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Tired of the traditional networking happy hour? The 2022 NAB Show has something new for you — NABiQ.

Innovation consultant Maria Duloquin will facilitate nine 90-minute competition-style events focused on the NAB Show’s content pillars: create, connect and capitalize. Participants will be grouped into five six-member teams to collaborate on a solution to common challenges facing the industry.

“This dynamic ‘hackathon’ format allows attendees to collaborate and draw on their collective experiences to create the next great out-of-the-box solution for our industry,” said Chris Brown, NAB executive vice president and managing director of Global Connections and Events.

[Read More of Our NAB Show Coverage]

“Building on diverse knowledge under a tight deadline is a sure-fire way to foster innovation,” said Duloquin. “Teams listen to each other, prioritize ideas, and define the most powerful solutions in an intense but incredibly rewarding experience!”

Supported by Cynopsis and ProVideoCoalition, the challenge events include leveraging new technology in video production, preparing for the future of delivery and utilizing audience insights. The complete list of challenges and registration information is available here. Each competition is followed by time for informal networking, and winning solutions will be shared with the entire NAB Show community and via NAB Amplify.

The post NABiQ Challenges Participants to Innovate appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission has finalized a series of changes to its technical rules covering U.S. broadcast radio.

Many of the changes are bureaucratic — cleaning up wording and inconsistencies. But some have meat. For instance, some Class D NCE stations may now be able to increase power and coverage as well as enjoy more flexibility in site selection.

On Thursday the FCC released its report and order that eliminates or amends rules it says were outdated or unnecessary. The changes “better reflect current developments in the radio industry and ensure that our technical rules are accurate, up to date and consistent,” it wrote.

“In so doing, we increase transparency and certainty for broadcasters while eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens.”

Radio World reported earlier on the planned changes.

[Related: “FCC Takes a Broom to Radio Technical Rules”]

The commission adopted almost all the proposals set out earlier except that it kept its “proximate interference” rule.

Here is what the commission did:

The FCC removed the maximum rated transmitter power limit for AM stations, saying it had received no opposition.

“[A]n equipment limitation on 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 power limits.”

It said elimination of this restriction will allow AM stations of any class to use transmitters of any rated power, “benefiting the AM service by broadening the market of transmitters available to stations, enhancing the secondary market for AM transmitters and reducing the number of transmitters that need to be disposed of.”

It eliminated an inconsistency between sections of the rules involving NCE FM community of license coverage.

Two sections currently state that NCE stations must demonstrate that they cover “at least a portion of the community of license” when submitting certain types of applications. But another section established the current standard that NCE stations must cover 50% of their community of license or 50% of the population in their community with a 60 dBu signal strength predicted contour.

The old language was changed to conform to the current standard.

It updated signal strength contour overlap requirements for NCE FM Class D stations to harmonize with a less restrictive section of the rules that applies to other NCE FM classes.

“We agree … that there is no reason to continue treating Class D stations differently in this context.” When the FCC updated these rules in 2000, it deferred including Class D NCE stations to accommodate the establishment of the low-power FM service.

“Because the LPFM service is now mature, it is appropriate to extend the general contour overlap limits to Class D NCE stations. We anticipate that the less preclusive requirement will create opportunities for NCE stations to increase power and coverage, as well as provide them with greater site selection flexibility.”

It eliminated four obsolete provisions that require radio stations operating in the 76–100 MHz band to protect grandfathered common carrier services in Alaska. “Our licensing databases indicate that there are no common carrier services remaining in this band in Alaska.”

It tweaked the definition of “AM fill-in area” in one part of the rules to conform to a later definition, which states 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.”

Currently, one section refers to the lesser of these two distances. The NAB said the current wording “may inadvertently prevent many AM stations from operating FM translators within their 2 mV/m contour.” The FCC agreed, so the relevant section now defines an AM fill-in area as: “The area within the greater of the 2 mV/m daytime contour of the AM radio broadcast station being rebroadcast or a 25-mile (40 km) radius centered at the AM transmitter site.”

Finally, the commission adopted several changes that relate to coordination with Canada and Mexico.

It updated a rule that contains minimum distance separations between U.S. and Mexican or Canadian FM stations, to reflect treaty requirements. The FCC noted that the NAB was concerned that the updated requirements appear to impose greater minimum distance separations on Class A FM stations than is currently provided for in the rules, so NAB asked the FCC to confer “grandfathered short-spacing” status on existing U.S. stations; but the FCC said such “grandfathering” is not necessary.

