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Do you have something to say to the FCC about Gray Television‘s proposed acquisition of all of Quincy Media, Inc.‘s TV stations?

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Shares of iHeartMedia stock catapulted upward in one of the company’s biggest-ever buying sessions on Wall Street.

As the Closing Bell rang on the Nasdaq GlobalSelect Market on Tuesday, IHRT was up by more than 11% from Monday.

The reason? There are two.

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In April 2020, a Class A FM licensed to rural Effingham, Kansas, some 65 miles from Kansas City International Airport was in the headlines as its owner sought FCC approval for a silent STA extension.

Now, that licensee — Cumulus Media — is selling that station.

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The Educational Media Foundation is urging the Federal Communications Commission to decide quickly about FM6 stations — those low-power TV stations known as Franken FMs that effectively operate as radio stations in some cities, heard on 87.7 MHz just below the U.S. FM band.

Those stations will go away when LPTV stations are required to cease analog service on July 13 as part of the nation’s digital TV migration.

The FM6 stations are already six years past when we first thought the stations would be forced to shut down. And many radio broadcasters think these “radio” operations should not be allowed anyway, because the underlying TV licenses were not issued with radio service in mind.

The FCC has been considering allowing an exemption to keep them operating. We already knew that the big Christian noncommercial broadcaster was a supporter; it told the FCC earlier that “FM-on-LPTV stations are already operating and not causing interference at the lowest end of the FM band.”

Now, given the July 13 deadline for LPTVs to cease analog service entirely, EMF Vice President of Operations and Engineering Sam Wallington has written again to the commission.

He asked it to “act expeditiously on this matter” because stations need to be able to plan “to avoid a potential unhappy surprise should their audiences lose service that they have enjoyed for many years.” And he took the opportunity to reiterate EMF’s hope that the FCC will protect the stations.

EMF operates the K-Love and Air1 networks. It also has an FM6 signal of its own.

“EMF has been able to expand the coverage for its programming by using the analog audio channel of KBKF(LP), San Jose, Calif., which has been received by the public on their FM radio dial at 87.7 since August 2010,” Wallington wrote.

“This service is a benefit to the community, providing well-received programming to the residents of the San Jose area. Especially in larger markets like San Jose, much, if not all, of the FM band has been claimed, leaving little room for noncommercial services like those that EMF provides on 87.7 MHz.”

Silencing the station, he said, would leave a void; he said other operators have reported similar experiences.

“There is no apparent technological or policy reason — and certainly no public interest benefit — for ending FM-on-LPTV service. In fact the [TV] digital transition and preservation of analog audio on 87.7 puts the commission in a win-win position — viewers receive all the benefits of digital television on Channel 6 while the audio channel can be preserved to serve current listeners and be available for future listeners to discover.”

Opponents to the dual-mode operation, including National Public Radio, say the stations flout FCC rules and are misusing the spectrum. In addition, NPR has voiced concerns about interference to stations in the adjacent reserved band.

The term Franken FM was coined early in their history by online observers and promulgated by Radio World. It plays on the word Frankenstein and refers to what some consider their unnatural combination of licenses (or body parts).

[Related: “Goodbye, Frankens? TV Deadline Approaches”]

The post EMF Urges Quick Decision on Franken FMs appeared first on Radio World.

Despite the fact that traditional AM/FM broadcasting is at the century mark, it still leads all newcomers in the in-car media ecosphere.

That’s according to The Infinite Dial 2021’s latest data. The annual Infinite Dial is prepared by Edison Research and Triton Digital.

The numbers suggest that AM/FM radio holds a commanding lead at 75%. Owned digital music holds a distant second place with 48%, followed by the CD player, online audio, podcasts and Sirius XM. It bears noting that AM/FM broadcasting’s automotive lead is slowly slipping away, having been at 81% in 2019 and 2020.

[Read: Despite Disruptions in 2020, Media Consumption Trends Upwards]

Another entertainment technology that is rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror is the car CD player, as more vehicles from the 1990s and early 2000s have a date with the scrapyard. To put this in perspective, the CD player came in second with 63%, behind AM/FM’s 84% in the 2013 Infinite Dial report. The most recent figures place the CD player third with 35% of audio sources ever used in the car.

