Radio World

Scott Burnell lives in a world of application software. He is all about the apps.

The global Head of the Ford Developer Program is one of the key thinkers behind Ford’s SYNC dashboard communications, navigation and entertainment ecosystem, now in its fourth generation.

SYNC 4, available beginning in 2021 Ford vehicles like the F-150 and Bronco, allows a radio station app on a consumer’s smartphone to connect over Bluetooth and control audio sources and dashboard infotainment with cloud-based connectivity and voice recognition.

The onboard communications center is smart enough to learn tendencies and listening patterns in order to provide suggestions to a driver based on their listening profile.

SYNC-enabled station apps can read data such as RDS, signal strength and audio source, even while running in the background on a mobile device. When granted permission, these apps can even control a vehicle’s radio tuner, completing tasks such as switching from HD-1 to HD-2 and other multicast channels in HD Radio, or performing automatic switching from the OTA signal to stream as a vehicle drives out of the reception area.

SYNC was released in 2007, the same year as the first iPhone, and is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It allows for integration of Alexa Auto and navigation apps such as Waze along with automatic software updates over Wi-Fi.

Burnell created and launched the Ford Developer Program, which the company says is considered the first mobile application developer ecosystem in the automotive industry. In addition, he managed the creation of the SmartDeviceLink (SDL) open source connectivity platform that also has been adopted by Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, PSA and additional OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.

According to Burnell, “I can’t write a lick of code, but I do throw out ideas to the innovators about a vision of what could be. I say, ‘Here are the tools. What can you do with it?’”

Burnell is skeptical about whether radio broadcasters have done enough to remain a dominant presence in the dash of next-gen vehicles. His message to radio station owners is: “You have to be able to deliver content the way consumers want to receive it and consume it.”

Radio World asked Burnell for an update on his views about broadcast radio’s future in the connected car and the pace of dashboard technological change.

Radio World: How do mobile apps of radio stations connect to SYNC 4?

Scott Burnell: AppLink is a feature of SYNC that allows the mobile app to connect over Bluetooth and communicate with SYNC. In-vehicle app integration requires the AppLink code to be integrated into a specific application. And then that application can register in the vehicle.

In the United States, iHeartRadio has been a longtime partner with their app and always willing to try out new features. We’ve worked with JacApps often. They did the first multi-station group launch with Greater Media (later acquired by Beasley) stations. In Europe, Radioplayer brings broadcast apps into the car.

RW: And every radio station with a smartphone app can enable it to work in SYNC 4 if they want to? 

Burnell: This is part of my personal frustration with the broadcast industry. Ford is offering individual stations the ability to have their app appear in the dashboard literally right next to the very entities they fear and worry about the most, satellite and streaming services, and they don’t take advantage of this opportunity.

RW: Consumer demand for entertainment options in the dash continues to expand along with the technology. How does Ford prioritize what goes in the dash and how it will appear?

Burnell: In the solution that we built, we do not have to decide. We are agnostic to what someone wants to listen to and how they want to listen to it.

There are features that we build. We do all the safety features, like lane keeping and cruise control. But when it comes down to the entertainment, having the open developer program and allowing any developer to work in that space, as long as it’s appropriate and they fit the criteria, then it’s the market that will decide.

So any radio station that wants to build an app to work in a Ford vehicle can, if it has our code in it. Then if a person hops in a Ford vehicle, the app just automatically works. So the market will choose if radio stations want to compete against a Pandora or Spotify in the vehicle.

Same thing with weather apps. We don’t say AccuWeather is the only way you can get weather in the vehicle. No, Weather Channel can be in there. Weather Bug or Weather Underground. It will all work in there. Whatever you use in your daily life, we want to allow you to bring your habits with you into the vehicle.

RW: You told us back in 2016 that broadcast radio had some advantages over music streaming services. That’s five years ago now. Is that still the case?

Burnell: I do, and let me clarify. Radio and the content that it delivers still have the exact same advantages. And by the advantages, I mean it is local. There is that local content and the human element. The jocks, the morning show folks and the sportscasters.

You look at all of those cool local and human elements, and they are missing from Pandora and Spotify. And then when you look at how to deliver that content. Broadcasters must deliver it in the way that people are consuming it. It doesn’t matter if you are delivering audio through the phone, tablet or over IP in the car. You have to be in all of those places.

RW: Radio broadcasters seem excited about hybrid radio, which allows for a radio tuner to switch from radio signal to an IP stream once it is out of listening range. Ford allows for that scenario?

Burnell: Yes. And it’s part of what I evangelize for mobile apps. Radio broadcasters need to adopt the technology that users engage with. If you are an AM broadcaster, good luck. There are not many kids running around with an AM tuner in their pocket. It’s part of the evolution.

So we do allow for audio switching if you are using a station app in the vehicle. The app can do it automatically so you don’t have to think “Oh now I need to switch to the stream to keep listening.”

RW: Speaking of AM. Now that the FCC has authorized AM radio stations to transition to an all-digital signal on a voluntary basis, what do you see as the future for AM in the car?

Burnell: I don’t have an official Ford opinion. Again, we always say we are agnostic to what people want to listen to and how they listen to it. But I know we would ask ourselves if that all-digital AM tuner kicks up the price for that piece of hardware in a new vehicle. We do think about those things all the time. AM radio really isn’t at the top of the list when people list reasons they are interested in a vehicle.

RW: During your appearance on Jacobs Media’s CES 2021 Virtual Tour earlier this year, you mentioned interactive advertising. How does that work with a radio station’s app?

Burnell: It’s all part of the development process and is an innovation idea at this point, but it could be a huge benefit. So a radio station app on a smartphone knows which station the tuner in the car is on. It can use GPS from the vehicle. Using some additional pieces of data in the car there are a lot of resources.

So if a radio station app on a phone and running, it’s connected to the head unit via Bluetooth.  The radio app knows the tuner is tuned to your radio station. It knows the ad order, so as the Burger King ad airs the app can send a notification of a special offer at Burger King to display on the SYNC 4 screen.

RW: You work in a technology space that demands constant innovation. How does that add to the complexities of your job at Ford?

Burnell: Well, I work in the automotive industry, which is extremely slow. The balance to all that is it is a three- to five-year turnaround to engineer a new vehicle or body styling change.

I’m working now on the next generation of SYNC, and in fact we just announced that Ford vehicles will be running Android as the operating system beginning in 2023; I’ve been working on that since February of 2020.

