Industry News

The regional office for iHeartMedia in northern Ohio is on the move.

A 10-year lease agreement has been signed, and the company’s nine Cleveland radio brands will soon enjoy a state-of-the-art street level facility also housing iHeartMedia’s local sales, marketing, digital and Total Traffic operation.

By the time 2022 arrives, iHeartMedia/Cleveland will be housed on the ground floor of Six Six Eight at 668 Euclid Avenue in the heart of a downtown area that’s as hip as ever. The seven-story building is mixed use, and includes urban residential dwellings. It’s walking distance from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Major League Baseball club; Cleveland Public Square is just to the west. Its also close to a major commuter rail station, with direct service to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The move to Six Six Eight is thanks to a lease arrangement with K&D Group. 

The iHeart/Cleveland cluster includes Sports Talker WARF “AM 1350 The Gambler”; News/Talk WTAM-AM 1100; Rocker WMMS-FM; Classic Hits WMJI “Majic 105.7”; Country WGAR-FM; Adult Hits WHLK “106.5 The Lake”; and Top 40 WAKS “96.1 KISS FM.” There’s also a pair of translators serving the African American community: Hip-Hop “Real 106.1” and BIN: Black Information Network at 99.1 MHz.

This move will bring more than 100 employees into the heart of Cleveland’s downtown business landscape.

“We are thrilled to return our broadcast and digital operations to the heart of our city,” said Keith Hotchkiss, President of iHeartMedia Cleveland. “Connecting our influencers, marquee talent and operation staff with the downtown business district will further drive the passion to serve the community we all call home.”

New office features will include five conference rooms, 11 studios featuring cutting-edge technology, eight service booths for news, traffic, and podcast creation, and phone audio sound via Sound+.

A marquee broadcast studio and mixed use podcast content creation room both face street level on Euclid Avenue. Studio designs are by Beneville Studios and AUX1 design.

“We are delighted that iHeartMedia will be locating their regional headquarters in downtown Cleveland,” said Joe Marinucci, President and CEO of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance.

It marks a return to downtown Cleveland for the stations “after many years,” and signals another Ohio renaissance that includes Dayton’s core downtown area, which has sprung to life since 2017 thanks to a restoration and rehabilitation project.

When anchor Shepard Smith joined CNBC in July 2020 to host The News With Shepard Smith, the network took the opportunity to completely renovate its 3,600 square-foot Studio B set.

This included the need for complete Martin LED lighting, on a rig. Ferri Lighting Design & Associates (FLDA) fulfilled that desire.

The new set is dominated by two massive LED video walls, including a five-panel display opposite the host’s desk that can be used to show multiple video feeds for remote guests and correspondents or combined to display one large image.

Additionally, the center screen can be moved up to 17 feet away from the wall via a motorized arm to draw focus to a specific element. In order to complement the light from the displays with precisely-calibrated illumination and reduce electricity costs, CNBC opted to replace the studio’s incandescent lighting with a modern LED solution. The network hired Ferri Lighting Design & Associates to equip Studio B with a complete Martin lighting solution including more than 200 Martin ELP CL ellipsoidal profile fixtures and 50 RUSH PAR 2
CT Zoom wash fixtures.

“We had previously talked about converting Studio A to LED, but budgets and COVID put that project on the back burner,” said Bruce Ferri, owner of Ferri Lighting Design & Associates. “When the Studio B project came up, I decided to move forward and make it an all-LED installation. The big reason is that most of the set is dominated by displays. When you use incandescent light, you have to color-correct the displays down to 3,200
degrees, but most displays are not designed to operate at that color temperature. The Martin fixtures allow us to work at a higher color temperature to match the displays.”

FLDA selected Martin ELP CL fixtures as the main light for illuminating talent and scenery, deploying a total of 226 in Studio B’s lighting rig. The leading color LED ellipsoidal fixture in its class, the Martin ELP CL delivers up to 6,900 lumens with a broad color temperature range of 2,000 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin and an RGBAL Luxeon Rebel LED engine for vibrant, saturated hues. A maximum Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 90 allows
the ELP CL to reproduce color naturally on camera, making it an ideal fixture for television studios.

ELP CL fixtures are configurable for beam angles of 19, 26, 36 or 50 degrees and compatible with third-party lens tubes as well as a wide range of accessories.

“The nice thing about the ELPs is that in addition to using them as lights for talent, we can use them as scenery lights because they’re full-spectrum,” said Ferri. “I’ve done other installations where the talent lights have been variable white with no color mixing, but as things change and all of a sudden you have too many talent lights and not enough scenery lights, you’re at a huge disadvantage. So, the nice thing about the ELPs is that I can
use them for both.”