Also trending down, according to The Infinite Dial 2021, is the percent of respondents driving/riding in a car/vehicle in the past month. Their 2020 data suggests 87% were cruising monthly, and that number fell this year to 83%. That’s not hard to understand when one considers the pandemic lockdown, employment statistics, and that rush hour traffic in many cities has become a thing of the past.

New automotive technologies continued to make gains in 2020, according to Triton and Edison Research data. The percent owning in-dash information and entertainment systems crept up from 18–20% over the past year. Data for online audio listening in-car through a cellphone suggests an increase from 45–50% over the past year.

A new category introduced to the 2021 Infinite Dial is the percent having an integrated mobile operating system in their primary vehicle. The numbers say Apple Car Play has 10%, while Android Auto has 8%.

 

The post Data Says AM/FM Radio Still Leads in Automotive Environment appeared first on Radio World.

Paul Rogers has been promoted by iHeartMedia to area president for North Florida, which includes the Jacksonville market.

He succeeds Nicky Sparrow, who was recently named the senior vice president of multicultural sales for iHeartMedia Markets Group.

The Jacksonville cluster includes eight stations with music formats in English and Spanish: WSOL(FM), WQIK(FM), WJBT(FM), WWJK(FM), WKSL(FM), WFXJ(AM), Rumba 106.9FM and 107.3FM Planet Radio.

Rogers has been market president for Tallahassee and Panama City since 2017. iHeart’s realigned North Florida area now also includes those two cities.

Rogers will report to Division President Linda Byrd.

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post iHeart Tabs Paul Rogers to Lead North Florida appeared first on Radio World.

On January 26, Nassau, Bahamas-based Honeycomb Investments Ltd. (now named the Global Media & Entertainment Investments Trust) snapped up a total of 9,631,329 shares of iHeartMedia stock.

This gave the entity 8.8% attributable interest in iHeartMedia, leading sleuths to connect one of the key individuals involved in the investment to one of the biggest commercial radio station owners in Great Britain.

Now, this company that boasts such brands as Heart, Capital, Radio X, LBC, Gold and Classic FM wants a greater stake in iHeartMedia. And, its Washington-based counsel has written to the FCC to advance regulatory approval for the purchase.

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The author is chairman of the European Digital Radio Alliance (EDRA). This is one in a recurring series of commentaries from and about WorldDAB.

The European Digital Radio Alliance is a joint initiative bringing together 25 members from 13 European countries.

Its members represent public and commercial broadcasters from across the continent, several hundred large and small radio stations along with a few hundred million listeners.

One of EDRA’s key priorities has been to promote digital radio, and ensure it is included in the new European Electronic Communications Code. Digital terrestrial radio is now compulsory for new passenger cars sold across Europe, and member states have the possibility to extend this obligation to domestic receivers.

[Read: Commentary: DAB+ Takes Center Stage]

In November, EDRA decided to adopt a manifesto in the face of digital developments, and raise awareness regarding radio stations’ growing dependence on certain digital giants, and the dangers that entails.

European Digital Radio Alliance members

By putting their content on the platforms of these tech giants, radio stations become increasingly dependent on tech giants and enable them to act as gatekeepers. Therefore they are becoming the new digital competitors of our radio stations, weakening them as they attract more listeners, make limited national production investments, and reduce the pool of choice of consumer and radio stations’ exposure on digital platforms.

We firmly believe that the intervention of commercial third-party platforms, mediating the relationship between the broadcasters and the listeners, is detrimental to the level playing field which has existed in European countries until now.

At EDRA, we aim to promote together a radio distribution strategy based on a secure, direct route to reach audiences, independent of the technologies employed. In this context, we would underline the importance of broadcast distribution in maintaining continuity of service for public safety in emergency conditions.

We have outlined two strategies to face these challenges — the first one is to facilitate collaboration within our industry. While we continue to compete on content, we need to bring the industry together to maintain a strong basis for radio around Europe and stay attractive to our listeners.

We also need to secure direct access to our listeners by favoring common platforms that allow for the growth of radio — DAB+ digital radio being the obvious one — but also by develop attractive digital platforms that will allow us to step away from third parties who are less likely to invest in our economies.

