Radio World

Audacy President and CEO David Field says he expects a full rebound in ad revenue in 2022 and the company’s third quarter 2021 report is proof of further progress in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The audio company, formerly known as Entercom, reported net revenues for Q3 this year were $329.4 million, up 23% compared to the same quarter in 2020. And revenues were up 8% sequentially from the second quarter this year.

Spot radio advertising revenues for the broadcaster, which has more than 200 radio stations, were $220.6 million which is up 21% from third quarter 2020. Digital revenues climbed 30% YoY posting revenue of $61.4 million for the most recent quarter.

[Read: Audacy Picks Former NYT Exec for Digital Business Hire]

Field on a quarterly earnings call on Tuesday morning said the company continues to drive forward with “its strategic transformation as a scaled multiplatform audio content and entertainment company, including broadcast, podcasting, digital audio, network, live events, music news and sports.”

The sports betting ad revenue windfall continues for Audacy, according to its earnings report. Field said on the call the company is projecting sports betting ad revenue will grow 100% for the year 2021. “We expect sports betting to grow into a $100 million ad category for us in a few years as legalized mobile sports betting continues to spread across the country,” he said, “including California, Texas and Florida.”

The well publicized supply-chain issues affecting the United States impacted Audacy in Q3, Field said, especially in the automotive sector. Automotive, which is Audacy’s number one advertiser segment, was off about 40% in Q3 compared to 2020 levels. The company revealed today it doesn’t expect automotive ad revenue to recover until sometime in 2023.

“The decline in auto ad spending accounted for a third of our third quarter revenue decrease versus 2019. Another third was due to the combined cancellation of Audacy events and the decline in advertising from third-party concerts, theme parks and festivals,” Field said.

The radio broadcaster, which returned to hosting live Audacy events in the third quarter, has seen a significant difference in the rate of recovery between its larger and smaller markets, according to Field. “The sharp contrast in market recovery reflects how larger markets were slower to reopen and faced more disruption to their local economies. For Audacy this differential has a meaningful impact on our performance as our portfolio is by the far the most concentrated in the largest markets versus any of our peers,” Field said on the earnings call.

Audacy in October announced the $40 million acquisition of WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming and ad tech business and then relaunched it as AmperWave, which will “enhance future growth opportunities for Audacy,” according to Field.

“This acquisition gives us control of our product roadmap to deliver enhanced consumer-facing live and on demand streaming features to our 170 million monthly listeners using the cloud-based distribution and monetization platform,” Field said.

The company also this week announced Brian Benedik has joined the broadcaster as Chief Revenue Officer. Benedik is well known to many broadcasters for his previous role at Katz Media Group.

Audacy listed approximately $1.7 billion of debt in its most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

The post Audacy Q3 Ramps up the Revenue appeared first on Radio World.

The author is with WHYU(LP), licensed to the American Militia Association, in Meyersdale, Pa.

Regarding the stories “LP-250 FM Petition Draws Lots of Interest” and “NAB Renews Objections to LP-250.”

The NAB has a single goal: looking out for the financial interests of incumbent, commercial, full-power stations.

It is well-known that many struggling LPFM stations are not only facing financial burdens keeping their stations on the air, but also to be heard by the people in the communities they serve.

In most rural areas, LPFM signals at 100 Watts ERP at 30m HAAT are simply not strong enough to overcome terrain and spacing of homes to be adequately tuned in for reliable listening. While this may be quite different for flat terrain metro areas, that is not the norm for the majority of LPFM stations.

The NAB and its members are quite pleased that LPFMs thus far have not had any significant negative impact on the number of listeners they receive for their full-power stations. They know that the LPFM signals are not strong enough or large enough to cause their listeners to seek out noncommercial local alternatives to their ad-bloated and nationally mirrored nonlocal content.

How do they wish to sway the FCC against any expansion in service for LPFMs? They allege that LPFMs do not and will not comply with FCC regulations.

This is just another ruse, as many LPFMs have been fined for breaking the rules, and when an LPFM causes actual interference, full-power stations retain their protected status and can force LPFMs off the air.

What they want is even greater protection and monopoly of the dial and to snuff out what they know is a potential problem for them — a potential reduction in listeners and advertiser dollars that have the tiniest potential of being redirected to LPFM underwriting.

The NAB has rejected every LPFM-related proposal for this reason alone. The opposition comments attempt to vilify all LPFMs as rule-breakers and toss out technical jargon to somehow convince regulators that an LPFM being able to be heard by their communities will flood the airwaves with interference.

The truth is that the NAB thinks it is unfair that a nonprofit station doesn’t pay as much as they do for listener acquisition, although full-power commercial stations can pay their fees without nearly as much financial concern as the low-power, weak-signaled LPFM station that can hardly be heard by any significant audience.

Two hundred and fifty watts is not anywhere close to the average full power of such stations, and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

Congress passed legislation authorizing such local community stations, surely with an intent that they could be heard by the communities they serve. Increasing that ability while continuing to limit interference and protecting the very stations the NAB supports would meet the needs of the legislative mandate.

The FCC should consider the NAB objections for what they are: nonsensical bias to further protect their financial interests.

RW welcomes comments on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Commentary: Skip the Nonsensical Bias About LPFM appeared first on Radio World.

Audacy will have a new CRO as of Dec. 1. Brian Benedik will become chief revenue officer at that time.

“As a key member of the executive team, Benedik will lead all aspects of revenue generation across corporate, national, regional and local levels and develop fully integrated, multiplatform sales solutions and breakthrough strategies to attract new revenue streams,” the company announced. Benedik succeeds Bob Philips.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Chief Operating Officer cited Benedik’s “key roles” in the past for audio publishers like Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible and Katz Media.

Benedik most recently was VP/global head of revenue for Niantic, an AR developer platform and gaming publisher.

“For seven formative years at Spotify, Benedik was a key member of the senior leadership team as SVP/global head of sales and operations leading a team of over 550 people in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions,” Audacy stated. “As the leader of the Spotify Global Advertising Business, Benedik oversaw the direct, programmatic, podcast, re-seller and self-serve platform teams as well as ad and sales operations, trading, global agency and accounts and training groups.”

He also was founder and president of Katz Digital; president of Christal Radio within the Katz Media Group; and general sales manager for WHTZ(FM) New York at iHeartMedia. He has held advisory roles for Audible and Targetspot.

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

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Viasat Inc. will acquire mobile satellite communications supplier Inmarsat in a transaction valued at $7.3 billion, the companies announced.

The transaction includes $850 million in cash, approximately 46.36 million shares of Viasat common stock valued at $3.1 billion and the assumption of $3.4 billion of debt.

Viasat Executive Chairman Mark Dankberg described the deal as a “transformative combination.”

Inmarsat logo

“The combination will create a leading global communications innovator with enhanced scale and scope to affordably, securely and reliably connect the world,” the companies stated in the announcement.

