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Audacy’s voluntary filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy raises questions about what a successful, planned reorganization — pending stakeholder approval and the FCC’s OK — will look like for one of the largest radio groups in the U.S.

Audacy’s leadership has put a positive spin on things, but filing for bankruptcy is a complex process, and potential potholes do exist, experts say. 

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is often called a “reorganization” since it allows for incorporated businesses to reorganize their finances and develop a debt repayment plan that needs to be approved by a court, according to U.S. bankruptcy law. 

The voluntary filing means no liquidation of the business will take place, and Audacy will continue operations. However, as part of the reorganization process, Audacy must show that it is capable of meeting all financial obligations going forward, including federal income and payroll taxes, according to the IRS. 

Audacy’s prepackaged Chapter 11 filing, which will reduce its debt from $1.9 billion to $350 million, included a lifeline of an additional $57 million from existing lenders, which combined with the company’s cash operations is expected to keep the company operating while paying bills and employees. 

The reorganization proceeding will be guided by a judge with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston. Dozens of filings from the debtors and Audacy have already populated the court’s docket.   

Audacy, which is the second-largest radio broadcaster in the U.S., behind only iHeartMedia, owns some of the best-known radio stations in the country, like WINS(AM) and WFAN(AM) in New York City and KROQ(FM) in Los Angeles.

[Related: “Audacy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy“]

Selling off some radio properties and real estate throughout the proceeding is not out of the question, according to a person familiar with the filing. In fact, Audacy is selling the land and buildings of its Phoenix cluster of radio stations for $10.5 million, according to a report in the Phoenix Business Journal. However, that agreement appears to have been in place before the radio group filed Chapter 11.    

Radio World asked Jeffrey Tarkenton, an attorney in the bankruptcy and restructuring group at Womble Bond Dickinson (U.S.) LLP, about what Audacy and its employees are about to experience, and the expected outcome of its reorganization.

Radio World: What are the best practices for Audacy and its operations at this point? Is it business as usual?

Jeffrey Tarkenton: Audacy is in a Chapter 11 case and is a debtor-in-possession, [which means] the broadcaster can continue to operate in the ordinary course while it reorganizes in bankruptcy. 

RW: What are the possible outcomes for Audacy? 

Tarkenton: There are several potential outcomes. First, the company successfully reorganizes through the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization and exits bankruptcy and operates in the ordinary course of business. 

There’s always a chance the company’s case could be converted to a Chapter 7 in which a trustee is appointed to liquidate the assets, and the debtor company ceases operations. That seems unlikely in Audacy’s case.

RW: Could there be cost-cutting throughout the process, or a sell-off of properties and real estate?

Tarkenton: Many Chapter 11 cases involve sale of all, or of substantially all, of the company’s assets. Audacy has negotiated a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan with its lenders which provides for the lenders to forgive debt in return for obtaining ownership of the company, which will result in Audacy not having to service as high of a debt load going forward. 

I don’t know whether other cost-cutting measures will be needed or whether it may sell some assets.

RW: Is there the potential for a leadership change once it emerges from bankruptcy? 

Tarkenton: Audacy will have new shareholders who will have the ability, if they choose, to change management.

RW: Who makes up the creditor’s committee and what is the role of the bankruptcy judge?

Tarkenton: Typically, the creditors committee in a Chapter 11 case consists of the five or seven creditors that hold the largest unsecured claims, and they are appointed by the United States Trustee’s Office. 

The bankruptcy judge is responsible for adjudicating the motions and other matters that are filed in the case. Ultimately, the bankruptcy judge decides whether to confirm the Chapter 11 plan. 

RW: What are the criteria for Audacy to emerge from bankruptcy? 

Tarkenton: To emerge successfully from bankruptcy, Audacy must file and confirm a Chapter 11 plan. To confirm a plan, Audacy will need the support of at least one class of creditors and will need to prove to the bankruptcy judge that the plan is fair and equitable and does not discriminate against any class of creditors.  

The fact that Audacy has filed a prepackaged plan suggests that it has the necessary support to confirm the bankruptcy plan.

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The post Here’s How Audacy Is Navigating Chapter 11 Bankruptcy appeared first on Radio World.

Ferncast is now offering its aixtream platform as a cloud-based service available on a monthly subscription.

In recent years Aixtream software has expanded to approximately 30 feature modules, including encoding algorithms (xHE AAC, Dolby AC-3 and others), web radio, DVB de/muxing, podcast encoding, DAB/FM monitoring and SIP/WebRTC. 

