On July 30, RBR+TVBR first reported on agreement signed by the children of the late Ray Moran that involves the sale of a full-power TV station in Albuquerque and its associated full-power and low-power repeater stations in a transaction brokered by Kalil & Co.
The buyer has now closed on the transaction.
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When it comes to low-power TV facilities, Ravi Kapur has been a buyer of late.
The Bay Area entrepreneur who once appeared on-camera at KGO-7 in San Francisco and today is behind the Diya TV operation targeting South Asian consumers recently grew in Florida, and in late April agreed to buy a construction permit for a LPTV facility in Chico, Calif.
Now, Kapur is expanding his holdings by traveling north to Redding.
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It sounds hard to fathom just one day after a global outage crippled Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, immediately triggering cybercrime concerns that Cybercrime Magazine Editor-in-Chief Steve Morgan will be addressing at Forecast 2022 on November 16.
Yet, it is indeed true. Some 27.6 million U.S. households lack a home internet connection.
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Add Beasley Media Group to the list of radio station owners who will be sharing their third quarter 2021 fiscal report prior to the opening bell on Election Day 2021.
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The company, which is also invested in the Overwatch League, an eSports operation, will host a conference call to discuss the results on November 2 at 10am Eastern.
As has been the case in recent quarters, CEO Caroline Beasley and CFO Marie Tedesco will not be conducting a live Q&A with investors and analysts. Rather, it will be taking questions from analysts, institutional investors and debt holders via email until 9am on November 2. They may be e-mailed to ir@bbgi.com.
“Management will answer as many questions as possible during the conference call and webcast, provided the questions are not addressed in their prepared remarks,” Beasley said.
Beasley enters Q4 2021 with a stock price that has been relatively steady since early February. In fact, the last eight months has seen BBGI near $3 and dip below $2.50 just once — in late September.
From September 28 through noon Tuesday (10/5), BBGI is up 30 cents a share, with pricing at $2.70 in light trading on the Nasdaq GlobalMarket.
What can investors and analysts expect to see from Beasley in Q3? Event dollars could be present, with NTR and events shifted to the third quarter owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ll get the revenue upside in third and fourth quarter, assuming no further negative impacts from the Delta variant,” Caroline Beasley said on the company’s Q2 earnings call in August.
Beasley noted at the time that the third quarter was pacing up 30%, with July up 40% and August and September pacing up 29% and 23%, respectively.
How was the third quarter of 2021 pacing against the same period in 2019?
Caroline Beasley noted that the company was “looking at that being about 5% compared to 2019 at this point.”In terms of second quarter pacing from 2019, spot dollars were down about 16%, offset by increases in digital of about 67%.
The “big if,” however, is NTR and event revenue. In the third quarter of 2019 event revenue accounted for almost $3 million. In Q4 2019, it accounted for almost $4 million.
Media Financial Management Association’s “Media Outlook 2022,” designed to prepare financial professionals in the broadcast radio and television industries for the coming year, is gearing up for a two-day virtual event scheduled to begin in two weeks.
Scheduled for October 19 and 20, 2021 under the banner of “Opportunities Await – Ready…Reinvent Revenue,” this year’s event offers participants “a fresh view of how media financial leaders can continue to navigate the current uncertainties brought about by the pandemic and changes in the industry to help their companies thrive.”
The seminar is comprised of two two-hour sessions on the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, respectively.
Jay Bryson, Managing Director and Chief Economist of Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Bank, will give the seminar keynote on October 19 at 1pm Eastern. Bryson will discuss the current state of the U.S. economy and its outlook over the next two years, including forecasts of GDP growth, inflation and interest rates.
The second October 19 session, starting at 2:05pm Eastern, will feature Andrew Prior, Managing Director of Tax Policy Services at PwC US, who will review potential new tax legislation and implications for media businesses.
