Industry News

He’s been the Market Manager for NRG Media stations in Wausau-Stevens Point, Wisc. Most recently, he served as Market President for iHeartMedia in Wichita.

Now, this veteran radio station cluster leader has joined Cumulus Media to oversee its group of broadcast properties in Montgomery, Ala.

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I’ve heard from plenty of folks who think the boat has left the dock not only for digital on AM but for the entire AM band. Business and technical challenges facing America’s AM broadcasters have been well documented here and elsewhere.

You certainly won’t hear CEOs of big broadcast companies proclaiming their excitement around AM radio strategies unless it’s to count the cash they got from selling tower sites.

Yet when you talk with the handful of people who have real experience with the MA3 mode of HD Radio, their enthusiasm is notable. They say the signal sounds great, that coverage is strong and that they love how station metadata displays on modern dashboard displays.

Our latest Radio World ebook explores the question of what’s next.

One of the people I interviewed is Neal Ardman, who activated the MA3 mode on WMGG in Florida in January, the first station to take the step since the commission approved the option. 

“The MA3 is the great equalizer in terms of audio quality,” Ardman told me. “When we flipped the switch, the sound is incredible. The station sounds like an FM.”

He pointed out that about 30% of cars in his area have HD Radio receivers, then echoed a comment we’ve heard from Dave Kolesar of Hubbard’s WWFD: “Our thinking is, would we rather be in a third of the cars sounding phenomenal, or in all of the cars sounding sketchy and marginal? We chose to be in the cars sounding great,” Ardman said.

It’s worth noting that some AM owners are watching these developments to see if multicasting on the digital AM signal is viable and, if so, whether that might eventually give them another path to obtaining more analog FM translators — similar to how current FM hybrid digital stations can use an HD2 to feed an analog FM. 

I’m sure we’ll hear plenty about that possibility. Note, though, that while existing digital AM receivers can receive MA3, they are not set up to receive multicasting, so this isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

(Urban One tried unsuccessfully last year to obtain experimental authority to feed an FM translator from a digital AM multicast. For now the FCC has said, “Because the record does not establish that an audio stream on an HD-2 subchannel is currently technically feasible, we will evaluate requests to rebroadcast multicast channels on an FM translator on a case-by-case basis until a more fully developed record is available on this subject.”)

I hope you’ll read the free ebook and let me know what you think. 

The post Ebook Explores Digital Outlook for AM appeared first on Radio World.

NATE is encouraged by the reintroduction of a bill in the Senate to promote development of a skilled telecom workforce.

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association commented on introduction of the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act by Senators John Thune, Jon Tester, Roger Wicker, Gary Peters and Jerry Moran.

Those three Republicans and two Democrats are members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; they say they want to address a shortage of trained workers needed to fill jobs in the telecommunications industry. The bill was introduced a year ago but didn’t get out of committee.

[Read: Telecom and Workforce Development: Why It Matters to Broadcast]

Though proponents of the bill speak mostly about the need to build out 5G and broadband, the bill likely would have some benefits as well to the broadcast industry, which often draws on the same telecom workforce for tower work.

NATE President/CEO Todd Schlekeway said in a statement, “It is great to see this bipartisan group of U.S. senators come out of the gate strong in the 117th Congress through the introduction of this legislation.”

The organization says that if passed the law would be a springboard to greater collaboration between the federal government, state workforce boards, the higher education sector and industry “to accomplish the ultimate goal of developing a future pipeline of skilled technicians that the country sorely needs to meet its ambitious broadband and 5G deployment objectives.”

The bill would set up an interagency group led by the Federal Communications Commission that would work with the Labor Department and other government entities to push this issue. It would also require the FCC to publish guidance on how states can address the workforce shortage by using federal resources. And it would direct the Government Accountability Office to do a study into how many skilled workers will be required to maintain broadband infrastructure in rural areas as well as build the country’s 5G wireless infrastructure.

