Aggregator

TORONTO — At first glance, one may simply believe Educational Media Foundation seeks to fill a gap in its nearly national footprint for its KLOVE and Air 1 Christian music networks by grabbing a pair of commercially licensed FMs in an economic struggling portion of far Upstate New York.

Yes, EMF will be gaining a presence in such small cities as Malone, Massena and Chateaugay. But, more significantly, EMF has gained two facilities that will allow it to reach English-speaking audiences from Cornwall to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and the western suburbs of Montréal.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A maker of signal transmission and content monitoring solutions for the broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV markets has released a new product that adds to its portfolio of ATSC 3.0 broadcast items.

The new Sencore TXS 3800 transcoder appliance converts multiple ATSC 3.0 services into
ATSC 1.0-like formats, for reuse and retransmission in existing cable, translator and MVPD systems.

The TXS 3800 is a dense terrestrial transcoder, capable of transcoding up to 4 ATSC 3.0 services in a single chassis. Video features include MPEG-2 and H.264 compression, along with down-scaling, transrating and caption conversion. Audio is transcoded to either AC-3 or AAC and service names are mapped into standard TVCT format. Once transcoded, all elements are packaged into an MPEG transport stream and output as traditional MPEG/IP for downstream use.

As ATSC 3.0 deployments continue to expand, broadcast, cable and MVPD providers are constantly looking for innovative new products to help them manage these new workflows. “The TXS 3800 is the perfect companion to seamlessly integrate ATSC 3.0 signals into existing signal paths with minimal impact to architecture and processes,” Sencore says.

To download the full datasheet, view features and product specifications or request a demo, visit www.sencore.com

A chip shortage has been wreaking havoc on the automobile industry, hampering efforts to get new vehicles into showrooms and out the door with consumers who desire to replace their current ride.

Now, Chevrolet has alerted consumers that certain model year 2021 and 2022 pickup trucks will not come with Xperi’s HD Radio. And, the automotive company says, it is due to a chip shortage.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Of all of the advertisers using Spot Cable to reach consumers, there’s one that stands out.

And, it is perhaps the most recognizable coffee retailer in the world.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report is noteworthy for its lack of movement among the brands actively using national television to reach consumers.

And, as shown below, auto insurance specialists remain the most active of categories at Spot TV.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Urban One, the multimedia company led by Alfred Liggins III that owns the TV One and Cleo cable television networks in addition to radio stations, Reach Media and a growing casino gaming operation, has submitted to the SEC the results of voting on matters ranging from executive compensation to its board of directors.

The votes came during Urban One’s annual shareholders meeting on June 23.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

As RBR+TVBR first reported on June 22, Adams Radio Group, the Minnesota-based company led by Ron Stone, is selling two of its stations serving the Eastern Shore of Maryland and lower Delaware.

Stone then hinted at the sale of the remaining stations owned by Adams in the region.

Now, another station has been sold — this time a Class A Country station licensed to Seaford, Del.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

With a mere 99 watts from a broadcast tower used by Sinclair Broadcast Group for its ABC television affiliate, an FM translator reaches most of metropolitan St. Louis at 106.9 MHz.

Until now, this mini-FM facility has simulcast a religious AM. That will soon change, as the FM translator has just been sold.

Paperwork has been filed with the FCC that shows Kaufman Media agreeing to part ways with K295CQ in St. Louis, Mo.

It’s grabbing $125,000 for the baby FM, and the buyer is Rob Austin-led Fusion Radio.

And, Austin has plans in place that will see K295CQ get an upgraded facility and a new tower location, ending the use of the structure at the KDNL-30 studios.

That’s according to Dick Kozacko, who served as Austin’s broker of record. With an upgrade, the coverage area of K295CQ is expected to grow dramatically, making it a “super translator” with city-grade coverage of nearly the entire metropolitan area.

What are Austin’s plans? They could mirror those seen at WPAY-AM 1520 in Toledo and its two associated FM translators.

In addition to his Fusion Radio operation, Austin operates Jammtraxx Media, a Chicago-based operation that offers programming, production, imaging and mix show syndication.

He’s made a $25,000 downpayment to Kaufman, which will receive an additional $25,000 payment no later than August 2. A $75,000 payment will be made at closing.

This is expected to occur by September 1.

Kaufman Media is led by Bert Kaufman, who intended to sell K295CQ and originating station WGNU-AM 920 along with KXEN-AM 1010 and FM translator K283CI to Berry Broadcasting for $650,000 in July 2019. That transaction was never consummated.

Kozacko notes that offers for WGNU, KXEN and K283CI “are pending.”

In 1978, she joined the former Great Trails Broadcasting, working as an on-air personality.

This Gem City radio voice would remain a key figure in the market for some 43 years, and today remains a household name thanks to her presence on an iHeartMedia Adult Contemporary leader.

