Industry News

With Urban One stock exploding in value on Thursday, it was only natural that some investors may want to cash out and enjoy a handsome profit.

That’s exactly what transpired on Friday, as UONE went on a wild ride that saw shares jump and quickly recede, leading to a 13% dip for the day.

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

A Chicago-based live and virtual event production company is the latest company to have adopted a “go to” solution for connecting remote presenters into virtual events.

It’s technology that broadcast TV executives may wish to consider for their own operations.

Signature Production Group is using Quicklink Studio and Quicklink ST102’s tools, provided to them through Key Code Media, a U.S.-based systems integrator for A/V, broadcast, and post-production solutions.

Joel Paige, General Manager of Signature Production Group, comments, “At first, it looked like the product we were looking for didn’t exist due to our simultaneous use of NDI video and Dante audio. But the Quicklink developers stepped up and customized a solution that fit our workflow perfectly. The collaborative relationship between our companies has been a big part of the key to the success we’ve had with the Quicklink solutions.”

For more information on Quicklink ST55 click here, and for more information on Quicklink’s ST102, click here.

Cumulus Media is giving all-digital AM a go by launching Digital AM 1230 HD WFAS(AM) in White Plains, N.Y., on Monday. The station is just north of New York City and can be heard in the northern suburbs of what is the top media market in the United States.

The 1,000 watt AM station, which is also changing to an all-news/talk format on Monday, has been informing listeners of the pending change on its website. Once WFAS switches to all-digital operations, only radios equipped with HD Radio technology will be able to receive the radio station. WFAS will no longer be available on analog-only radio, according to its website.

[Read: Cumulus Stations Support DTS AutoStage]

Conrad Trautmann, SVP, technology and operations for Cumulus Media, led the all-digital conversion process for the broadcaster and said a lot of technical consideration went into the project beginning with the existing tower.

“In order to run digital bandwidth through an AM antenna you need the antenna optimized. We worked with Carl T. Jones [a consulting engineering firm] to redesign the existing antenna so it would support running IBOC HD Radio,” Trautmann said.

The WFAS antenna is a “folded unipole, so it’s a grounded 450-foot tower with a skirt and the skirt stood 16 inches off the tower,” Trautmann said. “However, the modeling we did showed the skirt had to be 36 inches off the tower. That meant buying all the components and parts to stand it off further.”

It was also determined the tuning network in the antenna tuning unit was no longer usable for the broadband signal, he said, and had to be redesigned. “We ordered all the parts from Kintronic. We basically rebuilt the ATU at the base of the tower.”

The all-digital station will use a new Nautel NX3 all-digital transmitter and a Telos Omnia.9 audio processor with HD output, Trautmann said.

Cumulus engineering staff spent part of last week testing the all-digital signal and was “very satisfied with the results,” Trautmann says. The station’s website has been advising listeners of the coming changes and touting the advantages of all-digital AM: “Broadcasting in digital can eliminate static and interference and improve sound quality to equal FM radio. In addition, it can extend the range for clear AM reception.”

[Read: WWFD Conducts More HD2 Testing]

“In analog we typically had about 15 miles of Grade A signal, or city grade signal. WFAS is only 1,000 watts. On the drive testing we did with the all-digital signal it is solid all to the way 25-mile mark. So it seems we have added 10 miles of radius to the signal, which results in quite a bit of population coverage in the northern suburbs of New York City,” Trautmann says.

That increased signal reach will mean more penetration into the Bronx and Queens and the northern tip of Manhattan, he said, “but it’s by no means a New York City signal.” In addition, the test signal sounded like FM, Trautmann says, with “all the lows and highs. And it’s louder on the dial than the other AMs.”

The radio station is telling listeners they can find the station on Monday using an HD Radio-capable receiver, using the online stream or via its mobile app on a tablet or smartphone.

Trautmann, who had help on the project from Bud Williamson from Digital Radio Engineering, says Cumulus had been looking for a good candidate to experiment with all-digital AM and WFAS was chosen since it “wasn’t getting any ratings and not generating much revenue.”

WFAS featured the CBS Sports Radio Network prior to its Monday launch of all-digital. The station will now offer all talk programming, including “The Dan Bongino Show,” which debuts Monday on the Cumulus owned Westwood One.

Trautmann says Cumulus wants to see how WFAS performs before it commits to any more all-digital AM conversions. The project does coincide with Thursday’s announcement that Cumulus is partnering with Xperi’s DTS AutoStage connected car platform. The broadcaster says it will integrate its 415 radio stations into the hybrid radio system available on Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles.

