Gray Television is closing out 2021 with another deal. While it is hardly the size of its Quincy Media, Inc., or Meredith Local Media transactions, it is certainly worth noting.
The company co-led by Pat LaPlatney and Hilton Howell Jr. is scooping up five licensed low-power TV stations and a single Construction Permit. The seller: Jeff Winemiller.
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Should a low-power TV station Construction Permit be able to relocate without any restrictions, making them as lucrative as ever to potential buyers?
One licensee says yes, and has filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the Commission with the intent of undoing a special condition given to his LPTV’s CP that must keep it in place for at least one year before any possible move can be made.
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BIA Advisory Services has released its 2020 list of the top-billing radio stations in the country.
The chart is below. Again this list is for last year; BIA’s list is usually issued earlier but like every other business, the company has seen its normal routines disrupted lately. Its list for 2021 won’t be out for a while.
At $62 million, Hubbard’s WTOP(AM) in Washington leads the 2020 list of estimated revenue by a whopping margin, way ahead of the No. 2, iHeart’s KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, and more than twice everyone else’s number.
Compared to 2019, WLTW(FM) moved from fourth to third in the rankings, but KBIG slid from third to seventh. WSB(AM) in Atlanta entered the 2020 rankings in fourth place, and WCBS(AM) in New York City was knocked out of the top ten.
The top 10 in 2019 were:
The post WTOP Was Top Biller Again in 2020 appeared first on Radio World.
With 11 days remaining in the 2021 calendar year, the busy team at BIA Advisory Services on Monday (12/20) released its list of the top billers in broadcast radio for the 2020 calendar year.
To the surprise of no one, Hubbard-owned all-News WTOP in Washington is No. 1.
The data came at the same time as a report showing nearly 800 licensees as having left the radio broadcasting industry since 2019. As one broker sees it, however, it’s much ado about nothing.
RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Hundreds of licensees over the last 24 months that had perhaps one or two stations in their stable cashed out and are no longer radio broadcasters. But, isn’t this exactly what the NAB and many industry leaders want — a smaller ownership pool driven by even more consolidation?
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Travel between Macon and Valdosta, Ga., along Interstate 75, and you’ll pass through the tiny town of Cordele. Here, an FM translator is being spun.
But, it’s originating AM isn’t a part of this end-of-year deal.
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A FM translator station in Rhode Island that allegedly failed to file a license renewal application on time is being told to pay a $5,000 monetary forfeiture, down from an original amount of $7,000.
Federal Communications Commission rules state that broadcasters must apply for a license renewal no later than the first day of the fourth month before the expiration of the license. If a station has not filed a license renewal application on time, the station has no authority to continue operation past the expiration date unless it receives a Special Temporary Authorization (STA) from the commission.
In the case of DiPonti Communications, licensee of FM translator W276DF in Westerly, R.I, the license was set to expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The issue was complicated by the fact that the station’s prior licensee — Harvest Broadcasting Association — received a one-year, short-term renewal on Nov. 8, 2016, as part of a consent decree with the bureau. (Harvest and DiPonti filed an application for consent to assign the license from the former to the latter on Nov. 3, 2016, several days after the consent decree and several days before the short-term renewal grant.) The Media Bureau also granted Harvest’s request to relocate the station from Vermont to Rhode Island so the station could rebroadcast DiPonti’s station, WBLQ(AM).
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The next steps moved smoothly: DiPonti constructed at the new Rhode Island location, filed a covering application to license the new facilities and received a covering license by the bureau that reminded the licensee that the station license would expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The bureau made clear that the covering license the station received did not extend the station’s license term — even though the license substituted the new Rhode Island facilities for the prior Vermont facilities.
That meant that DiPonti should have filed a license renewal application by July 1, 2017, which would have been the first day of the fourth full calendar month prior to the Nov. 8, 2017, expiration date. But DiPonti did not do so — not until three years later on Sept. 11, 2020. It also did not request an STA to continue operating under terms of the expired license until Sept. 16, 2020.
While DiPonti acknowledged that the 2020 application was late, the licensee did not realize that the license had expired when it did.
On Sept. 21, 2021, the bureau released a notice of apparent liability proposing a forfeiture of $7,000 — $3,000 for failing to file the renewal application on time and $4,000 for operating without authorization.
Soon after DiPonti asked the bureau to consider reducing the amount because that there was a discrepancy between expiration dates in the consent decree and in the FCC’s Licensing and Management System (LMS) database. But the FCC disagreed and said that an LMS error could not have caused the violations because that database did not come online until 21 months after DiPonti missed the renewal filing deadline.
