Radio+Television Business Report

NEW YORK — The shareholders of Meredith Corporation are one step closer to seeing the company’s stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, disappear forever.

That’s because they’ve approved the Des Moines-based multimedia company’s $2.825 billion acquisition by Gray Television.

The required shareholder approval came Tuesday morning a special shareholder meeting. Now, Meredith on Wednesday will likely move ahead with filing a Form 8-K with the SEC disclosing the full voting results of the special meeting.

Immediately prior to the Gray acquisition close, Meredith will spin its digital, magazine, MNI, PEOPLE TV, and corporate operations out to its shareholders as a new company, Meredith Holdings Corp. This is the entity that the Barry Diller-led IAC-owned Dotdash has agreed to acquire for $2.7 billion.

Gray will retain all of the local television holdings, and the transactions are now on track to close as expected by the close of business Wednesday (12/1).

As of 12:45pm Eastern, MDP was trading at $59.10, up 6 cents from Monday; Meredith shares are at their highest level since April 2019.

Gray Television, like other companies in the broadcast media sector, is lower on COVID-19 Omicron variant fears. GTN was trading at $20.45, off 3%, and is now back to where shares were in late April 2021.

When it comes to the top leadership at Townsquare Media, drumming up interest from institutional investors has been seen since the days of Steven Price and Dhruv Prasad, who each held the role of CEO prior to Bill Wilson.

Next week, Wilson will be presenting alongside Townsquare’s CFO at another key investor affair.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Executive VP for Newsgathering at CBS News has been selected, and it is a woman who will have editorial oversight for network newsgathering worldwide, including all domestic and international bureaus.

Taking the role is the the current EVP and CBS News Washington bureau chief, in the post since July 2020.

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SAVANNAH, GA. — For television viewers in Georgia’s Coastal Empire, local news choices have become more competitive than ever. While Gray Television’s WTOC-11 remains the leader and most top-of-mind local TV station in this region, Hearst-owned WJCL-22 has developed an incubator for its other local news organizations across the nation. Sinclair Broadcast Group’s FOX affiliate, WTGS-28, has also gained a sizable audience.

Then there is the local NBC affiliate, owned by Nexstar Media Group thanks to its merger in 2016 with Media General. It was a property that Raycom Media, at its founding, declined to own, choosing instead WTOC.

Today, that Nexstar station, WSAV-3, is on a growth spurt, making Savannah-Beaufort-Hilton Head a thriving market for broadcast TV. Now, WSAV has a new leader.

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WASHINGON, D.C. — The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has released a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for Broadcast Core Network technologies to enhance the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard.

The project is on a fast track, the group says, with initial responses of interest due by December 31.

“ATSC members are the stewards of the ATSC 3.0 Platform, evolving and expanding the system’s capabilities over time,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland. “This new development will move the technology forward and unlock innovative business scenarios for the broadcast ecosystem.”

ATSC is in the process of specifying Standards for a Broadcast Core Network. ATSC envisions that the addition of core networking capabilities can be an integral part of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast system architecture. The aim, ATSC says, is to facilitate efficient interconnect between broadcast towers to form one or more service networks, enabling new business opportunities that require efficient regional or national data delivery options. Sourcing content from multiple data networks, a Broadcast Core Network holds potential to broaden the range of addressable use cases beyond those defined for linear television program delivery and extend the utility of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast facilities to untapped market areas, such as Broadcast (Virtual) Network Operator (BNO, BVNO), Regional or National Datacasting, enhanced Interactivity, and Data/Content Offload.

“We are excited to expand ATSC 3.0 options to include Core Networking,” said Luke Fay, Chair of ATSC Technology Group 3 and Sr. Manager Technical Standards at Sony Electronics. “This valuable addition to the ATSC 3.0 standard will enable broadcasters to coordinate data and content delivery across multiple markets. We look forward to specifying a state-of-the-art ATSC 3.0 extension with experts in the industry.”

Interested organizations may submit an intent-to-respond by December 31. Details of the response requirements and schedule can be found in the RFP.

Shulins Solutions, known for its monitor, control and protection products for transmission sites, drone-based tower inspections and broadcast consulting services, says a “leading North American tower company has agreed to a multi-site purchase of Stellar Eclipse broadcast site monitor and protection system featuring VSWR Sentinel.

It’s not revealing the name of the tower company, but Shulins says the purchase means they will increase their deployment of Stellar Eclipse to more than 70 sites across the top 50 markets, protecting over 350 of radio and TV stations.

