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East Valley Institute of Technology student Annaliese Stickle sitting at the board; behind, left to right, student and Drury finalist Finn Taylor, senior Jonas Pearson, Pulse Operations Manager Brian Mobley, student and Drury finalist Amber Solomon, Faculty Advisor Dave Juday and student Moriah Paynes.

A high school radio station has been honored with four national awards — including Best High School Radio Station — for their efforts in news reporting, promotion and coverage of key social issues.

KPNG(FM) Pulse Radio is a 5,000-watt public radio station on FM 88.7 that showcases the talents of students enrolled at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), a career and college prep school in Mesa, Ariz. The awards are part of the annual John Drury High School Radio Awards — named after TV news anchor John Drury — to recognize excellence in high school radio broadcasting in 17 areas including categories like best newscast, best sports talk program and best website.

Pulse Sports crew at a high school game. Left to right – East Valley Institute of Technology alum Jimmy Watters, students Finn Taylor, Braden Lilly and Moriah Paynes, alum Derek Montgomery, student Parker Gurash and staff engineer Amanda Krainski.

As part of the 2020–21 awards, Pulse Radio students within the Radio/Audio Production program at EVIT were honored with Best High School Radio Station, Broadcaster of the Year, Best Public Affairs Program and Best Station Promo.

[Read: Drury Awards Celebrate High School Radio]

“Words can’t describe how proud I am of our EVIT Radio students,” said Dave Juday, a radio/audio production instructor at EVIT and faculty advisor at the station. “Regarding the last school year, I’ve said multiple times that not only did our students survive in-person learning during a pandemic, but they also found a way to thrive. These awards are a testament to our students’ hard work and the dedication they have to see our program and radio station succeed.”

One of the newest categories — Broadcaster of the Year — was given to recent graduate Donoven Ong, who was also named Student of the Year by the school’s Radio/Audio Production department. Ong is currently a freshman at Northern Arizona University, where he has already launched his college radio career at KJACK Radio.

Radio students Annaliese Stickle (left) and Finn Taylor in one of the production rooms.

Recent graduate Essie Bianco was honored for Best Public Affairs Program for her Public Pulse show about mental health. The program focused on mental health of students and staff as they dealt with off-campus virtual learning and a return to in-person instruction in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Best Station Promo was awarded to senior Justin Brooks for his Halloween promo production.

This is the third year that EVIT students have competed in the John Drury High School Radio Awards and overall received 21 nominations — the most of any high school — in 11 categories. The honors continue a streak for the station: In 2019–2020, EVIT students were recognized for Best Public Affairs Show, Best PSA and Best Radio Drama. The previous year, EVIT earned awards for Best Promo and Best Station Advisor.

 

The post Arizona High School Station Named Best in the Nation appeared first on Radio World.

San Francisco contract engineer Bill Ruck awards Frank Hertel a gold star for his unique approach to a noise-reducing mic project as we described in August and shown here. Bill noted that a similar system was part of the Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound.”

Bill adds that Frank connected his Pin 1 (ground) to the shell of the XLR connector, and says there are two camps in this regard. He has learned not to connect Pin 1 to the shell on his cables because it can induce all sorts of ground issues when interfacing to unfamiliar equipment. He says you never know what “The Other Guy” has done with his ground.

This is especially true with video. Remember that video is unbalanced and that the video folks tend to have a lot of crap on their ground systems. You could hear sync with analog NTSC; but today, SD just puts wideband noise everywhere.

Because of that potential for picking up noise, Bill made what Dan Healy, the Grateful Dead front-of-house mixer, called “the mother of all isolation boxes.”

It is a heavy steel box with four Western Electric 111C coils wired 1:1. The male and female connectors on the top were mounted in acrylic and therefore are insulated from each other.

Only Pins 2 and 3 are connected to the 111Cs. No matter how mangled the cables are, they can’t cause problems to the front-of-house or recording truck.

“Back in my broke misguided youth,” Bill continues, “I used to borrow mic cables for events. I learned the hard way to spend the night before the event testing and rebuilding them.” Nowadays Bill has several thousand feet of cables, all made properly, mostly with Canare L-4E6S.

Like most of us, Bill has seen Pins 2 and 3 reversed as well as the common error of reversing Pins 1 and 2. That can really cause havoc.

From all his cable experience, Bill has learned that even with Pin 1 floating, you can still have issues if the XLR shell is connected to Pin 1.