[Editor’s note: Once the Android integration occurs, consumers will be introduced to embedded Android apps running in the vehicle and will still be able to connect to SYNC through an Android smartphone for apps running on Android Auto. Ford’s new system will still be compatible with Apple CarPlay via a smartphone with Bluetooth.]

RW: And voice control in the car will be even more advanced with each generation of technology?

Burnell: Voice is a far better implementation than reaching and touching a screen and looking away from the road. We have done some integration with Alexa and will going forward with Google Assistant now that we are going to implement the Android operating system.

RW: Sounds like the autonomous vehicle will be the ultimate game-changer in terms of entertainment possibilities in the car?

Burnell: The trajectory is that the vehicle will become more like a living room with entertainment options. That is where it’s going. And with a lot of multitasking going on. There will be traditional media consumption going on but it will also have some unique capabilities. Like context-aware content.

And the whole passenger economy will further diversify and expand media usage in the vehicle.

RW: Is Ford banking on a more smartphone-like in-car experience for its customers?

Burnell: People want to bring what they are doing outside the car to the inside of the car. As they build these habits people don’t typically seek out different media options. People don’t seek out the radio in the car necessarily because they are not listening to radio outside the car.

Infinite Dial studies from Edison show the number of radios in American households dropping quickly. It’s a lot of smart speakers and smartphones now.

That’s the shot across the bow of radio broadcasters. (Broadcasters) say, “Wait, but we have been in cars for 100 years.” And that’s true, but the people buying cars right now don’t care about that. These are the people who watch Netflix on any device they want. They really don’t watch regular TV. They listen to music on Spotify on multiple devices and they don’t listen to the radio.

If consumers don’t build the habit of listening to the radio outside the car, they won’t develop the habit of listening to radio inside the car.

RW: So could Ford someday no longer include a conventional radio receiver in cars if demand for them drops?    

Burnell: I don’t work on the tuner side so I have no idea if that would ever happen. But if you think about it, every automaker and any technology or hardware provider is looking at the cost of installing every little piece that goes into a product, right down to every washer in a car.

We already have modems in the car and they are not going away because they are simply so important for the autonomous vehicle. If we have technology and hardware that can bring in an IP stream over cellular through a modem, and we have hardware bringing a FM radio signal through broadcast and they are doing essentially the same thing, which direction do you think car companies will evolve to? So (for broadcasters) to say they are just going to broadcast and it’s going to be a tuner in the car is shortsighted.

 

The post Burnell Is at the Center of Ford Dashboard Development appeared first on Radio World.

Tim Neese is president of MultiTech Consulting Inc., a multi-faceted broadcast technology consulting and contracting firm.

This article appeared in Radio World’s “Trends in Codecs and STLs for 2020” ebook.

Radio World: What’s the most important trend in the design and performance of codecs for remotes or STL?
Tim Neese: Most codec manufacturers are incorporating and continuously improving stream redundancy and error correction techniques that allow for significantly more robust connections.  These techniques allow codec users to take advantage of readily available transport methods and the public internet to make reliable connections for both remote program contribution and studio to transmitter links.

RW: How are today’s technologies solving problems in creative ways?
Neese: One of the most common issues is studio and transmitter sites that are unable to be linked via traditional RF point-to-point methods. This, combined with the ongoing sunsetting of the telco ISDN and T1 infrastructure, has propelled connection of these sites via the public internet to commonplace.

Today’s codecs and encoding algorithms have proven to be more than up to the task of making those connections viable and reliable.

[Check Out More of Radio World’s Ebooks Here]

RW: What role are codecs playing in this new world of at-home broadcasting?
Neese: In the new world of broadcasting where, for some, every live segment is what was once considered a “remote” broadcast, the codec has become as essential as a microphone or pair of headphones. For many broadcasters, codecs are the “magic” device that has allowed them to continue normal programming in a completely remote fashion.

RW: How many ways are there of making connections? 
Neese: The number of connection transport methods has decreased in recent years.

Not long ago, it was possible to purchase codecs that could connect via POTS, cellular, ISDN, T1 and Ethernet. In some cases, all of these connections were available via a single codec.

As telcos have begun to phase out ISDN, T1 and traditional POTS circuits in favor of newer transport technologies, codec manufacturers have focused on these technologies as well.

While the traditional connection choices have decreased, newer technology connections have become available in more locations, via more methods and at lower cost than ever before.

For instance, data connectivity via mobile phones and devices is now as common as patch panels in facilities once were. Numerous codecs are able to leverage that connectivity via either a physical or wireless connection with the device or as a software application that runs on the device itself.

RW: What would you like manufacturers of these technologies to add or offer in future?
Neese: I would like to see more manufacturers include advanced security tools and options like firewalls, integrated VPNs and secure web configuration services within their codecs. That, I believe, would allow for more secure codec deployment via direct connection to public networks and provide even greater deployment flexibility for broadcasters.

 

The post Codecs Make More Robust Connections appeared first on Radio World.

Low-power TV stations in the United States must terminate analog TV operations by July 13. And that story has a radio twist.

Barring further FCC action, the date is expected to bring the end of FM6 stations — those television operators that use their audio frequencies below the FM band to create what are essentially radio stations, branded as such and audible to FM listeners.

These typically operate in large markets where FM spectrum is scarce. When they cropped up, Radio World and others humorously nicknamed these entities “Franken FMs” for the way their operators had stitched together TV and radio services to create something unintended by the Federal Communications Commission. Some proponents consider the term derogatory.

The FCC does have an open rulemaking proceeding about whether to allow operation of analog radio services by digital LPTVs as ancillary or supplementary services.

The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition wants the FCC to allow a dual digital LPTV and analog audio signal. Some broadcasters oppose that. [Read: “FCC Weighs the Future of FM6 Stations”]

As of now the commission has not issued a ruling, and we don’t know if it will. If it does not, the stations are presumably doomed.

This past week the Media Bureau reminded LPTV and translator stations that their digital transition date is approaching. By 11:59 p.m. local time on July 13, they must terminate analog television operations regardless of whether their digital facilities are operational.

“Stations that have not yet constructed a digital facility must cease analog television operations no later than July 13, 2021, and remain silent until construction is completed. If a station goes silent prior to completing construction of its digital facility, it may file a request for silent authority.”

The commission said that LPTV/translator stations that experience delays in completing digital facilities can seek a final extension of their digital construction permits, of up to 180 days, to be filed by March 15; but those stations must turn off their analog by July 13 regardless.

The post Goodbye, Frankens? TV deadline approaches appeared first on Radio World.