“Shared common antenna sites often with complex combining networks demand monitoring and protection beyond a simple remote control,” Shulins says. “To protect these significant investments, broadcasters need a proactive solution to not only provide next level of monitoring, logging and control, but a comprehensive VSWR system for maximum protection.”

In selecting Stellar Ellipse, the company is deploying a platform and architecture to not only protect the RF systems for FM and all formats of analog digital TV on VHF and UHF including ATSC 3.0, but also provides unique cloud-based monitoring of many shared systems often overlooked in an individual stations remote control, Shulins says.

Paul Shulins, the company’s President, comments, “This investment in our next generation, cloud-based monitoring and protection systems delivers the protection and visibility of critical communication infrastructure our customers count on to deliver their content
in a demanding 24/7/365 environment and much more.”

With the support of Fincons Group, Univision developed a new broadcasting app to enable personalization of viewer experience over both broadband connected and linear TV.

The app, which leverages ATSC 3.0 technology and innovative integrations to provide viewers with dynamic content both via Broadband (OTT) and Broadcast (OTA) connection, is a winner. Literally.

Fincons Group’s Univision ATSC3.0 Broadcast App is a Best New Streaming Technology winner in the 2021 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. The awards program recognizes the most significant and promising new products and technologies showcased by corporate partners of NAB Show.

The app enables the delivery of additional information regarding news anchors in the “Meet the local news team” navigation node, access to QR coded additional content and dynamic local weather forecast. For OTT viewers, the app also provides access to on-demand local news clips.

The app, which integrates the A3FA Consortium Framework, is one of the first to leverage the ATSC 3.0 standard to deliver enhanced viewing experiences to both connected and unconnected TVs.

NAB Show Product of the Year Award Winners were selected by a panel of industry experts in 16 categories and announced in a live awards ceremony on NAB Amplify on November 3. To be eligible for an award, nominated products had to come from companies scheduled to exhibit in either the 2020 or 2021 NAB Show and are delivered within the 2021 calendar year.

When the pandemic put a full stop to sports and live event production, CP Communications parked its mobile trucks and shifted its focus to REMI and in-studio production. It’s a business that continues to grow for the company.

The return of live sports now has CP Communications treading familiar territory with events such as the MLB All-Star Game, NBA Finals, and – most recently – Aramco Team Series New York, an internationally televised and globally streamed professional golf event.

CP Communications, a specialist in RF and IP-based content acquisition for professional golf events, was hired by event producer Olhmeyer Kusserow Group (OKG) to step in on short notice due to COVID-related restrictions for international production teams. Within two weeks, CP Communications had a turnkey crew and technology plan for the hilly Glen Oaks Club on Long Island in October 2021.

CP Communications drove its flagship HD-21 production truck to the course with 50,000 feet of fiber, eight RF cameras, eight RF effects microphones, two RF talent microphones, and course-wide communications. The company also coordinated RF frequencies for live coverage, using special temporary authority, or STAs, from the FCC to acquire spectrum.

“It felt like old times,” said CP Communications CEO Kurt Heitmann. “We have years of experience providing full video and audio coverage of big golf events for major broadcast networks, and the ability to turn around a turnkey system and crew on minimal notice for live productions of any size. When the OKG team came calling, we were ready and eager to step in to help them bring this event to viewers worldwide.”

CP Communications Vice President of Sales and Marketing Aaron Segarra adds that one of the more challenging elements of covering golf is perhaps unexpected.

“Ensuring high-quality video and audio production is essential for any live televised production, but with golf the more challenging elements is clean communications,” he said. “We established a Hytera network with 40 two-radio radios and four channels each of inbound and outbound communications. That is where we really shine for golf, and it is so important given the number of acquisition points and production sites positioned around the course.”

CP Communications acquired and distributed all content over RF for delivery back to HD-21, where MultiDyne VF-9000 video fiber-optic transport frames received and processed the signals. CP technicians managed and switched the feeds in HD-21’s master control center before handing off to OKG, which provided the World Feed and other live broadcast services to TV networks and OTT services. That included four channels of video and multiple channels of audio distributed to the host broadcast facility in Germany.

“Golf is one of the toughest sports to produce, and CP Communications gave us very close to full coverage from tee to green across all holes on a hilly course that is challenging to cover,” said Chris Ohlmeyer, Executive Producer and Managing Partner for Olhmeyer Kusserow Group. “They executed a plan that allowed them to cleanly capture and run signals RF over fiber, while also supporting our own hard cameras over the same infrastructure. They came through with a professional operations and support team on short notice while also keeping us within budget. These were tall orders with only two weeks from first contact to tee off.”

