Industry News

Visit the new studios of Seattle’s KING-FM; read the conclusion of our year-long Radio@100 series; discover a Bluetooth Gadget; learn about podcast workflow at “The Dave Ramsey Show”‘ and celebrate 30 years of Radio World’s Workbench!

Read it here.

The post Inside the Nov. 11, 2020 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Phillystran is highlighting the selection of its products for a new two-tower AM installation in South Korea.

It said Kintronic Labs Inc. installed these towers for Far East Broadcasting Co. (FEBC) to extend the reach of its Christian programming in the area. FEBC Korea broadcasts to 13 cities in South Korea.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

“The two 210-foot, 250 W AM towers each use four Phillystran HPTG cable guys with four guy levels on each tower,” the company wrote in a press release.

“The guy configuration on both towers is the same. Located close to the sea, the towers are designed to withstand a wind speed of 220 kmph/137 mph. Each cable guy features vibration dampeners and steel pigtails to terminate and tension the lines.”

It quoted Kintronic President/CEO Tom King saying the Phillystran synthetic cable guys are a suitable choice where the sea winds would corrode steel cable guys. He highlighted the system’s polyurethane extruded jacket, saying it provides UV resistance and good weathering and dielectric properties.

Phillystran is based in Philadelphia and is part of steel wire rope manufacturer WireCo WorldGroup.

Send info for our Who’s Buying What column to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post FEBC Project Uses Phillystran Guy System appeared first on Radio World.

A webinar next week will explain the latest generation of HD Radio hardware. It’s free to members of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

The instructor is Alan Jurison, senior operations engineer for iHeartMedia.

“A new generation of HD Radio hardware combines the Importer and Exporter into a single appliance and simplifies operation while providing integrated time alignment,” the society’s website states.

“Other features include more flexible HD2/HD3/HD4 software- and hardware-based capture client encoding options, and integrated EAS features for multicast channels. Gen4 also offers the advanced extended hybrid mode MP11, which adds an additional 24 kilobits for a total data capacity of 144 kbps.”

Jurison said the fourth-generation platform also includes an HTML5 GUI.

The 90-minute webcast streams on Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. It’s sponsored by Xperi, parent of HD Radio.

The post Webinar Explores Gen-4 HD Radio Platform appeared first on Radio World.

Radio.com, the digital platform owned by Entercom, has a new content distribution deal with Beasley Media Group.

Beasley will add live-stream channels for its 64 stations to Radio.com, along with its on-demand audio and podcasts.

[Read: Entercom Filing Shows Ad Revenue Trending Up]

The announcement was made by Entercom VP of Business Development Corey Podolsky and Beasley Chief Content Officer Justin Chase.

Podolsky said the partnership “will give Beasley’s 20 million weekly listeners a new destination to consume their favorite audio content, while providing our existing consumers more options to satisfy their listening habits.”

The post Entercom’s Radio.com Adds Beasley Streams appeared first on Radio World.

The author is communications manager, WorldDAB.

The WorldDAB General Assembly 2020 took place last week, marking the first time the event dedicated to DAB digital radio was held virtually. The conference attracted some 200 attendees, and featured over 50 speakers delivering the latest news and developments on DAB+ from around the globe.

Here are some key highlights.

[Read: WorldDAB Puts Spotlight on Visual Experience]

WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon gave an update on the key DAB+ developments in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, highlighting three of the organization’s priorities: providing clear messages about the benefits of DAB+; ensuring DAB+ is included in automotive and consumer receivers; and driving DAB+ adoption across new markets.

A session dedicated to the energy consumption and distribution of DAB+ generated significant interest and several questions, as the BBC presented their recent study indicating that DAB has the lowest energy footprint per device per hour compared to AM, FM, DTV and IP.

Interesting DAB+ network case studies were given for a national rollout (Germany), regional (Australia) and local or community radio (U.K.), while 5G’s potential to support radio was also considered in a presentation from the EBU.

We took a closer at the rollout status of DAB+ across a number of key markets. In Germany, a second national multiplex reaching 83% of the population has just launched, offering more choice for listeners and increased opportunities for advertisers.

Switzerland has confirmed its plans to switch off analog services, starting with public broadcaster SRG SSR in summer 2022, followed by private stations by January 2023 — stakeholders are now working together to get everyone on board through cross-platform marketing campaigns featuring Dabsy, DAB’s national mascot.

