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Marvin Vosper Enters Into Consent Decree to rRsolve Political File Investigation.

Media Bureau issues Public Notice seeking comment on implementation of the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019

New West Broadcasting Systems, Inc. enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Roy Blunt and Ron Wyden have come together to propose legislation that, if passed, would strengthen spectrum rights for some low power television (LPTV) stations.

In particular, the “Low Power Protection Act” would open up a filing window qualifying LPTV stations to apply for and receive Class A status. The NAB is supportive of this bill.

“Local television stations play a unique and critical role in their communities, keeping viewers informed, entertained, and alerted in an emergency,” said Blunt. “The Low Power Protection Act would help ensure smaller stations, especially those in Missouri’s rural areas, are able to continue providing coverage that people depend on. I appreciate Senator Wyden’s partnership in this effort and the strong support the bill has received from local, state, and national broadcasters.”

The bill came on a day when Springfield, Mo., became the latest market to rollout NEXTGEN TV. Among the stations using the ATSC 3.0-powered technology is Gray Television’s low-powered ABC affiliate serving the market.

“Low power television stations provide diverse, locally-oriented broadcasting in small communities across Oregon, especially in rural and remote areas of our state,” said Wyden. “I’m proud to join my colleague Senator Blunt in introducing this common-sense, bipartisan bill to empower LPTV stations that serve their communities.”

LPTV stations usually provide locally-oriented or specialized service in their communities. However, LPTV is currently considered a secondary broadcast service by the FCC. As such, LPTV licensees are not granted protections from harmful interference or displacement, and must accept harmful interference or displacement from full power television stations.

In 1999, in an effort to protect LPTV stations from harmful interference or displacement during the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, Congress passed the Community Broadcaster Protection Act (CBPA). The law created the “Class A” station status, and opened a one-time filing window for stations to apply. CBPA directed that Class A licensees be subject to the same license terms and renewal standards as full power television licensees, and that Class A licensees be accorded primary status as television broadcasters as long as they continue to meet the requirements set forth in the statute.

Blunt and Wyden’s Low Power Protection Act would require the FCC to open a new filing window during which qualifying LPTV stations could apply for and receive Class A status.

Class A status would protect LPTV stations from being bumped off-air by harmful interference. That, in turn, “will help ensure they are able to continue providing local coverage, and allow them to better protect existing investment and incentivize further investment in their stations and communities,” the senators say.

Frank Copsidas, Founder and President of the recently formed LPTV Broadcasters Association, says his advocacy group strongly endorses the bill.

“It is an essential, meaningful initiative to serve the public interest,” he said. “The Act is cited as ‘The Low Power Protection Act’ and a key word is ‘protection.’ Much attention has been given to encouraging support for local journalism and jobs, and protecting television stations for the viewers they serve. Secure, trusted local news and culturally diverse content is the foundation of the programming that our members uniquely broadcast on a daily basis. Simply stated, this bill allows LPTV stations to grow to the next level in serving the public interest with both protection of broadcast coverage area and the ability to secure crucial small business financing. The LPTV Broadcasters Association on behalf of its members around the country is committed to seeing this legislation be passed.”

The NAB also took a moment to applaud the bill’s introduction, as it would offer “some community-oriented low power television stations a long-overdue opportunity to gain important interference protections. Millions of viewers across the country rely on LPTVs for local news, weather, community affairs and emergency information, particularly in rural areas and smaller markets. This legislation would ensure Americans’ access to these vital stations and provide assurance that their signals can remain on the air. Broadcasters thank Sens. Wyden and Blunt for their efforts to help LPTVs and their viewers, and we support swift passage of this bill.”

The state broadcasters associations of Oregon and Missouri also support the bill as does the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

For NHMC President/CEO Brenda Victoria Castillo, “Negative portrayals of the Latinx community and the perceptions that come from them are often due to the appallingly low levels of Latinx broadcast and media ownership. Low power television (LPTV) broadcasters tend to provide more unique and diverse programming directly to Latinx and marginalized communities, but often find their frequencies assigned to larger operators that disregard diversity. NHMC is proud to support the Low Power Protection Act–a solution that promotes media diversity by empowering LPTV broadcasters as Class-A licensees.”

