Industry News

The author is WorldDAB France representative

Jean-Marc Dubreuil

PARIS — Held in Paris at the end of January, the European Radio and Digital Audio Show brought together stakeholders from across the French radio industry and beyond to discuss the future of radio in France, Europe and around the world. It also served as a platform to highlight the opportunities DAB+ digital radio brings for the radio, manufacturing, retail and automotive sectors.

NEW ROADMAP

During a session dedicated to the development of DAB+ in France, Nicolas Curien from French regulator Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel joined me on stage. As did representatives from commercial and community radio, GfK and public service broadcaster Radio France.

The WorldDAB booth at the European Digital Radio and Audio Show featured a wide range of DAB+ receivers.

Together we outlined the progress of DAB+ digital radio throughout Europe and elsewhere, and touched on the EECC directive, the EU regulation that mandates digital radio in cars across Europe from Dec. 21, 2020, which has already been transposed into national legislation in a number of countries, including France.

On a national level, the CSA, published a new DAB+ roadmap highlighting DAB+ developments plans for the 2020–2023 period. According to the new roadmap, calls for applications will be launched for 50 local allotments in that period of time — these primarily concern the cities of Dijon, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, Caen, Nancy, Paris, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Poitiers and Toulouse.

[U.K. Government Restates Support for Digital Radio]

As for France’s national multiplexes, a call for applications will be launched for the remaining spot available on Mux 1, while the last spot on Mux 2 will be dedicated to data broadcasting services such as traffic information.

The CSA’s newly launched DAB+ interactive map.

As outlined by the CSA, DAB+ experimentation and trials may take place in France’s overseas territories in coming years, though this will largely depend on interest expressed by local players.

At the show, the French media regulator also announced the launch of a new interactive map giving listeners the opportunity to see what DAB+ services are available in their respective areas. The service, available here, also includes planned DAB+ rollouts across France.

IN-DASH ADVANCES

Industry professionals also widely discussed the future of radio in the car during the three-day event, with the likes of Audi, Radioplayer, RadioDNS, Xperi, Radioline and TDF in attendance to voice their opinions on hybrid radio. The solutions to access metadata exist, and it is up to the radios and receiver manufacturers to make the most of them.

Ultimately, the goal is to access quality, reliable and affordable information in order to provide an improved experience for users, and according to Audi and other innovative players, having one single standard that is used globally will most definitely help achieve that.

The post DAB+ Progress in France and Beyond appeared first on Radio World.

Talk radio kingpin Rush Limbaugh made a surprise announcement today to his audience — he has “advanced” lung cancer and will be stepping away for treatments.

News rapidly spread across the media.

Here is the announcement:

http://www.radioworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Rush-Cancer-Announcement.mp3

 

 

More can be found at this sampling here:

Rush Limbaugh’s Shocking Cancer Diagnosis Spurs Support, Well Wishes (Fox News)

Rush Limbaugh Says He Has Advanced Lung Cancer, Will Continue Radio Program While He Undergoes Treatment (Washington Post)

Talk-Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Says He Has Advanced Lung Cancer (Bloomberg)

 

The post Rush Limbaugh Announces Cancer Diagnosis appeared first on Radio World.

Today Rush Limbaugh announced he has cancer.

http://www.radioworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Rush-Cancer-Announcement.mp3

 

The post Audio Experiment appeared first on Radio World.

ORVIETO, Italy — Delta Meccanica has developed the Star Point combiner, which is capable of combining six medium- or high-power frequencies.

Previously the company offered combiners able to associate six frequencies for powers limited to 2 kW per transmitter.

Combining greater powers (i.e. 6 x 5 kW and 6 x 10 kW), the company says, is more challenging due to the size of the filters. “But the design flexibility of our cavities allowed us to design and create — with only slight configuration tweaks — a device capable of providing optimal RF performance in a cost effective way.”

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The firm adds that due to the above development, it no longer needed to design a “manifold” combiner, a configuration that it considers no longer valid for FM.

Delta Meccanica is also studying the possibility of implementing a compact version of the Star Point combiner.

 For information, contact Delta Meccanica in Italy at +39-07-6331-6222 or visit www.deltameccanica.com.

The post Delta Meccanica Introduces Star Point Combiner 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.

One of my favorite memories as a student was discovering John Coltrane. Like generations before mine, I was dazzled by his virtuoso stylings on “My Favorite Things.” Tales of his all-night jam sessions and one-of-a-kind life were bits of music history likely to never be repeated. Just as his jazz contemporaries blazed bold trails, so Coltrane too proved to be a standard bearer. He, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and others undoubtedly have introduced many people to the timeless sound of jazz.

