Radio+Television Business Report

The two individuals at the helm of the nation’s largest audio content production and distribution company are preparing for a presentation on Wednesday at the Goldman Sachs 30th Annual Communacopia Conference.

Bob Pittman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Rich Bressler, President, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer, of iHeartMedia will participate in a question and answer session at the highly regarded investor event.

They’ll be chatting it up starting at precisely 2:05pm Eastern on Sept. 22.

A live webcast of the session will be available to the general public at the start of the session through a link on the Investors homepage of iHeartMedia’s website (https://investors.iheartmedia.com/).

A replay of the video webcast will be available in the Events & Presentation section of iHeartMedia’s Investors homepage.

 

What did iHeartMedia stock close at on September 16? Visit the Wall Street Report now at RBR.com’s homepage for a quick glance at all of broadcast media’s publicly traded stocks.

According to Nielsen, the return to the classroom had an effect on monthly TV and streaming viewing.

The Gauge, Nielsen’s snapshot of viewing trends, showed a leveling of viewership after three months of steady growth.

The August data reveals that streaming maintained a 28% share of total TV viewing, compared with broadcast TV (24%) and cable (38%).

Children 6-17 years old viewed about 7.5% less than the previous month.

Nielsen said that drop was offset a bit by a 0.5% increase in overall TV viewing. The slight uptick was attributed to adults tuning in to broadcast programming such as the Olympics.

By Rob Dumke and Adam R Jacobson

“Broadcasting locally but driving national results,” Davis Broadcasting Inc. has stood out in the markets in which it operates radio stations in for its commitment to localism.

Now, its President and CEO has personally written to those in favor of a resolution that would prevent the levying of any new performance royalty payments on Radio.

While the biggest piece of legislation on Capitol Hill designed to do this is largely dead, recording industry advocacy group musicFIRST on Monday will seek to resuscitate it.

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ATLANTA — Gray Television’s dedicated investigative team is readying the launch of a new weekly program featuring “watchdog reports” about government corruption, consumer alerts and health care issues.

The show takes the name of the investigate team and will premiere during this week across all of the broadcast media company’s stations.

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By Rob Dumke

The importance of fact-based broadcast radio and television journalism at a time when misinformation is running rampant on social media is a key mission for local news organizations across the U.S.

It’s also integral to the NAB, which has unveiled a new ad campaign giving a boost to local  stations in particular.

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On its surface, a follow-up report to the U.S. Latino Podcast Listener Report, released in July by Edison Research, offers rather encouraging findings on the percentage of U.S. Hispanics who’ve listened to a podcast.

Now, Edison believes the growth opportunity is even stronger.

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By Rob Dumke

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation is the latest organization to institute a “COVID Change” for an upcoming in-person gathering.

The 46th Annual Gracie Awards will now be a virtual affair.

The online event is scheduled for October 5.

This year’s awards coincide with AWM’s 70th anniversary. Since its inception in 1951, AWM has been committed to inspiring, educating, celebrating accomplishments and expanding networks of women across all segments of media.

The event will be hosted by actress and comedian Lauren Ash and feature performances by Jewel and Gospel and R&B performing artist Cece Winans.

The AllWomenInMedia page on Facebook will serve as the principal viewing point for the now-virtual affair.

By Rob Dumke

A new study, authored by Ph.D. Economist Hal Singer and Ted Tatos, has examined whether large technology companies should start contributing to the agency’s $9 billion a year program that supports efforts to bridge the digital divide.

It comes following a May 2021 suggestion by one FCC Commissioner that Big Tech should start paying its fair share toward the Universal Service Fund.

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ViacomCBS’s BET unit has formally launched BET Studios, with a pledge of offering equity ownership for Black content creators.

The principal partners are Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.

Barris is an award-winning writer, producer, and director who created the “ish” multiseries franchise (Black-ish, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish). Jones is an actress, director, writer, and filmmaker, known for her appearances on “The Office” and in the 2010 feature film “The Social Network.”

Thomas is a television, film screenwriter and producer who has worked on numerous CBS TV series.

“The demand for premium content from Black creators has accelerated dramatically as a result of both the rapidly changing media and social landscapes. BET, with our 40-year legacy of celebrating Black culture, and the full power of the ViacomCBS ecosystem—is uniquely positioned to service this demand,” said BET President Scott Mills. “As a company with its origin in Black entrepreneurship, we are incredibly excited to create the first major studio to provide Black creators with ownership, creative freedom and the unparalleled partnership and support of BET.”

BET Studios will be headed by Aisha Summers Burke, who was recently appointed EVP/GM of the new venture.

With the decision on Sept. 15 by the National Association of Broadcasters to cancel the 2021 NAB Show, RBR+TVBR welcomes vendors who planned on hosting exhibit booths to share their product announcements with us for publication in RBR.com and our Weekly Tech Roundup.

Exstreamer audio over IP codecs from Barix are widely considering for radio broadcasters’ technical infrastructures, with its applications ranging from studio-to-transmitter (STL) and studio-to-studio (SSL) links to remote contribution from the field.

