Radio+Television Business Report

The audio media company’s shares have enjoyed a slow, steady rebound since sinking to $3.35 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic some 11 months ago.

Now, Cumulus Media will reveal its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 results in exactly two weeks.

The company led by CEO Mary Berner will host a conference call on Tuesday, February 23 at 8:30am Eastern to discuss those results.

But, there won’t be much time for analysts and investors to digest the results prior to the call. That’s because a press release containing a summary of the Cumulus results will be issued approximately 30 minutes before the call starts.

What can those who own CMLS or wish to buy it anticipate? Berner on the Cumulus Q3 earnings call said that as the company moved into the fourth quarter, “positive momentum in bookings, driven largely by political,” was being seen.

Still, overall improvement across all categories was a factor — even though pacing was down in the mid-teens on a year-to-year basis.

“While we hope for continued improvement, our performance will remain highly sensitive to the shape and pace of external events,” Berner said.

CMLS finished Tuesday’s trading at $10.34, up 2.8% from Monday. That pushes Cumulus shares ever-closer to the all-important $11 mark – last seen nearly one year ago.

Diverse representation matters.

That’s been the mantra across the advertising industry and all facets of Corporate America for the last 8 to 10 months, and rightfully so, says Louis Maldonado, partner and Managing Director of multicultural advertising agency d expósito & Partners.

“The challenges and atrocities that we’ve collectively experienced in that timeframe have led to a social awakening,” he says.

Why, then, were the Super Bowl LV spots such a letdown?

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Travel an hour south of Norfolk via U.S. Highway 17 and you’ll end up in Hertford, N.C. — a major agricultural town in the Elizabeth City region.

Here, you can listen to “The Bull” if you don’t see one, thanks to its presence at 99.3 MHz on a Class A based in Gatesville.

At least, that’s the case today. The FM has just been sold.

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BOCA RATON, FLA. — In 1972, West Palm Beach saw the arrival of its own NPR Member station. On May 25, 2011, West Palm Beach lost its own NPR Member station, as Barry University sold what was then WXEL-FM 90.7 to Classical South Florida.

Today, that signal is WFLV, the home of Educational Media Foundation‘s “K-LOVE” and, on its HD4 signal, a unique feed from the NPR Member station based in Miami is rebroadcast on an FM translator EMF owns, filling the void left by WXEL’s demise.

Soon, this NPR station will own the translator outright. And, it will be shifting its originating digital multicast station to an iHeartMedia property in the market.

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He’s no stranger to Wedel Software, as he had a hand in several company projects over the last few years.

Perhaps that made him a top candidate for the role of Director of North American Sales, a position that he’s now accepted.

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Mark Cuban is famous for many reasons. He first gained notice as a streaming audio pioneer. Later, he earned fans through ABC (and, later, CNBC) airings of the show Shark Tank. He’s also the owner of the Dallas Mavericks National Basketball Association franchise.

Now, Cuban says he will be investing in a brand-new podcast platform — one that sounds a lot like News/Talk/Sports radio at its best.

In an interview with The Verge, Cuban revealed that he’s investing in Fireside Chat.

It’s described as “a socially responsible platform” on a placeholder website.

Importantly, it appears to be different from Fireside — a podcast service that dates to 2016, with metrics and analytics alongside hosting capabilities available. That similarly named company was founded by Dan Benjamin and is headquartered in Austin, Tex.

Rather, Fireside Chat is a project Cuban is co-founding with Falon Fatemi.

In an email obtained by The Verge, Cuban describes Fireside Chat as a “next-gen podcast platform” that facilitates live conversation.

Possible creator partners received the electronic communication.

As The Verge notes, Fireside Chat is similar to Clubhouse, backed by such social media and marketing stars as Gary Vaynerchuck.

The key difference is the Fireside Chat ability to natively record conversations.

A launch is in the works for sometime this year.

As Fatemi sees it, Fireside Chat creators “will be able to broadcast, record, and monetize conversations while using Fireside’s built-in analytics tools to figure out what content performs best,” The Verge says.

A source tells The Verge that creators “will be offered various deals and ways to monetize, and the app won’t let just anyone speak publicly. It’ll be a highly curated experience.”

