Radio+Television Business Report

He was the Group VP of Business Development at Xandr, the advertising and analytics division of AT&T.

Now, he’s the head of strategy and business development at advertising data, measurement and analytics software company EDO Inc.

And, he’s not to be confused with the SVP of Business Development at NATPE who served as Group Publisher of Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News under former owner NewBay Media.

It’s a different Charlie Weiss who is now at EDO Inc., which is also welcoming Mark Berner as Vice President of Engineering.

It’s part of a bigger effort at the company, which seeks to expand its convergent TV ad
intelligence and effectiveness abilities.

Weiss is now in charge of strategic and platform partnerships across the media
and data landscape, and reports to EDO President/CEO Kevin Krim.

Krim commented, “We are entering a pivotal stage of disruption in Convergent TV and growth as a company serving this special industry. Mark brings critical engineering and management experience to our growing team of top data science, engineering, and product talent; and Charlie is a proven change agent with an impressive history of building and leading strategic partnerships.”

In the chaotic post-pandemic viewing and streaming media ecosystem, Latino viewership continues to reflect the broad range of contemporary U.S. Latino identities and household demographics.

According to a recent Horowitz Research survey, demand is ever-expanding for new, high-quality Spanish-language content on par with English-language content among individuals and families with identities ranging from Hispanic to Afro-Latino/a/x and across language and acculturation segments nationwide.

Join us September 22-23 in Miami for the live and in-person Hispanic Radio Conference! Click here for all of the details and to register.

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MIAMI — Under his leadership, Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS)‘s three radio stations in its home market of Miami-Fort Lauderdale have emerged as some of the nation’s top Hispanic media properties.

Now, he’s being promoted to an executive VP role that will involve all of SBS’s markets across the U.S. and widen his role with the Mega TV broadcast television arm.

Donny Hudson, a veteran of Spanish-language media sales, has been promoted to EVP/Local Media. He’ll oversee the radio, TV and digital operations across the company, with a focus on sales, and retains his position of GM for SBS/Miami, comprised of WXDJ-FM “El Zol 106.7,” WRMA-FM “Ritmo 95.7” and WCMQ-FM “Z92.” He will also oversee management of SBS’s LaMúsica app.

He reports to President/COO Albert Rodriguez, who commented, “Donny has proven to be an industry leader in the over 20 years with SBS. As General Manager, he has spearheaded numerous initiatives and alongside his team, has delivered incredible results for the company. His belief in ‘teamwork’ is what has allowed him to be a great leader and respected by the staff, which is one of the most important qualities for success. Congratulations to our new EVP of Local Media.”

Hudson, who was recently appointed to the Florida Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors, added, “I am honored to have been selected for the position of EVP of Local Media. As part of the SBS family for over two decades, I have learned, grown, and most of all have been blessed with a team of incredibly talented professionals. I am a true believer that you are only a great leader, if you have an amazing team. I am grateful and honored for this opportunity.”

At SBS, Hudson has held the roles of SVP of Consolidated Sales, Local Sales Manager, and Director of Local Sales over two stints. Before joining the company a second time in May 2017, he served as EVP/Sales for America CV Network and its “America TeVe” operation in Miami. Hudson has also served as GSM of Univision Radio’s WRTO-FM in Miami and, under Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. ownership, in key sales positions for WRTO and siblings WAQI-AM, WQBA-AM & WAMR-FM in Miami.

Hudson is a 1989 graduate of the University of Miami. He began his career in radio immediately upon graduation at WSUA-AM 1260 in Miami, then known as “Radio Suave.” 

MIAMI — In 2018, Univision Communications teamed up with Combate Global to give Spanish-language television audiences craving Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) programming with a Latin flair a home.

The partnership turned out to be so beneficial that Univision is taking a major stake in the MMA franchise.

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It’s a new way to bet on Sports. And, it’s so attractive that it’s led Cumulus Media to become the latest owner of broadcast radio stations to delve into the potential riches of the athletically focused gaming and wagering world.

