Radio World

An image from the GBS website showing how geo-targeted zones might work in the New York City area.

If the Federal Communications Commission decides to allow FM boosters to originate programming anytime soon, it will do so against the wishes of some of the largest U.S. radio groups.

The company pushing the change says its technology would allow broadcasters to use boosters to “geo-target” parts of their signal areas with hyper-localized content.    

But the National Association of Broadcasters in February came out strongly against the idea in comments to the FCC.

Cumulus, Entercom, Beasley and iHeartMedia also questioned the technical soundness of geo-targeting; they urge further field testing to answer questions about possible interference. 

Even some supporters of the idea now are using more cautious language and urging further testing.

No doubt aware of these critical reactions, GeoBroadcast Solutions issued a statement saying that it views the current phase of FCC vetting as “the beginning of an active debate on innovation in the radio industry.”

Willing ears

FM broadcasters use on-frequency boosters to help fill gaps in coverage often caused by terrain shielding. Current rules require a booster simply to retransmit the signal of the originating station. 

GBS wants to give FM stations the ability to air very localized ads, news and other content for a few minutes per hour using synchronized boosters. GBS and other proponents say such geo-targeting would bring numerous benefits to stations and advertisers.

GBS has lobbied the FCC for approval; and its proprietary system, trademarked as ZoneCasting, has been tested in Milwaukee, Wis., on WIIL(FM) under experimental operation. The FCC recently approved a field test at KSJO(FM) in San Jose, Calif. 

The idea has found some willing ears at the commission, with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks voicing support for the idea. The commission has an open Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; the comments quoted in this story were filed in that NPRM. 

That comment period drew support from smaller stations, many of which filed nearly identical comments, vs. the more cautionary tone of some large groups who worry the proposal offers no great benefit and could become a detriment.

At the first filing deadline, GeoBroadcast Solutions said in a statement: “Some parties oppose new technologies and innovation, and that is a familiar story for those who have watched broadcast media evolve over the decades. However, a broad range of large and small stations and broadcast groups, the advertising community and minority coalitions, have indicated their desire to embrace innovation and the future by using broadcast airwaves for a more personal and localized experience.”

Emergency benefits

Dockins Broadcast Group, which operates FM stations in several small markets in Florida and Missouri, told the FCC the ability to geo-target weather warnings and road closures would be invaluable.

“Emergency alerts would be more impactful. Zoned coverage would make radio much more attractive to small businesses, who would be able to reach targeted audiences more effectively and efficiently,” Dockins wrote.

Keyhole Broadcasting, licensee of three FM stations in Wyoming, commented: “Keyhole would be able to utilize zoned broadcast coverage to provide targeted emergency alerts, local news and public interest programming and live local events of interest to small portions of the main service area.”

Some believe geo-targeting would benefit underserved populations, according to Emmis Communications.

“We agree with the MMTC [Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council] that by creating the availability to geo-target content, the proposed rule could increase the amount of content targeting minority communities, such as second-language programming,” Emmis wrote. 

Opponents have focused on potential interference to the primary and adjacent stations, but they voice economic concerns, too.

The NAB’s opposition is likely to be influential, given that potential benefits to broadcasters are among the selling points of the concept. 

The association says it “strongly opposes” revising the rules. It says geo-targeting via boosters pose potentially seismic risks to the FM band: “A close review of the notice suggests that rather than bolster the industry’s economic outlook, GBS’s proposal would instead undermine the industry’s fundamental business model.”

The association believes program origination on boosters “will almost certainly drive both advertising rates and revenues down as advertisers push to purchase geo-targeted ads.”   

And it said potential interference remains a concern for its members.

“Broadcasters are extremely concerned that the interference caused by geo-targeting where the boundary of a primary station meets a booster airing different programming will spur listeners to change to an alternative platform and reflect poorly on the reputation of FM radio service,” NAB asserted.

 “The record lacks any real-world testing of GBS’s system under certain critical circumstances sufficient to allow stakeholders to reasonably assess the technical impact of GBS’s proposal.”

“Transition areas”

The joint filing by Cumulus, Entercom, Beasley and iHeartMedia went into more detail: “While ZoneCasting is being promoted as causing merely ‘manageable’ co-channel interference (or self-interference), the test results and study placed in the record by GBS fail to substantiate that claim.”

The group continues expounded on GeoBroadcast’s WIIL(FM) test report: “Delving into the fine print of the WIIL/Milwaukee Report, GBS identifies ‘Transition Areas’ — clearly a euphemism for ‘Interference Areas’ — along three parallel drive routes (of unspecified vehicle speed) ranging from 12 to 23 seconds, 22 to 24 seconds, and 23 to 30 seconds. This significant degree of conceded interference is hardly the ‘negligible amount’ of interference promoted by GBS.”

In addition, experimental testing of Zonecasting, they said, has ignored the impact of booster origination on HD Radio and the Emergency Alert System.  

Moreover, the four groups raised the possibility of ZoneCasting creating the risk of advertisers flocking to “population clusters deemed more valuable” or “Gold Coast neighborhoods” at a slight increase in dollars per capita but leaving areas seen as less desirable unsold. 

“Not only would this cherry-picking undermine GBS’s promise of higher premiums from ZoneCasting, it would further broaden the fragmentation already seen with advertisers buying a few top radio stations, while completely ignoring other stations, including those owned by minority, woman and small-business broadcasters,” the broadcasters wrote.

NAB and others also expressed concern about possible degradation in the public’s perception of FM quality.

Cromwell Group, which owns stations in medium and small markets, said interference between primary stations and FM boosters is already common.

“If geo-targeting grows, radio listeners may begin to perceive radio as a service that is garbled and unreliable. That perception is unlikely to be limited to only the stations that are using GBS technology and could affect audience perception of radio generally, negatively impacting the entire industry.” Cromwell supports further testing instead.

“Growing concerns”

Support from minority interest groups has been an important part of this story recently.

But Urban One, which initially backed the idea because of its potential to increase business and ownership opportunities for minorities and women, expressed “growing concerns that the proposal might have significant unintended negative consequences to our diversity initiatives.”

