Industry News

In May, an African American media mogul whose holdings include The Weather Channel, Entertainment Studios and a collection of broadcast television stations including Hawaii’s ABC affiliate sued one of the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant companies for racial discrimination.

It was a whopping $10 billion lawsuit, filed in response to what was perceived as an unacceptable level of advertising commitment the QSR giant has given to his broadcast and cable properties.

On Tuesday (11/30), U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin, who is based in Los Angeles, ruled on the matter. And, it’s a big win for McDonald’s.

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RF Venue has introduced a free online Performance Calculator for predicting wireless mic system reliability.

The tool simplifies calculating system performance by incorporating needed specifications within the software. Users of the calculator select system components via a handful of drop-down menus — microphone make and series, distance from mic to antenna, cabling type and length, antenna/DISTRO distribution system models and, if known, the RF noise floor of the performance space. The site then tabulates results, which ultimately boil down to a simple traffic light indication of go (green), caution (yellow), or no-go (red).

“Typical RF link budget calculator tools are so comprehensive and detailed that they become nearly impossible to use for the average wireless system operator,” said RF Venue President Chris Regan. “Now, with our new wireless Performance Calculator, there’s a much simpler option. Our customers are thrilled with the calculator’s performance and ease of use.”

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A visual walk-through of the process is available on the company’s blog, as is the “Create a Link Budget” video for users who want to learn more about the parameters that affect the prediction model.

The Performance Calculator is available for use at rfvenue.com/rfvenue-calculator.

Program producers and studio engineers are both invited to send news about equipment used or recent installations at a radio studio to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post RF Venue Wireless Performance Calculator Debuts Online appeared first on Radio World.

Kantar’s BVS solution, the ad verification business of the global data-driven analytics and brand consulting company, has been sold.

The buyer is a data platform known for connecting and powering cross-screen advertising.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With the addition, Advocado says it now has “a completely integrated ad verification, attribution and campaign coordination platform, allowing advertisers, media organizations and publishers to more efficiently track and measure and amplify the impact of their ads.”

It’s a notable move for Advocado, which recently purchased a portfolio of 47 patents that includes the advanced watermarking technology from VEIL. Kantar licenses this for its BVS ad verification business.

Advocado and Kantar plan to work together to explore new offerings based on the data
and analytical capabilities both bring to the table.

As such, Advocado will be integrating Kantar’s BVS employees onto its team.

“We have been innovating in the ad tech space since 2017 and this consolidation gives us the scale and ability to challenge ‘big tech,’ which has been unrightfully claiming ownership over advertiser and consumer data,” said Brian Handrigan, Advocado’s co-founder and CEO. “By combining our next-gen attribution algorithm with the BVS ad detection data, first-party web tracking tag and other sources, our customers will benefit from an accurate, independent assessment of performance across broadcast TV, radio and digital platforms like Connected TV and streaming audio.”

With the arrangement, Advocado says it is now empowered to verify the quality of broadcast ad detection data directly to the source in real-time for use in cross-media attribution, instant campaign coordination, and other use cases.

The consolidation, says Advocado, allows it to expand its broadcast TV and radio monitoring network footprint and to integrate Connected TV/OTT and audio ad verification. This, it says, allows advertisers “to get unified video and audio ad verification and integrated universal attribution from a trusted source without giving their valuable customer journey data away to big tech.”

BVS VP Rich Radzik, who will be joining the Advocado team as part of the acquisition, added, “I have never been more excited about the future of BVS and the synergistic opportunities with Advocado. With Advocado’s digital and technical expertise we will be able to launch new innovations that will further drive growth for our client partners.”

WorldCast Systems announced Version 2.3.0 of its Ecreso 5/10 kW FM transmitter. It said the added features will provide easier maintenance, more control and cost savings.

The transmitter now uses Version 2 of SmartFM, an algorithm that WorldCast says enables broadcasters to reduce their energy consumption by up to 40 percent.

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“After many tests and deployments worldwide, WorldCast has updated the five saving strategies to adapt to on-field conditions,” the company said. “In particular, SmartFM V2 brings a new ‘Extreme Savings’ strategy for when broadcasters need it most.”

The transmitter also can automate a configuration change or send GPIO commands in case of specific alarms, which the company said is a unique feature. “Complementary to the scheduler features, the automation is part of the Communication Pack license,” it said.

The transmitter also has RDS improvements. “Management of the UTF8 is now available, as are Danish-language characters.” In addition, there is reinforced security from remote FTP via new access restrictions.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Ecreso Offers New Version of Two FM Transmitter Models appeared first on Radio World.

Audio listening habits have shifted over the past five years — sometimes dramatically — according to Edison Research’s most recent “Share of Ear” study, covering the third quarter of 2021.

One interesting finding in the report runs counter to popular perceptions: listening via Pandora and Spotify has stagnated while AM/FM listening and podcast consumption both continue to see steady gains.

The Edison report also revealed that podcast audience listenership has continued to rise. Over past two years, the daily reach of podcast listening among those aged 13 to 34 rose 43 percent with daily reach up 51 percent among those aged 25 to 54.