 

WynnBET, the premier mobile sports betting app from Wynn Resorts, the global leader in luxury hospitality, and CUMULUS MEDIA (NASDAQ: CMLS), a leading media, advertising, and marketing services company, announced today the launch of a multi-year, multi-platform partnership which activates CUMULUS MEDIA’s ability to reach more than 250 million listeners each month to drive users to the WynnBET app. Under the terms of the deal, WynnBET becomes one of CUMULUS MEDIA’s largest advertising and marketing partners.

With this partnership, WynnBET benefits from CUMULUS MEDIA’s massive reach and strong consumer engagement across multiple touchpoints, including national exposure in Westwood One’s marquis play-by-play programming, and endorsements from preeminent sports host Jim Rome; local connections via advertising on Cumulus’ radio stations, multiple studio sponsorships, and brand endorsements from local personalities; extensive digital exposure via social media, streaming, podcasting, and smart speakers; and on-site events. Additionally, the companies plan to create content that both entertains listeners and deepens consumer engagement with the WynnBET brand.

As part of the agreement, WynnBET leverages CUMULUS MEDIA’s unique advanced targeting technology, which enables WynnBET to customize multiple brand messages and deliver tailored content to different markets and demographics across hundreds of radio stations.

“This partnership with CUMULUS MEDIA provides WynnBET the ability to deliver specific, customized messaging to targeted markets throughout Cumulus’ network of hundreds of stations,” Wynn Interactive CEO Craig Billings said. “In addition, WynnBET will have a significant advertising presence on Westwood One’s nationally syndicated programming, including football pre-game and play-by-play, and we will work with Cumulus to create some exciting, branded content over the life of the partnership.”

“With Wynn’s focus on exceptional quality and high-touch customer experiences, we believe WynnBET will be a leader among the sports betting apps, and we are excited to deploy our unique assets to grow its business,” said CUMULUS MEDIA CEO Mary G. Berner. “The sports betting market is now the fastest growing advertising category, and this innovative partnership solidifies Cumulus’s position in this exciting arena.”

For 22 years, he was a key officer of Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian broadcast ministry known as WAY Media. Under his leadership, he launched its biggest FM, serving West Palm Beach and Florida’s Treasure Coast.

Since 2016, he’s been a consultant to leaders on fundraising and sponsorship strategies.

Now, he’s back in radio. And, he’s ready to go to battle against an insurgent in the National Capital Region: Educational Media Foundation.

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Solid State Logic (SSL) has brought to market the latest V3.1 feature release for the System T broadcast platform with key developments providing significant production flexibility and expansion.

Core to the release is support of the next generation TE1 and TE2 Tempest audio engines. These engines provide a flexible model for managing production capacity, allowing users to expand their processing requirements with the addition of new software “processing’ licenses.

With the inclusion of an agile “pay as you go” model, users can increase their production capability for user-defined project periods such as large one-off sporting or entertainment events.

The new Tempest engines will be available to customers as of August 2021.

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One has been promoted. The other is returning to the fold.

Put them together, and they’ll be the latest Affiliate Sales leaders for Cumulus Media-owned Westwood One.

Rising to VP/Affiliate Sales for 24/7 Formats is Neal Weiner  — a 26-year veteran of Westwood One who has been a part of the Affiliate Sales team working with 24/7 Formats, Music and Entertainment Shows, Sports, and Prep Services. Weiner began his professional radio career at Westwood One Radio Group, in particular at the former KQLZ-FM “Pirate Radio 100.3” in Los Angeles.

Taking the post as Director of Affiliate Sales for the Music & Entertainment division is Sue Falco.

She spent six years at Westwood One in her first stint, as part of both the News/Talk and the Country affiliate sales teams. She spent the last decade as Director of Affiliate Sales with United Stations.

Both Weiner and Falco report to Senior Vice President of Affiliate Sales Stuart Greenblatt.

The financial pros at Zacks Equity Research have taken a magnifying glass to American Tower‘s potential earnings report for Q2, due Thursday morning prior to Opening Bell.

They very much like what they see. In fact, the projections suggest the company will beat Street estimates.

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There are thousands of stories all around you.

You simply need to understand what makes for good stories and how to use them for strategic communication, veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal notes in this column.

 

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“Our second-quarter results demonstrate remarkable, continued growth across our business.”

