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The Telos Alliance is taking its well-known VX VoIP hardware and software talk show phone system and creating a “virtualized” version to adapt changing broadcast workflows and operations of late.

Broadcasters can deploy VXs on their servers in the rack room, on shared servers in the centralized data center, or into cloud. These deployment options deliver the benefits of virtualization, such as easier facility-wide upgrades, cost-efficiency, remote operation and teamwork along with automated deployment without site visits.

Broadcasters can scale VXs in size from a single studio to a facility-wide talk show system to a multilocation system.

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

VXs uses fifth-generation audio processing for improved call quality. Other features includes Smart AGC coupled with Telos’ three-band adaptive Digital Dynamic EQ, a three-band adaptive spectral processor, noise gating, and Acoustic Echo Cancellation. HD voice calls benefit from VXs’ native support of the G.722 codec, instantly improving caller speech quality.

Installing a VXs VoIP system in facilities already powered by Livewire+ AES67 networks is straight forward. The new VXs system will plug right in, using automatic mix-minus from an Axia console and existing phone module for control.

Support for AES67 gives broadcasters the capability of integrating VX into any AES67 or compatible SMPTE 2110-30 environments. Support for SAP advertisement means VXs integrates alongside AES67-enabled Dante devices, as well. With plug-and-play connectivity, users can network multiple channels of audio with any manufacturer’s AES67-compliant hardware.

Info: www.telosalliance.com

The post Telos Alliance Virtualizes VX VoIP System appeared first on Radio World.

U.S. financial markets started the week off with up-and-down movement among broadcast media companies publicly trading stock on Wall Street.

Nexstar Media Group shares continue to roar upward, while Sinclair Broadcast Group‘s momentum was stopped on Monday.

Moving downward: radio industry leaders Entercom and Beasley Media Group.

In recent months, its become clear that Dish Network Corp. seeks to be a significant player in the rollout of 5G wireless technology, building on its prowess as a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV service provider that’s found itself in just a few retransmission consent battles with free-to-air TV station owners.

To further its 5G business aspirations, Dish has just locked in a long-term deal with the tower company founded by the late Steve Dodge.

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Gray Television on Friday reached a deal with a media company that until early 2019 was an active buyer of low-power TV stations.

With a CEO change less than a year ago and questions regarding its financing shrouding its operations in the months prior to that, this company is now looking to sell some of its assets.

Thus explains the deal with Gray that awaits FCC approval.

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GeoBroadcast Solutions is defending its proposed geo-targeting system for the FM band and says its additional planned tests will only add to a technical record that supports the idea.

As we’ve reported, the company wants the Federal Communications Commission to modify FM booster rules to allow stations to transmit very localized content for three minutes per hour independent of signals of the booster’s primary station.

Filing reply comments in the FCC’s proceeding, GBS lamented “exaggerated speculations” made by the National Association of Broadcasters and some large radio groups about the potential for increased interference and damage to FM’s business model from its ZoneCasting system.

GBS made four main arguments in its filing: that the technical data doesn’t support the claims of opponents about interference and performance in transition areas; that ZoneCasting won’t affect the EAS system; that its system will not cause a “race to the bottom” or “redlining”; and that its demonstrations in San Jose and San Francisco will further support its claims.

“Our efforts to improve radio technology and provide an economic lifeline to broadcasters competing on a daily basis against less regulated mediums, met surprising opposition from those we had hoped would embrace the opportunity to work with us and build new economic models that would help the industry remain competitive,” said Robert Udowitz, a spokesperson for GeoBroadcast Solutions.

The company said it continues to work with groups, stations, advertisers and industry organizations in the rule process; and it indicated that it would welcome having engineering representatives from large radio groups visit to view the testing process.

It told the FCC that it had expected its proposal to be “just a small adjustment of a technical rule.” However, “What we have seen over the last 10 months is that, while the rule change may be minor, the implications of radio stations having just the option to geo-target content is somehow troubling to parts of the radio industry that apparently do not want other radio stations to have even the option to innovate and compete in new ways,” GBS wrote in its reply to the FCC.

Beasley Media Group, Cumulus Media, Entercom Communications and iHeartMedia are among the radio groups that have questioned the technical soundness of geo-targeting, saying a rule change would be “premature” without further vetting.

[Related: “Minority Groups Call for a Geo-Targeting Pilot”]

GBS said it believes the role of the FCC is “not to manage an industry’s current business plan not shield it to certain broadcasters that do not want to innovate from competitors willing to deploy new technologies” based on their anticipation of changes in market and consumer demand.

“Instead, the job of the FCC is to listen to the many strong voices on all sides of this issue and assess whether the rule change is in the public’s interest and whether the rule change enhances localism and deepens the ability of broadcasters to meet the needs of their community.”