Cuban and Todd Wagner in 1999 pocketed $5.7 billion from the sale of streaming audio innovator Broadcast.com to Yahoo!

On December 16, 2020, concerned Comcast customers who receive broadcast TV stations through Xfinity in one Massachusetts county breathed a sigh of relief. There, Hearst Television‘s biggest station, ABC affiliate WCVB-5 in Boston, was set to be replaced with a Rhode Island ABC affiliate. Among those offering words of frustration: Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.

It appeared that a fresh retransmission consent arrangement keeping Hearst stations from “neighboring designated market areas” where citizens desired the station more than a closer, albeit out of state, choice was reached.

Now, Comcast has confirmed that “some TV stations” from neighboring markets will “soon no longer be available.”

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The new year seems to have started off with a bang for Skyview Networks, with the addition of The Weather Channel, The Associated Press, Hubbard Broadcasting and Carmen’s Calls.

What was the result of these new portfolio additions? That’s just one of the questions Steve Jones, President and COO of Skyview Networks, answers in this latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Steve Jones” on Spreaker.

By Brian Galante
Special to Weekly Tech Roundup

Dielectric’s low-power TV and FM business continues to grow as the company develops and expands its antenna and RF product portfolio of lower-power broadcast systems.

Radio stations in Florida and Puerto Rico represent two recent examples of how Dielectric has improved signal coverage for FM translators in challenging coverage areas.

Hal Kneller, a broadcast industry veteran now working as an independent consultant, specified Dielectric DCR-T antennas for FM translators associated with WSRQ-AM, in the Sarasota market, and WMDD-AM, on the far eastern coast of Puerto Rico.

The DCR-T incorporates the benefits of Dielectric’s FM ring-style antennas, giving low-power FM broadcasters an alternative for single-station systems. This makes the branch-fed, circularly-polarized DCR-T a compelling option for broadcasters needing to improve signal coverage.

WSRQ’s translator for 106.9 FM (W295BH, in Sarasota) is part of a blended SFN and simulcasting network that synchronizes programming across four stations in the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market.

In an effort to improve coverage the 250-watt translator, previously located in Bradenton, W295BH was moved to Sarasota. While the move would establish a stronger signal with better building penetration in the hub of Florida’s Suncoast region, the existing “budget antenna” had suffered recent water damage.

Thus, it would not suit the signal’s new directional pattern.

Kneller kept the station on the air with a backup system while the one-bay DCR-T antenna was installed on its new tower, which he described as “very busy and loaded”. The compact DCR-T design was top-mounted on the 475-foot tower, using a tower pipe initially intended for cellular antennas. The top-mounted position, combined with the directional pattern designed for the translator, has substantially improved the translator’s effectiveness in the all-important Sarasota area.

Kneller also purchased two Dielectric FM filters for the Sarasota site’s transmitter building, with one feeding 106.9 and the other feeding a system on 99.1 FM. The two antennas are installed on the same tower at the same elevation. That generated significant interference concerns for both Kneller and the FCC, resulting in extensive intermodulation studies.

“The intermodulation concerns were legitimate and challenged us to choose carefully when it came to a filtering solution,” Kneller said. “While it made sense to go with Dielectric given our antenna choice, we still planned for extensive tests using parking lot simulations and by connecting the filters inside the building. We were relieved to learn that no interference or interaction between the two signals existed. Like the DCR-T, the Dielectric FM filters are compact and were easy to wall-mount inside an RF building with limited space.”

BORICUA BOOST

The WMDD system in Puerto Rico is also a “cross-service translator” that simulcasts the main AM signal on 106.5 MHz. Licensed to the city of Fajardo, the translator is located 30 miles outside of San Juan on the eastern edge of the island. The translator is located on the AM station’s 400-foot tower, and provides better sounding FM service to the local population.

