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The authors are director of technology and product manager, respectively, for StreamGuys.

Every engineer and station manager knows that actively monitoring their broadcast operations is critical. Techniques for monitoring over-the-air broadcast signal chains have been honed over many decades and may be well understood.

But streaming distribution brings with it a new set of potential points of failure that must be monitored in different ways. Understanding each step of how your streamed content goes from point A to point B, and how you can monitor each of those steps, is essential to fixing problems if they occur.

Stream monitoring for radio broadcasters starts with source production in the studio and extends all the way out to the audience consuming the content. At StreamGuys, we talk in terms of four primary layers of the signal chain: content production; the facility network that connects the production to a streaming service provider or CDN; the service layer that hosts and streams the content to the world; and the application layer where listeners access the content.

The content layer

Streaming radio content essentially takes one of two forms: on-demand content such as podcasts, or live streams as a corollary of traditional linear broadcasts.

Verifying on-demand content is fairly straightforward, as you’re only really worried about whether the media file is “good” — for example, whether it is encoded in the correct codec and bitrate, with proper metadata, and normalized correctly for its purpose (such as the TD1008 spec for speech-centric content).

Validating live content is more complicated as it requires multiple facets to be verified in near real time, starting with playout from the automation system. Normalization and digital signal processing may occur prior to the encoder, and you need to ensure the encoder receives a valid audio signal that is true to the producer’s intent. The output of the encoder itself — MP3, AAC, or even HLS — must also be validated.

The network layer

Eduardo Martinez

The network is how your signal is transported to your streaming media provider or CDN, which in turn reflects that signal out to the world. The network comprises the switches, routers and gateways that make up your local area network (LAN) at the origination source, and also interacts with a dedicated internet service provider (ISP) connection for uploading streams from the encoder.

Tools like Ping, Traceroute and PingPlotter should be used constantly to monitor the consistency of the network and ensure connectivity to the outside world. You should be monitoring against the points of presence where your CDN is ingesting your streams. Generic speed tests don’t offer useful perspective, as they don’t accurately represent the path between your network and the service layer to which you’re broadcasting.

Persistent tracing provides the operational visibility necessary to identify intermittent issues. This long-term approach to monitoring the health of your network enables you to correlate issues reported by listeners — such as stream buffering at specific times of day — against network events such as packet loss or jitter on the link between the studio and CDN. Such data can help when working with your ISP to resolve such issues.

The service layer

Robert Minnix

After the live feed reaches your CDN or you have uploaded file-based media file to your CMS, the service layer is the delivery mechanism that distributes your content to your audience. It consists of multiple purpose-built streaming servers and usually is operated by a CDN or streaming media company, spanning multiple points of presence globally.

For monitoring purposes, look at the service layer as if you are part of your audience. First, ensure you can connect to the stream from your location, like a listener in your own DMA. From there, cast a wider net to ensure the stream is available from other parts of the country, or even globally. Automated monitoring agents can be set up in different geographic areas and even on specific consumer networks to help narrow down issues affecting only specific groups of listeners.

In addition to verifying that streams are accessible, you also want to ensure listeners are correctly receiving your audio. Silence monitoring is an important aspect of that, and can help detect issues with the automation system or encoder. The silence detector “listens” to the stream, and if it falls below a particular audio level for longer than a specified time threshold, triggers an alert. Audience measurement can also help identify issues, as sudden dips in traffic can correlate to technical issues with your streams.

The application layer

The application layer is essentially any mechanism the audience can use to interact with your content. This could be via your website using various browsers; it could be a dedicated mobile app; or it could be through increasingly popular smart speakers.

Monitoring the application layer comes down to verifying proper playback of your content. Are there any audio issues that weren’t present in the source, but are audible through the player? Such problems may be platform specific. For example, the audio specifications you’re delivering might be fine in one browser but not in another.

Analyzing the user experience is also important, as how people interact with your content — such as voice commands — can impact their engagement.

There isn’t yet a great, automated way of testing the human experience. Manual testing is still the best way to verify that your player is outputting the right content properly in various locations, and that commands are fulfilling the interactions you want your consumers to have.

