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Three businesses related to the familiar Orban brand announced the settlement of a years-long legal dispute.

According to the announcement, Orban Labs Inc., Circuit Research Labs Inc. and Orban Europe GmbH settled issues stemming from DaySequerra’s purchase of Orban in 2016. The announcement also lays out the future roles of several executives familiar to Orban customers.

The companies said ownership of Orban Europe GmbH and all other worldwide Orban assets are being transferred to Orban Labs today, May 12.

[Read: Orban Offers AM Processor]

As part of the settlement, Orban Labs President David Day said, “We are streamlining our sales order processing and inventory management by combining our businesses worldwide into one operation. We are making these changes to better serve Orban’s loyal customers and dealers.” He said production will continue in Germany and that Orban products will continue to carry five-year warranties.

Day also announced the promotion of Peter Lee to senior vice president, global sales. Roger Sales continues as managing director of Orban Europe GmbH.

The statement quoted Lee: “I welcome the opportunity to provide the best customer sales and technical support in the industry working with our U.S., German and Netherlands staff.” He said all Orban processors continue to be designed and engineered by Bob Orban and his design team.

Orban Labs also appointed CRLI, operated by Jay Brentlinger, as a U.S. dealer for Orban radio products. CRLI will also provide parts, service and support for older, legacy Orban products from the Optimod 8400 and earlier. Day noted that some Orban products from the 1970s are still in service.

 

The post Legal Settlement Is Reached in Orban Business Dispute appeared first on Radio World.

Calling it a new direction for the organization, Christian radio biggie Educational Media Foundation has launched an online podcast platform called Accessmore.

EMF is the parent organization of the K-LOVE and Air1 networks, and their 1,000 or more broadcast signals. Last year it added WTA Media, a film and publishing business.

It highlights its new offering as a growing library of on-demand, faith-based podcasts.

[Read: EMF Names Reeves Permanent CEO]

Previews are at accessmore.com. EMF said its app will be available soon on Apple and Android.

Accessmore will feature “Christian teachers, authors, speakers and entertainers sharing content designed to inform and inspire.”

“Launching Accessmore is a natural step for EMF as it debuts its distribution in podcasting,” the company said in the announcement. “More than 104 million Americans — 37% of the population — listens to a podcast monthly, according to PodcastHosting.org. About 68 million listen weekly.”

 

The post EMF Launches Podcast Distribution Effort appeared first on Radio World.

LONDON — Plans have been finalized for small-scale DAB radio licensing in the United Kingdom, following several years of trials.

Ford Ennals is CEO of Digital Radio UK.

Media regulator Ofcom describes small-scale DAB as “a new way of transmitting digital radio that uses advances in software and low-cost computer technology to provide a flexible and inexpensive approach to the terrestrial broadcast of digital radio services to a relatively small geographic area.” The concept was first tested in 2012 by Ofcom engineer, Rashid Mustapha MBE, who initially trialed it by installing a digital radio transmitter on a Brighton rooftop.

BATCHES

Ofcom engineers commission small-scale DAB trial equipment. Credit: Future Digital Norfolk

The regulator says the new licenses will be made available in batches, starting with 25 local areas across the U.K., including five cities such as Cambridge and Glasgow where trial broadcasts are already underway. The second round will be for northwest England and northeast Wales.

However, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic means there is no date for this licensing process to commence. Ofcom says it will now wait to publish the first advertisements until “a majority of relevant stakeholders consider that they would be able to participate fully in the licensing process.”

It has also not yet concluded full international agreements for the use of spectrum in London and southeast England, which means these areas will not be included until the fourth round of licensing, at least 18 months into the program.

Based on responses to its consultation, the regulator also decided not to require all program services carried by small-scale multiplexes to be broadcast using the DAB+ standard, as had initially been proposed.

The CEO of Digital Radio UK, Ford Ennals, welcomed Ofcom’s statement. “This is good news for radio and good news for listeners, as the expansion of small-scale DAB gives listeners a wider range of smaller stations available on DAB and gives small local stations a path to a digital future,” he said.

UNIQUE SERVICES

A typical small-scale DAB installation at Future Digital Norfolk. Credit: Future Digital Norfolk

“Following the success of the fantastic range of unique and fresh local commercial and community services in the 10 trial areas, we can expect to see many hundreds of local stations joining radio’s digital revolution across the U.K.”

Femi Bankole, the founder of Cosoro Radio, an Afrobeat station based in Manchester, which broadcasts via four small-scale multiplexes, believes that being on DAB has brought more people to the Afrobeat genre.