The success of DAB+ is based on cooperation between radio stations, and we are seeing strong growth in DAB+ listening across several European markets as the migration of radio audiences to digital continues.

Digital distribution, both terrestrial broadcasting and internet, is inevitably the future of radio; it will continue to deliver listener benefits around supplementary data and flexible on-demand provision.

 

The post DAB+ — Radio’s Biggest Ally in Facing Off Digital Giants appeared first on Radio World.

The Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group, a volunteer organization dedicated to developing management and leadership skills for women in radio broadcasting, is pleased to introduce the MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program’s Class of 2021.

A total of four candidates from the radio industry — within sales, marketing, programming, and digital disciplines — are selected annually for the MIW Group’s heritage mentoring program.

Now in its 20th year, this opportunity matches up-and-coming women in radio with female professionals recognized as leaders in all aspects of the industry. vCreative, the provider of media workflow solutions, is the lead sponsor of this year’s program.

The 2021 class is comprised of the following professionals:

• Lisa Kirkman, National Accounts Director for Ruby Radio in Northeastern Nevada
• Jenna Miller, Integrated Sales Manager (GSM) for Cox Media Group in Tampa
• Tonee Roper, On-Air Personality & Promotions Director for Neuhoff Media in Springfield, Ill.
• Ashley Wilson, Director of Country Programming for the Kentucky/Indiana Region, iHeartMedia

The MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program is named in the memory of Mildred Carter, who, along with her husband Andrew “Skip” Carter, founded the first African American-owned radio station in the U.S. in 1950, when they turned on KPRS-AM in Kansas City. Mrs. Carter ran the Carter Broadcast Group for many years, after the death of Skip Carter, before turning over control of the company to her grandson Michael Carter in 1987.

Entercom VP of Agency Partnerships Lindsay Adams, Chair of the 2021 MIW Group Mentoring Committee and a 2006 graduate of the program said, “The pandemic created such a demand and need for mentoring to aid in career development and advancement. The sheer quantity and quality of candidates desiring to develop their careers in audio tripled this year. Given the challenges we have all faced over this last year, the program will prove to be even more valuable to our 2021 mentees who highly reflect the excellence we’re seeing in applications. Let the mentoring begin!”

To read about these amazing finalists and former mentees visit: https://www.radiomiw.com/mentees

SAN FRANCISCO — A former FCC appellate lawyer has joined Davis Wright Tremaine’s San Francisco office as a partner in the technology and communications practice, where she will focus on matters before the California Public Utilities Commission, the FCC, and on other appellate and regulatory matters.

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MIAMI — One of the nation’s biggest Spanish-language media companies has secured a long-term agreement for services from the nation’s dominant source of radio industry ratings and audience listening estimates.

It’s a multi-year renewal that allows Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) to continue to benefit from Nielsen Audio audience measurement data in five PPM markets where the company owns radio stations, and the diary-based Puerto Rico marketplace.

Also benefiting from the new Nielsen deal is SBS’s national radio arm, AIRE Radio Network.

The agreement also allows SBS access to Nielsen Scarborough and the nationwide dataset are included.

SBS owns 17 radio stations that collectively reach a third of the U.S. Hispanic population.

JACKSONVILLE — On March 12, iHeartMedia promoted a 20-year sales veteran to the new role of SVP/Multicultural Sales for its Markets Group.

We now know who is succeeding Nicky Sparrow in her former role as the head of iHeart’s North Florida station group, headquartered in this fast-growing metropolis home to financial services and the U.S. Navy.

Taking the role of Area President for North Florida is Paul Rogers, which sees him assume oversight for a newly configured North Florida region for iHeartMedia that includes not only Jacksonville but also Florida’s state capital, Tallahassee, and Panama City, on the Panhandle in the Central Time Zone.

Rogers reports to Division President Linda Byrd, who has worked with Rogers for more than 35 years. She says, “His integrity, judgment, professionalism and competitiveness are what any manager would look for in a market leader. He is the perfect choice as a successor, and I have no doubt that he will take this area to the next level.”

Byrd also thanked Sparrow “for the great work she has done in getting Jacksonville to where we are today” and congratulated her on her new role within iHeartMedia.