Two sessions will take place on October 20. At 1pm Eastern, the “Reinventing Revenue” panel will discuss ways media businesses can re-imagine and reinvent revenue. Panelists include Sinclair Broadcast Group SVP of Digital Sales Ryan Moore; Chase Rankin, SVP of Sales and Marketing at the Las Vegas Review-Journal; and Beasley Media Group e-Sports COO Lori Burgess.
At 2:05pm Eastern, the “Ad Sales and Data Analytics” panel will examine using data analytics to improve results for ad sales clients. Panelists include Audacy VP of Data and Analytics Dan McKinney.
This year’s Media Outlook 2022 co-chairs are Audacy Chief Accounting Officer and Controller Elizabeth “Beth” Bramowski, who on Friday (10/1) was faced with a company-wide direct deposit problem tied to employee payroll; and Cliff Ejikeme, a SVP, Controller and Treasurer at A&E Television Networks.
Dave Bochenek serves as Chair of MFM/BCCA’s Board of Directors.
Getty Images – Devgnor
Deutsche Welle recently launched shortwave radio service for Afghanistan.
It broadcasts daily radio programs in the Dari and Pashto languages.
“In Afghanistan, media diversity and free access to independent information are under acute threat,” said Director General of DW Peter Limbourg in an announcement on the DW website.
[Read: Using Media to Make Afghan Children Smile]
“DW has an experienced and skilled editorial team for the region which will contribute to providing better information to the people of Afghanistan with a shortwave radio service in Dari and Pashto, in addition to our online and social media offerings.”
The programs are broadcast daily for 30 minutes on 15230 kHZ and 15390 kHZ frequencies at 14:00 UTC in Dari and at 14:30 UTC in Pashto.
A spokeswoman declined to confirm where the transmissions originate, for security reasons. But the organization quoted Director of Programs for Asia Debarati Guha saying the focus of the programs will be on peace, civil society and gender and human rights issues, and that shortwave will serve the purpose well in case the internet is shut down or restricted in the country.
DW is Germany’s international broadcaster; it provides content in 30 languages and estimates that it reaches 249 million weekly user contacts in total with its services.
The post DW Has Shortwave Service to Afghanistan appeared first on Radio World.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS have cemented partnerships with 10 public media stations designed to extend the reach and impact of Ready To Learn-funded PBS KIDS early learning resources to local communities.
Centered in understanding local assets and needs, each station will collaborate with community partners to develop and build a “Learning Neighborhood” that fosters a community-wide culture of learning at home, in the neighborhood, and within local systems and spaces.
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It’s been in the news across the last year for its stated desire to own up to nearly 50% of iHeartMedia.
Now, the British media and entertainment group that owns such U.K. radio brands as Heart has purchased a next-generation digital audio content and technology start-up that will be added to the digital audio advertising and programmatic OOH advertising platform DAX.
With the acquisition, Remixd technology will be added to Global’s Digital Ad Exchange, or DAX.
Remixd automatically converts text articles into audio files with naturalized language,
allowing publishers to provide “premium short form audio content” to their users, DAX notes.
It’s a technology Tribune Publishing and the USA TODAY Sports department is already using. It could present opportunities for broadcast TV and radio station websites and other online platforms.
Les Hollander, who serves as CEO at DAX North America, elaborated, “This technology means digital publishers can meet the growing consumer demand for audio and publisher need for improved ad monetization. It’s the perfect pathway to reaching consumers with
customized marketing messages in the burgeoning smart speaker space. Adding text to audio conversion is a further enhancement of the tech Global has developed for DAX. Publishers, who have rafts of written content, can now use the power of audio to open up audience opportunities and revenue streams.”
According to Global-owned DAX, Remixd offers “plug and play” direct sales and programmatic ad sales. “Pre-roll bumpers, interstitials and sonic branding can
be easily added to text-to-audio,” the company noted.
DAX has a footprint of publishers in the U.S., Canada and across Great Britain.
Nautel announced its latest schedule of weekly online talks about transmission topics, and noted that the series has hit the 50-episode mark.
