Industry News

NEW YORK — The shareholders of Meredith Corporation are one step closer to seeing the company’s stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, disappear forever.

That’s because they’ve approved the Des Moines-based multimedia company’s $2.825 billion acquisition by Gray Television.

The required shareholder approval came Tuesday morning a special shareholder meeting. Now, Meredith on Wednesday will likely move ahead with filing a Form 8-K with the SEC disclosing the full voting results of the special meeting.

Immediately prior to the Gray acquisition close, Meredith will spin its digital, magazine, MNI, PEOPLE TV, and corporate operations out to its shareholders as a new company, Meredith Holdings Corp. This is the entity that the Barry Diller-led IAC-owned Dotdash has agreed to acquire for $2.7 billion.

Gray will retain all of the local television holdings, and the transactions are now on track to close as expected by the close of business Wednesday (12/1).

As of 12:45pm Eastern, MDP was trading at $59.10, up 6 cents from Monday; Meredith shares are at their highest level since April 2019.

Gray Television, like other companies in the broadcast media sector, is lower on COVID-19 Omicron variant fears. GTN was trading at $20.45, off 3%, and is now back to where shares were in late April 2021.

When it comes to the top leadership at Townsquare Media, drumming up interest from institutional investors has been seen since the days of Steven Price and Dhruv Prasad, who each held the role of CEO prior to Bill Wilson.

Next week, Wilson will be presenting alongside Townsquare’s CFO at another key investor affair.

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

The author is founder and CEO of Radio Free Entertainment Network Ltd.

Christavus Dominic at work with StreamGuys’ SaaS tools. (Photo by Thomas Mendenhall)

Radio Free Entertainment Network Ltd. is a broadcast and internet streaming radio network playing the music of renowned and independent artists as well as local talk shows. We are dedicated to empowering our communities to promote educational, civic and cultural development by amplifying the voices of the traditionally underrepresented.

Its origins date to my tenure as general manager of grassroots radio station WMVU(FM), Radio Free Akron. When we decided to start broadcasting WMVU online in 2019, we chose StreamGuys as our streaming service provider at the recommendation of our engineer Blake Thompson.

With our success in streaming WMVU and my desire to bring more community to the world through music, I wanted to expand our efforts into a full-service radio network to help more people get their content out. I approached the principals at WMVU with my idea, and launched RFEN in March 2021 with co-founders Warner Mendenhall and Shuaib Meacham.

RFEN now hosts and aggregates live content from a growing roster of stations beyond the Akron area including Youth Artist Network Radio from Waterloo, Iowa; hip-hop station WJJN(FM) in Dothan, Ala.; and urban gospel station WINW(AM) in Canton, Ohio.

We use a broad range of StreamGuys solutions. In addition to delivering streams over its CDN, we use the SGplayer HTML5-based multimedia player and rely on analytics tools such as SGreports and SGmon to monitor and measure our operations and audience traffic. StreamGuys created an Alexa skill for WMVU to allow the station to be accessed easily on smart speakers.

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

We also used StreamGuys partner SoCast to create our website and mobile app, and products such as encoders from StreamGuys partners including Videon and Telos.

While at first we focused on live streaming, we added podcast hosting and distribution at the request of our clients, starting with a podcast series for Ted “The Man with the Golden Voice” Williams. StreamGuys once again made it easy for us to expand our offerings, and we use SGrecast for podcast management and publishing.

In addition to audio, we are starting to use StreamGuys services for video. We are using SGrecast to manage video podcasts and delivering them over StreamGuys’ CDN, and we plan to add live video streaming from our recently renovated studio soon.

I love the reliability, great sound and functionality that we get from StreamGuys’ streaming tools and SGrecast, but the number one thing I like about StreamGuys is its customer service. I can call them at any time, and they treat me like I’m a multimillion-dollar client.

I am not an engineer, so having StreamGuys provide managed services is worth every penny in taking the technical load off me and my team. They’re also proactive in sending out information about industry and technology updates. StreamGuys gives us a platform we can grow on, and is a great partner in helping us achieve our goals.

Info: Contact Jason Osburn at StreamGuys at 1-707-667-9479 or visit www.streamguys.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 User Report: StreamGuys Provides Growth Platform for RFEN appeared first on Radio World.