Schlekeway told Radio World that NATE “certainly feels like there is growing momentum behind support for telecom workforce provisions in a broadband infrastructure package that could emerge from Congress.” Last year, he said, was a difficult one for standalone legislation due to COVID-19 and the elections.

NATE formerly was called the National Association of Tower Erectors, but its name and mission have evolved. The nonprofit trade organization includes more than 1,000 member companies that construct, service and maintain hundreds of thousands of communications towers for broadcast and wireless, as well as distributed antenna systems, small cell networks and broadband.

The post NATE Welcomes Telecom Workforce Bill appeared first on Radio World.

Nearly one year after the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., it is clear that Chief Marketing Officers and media buyers and planners were hardly in unison with respect to how to react while protecting the brand.

What’s the impact on audio media, including radio and online streaming? We get fresh insight on the topic from Armando Guerrero, of digital ad agency Ntooitive, in the latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Armando Guerrero, Ntooitive” on Spreaker.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of bipartisan U.S. Senators has reintroduced legislation in the upper body of Congress designed to address “the shortage” of trained workers necessary to fill next-generation jobs in the telecommunications industry in communities throughout the country.

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Audio startup Tula Microphones has unveiled its first product — the Tula Mic, a portable USB mic that doubles as a mobile recorder with added benefit of embedded noise reduction technology. The stylized microphone is intended for use by content creators and work-from-home professionals.

The Tula Mic includes dedicated cardioid and omnidirectional ECM capsules, Burr-Brown op amps, a Texas Instruments audio codec and a 3.5 mm headphone jack that doubles as an input for a lavalier microphone. Also, the microphone sports 8 GB of internal memory, and a rechargeable battery, enabling up to 14 hours of audio recording on the go. The Tula records in WAV file format. The mic connects to other devices such as computers via USB-C, and is also compatible with Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

While the mic is designed for portable use, that inevitably means it will be used often in less-than-ideal acoustic environments. With that mind, Tula teamed up with Swedish music software company Klevgrand to create an embedded version of that company’s noise reduction algorithm, Brusfri, which gives users the option to reduce background noise onsite while recording, reportedly without unwanted artifacts.

The Tula Mic sports a retro-modern design developed by Red Dot Award-winning industrial designers in Barcelona, and math fans may note that Tula’s form factor features an exact Golden Ratio. The Tula is available in three colors: classic black, vintage cream and a vibrant red. The built-in base is detachable and the mic includes a universal adaptor for use on mic stands and arms.

“As a longtime musician and songwriter, I’ve spent countless hours in recording studios and have a great respect and appreciation for good audio.” said Tula Founder and CEO David Brown, previously of the Soyuz Microphones brand. “I’ve long dreamt of designing a microphone that would bring high-quality sound to the masses. With the rapid growth of podcasting and YouTube channels and the more recent shift to remote working, it feels like the timing couldn’t be better for a product like the Tula Mic.”

The Tula Mic is available to order at US$199.

Info: www.tulamics.com

The post Tula Microphone Debuts for Podcasting, WFH Use appeared first on Radio World.

SiriusXM posted a net loss in its most recent business quarter but the company describes its full-year financial results as strong and expressed excitement about its audio strategies as well as its satellite radio penetration in new cars.

SiriusXM lost $677 million in the fourth quarter; but for all of 2020 SiriusXM had net income of $131 million. Still, that latter number was way off of the $914 million of net income the prior year, thanks to a big “impairment charge” associated with Pandora, primarily related to royalty costs.

[Read: SiriusXM’s New Satellite Is in Orbit]

Overall in 2020 the company generated revenue of $8.04 billion, up 3% despite the pandemic.

CEO Jennifer Witz, who succeeded Jim Meyer on Jan. 1, said in a statement, “SiriusXM turned in strong operating and financial results in 2020: we grew SiriusXM self-pay subscribers, revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow despite the pandemic. Our new car penetration reached approximately 80% in the fourth quarter and is set to rise above 80% this year, and the incorporation of 360L, our next generation in-car entertainment platform, is accelerating.”