While you should obviously perform your own testing, you can supplement it with feedback from people who are essentially constantly monitoring the application layer for you — your audience! Pay close attention to their feedback, even unique problems you haven’t heard of elsewhere. They may be the clues you need to track down problems elsewhere in the chain.

The post Streaming Monitoring: Media Operations in the Digital Age appeared first on Radio World.

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The Petitioner has requested the substitution of UHF channel 20 for VHF channel 12 in the Table of Allotments

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A leading podcast database is partnering with and “enhancing” the podcasting capabilities of Audacy, the multi-platform audio content and entertainment organization formerly known as Entercom.

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The FCC late Wednesday (1/26) released a Report and Order that updates the Commission’s political programming and recordkeeping rules for broadcast licensees, cable television system operators, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service providers, and Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) licensees.

What does this mean for you? A Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney provides an easy explanation for curious radio and TV industry executives and staff that will need to abide by the revised regulatory policy.

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On July 23, 2019, Entravision Communications filed an application proposing to upgrade one of its stations. It is still waiting to do so.

But, it is one step closer to this goal — one that sees the station’s simulcast partner moving ever-closer to claiming the 106.7 MHz on the west side of the Valley of the Sun. It is thanks to a Memorandum Opinion and Order issued this week by the FCC.

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Gray Television has decided when it will host a conference call to discuss its operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

The broadcast TV station owner will unveil its latest fiscal health report on Friday, February 25. Key company executives will participate in a conference call for investors and Wall Street analysts at 11am Eastern on that day.

The results come as Gray shares have retreated to a price last seen on a regular basis in April 2021. That said, the fluctuations for GTN, which trades on the NYSE, are minor. With Gray shares at $20.18 as of 3:25pm Eastern on Thursday (1/27), it has a 52-week high of $25.24 seen on Nov. 3, 2021. More importantly, its 52-week low was seen exactly one year ago, with pricing at $17.03.

Gigi Sohn (image credit C-SPAN)

With the asterisked caveat that the items are “subject to change,” a vote on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the open Democratic seat on the FCC has been slotted.

The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled an executive session for Wednesday, February 2, and among Sohn is among a 14 nominations scheduled to get a vote. Among the other nominees are Alvaro Bedoya for the open Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission and four members of the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Kathy Im, Thomas Rothman, Elizabeth Sembler, and Laura Ross.

[Read More of Our Coverage of the FCC]

But the Sohn nomination is the highest profile agenda item given the pushback from Republicans and the call by Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for a second nomination hearing before a vote, which looks like it is not happening.

Commerce chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) had signaled she wanted to firm up a vote by this week.

The Committee vote would be a big step forward, but Sen. Thom Tillis has threatened to put a hold on her nomination before a full Senate vote.

Sohn this week got endorsements from the Communications Workers of America and the National Urban League.

A version of this story appeared on our sister publication, Broadcasting & Cable.

The post Sohn Nomination to Get Commerce Committee Vote appeared first on Radio World.

Faced with a Hearing Designation Order that will put his continued ability to own the station in the hands of FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Hinckley Halprin, Roger Wahl was all but expected to participate in a pre-hearing conference scheduled for January 13.

That didn’t happen. Halprin expressed her disappointment. Now, a new date has been put on the calendar for this all-important event, which could be Wahl’s last gasp at holding on to ownership of his Pennsylvania FM radio station.

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Until January 20, we have to admit that we barely knew LocalBTV existed. Yet, here it is — with 15 new DMAs added to its roster in 2021 after six launched in 2019. An additional 20 DMAs are on the way.

Is it a folly, with a big hurdle ahead as it needs to ink retransmission consent agreements to come close to what the now-shuttered Locast offered, but legally? Or, can it be successful as a “virtual over-the-air” TV service focused on digital multicast channels and PBS Member stations?

Those questions and more are asked by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam Jacobson in a fresh and provocative InFOCUS Podcast featuring LocalBTV founder and CEO Jim Long.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jim Long, LocalBTV” on Spreaker.

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A 22-page VAB PowerPoint presentation that seeks to place a spotlight on the “billions of lost TV impressions” it believes are linked to a Nielsen undercount of television audiences between September 2020 and December 2021 has come under scrutiny by the Media Rating Council.