More listening is being done on mobile devices than ever before.

According to new research by Edison Research as part of its Share of Ear report, 30% of all audio listening in the U.S. is now being done on a mobile device by those aged 13 and older. This is an increase of 67% since 2014 when Edison began tracking audio consumption among Americans.

While listening to traditional AM/FM radio still accounts for the largest share of audio consumed, the gap between traditional radio and mobile devices is closing. In 2014, 31 percentage points separated the two; in 2021 the two are only separated by two percentage points.

[Read: Share of Listening to Podcasting Hits All-Time High]

Among younger age groups, audio consumption through mobile devices has already surpassed traditional radio receivers. Among those aged 13 to 34, 46% of total daily audio consumption is done on a mobile device while 20% is done on a traditional AM/FM radio receiver.

One potential reason: the coronavirus pandemic caused many Americans to spend more time consuming audio at home in 2020 and less time consuming in-car audio, which has been the prime location for listening to a traditional AM/FM receiver.

“Mobile devices, particularly of course the phone, have been gaining on the traditional radio receiver as the primary listening device for as long as we have been measuring Share of Ear, but with the disruptions of the last year the gap has narrowed dramatically,” said Edison Research President Larry Rosin. “As fewer people have a standard radio receiver in their homes these days, naturally more listening comes through digital devices.”

Edison noted that these statistics speak to the device only, not the audio product being delivered by the device. This is important to clarify because mobile devices can deliver a wide range of audio products, including radio station programming, the report said.

Edison plans to conduct additional data analysis later this year to see if these audio habits remain in a post-quarantine world.

The Share of Ear study is released quarterly and is designed to be a nationally representative study of Americans aged 13 and older to measure their time spent listening to audio sources. The research study asks respondents to complete a 24-hour diary of their audio listening on an assigned day with diaries completed both online and by mail.

The post Growing Percentage of Audio Listening Now Happens on Mobile appeared first on Radio World.

Russ Evans

The author is co-host of the syndicated “Under the Hood” radio show.

The car-centric talk show I am a co-host for, “Under The Hood,” had been using the studios of Midwest Communications for over 20 years.

The studios were good but we wanted to have our own home with custom features. A place to hang the collected memories of 30 years on the wall and grow with a full video system installed for broadcast to social media and a possible local TV network.

The scope of the project was a complete ground-up build of a new studio beginning with an empty room.

The show operates on a limited budget like many radio pioneers have had to deal with and so you have to improvise. This meant doing the work in-house. Our team consists of the three hosts and a producer, without an on-staff engineer. I happened have a background in pro sound electronics as well as automotive so I became the point man and had to familiarize myself with what it takes to build a modern radio/podcast/video studio.

The new studios are located in rural Garretson, S.D., amongst the cows and corn some 15 miles from Sioux Falls, S.D. in the nationally-known Nordstrom’s Auto Recycling complex. The massive facility was built in 2019 with a dedicated 800 square-foot upper room sound-insulated for the purpose of a radio studio.

The studio is based around an Audioarts Lightning 16-channel console fed by Electro-Voice RE20 microphones running through a Symetrix Jupiter 8 processor.

Calls are handled using a Backbone Networks IP phone software system. It’s the same company that provided the LUCI software we use. It has worked very well for us.

The microphone booms are all Compass from Blue. They have integrated tally lights for the talent.

Chris Carter, left, drives “Under the Hood.” He is operating an Audioarts Lightning console. Russ Evans is in the background.

We use Denon DN-300RMKII rack-mounted solid-state media recorders to capture the audio for later use on podcast and the live signal is sent through a Barix Exstreamer 500 to the live stations.

Fully automated video switching is provided by way of a Insoft HDVMixer. This system is a hands-off voice activated switching system which allows us to stream to most any social media channel. Cameras are AViPAS 1080P installed in six positions.

LED accent lighting is installed behind the wall sound panels and Neewer 660 fixtures provide the video lighting.

Since we are a call-in car talk show we wanted the caller’s sound to be as clean as possible and ran the caller’s audio through the Jupiter processor. This allows us to get an automatic clean-up and level on the incoming calls.

We broadcast to over 240 stations and do a podcast but the streaming is important to. We had a challenge getting the audio on the stream to the level we wanted and, in the end, we found our solution by running the audio from the board out through the processor before it feeds the stream and that did the trick.

“Under The Hood” has been on the air for over 30 years, 19 with the current hosts. We look to have a good run of at least 20 more years before we hang it up, if ever. We are always actively looking for new markets to air the show to continue to provide free automotive advice to listeners as well as provide a solid platform for stations to place automotive advertisers on.

Left to right, Shannon Nordstrom, Chris Carter and Russ Evans.

The post Going Under the Hood at the “Under the Hood” Show appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartMedia has announced that Kristy Beebe, formerly region senior vice president of sales for the Kentucky-Indiana Metro, has been promoted to market president for Indianapolis. That market consists of iHeartMedia Indianapolis owns and operates WFBQ(FM), WOLT(FM and HD2), WZRL(FM) and WNDE(AM).

She will report to iHeartMedia Kentucky-Indiana Metro President Ear Jones.

Beebe has also worked iHeartMedia properties in Toledo, Ohio and Louisville, Ky.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com

 

The post Beebe Bounces to iHeart Indy appeared first on Radio World.

Justin McClure owns Jam Broadcasting, licensee of four stations located about an hour’s drive northwest of San Antonio.  He recently tuned into one of his stations only to hear the dreaded sound of a quiet carrier.

He went to the site and as he unlocked the door he sniffed for that dreaded burnt electronics scent, but smelled nothing out of the ordinary.

Looking over the equipment rack, he noticed that his Optimod 8200 was flashing like a disco light.

Justin diagnosed that his 15 VDC linear supply was working as it should, but the +12, –12and +5 VDC supplies were having issues.

He was just about to order a replacement supply when he thought of doing an internet search. It led him to a tip by broadcast engineer Gary Morgan in a 2013 Workbench article!

“I love that people take the time to post these simple fixes,” he told us. “I sat down and followed Gary’s instructions, and it works like a charm.”

The ATX replacement supply that Justin chose did not have the color-coded wires described in Gary’s submission, so he had to use the ATX pinout to identify the correct voltages. No problem, because he had all the instruments on his workbench, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Getting ready to trace voltages on the new supply and to modify the Molex plug.

A couple of hours later, he wired the ATX supply wires to the Molex plug (shown in Fig. 2) and the processor was back up and sounding good.

