Industry News

Spanish Broadcasting System has asked the Federal Communications Commission to allow foreign investors to indirectly own up to 49.99% of its equity in aggregate.

SBS filed a petition for declaratory ruling as a consequence of a litigation settlement under which certain investors would receive a combination of cash and new shares of SBS’s common stock.

SBS has radio holdings in multiple major markets including flagship WSKQ(FM) in New York.

“The issuance of the total number of shares required to implement the settlement could cause the aggregate equity foreign ownership of SBS to exceed … [the] 25% benchmark because some of these parties are foreign entities and/or individuals,” the commission wrote in a summary.

[Recently in RW: “FCC Grants iHeart Petition on GMEI Foreign Investment”]

The commission noted that SBS only seeks approval for foreign investors to hold up to 49.99% of the company’s total equity interests; it does not seek special approval with respect to its voting interests.

Raúl Alarcón is the only person or entity that would hold a 5% or greater voting interest, with an approximately 80% voting interest and 34% equity interest in SBS. “The remainder of SBS’s stock would be held by various domestic and foreign investors,” the FCC wrote.

The petition doesn’t seek advance approval for any individual or entity. SBS told the FCC that the request raises no national security, trade policy or law enforcement concerns “and will further the commission’s goal of encouraging foreign investment in the broadcast industry.”

The commission accepted its petition for review and will take public comment. Per its past practice it also will check with relevant executive branch agencies for any concerns related to foreign ownership of SBS.

Comments can be filed on the FCC website and are due March 14, 2022. They should reference MB Docket No. 22-61.

The post SBS Seeks OK for More Foreign Investment appeared first on Radio World.

The voice of broadcast media Inside the Beltway has released an overview of what it considers to be the most important policy issues facing local television and radio stations during the 117th Congress.

What’s the No. 1 policy priority for the NAB?

The advocacy group on Friday released its 2022 Broadcasters’ Policy Agenda, and the top agenda item is “Preserving Local Journalism in the Age of Big Tech.”

“As Congress considers the competitive challenges and antitrust concerns raised by digital platforms and their impact on local news and information, it should support laws and policies that recognize and uphold broadcasters’ unique and essential role in democracy and a free press,” the NAB says.

The No. 2 item: the Local Radio Freedom Act, the concurrent resolution of House and Senate members to oppose any proposed legislation — including the musicFIRST-supported “American Music Freedom Act” — which would impose a new royalty fee scheme on broadcast radio. In the House, the LRFA has 211 co-sponsors; in the Senate, the LRFA enjoys support from 23 co-sponsors.

The NAB comments, “Strong congressional support for local radio was also made clear in the 2018 enactment of the Music Modernization Act, legislation that did not contain a performance tax and benefited songwriters, legacy recording artists, producers, digital streaming services and music listeners. Broadcasters stand ready to work with Congress and the music industry on a balanced music licensing proposal that promotes innovation and recognizes the benefit to artists and listeners of radio’s free, locally focused platform. Congress should stand up for local radio station listeners by opposing a performance tax.”

Also on the priority list: increasing diversity in broadcasting, and “preventing harmful changes to advertising tax treatment.” On the latter topic, the FCC says, “Under the U.S. tax code, advertising is treated as an ordinary and necessary business expense deductible in the year it is incurred. In the last few years, some in Congress and in state legislatures have proposed changes to the tax treatment of businesses’ advertising as a means of raising revenue. These modifications would have a devastating impact on radio and television stations, as well as local newspapers, by discouraging businesses from advertising. Local media rely on ad revenue to serve their communities with essential news, emergency information, sports and entertainment programming. The proposed changes also raise significant First Amendment concerns and ignore the important consumer benefits that advertising provides.”

Thus, the NAB believes Congress should oppose legislation that modifies the tax laws to make advertising more expensive for businesses.

Lastly, the NAB wants congress to dedicate itself to “ensuring broadcast ownership rules reflect the competitive marketplace.”

“Broadcasters urge policymakers to support the FCC’s modernization of radio and TV ownership rules to reflect the current marketplace and account for the rise and increasing influence of digital media,” the NAB says.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — On February 10, 1986, she began her career at The E.W. Scripps Co.-owned NBC affiliate that’s long dominated the ratings across the Treasure Coast and the Palm Beaches.

Now, 36 years later, she’s preparing to relocate to North Carolina and enjoy retirement, concluding a career that has involved just one television station.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. —  America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) and PBS have filed comments with the FCC in support of proposed rules that would assist in advancing NEXTGEN TV market transitions and, in turn, encourage public television stations participating in those transitions.

The FCC’s proposed rules would explicitly permit ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 stations licensing flexibility for multicast streams.

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How many radio industry executives consider Sirius XM to be not only a competitor for ears and ad dollars, but a peer, doing the same thing that their AM and FM stations do?

Few, if any, in the radio business would lump Sirius XM alongside the likes of iHeartMedia, Audacy Inc., and Cumulus Media. Yet, a newly released market research report that looks at “radio” on a global scale has.

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A new study has found that those who commute to an office outside the home use radio more than two times as much as those who work from home.