“The complementary assets and resources of the new organization will enable the availability of advanced new services in mobile and fixed segments, driving greater customer choice in broadband communications and narrowband services (including the Internet of Things or ‘IoT’).”

They said Viasat intends to integrate the spectrum, satellite and terrestrial assets of the two entities into “a global high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network, capable of delivering superior services in fast-growing commercial and government sectors.”

“This advanced architecture will create a framework incorporating the most favorable characteristics of multi-band, multi-orbit satellites and terrestrial air-to-ground systems that can deliver higher speeds, more bandwidth, greater density of bandwidth at high demand locations like airport and shipping hubs and lower latency at lower cost than either company could provide alone.”

Assets of the combined companies will include spectrum licenses across the Ka-, L- and S-bands, a fleet of 19 satellites and 10 more planned for launch in the next three years. They cite a global Ka-band footprint including planned polar coverage, “to support bandwidth-intensive applications, augmented by L-band assets that support all-weather resilience and highly reliable, narrowband and IoT connectivity.”

They also expect to get more value out of Inmarsat’s L-band spectrum and space assets by incorporating Viasat’s beamforming, end-user terminal and payload technologies and its hybrid multi-orbit space-terrestrial networking capabilities.

Inmarsat is based in the United Kingdom while Viasat is headquartered in California.

Viasat said it plans to build on Inmarsat’s presence there and “is committed to preserving and growing the investment of the combined company in U.K. space communications, as well as supporting the recently published National Space Strategy.” It plans to keep Inmarsat’s London headquarters “as well as its footprint in Australia and Canada and across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.”

 

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The author is business manager for Southern Stone Communications.

At Southern Stone Communications, we have a long history of delivering entertainment and content to communities across the southeast U.S. Over the past three decades, our stations have offered popular programming including top 40 hits, hip-hop, contemporary, news and talk radio.

We’ve evolved as the industry moved from records to digital streaming, and we’ve adapted and enhanced our services to offer our customers a data-driven approach to advertising. While we’re proud to provide top-notch programming for our listeners and a great customer experience for advertisers, we recently realized that a critical internal process was causing frustration and inefficiency for our business office.

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

For years we relied on a manual process to accept credit card payments. In addition to being time-consuming, this process was vulnerable to error and sometimes flat out confusing for our staff. Credit card forms were often filled out incorrectly, and it wasn’t always clear how to apply the payment.

Needing to notify sales reps and clients of declined cards, or to handle a last-minute request to run or rerun a credit card, our team found it difficult to maintain an efficient workflow.

All of that changed when we implemented Marketron Traffic system coupled with its PayNow service. The online payment system takes the burden off our business office and gives our advertising customers a clean, clear interface for applying payments to their invoices.

Because setup is straightforward, we were able to shift customers onto the system quickly. And they appreciate being able to pay those invoices at their convenience and easily see where payments are applied.

By bringing payments onto a secure online platform, we’ve done more than simplify the process and reduce error. We’ve also eliminated paper forms and the exchange of payment information via email, thereby removing the liability and potential risk of credit card information being vulnerable at some point in the process. This level of security gives everyone, our team and our customers, greater peace of mind.

Of course, one of the most significant benefits we’ve realized has been time savings. While our average of 7 minutes per manual credit card payment might not sound too onerous, the time really added up across all our markets and stations. And every interruption for card processing took a staff member away from other essential tasks.

Now that we’ve shifted our customers onto Marketron Traffic with PayNow, we’re free from those interruptions. Our customers are happier, and we have reclaimed valuable time that we use to keep the rest of the business running smoothly.

For information, contact Todd Kalman at Marketron at 1-612-790-8464 or visit www.marketron.com.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

 

The post Marketron Lightens Burden of Payment Processing appeared first on Radio World.

Photo: ATSC

A local San Diego low-power TV station is testing the broadcast of FM signals over ATSC 3.0 (aka “NextGen TV”).

KRPE-LD San Diego, low-power TV Channel 6, atop Mt. San Miguel, is the first station in its market to broadcast ATSC 3.0. The FCC granted a Special Temporary Authorization for a signal on TV Channel 6, 82–88 MHz, that includes an innovative analog FM carrier at 87.75 MHz. According to Director of Engineering Daniel Bissett, licensee Venture Technologies Group LLC completed construction of the new signal on Oct. 7.

Analog broadcaster KRPE(LP) and Channel 6 low-power TV stations nationwide had for years been marketing to audiences as an FM station, broadcasting aural subcarriers with high injection levels and 75 kHz FM modulation in order to attract listeners using conventional FM tuners.

Many industry engineers had derisively called these “Franken FM” signals on 87.75 MHz, the traditional Channel 6 visual carrier frequency. For their accompanying analog TV visual signals, they carried a static graphic, slide show, or limited video.

Venture filed an application with the FCC on Oct. 25 to license KRPE-LD as a NextGen station, confidently citing FCC rules regarding the adoption of NextGen without explaining the two-part signal.

“This is done because the License to Cover must be granted before the STA for the FM carrier can be requested,” Bissett said.

Venture filed like applications for their other stations earlier this year: KBKF-LD San Jose, KEFM-LD Sacramento, WRME-LD Chicago, and KZNO-LD Big Bear Lake (Los Angeles), and the FCC granted each.

Bissett says Venture broadcasts a signal at each of its Channel 6 stations fully compliant with the ATSC 3.0 standard, ingenious with its flexibility. He says the scheme should be adopted by the FCC without having to ask for temporary authority. And he adds that tests have shown the signal to be compatible both with current NextGen demodulation devices and analog FM tuners.

Venture first implemented NextGen TV at its station in San Jose, KBKF-LD. Bissett says that the station first tried to use 87.70 MHz as its FM frequency for compatibility with synthesized FM tuners but found many car tuners output unacceptable levels of distortion in their demodulated audio. When they moved to 87.75 MHz, the distortion cleared, so they adopted the old frequency in their FCC filings for their Channel 6 properties.

Bissett says the cause of this distortion so far remains a mystery unsolved by tuning their output filters. (On the other hand, my disciplined Sony XDR-F1HD tuner cannot demodulate an 87.75 MHz FM signal without this same distortion). Their ATSC 3.0 signal occupies 5.5 MHz of the TV channel.

They’re using transmitters assembled by Italian manufacturer Syes and by American Amplifier Technologies of Sacramento. Com-tech of Italy makes their output filters, and Bissett says the ATSC mask filters use eight cavities.

Fig. 1 Photo: KBKF

It hasn’t been lost on Bissett that there is great potential in multicasting digital audio signals on Channel 6 ATSC. Ignoring for a moment the enormous political hurdles to doing this, he says mobile reception tests of NextGen on Channel 6 have been disappointing. You can see on the spectrum diagram (Fig. 1) that the average visual signal is at least 24 dB below the level of the FM carrier, so the signal tends to drop out behind terrain.

Bissett doesn’t see much future in mobile broadcasting with the present broadcast model of few, prominent transmitters. However, Qualcomm’s implementation of Forward-Link-Only TV (“FLO TV”) digital broadcasting in the late 2000s took this into account with its synchronized, multiple-transmission-point system for each of its metro markets.