Those were the opening words from Sirius XM CEO Jennifer Witz, who had many great highlights to offer before even starting her second sentence during the company’s earnings call held Tuesday for analysts and investors.

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On Monday (7/26), Democratic leadership at the FCC moved forward with the adoption of a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to refresh the existing record regarding the statutorily mandated collection of data on FCC Form 395-B — the paperwork used for EEO data collection by the Commission until the D.C. Circuit asked it to stop doing so 20 years ago.

Twenty-four hours later, Pew Research Center released statistics from the RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University that paint the present-day portrait of the local TV newsroom staff. What’s the diversity among those employed by TV news departments across the U.S.?

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For the 97 news outlets whose primary domain, its website, averaged at least 10 million unique visitors per month, traffic rose 11% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

That’s according to a fresh Pew Research Center analysis of the state of the U.S. news media.

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With third-party “cookie depreciation,” there’s now greater emphasis on first party data. As such, Nielsen has unveiled a new approach to measuring authenticated and unauthenticated web traffic.

This will see Nielsen become the only platform to validate first party server data with real consumer behavior.

The move means Nielsen will eliminate its reliance on digital identifiers while ensuring that advertisers and publishers “can continue to measure confidently in a dynamic, privacy-first media environment.”

The result, says Nielsen, will allow it to become “the leading platform to validate first party server data with real consumer behavior.”

“If the industry has learned anything since the rise of cookies, it’s that digital media measurement must remain scalable, flexible and useful,” said Mainak Mazumdar, Chief Data Officer at Nielsen. “Nielsen’s new cookieless measurement approach will further position the company to deliver deduplication across linear and digital as part of Nielsen ONE. Our new approach to measuring authenticated and unauthenticated digital traffic will enable us to scale across channels and platforms to ensure a comprehensive view of success and uncover areas for optimization.”

In the new world order, digital traffic will ultimately move into two distinct categories for measurement following the deprecation of digital identifiers:

• Authenticated: Traffic with identifiers on properties which have logged in environments or consented devices. To measure authenticated traffic, Nielsen will leverage all available identifiers and first-party data from participating clients, such as hashed email addresses, Unified ID 2.0 and select, verified self-reported demographic labels. This will ensure interoperability in the ad ecosystem, including with walled gardens, and simplify measurement for clients by reducing reliance on third parties.

• Unauthenticated: Logged out traffic or traffic on properties that do not have logged in environments or where no alternative identifiers can be provided. To measure anonymous traffic, Nielsen has developed a machine learning technique with  additional contextual data signals including time, browser, content and device information, as well as FLoC groups.  The model is validated against the panel for accuracy. Demographics  of unauthenticated behavior are also modeled and validated with panel observations for both representation and accuracy.

Late last year, Nielsen announced its ID Resolution System, which serves to unify the identity data that Nielsen receives in an interoperable way across the media ecosystem.  As part of the Nielsen ID System, the Nielsen ID Graph is calibrated against and validated by Nielsen’s people-based panels.

Last week Xperi noted that it is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the launch in a U.S. vehicle of HD Radio. This came in 2006, with HD Radio available as an option in BMW 2006 7 Series and 6 Series models.

Today, there is still a perception that HD Radio is a product not fully fulfilled, or just now finding its stride. Some may even deride HD Radio as a failure compared to DAB’s exceptional growth in the U.K. and in Norway, where FM radio was silenced for good.

Where does HD Radio stands today? Jeff Jury, the Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Connected Car division of Xperi, offers his thoughts in a fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, hosted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jeff Jury, Xperi” on Spreaker.

In mid-January 2021, the owner of three FMs and an AM serving North Central Washington state decided to put the AM and two of the FMs it owns on the market. He inked a representation deal with a broker, and awaited bids.

An acceptable buyer has been found, putting in motion the transfer of control of an AM/FM combo and a second FM serving the eastern Washington cities of Chelan, Manson and Wenatchee.

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Dielectric is coming to the 2021 NAB Show with NextGen TV on the mind – and a new product line that is ready to ship.

Announced last year, the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP Series is built with the unique parameters of NextGen TV in mind, with a series of elevation gains, azimuth patterns with high front to back ratios, and software tools to provide broadcasters maximum flexibility in designing and deploying ATSC 3.0 single-frequency networks (SFN).