Now, Barix has launched the Exstreamer M400 IP audio decoder, the first model in a new generation of Exstreamer solutions.

“Radio broadcasters large and small have long depended on the robust reliability, outstanding audio quality, and rich feature set of our previous Exstreamer products for their critical audio transport requirements,” said Davide Nossa, Product Manager at Barix. “The Exstreamer M400 delivers these benefits on a next-generation hardware platform with more processing power, enhanced security features, and greater extensibility, alongside expanded support for audio formats and technology standards including Opus and AES67.”

The Exstreamer M400 features stereo, line-level, analog audio output with RCA-type connections and can decode streams in MP3, AAC-HE, FLAC, PCM, Opus, and Ogg Vorbis formats. Newly added AES67 support enables the Exstreamer M400 to instead be configured as a dedicated AES67 receiver and decoder, enabling seamless integration into AES67-based audio-over-IP networks plus interoperability with Dante-compatible devices. The Exstreamer M400 incorporates the full AES67 interoperability guidelines including RTP audio delivery, multicast addressing, and PTP-based synchronization with a separate master clock device. Supported discovery methods include SAP (Session Announcement Protocol), mDNS (multicast DNS), and RTSP, enabling the decoder to automatically identify and list available streams from Dante, Ravenna, and other audio over IP solutions that use these protocols. SDP (Session Description Protocol) information can also be manually inserted for interoperability with third-party solutions that do not support these standards.

Powered by Barix’s high-performance, Linux-based IPAM 400 audio module, the Exstreamer M400 features significantly higher processing power than earlier Exstreamer models and a more programmable, software-driven architecture that enables easier expansion, rapid prototyping, and greater customization. A larger buffer size and advanced buffer management technology can be configured to further bolster the Exstreamer M400’s resilience to network performance disruptions in applications where minimizing latency is not critical.

Expanded support for IT security standards includes HTTPS: support for audio streams and the web-based management interface, plus secure, encrypted SIP communication links using TLS and SRTP. Other new features relative to earlier Exstreamer models include IPV6 support and internal audio file storage with externally triggered playback.

The Exstreamer M400’s Linux-based architecture enables extensive upgradability, supporting Barix’s mission of continually enhancing its products while enabling Barix engineers to quickly customize functionality to meet specific customer project requirements. A modern API is planned for future release for developers, replacing previous Exstreamer models’ older CGI control specification as part of Barix’s commitment to support the latest technology standards.

The Exstreamer M400 with AES67 support is now shipping.

Distributed Tuesdays at 8am Pacific via email by RBR+TVBR.

Brad Smith, the Founder/CEO of Simplecast, is the new Head of Podcast Products for SiriusXM.

Simplecast was acquired by SiriusXM in 2020.

In the newly created role, Smith and his team will be responsible for SiriusXM’s podcast product strategy across all of its owned platforms – including SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher — for both creators and listeners.

A female client in Colombia, a senior insurance executive, recently told veteran PR executive and virtual meeting expert Rosemary Ravinal that she wears her favorite pearl necklace and a silk blouse every time she fires up her video to join a meeting.

Another mid-level manager in healthcare with a dozen direct reports throughout Latin America said she dresses from head to toe for Zoom as if she were back at the office.

A male CEO in fintech wears a shirt and tie without fail to every Teams call.

“All three recognize that what they wear brings their confidence and executive presence to another level,” Ravinal notes in this column. “Large numbers of office workers continue to work remotely with video conferencing at the heart of the workday.  So, the image you project can be critical to your success.”

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With all eyes set on a big Q4 and 2022, Netflix Inc. has revealed when it will post its third quarter 2021 results and business outlook on its investor relations website.

With its shares trading close to $583 per share, Netflix is trading at near record-levels — still. And, that’s not likely to slow down.

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Nexstar Digital has given birth to a proprietary data-driven audience platform that gives advertisers “the ability to seamlessly purchase digital and linear advertising across Nexstar’s network of 199 owned or operated television stations, 120 local web sites and 284 local news and weather mobile apps.”

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MIAMI — A subscription streaming service that lets you watch live and on-demand TV from 85+ top networks has just added Univision, UniMás and Galavisión to its lineup — giving it a huge boost in its appeal to Spanish-speaking TV consumers.

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In anticipation of its October transformation from a MVPD-distributed offering with roots in the OTT space to a digital multicast network, the E.W. Scripps Co.-owned Newsy has unveiled a new programming lineup — and the news teams behind the shows set to air.

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Television stations carrying the “Big Four” TV networks, along with the local MyNetwork TV affiliate, serving the Cincinnati DMA have fired up their ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV broadcasts.

The launch involves the E.W. Scripps Co.’s flagship station, and properties owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Deerfield Media, Hearst Communications and Gray Television.

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As 2021 comes to an end, so will the leadership of an iHeartMedia Area President who has contributed to the success of radio stations not only across New York’s Capital Region, but in the Mid-Hudson Valley and in the “Tri-State” zone including Sussex, N.J.; Port Jervis, N.Y.; and “a little bitty piece of Pennsylvania.”

