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The television broadcasting company with WUSA9 in Washington, D.C., as its flagship property and more NBC affiliates than any other licensee has decided when to release, and discuss with investors, its fiscal report card for the first quarter of 2024.

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For eight years, a Class A FM serving the Augusta, Ga., market has offered a blend of “beach music” and classic R&B music to listeners.

Now, a change in ownership is poised to take place.

 

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Decades from now, media executives and investors will likely look back at 2023 as the year when linear TV advertising “officially broke.”

That’s the ominous conclusion from MoffettNathanson Senior Analysts Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman, who have released a new report that offers a sobering assessment of non-streaming television’s fiscal health.

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TV usage declined 6.4% versus January 2024, new data from Nielsen show. However, the nation’s dominant audience measurement company notes that the decrease “is more a testament to how massive viewing was” in a month that featured key NFL playoff match-ups.

In fact, February had higher overall usage levels than the prior two Februarys, making year-over-year trends positive for television, Nielsen notes.

Just how massive was January 2024 TV consumption? The 6.4% decline compares to a 5.7% decline in 2023 and a 5.1% decline in 2022.

And, Nielsen says, the 6.4% drop was countered somewhat by the “extraordinary high” viewing levels of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. This date now holds the record for the most total viewing of any day since the start of “The Gauge” by Nielsen in May 2021, which offers a “total TV and streaming snapshot” for marketers and media executives.

Traditional TV (Broadcast + Cable) viewing accounted for 50.9% of overall TV usage, down from 54.1% in the year-ago period. This was its smallest combined share since August 2023 and likely reflects soft original programming, post-holiday, and lingering effects of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA East/WGA West work stoppages of last year.

Broadcast viewing comprised 23.3% of overall TV usage; cable viewing was 27.6% of overall TV consumption.

It is notable that cable exhibited its smallest share to date, Nielsen reports.

Comparatively, streaming accounted for its largest share of TV since August 2023, with 37.7% of TV usage.

ATLANTA — The biggest city in the South is getting its newest professional sports team, and it has selected a Gray Television over-the-air broadcast brand — and not a MVPD-distributed specialty channel — as its inaugural local TV partner.

In this case, the winning point goes to Peachtree Sports Network.

 

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — Streaming and podcasting SaaS provider StreamGuys is returning to the 2024 NAB Show with a modernized version of a tool designed to help broadcasters into the potential of audience subscription revenue.

StreamGuys will demonstrate the new version of the RevenueStream service at the industry gathering scheduled for April 14-17 at the ENCO booth (West Hall, No. 1743). StreamGuys will have a branded presence and dedicated station at its partner’s expo floor site.

RevenueStream was brought to market in 2008 to help radio and television broadcasters look outside the traditional advertising model for revenue generation. The goal: to monetize live streams and on-demand media.

The updated version of RevenueStream features new subscription management, branding and payment features, along with more flexible monetization options, StreamGuys says. The latter includes metered paywalls, freemium access, membership plans, and donation support, something of particular interest to public media stations. “It also supports everything from one-time events to recurring subscriptions that support ongoing revenue models,” StreamGuys says.

“RevenueStream was built to help broadcasters and content creators discover new ways to generate revenue while also igniting new creative avenues for their live productions,” Eduardo Martinez, Vice President of Technology, shares. “We are already seeing strong interest from both commercial and public broadcasters, the latter of which can now offer donors alternate content during their pledge drives. We are excited to bring customers in all verticals a modernized service to market that helps them offer more adaptable subscription models, drive audience loyalty and retention, and maintain a steady revenue flow. Furthermore, integration with our other tokenization and playout ensure our customers can enjoy a proven and reliable streaming ecosystem along with our exceptional customer support.”

The new subscriber management platform is powered by Pigeon.io.

Nautel, which is celebrating its 55th year as a transmitter manufacturer, is gearing up for its annual Radio Technology Forum. Known to many as “The NUG.” the event, which will take place at the Flamingo Las Vegas, will be hosted by broadcast educator Jeff Welton.

In a departure from prior years’ events, the first hour of the forum on April 14 will be comprised of an “Industry Briefing Breakfast.”

The event begins at 8:30am Pacific and includes a presentation titled “EAS at the Edge,” in addition to a session on what one journalist is watching for at the NAB Show.

Key Nautel product announcements and a “tips and tricks” session is also on the agenda. Separately, Nautel will conduct a “HD Radio 101” session, directed to anyone contemplating an HD radio deployment or just wanting a refresh on HD Radio transmission best practices.

Nautel Head of Marketing and Product Strategy John Whyte commented, “We work hard to
make sure the content in that first hour is of interest to all broadcasters, no matter what brand of transmitters they operate. For those who are able to stay until the end of the Forum, we will offer lunch as usual. And, because it’s Nautel’s 55th anniversary we’re celebrating with over 55 prizes to be awarded throughout the morning.”

The Radio Technology Forum is open to all broadcasters and is free to attend; it qualifies as ½ SBE Recertification credit as well. To register for the Radio Technology Forum, visit
nautel.com/nab/nug-registration/.

