Industry News

Thanks to better-than-anticipated interest, Jacobs Media Strategies is adding a second tour of the Consumer Electronics Show for broadcasters this January in Las Vegas.

“Since CES was cancelled last year due to the pandemic we didn’t know what to expect, but broadcasters from commercial, public radio, and Christian radio have all expressed interest,” the consultancy notes.

In a communique to its clients, Jacobs Media adds, “Attending CES the past dozen years has been a game-changer for us. We’ve gotten outside of the “radio bubble” and gained important insight into the technology and trends that have – and will – impact our business in the coming years. And our tours have provided us with the ability to talk to leaders from companies like Google, Amazon Alexa Auto, Ford, LG, and other companies to gain even more insight into their thinking.”

Recent announcements about changes in car entertainment systems that will impact radio have drawn the attention of many industry leaders. CES is the place to learn about them first-hand. There will be over 185 automotive and auto-tech companies showcasing their offerings including OEMs (GM, Daimler, and Hyundai), the designers of the future of the dashboard (Qualcomm and Bosch), numerous autonomous offerings, and new-product introductions like the Chevrolet Silverado EV, featuring GM’s CEO Mary Barra in a keynote presentation.

IF YOU’D CARE TO JOIN THE JACOBS MEDIA TOUR AT CES 2022, PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE!

WorldCast Systems, the supplier of advanced broadcast products, is bringing to market a new version of its Ecreso FM 5/10kW transmitter.

The Ecreso 5/10kW is a fully digital transmitter for analog FM which combines performance and high efficiency of up to 76%. The Ecreso 5/10kW is designed for cost efficiency, high audio quality, and user experience. The transmitter hosts a multitude of onboard features including an integrated digital modulator, 5-band sound processor, RDS encoder, MPX over AES compatibility, and SmartFM technology.

The Ecreso FM 5/10kW allows remote control by Web server with its advanced measurement interface in addition to SNMP management, RS232 or GPIOs.

“With the 2.3.0 version, users benefit from advanced features and improvements for additional reliability, efficiency, and control,” the company says.

These include:
SmartFM [V2] – This algorithm enables broadcasters to reduce their energy
consumption by up to 40%.
Automation – The company claims Ecreso FM is the only transmitter to automate a configuration change or send GPIO commands in case of specific alarms. Complementary to the scheduler features, the automation is part of the Communication Pack license.
RDS improvements – management of the UTF8 is now available.
Reinforced security from remote FTP through new access restrictions

Looking for that special holiday gift amid a supply chain slowdown that could make finding that item a bit difficult?

Second-hand presents may be the answer, and eBay has stepped up its efforts to make that point known by investing in a Spot Radio effort.

According to the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report, eBay is now the third-largest full paying advertiser on the stations tracked by the iHeartMedia-owned service. RBR+TVBR negates any iHeart-associated activity as it does not reflect fully paid advertising across all radio stations.

The latest report also shows a surge in activity from Indeed, while audio advertisements for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rank No. 5.

The FCC recently threw out all eight applications for new NCE FM channels from a recently formed ham radio club in Washington state, citing “numerous significant and egregious technical defects.”

When the Media Bureau last month announced the settlement period for mutually exclusive applications filed in the recent window for new noncommercial educational stations, it also published a list of applications being dismissed due to technical defects.

The Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club was prominent on the list. The club, established in 2021 according to its website, is on Bainbridge Island, home of the historical Fort Ward WWII naval radio station. The club’s mission statement indicates that the club includes licensed amateur radio men, women, students and youths.

The FCC said it typically doesn’t review MX applications for technical defects at this early stage, but it made the effort to do so and the ham club’s technical defects were identified.

Attempts by Radio World to contact the Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club for comment were unsuccessful.

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The commission cited numerous technical conflicts in the club’s applications, including significant overlap caused to first-, second- and third-adjacent channels and co-channel licensees. It said the club also ignored interference treaty agreements between the U.S. and Canada.

A rejected applicant has one opportunity to file a minor curative amendment and petition for reconsideration, requesting reinstatement of the application, according to the FCC. Any amendments and petitions for reconsideration must be filed within 30 days of the dismissals.