Jeff Welton hosts “Transmission Talk Tuesday,” which uses a roundtable format and includes giveaways.
“These interactive discussion sessions cover a broad range of engineering-oriented topics, providing an opportunity for engineers to learn and discuss ideas with their peers,” the company stated.
Topics for October 2021 include a “gizmos and gadgets” chat on Oct. 12, with Welton and Tom Lawler; an Episode 50 special; and a look at power supplies with Welton and John Wilton.
“When we started doing these sessions over a year ago, it gave us a way to keep Jeff amused and not causing trouble at the office, the company wrote in a statement, adding that the series has been popular with its clients.
Sessions are on Tuesdays at noon Eastern time and qualify for SBE recertification credit.
The post Transmission Talk Tuesday Airs 50th Episode appeared first on Radio World.
Two weeks ago, the PR team working with Pearl TV distributed literature indicating that consumers are purchasing approximately 10,000 NEXTGEN TV sets per day.
If that’s not breathtaking enough, Pearl TV reports that more than three million total sets are anticipated to be sold by the end of 2021.
Given the average price of a TV equipped with NEXTGEN TV capabilities, we just had to catch up with Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle. Are chip shortages and supply chain issues a factor? Are consumers really coughing up more than $1,000 for a new set?
Schelle shares all, along with what TV viewers in big Canadian markets with access to U.S. TV stations, can expect, in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.
The broadcast media inventory and revenue workflow management company known as WideOrbit has just released a “Total Radio Solution” it believes can bring radio station groups improved efficiencies, cost reductions and, ultimately, higher revenue across the entire ecosystem.
Those are the promises of the new product, launched October 5 by the San Francisco-based tech company.
“As listening patterns continue to shift, today’s radio broadcasters require tools to both streamline traditional AM/FM operations as well as generate additional revenue,” WideOrbit says. “Radio station automation, remote access, and digital delivery and monetization are no longer just nice-to-haves; they’re critical for stations to succeed in an increasingly competitive industry.”
So, what exactly does WideOrbit’s Total Radio Solution offer? The company’s marketing literature highlights “streamlining workflows across the radio ecosystem; increased opportunities for revenue generation through digital audio (streaming and podcasting); improved advertising customer satisfaction and retention through simplified cross-channel transactions, from order to invoice to cash; and simplified access to in-depth performance insights to make smarter, data-driven decisions.”
To be more precise, WideOrbit’s Total Radio Solution incorporates digital management and monetization, business intelligence, and A/R automation and payment tools, in addition to integration with a variety of third-party systems.
“The products that make up our Total Radio Solution were specifically designed to build upon and enhance each other,” said WideOrbit VP of Radio Sales Danny Tankersley. “Radio organizations of all sizes, from independent local stations to mid-sized regional station groups, to national radio brands, will benefit from our end-to-end solution’s ability to help deliver compelling programming to engage listeners, all while improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing revenue.”
WideOrbit Founder and CEO Eric R. Mathewson added, “WideOrbit has a longstanding commitment to continuous innovation and investment in improving our core products. We’re proud to continue that tradition with the launch of our Total Radio Solution, bringing radio workflows together in a single, unified platform to help our customers maximize revenue.”
WideOrbit is offering a family of software products under the umbrella of the Total Radio Solution.
“A suite of end-to-end radio solutions that can both stand alone and work together, WideOrbit’s Total Radio Solution helps station groups of all sizes improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase revenue across the entire radio ecosystem, from the studio to the C-suite,” the company stated.
WideOrbit makes inventory and revenue workflow management products. It said the components of this new suite allow stations to streamline their workflows, increase opportunities for revenue in streaming and podcasting; simplify cross-channel transactions; and make it easier to access performance data.
The company positions the suite as useful to stations and groups of all sizes.
