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Imagine Communications has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Marketron REV broadcast sales and order management platform.

By integrating the sales growth engine into its core ad tech portfolio, Imagine says it “now offers a comprehensive monetization solution that enables North American broadcasters to transform daily sales operations, maximize revenue and prepare for a future of converged orders and expanded audience measurement.”

The product will be re-released as CrossFlight after some key enhancements for broadcast TV and is expected to be available by the 2024 NAB Show, Imagine said.

CrossFlight is a cloud-based broadcast sales platform that automates management of ad sales, proposals, pricing and audience forecasting. The platform integrates with Imagine’s OSI traffic and billing solution, providing what Imagine says is “a modern, unified monetization solution that enables salespeople to deliver more revenue more effectively,” by allowing broadcasters to sell an audience across linear and streaming from a single, converged system.

(Image credit: Imagine Communications)

Rob Malcolm, general manager of Ad Tech at Imagine Communications, said in a press release: “Our OSI customers will realize immediate benefits from this extension to our core solutions, allowing them to reduce the workload on their sales teams and run their businesses much more efficiently ― while at the same time preparing to successfully navigate a converged linear/digital future.”

Among CrossFlight’s sales tools are built-in pipeline management capabilities that allow salespeople to manage prospects and customer accounts. Avail requests and proposals can be converted with one step, and orders are executed in TV traffic systems using a web-based user interface. Imagine said pricing capabilities enable inventory to be sold at the best possible price point. Sales performance is monitored via an interactive dashboard that provides visibility into pipeline, committed orders, top sellers, and how stations are performing against targets.

Marketron, which was previously focused on radio ad sales, launched REV in 2021 to combine radio and TV ad management and sales into one platform.

“With Marketron REV, our team built an unrivalled platform for sales efficiency, and we are confident that Imagine is the ideal partner to take the platform to the next level of success, while we focus on bringing innovation to the radio industry,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, CEO at Marketron.  “Imagine’s deep customer relationships in broadcast TV will enable them to move quickly on development to further meet the industry’s requirements for audience-based and converged linear and CTV sales solutions.”

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The OCA Alliance said the AES has published the latest update to the AES70 suite of standards for control and monitoring of devices in professional media networks. 

AES70 is a system control approach intended to be paired with a digital network media transport mechanism like AES67, Dante and AVB/TSN.

The alliance described the latest release as “a thoughtful update that both enhances the standard’s usability and flexibility while expanding its capabilities to meet the dynamic needs of professional applications.”

In a press release, it wrote: “Making up the core standards, AES70-1, AES70-2 and AES70-3 form the foundation of the AES70 standard. AES70-2023 represents a significant advancement, bringing in a wave of new features and improvements. Fully backward compatible with all existing AES70 devices, a major focus has been on improving the understandability of the specification with revised, expanded documentation, more precise language and ten informative annexes to assist developers.”

It said the update also extends the connection management architecture with better support for redundant network connections and a clearer organization of functions. 

“There’s flexible support for connection negotiation and media transport sessions and this update sets the stage for the upcoming adaptations for media networks including AES67, ST 2110-30 and Milan.”

The alliance said AES70-2023 also defines various types of datasets such as media files, logs, parameter files and executables, allowing manufacturers to define custom dataset types as needed. 

“This extends to command sets and stored parameters. Devices can store predefined executables and operating parameter values for immediate or later use.”

This encompasses networks of all sizes including mission-critical applications, high-security applications, IP and non-IP networks, and local and wide-area applications. AES70 can control real or virtual devices located on premises or hosted by cloud services, consuming little computing power or network bandwidth.

The OCA Alliance is a not-for-profit that supports the AES70 standard for open control architecture.

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New from Mackie is MobileMix, a small audio mixer for use with DSLR cameras, PA systems and smartphone streaming setups. It retails for $229.99.

“From on-the-go live sound, to live streaming with your phone, to video production, MobileMix delivers professional audio quality in an analog mixer you can use anywhere,” the company says.

It can be powered via a USB battery that fits in a dedicated slot underneath, or another USB power source.

The mixer can handle up to eight channels of audio, including microphones, instruments and Bluetooth audio. Features include two low-noise mic preamp channels with combo XLR and 1/4-inch connectors, Hi-Z impedance switches for electric guitars, low-cut filters and 48V phantom power for condenser mics. 

