The top two executives at the helm of the nation’s No. 1 audio content creation and distribution company have distributed an internal memo to all employees that describes in detail how all will “never ‘return to the office’ as well all knew it.”
Instead, iHeartMedia is returning to a “New Work Environment,” CEO Bob Pittman and COO/CFO Rich Bressler said.
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Five years ago, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based radio personality was generating headlines for his avid use of Snapchat, integrating that activity with the on-air content tied to a Top 40 radio station where he served as the morning co-host.
Today, he’s in the late Rush Limbaugh‘s old noon-3pm time slot on a co-owned News/Talk station serving Florida’s First Coast. And, he’s in the news for his decision to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing live on the air, instead of providing proof of vaccination to his employer.
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International Sales Team said it signed an agreement to sell 2wcom broadcast products in the United States.
Founded earlier this year, International Sales Team offers what it calls “sales teams as a service,” or STaaS. It is based in Australia but services any country.
It quoted Werner Drews, managing director of 2wcom, saying, “International Sales Team represents a cost-effective way for us to get our range of professional broadcast products to a market that is complicated and difficult for us to address from our offices in Germany.”
The announcement was made by Charlie Day, partner manager for International Sales Team.
2wcom makes hardware and software audio broadcast equipment including the recently introduced 4audio series.
IST launched in March from Australia, targeting OEMs to help them with their sales. It describes itself as a “worldwide network of highly experienced broadcast and media industry sales professionals for hire and deployment.”
Director Darren Frearson said in the earlier launch announcement, “We’re all familiar with the concept and implementation of SaaS, PaaS [Platform as a Service] and IaaS [Infrastructure as a Service] as beneficial outgrowths of ever-advancing technology. … STaaS offers broadcast and media manufacturers a cost-effective and culturally appropriate means of expanding globally.”
He said at the time that IST was actively recruiting to expand its network, particularly in North America.
The post 2wcom Signs With International Sales Team appeared first on Radio World.
GeoBroadcast Solutions said Bonneville International is deploying its SFN technology in San Francisco.
A concept image from the GBS website.A five-node single-frequency MaxxCasting network is scheduled to be completed in March, serving FMs KOIT (96.5 MHz), KMVQ (99.7 MHz) and KBLX (102.9 MHz).
Each station will share antenna infrastructure through a multiplex system. GBS said the improved signal should also increase penetration with Nielsen PPM Portable People Meters.
“The three stations were acquired by Bonneville from Entercom in 2018,” the supplier noted in a project summary.
“A particular challenge to all stations in the region is the terrain of the East Bay hills. By implementing a MaxxCasting SFN system, the technology provides a solid, interference-free signal, sound, and HD Radio in the East Bay for all three Bonneville stations. Bonneville will use the MaxxCasting system to simulcast the main signal for the three stations to provide greater coverage in the East Bay.”
[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]
Partners working on the project include GatesAir, supplier of Flexiva transmitters; Goldman Engineering Management for the project architecture; Jampro Antennas; SCMS for equipment sales and staging; Covington & Burling, LLP and partner Gerard J. Waldron for legal advice; Rich Redmond, managing partner at Strativa Advisors; and Gary Krantz, CEO of Krantz Media Group.
GBS says its MaxxCasting SFN system expands the coverage area of a FM signal and allows for potential geographic targeting and fencing of text advertising and messaging, though the latter applications are not currently authorized by the commission. The synchronized transmitter infrastructure uses cellular network design broadcast, and SFN software tools that incorporate high-resolution terrain data, analysis of vehicular traffic and other parameters.
Send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Bonneville to Deploy GBS SFN in San Francisco appeared first on Radio World.
On Monday (10/21), popular Westwood One-syndicated talk host Dan Bongino, whose radio program also appears on FOX Nation, took to the airwaves and challenged WWO owner Cumulus Media‘s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Although Bongino is vaccinated, he took a stand in solidarity of now-former colleagues who lost their jobs for sticking to their personal choice of remaining unvaccinated.