However, every classic song comes to a close. And there is more than a little indication that jazz’s days on radio are numbered.

Jazz has seen such a turn of events since it ruled commercial radio in the 1940s into the 1950s. But by the mid-1950s, popular music tastes changed. Even with the rise of The Beatles, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, though, jazz enjoyed a sizable audience. Offshoots such as New Age music and smooth jazz kept the genre in the public consciousness just a few years ago. However, with its core audience aging and longtime jazz radio pioneers exploring other avenues, one has to openly ask how much longer noncommercial media will continue to lift up the genre.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Plant a Seed]

Although the news is not pointing to mass extinction just yet, indications are jazz on the tower is facing some challenges. Recently, Current highlighted the situation at veteran jazz outlet WUMR, which will be departing its 40-year history of jazz radio in favor of a mixed format. In 2018, three jazz stations — KUVO in Denver and Historically Black College and University licensees KPVU and WNSB — were approved to continue the urban alternative effort supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The new format gives stations at chance to connect with new audiences with R&B and hip-hop, though ostensibly their traditional jazz offerings will be (or are being) impacted, now and into the future.

While jazz education groups will tell you there is a growing younger demographic very interested in jazz, I can’t find anyone who says the public perception is one in which jazz is a young person’s primary musical choice. With pressures to increase listenership and grow the donor base, managers at public and community stations are thus going to find little traction with boards of directors or other stakeholders in favor of making jazz a centerpiece of programming. Without champions to expose new listeners to jazz, it is hard to say what jazz will be to broadcast in 20 years. The future does not look promising.

This is not to criticize the value of jazz to the nation, nor does this commentary impinge on any music genre largely vanished from commercial and noncommercial radio. Change is not anyone’s fault. If anything, the gradual disappearing of jazz radio may be the clarion call for its most ardent supporters to think creatively about community engagement and jazz education writ large.

WNCU is one of several jazz stations involved in educating students about jazz and the importance of these stations to their communities and to music history. KDHX is famed for its Folk School, where musical lessons introduce new generations to appreciate folk and bluegrass. Indubitably, a station could do the same with jazz.

Then, of course, there are the dozens of community radio jazz shows that bring you old and new music in the genre. These endeavors are wonderful. Whether that will be enough to save jazz from radio silence may be left to history.

The post Community Broadcaster: The End of Jazz appeared first on Radio World.

Insinuating a connection between Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, National Public Radio wants to see an end to low-power television Channel 6 stations using analog FM radio services and has asked the FCC to refuse future authorization of such use of what it calls “Franken FM” stations.

NPR filed its comments in response to the FCC Media Bureau’s request for feedback on whether analog LPTV stations should be able to continue to program an analog radio service—available on the FM dial (87.7)—after the final digital television conversion deadline.

NPR says that LPTVs’ use of radio airwaves can occupy 30x the spectrum a traditional FM station would use and would cause problems if permitted to continue to operate on analog.

“Franken FMs pose an ongoing threat of harmful interference to public radio stations operating in the immediately adjacent FM band reserved for noncommercial educational broadcast stations,” NPR’s comments to the FCC read. “Moreover, the grossly inefficient use of spectrum adjacent to the NCE reserved FM band ultimate prevents public radio stations from expanding their signal coverage or otherwise offering a multiplicity of additional public service programming for the American public.”

[Background: Media Bureau Continues FM6 Update Inquiry]

LPTVs believe that these concerns are exaggerated.

“There [are] currently over 20 LPTV stations transmitting analog audio carriers available on 87.7 FM, yet the LPTV-C is not aware of any outstanding (not resolved to satisfaction of the listener) complaints about actual interference between the audio signal transmitted by these analog LPTV stations and nearby FM stations on Channels 201 or 202,” the group told the FCC. “However, if the commission chooses to be overly cautious, it can adopt both contour overlap restrictions and prohibitions on actual interference that would eliminate any theoretical risk of interference between 87.7 FM audio carrier and nearby NCE FM stations. In everyday, real-world operating conditions, the current or proposed expanded 87.7 FM services will not cause impermissible interference to other broadcast licensees in their markets.”

LPTVs also have argued that their stations benefit unserved or under-served audiences, though NPR counters that these stations typically offer country, contemporary, Spanish language, religious and sports programming, areas that it says are well served by FM radio stations.

