Industry News

Audacy has added FM service to another of its iconic AM news stations, this time with KNX(AM) in Los Angeles.

“KNX News 97.1 FM” now carries the 24-hour news and traffic content of its AM sibling. The station most recently had been branded as “97.1 Now, LA’s Party Station,”

Audacy, the former Entercom, picked up a number of iconic AM news outlets through its 2017 acquisition of CBS radio assets. In the past year or so it has made similar moves onto FM in St. Louis with KMOX, Pittsburgh with KDKA and Philadelphia with KYW.

KNX is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month.

“For over 100 years, KNX has been the station Southern California has depended on for breaking news, important events and life changing moments,” said Regional VP Jeff Federman in the announcement.

“With spoken word audio consumption at an all-time high, this move allows us to significantly upgrade the existing KNX brand and create a news destination for a new generation.”

Audacy said this launch shows “its commitment to its local news brands, reflective via a multiplatform transformation announced earlier this year.”

The company no doubt is hoping that the AM/FM combo will help KNX do some leapfrogging in the ratings. In the Nielsen Audio top line ratings released this month, KNX(AM) was 10th in the market in AQH Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid overall; the only other AM in the top 10 was No. 8 KFI. Audacy’s former music format on 97.1 was much farther down the list.

Audacy describes itself as “the No.1 local news platform in the country, operating more than two dozen news stations across the U.S.” It has all-news formats in 26 markets.

The station launched with a tribute to some of the station’s biggest headlines over 100 years.



The post KNX Is Now Heard on FM, Too appeared first on Radio World.

Responding to Bob Meister’s letter (“Genset reset rethink,” Aug. 4 issue):

I couldn’t agree more with Bob on this matter! Safety should always precede convenience, particularly where electrical power is concerned.

There had to be a valid reason for the generator fault in the original situation described by John Bisset. Merely resetting it remotely without knowing the cause is bad practice.

The new transmitters I installed at my two (now-gone) stations featured automatic restarts — first two faults would pause then reapply HV, while a third would shut off and inhibit it. This was essential to protect the $10,000–$15,000 IOT finals from damage.

I declined to wire the transmitters’ fault-reset inputs to our remote controls in fear that a less-experienced MC op might destroy the finals or other expensive parts by repeated resets.

If you have spare status inputs on your remote, look into adding indicators that could warn you of impending problems and help you resolve little matters before they grow, or provide additional evidence that may help you decide between a simple “reset” visit and a major repair effort.

[Visit the Reader’s Forum for More Letters and Comments]

Also useful: temperature and light sensors; door switches; and fluid-detectors, which are easy to install and provide inexpensive insurance. Example: A simple “homebrew” pair of opto-isolators added to my Kohler transfer-switch alarm panel would confirm that all was well and whether we were on utility or generator power.

A personal note on safety: I’m truly grateful to have a touch of OCD. It has helped keep me (and others) alive when working anywhere near power.

Years ago, I was reunited with an old UHF TV transmitter that had seen better days. It featured a pair of doors that opened in front of a high-power Klystron (only 32 kV connections atop it!) along with various “deficiencies” like uncovered AC relays in another door and a “failed-shorted” interlock switch in yet other. A consulting engineer had come close to being electrocuted there months earlier, partly because the station engineer also misinterpreted his directions.

My mind insists on “pointing and saying” before I do anything potentially dangerous. Remember: You have many opportunities to get it right, but you may have only one chance to get it wrong.

Cheers and stay safe!

Michael Shovan, CBTE
fd&t technical services
Newburgh, N.Y.

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

The post Letter: Genset reset rethink redux appeared first on Radio World.

The nation’s eight-ranked market has become the latest to gain access to ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV.

And, its launch is thanks to the FOX Television Stations-owned duopoly as well as the Nexstar-owned affiliate of The CW Network.

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KSJO(FM) in San Jose, Calif., is broadcasting geo-targeted radio advertising, according to technology supplier GeoBroadcast Solutions. The company said this was the first such field test with real radio spots.

The station aired several national breakfast promotions for Jack in the Box targeted to the areas of Livermore and Pleasanton along the I-680 corridor.

