Radio+Television Business Report

As Kramer sees it, the move aligns with its commitment to invest in AVoIP and position the company at the forefront of technological advancements in this domain.

Mediaproxy, creator of software-based IP compliance products, is bringing the latest updates for its LogServer compliance monitoring system to IBC 2024, along with a redesigned clip processing and publishing engine and new additions to the Monwall multiviewer.

Its shares, like most on Wall Street, started slumping on May 6. On Friday, they rocked forward by 4.8%, putting American Tower Corp. at $244.53 and back on track toward its 1-year target price of $291.

What propelled AMT on an otherwise dismal day for U.S. financial markets? A hefty dividend is in the works.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — TEGNA shareholders have voted in favor of the plan. Now, regulatory approval is the only obstacle to an effort that Soohyung Kim and his Standard General LP have waged for some two years — gaining control of the broadcast TV station and Premion owner.

That’s not so easy, it turns out. Common Cause, The NewsGuild-CWA, and Public Knowledge wish to stop the transaction, which sees Cox Media Group’s majority shareholder, Apollo Global Management, take a non-voting equity stake in TEGNA.

And, they’ve convinced the FCC to allow more time for providing the Media Bureau with information they believe is needed to fully assuage the situation.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The Policy Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau has signed off on an application for certification to operate an open video system serving a host of major markets.

With no comments regarding the application received by the Commission, it has gone forward with an affirmative nod to the ask.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

By Michael Ferguson

SAN FRANCISCO — The case for diversity is solid and has long been established: diverse teams outperform their peers when it comes to revenue generation, workplace efficiency, innovation, market share, and employee wellness. Even then, majority of organizations still struggle with unconscious bias in their recruitment process where age, gender, race, and other role-irrelevant factors still significantly influence hiring decisions.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Mick Hubert has called every Florida Gators college football game since the 1989 home opener at the University of Florida’s main campus.

Longtime fans expecting his signature “Oh My!” this fall will be at a loss, however.

Hubert is retiring, and will be devoting game days to his wife and their Sarasota home.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A Class D daytime-only AM station, along with its FM translator serving the Rose Hill, N.C., area is poised to change hands.

Pending regulatory approval, Mega Media will be the new owner.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The facts surrounding the felony conviction of Central Pennsylvania radio station owner Roger Wahl, as previously reported by local media and by RBR+TVBR, involve some rather disturbing tales of voyeurism, and finding men to engage in unwanted sexual activities with a local woman.

The conviction prompted the FCC to conduct a License Revocation Hearing, for which Wahl is serving as his own legal counsel, that will eventually determine whether or not he’s ultimately able to retain control of his radio station, WQZS-FM 93.3 in Meyersdale, Pa.

Officially known as Media Bureau item No. 21-401, the hearing under the office of the FCC’s Administrative Law Judge has already created fireworks between ALJ Jane Hinckley Halprin and Wahl, who was warned to treat the proceeding no different than an in-court legal affair. Now, Wahl has provided answers to a second set of interrogatories from the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.

Some of Wahl’s responses are eye-opening, and could further cloud his chances of remaining a licensee.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A multi-platform news organization established by The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism has teamed up with “Your Public Radio” — the main NPR Member station serving Baltimore — for the creation of a joint operating agreement that will allow each organization to work collaboratively “to deliver quality journalism” across the state of Maryland.

The pact involves YPR, based at WYPR-FM 88.1 in Baltimore and heard in both Frederick and Ocean City on WYPF-FM and WYPO-FM, respectively; and the Baltimore Banner.

What’s that? Compared to Tribune’s Baltimore Sun, today controlled by Alden Capital and targeted for significant reporter and editor downsizing, the Banner has embraced hyperlocal journalism. “We’re leaving the national news to others and focusing on the daily lives of the people who live and work here,” the news organization says. “The Baltimore Banner is bringing together Baltimore reporters and editors to make sure you know what’s happening in your neighborhood. As a nonprofit, we’re committed to delivering trustworthy journalism that tells the varied stories of our community and holds our leaders accountable.”

With WYPR already established as a not-for-profit local programming creator, the two organizations will forge bonds that tie the WYPR newsroom and chat show Midday and On the Record with the Banner.

“Both teams will work together to cover stories, special reports and develop joint programming to serve the needs of communities throughout Baltimore and around the state,” YPR said. One of the first collaborations will be to cover the upcoming local elections. Joint podcasts and radio programming are on the horizon.

In addition to content sharing, newsroom collaboration and the ability to reach a broader audience, the agreement allows expanded marketing and sponsorship opportunities to be offered, creating added value for sponsors and financial support for both organizations. “The Baltimore Banner will benefit from access to WYPR’s strong dedicated listenership and network of supporters, including recently acquired WTMD 89.7 FM,” it said.

The deal was struck in late April, and it’s just been filed with the FCC for its blessing.

If regulatory approval is given, and that’s expected, two Oklahoma FM radio stations will be licensed to JL Radio LLC.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

MIAMI — Fresh off of its first Upfront in New York, TelevisaUnivision has selected a new Senior VP of Corporate Events.

It’s a newly created role designed to consolidate and “fuel” the company’s global corporate events portfolio.

