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Audacy is in the process of rolling out the new HLS+ streaming technology from Super Hi-Fi on its 700 or so online stations, as we reported earlier this week. The change means listeners to those streams who use compatible devices will be able to enjoy new interactive and personalization features.

Super Hi-Fi calls HLS+ transformative. I interviewed CEO Zack Zalon to ask him to explain the technology and why he’s excited about it.

Radio World: Help us understand what HLS+ is and why you’re excited about it.

Zack Zalon

Zack Zalon: Let’s start by considering what does radio does incredibly well: production, branding, segues with sound effects or sweepers, and personalities who narrate an experience and pull people through a journey. 

But over the past decade the digital ecosystem has become more about interactivity and personalization. Look at Spotify. The ability to skip songs and go right to the beginning of the next one, the ability to get personalized information flown in for you, are great. But then you don’t get production, you don’t get narration, you don’t get branding elements — nothing that makes radio amazing. 

What we’ve been working on for three years is an entirely new streaming technology to allow both true linear, fully produced, live radio experiences, the full complement of radio’s capabilities, plus full interactivity and personalization. 

Let’s say you’re listening to a song and there’s a segue that’s about to happen. In that segue, you’ll get a branding element, a voice track, another branding element and another song, all stitched together perfectly, just as you’d expect on the world’s best broadcast radio experiences. And if you listen to it with HLS+, that’s what you’ll hear. But if you skip, you will go to the beginning of the next song perfectly, with no production overhangs, just like you would on a Spotify or an Apple Music. It won’t skip to a random spot on the stream; it won’t leave some of that production overhang audible. 

It’s almost as though HLS+ is crafting an entirely new experience for you on the fly, which makes it feel like just an interactive music service, but still with the production capabilities of radio on top of it. 

That’s the first part. The second part is personalization. So let’s say a sports report comes up in a radio broadcast stream. You’re in Washington, Paul, so with HLS+, you’ll get a Washington Capitals report, but I’ll get an L.A. Lakers report — at the same time, in the same spot on the stream — and then we go back into regularly scheduled programming. It’s seamless. 

This combination of capabilities has never existed before. That stream theoretically could power a broadcast radio experience through the FM or HD Radio dial too; but when you receive it on an interactive player on your phone, all that interactivity comes to life. And it’s the same stream, which can be both live and fully produced as well as interactive and personalized, all at the same time.

Finally, if the stream connects to a player that doesn’t support that interactivity, it folds down automatically into a traditional HLS stream — meaning this technology is compatible with billions of devices that already exist, such as Amazon Alexa, Sonos, etc. 

Audacy is converting all 700 of its online-only exclusive stations into HLS+ by the end of the month. And we’re going live with industry support from Telos Alliance, Orban, Barix, Xperi and its AIM app platform, and more coming. 

The industry has needed an advanced technology to allow them to keep the production that makes radio great, but also to take advantage of real interactivity, as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music have had for years. We have heard from countless radio companies that they’re frustrated by limits of their existing streaming tech. So this is a unique opportunity for radio companies.

RW: Where will this show up?

Zalon: For starters, if a consumer is using the Audacy app, all those stations soon will work in a fully produced and fully interactive way. We’re going live with them on all of their apps for iOS, Android and web via JavaScript. We’ve also tested it on Alexa devices and believe that our ecosystem will soon include Amazon Alexa, even for the fully interactive experiences. And we’ll announce more customers over coming months.

RW: What does a streaming company need to do on the infrastructure side to integrate this?

Zalon: They have to be using the Super Hi-Fi operating system, which we call Program Director. It’s part of that ecosystem; but there’s no upcharge for using HLS+. It’s a small amount of code added to a customer’s player ecosystem. To date, if you use Program Director and want to do a stream, you can select HTTP streaming, you can select standard HLS or you can select RTMP. Now you’ll also be able to select HLS+ and the stream it creates is designed for that environment, it will provide that production, interactivity and personalization. 

RW: To be clear, this discussion applies to online streaming audio stations, not over-the-air.