Fig. 2: The Molex wiring is complete.

The completed modification is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3: The completed supply modification is ready for reinstallation of the processor.

To retrieve the original pictures, Justin turned to the Internet Archive to find a screenshot of the Radio World website. Bookmark it: https://web.archive.org/. More than 500 billion web pages reside at the site, which is also known as the Way Back Internet Machine.

Justin says the site has saved him a handful of times when he needed specific information. It also contains older versions of software, should you need them.

Thanks to Gary Morgan for the original submission and to Justin for the update.

More FLIR

I received word from several engineers regarding the Feb. 17 Workbench tip from Dan Gunter, principal of Alabama Broadcast Services LLC. Dan wrote about using a FLIR smartphone plugin to view overheated components.

Readers will recall Dan had intended to check a possible heating issue with a capacitor in a backup transmitter harmonic trap, but that he got sidetracked when he found a defective fan in an adjacent transmitter that was on the air.

Dan’s tip outlined how he replaced the fan, but there was no mention of the original issue: the suspected overheating capacitor in the backup transmitter.

Dan writes that like so many contract guys, he has been buried with work. By the time he got back to the aux, the transmitter wouldn’t even make 100W.

Since this was a shunt capacitor in the third harmonic trap, there was nowhere near enough current at 100W to attempt to heat up that capacitor. Dan replaced it, and the rig was running fine.

At another site, Dan used his FLIR to identify a bad breaker or questionable wire connection feeding a TWR tower lighting system. What was amazing was that the increased temperature was noted through the cover of the breaker panel!

Closer inspection seems to indicate a weak breaker, as it has started tripping after every power outage at the site, possibly because it cannot handle the surge current when everything in the building restarts simultaneously.

Dan is not ruling out problems with the bonding of the wires to the breaker terminals, so he will be taking IR images before replacing the breaker, and also making sure the breaker wires are clean, secure, and treated with Noalox brand anti-oxidant conductive grease before taking “after” pictures.

Noalox is manufactured by Ideal. A 4-ounce bottle is under $10 at Home Depot or Amazon.

As Dan makes repairs, he will keep readers informed.

Genset Reset

New England contract engineer Stephanie Donnell enjoyed the generator maintenance tips that David Morgan of Sinclair TeleCable offered. She adds an additional tip that may save you a trip to a remote transmitter site.

If you have a generator that’s new enough to have a digital controller but does not include some means of remotely monitoring the various status and fault conditions, there is usually no remote means to reset the faults via remote control.

One way around this problem is to add a simple way to reset a fault, so the generator will start. A solution is to install a relay with the N.C. (Normally Closed) contacts wired in-line with the 12 VDC that operates the controller board. When the relay is actuated by a command from your Burk or other type of site controller, the relay will momentarily interrupt the 12 VDC that operates the controller board and clear the fault.

Keep in mind, this is not a perfect solution; the interruption will also clear the run time counter, and you will have no way of knowing what the particular fault condition was.

But as long as the fault was not a continuing “fatal” level fault, this modification will buy you a little time, and the generator should restart. It will keep things on the air and allow you to schedule time to safely get to the site and investigate the situation further.

Just as Gary’s tip helped Justin, your submission to Workbench helps your fellow engineers. Join us in helping Workbench readers solve problems by sending your tips to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

 

The post Workbench: Archived Tip Saves Time and Money appeared first on Radio World.

The migration to digital radio is going swiftly in Switzerland.

OFCOM, the Swiss Federal Office of Communication, says DAB+ is now the most widely used radio reception method in the country, and that only one in eight people say they still tune in exclusively to FM radio.

“In autumn 2020, radio listeners received an average of 73 out of 100 radio minutes per day via digital means. Digital radio usage has thus increased by 24 percentage points over the last five years,” it said, citing a report from the Digital Migration working group at the Swiss Broadcasting Corp. GfK Annual Meeting.

“At 41 percent, DAB+ is the most widely used reception mode in all parts of the country and in all age groups. Usage via the other two digital reception channels, internet radio and digital TV, has remained virtually constant, levelling off at 32 percent, while FM use has fallen by 24 percentage points over the past five years, and now stands at 27 per cent. Only 12 out of 100 people stated that they still listen to FM radio.”

Switzerland’s radio industry will switch entirely from FM to digital broadcasting via DAB+ in 2022 and 2023.

The SRG will switch off its FM transmitters in August 2022, and private radio stations will do so by January 2023.

 

The post Swiss Listeners Take Up Digital Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast software developer NeoGroupe has released a suite of tools for the remote screening of phone calls for radio talk shows.

According to the company, the offerings are headed by the NeoScreenerSmart mobile application (for iOS and Android, available from the stores). Supporting the app is the VPN compatibility of the company’s NeoScreener Windows application software, for both audio and control of phone lines and a cloud-hosted common shared database. The system does not require specified brands of telephone sets: The call screener can operate the phone lines from his/her home using a simple USB headset and microphone;

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

The company describes a case study using a studio base in New York City that has a Telos VOIP phone system. It explains that call screeners can be at home in New Jersey and another in Connecticut, securely using the NeoScreener application while the host uses the NeoScreener application in Florida and sees the cued calls. He is able to air them in NYC. A co-host uses the iOS application on an iPad in Georgia to see the same calls that the host sees. He also has the same abilities to air calls, hold or drop them from the mobile application.

This framework allows the continuing remote operation of the show in the same way that it operated when in the studio, side-stepping COVID the travel restrictions. The usual workflow remains totally unchanged.

NeoScreener has also modules to handle prizes, winners, texting for callback and website interfaces. It is available in 10 languages. And finally, NeoGroupe recently added support for AEQ Systel VOIP Systems and the AVT THipPro line of phone systems, so that NeoScreener offers compatibility with the major phone systems available on the market.

Info: www.neogroupe.com

 

The post NeoGroupe Releases Call Screening Tools appeared first on Radio World.

Tim Clarke, Claudia Menegus

Entercom named Tim Clarke as the senior vice president and market manager of its six-station Boston operation, which includes WBGB(FM), WMJX(FM), WWBX(FM), WEEI (AM/FM) and WVEI(AM).

Clarke was VP of content and audience for Cox Media Group and, before that, senior director of digital audience for CMG’s radio stations. He succeeds Mark Hannon, whose role recently expanded as regional president of 13 markets.

