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When it comes to rewarding its shareholders, including lead institutional investor Towerview LLC, led by Daniel Tisch, the mid-sized and small market operator founded by the late Ed Christian has nearly always delivered.

On March 8, Saga Communications will do it again.

That’s when qualified “SGA” shareholders will receive a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share. To get the bonus, one must be a shareholder of record on February 20, with a February 19 ex-dividend date.

The aggregate amount of the payment to be made in connection with the quarterly dividend will be approximately $1.6 million.

The quarterly dividend will be funded by cash on the company’s balance sheet, Saga says.

Including this dividend, the company will have paid approximately $127 million in dividends to shareholders since the first special dividend was paid in 2012.

And, the dividend payment is expected to come at around the same time as Saga’s Q4 and year-end earnings report.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) has revealed the results of the election of its board leaders and board members. This will see the most recent former FCC Commissioner become an at-large member, starting February 26.

That would be Ajit Pai, today a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners.

 

Along with Pai’s arrival are a trio of newly elected trustees:

• Clarence “C.C” Copeland, President and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
• Diana Enzi, Lay Trustee of Wyoming PBS in Riverton, Wyo.
• Susan Reardon, Lay Trustee of PBS SoCal in Los Angeles

The re-elected trustees are:

• Eric Easter, Lay Trustee of WHUT in Washington, D.C.
• Anthony Hayes, President and CEO of WMHT in Troy, N.Y.
• Ambassador Gaddi H. Vasquez, Lay Trustee/Former Board Member of PBS SoCal in Los Angeles

Meanwhile, the following executives are still in place:

• Franz Joachim, General Manager and CEO of New Mexico PBS in Albuquerque, has been re-elected Chair.
• Dolores Fernandez Alonso, President and CEO of South Florida PBS in Miami, has been re-elected Professional Vice Chair.
• David Steward II, Past Board Chair of Nine PBS in St. Louis, has been re-elected Lay Vice Chair.

The officers and trustees will begin their terms on Tuesday, February 27.

 

Call it a Woesome Wednesday for broadcast television companies with publicly traded shares on the NYSE and Nasdaq markets. Upon learning of a joint venture proposal struck between The Walt Disney Co. owner ESPN, FOX Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery to create a sports-focused subscription video-on-demand platform with a reported $40 per month fee, stock prices for some of the biggest over-the-air TV station ownership groups plummeted. Also impacted was the nation’s “sports first” virtual MVPD platform, FUBO.

Once the dust settled, FUBO and Gray Television released official statements designed to both calm shareholders and express their thoughts on the planned OTT platform. The two companies couldn’t be more divergent in their responses.

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The National Association of Broadcasters says U.S. broadcasters have done much in the past six or seven years to improve the appearance of radio on the digital dashboard, yet there is significant work yet to be done, especially by stations in small and medium-sized markets.

It issued these findings when it released an updated “Digital Dashboard Best Practices Report” that also explores recent developments such as the appearance of hybrid radio systems. The update, published in late 2023, includes new findings from station audits, and highlights the “rich content” information essential for broadcasters and automotive OEMs.

The key takeaway is that it’s crucial for stations to ensure that their metadata, especially from RDS and HD Radio systems, provide radio listeners with an experience commensurate with what they get from satellite radio, streaming services and other media in car dashboards.

The report is a 46-page document originally published in 2017. It offers a comprehensive guide to providing a competitive digital dashboard experience to consumers.

The original contained FM dial audits conducted in Grand Rapids, Philadelphia and Charlotte that revealed inconsistences in the radio experience on digital dashboards. The update features audits in Detroit and Little Rock.

It found that many radio stations still have work to do. “Oftentimes, there’s a sense that the metadata is not checked or properly edited before broadcasting and no one is monitoring the station or market to look for mistakes,” the report concludes.

The results of the 2023 audits with respect to transmission of the market’s RDS metadata. The color codes range from green (stations utilized the full functionality of the digital dashboard) to red (there was no display functionality). “Perhaps the most striking result … is that in Little Rock over half of the FM stations received did not have any RDS information transmitted at all,” NAB reported.

For example a lack of consistency in using album art, typically through the HD Radio Artist Experience feature, is one of the issues it found, with some HD Radio stations either ignoring album art entirely or pushing album art that doesn’t correspond to the audio currently playing.

But the report cited plenty of missed opportunities with RDS, as well.

The report included examples like this display of a station list that uses PS field information. “Note confusing information for stations 90.9 and 92.3 as a result of the use of dynamic PS,” the report states. The display is from a 2023 Chevy Bolt.

