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“Most U.S. Latinos speak Spanish.” That’s a statement made by Mark Hugo López and Lauren Mora of the Pew Hispanic Center, one of the foremost organizations offering reliable and accurate data regarding the U.S. Hispanic consumer. But, just how proficient are Latinos when it comes to en español conversation?

The numbers are high, solidifying the need for marketers and advertisers to place their dollars in both Spanish-language and English-language media consumed by Hispanics across the U.S.

Standby for updates regarding the 2024 Hispanic Radio Conference. Pre-planning conversations will begin soon! To learn more about the event, visit http://www.hispanicradioconference.com now.

 

 

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NEW YORK — On the morning of November 9, Townsquare Media won’t be the sole owner of radio stations seeking the attention of analysts, shareholders and debt holders. The nation’s No. 1 licensee of AMs and FMs has scheduled its third quarter 2023 earnings call for a time that’s just 30 minutes after the start of the company led by CEO Bill Wilson.

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ORLANDO — He joined Procter & Gamble Co. in July 1996 as a Process Engineer and in November 2015 shifted to the North America Media Team to serve as an analyst and manager. In that role, he was tasked to do one of the largest media agency evaluations in history.

“My focus was on analytics and the use of data to inform cross-media planning, buying and forecasting,” says John Fix. “Along the way I developed a passion for radio, which resulted in a 15X adoption of Radio in 2 years.”

These efforts led Fix in June 2019 to take the role of “Most Senior Media Analyst.” Now, just hours after P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard addressed ANA Masters of Marketing conference attendees on Wednesday morning, Fix took to social media to announce he’s retiring, and will conclude a career that began in 1987 as a GE Aircraft Engines Design Engineer.

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NEW YORK — How does Radio better leverage a growing portfolio of potential revenue streams when digital and streaming services look to continue to aggressively grow their market share?

What do radio industry leaders have to share about AI possibilities already put to task, or protecting research when cutting expenses is a necessary endeavor?

Those were just some of the questions addressed during the NAB Show New York’s second annual executive seminar that replaces the now-concluded Radio Show.

 

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Here’s a nugget sales associates working at broadcast radio stations might want to weave into their client pitches: The current “Share of Ear” for podcasts is now greater than that for Sirius XM Satellite Radio and TV music channels combined.

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As Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink first reported Wednesday morning (10/15), Thomas Hamilton Stoner — the Des Moines native who would create the former Stoner Broadcasting and had been residing in picturesque Annapolis, Md., in recent years, has died.

Tom Stoner was 88 years old and passed away of pulmonary fibrosis on October 19. In addition to his ownership of radio stations, Mr. Stoner played a key role in the creation of American Radio Systems and, later, American Tower Corp. 

He also unsuccessfully sought the U.S. Senate seat held by Charles Grassley.

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DAC System has been adding to its test and measurement lineup.

Its RFHawkeye family is based on real-time TDR-like operation to monitor, detect and localize any VSWR-return loss changes along an antenna transmission line. “It keeps monitoring your infrastructure whenever the antenna is transmitting without any interference with the transmitted signal.” 

Degradation analysis, warnings and alarms allow the operator to apply corrective actions immediately to prevent catastrophic failures. 

Also, DAC’s IoT Apollo Software gathers information from installed systems and keeps the network under control from a single portal.

The company recently introduced a new power meter to measure RF power and VSWR/RL of an RF environment in real time, along with performing channel spectral analysis. 

DAC System, headquartered in Switzerland, serves the broadcast, public safety and critical communications industries. It says its philosophy is “prevention is better than reaction.”

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

The post DAC Highlights RFHawkeye appeared first on Radio World.

Trust is foundational to broadcasting. If you are to be highly successful, your audience must find your on-air talent credible, relatable and authentic. 

Anecdotally, I’ve found that in our post-pandemic world, skepticism and cynicism are running hotter than ever, especially when it comes to content and the people who are presenting it. 

While I’ve been aware of the trust factor for decades, I’ve noticed it has recently come much more to the forefront concerning relationships, influencers, social media and on-air broadcast talent.

And now? Artificial intelligence, the latest of tech breakthroughs, is proving a significant element that may affect the way our audience relates to our content. 

We’re about 10 minutes into the long game of how AI is changing our world. Already, social scientists are gamely evaluating its impact. How people perceive AI is important both in the way we use it on-air and even in the way we talk about it.  

If you’re considering AI as a substitute for human talent, or even as an ongoing novelty act, take a look at a new Mitre-Harris Poll. One of the key findings of the September survey is that Americans have a general distrust of artificial intelligence. Only 48% believe that it is safe and secure. 

It looked at feelings about the use of AI as a tool for providing entertainment recommendations on streaming services, facial recognition on personal devices and targeted advertising on social media. Not surprisingly, this study does find generational attitude differences. 