“Puerto Rico is very mountainous and has a challenging terrain for FM coverage in the area surrounding Fajardo,” Kneller said. “We specified an omnidirectional two-bay DCR-T antenna with half-wavelength spacing, which directed the signal up and away from the ground. This is a common practice for translators and avoids interference with another radio station’s contour on the ground. Dielectric’s design solved these concerns up front, and they packaged and shipped the antenna in a way that helped us quickly bring all of the elements together. It took less than two days to install the antenna and new isocoupler, hang the two bays, and run the new 7/8-inch transmission line down the tower.”

And, while Kneller sees many broadcasters stick with “budget antennas” for translators, he singles out Dielectric for products boasting a professional stainless-steel design. In his view, it offers longevity for lower-power systems, along with the benefits of low VSWR, null fill and all of the other high-performance attributes that you expect for full-power FM stations.

Editing by Adam Jacobson, from Sarasota County, Fla.

A privately held owner of television stations on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Georgia and Kentucky has signed a multi-year local television measurement services agreement with Nielsen.

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The accord brings local TV measurement for all of Marquee Broadcasting Group‘s stations.

Marquee is headquartered in Salisbury-Ocean City, Md.; and its stations can be found in Dover, Del.; Bowling Green, Ky.; Glenwood Springs, Colo.; and two Georgia markets.

“We believe that Nielsen data are vital and critical components in our comprehensive suite of tools we utilize to serve our communities across all of our markets,” said Marquee CEO Patricia Lane. “With Nielsen, we are confident Marquee will continue to provide the highest level of service and expertise to our viewers, our advertising partners and the communities we serve, because local truly does matter.”

Catherine Herkovic, EVP/Managing Director of Nielsen Local TV, added, “The backbone of the Local TV business are Local broadcast TV stations. Nielsen is proud to help Marquee serve its local communities and to provide a service that supports accurate, comprehensive delivery of the news.”

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has opened the nomination period for the 2021 Technology Awards. The three awards highlight significant achievements in the fields of broadcast engineering and digital leadership and will be presented on June 17 at a special NAB Amplify event.

Awardees will also be recognized at the 2021 NAB Show, held October 9-13 in Las Vegas.

The Radio and Television Engineering Achievement Awards are presented to individuals for their outstanding accomplishments in the radio and television broadcast industry, respectively.

The Digital Leadership Award honors an individual at a broadcast station, group or network who has transformed a traditional broadcast business to succeed on digital media platforms in a measurable way.

“NAB enjoys celebrating our industry’s technical and engineering achievements each year by presenting these awards to individuals and organizations that have distinguished themselves with noteworthy performances,” said NAB EVP/Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny. “These awards recognize unique leaders who are working to transform our industry, and I’m delighted to feature them on Amplify and at NAB Show.”

The deadline for nominations is March 22. Nomination forms and detailed award rules are available at nab.org/events/awards, along with a list of past recipients.

BOCA RATON, FLA. — Clear Media Network has selected ARC, the research software developed by former Sun Broadcast Group CEO Jason Bailey (pictured), as its Affiliate CRM and Network Automation Tool.

ARC provides networks and producers a cloud-based platform to research, affiliate, create digital contracts, and analyze Nielsen data.

Clear Media Network’s 24/7 formats are repped by Key Networks.

With the two companies on ARC, data flow including add/drops, barter loads, start and end dates as well as affidavit compliance can now be fully automated.

“Providing the best programmed formats is our top priority, and partnering with the Reatro Team will help free-up even more of our time to focus on our products,” said Mark McCray, President of Programming and Operations of Clear Media Network.

Reatro Ventures founder and CEO Bailey added, “With the addition of Clear Media Network to the ARC family we can now automate much of the affiliation process between them and their sales network, saving countless man-hours on both sides. I’m thrilled to have Gary, Mark and the entire Clear Media team on board and look forward to being a, even a small part, part of their exciting journey.”

Workflow automation, media processing, quality monitoring and test & measurement tool maker Telestream has entered into a strategic collaboration with Skyline Communications.

This will see the two companies develop a partnership focused on the integration of Telestream’s cloud-based video monitoring solutions and Skyline Communication’s DataMiner network management, orchestration and operations support product.

Skyline’s multi-vendor DataMiner connects with any third-party product, appliance and cloud service to provide end-to-end infrastructure management and deployment, service orchestration and process automation.