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The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will be honoring two individuals at the 2024 NAB Show nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing broadcast engineering. One of the award recipients is a pioneer in the use of HD Radio on the AM band.

Hubbard Radio Senior Broadcast Engineer David Kolesar will be the recipient of the 2024 Radio Engineering Achievement Award.

Kolesar will be honored at a “We Are Broadcasters Awards” showcase on the Main Stage of the 2024 NAB Show on Tuesday, April 16 at 9:30am Pacific.

Along with Kolesar, consulting engineer Winston Caldwell will receive the 2024 Television Engineering Achievement Award.

Established in 1959, the Radio and Television Engineering Achievement Awards are given to individuals who are nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing broadcast engineering.

Kolesar has worked in the broadcast engineering field for over 30 years, and has worked at Hubbard’s Washington, D.C., radio stations, formerly owned by Bonneville, since 2006. Kolesar previously was an Electronics Engineer in the Information Technology Division of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

In addition to his efforts to make all-digital AM radio a reality, Kolesar has been an advocate for all-digital AM within the industry, sharing and documenting his work in numerous technical papers and at conferences, and continuing research on ways to improve all-digital AM performance.

Caldwell has over 25 years of electrical engineering experience, specializing in network communications, security, spectrum management, and standards development. He began his career at Fox Corporation in 2000, spending 23 years there in various engineering roles, including vice president of spectrum engineering. He then became an independent consultant in 2023 with Pearl TV, the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA) and NAB among his clients.

Caldwell led the development and deployment of the A3SA security system, which protects Next Gen TV services and broadcast content. He also managed engineering efforts for transitioning Fox stations to the ATSC 3.0 system and served as chairman of the NAB Next Generation Broadcast Platform Task Force.

Caldwell’s technical analysis in contributions to development of spectrum policy have been utilized in regulatory matters, domestically at the FCC and internationally at the International Telecommunication Union.

 

Digital audio advertising platform AdTonos has rolled out an audio-enhancing technology platform it says is born “out of a world-first research project to redefine audibility and prove the impact of sound quality on emotional response.” And, it has signed on Magnite as the product’s inaugural user.

Introducing Amplifier, designed to allow advertisers to dynamically enhance audio ad quality and create a more significant emotional impact.

By optimizing sound frequencies to neutralize device-related technical limitations,
Amplifier ensures clear and distinct audio ads, says AdTonos CEO Michal Marcinik. “Audibility is the new viewability. With the explosion in the consumption of audio advertising, from podcasting to digital radio and in-game audio, the significance of audibility is growing in the eyes of buyers. Sound quality is essential for the impact
and effectiveness of those messages. We have built Amplifier to revolutionize ad audio quality, creating engaging experiences across the devices and listening environments available today. With the last meaningful study on definitions in audio advertising dating
back to 2018, our bespoke research underscores an urgent need to establish updated
comprehensive measurement standards for audibility — to maximise buyers’ return on investment and promote industry-wide awareness of this crucial metric.”

The studio-based research that informed the creation of Amplifier took the existing definitions from the IAB open framework and applied rigorous testing across the most popular audio devices on the market today through the lens of the most up-to-date guidance on metrics like volume and loudness.

This led to proposing two updated specific conditions for Audible Ad Playout:

• The ad must not be filtered or flagged as invalid traffic (IVT).
• The player and the device’s volume settings, through which the ad is delivered, must result in the ad playing at a volume exceeding 10 dB for a minimum of 25% (any quartile) of the ad’s duration.

This redefined concept of audibility was then used to build the Amplifier audio-enhancing
technology – which can dynamically enhance audio ads to meet the standards. Finally, in
partnership with Neurensics, the technology was tested in a scientific study using functional MRI scans to determine the impact of Amplifier enhanced audio versus non-enhanced
audio. The results showed clearly that Amplifier-enhanced ad quality can shift emotional
perception from negative to positive, significantly activating positive emotions in audio ads,
leading to increased campaign effectiveness and improved ROI.

The 2024 NAB Show is just a few weeks away. Radio World is asking exhibitors about their plans and expectations. 

Jacob Daniluck is VP of sales, America for Tieline.

Jacob Daniluck

Radio World: What is the most important issue or trend for radio engineers and facility managers in 2024?

Jacob Daniluck: Any technology-related position in the media industry should always have security at the top of their minds. 

Each facility needs to consider the pros and cons of each situation and don’t be afraid to slow down plus ask questions when you’re unsure about best practices to counter evolving cyber threats. 

As network technology becomes more modern with the adoption of AES67 and SMPTE 2110 style networks, networks can become more interconnected to reduce costs, however this can come at the price of security.

Governments are putting pressure on developers to update security practices; however, end users should also prioritize security to protect assets, maintain service continuity and regulatory compliance, and safeguard their reputation.

RW: In what ways will AI-based tools change radio broadcasting workflows most substantially?

Daniluck: AI tools will change not just our industry, but all industries across the world. AI has a few areas that could improve broadcast workflows altogether in specific areas. The greatest example is AI-generated audio, and the ability to type up a statement, and have computer AI software generate a voice to read off the prompt.

