Industry News

The Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic, Oct. 15–17, is a highly anticipated annual event for radio broadcasters. Like a miniature NAB Show it offers a wealth of information from a show floor along with useful sessions. Radio World is previewing several of those upcoming sessions.

Craig Bowman is senior vice president, Broadcast Technology, for Futuri Media. He’s going to preach the podcasting gospel that will help broadcasters maximize brand ID and revenue opportunities, in “Maximizing Your Content ROI With Podcasting,” Oct. 15, 1 p.m.

Radio World: Is it safe to say that “Podcasting” is the word of 2019 for radio broadcasters?
Craig Bowman: It’s definitely the word of 2019, but that’s not to say that it’s a fad. Podcasting has become a term so generic that it’s become synonymous with any spoken word, on-demand audio content. In fact, a huge study Futuri did with the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications found that 70% of people who say they listen to podcasts do so on YouTube, which doesn’t support what traditionalists refer to as podcasts.

RW: At first glance podcasting might seem to be a rival or threat to radio broadcasters. Is it?
Bowman: Podcasts are only a threat to radio broadcasters who don’t get in the game. Radio broadcasters know great audio, so it makes perfect sense for broadcasters to embrace podcasting. Podcasts are a great opportunity for radio to time-shift their content so that listeners can interact with it on their terms, as-well-as a vehicle to allow their talent to be more personal with the audience. Podcasts allow your talent to share their hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. and better connect with your existing audience without sticking to your on-air clock. Discovery of this content then leads to more listeners to the daily broadcast. Creating a personal connection for your brand and personalities with your listeners is key to your success.

RW: How can a broadcaster/station owner take advantage of podcasting for their own benefit?
Bowman: Using podcasts to distribute longer-form, brand-appropriate content than you may be comfortable airing on your station. You could, as an example, podcast an entire city council meeting using chapter markers to allow listeners to skip to the subject of interest. Podcast full-length interviews with artists, programs about local interests, etc. To flash back to “the day” you could publish a podcast to your smart device every morning with school lunches, is there an assembly at school, and every parent’s nightmare, “Today is Picture Day.” Podcasting creates an outlet for all of the radio elements which have come to be known as clutter.

RW: Can podcasts be profitable for the broadcaster?
Bowman: Yes. Preroll, dynamic midroll, live reads, etc. It’s important to keep in mind that the revenue in this space may not match what you get for your terrestrial efforts today, but it will certainly grow and is worth your attention. And branded content, when done well, can be huge. Go to that auto dealership with one of your younger personalities and pitch a series on buying your first car — what to look for, how to get financing, how to maintain it after purchase, etc. The personal connection between a podcaster and a listener makes this a prime (and by that I mean rate) opportunity for live endorsements!

RW: Is there more to podcasting than the obvious/what is the on-demand ecosystem?
Bowman: There is, unquestionably, a market for on-demand audio — not just original podcast content that you don’t broadcast on-air, but by making great broadcast available in an on-demand, time-shifted fashion so listeners can access it even if they weren’t able to catch it live, or if they want to hear it again. Radio is entering the same renaissance that television did a long time ago when the DVR started to get market penetration. People wanted their TV content available to watch when they were ready to watch it, not when TV stations insisted on playing it. Repurposing audio not only gives your audience a choice when they consume your content but with PPM encoded audio a station can receive credit to the original broadcast if listened to within 24 hours! As mentioned before, pushing your content to as many locations as possible increases the discoverability of your brand beyond the scan button or the billboard.

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The post Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic Preview: Podcasting appeared first on Radio World.

The author is membership program director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

With noncommercial radio station pledge season in full effect, these delightful media organizations are pulling out all the stops to get you to donate. There are socks aplenty available as thank you gifts for your gift. Would a warm hat motivate you to give? How about a candle that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker? Your local station has concert tickets, books and any number of incentives to get you to pick up the phone or go online.