To augment the main lighting, FLDA selected Martin RUSH PAR 2 CT Zoom fixtures as fill lights. Featuring 12 10-watt warm and cold white LEDs, the RUSH PAR 2 CT Zoom provides pre-mixed white light ranging from 2,700 to 7,800 degrees Kelvin with a CRI value of 90 for natural on-camera looks. The fixtures’ motorized 10-to 60-degree zoom allowed Ferri to achieve rich, balanced wash illumination even from long distances.

“The throw distances in that particular studio make using a traditional fill light impractical, because we’re trying to keep all of the lighting on the grid,” Ferri added. “I don’t like to hang lights down into the picture if I can avoid it, because I hate when you see lighting instruments break the plane of the set. So, in order to create a softer fill light, I turned to the RUSH PAR 2 CT Zooms. The fact that they can zoom means that we can tailor the beam
spread for the throw distance.”

Thanks to the ultra-efficient, all-LED Martin lighting rig, Studio B reportedly consumes only 10% of the power used by the neighboring Studio C, where Mad Money is broadcast from.

This eases the burden on the facility’s backup power system in the event of a power failure.

“They’re set up for incandescent fixtures, so they have plenty of power, but they’re still really happy with the fact that we’re working at a fraction of that capacity,” said Ferri. “And whenever there’s a hint of bad weather, they switch over to a generator backup so that they don’t lose power, which has happened in the past. Having an all-LED rig lets them devote less of the generator power to the lighting.”

After a short stint in a temporary studio, The News With Shepard Smith broadcast its first episode from the new studio on October 28, 2020. Shortly thereafter, viewers across the nation saw FLDA’s work during Smith’s coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election.

— Kirsten Spruch

A company known for cloud-based SaaS technology powering both broadcast and streaming TV is now making its cloud solutions available on Google Cloud’s platform.

It’s a promise from Amagi, and the partnership allows customers to deploy Amagi’s flagship cloud playout platform, CLOUDPORT, on Google Cloud to spin up 24×7 linear programming.

“By partnering with Google Cloud, we are expanding the choices for our industry to implement best-in-class cloud solutions,” said Srinivasan KA, co-founder of Amagi, which operates from New Yrok. “This partnership has come at a time when the industry is increasingly looking to virtualize operations and adapt to multi-screen viewing. Amagi and Google Cloud present an attractive option for customers to choose from, as they transition to cloud.”

Amagi manages 400+ channels with deliveries in more than 40 countries across cable, DTH, and OTT platforms. The company has a state-of-the-art cloud broadcast operations center that can support 1,000+ linear channels. Amagi clients include A+E Networks UK, beIN Sports, CuriosityStream, Discovery Networks, Fox Networks, NBCUniversal, Cinedigm, Tastemade, Tegna, VENN, Vice Media, and Warner Media, among others.

Last year alone, Amagi added close to 200 streaming channels on its platform. It has technical integration with leading Free Ad Supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms: The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, Xumo, STIRR, Redbox, VIZIO, Plex, Sling, Tivo and more.

Quicklink, a provider of hardware and software solutions for video and audio contributions, has completed its professional contribution workflow with the launch of an all-in-one hybrid switcher: an end-to-end broadcast-grade solution which combines the power of the cloud and the effectiveness of a single hardware unit.

The STS410 (Hybrid Switcher) combines three main elements to allow the user to achieve a full production workflow. A rack-mount server is accompanied by software offering full tool integration.

“Quicklink’s STS410 complimented with the Quicklink Manager creates a complete end-to-
end workflow including tools such as conference and waiting/green rooms for multiple
participants, automatic cloud mix-minus, the ability to stream to multiple concurrent services such as Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo Live or RTMP, and simultaneously record the discrete individual channels and program output for post-production flexibility,” Quicklink says.

The cloud- based Controller enables control of scene and source selection from any location using any desktop, mobile, tablet device. Quicklink CEO Richard Rees said, “We decided to bring this innovative product to the market as we listen carefully to our customers and many find traditional switchers overly complicated and confusing to use. The STS410 is designed to be simple and intuitive to use, while still upholding the highest quality that we have come to expect from productions.”

Find out more and request a demo by emailing sales@quicklink.tv.

Broadcast audio tech entity Telos Alliance is now making available a virtual intercom platform that could be of particular use to broadcast media companies steeped in remote and on-the-go feed needs.

Introducing the Telos Infinity VIP Virtual Intercom Platform, which makes cloud-based media production workflows available on any device—smartphone, laptop, desktop, or tablet.

Users may also use third-party control devices, like Elgato Stream Deck, to control the Telos Infinity VIP.

Martin Dyster, VP of Business Development for Telos Alliance, comments, “The new Telos Infinity Virtual Intercom Platform is the next evolution of Infinity that, for the first time, puts fully-featured broadcast Intercom in the Cloud. This opens up a whole new world of virtual communications workflows, responds to customer demand for remote workflows, and aligns with Telos Alliance’s larger push toward virtualization across product lines.”