Dielectric developed the series while working with consultants on theoretical plans for SFN deployments. Although its recently introduced antenna products were ATSC 3.0-ready, customers were requesting products specifically designed for the SFN business model.

“After extensive calculations and design process changes we launched our repack product portfolio with ATSC 3.0 power requirements in mind, but optimized for high-power broadcasting,” said Dielectric VP/GM Keith Pelletier. “There is more to the SFN than being robust enough to get the ATSC 3.0 signal out there. They require even bit distribution from two or more transmission sites throughout the broadcast market. That means supplying antennas with exceptional accuracy to ensure that coverage gaps between transmission sites are properly filled, and that signal strength is uniformly increased in the market.”

Dielectric has expanded its all-in-one Powerlite Series to provide customers with complete systems that help broadcasters maximize their NextGen TV investments. Like all Powerlite systems, the series brings antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and RF components into one affordable, all-inclusive package.

As ATSC 3.0 SFNs will comprise multiple low-power transmitter sites, Dielectric’s Proposal Generator software will help broadcasters configure systems that meet very specific network designs. Broadcasters can select the proper power level, directional pattern, height above ground level, and other pertinent design criteria for each location. These flexible parameters will help broadcasters make the most of their NextGen TV bit distribution, according to Pelletier.

“There are vast opportunities around how broadcasters can use their data bits, and this is completely novel compared to ATSC 1.0,” said Pelletier. “There is potential to support radio streams, enhanced emergency alerts, and additional TV and streaming services that together can communicate a stronger brand with local appeal. These new NextGen TV services will dramatically change and improve the over-the-air business model. We’re now introducing an expanded NextGen TV product line to help broadcasters maximize emerging opportunities that the ATSC 3.0 standard offers.”

The Powerlite TFU-WB-LP antennas are built in four-bay increments, with a maximum ERP of 100 kW for each antenna (higher power options are also available). The new series is adaptable to multi-frequency networks, and can serve both narrow-band and broadband RF configurations. The series can also work in concert with more traditional high-power high-tower antennas, which many broadcasters will want to keep in operation.

“Many broadcasters will leverage their primary antenna as the lighthouse, and will need to optimize their coverage by establishing higher power densities throughout the DMA,” said Jay Martin, Vice President of Sales, Dielectric. “Powerlite TFU-WB-LP antennas will operate seamlessly with the existing higher power antennas, but will be located near the perimeter of the DMA oriented back towards the main antenna. This antenna is designed specifically with that in mind, utilizing high front to back ratios. Also, the antennas are available in horizontal, elliptical or full CP versions. ”

Broadcasters can essentially design SFN antennas to optimize service within their respective DMAs, complementing the service provided by their primary antenna in these cases. “After they design systems using our intelligent configuration software, they can cleanly export the azimuth pattern files to a network planning software program, such as Progira Plan, to complete, evaluate and optimize the SFN system performance,” said Martin. “We will work with all customers to consider the best coverage and service options for their business models.”

Dielectric will demonstrate the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP Series at its 2021 NAB Booth (C7215) from October 10-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

PPDS, the exclusive global rights to Philips Professional Displays, is welcoming Bruce Wyrwitzke as its new Director of Digital Signage Sales.

Accelerating PPDS’ growth strategy and ambitions in North America, Wyrwitzke is the latest high-profile appointment to join the company this year, following the additions of Beth Donow (Manager, Supply Chain), Scott Adams (Director, Hospitality) and Osvaldo Velarde (Product Manager)

Based in Monument, Colo., Wyrwitzke joins PPDS equipped with almost 20-years of
pro AV experience, having worked for some of the world’s leading technology brands, during a successful and highly captivating career.

Highlights of his career include tenures as National Sales Manager for ASUS North America and, prior to that, as National Account Manager at Planar Systems.

His focus areas include dvLED & LCD Video Walls, Large Format Displays, Desk Top Monitors, and Touch Screens — technology of growing importance to broadcast TV companies.

He reports to Joe King, VP Commercial Displays for North America at PPDS.