— Brian Galante

EUREKA, CALIF. — Humboldt County-based streaming and podcast tech company StreamGuys has brought to market an upgrade to its HTML5-based SGplayer multimedia player.

Complementing SGplayer’s existing embeddable configuration, version 3.2 offers a new full-page layout mode that provides additional ways for radio broadcasters and content producers to connect with their audiencess.

Hosted and managed by StreamGuys, SGplayer offers content providers a full-featured, multi-format media player that they can incorporate into their websites to present live streams and on-demand content. SGplayer 3.2’s responsive user interface delivers listening experiences on desktop and mobile devices. Integration with StreamGuys’ SGrewind time-shifting technology allows listeners to pause, resume, and rewind live streams or jump back to the beginning of a recently streamed show through a scrollable and searchable program guide.

New engagement buttons in SGplayer 3.2’s full-page layout allow radio stations and podcasters to establish ongoing connections with their audiences. Listeners can quickly subscribe to podcasts through RSS feeds or third-party platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, while a new Share button lets listeners easily propagate player links for their favorite live streams and on-demand content on popular social media networks and community forums. Enhanced search functionality allows consumers to find podcast episodes of interest by matching keywords to descriptions. The new full-page podcast presentation design can also showcase other podcast series from the same producer alongside the current episode list, encouraging listeners to discover and engage with more of the producer’s content.

Two new monetization features in SGplayer 3.2 supplement its existing support for dynamic advertising insertion. Content providers with existing e-commerce destinations can add a “Buy” button or link to the iTunes Store to allow listeners to immediately purchase products such as individual songs or albums. Customizable, clickable links can be added to live stream and podcast descriptions to take listeners to sponsors’ websites, event ticket sales portals, or any other online destination the content provider wishes.

“Broadcasters and podcast publishers are constantly striving to deepen their relationships with their listeners and expand the monetization of their content beyond traditional advertising,” said Eduardo Martinez, director of technology at StreamGuys. “SGplayer 3.2’s new full-page layout is the result of extensive research we conducted with our customers to optimize how we help them achieve those goals. Its new interface design and features enable audio enterprises to deliver differentiated, engaging audience experiences that will keep their listeners coming back for more.”

Radio Free Entertainment Network, Ltd. (RFEN) was one of the beta testers for SGplayer 3.2. “The new SGplayer enables scalable new opportunities for our marketing sales consultants and our clients,” said RFEN CEO Christavus Dominic. “It will help them increase their productivity and profits through features like customizable text and clickable links for sponsorships and promotional events.”

— Bodhi Hunt, in Arcata, Calif.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On November 15, the FCC adopted and released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update its rules for applicants proposing directional antenna facilities for FM and Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcast stations.

With the NPRM’s publication on Tuesday in the Federal Register, Comment and Reply Comment dates are now in effect.

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He’s known for his former role as SVP/Media Systems and IT Development for STARZ Entertainment LLC.

Now, he’s taking the newly created role of VP of Operations at the owner of 11 low-powered stations and two program networks, one bearing the name of the entire operation.

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On January 11, 2021, Beasley Media Group shares finished at $2.01. From that point through early November, BBGI would remain a rather steady issue on the Nasdaq GlobalMarket, with average prices in the mid-$2 range.

With Monday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street, Beasley shares have nearly erased all of its 2021 momentum. As such, the stock is ever-closer to its pandemic-era lows and more than $11 per share below where it stood four years ago.

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The FCC’s Media Bureau has identified 231 MX groups, comprising some 883 applications, in its filing window for applications for new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits, which closed on November 9.

What’s next? A new window for settlements and technical amendments.

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The new VP/GM of Nexstar Media Group‘s Lafayette, La., operations has been named. It is an individual who is “extremely familiar” with the market and the broadcast TV company’s CBS affiliate in the market.

He started as a videographer at the station’s news department in 1997, and spent 17 years there.

Going back to KLFY-10 is Chris Cook. Only this time, he’s the VP/GM at the station where he once held the roles of Promotions Coordinator, Marketing Director, Digital Sales Manager and Local Sales Manager.

Cook reports to Nexstar Media SVP/Regional Manager Mike Vaughn and comes on board after serving as Director of Sales for Circle City Broadcasting’s WISH-8 in Indianapolis. It is a role he took in early 2020, and saw Cook stay along side Circle City owner DuJuan McCoy. Prior to WISH, Cook for McCoy in Louisiana, at KADN-TV and KLAF-TV in Lafayette, stations McCoy sold to Byron Allen in 2019.

As such, Cook is returning home to Bayou Country.