Typically, a donation to your local station will get you one of the fancier premiums when you give $10 per month on up. All well and good if you are a longtime listener or someone used to the noncommercial radio pledge drive. But what if all this is new to you, or you’re worried about making that big of a gift? The lingering concern among many stations is that these numbers as we know them might turn away first-time donors.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Acting on Equity]

What if your community radio station tried something altogether different?

For stations constantly on the hunt for financial support, messing with established protocols might seem improbable. However, this is precisely the bet a group of stations are placing, with the help of one of their stations’ most recognizable names.

Ira Glass is known around the world as the host of “This American Life,” a radio sensation for decades. Glass is also a fixture during radio on-air fundraising. He’s done some of the most legendary and successful pledge drives, including telling listeners they don’t need to donate and calling up people who don’t donate, who are turned in by family and friends. Here is a sampling of some of these humorous spots from years past.

This year, Glass has come back with the most surprising of suggestions: just give $1.

Radio fundraising types may find that number a little shocking, especially when you discover it comes with streaming thank-you gifts. But credit Glass and almost two dozen stations with the temerity to spark a conversation with new donors. This level is a clever way of introducing them to what is referred to in the noncommercial radio space as a sustaining membership.

The aging of noncommercial radio’s base and the need for fresh members is an ongoing issue nationwide. Glass is one of many people thinking deeply about what inspires people to give, and how do stations make the giving process as easy and welcoming as possible to those reluctant to make a larger commitment. This latest experiment is an effort to win new donors, particularly those accustomed to giving-by-text and making small gifts in the digital era. In this effort, these new members will receive in the coming months emails written by Glass himself, encouraging them to take their $1-per-month donations up higher.

Many community radio stations have tried these sorts of initiatives. Do they work? Time will tell if this one knocks it out of the park, though having Ira Glass on your side is a huge boost.

Even if your station doesn’t have a heavy hitter like Glass to help, this kind of model could be tried near you. Or maybe it is a little too risky. Getting $12 annually could hurt some stations, surely. However, one thing is certain: your station cannot afford to not try bold moves to bring in new donors. Your station and its unique local programming depend on future generations.

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“Since its origins, radio has been shown to be the most useful medium of social communication for humanity.”

Jorge Álvarez

So states the home page of World Radio Day, celebrated in February of each year. An offshoot, the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences of America, seeks to raise awareness of World Radio Day in the United States.

Radio World asked Jorge Álvarez, president of the Spanish Academy of Radio, about the effort.

Radio World: What is the history of World Radio Day and why was it created?
Jorge Álvarez: It began when I realized that the United Nations had established World Television Day and World Press Freedom Day, but that there was not a World Radio Day.

I sent a letter to the director general of UNESCO, Kōichirōō Matsuura, in January 2008, requesting the establishment of World Radio Day. The response from UNESCO was positive, indicating that the government of Spain would have to make the formal proposal.

So the Spanish Academy of Radio collaborated with the Permanent Delegation of Spain to UNESCO, for three years, to prepare a proposal to be presented at the 187th Session of the UNESCO Executive Committee in Paris in September 2011.

Initially, we choose October 30 as World Radio Day as a tribute to the famous radio broadcast of 1938, “The War of the Worlds,” which had the support of a large number of radio broadcasting associations of the five continents. However, after an intense debate of the 58 countries represented in the executive board of UNESCO, the date chosen was February 13, the anniversary of the birth of United Nations Radio in 1946.

In November 2011, the General Conference of UNESCO, formed by 96 member states, finally proclaimed February 13 as World Radio Day. In 2012, the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed this proclamation, thanks to the proposal of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations, with the collaboration of the Spanish Radio Academy.

RW: What role does the academy play?
Álvarez: The Spanish Academy of Radio was the promoter of the World Radio Day initiative and made a great effort for more than three years collecting support from radio stations around the world and from the different permanent delegations at the UNESCO executive board, to get the vote in favor of the establishment of World Radio Day.

In addition, the academy took the initiative to create the International Committee of World Radio Day, formed by the most important international organizations of broadcasting of the five continents. We’re honored that ITU is represented too.

For more information and to download free photos and documents, you can visit www.academiadelaradio.es/wrd/history.html and https://premiosradiotelevision.com/index.php/2018/01/19/origen/.

