sarasota and Manatee Counties of Florida.

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Radio and TV C-Suiters are obsessed with millennials. They’ve been credited with upending entire industries, says an eMarketer analyst, and retail is hardly an exception.

He’s penned a piece on what retailers need to know about attracting and retaining consumers from this consumer group.

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The New York Festivals Radio Awards has named content creators and “global storytellers” Jennie Caltaldo, Helen Shaw, and Carole Zimmer to the Radio Awards Advisory Board.

The 13-member Advisory Council, formed in 2010, is comprised of content creators and thought-leaders within the radio industry. They provide NYF’s Radio Awards competition with ongoing knowledge of emerging trends and critical industry insights.

Cataldo is the VP of Programming and a radio and podcast producer for BMP Audio, owned by Ben Manilla.

Shaw is the Founder/Director of Ireland-based Athena Media. She ran RTE Radio for five years, launching RTE Lyric fm and leading RTE’s digital transformation before taking a sabbatical at Harvard University.

Zimmer is a freelance reporter for The New York Times and host of the Now What? podcast. Her resume includes stints at Bloomberg, NPR, and the CBS and NBC radio networks.

The Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community.

This year is the eleventh year of NYF’s strategic partnership with NAB Show, the ultimate marketplace for people passionate about media, entertainment, and technology. All attendees will have access to the multi-day NAB event which is the world’s largest media entertainment marketplace taking place in October 2021.

The deadline to enter the 2021 Radio Awards competition is May 20. To enter please visit HERE

Across the Southeast’s biggest emerging Hispanic markets, perhaps no company has invested more in reaching this Spanish-language audio content consumer of late than Norsan Media.

Now, it is grabbing what will become its third radio brand in the largest city in the U.S. by square miles.

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Say goodbye to the Westwood One Podcast Network.

Starting May 6, it will have a new name — one that reflects WWO’s parent company.

Introducing the Cumulus Podcast Network.

According to the company led by Mary Berner, the move consolidates Cumulus’ national and local podcasts into one entity, “capturing the full breadth and diversity of the portfolio and providing advertisers with a comprehensive offering of podcasts, in addition to streaming, mobile, social and display.”

There will be no change in duties for Cumulus EVP/Corporate Marketing and Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes, who will continue to manage the company’s podcast sales network. 

“Placing our podcasts under the Cumulus umbrella allows us to offer our advertising partners easy access to the company’s full arsenal of digital products,” Grimes said. “This exciting expansion takes our fast-growing podcast network to the next level, as well as simplifies the buying process for agencies and brands, allowing our partners to seamlessly tap into the full power of our premium on-demand audio content.”

Hearst Television has promoted its Director of Human Resources to VP of the department.

It’s an individual celebrating five years with the company.

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America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) and PBS on Tuesday shared their thoughts with the FCC in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on changes to the Emergency Alert System.

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One of the nation’s two direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV services provider just took a further step toward becoming a much broader operator — a better competitor to the traditional MVPD.

And, it is thanks in part to the selection of an Amazon.com company to help get the job done.

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Until this morning, it was largely understood that a 16-year Nielsen veteran who had been a highly visible member of the company’s global audience measurement team would be transitioning to Roku.

It was a conclusion made by connecting the dots: Roku some seven weeks ago agreed to purchase Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising business, and that deal closed April 16.

However, it turns out this Nielsen pro isn’t going to Roku. Instead, she’s going to a Comcast arm.

Kelly Abcarian has just accepted the role of EVP/Measurement & Impact within NBCUniversal‘s Advertising and Partnerships division.

NBCU made the revelation early Wednesday (4/21), calling Abcarian an “industry-renowned advanced advertising leader.” In her new role, Abcarian will “spearhead the company’s rapidly accelerating cross-platform and full-funnel measurement capabilities, leading innovation from impressions to impact at a local, national and global level across NBCUniversal’s One Platform.”

Abcarian reports into Krishan Bhatia, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships’ President & Chief Business Officer, and will collaborate closely with the division’s Sales, Planning, Strategy, Partnerships and Ad Platforms & Operations functions “to build on the company’s position as a leading media and technology company to set a new standard for the future of all-screen measurement, advanced advertising solutions, and data-driven insights.”

“Kelly’s addition to our team represents a step change for our company and the industry, when it comes to the future of cross-platform measurement and data innovation,” Bhatia said. “Consumers have established an all-screen future and we’re doubling down on our position to usher in the next era of measurement. Kelly has decades-long measurement and advanced advertising experience, along with deep connections within the media industry and a partnership track record across CTV/OTT platforms.”

Bhatia adds that Abcarian will play an important role in the growth and development of NBCUniversal’s data strategy, including efforts such as NBCU ID and the Audience Insights Hub, which NBCU believes “will drive greater transparency, interoperability and results for brands while maintaining privacy as a core tenant.”