For now, Venture provides only a direct response shopping channel on their visual NextGen TV signals. They are looking for additional revenue opportunities.

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A 3-1/8-inch tunable stub, mounted at the transmitter output (and identifiable by the long slot at center top), diligently guards against damaging voltage spikes.

In addition to pumpkin pie, Halloween and Thanksgiving, this is the time of year to focus on budgets. Even if your station is one of the few that doesn’t use a budget process, it makes good sense to prepare a list of physical upgrades that may be needed in 2022.

As you review the equipment that may need to be upgraded, also consider acquisitions that can reduce your risk. A surge protector or UPS, for example, can save not only money but headaches, and you can’t beat the cost/benefit ratio.

[Read: Workbench: Time to Plan for Old Man Winter]

Another piece of protection equipment you may want to consider is a shorted quarter-wave stub. One can be placed on the output of an FM exciter, ahead of a tube transmitter, so that any tube arcing is shorted to ground and will not be fed into the exciter.

Our Radio World colleague Mark Persons has an interesting article on his website www.mwpersons.com describing its use. Select “Tech Tips” and look for “Stub Protector for FM Exciters and Transmitters” under the FM Tips column.

This concept can be used in higher-power applications, though you may not want to cut rigid line yourself.

Enter Fred Francis, an RF consultant, who manufactures tunable shorted stubs in both 1-5/8-inch and 3-1/8-inch rigid line under the company name Xenirad.

The quarter-wave shorted stub connects between your transmitter and your antenna system to short the center conductor to ground. This provides lightning protection for your transmitter. Should lightning strike your tower, the high-voltage pulse travels down your transmission line and meets the stub, where it is shorted to ground.

The stub is virtually invisible to your transmitter and offers 0 dB of insertion loss and an input VSWR better than 1.01. Return loss values are typically greater than –50 dB. Both fixed and frequency-agile models are available.

A real benefit is that the stub is maintenance-free, even after a discharge. There are no parts to replace.

The shorted stub acts as a broadband filter, and in sites where FM is collocated with AM, the latter signal is reduced by more than 30 dB.

An installed tunable stub is shown in the first image. It can be identified by the long slot, which provides fine-tuning across the FM band.

Models of the Curly-Q stub can be used on exciters and RPUs.

In addition to providing a DC short and broadband filtering, the stub recently was used at Black Diamond Broadcasting in Michigan by Del Reynolds, director of engineering, and his assistant Brian Brachel.

Brian was referred to Xenirad by Nautel’s Jeff Welton after Brian discovered a spur on their Continental 816R-4 transmitter. The spur was located on the GPS channel at 1.575 GHz. Installation of the shorted stub knocked out the spur. This particular stub was customized using two tunable stubs, one quarter-wave shorted and one quarter-wave open to remove the specific harmonic.

A miniature version of the rigid stub protects the STL.

Shorted stubs also can be used on STL RF links and RPUs. The Curly-Q stub in the second image lists for $250 and is available from Broadcasters General Store. A rigid version for your STL is shown in the third photo. All protect the equipment to which they are connected.

An Update He Didn’t Want
I wonder how many other readers have experienced this: Dan Slentz writes that Windows 10 shoved another unrequested update down the “throat” of WDNP(LP)’s on-air computer the other night. Unfortunately, he says, the Win10 non-pro version doesn’t give you good options to block updates.

Previously a Win10 update had forced the audio card and computer audio to 48 kHz instead of the standard 44.1 kHz. This is a major problem for some software that wasn’t designed or have settings to change to 48 kHz.

After fighting with his Simian automation and ASI soundcard for weeks, Dan did find where and how to force the system back to 44.1 kHz.

[Check Out More of Workbench Here]

But the most recent Microsoft update did something new. When it forced the update, it apparently decided that it didn’t like the licensing dongle or the approval of the software, so it “unlicensed” the station automation — which went into demo mode, timing out every hour. This update took the station off the air for two hours!

The experience takes Dan back to why and how Microsoft can (or should) be allowed to do this. What if we’re talking health care equipment instead of radio or TV, he asks. They should not have the right to force any updates without our choice to accept them.

Dan wonders if they realize they had interfered with a federally licensed broadcast facility by knocking it off the air.

John Bisset, CPBE, is in his 31st year of the Workbench column. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.

Send your tips to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

 

The post Workbench: The Beauty of a Shorted Quarter-Wave Stub appeared first on Radio World.

Audacy named Palak Forbes as senior vice president of digital business operations, a newly created position. She most recently held a business development and operations role at the New York Times.

The announcement states that she will “provide commercial and operational leadership for the company’s podcast business, while working across Audacy’s entire digital portfolio and with key strategic partners to enable continued strong growth in Audacy’s digital and podcast businesses.”

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

She will report to Chief Digital Officer J.D. Crowley.

Forbes was the head of business development and operations at the Times, where she oversaw the development its audio business and spearheaded its move into virtual reality. “Forbes also led strategic and commercial partnership teams to broaden and deepen reader experiences from Apple News to the digitization of millions of historic photos with Google Cloud,” Audacy wrote. “With her leadership, the sales team drove multi-million dollar deals and beat goals.” Before that she was the Times’ VP corporate strategy & development.

She also is a former vice president of strategy at Sesame Workshop and has held digital advertising strategy and subscriber marketing roles at Viacom and HBO, respectively.

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Audacy Picks Former NYT Exec for Digital Business Hire appeared first on Radio World.

Sixteen radio station licenses in California will expire on Dec. 1 if the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t hear from the owners by then.

They include five full-power stations, seven low-power FMs and four translators.

On Aug. 2, stations in the Golden State were required to file applications for license renewal for terms expiring Dec. 1.

“The following stations failed to file license renewal applications and their licenses will expire as of Dec. 1, 2021, provided no renewal application is received by midnight on the date of expiration,” the commission announced last week.

Call sign Community of License Facility ID Licensee K288AR BLYTHE, CA 51357 PALO VERDE VALLEY TV CLUB, INC. K292AH BLYTHE, CA 51369 PALO VERDE VALLEY TV CLUB, INC. KMOB-LP CLEARLAKE, CA 124107 MINDS OF BUSINESS INC. K204BW DEATH VALLEY, ETC., CA 16262 DEATH VALLEY NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION KNCR FORTUNA, CA 39472 DEL ROSARIO TALPA, INC. KZKC KETTLEMAN CITY, CA 94214 INTERMOUNTAIN PUBLIC RADIO, INC. KSXS-LP LOS ANGELES, CA 196949 THE LOS ANGELES SOCIAL JUSTICE RADIO PROJECT KSMC MORAGA, CA 3024 ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF ST. MARYS COLLEGE KSFH MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 62118 MOUNTAIN VIEW PUBLIC BROADCASTING K284CL RED BLUFF, CA 156223 THOMAS HUTH REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST KSHC-LP ST. HELENA, CA 124879 ST. HELENA GOOD NEWS BROADCASTING KBDG TURLOCK, CA 3051 ASSYRIAN AMERICAN CIVIC CLUB OF TURLOCK, INC. (NEW BOARD) KMEC-LP UKIAH, CA 124562 MENDOCINO ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER KPUV-LP VENTURA, CA 196611 PROJECT UNDERSTANDING KQWA-LP WALNUT CREEK, CA 196494 EAST BAY ORIENTAL RADIO, INC. KQPV-LP WEST COVINA, CA 197096 ORIENTAL CULTURE CENTER

 

The post These Calif. Stations Are at Risk of Losing Their Licenses appeared first on Radio World.