“Connect stereo sources with 1/4-inch line and 3.5 mm aux inputs. Use the bi-directional Bluetooth audio to bring in phone calls, with Mix Minus to monitor and record your callers without echo. Apply onboard EQ and reverb for a complete mix on the go.”

Dual mix outputs let the user send the mix to two places simultaneously. MobileMix can be used to run live sound to the speakers while recording to an audio interface or tablet mounted in the dedicated tablet slot. It allows streaming to two devices at once; and you can play music from one device while recording to another. 

In 2023 Mackie was acquired by the Freedman Group, parent of Røde.

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The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday morning heard oral arguments in case called Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce. Crux to the legal fight in the nation’s highest court is whether the “Chevron Doctrine,” named after the landmark 1984 case Chevron v. NRDC, should be overturned.

David Oxenford, the respected Wilkinson Barker Knauer Partner and a go-to Communications Law attorney in Washington, D.C., believes many of the headlines suggesting the FCC’s power would be diminished if Chevron deference disappears for federal agencies are a bit too heavy. If anything, any change could be beneficial for those challenging the Commission on its rulemaking decisions.

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The EVP/Chief Financial Officer for Cox Media Group has departed the Apollo Global Management-controlled owner of radio and TV stations to take a similar role at a live event entertainment logistics and high net worth shipping and freight company.

J.P. Hannan, who worked as EVP/CFO at AutoWeb prior to joining CMG, is joining Global Critical Logistics (GCL), overseeing the financial performance and profitability strategies for GCL units including Rock-it Cargo, Dietl, Dynamic, CARS, Cosdel, Xtreme and Dell Will.

Hannan is also known for his tenure as CFO of Cumulus Media and for the former Lincoln Financial Media. He began his career in finance at Lambert Television.

Hannan is a member of Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences, and previously served on the Radio Music License Committee.

“My focus will be on strengthening the financial backbone of the organisation, enabling us to navigate challenges and capitalise on new opportunities in the dynamic markets we operate in,” Hannan said. “It is a privilege to be part of a company that values its employees, embraces diversity, and contributes positively to the community. I am excited to immerse myself in the culture and contribute to its continued success.”

In a related move, CGL has upped Erin Cutri to VP/Finance and will work alongside Hannan.

TORONTO — A fight over the legacy of Ted Rogers has formally concluded at Canadian mega-giant Rogers Communications, thanks to a private settlement between his descendants and the publicly traded company that bares his surname.

Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers have made the decision to retire from the Rogers Board of Directors.

But, Rogers made it clear that it very much a decision that is directly tied to the settlement.

“On behalf of the board and management of Rogers Communications, I want to thank Melinda and Martha for their numerous contributions to our company over many decades,” said Edward Rogers, Chair of Rogers Communications. “Their dedication to Rogers Communications has been integral to the company’s growth and is reflected in the passion with which our employees serve our customers across Canada every day.”

Rogers-Hixon and Rogers offered a joint statement, in which they acknowledged their “family differences” that had some Canadians comparing the situation to the fictional storyline of HBO series “Succession.” They said,  “With our family differences now settled, we both believe this is the appropriate time to retire from the Rogers Communications board. We remain proud and committed shareholders of the company and look forward to supporting its success in the future. In the words of our late father, the best is yet to come.”

Rogers-Hixon joined the Rogers board in 2002 and became Deputy Chair in 2018. She previously spent 15 years in management at Rogers Communications in roles including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development and founder of Rogers Venture Partners in 2011.

Martha Rogers joined the board in 2008 and has served as Chair of the ESG committee since 2021.

Rogers-Hixon and Rogers had voted to jettison Edward Rogers as Rogers’ chairperson in reaction to his decision to have current CEO Tony Staffieri succeed now-former chief executive Joe Natale.

The Rogers empire began in 1960 when predecessor Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting acquired CHFI-FM 98.1 in Toronto. It first gained fame as a Beautiful Music station, and transitioned to Adult Contemporary in the late 1980s.

NEW YORK — Baltimore-headquartered Sinclair Inc. and FOX Corporation have agreed to a multi-year renewal of all FOX affiliations in Sinclair’s broadcast television markets.

Sinclair partners also renewed FOX affiliations in markets where Sinclair provides sales and other services under a joint sales agreement or master service agreement.

