Aggregator

Eric Wiler

Eric Wiler is senior vice president, technology and operations at Westwood One. This interview is part of Radio World’s current series about the C-Band migration process including radio station reimbursement.

Westwood One provides syndicated content to 250 million monthly listeners via an audio network of 8,000 affiliated radio stations and media partners. The company, owned by Cumulus Media, describes itself as the largest audio network in America.

Radio World: In the typical relationship between Westwood One and a radio station affiliate, who owns the dish and feedhorn?

Eric Wiler: Since satellite has been employed by the major networks, it has been the typical standard that the network provides the downlink receivers and the station installs the dish, feedhorn, LNB, cables and splitters.

RW: We’ve reported on the process set up by the FCC for reimbursing qualified radio stations for modifying C-Band satellite dishes as part of the midband repack. As a radio syndicator with many affiliates, how does Westwood One fit into this process; what role are you playing?

Wiler: We’ve provided recommendations to our affiliates, acting as a conduit for our satellite provider SES, to disseminate information to radio stations. These recommendations included regular communication asking the stations register their C-Band downlink antennas with the commission.

RW: What role are the satellite companies playing? I understand SES and Intelsat are the major players.

Wiler: SES and Intelsat have dedicated extensive resources to their programming providers such as Westwood One to ensure we maintain our ability to continue distribution with the same high level of reliability stations have come to expect with C-Band. They have played an extremely active role in the engineering of a “shared universe” between satellite and terrestrial utilization of the 3700-4200 MHz band.

RW: A key question confronting many radio stations is whether to take the “lump sum” that’s been established by the FCC process, which we’re told is about $9,000 or $17,000 for a typical radio station. How are you advising radio stations on this decision?

Wiler: Westwood One is a programming provider. While we provided the recommendation to follow the FCC guidelines to register all downlinks, the review and acceptance of the terms placed on the downlinks by the “lump sum” is something that should be carefully considered for each situation. As we cannot be clear on the individual dynamics of every business, the lump sum decision must be made by each owner individually.

[Related: “How the C-Band Repack Affects Public Radio”]

RW: If stations take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: My understanding of the public notice is that by accepting the cash distribution, you are agreeing to mitigate the impact of terrestrial utilization of the C-Band to your downlink, while certain video feeds are transitioning to fiber or terrestrial circuits. By electing to receive the lump sum you’re accepting the responsibility for undertaking the necessary transition actions in accordance with the satellite operators timelines. This could be as simple as adding a filter between the LNB and the feedhorn, but this is not a certainty. C-Band is extremely reliable thus the preference over internet or other public terrestrial backup systems.

RW: If stations do NOT take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: Westwood One’s satellite provider is SES. It will be responsible for the transition of your downlink. Their plan is to conduct pre-installation visual site surveys to assess the individual needs. This means when their installer shows up (provided by SES) they will have the additional equipment should something unexpected happened. This option may be best for stations with extremely limited technical resources.

RW: Hardware provider DAWNco told us they’ve been getting a lot of questions, and that one radio station reported being advised by a Westwood One representative “to do nothing” and that this station thus would be entitled to two free filters but would be leaving available money on the table. Is that an accurate summary of Westwood One’s advice?

Wiler: As I noted earlier, as a program provider Westwood One is not really the appropriate authority to provide the ultimate guidance in every situation. SES has indicated to us as their customer if the station doesn’t elect to receive the lump sum, they will provide filters and assistance in maintaining the downlink’s ability to receive programming. If the stations agree to take on the responsibility for technical mitigation, they may receive compensation. Obviously the “lump sum” is much greater than the cost of two filters, but may be less than the total mitigation expense.

RW: Are you hearing from many stations that missed the earlier registration process and thus are apparently locked out of reimbursement?

Wiler: Overall, we’ve heard from a few stations who didn’t register, but the overwhelming majority of stations complied with the initial request.

RW: What other questions have you been asked by affiliates, and how are you answering?

Wiler: The biggest question has been timing. Filters must be installed by December 2021 for the largest 46 PEAs (markets). The rest of the nation has until December 2023 to mitigate C-Band terrestrial signals.