“Aixtream installations exist around the globe for various applications,” the company said in a release. 

A promotional image shows applications for Ferncast aixtream

“It runs as server appliance on bare metal, as virtual machine, or containerized on AWS and other cloud computing services.”

The cloud service will be available as a monthly subscription starting in the second quarter of this year, providing access to aixtream’s capabilities with minimal overhead. 

“Customers do not need to rent server access or handle installation and setup,” it said. “Everything needed to get started is provided by Ferncast. If desired, Ferncast even handles everything for the customer, including operation and monitoring of the installation.”

The new fernReport codec.

The company will exhibit at the Hamburg Open 2024 in Germany this week, Jan. 17–18. At the event Ferncast will also show its new fernReport reporter codec for field reporting and live sports commentary. The compact codec combines aixtream software and a RasPad 3 portable Raspberry Pi Tablet.

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The post Ferncast to Offer Aixtream Cloud by Subscription appeared first on Radio World.

LOS ANGELES — Nine new entertainment and sports free ad-supported television channels from NBCUniversal’s television and streaming portfolio and the NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution library are now available to viewers on The Roku Channel.

The “FAST” channels now available on the Roku service are as follows:

• GolfPass: GolfPass brings together thousands of lessons from the game’s biggest instructors, exclusive series, GOLF Channel news and features, and much more.
• Universal Westerns: Cowboys, gunslingers, and outlaws roam the wild west in these series. Get swept away by these classic tales of heroism and family adventure set against scenic frontier backdrops, such as “The Virginian” and “Tales of Wells Fargo” among many others.
• American Crimes: Explore the dark side of the American dream and life behind bars, featuring award-winning series “American Greed” and “Lockup.”
• The Lone Ranger: The masked cowboy known as the Lone Ranger, and his trusty accomplice Tonto, fight for justice in the wild west.
• Top Chef Vault: Bravo’s “Top Chef” Vault has a rotating library to catch up on and learn the latest in sous-vide, gastronomy and more from the ultimate food competition show.
• Made in Chelsea: Follow the lives and loves of the socially elite 20-somethings who live in some of London’s most exclusive zip codes.
• Oxygen True Crime Archives: Oxygen True Crime Archives is your home for deep dives into infamous cases and binge-watching original series. True crime, all day, every day.
• Bravo Vault: From “Shahs of Sunset” to “Flipping Out,” Bravo Vault immerses you in all the high-sheen content and drama you love with our rotating content library.
• Lassie: Join Lassie, the Martin family’s beloved canine, and her human animal companions as they embark on adventures. Learn why dogs truly are a man’s best friend in this Emmy®-winning series.

Current NBCUniversal apps and services on Roku include Peacock; “TV Everywhere” platforms for NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY, Telemundo, USA, NBC Sports, NBC News, CNBC; and FAST channels that include NBC and Telemundo local stations’ news and special programming.

In a one-page order, a Gwinnett County Superior Judge has given the go-ahead for attorneys representing the host of a Salem Radio Network Sunday night syndicated talk show and podcast focused on Second Amendment rights to proceed with a defamation lawsuit against the maker of ChatGPT.

It marks a significant shift in the trajectory of the case, which OpenAI LLC sought vigorously for a dismissal.

 

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“I’ve written a textbook unlike any other, where the focus is on what would prompt the reader to hit that record button, and consider what they have to say when they do,” says Rob Quicke, a one-time radio presenter in the UK who today is Professor and Director of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications at Marshall University.

Quicke’s new book, “Finding Your Voice in Radio, Audio, and Podcast Production,” seeks to provide a textbook designed to “teach Radio” to college students interested in a career in audio content creation and production.

What can students learn from a textbook? RBR+TVBR’s Adam R Jacobson finds out from Quicke in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Rob Quicke” on Spreaker.

The No. 1-rated spoken word radio station serving the San Francisco-Oakland market, a perennial standout NPR Member, has been selected as the recipient of the fifth annual World Radio Day Award, given annually to a radio station in the U.S. by the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America.

The honor to KQED Public Radio is the latest to honor a source of news and information on the radio dial, following prior-year recognition of KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh, WINS-AM in New York, Hofstra University’s WRHU in Nassau-Suffolk, and WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C.

While KQED is a storied NPR Member station, it is also the producer of shows including “Forum,” “The California Report” and “Snap Judgment.”