As a workaround, Bill constructed several 6-inch green cables that have Pin 1 floating at the female end and Pins 2 and 3 through. Pin 1 (the cable shield) is connected only at the male end. That way, no matter what Pin 1 and the shell are connected to, the ground is broken. This breaks up ground loops.

In Frank’s noise-cancelling mic application, tying Pin 1 to the shell shouldn’t make much of a difference, since microphones also tie Pin 1 to the mic body.

Splendid isolation

If you don’t have Western Electric transformers, you can pick up easy-to-wire isolation transformer boards from Newman-Kees RF Measurements & Engineering, as shown here

This Audio Hum and Lightning Isolator board from Newman-Kees uses high-quality transformers to isolate lines.

They provide lightning isolation to 1200 Volts and can be strapped for various applications as shown in the schematic. Features include 600 Ohms in and out, primary and secondary center taps, board traces for attenuators and 1/8-inch mounting holes. Cost: $35.50. Email newman-kees-hertel-rf-eng@twc.com.

 

Hard to use?

Another opinion came from Oliver Berliner of SounDesign Engineers.

“Call me a killjoy for fearing that Frank Hertel’s clever ‘Outtaphaser,’ detailed in the Aug. 18 Workbench, may be as tricky to operate effectively as it was to create,” Oliver writes.

“That’s because the output levels of the two crowd mics must match, leaving the level of the guest’s voice to be regulated intentionally and/or inadvertently by the mics’ moving toward or away.”

Oliver said a way to overcome this limitation while still reaping the advantages of stereo theory is to mount twin mics on a dual-mic stand and use them for the crowd noise throughout the game, giving a third mic to the interviewer.

Cancel that cancellation

I followed up with Frank about these comments.

First, in preparing the article, I should not have used the phrase “noise cancelling,” rather “noise reducing.” Frank’s out-of-phase mic scheme reduces the background crowd noise but doesn’t cancel it completely.

Although Mr. Berliner’s suggestion of using three mics certainly will work, it’s more appropriate for a fixed position mic. Frank’s system is best used for a roaming reporter, who is not stationary.

Frank also pointed out that this technique is based on “ideal theory.” If an identical sound, at an identical level, is intercepted by both microphones; and if those microphones have identical frequency response and equal sensitivity, the resultant audio output would theoretically be zero. But since we are living in a real world, with a lot of physical variations, the best that can be claimed is that a goodly amount of background noise will be greatly reduced.

Try it out and let Workbench readers know what you experienced. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Workbench: Readers React to Frank Hertel’s “Outtaphaser” appeared first on Radio World.

The Bureau enters into a Consent Decree with Fort Berthold Communications Enterprises

Is a subscription to SiriusXM really worth the money, especially in a locale where HD Radio multicasts abound and Bluetooth connectivity puts audio from around the world through one’s car speakers in a matter of seconds? According to our Editor-in-Chief, the answer is an easy one: Yes. One day without SiriusXM wasn’t exactly a pleasant one, he writes in this RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION.

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Across three continents, more than 75% of buyers surveyed agree that “TV” is now both linear and streaming platforms. Concurrently, more than 70% of respondents believe that all forms of TV should be sold on impressions.

That’s the key conclusion from a global analysis of “converged TV” from TVSquared, which combines insights from close to 1,000 buyers in the U.S. and in the U.K., Germany and Australia.

Analyzing billions of ad impressions across 20 converged TV campaigns active on TVSquared’s ADvantage platform, the report also uncovers insights on incremental reach and how to best approach converged TV strategies.

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The individual who rose from an account executive to Local Sales Manager in December 2020 for iHeartMedia‘s Minneapolis-St. Paul radio stations has been promoted once again.

Meet the new VP of Sales for the company’s Twin Cities radio properties.

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From 2006-2010, he served as the financial controller of CBS Boston, comprised of WBZ-4 and MyNetwork TV affiliate WSBK-38. 

Now, ViacomCBS has chosen this company executive to serve as the successor to Mark Lund by taking the President/GM post for the stations, and its CBSN Boston OTT-delivered all-news offering.

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The NAB Broadcast Engineering & Information Technology Conference couldn’t meet in person this month, but its presentations and proceedings will be available online.

The National Association of Broadcasters said it will make the conference available as video on demand in November, via a purchase option on its NABAmplify.com site.

“Along with access to the majority of presentations originally planned for the 2021 NAB Show via VOD, viewers will receive access to the full set of papers compiled in the Proceedings of the 75th BEIT Conference,” it said.

[Read Radio World’s feature on the 75th anniversary of the BEITC.]

