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TORONTO — It’s been likened to the plotline of HBO comedy-drama Succession, focused on a highly dysfunctional dynasty at one of the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate.

The family drama behind the future of Rogers Communications, one of North America’s biggest media entities, has dominated the headlines of the Sun tabloid and Financial Post. Now, it appears that the son of the company’s late founder, Ted Rogers, has been empowered to constitute a new board — something his siblings fought to stop.

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Of some 1,060 recent and prospective car buyers surveyed in the U.S., some 89% say a broadcast radio tuner should be standard equipment every car.

That’s according to new research released earlier today in London by Edison Research — a trend that is consistent across age groups.

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The author is with WHYU(LP), licensed to the American Militia Association, in Meyersdale, Pa.

Regarding the stories “LP-250 FM Petition Draws Lots of Interest” and “NAB Renews Objections to LP-250.”

The NAB has a single goal: looking out for the financial interests of incumbent, commercial, full-power stations.

It is well-known that many struggling LPFM stations are not only facing financial burdens keeping their stations on the air, but also to be heard by the people in the communities they serve.

In most rural areas, LPFM signals at 100 Watts ERP at 30m HAAT are simply not strong enough to overcome terrain and spacing of homes to be adequately tuned in for reliable listening. While this may be quite different for flat terrain metro areas, that is not the norm for the majority of LPFM stations.

The NAB and its members are quite pleased that LPFMs thus far have not had any significant negative impact on the number of listeners they receive for their full-power stations. They know that the LPFM signals are not strong enough or large enough to cause their listeners to seek out noncommercial local alternatives to their ad-bloated and nationally mirrored nonlocal content.

How do they wish to sway the FCC against any expansion in service for LPFMs? They allege that LPFMs do not and will not comply with FCC regulations.

This is just another ruse, as many LPFMs have been fined for breaking the rules, and when an LPFM causes actual interference, full-power stations retain their protected status and can force LPFMs off the air.

What they want is even greater protection and monopoly of the dial and to snuff out what they know is a potential problem for them — a potential reduction in listeners and advertiser dollars that have the tiniest potential of being redirected to LPFM underwriting.

The NAB has rejected every LPFM-related proposal for this reason alone. The opposition comments attempt to vilify all LPFMs as rule-breakers and toss out technical jargon to somehow convince regulators that an LPFM being able to be heard by their communities will flood the airwaves with interference.

The truth is that the NAB thinks it is unfair that a nonprofit station doesn’t pay as much as they do for listener acquisition, although full-power commercial stations can pay their fees without nearly as much financial concern as the low-power, weak-signaled LPFM station that can hardly be heard by any significant audience.

Two hundred and fifty watts is not anywhere close to the average full power of such stations, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

Congress passed legislation authorizing such local community stations, surely with an intent that they could be heard by the communities they serve. Increasing that ability while continuing to limit interference and protecting the very stations the NAB supports would meet the needs of the legislative mandate.

The FCC should consider the NAB objections for what they are: nonsensical bias to further protect their financial interests.

RW welcomes comments on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Commentary: Skip the Nonsensical Bias About LPFM appeared first on Radio World.

Audacy will have a new CRO as of Dec. 1. Brian Benedik will become chief revenue officer at that time.

“As a key member of the executive team, Benedik will lead all aspects of revenue generation across corporate, national, regional and local levels and develop fully integrated, multiplatform sales solutions and breakthrough strategies to attract new revenue streams,” the company announced. Benedik succeeds Bob Philips.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Chief Operating Officer cited Benedik’s “key roles” in the past for audio publishers like Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible and Katz Media.

Benedik most recently was VP/global head of revenue for Niantic, an AR developer platform and gaming publisher.

“For seven formative years at Spotify, Benedik was a key member of the senior leadership team as SVP/global head of sales and operations leading a team of over 550 people in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions,” Audacy stated. “As the leader of the Spotify Global Advertising Business, Benedik oversaw the direct, programmatic, podcast, re-seller and self-serve platform teams as well as ad and sales operations, trading, global agency and accounts and training groups.”