Zalon: Well, if one of our customers is using Program Director to power an HD Radio or FM broadcast, that same experience would instantly be available as an interactive version online. Again, it’s a single stream. If it plays on FM, it obviously won’t be interactive, but if you listen in your interactive player, it is. We think this opens up a world of cool digital use cases.

RW: You mentioned skipping ahead. What happens when there’s a live, real-time element in the audio?

Zalon: It will collapse to live, and you can’t skip forward anymore until the live experience is over, say with a morning show. But the minute that show goes back to prescheduled voice-track programming, you’re right back in the interactive experience again.

This is amongst the most complicated technologies we’ve built. But it’s necessary, especially if radio is going to stay attractive to the next generation of consumers. 

One of the things radio is not doing very well is bringing in younger listeners. Those users are accustomed to controlling their own experiences, and radio has never been about user control. HLS+ starts to layer some of that control directly on top of the radio stream itself, so a younger demographic is more likely to experience radio in a similar manner to how they’re interacting with all of their other media sources. Our goal is to use HLS+ to make radio as relevant as possible to the broadest possible audience of listeners.

RW: You listed several technology partners that are supporting this. In what way are they doing so?

Zalon: Embedding the ability to read HLS+ into their devices would be one example. But more broadly these companies share a vision for transformation across the entire radio landscape. They see that we need a collective ecosystem of interoperable tools to help carry radio into the next generation of listeners. So while they’re supporting HLS+, you’ll see us supporting some of their advanced technologies as they come to market over the coming years. 

RW: Are those companies licensing HLS+ from you?

Zalon: No. We’re working together on a range of ways HLS+ might manifest itself in the industry. Right now it’s most useful for online digital radio. But there are so many technologies that are advancing the longer-term opportunity for radio companies, from entirely new studio and playout tools to in-car interactive entertainment services. We believe that HLS+ will add meaningful value across a variety of touchpoints on that ecosystem, and we’re incredibly excited to demonstrate some of those options as things unfold over time.

[Read more Radio World coverage of Super Hi-Fi.]

The post Zack Zalon on Why HLS+ Matters appeared first on Radio World.

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The Media Bureau affirms the dismissal of the application of Christian Recovery Foundation for a new LPFM station at Dracut, Massachusetts

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The Media Bureau dismisses the application of Portsonic Communications, LLC, for a new LPFM station at Las Vegas, Nevada

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The logo of the faidr app from Auddia.

Technology company Auddia, developer of the faidr audio app, announced a pay-per-play beta program for podcasters and networks.

“The program will treat podcast plays and downloads similar to streaming music, where content owners receive a direct payment based on how many streams they receive,” the company said in a press release.

CEO Michael Lawless said “the economics are simply broken” for many podcasters. “Ad revenues can be inconsistent, and unlike the top shows out there, you have the vast majority of podcasts, even seemingly popular ones, making just enough to survive. Meanwhile, ad networks, ad servers and ad salespeople are taking a significant chunk of the gross revenue from podcast ads.”

Lawless said the beta program pays creators directly for each play. “They keep a much bigger portion of the revenue generated from their material.”

The program targets listeners who skip the majority of ads and don’t subscribe to exclusive or ad-free feeds at the show or network level.

“Partners in Auddia’s pay-per-play program will have their episodes downloaded in full, with ads included, but listeners will be given controls that allow them to fast forward through ad breaks automatically, requiring no technological heavy lifting on the podcaster’s end,” the company said.

“When subscribers play a partner’s episode, Auddia tracks the activity and delivers a payment based on the agreed-upon per-play rate, which is based on the podcast’s current revenue-per-play and average CPM.”

Partner podcast episodes will be delivered by Auddia’s Seamless Play technology. “Users will be treated to episodes where the app fast forwards through ad breaks automatically, rather than requiring the end user to manually fast forward. Each play or download will be logged, and partners will be compensated at an agreed-upon rate on a monthly basis.”

The company said it will also release a seek forward functionality that allows users to fast forward to the next identified segment of content. “This functionality will be launched in faidr in the next major release this year as a beta test.”

[Related: “Auddia Drops Bid to Acquire Radio FM”]

 

The post Auddia Has a Beta Program for Subscription Podcasting appeared first on Radio World.