[Read More Columns by Mark Lapidus]

Rob Jekielek, managing director of the research, says, “A strong majority of Gen Z and millennials are comfortable with AI usage. In contrast, across those examples, boomers are 20–30% less comfortable with AI usage, with only a minority comfortable with use of AI for facial recognition on phones and personal devices (37% comfortable) and targeted advertising on social media (29% comfortable).” 

Another noteworthy stat: 82% of Republicans, 87% of Democrats and 85% of independents are in favor of efforts by government, industry and educational institutions to ensure that artificial intelligence is safe.

I strongly suspect that stations using AI as on-air talent are vulnerable to attack from competitors who can point out that they themselves would never eliminate someone’s livelihood with a robot that sounds soulless. It may be a leap to conclude from the Mitre-Harris Poll that open-minded, younger audiences are cool with new AI DJs, but I’m sure we’ll hear the feedback before long.

This notion of the Next New Thing reminds me of something I’ve witnessed many times. On-air talent with longevity and decent ratings is extremely difficult to replace. A common mistake among new program directors is to jump in and replace tenured talent with a shiny new personality. This fails more often than it works, and it has been the death of many a longstanding franchise in a format. Could AI be much different, especially after the notoriety has worn off? 

I couldn’t help myself: I queried ChatGPT as to the likelihood of an AI DJ building tenure and trust. It gave me seven very good reasons to trust an artificial voice. Of course it did. How humans will answer the question is still undetermined. 

Email the author at marklapidus1@gmail.com or send a letter to the editor to radioworld@futurenet.com.

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The post Trust Me, I’m Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Radio World.

AVENTURA, FLA. — As 2023 began, those with access to NEXTGEN TV signals in South Florida were able to receive ATSC 3.0-powered broadcasts in the new digital television standard for CBS Stations’ WFOR-4, TelevisaUnivision O&O WLTV-23, and NBCUniversal O&Os WTVJ-6 and Telemundo-aligned WSCV-51.

The bigger story were the 7 stations in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Key West not participating in the NEXTGEN TV rollout. Now, nearly one year after the Pearl TV-managed launch in the DMA, the ABC affiliate controlled by a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate is readying its transition to NEXTGEN TV.

 

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When it comes to radio history, it doesn’t get much bigger or better than a visit to the Alpine Tower, constructed by Edwin Armstrong in northern New Jersey in 1937 within sight of Manhattan, to facilitate his development work that led to modern FM radio.

The Armstrong or Alpine Tower is the site of the world’s first FM broadcast station, W2XMN. The call sign is still etched in cement above the front door of the Major’s original station building on the site today.

The distinctive 400-foot, three-armed tower overlooks the Hudson River north of NYC.

Thanks to David Amundsen of K2 Communications and Radio World friends Steve Hemphill and David Antoine for facilitating our visit.

Check out these snapshots captured by Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane, who’s currently in the Big Apple for NAB Show New York (psst, check out our show coverage here).

Click on the picture to toggle between photos.

[Related: “History Above the Treetops: The Alpine Tower“]

The post Radio World’s Visit to the Alpine Tower appeared first on Radio World.

NEW YORK — A new long-term agreement has been signed that will keep three channels of programming provided by FOX News Media on SiriusXM. The agreement also ensures on-demand audio content will be available on the SiriusXM app — a platform the publicly traded company seeks to grow.

The agreement means FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN) and FOX News Headlines 24/7 retain dedicated SiriusXM channels. FOX News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace commented, “We value our relationship with SiriusXM and are pleased to extend our broadcast agreement, ensuring their audience continued access to their favorite FOX News personalities and powerful primetime lineup.”

The three FOX channels appear in sequential order, with FBN on Channel 113, FNC on Channel 114 and the headlines offering on Channel 115.

The audio of FNC’s The Five, Special Report with Bret Baier, The Ingraham Angle, Jesse Watters Primetime, Hannity, Gutfeld! and FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher will continue to be made available on-demand to SiriusXM subscribers.

FOX News will continue to produce the FOX News Headlines 24/7 channel exclusively for SiriusXM.

— With reports from Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, en route to NAB Show New York

NEW YORK — “TelevisaUnivision delivered another strong quarter of double-digit growth,” shared Wade Davis, Chief Executive Officer of the world’s biggest producer of Spanish-language audio and video content as the company’s third quarter earnings report was released.

While TelevisaUnivision is not publicly traded, and Univision was unsuccessful in launching an initial public offering of stock prior to its merger with Mexico’s Televisa, the financial results paint an important portrait as to the health of an entity squarely focused on a vitally important growth market for the U.S.: Hispanics.

