Radio+Television Business Report

As Angie Balderas, the SVP of Entravision Communications’ Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto, Calif., radio stations sees it, the pandemic hit the Spanish-language radio industry in the U.S. “probably harder than any other traditional media.”

Why? Stay-at-home ordinances and remote work mandates eliminated the daily commute. As a result, from her perspective, in-car radio listening and ad revenue “plummeted” during the early months of the global COVID-19 2020 shutdown.

Now, dollars are surging, she says.

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Podcast Business Journal

eMarketer is reporting that while Spotify continues to expand its podcast listenership in the US, Apple Podcasts’ has stagnated. eMarketer is forecasting that Spotify will surpass Apple in listenership by the end of this year.

eMarketer projects that Spotify will have 28.2 million monthly podcast listeners over Apple’s 28.0 million, and they predict that number will increase in the years ahead.

eMarketer also reports that overall listenership to podcasts will slow down for the next few years. “Despite this overall deceleration, Spotify’s growth among that listener base will continue to increase through the end of our forecast period in 2025.”

As has been reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, radio stations that are clients of Marketron have been impacted by a weekend incident that saw Russian hackers invade the ad scheduling software business, crippling operations.

Among those impacted: Hall Communications. And, the stations’ Executive VP and Burlington, Vt., General Manager went to Gray Television-owned WCAX-3 to share how the Marketron troubles directly impacted their operation.

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It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted radio broadcasting companies across the latter half of 2020. For Hispanic-targeted AMs and FMs, the pandemic significantly altered the advertising landscape.

But, by how much? That was the first topic for discussion as the Hispanic Radio Conference kicked off Wednesday afternoon in Miami — making it the first broadcast media industry event held for a national audience since NATPE MIAMI in January 2020.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — An executive of The E.W. Scripps Co. who serves as Associate Dean of the Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) program, has signed on to a letter co-signed by the program’s two other associate deans and the program’s dean that asks the House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader to throw their support behind a reinstatement of the FCC’s Minority Tax Certificate program.

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If you are gearing up for participation in the auction of Construction Permits for low-power television and TV translator stations — the hallmark of the FCC’s “Auction 111” — then this is an article you’re going to need to read.

Filing requirements, minimum opening bids, upfront payments and other procedures are now available, with bidding scheduled to begin in five months.

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One of the largest Hispanic markets in the country without a local Telemundo affiliate will not have to wait much longer.

The Spanish-language network will be marking New Year’s Day with its arrival in a big Midwest DMA, where Gray Television will make a low-power facility a sibling to the full-power UHF CBS affiliate it operates alongside the local affiliate for The CW Network.

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Between September and November 2020, Sinclair Broadcast Group shares finally started to rebound from pandemic-influenced lows, driven by the media company’s newly acquired regional sports networks and lack of live action to televise.

Since then, SBGI has been ensconced within a target range Wall Street analysts believe is fair for the company led by Chris Ripley. 

Where the company’s shares will go come November 2021 and beyond could be fueled by Sinclair’s third quarter performance. And, we now know when the company will be sharing its fiscal report card for the period ending September 30.

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Video communication engages two senses of our five: sight and sound.  But how can we stimulate the other three with the existing digital technology?  Longtime public relations pro and “Zoom expert” Rosemary Ravinal says it can be done through the memory of how things taste, feel and smell.

“Video calls favor what we see over what we hear by a ratio of 90 to 10 percent,” she says.  “That is because 90 percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.  We are wired to process and remember what we see more quickly and accurately than what we hear.”

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Travel to the northwest of San Antonio and you’ll reach beautiful Hill Country, an outdoors enthusiast’s Lone Star paradise that even includes a vineyard or two. En route to this area is the city of Boerne. Here, a daytime-only AM and its FM translator are trading hands.

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MIAMI — In the words of Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) President Emeritus David Honig, “We’re drowning in rulemakings!”

What does this mean for the over-the-air radio and TV station operator? Monitoring the news daily for updates is probably a good idea.