As the MRC sees it, the VAB’s characterization of the group’s analysis of Nielsen’s undercounting of linear television consumption isn’t a correct representation of the facts.

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The Federal Communications Commission is flexing its regulatory muscle to help resolve an impasse between two radio licensees — as the two argue over channel changes, reimbursement details and whether an escrow account should be required to ensure proper payment.

The situation began when Entravision Holdings LLC filed an application proposing to upgrade one of its stations, KVVA(FM) in Apache Junction, Ariz., by changing the the station’s transmitter location and shifting its community of license to Sun Lakes, Ariz. To facilitate this, Entravision proposed moving one of its other stations — KDVA(FM) — from Channel 295 to Channel 294, a change that would require another licensee to move the station it currently operates on Channel 294 to Channel 295. When that licensee, Prescott Valley Broadcasting Co., modified KPPV(FM)’s license to Channel 295, Entravision said it would reimburse Prescott for the costs of the channel change.

The Media Bureau then notified Prescott of Entravision’s proposal and asked the licensee to show cause why KPPV’s license should not be modified. The bureau reminded Prescott that these types of involuntary channel changes are allowed in instances where such a change would allow for new or expanded service in another community.

But Prescott balked at the request, saying it could not support modification of the KPPV license unless Entravision agreed to deposit an estimate of the reasonable costs into an escrow account. While Entravision said it was committed to reimburse Prescott, the reimbursement amount Prescott requested —$2.75 million — “far exceeded” the amount typically specified in moves such as this, Entravision said. Entravision then alleged that Prescott was abusing commission processes and filed an objection to simply delay the channel change, otherwise known as a bad-faith strike pleading.

[Read: FCC Addresses Reconsideration Petitions on FM Translator Interference Rules]

And so began an exchange of character-related attacks and insults by Entravision and Prescott, the bureau said.

In the midst of these back-and-forth battles, the Media Bureau took several steps. The bureau granted Entravision’s applications in July 2020, issued construction permits for KVVA and KDVA, modified KPPV’s license to operate on Channel 295 instead of Channel 294, and directed Prescott to file an application to implement the channel change by Oct. 19, 2020.

As is customary in an involuntary channel change situation such as this, the bureau placed special operating conditions on the permits it issued to Entravision. As a result, Entravision is not permitted to commence program tests or officially license the new channel as its own until the Prescott station is officially licensed and begins tests from its new location.

The bureau also reminded Entravision that it must reimburse Prescott for “reasonable and prudent” costs incurred in changing KPPV’s channel, though Entravision would not be required to place funds in an escrow account. The bureau also dismissed Entravision’s allegation that Prescott was filing a strike pleading.

Prescott filed a minor modification application to implement the program change (which was granted by the bureau) but the licensee also argued against the bureau’s decision not to require an escrow deposit. Entravision opposed that petition, again accusing Prescott of filing a strike pleading.

More name-calling ensued. According to the Media Bureau, Prescott accused Entravision of engaging in reprehensible and unprofessional behavior, accusing the licensee of stonewalling. Prescott further charged Entravision with obfuscation, disingenuousness, bullying and intimidation. According to Prescott, the bureau should reconsider its decision and require Entravision to place funds in an escrow account because, Prescott said, Entravision’s trustworthiness should be questioned.

Again, the bureau issued several denials. It denied Prescott’s request, saying the licensee had not shown adequate reasoning to require an escrow account, and it denied Entravision’s allegation that the latest Prescott petition was another strike pleading. Another round of objections were filed with the bureau again dismissing Prescott’s request for an escrow account.

By January 2021, Entravision filed a request asking the bureau to remove the special operating condition initially placed on the construction permit for KDVA because the licensee had “no idea whether or when [Prescott] will commence construction.” Because of the various delays, Entravision said that KPPV should no longer be entitled to protection on that channel.

But eliminating protections to its station would result in interference to more than 300,000 listeners, Prescott responded. The licensee again characterized Entravision’s moves as a way to avoid its reimbursement obligations.

The two licensees also accused the other of other blunders, including defective filings, late-filed pleadings, mislabeled mailings and wrongly routed packages.

But in its most recent order on the issue, the commission made several things clear.