As previously reported by RBR+TVBR, Larry Patrick, the pre-petition receiver for the radio stations once licensed to Ed Stolz’s Royce International Broadcasting, had urged the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Nevada to convert Stolz’s bankruptcy from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7. The Court granted that motion today.

Stolz was notably absent from the proceedings, which will lead to the assignment of a Chapter 7 trustee to manage his personal assets.

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An eastern Kentucky FM covering the area south of Lickburg and west of Mashfork, along with three sister stations, is headed for new ownership, according to sale documents filed with the FCC.

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Technology research and advisory group Omdia has presented new research that indicates a pivotal shift in video streaming habits, showing a decline in subscription video-on-demand services per household for the first time in over five years, as of November 2023. Conversely, there is a marked return to free video services, particularly FAST channels.

This marks a significant change from the previously dominant trend of increasing subscription services per household.

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In another vote split down party lines, the Federal Communications Commission will mandate that cable and satellite television providers clearly disclose the total, or “all-in,” price for video service packages. The 3-2 vote was decided at the FCC’s March meeting and is the latest in Commissioner Rosenworcel’s push for pricing transparency.

This move targets the elimination of hidden fees often found in service advertisements and monthly bills, ensuring consumers are fully informed about the actual costs.

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An image from a brochure of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the Department of Justice.

A proposed new event code to deliver broadcast alerts about missing and endangered adults is moving ahead at the FCC.

We reported earlier that the commission planned to consider whether to open a notice of proposed rulemaking. It did so today unanimously.

“Adding a new ‘Missing and Endangered Persons’ event code to the nation’s Emergency Alert System would help law enforcement agencies to issue timely alerts in accordance with the Ashanti Alert Act and galvanize public attention to these cases,” the FCC said in a press release.

“Similar to how law enforcement agencies successfully use Amber Alerts on TV and radio to help mobilize public attention and recover abducted children, this new Missing and Endangered Persons event code would trigger Ashanti Alerts to sound the alarm over other missing and endangered persons.”

Here is the text of the NPRM, as released in draft form prior to the vote.

The FCC says that in the United States in 2022, about 187,000 adults went missing but fell outside of the criteria for Amber or Silver Alerts. It says the new code would be particularly beneficial to native and indigenous women who have disappeared.

The federal Ashanti Alert Act of 2018 established a voluntary nationwide communication network to aid in the search and recovery of missing adults. It was named in honor of Ashanti Billie, who was abducted and killed in 2017.

Noting that alert originators use EAS by selecting from a list of codes — such as CAE for a Child Abduction Emergency, known as an Amber Alert — the FCC is asking for comment on creating an MEP alert code.

The commission noted that several states, territories and tribal communities have Ashanti Alert plans or missing/endangered person plans, or legislative proposals in the works. It wants comments about how those would fit in with its own plan. It’s also asking for comments on whether and how this idea could be used with the Wireless Emergency Alert system, which does not use event codes.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that violence against Native women has a long history. “The cruel reality is that we continue to have a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people, and it is especially acute for women and girls in tribal communities.” She said the success of Amber Alerts over three decades shows that the event code approach works.

Rosenworcel credited Native Public Media for its efforts to call attention to the issue of missing indigenous persons.

[Read a blog post on this issue from Native Public Media.]

As with other non-presidential EAS alerts, whether stations carry Ashanti Alerts and use the MEP event code would be voluntary. As far as what would be required on the broadcaster side, the FCC noted that EAS participants are required to have equipment capable of being upgraded by software to accommodate modifications. Stations would not be required to add the code until their equipment or software was replaced. The FCC added, “We also see no reason why a new event code could not be bundled with a software upgrade that EAS participants would otherwise install anyway, during the regular course of business.”

Once the NPRM has been published in the Federal Register, the comment deadlines will be set. Comments should be made in the FCC online system under PS Dockets 15-91 or 15-94

The post “Ashanti Alert” Code Advances at FCC appeared first on Radio World.

While referencing the Oscar-nominated film Killers of the Flower Moon, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel introduced a proposal for a new event code within the Emergency Alert System aimed at enhancing the search for missing and endangered adults.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking complements ongoing efforts by the National Congress of American Indians, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Justice.