As RBR+TVBR concluded its preparations for its upcoming Fall 2021 Special Report, a printed publication distributed electronically to all RBR+TVBR Members and to TVB Forward 2021 attendees, the FCC has its hands full with several proposals involving Radio.

At the Hispanic Radio Conference on Thursday, Commissioner Nathan Simington could offer some clarity on these and other rulemakings of particular concern.

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Small business, restaurants, retailers and numerous other industries are facing a labor shortage.

Thus, Media Monitors says, looking at who’s advertising today on radio, broadcast television and local cable provides insights into the top companies looking to hire.

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The company gaining attention for its ability to add “dynamic visuals” to in-car dashboard radios, has struck a partnership with Skyview Networks designed to drive research and revenue growth.

As of January 1, 2022, Skyview will offer network radio advertisers exclusive access to Quu Inc.’s “unique ability to increase consumer brand awareness” when consumers hear audio commercials across Quu networks.

It’s all thanks to Quu’s ad-sync technology, which Skyview Networks will start to offer marketers through barter inventory options.

“With 80% of the cars on the road today capable of displaying synced text on vehicle dashboards, Quu affiliates across the country are enjoying a dramatic increase in listener engagement and sales,” Quu CEO Steve Newberry said. “Our multi-part partnership with Skyview is an extraordinary game-changer to expand this rapidly-growing footprint and for the first time — just in time for Skyview’s upfront — offer Visual Quus to network radio advertisers.”

Quu’s technology has been implemented in nearly 900 radio stations as of today.

“We are thrilled to align with Quu to bring its powerful in-dash technology to our vast network of stations,” Skyview President/COO Steve Jones said. “The power of our networks’ weekly impressions combined with Quu’s in-car visuals will deliver our advertisers meaningful ROI.”

Jeanne-Marie Condo, Executive Vice President of Skyview Networks, added that with Quu, “our network radio advertisers now can improve their brand’s product awareness and message recall through this unique marketing opportunity exclusively available through Skyview Networks.”

In early July, a special group of low-power television station permits were put up for sale by a Texas-based company that didn’t wish to build them by their rather unique deadline of 2023.

Several buyers stepped forward. Now, the seller has found a buyer for two Construction Permits in the Monterey Bay region of California in a deal brokered by Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group.

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Since Jessica Rosenworcel became the acting Chairwoman of the FCC, there’s been a perhaps mistaken understanding that the Commission has paid little attention to broadcast radio or TV while devoting much of its Open Meetings to broadband and Universal Service Fund matters.

That’s not really the case, as Al Shuldiner likely knows. In recent months, he’s been fast and furious in handing out Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to licensees galore. Why? It’s part of a stepped-up effort to collect dollars from those delinquent with their license renewal applications.

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WARC has teamed up with iHeartMedia for a just-released study on media consumption and audio investment in the U.S.

According to the report, “The Investment Gap: Understanding the Value of Audio,” domestic consumers spend 31% of their media time with audio. But, brands allocate just 8.8% of their media budget on “audio,” let alone Radio.

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After 33 years in creative and leadership roles at Disney, Gary Marsh will be stepping down as President and Chief Creative Officer of Disney Branded Television at the end of 2021 to launch his own production company.

Backed by Disney General Entertainment, Marsh’s multiyear production deal will develop “world-class, brand-defining content” for Disney’s streaming and linear platforms including Disney+, Hulu, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, ABC, National Geographic, Freeform and FX.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER TO GET THE BIG NEWS FIRST!

Marsh has led a storied career, developing and shepherding such winning Disney titles as “High School Musical” and the Miley Cyrus-helmed “Hannah Montana” franchises to the series that made Hilary Duff a star: “Lizzie McGuire.” Gersh also launched the Disney Junior Channel, home to such programs as “Sofia the First.”

Marsh says, “For 33 years, I’ve had the greatest job in television. The stories we’ve told, the music we’ve created, the stars we’ve discovered, the franchises we’ve built – all of it has entertained and engaged millions of kids and families around the globe. Thanks to the reach of Disney’s streaming platforms, those stories will live forever in the hearts and minds of future generations, alongside all the new stories I look forward to telling. There simply could not be a more compelling or creatively stimulating time to enter the production ranks.”