It also updated the rules regarding stations near the Mexican border. At NAB’s suggestion, it clarified that, for the purposes of a table associated with the relevant rule, U.S. Class C0 assignments or allotments are considered Class C.

It adopted an NAB suggestion about how distances are calculated for the border agreements. It also updated the rules to eliminate inconsistent language and reflect current treaty requirements applicable to FM translators.

But the FCC did NOT adopt a proposal to eliminate the requirement that applications proposing use of FM transmitting antennas within 60 meters of other FM or TV broadcast antennas must include a showing as to the expected effect.

The National Association of Broadcasters had objected, saying this would weaken the FCC’s “newcomer policy,” under which a party constructing a new or modified facility is responsible for eliminating objectionable interference to existing stations.

The commission noted that in the FM service, it has rarely if ever expressly relied on the rules as a means of implementing the “newcomer policy,” but it concluded that the rule provides useful guidance for broadcasters. “We do not wish to introduce uncertainty or ambiguity into situations where it does not currently exist.”

[Read the complete FCC order.]

The post FCC Finalizes Changes to Radio Tech Rules appeared first on Radio World.

The VIAC ticker symbol is no longer in use. That’s unfortunate for the company known now as Paramount Global to Nasdaq. On its final day under the old ticker symbol, a $6.41 single-session slump was seen by the company formerly known as ViacomCBS.

In midday trading on Friday, things weren’t much brighter for Paramount.

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Do I feel like I have a mission to succeed for the format in a Top 5 market? No. I feel like I have a mission to succeed for Susquehanna and the people who work for me. 

Those words were shared by Joel Folger in a column appearing in the January 30, 1998 edition of Radio & Records. Speaking to columnist Sky Daniels, Folger was fresh off of a run as the top programmer of KDGE in Dallas. With 15 years in the market that included a well-remembered run as PD for Rock-oriented Top 40 KEGL “97.1 The Eagle,” Folger was now programming the short-lived KKZN.

In 2000, he’d jump into consultant work, and consistently served in this role until a setback tied to a recent stroke. He made “tremendous progress,” AllAccess.com reports. Yet, that couldn’t prevent a fatal heart attack suffered Thursday by the veteran radio industry figure.

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How big is the recovery from the pandemic-impacted month of January 2021, with respect to ad spend?

According to Standard Media Index (SMI), ad spend in the first month of 2022 surpassed that of 2021 by $1.1 billion, hitting a new record high for the month.

How did Radio, in particular, perform? Quite good, SMI finds.

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Veteran public relations executive and ‘Zoom” expert Rosemary Ravinal wants to make something perfectly clear when it comes to oratory delivery of a speech, presentation, or anything else that may give them the jitters. You’re not alone. In fact, everyone gets butterflies, she says. It’s how to overcome them that’s key — even in a Zoom or Teams setting, Ravinal says in this column.

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Want to work for the largest licensee of broadcast television stations in the U.S. or its WGN-AM 720 in Chicago? Perhaps the Sean Compton-led NewsNation is of particular interest?

“Please be cautious of individuals or online entities claiming to represent Nexstar in the hiring process,” Nexstar Media Group is warning potential hires, as it has learned it has become the victim of a recruitment scam.

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Forty years ago, it perhaps would have made more sense to schedule an appearance on TODAY. That’s because Byron Allen was part of the lineup of hosts on what many believe is the first “reality” series to air in prime-time, NBC’s Real People. 

Much has changed in the years since that television program aired in the 8pm slot each Wednesday on the Peacock network. Today, Allen is a media mogul who wants to grow his broadcast TV assets and has an interest in owning an NFL franchise.

He’ll be sharing his thoughts about the Denver Broncos, among other topics, on CBS come February 20.

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It’s quickly become of one the broadcast media industry’s most anticipated honors of the year.

Starting today, you’ll have the power to help shape this year’s ranked list.

The nomination window has officially opened for BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS of 2022!

For the fourth consecutive year, RBR+TVBR is turning to its readers to help us determine who the top-ranked individuals that oversee over-the-air broadcast TV groups are.

From understanding AVOD and FAST Channel opportunities to the voluntary rollout of NEXTGEN TV, these are exciting times for over-the-air television. Furthermore, the desire for broadcast TV — from live sports to news programming and from syndicated fare to prime-time favorites — remains strong amid increased competition. That’s why it is our honor to salute the individuals that have demonstrated management prowess, guiding their broadcast television stations to ratings and revenue success.

VOTE TODAY! You may make up to three nominations by our deadline of Friday, March 4, 2022, at 5pm Eastern.

