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Bott Communications, Inc. enters into Consent Decree to Resolve Political File Investigation

License Revocation Proceeding for Radio Stations in the Auburn, AL Market

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Issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 to Blount County Broadcasting Corp. for failure to timely file a license renewal application for Station WBCR(AM), Alcoa, Tennessee

Newly released field testing done by Sony Electronics shows that delivery of a NEXTGEN TV signal via ATSC 3.0 signals can be done successfully, and with nearly zero reception trouble.

That’s the latest ATSC 3.0-related news from Pearl TV, the business organization of U.S. broadcast companies with a shared interest in making NEXTGEN TV a success.

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In May 2011, Educational Media Foundation agreed to purchase a Class C3 FM licensed to Okeene, Oklahoma. Its ownership of the property was short-lived, as it later saw for-profit FMI Media and non-profit Libertad En Cristo Ministries obtain ownership of this station.

Most recently, it was poised to become a Highway 64 Media-owned property. Now, that’s not going to happen.

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The founder and CEO of Diya TV, serving South Asian consumers, has been active in recent weeks for his agreements to purchase low-powered TV stations in various locales across the U.S.

His latest deal will put him in the middle of the biggest DMA in America.

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In early November 2020, the No. 1 audio media company in the U.S. received an affirmative Declaratory Ruling from the FCC in response to its request to increase its authorized aggregate foreign ownership from 25% to 100%.

With the decision by the Pai Commission, iHeartMedia gained the ability to become fully foreign-owned, should it choose to go that route.

That’s not likely, but a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing getting lots of coverage in the British press confirms iHeart ownership has just gone “Global” — sort of.

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A pair of South Dakota TV stations are being spun to a broadcast ministry — a deal brokered by Kalil & Co. that fully transitions a property (and its full-time satellite partner) that had been one of the original FOX network affiliates.

In fact, the sale was greatly influenced by Gray Television‘s 2020 acquisition of the intellectual property associated with that 33-year-old broadcast station.

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Here’s something you may find weird: The time spent watching television increased across 2020. Yet, eMarketer analysis finds, viewership “plummeted” last year.

The data suggest television was punished by COVID-19 in very much the same way broadcast Radio was.

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The Digital Division of Nexstar Inc., a subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, has selected from within to fill the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer and EVP of Revenue Operations.

At the same time, new SVPs of local and national digital sales, respectively, have been named by Nexstar Digital.

Now in the CRO seat is Lori Tavoularis.

She reports to Nexstar Digital President Karen Brophy and will oversee all revenue-related functions including national, local and programmatic sales and digital marketing services.

Brophy said of Tavoularis, “Lori has the expertise and business acumen to allow us to build new digital offerings and bring top-tier advertising solutions to clients.”

Tavoularis first joined Nexstar in June 2019, overseeing digital revenue and operations. Before that, she served as the as the Head of Supply for the Global Advertising Business at Rakuten. Before that, Tavoularis was SVP of Digital Revenue and Operations for Tribune Publishing, where she oversaw all of the company’s digital revenue operations.

Tavoularis commented, “We have a tremendous foothold both locally and nationally, reaching 116 unique markets in the United States. I look forward to building on that foothold in partnership by developing and enhancing our product offerings.”

Helping Tavoularis are Jennifer Scilabro, who takes the role of SVP of Local Digital Sales, and Wil Danielson, who becomes SVP of National Digital Sales.

Scilabro, whose maiden name is Jennifer Guerrieri, was VP of Sales Enablement at Cleveland-based Harvest ROI, a sales-focused HubSpot Platinum Solutions Partner.

Danielson previously served as the Digital Division’s Head of Revenue and Client Success, overseeing sales, operations and fulfillment.

A division of FOX Entertainment paving an advertiser-based video-on-demand (AVOD) platform for the company is expanding its news content.

To accomplish this, it is partnering with four broadcast TV station ownership groups, which have agreed to provide live local news feeds.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!

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Borrell Associates on Thursday (2/11) released the second in a series of reports that examine 2021 spending plans for a dozen different types of local ad buyers.

This 14-page analysis, drawn from a survey of 373 local businesses that buy TV ads, shifts focus to Broadcast TV Advertisers.