“Starting from the solid foundation of WideOrbit’s core radio solutions, WO Automation for Radio and WO Traffic for Radio, stations can build out a complete solution as their business grows. WideOrbit’s Total Radio Solution incorporates digital management and monetization, business intelligence and A/R automation and payment tools, in addition to seamless integration with a wide variety of third-party systems.”
The company recently held a webinar on this product.
The post WideOrbit Offers “Total Radio Solution” Suite appeared first on Radio World.
The MusicFirst Coalition and the Future of Music Coalition want the Federal Communications Commission to retain its local radio station ownership caps and subcaps, at least for FM stations.
“These rules remain necessary to promote diversity, competition and localism in communities throughout the country,” they told the commission.
They noted that a proposal from the National Association of Broadcasters would allow common ownership of up to eight commercial FM stations in the 75 largest U.S. markets.
Commenting in the FCC’s long-drawn-out 2018 quadrennial review process, the two groups, which advocate for music creators, wrote: “What we have observed at commercial FM radio in recent years confirms our long-held conviction that prior to rulemaking, the FCC should commission its own analysis — beyond just macroeconomics — incorporating cultural, artistic, labor and other public interest concerns. Such analysis must authentically center on core policy principles of diversity, competition and localism.”
The groups say that the proposal from the NAB to ease some local caps and eliminate others “raises the frightening possibility that a single company might be allowed to own every commercial radio station in many geographic markets, accelerating many of the harms already described by civil rights groups, unions and media reformers.
“Having failed to establish consensus for their proposal even among struggling commercial FM station owners,” the coalitions continued, “they now desperately point solely to marketplace challenges facing the radio industry as justification for further drastic ownership deregulation while dodging accountability for their own anti-competitive actions and the impacts of their preferred deregulatory policies.”
Further ownership consolidation, they said, “is not the answer to terrestrial radio’s competition woes.” They dismissed NAB’s argument that caps are limiting ownership unduly. “In fact, the few AM/FM owners who are currently hitting the LRSO Caps appear to be bouncing back nicely. Permanent ownership deregulation is not the right remedy.”
[Related: “NAB Lays Out Precarious Financial Position of Radio”]
They want to FCC to “chart a different course … rather than assenting to calls to further weaken important public interest protections on the flimsiest of justifications.” It wants the commission to define markets differently, study the impact of past policy decisions on racial equity, and collect better data about what is happening in the marketplace “with respect to listeners, broadcast owners and content creators.”
So they asked the FCC to retain current maximums on the number of FM stations that an entity can own in a market, as well as the AM/FM subcap. They didn’t take a position on whether it should ease the number of AM stations that one entity can own in a market.
“We also call upon the commission to conduct its own meaningful studies about the effects of deregulation of commercial FM ownership on diversity, localism and both intramodal and intermodal competition for use in its upcoming 2022 Quadrennial Review. Such studies should include analysis of effects on the public interest of the elimination of the Main Studio Rule, with an eye toward determining whether the Main Studio Rule should be reinstated in the public interest.”
Founding members of MusicFirst include the Recording Industry Association of America and SoundExchange, among other advocacy groups. FMC is a nonprofit that advocates for artist compensation.
The post MusicFirst, FMC See “Inequities” in AM/FM Policy appeared first on Radio World.
ST Engineering iDirect’s broadcast technology has been selected by USSI Global, the provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services worldwide, to enable the modernization and compression of satellite programmers’ distribution uplinks to comply with the FCC’s C-band spectrum transition.
ST Engineering iDirect is a key technology partner in the upgrade and will be providing broadcast equipment including M1600 modulators, USS02012 redundancy switches and FR0730 up and down converters, enabling USSI Global to ensure a smooth transition and high-efficiency, future-proof infrastructure.
The modernized compression systems will serve extensive sports distribution encompassing MLB, NHL and NBA teams, as well as several major programmer distribution systems in the USA.
The upgrade is expected to be completed by August 2023.