“Chris is an excellent choice to lead Nexstar’s Lafayette media businesses,”  Vaughn said. “He’s intimately familiar with the market, and understands well the expectations of its viewers, advertisers and marketers. He’s thoughtful, innovative, and dedicated to delivering outstanding local content and service to the greater Lafayette area. His long track-record of success, broad experience, and ability to deliver exceptional ratings and sales results through unique local partnerships and superior customer service will serve him and the team at KLFY-TV well. I am looking forward to working with Chris as he assumes his
new duties and expect much success in the future.”

Cook added, This is like coming home. Plus, when you combine Nexstar’s commitment to
hyper-local content and the unique and innovative cross-platform advertising solutions we offer to our viewers and clients, the result gives us a distinct advantage over our competitors. I am confident that my experience has prepared me well to take on this new role and I am pleased to be re-joining the talented team of broadcast, digital, and sales professionals at KLFY-TV and klfy.com.”

Streamline Publishing Audio/TV/Podcast division seeks a creative go getter who can wear many hats and likes to play on a dynamic team. Candidate should have excellent writing skills (editorial and marketing), be adept at social media, possess great people skills and not afraid to reach out to conference speaking prospects. Strong organizational skills, the ability to multi task, and attention to detail a must.

This is a part time position with the potential to grow into full time.
Send resumes to Deborah Parenti at dparenti@streamlinepublishing.com. No phone calls. Streamline is an EOE employer.

He’s a NAB board member and the only Black owner-operator of full-power “Big Four” network broadcast affiliates in the U.S.

Now, Byron Allen is vocalizing his support of President Biden’s choice to serve as a Democratic Commissioner on the FCC: Gigi Sohn.

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On Sunday, prior to the start of its 1pm Eastern coverage of the National Football League, the FOX television network aired a 45-second promotional message that in its first three seconds incorporated an EAS tone.

The promotion ran nationally, on affiliates and on FOX-owned stations. While the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Chief, Rosemary Harold, is likely reviewing the matter along with her team, non-FOX owned television stations that had no idea the promotional message was set to air until after the fact could also be held liable for what appears to be a blatant violation of Commission rules on emergency alert messages.

Or, are the affiliates not the guilty party, thus escaping a potentially large financial penalty?

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The President and Publisher of Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report and the VP of Licensing and Industry Relations at BMI have been elected to the Board of Directors of the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF).

Taking the seats, respectively, are Deborah Parenti and Dan Spears.

The announcement came from co-chairs Jack Goodman, former NAB general counsel and longtime DC-based communications attorney, and Heidi Raphael, Beasley Media Group Chief Communications Officer.  “The LABF Board, and the broadcast industry as a whole, is indebted to Ginny Morris for her service to the Library and its mission of preserving the legacy of broadcasting and archiving its history,” said co-chairs Heidi Raphael and Jack Goodman.

Goodman replaced Hubbard Radio chief executive officer Ginny Morris as co-chair of the LABF in mid-2021. Morris, who will remain on the LABF Board, had served as sole chair of the LABF Board of Directors for the past eight years.

The LABF also announced that board members Chandra Clark, Ginny Morris, Harry Jessell, Heather Birks, John Taylor, Joyce Tudryn, Larry Patrick, Richard Liebner, Michael Carter, Wally Podrazik and Dennis Wharton were elected to new three-year terms.

Executive Committee members elected to additional two-year terms were co-chair Heidi Raphael, Jim Morley, Joyce Tudryn, Marci Burdick, Harry Jessell and David Kennedy.

Kathleen Kirby, a partner at Wiley, has agreed to serve as LABF’s counsel.

The LABF serves the philanthropic arm of the Library of American Broadcasting, a collection of broadcast history, policy and tradition, including historical documents, professional papers, oral and video histories, books, scripts and photographs preserved at the University of Maryland in College Park, a suburb of Washington. In addition, the LABF, in conjunction with the International Radio & Television Society (IRTS), presents the Annual Giants of Broadcasting Event, which pays tribute to trailblazers in the radio and television industry.

In August, the Entertainment Sports Programming Network known as ESPN received a proposed fine from the FCC in the amount of $20,000 for its use of an emergency alert system (EAS) code during a documentary it aired in October 2020 as part of its popular 30 for 30 series.

It now appears FOX Television Stations, and perhaps all of its affiliates, may be liable for a similar violation — one tied to a somewhat mysterious “NFL EMERGENCY ALERT” supporting the Philadelphia Eagles pro football club.

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It’s officially the holiday shopping season, as the first night of Chanukah was Sunday, November 28. Now, the focus is on Christmas and Kwanzaa, and brick-and-mortar retailers are fueling their desires to lure shoppers by investing heavily in spot television.

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