Industry News

Radio and TV broadcasters in the state of Georgia are gathering to celebrate the engineers in their midst.

The Georgia Association of Broadcasters will honor three engineers at this year’s GABCON, the largest gathering of radio and TV broadcasters in the state, set to be held Oct. 22–23 in Atlanta.

This year the association will honor Carl “CJ” Jackson with Salem Media Group; retiree Robert LaFore, formerly with Audacy Atlanta; and will posthumously award iHeartMedia executive and EME Communications owner Clyde Scott with the 2021 Angelo Ditty–Frank McLemore Engineering Award.

The award will be presented at the 2021 convention, an in-person event that will also offer educational sessions, an exhibit hall and will honor broadcasters across the state as part of the 2021 GABBY Awards for broadcasting excellence.

The post Engineers to Be Honored at GABCON appeared first on Radio World.

Manufacturer Broadcast Partners named Roland Schaller to a post where he’ll work to expand the company’s international sales.

“After spending the first half of his career in internet and telecommunications in technical and marketing roles, he moved to broadcasting in the field of satellite and terrestrial broadcast hardware and software, in presales and sales roles,” the company stated.

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The announcement was made by CEO Robert-Jan van der Hoeven. Broadcast Partners is based in the Netherlands. Schaller will split time between France and Germany.

“Roland is at ease in the business culture of most of Europe, combining a rigorous approach to the sales process in dealing with his customers and business partners,” Broadcast Partners wrote.

The company’s offerings include the SmartRadio “radio as a service” cloud-based system.

Send announcements for People News to radioworld@futurenet.com.

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For 34 years, he’s been a television executive serving the Joplin, Mo., and Pittsburg, Kan., television market.

Now, this Kansas Association of Broadcasting Hall of Famer is preparing to transition into retirement. And, his successor has been selected by Morgan Murphy Media.

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He represented Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District from 2013 to 2021.

Now, he’s the latest person to launch an audio-on-demand offering. Thank Salem Podcast Network for the opportunity.

The Doug Collins Podcast debuts on October 25.

“I am excited to be hosting a podcast that will give conservatives the tools they need to go out into the marketplace of ideas and stand up for what we believe in,” said Collins. “Our country desperately needs to hear how a little idea that started with our Founding Fathers — the pursuit of happiness. This podcast will explore all topics ranging from politics to life advice and will blend them together for a well-rounded discussion that people can listen to and use to get the most out of life.”

Collins ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, finishing in third place behind Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock, the eventual victor. He has served as a legal counsel for former President Donald Trump following his departure from Congress in January.

“For years, I was so impressed with Doug Collins as a Congressman,” says Phil Boyce, SVP of Spoken Word at Salem. “When we had the opportunity to bring him over to the Salem Podcast Network, we moved fast. He will be a great addition to our lineup, and will help us save the country we all love.”

Orban announced the Optimod XPN-Enterprise ecosystem.

The company describes it as a customizable, Linux-based processing platform with capabilities for centralized contexts, particularly broadcast groups that run multiple stations or clusters and/or streaming services.

“It provides Orban’s proprietary OptiCloud processing for up to eight FM and eight HD/DAB+/Streaming processing channels in a 1 RU package and supports AES-67/SMPTE-2110 protocols using an enterprise-class SoftGear server and the appropriate Optimod XPN-Enterprise Nodes,” the company stated.

The XPN-Enterprise server is shipping, as is the XPN-Enterprise AES3 Input/Output Node. Orban said nodes to extend the available outputs and functionalities are coming including DMPX, Kantar and Nielsen watermarking and Orban uMPX.

“Broadcasters worldwide are realizing the benefits of moving operations to centralized — and ideally, virtualized — environments. Many of these customers have high-density needs, with many signals that need to be managed,” it quoted Orban President David Day in the announcement.

Content to be OptiCloud processed is brought to one location using AES3, AES-67, SMPTE-2110-30, Dante or Livewire+, and creates the necessary outputs (FM composite, DMPX, uMPX and DAB+HD) using the appropriate Orban XPN-Enterprise Nodes for distribution to each transmitter site, the company said.

The server also handles processed channels for streaming, sending those outputs to the appropriate streaming devices.

“Each signal coming into the Optimod XPN-Enterprise server can be individually processed, with Orban’s OptiCloud providing precision tailoring of each station’s broadcast or stream to meet the requirements of the audience and delivery method,” it continued.

Features include factory presets for various formats, and “Less-More” controls to simplify “dialing in” a desired sound by combining multiple processing parameters.

Day also highlighted the company’s “Last Mile” solutions including XPN-Enterprise input and output nodes and low-bandwidth solutions.

“This ‘Last Mile’ service is especially important for stations whose transmitter sites may be in locations with less-than-ideal internet access. We make it possible to manage our processing remotely and feed that signal to a site on lines as slow as 500 kbps, with high-quality results. And many nodes are ‘Power over Ethernet’ (PoE) capable, further simplifying installation.”

The post Orban Announces XPN-Enterprise appeared first on Radio World.

SAN FRANCISCO — Data connectivity platform LiveRamp has added streaming inventory forecasting and data collaboration capabilities into its TV platform.

With these additions, LiveRamp TV becomes an end-to-end platform enabling media sellers and advertisers to collaborate, activate, and quantify media campaigns in a coordinated way across all TV inventory: linear, streaming, and digital video.