And Entercom also named Claudia Menegus as market manager for Miami. She is already regional president of Entercom Gainesville, Memphis, Miami and Orlando, where she also has market manager responsibilities; she took those roles last August. She succeeds Keriann Worley, who has left the company.

Menegus began her career with Infinity Broadcasting, which later merged with CBS Radio. She spent 18 years there including various roles in its Baltimore market and later as director of integrated marketing for CBS Radio Corporate, overseeing the Events and Experiences Division in 15 markets.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com

 

The post Tim Clarke to Head Entercom Boston appeared first on Radio World.

The Reciva web page bears the bad news at the top.

The Reciva internet radio aggregation platform, which provides the tuning systems for some internet/WiFi radios made by manufacturers such as C. Crane, Grace Digital and Tangent, is to shut down by April 30, 2021.

Radio World has been unable to find any reason for the shutdown issued by Qualcomm, which owns the Reciva platform.

Originally the shutdown was supposed to occur on Jan. 31, 2021, but that deadline was extended in mid-January.

A headlined message “Notice: With effect from 30th April 2021 this website will be withdrawn” appears on the radios.reciva.com website. It has led to despairing posts from many internet radio fans.

“When Qualcomm pulls the plug, it’s gone,” wrote Solo2, administrator of the Internet Radio Forum.

“In the meantime — and I suppose it goes without saying — do not buy a new or used WiFi radio that relies on Reciva as it will not function properly without the Reciva aggregator service,” said www.swling.com.

Coincident with Reciva’s imminent demise, C. Crane has been preparing to release the CC WiFi-3 internet radio. Unlike the earlier CC WiFi radio that ran on Reciva, the CC WiFi-3 uses the Skytune platform.

C. Crane posted this message on its own website: “We were happy to be one of first companies to offer ad-free Internet radio because it allowed anyone to listen to the world without a fee. Fifteen years ago, Ben [Terrell], the founder of Reciva, had a small staff to create the software and volunteers around the world to help manage the station streams. We are sorry, but Reciva’s software will soon not work anymore.”

To assist stranded CC WiFi owners, C. Crane is offering a number of replacement offers, including a half-price sale (US$60 plus shipping, until June 1) for CC WiFi owners whose sets are out of warranty. C. Crane has a post about the Reciva situation here.

Meanwhile Grace Digital is helping owners of its older WiFi radios (manufactured 2007 to 2017) that rely on Reciva.

“If you have a legacy internet radio, to help with the transition, Grace Digital will offer special one-time discounts to effected customers,” states the company’s Upgrade page. It adds that, “based on the current information provided to Grace Digital the presets will continue to function for basic internet radio stations … However, please note this strategy will only work with standard radio stations.”

Finally, Tangent has cross-posted a list of internet radios affected by the Reciva platform shutdown. Referring to its now-discontinued Tangent QUATTRO internet radio, “We as radio manufacturer do not have the possibility of offering an alternative software as the module and software is made by RECIVA,” said Tangent-Audio.com.

 

 

The post Reciva Internet Radio Platform Shutting Down appeared first on Radio World.

 

Idil Cakim is senior vice president, research and insights with Entercom. Devora Rogers is chief strategy officer with Alter Agents.

Idil Cakim

Life in our modern, always-on world has made for shorter attention spans as more options for information, entertainment, engagement and connection vie for our time. Today’s audiences jump from one media source to the next in a flash, giving brands only a few seconds to tell their story and call consumers to action.

When Entercom set out to discover how audio content and advertising fit into this equation, we wanted to understand how audio amplified messages and engaged audiences compared to other media. We designed a study to measure the impact of audio on audiences and define “engaged impressions.”

We employed a number of market research techniques to dive into how audiences consumed media and contextualize media choices they made as they: navigated their everyday activities; leaned in to get information about their communities; and sought entertainment.

Devora Rogers

Together with market research firm Alter Agents, Entercom decided on an approach consisting of a survey of a nationally representative population of adults, coupled with an agile neuroscience study by Immersion of individuals from the major U.S markets of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. We compiled the data to examine consumer experiences with audio such as over-the-air (OTA), streaming OTA and podcast versus other mediums such as TV, video, social, and pureplay platforms.

Immersion, the key metric in our study, is a scientific measure of emotional connection and attention. It reveals what audiences truly love and predicts their future actions.

Using our neuroscience partner’s platform, backed by 20 years of peer-reviewed science funded by DARPA, we measured variations in heart rate in order to understand what the brain values. We then coupled these findings with our survey results to create a multidimensional picture of media audiences.

Takeaways

Our findings fell into three core areas:

• Immersion, which predicts sales: Our data indicated that audio has the highest level of immersion among all the platforms. Linear TV and social media scored significantly lower. Immersion is predictive of sales at a very high analytical accuracy rate, surpassing 80%. The findings suggest audio impressions, which are more immersive, will yield sales. (Immersion is scored from 0 to 100; the higher the number, the more immersive the experience.)

Immersion Index:

Audio             57

AVOD            54

Digital video  54

Linear TV       52

Social media  52

• Impact, which is rooted in trust. When measuring variations in heart rate and brain activity, our researchers were actually reading biological signals of trust. Trust triggers memorability and action and is the underlying factor in audio impact. Our engaged impressions study found that the audio portfolio (69%), consisting of OTA, streaming OTA and podcasts, is significantly more trusted than other mediums such as TV (64%), social media (56%), YouTube (47%) and even Digital Pureplays (44%).

• Action, which moves business. Audio has a winning formula that moves people to take action. For example, we found that one-third of broadcast OTA listeners have taken action after hearing a host recommendation as part of a commercial (34%) or as part of their show (32%). Audio portfolios that blend local content and host recommendations to consumers create a ripe environment for advertisers and positively impact consumer action.

The findings from this study are critical for the audio industry, as they lay a data-driven foundation to “make the case” for the strength of audio.

As more and more mediums compete for audience attention, this study proves that audio can effectively reach, engage and mobilize audiences. Audio leads all other media formats in its natural ability to guide listeners into spaces where they are hyper-connected, open and receptive. Immersive audio experiences trigger memorability, trust and connection. Listeners are drawn in with a sense of community and belonging. And advertisers see consistent results.

Comment on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

Idil Cakim is senior vice president, research and insights with Entercom. She has devised marketing and communication strategies for Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations for 20 years.

Devora Rogers is chief strategy officer with Alter Agents, a strategic market research consultancy. She has led research teams, developed the methodology deployed for Google’s groundbreaking ZMOT research, and worked with dozens of global brands.

The post Audio Content Drives Unmatched Engagement appeared first on Radio World.