NAB said topics this year include all-digital radio, cloud technologies for broadcast, hybrid radio, mitigating facility risks (physical and cyber), Next Gen TV technologies, OTT TV technologies, radio broadcasting technologies, SMPTE ST 2110 / IP-based facilities, TV enhancements and using drones for broadcast engineering.

Related: “Drones Become Part of Radio’s Toolkit”

The conference program committee includes technologists from NAB member organizations and other experts, with representatives from the Society of Broadcast Engineers, the Broadcast Technology Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-BTS), the North American Broadcasters Association, and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers.

The post BEIT Program to Be Available on Demand appeared first on Radio World.

The Board of Directors of Nielsen Holdings plc has declared a quarterly cash dividend.

The decision? To award a bonus payment of $0.06 per share of Nielsen’s common stock.

The dividend is payable on December 2, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 18.

And, the dividend comes as Nielsen shares appear to have stopped a five-month dip in value. On May 17, a $28.10 finish was seen for NLSN, after starting the year just below $21. Since then, Nielsen shares have been on a steady downhill track, reaching $19.19 at the end of September for a year-to-date low.

As of 1:52pm Eastern on Friday (10/15), NLSN was trading at $19.83 — its lowest value since mid-December 2020.

Bonneville International Corp. has signed off on “modernizing and upgrading” its existing boosters for FM signals tied to three San Francisco radio stations.

In a filing made this week with the FCC, it became known that GeoBroadcast Solutions, the technology company behind Maxxcasting seeks Commission approval of the estimated March 2022 deployment of its FM Booster service at Adult Contemporary KOIT-FM 96.5, Top 40 KMVQ-FM “99.7 NOW,” and Adult R&B KBLX-FM 102.9.

A five-node single frequency network (SFN) with HD Radio operation, GBS seeks to improve each of the FM’s existing booster signals in a manner in which each station will share the antenna infrastructure through a multiplex system.

The improved signal in the terrain-challenged San Francisco Bay Area is designed to help the three stations’ detectability among holders of Nielsen Audio Portable People Meters (PPMs).

KOIT, KBLX and KMVQ were acquired in 2018 by Bonneville from Entercom, now Audacy.

“By implementing a MaxxCasting SFN system, the technology provides a solid, interference-free signal, sound, and HD Radio in the East Bay for all three Bonneville stations,” GBS explains.

Among the project partners is GatesAir, which manufactures the Flexiva transmitter.

KOIT presently uses a 3,300-watt booster in Martinez, benefiting listeners in San Ramon, Walnut Creek and Concord; KMVQ and KBLX each have a 185-watt booster in Walnut Creek.

Maxxcasting has been marketed by GeoBroadcast Solutions as a way for radio broadcast stations to fill-in signal holes in major metropolitan areas, greatly improving coverage. It has recently been put to work in Chicago, and for an Audacy Sports Talker in San Diego.

RBR+TVBR RELATED READ:

A Bustos Media FM Boosts With ‘MaxxCasting’ Plan RBR-TVBR There’s a Class C 64kw FM facility serving the Seattle-Tacoma region’s Hispanic audience by providing regional Mexican programming. It’s a big stick, hence its moniker: “La Gran D.” But, this station is licensed to Elma, Washington and uses a tower well to the southwest of downtown Seattle. The result: Signal holes in the metropolitan area. This issue has just been resolved in a big way, as the station is now the latest licensee of Maxxcasting technology.

For decades, Univision Communications has maintained a strong presence in the Miami-Dade County, Fla., city of Doral. Here, it has television studios and office space on NW 36th Street, a stone’s throw from Miami International Airport. There’s also a spacious rented facility that is home to Univision Radio/Miami, and had been used for the Fusion cable TV network operation.

However, Univision’s corporate headquarters happens to be on Third Avenue between East 39th and 40th Streets, just southeast of Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building in Midtown Manhattan.

According to media reports in South Florida, that’s about to change, with Univision’s headquarters set to head out of New York.

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The Big Bend region of Florida is still one of the more desolate, bucolic portions of the ever-growing Sunshine State, attracting more hurricanes than travelers or Snowbirds. It’s bigger communities include Apalachicola and Port St. Joe, due east of Panama City.

It is here that a 100kw FM is being spun, putting a “Cross Country” move in play.

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He’s known across the U.S. for his longtime role as the host of the syndicated early-prime TV game show Wheel of Fortune. But, in broadcast circles, he’s also known as the licensee of an AM radio station that has served Maryland’s state capital since 1949.