And, the launch came with the support from two of broadcast television’s biggest players.

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Pierre Bouvard once again has combed through fresh data from Nielsen and put together a series of positive bullet points about trends in radio, intended to of help to radio salespeople and managers.

Bouvard is chief insights manager of Cumulus Media and Westwood One, which makes him one of the industry’s prominent pitch persons.

Looking at Google data, he said that through September and into October, COVID search volumes have sharply fallen, an indication that pandemic concerns have eased.

American travel miles also are up, which means people are spending more time in their cars.

Further, Bouvard says that marketers and ad agencies continue to “dramatically underestimate the number of Americans that are commuting to work each day.”

And he cites Nielsen data showing AM/FM radio listening recovery continuing in September with Portable People Meter listening up +4% over the prior year.

Below is the latest chart from his post showing month-to-month changes in Average Quarter Hour audience in PPM markets.

[Read the blog post: “Nielsen AM/FM Radio Audiences Grow as COVID Concerns Drop and Vehicular Traffic Surges”]

The post Bouvard: COVID Concerns Are Dropping appeared first on Radio World.

Add the Constitution State to the list of locales where local TV viewers who own television sets capable of receiving NEXTGEN TV-powered signals can enjoy watching them.

The next-generation digital television signals, which offer improved sound and picture quality for consumers along with new revenue opportunities for broadcast media, make their debut on Tuesday in Hartford.

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Jessica Rosenworcel is talking up 6G.

“If you think I’m too early on this one, think again. Much like in the early days of 5G, the scrum for 6G is already intensifying,” she said.

Rosenworcel, acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, spoke Tuesday to the wireless industry’s Americas Spectrum Management Conference. She devoted a good part of her online remarks to the topic “Paving the Way for 6G and Beyond.”

She cited plans or developments that look ahead to 6G in South Korea, Finland, Japan and China.

While no one knows exactly what 6G will entail, she said, “Let’s learn from what came before. Let’s acknowledge here and now that it is time to start thinking seriously about how we can better position ourselves for success with 6G.”

She called for a “6G Solarium” modeled on a recent bipartisan government initiative called “Project Solarium” that resulted in 80 recommendations on how to overhaul the nation’s approach to cybersecurity.

“What we need now is new thinking, broader consensus and more early focus than we had for 5G,” Rosenworcel said. “We need a process for prioritizing and executing on spectrum objectives and for developing strategies to align the ends, way  and means for 6G.” She wants to see a similar effort that brings together government, business, the non-profit sector “and the rest of civil society and the public to chart a new course.”

Rosenworcel said that to help, the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council could be charged with “looking beyond 5G and conceptualizing 6G — to help set the stage for our leadership. By refocusing the TAC in this way, the FCC will be able to stay on top of new developments and ensure that the nation can turn the latest scientific research into viable communications technologies that will help power our future.”

Not to skip over 5G, in the first half of her remarks Rosenworcel discussed steps that she said would “reinvigorate the momentum toward 5G.”

She highlighted FCC efforts to provide more spectrum — including the granting of 5,600 licenses in the C-band — as well as her goals of expanding the reach of fiber facilities, diversifying technology that goes into 5G networks, building security and resiliency in supply chains, and participating more substantially in global technology standards-setting.

The post Rosenworcel Calls for 6G Initiative appeared first on Radio World.

Telos Alliance has introduced a streamlined version of its Axia Quasar AoIP surface.

The Quasar SR replaces the Axia Fusion in the company’s lineup. Telos also announced a major free system update for users of its original Quasar.

The new Quasar SR is part of the Livewire+ AES67 ecosystem. Telos said it uses the frame, power supply and master module of the original Quasar, but the fader modules are not motorized and there are fewer, larger and easier-to-reach buttons on each channel strip.

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“All of these refinements make it easy for any operator to use the SR console, while introducing cost efficiencies that allow SR to be an exceptional value,” the company stated in the announcement.

The surface includes a heavy-duty 12.1-inch touchscreen user interface so an external monitor is not required, though one can be used if desired via the external video output.

The system includes Expert Source Profile controls for power users to set custom logic associated with each source. “The user can program GPIO control, mix-minus routing, talkback and other functions based upon console channel state,” Telos said. “Flexible Record Mode gives complete control of monitors, meters, headphone feeds, program bus assignments, and more.”

Show Profiles allow up to 4,000 console “snapshots” with different settings, layouts and defaults. Automatic mix-minus and automixing are available on all channels. Features include touch-sensitive encoders, faders and user buttons.

The new model also introduces a remote control option called Quasar Soft. “This solution lets broadcasters control the surface from any HTML5 browser. Included as part of the Quasar Soft license, Quasar Cast is a remote monitoring solution that lets users listen to what is happening in the studio and on the air while they operate the console remotely using Quasar Soft.”

In a related development, Telos announced availability of a Quasar V2.0 Major System Update, which converts an original Quasar console to Quasar XR. This is a free system update that adds scalability and modularity to the original console; it also adds Quasar Soft and Quasar Cast, integration with Telos Infinity IP Intercom and support for planned Quasar Accessory Modules. Telos said the update makes Quasar more flexible for applications like working from home.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: https://telosalliance.com

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