WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the late Friday release of a Public Notice, the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) and the Media Bureau seek comment on the procedures to be used for Auction 112, an auction of construction permits for full-power television stations.
The FCC expects the bidding for Auction 112 to begin in June 2022.
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MESA, ARIZ. — Scott Sutherland was recently promoted to the corporate team as EVP of Regional Media Operations for Bonneville International Corp.
Now, his successor as SVP/Market Manager of the company’s Phoenix stations has been named.
Earning the role is Ryan Hatch, who has been the stations’ Vice President of Programming since 2011. He has been with Bonneville since November 2006, where he launched “Sports 620” on KTAR-AM, with the Talk station’s transition to 92.3 MHz, replacing KKFR-FM.
Hatch was previously Operations Manager of Bonneville’s Seattle stations.
“I’m humbled, honored and thrilled for the opportunity to lead the most talented team in local media in a city that my family loves and calls home,” Hatch said. “I look forward to continuing to serve our dynamic and growing community, our advertisers, team broadcast partners and the audiences of KTAR News, Arizona Sports and ESPN Phoenix.”
Sutherland now oversees Bonneville’s Denver, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle markets.
Content streaming provider Cirrus Streaming recently released a suite of tools for podcast hosting, editing and distribution from a single dashboard. The company says this allows radio broadcasters to create podcasts automatically from a live audio stream.
The Podcasting Suite includes a podcast editor that lets users upload, store, organize and edit files via a multitrack waveform editor. With this, podcasters can trim, splice and insert segments into an audio file from a web browser without the need of separate audio editing software.
[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]
The system also includes an ad server, allowing podcasters to build commercials into their podcast stream. Users can then distribute podcasts to any number of outlets and syndicate them along the way. The suite also offers several playout options, allowing for customization, branding and digital advertising.
“With the rise in podcasting during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever for content creators to take full control of their material, so we’ve taken this into consideration to provide everything they need in one place,” said Cirrus Streaming CEO Nick Csakany in the announcement.
The podcasting suite is available by monthly subscription for broadcasters and podcasters with no contract requirements, the company said.
Send your new product and services news to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Cirrus Podcast Suite Supports Radio Applications appeared first on Radio World.
The Women’s Media Center has released its 2021 report on the status of women in U.S. media — a compilation of research that shows the persistent challenges and intermittent progress for women in American media.
WMC’s “The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2021” report draws data from 110 studies that together show the standing of women across all media, including legacy and digital news platforms, film, television, radio, technology, literature, and more.
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NEW YORK — After coming off a strong September, October 2021 all-media investment volume reached a new year-to-date high, leading into the holiday push. That’s according to Standard Media Index‘s U.S. ad tracker.
How does radio, in particular, rate compared to other media?
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MIAMI — With captioning and metadata company Digital Nirvana confirming on Friday that it is attending IBC2021, even as companies including Viaccess-Orca have withdrawn from the affair, the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) has made it clear that it is moving full steam ahead with its NATPE Miami 2022 event — a major draw for television industry leaders and media brokers.
NATPE, the business association for content producers, distributors, streamers and buyers across all platforms, on Friday revealed its first programming details for its upcoming event, scheduled for January 18-20, 2022 at the sprawling Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.
The main stage program’s first programming details include conversations and fireside chats with Bob Greenblatt, the former Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment, Chairman of NBCUniversal Television Group, and founder of the production studio The Green Room.
Also in attendance, of course, is a figure who has roamed the halls of the Fontainebleau for years while rapidly growing his assets in broadcast TV: Byron Allen.
Among the other confirmed attendees set to appear in NATPE Miami sessons are Banijay Chairman of the Americas and Endemol Shine Holdings President/CEO Cris Abrego;
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group President Dan Cohen; NBCUniversal President of Ad Sales and Partnerships Laura Molen; and veteran media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich (née Cohen), traditionally the first person to participate in the iHeartMedia quarterly earnings call Q&A period.