For the first time, DataMiner orchestration can be leveraged to automate OTT service deployment – on premises and in the cloud – and Telestream content monitoring at the same time, with the monitoring system deployable on demand, wherever needed, across over 70 global cloud locations.

DataMiner uses the Telestream cloud API to control the dynamic deployment and takedown of monitoring resources to match its ability to control end-to-end video deployments. The new Telestream cloud capabilities empower users to spin up stream monitoring in the cloud, on demand, under manual or automatic control from DataMiner.

This facility is valuable for live events, where premium monitoring is critical, but may only be needed for the duration of the event (schedule-aware monitoring). An additional upside is that the orchestration of the Telestream cloud stream monitor service is always aligned with the actual OTT service configurations (context-aware monitoring). It also provides for supplemental geographical troubleshooting on demand, scheduled periods of monitoring for premium content as part of live channel schedules, or for synthetic testing of video-on-demand HLS or DASH assets anywhere in the world.

“This is an exciting time for streaming services leveraging the cloud for contribution and distribution,” said Steven Soenens, Skyline’s VP Product Marketing. “The new Telestream service combined with the automation provided by DataMiner provides a truly on-demand deployment, orchestration, monitoring and troubleshooting operational environment to match the transient nature of the video services we are seeing today. We are very much looking forward to seeing customers leverage the combined solution, including the more than 1500 existing DataMiner customers.”

The new service integration extends the Skyline and Telestream monitoring partnership, which already includes the Telestream IQ solutions and Prism solutions for waveform and SMPTE ST-2110 analysis.

The new Telestream Cloud Stream Monitoring service can also deploy transport stream monitoring, leveraging Telestream IQ QoS and QoE solutions. This allows video providers to dynamically deploy monitoring for SRT or Zixi feeds, either as contribution streams to the cloud, or across the global cloud backbones for global transit of transport streams as a satellite replacement or augmentation strategy. The transport stream monitoring has the same global reach as the OTT monitoring service across multiple public cloud providers.

A request has been approved by the FCC that paves the way for the experimental construction and operation of a pair of new co-located, on-channel boosters — placed at two discrete locations for one expressed purpose.

That would be to garner additional data using GeoBroadcast Solutions’ ZoneCasting FM booster system — the technology being pitched to bring geo-targeted ad solutions, and programming, to the world’s oldest form of mass media.

The OK of an experimental FCC permit puts the wheels in motion on a real-life test at a forlorn Class B that was once one of the top Rock stations on the West Coast: KSJO-FM 92.3 in San Jose.

Today, it is owned by Universal Media Access.

And, it airs a multicultural format targeting South Asian and Indian listeners.

According to GeoBroadcast Solutions, the trial is designed demonstrate KSJO’s ability to add localized weather and traffic, news, advertising and EAS tests during short parts of a broadcast hour, and “how seamlessly unrecognizable” it will be to the average listener.

In a letter dated February 8, FCC Audio Division Senior Deputy Chief Jim Bradshaw ruled the proposed experimental operation meets the requirements of Section 5.203 of the Commission’s Rules. “We find that the public interest would be served by the knowledge gained through testing of the ZoneCasting technology,” Bradshaw said.

The test is particularly intriguing as it involves a station with a primary signal contour stretching as far south as Gilroy and Hollister, and as far north as San Francisco International Airport and the Oakland hills. In the car, KSJO’s signal can be heard as far as both the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, but not in San Francisco’s cavernous areas.

“Our signal reaches a broad section of the Bay Area,” says Universal Media Access President/CEO Bill Saurer.  “We’re always looking for ways to improve the listener experience and are intrigued to see the opportunities ZoneCasting can provide KSJO in the future.

With a booster already in place in Pleasanton, East Bay communities including Hayward, Fremont, San Ramon and Livermore are already ripe for geo-targeted programming.

Now, what could come in the fourth Experimental Permit requested to test this technology and the second Experimental Permit request using the same booster configuration could bring possibilities to reality.

As GeoBroadcast sees it, the requested testing will use a back-to-back booster configuration set up at different locations “near the busy I-680 corridor.”

That points to the Pleasanton facility.