This can all be traced back to the digital conversion of 2009. At that time, full power stations were required to go all digital, but the FCC allowed LPTVs to continue to broadcast in analog until 12 months after the completion of the post-incentive auction repack. The auction is currently scheduled to be completed on July 3, 2020, giving LPTVs until July 3, 2021, to switch completely to digital.

[Is There an Afterlife for Franken FMs?]

NPR, in its argument, says that its position of ending operation of Franken FMs is supported by the Communications Act, FCC regulations and federal communications and spectrum policy. If LPTVs were allowed to continue Franken FM operations, “[the FCC] would have to develop additional rules to govern these Franken FM services to avoid interference to adjacent reserved band NCE FM stations and to assure reception of the LPTV’s primary video service by DTV receivers.”

NPR concludes the commission would better serve the public by reaffirming the DTV conversion deadline.

The post NPR Says LPTV Stations Are ‘Misusing’ FM Radio Services appeared first on Radio World.

NAB’s PILOT wants to help broadcasters help students forward their careers in radio and television engineering this summer via its technology internship grant program, announcing that it is now accepting applications to help create paid internships.

The summer 2020 technology internship grant program is open to NAB member radio and television stations. Accepted stations will be assisted in establishing paid engineering or media-technology internships for undergraduate students at stations that do not have such resources, particularly in smaller markets.

The program also provides resources for the selected stations in identifying and supporting interns. This includes travel assistance for selected interns to attend the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The deadline for NAB members to submit applications for the grants is Feb. 21. Selected stations will be notified in March 2020.

For more information, visit www.nabpilot.org/techinterns.

The post PILOT’s Tech Internship Grants Open To Interested Stations appeared first on Radio World.

Recriminations and speculation are two words of the day as we in the radio trades, as well as the nation’s media at large, get our minds around the scale of iHeartMedia’s “transformation” this month.

Cleveland.com has a lengthy article that captures many of the gut-wrenched reactions that people in radio have had. The iHeart announcement “felt different” to industry observers, “like a seismic shift, raising an alarm that perhaps, this time, radio as we know has passed the point of no return,” it reported.

The author of that article believes the number of layoffs was about 1,500; other estimates have been around 1,000. There’s been no confirmed total reported by the company; various counts make it clear there have been at least many hundred people put out of work. (Many reported cuts have been on the programming side; among the unanswered questions are how many engineers and technical positions were affected.)

Cleveland.com lists the familiar challenges to radio including the popularity of streaming and the habits of younger listeners, but also comments on radio’s resiliency over time and its ongoing large overall number of listeners. It notes that Sen. Sherrod Brown has written to iHeart questioning the layoffs in the face of large compensation packages to company executives.

[Read about the technology strategy underpinning iHeart’s “transformation”]

The article summarizes fears that iHeart will use automation and artificial intelligence to run its operations as “a radio station in a closet.” This is a longtime worry of supporters of localism who saw elimination of the main studio rule as removing a regulatory bulwark, allowing operation by “only a few people on the ground and a room full of hard drives,” or even just a tiny sales office with a sign on the door in a community. Cleveland.com quotes longtime radio observer and industry critic Jerry Del Colliano speculating: “You go into a Cleveland radio station, there won’t be any studios. They could be at a WeWork location.”

The company pushed back in a statement to Cleveland.com: “The most important responsibility we have is to the communities we serve. We will continue to serve every local community in which we operate just as we always have.”

But that article ends with speculation that where iHeart goes, others will follow. Del Colliano gloomily said, “This is the end of local radio as we know it.”

A NECESSARY PIVOT?

The Washington Post followed with a writeup of its own with a headline that iHeart “said its mass ‘employee dislocation’ was necessary as it pivoted to AI. But others say it’s the company’s human leaders who deserve the blame.”

This article focused in part on the human impact but summarizes the business rationale this way: “The dominant player in U.S. radio, which owns the online music service iHeartRadio and more than 850 local stations across the United States, has called AI the muscle it needs to fend off rivals, recapture listeners and emerge from bankruptcy. The company, which now uses software to schedule music, analyze research and mix songs, plans to consolidate offices around what executives call ‘AI-enabled Centers of Excellence,” the Post reported. “The company’s shift seems in line with a corporate America that is increasingly embracing automation, using technological advances to take over tasks once done by people, boosting profits and cutting costs. The workplace transformation is typically reduced to a symbol: a robot stealing a human’s job.”

The Post quoted iHeartRadio spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg saying the cuts showed how iHeartMedia was shifting “jobs to the future from the past,” adding data analysts, podcast staff and other digital teams to help transform the company into a “multiplatform” creator and “America’s #1 audio company.” She told the Post: “We do not intend to be one of those companies that stayed in the past, and the world passed it by. Change is painful and change is hard — but consciously choosing not to change is not an option for a company that is going to continue to grow and compete.”