— Additional reporting by Adam Jacobson, in Boca Raton, Fla.

Four broadcast TV stations serving Southwest Missouri have become the first in the market to offer local viewers NEXTGEN TV stations.

The launch of the ATSC 3.0-powered signals involves Nexstar Media Group’s local stations in Springfield, Mo., and the Mission Broadcasting property Nexstar operates.

The Springfield market launch includes Mission-owned CBS affiliate KOLR-10; Nexstar-owned FOX affiliate KRBK-TV and MyNetwork TV affiliate KOZL-TV; and Gray Television‘s KSPR-LD 33, the market’s ABC affiliate.

KOZL is the “lighthouse” station for the NEXTGEN TV signals.

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process
and deployment efforts across the four television stations.

Eleven engineers who developed recommendations for loudness in internet audio streaming and on-demand applications are being honored by the Audio Engineering Society.

The inaugural AES President’s Award, which recognizes group collaborations, went to David Bialik, Rob Byers, Jim Coursey, Eelco Grimm, Bob Katz, John Kean, Scott Norcross, Robert Orban, Shawn Singh, Jim Starzynski and Alessandro Travaglini.

They were honored for technical achievement in drafting TC document TD1008: “Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution.”

“This award recognizes that contributions to the goals of the AES are often made collaboratively in groups,” the society wrote in its announcement. “The President’s Award may be given to a group of individuals in recognition of diligent and significant joint efforts on behalf of the Audio Engineering Society — those efforts making substantial contributions to the science or application of audio engineering.”

The society held an online ceremony last week honoring all of its recipients.

Its highest technical award, the AES Gold Medal Award, was presented to Richard Factor and Tony Agnello “for making the world sound better — and often weirder — through the continuous development of signal processors that inspire users and delight listeners.” Factor is co-founder and chairman of Eventide Audio, Agnello is managing director.

AES Fellowship Awards were presented to Ian Dennis, Mark Ethier, Paul Gallo, Leslie Gaston-Bird, Alexey Lukin, Doug McClement and Valerie Tyler.

AES Board of Governors Awards were given to Aníbal Ferreira, Valerie Tyler, Joel Brito, Paul Womack,  Jonathan Wyner, Ruud Kaltofen, Bert Kraaijpoel, Michael Fleming and Bill Crabtree.

Those and other award announcements can be viewed on the AES YouTube channel. The awards ceremony program with recipient bios is online.

The post Loudness Recommendations Are Honored by AES appeared first on Radio World.

Gordon Smith isn’t the only radio industry leader saying farewell to his longtime role come January 1, 2022.

The current CEO of Salem Media Group is stepping aside and will transition to the newly created role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Who will succeed Ed Atsinger III as Salem’s Chief Executive Officer? Look no further than its President of Broadcast Media.

With Atsinger’s transition, Salem’s Board of Directors has appointed David Santrella to become Chief Executive Officer.

There’s more shifting in the Salem C-Suite: David Evans, Salem’s President of Digital Media and Publishing, is being promoted position of Chief Operating Officer.

Meanwhile, the current Chairman of Salem’s Board of Directors, Stuart W. Epperson Sr., will resign and transition to the position of Chairman Emeritus on January 1.

As such, son Stuart W. Epperson Jr. will join the Board of Directors, filling the vacancy created by his father’s departure.

“These changes reflect the Board’s ongoing succession planning and are designed to provide leadership continuity as the company continues to execute its strategic initiatives,” the company says.

Since founding Salem in 1974, Atsinger, along with his brother-in-law, the elder Epperson, has grown the company from a single radio station into a multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative spoken word content.

To be certain, Atsinger will continue to be engaged full-time and focus more of his attention on macro strategy and planning, M&A, external relationships, government affairs and leadership development. “This will allow the company to continue to benefit from Mr. Atsinger’s decades of experience and skills,” the company said on Monday afternoon.