“KQED embodies the best that radio can be in serving communities, prioritizing creativity, diversity, service and trust,” said Jorge Álvarez, chair of the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America. “KQED describes its mission as serving the people of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media. It aims to ‘provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone; and engage audiences to share their stories.’ The station says it aims to ‘help students and teachers thrive in 21st century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.’”

KQED Chief Content Officer Holly Kernan added, “We at KQED are proud to be recognized for our commitment to providing factual, accurate and nonpartisan content in this crucial period for democracy. In our role as a public radio station, we stand by the values of creativity, diversity and trust. This award reaffirms our dedication to serving listeners with the knowledge they need, understanding they seek and arts that enrich lives.”

World Radio Day is observed annually on Feb. 13, to mark the founding of United Nations Radio in 1946. It was proclaimed by UNESCO member states in 2011 and adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012. The U.S. award program is administered by the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America, which is affiliated with the Spanish Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences. The jury comprises representatives from the U.S. radio industry specializing in broadcasting, media law, publishing and consulting. The theme of World Radio Day in 2024 is “Radio: A Century Informing, Entertaining, Educating.”

— With reporting by Paul McLane

Just-released year-end findings highlighting the big TV takeaways from 2023 from iSpot have taken a particular focus on the advertising marketplace, which many people believe will rebound in 2024.

Say what you want about how dismal the back half of last year was, but data show signs of a “thaw” began in 2023. But, where?

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KQED Public Radio is the recipient of the fifth annual World Radio Day Award, which honors a U.S. station that exemplifies the best attributes of the radio industry.

The Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America, the entity that presents the award, says KQED is one of the country’s most-listened-to public radio stations. The station provides news and public affairs reporting to northern California via FM broadcasting, streaming and podcasts.

KQED Chief Content Officer Holly Kernan said, “We at KQED are proud to be recognized for our commitment to providing factual, accurate and nonpartisan content in this crucial period for democracy. In our role as a public radio station, we stand by the values of creativity, diversity and trust.”

The FM station, which is based in San Francisco and simulcast on KQEI in Sacramento, Calif., is nonprofit, noncommercial and member-supported.

Its stated commitment is to “provide people with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone; and engage audiences to share their stories.” Programs include “Forum,” “The California Report” and “Snap Judgment.”

“KQED embodies the best that radio can be in serving communities, prioritizing creativity, diversity, service and trust,” Jorge Álvarez, chair of the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America, said in announcing the award. “KQED describes its mission as serving the people of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media. The station says it aims to ‘help students and teachers thrive in 21st century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.’”

World Radio Day is observed annually to mark the founding of United Nations Radio in 1946. Proclaimed in 2011 by the member states of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, the international day is recognized each year on Feb. 13. The theme of World Radio Day in 2024 is “Radio: A Century Informing, Entertaining, Educating.”

Pittsburgh radio station KDKA was presented with the 2023 World Radio Day award last year. Prior recipients of the award also include WINS in New York, WRHU on Long Island and WTOP in Washington.

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The post KQED Receives 2024 World Radio Day Award  appeared first on Radio World.

For the past five years, Jim Howard has served in the role of chief executive of Marketron, known for its broadcast media ad revenue management products.

Now, he will shift back to the role of Board Chair as Jimshade Chaudhari takes the CEO post. Chaudhari has been SVP/Product at Marketron since 2019. Prior to joining Marketron he led product, marketing and business development organizations in highly competitive industries, including his role as vice president of product and partnerships at Sling TV.

Concurrently, Marketron REV has been sold. And, the buyer is Imagine Communications.

This puts Marketron REV, a broadcast sales and order management platform that integrates
access to real-time inventory, ratings and dynamic pricing, in the hands of Imagine, which focuses its efforts on TV broadcasters and MVPDs.

“With REV, our team built and delivered something unique and highly valuable for TV broadcasters looking to transform daily sales operations and to maximize revenue while preparing for a future of converged orders,” Chaudhari said. “We leave REV in the highly
experienced and capable hands of the team at Imagine. Meanwhile, Marketron will continue our commitment and focus on innovation and revenue-driving technology for radio broadcasters, which is where our roots are.”

 

With a goal to ensure that Italian technology innovators not only penetrate the U.S. market but thrive within it, Chatwin has embarked on a plan to assist European SaaS startups in establishing “a robust foothold” in America.