In particular, it said, “we fear the adoption of geo-targeted technology within the radio industry operation will only result to drive down advertising revenues necessary for stations to thrive and continue to serve their communities.”     

Urban One continued: “This comes precisely at a time when the radio industry is already under significant pressure from new advertising competitors and the ongoing stresses of the novel coronavirus pandemic.” It asked the FCC not to adopt the proposed changes.

The former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, had been vocal about the value of geo-targeting via radio in times of emergencies. But now Fugate urges a more patient approach.

“I respectfully urge that changes to the FCC’s FM booster rules not be adopted before the proposed system is tested and shown to work reliably with the EAS system,” he commented.

FEMA itself contributed thoughts on the proposal and its possible impact on the Emergency Alert System: “FEMA finds that there is little assurance in the record that EAS performance in and around such booster zones will not be negatively affected. FEMA’s concerns are in two distinct transitional areas — geographic and temporal — along with an EAS operational concern.”

FEMA is operator of the national-level EAS system and is directed to ensure the president has the ability to alert and warn the civilian population in times of emergency.   

Writing in favor of the proposal, manufacturer GatesAir noted that it worked with GeoBroadcast solutions to introduce the MaxxCasting system that forms the basis for ZoneCasting. The latter uses the Synchrocast feature of GatesAir Intraplex codecs. 

GatesAir said that interference concerns behind the longstanding restriction on booster origination are no longer present.

“(MaxxCasting) uses a network topology and GatesAir’s Flexiva transmitters and Intraplex SynchroCast systems to provide targeted, over-the-air radio broadcasting that expands market coverage in a more effective manner than traditional signal booster technologies. MaxxCasting minimizes or eliminates interference with both a station’s primary, co-channel, signal and with the signals of boosters associated with other stations operating near the FM booster station.”

It continued: “The MaxxCasting system has a proven track record of allowing radio stations to expand their signals without causing interference previously associated with FM boosters, and thereby solving the technical concerns underlying the prohibition on independent programming.” 

BIA Advisory Services said its own research on the radio industry concluded that geo-targeted ads can increase radio’s revenue. The research company also cited data from Edison Research showing consumers prefer listening to more localized content, including localized commercials.

When this article was written, GBS declined further comment ahead of an FCC reply deadline. You can read our coverage of the company’s subsequent reply comments here. Also subsequently, two major minority advocacy groups called for an industry pilot program in light of the opposition comments.

You can see all the publicly filed comments on this issue at www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Type “20-401” in the “Specify Proceeding” field.

The post Geo-Targeting Proposal Hits Headwinds appeared first on Radio World.

Following on news of virtualizing the VX VoIP phone system, The Telos Alliance has announced the virtualization of its Infinity IP intercom platform.

The company says that the Infinity VIP allows clients to purchase only the amount of hardware needed while keeping deployment locations flexible and limited.

[Read: Telos Alliance Virtualizes VX VoIP System]

Several deployment options are available for VIP, scaling to suit users’ particular needs and requirements — from a few remote smartphone VIP instances to an enterprise-level solution requiring hundreds of instances. They are:

• On-Prem — Telos Infinity VIP hardware appliance on a server for on-premises installations;
• Integrated — For both On-Prem or Cloud versions, the Telos Infinity VIP system can be integrated with Telos Infinity beltpacks and hardware panels or any third-party intercom or audio subsystem using AES67 or SMPTE 2110-30 connectivity;
• Cloud Server — Communications infrastructure in the Cloud with connectivity options for integration with third-party cloud-based and On-Prem audio subsystems;
• Software as a Service (SaaS) — Various third-party Telos Alliance partners will offer a Telos Infinity VIP SaaS option, allowing users to lease it in a virtual environment.

The system GUI is available for computer, smartphone and tablet. Users can also install systems of any size as cloud services, both On-Prem and on platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.

“This opens up a whole new world of virtual comm workflows, responds to customer demand for remote workflows, and aligns with Telos Alliance’s larger push toward virtualization across product lines,” says Martin Dyster, VP of Business Development for Telos Alliance.

Info: www.telosalliance.com

 

The post Telos Offers Virtual Intercom appeared first on Radio World.

Roberts Radio Broadcasting in Mississippi supports the idea of FM geo-targeting, and said it will ask the Federal Communications Commission to let it demo the technology.

Geo-targeting via FM boosters is being pushed by technology company GeoBroadcast Solutions, which has asked for an FCC rule change to allow it but has come up against opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters and several large radio groups.

Coming to the aid of GBS, Roberts Radio said it wants to demo the technology on its station WRBJ at 97.7 MHz. The station is in Brandon and serves Jackson.

Steven C. Roberts

Its participation is notable in part because it is an urban-formatted station led by African American entrepreneur Steven C. Roberts, board member of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

Those two organizations have expressed support for geo-targeting and have said it will help minority- and women-owned groups.

“WRBJ reaches the African-American community, with many small businesses that cannot currently afford to pay for an entire metro signal but desire to hyper-target zones within the station’s signal coverage,” the company stated in a press release.

“This will be the fifth Experimental Permit requested to demonstrate the technology and the third Experimental Permit request using the same booster configuration. The requested demo will build and operate up to five new on-channel FM boosters, and to originate limited programming on these boosters for 90 days.”

It said it wants to try targeting broadcasts “to appeal to specific diverse audiences encompassed within the boosters’ service areas without creating harmful interference to any broadcaster.”

The debate over the technology has been playing out in publicly filed comments in an FCC open proceeding.

The NAB expressed its opposition citing both technical and business concerns. GBS countered that it has solid technical data and that there’s no reason to think its proposal would cause a huge drop in ad rates or a rise in “redlining” certain parts of a given market.

According to the press release, Steven Roberts has told the FCC, “As a station owner and minority broadcaster in a market filled with stations owned by media conglomerates, my business is at a constant disadvantage” and that he “totally disagreed” with NAB’s concerns about “unintended consequences” for minority broadcasters. “I find NAB’s naked speculation disturbing.”

FM boosters in the United States are currently required to broadcast nothing but the signal of their associated primary stations. GBS wants to offer stations the ability to use custom FM booster networks to carry three minutes of unique content of specific interest to subsections of a given station’s coverage area, including unique commercials, news and weather.