He also was founder and president of Katz Digital; president of Christal Radio within the Katz Media Group; and general sales manager for WHTZ(FM) New York at iHeartMedia. He has held advisory roles for Audible and Targetspot.

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Brian Benedik Joins Audacy in Revenue Role appeared first on Radio World.

In one week, on November 16, American Urban Radio Networks CEO Chesley Maddox-Dorsey will appear as the Moderator of a highly anticipated Forecast 2022 roundtable discussion with two individuals who are highly instrumental decision-makers when it comes to media budgets, advertising expenditures, and determining just how all consumers — in particular multicultural consumers — are included in the media buy.

GM Global CMO Deborah Wahl and dentsu Chief Product Officer for Global Media Doug Ray will be chatting with Maddox-Dorsey on a variety of topics — including the promise by Fortune 500 companies of increased advertising investment in Black and multicultural media. That’s just one topic of discussion Maddox-Dorsey shares in this exclusive RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Chesley Maddox-Dorsey” on Spreaker.

NEW YORK — FreeWheel has integrated a key set of technologies into its platform to enable its clients to programmatically acquire incremental inventory and extend audience reach in a single workflow.

By integrating Beeswax bidding capabilities into its supply technology, FreeWheel says it is investing in the future of programmatic trading as a cornerstone of the television marketplace.

The new integration, the Comcast-owned entity says, will provide a way for media owners and sellers who use FreeWheel’s publisher technology for management and optimization of their own inventory to access additional premium TV and video inventory directly through FreeWheel.

By automating campaign extension using advanced bidding algorithms, publishers will be able to fulfill advertising campaigns across available pools of inventory throughout the media ecosystem, FreeWheel adds.

“When we acquired Beeswax earlier this year, we recognized that its leading bidding technology could be used to improve the value that our platform provides to our customers,” said FreeWheel GM Dave Clark. “Now, with our recently completed integration, this value proposition is real – a unified inventory view, unified optimization, and unified measurement across inventory sources and screens, within a single system. This advancement will bring immediate, meaningful change to our customers and the industry.”

As such, FreeWheel’s publisher customers are now able to deliver against both their own inventory and third-party inventory with the same creatives, workflow, frequency capping,
budgeting, and pacing.

“With bidding technology built right into the platform, users will have a unified view of all their inventory sources and optimize campaigns for performance and profitability,” FreeWheel says.

FreeWheel is currently piloting the product with select customers with plans for a full rollout in early 2022. The pilot is part of a multi-staged initiative as FreeWheel aims to bring enhanced programmatic technology to premium advertisers and publishers to connect multiple parts of the TV and video advertising ecosystem.

In late July, Bob Philips relinquished his role as Chief Revenue Officer for Audacy Inc., thanks to his appointment by the company as President of Audacy Networks and Multi-Market Sales.

Subsequently, a search for his successor began, with Audacy seeking an individual who could “drive this growth and expansion, especially in the digital arena.”

In the end, Audacy selected the founder and former President of Katz Digital — an individual who also served as President of Christal Radio within the Katz Media Group and General Sales Manager for iHeartMedia‘s East Coast Top 40 flagship, “Z100.”

That would be Brian Benedik, who excelled as the head of sales for WHTZ-FM in New York for iHeartMedia, among other key highlights across a nearly 30-year career in radio. He begins his new role as Audacy’s Chief Revenue Officer on December 1.

“As a key member of the executive team, Benedik will lead all aspects of revenue generation across corporate, national, regional and local levels and develop fully integrated, multiplatform sales solutions and breakthrough strategies to attract new revenue streams,” Audacy says.