RW: Anything else we should know?

Wiler: This is a highly complex issue with legal, technical and financial implications. There is a lot of information coming at stations as well as the networks and we’re all on the same side, to maintain the continuity of our programming. By using all available resources the answer for your individual station’s situation should be clear.

[Read more of Radio World’s coverage of this issue.]

The post How Westwood One Views the C-Band Migration appeared first on Radio World.

An image from The Weather Channel Radio Network Facebook page

The Weather Channel and Skyview Networks announced an agreement intended to help the weather content provider expand its radio network sales and distribution.

Skyview is a technology, syndication and national network sales company. The announcement was made by Weather Channel President Tom O’Brien, Skyview Networks President/COO Steve Jones and Skyview EVP/GM Jeanne-Marie Condo.

O’Brien was quoted in the announcement saying that The Weather Channel radio network wants to expand its reach and brand awareness. The network is heard in approximately 100 U.S. markets.

Condo highlighted The Weather Channel’s “impressive reach and wide portfolio of formats, including A18-49 and strong female-skewing audiences” in radio.

Send business news and Who’s Buying What announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Skyview Signs Weather Channel to Sales Agreement appeared first on Radio World.

Image from the Westwood One website

Leading U.S. radio networks are urging buyers and sellers of network and national radio commercials to use the fall 2019 ratings as their reference, essentially asking them to ignore the upcoming spring 2020 nationwide data.

“The Network Radio Research Council (NRRC) is recommending that all network/national buying and selling be based on the Fall 2019 Nationwide survey, which is the latest data available prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it stated.

“The NRRC’s recommendation follows a statement from Nielsen that future buying and planning decisions should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates, which includes the upcoming Spring 2020 Nationwide survey.”

The NRRC is a group of syndicators and other companies with an interest in accurate national radio audience measurement. Its members include AdLarge Media, American Urban Radio Networks, Crystal Media Networks, Premiere Radio Networks, Sun Broadcast Group, United Stations Radio Networks and Westwood One.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented divergence of traditional patterns of media consumption, including, AM/FM listening and the streaming of audio,” the group stated.

“Listening behaviors were significantly altered starting in mid-March 2020, as the public adjusted to remote work environments and shelter-at-home mandates across the United States. The broadcast month of April represents the first month of Nielsen’s Spring 2020 [April-May-June] Nationwide survey. Each month subsequent to April has demonstrated consistent increases in listening, and there is confidence listenership will continue to stabilize and approach pre-Covid-19 levels.”

The group says the Fall 2019 Nationwide book “represents the best solution for the upcoming 2021 network radio upfront and Q4 scatter buys.”

The group quoted this statement from Nielsen: “Given the anomalous nature of audience behavior during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, it is Nielsen’s position that future buying and planning decisions for periods that fall outside the COVID-19 crisis should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates.”

The post Networks Say Ad Buyers Should Discard Spring Survey appeared first on Radio World.

The author is sound supervisor for Oregon Public Radio in Portland, Ore.

I began working at Oregon Public Radio 15 years ago and am now the sound supervisor. In essence, I work for the news department and am responsible for the final sound quality.

My job varies day by day, hour by hour. On any given day, I’ll hop from engineering something for a live broadcast, to mixing a music session for an audience in our performance space, to doing post-production mixes for a documentary series on our own channel.

When stay-at-home orders were put in place in Oregon, we needed to work quickly to get our staff set up to work outside the studio.

With most staff at home, the studios at Oregon Public Broadcasting have been rearranged to prioritize remote broadcasting.

We ordinarily have about 120 people, including talent and reporters, working in the building on any given day. In March, we had to cut down to 12, but we were still producing all of the shows we normally do, including our locally-produced “Morning Edition,” a locally-produced “All Things Considered” and our flagship daily talk show called “Think Out Loud.”

On that show, newsmakers come on and discuss what’s happening in the state of Oregon and southwest Washington. The focal point of my effort when stay-at-home orders were put in place was making sure that that show stayed on the air — it gives us our highest ratings, and it’s where people tune in for information.