International Sales Team is truly growing into its name — the Australian company recently announced it is broadening its sales presence in U.S. and is cementing a new sales partnership with a Swiss RF manufacturer to extend its reach into Scandinavia.

Founded earlier this year, the company announced it is providing what it calls sales teams as a service or STaaS. It is based in Australia but services any country.

[Read: 2wcom Signs With International Sales Team]

The company, a network of broadcast and media industry sales professionals, announced late last month that it had signed an agreement with the Swiss company DAC System. The RF manufacturer selected International Sales Team to assist in selling DAC System’s range of professional broadcast products throughout Scandinavia.

The CEO of DAC System said that the addition of the International Sales Team gives DAC a cost-effective means of selling remote monitoring systems, RF accessories and other professional broadcast products in a complicated market. “Having International Sales Team in Scandinavia for us is just like having our own people in country and we look forward to a long and successful relationship together,” said CEO Pietro Casati.

Lee Salas

International Sales Team then announced in November that it has appointed Lee Salas to serve as one of the company’s newest broadcast industry sales professionals. Salas, who is based in San Francisco, has senior sales experience with hardware, software and video platform solutions for the broadcast media and OTT industries. His previous roles have included prospecting leads, negotiating terms and closing deals and he has built relationships with both domestic U.S. and international clients. He previously held positions at CBS Television and  Deluxe Entertainment Services Group.

Salas said he is joining the company at a positive time. Even though the broadcasting industry was hit hard during the pandemic, more and more organizations are looking to grow once again.

The news follows an earlier announcement in which International Sales Team signed an agreement to sell 2wcom broadcast products in the United States.

 

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Rick Edwards, whose career included engineering leadership at Guy Gannett Broadcasting and frequency coordination work for the Society of Broadcast Engineers, died in October. He died at a hospice facility Woodstock, Ga., at age 74, according to an obituary provided by his son Jonathan Edwards, P.E.

Richard L. Edwards was born in North Carolina and began his engineering career with jobs at the state’s WTVD(TV), WPJL(AM), Bob Raleigh Productions and WCHL(AM) as an engineer for the radio network of the University of North Carolina.

His family described him as “an avid learner and self-taught” though he also spent time at the North Carolina School of Broadcasting in Charlotte. “He frequently ran into a Clemson student named Ron Rackley in the press box when UNC played Clemson,” according to the obituary.

In the mid-1970s Edwards became station engineer for WLXG(AM) and WKQQ(FM) in Lexington, Ky.; worked for the radio network of the University of Kentucky; and did some award-winning work in advertising production.

“In his early days, Rick was quite innovative in designing remotes for the radio networks that covered entire arenas back when that range was uncommon,” the family wrote. “Rick worked alongside well-known talents Woody Durham (University of North Carolina) and Cawood Ledford (University of Kentucky) and was radio network engineer at the 1977, ’78 and ’79 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Fours.”

In 1979 he accepted an engineering position for Guy Gannett Broadcasting that took him, his wife Jane and their son Jonathan to Florida.

“Rick called Miami’s WINZ(AM/FM) home for the next 15 years. Guy Gannett was based in Portland, Maine, and operated four TV and eight radio stations around the country, which Rick travelled extensively to manage.”

WINZ(AM) had severe nighttime interference from a station in Cuba that exceeded treaty limits. “In 1981, Rick asked the FCC to permit an increase in nighttime power from 10 kW to 25 kW to overcome this interference and was granted an STA which still applies today.”

Soon after he led a project to construct a new tower and relocate the transmitter site for WINZ(FM) to overcome a difficult STL path and multipath issues caused by the construction of high rises in Miami. “This tower was overdesigned to support not only three television stations and 10 FM stations, but many other RF services within its 17,000-squarefoot transmitter building. The tower utilized three 12-foot platforms and was the beginning of the vertical real estate boom.”

When it was completed in 1985, the facility transmitted more than 18 MW, the most of any single facility in the U.S., the obituary said. “This successful project opened up a new business revenue stream for Guy Gannett and Rick was promoted to director of engineering and vice president.”

Edwards soon tried to increase the power of WINZ(AM) from 46 kW-DA to 50 kW-ND, but a nearby FCC monitoring station prohibited the change. “Rick lobbied to relocate the monitoring station to Vero Beach, which then allowed the power increase.”

Also in the 1980s, he led another multiuse, tall tower projects in the Orlando market, upgraded WPLP(AM) in Tampa to a six-tower directional array and received more nighttime power to overcome Cuban interference, “becoming the first station to operate with more power at nighttime than daytime.” He also helped Guy Gannett identify an opportunity to have an AM/FM pair in Orlando, a transaction that led to the sale of WPLP in a swap arrangement.

“Rick’s final project involved his former acquaintance, Ron Rackley, in upgrading this Orlando AM station to a 50 kW-DA. The FCC was not approving power increases to 50 kW anymore, but more lobbying by Rick proved successful. Under Rick’s direction, the entire six-tower facility was constructed and operational in under 5 months.”

Edwards was also an amateur radio operator and a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers and Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers.

During his “middle years” he worked as an NFL game day coordinator and SBE national frequency coordinator and vice president. In 1995, he assisted the NFL in coordinating Super Bowl XXIX in Miami, and went on to lead coordination efforts for numerous Super Bowls. “In Super Bowl XXXIV (Atlanta), Rick invited the local FCC field office to come assist. It was the first time the FCC had been invited. It went so well that today, the FCC is a regular attendee at Super Bowls.”

In the 1990s, Edwards helped found CityScape Consultants to serve local government entities in working with cellular providers when siting towers and understanding the 1996 Telecommunications Act. He wrote the business model with partners Anthony Lepore and Kay Miles; and he was CityScape’s president and chief engineer until August 2021.

Edwards had an early interest in radio. “Growing up he would play DJ, conduct radio shows with his nephew and build kit radios with his uncle who was an engineer,” according to the obituary. He attended Campbell College, where he studied psychology; and he served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, which took him on a tour of duty in Vietnam as a maintenance data specialist in radio communications. He came home with a Purple Heart.

Donations can be made to the scholarship funds of the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers or the Society of Broadcast Engineers. A celebration of life will be held in the Raleigh area at a future date; for information email RLEdwards1947@gmail.com.