It upheld the Media Bureau’s decision not to require Entravision to deposit funds into an escrow account. The commission also found no merit in Entravision’s assertion that Prescott’s pleadings were simply to cause a delay. And the commission upheld the bureau’s earlier decision to modify Prescott’s channel of license because, as the bureau wrote at the time, such a change would “promote the public interest, convenience and necessity.”

The commission also declined Prescott’s request that the FCC modify its reimbursement rules so that Entravision would also cover the cost of moving an FM translator (Prescott’s FM translator would also be affected by the channel move).

The FCC reminded Prescott that FM translators are authorized as a secondary service and can be subject to displacement by a full-service station. (Any related costs would fall to the translator licensee — not the station causing displacement — because in constructing an FM translator station, the licensee knew the risks and accepted the secondary status of the translator construction permit.)

The commission also denied Entravision’s request that the FCC remove the special operating condition on the station that prevents Entravision from conducting tests on its new channel.

Finally, the commission addressed the contentious negotiations between Entravision and Prescott, directing the Media Bureau to monitor the situation and make a decision on which expenses are covered if the two licensees cannot come to an agreement.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Channel Change Stirs Discord in Arizona appeared first on Radio World.

A new climber rescue training standard has been issued by NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association.

The new document, known as the Climber/Rescuer Training Standard (CRTS), is designed to assist in standardizing fall-protection and rescue training for climbers in the tower and communications infrastructure industry.

Guidelines in the newest version of the NATE CRTS include new evaluation strategies an employer can use to properly identify authorized climbers/rescuers. The new document also offers guidelines to help an employer develop and maintain its fall-protection program, which can be used to comply with the ANSI/ASSP A10.48 “Criteria for Safety Practices with the Construction, Demolition, Modification and Maintenance of Communications Structures” standard and other regulations.

[Related: NATE, OSHA and FCC in Safety Partnership]

The new document replaces the fourth edition of the NATE training standard and is available in electronic format at no cost to NATE members and for purchase to non-members.

The development of the new CRTS is a by-product of hours of sweat equity from prominent subject-matter experts, said John Paul Jones, a member of the NATE board of directors who presided over the ad-hoc committee that produced the new document.

“NATE is thrilled to offer this new CRTS resource to better facilitate and standardize climber and rescue training and ultimately improve safety in the industry,” said Kathy Stieler, director of safety, health and compliance for NATE. “This new CRTS document instantly becomes the association’s signature safety resource and provides an invaluable tool in the toolbox to ensure that climbing and rescue training is consistent regardless of who is conducting the training.”

Other features in the new standard include a series of training topics, details on the skill that a climber should possess and guidance on setting a baseline of knowledge for tower professionals.

At the organization’s NATE UNITE 2022 Conference in Las Vegas on February 22, the association will host an educational session exploring all aspects of the new CRTS update.

Across all worksites and industries, fall protection was the most commonly cited standard violation by OSHA in 2020, the most recent year for which data has been reported.

The post NATE Issues New Climber/Rescuer Training Standard appeared first on Radio World.

On Wednesday, all eyes will be on Washington, D.C., for radio industry leaders that have collectively voiced their opposition to any legislation that would impose new royalty fees on music their stations play.

At the same time, radio’s C-Suites — and those for television broadcasting companies — will have their eyes and ears attune to a just-confirmed House Judiciary Committee hearing that will consider the nomination of a highly controversial selection of the Biden Administration to serve as a FCC Commissioner.

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Comscore has agreed to renew and expand its agreement to provide broadcast station owner Gray Television with its “full suite” of local market currency tools, including Comscore’s Advanced Automotive Demographics segments.

Importantly, Gray TV will now be using Comscore’s audience data as primary selling currency across 199 stations in 96 markets including its largest, Atlanta, and will serve as Gray’s exclusive currency in 95 of those markets. It’s bad news for Nielsen, which remains the television industry’s dominant provider of audience measurement and consumer psychographic data.

“Gray Television has been a terrific partner of Comscore’s for many years, and we are very excited to once again renew and expand our commitment to each other,” said Comscore Chief Revenue Officer Carol Hinnant. “Comscore’s local measurement service provides Gray and all of our clients with the audience insights made possible by our industry-leading and currency-quality measurement footprint of over 30 million homes across the U.S.”