The post Mississippi Station Wants to Demo ZoneCasting appeared first on Radio World.

Podcasting began in the early 2000s as a grassroots movement driven by alternative content, often produced in makeshift studios.

Since 2006, The Infinite Dial has tracked its growth and maturation into a mainstream media. The infinite Dial is based on research from Edison Research and Triton Digital.

[Read: Pandora, Spotify and iHeart Radio Lead in Brand Awareness]

Their most recent data suggest upticks in both numbers and diversity.

In 2006, The Infinite Dial’s data indicated 22% of the U.S. population 12+ were familiar with podcasting. That number has grown steadily to the estimated 78%, or 222 million who are aware today. Awareness and use are two different things however, but those numbers are up as well.

Podcast listening inched up from 55% to an estimated 57% for 2021, and monthly figures show an increase for both men and women, and the gender split is pretty evenly divided 50–50.

When broken down by demographics, the monthly data suggests that the 12–34 age group shows continued growth and leads with 56%. A slight drop in listenership from 40% to 39% was indicated in the 35 to 54 demographic, while those 55+ saw their numbers increase from 22% to 26%.

When comparing the ethnicity of monthly podcast listeners starting in 2011 through today, the data suggests that while they are still predominately white, there have been strong gains with Hispanic/Latino and Black listeners. These trends bring the overall podcast listenership more in line with the diversity of the American population.

When looking at the age of monthly podcast listeners from 2011 until today, the data shows growth in the 12–34 segment from 46% to 50%, while there was significant shrinkage in the 35 to 54 group from 40% to 29%. The 55+ demographic grew from 14% to 21%.

When asked how many podcasts they listened to in the last week, the answers ranged from one to 11 or more, but the average reported was eight.

 

The post Survey Says Podcast Demographics Continue to Diversify appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission is continuing its freeze on changes in the St. Louis market in an effort to protect four former stations.

On March 17, 2020, the Media Bureau extended the temporary freeze it put in place a year ago on accepting any minor change applications that conflict with the most recently licensed facilities of certain former AM radio stations in that market.

It was back in February 2020 that a judge dismissed renewal applications in the case of four AM radio stations: KFTK(AM) in East St. Louis in Illinois, WQQW(AM) in Highland, Ill., KZQZ(AM) in St. Louis and KQQZ(AM) in DeSoto, Mo.

[Read: FCC Hands Down Decision on Four St. Louis AM Stations]

At that time, the judge decided that ownership of the station was not clear — it was alleged that some stations were actually controlled by a convicted felon. After back and forth, the bureau said the original licensee, Entertainment Media Trust, did not effectively prove ownership. As a result, the bureau dismissed the four applications and imposed a related filing freeze on the acceptance of any AM minor change applications that would potentially conflict with any of these four stations’ expired licenses.

With an auction filing window on the horizon, the bureau set up the freeze to avoid the possibility of mutual exclusivity with any submitted applications. The bureau said that the freeze would remain in effect until the close of the window or when the bureau announced it was lifting the freeze.

“This freeze was intended to avoid the possibility of mutual exclusivity with applications submitted during a forthcoming auction filing window, and thus promote a more certain auction process,” the Media Bureau said.

Then in February 2021, a new auction of AM and FM broadcast construction permits was announced — including construction permits for the previously licensed four AM stations. The new public notice is to announce that the ongoing filing freeze is now extended. The extension will terminate the day after the filing deadline for the post Auction 109 long-form applications.

 

The post FCC Extends Freeze to Protect Four Stations appeared first on Radio World.

The author of this commentary is senior vice president, digital platforms for Xperi Corp.

As part of India’s Digital India initiative, which has a vision of providing increased digital access to its population, Xperi and All India Radio have been collaborating on testing HD Radio FM broadcast in Delhi, India.

In February, 2021, Phase 1 of the test project was completed and submitted to the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for evaluation. In addition, updates on the commercial operation of HD Radio in North America, including receivers in the market, broadcast service quality and overall operational progress, were shared.

The program has significant implications for considerably advancing consumer access to FM radio broadcasts, in multiple languages, across India.

The test program was designed to demonstrate HD Radio services in Delhi on 100.5 MHz transmitting from the Akashvani Bhawan site at All India Radio’s main offices. With support from ComCon and Nautel, Xperi engineers installed a VS2.5 transmitter and broadcast 1.2kW total power (120W digital).

The program demonstrated reception on eight different radio models including car radio, portable and home models, as well as the BeatBoy feature cell phone with built-in HD Radio function.

AudioVox Tabletop HD Radio shown during testing in Delhi India’s Radio Market

While AM broadcasting has been operating in India since the 1930s by All India Radio, the government broadcaster, FM broadcasting is a relatively new service.

The first India FM broadcast was in 1977 and expanded exponentially in 2001 when the Indian government allowed private broadcasters to operate stations. Since then, the government has issued a series of frequency auctions which broadly expanded markets and licensed frequencies around the country. As of 2018, there are 390 licensed private stations and 400 government-operated stations.

BeatBoy feature cellphone with built-in HD Radio

Xperi research demonstrates that FM radio and music content is very popular in India, with over 80% of the population listening to FM radio on a regular basis. And because India is a very mobile society, most of the listening is through the FM Radio function in cell phones.

This market is growing. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has an objective to move the FM band to digital radio operations. And the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) continues to support new frequency auctions and licenses.

The recommendations from TRAI in February 2020 advised the government to establish a policy framework and roadmap for digital radio in India. These directives are aligned with the “Digital India” initiatives driven through the Office of the Prime Minister.

Digital Radio Opportunity

Implementation of digital radio broadcasting fulfills Digital India’s initiatives vision for radio; HD Radio services will be key to establishing this much-needed, digital, world-class broadcast network to serve all the citizens of India.

While most other technologies are transitioning, or already fully transitioned, to digital services, digital radio in India has lagged behind. In India, radio has a long history of providing critical public services and important information, in multiple languages to the population. Unfortunately, not everyone has ready access to internet and data services, especially in rural regions.