We’ve been using the Comrex Access codec since it was first released. They have always been important to producing “Think Out Loud” because they allow us to go into parts of rural Oregon and broadcast the show from places that usually wouldn’t get a visit from a radio show like ours. We’ve gone all over the United States to do the show with Access units.

Now, we’ve been using them to make sure that our hosts don’t have to come into the building. It’s been pretty huge to keep everybody remote — the fewer people here, the safer we all are.

Comrex Access Rack Units

ISDN is not an option, and it hasn’t been for a long time — it’s not possible to get a line without a good deal of planning from any provider. (Not to mention, it’s prohibitively expensive — one time, an ISDN line was accidentally left connected over a four-day weekend, and we were stuck with a $6,100 bill.) Access has been a great solution for us because in addition to sounding great, it doesn’t come with a line charge.

We’ve been using Access in concert with other Comrex products. We have Comrex Opal for guest interviews, and we have three Comrex Access rack units to connect with our hosts from their homes. We also have one Comrex BRIC-Link here which we use to connect to all our remote bureaus — it’s a dedicated link that lets us connect to other stations throughout Oregon and Washington.

Comrex Opal

I have the host of “Think Out Loud” outfitted with a portable Access unit, the attachable mixer and a headset mic, and he’s been broadcasting from his son’s bedroom.

The only hurdle is the quality of his home internet, but so far, it’s been smooth. Because he can’t be in the studio, we connect him with multiple guests simultaneously using a combination of tools.

For instance, we routinely have multiple-participant interviews where one guest is connected over Opal, a second is connected with BRIC-Link, and our host is using an Access, and they’ll all be talking to each other. These tools enabled us to come up with a smooth solution for working outside the studio in the course of just a week.

I’ve been an evangelist for Comrex for a while, and our experience with its codecs over the course of the COVID pandemic has confirmed why. If we didn’t have effective equipment, we wouldn’t be on the air. But because we’ve had Comrex, we haven’t had to sacrifice any of our programming.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Chris Crump at Comrex in Massachusetts at 1-978-784-1776 or visit www.comrex.com.

The post User Report: Oregon Public Radio Broadcasts Through Chaos appeared first on Radio World.

In this document, the Commission adopts amendments to its rules related to satellite orbital debris mitigation, to reflect the Report and Order adopted on April 23, 2020. A proposed rule document for the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM or Further Notice) related to this Final rule document is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment through a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on April 23, 2020, on additional amendments to its rules related to satellite orbital debris mitigation. A related Final rule document, the Report and Order, which adopts amendments to the Commission's satellite orbital debris mitigation rules is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The author wrote in July about “Why WWV and WWVH Still Matter.” 

It may seem improbable that two radio stations that announce the time could end up being world-saving superheroes. But one day Colorado shortwave station WWV and its sister station WWVH in Hawaii may do just that.

The reason: If a massive solar coronal mass ejection from the sun ever supercharges the earth’s ionosphere, the resulting power surge would overload satellites and ground-based digital communications systems. The internet would be just one of the casualties: This planet’s unshielded electronics could be fried.

Actually, the right term is not “if” but “when.” In 1859, a massive solar flare hit the atmosphere; it was named the Carrington Event after UK astronomer Richard Carrington, who spotted the flare and deduced what was coming. The resulting nighttime auroras were so bright that sleeping miners in the Rocky Mountains woke up and made breakfast.

[Letter: “WWV Is Nice But Not All That Critical”]

At the time, telegraph networks in North America and Europe were the only electronics in widespread use, and the Carrington Event flare definitely affected them. The current induced into the telegraph wires was so strong that some operators received serious shocks. Others discovered that they could send and receive Morse Code over the network, without having to connect power sources to it.

In our modern world, a Carrington Event-sized solar storm “could lead to power loss for a period of weeks or more,” according to a 2013 analysis prepared by Lloyd’s of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research.

“This would cause major disruption to transport, food supplies, emergency and hospital services … It is also likely that financial markets (especially as the financial sector is generally concentrated in the areas most at risk i.e. the northeast of the U.S.) could be significantly disrupted by a severe space weather event.”