To say that NATPE sees “momentum” building for its flagship event is an understatement. It made a point in its communication to the press on Friday that A+E, “Nick Cannon” TV show distributor Debmar-Mercury, Disney-ABC, Globo, MGM, Univision, ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia are among the companies confirmed to attend the first major content event of the new year.
Global streaming platforms such as Pluto, Tubi, and Redbox to participate as well.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new showcase will explore what the NAB is calling “the transformative impact of data, artificial intelligence and automation on the media and entertainment industry” at its long-awaited 2022 NAB Show.
It’s on track for April 23-27, with the Radio Show now permanently locating with the Las Vegas affair.
The “Intelligent Content” showcase, as the NAB is calling it, will direct attendees through data utilization in the content lifecycle, “providing opportunities for inspiration, innovation and implementation.”
Chris Brown, the NAB’s EVP/Managing Director for Global Connections and Events, comments, “Media is becoming more data-driven, and this focused destination marks our commitment to expanding the industry’s use of data and creating opportunities for the media industry to lead the future of content.”
The Intelligent Content showcase will feature networking events, future-focused exhibits and educational programming that will introduce new trends in production automation, content customization and immersive experiences.
AWS, MediaKind and Microsoft will anchor the showcase, located in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The showcase will highlight new engagement opportunities presented by always-on platforms and emerging networks, and the role data will play as the industry opens new monetization models.
Intelligent Content is the fourth content pillar created for NAB Show, joining the previously announced “Create,” “Connect” and “Capitalize.” The four pillars, associated with the content lifecycle, “offer renewed opportunities for learning, discovery and engagement,” the NAB asserts.From our “Who’s Buying What” page — Project management firm Turris Services Inc. has used Phillystran HPTG tower guys as part of the installation of a new top section of tower for WWRL(AM) at its transmitter site outside of New York City.
The tower was damaged by tornado winds late last year. The rest of the system’s Phillystran guy lines have also been replaced.
“First installed in 1960, four AM towers located in a swamp area in Secaucus, N.J., are used to transmit commercial radio stations based in New York,” Phillystran stated in a project announcement.
“The largest 300-foot tower was first guyed with Phillystran tower guys 40 years ago in 1970. At the time, Phillystran’s PSOM guy lines were supplied. These have now been replaced with Phillystran’s latest High Performance Tower Guys (HPTG) and corona sockets.”
A sample of the 40-year-old Phillystran guy lines.The company said the old lines had retained their strength. “Subsequent testing of the 40-year-old PSOM guy lines has shown no loss in the residual breaking strength of the guy lines rated at 27,000 lbs. and 15,400 lbs.”
Turris Services retrofitted new top tower sections and installed the HPTG guy ropes. Phillystran makes synthetic fiber ropes for marine, utility, broadcast and military applications; it is part of steel wire rope manufacturer WireCo WorldGroup.
Send announcements for Who’s Buying What coverage to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Turis Uses Phillystran on NYC AM Array appeared first on Radio World.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of the Biden Administration’s “Build Back Better” reconciliation package — a bill that includes provisions in the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.
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Many people do not understand audio processing. People do not listen to your station because you have incredible audio processing, they come for the desired content. That said, audio processing adds to the listening experience, making your audience comfortable and giving them the ability to best enjoy the content.
Naturally, audio processing for broadcast radio should be different from the processing of streaming audio.
For broadcast radio you want to be the loudest on the dial so that when a potential listener hits scan, the station stands out. It almost works as a “stop sign,” demanding the listener pause and pay attention.
This will momentarily capture the audience, but they will stay on the channel for the content. Here audio processing helps create a comfortable audio atmosphere that partners with the content to keep your audience.
For streaming radio, which reaches listeners on their computer, smartphone, or smart speaker, you do not need to be the loudest. As I have said many times, “Clarity beats loudness all the time.” With streaming, the audio should be clean so that the intended instrumentation can be heard. A flute should sound like a flute.
Processes for Downward and Upward Loudness Normalization (from AES Technical Document AESTD1008.1.21-9)I am not saying compression or expansion should not be used, but they should be used for the intended playback. Process your stream for your stream; process your over-the-air broadcast for the radio.