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Despite experiencing substantial paper losses from stock buybacks initiated in 2020, Charter Communications remains steadfast in its investment approach. That message was sent loud and clear by Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer at Deutsche Bank’s annual Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday.

Fischer affirmed the third-largest US pay TV operator’s confidence in its long-term business outlook, indicating no shift in its investment strategy is forthcoming.

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The Weather Channel will be staying on Charter in a new deal that presents an added bonus for customers with CTV.

Allen Media Group, founded by Byron Allen, has negotiated a multi-year renewal agreement with Charter Communications Inc. for the ongoing distribution of AMG’s cable networks. This agreement also extends to the retransmission of Allen Media Broadcasting television stations across Charter’s Spectrum services.

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The National Association of Broadcasters has selected Townsquare Media Senior Vice President of Digital Products Sun Sachs as the recipient of its 2024 Digital Leadership Award. He has been a key contributor to Townsquare’s “digital-first” business model since 2010.

Under his leadership, the company witnessed exponential growth in its digital audience and revenue, surging from 1 million unique monthly visitors in 2010 to 75 million in 2024, and increasing digital revenues from less than 5% to over 50% of total revenue by 2023.

Sachs developed Townsquare’s proprietary content management system and a mobile application platform that supports local radio stations as well as national brand websites.

Before joining Townsquare Media, Sachs held the position of Vice President of Product at AOL Media and had supported several New York-based digital firms. His work has netted him several industry awards, such as a Webby, IMA, MIXX, a Technology Emmy nomination, and the 2022 NAB PILOT Innovation Challenge award.

Sachs serves on the NAB Digital Officer Committee and the NAB Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference Committee, and has also taken on moderator roles at NAB conferences.

Since 2015, the Digital Leadership Award has recognized individuals within the broadcasting sector who have played a crucial role in transitioning traditional broadcast operations into successful digital platforms.

Sachs is set to be honored at the Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony, taking place on April 15 at the NAB Show Main Stage.

After acquiring Frankly Media’s AMP suite in February, SoCast has unveiled its latest digital innovation for large radio broadcast companies, SoCast Reach Enterprise. Developed in collaboration with Canadian broadcaster Stingray, the platform is designed to scale digital business.

With 20% of radio’s revenue now coming from digital, Reach Enterprise aims to streamline the digital revenue growth process, by enhancing workflow integration across departments and managing digital sales operations from proposal to delivery that works alongside traditional ad sales.

SoCast Reach Enterprise is compatible with WideOrbit and integrates with all major demand-side platforms like Google and Meta.

Stingray Director of Digital Sales Ryan Shortt commented, “I can attest to the strength of our partnership with SoCast and the capabilities of SoCast Reach Enterprise. A standout moment in our collaboration was the rapid and seamless integration of SoCast’s Delivery Reports at a critical juncture when our previous provider was ceasing operations. This swift action by SoCast was crucial, preventing any potential disruption for our sales team and advertisers.”

SoCast COO Sandy Hurst said, “Every broadcaster is at a different stage of digital transformation. Our goal is to always provide the radio industry, from the enterprise level to start-ups, with solutions to help with their digital revenue transformation, and we keep the strategy one step ahead so that the innovation is already in place when radio broadcasters need it.”

Ahead of releasing its 2023 annual report to shareholders soon, Audacy released data this week about its business situation. It cited “significant sequential acceleration across key financial metrics and performance indicators.”

The company said it seeks to provide “additional visibility on its progress” since receiving court approval of its Chapter 11 reorganization. The FCC must still approve the plan. 

Audacy said overall revenue, as well as the radio portion of that revenue, were up 1% in January. The smaller digital portion was up 7%. First quarter revenues were pacing up 1% and second quarter were pacing more.

But revenues in the fourth quarter of last year were down 8.9% from the prior year, to $311.6 million, while cash operating expenses declined 9.1%.

Among other savings it said it completed real estate asset sales worth $10 million in the fourth quarter and $14 million during the first quarter.

Audacy did highlight gains in its share of both market revenue and ratings, and it said it “continues to deliver consistent, strong increases in streaming audiences, with 14 consecutive months of double-digit unique listener growth through January.”