Officials gather for a UNESCO World Radio Day meeting in Paris in 2017.

RW: And what is the purpose of the World Radio Day Committee?
Álvarez: Shortly after UNESCO’s proclamation of World Radio Day, the Spanish Radio Academy created the World Radio Day Committee, which held its first official meeting on Sept. 11 in Madrid at the International Press Center. One year later, the committee hosted another meeting in Madrid with the participation of UNESCO’s General Director of Communication, Janis Karklins. In 2013, the committee along with 16 organizations met in Paris at Radio France Headquarters.

The purpose of this committee is to collaborate with UNESCO every year on the organization of the World Radio Day celebrations, proposing the slogan of celebration and the various activities to be developed. Usually, this committee meets twice a year at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. I was the first president of this committee; since 2014, the it is coordinated by Giacomo Mazzone, director of institutional relations of the European Broadcasting Union.

RW: Describe the effort to develop awareness of World Radio Day in the United States.
Álvarez: The academy considers it very important to promote events to celebrate World Radio Day in the United States.

Each year the official WRD website, worldradioday.org, incorporates a world map where is possible to record the celebrations and events planned by radio stations and institutions. We realized that the United States recorded few events and so the academy wanted to start a promotion in this country, especially when radio stations in the Spanish language are increasingly important.

In 2018 the Academy awarded the WRD prize to radio station WURN, “Actualidad 1040 AM” in Miami, Florida. The prize is sponsored by international equipment manufacturer AEQ. This was the most important World Radio Day event held in the U.S. that year.

RW: You recently presented the World Radio Day Award to the National Association of Broadcasters.
Álvarez: The NAB was one of the broadcasting organizations that supported the academy in its proposal to UNESCO to establish World Radio Day. In February I visited NAB headquarters in Washington, along with with my communication director Fátima Estramiana, to present the award to Sen. Gordon Smith. The event was attended as well by the ambassador of Spain in Washington, Mr. Santiago Cabanas.

Jorge Álvarez presented the World Radio Day Award to NAB and its President/CEO Gordon Smith in February.

RW: What actions would you like American radio organizations to take in the future? What else should we know?
Álvarez: I would like radio organizations and any radio professional to join the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences to work closely together in the World Radio Day celebrations in the United States. For more information you can visit the website, radioacademy.us.

At this time, the Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences is forming a jury of radio professionals to award the World Radio Day Award 2020 on Feb. 13; the jury is being coordinated by Frank Montero, a prestigious communications attorney based in Washington. Prospective judges are encouraged to apply by emailing academy@radioacademy.us.

WORLD RADIO DAY COMMITTEE

The 19 members of the WRD Committee are the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU); Association of European Radios (AER); Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD); World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC); Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU); African Union of Broadcasting (AUB/UAR); Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC); Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU); Permanent Conference of Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM); European Broadcasting Union (EBU/UER); Egta; International Association of Broadcasting (IAB); Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU); International Telecommunication Union (ITU); International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF); Public Media Alliance (PMA); Spanish Radio Academy; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); International Radio and Television Union (URTI).

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BMW cars have a brand new feature available to drivers in Europe and North America, the Service and Program Information standard from RadioDNS.

The standard is being used in BMW’s vehicles to gather station logos directly from radio stations to keep dashboards updated.

The logos are updated over IP for FM stations, updated over DAB EPG for DAB services.

[Read: In-car Updates From Radioplayer, BBC Sounds]

BMW joins Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche to include the standards. For radio stations to be able to participate in this service, they need to publish their metadata to RadioDNS’ standards. To do that, visit RadioDNS’ website.

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Public radio station KDNK(FM) in Carbondale, Colo., depends on ENCO Systems’ DAD automation to handle its library of tens of thousands of songs and elements along with scheduling programming. It’s especially crucial considering that most of the staff is volunteers lacking in-depth training.

A release explains, “DAD serves as a critical network hub that connects KDNK’s on-air studio, newsroom, production room, and program department.”