The upgrade work is part of the FCC’s initiative to clear 300MHz of the C-band’s 500MHz bandwidth frequency for 5G mobile services and relocate service providers within that spectrum to the remaining 200MHz. As the C-band spectrum is mostly used for TV and radio operations, many providers will vacate the 300MHz targeted for 5G services. These transitions will require affected providers to navigate complex technical changes including installation of new and existing antennas and the repointing and filtering required for the antenna upgrades.
— Brian Galante
On October 15, three FEMA representatives will be on hand to help commemorate the launch of “an all-hazards upgrade” to what is considered to be a “Primary Entry Point” facility at the heritage home for News and Talk in New England — iHeartMedia-owned WBZ-AM 1030 in Boston.
FEMA and iHeartMedia Boston are teaming for the event, scheduled for 11am on that Friday in mid-October. It will be held at the WBZ transmitter and “PEP” site, in Hull, Mass.
According to iHeartMedia, the modernization to the emergency studio increases WBZ Radio’s resiliency to continue broadcasting under all conditions, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism.
The facility is one of 77 across the country that serve as a National Public Warning System Primary Entry Point (PEP) station, participating with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after incidents and disasters.
This makes WBZ Radio the 13th station in the nation to work with FEMA to complete the all-hazards upgrade, which includes increased sheltering capabilities, expanded broadcast capacity, and sustainable power generation for all types of hazardous events.
A ribbon cutting, official remarks, a Q&A session for local media, a tour of the facility, and a live demonstration at the WBZ PEP station emergency studio are scheduled.
Speakers include Antwane Johnson, Director of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System; FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Nick Russo; IPAWS Program Manager Manny Centeno; iHeartMedia EVP of Engineering & Systems Integration Jeff Littlejohn; and iHeartMedia Boston Market President Alan Chartrand.
Politicians set to appear include Sen. Ed Markey, State Senator Patrick O’Connor, State Representative Joan Meschino, and Hull Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Jennifer Constable.
WBZ on-air host Dan Rea will also be in attendance.
Cummis, CBT, CTO, has been chief technical officer of PBS39 WLVT(TV), in Bethlehem, Pa., since 2017, and she is a member of SBE Chapter 15 in New York City. Her responsibilities include technical oversight at NPR affiliate WLVR(FM).
She was unopposed in the SBE election and will take office on Oct. 18, succeeding Wayne Pecena, who served two terms and remains on the board as immediate past president.
Cummis has a breadth of expertise, holding degrees in electrical engineering and in law and technology, as well as an MBA. She has worked for more than two decades in engineering, operations and new technology in television, radio and new media.
She and her husband Renard Fiscus also own AC Video Solutions, a systems design and integration firm. Its customers include Christian Faith Network, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, All Mobile Video, M&T Bank, and Raritan Valley Community College.
Cummis spoke with Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane.
Radio World: You’ve done quite a bit of systems integration and design, as I understand it.
Andrea Cummis: Lots and lots. Many, many years.
RW: How did you get into broadcast engineering in the first place?
Cummis: Oh, it’s a funny story. I was in my eighth-grade history class and we were doing projects; you got up and showed your project.
Someone dropped off a cart of equipment — a camera and an old black-and-white reel-to-reel deck — but none of it was put together, it was all just on a cart in a box. I thought it was really interesting. I went over and put it together and started recording the projects.
I went over to the librarian and said, “Do you need help with this?” And I became the AV person for the junior high.
I would record all the school plays and do the audio recordings for concerts.
When I was ready to go to high school, the librarian called them and said, “Don’t mess around, just let her do video stuff when she gets there, don’t make her wait.” So I started running a four-camera video studio as soon as I got to high school. I was TD’ing and directing four-camera shoots for the school plays and running monitors backstage. I just figured it all out.
RW: A lot of people in our business would know what that high school AV closet looks like! Yet in 2021 there are still very few women in the field. Why do you think that is?
Cummis: It’s really hard, and pretty physical, and you don’t get paid that much.