The media research and content intelligence provider NuVoodoo Media Services recently completed its 19th Rating Prospects Study, which suggests that the industry has reason to be optimistic about increased radio listening in the months ahead.

“Through the earlier stages of the pandemic and in our January study, the data has clearly shown more upside for radio when the focus is on the out of home audience,” said Carolyn Gilbert, president of NuVoodoo Media Services. “As Omicron cases peak and recede, the portion of the radio audience that offers more impact to stations’ monthly report cards is best found and influenced outside the home, in cars and at work, especially during critical weekday prime listening periods.”

Where survey respondents are typically working. (Courtesy NuVoodoo Media Services)

The report found that among those working in any capacity, just 12% report using radio most in a home office setting. Those numbers almost triple to 32% when working outside the home. Differences were also seen among all respondents, those who were likely to participate in ratings surveys (RPS Yes), and those who use radio for an hour or more each day (RPS 60). Less extreme differences were seen between at-home and out-of-home listening to digital streaming platforms (DSP) and other audio sources, although out-of-home workers were greater audio consumers regardless of the chosen medium.

The survey found a clear difference in listening habits between at-home workers and those commuting to work outside the home. (Courtesy NuVoodoo Media Services)

On Feb. 16, 2022, the study and findings will be presented in a 40-minute webinar that will explore how often listeners use streaming apps like Spotify and Apple when compared with how often they use and listen to local AM/FM radio streaming apps. The webinar will look at radio station marketing strategies, including social media, connected TV, direct mail, direct outdoor and telemarketing, and will take a deep dive into the use of smart speakers, car audio systems and podcast listening trends.

The survey was fielded nationwide at the start of January 2022 to 3,298 listeners across all PPM markets. The webinar on the report’s findings will be begin at 1 pm Eastern on Feb. 16.

The post Study: Those Working Outside the Home Listen to More Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Thresa and Michael Gay

Every now and then we are fortunate in our industry that a startup crops up to bring us some really cool problem-solvers. Some of these firms come and go. Some products are acquired by other companies (the old Dannager Audio Works Plan B silence sensor comes to mind). Some suppliers become industry stalwarts.

We have long-standing manufacturers like Henry Engineering and RDL that have built special widgets for years. Relative newcomer Angry Audio has a growing variety of solutions.

Now a company called NotaBotYet is on the scene with its own line of creative products for radio broadcasters. The startup was founded by wife-and-husband team Thresa and Michael Gay.

[Check Out More Product Evaluations in Our Products Section]

Early glimmers came while Michael was helping his daughter build her first robot, named the C-Bot, and trying to come up with a cute name to put on the circuit board. Because this was just the foundation of the project, he wrote “NotaBotYet” on the board.

Fast forward about six months to a studio build when one of Michael’s engineering colleagues spent days, literally, days, soldering 15-pin connectors for an Axia node. Michael thought, “There has to be a better way.” So he worked out some circuit board designs, and put the “NotaBotYet” name on them again.

That little breakout board was noticed by Dave Kerstin of distributor Broadcasters General Store, who said, “Hey I could probably sell a lot of those! Think you can make more?”

Thus in 2015, NotaBotYet was born.

Thresa is president of the family firm. “My degree is in education. I’m a mom, which qualifies for doing just about any job on the fly. For our company, I was in a position that I could balance starting a company — finances, sales, management — with home life — finances, sales, management.”

The NotaBotYet Howler Monkey is named for the loudest land animal.

Michael’s day job is vice president of engineering for Cumulus Media, but in his spare time he is the product designer for NotaBotYet. And their teenage daughters Tesla and Cianna help out.

Tesla, the 16-year-old, loves technology and has built her own gaming computer. (“Yes, she was named after Nikola Tesla,” said Thresa Gay. “I did marry a radio engineer. She was named Tesla before Tesla was cool.”)

Sample work
NotaBotYet makes a bunch of cost-effective solutions to resolve radio installation quandaries. They include the NotaBotYet Axia Relay, Axia GPIO Breakout, Six-Channel WheatNet Logic or Axia Livewire GPIO Relay, Yellowtec LITT Signaling Device Interface, Easy Relay, On-Air 85, Tally Helper 100 & 500, the Howler Monkey Precision Studio Headphone Amp and the Studio Jam and Expansion Jam.

An example of how Howler Monkeys can be daisy chained.

They’ve also built clever mounts for installing video cameras in radio studios.

Consider the Howler Monkey Headphone Amp system. It is designed to mount around the studio at guest locations; it uses standard RJ45 connectors and Ethernet cables. (And why is it called “Howler Monkey”? Because the howler monkeys of Central and South America are among the loudest creatures on land.)

It’s so well built and designed, I had to open the case to check out the construction. These headphone amp boxes have both 1/4-inch stereo and mini headphone jack, so no adapters to hunt down. You can daisy chain five of these (so you don’t need five “wall wart” power supplies all over) and you can chain the audio via Cat-5 from one to the next, or feed them individually from your analog DA, Blade or Node. Retail price is $320.

Studio Jam can help add multicolor accent lighting around the studio in an inexpensive and creative way.