The NAB offers several updated recommendations:

• Broadcasters can register for free with RadioDNS and creating a service information (SI) file to enhance the appearance of a station on a hybrid radio system, complete with station information (frequency, call letters, branding) and a logo.
• Broadcasters are encouraged to enroll in DTS AutoStage, Xperi’s hybrid radio platform, now offered in brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. Among other features, AutoStage allows AM broadcasters (both analog and digital) to display logos and station ID information, delivered to the car receiver over the internet. Autostage also supports “service following,” in which a signal is handed off seamlessly from the over-the-air signal to an online stream. Users can save a station as a favorite and listen to it outside of the broadcast coverage area.
• Stations are encouraged to employ chunking, as opposed to scrolling, if the PS (Program Service) data in their RDS is dynamic.
• For HD Radio stations with the Artist Experience feature, the report recommends making use of commercial breaks, including the ability to display a sponsor logo. SiriusXM’s use of such information during ads on its content channels is cited as an example.
• The report recommends “middleware” software services like Quu2Go or Arctic Palm/DTS Connected Radio to maintain station metadata for an accurate and consistent user experience. Quu2Go can provide album cover art and advertiser images.
• HD Radio broadcasters can take advantage of a web-based tool from Xperi to check that their artwork (logos and/or artist images) will appear properly on HD Radio receivers with Artist Experience.

Other recommendations include proper branding of HD multicast channels (as opposed to simply titling the feeds, for example, “WXXX HD2”) and better overall strategic metadata use for spoken word formats (i.e. names of hosts and/or shows displayed). The report encourages collaboration between the engineering and programming departments to ensure that these standards are met.

“Gone are the days when the radio industry had this real estate to itself,” the report states. “Broadcasters need to strengthen their hold on this turf by improving the user experience on auto dashboards.”

The report is available in a five-page best practices summary, but the detailed report is worth reading. Its audits found numerous stations of all sizes that failed to deliver a consistent user experience on a digital dashboard in circumstances that would be easy to avoid.

Read the updated NAB Digital Dashboard Best Practices Report. More resources, including a digital dash “audit” spreadsheet, are available on the NAB website.

The post NAB Updates Digital Dash Best Practices appeared first on Radio World.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) issues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to prioritize processing review of certain applications filed by commercial and noncommercial radio and television broadcast stations that provide locally originated programming. The Commission's goal is to provide additional incentive to stations to provide programming that responds to the needs and interests of the communities they are licensed to serve. In 2017, the Commission eliminated the rule that required broadcast stations to maintain a main studio located in or near their community of license, as well as the associated requirement that the main studio have program origination capability. We propose this processing priority in order to further encourage radio and TV stations to serve their community of license with local journalism or other locally originated programming. Such prioritization would be granted to renewal applicants, as well as applicants for assignment or transfer of license, that certify they provide locally originated programming, thereby advancing our efforts to promote localism and serve local communities across the nation.

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Stephanie Himonidis Sedano will be staying around the Spanish-language media company founded and led by CEO and Chief Revenue Officer José Villafañe for the forseeable future.

Nueva Network has renewed its affiliation and sales agreement with the “Chiquibaby Show,” helmed by “Chiquibaby” Himonidis.

The nationally syndicated show airs on upward of 100 U.S. radio stations across the U.S. In addition, she offers a podcast version of the “Chiquibaby Show” under her agreement with Nueva Network.

Outside of her audio work, Himonidis is the host of Siéntese Quien Pueda, a celebrity entertainment news show airing weekday afternoons on Univision. There’s also a weekly YouTube show with co-host Adamari López.

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Stephanie and the ‘Chiquibaby Show’ and continue to bring our brands this one-of-a-kind content that provides a top Hispanic female talent such as Stephanie as the number one network show led by a Latina regardless of format or language,” Villafañe said.

“Chiquibaby Show” airs Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. across the Nueva Network on-air radio stations.

According to the government-supported British Broadcasting Corp., “new, distinctive digital music stations” that will serve as “extensions” of BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 are in the works.

While the BBC says these new offerings “look to delve deeper into specific genres and periods of music with context, curation and storytelling done in a way only the BBC can do,” they clearly are designed to compete directly with some of the UK’s most-listened-to commercial radio brands.

As BBC Director of Music Lorna Clarke sees it, “Our extensions for Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 will allow listeners to deep-dive into more pop and classical genres and periods of music they love the most, uniquely created by the BBC. They’ll get a deeper listening experience than what’s available elsewhere, hear brilliant storytelling through our extensive archive, and discover more music to love whatever their mood.”