 

The post Remembering the Career of Rick Edwards appeared first on Radio World.

Radio advertising continues to outpace TV ad effectiveness, especially in the home improvement space, according to a series of studies commissioned over a six-year period.

Over those six years, the Audio Active Group at Cumulus Media-Westwood One commissioned eight consumer studies focusing specifically on the home improvement market.

The findings indicate that radio continues to be effective, efficient and often times the most successful way of boosting brand awareness and bringing shoppers to a home improvement retailer, whether in person or online.

As a start, the studies found that the heaviest users of audio are the biggest drivers of home improvement sales. Among three listener categories — heavy radio listeners, podcast listeners and heavy TV viewers (which would be more than eight hours a week for radio and 24 hours a week for TV) — it turns out that audio consumers, which includes either radio listeners or podcast listeners, turn out to be “massive spenders” in the home improvement category.

[Read: Bouvard: COVID Concerns Are Dropping]

“They spend way more than average, take more shopping trips than others, spend more per trip and are visiting more retailers, said Pierre Bouvard, chief insights officer at the Audioactive Group at Cumulus Media-Westwood One, in a recent explanatory video.

Spending more ad dollars on radio also paid off for home improvement retailers. The studies found that a home improvement retailer that increased spending by more than two times on AM/FM radio in 21 local markets experienced a significant surge in store traffic and sales. In addition, AM/FM radio ads that focus on sales events for different home improvement departments consistently created a halo effect that resulted in increased online shopping and store visits.

Take the example of Home Depot’s May 2021 TV ad campaign. A Nielsen Media Impact analysis said that the home improvement store’s television campaign reached about 50% of the 25– to 49–year-old demographic with its TV campaign. But when the advertiser overlaid a radio campaign on top of TV advertising, the reach jumped 61%, enabling Home Depot to reach 80% of American viewers in that demographic.

Take another home improvement retailer in the same month of May. Their TV campaign reached 2/3 of Americans in the 18– to 24–year-old age group. When a radio ad campaign was added, the incremental reach growth was 27%, allowing this retailer to reach 83% of American viewers in that age group.

“How is this possible? Where is all this incremental reach coming from?” Bouvard said. “Nielsen Media Impact reveals clearly the younger the demographic, the greater the lift in reach growth generated by AM/FM radio.”

The Nielsen numbers showed that 45% more listeners were reached via radio advertising in a Wayfair TV and radio ad campaign in May 2020 that when compared against TV advertising alone.

“Radio really helps build 18–49 incremental reach,” Bouvard said. “This is truly where radio makes your TV better.”

It’s no surprise that shopping during the pandemic shifted with the study revealing that 56% of all adults aged 18 years and older shopped for home improvement goods online in the last year. But those numbers shifted even higher when the study calculated whether the buyers were audio listeners. The study found that 69% of radio listeners and 79% of podcast consumers aged 18 years and older shopped online over the last year.

The research also offered other buyer insights too, including the finding that ads with a female voiceover drove stronger brand awareness among both men and women; that for every dollar spent by advertisers on radio advertising, nearly $29 dollars in sales was generated; that the younger the demographic, the greater the reach lift generated by AM/FM radio; and that in some instances, the sales effect of radio is triple that of TV.

The survey offered several recommendations too including that home improvement retailers should increase their AM/FM radio media budgets. “Add AM/FM radio to make home improvement TV campaigns better,” Bouvard said.

 

The post Radio Boosts Sales in Home Improvement Space appeared first on Radio World.

Mark and Paula Persons at their ham station.

Starting in the 1920s and through the ’60s, almost every broadcast engineer was a licensed amateur radio operator. That has changed a bit, but the importance of being a ham has not.

Both environments involve getting an RF signal from Point A to Point B. But it is interesting to note that radio broadcast and amateur radio are similar and yet so different.

For those who don’t know much about ham radio, I’ll tell you that communicating locally or internationally, via licensed amateur radio, can be a fascinating and challenging hobby. There are about 700,000 hams in the U.S. and an equal number worldwide.

Physics
Broadcast and amateur radio operate under the same laws of science. Transmitters, transmission lines, antennas and receivers make up an RF path to convey a message.

Broadcast engineers know that signal propagation on AM and FM bands is dramatically different. It is because our FM band is roughly 100 times the frequency and 1/100th the RF wavelength of that on the AM band. Engineers also know that 950 MHz STL signals are line-of-sight and roughly a 10-times jump in frequency from FM broadcast frequencies. Each band has its own challenges in getting a useable signal through.

[Read: Mark Persons: “I Never Had a Plan B”]

Amateur radio operators have about 30 bands of frequencies, with opportunities to explore from below the AM broadcast band up through GHz and to light. Hams are not limited to amplitude or frequency modulation, but often use single sideband and many modes of digital. A few communicate via teletype and/or transmit television images to friends.

Yes, some hams still use Morse Code to send and receive messages in their hobby. Code proficiency is no longer required for getting an amateur radio license, but it is a fun personal challenge to many.

Similarities
What I find valuable is applying what I know about amateur radio in my work as a broadcast engineer.
And, of course, it works both ways. Forward power, reflected power, transmission line loss, antenna gain, transmitter power amplifier efficiency and path loss are all dictated by the same rules. The mysteries and science of RF propagation to a new broadcast engineer are facts of life for radio amateurs.

Hams deal with the wave propagation challenge every day. Communicating across the world via radio waves may be lost on the internet/millennial generation, but it can be a real challenge for those who want more out of life.

International contacts are common during peaks in the 11-year solar cycle. With 400 watts I was able to make contact with a station in Antarctica from home using a good antenna. I made contacts to Europe, Japan, Russia and even Australia with just 100 watts from my car, mostly on 20 meters (about 14 MHz). Talk about distracted driving! Australia is halfway around the world from Minnesota. The RF path between us was only open for a half hour. It is always a thrill to be on the right frequency at the right time.

As with broadcast, profanity is not allowed on amateur radio. Don’t confuse amateur radio with Citizens Band. CB is a sad story about people transmitting on the 27 MHz band using bad language and unacceptable social conduct. Hams can lose their licenses for that.

Differences
Broadcasters are licensed for specific frequencies at specific power levels.

Hams might run up to 1500 watts of RF peak power in most bands of frequencies. Good operating practice is to transmit with only the amount of power necessary to reach the other end. Some delight in the challenge of contacting amateur stations worldwide with a watt or less of power.

Broadcasters modulate AM, FM and/or digital as per their license. FCC rules mandate tightly controlled occupied bandwidths. Hams select one of many modulation types, although the bands are divided into segments for each modulation type, just to keep order.

Broadcast transmitters are required to maintain a tight frequency tolerance. Hams can wander up and down authorized frequency bands looking for a clear spot to call CQ (calling anyone listening who might want to talk.) They can and do easily converse with hams in foreign countries. That is far more fun and challenging than just listening.

Hams don’t “broadcast” to a city or the world. They don’t play music or run program as you will find on the AM and FM broadcast bands. Instead, amateurs communicate with other hams one on one by voice, digital or Morse Code.