“I am pleased to serve as Executive Chairman and to oversee the succession to the next generation of leadership of our company,” Atsinger said in prepared comments. “I am looking forward to working with the executive team to continue Salem’s vitally important mission of serving the media needs of the audiences interested in Christian content and public policy programming with a traditional conservative focus.”

Atsinger continued that, in his view, Salem is “well-positioned for continued growth into the future.” As such, he said, “now is the right time to take the next step in implementing our long-term leadership transition.”

He concluded, “Most of all, I am blessed to lead our talented and dedicated team. I am extremely proud of Salem’s employees and personalities who create and distribute the content that allows us to serve our loyal and dedicated audience of listeners, readers, and now viewers. It is this talented team that has allowed Salem to become the business it is today. Building and expanding this platform over nearly 50 years has been and will continue to be the focus of my life’s work.”

Commenting on his promotion, Santrella said, “I am deeply honored to have been appointed as Salem’s next CEO. I look forward to working in close partnership with David Evans to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that exist in today’s media landscape, to further the mission of our company and to grow our business. I am blessed that I will have Ed alongside me in my new role.”

Evans added, “I am looking forward to working together with Dave and the rest of our talented leadership team as we further combine traditional media and digital media in new transformative ways. We have a substantial and passionate audience that accesses our content and brands in many ways and we’re focused on ensuring they can enjoy it and engage with us across multiple platforms.”

The senior Epperson, who has served as Salem’s Chairman of the Board of Directors since going public, said, “Our Board of Directors has engaged in thoughtful long-term succession planning, and today’s announcement demonstrates the strength of that process as well as the depth of talent at the executive management level to drive the company’s continued growth and success. I am confident that David Santrella and David Evans are perfectly qualified to continue working with Edward and the rest of the management team to build on our success and drive Salem into the next phase of its growth.”

What is the status of the implementation of the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019 (TVPA)?

The Media Bureau would really like to know, and is inviting comment from “interested parties” in regard to the latest in a series of Congressional actions that have revised the Communications Act of 1934 with the intent to “encourage competition and establish parameters for the carriage of television broadcast stations by multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).”

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Want to chime in on MB Docket No. 21-422?

You have more time to do so, as the Media Bureau has just extended the comment and reply comment deadlines for its FM Directional Antenna Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

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Gray Television is closing out 2021 with another deal. While it is hardly the size of its Quincy Media, Inc., or Meredith Local Media transactions, it is certainly worth noting.

The company co-led by Pat LaPlatney and Hilton Howell Jr. is scooping up five licensed low-power TV stations and a single Construction Permit. The seller: Jeff Winemiller.

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Should a low-power TV station Construction Permit be able to relocate without any restrictions, making them as lucrative as ever to potential buyers?

One licensee says yes, and has filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the Commission with the intent of undoing a special condition given to his LPTV’s CP that must keep it in place for at least one year before any possible move can be made.

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BIA Advisory Services has released its 2020 list of the top-billing radio stations in the country.

The chart is below. Again this list is for last year; BIA’s list is usually issued earlier but like every other business, the company has seen its normal routines disrupted lately. Its list for 2021 won’t be out for a while.

At $62 million, Hubbard’s WTOP(AM) in Washington leads the 2020 list of estimated revenue by a whopping margin, way ahead of the No. 2, iHeart’s KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, and more than twice everyone else’s number.

Compared to 2019, WLTW(FM) moved from fourth to third in the rankings, but KBIG slid from third to seventh. WSB(AM) in Atlanta entered the 2020 rankings in fourth place, and WCBS(AM) in New York City was knocked out of the top ten.

The top 10 in 2019 were:

1. WTOP(AM)
2. KIIS-FM
3. KBIG-FM
4. WLTW(FM)
5. WHTZ(FM)
6. WFAN(AM)
7. WINS(AM)
8. WCBS(AM)
9. WBBM(AM)
10. WBZ(AM)

The post WTOP Was Top Biller Again in 2020 appeared first on Radio World.

With 11 days remaining in the 2021 calendar year, the busy team at BIA Advisory Services on Monday (12/20) released its list of the top billers in broadcast radio for the 2020 calendar year.

To the surprise of no one, Hubbard-owned all-News WTOP in Washington is No. 1.

