Industry News

According to MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson, “It should be clear that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged much of the world for the past 12 months, has accelerated the adoption of streaming services.”

And, as summer turned to autumn and fall turned to winter, Americans once again found themselves in front of their screens with few linear options — aside from live news and sports.

In contrast, Nathanson says, consumers had access to “an unlimited bouquet of
increasingly excellent streaming content choices.”

Is broadcast TV losing the content war to “SVOD”?

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Ross Video will host a Webinar on Tuesday (1/26) which will talk about new software-based audio solutions for broadcasters.

Orban and Nielsen partnered with Ross to add specific elements to this platform that bring a new set of tools to radio broadcasters.

This event is scheduled for 11am Eastern/8am Pacific on Tuesday.

It sees the Signal Processing Team discuss in detail Ross Video’s infrastructure products for Cloud Technologies, IP Networks and SDI Infrastructure.

The Ross team will also be joined by representatives Orban Labs and The Nielsen Company to discuss cloud-based signal processing infrastructure.

“The broadcast community, including radio, is moving steadily toward software-based solutions for the broadcast air chain,” says Orban VP/Business Development Mike Pappas. “The new softGear platform from Ross, which incorporates next-generation Orban processing along with Nielsen audio watermark encoding and Dolby audio, brings powerful tools to Radio broadcasters. It’s available now.”

Pappas adds that one launch customer “has ordered hundreds of channels.”

Product introductions and upgrades to Ross’ Signal Processing portfolio will also be shared on the Tuesday webinar.

To register, click here: https://www.rossvideo.com/live

 

Beasley Broadcast Group’s wholly owned subsidiary Beasley Mezzanine Holdings on Thursday (9/21) priced its offering of $300 million in aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Secured Notes due 2026.

The size of the offering was increased by $20 million from the previously announced offering size of $280 million.

The Notes were offered to persons “reasonably believed” to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and outside the United States in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.

Beasley expects to use the net proceeds of this offering to repay in full existing indebtedness under the company’s senior secured credit facilities and certain other indebtedness, with remaining proceeds to be added to the Issuer’s balance sheet and used for general corporate purposes.

Translation: It is a new debt for old debt transaction.

The Notes offering is expected to close on February 2.

Investors took a late afternoon liking to BBGI on Thursday. At 2:36pm Eastern, a big gain was seen, helping Beasley Broadcast Group experience a 11.3% gain on the day.

It brings the audio media company’s stock to a fresh six-month best.

With the Closing Bell on January 21, BBGI was at $2.27. It shed three cents in early after-hours trading on the Nasdaq Global Market.

Could it be tied to a debt swap announced Tuesday (1/19)?

It’s possible, as Beasley Broadcast Group wholly owned subsidiary Beasley Mezzanine Holdings intends to offer $280 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes, subject to market and other conditions.

On a six-month chart, BBGI looks good.

On a one-year chart, it’s another story. In mid-June 2020, a $3.86 spike was seen — marking a short-lived jump for an undervalued issue.

One year ago, BBGI was $3.65. And, five years ago shares were $3.68.

The five-year high: $13.40, seen in late 2017.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House  Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) has released the names of the Republican subcommittee leaders and subcommittee rosters for the 117th Congress. The six subcommittees and their Republican Subcommittee Leaders are:

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Tru Optik, a TransUnion company, announced today an agreement with Targetspot to offer advertisers audience-based targeting capabilities for streaming audio.

Tru Optik’s data management platform will be integrated into Targetspot’s tech stack, available starting February 2021.

Through this integration, buyers and sellers are able to identify and segment audiences across mobile and streaming audio devices, including smart speakers.

In addition, media companies and audio advertisers will be able to leverage Targetspot’s audio supply inventory with consumer and behavioral insights across streaming audio and podcasts.

“Mapped against Tru Optik’s patented Household GraphTM of more than 80 million U.S. homes, advertisers will have advanced audio targeting capabilities that result in precise, effective and cost-efficient advertising campaigns across mobile, smart speakers and even gaming consoles,” the companies boast.

 

In March 2018, The Mainstay Station Trust LLC came to fruition. It was created to take on four stations divested by Cumulus Media in order to complete its Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

The Trust is headed solely by noted broker Elliot Evers.

In October 2019, two of the four properties were spun from the trust. This followed the removal of a Missouri station from the trust, as Cumulus turned in the license for another property in the market.

Now, the last of the stations licensed to Evers is being sold.

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Hey, Alexa … play K-I-N-K on iHeartRadio.

That’s just one of many, many commands one can voice to their Amazon Alexa smart speaker to listen to live audio streaming of a U.S. broadcast radio station.

But, just how many consumers do this, rather than “play Pandora” or audio content that doesn’t represent a broadcast radio station’s live stream?

Triton Digital has the answer.

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In June 2016, well before anyone in Washington, D.C., expected Donald Trump to become the 45th U.S. President, concerns over the re-nomination of a Democratic FCC Commissioner surfaced.

Then came the November election, and the transition of Commission leadership from Tom Wheeler to Ajit Pai. With Republicans in control, Jessica Rosenworcel became a political pawn. She left on Inauguration Day 2017, only to return six months later with her re-nomination from President Trump confirmed.

Now, he’s actually to thank for making Rosenworcel the interim FCC Chairman.

Well … sort of.

President Biden on Thursday (1/21) designated Rosenworcel as Acting FCC Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission.

“I am honored to be designated as the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden,” she said, thanking Biden for the opportunity to lead an agency “with such a vital mission and talented staff.”

Rosenworcel called it ” a privilege to serve the American people and work on their behalf to expand the reach of communications opportunity in the digital age.”

In her stints at the Commission, Rosenworcel has worked to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in the nation’s communications services and has been a consistent champion for connecting all.

Prior to joining the agency, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV and Daniel Inouye. Before entering public service, Rosenworcel practiced communications law for Drinker Biddle Reath in Washington, D.C.

Her brother, Brian, is the drummer in the alternative rock band Guster.

Republican colleague Brendan Carr extended his congratulations to Rosenworcel, calling her “a talented and dedicated public servant, as evidenced by her eight years of distinguished service on the FCC.”

NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith also applauded Rosenworcel on becoming acting FCC chair. “She is a dedicated and experienced public servant who has demonstrated great aptitude in leading communications policy during her tenure at the Commission,” he said. “We look forward to working with her and her fellow Commissioners on regulatory policies that help local radio and TV stations serve the public interest.”

What are the most important policy issues facing local television and radio stations during the 117th congress that the NAB will be advocating to policymakers and Members of Congress?

That was distributed on Thursday, one day after Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States.

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