Rogers, in essence, is adding Jacksonville to his current responsibilities. He’s been Market President for Tallahassee and Panama City since 2017, and before that served in multiple local, statewide and national roles for iHeartMedia while working in Jacksonville for 18 years. He began his career at WLAK-FM (now WLIT-FM) in Chicago in the late 1980s.

“I am beyond excited by this new challenge and to be given the opportunity to finally lead the Jacksonville market where I have spent so much of my career and where I still have family, many dear friends, teammates and customers,” Rogers said. “We have a strong and diverse staff, and so many of iHeartMedia’s leaders and many of our industry’s greatest air personalities have come from this area. But mostly, it’s a chance to once again work with Linda Byrd, who’s been my mentor for my entire career.”

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The trade association that represents the interest of local TV station owners and management on a national level, similar to how the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) works with AM and FM radio stations, has renewed its agreement with “a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms.”

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As such, Comscore will continue to provide the TVB with local, network and digital audience information including Comscore’s Advanced Automotive Demographics segments.

“Comscore provides TVB, and all Comscore clients, with the measurement solutions that are most capable of delivering stable and predictive audience insights to help clients drive their businesses successfully.” said Steve Walsh, a Comscore EVP.

In a year full of challenges, some radio station owners continued to see COVID-19 related impairments in the fourth quarter of 2020. Others have rebounded strongly, thanks to hefty political dollars and a strong digital story.

For Townsquare Media, CEO Bill Wilson and EVP/CFO Stu Rosenstein have perhaps the best recovery story in the local media industry. Why? Digital fueled the growth, setting the stage for a most impressive fourth quarter finish that crushed even the best forecasts company numbers-crunchers came up with last autumn.

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Tonee Roper, a worldwide air talent and Promotions Director for Neuhoff Media’s radio stations serving Springfield, Ill., is one of four candidates selected for the MIW’s 2021 Mildred Carter Mentoring Program.

Roper is the guest on the latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

She spoke one-on-one with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson, and engaged in a lively conversation about the importance of radio as a Thirtysomething seeking career longevity in an industry maligned by many as one that’s dying.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Tonee Roper, Neuhoff Media” on Spreaker.

BeckTV, a systems integrator for the broadcast media industry, has completed another high-profile project for one of its major U.S. clients.

It involves the owner of the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, which will soon host this publicly traded broadcast TV company’s new master control hub.

TEGNA partnered with BeckTV to design, install, and integrate all systems for TEGNA’s centralized new master control operation, the “TEGNA Stream Center,” based on an innovative cloud-based hub-and-spoke approach that will serve all TEGNA stations.

TEGNA owns 64 television stations in 51 markets, including WCNC-TV in Charlotte. Upon completion, TEGNA’s new master control hub in Charlotte will support more than 225 channels across the country with more than 50 spoke-racks deployed at distributed locations.

More than 500 originating multicast streams traverse a private LAN to facilitate monitoring and operation of all stations.

“With the growth of our company and station lineup over the last several years, it was time to build a next-generation technology infrastructure that could support our current and future needs,” said Bill Nardi, TEGNA’s VP of Station Operations. “Thanks to our longstanding partnership with BeckTV, we knew they would be the perfect choice to help us take on this project. BeckTV has been instrumental in helping us build the TEGNA Stream Center, a best-in-class master control facility that creates streamlined workflows through a centralized operation.”

Brendan Cline, BeckTV’s Director of Engineering, added, “We believed we could collaborate to design and implement the best hub in the country, and we are humbled to have been chosen to execute yet another large broadcast integration for TEGNA. This has been an extensive project to date and one that reinforces our long-standing relationship.”

BeckTV has been working with TEGNA for several years. In 2017, they provided support during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and helped TEGNA create a new state-of-the-art facility there.

TEGNA’s hub-and-spoke master control approach with the TEGNA Stream Center enables group-wide monitoring and abundant multicast streaming over the TEGNA private WAN. Further advantages include redundancy of all systems to prevent internet connectivity and equipment failures, and design homogeneity across a spectrum of station types and requirements.

 

To build the TEGNA Stream Center facility in Charlotte, BeckTV integrated Evertz baseband and IP routing and control systems; Crispin automation control system, file ingest, and distribution systems; a Harmonic master control playback server, graphics system, and switcher; TSL hub audio monitoring equipment; and a Clear-Com IP-based intercom.