Remember: This is a reader-generated ranked honor roll — the voting is in your hands. Don’t miss this opportunity to help create BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS of 2022.

VOTE NOW BY CLICKING HERE!

 

Across the nation and around the world, radio stations are being recruited to celebrate the unique and undying format of vinyl records by doing something that on January 26, 1987, would have seemed absurd given the tech trends of the times.

No CDs. No MP3s via computer. Not even a cart machine, if they still exist.

A vinyl-only day in celebration of “Vinylthon 2022” is planned for Saturday, April 23.

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Jeff Winemiller and his Lowcountry 34 Media has been involved in many transactions involving low-power television stations over the last several months.

The latest one has just been filed for approval with the FCC, and it sees Winemiller signing off on an agreement that would give one of his properties to the Chicago-based entity led by Norman Shapiro that is readying the launch of a sixth digital multicast network.

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A home for “praise and inspiration” serving Texas’ capital city with a Class D AM with a 2kw signal from 3 towers has been sold.

The price the buyer is paying for the daytime-only operation to the northeast of Austin is something to take note of. Why? It’s actually a pretty impressive valuation.

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Until now, it has served as the home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market for Miami-based América Tevé. 

Soon, the independent Spanish-language television programming seen on the facility, a low-power TV station licensed to Pinellas County’s biggest municipality, will say adios to the fare.

That’s because a religious broadcaster has just snagged the station.

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Telos Alliance announced a series of online presentations about software container technology.

The first part, streaming on March 2, “introduces hardware selection concepts for containerized software applications, analyzes the importance of dedicated CPU resources, and differentiates which computing resources can be de-emphasized vs. those which must be prioritized,” the company said.

“Attendees will learn which computing functions are key to successful broadcast functionality in a software container environment.”

The five-session series is intended for broadcast engineers. Part 1 on March 2 is at 1 p.m. Eastern. Archived versions will be available.

Subsequent sessions will discuss various AoIP transmission formats, the three main deployment scenarios for virtualized broadcast infrastructures, synchronization and key security issues.

The registration page is open.

The post Telos Alliance Launches Container Education Series appeared first on Radio World.

Tieline ViA was used for coverage of this forum of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s articles focus on products for radio remotes and sports.

Program Director Will Russell has been with Eastern Shore Radio in Virginia for 12 years. His first experience with Tieline was using a Report-IT app for sports coverage.

“We realized the superiority of the audio quality, but the phone app had its limitations.” The Tieline ViA remote codec turned out to be the solution.

“Tieline’s SmartStream Plus redundant streaming technology is crucial for us,” he said. “Wireless technology is improving, but it still has its issues on the Eastern Shore. Knowing we have two signals and one can replace packets if required, really makes live remotes less stressful.”

Eastern Shore covers a lot of high school sports, and it also has aired graduations during COVID, with parents listening in their cars on the radio.

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

“Recently, we covered a political debate on the radio and provided video with Facebook Live.”

Russell said they normally employ SmartStream Plus using an iPhone hotspot connection over Verizon, along with a Verizon Jetpack tethered hotspot.

“Rural cellular connectivity is always the challenge. Sometimes you’ll have enough signal for sound, but not for video. Video is nice, but at the end of the day we are a radio station.”

For sports, Russell uses one or two headsets for the play-by-play and color commentator, and adds a third mic for crowd effects. For video he’ll use a mini-USB cable to send line-level audio from the ViA into a dongle for an iPhone video stream.

“We connect to a Bridge-IT codec at the studio. After one of the graduations a member of the local school board came up to me and said the sound was just as good as being there in person. I think this is the best compliment a radio person can get on the technical side of things.”

Russell said redundant streaming is simple to configure and that Wi-Fi works well too. “The ViA remembers hotspot connections, which is nice. We have broadcast in stereo, but with internet connectivity sometimes an issue, we went back to mono to reduce bandwidth without sacrificing audio quality. Studio-based audio is streamed back to the Tieline ViA from our studio console for remote site monitoring.”

Recently, a friend and client wanted to make a big announcement about the entertainment for a fundraiser he was holding.

“He had a two-day window to announce it, but unfortunately he came down with COVID and couldn’t come to the studio. He didn’t want to make such a big announcement on the air with a regular telephone call. So I went to the venue and set up the ViA, ran a 10-foot cable for his mic to ensure social distancing, and we made the announcement live on location. This remote was made on battery power and was cool all the way around.”

Info: https://tieline.com/contact/

The post ViA Brings Wireless Freedom to Eastern Shore Radio appeared first on Radio World.