Industry News

As RBR+TVBR tweeted on Sunday afternoon (12/20), a roughly $900 COVID-19 federal relief package was approved by the U.S. Senate, paving the way for $600 stimulus checks for adults earning up to $75,000 and additional $600 one-time checks for each dependent.

It turns out the coronavirus relief legislation includes expanded eligibility to local media outlets for the Paycheck Protection Program — a victory for many broadcast radio and TV companies.

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In an unprecedented year, the sports industry has had to take creative steps to generate all of the excitement of a live game while battling the reality of empty stadiums due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The solutions varied from cardboard cutouts of fans to digital audiences and artificial fan noise. To learn what sports fans thought about fan noise, as well as to ask about their other sports opinions in a year unlike any other, Westwood One teamed with media buying giant Horizon Media and commissioned market research insights firm MARU/Matchbox to execute a two-wave study on the subject.

The key findings are now available.

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I read the article “Community Stations Share COVID Stories” and thought you might like our perspective from New Zealand.

When the COVID virus struck here in New Zealand, the government and health authorities were very quick to act.

Everyone in New Zealand was put in Level 4 lockdown immediately within 24 hours of the first cases being identified. Stay at home, work at home, no visits, no travel.

Everyone had to stay in their bubble except for essential services. Only supermarkets, hospitals and radio and TV were allowed to operate under very strict rules. Community stations like our Radio Woodville were allowed only two people on station.

Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes were abundant. The outside door was closed and locked. Anyone who was sick with no matter what stayed away. “Alph,” our automation computer, played on 24/7.

The community council had emailed me and asked we broadcast public health and safety messages if needed and requested by them. We were to stay positive and stay in touch with the community.

That’s how it was for four weeks of Level 4 and three weeks of Level 3. Staying isolated in bubbles was how it was. No going out to work and no school. Those who were nonessential workers were only allowed off their properties to shop for food and walk for exercise but maintaining a strict 2 meter social distancing.

Supermarkets were a nightmare because only 10 people were allowed in at a time, queues were long and delays were longer. Once in Level 2 social distancing was still required. The public had to keep a contact register whereever they went. We did this in our station logbook. Under this level the commercial world was starting to get back to normal.

We are not free of COVID yet, however all the cases are in managed isolation. This bug is sneaky. We got cases from people working in a cool stores unpacking imported meat. Again by quick action and tracing the source was identified and isolated.

We have a very resilient audio and transmitter chain and had no technical issues. The power supply also carried on without any outages.

Eric Bodell, QSM, is station manager of Radio Woodville.

The post Letter: Broadcasting From in the Bubble appeared first on Radio World.

The first all-digital CES 2021, scheduled for January 11-14, 2021, will feature an iHeartMedia conference session on how technology has enabled some of today’s hottest artists to continue to create and introduce new music and immersive experiences for their fans during the pandemic.

It’s moderated by a ubiquitous iHeart personality, and will see this individual interview a superstar who is arguably one of the world’s biggest pop recording artists today.

Virtual attendees will see Ryan Seacrest host a fireside chat with singer/songwriter Dua Lipa.

Also available exclusively to registered CES attendess: a special performance by Billie Eilish scheduled for 7pm Eastern on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.

Karen Chupka, EVP of CES for the Consumer Technology Association, says the session “will explore the art of the possible and the transformation that is happening in the entertainment industry.”

Tom Poleman, iHeartMedia’s Chief Programming Officer, adds, “iHeartMedia has always taken pride in our ability to bring artists and fans together, but when the pandemic hit we had to get even more creative. At a time when all of us are searching for ways to feel connected with the music and artists we love while remaining safe, we’re proud to have pushed the limits of technology to innovate and create intimate experiences for music fans nationwide, whether it’s taking our entire roster of iHeartRadio nationally-recognized events virtual or creating one-of-kind shows meant to inspire and support millions of Americans.”

BRADENTON, FLA. — On May 5, 2016, Calkins Media announced that it had agreed to sell an ABC affiliate in a unique situation to one of the nation’s biggest broadcast TV companies. For $82 million, the company agreed to spin this station, which is one of two ABC affiliates in its DMA, to Raycom Media.