The 41 renewed markets serve approximately 19 million TV households.

Sinclair Inc. SVP/Head of Distribution and Network Relations Will Bell commented, “We are pleased to reach this comprehensive renewal with FOX, inclusive of the early renewal of 17 markets. Premiere sports, such as the NFL, including the Super Bowl in February of 2025, Baseball Night in America, the World Series and college football and basketball, have never been more important, and we are pleased to be able to continue to pair FOX’s premiere sports and entertainment programming, which remain exclusive to broadcast, with our best-in-class local news and syndicated programming for years to come.”

David Espinosa, President of Distribution for FOX Corporation, added, “We are pleased to extend our partnership with Sinclair, and we are delighted these stations will continue to be the top destination in these 41 markets for our shared viewers to access all of FOX’s leading Entertainment and Sports content.”

With global advertising spend forecast to top $1 trillion for the first time this year, WARC Media examines platform power in the era of AI, the current state of linear TV, the future of attention measurement, and the growth of in-game advertising in its just-released The Future of Media 2024 report.

The key takeaway for broadcast media leaders: More than half of global advertising spend in 2024 will go to five global “Big Tech” goliaths.

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LOS ANGELES — She joined the ABC Owned Stations West Coast flagship, KABC-7, in 1994 to lead the Eyewitness News team and is today the President/GM of the station.

Come March 31, she’ll no longer be in the role, and is heading into retirement.

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It’s the talk of Washington, D.C., and was even shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening by former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday was scheduled to hear oral arguments on what has emerged as a major administrative law question: Should it overrule, or “clarify,” a 1984 decision holding that federal courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous law?

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On Friday, the National Basketball Association’s New Orleans Pelicans fell to the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets, in a regular-season matchup that saw star Nikola Jokic score 27 points, while contributing 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

While Pelicans fans couldn’t enjoy a victory, they could relish the fact that they could tune in without the need of a pay-TV regional sports network.

Guess what? The ratings for the Pelicans-Nuggets matchup on local television topped that of the NBA finals in June 2023 in New Orleans.

 

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In recent months, the broadcast television industry has been salivating over its desire to pluck play-by-play rights to various professional sports teams away from what has been described as a “troubled” Diamond Sports Group.

Indeed, the future of DSG, the Bally Sports parent, has been in question ever since it filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection. As Wednesday began, the independently-managed and unconsolidated subsidiary of Sinclair Inc. revealed that it plans to emerge from bankruptcy as a “going concern” and continue its operations, as a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with Diamond’s largest creditor groups has been agreed upon.

The RSA includes more than 85% of DSG’s first lien debt holders, over 50% of its second lien debt holders, and more than two-thirds of unsecured bond holders.

This is significant, and DSG believes it provides the framework for a reorganization plan preventing Diamond from folding.

Specifically, the RSA includes a commitment from select DSG debt holders to provide $450 million of “junior secured superpriority debtor-in-possession financing.” These dollars will be used to support Diamond’s operations as DSG finalizes its comprehensive reorganization plan — and to repay $350 million of Diamond’s existing first lien indebtedness, which will put its restructuring plan in motion.

For Diamond, it highlights that “key creditors” reached an agreement on financial terms and a go-forward capital structure “that will be the foundation of the reorganization plan to facilitate Diamond’s emergence from bankruptcy as a going concern.” Without naming names, DSG added, “Certain large holders of Diamond’s debt have committed to make a substantial investment in the company and exchange their debt into equity to be issued by reorganized Diamond.”

A BIG TECH GIANT DELIVERS

The emergence from bankruptcy for DSG is also being made possible thanks to the financial support of one “Big Tech” giant.

Amazon has committed to make a minority investment in Diamond and enter into a commercial arrangement to provide access to Diamond’s services via Prime Video.

Under this arrangement, Prime Video will become Diamond’s primary partner through which customers will be able to purchase direct-to-consumer (DTC) access to stream local Diamond channels.

Customers will be able to access all local DTC content, including live MLB, NBA and NHL games, and pre- and post-game programming, for the teams for which Diamond retains DTC rights, through Prime Video Channels.

Additional details regarding pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.

“Diamond looks forward to continuing to partner with its existing MVPD distribution partners to broadcast its MLB, NBA and NHL content,” it said.