But because HD Radio can easily and inexpensively be integrated into mobile handsets for ease of use, it can digitally provide real-time emergency and disaster notifications through cell phones across India’s multilingual population, as well as enabling access to national, regional, and local information and entertainment programs.

Xperi’s HD Radio broadcast and consumer products include comprehensive levels of testing and certification to ensure consistent quality of service for the industry, which will be of major importance to a roll out in India. In addition, Xperi is investing in monitoring networks to ensure HD Radio transmission quality once a broadcaster has launched HD Radio.

Next Steps

The HD Radio team will continue working to support technical evaluations and policy discussions with MIB and All India Radio.

Aside from addressing the technical questions, the important focus is the availability of affordable receivers. Existing product designs can easily meet the cost expectations for the market, and it is believed that further optimization of design and production process can quickly achieve mass market scale.

The post HD Radio and Digital FM in India appeared first on Radio World.

In continuing remembrance of an important tower industry colleague, NATE and the Tower Family Foundation have announced the latest recipient of the Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship.

Alex Dodson is a junior civil engineering student at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Ind. According to a release, Dodson is “at the top of her class academically and excels in her major courses related to construction and UE’s structural analysis and steel design sequences.”

[Read: Colleagues Mourn Ernie Jones After Tower Death]

In addition, the release quoted Dr. Jim Allen, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Evansville as saying, “Alex is always one of the first to seek additional project information (RFI) weeks in advance, whether it is in a group or individual setting. Her design and analysis techniques are thorough and complete, giving great attention to details in safety and constructability. The UE faculty thinks this diligence and continuous pursuit for safer and “more-buildable” structures in her designs embodies the spirit of Ernie Jones as the recipient of his named memorial scholarship.”

The Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship awards a $2,500 NATE-funded scholarship annually to a junior or senior level civil engineering student at the University of Evansville’s College of Engineering and Computer Science

Jones, founder of tower analysis and maintenance firm Consolidated Engineering Inc., died in 2015 in a tower accident.

 

The post NATE Announces Scholarship Recipient appeared first on Radio World.

How to get the most out of your station’s stream will be the focus of a session at the upcoming Pro Audio & Video Tech Summit.

“Let’s face it, many radio stations pay little or no attention to the quality of their online streams,” said Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane, who is programming the radio track sessions of the free one-day summit.

“But streaming involves different parameters and requirements than your OTA signal.”

David Bialik

Attendees will hear from David Bialik about stream loudness, important upcoming AES guidelines, the use of metadata and the importance of audio processing.

Bialik is former director of stream operations for CBS Radio and Entercom Communications.

Since forming a systems engineering consultancy, he has advised various industries and broadcasters on integrating technology applications such as studio construction, computer networking, AoIP and internet streaming.

He co-chairs the Audio Engineering Society’s Technical Committee for Broadcast and On-Line Delivery.

John Passmore

Also speaking will be John Passmore, director of streaming and on-demand audio architecture at New York Public Radio. NYPR recently embarked on a journey to upgrade its digital streaming architecture to create more efficient, cost-effective and better-sounding streaming audio.

“John will talk about some lessons learned and key considerations, beyond DSP, when building a streaming architecture for public radio,” McLane said.

Registration for the April 1 event is free and includes access to the pro audio and radio tracks as well as the virtual exhibit floor.

The post Bialik, Passmore to Share Streaming Expertise appeared first on Radio World.

DTS and radiko announced the integration of radiko into DTS AutoStage.

Radiko operates IP simulcasting of radio broadcasts in Japan. DTS AutoStage is a hybrid radio platform, formerly called DTS Connected Radio, that parent Xperi is hoping to bring to mass market vehicles around the world.

“This integration means that all radio stations and broadcaster metadata on the radiko platform are accurately, consistently and seamlessly represented in the DTS AutoStage ecosystem,” the companies announced.

The integration will provide station logos, program name, information about the performer and a live station guide to Japanese owners of vehicles supporting DTS AutoStage, including Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The announcement was made by Joe D’Angelo, Xperi senior vice president, radio, and Akitaka Nishimura, president of Xperi Japan. They noted that the company has content partnerships with broadcast groups and aggregators including BBC, Bauer, Cox, Beasley, Commercial Radio Australia and Entercom.

DTS AutoStage is free for broadcasters to join. Xperi says the hybrid radio platform currently supports operations in 60 countries.

Radiko is a “free online simulcast streaming service that allows anyone in Japan to listen to the country’s 99 commercial radio stations, NHK Radio 1, NHK-FM and Open University of Japan with a computer, smartphone or other smart device.”

The post DTS AutoStage Partners With radiko appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission now has officially proposed a number of rule changes “to improve the way the public receives emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions and radios.”

We reported earlier that the move was coming. The commission now has adopted both a notice of proposed rulemaking and a notice of inquiry.

The NOI is what is likely to grab the most attention among the general public; the FCC will explore the technical feasibility of delivering Emergency Alert System alerts through the internet, including streaming services, and whether it is feasible for EAS participants to use the internet to offer advanced alerting capabilities to the public.

That would be a major change in the nation’s alerting infrastructure.

More immediately, though, the NPRM asks for comments on several more immediate changes that the FCC wants to make.

The proposal would create a new mandatory alert class called “National Alerts” by combining the “Presidential Alerts” category, which is non-optional on devices that receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, with alerts from the FEMA administrator. In other words, mobile devices would not be allowed to opt out of WEA alerts from FEMA.

It would encourage the states to review their State Emergency Communications Committees and require SECCs to meet at least annually; among other things, EAS plans would no longer be publicly visible on the FCC website for security reasons.

If the changes are adopted, the FCC also would provide a checklist of information to be included in annual submissions of state Emergency Alert System plans and amend the process for commission review of those plans.

Government agencies would be allowed to report false emergency alerts to the FCC’s 24/7 Operations Center. And the proposal would require that EAS participants can repeat certain alerts over television and radio when the government alert originator requests it.

IPAWS architecture in an FCC graphic.

“The nation’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts help keep the public safe and informed and are of ever-increasing importance given the emergencies and disasters Americans have faced in recent years,” the commission noted in an announcement Wednesday.