Why the U.S.? Chatwin points out that the nation accounts for “a staggering 43%” of global technology revenue, making it a beacon of opportunity for startups worldwide.

That’s why Chatwin is ready to share its services, including Market Research, Business Development, Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Talent Acquisition, Sales and Marketing, and “Customer Success” with businesses including broadcast media.

“This isn’t just about entering a new market,” said Enrico Quaroni, Chatwin’s CEO. “It’s about understanding its pulse, navigating its intricacies, and seizing the immense opportunities it presents. We’re here to ensure European tech startups do just that, with effectiveness and speed.”

To help Chatwin get its feet wet in the States, a “seasoned” California-based leadership team is in place. This sees leadership under Richard Frankel. founder of the advertising technology company Rocket Fuel.

He remarked, “Chatwin can provide the right team to allow scale-ups to drive growth quickly and efficiently in the U.S. while mitigating those risks. While many companies want to advise or consult with startups, Chatwin takes on the monumental task of actually building new businesses for our partners. We do it with a team that has proven ability to scale revenue to the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

ZURICH — IP audio innovator Barix is adding a new flavor to its encoding family with a new low-latency, multi-format product designed to send audio streams to receive points in four different formats.

To be introduced at ISE 2024 in Barcelona later this month, the new MultiCoder M400 hardware device also adopts Barix’s next-generation FLEXA platform to enhance buffering performance, application development, and device prototyping among other benefits.

For the MultiCoder M400, the enhanced buffering performance of the FLEXA platform eliminates all stream buffering within the device — an important benefit given the presence of multiple encoding engines under the hood. This means that customers can encode audio into four formats, including OPUS, AAC+, PCM and 320KB mp3, and send multiple audio RTP/BRTP streams to receiving devices without delay while retaining exceptional quality.

These capabilities make the MultiCoder M400 a unique sibling to Barix’s existing Instreamer IP audio encoders, which accommodate different use cases. For example, the Instreamer Classic supports more streaming protocols, ideal for Live IP Audio Encoding for Streaming Applications while the Instreamer ICE is perfect for organizations streaming solely to an Icecast server without latency concerns for online audio services. The MultiCoder M400’s greater CPU capacity also ensures plenty of space for new features and applications, providing a stronger foundation for ongoing customization and development.

The MultiCoder M400 is also the first Barix encoder to support high-efficiency AAC+ and OPUS codecs, allowing customers across a broad range of verticals in the Pro AV and entertainment industries to send a greater number of streams within the same bandwidth, and at lower bitrates than lower-efficiency codecs.

“The MultiCoder M400 is the perfect solution for an organization that needs a secure and reliable solution to serve an array of receiving platforms, including a mix of Barix Exstreamer IP audio decoders and online media players,” said Reto Brader, CEO at Barix. “Our customers and their IT departments can also rest assured that the Barix FLEXA platform at the device’s foundation supports today’s strictest security standards, including HTTPS for the setup of the device.

The MultiCoder M400 pairs well with the recently introduced Exstreamer M400 for customers that want to use the AAC+ and/or OPUS formats for their audio streams. The device also pairs with legacy Exstreamer decoders, meaning that the MultiCoder M400 can serve all existing Exstreamer decoders across a large enterprise organization.

ISE 2024 takes place January 30-February 3 at the Fira de Barcelona. Barix exhibits at stand 7C400.

It fell out of the Spot Ten last week. But, the OTT platform from Warner Bros. Discovery that’s the on-demand home of programming ranging from Friends to HBO’s array of films and series is back in a big way on the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report.

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The PHABRIX Qx Series (Qx, QxL and QxP), now supports the detection and analysis of SMPTE Full Range video standards.

The units use the definitions for Narrow, Full Protected and Full Range as defined in the recommendations SMPTE RP 2077 Full-Range Image Mapping and EBU R 103 Video Signal Tolerance in Digital Television Systems.

PHABRIX Principal Software Engineer John Heywood elaborated on this advancement by the company.

“For each RGB or YCbCr color channel in a 10-Bit video signal there are 1024 possible values, from 0 to 1023,” he says. “Traditionally, 0-100% of all color combinations use only 85% (87.5% for Chroma) of the available digital code values. In the Qx Series, Full Range (FR) allows us to use the whole 100% of digital code values, thus significantly increasing the number of unique colors that we can represent.”

