Working to help kids with catastrophic illness, “98.1 The Max” had a particularly good fundraiser this month.
The Cumulus station brought in about $533,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Memphis, a record for its local campaign.
WXMX(FM) plays “maximum rock.” It raised the money in less than 12 hours in a radiothon on Nov. 5. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis supports children with pediatric cancer and other catastrophic illnesses undergoing treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and their families.
Morgan D. Bohannon is vice president/market manager at WXMX. Danni Bruns is station program director and the cluster’s operations manager.
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The post The Max Raises Big Bux for Ronald McDonald House appeared first on Radio World.
Pierre Robert is baked into the radio landscape of Philadelphia, and now Beasley Media is celebrating him with a month-long 40th anniversary party.
WMMR(FM) will feature highlights of his career, “commemorating local radio’s iconic moments broadcast by a most unique, warm, and recognizable personality.”
Robert (pronounced “roh-BAYR”) is on the air middays in Philly. During his career he has done notable stints on overnights and in morning drive.
[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]
“The award-winning radio host began his journey aboard his trusty microbus, Minerva, when he left his hometown of San Francisco in 1981 to look for a radio home in the City of Brotherly Love,” Beasley Media wrote in the announcement.
“Upon his arrival, there was a natural fit with ’MMR, the progressive rock ’n’ roll radio station located on Rittenhouse Square in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. The Philly-area listening audience has enjoyed 40 years of Pierre’s musical passion and positive outlook, with his diverse appreciation for all things rock ‘n roll including a vast knowledge of the music they all love.”
The company said he is well known for his interview style with rock artists, his concert coverage and his “Roaming Rock Microphone” on the concert scene.
Beasley Media has owned the station since 2016. Group Vice President of Talent Development and WMMR(FM) Program Director Bill Weston said, “I’ve never worked with a more beloved air talent.”
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The post Beasley Celebrates 40 Years of Pierre Robert appeared first on Radio World.
Commissioner Nathan Simington thinks the FCC should wait rather than make more changes to media ownership rules just now.
He calls it a strategy of “purposeful nothingness.”
Simington, a Republican who has been on the FCC for 11 months, came across as a big fan of radio when he gave a pre-recorded talk to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association last week. And he said he “loves” working with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and that they have “got a lot done together on a bipartisan basis, and I think we’ll get a lot more done.”
On the subject of the refreshed 2018 Quadrennial Review, he didn’t comment directly on specific proposals, but he seemed to suggest he would resist moves to tighten up rules under the expected Democratic majority. Using a baking simile, he asked, “How about we let the dough proof a while?”
[“Biden Renominates Jessica Rosenworcel; Gigi Sohn Also Gets Nod”]
He said that with a newly constituted full commission, “We risk whipsawing back into the pre-Pai world, or, worse, ratcheting further back in the other direction. … Broadcast groups whose market caps vanish into a rounding error of big tech media platforms have to be permitted the space and time to compete. To discover business models that differentiate their offerings and grow audiences. To create scale efficiencies that allow them the flexibility to compete with digital-only platforms. To sell their bread.”
On the power of localism in broadcasting, he said, “Radio broadcasters have expanded their role to become ombudsmen between local communities and institutions, and this is nowhere more true than it is in communities where the most common language is not English. … Google and Facebook don’t have stringers outside of city hall sniffing out corruption, hurricane evacuation routing, or staffing for informational access to local community resources anywhere in their product development path.”
In language that would make any broadcast licensee proud, the commissioner talked about the “irreproducible technological advantage” broadcasters have thanks to their “durable, hardened communications infrastructure.”
“Let me ask you something. During a really bad storm — a tornado or a hurricane — what would you trust more to give you information on what you need to do or where you need to go: a hand-cranked radio or a cell phone? Stupid question, right? The radio. And even people not in broadcast know this. Why? Because everyone knows that your cell phone connection is the first thing to be knocked out, and your connection to broadcasters is, well, the last. That’s not to criticize cell phone carriers, of course. That’s just the reality of the situation.”
Simington said that in upcoming debates over media rules, “I hold out hope that I can urge my colleagues on the commission, and maybe even on Capitol Hill, to take full stock of the realities facing broadcasters. The enormous pressures they are under. And how we must preserve the industry prudentially. While I have no doubt that the full commission will be animated by a zeal to protect consumer interests, I will ask them to consider whether in 2021, broadcasters really wield the kind of power, whether nationally or in local markets, that justifies forceful application of rules drafted for a completely different competitive media landscape.”