Use music you are familiar with and that has a good range to calibrate the processing. I tend to use music by Linda Ronstadt because she has a good selection that ranges across many genres. In addition, a woman’s voice tends to have more range than a male voice.
And please remember that audio processing must partner with the content to increase how long your listener stays, and we all want larger total listener hours (TLH).
Loudness guidelines
As far as loudness goes, I highly recommend the new Audio Engineering Society Technical Document AESTD1008.1.21-9: Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution. This document, released in September 2021, supplies you with all the knowledge needed for loudness and much more.
The key point of the technical document is to keep your loudness consistent across the music, the DJ, the commercials and the station promos. You do not want to invite the listener to adjust their volume. If they are adjusting the volume, it is just as easy for them to change to another stream or turn off the player.
[Read more Radio World articles by the David Bialik.]
This document took the AES’s Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery (which I co-chair) more than two years to write, but it is available as a free download (which matches most broadcast budgets).
For radio streamers, the most important part of the recommendations is Table 2 on page 6 (reproduced below). This provides recommended loudness levels in Loudness Units with respect to digital Full Scale (LUFS) by format.
AES Technical Document AESTD1008.1.21-9 Table 2 Format Distribution Integrated Loudness News/Talk −18 LUFS Pop Music −16 LUFS Mixed Format −17 LUFS Sports −17 LUFS Drama −18 LUFSThe document recommends audio be normalized, which should not affect dynamic range. Normalization adjusts the loudness of content to match a desired Distribution Loudness by applying uniform attenuation or gain.
I suggest broadcasters use a loudness meter compliant with the ITU-R BS.1770 standard, such as the Orban Loudness Meter. This is a free download, and I believe broadcasters will find it to be an essential tool that provides not only BS.1770 measurements, but also CBS Labs measurements, a VU meter and a PPM meter. I find the addition of the other meters makes your transition to this new meter easier to understand.
David Bialik is a consultant who has held technical broadcast and streaming positions for companies like Entercom, CBS Radio, Bloomberg and Bonneville. He is co-chair of the AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery and chair of the Metadata Usage Working Group of the National Radio Systems Committee. Contact him at dkbialik@erols.com or 845-634-6595.
The post New Guidance for Audio Processing Streaming appeared first on Radio World.
In late December 2017, the FCC sought public comment on whether or not two Mexican citizens—one of whom is a major Univision Communications executive — should be allowed to purchase two FM radio stations in rural Arizona and California.
Nearly four years later, one of those two FMs is being spun.
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NEW YORK — As Forecast 2022 wound down and media executives gathered at the Harvard Club to socialize over cocktails for the first time in over 18 months, the Chief Executive Officer of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) had some big news to share.
On Friday morning, that information became public, putting Apollo Global Management and the media company it controls, Cox Media Group, on the hot seat. In short, SBS has asked the FCC to deny CMG’s request for additional time to divest two FMs in Florida — something that must be done per the terms of Apollo’s acquisition of CMG majority control.
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Following the news that IBC 2021 is taking place, Future is moving forward with both our Best of Show and Best of 2021 Awards remain open for entry.
The two awards are supported by Future’s media and entertainment technology brands TVBEurope, Radio World, and TV Tech, and receive additional editorial coverage across our publications.
The Best of Show Awards are for exhibitors who are attending IBC in the Netherlands in December, while Best of 2021 is for non-exhibiting companies; both awards recognize outstanding broadcast products and solutions introduced between September 2020 (the 2020 IBC Showcase) and December 2021.
These award programs provide an opportunity to promote brands, products and services, with nominees and winners receiving:
Due to government-imposed lockdown restrictions in the Netherlands, our judges will not be able to carry out booth visits during IBC 2021. Instead, our panel of independent industry specialists will handle the judging virtually.
The nomination deadline is Nov. 23; full details of how to submit an entry are available on the dedicated Awards’ website.
The post Best of 2021, Best of Show Nominations Due Nov. 23 appeared first on Radio World.
Most radio professionals have fond memories of their first radio jobs. Many a seasoned professional started his or her career as a teenage part-timer at a small-town AM or FM station, developed a love for the business there and turned it into a lifetime career track.