(Hansen-Spear Funeral Home)

John Burtle has died. His career included stints at technology companies Automatic Tape Control (ATC) and Broadcast Electronics, where he once held the position of VP of product development.

He was 80, according to an obituary on the website of Hansen-Spear Funeral Home in Quincy, Ill.

“He was the force behind the BE automation products including the Control 16,” wrote his friend Chuck Kelly of Broadcast Electronics on social media.

According to the obituary, Burtle served in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from Chicago DeVry Tech School.

Andy Rector met Burtle while making a sales trip for ATC in the mid-1960s. Burtle eventually joined ATC, which would be purchased by Gates Radio, and he moved with the company from Bloomington to Quincy, Ill.

“John followed Larry Cervon when he purchased Broadcast Electronics and was instrumental in moving the BE operation [in 1977] from the Washington, D.C., area to Quincy,” Rector recalled.

Later in his career Burtle worked at ETC Computerland in computer training prior to retiring.

“John was a good friend and a fellow conservative,” Rector said. “He helped me put together a history of the broadcast tape cartridge machine which we presented to the Madison Broadcasters Clinic in 2008, the 50th anniversary of that device.” He called Burtle a great friend and fellow broadcaster.”Information about graveside services on Friday are on the funeral home website.

The post John Burtle Dies, Worked in Radio Tech appeared first on Radio World.

Tony Abfalter

Each year at Radio World we receive hundreds — if not thousands — of press releases about radio executives, general managers, air talent and sales people. We get very few about engineers. I like to celebrate them when I do.

Leighton Broadcasting in St. Cloud, Minn., wants us to know that it has a very special director of engineering and IT. He is Tony Abfalter, K0VSC, recipient of its MVP Award for 2020.

CEO Bob Leighton writes on his blog, “When the government called for a shutdown to protect against the coronavirus, we, like many others, had to quickly rethink how we worked … Our account executives were going remote but still needed access to company resources and new ways to connect with their clients. Our on-air announcers needed a safe environment to broadcast in and when they were self-quarantined due to potential exposure, they too, needed to be able to work from home.

“With the clock ticking, we called the department all station managers call when things aren’t working: engineering. …  Tony Abfalter was already formulating a plan.”

I contacted Abfalter to ask him to describe how he approached the pandemic.

“We had been focused on taking a look ahead on what could become problems in the future. While COVID-19 obviously was not something seen, our planning was easily adapted to it,” he replied.

“Over the past few years, broadcasters have had to take a look at some new challenges, like, ‘What if we can’t access the studios but still need to delivery timely, quality content? How do we do that cost-effectively? How do we make the process easy to implement on the fly?’

“Some of the solutions we implemented in building out this plan was moving to cloud-based services that can be accessed easily. The use of Microsoft 365 services, especially Teams, allowed staff to communicate and keep things moving. For remote studio live studio work the Comrex Opals we installed three years ago proved to be extremely valuable.” A secure VPN also was part of the process.

Bob Leighton said, “Tony accomplished all of this seamlessly and swiftly, which we considered exceptional and instrumental to our success, as an organization — a real MVP.”

Leighton presented the award in the original KFAM building in St. Cloud, Minn, recently refurbished in a retro style. “The remodel not only looks cool, but it allows our director of engineering to monitor and maintain all of our company signals from one location,” Leighton noted.

The family owned company has 190 employees, 64 RF/streaming audio sources, 26 format brands, six markets and one engineer.

Kudos to Tony Abfalter — and a tip of the hat to Leighton Broadcasting for highlighting the important contributions of radio engineering.

[Related: Read the Radio World ebook “Remote Radio Phase II.”]

The post Engineer Tony Abfalter Is an MVP appeared first on Radio World.

Shane Toven, CSRE CBNT, is senior broadcast engineer at Educational Media Foundation.

This article appeared in Radio World’s “Trends in Codecs and STLs for 2020” ebook.

Radio World: What’s the most important trend you see in the design and performance of codecs for remote or STL use for radio broadcast facilities?
Shane Toven: I see a trend toward combining multiple codec channels in a single unit. This helps with consolidation of facilities where multiple content streams and locations are involved. I also see codecs becoming more powerful as newer and more efficient encoding options are available.

The most exciting development that I see is increasing quality with less bandwidth usage. As broadcasters shift toward consolidating more facilities and interconnecting remote talent, this will be an important consideration for balancing quality versus bandwidth cost.

RW: How are today’s technologies solving problems in creative ways, or being deployed in your own facilities?
Toven: Codecs have been an invaluable tool for me, going all the way back to the original POTS codecs. Unfortunately, ISDN was not an option in rural Minnesota where I started my career. I purchased a Comrex Vector at my first station when that technology became available. It made a significant improvement in the quality of remote broadcasts when the options for connectivity in rural areas were limited.

Once IP connectivity started becoming more ubiquitous and there were an increasing number of IP codec options on the market, I took advantage of that to execute some very complex remotes, one of which involved live events at two different venues, and full talkback facilities between the studio and the two venues.

The latest application for codecs at my current facility has been converting multiple channels of audio on the AoIP network at the studio to encoded audio for carrying across lower bandwidth links. This conversion is done entirely inside the codec itself without any actual transition to AES or analog audio. Livewire I/O on one interface, codec I/O on the other interface. It really makes for a very nicely integrated solution.

[Check Out More of Radio World’s Ebooks Here]

RW: What role are codecs playing in this new world of at-home broadcasting?
Toven: Codecs have been critical in this role, though not in the traditional hardware sense. Some broadcasters have chosen to deploy hardware codecs for this purpose, but many others are using services such as CleanFeed or ipDTL. Both have advantages and drawbacks, but the biggest advantage of a software-based solution is ease of use and reduction in hardware costs. I could also envision a scenario where the codecs themselves become an integrated software component of a virtual infrastructure. Your smartphone becomes your codec and the talent can work from anywhere with very little hardware.

RW: How have AoIP technology developments been reflected in the look and function of codecs? 
Toven: AoIP has made implementing multichannel codecs much simpler. Instead of a rack full of AES or even analog audio wiring, the codec has no traditional audio I/O at all. One such product that we currently use is the Telos iPort. This streamlines the installation and implementation of codecs in our AoIP based facility considerably. The codec has very few physical controls and metering on it. Instead you have a 1RU box that can handle eight or more channels of encoding and decoding with all monitoring and control performed via the network.