[Read: User Report: KHNS Derives Efficiency From ENCO DAD]

KDNK Music Director Luke Nestler said, “While our DJs allow our station to be live 18 hours per day, DAD makes it very easy to automate the playout of fresh music playlists overnight from midnight to 5 a.m., at which time it triggers a live NPR satellite feed of “Morning Edition.”

“For a station like ours with a very small paid staff, the automated functionality of ENCO’s Dropbox utility is a very big timesaver,” Nestler added. “Without it, we would have to handle ingesting shows as a manual process, while guarding against human error. As part of its overall functionality, DAD automates this entire process reliably the moment a new episode arrives.”

A particular highlight is DAD’s work with the station’s sound library. Nestler estimates that 88,000 pieces of music have been copied and organized into different libraries residing in their digital archive. These libraries span a wide range of musical tastes, including folk, rock n roll, bluegrass, country, soul, R&B, funk, hip-hop, and electronica along with one dedicated to elements and clips.

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The ninth annual College Radio Day is fast approaching. According to a release, the event “will unite over 360 college stations from 26 countries around the world to bring awareness to the work and value college stations bring to the broadcasting medium.”

Recently announced was the appointment of The Black Keys as the official ambassadors for the day. Black Key Pat Carney said, “The importance of college radio can’t be overstated. Dan [Auerbach] and I are proud to be the ambassadors of College Radio Day.” As ambassadors of the event, Carney has recorded an exclusive interview for college radio stations to play on the air during the day.

The group’s mist recent album received significant college radio play. It was on the top spot for five consecutive weeks on the North American College & Community Radio Chart, giving The Black Keys the title for NACC’s longest run in 2019.

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The FCC has voted on a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing changes to update the FCC’s rules to bring broadcast application public notifications into the digital age.

TV and radio stations had been required to file “certain applications” in “a local newspaper,” or “on air” and in some cases both, depending on the type of application, the primary reason being to direct them to the station’s studio, where they could review the documents.

But with the rise of internet usage and the FCC’s migration of those station application documents from their studios to an online database (some written notice requirements remain), the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai said that needed to change and has now come up with a plan, which the commission adopted at the Sept. 26 open meeting and will still need to be subject for public comment before a final order is voted:

• “Replace the newspaper publication requirement with written public notice posted online on a publicly accessible website (either the station’s site or an affiliated site) with a link to the application;”
• “Simplify and standardize the public notice requirements for on-air announcements (they must direct the public to the FCC database);
• “Clarify certain local public notice obligations, such as those pertaining to international broadcast stations and low-power FM stations;” and
• “Streamline and update the commission’s rules concerning public notice for stations designated for hearing.”

“I am pleased that this item recognizes that local public notice of licensing activity is required by statute, and searches for ways to use modern tools to make it more effective,” said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “Specifically, I support the item’s proposals to continue to require both on-air and written notice of certain licensing proceedings and questions on the best way to offer such notice online. I am hopeful that a robust record will develop on these issues.”

Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said the FCC needs to eliminate or modify “all” government burdens on broadcasters so they can compete with unregulated competitors. He said he strongly supported the item and hopes the FCC can move to an order quickly. Commissioner Brendan Carr agreed. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel called it a “smart update.”

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HAINES, ALASKA — As the Voice of the Wilderness, public radio station KHNS(FM) has been broadcasting to the Alaskan Panhandle communities of Haines, Skagway and Klukwan since 1980. Situated near majestic mountains and the Upper Lynn Canal, our listener-supported station is a source of music, news and programming from networks such as NPR, BBC World News and Alaska Public Radio.

Our staff has been downsized from 10 to four full-timers over the years and our budget remains tight — now even tighter with Alaska vetoing public broadcasting funding in June. But we’ve managed to maintain a highly-efficient and reliable broadcast operation in large part due to our ENCO DAD radio automation system.

Over several generations and system upgrades, DAD has supported our operation in what I would call a flexible, hybrid configuration that lets us to choose when and how our station automates playout. While DAD is programmed to deliver our 24/7 playlist, we are only fully automated overnight and on the weekends. Since DAD continuously plays out our playlist as a background process, it’s always there and ready to go should we need it.