Come July 16, Kim Faris will say goodbye to Radio. Chances are, she won’t be saying goodbye to Dayton anytime soon.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

It’s been a hallmark of iHeartRadio‘s app for both free and paid users.

Now, Audacy is bringing “exclusive music stations” to its app, formerly known as Radio.com and acquired through the tax-fee CBS Radio merger.

“Exclusive stations underscore Audacy’s commitment to a roadmap of innovation, with many more features and interactivity to come over the coming months,” said J.D. Crowley, the Chief Digital Officer at Audacy.

Audacy adds that “the exclusive station collection is designed for fans by fans and will range widely across various music genres, moods and activities, enabling users to discover new music driven by their interests, favorite artists and upcoming events.”

This brings some 350 new stations, “expertly curated,” to the newly renamed Audacy app and digital audio platform. What makes this different from Pandora, or Spotify? That curation, Audacy notes, with on-air personalities contributing to the “millions of hours of human music compilation and audio production experience.”

Stations will also be built “by some of the biggest stars in the music industry.” They include Coldplay, a highly popular act of the 2000s; Top 40 and EDM act Tiësto, Disney Channel alumnus Sofia Carson and country music artist Jake Owen at launch, with additional artist-programmed stations added in the coming weeks.

Interesting, the catalogue of Audacy’s app-only stations is “Powered by Napster.”

Napster famously rose to prominence some 20 years ago for its users’ ability to download recorded music at no cost. It was shut down in July 2001, agreed to a $26 million settlement, and sought to relaunch as a paid service. This included an attempt to sell Napster to Bertelsmann for $85 million; a judged blocked the move, and its assets were sold off.

Today’s Napster is a descendent of the original Napster and since August has been owned by virtual reality events company MelodyVR.

Thanks to a big PR push and the recent naming of Joe Crowley — the former Democratic Congressman who lost his primary re-election bid to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — as Chairman of pro-recording artist rights coalition musicFIRST, the latest effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to collect dollars for musicians and performers from radio stations was introduced with a big media splash.

The American Music Fairness Act arrived. It looks not so dissimilar to previous attempts to get legislation favoring recording acts passed by Congress, except for one big difference: a tiered royalty structure based on a radio station’s annual revenue.

Is that enough to woo Members of the House and Senate? If anything, it may have had the opposite effect, as the Local Radio Freedom Act has gained more support since the “AMFA” arrival.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

If not, now is your time to make your selections for the Medallas de Cortez awards.

The Medallas de Cortez are the most prestigious and highly coveted symbol of excellence in Hispanic radio. This is the twelfth year these exclusive radio awards will be presented at the Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami, and if you know someone who is doing great work in Hispanic radio, now is your chance to spotlight their efforts with a nomination.

Nominations can be made in seven categories:

• Marketer (may be someone from a station, an agency, or a client)
• National/Syndicated Personality
• Local Personality
• Program Director
• Sales Manager
• General/Market Manager,
• Station of the Year.

The awards, sponsored by vCreative, will be presented at the Hispanic Radio Conference, September 22-23, in Miami at the Intercontinental at Doral.

Nominations are being accepted through July 12. Don’t procrastinate — make yours today!

I recently had the opportunity to test out the new Movo UM700 USB Desktop Studio Microphone.

Movo Photo is an L.A.-based dealer that offers its own products along with those of others in the field of audio, video, photography and lots of accessories for those disciplines.

The UM700 costs about $100. The company markets it as “a Blue Yeti killer.”

To throw the specs out first, it stands about a foot tall on its desk mount and weighs just over 2 pounds.

It is a solid mic as far as its metal body and overall build, and certainly has the physical feel of a mic that will stand up to time, with a notable exception to be discussed.

It uses a 1/2-in he diaphragm and shows a frequency response (per manufacturer) of 20 Hz–20 kHz. As a USB microphone — no XLR — it’s limited to the world of PCs and laptops. It pulls its 5V power over the USB (at 150mA per manufacturer’s specification), and that is to power the internal headphone amplifier (using a mini 1/8-inch stereo jacks).

The sample rate listed is 48 kHz with a 16-bit depth. According to the company the headphone amplifier output impedance is 16 ohms, and headphone amp output frequency response is 15 kHz–20 kHz.

What makes this microphone unique for an affordable USB microphone is an adjustable polar pattern.

On the back of the mic are two controls. One for mic gain/sensitivity, and the other for pick-up pattern. By rotating a solid switch, it can have a stereo, cardioid, omnidirectional or bidirectional pick-up pattern.

The front of the mic has a headphone volume adjustment, plus a handy “mute” button (which illuminates to remind you that it is muted). It has a green indicator light to show you when it has a connection and is powered. One other feature is the 5/8-inch threaded opening in the bottom for a standard mic mount. Though you can’t swivel the mic on its included stand, it can be removed and used with a microphone stand, gooseneck or boom arm.