DSG owns the Bally Sports Regional Sports Networks; Bally has a naming rights agreement in place, which transformed the RSNs from what had been FOX Sports-branded entities. The roster 18 owned-and-operated RSNs is comprised of Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Oklahoma, Bally Sports San Diego, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West, and Bally Sports Wisconsin.

The Bally Sports RSNs serve as the TV home to half of all MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States, even with defections to broadcast television companies including Gray Television and The E.W. Scripps Co. in markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Diamond Sports Group also has a joint venture in Marquee, the home of the Chicago Cubs; and a minority interest in the YES Network, the longtime destination for the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets.

SINCLAIR LITIGATION CONCLUDES

Diamond Sports Group also announced early Wednesday that it has an agreement in principle with parent Sinclair Inc. to settle the pending litigation between the companies and the other named defendants. The settlement is supported by Diamond’s creditors that are parties to the RSA.

Under the settlement agreement, among other things, Sinclair will pay Diamond $495 million in cash and provide ongoing management and transition services to support Diamond’s reorganization and separation from Sinclair’s operations.

Under the RSA, the proceeds from the Sinclair settlement will be used to support the reorganization plan and fund distributions to certain creditors.

In prepared comments, DSG CEO David Preschlack said, “We are thrilled to have reached a comprehensive restructuring agreement that provides a detailed framework for a reorganization plan and substantial new financing that will enable Diamond to operate and thrive beyond 2024. We are grateful for the support from Amazon and a group of our largest creditors who clearly believe in the value-creating potential of this business. Diamond’s near-term focus will be on implementing the RSA and emerging from bankruptcy as a going concern for the benefit of our investors, our employees, our team, league and distribution partners, and the millions of fans who will continue to enjoy our broadcasts.”

The RSA, the Amazon investment and commercial agreements, and the Sinclair litigation settlement are subject to conditions, and the transactions described therein are subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Additional information regarding Diamond’s Chapter 11 cases, including court filings and information about the claims process are available at https://cases.ra.kroll.com/DSG.

A newly released Horowitz Research report finds that while teens and young adults aged 18-24 spend most of their time with social media, short videos, streaming music, and video games, these Generation Z consumers remain heavily engaged with “professional, full-length TV content.”

 

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Integration and engineering firm ZTransform has appointed Paul Catterson as its new general manager. With this promotion, ZTransform said Catterson will be responsible for executing company initiatives, as well as managing projects and client relationships. He is the first to hold this newly-created position.

“Paul’s promotion to GM was a natural and necessary progression within ZTransform,” says Ben Wolk, managing partner at ZTransform. “His extensive industry experience in various organizations, from small start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, brings remarkable perspective to the team and the company.”

Catterson joined ZTransform in early 2023 as VP of strategy, focusing on market expansion and overseeing the company’s more recent rebrand, according to a press release.

Prior to joining ZTransform, Catterson held leadership positions in systems integration, 24-hour media operations and media business consulting.

“His multi-disciplined career path has led Catterson to experience the industry from many different perspectives — as a supplier through to end user — and at multiple levels within several organizational models,” said Ztransform in the release.

His previous roles include senior director and GM of content services for Comcast Technology Solutions, and VP of solutions at Diversified.

[Related: “Utter Associates Changes Name to ZTransform“]

Founded by Utter Associates in 2004, Ztransform serves the broadcast, corporate new media, education and government sectors. Services include facility planning, architecture and construction interfacing, systems engineering, integration and operational readiness.

ZTransform Founder Erik Utter spoke to Catterson’s promotion, saying: “He will become the effective ‘pivot point’ for all day-to-day activity while supporting the continuation of our business’ development.”

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

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Cumulus must pay a $26,000 penalty for violations of the FCC’s equal employment opportunity rules at five radio stations.

The fine is higher than the FCC’s base rate because of Cumulus’s prior violations of the EEO rules, the commission ruled.

The National Association of Broadcasters had spoken up on behalf of Cumulus in this case. It asked the commission not to punish Cumulus for what was basically an administrative error that hadn’t hurt anyone. And it asked the commission to consider that the majority of prior violations predated Cumulus’s 2018 transfer of control, with many dating back more than a decade.

But the commission rejected NAB’s requests as well as a Cumulus appeal.