How did TelevisaUnivision perform in Q3? It was record-breaking, as the company’s revenue climbed to $1.28 billion in the three-month period ending September 30, 2023, compared to $1.15 billion in Q3 2022.

Net income grew to $46.4 million, from $33.6 million.

Furthermore, TelevisaUnivision’s total assets grew to $18.31 billion from $17.49 billion.

¡ VIVA MÉXICO!

What drove TelevisaUnivision in the third quarter? It wasn’t the Uforia-branded audio assets in the U.S., nor was it the Univision, UniMás or Galavisión TV units. Rather, the profit was driven largely by double-digit growth in Mexico ad sales and “substantial growth” in global direct-to-consumer enterprises — a sign that the focus of TelevisaUnivision on its ViX platform has paid off as the OTT economy continues to roar globally. A plus: a 60% reduction in ViX-associated losses.

Still, domestic revenue was on the upswing. U.S. advertising revenue grew 3%, ex-political. This, TelevisaUnivision says, was driven by “record-setting demand” for sports and tentpole events. Factoring in the political dollars seen in Q3 2022, ad revenue declined by 1%.

The blemish for TelevisaUnivision? Weaker performance in local advertising, which was offset by strength in national advertising.

 

 

The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau) has before it a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by One Ministries, Inc. (Petitioner). The Petitioner requests the allotment of reserved noncommercial educational (NCE) channel *2 to Colusa, California (Colusa), in the Table of TV Allotments as the community's first local television service. The Petitioner filed comments in support of the petition, as required by the Commission's rules, reaffirming its commitment to apply for channel *2, and if authorized, to construct the facility.

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Colorado’s all sports radio station KKSE(FM) hopes to score better coverage of the Denver metro area in a filing with the FCC to modify its facilities. 

The KSE Radio Ventures station “Altitude 92.5” is licensed to Broomfield, Colo., a community northwest of Denver, but has proposed a minor modification amendment to downgrade from Class C1 FM to Class C2 FM. 

The licensee’s filing last week detailed the modifications to move its existing antenna to a new location on Eldorado Mountain, just south of Boulder. It also included a change in antenna pattern.

Representatives of the licensee didn’t respond to a Radio World email seeking comment, but it appears the move would allow the station to better reach the southern suburbs of the sports-crazy Denver market, according to coverage maps attached to the filing.

This figure above reveals 100% 70 dBu city-grade coverage of the City of License (Broomfield, Colo.)

The FCC says it receives downgrade requests from stations from time to time, so the request to drop in class is not unique, according to an FCC spokesperson. 

KSE Radio Ventures told the FCC the proposed facility meets all minimum distance separation requirements with regard to co-channel, first, second and third adjacent channel stations, except for neighboring first adjacent Class C KKCH in Glenwood Springs, Colo., on 92.7 MHz.

The newly-proposed facility is short-spaced 1.5 kilometers to KKCH, according to the filing.  

The application proposes “contour protection for KKCH” in accordance with FCC guidelines, the licensee states. “Therefore, the proposed facility is permitted to use contour protection toward the short-spaced facility,” KSE Media Sports said in its filing.

The station proposes using a one-bay AAT Panel antenna at the new location at a height of 28 meters and radiating 5.6 kW ERP.

Altitude 92.5’s signal currently covers the northern suburbs of Denver, but the change in tower locations would result in enhanced service to Boulder and the Denver metro, according to maps included with the technical filing. 

The FCC spokesperson told Radio World the commission has received the downgrade request but hasn’t fully examined the filing. It will determine next steps in the process at a later date.

Even with its limited signal coverage, KKSE managed to rate a 1.4 share in the Denver/Boulder market in September 2023, according to Nielsen. That places it behind Bonneville’s sports talker KKFN(FM) (4.6).

KSE Radio Ventures also owns KXKL(FM), KIMN(FM) and KKSE(AM) in the Denver market.

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The post Denver Radio Station Proposes Shift From C1 FM to C2 FM appeared first on Radio World.

With its stock at its lowest trading values since going public in March 2000 and its market cap at $20.41 million, Beasley Media Group has announced that it will report its third quarter results on the first day of November.

What can analysts and investors expect to hear from CEO Caroline Beasley and CFO Marie Tedesco?

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That’s a question tackled by Claravine and Advertiser Perceptions in a new survey of advertisers who spend upward of $50 million annually. The goal was to understand how they manage their marketing data.

One key finding could bring a boost to traditional media: Advertisers estimate that the wrong creative is served to the wrong consumer roughly 25% of the time.

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There’s no one place quite like Sedona, Ariz., a bustling town to the northwest of greater Phoenix that a hub for hikers, hot-air balloon enthusiasts and even wine connoisseurs, thanks to a viticultural region near Cottonwood.

It is here than an AM radio station with an FM translator is trading hands.

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