He reports to Chief Operating Officer Susan Larkin, who was thrilled to be welcoming Benedik to the C-Suite. “His resume speaks for itself, with key roles at audio publishers like Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible and Katz Media, where his strategic vision enabled the former to quickly elevate from a newcomer in our industry to a multi-billion dollar leader in the audio streaming space. Brian’s considerable expertise and experience will amplify our revenue generation efforts as Audacy continues its upward trajectory.”

Benedik added, “The audio industry is booming with innovation and consumers are enjoying wonderful content experiences across a number of platforms. The Audacy re-imagination efforts are beyond impressive and the portfolio of assets across radio, streaming, podcast, live events, sports play-by-play and sports betting are best in class. I’m looking forward to working with David Field, Susan Larkin and the Audacy executive team to drive value to marketers and our loyal users.”

Benedik joins Audacy from Niantic, an Augmented Reality (AR) developer platform and real world gaming publisher, where he served as VP/Global Head of Revenue.

Before that, he spent seven years at Spotify. There, he was SVP/Global Head of Sales and Operations, leading a team of over 550 people in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. As the leader of the Spotify Global Advertising Business, Benedik oversaw the direct, programmatic, podcast, re-seller and self serve platform teams as well as ad and sales operations, trading, global agency and accounts and training groups.

Audacy requires all incoming employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. As such, Benedik is required to provide proof of vaccination, which will be kept confidential.

How much will Benedik earn?

When Philips was CRO, his salary was $715,993 — the fourth-highest salary by job title in the telecommunications industry as measured by Salary.com for FY 2020.

Of Philips’ total earnings in 2020, $555,900 was received as a salary, $138,986 was awarded as stock and $21,107 came from other types of compensation, SEC filings confirm.

RELATED NEWS:

A Big EPS Miss For Audacy in Q3 While more categories have invested more in advertising with Audacy’s on-demand audio offerings and its broadcast radio stations, the struggle is real for the radio station owner and parent of podcast entities Cadence13 and Pineapple Street. The company still registered a net loss in Q3, although a smaller one than one year ago. The problem? Analysts expected earnings per share of $0.09.

Viasat Inc. will acquire mobile satellite communications supplier Inmarsat in a transaction valued at $7.3 billion, the companies announced.

The transaction includes $850 million in cash, approximately 46.36 million shares of Viasat common stock valued at $3.1 billion and the assumption of $3.4 billion of debt.

Viasat Executive Chairman Mark Dankberg described the deal as a “transformative combination.”

Inmarsat logo

“The combination will create a leading global communications innovator with enhanced scale and scope to affordably, securely and reliably connect the world,” the companies stated in the announcement.

“The complementary assets and resources of the new organization will enable the availability of advanced new services in mobile and fixed segments, driving greater customer choice in broadband communications and narrowband services (including the Internet of Things or ‘IoT’).”

They said Viasat intends to integrate the spectrum, satellite and terrestrial assets of the two entities into “a global high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network, capable of delivering superior services in fast-growing commercial and government sectors.”

“This advanced architecture will create a framework incorporating the most favorable characteristics of multi-band, multi-orbit satellites and terrestrial air-to-ground systems that can deliver higher speeds, more bandwidth, greater density of bandwidth at high demand locations like airport and shipping hubs and lower latency at lower cost than either company could provide alone.”

Assets of the combined companies will include spectrum licenses across the Ka-, L- and S-bands, a fleet of 19 satellites and 10 more planned for launch in the next three years. They cite a global Ka-band footprint including planned polar coverage, “to support bandwidth-intensive applications, augmented by L-band assets that support all-weather resilience and highly reliable, narrowband and IoT connectivity.”

They also expect to get more value out of Inmarsat’s L-band spectrum and space assets by incorporating Viasat’s beamforming, end-user terminal and payload technologies and its hybrid multi-orbit space-terrestrial networking capabilities.

Inmarsat is based in the United Kingdom while Viasat is headquartered in California.