In addition: “The FCC should focus on the regulatory questions that are properly before it and not be sidetracked by issues that either fall outside the FCC’s purview or are based on nothing but unsubstantiated speculation.”

GBS issued assurances of a seamless transition between the main and FM booster zones, and that “plain, inarguable facts establish that in 99.9 percent of the geographic footprint of a radio station, the same content will be heard 95 percent of the time.”

The primary technical issue raised in the comments to the NPRM is the nature and duration of transition areas, the borders between zones. A “transition zone” will comprise a tiny percentage (typically less than one tenth of one percent) of a broadcaster’s service area, GBS wrote.

GBS also believes FM broadcasters will engineer their systems to avoid self-interference. “The FCC’s current rules require radio broadcasters to manage their spectrum, including their use of FM boosters, so as not to disrupt the listening experience and those rules will remain in place if the NPRM is adopted.”

EAS compliance will not be affected by geo-broadcasting, GBS wrote, “We state unequivocally that ZoneCasting will have no impact on EAS alerts. In the event an EAS alert is aired while a station is geo-targeting content to one zone, all zoned operation will immediately drop into simulcast synchronized SFN mode.”

The company promises to launch two demonstrations at FM stations in California. The FCC has approved an application for experimental authorization for a field test at KSJO(FM) and its booster KSJO(FM1) in San Jose, Calif. In addition, the company has proposed a demonstration test with a full-power FM station in San Francisco.

Roberson and Associates LLC, a technology and management consulting firm based in Schaumburg, Ill., will oversee the demonstrations. That firm “has met with senior engineering contacts at each of Beasley, Entercom, iHeart and Cumulus to discuss the parameters of the San Francisco demonstration and directly solicit their feedback regarding what variables the demonstration should test. Xperi, the developer of HD radio technology, will also advise,” GBS said in its filing.

GBS performed field tests in 2010 in Randolph, Utah, and 2011 in Avon Park, Fla. The most current ZoneCasting Design was tested in 2016 in Union Grove, Wis.

The post GBS Defends Its Geo-Targeting Proposal appeared first on Radio World.

With an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court fizzled and Federal District Court Judge Jesus Bernal the final arbiter in an ongoing legal battle involving Ed Stolz and its Royce International Broadcasting, a conclusion to the matter is now one step closer to fruition.

Court-appointed receiver Larry Patrick has filed paperwork with the FCC confirming that the buyer of the three ex-Royce FMs put into receivership by Bernal has assumed control of the stations.

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On February 1, one of the media industry’s biggest deals of some time — Gray Television‘s purchase of Quincy Media, Inc. — became known.

The Gray deal, valued at $925 million, sees the immediate divestment of Quincy stations in six markets where current local ownership rule limits prevent Gray from keeping the stations.

The transaction also sees Gray seeking a “failing station” waiver in an Indiana market and one Wisconsin market, with details of its plan filed as part of a publicly redacted 106-page filing made with the FCC.

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The NAB is offering a new online training course for radio stations containing critical information and guidelines for complying with FCC regulations.

The scenario-based training course tests participants’ understanding of acceptable practices for FCC regulation compliance. The guide outlines compliance related to content, advertising, station operation and management, copyright, and public files and reporting in four learning activities.

The Radio Rules! A Guide to FCC Regulations for Radio Stations course is now available on education.nab.org. According to the NAB, participants can gain an understanding of what content is appropriate to post on station websites and social media accounts; learn the rules governing alcohol, tobacco and gaming advertising; and hear brief synopses of topics including license renewal, public file documents, political advertising, underwriting and the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

The course will also provide participants with the legal definition for industry terms such as “payola,” “plugola,” “defamation,” “privacy,” “obscenity” and “indecency.”

Participants will receive a complimentary PDF copy of the NAB publication Radio Rules! A Guide to FCC Policies and Procedures for On-Air Staff. The guidebook also summarizes FCC rules and policies on topics related to programming and station operation for radio station personnel.

Stations may purchase the Radio Rules! A Guide to FCC Regulations for Radio Stations course directly on education.nab.org. For bulk or station purchasing options, contact Josh Miely at jmiely@nab.org.

Like many longtime radio industry standouts, WideOrbit Sales Manager for Radio Michelle King found a love for the business at an early age.

At age 16, she contacted a local radio station in her hometown of Lewiston, Idaho, inquiring about an internship. “I was in the high school radio class,” she said in a November 2018 interview. “It had a radio station, and the [Program Director] there led a team of interns at a local radio station. It was KMOK radio.”

Now, that radio station, along with two others plus an FM translator, are being sold.

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Some eight months ago, Philip Falcone exited as the face of an entity that had emerged as a big spender on low-power broadcast TV stations as part of a spectrum play.