(Photo courtesy Public Knowledge)

In advance of the Senate hearing scheduled for Dec. 1 on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) president and CEO Gordon Smith has expressed “serious concerns” about her previous involvement as a director in the streaming service Locast.

After lengthy litigation, the Locast service, which streamed local broadcast signals in more than 30 markets, was forced to shut down in September when a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled it was illegally streaming the signals.

“NAB strongly supports Congress’s desire to have a fully seated Federal Communications Commission as soon as possible,” Gordon said in a statement. “Although NAB does not currently oppose the nomination of Gigi Sohn, we have serious concerns about her involvement as one of three directors of the illegal streaming service Locast.”

[See Our Business and Law Page]

“NAB is confident that these concerns can be resolved,” stated Gordon. “However, the ethics agreement that Ms. Sohn submitted to the Senate currently does not adequately address the inherent conflict presented by her recent leadership position at Locast and her potential role as an FCC commissioner. NAB is actively working with members of the Senate Commerce Committee and the White House to address this conflict and requests that Ms. Sohn submit an amended ethics agreement that meaningfully and effectively addresses this clear and troubling conflict.”

Sohn is one of three leaders at the company, along with one other director and former Dish executive and Locast founder David Goodfriend. Two days after her nomination as commissioner, Sohn entered into a settlement with the plaintiffs in the case that enjoined her from operating Locast in the future or any other service seeking to exploit Congress’s nonprofit exemption to the copyright laws. The company also agreed to pay the broadcaster plaintiffs $32 million as a result of its ongoing illegal activity.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post NAB Expresses ‘Serious Concerns’ About Sohn FCC Nomination appeared first on Radio World.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Executive VP for Newsgathering at CBS News has been selected, and it is a woman who will have editorial oversight for network newsgathering worldwide, including all domestic and international bureaus.

Taking the role is the the current EVP and CBS News Washington bureau chief, in the post since July 2020.

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

Don’t tell this crowd that there aren’t young people out there who are interested in broadcast technology.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers announced that the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust has awarded five scholarships for 2021.

They are given to individuals interested in continuing or beginning an education in broadcast engineering and technology. Each recipient this year receives $2,500. The choices were announced by SBE President Andrea Cummis.

From left: Ismail Otu, Michael Cassara, Zachary Cameron, Christopher Gamelin and Meredith Frank

The Harold E. Ennes Scholarship recipient is Ismail Otu, CRO, CTO, a graduate of the Broadcasting Production Technology Program at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C. SBE said he plans to attend the Cleveland Institute of Electronics and major in broadcast engineering/wireless communication electronics.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

The Robert D. Greenberg Scholarship recipient is Michael Cassara, who is in his sophomore year of studying computer engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

The John H. Battison SBE Founder’s Scholarship is awarded to Zachary Cameron, who is attending Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., studying telecommunications.

The Gino Ricciardelli Scholarship goes to Christopher Gamelin, who has worked at iHeartMedia and Entercom Communications and now is a maintenance technician with WFSB(TV), where he has worked on remote broadcasts and continues to expand his electronics knowledge.

And the Youth Scholarship goes to Meredith Frank, who will pursue her interest in live TV production at Hofstra University, working on a degree in television production and studies.

The Harold Ennes Scholarship Fund Trust was started by Indianapolis Chapter 25 in 1980 in memory of Harold E. Ennes. Administration was taken over by the national SBE in 1981, and the name of the trust was changed in 1995 to the Harold Ennes Educational Foundation Trust.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post SBE Announces Ennes Scholarship Recipients appeared first on Radio World.

SAVANNAH, GA. — For television viewers in Georgia’s Coastal Empire, local news choices have become more competitive than ever. While Gray Television’s WTOC-11 remains the leader and most top-of-mind local TV station in this region, Hearst-owned WJCL-22 has developed an incubator for its other local news organizations across the nation. Sinclair Broadcast Group’s FOX affiliate, WTGS-28, has also gained a sizable audience.

Then there is the local NBC affiliate, owned by Nexstar Media Group thanks to its merger in 2016 with Media General. It was a property that Raycom Media, at its founding, declined to own, choosing instead WTOC.