Then came the June 25, 2018, announcement that Raycom would be merging with Gray Television, a transformative transaction that closed as 2019 began.

Now, nearly two years later, Gray is dealing with a retransmission consent feud focused on this single Sunshine State property. The MVPD at the center of the dispute, which has led to the latest “blackout” of a free-to-air TV station? Frontier Communications.

And, it’s a complex matter involving legacy customers to a grandfathered service.

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Colleagues are mourning the sudden death this weekend of radio engineer Chris Tobin.

He suffered a heart attack during HVAC project work for his employer WBGO in Newark, N.J., on Saturday, according to the station’s Interim President/CEO Robert Ottenhoff.

Tobin had been chief engineer of WBGO and this year was promoted to chief technology officer.

Ottenhoff described Tobin as not only a “spectacular engineer” with “amazing technical and engineering expertise, creative and innovative,” but also as a positive presence in the workplace.

“Optimistic and friendly. Everyone loved Chris, he did so much for so many people,” Otenhoff said.

Tobin also was known in the engineering community for his work as co-host for 11 years of the online program “This Week in Radio Tech,” or TWiRT. Show host Kirk Harnack posted a note on social media calling it “devastating news.”

Tobin was also former president of Content Creator Solutions, according to his LinkedIn page.

The post Chris Tobin Dies, Was WBGO Engineer appeared first on Radio World.

Do you have a New Year resolution? If not, think about your listeners. Many do, and even if they don’t hold to their promises, radio is still empowered to profit from them.

How? Here’s some food for thought … unless, of course, dieting and exercise are your New Year resolution.Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Dec. 21 is a big day for digital radio in Europe. All radios in new cars and other passenger vehicles must be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio.

That stipulation is part of the European Electronic Communications Code, and digital radio proponents have been looking forward to it.

WorldDAB, which has said that DAB is “firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe,” welcomed the milestone date.

“Despite the impact of Covid-19, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Denmark have already introduced laws mandating digital terrestrial radio in cars and other countries are expected to follow shortly,” the organization stated.

“In the first half of 2020, over 50% of new cars sold in Europe included DAB+ as standard — a number that is expected to reach 100% by the end of 2021 as DAB+ adoption continues to grow across Europe.” It has a factsheet about the EECC rule.

Meanwhile the proponents of the Digital Radio Mondiale platform have said they too welcomed the EECC initiative because it “serves as a good example to all the countries and administrations around the world adopting or considering the rollout of DRM technology.”

The post WorldDAB Welcomes EECC Milestone Date appeared first on Radio World.

On March 11, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation heard testimony from an attorney at Covington & Burling, focused on commercial litigation and government contracts, who had been nominated to serve as Inspector General of the FCC.

This individual would have replaced David Hunt, who was appointed in 2011 and agreed to step down following an OK for Johnson, an Oklahoma native.

That’s not happening.

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Some 2 1/2 weeks after TEGNA-owned stations faded to black on AT&T-owned DirecTV lineups across the U.S., customers of the direct broadcast satellite company that many believe will be gobbled up by Dish can now tune to such stations as WUSA-9 in Washington, D.C.; WTSP-10 in Tampa; and KGW-8 in Portland, Ore.

A new retransmission consent agreement has be reached, resolving a matter that yielded much subscriber ire and many letters to RBR+TVBR.

The companies revealed that a new multi-year retrans deal was signed on Sunday morning (12/20) — just in time for National Football League coverage.

All TEGNA stations immediately returned to any impacted AT&T homes.

“AT&T and TEGNA regret any inconvenience to their customers and viewers and thank them for their patience,” the companies jointly stated in a statement distributed at 9:50am Eastern.

The agreement includes retransmission consent for all 64 TEGNA-owned stations serving 51 Nielsen markets including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, among many others. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The stations impacted by the “blackout,” created by the lack of a new retransmission consent agreement between TEGNA and the AT&T-owned DBS provider, included 63 television stations in 51 markets. According to TEGNA, it is the largest owner of top 4 affiliates in the top 25 markets among independent station groups, reaching approximately
39% of all television households nationwide.

While this impasse is a significant one, the biggest battle of the season is still unresolved: Nexstar Media Group and Dish remain at odds over their own respective retrans consent accord.