How does it sound? This is always a subjective question when working with microphones. So much relies on an individual’s own voice; mine is lower. For that it sounds decent.

It has a “proximity effect” to it, meaning you can “color” the audio quality of the mic by working it close or far. This is not something I like with mics in general, but some mics (like the EV RE320 and 20 series) are excellent at producing the same tonal quality no matter what the distance.

On the positive side, the adjustable pattern is a cool feature, and using a mic in stereo mode for some situations (like an interview where you only use a single mic) really provides an excellent “audible image” of the interview. You can hear the placement of the people in relation to the listener (or the mic). This is very nice.

The sensitivity is also a plus, though it should be noted that there’s enough gain to the mic to really increase noise as well.

Though I’ve had this mic for testing for about a month, there is a notable weakness. The micro USB connection on the bottom of the mic is flimsy. Mine is already loose and occasionally causes an intermittent issue.

That is a serious flaw and, in my opinion, likely to cause failure and a short life. Unless they redesign it with a much more robust connection (or full-size) USB, I wouldn’t recommend it because of that problem.

For the quality of the sound, features and otherwise robust built, it’s a shame that a 25-cent connection limits this microphone.

PRODUCT CAPSULE

Movo UM700 USB Desktop Studio Microphone

Thumbs Up: Nice sound, multipattern mic in USB connection format; compatible with Windows and Mac

Thumbs Down: Flimsy USB connector

Price: $99.95

For information, contact Movo Photo at 1-800-354-1739 or visit www.movophoto.com.

The post Movin’ on Up With the Movo UM700 appeared first on Radio World.

So here’s the buzz… if the unusual design of the King Bee II makes one think about Blue, that’s not an accident.

The same group that founded Blue (technically Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics) a couple of decades ago and built it into a major microphone player, are also behind Neat Microphones, the maker of the King Bee II (and the original King Bee along with other XLR mics and many USB mics).

Not surprisingly, the mic designs put out by Neat have been … eye-catching.

Neat was recently acquired by iconic computer sound card pioneer now computer gaming peripherals power Turtle Beach …

But back to the King Bee II. It’s a cardioid large diaphragm condenser aiming to be a studio mic rather than a computer peripheral. This mic has an XLR output. Following in the tradition of Blue, Neat points to quality electronics on the inside.

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

The target market includes the standard studio performers — electric guitar, acoustic instruments, drums along with voiceovers, podcasting and streaming content.

In addition it ships with the custom “Beekeeper” shockmount and “Honeycomb” pop filter. Price: 169.99

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: www.neatmic.com

The post Neat King Bee II Takes Flight appeared first on Radio World.

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

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters has joined a range of organizations to submit comments in support of REC Networks’ Petition for Rulemaking. The petition, RM-11909, promises to be a game changer for rural communities, in NFCB’s assessment.

Why did NFCB sign on to expand LPFM? Low power stations represent an important moment in radio’s evolution in the U.S. REC Networks’ proposal is straightforward and intuitive. It would permit LPFMs in communities where it is possible to upgrade their signals. Currently, most LPFMs only go about three miles from their transmitters due to the existing power limits of a maximum broadcast power of 100 watts. An increase would help sparsely populated areas tremendously, and cause no conflict with existing broadcasters, where they are otherwise present.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Giving Mood]

Radio World recently shared some of the words of noncommercial broadcasters representing governmental, community and faith-based licensees. Many radio station representatives share that their outlets are assets in their communities. “Our little station has provided hyperlocal programming,” the comments from WVMO read, for example. In each of these stories is the spark of why many people get into radio in the first place. These broadcasters aim to make a difference locally. A signal increase would only deepen those area relationships.

In few places is our medium’s relationship more necessary as it is in far flung regions. With not nearly the number of broadcast options as one might hope in rural regions, low-power FM stations serve a vital purpose. They provide a sense of belonging, emergency response information, and a cultural gathering place where in-person meeting is more difficult due to the terrain. Stronger radio in these areas means stronger communities.

The idea presented by REC Networks has its share of critiques. For as long as there has been radio, it feels like there have been tensions over space on the dial. However, such disputes are not nearly as prevalent in rural communities where, to quote NFCB CEO Sally Kane, there are more cows than people. Regardless, some argue possible conflicts should mean a complete halt on progress. But, with natural disasters and crying needs of communities for education and support, isn’t it wiser to be simply more responsive when issues arise, rather than stop everything? I tend to believe commissioners are professionals enough to handle matters as they arise.

The FCC has yet to consider REC Networks’ Petition for Rulemaking, but the overwhelming number of comments are an apt demonstration that, especially in rural communities, LPFM increases are an idea whose time has come.

The post Community Broadcaster: LPFM-250’s Time Is Now appeared first on Radio World.