Then came an on-air declaration from a Jacksonville talk host that, rather than show proof of vaccination as a condition of employment, he and his producer would instead do a “weekly COVID-19 test” option live on his show.
What’s a radio or TV station owner to do to keep employees safe from COVID-19 and its Delta variant while balancing the need to have HR send out termination notices to unvaccinated employees? This encore InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, may provide some valuable insight and guidance on what path a media company should take.
In this episode, originally distributed on July 29, Hall Estill labor and employment partner Keith Wilkes offers his take on workplace issues that could come to fruition as the vaccinated and unvaccinated congregate in one building. This includes enforcing anti-bullying policies.
“I would encourage station management and all employers to reinforce, or reintroduce, those workplace COVID safety policies and precautions that were implemented across the board last year and to seriously consider amending those policies to account for vaccinated and unvaccinated employees,” says Wilkes, who is based in Tulsa. “That’s not singling out the unvaccinated, without justification. It is in the interest in the health and welfare of all of those who are in the workplace and those frequenting businesses.”
When deciding what steps to take, “employees should also monitor and keep monitoring their local and regional communities,” Wilkes says.
Wilkes offers more in this 15-minute encore podcast, which includes references to the now-deceased talk show host Phil Valentine. It is accessible through our embedded player by clicking below.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Keith Wilkes, Employment Attorney” on Spreaker.
TORONTO — One of North America’s biggest communications companies on Thursday released its third quarter financial results.
How did Rogers perform? Quarterly earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. But, its revenue fell short of Zacks’ expectations by a slim 1.04%.
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Two of the nation’s largest audio media content and distribution companies have set the days on which they will release their Q3 fiscal report cards.
For iHeartMedia, it will come on a busy day that also sees Saga Communications, Gray Television and TEGNA holding earnings call. For Audacy, their earnings call will come on the second Tuesday of November.
iHeart will issue financial results for the quarter ending September 30 on Thursday, Nov. 4. The company’s CEO, Bob Pittman, and COO/CFO Rich Bressler will host a conference call at 4:30pm Eastern to review the results. A business outlook will also be provided.
For the former Entercom, the company led by CEO David Field will report its 2021 third quarter financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, November 9. The company will host a conference call at 10am Eastern to review the results and “recent progress against its strategic initiatives,” Audacy notes.
Audacy stock in recent weeks has been sputtering, and is at $3.52 in early after-hours trading on Thursday (10/21). It’s year-to-date low of $2.96 came on August 19, and since then Audacy’s high has been $3.92, achieved in early October. By comparison, AUD topped the $5 mark in late April and surpassed $6.25 per share in February.
For iHeart, shares have enjoyed a year-long growth spurt, reaching $27.93 in late June. On Thursday, IHRT closed at $22.10. IHRT is up from $13.28 at the start of 2021.
Has COVID-19, and now the delta variant, crippled broadcast transaction values forever? It’s a tough question asked to top media brokers by RBR+TVBR in our Fall 2021 Special Report.
For some, station valuations for radio were sliding before the coronavirus cratered the marketplace. For others, there’s green on the horizon for both radio and TV broadcasters. Will the green — specifically, greenbacks — come in 2022?
A Forecast 2022 panel session featuring Guggenheim Securities Senior Advisor Drew Marcus could offer some clarity on the subject. Marcus will moderate a panel of investment specialists who are poised to take a hard look at 2021 and what lies ahead in 2022 and beyond for broadcast investments. It’s a “fact-based, tire kicking” session you won’t want to miss.
What did some of the nation’s leading media brokers have to say?
“A better story needs to be told about radio,” said Lou McDermott of Kalil & Co. “The only story I can tell is what I’m seeing transactionally, and that is radio groups that are successful and recovering from the pandemic are continuing to annualize growth. They are looking at properties that make sense for them. Offers are being made. And we’re positive.