Taking the post is a former SVP of Content Relations at Nickelodeon who has spent the last five years in posts ranging from a Celebrity Cruises entertainment strategy developer to leading entertainment and events for the Oneida Nation in New York State.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

With the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election’s official results determined on November 8, 2020, financial markets promptly roared in approval on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Among the company’s starting their COVID-19 induced slumps on Wall Street was Audacy Inc., formerly Entercom.

Things looked good for Audacy, at first. Then came the Ides of March. Since then, Audacy shares have slumped. On Thursday (5/19), they dipped again, reaching a fresh year-to-date low.

In fact, Audacy’s share growth since the election of Joe Biden as U.S. President has been erased.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The latest ratings report from the Radio Joint Audience Research body (RAJAR) in charge of measuring radio audiences across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is out. For iHeartMedia interloper Global, the first quarter of 2022 data was a bright one, as the company touted its national and London performances for spoken word LBC and Hot Adult Contemporary Heart, in addition to Top 40 Capital and Adult Contemporary Smooth.

Audio consultant Matt Deegan took a close look at the entire report. And, in a blog post made early Thursday, he made note of a big new trend — smart speaker consumption of radio. There’s much to take away for U.S. broadcasters, in particular the age of the typical smart speaker user.

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A lay apostolate with broadcast signals in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, has agreed to part ways with a radio station serving Bismarck and its FM translator licensed to Williston, N.D.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

LOS ANGELES — She is a five-decade veteran of Warner Bros. Television. As of today, she’s now serving as EVP of Ad Sales for AMG Global Syndication, an arm of Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

It is being described as “one of the industry’s first transitional platform approaches,” one that maximizes dynamic advertising potential for television providers by inserting targeted ads simultaneously on both linear and connected streams.

Introducing the Parity ADS Platform, courtesy of Viamedia. The platform, which seeks to maximize live streams for IP-delivered distribution, can insert regionally targeted ads on linear streams ad the same time as on spot cable, thus providing a match to the local ads running on traditional cable TV systems.

The timing is intriguing, as reports show the scatter market down some 30% over the past four years as NewFronts and Upfronts conclude for 2022-2023.

And, it is a further indication that melding IPTV with traditional cable TV will help advertisers reach a bigger audience, in particular in a world where cord-cutting is not slowing down.

“Our new Parity ADS Platform is one of the industry’s first transitional approaches and introduces the immediate next step to achieving fully dynamic advertising,” Viamedia President/CEO David Solomon said. “This presents an enormous opportunity for our MVPD partners around the country to essentially turn their linear inventory into connected TV (CTV) inventory, all while better serving their local communities, businesses and advertisers.”

He added, “The industry is beginning to catch on to the benefits of a parity approach. As subscribers are transitioned to streaming, there’s often not enough impressions to sell independently. By replicating the same ad on two platforms, MVPDs are able to optimize linear and CTV feeds for advertisers, maximizing inventory and ad sales during the migration. This system is specifically developed to drive greater demand and value for existing advertising inventory.”

 

On March 1, the new President and CEO of the nation’s primary advocacy and lobbying group for radio and television broadcasting companies issued a request. Despite being a “fierce defender” of the First Amendment, Curtis LeGeyt asked that any state-sponsored programming with ties to Moscow be pulled from U.S. airwaves — now.

LeGeyt seemingly took aim at Sputnik, the English-language service of the Voice of Russia. It is heard for six hours each weekday in St. Louis, in addition to 24/7 service on an AM and an FM translator serving Washington, D.C.

The owner of the St. Louis station has already been vocal, sharing his ire over LeGeyt’s request. This week, KCXL-AM‘s owner renewed his disdain for LeGeyt’s request, labeling it “a call to disregard our right of free speech.”

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Roger Wahl is a convicted felon. As the FCC’s Media Bureau noted, Wahl’s convictions of a felony and multiple misdemeanors alone “raise the question under the Commission’s Character Qualifications Policy Statement whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to remain a Commission licensee.”

Indeed, Wahl could be stripped of his license. But, that may not happen for a year, based on a Hearing Designation Order schedule released by the FCC on Thursday.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

B. Eric Rhoads, CEO of Streamline Publishing, is asking fellow broadcasters for one minute of their time to consider a way radio can help change the world.

“The situation in Ukraine is dire,” he says. “Radio around the country is raising money and doing what they can to help. But we can do more.”

Rhoads writes:

Radio has changed lives, raised money for charity, and made a difference in each of our communities. We have all used our platforms to create awareness, help our neighbors, and use music to move hearts.

Years ago, radio pushed the song “We are the World” as an anthem to help people in Africa. Radio made that movement possible.

An anthem for Ukraine is needed to bring the world together to keep a focus on Ukraine until this situation is resolved fully.

Feeling the need to do something, I came up with a concept and co-wrote this song, “Tears for Ukraine,” with artist Billy Craig and Matt Jacobs.

Please consider doing your part and adding this song into rotation. Show that the radio industry continues to have influence over the world to unify our listeners.

Let’s use the power of radio to impact worldwide sentiment to raise awareness and prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again.

To download, click on the image below:

To download this song in WAV or MP3 file format, click on this image. https://www.rbr.com/wp-content/uploads/BC-Tears-For-UkraineWAV.wav

Listen to the song by clicking above.

Watch the Video on YouTube by Clicking Here.