Falcone’s departure from HC2 Holdings Inc., was shrouded in negative press, with accusations of loan defaults and the freezing of Falcone’s assets for reportedly failing to compensate his legal representatives.

Today, that’s all in the past. Falcone is now CEO of Sovryn Holdings, and it’s on a buying binge, new FCC documents show.

Sovryn is agreeing to a deal with Abraham Telecasting Company that will deliver Falcone’s new group KVVV-LD, at Channel 15 in Houston.

At present, KVVV is a Word Network-affiliated television. What KVVV’s future holds will soon be up to Falcone and his team, as Sovryn is paying $1.5 million for the station.

An $87,500 escrow deposit has been made. It’s being held by attorney Dan J. Alpert.

Representing Abraham as the broker in this transaction is Craig A. Ruark LLC, doing business as The Broadcast License Store.

This follows Sovryn’s $10 million acquisition, filed in February with the FCC, of two LPTVs in Los Angeles from NRJ TV III:

• KNET-CD, using PSIP Channel 25 and on digital Channel 32
• KNLA-CD, using PSIP Channel 20 and on digital Channel 32 (via a channel-sharing arrangement with KNET)

Indeed, there’s some increased activity for a brand that’s been a long-time friend of radio advertising.

While Indeed is the top paid advertiser using Spot Radio, according to the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report, a big-box retailer has stepped it up.

That would be Macy’s, which is now back in the Spot Ten thanks to nearly 35,000 spot plays as detected by iHeart-owned Media Monitors.

It bests activity by Babbel, GEICO and Pfizer, with Bank of America-owned Merrill back in the report.

It’s been a long time coming, but it appears automotive advertising dollars are returning to spot television just in time for springtime sales.

No less than three automotive brands can be found in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report, from iHeartMedia.

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TORONTO — If you thought recent mergers in the U.S. broadcast television industry were huge, hold on to your hats — and watch those Loonies and Toonies that are about to be exchanged between two of Canada’s largest media conglomerates.

Rogers Communications — founded 59 years ago by Ted Rogers with his establishment of CHFI-FM in Canada’s largest market — is merging with Shaw Communications in a deal valued at $20,840,000,000 in U.S. dollars.

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

New reports on listening habits brought on by the pandemic are must-reads for stations. Even as states and the federal government are reviewing existing policies related to COVID-19, new audience habits may be here to stay. And, with that, our past ways of talking about radio may need to adjust.

On March 11, The Infinite Dial’s latest findings were released. The longtime initiative of Edison Research has been the gold standard when it comes to seeing where listening habits are as well as indicators for the future. Some of the dire discoveries presented opportunities, too.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Is OnlyFans Music’s Next Royalty Model?]

In-car listening has dropped from about the same time last year. Seventy-five percent of the more than 1,000 respondents participated in this survey said they tuned in via their vehicles in the last month. That’s a significant decline from the 81% who listening in their cars in 2020. Bear in mind, however, that the number of people in autos dipped by five% from last year.

Considering the spike in streaming service subscriptions, rivals like satellite radio and other entertainment, radio’s draw among Americans remains solid. These numbers could grow as vaccinations become more available by summer.

Sixty-two percent of Americans listen via the web at least weekly. Online listenership, researchers say, is at an all-time high. Such a statistic may prompt your station to think about how it markets itself on the air. If your promos are more focused on “tuning in,” could you be missing out by not talking up online options? Smart speaker adoption continues to grow. Are your spots telling your loyal fans how they can find you there?

Also, AudiGraphics discussed audience metrics with Current. Most interesting is the return of in-home listening to radio. This isn’t your grandparents’ old-time living room radio, though. Smart speakers and connected devices have made streaming your favorite radio station easier than it’s ever been. Where people used to listen on their commute, AudiGraphics points out they’ve simply shifted to catch the news and other programming they enjoy through alternate means. A question to thus ask is how your station is recognizing those listeners.

The storm cloud in this research is primarily for news and talk-based radio, especially noncommercial ones. It’s not entirely surprising, though. With election day long gone and media attention away from the Jan. 6 violence, more listeners are skipping the news in favor of other programming. AudiGraphics highlights the drop in listenership for NPR stations especially. Given NPR’s prominence, one would have to think these trends will impact any station rooted in news/talk. If you are a station that leans on news and public affairs programming, you might consider reviewing the figures closely.

While stations do their best to deliver a consistent quality of service, the technology around us changes every generation, and faster. Our ability to evolve with our audience can only prove beneficial.

The post Community Broadcaster: Off Road appeared first on Radio World.

In the past 14 months, William Langer Gokey arranged a series of transactions that would ultimately lead to his departure as a radio station licensee in the Michigan market of Petoskey.

Now, Gokey has moved forward with the last of these six deals.

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