The station, owned by Universal Media Access and branded “Bolly 92.3FM, The Bay Area’s Bollywood Station,” has experimental authority from the FCC to test the GBS ZoneCastingFM booster system. GBS said its tests would continue during short parts of the broadcast hour through February.

The station also is experimenting with zoned traffic reports.

Jack in the Box CMO Ryan Ostrom was quoted saying the company is “only scratching the surface with our first test, and we will continue to lean into the unpacked potential of geotargeted radio activations.”

KSJO’s Brad Behnke, vice president and chief operating officer of station owner Universal Media Access, encouraged the FCC to allow such geo-targeting.

GeoBroadcast has asked the FCC to change its booster rules to allow this kind of content origination.

The post San Jose Station Tests Geo-Targeted Ads appeared first on Radio World.

Its CEO says it will enjoy strong holiday season sales; it was the “Black Friday” winner on a day that has lost much of its past cultural and consumer significance.

It’s also searching for a new CFO, as Brett Biggs will step down at year’s end.

Walmart is a retailer in transition, as it seeks to nibble away at Amazon with more opportunities ahead in the online space. That said, its in-store magnetism remains high with key consumers, and it is using Spot Cable and Spot TV to attract the masses.

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Radio World is taking an in-depth look at “The Infinite Dial UK 2021” report this week.

In Part Two of Radio World’s summation of Edison Research’s “The Infinite Dial UK 2021” report we look at Edison Research President Larry Rosen’s findings on radio listening in the United Kingdom (and other countries), plus rates of radio/smart speaker ownership here and in the United States.

The report is based on 1,000 telephone interviews with U.K. residents 16 and older, during the fourth quarter of 2021.

U.K. radio listening

Based upon the complete mix of British AM/MW, FM, and DAB stations, 83 percent of the 16+ population surveyed by Edison Research listened to radio in the last week. By age group, this breaks down 80 percent for people 16–34; 84 percent for 35–54; and 80 percent for 55 and older.

Past Week Radio Listening in the U.K. (Courtesy Edison Research)

[Read more of our coverage of ‘Infinite Dial’ report]

“Some of you might be used to seeing slightly higher numbers from RAJAR for weekly listening,” said Rosen. “Let me remind you that this is a telephone survey where we’re just asking a single question about listening into the radio in any way in the last week, whereas RAJAR takes steps to jog people’s memories and remind them of all the cases where they might’ve listened to the radio.”

Compared to Canada’s 70 percent (18+), Australia’s 79 percent (18+) and the U.S.’s 59 percent (16+), the U.K. is doing pretty well in terms of radio listening.

“People are listening to the radio in the U.K., and they are remembering that they have listened to the radio in the U.K. in greater numbers than in these three other English-speaking countries around the world,” Rosen said.

Radio and smart speaker ownership

When asked, ‘Do you own a radio? Do you have a radio in your household?’, Edison Research found that 78 percent of U.K. respondents said yes while 22 percent said no.

Moreover, “Fourteen percent of people in the U.K. — consistent across age groups — said they have four or more radios in their household,” said Rosen. “So, you see, radio remains very central to the lived experience of people in the U.K.” He contrasted these numbers to the U.S., where 68 percent own radios (10 percent have four or more), and 32 percent do not.

Radio Receiver Ownership, U.K. and U.S. Compared (Courtesy Edison Research)

The differences continued when Larry Rosen looked at U.K./U.S. radio ownership and smart speaker ownership.

“Fifty-eight percent of everyone in the U.K. says they have a radio in their home, but don’t have a smart speaker,” he said. “20 percent say they have both the radio and the smart speaker in their home; 6 percent say they have a smart speaker but not a radio in their home. So, 6 percent of people seemingly have replaced radio in their homes with the smart speaker, and only 16 percent of people in their homes have neither a radio nor a smart speaker.”

Radio and Smart Speaker Ownership, U.K. and U.S. Compared (Courtesy Edison Research)

Meanwhile, 50 percent of Americans surveyed reported owning a radio but not a smart speaker; 19 percent said they owned both; 8 percent said they had a smart speaker but not a radio; and 23 percent had neither.

This last number caught Larry Rosen’s attention: “Here in the United States, we have more people saying that they neither have a radio nor a smart speaker.”

In Part Three of Radio World’s summary of “The Infinite Dial UK 2021,” we’ll look at the U.K.’s consumption of online audio.