This kind of technology is incredible and will most likely be a tool that can be leveraged by station owners, and operators throughout the country.

RW: What news will Tieline feature at the convention? 

Daniluck: For a while there has been some anticipation to see the next generation of the Bridge-IT, and we are pleased to announce that we will be showcasing the Bridge-IT II and the Bridge-IT XTRA II at the NAB 2024 conference. 

These low-cost codecs include the most sought-after features from the legacy Bridge-IT model, like the front-panel screen and keypad, XLRs for both analog and AES3, a no-compromise list of audio algorithms, plus the ability to syndicate using Multicast or Multi-Unicast streaming. 

In addition to these fantastic features, we are upgrading the units to include some new capabilities never seen before on a Tieline Bridge-IT: multiple network interfaces to support LAN and AoIP connectivity, multiple encoders/decoders to leverage dual-mono events, plus we have added more failover capabilities to always deliver a backup output audio source.
In addition, last year we showcased our MPX codecs for the first time, and since then we have started shipping these codecs. 

RW: Are there other trends that you’d like to comment on, or will be watching for at the show?

Daniluck: Areas of interest would be 5G wireless technology advancements and seeing how manufacturers are adopting 5G wireless into their technology eco-systems. As always, IP security is important, to observe how companies are tackling security concerns from clients on their specific eco-systems.

Other than these areas and AI, I’ll be keeping my eyes on the content production area, as well as content automation technologies that are being developed.

Tieline NAB Show Booth: C2811

[Read more preview coverage of the NAB Show.]

The post Exhibitor Preview: Tieline at the NAB Show appeared first on Radio World.

DJB Radio will be at the NAB Show and is launching a subscription-based model for DJB Radio Automation. 

A basic package starts at $89 per month and includes scheduling, satellite support, sports remotes, auto-ingest, remote voice-tracking and metadata management.

“Those who are looking to level-up their radio automation game will see some fresh new updates coming to DJB Radio Zone Automation, as well,” the company says.

Supporting “work from anywhere,” Zone now offers enhanced wide-area support and multi-market features. It provides remote access, on-screen audio mixers, integration with WNIP, Livewire and SAS, scheduling, and customizable screen setups. 

The company also will highlight DJB Radio Spider and its companion DJB Radio Logger. Spider automatically downloads content and formats it for any automation system. Logger will log, skim or schedule recordings from any local audio source, AoIP drive or URL. Remote access and monitoring are supported by an HTML interface and integrated email notifications.

Also available is DJB Radio Studio, a streamlined solution for home studios, remotes, podcasting and simple recording. It provides a 10-channel on-screen mixer, editor, sound board, direct streaming support  and audio scheduler.

DJB Radio Studio starts at $195, Logger at $295, Spider at $395 and automation packages at $89 a month. 

NAB Show Booth: N3343. 

[For More News on the NAB Show See Our NAB Show News Page]

The post DJB Radio Adds Subscription Option appeared first on Radio World.

I hope you’ll join me and hundreds of your engineering colleagues at the Nautel Radio Technology Forum on the Sunday morning of the NAB Show.

The annual meeting of the “NUG” will take place at the Flamingo Las Vegas beginning at 8:30 a.m., hosted by Jeff Welton. 

You don’t have to be a Nautel user to attend the free event, and you can come for all or just some of the talks in case you need to scoot. But I’ll be there once again to kick things off with an overview of what I’ll be watching for at the convention. And Nautel is teasing us by promising that there will be a “potentially provocative presentation” shortly after I speak, called “EAS at the Edge.” (I know a little about this intriguing topic, but I am sworn to secrecy.)

The first hour of the day is formatted as an Industry Briefing Breakfast. The remainder of the morning covers product announcements and other industry speakers, concluding with Jeff giving his “tips and tricks” that are so enjoyable. A free lunch follows.

Then there is an “HD Radio 101” session in the afternoon, “directed to anyone contemplating an HD radio deployment or just wanting a refresh on HD Radio transmission best practices.”

The forum qualifies for one-half of an SBE Recertification credit. This event has been very popular over the years, despite the disruption of the pandemic and the rejiggering of show schedules over at the LVCC. 

Find info on the forum registration page.

[For More News on the NAB Show See Our NAB Show News Page]

The post Nautel Radio Technology Forum Returns appeared first on Radio World.

A point system analysis for NCE MX Group 152 was conducted by the Commission at the start of the year, a result of mutually exclusive applications filed during the FCC’s November 2021 noncommercial FM radio station filing window.

A tentative selectee was chosen by the Commission. This was changed in the January 2024 decision. Now, there’s another shift with respect to what group will be moving forward with the creation of the FM noncomm, which will serve Gallup, N. Mex.

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Grants informal objection and dismisses modification application

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The Media Bureau affirms the dismissal of the application of Latino Public Radio for a new LPFM station at Nashua, New Hampshire

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The Media Bureau dismisses the application of New Hope Baptist Church - Gallup for a construction permit for a new NCE FM station at Gallup, New Mexico, and accepts for filing the application of Good News Broadcasting Network, Inc.