Radio World has renewed its request to iHeartMedia for interviews with company executives about its announcement and will report any outcomes. The company declined to comment to RW earlier.

Also worthy of a fresh read is this 2018 interview with iHeart’s Chris Williams, which touched on the themes of artificial intelligence and what iHeart was planning to do with it.

The post iHeart Defends Painful Change appeared first on Radio World.

WHERE’S THE DIGITAL?

 

Good article about a good radio (“C. Crane Offers Up a Premium Portable,” Dec. 18, 2019 issue). But why doesn’t the new CCRadio-EP receive HD channels? The good journalists at Radio World should have at least asked “Why not HD?”

I realize station managers and sales reps see no profit in HD Radio, but that is the same thing they said about FM in the 1950s. Some even tried to kill FM because they didn’t think people would buy it. Smart stations persisted in marketing FM. Those that stuck with FM eventually had the last word.

It is a “chicken or egg” thing with HD Radio and receivers. People aren’t interested in HD because stations don’t promote it and receivers are not available. I would have been a lot more excited about this new radio if it was future-proofed and promoted HD Radio.

Kevin Ruppert
Madison, Wis.

 

CORRECTING A DISTORTION

I found Mark Persons’ article “Find Your Modulation Sweet Spot” (RW, Oct. 9, 2019 issue) very informative and helpful. Distortion is a turn-off. And I had never considered the distortion inherent in the garden-variety AM envelope detector in the home receiver. Shame on me. Hopefully, this will lead to better-sounding AM.

One nit to pick: The peak power for a 100% modulated AM signal is four times carrier power, not 1.5 times as stated in the article.

James K. Thorusen
Chief Engineer
Central Coast Electronics
Lincoln City, Ore.

Mark Persons replies: Average power is what I was thinking of when writing the article. Mr. Thorusen is correct in saying that peak power is four times unmodulated power.

 

EAS HOSTAGE?

Once again we have a great example of how unreliably the EAS system is implemented. At least one major supplier of equipment recently sent out emails requiring all stations to upgrade software within a week or be unable to run the system. On top of that, in what feels like an extortion scheme, they required each station, including LPFMs and small markets that are barely getting by, to just find $350 from somewhere.

The units cost a considerable amount, and I think it is obscene to hold the users of this product hostage for software upgrades, I thought that was the reason it cost so much to buy.

I still maintain that if we want a truly functional emergency system we need to revisit the entire system in light of technology developments over the past years since the EAS was designed, and replace EAS with a more robust system that has hardware and software supplied and managed by the FCC.

This kind of haphazard process amplifies the obvious failings of EAS, it is unworkable, and cannot be made workable.

Michael Baldauf

 

LONG LIVE RADIO

I respectfully disagree with the person who wrote that radio is dead.

Having spent much of my career in electronic media, I fully understand how radio, TV, satellites, the internet, etc. all fit together to give us a remarkably flexible means of disseminating information.

Sitting here in my home office at my computer, I can “dial up” radio stations from all over the country (and the world). For example, I can listen to a station 900 miles away in my hometown. Five or ten minutes listening on my computer gets me up to speed on the late-breaking news from “back” home. If there is something really interesting, I can pick up the telephone on my desk and “connect” with someone involved in the story. If I am away from home, I can do the same thing on my laptop.

If the story is really “hot” I can pick up my cellphone and get connected to a real live human being who is involved in the story, regardless of where I am.

Long live radio! The “sound” medium.

Lewis D. Collins
Peabody, Mass.

The post Reader Letters on C. Crane, Modulation, EAS Costs appeared first on Radio World.

In what areas are virtualization affecting radio as we move into 2020? How might these trends change the future infrastructure model for radio in the U.S. and elsewhere?

The newest Radio World ebook explores the topic. In this ebook, brought to you by Wheatstone, ENCO and RCS, veteran engineer Doug Irwin asks technology suppliers and others about virtualization in audio management, production and playout, processing and more, with an emphasis on developments of the past 12-18 months.

To what extent is a cloud-based infrastructure the model of the future for radio media companies? Does the elimination of the main studio rule mean that studios will go away?

What are the technical issues and concerns that are raised by the idea of cloud-based infrastructure? Can the cloud approach be “extended” to a location of the broadcasters’ choosing? What else should broadcasters know today about where these technologies are headed, to be prepared?

Read the new ebook here.

The post Trends in Virtualization & the Cloud appeared first on Radio World.