Sometimes hams participate in “nets” where groups meet on frequency to share ideas. The net control operator turns the frequency over to one at a time for the rest of the group to hear.

In broadcasting, almost anyone can buy a station, a construction permit or a license. It just takes money. Amateur radio is different. For a fee of about $35, a person can write an exam to prove his or her knowledge of electronics and FCC rules. With a passing grade, the FCC will issue a license to that person, good for 10 years with a cost of only $35 to renew. Try that in broadcasting!

Amateur radio currently has three levels of licensing: Technician, General and Extra. Climbing that ladder with examinations gets hams more privileges and operating frequencies. Many thousands have done it and so can you, especially now that proficiency with Morse Code is no longer required.

Call Signs
Amateur radio operators and broadcasters are issued call signs by the FCC.

Each call is unique and recognized worldwide. There is only one WGN in Chicago, only one W0HA for my wife Paula and only one W0MH for me. The (0) is zero, not O.

Call signs in other parts of our country use numbers 1 through 9 separating the prefix from the suffix. They start with a G in England, XE in Mexico — the list goes to more than 300 countries.

Because there are so many hams nowadays, new call signs in the United States look something like KF2XYZ. To be clear, broadcast stations have call signs, but broadcast owners do not. An amateur call sign is assigned to an individual person.

Hams use their call signs to identify every 10 minutes and at the end of a conversation. Broadcast stations, as you know, are required to ID once an hour. A broadcast ID has a call sign and city. Hams only use their call sign. They might be mobile, on the water or even airborne.

SBE
The Society of Broadcast Engineers has a “Chapter of the Air” meeting on amateur radio the second Sunday of each month on 14.205 MHz single sideband. Net control is Hal Hostetler, WA7BGX in Tucson, Ariz. It starts at 2400 GMT. That is 6 p.m. Central Time in Minnesota during the winter and 7 p.m. in the summer. Hams check in and tell what has been happening in their lives, such as attending an NAB convention or SBE meeting. This group has participants from coast to coast.

Morse Code
While walking into the engineering room of a station, I heard the Morse Code letter B (Dah-Dit-Dit-Dit.)

Some hams prefer communicating by Morse Code.

It didn’t take long to realize the sound was coming from a Best brand Ferrups uninterruptible power supply. The “B” was telling me that its battery needed replacing. The letter H is a high temperature alarm. Very clever of them. Knowing Morse Code also comes in handy on 450 MHz transmitter/studio links with Morse identifiers. For those who are Morse challenged, a phone call to a local ham could reveal the answer when the sound that is played over a phone.

Morse Code is another way of speaking English. It is not that difficult to learn. If I can copy code with a severe hearing loss, you can too. (I was a U.S. Army sergeant in Vietnam 1968–69.) My wife Paula passed a 20-word-per-minute code exam to get her Extra Class amateur license.

As mentioned, code is not required nowadays. Many hams find it a preferred mode of operation because it cuts through the noise so well. Many hams refer to Morse Code as the original digital communication mode.

The Ham Hobby
Some radio amateurs like to design and build equipment. Many like to work on antennas. Most like to chat with friends on the radio. Some chase DX (long distance contacts) to stations in foreign countries. They proudly stick a pin in a world map at each far-off location.

Astronauts are licensed amateur radio operators. It is a real thrill to talk to a ham aboard the International Space Station. That can be done with just a few watts of power on VHF or UHF. The old adage is true: If you can see it, you can talk to it.

Conclusion
Broadcast engineers who are licensed amateur operators have a better handle on the world of electronics. Having a ham license is one more way of showing their peers that they know something about RF. It is another feather in their cap.

For more information on amateur radio, go to the ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio at www.arrl.org.

And learn more in this video at youtube.com: “W1AW ARRL Station Tour.”

Mark Persons, WØMH, CPBE, retired after 44 years but continues to mentor broadcast engineers.  For more articles and resources from the author visit http://mwpersons.com.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Alike, but Not Alike: Broadcast vs. Ham Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Tieline is onboard with Ravenna.

The codec manufacturer said it has joined the Ravenna community. It recently announced a firmware release that adds Ravenna support to the Gateway line of codecs.

 In the announcement, VP Sales APAC/EMEA Charlie Gawley said, “Ever since the days of POTS and ISDN, Tieline has always advocated for interoperability of equipment from different manufacturers. The world of IP is no different. It’s why our Gateway platform is AES67, ST 2110-30, NMOS and now Ravenna compliant, allowing devices using different AoIP protocols to connect seamlessly.”

Tieline said its Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs are capable of routing audio between equipment based on Ravenna, AES67 and ST 2110-30 as well as between devices using proprietary AoIP protocols like WheatNet-IP and others.

The Ravenna platform was developed by ALC NetworX.

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The pandemic threw a wrench into many a schedule in 2020: cancelled meetings, abandoned appointments, missed deadlines. And for the Federal Communications Commission, those missed deadlines have generated many a headline as more than a few broadcasters failed to file broadcast license renewal applications on time through the year.

The Broady Media Group, licensee of station WENO(AM) in Nashville, had its license renewal deadline smack in the midst of the COVID explosion. The station’s application needed to be filed before the first business day of the fourth full month before the license expired, which was April 1, 2020. Without providing an explanation for the delay, Broady Media filed the application on July 31, 2020, a day before its license was due to expire.

Another missed deadline in the pandemic epoch of 2020: a FM translator station license renewal application due on Dec. 1, 2020. The Media Bureau issued a forfeiture order for Soli Deo Gloria FM LLC, the licensee of K266AK in Aspen, Colo., for failing to file the renewal on time. The licensee did finally file an application on Jan. 14, 2021, but did not provide an explanation for the late timing.

[Read: Political File Slip Leads Two Texas Broadcasters Into Consent Agreement]

The procedures are clear when it comes to a missed license renewal application deadline, pandemic or no pandemic.

For Broady Media, the Media Bureau issued a notice of apparent liability, the first step in cases like these, and ordered that the broadcaster pay a forfeiture of $3,000 for failing to file a required form on time.

For Soli Deo Gloria, it received a forfeiture order, which is the second step in a process like this. The initial a notice of apparent liability was delivered on June 8, 2021, in which the commission proposed Soli Deo Gloria pay a $1,500 fine, the base forfeiture for a secondary service like an FM translator. To date, no one at Soli Deo Gloria has either paid the proposed forfeiture or filed a written response.

Broady Media has 30 days to respond to the notice and to ask for reduction or cancellation of the forfeiture. Soli Deo Gloria, however, is now being told by the Media Bureau that it must now pay the $1,500 forfeiture outright.

The post Woe the Missed Deadlines of 2020 appeared first on Radio World.

When Fox News Radio’s Eben Brown arrives on scene (wherever it may be) he’s ready to report.
Photo: Fox News Radio

Radio news is a combination of sound, speed and story. The best reports, be they live or recorded, take the listener to the scene where the news is made and tell a story, using the words of the reporter on scene, the sound of the news or the words of a newsmaker.