The post Simington Cautions Against “Whip-Sawing” Media Rules appeared first on Radio World.
Closing is on target for December 1. Yet, Gray Television has wasted no time in announcing that “several” of its current local-level general managers will assume leadership positions at broadcast TV stations it is poised to acquire from Meredith Corporation and retain after the National Media arm is spun off to Barry Diller’s IAC.
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The MMTC says it has some ideas about how the FCC can help influence the eventual rollout of 6G technology.
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel praising her for her recent remarks about 6G, but offers its thoughts on several specific issues.
[See Rosenworcel Calls for 6G Initiative]
The letter, signed by MMTC and several other organizations including the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and civil rights groups like the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, urged the commission to take a series of steps to ensure the delivery of affordable and accessible services to communities of color, as well as to ensure inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses in building 6G infrastructure.
Wireless policy is necessary for economic and national security, the organization said, adding that there were unheeded signs during the early days of the 5G rollout, such as the need for additional mid-band spectrum and a lack of awareness about vulnerabilities in the nation’s supply chain.
“So let’s learn from what came before,” the letter stated. “Let’s acknowledge here and now that it is time to start thinking seriously about how we can better position ourselves for success with 6G. After all, in the age of ever-faster technical development, maintaining our leadership in high-priority emerging technology requires careful planning and execution.”
To do so, the organization asked the commission to take the following five steps:
In Rosenworcel, the MMTC may have found a kindred spirit. During her speech in October to the wireless industry’s Americas Spectrum Management Conference, Rosenworcel devoted a portion of her remarks to the idea of paving the way for 6G and beyond. She cited developments that look ahead to 6G and called for an initiative that could offer recommendations on how to rollout 6G.
“If you think I’m too early on this one, think again,” Rosenworcel said at the conference. “Much like in the early days of 5G, the scrum for 6G is already intensifying.”
Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post MMTC Calls for Proactive FCC Lead on 6G Rollout appeared first on Radio World.
A “deluge of ads” from expanded legalized sports betting and the return of midterm political ad spending in 2022 are expected to aid U.S. broadcasters’ rebound from the
pandemic. But, that is inclusive of Television. How is radio shaping up?
Justin Nielson, a Senior Research Analyst for broadcast media at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan group is poised to deliver much insight on Tuesday (11/15) at Forecast 2022 in New York.
Ahead of the event, which you can still register for here, Nielsen offered some top-line takeaways for where Radio revenues will likely be in a year. Nielson’s key insight: Radio station business is expected to bounce back from the pandemic-induced recession, but with an important caveat.
“Expected growth of 6.2% to $15.75 billion in 2022 is still only a partial recovery given the deep 23% decline in 2020, with revenues falling to $13.68 billion,” Nielson says. “Radio ads are predominantly local and focused on the auto, retail, travel and entertainment categories, which were heavily impacted by the advertising pullback.”
Radio also must compete with “multiple” streaming and on-demand options for music and talk and is “hindered” by the new hybrid or permanent work-from-home economy, which has greatly reduced commuting hours during prime in-car radio time.
This counters Nielsen data (no relation to Justin Nielson) that suggest radio’s consumption recovery is all but complete from the depths of pandemic-induced quarantines.
Despite those headwinds, Nielson of Kagan points to radio’s “lower ad cost, local audience and relatively high return on investment compared to other media.”
This, Nielson says, should help Radio maintain its share of the U.S. advertising market.
iHeartMedia thinks the FCC should eliminate the restriction on how many AM stations one company can own in a given market. But it opposes the “overly aggressive” proposal by the National Association of Broadcasters to raise or eliminate the similar cap on FM stations.
The company believes that within broadcast radio, AMs face a “growing and distressing competitive disadvantage” to FM stations, despite the role played by AMs in national security communications and the “outsized place of AM stations as trusted sources of local news and information.”
That has been iHeart’s position for some time. Now the company has reiterated its stance in a September filing with the FCC. The commission had invited comments to update its record in the still-open 2018 quadrennial review of media ownership rules.