“Unprecedented”

Cumulus no longer owns the stations in question; it sold them to First Media Services in late 2020. The stations are in Georgia: WEGC(FM) in Sasser; WJAD(FM) in Leesburg; and WKAK(FM), WQVE(FM) and WALG(AM), all in Albany. The alleged EEO violations predate the sale. 

In 2022 the FCC issued a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture in the amount of $32,000. It said Cumulus had failed to upload annual EEO public file reports to its public inspection files, upload the required annual reports to the stations’ websites or analyze its EEO program.

The FCC said Cumulus acknowledged that the 2018 Annual Report had not been added to the public inspection files and websites until more than nine months after deadline. But Cumulus told the FCC the failure was due to a “routine administrative change” and the loss of a former employee.

Cumulus challenged the NAL. It said there was no basis for assuming that it could not have adequately analyzed the stations’ EEO program. It said the proposed forfeiture was unprecedented for one late upload. It argued that the upward adjustment based on past violations was unjust; and it said that increasing the fine based on pre-reorganization conduct is inconsistent with federal bankruptcy law and commission precedent.

The FCC rejected most of these arguments, though it did rescind $6,000 from the originally proposed fine for one violation. You can read the ruling here.

Among other things, the FCC wrote: “Cumulus’s implication that it is a drastically different organization post-transfer is belied by the fact that its core senior management team remained unchanged by the 2018 transfer of control.” 

And it rejected the argument that by weighing violations from before 2018, the FCC “causes the new stockholders of Cumulus (i.e., its creditors) to suffer a reduction in the value of the consideration provided to them under the reorganization plan approved by the Bankruptcy Court pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code.”

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As the company’s executive leadership team seeks to win a Houston federal bankruptcy court’s approval with its prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring plan, Audacy Inc. has moved forward with a series of “strategic leadership updates and promotions” that the company says “bolster” its commitment to its local markets.

This sees Gina Massenzi rise Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Audacy’s Las Vegas stations, comprised of KMXB “Mix 94.1” and HD2 Channel Q, KDWN-FM, KNXT-AM, KXQQ “Q100.5,” and KLUC-FM and HD2 “The Bet Las Vegas.”

Massenzi was previously Director of Sales for the market. She started her radio career in sales at News/Talk KMJ-AM in Fresno in 1997. In Las Vegas, Massenzi adds duties previously held by Dan Kearney, who exited in mid-2023.

Concurrently, Dan Barron will become Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Audacy’s New Orleans station group, comprised of WLMG “Magic 101.9,” WKBU “Bayou 95.7,” WWL Radio, WEZB-FM “B97” and HD2 “Channel Q,” and WWWL-AM “The Bet New Orleans.” Barron succeeds Kevin Cassidy, who in December 2023 was named Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Audacy’s Chicago stations.

Before joining the Company, Barron was Vice President of Corporate Development for First Broadcasting, focusing on mergers, acquisitions, and enhancement of broadcast operations through technical upgrades. Other previous roles include Director of Sales for Citadel Broadcasting and Vice President/Director of Sales for Barnstable Broadcasting.

In addition to those promotions, Bob Mackay is assuming the role of Vice President of Sales for Audacy’s Dallas stations. Mackay previously served as Senior Vice President of Audacy’s Austin stations.

Furthermore, three Regional Presidents are adding responsibilities to their regions.

And, this helps answer the question of who will be taking Mackay’s former duties. That would be Doug Abernethy.

At the same time, Brian Purdy is adding regional oversight for Audacy’s Chicago; and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisc., stations. This answers how Audacy was planning to handled duties aligned with ex-Regional President Rachel Williamson.

Mark Hannon will assume regional oversight of Audacy in Minneapolis.

Audacy COO Susan Larkin said, “We have a very strong leadership team that has enabled us to make strategic changes and promote talent with multi-year track records of success. These leadership moves continue to position our local brands to deliver exceptional listener experiences and client value while reinforcing our commitment to excellence in the communities we serve. We are confident in Gina, Dan, Bob, Doug, Brian and Mark’s ability to drive growth across their respective markets.”

 

Twenty-two months and four weeks ago, Cumulus Media received a hefty Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture from the FCC for not adhering to its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations at four FMs and AM serving the Albany, Ga., market it used to own.

Now, the Commission has erased that big, proposed fine by issuing a Forfeiture Order to the Atlanta-headquartered audio content creation and distribution company. However, the financial penalty for Cumulus is only slightly lower in value.

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