“Small-scale DAB has provided a richer and scalable platform for Cosoro Radio to extend its reach and introduce the genre to its new listeners, especially the young generation,” Bankole said.

DAB now accounts for 41% of all radio listening in the U.K., and 70% of digital listening. The recent launch of chill-out music station Smooth Chill on national DAB+ means that more than half of all national commercial digital radio stations in the U.K. are broadcasting in DAB+.

There are now 41 national digital commercial stations in total, with 21 broadcasting in DAB+.

The post Small-Scale DAB Prepares for UK Rollout appeared first on Radio World.

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Just as people have adjusted their day-to-day living habits under a COVID-19 world, so too have they adjusted their listening behaviors. A series of client webinar surveys held by Nielsen looked at spending intentions, listening habits and perceptions about when the world will return to normal — and found that heavy AM/FM radio listeners may hold a key to kickstarting that engine.

The first key insights that the survey revealed is that radio listening is on the rise, that listeners are tuning in with greater frequency to news/talk formats and that those with greater spending optimism are more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

[Read: Amidst Stay-at-Home Orders, Radio Listenership Remains Strong]

“Advertisers who seek to influence shoppers who are ready and willing to spend will find them listening to American AM/FM radio,” said Pierre Bouvard, chief insights officer at Cumulus Media/Westwood One and author of the report.

One of the key findings: radio listening levels rose in the first few weeks of April after seeing a dip during the last few weeks of March. After all of those surveyed said they listened to radio in the first week of March, listener levels dropped significantly — to a low of 67% — in the back half of March as people began sheltering at home. But during the three-week period between late April and mid-May, those levels rose 22% to a high of 82%, perhaps as Americans began searching for information and news about the coronavirus.

The survey also found that the highest level of radio listening occurred during the weekend. “A major finding from Nielsen’s Portable People Meter data is the significant resurgence of crucial weekend listening which occurs as Americans run errands and shop,” Bouvard said.

Those trips to the store for supplies or food correlate with survey data by two geolocation sources: Apple Maps and Geopath. Both reported significant levels of driving trips and miles traveled.

Even during the regular weekday, the majority of listeners were consuming AM/FM radio when they’re out of the home. The study found that 58% of all U.S. AM/FM radio listening in the April PPM market survey was out of home, compared to 71% in March. In April, 27 of Nielsen’s 44 PPM markets had out-of-home listening volumes that were over 60% of total listening.

It’s probably no big surprise to reveal which station formats had the greatest share. When looking at the 45 different markets that were used in the survey, news/talk formats (both commercial and noncommercial) grew by double digit amounts in February, April and March. In February news/talk grew by 12%, in March it grew by 13.3% and in April it grew by 15%.

Nielsen also commissioned a separate survey of 1,000 Americans and asked them what their spending intentions were in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Nielsen identified three consumer segments with varying degrees of post-COVID-19 normalcy: those with a “wait and see” attitude, those with a “proceed with caution” outlook and those with a “ready to go” outlook.

The “wait and see” group were those consumers who do not believe that life is normalizing or that the economy is opening up. The “proceed with caution” consumers are those in the middle when it comes to resumption of the economy. The “ready to go” are those Americans most optimistic about a return to normalcy.

The study found that roughly one-third of those surveyed fall in the “ready to go” category feel positive about life returning to pre-coronavirus norms. Those individuals also had stronger spending intentions.

Across seven categories, the “ready to go” group had high-spend intention indices for purchasing within a month. Within a month, this segment said they were 29% more likely to spend on auto parts and repair, 47% more likely to spend on household services and 43% more likely to spend on home improvement. That group tended to be younger individuals who are employed with kids, work outside the home and spend a lot of time in their vehicle.

One of the study’s major conclusions is that those with greater spending optimism are more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

The survey found that heavy AM/FM radio listeners say they will spend more soon. Those individuals who fell into the “ready to go” group were 29% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

Across various consumer categories, heavy AM/FM radio listeners are far more likely to indicate that they will be spending in the near term compared to heavy TV viewers, he said.

Radio bested TV in a number of subsequent areas including the percentage who expect to order take out within the near term, to visit a hair or nail salon, to plan a vacation, and to make a major purchase such as an appliance.

One third of those who referred to themselves as heavy AM/FM radio listeners also said they were more likely purchase an auto or home purchase in the next 12 months.

“There is a growing number of optimistic Americans who feel life is returning to normal,” Bouvard said. “These consumers are ready to be at the forefront of marketplace spending across dozens of categories.”

These high and moderate optimists and their growing consumer confidence are key drivers of the country-wide momentum towards a more normal way of life and spending, he said.