If you’re studying engineering in college, why wouldn’t you do chemical engineering or IT, where you don’t have to be on your feet all day and work crazy hours and be on call weekends and nights and probably get paid a lot more?
I think we as engineers are very undervalued in how hard we work and how much knowledge we need, how we have to work under pressure and respond really quickly.
It’s a very unusual job. I wish I knew why more women didn’t do it. I don’t think they have the opportunity. Maybe a lot of people don’t know that this job exists, they were never exposed to it.
RW: As you come in as SBE president, what are your priorities?
Cummis: Well, for me as the first woman president of SBE, I would like to figure out how to diversify and get more women, more minorities, different ages, and people who aren’t necessarily “straight engineering” but have other technical jobs in broadcasting. I think it’s been our goal as a society for a long time, but it feels really important right now.
Andrea Cummis at work for “The Today Show” in China in 1987.RW: Certainly there’s been no lack of good intentions on the part of the society over the years, but these also are issues in our broader culture. Those are not small obstacles.
Cummis: No, absolutely.
One of our goals is to have a strategic planning process that will open things. In the past, we’ve flown people into one place, trapped them in a room and talked all day. But with all the virtual meetings we have nowadays, it’s a great opportunity to be able to invite more people and do sessions in different jobs and locations — really open it up so that we can get a better understanding of what people need, what they think we could do to be better and attract other kinds of people.
RW: You certainly are coming into this position at an interesting time nationally, given the pandemic and the effect it’s had on events, meetings and working remotely.
Cummis: We’ve done really well at SBE with having virtual meetings, it’s been very successful for us.
For me, the interesting thing being in charge of a facility is having to deal with all the COVID stuff and keeping your facility safe and your people safe. A lot of chief engineers and other members have been thrown into being COVID experts and having to figure this out.
Are your people working remotely successfully? Are you increasing your cleaning?
For example I found these really cool wraps that you put around handles that are supposed to keep everything clean magically. I don’t know how they work but it’s amazing technology. I even had to take COVID certifications including a session with a doctor, a nurse and a lawyer; you had to pass a test.
There’s so much to know and it changes so fast. It really has changed what our job is in ways you never could have predicted.
RW: We often hear of the traditional divide between IT and broadcast engineering. Many of those skillsets and interest areas now overlap. Is the divide getting any closer?
Cummis: In some cases it’s totally merged and there is really no divide; and in other places that are union shops, they can’t get together because they’re not allowed to. That’s where it gets messy, because the broadcast engineers have a specific domain, the IT guys are on the other side, and there are times they have to work together. But then there’s times where you get finger-pointing: Who’s in charge of this or that, and who’s assigning IP addresses or anything else that crosses over.
I think you’re always going to have two paths.
RW: As you look across media technology, are there particular areas where you think SBE members ought to be paying closer attention for their careers?
Cummis: Well, the ATSC 3.0 stuff is coming up really fast. A lot of places are already starting to implement it. There’s so much to know and it’s so complicated, so many ways to use it. Each organization is going to have to figure out why they’re doing it and what they’re hoping to get out of it.
Then having to keep the ATSC 1 going while you’re doing ATSC 3. It’s years and years that you have to overlap, and nobody’s helping you pay for it. How do you do it? How do you “lighthouse”? Are you doing it with somebody else or can you do it with just what you own?
Just taking a webinar is not going to be enough for anyone. There’s an awful lot to know, and it’s going to keep changing. It will be probably be a few years of people watching to see how’s somebody else rolling it out, and was it successful? How long did it take? What did it cost?
We’re looking at it here at WLVT, but we’re part of a big channel share. It’s going to be hard to do that with nine channels on our one piece of bandwidth now; how would you ever lighthouse that?
RW: You mentioned webinars. SBE has done a great job of putting together comprehensive training materials on many radio and TV technical topics. Are there other issues that you want to mention?