It’s available as a physical appliance, and users can also install systems of any size as Cloud services, both On-Prem and on platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.

Telos Infinity VIP is part of Telos Alliance’s strategy to offer new virtual audio solutions that further expand its growing virtual ecosystem. 

The author is senior broadcast engineer, Educational Media Foundation.

Have you ever dealt with one of those “nightmare” sites? You know the type … Constant problems due to poor environmental conditions, no heating or cooling, and questionable power.

These sorts of hostile environments are the worst possible place for modern broadcast equipment. Top it off with the fact that the site is inaccessible for nine months out of the year without a dedicated snow vehicle and you have a perfect recipe for extended downtime.

That was precisely the description of KLCX(FM) and KWRY(FM), two combined FM stations in Southern Colorado mountain country.

These sorts of conditions may have been perfectly acceptable for tube rigs to keep chugging away (for the most part) but modern air-cooled solid-state rigs are far more reliable with better controlled environmental conditions.

In some cases, however, it may not be possible to improve environmental conditions at the site. Furthermore, when you can’t access the site, it’s hard to keep up with air filter maintenance in such a dusty environment.

If you are not able to air condition the room, it makes a lot of sense to move heat outside in other ways and eliminate fans in the transmitter cabinet.

I had seen the Rohde & Schwarz liquid-cooled FM transmitters at a trade show but had never encountered one in the field. Their liquid-cooled television transmitters, however, seemed to be popping up everywhere during the television repack.

The TV engineers I talked to absolutely loved them. There was some hesitation over using liquid cooling due to lack of familiarity, but for a site like this it was worth trying something completely different. Clearly the status quo wasn’t working.

We undertook a massive project to replace both transmitters (30 kW for KLCX and 10 kW for KWRY) as well as the entire RF system all the way to the antenna. The price was competitive with air-cooled options.

Once the installation of the Rohde & Schwarz rigs started, I realized it really wasn’t all that much different than installing any other transmitter. Yes, installing the liquid-cooling loop and heat exchangers required learning a few “different” skills but it is not nearly as difficult as one would imagine.

The transmitters are very well engineered (as one would expect). My only complaint was that the documentation, while complete, was very utilitarian. I found it a little difficult to navigate at times.

Another thing I encountered is that setting power on these rigs is slightly different than you might expect. It is set as a percentage of the full output capability.

The percentage is not calibrated against your TPO. Output power is displayed in kilowatts. An actual TPO percentage will need to be calibrated in your remote control. I made the mistake of activating the “Power Sensor Calibration” function without truly understanding how this worked. Thankfully, the touchscreen control panel made adjustments easy to access on site. The mobile-friendly HTML 5 GUI mirrored the front panel and was equally easy to use.

The transmitters have been in operation since about October of 2020 and have weathered the winter well, including multiple power bumps.

We have seen a couple of minor issues (one almost undetectable leak at the pump stand, and an erroneous power supply fault indication on one of the modules). Neither of these minor issues has kept the rigs from operating at full power. The factory will be addressing both issues under warranty once the snow clears.

Between getting the heat from the transmitters outside of the building and eliminating any fans in the transmitter cabinet itself (aside from a small fan in the controller) it has made for a much more reliable environment.

It never ceases to amaze me that even at a dusty site like this, the inside of the transmitter cabinet is still as clean as the day it was installed. The fact that redundant power supplies are integrated into the RF amplifier modules and liquid-cooled as well makes for a very robust system.

While I don’t plan to move away from air-cooled transmitters entirely anytime soon, there are certainly situations where liquid-cooling would be a good option. It’s nice to have yet another tool available to work around these sorts of challenging site issues.

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

For information contact Rohde & Schwarz USA in Maryland at 1-410-910-7800; for international requests contact Rohde & Schwarz in Germany at +49-89-4129-0 or visit www.rohde-schwarz.com.

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Inovonics is packaging three 660 INOmini DAB+ monitors into one rack space for those in serious need for DAB+ digital radio monitoring.

Called the 600 DAB+ RackPack Bundle it allows broadcasters to monitor three independent off-air channels simultaneously. As typical of Inovonics, the “modestly priced” package is tailored to the budget conscious broadcaster.

The 660 DAB+ RackPack Bundle includes three 660 DAB+ 1/3 RU monitor-receivers preinstalled in a 1U rack shelf. Each of the three 660 DAB+ receivers includes analog L/R and AES Digital program outputs. Alarm notifications for carrier loss, digital program loss, and audio loss are visible on the LCD front-panel display and there are rear-panel tallies for customized alarm solutions.

Inovonics says that the bundle is backed by its three-year factory warranty and Premiere Support service.