“She will also be an essential voice in the marketplace, working to partner with many of the leading trade organizations, measurement and technology companies on solutions and industry-wide initiatives,” NBCU notes.

“If you look across the industry, the signals are clear: we must collectively decide to embrace the future that our audiences have created,” Abcarian commented. “NBCUniversal is on the cutting-edge of next-generation measurement and targeting. And I’m thrilled to join the expert team behind One Platform and work to provide marketers the resources and techniques they need to fully understand the impact of their investments.”

Abcarian most recently served as GM of Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising Group, where she led the company’s addressable initiatives including the strategic acquisitions of several key players within the space. Prior to that, Abcarian led Nielsen’s global audience measurement product portfolio where she was responsible for the creation of Nielsen’s Total Audience Product suite, along with the development of Digital Ad Ratings for CTV.

Before joining Nielsen in May 2005, Abcarian held leadership positions at Oracle, Siebel Systems and Arthur Andersen.

On April 9, the media company known for more than 50 years as Entercom Communications officially changed its ticker symbol to “AUD” to reflect its new corporate identity, Audacy.

On Tuesday, trading in AUD hit a fresh post-rebranding low, bringing it to its lowest price since the first day of March.

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It boasts a Construction Permit for a 4kw signal from a tower in the heart of the Ozarks’ resort region of Missouri.

Now, it is being spun from one not-for-profit operation to another.

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DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — Tune to 1230 kHz in Westchester County, and you’ll hear a Cumulus Media Sports Talker using a facility licensed for 1,000 watts from 1 tower located between the Sprain Brook Parkway and Interstate 87.

Its signal also reaches Rockland County, N.Y., and Bergen County, N.J.

Come May 24, it will become the third AM station in the nation to abandon its analog signal.

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The individual who has served as SVP/General Manager of NBC Sports Chicago, the Comcast-owned RSN serving the Windy City, has been appointed President/GM of the two NBC-owned stations housed on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

Getting the new duties, putting him in charge of NBC O&O WMAQ-5 and Telemundo sibling WSNS-44 is Kevin Cross.

He’s a veteran Chicagoland media executive and takes the job as David Doebler will retire, effective June 1, after eight years in the role, longtime Chicago media reporter Robert Feder reports.

Cross will retain his NBC Sports Chicago role, adding the WSNS and WMAQ duties.

Cross began his career at the former SportsChannel Chicago as a producer, in 1993. It became Fox Sports Chicago in 1998, and rose to Senior Producer.

Later, he held the role of President/Executive Producer of Timeline Productions and as Executive Producer of Sports for CLTV.

A first-of-its-kind demonstration is scheduled for the ongoing NAB Show Premiere virtual conference that aims to show how news companies “can embrace the interactive content opportunities of NEXTGEN TV to fight misinformation as the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard continues its national rollout on a voluntary basis.

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Standard Media Index has just released its March 2021 data, and the total monthly media investment was “way up,” it reports.

In fact, it was up 22% versus March 2020, which was down 13% from a year earlier as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on North American shores.

The gains in the last month of Q1 2021 lifted this year’s ad investment higher than pre-pandemic levels, SMI notes: March 2021 investment was up 6.3% versus March 2019.

That said, radio broadcasting executives should not get too excited, as Digital continues to lead the growth, rising 27% in March versus last year. Further exacerbating matters for the Radio industry: TV’s “very strong” March, rising 13% versus 2020.

This, SMI says, is the “first real year-over-year increase in over a year,” excluding a 1% increase in August 2020.

To view SMI’s report, with graphics, please click here

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Deloitte has released the results of its 15th annual Digital Media Trends Survey.

It reveals how COVID-19 and shifting generational preferences are reshaping the U.S. media and entertainment landscape. How this may impact the future growth of broadcast television and radio makes this essential reading for your organization.

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Eleven years ago, an influential Member of the House of Representatives crafted legislation passed into law by President Obama designed to eliminate those jarring commercial breaks where the audio is out of sync with the regular programming — and much louder in volume.

In recent months, however, jarring TV spots have reemerged at over-the-air and cable TV, leading this politician on April 14 to seek — for the second time — an FCC investigation into the matter.

The Commission has now agreed to do so.

On April 14, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)  sent a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel specifically requesting the Commission investigate ” a reported increase in complaints related to loud television advertisements that may violate the CALM Act.”

The jump in complaints came concurrent to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more people sequestered in their homes and watching television. Thus, the loudness issue could have predated the arrival of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. It was the virus that likely exposed the problem to a greater degree.

Eshoo became aware of the problem. On July 21, 2020, she wrote to then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai requesting information about complaints related to and enforcement of the CALM Act.

The Pai Commission did not act.