But how many professionals later had the opportunity to become the owner of their first station?
One person doing exactly that is Delilah Rene, the well-known syndicated radio personality. Delilah got her start in the mid-1970s in the small coastal town of Reedsport, Ore., where she won a high school speech contest at age 13. The judges, Jerome and Steve Kenagy, owned local station KDUN and were impressed enough to offer her employment.
Delilah Rene on the air at KDUN in the 1970s (left) and in the new studio space today.After three years of radio experience at KDUN, she moved on a number of stations in Eugene and Seattle before landing at KLSY in Seattle. It was there that she created the nighttime “Delilah” show, taking listener phone calls and playing requests.
It quickly gained local popularity and then went into syndication in 1994 with four stations. Today the “Delilah” show is distributed to 170 stations and the Armed Forces Network through the Premiere Radio Network. Delilah Rene was named to the NAB Radio Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016 and 2017.
Now, at age 61 and after experiencing career successes that few broadcasters achieve, Delilah chose to return to her roots when she had the opportunity to purchase KDUN.
The AM station, licensed for 50 kW days and 630 watts nights on 1030 kHz, was silent at the time. The physical plant consisted physically of just an overgrown tower site and a working Nautel transmitter.
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She built new studios in the former Jewett Elementary School building — the exact space that was her homeroom as a child — and put KDUN back on the air on Labor Day morning in 2021.
It’s now operating as a traditional community-oriented station, with a live morning show, daily fishing and crabbing reports, a “Tradio” program and liberal promotion of local events. KDUN is using a PlayOUT One system for both live-assist and automated programs. She is planning to cover local sports in the near future.
“Like Brigadoon”
“I wanted to give back to the community where I grew up,” she said. “It sounds corny and foolish, and everybody in the world tried to talk me out of it. But I owe such a huge debt to the Kenagy’s and to Reedsport, and especially to KDUN, that I felt compelled to give back.
“I really want it to be a full-service small town local radio station, and that’s what we’re trying to build. Of course, I want it to pay for itself, I don’t want it to be a charity. But that certainly wasn’t my motivation.”
Reedsport, population 4,100, has no local newspaper. In addition to KDUN, it is served by an FM station and a non-commercial repeater from Eugene.
Asked if an AM station can be competitive today, she responded, “We’re up against some big challenges obviously. Technology has kind of left AM in the dust. But Reedsport is like Brigadoon, it’s like going back in time in a lot of ways. While I don’t believe it would work in a major market, I do think it will work very well here.”
Delilah believes local content will be the key to KDUN’s success.
Radio veteran Bob Larson is KDUN’s engineer and hosts the morning “Tradio” program.“People are hungry for content, and Reedsport needs a voice. That’s what we’re endeavoring to do — to be that voice they’re missing. For school sports, for local news, for fishing information,” she said.
“The town is perched on the banks of the three rivers, and everybody who lives there loves fishing, loves crabbing, loves clamming. And KDUN used to provide all that information. We’re going to do it again.”
Perhaps a 50,000-watt AM signal is a bit much for small-town radio?
“When I was there, we were ‘5,000 watts of crystal-clear AM power — KDUN, the voice of the Oregon Dunes.’ I still dream that ID every few weeks. Now we’re 50,000 watts, how crazy is that?
“So, I’m hoping to step it down. We really don’t need 50 kW, and I don’t need the electricity bill. Right now, we reach almost border-to-border from Washington to California. But really, the station exists for and about Reedsport, so we’ll adjust that if we can in the future.”
Content is the keyDelilah believes changes in technology are a challenge for the radio business, but that the secret to survival is great program content.
“Technology is changing so quickly. Who’d have thought that TikTok and Instagram would take over where Facebook once was a year or two ago?
“But it doesn’t really matter what the platform is, or how you’re delivering the content. So long as people are hungry for great content, I don’t need to worry about being employed. My job is not to be the best radio personality. My job is to share my heart, my gifts and my talents with as many people as I can, whether that’s on my podcast, Facebook, or whatever forum.