The four unique stations will be on DAB+, which has become a successful digital radio hub in the UK as an option that was created not as an in-band, on-channel digital solution, which is HD Radio in the U.S.

The proliferation of DAB+ led Bauer, one of the nation’s key commercial broadcasters, to shift its Absolute Radio main Adult Rock channel away from its longtime 1215 MW signal, making it digital-only. Now, Absolute is seemingly under attack from the BBC. So are Global’s No. 1-rated Hot Adult Contemporary Heart and Bauer-owned rhythmic top 40 Kiss brands.

How so? The BBC outlined its proposal on Wednesday.

• A new Radio 1 extension would focus on Radio 1 music played in the 2000s and 2010s. This is largely a musical focus of Heart.
• An “expanded BBC Sounds Radio 1 Dance stream” — a sign that Kiss is in its sights
• A new Radio 2 extension providing a distinctive take on pop nostalgia, curating the story of pop music primarily from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s by some of the people who shaped the cultural landscape at the time. This is seemingly designed to serve as a competitor to both the Gold and GHR (Greatest Hits Radio) brands.
• A new Radio 3 extension providing a classical music experience that helps listeners unwind, destress and escape the pressures of daily life. The Classic FM brand would seemingly be the commercial radio competitor.

There’s more. Future plans call for a retooling of BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

In order for the BBC to move forward, it must receive the relevant regulatory approvals from the government, including a Public Interest Test (PIT) for the proposal to launch the DAB+ stations. This is a process which the BBC will start in the coming weeks and is expected to run until the end of 2024. The BBC will also launch a PIT on the content offer of BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. The plan is to allow existing sports related content from the BBC to be played on the station instead of a short marketing trail on constant loop when there are no live sports being broadcast.

Radiocentre, which represents commercial radio in the UK, called the BBC’s proposals “an attempt to directly imitate the recent success of commercial stations that already provide these genre stations following years of significant investment made by our sector.”

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the publication on Thursday in the Federal Register of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would establish a regulatory policy imposing mandatory refunds for MVPD customers unable to view broadcast TV channels due to a retransmission consent impasse, the Media Bureau of the FCC has established a comment period certainly of interest to the NAB, ACA Connects, the pro-cable TV group ATVA and broadcast TV station owners.

The FCC on January 17 released a NPRM seeking comment on “whether to require cable operators and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to give their subscribers rebates when those subscribers are deprived of video programming they expect to receive during programming blackouts that result from failed retransmission consent negotiations or failed non-broadcast carriage negotiations.”

The Commission set deadlines for filing comments and reply comments in response to the NPRM at 30 and 60 days, respectively, after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.

With a summary appearing Thursday:

• comments will be due on or before March 8
• reply comments will be due on or before April 8

Commenters should follow the filing instructions provided in the NPRM.

Investors reacted to an announcement from ESPN parent The Walt Disney Co., FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery that they have reached an agreement to launch a sports-focused subscription-based streaming platform by selling off their shares in key broadcast television companies.

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, double-digit percentage dips were seen.

 

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An FM translator at 94.1 MHz with a signal contour blanketing nearly all of Iowa’s state capital is being acquired by Iowa Public Radio, in a transaction filed on Wednesday with the FCC for its regulatory approval.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thirteen individuals and organizations have been singled out by the The RTDNA Foundation for their efforts to promote responsible journalism and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed rights to do so.

Introducing the class of 2024 First Amendment Award honorees.

All recipients will be honored March 9 at the 33rd annual First Amendment Awards at The Watergate Hotel. They will join 141 previous recipients who stood for the values of the First Amendment.

“It is our sacred duty to promote, protect and defend the First Amendment, which makes journalism the only vocation specifically protected in our Constitution,” said RTDNA Foundation President Dan Shelley. “The individuals represented in this group of recipients embody the spirit of such journalism. And, their work reminds us why it is so important to defend the First Amendment each and every day.”

In addition to recognizing responsible journalism, the First Amendment Awards is the Foundation’s biggest annual fundraiser, enabling the Foundation to ensure the broadcast and digital news profession remains a critical part of our nation’s free press for generations to come and supporting scholarships for journalism students.

“The First Amendment Awards gives us all a chance to pause and reflect on the brave and brilliant work done in the name of journalism,” said RTDNA Foundation Chair Allison McGinley. “It is a true honor to get a chance to recognize these outstanding recipients.”