Like our turntables and CD players, DAD has its own slider on our control room board. At the start of their shifts, our DJs pot down DAD, do their live shows and then pot DAD back up when they’re finished. DAD plays any time there isn’t a DJ sitting at the board, running through a daily playlist that has backup programming if a volunteer can’t make a regularly hosted show.

This flexible DAD setup allows our DJs to deliver a fresh, original show, playing music from our two turntables and CD players — as well as a DAD mini-array — as they’ve always done, and more important, preserving our station’s unique, regional sound.

While we chose DAD for its comprehensive functionality, we’re still discovering valuable features and capabilities. One such recent upgrade is ENconveyor, which automates the download of audio files, such as syndicated shows, from various web or FTP sites on the internet, and delivers them to our DAD media library, with metadata.

DAD’s DropBox application, also a recent upgrade, scans a watch folder associated with our own FTP site. When new media files arrive, DropBox retrieves them according to rules-based criteria. Together, these two new features save considerable man-hours and labor.

The ability to access the DAD system remotely from any mobile connected device, is another big time-saver. For instance, for our 1950s big-band retrospective, “Melodies and Memories,” our producer can access the DAD system remotely, from a desktop application in her home, to upload the latest show for broadcast on Sundays at noon.

Whenever a problem occurs while I’m off-site, such as satellite network disruption or weather emergencies, I can remotely access DAD using an iPad or smartphone to turn on weather advisories or technical difficulties messages. That flexible remote accessibility eliminates the long drive to the station.

For every KHNS department, including KHNS Local News, DAD is a vital platform underlying all that we do on a daily basis. We find the ENCO DAD system to be reliable, user-friendly, intuitive and for our lean operation, crucial for delivering the on-air product that our listeners rely upon and enjoy.

For information, contact Ken Frommert at ENCO Systems in Michigan at 1-248-827-4440 or visit www.enco.com.

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The nationally syndicated “Bob & Tom Show” broadcasts from the Radio Show in Dallas on Wednesday morning. Photo: Paul McLane

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What form will the next generation of broadcast architecture take? A technology committee organized by the National Association of Broadcasters is exploring that question; and its work will be one of the radio-friendly topics on the agenda of the upcoming IEEE Broadcast Symposium.

A closeup of the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. The IEEE BTS Symposium will be held at a nearby hotel.

Highlights of the BTS include a series of talks about emergency alerting; a new “Women in the Industry” breakfast; and a discussion of new protection requirements for Class A AM stations. Further themes include 5G, ATSC 3.0, IT security and regulation.

The annual technical conference will be held over three days at the Hartford Marriott Downtown in Hartford, Conn., at the beginning of October. Below are highlights of likely interest to Radio World readers.

Michelle Munson keynotes Tuesday’s luncheon.

CONSUMER INTERFACE

On Tuesday Oct. 1, Michelle Munson, co-founder and CEO of Eluvio, will keynote. She founded Aspera and led it as CEO until May 2017, including through its acquisition by IBM. She speaks frequently about content networking, machine learning, block chain and cloud infrastructure.

Tuesday afternoon the focus turns to “the consumer interface.” Tim Carroll, senior director, sound technology for the office of the CTO at Dolby Laboratories, is among the presenters.

Tim Carroll will discuss new audio systems, part of an exploration of the “Consumer Interface.”

“When first speaking with Peter Symes, the chair of the ‘Consumer Interface’ sessions, I was thinking this was related to HDMI or WiFi or other such interfaces,” Carroll said. “In fact, the focus is on the technology/human interface and will include not just a description of specific technologies but more specifically how these technologies can improve experiences for consumers and what might be required from consumers to enable new features.”

For instance Carroll said his own talk about “New Audio Features” will explore technologies like immersive audio and how it can be delivered by Dolby Atmos, accessibility improvements such as dialog enhancement and how consumers will be able to make such features work to their benefit.

“Engineers will get a view of what the consumer side can support and what will be required to enable it upstream in the broadcast facility.”