This is an excerpt of the summary section of iHeart’s filing:
Emphasizing the continuing role of AM radio as an important source of news, iHeart provided graphics like this one, demonstrating a surge in AM listening in Dallas during a serious weather freeze.Legal developments subsequent to the closing of the original comment period in this proceeding have strengthened significantly the bases for iHeart’s earlier advocacy.
The twisting course of the litigation challenging the commission’s 2010/2014 Quadrennial Reviews has left the regulatory landscape as it was when the commission received comments and reply comments. Importantly, however, there has not been a meaningful opportunity to ascertain the impact on the marketplace of either the substantial deregulation effectuated by the commission’s November 2017 Order on Reconsideration or its August 2018 Order establishing the Incubator Program.
[See Our Business and Law Page]
The Supreme Court decision reversing the Third Circuit reaffirmed the commission’s reasonable exercise of its authority in applying the broad public interest standard governing Quadrennial Reviews, implicitly rejecting the argument that competition should be the predominant criterion for determining whether to retain, modify or repeal broadcast regulations.
The antitrust actions against Facebook and Google filed by the FTC and the Department of Justice, joined by the vast majority of state attorneys general, also have significant implications for this proceeding.
In the complaints in these cases, the federal government and the states have been explicit in arguing that the relevant advertising markets for the Big Tech companies are separate and distinct from the television and radio broadcast advertising markets and that broadcast radio and television are not substitutable for the social media and search services and related advertising markets of Facebook and Google.
Thus, the federal and state governments have taken the same position utilizing the same analytical framework regarding the relevant market as iHeart has advanced in this proceeding.
Finally, on July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” reflecting the administration’s view that excessive market concentration is harmful to competition.
Of particular relevance to the instant proceeding, the Executive Order encouraged agency heads to pay particular attention to the influence of regulations on concentration in industries within their jurisdiction. Adoption of the NAB’s proposal would be inconsistent with the thrust of the Executive Order on Competition.
“Seismic events”
While these legal developments are directly relevant to this proceeding, the seismic events that have challenged our nation in the past two years also have a bearing on its outcome.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the pervasiveness of misinformation and disinformation on social media and hundreds of internet websites and its disruptive effect on our political processes, and a reawakening about the role race plays in our society following the murder of George Floyd, have underscored the critically important role broadcast radio plays in our country’s life.
Consistent with the examples highlighted in iHeart’s Comments, empirical listening data during the past two years continued to demonstrate that people tune to their local radio stations, especially AM stations, in times of heightened concern, both with respect to local, natural or human-caused disasters and at moments of acute national crisis. Broadcast radio has been an indispensable source of official and factual information about the COVID-19 pandemic, including how best to avoid infection, where to get tested, local and regional infection rates, hospital capacity and the importance, efficacy and availability of vaccines.
[Related: More Change for Radio Ownership Rules?]
Regarding the reexamination of the role of race in American society, iHeart launched the Black Information Network (BIN) in 2020, a 24/7 comprehensive, national, audio Black news service dedicated to providing a trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective. iHeart already has repurposed more than 30 local stations serving large Black populations, the majority of which are AM stations, to be additive to — but not directly compete with — existing Black-owned radio stations.
We continue to support the FCC’s Incubator Program, believing that it should be afforded a meaningful opportunity to succeed in enhancing ownership of broadcast properties by women and minorities, an outcome that would be at risk were FM ownership limits to be relaxed or eliminated.
In light of the increased centrality of broadcast radio to our national information and communications infrastructure, sustaining its economic viability, particularly the more financially vulnerable AM band, should be of paramount concern to the FCC.
Whether measured by numbers of stations on air, audience listening or advertising revenue, broadcast radio has suffered from the broader economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, there are promising signs that broadcast radio will rebound, including the broader economic recovery, portending increased advertising, and dramatically increased driving in recent months, likely translating into greater audience listening.
It is premature, however, to predict the extent and contours of that recovery, and it is too soon to have reliable, empirical, economic data upon which the commission could make predictive judgments.
“Targeted, moderate”
The net effect of these developments is that the positions taken by iHeart in its Comments and Reply Comments ring as true today — indeed, more so — as when we conveyed them to the commission more than two years ago. Accordingly, the commission should adopt a targeted, moderate approach to reforming the local radio ownership rules by eliminating only the limits on AM stations while retaining the current limits on FM stations.