Viasat said it plans to build on Inmarsat’s presence there and “is committed to preserving and growing the investment of the combined company in U.K. space communications, as well as supporting the recently published National Space Strategy.” It plans to keep Inmarsat’s London headquarters “as well as its footprint in Australia and Canada and across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.”

 

The post Viasat Will Acquire Inmarsat appeared first on Radio World.

“While many ad categories remain highly impacted as a result of the pandemic, it is great to see an increasing number of categories back above 2019 spending levels,” said David Field, President/CEO of Audacy Inc., the audio content creation and distribution company founded as Entercom by his father, Joseph Field.

Alas, while more categories have invested more in advertising with Audacy’s on-demand audio offerings and its broadcast radio stations, the struggle is real for the Philadelphia-based company.

The company still registered a net loss in Q3, although a smaller one than one year ago. The problem? Analysts expected earnings per share of $0.09. Audacy missed the mark by 13 cents per share.

Bob Philips’ Successor As Audacy CRO Selected Audacy selected as its new Chief Revenue Officer the founder and former President of Katz Digital — an individual who also served as President of Christal Radio within the Katz Media Group and General Sales Manager for iHeartMedia’s East Coast Top 40 flagship, “Z100.”

 

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The 12-year-old Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) will be getting new leadership within the first three months of 2022.

That’s because the organization’s CEO and Managing Director who has held the dual roles since CIMM’s 1999 creation is retiring.

Jane Clarke will step down from the positions at CIMM, with the reins at the coalition within the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) handed to Jon Watts.

Watts is co-founder and Executive Director of The Project X Institute, a think tank and strategic advisory collective for the media and advertising industries. He also serves as Project Director for The TV Data Initiative, a consortium of data and technology companies that include DISH Media, Blockgraph, TVSquared, MadHive, VideoAmp, TransUnion, Eyeota and Magnite. The TV Data Initiative is focused on supporting the growth and development of the U.S. TV data ecosystem.

“There is perhaps no one individual in the industry today more responsible for advancing cross-platform video measurement than Jane,” ARF President/CEO Scott McDonald said. “Her ability to help buyers, sellers and vendors join together to identify a vision and act upon it, backed by her unique understanding of the technical and business challenges involved, has made it possible for the industry to be near attainment of its ultimate goal. She now leaves that mission in the very experienced and capable hands of Jon.”

CIMM was founded in 2009 by major TV network groups, television content providers, media agencies and advertisers as an industry R&D consortium to promote innovation in audience measurement for television and cross-platform media. It was acquired by the ARF in 2018 and established as a subsidiary.

During Clarke’s tenure, CIMM launched pilot tests of innovative measurement solutions and conducted research to develop best practices and bring transparency and industry confidence to new measurement solutions. Additionally, CIMM established a framework of building blocks for cross-platform video measurement that includes scaled and nationally-representative, second-by-second TV exposure data; digital census data for content and ads; panel data to fill in the gaps; and methods to connect TV and digital data via ID-graphs. CIMM’s research focused on improvements in these areas, including tools for planning, deduplicating reach across platforms and TV attribution.  Additionally, CIMM has long been an advocate for standardizing metadata across TV and digital platforms, including ad and content identifiers such as Ad-ID, to improve cross-platform measurement and bring workflow efficiencies.

“I am so grateful to all in the industry who have been deeply committed to CIMM and its mission,” Clarke said. “It is because of their vision, drive, innovation and willingness to work together that so many significant challenges to cross-platform measurement have been overcome. CIMM is a special organization where all segments of the industry can come together to jointly evaluate and spur the development of new technologies and methodologies to ensure they work for the needs of all. I am honored to have helped guide CIMM and immensely proud of what we have achieved.”

From the RBR+TVBR Archives: In February, the 12-year-old Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) took to Zoom and conducted the first of its two virtual sessions comprising the 10th annual Cross-Platform Video Measurement & Data Summit. Six months later, we spoke with Jane Clarke to get a new look on the state of measurement. Among Clarke’s choice declarations: The panel just doesn’t work anymore. For all of what Clarke had to say in just under 15 minutes, check out this RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM!