When the next Carrington Event-sized solar storm hits the Earth, WWV and WWVH will step up to quell the chaos.

The reason: Not only do WWV and WWVH’s powerful shortwave radio signals easily cover North America and much of the world, but the facility has a generous supply of diesel standby generators, screened/shielded facilities to protect equipment from power surges and a robust, non-digital transmission infrastructure.

“Quite frankly, much of our equipment is tube-based analog technology,” said Glenn Nelson, an electronics technician at WWV and sister time code station WWVB. “This mean it is less vulnerable to power surges damage than digital equipment.”

With Assistance from MARS

WWV and WWVH won’t be the only superheroes working to bring order back to a world blasted by a solar storm (or a man-made electromagnetic pulse; either will do). The stations will be joined in their efforts by their partners in the Department of Defense Military Auxiliary Radio System. MARS members are amateur radio volunteers trained and certified to operate on DOD frequencies using military messaging protocols in order to communicate with the U.S. military.

MARS was established by DOD back in 1925, to enlist the help of hams during man-made and natural disasters, and to serve as trained pool of radio operators to support the military.

“It is always difficult to coordinate rescue officials and volunteers when there is a widespread communications breakdown, especially on the scale of a Carrington Event,” said Paul English, who runs the U.S. Army’s MARS program. “Hams will play a vital role in such emergencies gathering situational awareness information for the military on a county level,” he told Radio World. “They’ll tell us what’s the status of electricity, water and transportation, and we’ll compile that information on a national level to help guide the nation’s response.”

Website of the Army MARS program. The Air Force has one too.

Using their powerful transmissions and broad coverage, WWV/WWVH will serve as central information hubs for MARS team members. The team will be packed with hams from across the United State, “who use their own equipment and donate their time to provide this service,” said amateur radio operator Cal Zethmayr (ham callsign W4GMH). WWV and WWVH’s broadcast will keep everyone on the same page and working together despite the chaos.

Getting Ready for Disaster

Mindful that solar storms can strike at any time, DOD holds MARS exercises on a regular basis. Since April 19, 2019, WWV/WWVH have been a part of this process, by announcing current and upcoming MARS exercises during their 24/7 time broadcasts.

“The WWV and WWVH announcements will provide information to Amateur Radio participants regarding the purpose, dates, times and locations of the exercises and other information,” states the WWV web site at www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwv.

“WWV will air MARS announcements on the 10th minute of each hour, and WWVH will use the 50th minute. The announcements will air for about two weeks, prior to and during each exercise.”

It is impossible to say when the next Carrington Event-level solar storm may hit our planet. It could be hundreds of years from now; it could be tomorrow. But when this storm does strike, the staff at WWV/WWVH and their MARS team members will be there to help quell the chaos. They’ll be real-life superheroes aiding the U.S. government in finding out which Americans urgently need help, so that it can be sent as soon as possible.

“When you look at today’s world where we are completely dependent on computer-controlled electronics in all aspects of our lives, a Carrington Event-sized coronal mass ejection could be devastating,” said English. “WWV, WWVH, and MARS will help us cope in such emergencies.”

Information about upcoming MARS exercises can be found at www.dodmars.org. Read about a recent exercise from the Army point of view here.

The post WWV/WWVH Stand Ready to Fight Global Chaos appeared first on Radio World.

The Media Bureau and Lafayette Broadcasting Co., Inc. enter into a Consent Decree regarding compliance with political file obligations

.

Mitchell Community Broadcast Company, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

.

Emmis Radio License, LLC enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

The Media Bureau and Carter Broadcasting, Inc. enter into a Consent Decree regarding compliance with political file obligations

The Media Bureau and Commonwealth Broadcasting, L.L.C. enter into a Consent Decree regarding compliance with political file obligations

.

.

Midwest Communications, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

Ad-Venture Media, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

Dreamcatcher Communications, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

The Media Bureau and Fleur de Lis Broadcasting, Inc. enter into a Consent Decree regarding compliance with political file obligations