France has confirmed its plans to launch national DAB+ in 2021 — 100 years after its first ever radio emissions. Regional launches across the country will continue alongside the national rollout, starting with Bordeaux and Toulouse in the south of the country.

In the U.K., DAB stations have continued to launch throughout the lockdown. Digital listening now accounts for 60% of all listening — 70% of which is on DAB, and a digital radio and audio review will help assess consumer habits and support radio in the wider audio market.

In the Czech Republic, coverage now reaches 95% of the population, and public broadcaster Czech Radio has announced the phasing out of long and medium-wave transmissions starting from 2021. In Italy, all receivers sold from January 2020 onward are required to include digital capabilities, and DAB+ consumer sales almost tripled in the first half of 2020.

In Africa and the Middle East, Tunisia is working on tax exemption for DAB+ receivers starting from 2021. In South Africa, a draft regulation for the licensing of digital radio is expected to be published by March 2021. In Australia, commercial broadcasters are successfully monetizing DAB+ by offering advertisers a wider audience and greater reach.

A whole session was dedicated to DAB+ in the car, and highlighted some of the countries that have already introduced national laws mirroring the EECC, including Germany, the U.K., Italy, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

As highlighted by Google during the session, radio continues to be one of the most used media applications in cars, but with growing interest and competition in the space of infotainment systems, its position in the dashboard needs to be reinforced, and broadcasters can help achieve that through appealing visual content in the form of metadata.

Presentations from all the sessions are available on the WorldDAB YouTube channel.

The post Assembly Highlights Advances for WorldDAB appeared first on Radio World.

Gary Peterson makes great points about the history of AM modulation (Reader’s Forum, “Modulation Limits,” Sept. 16 issue).

I’d like to add to that by including a note about one of the most unique audio processors ever developed, the Frese Audio Pilot.

The Audio Pilot was invented by a consulting engineer in Washington state named George M. Frese. Its unique aspect was the RF control, which was a unit that demoded a sample from the transmitter to provide the control voltage for the second compressor stage in the Pilot.

With a robust modulation transformer the Audio Pilot could modulate the transmitter with positive peaks well over 150%!

I remember on a Class IV station in Monterey, Calif., we were able to modulate (at low power, 250 watts) the Gates BC-1T out to 185% on positive peaks. The Audio Pilot could make a small Class-IV station sound bigger than the 5 kW or even 50 kW stations in the same market.

All Audio Pilots were hand-built and only about 43 or so were ever built. Most were located at radio stations in the western United States.

When the FCC instituted the 125% positive peak limit, Frese stopped building new Audio Pilots. They were $2,500 new in 1968, which would be almost $30K in 2020 money.

Any history written about AM processing will be incomplete without an examination of the Frese Audio Pilot.

PS – It had a small pre-emphasis with about a +3 dB spike around 3.5 kHz. When I used the AP in 1982, we replaced that section of the unit with an Orban parametric equalizer. It gave the unit a much more modern sound. I think the AP was the first AM audio processing with any kind of pre-emphasis.

BTW, George also invented the parapanel antenna for AM broadcast use. He never patented it and didn’t make any money off of it. But there are several stations in the NW with parapanels that Mr. Frese designed and built late in his career.

YouTube has an interview with the late George Frese, done by his grandson. [See the notes under that video for time markers for various topics within that lengthy interview. — Ed.]

The post Letter: On Modulation Limits appeared first on Radio World.

In October, Wisconsin Public Radio and the state agency that manages stations that carry WPR programming announced they were reducing their use of HD Radio.

They posted an announcement explaining the decision. They noted that their use of HD Radio dated to 2007 and that WPR and the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board had installed 13 HD Radio transmitters carrying existing WPR content that also allowed WPR to broadcast its All Classical network on HD2 multicasts.

“Beginning Monday, Oct. 19 the ECB … will turn off HD Radio broadcasts on seven of WPR’s 13 HD-capable stations,” they announced. Those are licensed to the communities of Superior, Brule-Superior, Ashland, Park Falls, Menomonie-Eau Claire, Adams-Wisconsin Rapids and Sister Bay.