What are they planning as the pandemic subsides? What’s their uptake of TV’s targeted competitor/ally, streaming video?

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Robin Szabo has served as President of Szabo Associates since 2006. If you’ve never heard of this company, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, go chat with your CFO or the collections department!

Szabo Associates began life as a media collection services operation in 1971. Why? Was Radio plagued with a collection of deadbeats?

That’s just one of the questions Robin answers in this latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Robin Szabo” on Spreaker.

The start of the comment period for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on a bold plan to modify the FCC‘s rules governing the operation of FM booster stations by radio broadcasters has come.

And, it saw the company behind ZoneCasting state its case while noting that the filing of comments “marks the beginning of an active debate on innovation in the radio industry.”

You can say that again. The NAB also filed comments on Wednesday regarding the NPRM. In its view, enabling geo-targeting “will depress Radio advertising rates and revenues at
a time when broadcasters already face enormous economic and competitive challenges.”

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Starting February 12, a Beasley Media Group FM previously owned by Greater Media will begin what amounts to a year-long fete celebrating its 50 years of serving “Detroit Rock City.”

The party will reach its crescendo on Sunday, as WRIF-FM 101.1 formally celebrates its life as a Rock station.

It’s all part of what Beasley is billing “The Riff’s Legends Weekend.”

The fun begins Friday (2/12) with morning hosts Dave & Chuck The Freak highlighting their favorite moments from their successful seven years at WRIF. Throughout the day, WRIF will then air vignettes paying tribute to legacy WRIF personalities — including “Big Daddy” Arthur Penhallow, Ken Calvert, Karen Savelly, and Steve Kostan.

The following “Legends” are scheduled to be in studio on Friday, Feb. 12 at WRIF-FM:

1pm Hour: Jim Johnson and George Baier from JJ and The Morning Crew with Jade Springart
2pm Hour: Ken Calvert and Karen Savelly with Jade Springart
4pm Hour: Steve Kostan with Meltdown

 

Detroit native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Alice Cooper commented, “You can’t really talk about Detroit music without talking about Riff. Detroit was easily the hard rock capital of the United States and WRIF supported all those bands. I’ve dropped their name in a couple of songs over the years because it was so Detroit and everyone know what that means.”

What about Drew & Mike, a 22-year morning show that cemented WRIF’s popularity in a market that saw the demise, and return, of WLLZ as a Rock competitor?

At 7pm on Friday, WRIF will air the “Best Of Drew & Mike”, highlighting classic moments from the duo’s time at the station.

The celebration of WRIF comes after the February 4 death of notable local radio personality Jerry Lubin, at the age of 80. Lubin worked at WRIF, although he is largely remembered for his time as an “Air Ace” at another former competitor, WABX. WABX signed off the air in January 1984.

Meanwhile, WRIF successfully outlasted a third Rock station of note in Detroit: WWWW (W4), where Howard Stern was the morning host on the day it changed to Country.

While WRIF’s history dates to Valentine’s Day 1971, its time as a Rock station actually began in 1970. Under previous call letters WXYZ-FM, it was one of ABC’s “Love” network properties, airing a progressive album-oriented Rock format. From 1966, WXYZ-FM had attempted Middle-of-the-Road and, later, Top 40 programming.

Interestingly, WRIF-FM could have ended up at 95.5 MHz in New York — the home of WPLJ. Those calls were requested for the former WABC-FM. In Detroit, the WDAI call letters were sought; they infamously ended up in Chicago at WLS-FM, with a Rock-to-Disco move a catalyst for Steve Dahl’s 1979 “Disco Demolition.”

The WRIF call letters, of course, would not end up in New York. And with Lee Abrams in command, WRIF in its early days wasn’t shy of Top 40 product. That changed in 1975, when it decided to focus solely on rock ‘n’ roll — a formula that continues to this day.

WRIF’s corporate history saw it move from ABC to Capital Cities in 1986, and then to “Silver Star Communications.” In 1987, Great American Broadcasting obtained WRIF; it declared bankruptcy in 1993, and WRIF in 1994 was purchased by Greater Media.