By Brian Galante

ENCO has shifted its business operations to a modernized office space in the growing community of Novi, Mich., just 17 miles from the company’s longtime Southfield headquarters. The newly constructed, 12,000-square-foot facility will offer a more collaborative work environment and a centralized location for staff and customers in the Detroit suburbs.

ENCO’s entire operation across sales, administration, engineering, finance, management, manufacturing and marketing will be based in Novi, effective immediately. The interior building design, which embraces an open floor plan, will bring the previously separated functions closer together – as will the other modernized perks that the Southfield headquarters lacked. The spacious environments throughout all areas ensure that social distancing policies can continue to be met until the pandemic subsides.

“This is truly a state-of-the-art facility that is the culmination of careful planning and consideration for employee comfort,” said Ken Frommert, ENCO’s President. “Everyone has a private office and plenty of space for social distancing in the COVID era. At the same time, we have an open production laboratory, several high-tech meeting and conference spaces, and varied seating and lounge settings, all of which encourage collaboration and creative thinking.”

Frommert adds that Novi is an exciting city on the rise, with a thriving downtown and a growing number of hotels, restaurants and other businesses that will be more appealing for visiting customers. Several hotels that cater to business travelers are located blocks from the office, making visits far more convenient for customers and partners. Novi is also more centrally accessible to and from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

“It’s far more business-friendly, and a much better area to recruit new talent,” he said. “There is a beautiful outdoor environment in a park-like setting to enjoy, versus being right off a busy highway.”

Adjacent to the scenic Lakeshore Park, the new facility also offers a large kitchen and dining space, a gym, showers and a showroom. The interior boasts high ceilings and modern finishes throughout, which Frommert says provides a more overall soothing and inviting feel.

ENCO’s new headquarters are located in the Novi Business Park at 41551 West 11 Mile Road in Novi, Michigan 48375.

KAISERSLAUTERN, GERMANY — Munich-based TV and radio distribution and media technologies company Rohde & Schwarz has appointed a VP of Broadcast, Amplifier and Media Solutions.

Taking the role is Joerg Fries, a 25-year company veteran who has led technology innovation in several high-tech markets, most recently in the Wireless Multimedia market.

His appointment to head Rohde & Schwarz’s Broadcast and Media Division supports the strategic shift in its approach toward its core markets and reinforces the company’s intention of becoming more disruptive in production, delivery and distribution workflow management and software-centric products and systems.

— Amy Knall

In what is being hailed as a “market influencing move” in the Media & Entertainment (M&E) content storage & management sector, Genstar Capital-controlled Telestream has purchased Masstech for an undisclosed price.

Telestream is a vertical market software business focused on the video space and is known for media workflow orchestration, media streaming and delivery technologies.

The acquisition follows Telestream’s recent purchase of EcoDigital – also in the content management system space.

Masstech creates intelligent, hybrid cloud-based storage and asset lifecycle management solutions for the M&E industry.

“Masstech combines the experience of many decades of broadcast and video content storage management with cloud and other vanguard technology development processes, to identify and address the challenges of the industry’s constantly evolving technical and business landscapes,” Telestream said. “Today, organizations representing every facet of M&E, around the world and across every platform, use Masstech solutions to keep their assets secure, and to deliver them to the right location in the correct format.”

All the resources of Masstech will be transferred to Telestream.

The company’s engineering and product management functions will be integrated within Telestream’s Content Management Business Unit, led by Geoff Tognetti. He joined the company with the EcoDigital acquisition. The priority for this team will be to combine the best intellectual property from Masstech and EcoDigital DIVA in one product.

Masstech’s support team, sales and pre-sales teams will join Telestream’s global customer sales and support network.

“Following the EcoDigital acquisition, this investment decision made natural sense and it is strategic in its very nature,” said Dan Castles, CEO and Co-Founder of Telestream. “The knowledge base gained through the Masstech acquisition is complementary to what we have been doing and want to do in this area. This transaction brings together nearly two Exabytes of M&E content under the management of Telestream products in over 1,000 operational systems. With this market leadership comes a critical responsibility to work with our customers as they navigate a hybrid operating environment with assets on premise and in the cloud.”