The organization will continue to operate HD Radio “for now” on stations serving Delafield-Milwaukee, Madison, Highland, La Crosse, Wausau and Green Bay.

“WPR and the ECB received federal grants to install HD Radio technology, but the costs of maintaining the service statewide are no longer justifiable based on audience use,” they wrote.

The audience in question is the one listening to multicasts. ECB Executive Director Marta Bechtol estimated that fewer than 500 listeners would be affected and noted that the classical network continues online and via apps and smart speakers. She also emphasized to the public that WPR service on “their usual FM and AM stations” would not be affected.

“HD Radio was launched nationally in 2002 with a promise to provide higher-quality, digital audio to radio listeners. Stations purchased new equipment to broadcast HD Radio and listeners were required to purchase new radios to pick up the signals,” the announcement continued.

“While many stations, like WPR, invested in the new technology, few consumers purchased the radios, which have become difficult to find. Despite some benefits, HD Radio has failed to attract enough listeners to offer a sustainable alternative to FM or even AM analog radio for many broadcasters.”

We reached out to Bechtol and Crane for more insight.

Radio World: Can you expand on the thinking that went into this decision, given the time and money that had been invested in it?

Marta Bechtol: The Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, which holds the licenses for these stations, is an agency of the State of Wisconsin, and receives approximately 30% of its annual operating funds from the state. The agency has been issued a fiscal year budget lapse ($245,000) due to the economic effects of COVID-19, so tough decisions had to be made. This action will help keep future capital costs down as well.

RW: The seven stations are turning off HD-1 digital radio service and associated multicasts?

Bechtol: All of these are multicast services. The analog/digital mix of HD-1 and the all-digital HD-2 are being turned off.

Mike Crane: All had HD-2 signals delivering an All Classical feed. We do have several HD-3 services on the remaining transmitters, used either to deliver signal to another transmitter as a form of STL, or because limited local analog service for one of our two networks suggests that we should leave them on for the time being.

RW: The announcement quotes Mike saying “the resources we were spending to maintain HD Radio will be redirected to sustain other services that audiences clearly prefer.” Can you expand on which aspects of the operation created costs that can be saved?

Bechtol: We expect to see a reduction in utilities and maintenance costs, an extension of transmitter life, and ease in demands on our technical staff that travel good distances to maintain these facilities.

RW: Mike what specifically will now be turned off? 

Crane: Importers and exporters that are external to the transmitters. Transmitter exciters were changed by internal setting of FM/HD to FM-only. HD2 audio streams are disconnected to save bandwidth at transmitter sites.

RW: How much do you expect to save?

Bechtol: We’ll see the bulk of savings in our transmitter replacement costs — size, tube life, HD-specific gear, etc. — which are on the immediate horizon. We expect to save around $65,000 in utilities, an estimated 20% decrease in our annual utility costs. (Our average analog-only efficiency is 72%, and our average HD-Hybrid efficiency is 57%, so we’ll see a 15% efficiency increase.) There will also be a small amount of savings related to HVAC/cooling. Additionally, this will save time and money in maintenance costs and relieve workload burdens on our technical staff.

RW: The announcement quotes Marta as saying, “It’s possible that some FM listeners will experience an improved signal quality due to reduced interference from our HD broadcasts.” How would you characterize any interference complaints?

Crane: These HD signals were activated a long time ago, and we don’t have a record of interference complaints from that time, nor have we received any notable complaints recently. The idea that some listeners may get better reception is just based on what we know about the effect of the HD sidebands on the analog signal.

RW: You estimated that fewer than 500 listeners will be affected; how do you determine that number? 

Crane: Based on the Nielsen ratings, we generally do not see any reported listening to the HD-2 signals in question. But anecdotal evidence from listener comments over the years suggests that we do have a few who tuned in.

RW: The announcement noted that radios have become difficult to find; but advocates for HD Radio cite a growing presence in cars. 

Crane: There are still a lot of cars that don’t have HD, and some implementations leave a lot to be desired. And with the current emphasis on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as on smart speaker listening, we believe focusing on our streams makes more sense.

RW: An argument made by advocates has been that HD Radio and other digital formats bring more capabilities for metadata including visual elements important in the dash. Does WPR deploy visuals like Artist Experience or other metadata-based services?