It believes that the $350 million of debt it will carry after reorganization will give it “the strongest balance sheet among its industry peers.” The previous debt was $1.9 billion.

Randy Stine’s recent story “Audacy Prepares to Emerge From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy” has more about the company’s current situation.

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The post Audacy Encouraged by Q1 Trending appeared first on Radio World.

We asked you to tell us what’s in your toolbag. John Cone doesn’t carry one; he uses a Pelican brand equipment case. And he says the most important tool inside is a Dymo Rhino Pro label maker.

Keep a Dymo label maker in your tool bag. You will find many uses for it around your facility.

John says that many radio stations seem to have been built without labels for their wires and cables. So when he is working on a facility and identifying wires and cables, he also takes the time to label them.

In his case he also carries a tone generator and probe; the latter is invaluable as an audio signal tracer. He also has a CTP Systems dBbox3 audio tester, again for analog audio signal tracing.

On the RF side, John has a small AEA vector network analyzer. He uses this instrument when he has a dozen unmarked coax cables inside the transmitter building and would like to be able to tell which one is for the 950 MHz STL. He also carries a small, very nice TTI spectrum analyzer as well as an old Pira.cz USB FM analyzer to assess whether a station is over-processed.

Bright at night

Ed Walters, K8DI, is with The Solution LLC in southwestern Michigan. At the top of his list of “must have” tools is a decent LED flashlight. Ed likes the Nitecore P10. He calls it “stupid bright” and says it’s not so expensive that he worries about losing it.

Ed says that at his age a magnifying glass also comes in handy, as does a small first aid kit that includes bandages, tweezers and antibiotic cream. Thinking of safety, Ed includes a box of latex gloves and a face mask, helpful for cleaning up rodent messes or in a medical emergency.

Ed Walters likes the Nitecore P10 LED flashlight.

He makes sure he has a fully charged cell phone, with reliable coverage for emergency calls and a camera for documentation.

It’s important to include at least one pair of pliers, a wrench or a crimper that’s big enough to hit something with! Ed’s preferred solution is a pair of Klein Tools electrical lineman’s pliers. (See our earlier column “New Uses for Your Handy Klein 9s.”) 

These days Ed installs audio gear in theme parks, but he recently converted an RCA BTA-1R1 into a ham radio transmitter. He says those “relics” are fun to work with. He says his rig has no PCB capacitors, just a wonderful old smell!

A lifesaver

Dale Lamm is director of engineering at Alpha Media’s WHBC(AM) in Canton, Ohio. At the top of his list is a good non-contact AC voltage sensor. Prices range from $20 to $30. 

Wave the sensor around any wiring that you plan to touch. Not everything has a shorting stick! An inductive probe can keep you from getting bit, or worse.

Like Ed Walters, Dale recommends a good camera phone. Take pictures of wiring before you disturb it, and you’ll have an easier job when it’s time to put everything back together.

Dale uses the photos to document his work in the transmitter logbook, which helps him address recurring problems. Those pictures also can be used to provide a progress report to the boss. 

And Dale agrees that your travel bag should include a well-stocked first aid kit. Scotch #3 makes for poor bandaging.

What’s in your bag that you can’t live without? Email me at johnpbisset@gmail.com.

News tool

Electro-Voice and Shure both make long-handle versions of their handheld omnidirectional mics that are so popular for news work, the EV635 and Shure SM63. It’s interesting that adding just a little more “reach” makes for much better audio.

A simple adapter adds length to an interview mic. Note the rubber O-ring, which makes for a snug fit.

But what if you already own the classic shorter versions and would like to get that extra reach? 

Jim Schultz of Schultz Communications in Warren, Conn., offers a solution. He purchased an XLR male/female extension adapter from Amazon ($8.99 for two). The adapter easily adds 2.5 inches to your microphone and is the same diameter as those EV and Shure models. Jim added a 5/8-inch O-ring on the female side to make for a snug fit into the microphone, as you can see in the photos. 

Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

[Read Another Workbench by John Bisset]

The post Useful Tools for Your Travel Bag appeared first on Radio World.