 

The post Radio Listening Audiences Rebound Despite Pandemic Impact appeared first on Radio World.

The coronavirus pandemic in the United States squashed any hopes for a good first quarter of 2020 for iHeartMedia.

The radio company reported late last week it saw a deep decline in advertising revenue in March as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified. Revenue through the first three months of this year was $780.6 million, down 1.9% year-over-year driven by the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Excluding political revenue, that dip was 4.8%, the company said.

The company, which announced sweeping modernization initiatives in February, suffered a $1.65 billion net loss in the first three months of the year, but that figure was in part caused by a readjustment of intangible assets tied to its emergence from bankruptcy in 2019, according to company officials.

[Read: iHeart Offers Programmatic “COVID Recovery Program”]

The media giant reported its traditional radio business revenue declined by 5.2% to $461.6 million, and declined 8.3% excluding the impact of political revenue. Meanwhile, its radio network revenue, which includes Premiere Networks and Total Traffic and Weather, declined 2.6% year-over-year.

iHeartMedia, which owns about 850 radio stations in 150 markets, had about $647 million cash on hand at the end of March 2020, according to the financial report. It has also cut capital expenditures by about $80 million for the remainder of 2020.

Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, spoke on the earnings call and said the year started off with strong growth. “However, revenue began to fall off in March, as it did for most ad supported companies, and that trend became even more pronounced in April, with a sharp decline in ad revenue across almost all of our revenue segments,” Pittman said on the call.

Direct operating expenses for the media company increased 6.6%, driven primarily by incremental costs related to the company’s modernization initiatives, which were incurred mainly in January and February, according to the company’s report. Those expenses also included higher content costs from higher podcasting and digital subscription revenue and higher music license fees and digital royalties.

On the plus side the company says its digital revenue grew by 22.2% compared to the first quarter a year ago, driven by podcasting revenue, which saw an 80% increase.

Pittman says while national and local ad budgets were cut even further in April, advertising sales revenue is beginning to return in markets that are reopening. “Advertising overall and most of our advertising streams have seen a major drop, and the reasons are obvious. Many businesses are shut down. Businesses and brands needed time to rebuild their messages to be relevant in a completely changed world. And companies needed to save money, and many did so by reducing or eliminating ad spend,” he said.

iHeartMedia announced in April it was taking steps to trim about $200 million in costs from its business this year in response to the pandemic. The steps included employee furloughs, wage cuts other initiatives. The $200 million in cost-savings is in addition to $50 million in expected savings achieved through modernization initiatives.

 

The post iHeartMedia’s Q1 Results Dinged by COVID-19 appeared first on Radio World.

Satellite radio is about to get an important boost in capability. U.S. car buyers will soon get their first look at the new 360L hybrid radio system from SiriusXM.

The company announced that the platform will debut in ten 2021 model year Audi vehicles that will be in showrooms this fall.

Hybrid radio systems combine over-the-air reception (in this case, via satellite) with online connectivity including streaming content (delivered in this case by Verizon’s 4G LTE network).

Combining OTA service with two-way connectivity has been a dream of many in the radio industry, and there are several initiatives underway to bring that kind of capability to broadcast radio as well. In that context, the launch of 360L seems an important differentiator for satellite radio in the dash.

[Read What NAB’s David Layer said about 360L in “NAB Radio Technologists Look Ahead]

In the announcement, Audi America’s director of connected services Pom Malhotra was quoted saying, “The choices provided by SiriusXM with 360L are nearly unlimited, and they help bolster our technology-forward position among premium automakers.”

Selling points include 10,000 hours of recorded on-demand content such as interviews, shows and live performances; more live channels; and personalized “For You” recommendations and the ability to search for related content.

SiriusXM with 360L will be standard on A6, A7, A8, Q7 and Q8 models, and standard in most trim packages for the A4, A5, Q3, Q5 and all-road models. Those should be in showrooms by fall; other models are expected to be added.

Rodney Pickett, SiriusXM’s senior VP of automotive partnerships, complimented Audi for its “long-established track record as a leader of in-vehicle technology.”

 

The post SiriusXM Will Debut Net Hybrid Radio System in Audi Cars appeared first on Radio World.

The dynamic podcast market will see an acquisition next month.

LiveXLive Media plans to acquire Courtside Group, owner and operator of PodcastOne, in a deal valued at $18.1 million. The deal is expected to close soon. PodcastOne leader Norm Pattiz will stay on in an executive role.

PodcastOne produces shows like “A&E’s Cold Case Files,” “The Adam Carolla Show” and “The Big Podcast With Shaq.” It says it generates 2.1 billion downloads a year and produces 350 weekly episodes. The company reported gross revenue of $27.5 million last year.