Today, that Nexstar station, WSAV-3, is on a growth spurt, making Savannah-Beaufort-Hilton Head a thriving market for broadcast TV. Now, WSAV has a new leader.

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

WASHINGON, D.C. — The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has released a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for Broadcast Core Network technologies to enhance the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard.

The project is on a fast track, the group says, with initial responses of interest due by December 31.

“ATSC members are the stewards of the ATSC 3.0 Platform, evolving and expanding the system’s capabilities over time,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland. “This new development will move the technology forward and unlock innovative business scenarios for the broadcast ecosystem.”

ATSC is in the process of specifying Standards for a Broadcast Core Network. ATSC envisions that the addition of core networking capabilities can be an integral part of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast system architecture. The aim, ATSC says, is to facilitate efficient interconnect between broadcast towers to form one or more service networks, enabling new business opportunities that require efficient regional or national data delivery options. Sourcing content from multiple data networks, a Broadcast Core Network holds potential to broaden the range of addressable use cases beyond those defined for linear television program delivery and extend the utility of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast facilities to untapped market areas, such as Broadcast (Virtual) Network Operator (BNO, BVNO), Regional or National Datacasting, enhanced Interactivity, and Data/Content Offload.

“We are excited to expand ATSC 3.0 options to include Core Networking,” said Luke Fay, Chair of ATSC Technology Group 3 and Sr. Manager Technical Standards at Sony Electronics. “This valuable addition to the ATSC 3.0 standard will enable broadcasters to coordinate data and content delivery across multiple markets. We look forward to specifying a state-of-the-art ATSC 3.0 extension with experts in the industry.”

Interested organizations may submit an intent-to-respond by December 31. Details of the response requirements and schedule can be found in the RFP.

Shulins Solutions, known for its monitor, control and protection products for transmission sites, drone-based tower inspections and broadcast consulting services, says a “leading North American tower company has agreed to a multi-site purchase of Stellar Eclipse broadcast site monitor and protection system featuring VSWR Sentinel.

It’s not revealing the name of the tower company, but Shulins says the purchase means they will increase their deployment of Stellar Eclipse to more than 70 sites across the top 50 markets, protecting over 350 of radio and TV stations.

“Shared common antenna sites often with complex combining networks demand monitoring and protection beyond a simple remote control,” Shulins says. “To protect these significant investments, broadcasters need a proactive solution to not only provide next level of monitoring, logging and control, but a comprehensive VSWR system for maximum protection.”

In selecting Stellar Ellipse, the company is deploying a platform and architecture to not only protect the RF systems for FM and all formats of analog digital TV on VHF and UHF including ATSC 3.0, but also provides unique cloud-based monitoring of many shared systems often overlooked in an individual stations remote control, Shulins says.

Paul Shulins, the company’s President, comments, “This investment in our next generation, cloud-based monitoring and protection systems delivers the protection and visibility of critical communication infrastructure our customers count on to deliver their content
in a demanding 24/7/365 environment and much more.”

With the support of Fincons Group, Univision developed a new broadcasting app to enable personalization of viewer experience over both broadband connected and linear TV.

The app, which leverages ATSC 3.0 technology and innovative integrations to provide viewers with dynamic content both via Broadband (OTT) and Broadcast (OTA) connection, is a winner. Literally.

Fincons Group’s Univision ATSC3.0 Broadcast App is a Best New Streaming Technology winner in the 2021 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. The awards program recognizes the most significant and promising new products and technologies showcased by corporate partners of NAB Show.

The app enables the delivery of additional information regarding news anchors in the “Meet the local news team” navigation node, access to QR coded additional content and dynamic local weather forecast. For OTT viewers, the app also provides access to on-demand local news clips.

The app, which integrates the A3FA Consortium Framework, is one of the first to leverage the ATSC 3.0 standard to deliver enhanced viewing experiences to both connected and unconnected TVs.

NAB Show Product of the Year Award Winners were selected by a panel of industry experts in 16 categories and announced in a live awards ceremony on NAB Amplify on November 3. To be eligible for an award, nominated products had to come from companies scheduled to exhibit in either the 2020 or 2021 NAB Show and are delivered within the 2021 calendar year.