“In 2018, however, a false emergency alert in Hawaii mistakenly warned of an incoming ballistic missile and highlighted the need to improve these systems. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 subsequently charged the commission with adopting rules to strengthen emergency alerting in various areas.”

The commission also asked for input on questions like whether it should adopt a National Security Event code.

We will report when the FCC comments system is opened for filings.

 

The post FCC Will Explore EAS on the Internet appeared first on Radio World.

This L-810 LED red obstruction light from Flight Light Inc. is compatible with night vision equipment.

Reader Bob Meister wrote to Radio World with the following question:

In the Feb. 3 issue, a sidebar to the Vertical Bridge story, “Night Vision Issue Comes to Light,” concerned red LED obstruction lights and the need for IR emissions to allow night-vision visibility.

I have to wonder how the average tower owner — broadcast station or Vertical Bridge — is going to detect whether the IR emitter is actually operating.

With incandescent or visible LED lights, one can look up at the tower lights and determine they’re working, but not so with IR emitters, which put out light energy outside our visible range. You’d need the same night-vision goggles or some sensor to “see” the IR emission.

Most stations have some kind of automated system to detect tower light outages, but there could still be some smaller facilities that have a human do that inspection half an hour after local sunset. It’s hard enough to ensure such an inspection actually gets done every day; how are you going to get him/her to wear NVG to “see” the IR?

Tower light systems usually monitor the current being sent to each beacon and obstruction light, and sensors are adjusted to detect the average current expected on functioning illuminators. Since LEDs draw so little power, and IR emitters would only contribute a small fraction of the total power for each light, I’m not sure how one would actually monitor this IR activity at each point on a tower.

Like a lot of rules and regulations, it’s great for the FAA to require IR emissions on tower lights but nearly impossible to detect outages that would require FAA notification and a subsequent NOTAM.

Richard Hickey responds

Radio World submitted Bob Meister’s query to Richard Hickey, director, regulatory compliance at Vertical Bridge. Hickey replied:

Richard Hickey, Vertical Bridge

Interesting questions with answers that may not be easily integrated by all tower owners.

First, FAA red lighting consists of L-864 medium intensity beacons and L-810 low intensity (“marker lights”). Red LED is the only technology without an IR signature.

The major manufacturers of red LED lighting started incorporating IR devices into their products soon after seeing the first safety bulletins from the CAF and FAA, including making the lighting controllers capable of sensing the additional current in the IR device circuit when combined with the LED string or quadrant. Vertical Bridge stipulated the requirement for IR signature in red LED lighting from all supply sources as soon as it was made available.

As Bernard Borghei of Vertical Bridge stated, the best way to determine if your red LED lighting system is NVG-friendly is to contact the manufacturer with the serial number, invoice number or even the product manual that came with the lighting.

Vertical Bridge has every lighting system in our total portfolio monitored through one of two NOC facilities, both manned 24/7/365, and both have been evaluated and approved by the FCC for QLI Waiver status.

In this scenario, the IR devices are monitored (current detection) and NOTAMs opened upon failure within the FAA guidelines. If a red LED in any position on a tower fails and we cannot verify the presence of IR in the other tower lights, we replace the failed lighting at that level and top lighting along with the lighting controller, if necessary, to ensure a compliant system within the current FAA/FCC guidelines.

Mr. Meister touches on a scenario commonly found at many tower sites, particularly broadcast, where site engineers are routinely checking on the tower(s) daily and many actually work at the site.

Visual monitoring is still accepted by the FAA and FCC (see FAA AC 70/7460-1M Chapter 4.4.7). The owner of a tower can have someone physically look at the lighting system once every 24 hours in each operational mode and log the results, maintaining a log covering the last two years, and opening any required NOTAMs immediately if the duration of the failure is (or potentially was) 30 minutes. Visual monitoring of IR devices may be possible using night vision goggles, binoculars or a night vision camera, but one would need to access all sides of the tower in order to see if all the lighting IR nodes were functioning properly.

A replacement controller with the proper monitoring abilities may be less expensive and would almost certainly facilitate the monitoring process.

This statement, also from AC 70/7460-1M, would seemingly apply to IR devices as well: “In the event a structure is not readily accessible for visual observation, a properly maintained automatic monitor should be used. This monitor should be designed to register the malfunction of any light on the obstruction regardless of its position or color. When using remote monitoring devices, the system’s communication and operational status should be confirmed at least once every 24 hours.”

 

The post How Do I Know the IR Emitter Is Working? appeared first on Radio World.

When the researchers at Edison Research and Triton Digital examined online audio for the 2021 edition of The Infinite Dial, the results suggested plateaus and areas of growth. For the record, the survey classifies AM/FM and internet only media as online audio.

The stats for monthly audio listening are one of the plateaus. In 2018, the numbers suggested 67% of Americans were tuned in. It increased one percentage point to 68% in 2019, and stayed there for the 2020 estimated figure, for a total of about 193 million listeners.

[Read: Data Says AM/FM Radio Still Leads in Automotive Environment]

When the monthly numbers are broken down by demographics, they suggest a plateau for the 12–34 group, a decrease from 76 to 72% over the past year for those 35–54, and a surprising increase from 42 to 46% for those 55+.

 

Weekly online audio listening numbers suggest fairly steady growth since tracking began in 2000. They plateaued in 2018 and 2019 at 60%, and grew just two percentage points to an estimated 62% for 2020.

Figures for average time spent listening to online audio, according to Edison Research and Triton, have had some ups and downs since data collection began in 2008. The Infinite Dial reports 16 hours, 43 minutes for 2018, dropping to 15 hours, 12 minutes for 2019, and partially rebounding to 16 hours, 14 minutes for 2021.

 

When it comes to online audio brand awareness, the survey suggests that Pandora continues to lead the pack with 83%, followed by Spotify with 76%, and iHeartMedia with 72%. Awareness does not always track with what respondents listened to however. When asked what online audio brands they listened to in the last month, they named Spotify, Pandora and Google Play (now known as YouTube Music) as the top three. That same ranking held for weekly listening to audio bands as well as audio brands used most often.

Listening to online audio has traditionally been a solo activity, with earbuds plugged into a smartphone or other device as the preferred method. With the coming of smart speakers, there is the opportunity to experience online media with others. But how many actually do this? Under the heading of Frequency of Listening to Audio With Other People, the data suggests an almost 50–50 split. 24% of respondents say they do so frequently, while 21% say sometimes. On the other side, 21% say never and 28% saying hardly ever.

The post Pandora, Spotify and iHeart Radio Lead in Brand Awareness appeared first on Radio World.

A college radio station has been honored with a cluster of broadcast awards including Best Overall College Radio Station of the year.

WHPC Station Director Shawn Novatt (center, in suit) with Nassau Community College President Dr. Jermaine F. Williams (third from left) and WHPC students and volunteers in 2019.

WHPC(FM), based at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y., won the Best Overall College Radio Station Award as well as six other honors from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS), an organization with a membership of more than 1,000 nonprofit, education-affiliated radio stations and webcasters. Founded in 1940, IBS helps establish and operate noncommercial radio and webcast operations. The Abraham & Borst Best Overall College Radio Award is named for George Abraham and David W. Borst, the founders of IBS.

In all, WHPC 90.3 won seven national honors including the Best Morning Show for “The Nassau Morning Madhouse,” Best Station ID, Best Underwriting Announcement, Best Use of Social Media and Best College Radio Station Advisor.

“I could not be prouder of the work being done by the volunteers and staff here at WHPC, especially over the last year,” said Shawn Novatt, WHPC station director. “Even with the pandemic forcing all of us to broadcast remotely, we continued to thrive and provide our audience with the information and entertainment they expect from us.”

Nassau Community College’s radio station is home to approximately 120 volunteers, most of whom are NCC students. Its programming includes sports, entertainment and informational shows, including a variety of music shows. The station can be heard streaming on TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Streema, as well as on Amazon Alexa Google Home devices.

“WHPC has once again proven their excellence in broadcasting a diverse and entertaining variety of programs that serve the listeners in the community,” said Dr. Janet Caruso, associate vice president of Workforce Development, Lifelong Learning and Weekend College at Nassau Community College. “In addition to being an excellent source of entertainment, the knowledge and learning experience the radio station bestows among our students interested in the field provides them with a solid foundation for their future in the broadcasting industry.”

More information can be found at www.mediaconferences.org.

 

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In this issue, Buyer’s Guide looks at transmitters.

Find out why users of Nautel, GatesAir, Ecreso and Rohde & Schwarz chose the models they did; and read about recent introductions from Bext and Broadcast Electronics.

Also, the FM geo-targeting proposal from GBS hits some industry headwinds, with the NAB and several large groups expressing strong opposition to the FM booster system.

And health officials find that low-power radio systems can be a big help as they manage large-scale vaccination clinics.

Read it here.

The post Inside the March 17, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

SANTIAGO, Chile — El Conquistador FM, one of the most important radio groups in Chile, began with one station in Santiago more than five decades ago and today is nationally established with 50 stations in the country.

Alejandro Noemi Hauck, a well-known radio engineer at El Conquistador FM, operates three Ecreso FM 1000W transmitters, broadcasting in three cities, each deployed with SmartFM technology and a five-band audio processor.

While staying on air with the highest quality audio is vital, as for all broadcasters, Hauck also said cost savings and limiting energy consumption are increasingly important.

Multiple factors play into this such as system efficiency, reliability and cost of maintenance. Hauck said their legacy transmitters were not optimal in terms of total cost of ownership, so he looked for a solution that would better fit their needs while lowering operating costs and improving the quality of the signal.

Hauck said he had good experience over four years with the Ecreso FM 1000W, for its efficiency and reliability, so he jumped on the opportunity to use the newly released SmartFM technology.

Manufacturer WorldCast Systems says SmartFM is a sophisticated innovation for FM radio that enables broadcasters to reduce energy costs by up to 40%. The software, in Hauck’s words, “is incredible to see operate automatically according to the program content.”

After testing on-air programs at the edge of the coverage zone, he said he was surprised by the results and that SmartFM does not affect the listening experience. For El Conquistador, this represents a step forward for radio at a time when energy is expensive and businesses need to limit their consumption.

“SmartFM is a breakthrough innovation every FM broadcaster should deploy,” he told the manufacturer, saying that the improvement, activated through a software upgrade, is significant.

In line with its objective to deliver great sound, the broadcaster also uses the built-in five-band sound processor. According to Hauck, he replaced processors he was using from a familiar brand with WorldCast Systems’ solution. No additional hardware is required, and the result is amazing sound that can be personalized for a station.

In addition to reliability and great audio, Hauck said, the group saw power consumption drop noticeably. While Ecreso FM 1000W provided efficiency of up to 72%, with SmartFM they reaped the benefits of even higher efficiency and savings.

“I would recommend Ecreso for the audio quality, the very good transmitter performance and especially SmartFM, which is an impressive innovation,” Hauck said.

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

Contact Tony Peterle at WorldCast Systems in Florida at 1-305-249-3110 or for international queries contact Christophe Poulain at WorldCast Systems in France at +33-5-57-92-89-28 or visit www.worldcastsystems.com.

The post User Report: El Conquistador Deploys SmartFM appeared first on Radio World.

A team member talks to patients about their vaccinations. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UChealth

Traffic Information Stations, also known as Highway Advisory Radio systems, have been a fixture on American roads since the FCC authorized the 10 watt AM systems in 1977.

Forty-seven years later, TIS has found a new role as public health officials host drive-through vaccination clinics.

In January, the parking lot of Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies baseball team, was turned into a clinic for pre-selected Coloradoans age 70 and over.

It was organized and staffed by the UCHealth health care system and the University of Colorado School of Medicine working with the Rockies, the state of Colorado, the city of Denver, the Denver police and Verizon.

The logistics were daunting. Six lanes of cars had to be marshalled over 1.7 miles, then split to pass through 16 drive-through vaccination tents. The occupants were then directed to holding areas to wait for 15 minutes to detect any adverse reactions before they were allowed to drive away.

Making this happen required traffic cones, flag people and LED signs. But with 10,000 people scheduled over two days, something more was needed to communicate with the vehicles.

Organizers had done a pilot program a few days prior, in which 1,000 patients were vaccinated.

“One of the things we learned … was that signs were not enough,” said Bradford Fixler, UCHealth’s VP of marketing. “Then it hit us: What we needed was one of those low-power AM traffic stations that feeds you prerecorded messages as you drive by.”

Drivers line up for vaccinations at Coors Field on Jan. 30. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UChealth

Michigan-based Information Station Specialists provided a rented TIS system. Owner Bill Baker is also a director with the American Association of Information Radio Operators.

ISS provided an EventCAST-PR system that includes a 10 watt AM transmitter, antenna and audio input/management system. It comes in a roll-away equipment case, and can be set up in minutes.

“TIS systems have gone from exclusively transmitting traffic information to being used for all manner of emergency/safety purposes allowed by the Part 90 rules,” Baker said.

“This self-contained station is in high demand with departments of public health and emergency management, because AM radio is still popular with and available to the listening public.”

FCC rules were clarified in 2013 to underline that a TIS signal can be used in emergency situations, with the content under the control of local emergency managers.

The system in Denver provided a range of prerecorded looped  information to listeners in English and Spanish on 1630 kHz. The frequency was authorized by the FCC on an emergency temporary license and promoted on the clinic’s LED signs.

“In our loops, we told them to be sure to drive very slowly, and that they had to have an appointment to get a shot: No exceptions,” said Fixler.

“We were allocated exactly 10,000 doses, so if any of those had been given to someone who didn’t have an appointment, someone who did would have gone without.”

The looped broadcasts told patients to wear masks, stay in their cars, have proof of appointments ready and to have their sleeves rolled up. “We wanted to avoid wasting time in the vaccination tents … because these delays could have significantly slowed down the vaccination process,” Fixler said.

“We also told them about the observation areas where experts were trained to watch for and respond to any adverse reactions.”

The fact that UCHealth opted for prerecorded English and Spanish messages posed a problem. Surely English speakers would turn off their radio when the Spanish loop came on, and vice versa.

Baker suggested that they alternate paragraphs in English and Spanish, said Fixler; this ensured that people of both languages stayed tuned for the entire package.

 

On Jan. 30–31, the broadcasts went to plan.

“The script was very understandable, and the signal coverage on 1630 AM was very clear throughout the Coors Field parking lot. The only thing we don’t know is how many people actually tuned in. We plan to survey them about it the next time we hold this kind of drive-through event.”

The EventCAST system is also being used by SCL Health for walk-in vaccination clinics in Denver; the first was held in February at the National Western Complex. Five thousand people from underserved communities were vaccinated. More clinics were scheduled.

“My background is in state/municipal government, with a lot of experience in emergency management and operations, so I know the value of radio for communicating vital information to people,” said Gregg Moss, SCL Health’s director of public relations and media.

“Radio also helps in constantly reinforcing messages about directions and staying calm: ‘We’re going to take good care of you.’”

The system broadcast looped messages in English and Spanish for 10 hours on Feb. 6. The messages had been recorded by voiceover pros Jeff Laurence and Celina Martinez, who assist Information Station Specialists on special projects.

“We had digital sign boards set up about a quarter mile from the exits where people get off to drive to the National Western Complex, telling them to tune to 1630 AM,” said Moss. “We then had a second set of signs closer to the venue, repeating the same message.”

Because these broadcasts were aimed at patients behind the wheel, “we advised them on which street to turn down and what parking lot to go to,” Moss said. “We also let them know what to expect once they arrived at the complex for their shots and reminded them to book their second vaccination appointments while they were here.”

Based on patient feedback, SCL Health’s TIS station was effective.

“What was funny is that many of the people who tuned in didn’t realize that we were behind the station,” said Moss. “They thought that they were listening to a regular radio station, and that someone was paying to sponsor the broadcast.”

Still relevant

Baker’s company offers licensed fixed and portable stations with a ranges of 3 to 5 miles, per TIS rules, and license-free very-low power AM stations with a range of up to a half mile.

He said are busy days for low-power systems. “We’re challenged to keep up with the demand,” he said. “But it’s been a blessing: We’ve been able to work diligently through the pandemic.”

He said the current interest speaks to the universal nature of radio, and the comfort people feel with it versus text- and web-based systems, especially when they are distracted by illness or worry.

“Radio is tried and true. Everybody knows how to use it, and radio remains a great way for the people who are responsible for mitigating tragedies to speak directly to the people that are affected by them. That’s why AM radio and TIS are still relevant today.”

Listen to a sample of the UCHealth radio messages used at Coors Field:

https://www.radioworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/English-Spanish-v2.mp3

The post Health Officials Deploy TIS for Vaccinations appeared first on Radio World.

The Educational Media Foundation is urging the Federal Communications Commission to decide quickly about FM6 stations — those low-power TV stations known as Franken FMs that effectively operate as radio stations in some cities, heard on 87.7 MHz just below the U.S. FM band.

Those stations will go away when LPTV stations are required to cease analog service on July 13 as part of the nation’s digital TV migration.

The FM6 stations are already six years past when we first thought the stations would be forced to shut down. And many radio broadcasters think these “radio” operations should not be allowed anyway, because the underlying TV licenses were not issued with radio service in mind.

The FCC has been considering allowing an exemption to keep them operating. We already knew that the big Christian noncommercial broadcaster was a supporter; it told the FCC earlier that “FM-on-LPTV stations are already operating and not causing interference at the lowest end of the FM band.”

Now, given the July 13 deadline for LPTVs to cease analog service entirely, EMF Vice President of Operations and Engineering Sam Wallington has written again to the commission.

He asked it to “act expeditiously on this matter” because stations need to be able to plan “to avoid a potential unhappy surprise should their audiences lose service that they have enjoyed for many years.” And he took the opportunity to reiterate EMF’s hope that the FCC will protect the stations.

EMF operates the K-Love and Air1 networks. It also has an FM6 signal of its own.

“EMF has been able to expand the coverage for its programming by using the analog audio channel of KBKF(LP), San Jose, Calif., which has been received by the public on their FM radio dial at 87.7 since August 2010,” Wallington wrote.

“This service is a benefit to the community, providing well-received programming to the residents of the San Jose area. Especially in larger markets like San Jose, much, if not all, of the FM band has been claimed, leaving little room for noncommercial services like those that EMF provides on 87.7 MHz.”

Silencing the station, he said, would leave a void; he said other operators have reported similar experiences.

“There is no apparent technological or policy reason — and certainly no public interest benefit — for ending FM-on-LPTV service. In fact the [TV] digital transition and preservation of analog audio on 87.7 puts the commission in a win-win position — viewers receive all the benefits of digital television on Channel 6 while the audio channel can be preserved to serve current listeners and be available for future listeners to discover.”

Opponents to the dual-mode operation, including National Public Radio, say the stations flout FCC rules and are misusing the spectrum. In addition, NPR has voiced concerns about interference to stations in the adjacent reserved band.

The term Franken FM was coined early in their history by online observers and promulgated by Radio World. It plays on the word Frankenstein and refers to what some consider their unnatural combination of licenses (or body parts).

[Related: “Goodbye, Frankens? TV Deadline Approaches”]

The post EMF Urges Quick Decision on Franken FMs appeared first on Radio World.

Despite the fact that traditional AM/FM broadcasting is at the century mark, it still leads all newcomers in the in-car media ecosphere.

That’s according to The Infinite Dial 2021’s latest data. The annual Infinite Dial is prepared by Edison Research and Triton Digital.

The numbers suggest that AM/FM radio holds a commanding lead at 75%. Owned digital music holds a distant second place with 48%, followed by the CD player, online audio, podcasts and Sirius XM. It bears noting that AM/FM broadcasting’s automotive lead is slowly slipping away, having been at 81% in 2019 and 2020.

[Read: Despite Disruptions in 2020, Media Consumption Trends Upwards]

Another entertainment technology that is rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror is the car CD player, as more vehicles from the 1990s and early 2000s have a date with the scrapyard. To put this in perspective, the CD player came in second with 63%, behind AM/FM’s 84% in the 2013 Infinite Dial report. The most recent figures place the CD player third with 35% of audio sources ever used in the car.

Also trending down, according to The Infinite Dial 2021, is the percent of respondents driving/riding in a car/vehicle in the past month. Their 2020 data suggests 87% were cruising monthly, and that number fell this year to 83%. That’s not hard to understand when one considers the pandemic lockdown, employment statistics, and that rush hour traffic in many cities has become a thing of the past.

New automotive technologies continued to make gains in 2020, according to Triton and Edison Research data. The percent owning in-dash information and entertainment systems crept up from 18–20% over the past year. Data for online audio listening in-car through a cellphone suggests an increase from 45–50% over the past year.

A new category introduced to the 2021 Infinite Dial is the percent having an integrated mobile operating system in their primary vehicle. The numbers say Apple Car Play has 10%, while Android Auto has 8%.

 

The post Data Says AM/FM Radio Still Leads in Automotive Environment appeared first on Radio World.

Paul Rogers has been promoted by iHeartMedia to area president for North Florida, which includes the Jacksonville market.

He succeeds Nicky Sparrow, who was recently named the senior vice president of multicultural sales for iHeartMedia Markets Group.

The Jacksonville cluster includes eight stations with music formats in English and Spanish: WSOL(FM), WQIK(FM), WJBT(FM), WWJK(FM), WKSL(FM), WFXJ(AM), Rumba 106.9FM and 107.3FM Planet Radio.

Rogers has been market president for Tallahassee and Panama City since 2017. iHeart’s realigned North Florida area now also includes those two cities.

Rogers will report to Division President Linda Byrd.

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post iHeart Tabs Paul Rogers to Lead North Florida appeared first on Radio World.

The author is chairman of the European Digital Radio Alliance (EDRA). This is one in a recurring series of commentaries from and about WorldDAB.

The European Digital Radio Alliance is a joint initiative bringing together 25 members from 13 European countries.

Its members represent public and commercial broadcasters from across the continent, several hundred large and small radio stations along with a few hundred million listeners.

One of EDRA’s key priorities has been to promote digital radio, and ensure it is included in the new European Electronic Communications Code. Digital terrestrial radio is now compulsory for new passenger cars sold across Europe, and member states have the possibility to extend this obligation to domestic receivers.

[Read: Commentary: DAB+ Takes Center Stage]

In November, EDRA decided to adopt a manifesto in the face of digital developments, and raise awareness regarding radio stations’ growing dependence on certain digital giants, and the dangers that entails.

European Digital Radio Alliance members

By putting their content on the platforms of these tech giants, radio stations become increasingly dependent on tech giants and enable them to act as gatekeepers. Therefore they are becoming the new digital competitors of our radio stations, weakening them as they attract more listeners, make limited national production investments, and reduce the pool of choice of consumer and radio stations’ exposure on digital platforms.

We firmly believe that the intervention of commercial third-party platforms, mediating the relationship between the broadcasters and the listeners, is detrimental to the level playing field which has existed in European countries until now.

At EDRA, we aim to promote together a radio distribution strategy based on a secure, direct route to reach audiences, independent of the technologies employed. In this context, we would underline the importance of broadcast distribution in maintaining continuity of service for public safety in emergency conditions.

We have outlined two strategies to face these challenges — the first one is to facilitate collaboration within our industry. While we continue to compete on content, we need to bring the industry together to maintain a strong basis for radio around Europe and stay attractive to our listeners.

We also need to secure direct access to our listeners by favoring common platforms that allow for the growth of radio — DAB+ digital radio being the obvious one — but also by develop attractive digital platforms that will allow us to step away from third parties who are less likely to invest in our economies.

The success of DAB+ is based on cooperation between radio stations, and we are seeing strong growth in DAB+ listening across several European markets as the migration of radio audiences to digital continues.

Digital distribution, both terrestrial broadcasting and internet, is inevitably the future of radio; it will continue to deliver listener benefits around supplementary data and flexible on-demand provision.

 

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