Then there’s the Studio Jam, a fun device that can be used to create cool lighting effects in the studio based on GPIO connections from your audio board or AoIP gear.

These days, with studios “on camera” via social media and video streaming, an “ugly studio” won’t do. So NotaBotYet created this box to help add multicolor accent lighting around the studio in an inexpensive and creative way. Use it to cause lighting in the room to change color, depending on a GPIO trigger. Maybe the highlights glow red during an EAS! Or as various guest mics open, maybe the room — or even just the boom arms — might change color. Retail price is $340.

Another slick device worth mentioning is the On-Air 85, a universal 12V On-Air light that can be controlled by the Axia, Wheatstone or generic GPIO system.

Unlike more traditional on-air notification systems, this very small device provides the power to your 12V on-air light. It simplifies the wiring and connection to an output of the GPIO to the On-Air 85, and the On-Air 85 to the light. Simple and safe, avoiding any 120V AC wiring, and using easy low-voltage wiring.

A room with lighting controlled by Studio Jam. The NotaBotYet graphics have been Photoshopped in.
Besides the “Steady On” mode, there are 14 flashing patterns you can choose, so this device can certainly be used as the interface for a “phone” GPIO, “door” GPIO, or even “Coffee is READY!” GPIO. Retail price is $140.

Keep your eye on NotaBotYet for more creative ideas. Check out what they have, and if there is something you need, tell them. They’re open to helping you meet that need for the tough-to-solve problem.

The website is www.notabotyet.com and includes a list of its U.S. and international dealers.

The author is chief video engineer for the Cleveland Orchestra and a veteran radio and TV engineer. He wrote about the Elgato Stream Deck in January.

The post NotaBotYet Has SolutionsForYou! appeared first on Radio World.

What’s the longest interview that’s ever aired on a radio station in your community?

It ain’t got nothin’ on what a pair of Carroll University students just accomplished at the student-run radio station where they serve as budding air personalities.

Their stunt just landed them in the Guinness World Record book.

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From our Who’s Buying What page: CGI announced that the South African Broadcasting Corp. is using its dira system at eight of its radio stations and will roll it out to the other 11 this year.

Dira is a playout, production and music scheduling platform.

“The contract, won via a competitive tender process, has seen the SABC invest in CGI’s full dira Solution Suite, including Onair Player, Highlander, Scheduler, Startrack, Orion and Broadcast Report,” the supplier said in a press release.

“The proof of concept and subsequent implementation by CGI has achieved the SABC’s goal to enable dira’s use throughout the company’s radio environment, from sales, sport, news and current affairs to education and drama.”

The announcement was made by Nada Wotshela, group executive for SABC Radio, and Michael Thielen, vice president of radio solutions at CGI.

Wotshela said a feature of particular interest is a Commercial Player that plays radio ads within a specified window of booked time. “This will assist with accurate reporting and also ensure that skipping of advertisements, which leads to revenue losses, is a thing of the past,” Wotshela stated.

CGI acquired SCISYS Group PLC, the previous developer of dira, in 2019.

The post SABC Adopts CGI’s Dira Platform appeared first on Radio World.

First, it was CES 2022 where attendees of a major Las Vegas-based conference and expo learned the latest about NEXTGEN TV and all of its ATSC 3.0 features.

Now, 2022 NAB Show attendees are in line to explore the ongoing deployment of broadcast television’s new transmission standard.

NEXTGEN TV exhibits, demonstrations and sessions will take place throughout the conference, scheduled for April 23–27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

NextGen Now, presented by Heartland Video Systems (HVS), will provide a “how-to” overview of Next Gen TV workflows as they are being used today. Featured within the CONNECT Implementation Zone in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, NextGen Now is designed to help broadcasters understand the challenges in implementing the standard in local markets. HVS will provide expert real-world guidance on implementing NextGen workflow and showcase broadcaster equipment from multiple manufacturers and explains their function within the air-chain.

“We are thankful to both our customers and vendors who enable us to be a part of ATSC 3.0 implementations,” Heartland Video Systems President Dennis Klas said. “This is an exciting time and we look forward to providing this NAB Show experience.”

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) will be showcasing the latest generation of NEXTGEN TV receivers at its booth in the Future of Delivery section of the West Hall, as well as providing an update on the implementation progress of the standard at stations throughout the country and advanced applications that broadcasters have been developing.

NAB will also demonstrate the scalable video coding feature of the standard, in which a base layer of high definition content is delivered through over-the-air broadcasting while an ultra high-definition enhancement layer is delivered via broadband, with the TV set combining the two layers into unified ultra high-definition content. The demonstration will take place in Futures Park.

Additionally, on April 24 the Broadcast Engineering & Information Technology (BEIT) Conference will feature presentations on technical papers regarding NEXTGEN TV, in addition to several panels on various topics related to the standard in the Connect Inspiration theater in the West Hall.

Other related panels include “What’s Now and What’s Next with NEXTGEN TV,” moderated by Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle, on April 24, and a question-and-answer session designed to inform station managers and sellers about new opportunities available through the technology.

Additional Next Gen TV programing, activities and demos are in development and will be confirmed soon.