RW: What will the codec of the future look like, if we use one at all? 
Toven: As connectivity continues to improve, we may in fact not require codecs anymore. I can envision a time where we are able to pass multiple channels of uncompressed AoIP between facilities directly. This would further simplify installations by eliminating one more step in the chain and improve audio quality by reducing the number of cascading codecs, a problem that has plagued engineers since the early days of bit-reduced encoding. I think what will become more important rather than codecs in this scenario is precision timing sources synchronized to GPS.

The post Increased Quality, Less Bandwidth appeared first on Radio World.

WideOrbit is out with a new version of its WO Automation for Radio.

Version 5.0 includes important enhancements for broadcasters with “distributed operations,” aka remote work.

It said these improvements help users manage station operations with a decentralized staff; run programming from home or elsewhere via mobile devices; manage content and playlists remotely; and integrate with other systems like MusicMaster and WO Traffic.

“WO Automation for Radio version 5.0 modernizes remote voice tracking capabilities to extend the complete in-studio experience to remote users,” the company said.

“Native apps can be installed and operated from virtually anywhere there’s an internet connection, on almost any device, including desktop environments running macOS, Windows or Linux, as well as on iOS mobile devices.”

Also new, a “Stop Media Asset Workflow Action” allows on-air assets to be stopped automatically or on-demand. And “Content Import Prioritization” streamlines the downloading of important content first whether from local drives or FTP sites.

The post WideOrbit Expands Remote Support appeared first on Radio World.

Years ago I took a firearms safety course. I remember the instructor saying, “The safety on a gun is a mechanical device. And any mechanical device can fail.” I’ve learned that this admonition about mechanical devices was true.

I think we can all agree that seemingly mundane matters involving our devices and tools are often ignored. The problem is that minimizing them can create glaring, noticeable problems.

I like to call these “mechanical distractions.” Our broadcast gear is electronic, yes; but these are machines that produce a product. In a concert venue or a church or any place with an installed sound system, the best sound system is the one you never notice. The system is built in such a way that the mechanical distractions are minimized.

A radio broadcast is much like an installed sound system. We want a listener to tune in and consume our product, not making mental notes about a technical aspect of the broadcast. This article presents examples of such minutia.

The Most Obvious: Processing

If 40 people provide 40 differing views on processing, that’s normal. It is a passionate and subjective topic.

If a loudness war is raging in the market, we may be pulled into doing things with processing that defy basic fundamentals. On the flip side, if we’re the only format in the market, we might be aloof about the processing.

Both are bad practice.

Processors like these are at their best when listeners can’t hear them working.

If we have achieved the “loudest” station in the market, is it smoking the final clipper? Is the multiband working so hard that listener fatigue is inevitable? Has audible distortion taken the place of clarity?

On the other hand, suppose we have a country format. Do listeners continually turn the station up and down because the processing is hardly doing its job?

Final processing is the hallmark of the station’s persona in the market. Set aside regular times to do some critical listening. Whether loud and aggressive or relaxed, the processing must serve your demographic without noticeable mechanics.

RDS and PAD

Metadata quality control should be within the purview of the programming department. However, an extra set of eyes never hurt anyone.

As radios evolve into virtual dashboard computers, RDS and PAD become more important. Over the last two years I became the self-appointed RDS and PAD czar at our cluster. Our engineering department works endlessly to make sure these ancillary services work properly.

This car radio stays in the TOC. If RDS looks bad here, it looks bad in someone’s car.

So when “Laddy Gaga” appears on the radio, or “020121-MU10004” or “Solitaire FT. Gucci Mane & Migos w./ Lil’ Yachty RADIO EDIT CLEAN VERSION,” it drives me insane.

In response, I’ve practically written a book for our programming staff that spells out artist and title formatting standards. Additionally, I’ve manually instituted these standards in our 13,000-song database.

“It’s not my job!” Well, that’s most likely true, but poorly formatted, misspelled or inconsistent RDS and PAD data is an embarrassing distraction that reflects poorly upon the station. When a listener looks at the name of a song, they shouldn’t start laughing about a spelling error.

Little, Little Tiny Edits

Now that we’ve put our noses in programming business, let’s go down the hall to the production department.

When orders stack up, the production team becomes the busiest group in the building. They churn out spot after spot.

That is when editing slip-ups happen. They are usually slight, but if they go unchecked, they can become an unnecessary mechanical distraction. Should engineering mention production issues to production? This is tricky territory, requiring an open, friendly environment for dialogue.

One example is cutting off a breath or editing a file in such a way that a breath happens unnaturally. This does the product a disservice. Also, splicing together the same voice from two recording sessions is a noticeable distraction. Some production folks add compression and dynamics in post that cause a regular and familiar voice to sound unnatural.

If the midday guy voices a spot that plays during one of his stop sets and the processing is spectacularly more aggressive than the regular studio mic processing, the listener will hear a mechanical change — a distraction.

One last thing that pertains to production and air staff is mic placement. Ever see the ad where the girl talks into the end of a side-address mic? So talk periodically with the on-air and production people. The mic is a mechanical device that can cause mechanical distractions when used improperly.

Stop Hurting Ourselves

Ssometimes we engineers get in our own way. Whether through complacency, lack of knowledge or lack of funds, we “let things go.”

I know of an RJ-45 connector right now in our TOC that needs replacing. It causes problems when it fails. Have I replaced it yet? Well, by the time you read this I will have!

Radio broadcasting has become data transfer before our eyes. One of these RJ-45 jacks going bad can ruin the day. Periodically check to make sure they’re seated and that the cable-connector junctions are not pinched or strained.

The point is, loose ends add up and can become noticeable to listeners.

How could I have prevented that four minutes of dead air? A silence alarm could have sent an email and I could have remoted in and fixed it.

Or the main transmitter failed and now we’re off the air until I can get there and switch it to the aux. Maybe it’s time to look into an improved Burk or Davicom remote system?

The PD keeps complaining about distortion on VoxPro. “Well, she’s off her rocker.” Yes, she probably is, but she needs you to take some time and fix the audio levels in the studio!

Be a People Person

When an engineer starts complaining to programming and production about how they’re doing their jobs, we can expect friction. Engineers don’t like it either.

However, reducing mechanical distractions doesn’t have to be contentious. Foster an environment of open dialogue, humor and camaraderie. That way, when we see typos on the RDS or hear a choppy radio ad or when the programming team hears a problem with the processing or something is up at a transmitter, a simple text, email or phone call won’t be an affront.