We see signs of life. We have activity, and that activity is growing.”
Dick Foreman, President of media brokerage and consultancy RAFAMEDIA, like McDermott, believes the television dealmaking landscape is full of buyers. The problem, like in the automotive industry, is simple. “There is no inventory,” Foreman says. “That’s it.
Period. And the prices being paid for television are eight to nine times trailing cash
flow. But you can’t find anything.”
Media broker Michael J. Bergner of Bergner & Co. sees the TV transactions landscape in a slightly different manner. “The traditional TV deal is dead,” he lamented when interviewed for RBR+TVBR’s Fall 2021 Special Report. “It’s just all about fill-ins. Everything is consolidated. If your livelihood is about being a TV station broker, you’re on thin ice.”
Secure your seat today at Forecast 2022, November 16 at the Harvard Club in New York. Space is limited. Don’t hesitate. CLICK HERE TO RSVP TODAYThe Federal Communications Commission is questioning whether a licensee of a station in Pennsylvania is qualified to retain his license — or if it should be revoked after he pled guilty to felony use of a communication facility and several related misdemeanors.
The chief of the Media Bureau has begun a hearing proceeding to determine whether 70-year-old Roger Wahl, licensee of WQZS(FM) in Meyersdale, Pa., should be allowed to keep his broadcasting license.
In July 2020, Wahl pleaded guilty to criminal use of a communications facility (the station is located in his home) and four related misdemeanors after he admitted to recklessly endangering another person, unlawfully disseminating intimate images and tampering with evidence.
At the time of his sentencing in November 2020, the judge decided against jail time for Wahl due to his age and underlying health conditions that put him at risk for the coronavirus, according a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Wahl, the station owner as well as a disc jockey, pled guilty to secretly taking nude photographs of a woman inside her home using a concealed camera that had been installed in her bathroom. According to court documents, he also impersonated the woman on an online dating site, sent nude photos of the woman to at least one man whom he connected with through that site and solicited that man to have sexual relations with the woman without her consent. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one man from the dating site came to the woman’s address and was met by Wahl who solicited the man to rape the woman, according to authorities quoted by the Post-Gazette.
Once he learned an investigation was underway by the Pennsylvania State Police, Wahl was accused of tampering with evidence by deleting the nude photos from his mobile device and erasing the communications he made at the online dating site.
Initially, Wahl also pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy; after learning that that charge would require him to register as a sex offender, however, he withdrew that guilty plea and instead pled guilty to identity theft. He was sentenced to three years of probation, four months of electronic monitoring, and was required to pay $600 in fines as well as the costs of his prosecution and supervision.
Local sources also reported that Wahl was prohibited from hosting his morning show on WQZS for the duration of the electronic monitoring but has since returned to the airwaves.
Charges of this type — which in Wahl’s case include a third-degree felony, first-degree misdemeanor and several second-degree misdemeanors — raise the question of whether the holder of a broadcast license possesses the character qualities to remain a licensee. Following guidelines under the FCC’s Character Qualifications Policy Statement, the Media Bureau instigated a hearing proceeding in which an administrative law judge will serve as a presiding officer.
The commission has the authority to revoke a license when the character of an applicant is called into question, according to language within Section 312(a)(2) of the Communications Act. The Media Bureau started a hearing proceeding in this case because it considers any felony to be a serious crime. In some cases, certain misdemeanors may also be relevant when it comes to determining the character of a licensee. In this case, the bureau said it was necessary to evaluate Wahl’s character in light of the felony and multiple misdemeanor convictions.
[Read: FCC Hands Down Decision on Four St. Louis AM Stations]
“Furthermore, the fundamental purpose of the commission’s character inquiry is to make predictive judgments about an applicant’s truthfulness and propensity to comply with the [Communications] Act and [FCC] Rules,” wrote Media Bureau Chief Michelle M. Carey. “For this reason, we find that Wahl’s misdemeanor convictions directly implicate his character qualifications.”