Disney General Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice adds, “Gary’s leadership and creative genius have shaped a generation of beloved kids and family programming, and we are forever grateful for the indelible impact he’s made at The Walt Disney Company. Gary is a valued leader and good friend, and we’ve been talking about this move for years. So when he decided to focus solely on producing after three decades of an amazing executive career, I jumped at the opportunity to keep him among us.”

Marsh’s move to the production ranks is the culmination of conversations that began with the company nearly 2 1/2 years ago. Marsh agreed to stay on as president through Disney’s acquisition of the Fox assets and the company’s subsequent reorganization to focus its content groups on expanding development and production pipelines to fuel the growth of Disney’s streaming platforms.

Marsh and Rice are now preparing for a smooth transition to a new Disney Branded Television leader before the end of the year.

In the meantime, Marsh is finalizing the first projects that will be developed under his new production banner — including two new “Descendants” movies, the prequel to “Beauty and the Beast” and projects “Tink,” “School for Sensitive Souls” and “Witch Mountain.”

Say what you want about the Gotham tabloid New York Post, but their Business desk sure knows how to get a good Wall Street scoop.

The publication late Monday (9/20), citing unnamed sources, noted that Apollo Global Management — the controlling party of Cox Media Group — had teamed up with dissident investor Standard General, led by Soo Kim — on a binding TEGNA acquisition bid valued at upward of $8 billion.

TEGNA on Tuesday morning confirmed the offer.

In a brief statement, the broadcast TV station owner formerly known as Gannett confirmed it has recently received “acquisition proposals.”

And, it offered no further comment. “Consistent with its fiduciary duty to TEGNA shareholders, the Board will carefully review and evaluate these proposals,” the company said.

TEGNA owns and operates 64 television stations in 51 markets. And, since August 2019, TEGNA is the owner of Sports WBNS-FM “97.1 The Fan” and ESPN Radio affiliate WBNS-AM 1460. Those properties came along with WTHR-13 in Indianapolis and WBNS-10 in Columbus, acquired by TEGNA from Dispatch Broadcast Group.

In a lengthy 30-minute soliloquy offered in a press briefing Monday by musicFIRST Chairman Joe Crowley, “research” reflecting the public’s view of artist royalties and radio’s “fair share” was a key focus of the conversation.

Crowley cited polling conducted by musicFIRST via a Survey Monkey online poll to get his market intelligence. NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith took direct aim at that, in blasting his remarks.

“NAB strongly opposes a performance fee on broadcast radio, and we applaud the more than 200 bipartisan members of Congress who are standing up for their local radio stations and listeners,” he said. “Not only would a performance fee upend the century-long symbiotic relationship between radio and the music industry, but it would devastate thousands of radio stations across the country.

“As musicFIRST is well aware,” he continued,  “NAB’s door remains open to continue discussions around a holistic solution to this issue that grows the partnership between the music and broadcast industries for another hundred years. It is unfortunate that the record labels’ focus is on gimmicky press conferences and questionable Survey Monkey polling rather than serious conversation.”

MORE LRFA SUPPORT

Three members of the House of Representatives have added their support to a resolution opposing “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress’s opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 187 cosponsors in the House and 22 in the Senate.

Adding their support recently for the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House are Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6) and Michael Guest (R-MS-3).

A much-publicized press briefing conducted Monday via Zoom saw Joe Crowley, the former New York House Democrat who lost his 2018 reelection bid to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who now serves as Chairman of musicFIRST, blast the NAB, iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media.

Why? His group, along with such radio industry antagonists as Prometheus Radio Project and Common Frequency, insists that recording artists aren’t getting their fair share from existing royalty fees that AM and FM radio pays each year.

In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, we are pleased to bring excerpts from Crowley’s press event. Following Crowley’s prepared remarks, RBR+TVBR and co-owned publication Radio Ink were first to ask questions to Crowley. We have his responses.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Joe Crowley” on Spreaker.