As broadcasters we present an on-air product in which the transport mechanism must be transparent. There should be nothing mechanically distracting between the jock’s mic and the listener’s speakers. Attention to detail and purposeful camaraderie go a very long way in creating a great product.

Chris Wygal is chief engineer for Summit Media Corp. in Richmond, Va.. He began a full-time career in radio broadcasting in 2002 and has been writing for broadcast trade publications since 2005.

 

The post Little Problems Can Cause Big Headaches appeared first on Radio World.

Radio World has a fresh look starting with this issue, in a format that’s intended to brighter, cleaner and more enjoyable for you to read.

Also:

An AoIP project helps Denver stations prepare for the new normal. Ford’s Scott Burnell says radio stations are missing an easy opportunity to compete better in the dash. John Bisset and Chris Wygal share tech tips. Entercom execs talk about audio’s power to engage.

All that and more in the March 3 edition.

The post Inside the March 3 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

The National Black Radio Hall of Fame has inducted more than 35 individuals and groups into its hall of fame roll.

Combining the 2020 and 2021 inductees into one class, these individuals are being recognized for the impact they’ve had on radio and in the wider community. The nonprofit organization, which was established in 2010, recognizes the contributions of personalities and pioneers of African-American radio.

The awards honor individuals in several categories including Community Service Artist of the Year, Gospel Radio Personality and the National Terrestrial Talk Radio Award. The awards also recognize individuals through the National Black Radio Hall of Fame Posthumous Award. This year that award was given to six individuals for their contribution to radio including former Baton Rouge radio host Guy Brody, radio host Yvonne Daniel who was part of the first all-female team on WSDM(FM) in Indiana, and Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg who cultivated a 48-year career as a Detroit R&B DJ and station owner.

Other awards include the Lifetime Media Achievement Award given to Joe Madison, known as “The Black Eagle,” who served as a talk radio host and civil rights activist who broke the Guinness World Record for longest talk show marathon when he stayed on the air 52 hours to raise funds for the Smithsonian. Talk show hosts Joyce Littel and Derek Boazman were also honored as were House Music Pioneer Award winners Bobby Holiday and Requaya Ward.

The complete list of 2020 and 2021 winners can be found below.

In addition to recognizing Black voices and promoting the historical perspective of African-Americans in national radio, the organization also offers educational and scholarship programs to connect communities to increased higher learning opportunities.

2020/2021 National Black Radio Hall of Fame Inductees:

National Black Radio Hall of Fame Posthumous Award — Guy Broady, Yvonne Daniel, Big George, Burke Johnson, Martha Jean the Queen, Irene Johnson Ware

Radio/Music Career Artist of the Year — Bobby Rush

Community Service Artist of the Year — Tony Terry

Radio Media Specialist Award — Harry Lyles, Lyles Media Group

Lifetime Media Achievement Award — Joe Madison, “The Black Eagle,” the Madison Show

Special Black Radio Original 13 Award Presentation — Given by Jill Gibson for Dorothy Brunson Family, Marshall Thompson the Chi-Lites Willie Martin “Perculator”

African-American Radio Promoter Award — Ted Astin, Arlinda Garrett, Leroy Little

African-American Station Owner Award — Mutter Evans, The Davis Group, Roscoe Miller

Community Service Personality Award — Derrick Chatman, Monica Pearson

Talented Sisters of Radio Award — Carol Blackmon, Shirley Ellis, Renee Miller

Talented Brothers of Radio Award — Mitch Faulkner, Bill Gay, Doug Steele

Gospel Radio Personality Award — Twanda Black, Melissa Summers, Larry Tinsley

Hip Hop Radio Personality Award — Dncredible Freddie Fred, Ryan Cameron, Greg Street

House Music Pioneer Award — Bobby Holiday, Requaya Ward

National Terrestrial Talk Radio Award — Derek Boazman, Joyce Littel

 

 

The post New Members Inducted into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame appeared first on Radio World.

Getty Images/skaman306

Another round of employee cuts at iHeartMedia last last week appears to include reductions in engineering departments at its broadcast operations.

Jerry Del Colliano in the online newsletter Inside Music Media put the number of iHeartMedia broadcast engineers cut at 39 as of Friday, with some of them expected to continue as contract help at stations.

Del Colliano reports that iHeartMedia will rely on a more regional approach to engineering staffing, in line with the company’s ongoing changes to its technology infrastructure and workflows. The company also is expected to outsource more of its engineering work as it continues to seek cost-cutting measures amid a weaker economic environment caused by the pandemic.

RadioInsight also reported on engineering cuts in a story Friday.

An iHeartMedia spokesperson declined to confirm the engineering staff cuts and offered no further comment to Radio World.

As we’ve reported before, the company has been building workflows around centralized content distribution centers that it calls AI-enabled Centers of Excellence. Its modernization initiative has resulted in layoffs in programming, sales and engineering, according to those familiar with the developments.

iHeartMedia was already sharing engineers between markets in many cases, sources have told Radio World. Following cuts in early 2020, the company created emergency response teams handle major technical crisis.

The company has never described the exact role of the regional hubs, but the technical overhaul of operations includes more remote voicetracking and a move of some broadcast operations into a cloud-based platform. It is consolidating some broadcast facilities and downsizing others, according to sources familiar with its plans.

The company has been downsizing headcount. According to its most recent 10K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as of Feb. 22, it had approximately 10,200 employees. A year ago, according to investor filings, it had approximately 11,400 employees.

Here’s how iHeartMedia described its modernization efforts to the SEC in a recent filing: “In January 2020, iHeartMedia announced key modernization initiatives designed to take advantage of the significant investments that the company has made in new technologies to build an improved operating infrastructure to upgrade products and deliver incremental cost efficiencies,” it stated.

“This modernization is a multi-pronged set of strategic initiatives that we believe positions the company for sustainable long-term growth, margin expansion, and value creation for shareholders. As targeted, our investments in modernization delivered approximately $50 million of in-year savings in 2020, and we remain on track to deliver annualized run-rate cost savings of approximately $100 million by mid-year 2021.”

Del Colliano, a skeptic of iHeartMedia’s recovery plan since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2019, was again critical. “This is an attempt by iHeart, always looking to assuage public opinion, that technology is the bad guy when in reality the actual savings are not coming from innovations in broadcast equipment or internet technology, but from sustained attempts to reduce their 10,000+ workforce by as much as possible as soon as possible,” he wrote.

The post Reports: iHeartMedia Makes Cuts to Engineering Staff appeared first on Radio World.