With a goal of “powering up the in car audio streaming experience for consumers,” TuneIn has inked an arrangement with a major automotive part manufacturer that could make it as front-and-center as Sirius XM, AM and FM are on the in-dash audio entertainment system.

Thanks to a new partnership, announced today, HARMAN and TuneIn are joining forces to create a pre-integrated implementation of the TuneIn app.

This not only expands the ability for drivers to listen to audio streaming of many of their favorite broadcast radio stations, including those from iHeartMedia, but brings on-demand live sports, news, music, podcasts to the HARMAN Ignite Store. That’s HARMAN’s connected vehicle platform for automakers, which they will use to develop, manage and operate their own in-vehicle app store.

“Automotive manufacturers can leverage the HARMAN Ignite Store digital ecosystem for OEMs to enable drivers to download a TuneIn app tailored to the in-car environment,” the companies say. “Through the app, TuneIn listeners can access audio content while keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.”

Through the TuneIn collaboration, drivers will also get to experience what the streaming audio app calls “experience premium connected features.” They include a free trial subscription to TuneIn Premium, giving them exclusive access to commercial-free news from top networks like CNN, Fox News Radio, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg, as well as live NFL, NHL, MLB, and college sports programming. There are also commercial-free music channels, in addition to personalized content recommendations right from the dashboard app.

With the iHeartMedia app already on Apple Car Play, it’s another way for consumers to access their content — as well as TuneIn’s other global partners.

RBR+TVBR Related Read:

With Funding Injection, TuneIn Welcomes a New CEO Adam Jacobson Despite its spurn from leading radio broadcasting companies, the TuneIn app remains globally ubiquitous, embedded into LifeCycle gym equipment and found on the Roku app. Now, it’s getting a new leader, and is welcoming the former Chief Product Officer at Audible as its new CEO.

Broadcast media industry sales technology provider Marketron has launched a new product suite designed to leverage open APIs, connectors and custom integrations.

This, Marketron says, gives its customers the ability to consolidate disparate data sources — including linear, O&O and third-party digital advertising systems — into a single ecosystem.

Introducing the Marketron Integration Suite, which the company says can help users “reduce bottlenecks, realize greater visibility, and drive increased revenue.”

Jimshade Chaudhari, Marketron’s SVP/Product Development, says, “The Marketron Integration Suite enables our customers to save time by automating daily tasks,
bringing digital and linear orders into one system and accessing better reports all while building a best-in-breed technology stack. The ability for customers to use their data wherever they want, within our ecosystem and beyond, is invaluable in enabling more efficient, agile, and informed operations.”

From the RBR+TVBR Archives:

The InFOCUS Podcast: Jimshade Chaudhari, Marketron Adam Jacobson In this InFOCUS podcast, presented by dot.FM, SVP of Product Jimshade Chaudhari chats with RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson on what products Marketron is ready to put the spotlight on — including one new offering of interest to radio and TV. LISTEN HERE

A new multi-year affiliation agreement is in place that will prevent a “great affiliate switch” from taking shape in some 47 local TV markets across the U.S.

It’s thanks to a pact signed by the company that will soon complete its merger with Meredith Local Media.

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The winners of the third annual NAB Show Product of the Year Awards were revealed on November 3 during the virtual Product of the Year Awards celebration, held virtually on the NAB Amplify platform.

The awards recognize “significant and promising new products and technologies” that were set to be displayed for the first time at the previously canceled 2021 NAB Show.