The post ‘Infinite Dial UK’ Details U.K. Radio Listening, Ownership appeared first on Radio World.

Digital video technology firm Bitmovin has unveiled the results of its fifth annual Video Developer Report. The latest data reveal a maturing video/streaming/OTT industry overall, experiencing key areas of growth, innovation, and opportunity as consumption and pressures to personalize and deliver seamless experiences increase.

Conducted between July and August 2021, the Video Developer Report underscores the most relevant issues to the video developer community. As more devices come online each day, the pressures mount for industry professionals to continually innovate, increasing quality and engagement all while carefully controlling costs. This report illuminates the inter-connected and competing priorities developers are facing and how they’ve evolved over time. This year, low latency streaming topped the charts as both the biggest challenge and largest opportunity for innovation, primarily driven by demand for more interactive experiences and competition with traditional broadcast latency.

Key findings include: 

·         Increased consumption and variation in device preference.  

o    81% of respondents deliver streams via HTML5 in desktop browsers, followed by 57% via HTML5 on Android.

o    Smart TV brand preference varies by region, with Philips the preferred Smart TV brand in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Vizio in North America. 

o    Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) is the most popular console for streaming in North America, outranking many Smart TV brands. Console use in all other regions of the globe is much lower.

·         Regional shifts and the quest for compatibility.  

o    Streaming device usage differs significantly worldwide. While Apple TV is most popular in North America and Asia Pacific, it comes in at only #5 in Latin America (LATAM).  

o    Android TV is preferred in LATAM (44%) and EMEA (51%), with others, such as Chromecast TV, closely behind at 44% in LATAM and 38% in EMEA.  

o    These differences are largely due to variations in infrastructures, as devices like Apple TV require a powerful, consistently reliable Internet connection which is not available in all areas of the globe. 

·         A ‘changing of the guard’ in codec usage. 

o    The AVC/H.264 video codec continues to dominate device reach, however newer and more efficient codecs, such as HEVC, VP9, and AV1 all saw increases in testing and production usage in 2021. HEVC is being deployed currently by nearly 50% of survey respondents.  

o    Increased AV1 usage on consumer platforms like YouTube and Netflix and support from affordable devices like Fire TV Stick 4K Max signals a potential shift toward broader AV1 adoption across the ecosystem. 

o    Reigning audio codec AAC continued its position at the top but did see some incremental decline over the past year while multiple Dolby audio formats rose in popularity and usage. 

o    The most popular streaming format, HLS, saw its first usage decline. With CMAF rising in adoption from 21% to 26%.  

·         Critical importance of video analytics platforms.  

o    Industry standards are essential in the video broadcasting space, and leveraging the power of an analytics platform is key to optimizing organizations for scalable growth. This year’s study found that for the first time in two years, in-house solutions took the top spot for analytics at 39% over Google at 37%, indicating more sophisticated usage and that basic traffic and completion rates are no longer sufficient.

o    As the market landscape becomes increasingly competitive, video analytics play an integral role in monitoring viewer experiences/engagement and gaining audience insights to improve future offerings and solutions.

 

 

Download the Bitmovin’s 2021 Video Developer Report 

Technical paper and panel proposals are now being accepted for the Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology (BEIT) track of the NAB Show Conference, held at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

BEIT, held April 24 – 26, is designed for broadcast engineers and technicians, contract engineers, broadcast equipment manufacturers, distributors, engineering consultants, R&D engineers, IT professionals and related media technologists. The program features technical papers addressing the latest opportunities, challenges and solutions facing broadcast engineering and media industry IT professionals around the world.

NAB Show seeks presenters with fresh ideas and unique perspectives on key trends and technologies driving the future of radio, television and general media creation and delivery. All paper and panel proposals should be submitted online through the 2022 BEIT Call for Papers and Panels portal.

Proposals are subject to peer review, and those featuring original research or highly regarded speakers receive most favorable consideration. All content proposed should be presented in a tutorial, non-promotional form. Proposals overtly promoting company products or services will not be accepted, although proposals explaining the underlying technologies used in broadcast products or services may be considered.

The deadline for BEIT paper and panel proposals is January 14, 2022. Proposals selected for inclusion in the 2022 BEIT program will be announced in February 2022. Click here for additional information and to submit a proposal.