He expressed amazement at how far consumer technology has progressed.

“Devices like sound bars have become smaller and cheaper and yet perform far better than their predecessors. They provide a consistent, compelling experience while requiring very little setup experience to get it right. This results in consumer environments that are higher quality and more predictable than ever before, making it easier for broadcasters to satisfy viewers — and listeners.”

“RELENTLESS” DISASTERS

Several presentations, also on Tuesday, will explore emergency alerting. Hasn’t this subject been covered in great detail already? We asked Matthew Straeb, EVP/CTO of Global Security Systems and Alert FM.

Three presentations on Tuesday will focus on emergency warning, with speakers from FEMA, the NAB and Global Security Systems. Shown is a promotional image for Alert FM from GSS.

“Last year’s relentless season of natural disasters, from hurricanes in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico, to wildfires in California, has solidified radio broadcasting as the last resort for sending out life-saving information when power, cell and internet fail,” he replied.

Matthew Straeb of Global Security Systems is chair of the Emergency Alerts and Information Working Group of the National Radio Systems Committee.

“The future of broadcasting, to remain relevant and avoid becoming a victim of spectrum grab by FCC and others, will depend on the validity of this outcome and entertainment value. The incredible benefit of sharing essential information with communities, residents, first responders and the rest of the nation using terrestrial radio has become an aid and lifeline.”

Reliability issues, Straeb said, can impair the effective delivery for emergency alerts, which are of little value when one’s smartphone has no service or a dead battery. “That’s where FM broadcasting’s ubiquitous and pervasive infrastructure remains valuable.” He said he’ll describe building blocks of a nationwide network and a path for the consumer electronics industry to integrate emergency alerts into products and make it easily accessible for Americans.

Straeb said the most important challenge facing the U.S. radio industry is the relevance of terrestrial radio listening in the car.

“As Americans move from terrestrial to online listening, how does radio continue to stay top of mind as you cross that divide from terrestrial to online? There is a plethora of content competition. If we lose the terrestrial radio platform or it becomes diluted we are at risk,” he said.

“That’s why we believe the promotion of the radio platform for emergency alerts is critical. It’s one reason we created the NRSC ‘Emergency Alerts and Information Working Group,’ to assimilate the value proposition of radio for saving lives. As chair, I would invite any interested persons to join.”

MORE CAPACITY

Alan Jurison, who by day is senior operations engineer for iHeartMedia, chairs radio sessions offered on Wednesday morning.

“Several of the papers are focusing on next-generation transmission methods for radio,” he said.

“David Layer of NAB and Harvey Chalmers of Xperi will discuss the lab results of MP11, an exciting new extended hybrid mode enabled by fourth-generation HD Radio transmission hardware. It adds an additional 24 kilobits per second to the hybrid signal, for a total of 144 kbps of transmission capacity. The lab testing of this mode was critical before the industry moves to field trials.”

David Layer of NAB and Harvey Chalmers of Xperi will discuss lab results of MP11, a new extended hybrid mode enabled by fourth-generation HD Radio transmission hardware.

Jurison said that with more broadcasters employing MP3 mode for additional digital capacity and with the MP11 mode showing promising results, a presentation by Philipp Schmid of Nautel is timely. He will delve into peak power reduction for extended IBOC service modes.

Frank Foti of the Telos Alliance will offer “iMPX: Networked FM-Stereo Composite Connectivity,” discussing distribution of digital composite, or MPX. “This will be a growing trend over the years, as more functions we’ve typically relied on in hardware are moved to the cloud,” said Jurison.

Also on the docket is “Effective Monitoring and Protection Systems for Multiplexed TV and Radio Facilities” with Paul Shulins of Shulins Consulting and Jim Stenberg of American Tower.

“As we all know, everyone is tasked with more stations and sites than they once had,” Jurison said. “Comprehensive monitoring systems are essential to know about problems, hopefully before they exist, so you can be proactive, route around or fix the problem and keep your stations on the air and compliant.”

NEXT WAVE

Also Wednesday, Roswell “Roz” Clark, senior director of radio engineering at Cox Media Group, will discuss “Next-Generation Architecture for Radio.”