This year’s winners are:

ACQUISITION CATEGORY
Cameras

• Panasonic LUMIX: DC-BGH1
• Bolin Technology: D Series Dante AV PTZ Camera
• Canon: Canon EOS R5
• Canon: Canon EOS R3
• Canon: Canon CR-N500 PTZ
• Canon: Canon CR-N300 PTZ
• AVer Information Inc.: AVer TR313 4K AI Auto Tracking Camera

Camera Support, Control and Accessories

• MRMC: Polymotion Chat
• MRMC: Bolt Jr+
• Canon: Canon Cine-Servo 25-250mm
• Canon: Canon DP-V3120 Reference Display

Hardware Infrastructure

• kvm-tec electronic GmbH: SCALABLE LINE 4K & FULL HD
• Sencore: ATSC 3.0 to TS Multi-Channel Transcoder – TXS 3800
• Cobalt Digital: 9905-MPx 3G/HD/SD Quad-Path Up/Down/Cross Converter/Frame Sync/Embed/De-Embed Audio Processor
• Cobalt Digital: Indigo ST 2110 Series
• Tieline the Codec Company: Gateway 4
• Theatrixx Technologies: xPressPlay
• Artel Video Systems: SMART OpenGear

Monitoring and Measuring Tools

• PHABRIX: QxL
• Telestream: Inspect 2110

DELIVERY CATEGORY
AI/Machine Learning

• Veritone, Inc.: MARVEL.ai
• Digtial Nirvana: MetadataIQ
• BEAM Dynamics: BeamON Product Intelligence Platform
• Prime Focus Technologies: CLEAR Vision Cloud – AI-powered multi-frame rate conformance

Digital Signage and Display Systems

• Sony: Spacial Reality Display

Streaming

• Fincons Group: Univision ATSC3.0 Broadcast Apps
• LiveU: LU800 PRO4 Multicamera, Production-Level Field Unit
• Kaltura: Kaltura Content Aggregation Solutions
• Kaltura and Broadpeak: Hybrid Video Plane
• Shure Incorporated: MV7 Podcast Kit
• SSIMWAVE: SSIMPLUS® Video Quality Dial
• Zype: Playout 2.0

IT Networking/Infrastructure & Security

• Cobalt Digital: RIST (RELIABLE INTERNET STREAM TRANSPORT) Main Profile Security Option for Cobalt Compression Line
• NDI: NDI 5
• Lawo: HOME

PRODUCTION CATEGORY
Asset Management, Automation, Playout

• LiveU: LiveU Matrix Cloud Video Management & Distribution Solution featuring Dynamic Share & Global Directory
• NewTek: 3Play® 3P2
• SDVI: Rally Insight data analytics service

Audio Production, Processing and Networking

• Deity Microphones: Deity BP-TRX
• Wheatstone Corporation: Blade Four
• Patton Electronics Co: DanteAV over IP
• Shure Incorporated: ADX5D Axient® Digital Dual-Channel Portable Wireless Receiver

Cloud Computing and Virtualization

• VAST Data: Gemini, the new model for VAST Data’s Universal Storage
• DataCore Software: DataCore Swarm
• Komprise: Komprise Intelligent Data Management 4.0
• Wasabi Technologies: Wasabi Object Lock
• Frame.io: Frame.io Camera to Cloud (C2C)
• Telestream: Telestream Cloud
• EditShare: Universal Media Projects
• Grass Valley: GV AMPP

Graphics, Editing, VXF, Switchers

• Blackbird: Blackbird
• Opticis USA: HDHF-4K
• Noitom International, Inc.: Perception Neuron 3
• Dalet: Dalet CubeNG
• Adobe: Speech to Text in Adobe Premiere Pro
• Mo-Sys Engineering: Mo-Sys VP Pro XR
• Maxon: Cinema 4D Release 25
• Maxon: Red Giant Complete
• Vizrt: Vizrt XR Set — Viz Engine 4.3 and Unreal Engine
• Flowics: Flowics Graphics

Location Lighting

• StellaPro Lights by Light & Motion: Reflex

Remote Production

• LiveU: LU800 PRO4 Multicamera, Production-Level Field Unit
• LiveU: LiveU Matrix Cloud Video Management & Distribution Solution featuring Dynamic Share & Global Directory
• Noitom International, Inc.: Perception Neuron 3
• Clear-Com: Agent-IC Mobile App
• Vizrt: Vizrt Live Production in the cloud

NAB Show registration is now open at nabshow.com for access to the 2022 Show Floor and select education content. Registration for paid conferences and workshops will be available later this year.