Crane: We do deliver some metadata, and are eager to add more as we upgrade our systems. We currently deliver RDS data on the FMs and remaining HDs through Center Stage, which we hope to retire someday in favor of something newer like Artist Experience. We are not currently using other platforms for expanded HD metadata.

RW: What would you tell an industry colleague who was thinking of exploring HD Radio at this point?

Crane: There are certainly specific reasons to add HD service in some circumstances. But consumer uptake has been disappointing for a very long time, and we think streaming to smart speakers and to cars is the future. Additionally, few radio station owners invested in it, at least in Wisconsin: In some markets WPR has been the only HD signal for many years.

RW: Your announcement for the general public generally treats the reduction of service as being about the end of certain multicasts. Presumably some listeners were hearing the HD1 too. 

Bechtol: Multicast was always the most exciting part for us.

RW: What else should we know about your experience with HD Radio?

Crane: It has helped us develop our All Classical network (the NPR News & Music Network is a mix of news and classical). But in the absence of special funding like we received from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, HD has become less sustainable.

RW: On another topic, hybrid radio services seem to be on the uptick. What if anything is WPR planning in regard to hybrid radio?

Crane: We’re certainly intrigued, and are following the news as it develops.

The post Why WPR Cut Back on HD Radio appeared first on Radio World.

The economic damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic lessened in the third quarter for iHeartMedia as the company returned employees to the office in some markets.

The largest radio group owner in the United States reported Monday it generated revenue of $744 million across all of its business lines for the three months ending Sept. 30. That’s a decline of nearly 22% year-over-year, but a rebound of 53% compared to the previous quarter. July, August and September were down 27%, 21% and 18% year-over-year respectively.

Specifically, broadcast revenue in the quarter declined by 29.4%, while the network radio business sector dipped 25.7% compared to the same quarter in 2019. The company’s digital revenue was up 16.5% year-over-year with most of that growth attributable to podcasting, which grew revenue 73.6% compared to a year earlier.

Direct operating expenses in the third quarter 2020 decreased by 12.6% compared to 2019 and was driven primarily by lower employee compensation expenses resulting from cost-cutting initiatives and reduction in workforce, according to iHeartMedia’s financial report.

[Read: FCC Gives iHeart a Foreign Ownership Privilege]

Self-imposed cost cutting through modernization initiatives will result in operating expense savings of approximately $250 million in 2020, according to the broadcaster’s financial report. “Part of that is utilizing the studios of the future through cloud-based technologies, and really taking advantage of AI,” said Rich Bressler, president and COO of iHeartMedia. “We’ve created centers of excellence across the organization that consolidate key resources for the whole company that increase quality of our programming and reduce costs. The company has become wildly more efficient.”

The broadcaster continues to identify additional efficiencies, including opportunities to reduce its real estate footprint in response to changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bressler said on the investor call the broadcaster has no plans for downsizing the company through asset sales.

iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman added: “We have learned a lot through COVID. We have had 10 years of technology learning through three or four months. As a result we envision operating differently in terms of operating our space. I think everyone will come to the office some, but we will not require the same amount of space. Employees will be doing more of their work outside the office.”

The broadcaster is slowly reopening facilities as local health safety criteria for doing so are met, Pittman said. In fact, employees in about half of iHeartMedia’s 160 markets have returned to the office.

iHeartMedia’s capital expenditures for the nine months ending Sept. 30 were $58.5 million compared to $82.5 million in the same nine months of 2019. iHeartMedia projects full-year cap-ex to be approximately $75 to $95 million. The broadcaster said it expects to continue to make key investments in its strategic initiatives related to smart audio and digital, including podcasting.

On Monday’s investor call Bressler called it the “best year for political advertising ever” for the broadcaster. iHeartMedia reported $40 million in political revenue in Q3 while another $55 million funneled in during October. “It will be significantly less in November but we will still get some benefit,” Bressler said. The company reported political revenue is expected to be up for the full year 67% compared to the 2016 presidential election cycle.

Pittman said he is optimistic about the company’s fourth quarter revenue, which continues to grow month over month but will “likely be down again but only in the mid-teens” compared to a year ago. A recent report of a possible COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough could calm advertiser fears, Pittman said, and stirs his optimism even further going forward. “A lot of our growth in Q3 came from sectors like food and beverage, auto, restaurants and retail. Those are categories that had been down a lot in the second quarter. But if we get a vaccine we could see the return of some big spenders like movies and concerts. And the rest of retail. We are watching those developments carefully,” he said.