“If you’re a content creator, or if you’re an OTT provider you don’t need to worry about SMPTE Range; you’d rather maximise the image quality of your content,” Heywood explains. “You could use a 12-Bit instead of 10-Bit depth to give you 64 times more unique colors. If you switch to 12-Bit Full Range, however, you can have a massive 100 times more unique color values available compared to the 10-Bit SMPTE range. If you’re providing broadcast content, you can be confident that your Rec.2020 12-Bit Full Range media can be converted to broadcast format and reduced to SMPTE range while preserving as much detail as possible.”

 

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — With Dean Littleton now in the role of SVP of Local Media for The E.W. Scripps Co., a redesign of how its local stations are managed and run resulted in the departure of VP/GM Ed Chapuis, who ranks at No. 19 on RBR+TVBR’s Top Local TV Leaders list for 2023, from KSBY-6, as his position was eliminated.

At the time, Scripps said it was going with Station Managers. Now, KSBY-TV, the dominant NBC affiliate on California’s Central Coast, has one.

 

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LOS ANGELES — She had a career that included radio and television newscasts that included a role as the lone female members of a documentary team led by Edward R. Murrow. From 1951-1958 and from 1962-1989, she was an anchor for the home of CBS television in Southern California — another gender first.

Now, many are pausing to pay tribute to Ruth Ashton Taylor, who has died at the age of 101.

According to Associated Press, Taylor died January 11 at an assisted living facility in San Rafael, Calif. Daughter Laurel Conklin noted Taylor died “very suddenly.”

Taylor earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.

As City News Service reports, Taylor was initially hired by what was then-known as KNXT-2 in Los Angeles to cover “The Woman’s Angle.” She would later cover government and politics at the station that would later become KCBS-TV. When asked by the Los Angeles Times about the highlights of her career, Taylor cited interviewing Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer for a story on atomic science.

 

Mark Glover has decided to sell his Chama Valley, N. Mex.-based FM radio station, which airs a unique Adult Contemporary format and features Glover in the 9am hour interviewing community leaders, politicians, experts, “and other interesting folks.”

What does the future hold for KXJR?

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TORONTO — Cogeco Inc., the Montréal-headquartered media company that owns the Breezeline MVPD operating in the U.S., says each of the nominees as directors for the company listed in a company information circular dated November 22, 2023 was elected.

This transpired during Cogeco’s annual shareholders meet, held virtually on January 11.

Detailed voting results on the election of directors are as follows:

Nominee Results For % For Withhold % Withhold Louis Audet Elected 35,655,155 98.11 % 688,284 1.89 % Mary- Ann Bell Elected 36,307,454 99.90 % 35,544 0.10 % Robin Bienenstock Elected 36,323,590 99.95 % 19,408 0.05 % James C. Cherry Elected 36,127,219 99.41 % 215,779 0.59 % Samih Elhage Elected 36,121,999 99.39 % 220,999 0.61 % Philippe Jetté Elected 36,323,594 99.95 % 19,845 0.05 % Normand Legault Elected 36,005,276 99.07 % 338,163 0.93 % Caroline Papadatos Elected 36,125,769 99.40 % 217,229 0.60 %

 

Cogeco Media is comprised of radio stations located in Montréal, Quebec City, and five other Quebec markets. Brands include “Rythme” and “Planete,” while in Montréal it owns dominant English-language rhythmic Hot Adult Contemporary “92.5 The Beat” and heritage French Contemporary Hit Radio CKOI-FM 96.9.

Results on all matters voted at the Meeting are available on SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) including, for information purposes, the voting results for the subordinate voting shares only.

TORONTO — The parent of broadcast media company Bell Media, which enjoys a close relationship with iHeartMedia for its radio stations across Canada, has announced when it will hold its Q4 2023 and 2024 guidance call for investors and analysts.

What can those with shares in BCE Inc. expect to hear from President/CEO Mirko Bibic and CFO Curtis Millen?

Further earnings declines could be in the forecast.

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In observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, U.S. Black Chambers President/CEO Ron Busby Sr. offered commentary that honors the “significant impact and legacy” of Dr. King. “His teachings on economic empowerment and social justice continue to influence our efforts in supporting the Black community,” Busby says.

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TORONTO — Its TSX-traded stock hasn’t been over $1 CDN since the end of September 2023. Its fiscal year ended with a dour portrait of a period in which the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and advertising softness impacted profits.

How did Corus Entertainment fare in its fiscal first quarter of 2024? Not as good as it did one year earlier, putting added pressure on the owner of radio and MVPD-distributed television offerings.

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