Set for retirement is media veteran Kristen Delaney. Her last day will be December 31, 2021.

Delaney began her broadcasting career in 1989 as an Account Executive in Utica, New York, working at WRCK-FM “Rock 107” and WTLB-AM. In 1993, she shifted to WOUR-FM and WUTQ-FM in Utica, continuing in local sales. In 1996, Dame Media promoted her to LSM.

Three years later, with Dame Media’s sale of such stations as WGY-AM & WRVE-FM to iHeartMedia predecessor Clear Channel, Delaney moved to Albany to serve as GSM. In 2000, she was elevated to Director of Sales.

In 2006, Delaney took the Market Manager title, eventually adding oversight for Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Sussex, N.J., in 2011.

“Rarely do you see someone so inspiring and skilled at their profession as Kristen Delaney,” said Hartley Adkins, President for iHeartMedia Markets Group. “After almost 23 years with iHeartMedia, she still treated every day as a new adventure and those of us in her orbit all benefited. I applaud her in taking one more adventurous step to retirement. Kristen’s presence will be missed beyond words.”

Dan Lankford, Division President for iHeartMedia Multi-Platform Group, added, “It’s been a great pleasure working with Kristen. Albany’s years of success are a direct result of the hard work and dedication Kristen has to her profession.”

Commenting on her career, Delaney, who holds a Masters’ in Integrated Marketing Communications from Marist College, says, “It has been an incredible 32-year career in broadcasting and I’m so thankful for the last 23 years with iHeartMedia. It has been such an honor to entertain and inform our communities, connect our listeners to our advertisers, and raise much-needed funds for several organizations. Over the years, I have met and worked with so many incredibly talented people and formed friendships that will last for years to come.”

— Reporting by Adam R Jacobson, in Boca Raton, Fla.

Until now, consumers of Cumulus Media-owned radio stations that wished to stream any of the company’s AMs or FMs needed to do so via two commonly used apps.

As of today, the third widely used live audio streaming app has added all of Cumulus’ broadcast stations to its platform.

Audacy and Cumulus on Wednesday announced a content distribution partnership. This  brings Cumulus’ 413 radio stations and portfolio of podcasts to the Audacy digital platform, with access via the Audacy smartphone app and its Radio.com predecessor app available for WDVD-FM in Detroit; KRUZ-FM in Santa Barbara, Calif., and other Cumulus stations during the noon hour, Eastern time.

The Audacy.com website was still in the process of being updated as of this writing.

“We’re delighted with this opportunity to expand listeners’ ability to discover and connect with our stations and podcasts through the Audacy app,” said Cumulus Media SVP/Digital Operations and Business Development Larry Linietsky. “This partnership is in sync with our strategy of distributing our content through multiple platforms to make it available anywhere and anytime people want to enjoy it.”

Cumulus stations have been available via both the TuneIn and iHeartRadio apps.

“The addition of Cumulus’s expansive portfolio of leading radio stations enhances and bolsters Audacy’s position as the fastest growing digital platform for radio listeners,” said Audacy VP of Business Development Corey Podolsky. “Audacy looks forward to building on this initial partnership with Cumulus and will continue to develop new and innovative ways to super serve our listeners.”

It’s official. And, a formal announcement was released at 10:15am Eastern on Wednesday (9/15).

The National Association of Broadcasters won’t be moving forward with the NAB Show, a move that also cancels the co-located Sales and Management Television Exchange and the Radio Show, co-produced by the NAB and the Radio Advertising Bureau.

The NAB made the news public via Twitter shortly after 10am Eastern. State Broadcasters Associations’ received an email from the association sharing the news earlier in the day.

Making the announcement to the “NAB Show community” was Chris Brown, the NAB’s EVP/Managing Director of Global Connections and Events.

“For more than a year we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community. As we have always kept the best interest and safety of the industry as our priority, it has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events in person.”

Brown continued, “We will not move forward with a show that delivers anything less than the excellence our community has come to expect and deserves from us.”

And, while there is disappointment in having to cancel the NAB Show — which was to begin in just 24 days — Brown says the organization “looks forward to converging at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, 2022, to reignite our passion for our business and focus on a bright future ahead.”

LAST-MINUTE UNWIND

With just 24 days to go before the Sales and Management Television Exchange was to begin ahead of the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the organization has called off the conference. The decision comes following participation pullouts from such major exhibitors as Brainstorm, Ross Video, Panasonic and Canon.

Yet, as of Monday, companies actively working with broadcast radio and TV stations such as Marketron, Dielectric, GatesAir and ENCO, were eagerly preparing their booths and setting up meetings both on-site and off-site. The latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast featuring Marketron SVP of Product Jimshade Chaudhari, distributed Tuesday, offered much discussion on what the company had in the works for NAB Show attendees.

Now, Marketron — and many others — are now scrambling to unwind hotel reservations and airline tickets.

Will there be a virtual offering of any kind in lieu of the Las Vegas affair?

“Stay tuned for details regarding virtual options for accessing select 2021 NAB Show content through NAB Amplify,” Brown said.