Doing so will avoid the potentially catastrophic harm that could befall AM stations were the commission to adopt the NAB proposal to deregulate substantially the FM band. Moreover, by maintaining the current FM subcap limits, the commission will ensure that the financial incentives essential to the success of the Incubator Program remain in place. The commission should be guided by the overarching principle of doing no harm.
iHeart’s filing went on to develop these arguments in more detail. You can read a PDF of the full filing at https://tinyurl.com/rw-ihm-2.
Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Eliminate local AM caps but don’t touch FM appeared first on Radio World.
The Nielsen company Gracenote, which supports content search and discovery capabilities on entertainment platforms, has joined RadioDNS.
As part of its membership duties, Gracenote will collaborate with manufacturers and broadcasters to develop open standards to support the future of hybrid radio and boost listener engagement in connected cars.
“We’re very pleased to be welcoming another key supplier in the automotive industry to our membership, and one that already handles a great deal of metadata and content,” said Nick Piggott, project director of RadioDNS, in the announcement. “The breadth and depth of our coalition of members means we can draw on relevant and practical experience to develop open standards that respond to real-work requirements.”
[See Our Business and Law Page]
According to the company, Gracenote powers infotainment experiences in 120 million cars, providing music metadata and imagery to help drivers and passengers connect with audio content safely. The Gracenote MusicID system identifies music in real time and serves up relevant song, artist and album information to the car’s on-screen display. The Gracenote Radio Station ID system works in a similar manner, enabling graphically rich displays, while Gracenote Audio On Demand delivers a standardized descriptive dataset for podcasts to improve search capabilities.
RadioDNS said that as a member, Gracenote will engage with broadcasters, manufacturers and technology providers to help define the organization’s technical standards and create standards for new hybrid radio functionalities.
According to Maryann Faricy, senior director of product, automotive, at Gracenote, the company has a sizable footprint in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors and will help RadioDNS better position the organization to influence the future of radio and in-car entertainment experiences.
Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post RadioDNS Welcomes Nielsen’s Gracenote Into Organization appeared first on Radio World.
The Delaware corporation headed by the former CEO of HC2 Holdings has struck again.
The Philip Falcone-led Sovryn Holdings has struck a deal that will see it add a digital Class A television station in a top DMA to its growing list of properties, pending FCC approval.
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In August 2012, the broadcast TV station ownership group and the direct broadcast satellite company were headed to a “blackout” due to an impasse on a retransmission consent agreement. It was averted.
In August 2015, negotiations went sour, and a “blackout” transpired — one that saw the DBS provider file a “good faith” complaint at the FCC against the broadcast company. Days later, however, an agreement was reached.
Three months ago, history was set to repeat itself. That didn’t happen. This morning, the companies ensured it won’t for a few more years.
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A full-service telecommunications company owned by Schurz Communications since 1968 has reached a multi-year agreement for local TV measurement.
It’s a deal that will see Nielsen’s data support the Western Maryland-based MVPD’s ability to determine the individual local performance of the cable networks that it represents and the audience that each network delivers.
At the same time, it is a tale of small MVPD divergence, as a rural Kentucky telecommunications company has opted to phase out its cable television services by handing it to Dish Network via a partnership agreement.
Inking the deal with Nielsen is Antietam Broadband, which serves customers in Washington County, Md., a part of the Washington, D.C. DMA that includes Hagerstown.
For Antietam, the Nielsen data give it the capability to price its inventory based on Nielsen local TV ratings data. For small and independent MVPDs, this could be crucial for continuing such services, rather than taking the road of the Kentucky MVPD.
Antietam Broadband Director of Media Services Tony Heaton cited Nielsen’s addition of Broadband Only (BBO) measurement. “We are also excited about Nielsen’s commitment to impressions in local TV, which will benefit not only us, but the entire industry,” he said.
Nielsen Local TV EVP/Managing Director Catherine Herkovic commented, “Antietam’s support and enthusiasm for impressions based buying further demonstrates this need across the industry, and we are looking forward to continuing to empower them with the insights that will enable them to go to the next level of advertiser effectiveness with their clients.”
The controversy over “net neutrality” advocate Gigi Sohn’s nomination to the FCC is the talk of Washington — and will be a key topic of discussion tomorrow at Forecast 2022.
As American Enterprise Institute (AEI) nonresident senior fellow Daniel Lyons sees it, these nomination battles could be less frequent — and less important — if the focus of legislative decision-making was shifted from agencies like the FCC back to Congress.
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