The request is for a period of 90 days.

The cost of the field test will be shouldered by GeoBroadcast.

However, the filing was made through Bert Goldman, President of Goldman Engineering Management, who will install the booster setup.

Oversight and auditing of the trial will be made by Dennis Roberson, President/CEO of Roberson and Associates, a technology and management consulting company to the radio industry.

Goldman has high hopes the Pleasanton booster can prove geo-targeting can be successfully implemented on facilities originally licensed for broadcasting, and not microcasting.

“The KSJO Zonecasting demonstration will prove that ZoneCasting can be very simply implemented, in this case, adding only one booster location and can significantly improve coverage in low signal areas while providing geotargeted programming which can benefit hundreds of thousands of listeners without interference,” Goldman said.

While GeoBroadcast is pitching ZoneCasting technology as a way stations can provide content to better serve their communities by offering hyper-localized news, weather, and emergency alerts, marketers have been clamoring for an addressable advertising solution for radio. This brings the industry closer to that desired goal.

Within 60 days of completion of the experimental operation, KSJO’s owner must file a full report detailing the research, experimentation and results of the testing with the Commission.

Extensions of this authority are not contemplated.

As GeoBroadcast seeks to move forward with the KSJO live test, the FCC’s deadline to file comments on amending Section 74.1231(i) of the Commission’s Rules on FM Broadcast Booster Stations is tomorrow (2/10).

Details are available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/11/2020-28784/fm-broadcast-booster-stations-modernization-of-media-initiative#addresses

Radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingle producer Benztown has entered into an agreement with Cipolla Analytics to market and provide sales representation for the company’s two advanced programming intelligence software programs.

The platforms are AirplayGPS and SpotGPS.

The programs, Benztown says, “transform airplay data into powerful and actionable station music and content (commercials, songs, and talk) analyses, in a highly compelling, visual, and intuitive form. This enables radio programming professionals to truly ‘see’ and adjust their music, optimize their PPM content-placement strategy, and always know what the competition is doing, enabling a fully informed, strategic approach to ratings success.”

AirplayGPS and SpotGPS provide big picture, song-by-song, and minute-by-minute insights at a glance. Users can see what they and their competitors are actually doing on-air, enabling them to quickly adjust and counter-program.

Ralph Cipolla, Founder and President of Cipolla Analytics, commented, “AirplayGPS and
SpotGPS were created to empower today’s radio programmer and provide what they
truly need to win. You have been asked to do more with less and perform at an even
higher level. Now you can establish a real advantage while your competitors cut back
on intel and analytics essentials. Once you see this, you can’t un-see how much you
need it.”

“One of the most invigorating parts of this job is when you start seeing data points that were unexpected and force you to re-think a core tenet.”

That’s the opening line from a newly released investor report on U.S. media from MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson.

He notes that from his Wall Street perch, MoffettNathanson has long preached the dogma that live sports “are the glue to Pay TV and, as such, will be the least likely content to go over-the-top.”

Umm … that’s proving to be untrue, to some extent. Now what?

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report is out, and for the week ending February 7 — inclusive of Super Bowl LV, the biggest advertiser using broadcast TV remains GEICO.

Not far behind it is category competitor Progressive. But, there are two new entrants — and that’s a good sign for a big spring for spot television.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report has been released, and it shows a huge jump in commercial airings by one of the nation’s largest department store brands.

For the week ending February 7, Macy’s finished at No. 7, powered by more than 36,000 radio spots.

That’s the big news of the week, as language learning app Babbel dips behind Progressive.

Here’s the full report:

The AWARN Alliance has elected its 2021 Steering Committee, the organization’s governing body that provides guidance to the AWARN Alliance and its executive director.

The Alliance also clarified its core education, promotion and collaboration mission, while embracing its vision to “save lives and protect communities by leveraging advanced emergency alerting, news and information powered by ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV.”

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With Deloitte LLP Vice Chairman Kevin Westcott’s ascension to industry leader of its U.S. technology, media and telecommunications practice, a position opened up at Deloitte.

It needed a leader to specifically focus on telecom, media and entertainment.

Deloitte has found that person.

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