The company, which emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in early 2019, is still maneuvering to cut its debt, according to its report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. iHeartMedia reported debt of just over $6 billion at the end of September.

The post iHeartMedia Q3 Revenue Report Brings Some Encouragement appeared first on Radio World.

Future plc, the global platform for specialist media, announced that Radio World is the recipient of its 2020 “B2B Publication of the Year” Award.

Radio World serves radio broadcast industry professionals in the United States and globally with content about technology trends, regulation, new products and radio technical careers. 

“In a challenging year marked by tremendous disruption in the media and trade show industries, plus the impact of COVID on all businesses, Radio World, a 44-year-old brand, continues to reinvent itself and thrive, consolidating its position as the radio industry’s No. 1 technology brand,” the company stated.

Future made note of Radio World’s revenue performance as well as its business-to-business innovation with new digital content formats, its growth in digital audience, and its recent content exploring diversity issues in radio. 

Radio World is a multiplatform brand, with print and digital editions, e-newsletters, social platforms, ebooks and webcasts. 

Among its successes in fiscal 2020:

• The webcast “Inside WTOP: A Specialty Facility Tour Webinar” took Radio World’s video camera into the gleaming new studios of America’s top-earning radio station near the nation’s capital. 

• A front-page special report “Blacks Are Few in U.S. Radio Engineering” was part of a special series of stories featuring career reflections of African-American engineers with their views on their roles and opportunities.

• “Broadcasting From Home” was a four-part series of one-hour produced webcasts featuring interviews with media company technologists about how they responded to the challenge of the pandemic in their workflows.

• Radio World’s online video efforts also included a webcast about one of radio’s big technical questions, “Digital Sunrise for AM,” a spring product-based webcast “15 Things You Can’t Miss” and two autumn product webcasts “Fall Product Peeks I & II.”

• Radio World’s website delivered YoY page views up +39%, users +51% and sessions +46% as of September. The publication’s e-newsletters are notable for their open rates and click-throughs.

• And Radio World expanded on the success of its ebooks, having now published more than 75 of them, this year including reports on trends in codec design, artificial intelligence, and virtualization and the cloud. 

“Radio professionals have become multimedia, multiplatform specialists,” Content Director and Editor in Chief Paul McLane said. 

“Radio World’s work has been characterized by remarkable stability and endurance, and by loyalty from both readers and clients. We’re proud of our efficiency and profitable operations accomplished in a difficult economic environment through smart initiatives, judicious investment and a roll-up-the sleeves attitude adopted by the entire team.”

“This is also an amazing time to be part of Future plc, which Radio World joined in 2018,” McLane said. “Its corporate culture and its support for innovation have been big parts of helping us not only keep Radio World relevant, but to grow it in new directions.”

The company’s annual awards were given in a virtual ceremony on Friday Nov. 6, led by Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne.

The post Radio World Is Future’s B2B Publication of the Year appeared first on Radio World.

A new career center has been launched by the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, designed to connect broadcast industry professionals across all disciplines and career stages with broadcast employers.

The new center, called the BTS Career Center, is designed to highlight the unique nature of members of this industry, said Ralph Hogan, president of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society. “Our members are highly appealing to employers because they’ve demonstrated a commitment to the highest levels integrity and training,” he said. “Providing our members with opportunities for professional development and career growth are core to our mission to serve the broadcast profession.”

[Read: Ben Dawson Honored With IEEE BTS Award]

The BTS Career Center is being hosted by YM Careers, a provider of job websites and career centers for organizations that serve specialized members. The career center is also unique in that it offers broadcast industry professionals and employers additional benefits such as the ability for job seekers to post anonymous resumes, options for employers to reach out to passive job-seeking broadcast industry professionals who do not visit job boards, integration of job content into social media channels, and the integration of career resources, training and other benefits offered by IEEE Broadcast Technology Society to members.

The career center is in line with the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society’s mission: to enhance industry professionals’ knowledge by keeping them informed of the latest research results and industry trends, and provide enriching educational and networking opportunities.

The post New BTS Career Center Launched by IEEE Broadcast Technology Society appeared first on Radio World.