Now, Pat Sajak is selling the station’s license, while listing the land where this property’s studios and towers lie for a bit more than he’s collecting for the 72-year-old broadcast facility.

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Jon Tatooles, James Gordon, Matt Anderson

Field mixer, multitrack recorder and wireless equipment maker Sound Devices has been acquired by Audiotonix.

The England-based company has scooped up a number of well-known audio console manufacturing names over the last few years. That list would include Allen & Heath, Calrec, Solid State Logic, DiGiCo and audio equipment distributor Group One.

Founded in 1998 by Matt Anderson and Jon Tatooles, the company carved out a niche in the film and TV world with field mixers, wireless equipment and small, portable multitrack recorders. Both principals were still with the company at the acquisition. Tatooles will depart while Anderson will remain as CEO and chief engineer.

Audiotonix CEO James Gordon said, “The addition of Sound Devices and their fantastic team to our portfolio of premium audio brands is a proud moment for all involved. Their expertise and technical pedigree in film production, broadcasting and professional recording is a great fit.”

 

The post Sound Devices Acquired by Audiotonix appeared first on Radio World.

In 2019, leaders from major radio groups discussed the state of the industry at the Radio Show. From left: Moderator Stephanie Ruhle of NBC News. Mary Berner, president and CEO, Cumulus Media; David Field, president and CEO, Entercom; Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO, iHeartMedia. Photo: Paul McLane.

There will be no more fall Radio Show conventions.

The National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau have announced that beginning in April, the fall Radio Show, which has been a staple of the U.S. commercial radio industry for decades, will be integrated into the NAB Show.

“This change provides more opportunities in one location for radio professionals and elevates radio in the larger media ecosystem represented at NAB Show,” NAB stated.

“The integrated event in Las Vegas will feature signature awards, networking events and a comprehensive conference program, including popular sales and marketing sessions presented by the Radio Advertising Bureau.”

The organizations had already planned a temporary integration of sorts for this year’s show, when they planned to collocate the Radio Show with the rescheduled NAB Show. But both ultimately were canceled because of the ongoing health crisis.

It turns out that the final in-person fall Radio Show was in Dallas in 2019. A virtual version was held last year. The pre-pandemic schedule had called for the show to be in Nashville in 2020, New Orleans and 2021 and Nashville again in 2022. Cities that have hosted the event in the recent past also include Philadelphia, Orlando, Indianapolis, Chicago and Washington.

The Radio Show in recent years drew about 2,100 reported attendees. Its agenda traditionally emphasized radio management and sales content, though there was always a technical component and exhibit floor. In recent years the event has been held in hotel conference settings rather than larger convention venues.

Longtimers will also recall that in the 1990s the show was part of an umbrella event called the World Media Expo that also encompassed SBE and SMPTE conferences.

NAB also announced that the presentation of the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards and the State of the Industry Address by NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith will take place virtually on Nov. 10.

This will be Smith’s final State of the Industry address; he steps down at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Curtis LeGeyt.

 

The post The Fall Radio Show Is No More appeared first on Radio World.

Nielsen Holdings plc will report its financial results for the third quarter 2021 two weeks for today.

What can investors expect to hear from CEO David Kenny on Thursday, October 28 at 8am Eastern when he and other company executives will host a call to discuss its Q3 results?

Numbers that reflect the full-year 2021 guidance offered with Nielsen’s Q2 results are expected.

Nielsen is updating full year 2021 guidance as follows:

• Total revenue growth on a constant currency basis: 2.5% to 3.0% (previously 2.0% to 3.0%)
• Organic revenue growth on a constant currency basis: 4.0% to 4.5% (previously 3.5% to 4.5%)
• Adjusted EBITDA margin: 42.3% to 42.6% (previously 42.25% to 42.5%)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $1,475 – $1,490 million (previously $1,470 – $1,490 million)
• Adjusted earnings per share: $1.54 – $1.61 (previously $1.47 – $1.58)
• Free cash flow: $620 – $650 million (previously $595 – $645 million)

These estimates reflect Nielsen as if the sale of Global Connect occurred on January 1, 2020. The estimates exclude $200 – $220 million (previously $220 – 240 million) of separation-related costs related to the sale.

 

The Society of Broadcast Engineers will hold its annual membership meeting and awards program online on Monday (Oct. 18).

The meeting was to have been held at this month’s NAB Show, which ended up being cancelled. So the society will use its monthly SBE WEBxtra presentation for the purpose.