Network radio reporters, major-market reporters or small-market broadcasters have a tool kit they rely on to make those stories come alive for the listener.

Eben Brown’s voice is familiar to Fox News Radio listeners. Brown is a national correspondent based in Miami. One would expect him to be able to send a report from wherever his assignment takes him.

“I’m responsible for transporting and operating my own gear. Going live from anywhere is something I’ve often considered my big strength as a radio reporter. One of my recurring nightmares is being sent into the field and not being able to send line-quality audio back to the home base.

Eben Brown Photo: Fox News Radio

“Going live over telephone quality audio, to me, feels like a fail — even when it truly is the only option. With more people listening to our product via digital means or even with so many news/talk stations migrating to FM, the sound of a POTS line can be jarring. So, when I’m on my own in the field, I carry with me multiple options for getting high-quality audio, live, back to New York. But it’s not just my mic I want live. I want to be able to play my own recorded sound.”

[Check Out More From the Road Warrior]

Brown rolls with a Comrex Access NX, which allows for connections through Ethernet or multiple cellular paths, and with a second input, allows him to insert actuality with his voice. He also files a copy of his live reports in case the line back to the New York studios drops.

“Nothing is ever 100% foolproof, so filing a backup is always smart.”

He’ll use workarounds like Zoom or Skype or the smartphone if necessary, but those options won’t let him insert actuality. Recording that actuality has become easier, with iOS-based apps like TwistedWave for short recordings. Brown uses TwistedWave, but breaks out a digital audio recorder for longer news conferences.

“I’d worry too much that a smartphone battery could die if made to record 30 minutes of conference.” His choice for microphones: A Shure SM58 and Electro-Voice RE50.

Though smartphone microphones sound good, there’s another reason Brown likes the stick microphone: “Walking up to total strangers can be daunting for both parties. I find that having a stick mic with a flag — and a famous network logo — is a way of presenting my bona fides.”

“If I say I’m a network reporter, and I try to record them only by holding up a smartphone near their face, they tend to doubt my sincerity or professionalism.”

Production in the field for Brown is handled by a MacBook pro running Adobe Audition.

“Being Apple-dependent means I can record something on my iPhone and airdrop the file to my MacBook Pro. I can lay my own tracks into the MacBook via an IK Multimedia iRig-connected mic. I can edit in Audition and can send finished products back to New York via several file transferring methods that are commercially available and not specific to the industry.”

[Read More Tech Tips Here]

He can also use the iPhone to do all of that, using an app called Ferrite, which is a multitrack editor that allows him to record and mix narration, natural sound and newsmaker actuality, and send the finished product back to New York.

John Sylvester, vice president of Fox News Radio, says “FNR reporters like Brown have been given remote access to Adobe Audition, Amazon Workspace, Slack, Zoom, iNews for writing and editorial newsgathering, and VPN access to our ENCO automated audio systems. In addition, we have provided various other tools and software applications.”

“Whatever Is Most Practical”
Michelle Wright reports for Atlanta’s WSB Radio, heard on 95.5 FM and 750 AM.

“In my bag, I’ve got a laptop equipped with Adobe Audition for editing, a microphone, Zoom recorder, headset and a box that connect to the phone to do live remotes, a wireless hotspot and various charging cables for all the above-mentioned electronics. And of course, my phone.

“I also still have the old-school pen and reporter’s notebook to jot down notes as well.” Back in the newsroom at Peachtree Street, NewsBoss software and email are used to process reports.

This simple field kit helps KKHJ Radio keep their audience in American Samoa informed. Photo: KKHJ

Six thousand five hundred miles away, Joey Cummings is the operations manager for KKHJ(FM) Radio in American Samoa.

“We have three full-time news people. Of course, in a small market, everyone is responsible for gathering news. As such, we’re all using whatever is most practical and comfortable in the field.

“If we’re trying to capture a speaker at a conference or meeting, we can’t always get a full-size microphone in place. In this case, we’ll use a small Sony or Olympus field recorder and sneak it onto the table or lectern,” he said.

“Otherwise, I like the wireless Samson HXD1 wireless mic. This connects to a small USB receiver. I typically connect this to my iPhone or iPad using the Apple USB to Lightning adapter. For recording and editing in the field, I am quite fond of the TwistedWave Editor app. Best $10 I ever spent on the app store. Dropbox gets files from A to B.”

Radio World is interested in sharing with readers how other stations and organizations have outfitted their news kits to assure redundancy, efficiency and versatility. Email us at radioworld@futurenet.com to tell us what tools you use to gather, edit and send news audio. And don’t forget to include a photo of yourself using your gear.

Paul Kaminski, CBT, has been a contributor to RW since 1997. He has reported for CBS News Radio, the Associated Press, BBC World Service, CBC Radio and American Forces Radio. Twitter: msrpk_com.

 

The post What’s in your Radio News Toolkit? appeared first on Radio World.

Content delivery company LinkUp Communications Corp. has acquired the majority of assets of Orbital Media Networks Inc.

“The acquisition includes the service agreements for a wide array of broadcast customers, including those who purchase space segment and other services from OMNi, and others who subscribe to the company’s XDS satellite and streaming platform,” LinkUp stated in the announcement.

“It does not include the Rocky Mountain News Network, nor OMNi’s two-way IP services.”

[Read: Workbench: Invasion of the Bees]

Terms were not announced.

OMNi has its roots in what was once called Clear Channel Satellite Services. It was created about seven years ago when iHeartMedia got out of the backbone transport capacity business and sold it to entrepreneur Sam Dibrell Jr.

Mark Johnson, president of LinkUp, was quoted: “Our knowledge and skills complement each other. While OMNi offers the best in innovation and technology with their content distribution facility, LinkUp is known for its quality service, tailored solutions and positive working relationships with the industry’s top manufacturers.”

LinkUp Chairman Karen Johnson said OMNi customers will gain more design and installation services while LinkUp customers will have access to a distribution platform that offers both satellite and streaming.

Target client markets include secular and faith-based broadcasters, universities and colleges, sports distribution and businesses.

Orbital Media Networks offered broadcast programming delivery via C-Band, Ku-band and terrestrial, satellite-based IP networking and internet services.

LinkUp is based in Panama City, Fla. OMNi is in Englewood, Colo. LinkUp said it plans to integrate its customer support with the Network Operations Center in Englewood in a process that will take three to six months.

 

The post LinkUp Acquires Most of Orbital Media’s Assets appeared first on Radio World.

A steady stream this week of third quarter earnings reports from major U.S. radio groups has culminated with a rebound report from the country’s largest radio group.

iHeartMedia’s climb back to pre-COVID revenue levels continued at an accelerated pace in the third quarter of this year. The company’s third quarter earnings call on Thursday afternoon was highlighted by consolidated revenue growing nearly 25% year over year to $928 million. The company says it is confident it will be back to 2019 Adjusted EBITDA levels by the end of this year.