Audio specialist Sennheiser has brought to market a new pair of professional headphones for mixing, editing, and mastering.

The HD 400 PRO studio reference headphones are designed for creators seeking natural and precise sound reproduction to accurately assess their audio mixes. To ease long sessions, the HD 400 PRO features an open-back design fitted with soft velour ear pads. The unit includes both coiled and straight detachable cables, allowing the headphones to adapt to different use preferences.

“We are happy to introduce the first open studio headphones in Sennheiser’s PRO line,” commented Gunnar Dirks, Product Manager for Professional Audio at Sennheiser. “When editing and mixing, you need detail and honesty, and this is what the HD 400 PRO will give you. Thanks to their linear, high-resolution reproduction, these headphones are a reliable reference to create outstanding audio mixes.”

Designed for accuracy

The HD 400 PRO features a wide frequency response of 6 to 38,000 hertz to give music producers the full account of their mix. The Sennheiser-developed 120-ohm transducers include a diaphragm made from a special polymer blend, which together with powerful driver magnets yields deeper, yet totally clear and well-defined bass. Distortion is below 0.05% (measured at 1 kHz, 90 dB SPL).

The HD 400 PRO accurately reproduces audio beyond the audible frequency range, giving you unbridled access to nuanced harmonics and ambiance in your music, while at the same time revealing a bold, articulate low-end.

Designed for spaciousness

The headphone transducers of the HD 400 PRO sit at a slight angle, carefully recreating the optimum triangular listening position you would place yourself in when listening to monitor loudspeakers in a recording studio. In addition, the open-back design of the HD 400 PRO ensures a natural propagation of sound, unimpeded by the acoustic structures required in closed-back designs. Both aspects create a wide and spacious soundstage, neutral and transparent, which enables audio producers to work confidently knowing that their final mix transfers accurately to listeners.

Designed for comfort

The HD 400 PRO headphones feature high comfort that prolongs creativity. A carefully engineered ultra-light frame positions the earcups in place, gently hugging the ears with minimal pressure. Soft velour earpads allow users to focus on projects for hours on end, while the open, circumaural design offers sufficient ventilation for ears to keep their cool, even during long mixing sessions.

The HD 400 PRO is available now and retails at $249 (MSRP). The headphones come with a 3-meter coiled cable and a 1.8-meter straight cable, both fitted with a 3.5 mm (1/8”) jack plug for portable sources. A 6.3 mm (1/4”) adapter is included, ensuring that the HD 400 PRO connects to your mixing desk or audio interface.

Technical data
Acoustic principle: dynamic, open
Ear coupling: circumaural
Frequency response: 6 – 38,000 Hz
THD: < 0.05% (at 1 kHz, 90 dB SPL)
Impedance: 120 Ω
Sound pressure level: 110 dB (1 kHz, 1 Vrms)
Connector: 3.5 mm (1/8”) jack with adapter to 6.3 mm (1/4”) jack
Weight: 240 g (w/o cable)

Thanks to better-than-anticipated interest, Jacobs Media Strategies is adding a second tour of the Consumer Electronics Show for broadcasters this January in Las Vegas.

“Since CES was cancelled last year due to the pandemic we didn’t know what to expect, but broadcasters from commercial, public radio, and Christian radio have all expressed interest,” the consultancy notes.

In a communique to its clients, Jacobs Media adds, “Attending CES the past dozen years has been a game-changer for us. We’ve gotten outside of the “radio bubble” and gained important insight into the technology and trends that have – and will – impact our business in the coming years. And our tours have provided us with the ability to talk to leaders from companies like Google, Amazon Alexa Auto, Ford, LG, and other companies to gain even more insight into their thinking.”

Recent announcements about changes in car entertainment systems that will impact radio have drawn the attention of many industry leaders. CES is the place to learn about them first-hand. There will be over 185 automotive and auto-tech companies showcasing their offerings including OEMs (GM, Daimler, and Hyundai), the designers of the future of the dashboard (Qualcomm and Bosch), numerous autonomous offerings, and new-product introductions like the Chevrolet Silverado EV, featuring GM’s CEO Mary Barra in a keynote presentation.

IF YOU’D CARE TO JOIN THE JACOBS MEDIA TOUR AT CES 2022, PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE!