Radio+Television Business Report

The owner and operator of Pittsburgh’s NPR Member station and its long-running Adult Alternative noncomm has appointed a Director of Technology. He’ll be charged with leading the IT and engineering staff at the organization.

Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, parent of WYEP-FM and WESA-FM, has named Jason Price to the post.

“Jason was by far the most outstanding candidate from a broad pool,” said Chris Capato, Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting’s Vice President of Finance. “I’m certain that Jason’s knowledge, planning ability and service approach will result in his continued success.”

Price began his tenure at Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting in 2018 as IT Manager.

In other moves, Tom Hurley is being promoted to Engineer. Hurley has worked with the organization as a freelance audio engineer since 2012 and joined the staff full time as Operation and Engineering Technician in 2018.

Effective immediately, she’s the new Station Manager of Chattanooga’s NBC affiliate.

In early 2022, she’ll further climb the latter of this Sarkes Tarzian station, taking the position of General Manager.

Consider it great job security for Callie Starnes.

The bump set to come is the result of President/GM Pam Teague’s pending rise to COO of Sarkes Tarzian, which the company previously announced.

She’ll continue in her role as News Director for WRCB-3, while assisting in overseeing the station’s operations across broadcasting, digital and mobile platforms.

“Callie truly deserves the opportunity to lead Channel 3 as its General Manager,” said Tom Tolar, Sarkes Tarzian’s Chief Operating Officer. “She is passionate about providing outstanding service to our viewers, community, and advertisers.  Her leadership and focus have produced impressive results for the Eyewitness News Team.  I am confident she will use those same leadership and decision-making skills to continue the strong performance of WRCB.”

Teague agreed, “Callie’s commitment to excellence in news and strategic thinking make her a natural for this new role. She is highly respected in the industry and by her peers. She will lead the talented staff of Channel 3 for years to come.”

Starnes first joined WRCB in 2008. After serving as an anchor and investigative reporter for several years, Starnes was named Assistant News Director. She has led the news department since being named News Director in 2016.

If there ever was a man true to his words, Byron Allen is perhaps the best example of one who turns bold statements into big deals.

He’s stated that his Allen Media Group intends to invest impressive amounts of cash on broadcast TV station purchases. The first deal struck: 10 spinoff sales tied to Gray Television‘s blockbuster $950 million merger with Quincy Media, Inc.

AMG’s deal for those spins has just closed, coinciding with the completion of the Gray/Quincy deal.

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On January 7, Illinois-based broadcast media operation Quincy Media Inc., owner of 24 over-the-air TV stations, confirmed that it was “considering” a sale of all of its assets. Less than one month later, a buyer emerged.

With today’s closing bell on Wall Street, the mega-deal was officially done. Gray Television is now the owner of the QMI stations not spun to Allen Media Group. 

And, it formally marks the end of an era — and the leadership of Ralph Oakley.

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If there’s a silver lining to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Florida, California and parts of Ohio and Georgia, it is this: Lysol has your back, broadcast TV.

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When the year started, influential Wall Street financial house MoffettNathanson was optimistic that the first half of 2021 was going to be “all blue skies” for broad patches of the traditional media and digital ecosystems.

After taking a close look at domestic digital advertising growth, Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson uses the word “only” to describe the acceleration in dollars for the GAFAN group.

What does this mean for broadcast media companies set to release their Q2 earnings reports?

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A Bay Area entrepreneur who once appeared on-camera at KGO-7 in San Francisco has been an active buyer of late of low-power TV stations across the U.S.

He’s at it again. Ravi Kapur has just snagged a pair of LPTVs serving two of the Sunshine State’s biggest markets.

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DAYTON, OHIO — With little fanfare, two FM radio stations serving the Miami Valley officially ended their respective formats, with a change transpiring just past 12:01am Monday.

The stations, which had been operated by iHeartMedia as part of its Dayton cluster, are now licensed to a different operator.

They weren’t sold, however. The FM pair were given away as a donation by the trust that had served as its licensee for 14 years.

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RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION

As the month of July 2021 came to an end, an important anniversary in the history of rock ‘n’ roll music was observed by at least one terrestrial radio station. It was also observed on the Sirius XM channel that’s home to three of the four personalities that helped make it an institution. Just past midnight on August 1, 1981, MTV officially signed on the air, available to a lucky few in New Jersey.

By February 1983, however, MTV was growing. It was Channel G on Manhattan Cable systems in New York City. And, it was shaping popular music for a new generation of radio listeners. Among those who perhaps looked to MTV to determine what local listeners wanted was the owner of a Mercedes 450 SL convertible getting attention for an unconventional morning “Zoo” at a radio station in Tampa owned by Gary Edens.

Twenty-four months and one day after MTV’s midnight splash, Scott Shannon signed WHTZ on the air from 333 Meadowlands Parkway in Secaucus, N.J.

Today, MTV is remembered for what it was. Shannon, and the station he built, are still going strong and very much part of today’s consumer choices.

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Thirteen months ago, iHeartMedia officially launched BIN: Black Information Network under the leadership of company veteran Tony Coles and Director of News Operations Tanita Myers. 

As of this week, KBLA-AM 1500 in Los Angeles has signed on the air under the ownership of Tavis Smiley. Its mission: to be a home for Black Lives Matter.

Now, Bloomberg Radio is responding to the thirst for African American-focused insight and information by launching “a daily look at the intersection of culture and commerce affecting Black American audiences.”

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August 5 will certainly be an active day for Wall Street analysts and investors who care about the financial results of publicly traded broadcast media companies.

No less than six earnings calls are on the calendar, with the latest addition to the slate of Q2 2021 releases just announcing their conference call time.

Their earnings call will be held opposite that of Gray Television.

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Hyundai has teamed with Univision as the new presenting sponsor of Sábado Futbolero — its “Saturday Soccer” program slate.

The campaign, #BecauseFútbol, features three new Spanish-language TV spots.

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The nation’s leading multimedia company superserving African American consumers has taken an important step toward bringing the second casino gaming resort it is connected with to fruition.

It involves a multimillion-dollar upfront payment to the City of Richmond.

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Travel east of Ames, Iowa, and you’ll reach Marshalltown. Here, a Class A digital television station is being sold.

The buyer? It’s the company that owns the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, and the CW affiliate in Chicago — among many other enterprises, including the “MeTV” brand.

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The donation-based IP-fueled local TV service that the “Big Four” broadcast TV networks love to hate and the NAB despises has just entered its 36th DMA.

It happens to be the home of the National Basketball Association’s 2021 World Champions.

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On June 21, Univision Holdings unveiled its plans for what it calls “a comprehensive global streaming service” that includes both free ad-supported and premium subscription-based options.

With a 2022 launch planned for the U.S. Hispanic market and across Latin America, the Miami-based multimedia company has moved forward with the addition of four VPs who will work under President and Chief Transformation Officer Pierluigi Gazzolo in the buildout of Univision’s pan-Latin streaming business.

The two-tier streaming service, which is yet unnamed, will offer “a differentiated product proposition, vast content scope, expansive library and more Spanish-language originals than any other streaming service,” Univision said in June. It will incorporate content found on its PrendeTV platform, which will anchor the ad-supported tier. Content found on Univision’s VIX and Univision NOW services is expected to be “transitioned and unified into one global service and brand.”

At the same time, Univision’s new premium subscription tier (SVOD) will feature more than 6,000 hours of Spanish-language content and more than 30 original productions exclusively on the service within its first year, Univision said in June.

Now, with the blockbuster merger of Mexico City-based Televisa with Miami-headquartered Univision Communications on track for a late 2021 close, Gazzolo will now have the following individuals reporting to him, starting Monday (8/2):

• Augusto Rovegno, VP/Acquisitions and SVOD Programming.

  In this capacity, Rovegno will be responsible for sourcing and acquiring tentpole content for both the AVOD and SVOD tiers. He will also be responsible for developing original films, curating and programming for the SVOD tier. Rovegno previously served in various roles at Netflix, leading the original film development as well as the licensing and co-production of Spanish-language films and TV series. Rovegno reports to recently hired EVP and GM of SVOD Streaming Rodrigo Mazon.

• Cameron Carr, EVP/Data and Insights, Streaming
• Mariela Stescobich, SVP/Marketing, User Growth and Retention for AVOD.

  Carr joins from NerdWallet, where he served as VP of Data Science & Analytics. He will oversee the Data Analytics functions for all Univision Streaming including AVOD and SVOD and all other digital platforms.

  Stescobich will be tasked with driving customer acquisition and retention for PrendeTV including the future global AVOD tier as well as other ad-supported digital tiers. Joining from Hulu and Fox, she will leverage her streaming and media expertise to grow Univision’s ad-supported digital customer base.

  Both Carr and Stescobich will report to EVP and GM of AVOD Streaming Rafael Urbina.

• Daniel Sanders, SVP/Engineering of Streaming.

  Sanders will oversee the development of streaming technology platforms and services. During his career in digital media he has designed, built and operated multiple high-scale media platforms and led innovative engineering teams, including for Sony’s Crackle, Verizon’s Uplynk, and  ViacomCBS’s PlutoTV. He will report to EVP of Product & Engineering and Streaming Michael Cerda.

Gazzolo commented, “I am immensely proud of the strides we have taken thus far in Univision’s streaming evolution, including building an innovative platform, engaging renowned creators and setting the foundation for what will be the largest offering of Spanish-language content globally. I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome these industry professionals who are now part of our streaming dream team, at this pivotal point in Univision’s transformation. Each of them brings a unique perspective that will strengthen our position as a global streaming leader.”

On February 11, 2018, the founder of Lubbock-based radio and TV station owner Ramar Communications passed away. At the time of his passing, Ramar was comprised of 16 radio and TV stations across Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

In Lubbock, Ramar’s four stations were spun in October 2020, split evening between SagamoreHill Broadcasting and Gray Television. Now, the children of Ray Moran have signed off on an Albuquerque transaction.

The buyer? NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

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In a transaction that saw Kalil & Co. as the exclusive broker, a CBS affiliate serving Meridian, Miss., is being spun.

The new owner is headed by Dr. Michael Hogan.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved $565 million in advance funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in Fiscal Year 2024.

The approved funding was included in the FY 2022 Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

“This is a historic day for public television,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “The House of Representatives has approved the largest increase in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in half a century, in recognition of the extraordinary work our stations have done in America’s communities and the exciting potential for even greater service in education, public safety and civic leadership in the years to come.”

APTS is also appreciative of the recommended level funding of $20 million in FY 2022 for station interconnection, the backbone of the public broadcasting system, supporting nationwide emergency alerting, providing local stations with national programming, connecting stations with each other, and creating operational efficiencies.

It is also “very pleased” that $31.776 million, an increase of $2.276 million, in FY 2022 has been recommended for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports public television’s essential work — on-air, online and on-the-ground — in early childhood education, to help build science, math and literacy skills of children between the ages of two and eight.

“America’s public television stations are ready to do more, to help revolutionize education in a post-pandemic America, to train more of America’s adults for better jobs, to provide more essential public safety communications services, to create a more well-informed citizenry that considers issues in a civil and constructive manner, and to use a portion of our licensed spectrum to do more to enhance telehealth, national security, Smart Cities connections, transportation efficiency, precision agriculture and more,” Butler said.

The SXM-8 satellite has completed in-orbit testing and has been handed over to SiriusXM.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the satellite into space on June 6 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

SXM-8 is the ninth high-powered, digital, audio radio satellite built by Maxar Technologies for SiriusXM.

Built on Maxar’s 1300-class platform and designed to provide more than 15 years of service, SXM-8 is more than 27 feet tall and weighed nearly 7,000 kg at launch. SXM-8 has a large, mesh, unfurlable reflector almost 30 feet in diameter that will allow SiriusXM programming to reach its radios, including those in moving vehicles.

“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with SiriusXM and excited to see SXM-8 ready for service to bring entertainment to millions of SiriusXM subscribers,” said Chris Johnson, Maxar’s Senior Vice President of Space Programs Delivery. “The entire Maxar team is committed to excellence, and playing a role in the success of our customers’ missions is what drives us every day.”

SXM-8 will provide continuous delivery of SiriusXM’s audio entertainment and information services to consumers in the United States and will expand SiriusXM’s coverage area in Canada and the Caribbean.

Importantly, SXM-8 will extend the health of SiriusXM’s satellite fleet and its satellite-delivered services through at least 2036.