The broadcaster’s multiplatform group, which includes its 850 radio stations, saw Q3 revenue climb 19% year over year. iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said during Thursday’s call “the strong recovery and growth potential of our radio business” added to the quarter’s revenue recovery.

[Read: Betting on Sports, iHeartMedia Partners With DraftKings]

Specifically, broadcast revenue grew $79 million or 19.5% YoY, while networks added $8.9 million or 7.5% up from Q3 2020.

“Our strong results this quarter are further evidence of the success of our company’s continuing transformation — data-led, digital and podcast focused, along with the unparalleled audience reach of our broadcast radio assets — supported by the largest sales force and the only unified ad tech stack in audio advertising,” Pittman said in a statement that accompanied its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For comparison sake the radio broadcasters said the multiplatform group’s revenue for the quarter was down 17% compared to Q3 in 2019, Pittman said, continuing the quarterly sequential rebound since the onset of COVID.

Digital continues to boost iHeartMedia’s revenues YoY, according the latest financial report. The digital audio group reported a 77% jump in revenue compared to Q3 2020, which includes a significant increase in podcast revenue. The broadcaster’s podcast platform boasted a revenue increase of $41.3 million over the same period a year before, which is an increase of 183.7%.

In January 2021 the broadcaster began reporting financial statements based on three reportable segments; the digital audio group, the multiplatform group and the audio & media services group, which includes Katz Media Group and RCS. Revenue from that final group decreased nearly 12% compared to the same quarter in 2020 in large part due to lower political advertising revenue this year, according to the SEC filing.

The company’s continued modernization efforts resulted in capital expenditures climbing to $101.3 million through the first nine months of this year compared to $58 million in 2020 through the same period. The company says the increase is due to its real estate consolidation initiatives.

“We expect cap ex to go down next year. This quarter we spent about $50 million in cap ex and the major increase was due to the downsizing of our real estate and becoming more efficient in that area,” said Rich Bressler, iHeartMedia president, COO and CFO.

iHeartMedia earlier this week announced a multiyear strategic relationship with DraftKings, making the sportsbook the official odds supplier for all iHeartMedia’s broadcast, digital, podcast and social media platforms. The agreement allows DraftKings to co-create and distribute long-form content with iHeartMedia using the company’s personalities.

[Read: iHeart, NPR Have Their Prints All Over Podtrac Rankings]

“This partnership builds on iHeartMedia’s industry leading sports assets, which includes partnerships with the NFL and NBA. We expect sports and sports betting to be a significant growth engine for us going forward,” Pittman said on Thursday’s earning call.

Radio groups have been aligning with betting apps and sportsbooks creating a new ad category for radio broadcasters with quickly growing revenue figures, according to analysts who follow the broadcast industry. iHeartMedia already has several radio stations with the moniker “The Gambler,” which are dedicated to sports talk and sports gambling. Bressler said during the investment call its Draft Kings deal is not exclusive and the broadcaster is open to other partnerships in the sports betting space.

iHeartMedia last week announced a $60 million voluntary buyback of its preferred stock. Pittman at the time said the repurchasing of stock demonstrates the broadcaster’s commitment to strengthening its balance sheet. As of September 30, 2021, the company was carrying approximately $5.7 billion in total debt.

 

The post iHeartMedia Q3 Report Shows Continued Recovery appeared first on Radio World.

Although those days of storing boxes and boxes of paper public files on site at a station are gone, the rules requiring broadcast stations to maintain public files is a longstanding one — as it has been for more than 80 years — and is still in place.

So the Federal Communications Commission recent decision to hold two broadcasters to account for failing to keep their online public file up to date is a clear one. Pampa Broadcasters Inc. and Tackett-Boazman Broadcasting are both licensees of commercial radio stations who have decided to enter into individual consent decrees with the commission to resolve political file investigations. A full-power station’s political file is part of its public inspection file.

According to FCC rules, the political public file rule states that radio stations must provide information about public office candidates and advertisers who purchase broadcast time of a political nature. Stations must upload information about such requests to their online political files and those files must be made available for public inspection.

[Read: Consent Decree (Plus Good Behavior) Results in Reduced Forfeiture]

The reason that these files must be complete and up to date is that information in them directly affects the rights of opposing political candidates to request equal on-air opportunities laid out in the Communications Act. “[T]he disclosures indicated in the political file further the First Amendment’s goal of an informed electorate that is able to evaluate the validity of messages and hold accountable the interests that disseminate political advocacy,” the commission has said in the past.

Pampa Broadcasters Inc. filed license renewal applications for its three station but it was unable to prove that it was in compliance with the public file requirements for one of the stations, which includes KDRL(AM), KGRO(AM) and KOMX(FM) in Pampa, Texas.

The situation was similar for Tackett-Boazman Broadcasting. The bureau also suspended processing of the licensee’s applications because of Tackett-Boazman’s failure to certify compliance with its public file obligations for one of the stations, which includes KQBZ(FM) and KXYL(AM) of Brownwood, Texas, as well as KWYL(FM) of Coleman, Texas.

In both cases, the Media Bureau suspended processing of the broadcast licensees’ renewal applications and commenced an investigation into their public files. And in both cases, the bureau agreed to enter into a consent decree with the broadcasters, acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic “caused a dramatic reduction in advertising revenues which, in turn, placed the radio broadcasting industry … under significant, ongoing financial stress.”

Under terms of the consent decree, the bureau agreed to process the broadcasters’ pending radio license renewal applications if the broadcasters agreed to adhere to a compliance plan. That plan involves appointing a compliance officer to see that all terms of the decree as enforced including distributing a compliance manual to all employees, creating a compliance training program, submitting a compliance report and promising to report any instance of noncompliance.

 

The post Political File Slip Leads Two Texas Broadcasters Into Consent Agreement appeared first on Radio World.

IBC says its convention in Amsterdam four weeks from now is a “go” and that attendees will not be required to wear masks once they’re inside.

“Following the update on COVID protocols from the Dutch government on Nov. 2, IBC is pleased to announce that its December event can go ahead in a safe and comfortable way,” it said in an announcement.

“As of Nov. 6, the public will be required to wear face masks in public areas where no COVID entry pass is used, including supermarkets, shops, libraries, theme parks and train stations. IBC Show will be exempt from these measures because it is organized within a perimeter where everyone must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test before entering the premises.”

So IBC2021 attendees will not be required to wear a face mask once they have entered the RAI and are inside the IBC Show bubble.

“Additionally …. bars and restaurants will operate between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. Guests will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, the same evidence needed to access the IBC Show. There will also be no change in entry requirements for international travelers, which means the show will remain accessible for almost 100% of IBC’s usual audience.”

A resource guide on its website explains the documentation necessary for international travelers.

Chief Executive Michael Crimp said the latest announcement from the government “will not impact the IBC Show visitor experience but, rest assured, we will be delivering the gold standard in live event safety.”

Related: IBC exhibition protocols.

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