According to Robert Ellin, chairman and CEO of LiveXLive, this move will complement its music platform of streaming audio, on-demand video and live event performances. LiveXLive Media’s offerings include LiveXLive, a “live social music network” consisting of streams and on-demand programs from festivals like Rock in Rio and the Montreux Jazz Festival. In addition, LiveXLive plans to integrate PodcastOne into its music platform.

According to the two companies, 32% of Americans are now listening to podcasts on a monthly basis, with advertising revenue projected to surpass $1 billion by 2021.

[Read Radio World’s 2019 interview, “Norm Pattiz: Podcasting’s Inflection Point Is Yet to Come”]

The exact path of consolidation of the companies, both headquartered in Los Angeles, is to be announced. They did say that PodcastOne will bring in an experienced ad sales team, tripling the size of the LiveXLive sales force. However it also looks like there will also be cuts: “Planned consolidation of teams is anticipated to generate cost synergies and combine back-end support and office locations.”

The companies announced that PodcastOne’s founder and its executive chairman, Norm Pattiz, will join LiveXLive as a “significant” shareholder and remain as executive chairman of PodcastOne. Pattiz is best known as founder of the Westwood One radio network.

Under the terms of the agreement, LiveXLive will acquire 100% of the equity interests of Courtside Group and issue to stockholders of PodcastOne approximately 5.45 million restricted shares of LiveXLive’s common stock.

The post LiveXLive Media to Acquire PodcastOne appeared first on Radio World.

Beasley Media Group is beginning a reopening process today as parts of the United States feel their way toward next steps in the coronavirus crisis.

The company, which owns 64 radio stations and has several related audio and ecommerce businesses, announced over the weekend that it will “begin the approved gradual Phase One implementation of reopening its radio properties in states that have reopened for business” beginning May 1.

[Read: Beasley Cuts 67 Jobs, Furloughs Others]

“Both the timing and safety measures for these reopenings will be based upon approved CDC, individual state and local government recommended guidelines,” Beasley stated.

“During Phase One, no more than 25% of each cluster’s individual workforce will be in the workplace at any given time.”

CEO Caroline Beasley described the company’s approach to the reopening as “very conservative, thorough and thoughtful.”

The post Beasley Media “Begins Reopening Process” appeared first on Radio World.

Two CBC Radio producers — one in Montreal and the other in Canada’s Far North — co-produced a national show for six months before they actually met. The May issue of Radio World International details how they successfully produced this radio show while separated by 2,000 kilometers.

This edition also features articles on the EU-funded HRadio hybrid radio project to deliver personalized, on-demand content to listeners; how the EBU head of technology and innovation imagines future infotainment systems in connected cars; the latest offerings in audio processing, and more.

Read the May issue of Radio World International here!

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the Issuu link, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

 

TECHNOLOGY

How Will In-Car Entertainment Look in 20 Years

EBU’s head of technology and innovation envisions the future infotainment system in connected cars

HYBRID RADIO

HRadio Exploits Hybrid Technology for Radio

EU project seeks to deliver personalized, on-demand content to listeners

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Exploring the Inovonics 674 AM Monitor Receiver

Brave New Radio Airs Live From Marconi’s Home

Buyer’s Guide: Audio Processing 

The post Inside the May issue of Radio World International appeared first on Radio World.

Ampegon Power Electronics highlights progress on the company’s third-generation solid-state shortwave transmitters, which it says will offer “significant advances in efficiency.”

The company says this work will pave the way toward higher-power broadcast outputs and meet current expectations of a shortwave equivalent to medium-wave and FM transmitters. “Combined, these two developments will bring FM-quality broadcasts with all the benefits of shortwave,” said Simon Keens, Ampegon sales and business development manager.

Ampegon has also developed a retrofit upgrade to current UCS generation control systems for previous generation 100 kW, 250 kW, 300 kW and 500 kW transmitter systems.

“Given that the lifetime of Ampegon transmitters is measured in decades, many systems currently in operation — previous ECAM and ECOS-II generation transmitters supplied under the names Thales or Thomson (Ampegon’s previous names) — either do not have DRM-ready control systems, or have a need for now-obsolete spares,” said Keens.

The upgrade promises to bring touchscreen technology, efficient PSM operations and “quick and precise” retuning with digital motor control to existing transmitters.

 For information contact Ampegon Power Electronics in Switzerland at +41-58-7104-400 or visit www.ampegon.com

The post Ampegon Puts Focus on Shortwave Transmitters appeared first on Radio World.