“In order for an application to be reinstated, the amendment must correct all the application defects, propose only minor changes, comply with all the commission’s relevant rules, and not create any new application conflicts,” according to the rules.

Bainbridge Island is just west of Seattle across Elliott Bay from the city. The island is connected to Seattle by ferry, according to the city’s website.

The Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club was founded this year by Louis Charles Hoffmann Alloin, according to the club’s website.

The commission received almost 1,300 applications for noncom educational FM stations in the recent window. Out of those, there are 231 MX groups with a total of 883 applications.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post FCC Rejects Ham Radio Club’s NCE Applications appeared first on Radio World.

Until now, opposition to President Biden’s choice to take the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, was expected to get vocal opposition from Republican members of the U.S. Senate.

Now, one key GOP leader in the upper body of Congress has voiced his opposition to the nomination of the acting Chairwoman to serve a new five-year term, setting the stage for a potentially unthinkable scenario — a 2-1 Republican majority at the FCC during a Democratic presidential term.

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A Class B FM once known for its rock ‘n’ roll programming and today offering South Asians an audio home as “Bolly 92.3” has become the first radio station in the U.S. to broadcast geo-targeted advertising.

It’s perhaps the first step in convincing marketers that broad-casting isn’t so broad, after all, and can bring addressable advertising to the FM radio dial, in addition to streaming audio.

RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: There’s a song that’s more than 40 years old called “Video Killed The Radio Star.” How about an update called “Marketers Killed The Radio Business.” Why? Broadcasters offer a broad array of consumers, putting one single message in the ears of thousands of potential buyers. Is that not worth anything in 2021?

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Is the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 a worry Wall Street need not push to much focus on? On Monday, that answer appeared to be a “yes,” as financial markets were up broadly.

Media stocks rode the wave upward. But, 3 notable decliners were seen.

Nexstar Media Group shares slipped by 1% on Monday, to $152.42, while Entravision shares declined by 2.6%, to $7.01. Also down: Cumulus Media, dipping by 1.4% to $11.83.

How did other stocks fare on Monday? Please visit the RBR.com homepage to view our Wall Street Report.

Recently, Good Karma Brands promoted Sam Pines to a corporate-level role of SVP. This left the top leadership spot open in Cleveland, where it operates the market’s ESPN Radio affiliate.

Pines’ successor in the market has now been named.

Rising to the post is Amy Crossman. She was previously the Director of Sales & Marketing for the Sports Talk station.

Pines said, “Amy embodies Good Karm Brands’ core values and takes a marketing first approach for our fans, advertising partners and teammates. She directly impacted our growth during a difficult and unique two years. I am excited for the future of ESPN Cleveland and our continued growth with Amy as Market Manager.”

Crossman added, “I appreciate the trust Sam Pines and the Good Karma Brands’ leadership team has put in me to lead and continue to grow a legacy brand. ESPN Cleveland has a passionate fanbase, loyal advertising partners and a dedicated team that we will continue to build in 2021 and beyond.”

Crossman joined ESPN Radio in Cleveland in October 2019, and for 19 months prior to that was Director of Partnership at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. A 25-year veteran of marketing, Crossman has worked at Men’s Health, Time, The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, PARADE Group, and as a director for Momentum Worldwide’s top B2B account, American Express OPEN.

On Wednesday, December 1, the legal counsel representing the trustee for two FM radio stations in Florida Cox Media Group is required to sell in order to comply with FCC local ownership rules spoke by phone with the head of the Media Bureau.

Why? Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey wants answers as to the necessary steps for the “CXR Radio Station Trust,” led by Houlihan Lokey broker Elliot Evers, to complete an “orderly process” of divesting the two radio stations.

Does this point to a capitulation with respect to Cox’s request that it get up to one year to sell the FMs, on the basis that the COVID-19 pandemic deflated their valuations and a rise in value could come in the next 12 months?

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) elected three experienced media executives to serve on the ATSC Board of Directors for three-year terms that begin in January 2022.

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