Cummis: I think overall we’ve made some really good decisions in the past few years. Our new membership enhancement, SBE MemberPlus, which includes all the webinars, has been really successful. All our education certification, all our big initiatives like the Technical Professional Training Program have been terrific and are continuing — we just started ATSC 3.0 certification, something I should probably take at some point!
There are a lot of things we do really well. I hope to continue those and grow in other places.
[Related: Read our 2014 interview with Wayne Pecena on the occasion of his receiving the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award.]
SBE Presidents List
Andrea Cummis 2021–
Wayne Pecena 2019–2021
Jim Leifer 2017–2019
Jerry Massey 2015–2017
Joe Snelson 2013–2015
Ralph Hogan 2011–2013
Vincent Lopez 2009–2011
Barry Thomas 2007–2009
Christopher H. Scherer 2005–2007
Raymond C. Benedict 2003–2005
Troy D. Pennington 2001–2003
James “Andy” Butler 1999–2001
Edward J. Miller 1997–1999
Terrence M. Baun 1995–1997
Charles W. Kelly Jr. 1993–1995
Richard Farquhar 1991–1993
Bradley Dick 1989–1991
Jack McKain 1987–1989
Richard Rudman 1985–1987
Roger Johnson 1984–1985
Doyle Thompson, Sr. 1983–1984
Ron Arendall 1981–1983
Robert Jones 1979–1981
James Hurley 1978–1979
Robert Wehrman 1977–1978
Glen Lahman 1975–1977
James Wulliman 1973–1975
Robert Flanders 1971–1973
Lewis Wetzel 1970–1971
Al Chismark 1968–1970
Charles Hallinan 1966–1968
John Battison, P.E. 1965–1966
The post Cummis Set to Take the Lead at SBE appeared first on Radio World.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC has announced the winners of the agency’s Excellence in Engineering Awards, which recognize Commission staff who have made outstanding engineering, scientific or technical contributions.
Julia Tu and Ryan Hedgpeth from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau share the 2021 Excellence in Engineering award for their work on the Commission’s technical investigation into the nationwide outage of a major wireless network.
“Their efforts will help ensure that rapid, efficient, nationwide radio communications service is available to all the people of the United States,” the Commission said. Their work on the project will help to avoid similar outages in the future, including through recommendations to service providers regarding periodic improvements to network diversity, validation of software upgrades in a lab environment, and active monitoring of 911 network components, the FCC added.
“Every day, the FCC benefits from the immense source of talent working within the agency,” acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the September Open Meeting, held last week. “I’m proud to recognize Julia and Ryan for their commitment to using their creativity and ingenuity in service of the public.”
Radio TechCon, which bills itself as the “UK radio and audio industry’s technical and engineering conference” has announced Nov. 29 as its date for a virtual gathering.
[For News on This and Other Shows See Our Show News Page]
Organizers are still putting together details. There will be speeches, interactive sessions and presentations along with breakout rooms and special events from sponsors.
Committed sponsors of the show include Broadcast Bionics, RCS, Lawo, Arqiva, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Broadcast Radio and Vortex Communications.
The post Radio TechCon Scheduled for End of November appeared first on Radio World.
FEMA and iHeartMedia will cut the ribbon later this month on an upgraded “Primary Entry Point” facility at WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Boston.
WBZ is the 13th U.S. station to work with FEMA to complete an “all-hazards upgrade,” which includes increased sheltering capabilities, expanded broadcast capacity and sustainable power generation for hazardous events.
[Related: “WLW PEP Station to Test New Studio Shelter”
“The modernization to the emergency studio increases iHeartMedia’s WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Boston’s resiliency to continue broadcasting under all conditions, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism,” they announced.
“This facility is one of 77 across the country that serve as a National Public Warning System Primary Entry Point (PEP) station, participating with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after incidents and disasters.”
The ribbon cutting will be open to news media but not the general public.
The post WBZ to Cut the Ribbon on Upgraded PEP Facility appeared first on Radio World.
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