[Read: Sweeten the Pot to Entice AM Digital]

“We are really hoping to see if the hybrid radio component of this becomes beneficial. If we get people to tune in and then when they get out of signal range have the car radio switch to the stream then we can demonstrate how AM radio can sound as good as any other platform. The switching from the over the air to the stream is really critical for that,” Trautmann said.

WFAS appears to be the third radio station in the country to convert to all-digital AM since the FCC authorized AM radio stations to do so. WWFD(AM) in Frederick, Md., and WMGG(AM) in Tampa, Fla., are the others.

The post New York Cumulus AM to Go All-Digital appeared first on Radio World.

… and the Catz, too.

Meredith, who gained full control of Powell Meredith Communications Company in a 2009 divorce settlement, is selling a 40-watt FM translator serving an Arizona community to the northwest of Phoenix.

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

A longtime public radio leader who served as President and GM of North Carolina Public Radio has passed away.

She had been on medical leave since February. However, details about the cause of death were not shared by the family.

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

The Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance is hosting a virtual summit next week that will bring together broadcasters and other private sector players with the nation’s largest alerting authorities to discuss next generation emergency messaging.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER!

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

It seems the creditors to the regional sports networks owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group that recently took on the Bally Sports brand through a wide-ranging integrated partnership with the gaming company are in the process of signing non-disclosure agreements to start talks on lowering the RSN’s $8 billion debt load.

That’s according to “people with knowledge of the matter” who spoke with two Bloomberg reporters on Friday.

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

The 415 radio stations owned by Cumulus Media, one of the biggest U.S. commercial ownership groups, are now integrated into the DTS AutoStage connected car platform.

DTS AutoStage is a hybrid radio system that Xperi Corp. is positioning as a global platform, supporting operations in 60 countries so far. As we’ve reported, the system is coming to market in the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

[Read: Xperi Has Big Ambitions for DTS AutoStage]

Other U.S. groups participating include Audacy, Beasley and Cox. International broadcasters onboard so far include BBC, Bauer, Global Radio, NPO, Commercial Radio Australia, radiko, FM World and SWR.

The Cumulus agreement was announced by Xperi Senior Vice President, Business Development, Broadcast Joe D’Angelo and Cumulus SVP, Technology Conrad Trautmann.

Trautmann was quoted saying that the user interface provides listeners with “the most cutting-edge features in the dashboard of any automobile.” He highlighted the service-following feature of hybrid radio that “essentially makes the coverage area of our radio station’s signals limitless,” with streamed content serving listeners who move out of a station’s signal coverage.

Broadcasters can participate in the program at no cost. Station metadata is represented to the listener through artwork, artist and album info, songs, playlists, station logos and other features. The system also provides discovery and personalization features.

The post Cumulus Stations Support DTS AutoStage appeared first on Radio World.

Esteemed GroupM Global President of Business Intelligence Brian Wieser has singled out three key areas that have been transformed the most for his firms clients over the past months.

While e-commerce and “responsible investing” are two of these areas, it is the third — linear and Connected TV — that deserve the industry’s attention.

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

Avantone Pro is launching Gauss 7, an active full-range, two-way reference monitor that aims to evoke a vintage sound with the addition of modern technologies. Cetex Gauss, based out of Sun Valley, Calif., was best-known for its tape duplication equipment, but its short-lived speaker brand of the early 1970s is being used as a jumping-off point for the new line.

The Gauss 7 features a 2.5-inch (65 mm) GAU-AMT aluminum-etched PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film-folded membrane high-frequency driver that offers a response up to 22 kHz. The assembly is mounted in its own enclosure to avoid back wave pressure from the woofer.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

Woofer-wise, the Gauss 7 includes a 7-inch (178 mm) ferrite motor GAU-7MLF low-frequency driver. It draws from Avantone Pro’s AV10-MLF “white cone” construction. The woofer cone is a pressed design, fabricated from the same proprietary blend of wood pulp and glass fiber found in the AV10-MLF woofer, but with increased materials providing extended low end. The woofer’s motor structure is made of low-carbon 1008 steel.

The rear-firing passive bass port gives the Gauss 7 a “controlled yet punchy low end with a tight response,” the company.

On the power front, there is a 120 W power amplifier for the low-frequency driver and 60 W high-frequency driver amplifier power. Specs include 103 dB (peak) SPL; and 0.5% THL delivered from an enclosure measuring 381 mm (15 inches) H x 235 mm (9.25 inches) W x 212 mm (8.35 inches) D. Weight is 18 pounds.

It also includes balanced XLR and 1/4-inch TRS inputs, plus a three-position “acoustic placement” switch, a three-position high trim switch and a gain control.

Gauss 7 will be shipping in early June for $799 per pair.

Info: www.avantonepro.com

The post Avantone Pro Introduces Gauss 7 Studio Monitors appeared first on Radio World.