Broadcast audio consortium Telos Alliance has brought to market Podcast Audio Processing Software.

And, the company considers the OmniaTools offering to be an “enterprise-class toolset that gives podcasters everything they need to deliver listenable audio with a consistently prominent sound.”

As more audio is produced remotely and consumed on-demand, the challenge of consistent audio levels is becoming even greater. In fact, it is the number-one complaint of podcast listeners. OmniaTools allows podcasters to automatically manage loudness levels and create a unique signature sound on podcasts and other on-demand content, helping them stand out, brand, and keep audiences engaged. This enterprise-class Windows Service makes it easy to deliver consistent loudness for all audio files, while improving the quality of the audio.

“If you care about your podcast content getting through to the listener, you should care about sound quality,” says Marty Sacks, EVP of Sales, Support, and Marketing at Telos Alliance. “Poor-quality sound is fatiguing and creates the risk of listeners tuning out. Like a dirty windshield, compromised audio quality obscures the sonic landscape. Details get lost, speech can be more difficult to comprehend, and content can suffer as a result. OmniaTools makes podcast and other on-demand audio more listenable, less fatiguing, and more consistent.”

OmniaTools complies with North American and International Loudness control standards. It includes APTO loudness processing, file-based Omnia.9 processing, hot folder or API-driven processing, file-type auto-detect, and clearly labeled, proven presets for out-of-the-box functionality.

The author is business manager for Southern Stone Communications.

At Southern Stone Communications, we have a long history of delivering entertainment and content to communities across the southeast U.S. Over the past three decades, our stations have offered popular programming including top 40 hits, hip-hop, contemporary, news and talk radio.

We’ve evolved as the industry moved from records to digital streaming, and we’ve adapted and enhanced our services to offer our customers a data-driven approach to advertising. While we’re proud to provide top-notch programming for our listeners and a great customer experience for advertisers, we recently realized that a critical internal process was causing frustration and inefficiency for our business office.

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

For years we relied on a manual process to accept credit card payments. In addition to being time-consuming, this process was vulnerable to error and sometimes flat out confusing for our staff. Credit card forms were often filled out incorrectly, and it wasn’t always clear how to apply the payment.

Needing to notify sales reps and clients of declined cards, or to handle a last-minute request to run or rerun a credit card, our team found it difficult to maintain an efficient workflow.

All of that changed when we implemented Marketron Traffic system coupled with its PayNow service. The online payment system takes the burden off our business office and gives our advertising customers a clean, clear interface for applying payments to their invoices.

Because setup is straightforward, we were able to shift customers onto the system quickly. And they appreciate being able to pay those invoices at their convenience and easily see where payments are applied.

By bringing payments onto a secure online platform, we’ve done more than simplify the process and reduce error. We’ve also eliminated paper forms and the exchange of payment information via email, thereby removing the liability and potential risk of credit card information being vulnerable at some point in the process. This level of security gives everyone, our team and our customers, greater peace of mind.

Of course, one of the most significant benefits we’ve realized has been time savings. While our average of 7 minutes per manual credit card payment might not sound too onerous, the time really added up across all our markets and stations. And every interruption for card processing took a staff member away from other essential tasks.

Now that we’ve shifted our customers onto Marketron Traffic with PayNow, we’re free from those interruptions. Our customers are happier, and we have reclaimed valuable time that we use to keep the rest of the business running smoothly.