As ATSC 3.0 deployments continue to expand, broadcast, cable and other MVPD providers are constantly looking for innovative new products to help them manage these new workflows.

As transmissions hit the airwaves, video delivery brand Sencore is responding with new product additions focused on NEXTGEN TV.

These new products include the following new additions to the Sencore family:

• ATSC 3.0 to TS Multi-Channel Transcoder – The TXS 3800 is a dense ATSC 3.0 transcoder, capable of transcoding up to 4 ATSC 3.0 services in a single chassis. Video can be transcoded to MPEG-2 and H.264, along with down-scaling, transrating and caption conversion. Audio is transcoded to either AC-3 or AAC and service names are mapped into standard TVCT format. Once transcoded, all elements are packaged into an MPEG transport stream and output as a traditional MPEG/IP transport stream for downstream use.
• ATSC 3.0 Signal Level Meter – A portable ATSC 3.0 handheld signal level meter (SLM 1530), used for broadcast professionals testing new ATSC 3.0 equipment and installations. Beyond ATSC 3.0, the meter includes full support for legacy ATSC
  1.0 and QAM-B cable signals, and can be used for testing, installation, and maintenance.
  This lightweight meter includes in-depth RF measurements, such as signal level, MER, BER, S/N, and constellation diagrams. The spectrum analyzer feature is available for a single channel or full spectrum view.
• ATSC 3.0 Receiver Decoder – Sencore’s ARD 3000 series of ATSC 3.0 receiver decoders enables users to decode a single channel (ARD 3100) or up to four channels (ARD 3400) in a 1RU platform. The ARD 3000 series includes an ATSC 3.0 RF input allowing the user to tune to an RF channel and decode up to four services. Decoded services are output via 4x3G-SDI for UHD services or 3G/HD/SD-SDI for HD and SD services. Unit configuration is done using the intuitive web GUI or through APIs like REST and SNMP.

 

To download datasheets, view features and product specifications or request demos, visit
www.sencore.com

Digital Nirvana, a provider of media monitoring and metadata generation services, is now shipping MetadataIQ, a SaaS product that offers a new metadata automation tool for content producers using the Avid media platform.

MetadataIQ offers off-the-shelf integration with Avid Interplay to automate the end-to-end process of generating speech-to-text and video intelligence metadata for Avid-based assets while automatically submitting media for transcription, captioning, and translations from within the existing workflow.

MetadataIQ allows operators to create and ingest different types of metadata — including speech-to-text, facial recognition, OCR, logos, and objects, each with customizable marker durations and color codes for easy identification — that can be accessed via the Avid MediaCentral environment. Editors may type a search term within Interplay or MediaCentral, identify the relevant clip, and start creating content. For VOD and content repurposing, video intelligence metadata aids in product placement/replacement and accurately identifying ad spots.

The platform is the first to offer on-premises transcoding and intelligent extraction of audio files to generate speech-to-text transcripts. Users aren’t required to create a low-res proxy or manually import files into Avid MediaCentral. MetadataIQ automatically generates speech-to-text transcripts for file-based assets in addition to streaming speech-to-text transcripts from growing audio assets in real time. Operators have the option of sending transcripts to Digital Nirvana’s processing centers for high-quality, human-curated output, which is returned within Interplay.

MetadataIQ integrates directly with the company’s Trance platform for the generation of transcripts, captions, and translations in all industry-supported formats. In-house teams can submit files directly from their existing workflow and receive the output as sidecar files or ingest them directly back into Interplay as markers.

“By delivering complete automation over the generation and ingestion of relevant metadata as locators into Avid, MetadataIQ helps editors accurately identify relevant content to save time and effort. For example, we’ve had users report that the process of creating new content has been reduced from 15 hours to two hours,” said Hiren Hindocha, CEO, Digital Nirvana. “In addition, our platform replaces several traditional manual processes — from creating low-res proxies to submitting files to third parties for transcripts, captions, and translations — to increase the efficiency of production, preproduction, and live content creation processes.”

The MetadataIQ software can be installed on-site on a dedicated server or virtual machine with Digital Nirvana providing complete support for deployment.

More information about Digital Nirvana and its products and services is available at www.digital-nirvana.com.