“We want to do that on AM, but we’re also going to do it on kdunradio.com, and hopefully people will find us there.”
Following in Delilah’s footsteps is Molly Anne, who moved to Reedsport from New Mexico. She does weekends and helps with everything else at the station.While she is obviously pouring her heart and soul into KDUN, she has no plans to quit her day job. She still produces her syndicated show at her home studio near Port Orchard in Washington state.
“I have an amazing support staff. My regular show has the best producers in the world. I take the calls, I do the breaks, and they figure out all the different incarnations of that. We produce several different incarnations of the show every night, 7 nights a week.”
But her new endeavor is occupying much of her attention.
“I am pretty much managing every aspect. I hope to get it up and running and the programs integrated enough that I can step back and let the people there run the show. But I’m sure I’ll be checking in on a daily basis.”
Local business is excited to have her. “In the short weeks since KDUN AM 1030 made its return, the positive impact on our community has been remarkable,” wrote Jennifer Rockwell of the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce in The News-Review newspaper. “The care, involvement and dedication that has already been shown to the area speaks volumes about the intentions of KDUN.”
Read more of John Schneider’s feature and history articles.
The post Delilah revels in rediscovering her roots appeared first on Radio World.
In the fast-paced, overscheduled world we all live in, the idea of just sitting down and listening to a podcast or other spoken word content seems to be a thing of the past. Most respondents to the latest NPR/Edison Spoken Word Audio Report cite the ability to multitask as one of the main motivations for listening to spoken word audio, but there are many other motivators, particularly for the key demographics of young and multicultural listeners.
When posed with the statement “Spoken word audio is a productive use of your time,” an average of 58 percent of respondents said yes. Sixty-three percent of those 18–34 and 64 percent of listeners 35–54 also agreed. Among multicultural listeners, 63 percent were on board with this statement.
“The Spoken Word Audio Report” finds that listeners view listening to spoken word audio as an important part of their lives.Multitasking
The reasons why those surveyed listen to spoken word audio are many. A distribution of the base of responses puts multitasking on top with 71 percent of respondents. Other reasons given include: encouragement/positivity with 57 percent; fresher than live radio, 51 percent; help with life’s problems, 46 percent; need a break from negativity, 56 percent; and religion/spirituality at 40 percent.
[Read more of our coverage of “The Spoken Word Audio Report”]
When that same data is indexed for the 18–34 and multicultural groups, all but one of those responses indexed above average. The 18–34 demographic ranked multitasking at 97 percent above average; encouragement/positivity at 111 percent; fresher than live radio got 120 percent; help with life’s problems at 124 percent; need a break from negativity got 111 percent; and religion/spirituality got 120 percent.
Respondents provided myriad reasons for why they listen to spoken word audio.The indexed breakdown for multicultural listeners showed multitasking at 100 percent; encouragement/positivity with 112 percent; fresher than live radio with 124 percent; help with life’s problems at 120 percent; need a break from negativity with 113 percent; and religion/spirituality at 115 percent.
Forty-six percent of all respondents said they used spoken word audio to further their education; however multicultural and younger listeners were much more likely to cite the education value of spoken word audio. For the 18–34 demographic education indexed 117 percent above average, and for multicultural listeners it was 122 percent above average.
While the results of this survey strongly suggest that spoken word audio listening is done alone and often while multitasking, there is also evidence of a contrary trend, listening with other people. The average percent who listen with others is 51. Sixty-four percent of 18- to 34-year-olds share the sound, and 61 percent of multicultural listeners do the same.
Finally, here’s a defining statement, “Spoken word audio is becoming a more important part of your life.” The average of those who agreed is 45 percent. Those in the lead are aged 35 to 54 with 58 percent, while multicultural listeners are a close second with 55 percent.
Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Survey: Spoken Word Audio Provides Meaningful Conversations appeared first on Radio World.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s little secret that they are very much against the “Build Back Better” reconciliation package passed on a party-line vote by Democrats. But, two leading Republicans on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee are disgusted over what they perceive is an “unprecedented influx of funding” to the FCC.
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