Industry News

USSI Global has strengthened its executive team by appointing a Vice President of Programs and Innovation Lab.

Reporting to COO Anthony Morelli, he will focus on technology development and systems integration strategies that bring the company’s core broadcast, digital signage, and electronic business and consumer operations closer together.

Taking the position is Ted Korte, who will also be charged with driving technology and service innovations that “enhance USSI Global’s value as a turnkey project management company.”

Korte comes to USSI Global with 25 years of broadcast industry experience, including 20 years at Harris Corporation. He served as Director of Engineering across key business units (automation and asset management, video servers and editing, and TV and radio transmission), and in later years worked closely with the company’s digital signage and managed services teams. That led to stronger technical synergies across Harris’s broadcast and digital signage businesses.

Korte joined then-upstart Qligent in 2014, now a global leader in monitoring and analytics for broadcasters and OTT services. As COO/CTO, he established a brand reputation for Qligent as an innovator in transitioning QoS, QoE, and compliance monitoring operations to the cloud. After bringing the company’s pioneering Vision monitoring platform to market, Korte helped Qligent launch the industry’s first “monitoring as a service” platform, and expanded Qligent’s horizons into the now-ubiquitous big data space to generate detailed audience and business analytics.

He returned to Harris Corporation, now L3Harris, in 2019 where he focused on internal research and development projects for the space industry. He gained experience in program management and satellite technologies, including LEO groundstations and global networking systems that represent important emerging markets for USSI Global.

“Ted brings enormous value to USSI Global that will help us establish growth strategies for our core markets and new business opportunities, while broadening our horizons as a service-oriented organization,” said Morelli. “With several exciting new initiatives in motion, the time is right to bring on someone who has the right expertise and vision to propel our business forward, and deliver innovative programs and services for our customers. We are confident that Ted is the right person for this job, and we are proud to welcome him to the USSI Global team.”

TORONTO — At first glance, one may simply believe Educational Media Foundation seeks to fill a gap in its nearly national footprint for its KLOVE and Air 1 Christian music networks by grabbing a pair of commercially licensed FMs in an economic struggling portion of far Upstate New York.

Yes, EMF will be gaining a presence in such small cities as Malone, Massena and Chateaugay. But, more significantly, EMF has gained two facilities that will allow it to reach English-speaking audiences from Cornwall to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and the western suburbs of Montréal.

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A maker of signal transmission and content monitoring solutions for the broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV markets has released a new product that adds to its portfolio of ATSC 3.0 broadcast items.

The new Sencore TXS 3800 transcoder appliance converts multiple ATSC 3.0 services into
ATSC 1.0-like formats, for reuse and retransmission in existing cable, translator and MVPD systems.

The TXS 3800 is a dense terrestrial transcoder, capable of transcoding up to 4 ATSC 3.0 services in a single chassis. Video features include MPEG-2 and H.264 compression, along with down-scaling, transrating and caption conversion. Audio is transcoded to either AC-3 or AAC and service names are mapped into standard TVCT format. Once transcoded, all elements are packaged into an MPEG transport stream and output as traditional MPEG/IP for downstream use.

As ATSC 3.0 deployments continue to expand, broadcast, cable and MVPD providers are constantly looking for innovative new products to help them manage these new workflows. “The TXS 3800 is the perfect companion to seamlessly integrate ATSC 3.0 signals into existing signal paths with minimal impact to architecture and processes,” Sencore says.

To download the full datasheet, view features and product specifications or request a demo, visit www.sencore.com

A chip shortage has been wreaking havoc on the automobile industry, hampering efforts to get new vehicles into showrooms and out the door with consumers who desire to replace their current ride.

Now, Chevrolet has alerted consumers that certain model year 2021 and 2022 pickup trucks will not come with Xperi’s HD Radio. And, the automotive company says, it is due to a chip shortage.

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Of all of the advertisers using Spot Cable to reach consumers, there’s one that stands out.

And, it is perhaps the most recognizable coffee retailer in the world.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report is noteworthy for its lack of movement among the brands actively using national television to reach consumers.

And, as shown below, auto insurance specialists remain the most active of categories at Spot TV.

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Urban One, the multimedia company led by Alfred Liggins III that owns the TV One and Cleo cable television networks in addition to radio stations, Reach Media and a growing casino gaming operation, has submitted to the SEC the results of voting on matters ranging from executive compensation to its board of directors.

The votes came during Urban One’s annual shareholders meeting on June 23.

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As RBR+TVBR first reported on June 22, Adams Radio Group, the Minnesota-based company led by Ron Stone, is selling two of its stations serving the Eastern Shore of Maryland and lower Delaware.

Stone then hinted at the sale of the remaining stations owned by Adams in the region.

Now, another station has been sold — this time a Class A Country station licensed to Seaford, Del.

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With a mere 99 watts from a broadcast tower used by Sinclair Broadcast Group for its ABC television affiliate, an FM translator reaches most of metropolitan St. Louis at 106.9 MHz.

Until now, this mini-FM facility has simulcast a religious AM. That will soon change, as the FM translator has just been sold.

Paperwork has been filed with the FCC that shows Kaufman Media agreeing to part ways with K295CQ in St. Louis, Mo.

It’s grabbing $125,000 for the baby FM, and the buyer is Rob Austin-led Fusion Radio.

And, Austin has plans in place that will see K295CQ get an upgraded facility and a new tower location, ending the use of the structure at the KDNL-30 studios.

That’s according to Dick Kozacko, who served as Austin’s broker of record. With an upgrade, the coverage area of K295CQ is expected to grow dramatically, making it a “super translator” with city-grade coverage of nearly the entire metropolitan area.

What are Austin’s plans? They could mirror those seen at WPAY-AM 1520 in Toledo and its two associated FM translators.

In addition to his Fusion Radio operation, Austin operates Jammtraxx Media, a Chicago-based operation that offers programming, production, imaging and mix show syndication.

He’s made a $25,000 downpayment to Kaufman, which will receive an additional $25,000 payment no later than August 2. A $75,000 payment will be made at closing.

This is expected to occur by September 1.

Kaufman Media is led by Bert Kaufman, who intended to sell K295CQ and originating station WGNU-AM 920 along with KXEN-AM 1010 and FM translator K283CI to Berry Broadcasting for $650,000 in July 2019. That transaction was never consummated.

Kozacko notes that offers for WGNU, KXEN and K283CI “are pending.”

In 1978, she joined the former Great Trails Broadcasting, working as an on-air personality.

This Gem City radio voice would remain a key figure in the market for some 43 years, and today remains a household name thanks to her presence on an iHeartMedia Adult Contemporary leader.

Come July 16, Kim Faris will say goodbye to Radio. Chances are, she won’t be saying goodbye to Dayton anytime soon.

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