On March 31, 2021, online publication Business Insider followed up on the complaints by offering a lengthy feature story that examined the four-month period from November 2020 to February 2021. In this timeframe, FCC complaints of loud commercials increased 140% compared to the same period a year ago — more than double the volume of complaints.

For TV broadcasters and cable operators, the CALM Act requires any station to abide by the A/85 standard approved by the ATSC, the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The FCC is the enforcement agency.

Eshoo was quoted in the Business Insider article, which makes the assumption that “2021 is poised to be the worst year since the initial rollout” of the CALM Act.

Fueled by the online report, Eshoo then pleaded to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “This worries me a great deal,” she wrote to Rosenworcel.

It appears the FCC under Democratic Party influence is worried, to. On Monday (4/19), the Media Bureau moved forward with the issuance of a public notice inviting comment from consumers and industry leaders on whether any updates are needed to the Commission’s rules implementing the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.

Comments are due by June 3. Reply Comments are due by July 9.

“We seek comment on the extent to which our rules have been effective in preventing loud commercials,” the Media Bureau states. ‘In particular, we invite consumers to tell us their experiences as they watch programming provided by television broadcasters and MVPDs.”

In response, Eshoo said, “I welcome the FCC’s action to protect consumers from the vexing issue of loud TV ads. I authored the law to put an end to this national irritant, but complaints are rising again. I welcome the decision of the FCC to hear complaints from the American people. I urge everyone who is annoyed to submit their complaints to the FCC about loud ads to ensure violations of the CALM Act can be investigated.”

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — He was most recently VP of Programming Communications and Special Projects for Cumulus Media and Westwood One.

Now, he’ll serve as a National Sales Manager for the United States at key Westchester County-based radio tech company RCS.

Taking the job is Aaron Roberts, who will focus his efforts around the GSelector, Aquira and Revma products. Roberts will also chair the RCS Academy, comprised of self-paced, online courses for individuals with basic to advanced knowledge of music scheduling and radio automation using GSelector and Zetta.

Roberts’ radio career spans over 20 years in operations and programming, including stops at WRQQ/Nashville; WIOT/Toledo, Ohio; and WROV/Roanoke, Va. He’s also served as Operations Manager for Citadel’s former Scranton, Pa., station group.

Roberts also has record industry experience, and was a Southeast Regional representative for Trauma Records.

“Aaron is a perfect fit for our team of talented radio experts,” says Neal Perchuk, RcS’s VP of Sales for the Americas, who Roberts reports to. “Aaron’s commitment to quality, professional radio is unmatched. We are excited to share his particular skills with our clients.”

KAISERSLAUTERN, GERMANY — Starwaves, a developer and distributor of receiver technologies centered around the digital broadcast standard DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale), has joined forces with a supplier in the field of broadcast encoder and receiver components for DRM to develop an Android app that allows DRM reception on mobile devices.

Starwaves enables Android phones and tablets to receive entertainment, text information, and emergency warnings via DRM Digital Radio.

The Starwaves technology is based on Fraunhofer technology.

Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is being pitched as the “digital successor standard to the classic AM and FM radio services.”

Radio reception with mobile phones and tablets combines the mobility and flexibility of these devices with the benefits of free-to-air radio services.

And, it solves a conundrum that plagued NextRadio, a one-time unit of Emmis Communications, while the ambitious Soundot app failed due to lack of publicity and industry support.

Starwaves has been active in the field of DRM radio receivers for many years. The “STARWAVES DRM SoftRadio” app was developed in close cooperation with Fraunhofer IIS. Its goal: to ensure easy access to innovative DRM radio services for everybody.

It is available from now in the Google and Amazon Android app stores.

“The app provides listeners with access to all the essential features of the DRM digital radio standard, across all transmission bands from DRM on long wave to FM band and VHF band-III,” Starwaves says.

Fraunhofer IIS is a significant co-developer of core digital radio technologies.

This includes the innovative xHE-AAC audio codec, which provides high audio quality at lowest data rates, as well as the Journaline application, which gives radio listeners access to news, the latest sports updates, local weather forecasts, travel tips, and even radio schooling services without requiring internet access.

The app also supports many more DRM features such as the Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF), image slideshows, station logos, and service descriptions including Unicode support for worldwide application.

To provide all these services, the app only requires a standard off-the-shelf SDR RF dongle that is attached to the device’s USB port.

“We are proud to launch the world’s first low-cost full-featured DRM digital radio reception solution for mobile devices, developed in close partnership with Fraunhofer IIS. Now everybody can easily upgrade their existing mobile phone and tablet to enjoy DRM digital radio with its undistorted audio quality and advanced features including Journaline,” says Johannes von Weyssenhoff, founder of Starwaves.

— RBR+TVBR European News Desk