“The SBE Membership Meeting portion provides an update on SBE activities and programs from the past year with reports from the secretary, treasurer and several committee chairs,” SBE stated. “It also includes some final thoughts from SBE President Wayne Pecena, who is completing his second term in that role.”

Newly elected SBE officers and board members will be sworn in to begin their terms, including incoming President Andrea Cummis.

[Read Radio World’s interview with Andrea Cummis]

“Following the swearing in, Andrea will lead the awards presentation portion of the program, which will recognize the efforts of SBE chapters, members and sustaining member companies for their accomplishments and honors from the SBE Awards Program. Presentations include the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award to Chris Tobin and the Technology Award to Telos Alliance.”

SBE Certification Director Megan Clappe, who was recently named an SBE Fellow, will also be recognized.

The event takes place on the SBE YouTube channel on Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern/Noon Pacific.

 

The post SBE Holds Online Membership Meeting Monday appeared first on Radio World.

TORONTO — The digital audio advertising exchange “connecting brands with audiences at scale” across music, radio and podcasts has selected its new Chief Growth Officer for North America.

It’s a move that follows Les Hollander’s promotion to CEO of DAX North America earlier this year.

Jon Hales is taking the role. He joins Global-owned digital advertising platform DAX from Spotify, where his seven-year tenure saw him launch the Spotify Canada Team, Spotify’s Global Sales Operations Group and, most recently, lead a re-boot of Spotify’s LATAM advertising business.

Hales previously headed up Video Sales for AOL Canada and was Director of Sales for Discovery Channel Canada, under Bell Media.

Hollander calls Hales “a growth-oriented leader and brings a wealth of expertise in the areas of sales and operations, with an eye for innovation and keen ability to scale the business.”

Hales will split his time between the U.S. and Canadian groups, focusing on tactical revenue growth, team performance, strategy, and alignment across the North America operation, DAX says.

— Carina Newton

In late June RBR+TVBR first told readers about Dartmouth College’s decision to place its 6kw Class A FM, branded as “99Rock,” on the market.

The commercially licensed radio station that is advertiser-driven doesn’t shy from loud, hard rock. Soon, it will be up to a new owner to determine whether or not acts such as Seether, Godsmack and Alice in Chains will remain on the station’s playlist.

With veteran station trader George Kimble of Kozacko Media Services serving as the exclusive broker in this transaction, WFRD-FM in Hanover, N.H., is being sold to Sugar River Media.

A $225,000 price was agreed to, with John Landry signing off on the FM’s purchase for Sugar River, a 50/50 partnership between him and Bob Landry.

A $30,000 escrow payment is being held by Kozacko Media Services.

With WFRD, Sugar River will grow its stable to five, as it also owns WUVR-AM 1490 in Lebanon, N.H.; WNTK-FM 99.7 in New London, N.H.; WCVR-AM in Randolph, Vt.; and WCNL-AM in Newport, N.H.

Dartmouth says the sale proceeds will be used to support “WDCR,” which is not to be confused with Decatur Catholic Radio and its WDCR-FM. Student-run “WDCR” had been an on-air AM from 1958 through 2010.

The sale of WFRD will result in the loss of one staff position, the college said earlier this year.

Why is Dartmouth selling WFRD? “The station has been operating at a financial loss for a number of years,” it says. “In addition, student involvement in the commercial station has waned.”

The Gauge, Nielsen‘s recently created monthly total TV and streaming snapshot, has just released its latest data portrait, reflecting the month of September.

Here’s the good news for broadcast television: the share of total TV viewing saw a 2% increase.

Now, for the not-so-lovely news: The gain puts broadcasters as recipients of 26% of consumers’ total TV time.

“The boost,” as Nielsen calls it, comes on the heels of “a strong ratings start” to the NFL season, as well as the beginning of the traditional TV season on September 20.

Still, the consumer share of TV time for both cable and streaming remained flat at 38% and 28%, respectively.

At the same time, the “Other” category—which includes and is reflective of video game usage—was down from 10% to 8%.

This 2% decline, Nielsen concludes, was driven by a combination of video game users turning off their collective controllers and heading back to the classrooms as well as a shift of attention from gaming to the gridiron.

Looking at the streaming platforms themselves, data from Nielsen’s Streaming Platform Ratings show both Netflix and Disney+ each ticking down a percentage point from August. Netflix now commands 6% share of total TV time, while Disney+ holds 1% of share of overall TV time. Hulu and Amazon Prime Video remained steady at 3% and 2%, respectively.