“Next Generation Architecture for Radio” is the theme for Roz Clark of Cox Media Group.

“The technology used for radio broadcasting has evolved significantly in recent years,” Clark said. “Advancements in content creation, digitization, HD Radio, metadata and display data have all been adopted and implemented into legacy systems. As the next wave of technology looms that includes virtualization and software-based systems, how will the infrastructure and content transport requirements be met to take advantage of these advanced technologies?”

He said the NAB Radio Technology Committee’s Next Gen Architecture Working Group is working with manufacturers, Xperi and broadcasters to answer that question.

“The presentation is an update on the ongoing efforts of this team. Engineers who are interested in what the future holds for the radio broadcast industry should find this topic interesting.”

Clark noted that radio engineering historically has benefitted from “adjacent” businesses that develop technical solutions that broadcasters then adopt and integrate into their own environment.

“Examples from the past include 66 blocks, data center servers, IP audio over computer networks, and software doing the work that was normally handled by discrete hardware,” he said. “What will it take to continue this trend of adoption to include cloud computing and virtualization? What are the requirements? How can products be designed to work together? Can the end result be easier to implement for everyone?”

Clark said that one of the most challenging issues related to the business of broadcast and technology is the human resources needed to take the business into the next generation.

“While technology continues to evolve and become cheaper, better and faster, the people that understand how to take advantage of these advancements and how they can be applied to broadcast are becoming rare. Attending events such as the IEEE-BTS Symposium is one of the ways to accelerate the knowledge needed for the future.”

Other talks of interest to radio engineers at BTS include “Real-Time Monitoring of RF System Performance” by Dan Glavin of Dielectric; “New Protection Requirements for Class A AM Stations” with Carl T. Jones; and a look at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference from Winston Caldwell of Fox.

BTS features a number of session titles beyond radio. A sampler: “Reputation-based Network Selection in Multimedia IoT,” “Group-Oriented Broadcast of Augmented Reality Services over 5G New Radio,” “Networking Requirements for ATSC 3.0 Implementation,” “Security Provisions in ATSC 3 Studio-to-Transmitter Link Transport Protocol” and “Software Defined Systems — The Future Platform.”

A Women in the Industry breakfast will feature Jaclyn Pytlarz, senior engineer, Dolby Labs.

On Wednesday, BTS will feature its first “Women in the Industry” breakfast. Featured is Jaclyn Pytlarz, a senior engineer at Dolby Laboratories in Sunnyvale, Calif., where she has worked in Dolby’s Applied Vision Science group since 2014.

Keynoting the Wednesday lunch is Mark Schubin, a video tech expert who likes to say that among other career highlights, he hooked up the TV in Eric Clapton’s bedroom. Also relevant if perhaps less exciting, Schubin has multiple Emmys and is chairman of the ATSC board of directors.

CONTENT TIDAL WAVE

The event’s organizers see a clear need for an understanding of the kinds of technical topics explored at their annual event.

Jurison said the industry faces plenty of challenges, “from having long-term digital strategies to retain terrestrial listenership or convert them into streaming listeners, ensuring we keep driving results for our advertisers on both terrestrial and digital platforms.”

Tim Carroll echoed Matt Straeb’s earlier comment about content competition.

“Consumers have so many choices for the sources of content it is increasingly difficult to provide services that are differentiated,” he said. “Quality robbing loudness wars are becoming a thing of the past, so what can make a service stand out and attract and keep listeners? Perhaps new features that make content more exciting to consume can help. Can radio do this?

“I believe the answer is yes,” Carroll said. “Audio improvements and new features have thus far been aimed at improving video services but are equally applicable to radio.”

IF YOU GO

Where: Hartford Marriott Downtown, Hartford, Conn.

When: Oct. 1–3

Who: Industry professionals and academia seeking to collaborate on current and challenges in the field of broadcasting

How: bts.ieee.org/broadcastsymposium

How Much: $630 for IEEE/BTS members, $750 others; single-day passes and discounts for students, advance registration and Life Members are available

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