If he chooses, Wahl has the opportunity to be heard by the administrative judge as part of the hearing proceedings. To do so, a written request must be filed within 20 days of the Notice of Opportunity for Hearing he received.
A hearing will commence from there to determine if Wahl has the qualifications to be a commission licensee and whether or not the license for station WQZS should be revoked.
The post Felony Conviction Leads FCC to Consider Revoking Station License appeared first on Radio World.
She has experience at the now-defunct Regent Communications, and joined Townsquare Media with that company’s acquisition of Regent more than a decade ago. Starting in Flint, Mich., this sales executive shifted to New Jersey and then returned to Flint in December 2013 after a year working for iHeartMedia in Chicago.
Now, after nearly eight years in her second stint at Townsquare, Zoe Burdine-Fly is flying off to Alpha Media.
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The year 2020 was a year like no other. A pandemic of global proportions will be written into the history books. So will actions tied to a summer of activism brought on by social unrest and renewed questioning of the “status quo.”
A call to action came to fruition as never before seen. And, CMOs and Brand Managers are paying attention as consumers watch and listen to how brands are reacting. Creative directors and media buyers are shifting greater focus and budget to better reach a more diverse audience. Yet, Hispanic advertising executives continue to lament that even with Census 2020 data in their hands, the ad spend versus the population remains out of whack.
What can your media company do? Ensuring someone sits in on an exclusive Forecast 2022 session devoted to the new American mainstream and how marketing and advertising must reach all consumers is a session definitely worth attending.
At Forecast 2022, Deborah Wahl, Global Chief Marketing Officer at General Motors, sits down with American Urban Radio Networks CEO Chesley Maddox-Dorsey for an exclusive conversation on GM’s commitment to increased minority media expenditures along with her thoughts on how broadcast media fits into GM’s marketing strategy.
They will be joined by Doug Ray, Chief Product Officer, Global Media at dentsu Americas, who has been instrumental in the creation and launch of Project Booker, an initiative focused on African American-developed and -owned content that is being distributed on African American-owned radio and is leading the way in how the global media agency community is doing business with African American-owned media.
REGISTER NOW!He joined Nielsen in July 2016 as its VP of Finance, working his way up to SVP and Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer in December 2019.
Effective November 12, this C-Suite executive will no longer be a member of the Nielsen family.
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As traditional cable and satellite providers struggle to retain customers in the highly competitive and increasingly fragmented streaming media ecosystem, Black audiences, largely known as loyal cable and satellite television customers, are increasingly opting to cut the cord.
That’s the key takeaway from a new Horowitz study, released Wednesday.
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Virtual meetings will remain a major part of how we work for months, or perhaps years.
And, as longtime public relations professional and “Zoom” expert Rosemary Ravinal sees it, this will provide new opportunities for those who acquire the skills necessary to deliver world-class online presentations.
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With the final fate of his former FM radio stations still in limbo, as the FCC has not said yes to a transfer of control of the properties to VCY America from court-appointed receiver Larry Patrick, the most infamous licensee in the American West has moved forward with a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
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Nautel has introduced an online Factory Acceptance Testing program for new transmitters.
“A FAT is a set of predefined tests that many customers must witness being completed in real-time as part of project specifications,” the company stated in an announcement.
[Read: Transmitters Prepped for Turkey]
Test Supervisor Charles Andrews said restrictions on travel because of the pandemic have made it harder for clients to come to the factory.
Nautel said the test team can use online meeting platforms paired with virtual communications interfaces such as Teams or Team Viewer, to allow customers to witness transmitter testing in real time as part of their acceptance process.
“The Nautel AUI and multiple pieces of measurement equipment are employed along with a suite of cameras, wireless microphones and personnel to conduct the tests. Customers are able to communicate with their transmitter(s) via the AUI and view performance measurements throughout the final testing process,” it stated.
The company posted the video below to explain the process.
The post Nautel Introduces Online Testing appeared first on Radio World.
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