Inovonics Sales and Marketing Manager Gary Luhrman said, “With the steady growth of DAB+ broadcasts across Europe, Australia and other global markets, there´s a real need for broadcasters to monitor their off-air signals and that´s one of our specialties.”

Elaborating, he added, “Our INOmini monitor-receivers are compact, sensitive and selective DSP-based receivers. Three units fit into a single 1U rack space but require just one power supply — ideal for the modern broadcast facility.”

List price is US$920.

Info: www.inovonicsbroadcast.com

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The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a framework to provide direct, read-only access to communication outage reports filed with Network Outage Reporting System and Disaster Information Reporting System to agencies of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, tribal nations, territories and the federal government.

[Read: FCC Will Explore EAS on the Internet]

The rules will allow participating agencies to share NORS and DIRS information with first responders and other government officials who play a vital public safety role during crises and have a need to know this information.

Furthermore, the sharing of this information is expected to speed-up response and repair of the downed networks and infrastructure.

The post FCC Adopts Communications Outage Reporting Plan appeared first on Radio World.

The year 2021 may be looked upon as the beginning of a time of transition for social media, a period when the industry giants began to lose ground to the new kids on the block. The Infinite Dial 2021, from Edison Research and Triton Digital, chronicles the latest data and stats for social media, which it has been tracking since 2008.

Social media experienced regular growth between 2008 and 2016, when it began to plateau. It gained two percentage points from 2020 to 2021, when the research estimates that 82% of the population are using it, for an estimated total of 233 million Americans.

[Read: Survey Says Podcast Demographics Continue to Diversify]

The research suggests that Facebook continues its lead in social media brand awareness, recognized by 93% of respondents, followed by Instagram and Twitter. There is, as usual, some variance between awareness and usage.

Overall usage figures from Triton Digital and Edison Research show Facebook again in the lead with 61% of respondents, followed by Instagram with 43% and Pinterest holding the number three position with 31% of those surveyed. As this data is parsed by demographics, the usage figures begin to tell a story.

When usage numbers are crunched for the 12–34 demographic, Facebook fell from 62% in 2019 to 57% for 2021. Over the same time period, Instagram rose from 66% to 70%. Without a doubt, The Infinite Dial’s data suggests that the biggest mover was TikTok, which went from 25% in 2020 to 44% in 2021. A new player for 2021, Parler, made its debut at 3%.

The usage numbers for those aged 35–54 show similar trends. 2020 numbers for Facebook were 74%, which dropped to 71% in 2021. Over the same period, Instagram inched up slightly from 38% to 40%, while TikTok jumped from 5% to 16%. Parler grabbed 8% in its first showing.

The numbers for the 55+ group look a bit different. According to the data, Facebook still leads, but only by 57% for the current year, up from 52% in 2020. Instagram went from 15% to 17% over the same period. TikTok saw an increase from 2% to 6%, while Parler won over just 6% of the senior demographic.

When the numbers are compared from 2015 to 2021 for social media brand used most often, The Infinite Dial’s data suggests some interesting trends. Facebook has steadily headed downward, from 65% to 47%, making 2021 the first year that Facebook is not indicated as the most-used platform by a majority of social media users. Much of Facebook’s loss seems to have been taken up by those in the 12–34 demographic’s interest in Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

The post Survey Says Social Media Ecosphere has Modest Growth appeared first on Radio World.

Jutel is highlighting new technical architecture for its RadioMan platform. It is a virtual browser-based radio production and playout system built in the cloud.

The company said web-native technologies and architecture enable more flexible deployment models.

“RadioMan users can move freely in-between different locations, as laptops and tablets are used as a thin clients to access RadioMan virtually through a web browser,” it states on its website.

The system can deploy in a cloud environment, on physical hardware or as a hybrid.

“Every radio station can benefit from taking out expensive on-site hardware and moving to virtual environments, especially small, pop-up, temporary and web-only radio stations. Instead of having expensive on-site infrastructure throughout many locations, RadioMan allows for the infrastructure to move to one centralized location.”

It said RadioMan also allows the user to access it using any browser on any thin client. “With older systems, users tried to access one machine, which created a bottleneck that slows processes down considerably,” it said.

“However, RadioMan’s built-in load balancer allows the user to redirect HTTP traffic across the load-balanced back-end infrastructure. The back-end itself is run on Apache web servers and the messaging between the front and back-end infrastructure is controlled via web-native ActiveMQ messaging.”

The company deployed PostgreSQL database with RadioMan 6 to make it more affordable and easier to deploy.

The HTML interface runs inside the RadioMan deployment and there is no need for third-party plug-ins. The REST API allows for a user to build interactivity so that MAM, traffic and newsroom systems can be integrated with RadioMan.

Jutel, based in Finland, was founded in 1984 by Jorma and Reijo Kivelä and their business partner Timo Turunen, founded the company in 1984. The first RadioMan was introduced in 1992.

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