She said SiriusXM, Pandora and Stitcher, plus the company’s investment in SoundCloud, now reach an audience of more than 150 million. She said the company is “bolstering our position as North America’s leading audio entertainment company” through new shows and podcasts, streaming channels targeting younger consumers and deals with NBCUniversal News Group, The Masters, the NFL and NBA. The company also recently extended its agreement with Howard Stern.

SiriusXM added 909,000 net new self-pay subscribers for the full year, ending with 30.9 million. Total subscribers are now 34.7 million.

The company’s Pandora segment saw ad revenue decline 1% to $1.18 billion, but said this was notable in the context of significant weakness in the ad market during the pandemic. And fourth quarter Pandora ad revenue jumped 22% to $425 million compared to the prior year quarter.

The post SiriusXM Hails Its 2020 Results appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC has entered into an agreement with the National Science Foundation and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to support NSF’s Spectrum Innovation Initiative.

NSF launched the initiative last year to seek innovative advancements in research and development on the biggest challenges facing the United States due to increased demand for electromagnetic spectrum access.

“This Memorandum of Agreement between the National Science Foundation, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission is one step toward revitalizing the interagency coordination process so that it once again is able to produce results for American consumers and the economy,” said FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Better coordination between these agencies ultimately means more spectrum and more innovation to help restore American wireless leadership and build the 5G future.”

The Memorandum of Agreement between the agencies is intended to ensure that FCC and NTIA staff can provide their subject matter expertise to help ensure that NSF’s Spectrum Innovation Initiative investments in spectrum research, infrastructure, and workforce development are in alignment with U.S. spectrum regulatory and policy objectives, principles, and strategies.

Key research areas include spectrum flexibility and agility, working towards near real-time spectrum awareness, and improved spectrum efficiency and effectiveness through secure and autonomous spectrum decision-making.

The first key goal will be establishing the U.S.’s first National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research.

Univision has joined the consortium of U.S. media companies created to establish a common technology for dynamic, addressable advertising management for TV.

The multimedia company superserving Hispanic audiences will serve as a member of the primary Steering Committee on Project OAR, dedicated to creating a standard by which all parties in the TV ecosystem can collaborate and unite on addressable advertising.

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Advanced TV platform company Cadent has expanded its current agreement with the TEGNA-owned premium CTV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Cadent Viewer Graph, the company’s proprietary and cookieless matching technology, will be employed to unify audiences across Premion’s inventory of branded networks and providers.

This, the TEGNA-owned Premion says, is being done so advertisers may activate cross-screen campaigns against custom segments.

Cadent Viewer Graph uses patented technology, as well as a combination of first- and third-party data, to connect multiple TV devices back to viewing households. This empowers TV advertisers to deduplicate and map any audience segment to television with minimal drop-off and maximum reach, as well as resolution and match rates.

Cadent Advanced TV Platform will provide Premion with a complete suite of audience solutions and tools, including first-party data onboarding, audience building, insights, analytics, reporting, and campaign deployment. Advertiser CRM files will be onboarded for direct matching with all the consumer TV devices within Cadent Viewer Graph’s 104 million household graph, allowing Premion to activate an advertiser’s first-party data and create unique datasets for targeting and lookalike modeling.

Premion will leverage Cadent’s proprietary, location-based, syndicated audience data as its primary dataset for targeting purposes. In addition, Premion will have access to other third-party behavioral datasets from leading data partners within Cadent’s Data Marketplace to help advertisers build a fully comprehensive view of their audiences.

“True audience-based targeting tied to real-world business outcomes is critical for marketers today,” said Tom Cox, President of Premion. “Our agreement with Cadent allows us to better understand the value of our audiences so that we can provide best-in-class solutions to advertisers.”