The data came at the same time as a report showing nearly 800 licensees as having left the radio broadcasting industry since 2019. As one broker sees it, however, it’s much ado about nothing.

RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Hundreds of licensees over the last 24 months that had perhaps one or two stations in their stable cashed out and are no longer radio broadcasters. But, isn’t this exactly what the NAB and many industry leaders want — a smaller ownership pool driven by even more consolidation?

 

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Travel between Macon and Valdosta, Ga., along Interstate 75, and you’ll pass through the tiny town of Cordele. Here, an FM translator is being spun.

But, it’s originating AM isn’t a part of this end-of-year deal.

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A FM translator station in Rhode Island that allegedly failed to file a license renewal application on time is being told to pay a $5,000 monetary forfeiture, down from an original amount of $7,000.

Federal Communications Commission rules state that broadcasters must apply for a license renewal no later than the first day of the fourth month before the expiration of the license. If a station has not filed a license renewal application on time, the station has no authority to continue operation past the expiration date unless it receives a Special Temporary Authorization (STA) from the commission.

In the case of DiPonti Communications, licensee of FM translator W276DF in Westerly, R.I, the license was set to expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The issue was complicated by the fact that the station’s prior licensee — Harvest Broadcasting Association — received a one-year, short-term renewal on Nov. 8, 2016, as part of a consent decree with the bureau. (Harvest and DiPonti filed an application for consent to assign the license from the former to the latter on Nov. 3, 2016, several days after the consent decree and several days before the short-term renewal grant.) The Media Bureau also granted Harvest’s request to relocate the station from Vermont to Rhode Island so the station could rebroadcast DiPonti’s station, WBLQ(AM).

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The next steps moved smoothly: DiPonti constructed at the new Rhode Island location, filed a covering application to license the new facilities and received a covering license by the bureau that reminded the licensee that the station license would expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The bureau made clear that the covering license the station received did not extend the station’s license term — even though the license substituted the new Rhode Island facilities for the prior Vermont facilities.

That meant that DiPonti should have filed a license renewal application by July 1, 2017, which would have been the first day of the fourth full calendar month prior to the Nov. 8, 2017, expiration date. But DiPonti did not do so — not until three years later on Sept. 11, 2020. It also did not request an STA to continue operating under terms of the expired license until Sept. 16, 2020.

While DiPonti acknowledged that the 2020 application was late, the licensee did not realize that the license had expired when it did.

On Sept. 21, 2021, the bureau released a notice of apparent liability proposing a forfeiture of $7,000 — $3,000 for failing to file the renewal application on time and $4,000 for operating without authorization.

Soon after DiPonti asked the bureau to consider reducing the amount because that there was a discrepancy between expiration dates in the consent decree and in the FCC’s Licensing and Management System (LMS) database. But the FCC disagreed and said that an LMS error could not have caused the violations because that database did not come online until 21 months after DiPonti missed the renewal filing deadline.

DiPonti filed another petition for reconsideration and argued several new points, including that DiPonti was not responsible for Harvest’s misconduct that resulted in the short-term renewal; DiPonti’s broadcasts after the expiration date provided a public service without causing interference to any other stations; DiPonti had a clean record of compliance; the bureau incorrectly discounted the LMS database error since the same incorrect information appears in the existing Consolidated Database System; the violation was for a shorter period of time than the bureau suggested; and DiPonti was unaware that its license had expired because the commission continued to assess regulatory fees that showed the station as properly licensed. To support these arguments, DiPonti submitted copies of regulatory bills, database printouts and a covering license document.

After assessing DiPonti’s second petition, the Media Bureau agreed with some of the licensee’s arguments, including the suggestion that the station was serving the public interest and that DiPointi’s violations do not constitute serious violations.

As a result, bureau adjusted the forfeiture in light of DiPointi’s history of compliance and admitted that there is a remote possibility that a database error might have contributed to the confusion. As a result, the bureau said DiPponti is now liable for a forfeiture of $5,000.

The post FM Translator Issued $5,000 Forfeiture for Late Filing, Unauthorized Operation appeared first on Radio World.