DiPonti filed another petition for reconsideration and argued several new points, including that DiPonti was not responsible for Harvest’s misconduct that resulted in the short-term renewal; DiPonti’s broadcasts after the expiration date provided a public service without causing interference to any other stations; DiPonti had a clean record of compliance; the bureau incorrectly discounted the LMS database error since the same incorrect information appears in the existing Consolidated Database System; the violation was for a shorter period of time than the bureau suggested; and DiPonti was unaware that its license had expired because the commission continued to assess regulatory fees that showed the station as properly licensed. To support these arguments, DiPonti submitted copies of regulatory bills, database printouts and a covering license document.
After assessing DiPonti’s second petition, the Media Bureau agreed with some of the licensee’s arguments, including the suggestion that the station was serving the public interest and that DiPointi’s violations do not constitute serious violations.
As a result, bureau adjusted the forfeiture in light of DiPointi’s history of compliance and admitted that there is a remote possibility that a database error might have contributed to the confusion. As a result, the bureau said DiPponti is now liable for a forfeiture of $5,000.
The post FM Translator Issued $5,000 Forfeiture for Late Filing, Unauthorized Operation appeared first on Radio World.
Twenty-two years after launching Digital 1, the first U.K. national commercial DAB license, the Arqiva DAB multiplexing platform now runs 60 multiplexes across the United Kingdom. Recently, the company tapped Paneda of Norway and 2wcom Systems of Germany to re-engineer the platform.
2wcom is providing technology to bring audio from the studios into the multiplexing centers, as well as for EDI-to-ETI standards conversion. Paneda is providing a virtualized computing platform of DAB audio encoding and multiplexing.
“Arqiva is confident that in 2WCOM and Paneda, Arqiva have trusted partners to help Arqiva to respond to Arqiva’s Customer’s needs as DAB continues to grow in the U.K., taking pride in safely delivering hours and hours of painstakingly crafted radio content to millions of listeners,” stated Simon Mason, Arqiva’s head of broadcast radio technology, in a release announcing the agreement.
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The post Arqiva Taps Paneda, 2wcom for DAB Network appeared first on Radio World.
The increased focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Corporate America is not going unnoticed among Black, Hispanic and other diverse audiences, a new Horowitz Research study shows.
As such, to resonate with the multicultural, “brands need to step up,” Horowitz advises. Does the concept of “brand” extend beyond the advertiser to the media outlets themselves?
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Audacy has named its first chief technology officer, promoting Sarah Foss to that position.
“Foss will spearhead the company’s efforts to innovate and differentiate its products and services via new technological capabilities,” it said. “She will continue to report to Rich Schmaeling, chief financial officer and executive vice president of strategic initiatives.”
Foss has been Audacy’s CIO since coming to Audacy in 2020. Before that she was senior vice president, strategic initiatives for FreeWheel Advertisers. She also has held executive roles at Imagine Communications, Yangaroo, Encompass Digital Media, VCI Solutions and Harris Corp.
She also is co-founder of Tech Bae, networking and mentoring organization for women in media and advertising.
Her job will be to manage “key technology initiatives” including software development, ad tech, business intelligence and analytics and data solutions. She also will oversee the live and on-demand audio streaming business, AmperWave, which it recently acquired from WideOrbit. The CTO role does not oversee broadcast engineering.
The post Audacy Promotes Foss to CTO appeared first on Radio World.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has announced new health protocols for CES 2022 in Las Vegas and is reporting that it will offer complimentary COVID-19 rapid testing kits.
This additional measure builds upon the previously announced requirement that all in-person attendees must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Upon arriving at designated badge pick-up locations, CES attendees will be provided with Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Self Test kits. Each BinaxNOW Self Test kit contains two tests, which can be used twice while attending the show.
The CTA noted that the test is easy to use, requires only a shallow nasal swab, takes 15 minutes and can be done from the convenience of a hotel room. It strongly encourages all participants to test for COVID-19 before they leave home and within 24 hours before entering a show venue.
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“CES is a global event, and we continue to see strong momentum with new exhibitors signing up every day,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “In August, we announced that every CES attendee must be fully vaccinated. CES will also provide complimentary COVID-19 rapid tests, onsite at badge pickup locations, as an additional step to protect the health and safety of all our attendees, exhibitors and staff.”
The organizers also reported that CES 2022, which returns to Las Vegas Jan. 5-8, 2022, has attracted more than 2100 exhibitors, including brands like Abbott, Amazon, AMD, Autograph, Damon, Goodyear, Hisense, Hyundai, IBM, Intel, LG Electronics, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, Revival Health, Samsung Electronics, Sierra Space, Sony, Waymo and more.
The updated list of health protocols planned for CES 2022 is:
CES attendees will be required to wear masks as follows:
Additional health protocols include:
Detailed information for all CES 2022 health protocols can be found here. Those unable to travel to Las Vegas will be able to access CES digitally.
The post CES 2022 Adds New Health Protocols; Will Offer COVID-19 Tests appeared first on Radio World.
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