For information, contact Todd Kalman at Marketron at 1-612-790-8464 or visit www.marketron.com.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

 

The post Marketron Lightens Burden of Payment Processing appeared first on Radio World.

Photo: ATSC

A local San Diego low-power TV station is testing the broadcast of FM signals over ATSC 3.0 (aka “NextGen TV”).

KRPE-LD San Diego, low-power TV Channel 6, atop Mt. San Miguel, is the first station in its market to broadcast ATSC 3.0. The FCC granted a Special Temporary Authorization for a signal on TV Channel 6, 82–88 MHz, that includes an innovative analog FM carrier at 87.75 MHz. According to Director of Engineering Daniel Bissett, licensee Venture Technologies Group LLC completed construction of the new signal on Oct. 7.

Analog broadcaster KRPE(LP) and Channel 6 low-power TV stations nationwide had for years been marketing to audiences as an FM station, broadcasting aural subcarriers with high injection levels and 75 kHz FM modulation in order to attract listeners using conventional FM tuners.

Many industry engineers had derisively called these “Franken FM” signals on 87.75 MHz, the traditional Channel 6 visual carrier frequency. For their accompanying analog TV visual signals, they carried a static graphic, slide show, or limited video.

Venture filed an application with the FCC on Oct. 25 to license KRPE-LD as a NextGen station, confidently citing FCC rules regarding the adoption of NextGen without explaining the two-part signal.

“This is done because the License to Cover must be granted before the STA for the FM carrier can be requested,” Bissett said.

Venture filed like applications for their other stations earlier this year: KBKF-LD San Jose, KEFM-LD Sacramento, WRME-LD Chicago, and KZNO-LD Big Bear Lake (Los Angeles), and the FCC granted each.

Bissett says Venture broadcasts a signal at each of its Channel 6 stations fully compliant with the ATSC 3.0 standard, ingenious with its flexibility. He says the scheme should be adopted by the FCC without having to ask for temporary authority. And he adds that tests have shown the signal to be compatible both with current NextGen demodulation devices and analog FM tuners.

Venture first implemented NextGen TV at its station in San Jose, KBKF-LD. Bissett says that the station first tried to use 87.70 MHz as its FM frequency for compatibility with synthesized FM tuners but found many car tuners output unacceptable levels of distortion in their demodulated audio. When they moved to 87.75 MHz, the distortion cleared, so they adopted the old frequency in their FCC filings for their Channel 6 properties.

Bissett says the cause of this distortion so far remains a mystery unsolved by tuning their output filters. (On the other hand, my disciplined Sony XDR-F1HD tuner cannot demodulate an 87.75 MHz FM signal without this same distortion). Their ATSC 3.0 signal occupies 5.5 MHz of the TV channel.

They’re using transmitters assembled by Italian manufacturer Syes and by American Amplifier Technologies of Sacramento. Com-tech of Italy makes their output filters, and Bissett says the ATSC mask filters use eight cavities.

Fig. 1 Photo: KBKF

It hasn’t been lost on Bissett that there is great potential in multicasting digital audio signals on Channel 6 ATSC. Ignoring for a moment the enormous political hurdles to doing this, he says mobile reception tests of NextGen on Channel 6 have been disappointing. You can see on the spectrum diagram (Fig. 1) that the average visual signal is at least 24 dB below the level of the FM carrier, so the signal tends to drop out behind terrain.

Bissett doesn’t see much future in mobile broadcasting with the present broadcast model of few, prominent transmitters. However, Qualcomm’s implementation of Forward-Link-Only TV (“FLO TV”) digital broadcasting in the late 2000s took this into account with its synchronized, multiple-transmission-point system for each of its metro markets.

For now, Venture provides only a direct response shopping channel on their visual NextGen TV signals. They are looking for additional revenue opportunities.

The post San Diego TV Station Broadcasting Hybrid FM-ATSC 3.0 Signal on TV Channel 6 appeared first on Radio World.

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