Industry News

The Media Bureau of the FCC is reminding applicants about an upcoming filing window for applications for noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits.

As previously announced, there’s an opportunity to file for one week, in early November.

The window will open at 12:01am Eastern on Tuesday, November 2. It will subsequently close at 6pm Eastern on Tuesday, November 9.

The window is available for FM reserved band (channels 201 –220) proposals.

All new NCE FM applications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340
in the Bureau’s Licensing and Management System (LMS). Applicants should select the application “New NCE FM Construction Permit Application” in LMS.

The application deadline will be strictly enforced.

Applications submitted before or after the window will be dismissed, without further consideration, so please adhere to the window put in place by the Media Bureau.

In conjunction with this filing window, the Commission will not accept FM reserved band minor change applications or FM non-reserved band adjacent channels (channels 221 –223) and intermediate frequency (IF) (channels 254-274) minor change applications after
11:59pm Eastern on October 4.

The freeze will continue in effect until the close of the window.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report shows that, like at Spot Radio, the cold and flu season has led to a sudden influx of commercials for one popular allergy, sinus and cold medicine brand.

At the same time, there is a flurry of new activity from a host of brands and a QSR at No. 1.

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When looking at the iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors’ Spot Ten Radio report, one must discount all of the iHeart-related promotional spots and podcast ads to get an accurate account of what brands are actively spending on AM and FM commercial announcements.

This week, Vicks is back — in a big way — while Capital One is also back in the Spot Ten.

As shown below, the sinus and flu medicine brand is now seventh by play count, soaring from No. 39 last week.

Then, there is DuckDuckGo, a new fan of AMs and FMs. They are the big leader by paid play count.

Lastly, Capital One is No. 10 with its latest campaign as Indeed and Progressive are the only other advertisers meriting slots on the Spot Ten this week.

The author is general manager of GMF-Christian Media, Buenas Nuevas Network.

I have been a client of Arrakis Systems and automating stations using their software and hardware since 2005. Four years ago, when I learned of the new Apex automation system, my first impression was that this was the automation we’d been waiting for.

When we started our Buenas Nuevas Network in 2018, our CEO Dr. Richard Hamlet conveyed a message of quality and excellence in all we do. So I started by adding Apex automation. Its versatility, live functions and programming tools have placed this software at the top of its class. Apex is sophisticated yet remains the most user-friendly and intuitive automation program on the market.

In-person staff interaction is a thing of the past, which makes communication of time-sensitive and complex tasks more difficult. Apex has minimized this gap between producers, programmers and DJs.

[Related: “With Automation, You’re Buying More Than a Product”]

We have a diverse team in multiple markets including San Juan, Monterrey, Boston, Albuquerque, Jacksonville, Memphis, and several markets in North Carolina. Apex allows my staff to navigate the system remotely as if they are in our studio headquarters. Having staff simultaneously working on production and programming remotely is truly a blessing.

The Apex On Air module is flexible and easy to navigate. My DJs set up their own user profiles, allowing them to quickly bring up their own customized windows layout, which may be as simple or complex as they wish. Using multiple sound cards, they may manually crossfade events or allow Apex to automatically do so.

Features include drag and drop, preview audio, and File Info to share interesting facts about an upcoming song. You can run a game manually or let the system do it.

Apex On Air works with Apex Tools, the management software. Using Tools, we manage audio, create clocks, edit the play schedule, import, voice track, record and edit new audio and pull reports. Apex Tools is the fastest and easiest to learn programming tool out of many programming platforms we have used.

There is a lot to consider when purchasing automation: features, installation, staff training, efficiency of daily operation and the ability to support technological growth. Apex has the bells and whistles. There’s no need to purchase additional software as our stations evolve.

Thanks to the Arrakis support staff, installation is smooth and quick; they jump in to train your people and will help with anything that may come up later. I highly recommend that decision-makers take advantage of the time Arrakis gives for testing Apex before making a big automation purchase. It will be worth it.

Contact Arrakis at 1-970-461-0730 x2 or visit www.arrakis-systems.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: Apex Serves Buenas Nuevas Network appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC’s Media Bureau is reminding licensees that the window for the submission of 2021 broadcast biennial ownership reports is now open.

All licensees of commercial and non-commercial radio and TV stations must file biennial ownership reports with the Commission in odd-numbered years.

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Salem Media Group, the owner of Christian-themed and secular conservative Talk radio stations saw investors snapping up shares of the company’s stock across Friday’s trading session.

Volume was exceptionally high, pushing Salem’s shares to a price last seen in mid-July 2018.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Until earlier this year, a heritage Hot Adult Contemporary station filled a format void in the Washington, D.C., market, although its programming and advertisers largely focused on the small city of Winchester, along I-81 due west of the National Capital area.

That big, booming signal was sold by Allen Shaw to Educational Media Foundation. The station’s programming shifted to a pair of Class As. Now, one of those two FMs has been spun again. The buyer? A broadcast ministry that’s already in control.

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Inyo County, Calif., is a remote area of the Golden State, located between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Nevada state line. There’s one town of significance, Bishop. While Fresno and Bakersfield may appear to be near, high terrain and highways make the distance greater.

As such, Bishop is, believe it or not, within the Los Angeles DMA. That’s exactly why a TV station licensed to this little town has just been purchased by the owner of the MeTV Network and related Oldies radio brand.

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“At Saga Communications, we believe local media has the power to affect communities,” the radio broadcasting company’s website reads. “For more than 30 years all of our brands have been operated by local managers committed to building positive relationships with our audiences and clients.”

That said, one of its brands no longer exists, with web traffic routed to the very page on Saga’s corporate portal offering that quote.

What happened? Saga pulled the plug on the AM in a mid-sized market, and surrendered the station’s license to the FCC.

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MIAMI — The owner of unaffiliated Spanish-language television stations serving South Florida, which is awaiting FCC approval of its acquisition of a Spanish-language AM Talk station accused of spreading information the state’s Democratic Party has judged as false, has failed in its attempt to appeal a bankruptcy ruling made earlier year by a Federal District Court.

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