The 2024 First Amendment Award winners are:

• Gio Benitez, ABC News
• Lauren Chooljian, New Hampshire Public Radio
• Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, CBS News
• Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal
• Dylan Lyons, Spectrum News 13 (Orlando), Citation of Courage (post-humous)
• Joan and Eric Meyer, Marion County Record, Citation of Courage
• ProPublica
• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
• Jesse Walden, Spectrum News 13 (Orlando), Citation of Courage
• Clarissa Ward, CNN
• Kristen Welker, NBC News

A lifetime achievement award is being Phil Williams, Chief Investigative Reporter for WVTF-5 in Nashville, owned by The E.W. Scripps Co.

Here’s a story that captures the plight of the engineer.

The holiday season arrives. Today is the last day before your break — a well-deserved break, too.

But then the manager tells you something in the studio is not right. So you go down the hall … and your excitement about getting a few days off drops like a rock. Yes, the morning guy has spilled liquid into the console. Argh!

Immediately you switch all the programming to another studio, thankful to have a backup. You then power down all equipment in the studio, reminding yourself that yelling and screaming won’t do anything (though it would make you feel better). 

The morning guy is responsible for enough billing to know that you’ll have to take the bullet, go in and fix it right away without escalating the incident to management. In your most gentle voice, you ask what the liquid was. The answer comes back from this experienced talent: “I don’t know.” 

Arghh, why is this day so aggravating? Already you realize that you are not going to make the company holiday lunch.

Okay you’ve got the console open, and you see the black liquid. Chants go through your head: “I hope this is not soda.” It’s time to play Sherlock Holmes. Quickly you glance around the studio for a cup. Nothing on the table. You look in the trash can. Yes, it was coffee. 

Back to the “talent,” and you channel your best Joe Friday from “Dragnet.”

You: Just the facts. I know you were drinking coffee. Did you have it with sugar?

Talent: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

You (raising your voice): Listen, I need to know what’s on the equipment.

Talent: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

You: JUST THE FACTS. Sugar will cause more damage.

Talent (now sounding ashamed): I drank it black, no milk, no sugar.

Okay. Now you know what it is that must be cleaned up and what must be inspected. 

Most of the coffee went onto the exterior of the console but some into the faders. But you remove all the modules and look at the motherboard. You clean the edge connectors, you look and clean any remnants of anything foreign on the board. Cramolin is our friend. We are good!

Next it is time to clean the modules. Yes, all the modules! Luckily, this console has sealed P&G glass faders. You take the Windex Original Glass Cleaner (chosen because it leaves no residue) and you clean the glass rods. You make sure the board in each fader is clean. You reseal the fader. You curse when you drop a tiny screw and it takes 10 minutes to find.

The manager comes in and asks how much longer. You look up and say, “As long as it takes.” He understands and quickly scurries away.

Back to work.

You clean the faceplate. You clean the switches. Some residue (maybe not from this spill) is visible on the button caps. You scrub and whittle (memories of years in Boy Scouts) to get off everything.

Now you reassemble. You test every module and function. You are aware that the holiday is upon you. You do not want to be called back.

All is good! All programming is moved back to the main studio.

So much for your calm day. You missed the company lunch; but you can report to the program director and general manager what had happened and tell them, gladly, that it has been fixed. You feel like the conquering hero.

Then it happens. The general manager nicely asks if you are coming in during the holiday break. You say NO. And you contemplate updating your résumé.

[Check Out More of Radio World’s Tech Tips]

The post Cleanup in Studio 3: All in a Day’s Work appeared first on Radio World.

A Miller Barondess attorney who has been at the center of an ongoing legal battle pitting the founder and owner of The Weather Channel against one of the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant chains has confirmed that the fight will continue in a California state appeals court, after a Los Angeles judge moved to dismiss a $100 million lawsuit alleging racial discrimination is at play.

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Fragmentation. It’s a word that has permeated the television industry in the U.S., and now on a global level, in recent years. The announcement late Tuesday from The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery and FOX that it is launching a joint venture described as a “Hulu for Sports” will only exacerbate the fragmentation on a domestic level.

What are the opportunities, and challenges, for brand advertisers? WARC Media has just released a report that seeks to answer that question.

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HAIKU, MAUI, HAWAII — It’s a company that exists “to reach out to the lost across the globe and to provide you and your family with an alternative to viewing secular television programs.”

Until today, it has also been the owner of broadcast towers in the 50th State. That’s about to change, thanks to a deal brokered by Tucson-based Kalil & Co.

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On Tuesday evening, a potential game-changing initiative was announced by three longtime providers of play-by-play sports. It involves streaming, and a new joint venture that Madison and Wall’s Brian Wieser calls “Hulu for Sports.”

What does the creation of this service mean for the future of sports rights, and the potential growth of broadcast television as a home for live game-day coverage?

 

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