[Previously in Radio World “Podcast Listeners By the Numbers”]

The other audio platform seeing consistent growth: AM/FM radio streaming. In the most recent “Share of Ear” study, Edison found that AM/FM radio dominates advertiser-/supported audio with a 75 percent share of listening. Podcasts are capturing 11 percent of ad-supported audio time among those aged 18+ while the ad-supported streaming platforms of Pandora and Spotify are at 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

AM/FM radio dominates ad-supported TSL.

The latest “Share of Ear” study found that AM/FM radio leads ad-supported audio across major demographics, regardless of age. AM/FM radio is most popular with those in the 35 to 64 age range with an 80 percent share of ad-supported audio time spent listening to the AM/FM dial, followed by ages 25 to 54 (71 percent), ages 18 to 49 (64 percent) and ages 18 to 34 (55 percent).

Perhaps not surprisingly, most AM/FM radio listening occurs away from home with in-car listening hitting an 88 percent share of listening time. The research also found that Pandora and Spotify listeners primarily use those platforms while at home.

Since Q3 2016, digital streaming of AM/FM stations has nearly doubled.

When it comes to growing audio platforms, both podcasts and AM/FM radio streaming take the lead. The research found that AM/FM streaming is now 15 percent of total AM/FM listening. One of the growth drivers of that boost are smart speakers, with audiences listening to AM/FM radio on smart speakers more than any other ad-supported platform, the report found.

One unique finding, reported by Cumulus Media|Westwood One Audio Active Group President Pierre Bouvard in a recent blog post, is that there is be a significant perception vs. reality problem when it comes to estimating the audience shares of AM/FM radio vs. platforms like Pandora and Spotify.

Perception of TSL to ad-supported streaming services vs. AM/FM radio doesn’t match the reality.

The Audio Active Group quoted a finding from the firm Advertiser Perceptions that asked brand and media agencies in August 2021 to estimate the audience shares of Pandora, Spotify and AM/FM radio. The marketers and media agencies assumed that the share of listeners for Pandora and Spotify were significantly higher than actual levels.

Over the past five years, Pandora and Spotify have seen their ad-supported audience levels erode. In 2016, Pandora was seeing strong listening shares among those aged 13 to 44. Some of that support eroded when Spotify introduced an ad-free subscription service — so much so that Pandora suffered share losses in the 48 percent to 70 percent range among that age group. Meanwhile, Spotify not only saw its reach surpass Pandora but also watched its ad-free subscription service rise 309 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the same time period in 2021.

[Our Previous “Share of Ear” Report Coverage]

The groups estimated Pandora had a 20 percent share of listening and that Spotify had a 25 percent share of audience. In reality, the audience share of ad-supported Pandora and Spotify is seven times and 12.5 times smaller, respectively.

Media agencies also surmised that the perceived share of AM/FM radio is 28 percent, when in reality AM/FM radio’s actual share is 40 percent, a finding Bouvard called a “massive disconnect” in terms of the perception and reality of audio shares.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Latest ‘Share of Ear’ Provides New Audio Listening Insights appeared first on Radio World.

The Radio World Best of 2021 Award has had a final extension until Tuesday Dec. 7.

The awards provide an opportunity for manufacturers to receive exposure for their outstanding products and solutions from the last 15 months.

This final extension is to allow those who were entering the Best of Show at IBC, which has now been cancelled, proper consideration for their entries.

The program website has information about the awards, categories and how to register.

 

The post Best of 2021 Award Deadline Extended to Dec. 7 appeared first on Radio World.

WFWL’s Original Studios in the Former Lockhart Motel Village (left); The Current WRJB–WFWL Facility

After 65 years on air serving Benton County from Camden, Tenn., WFWL(AM) is signing off the air for good on Dec. 1.

Community Broadcasting Services Inc., owner of the station, plans to focus its energies on WFWL sister station, WRJB(FM). “It’s purely a business decision. … It just makes sense for us,” said Dylan Powley, program/music director for the organization and host of the WRJB morning show.

“The studio will be converted into a multimedia space. We plan on being able to offer more in the way of interviews and digital content, as well as hosting musicians for live performances. This ties back into us putting our efforts into 95.9 WRJB,” Powley said.

Station Manager Ron Lane (left) conducts an interview during the station’s annual broadcast from the Benton County Fair, a tradition that started in the 1960s.

He also noted that plans for the station’s towers and transmission equipment, had yet to be finalized. Community Broadcasting is looking to repurpose W259BN, WFWL’s FM translator on 99.7 MHz.

WFWL has been a fixture in Camden since it went on air on September 18, 1956. “It was the only radio station in Camden for 20 years,” said Powley. “It was instrumental in covering news and offering entertainment to every corner of the county.”

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Originally owned by Camden Broadcasting Co., the station was sold to WRJB in the mid-1980s. John Latham, one of the original partners in Camden Broadcasting, had launched the FM station in 1976. With the ownership change, the two stations’ studios were consolidated on Vicksburg Avenue in Camden.

Over the years, the station operations changed, but Powley said WFWL remained a presence on 1200 kHz. “WFWL has maintained a presence, albeit much smaller, in the more recent history, playing modern country and gospel on Saturday mornings,” he said.

“While it’s always sad to see a station like WFWL go off-air, this doesn’t mean that local radio is going anywhere in Camden,” said Powley. “We have made a commitment to get off satellite programming, which is rare in rural radio, at least here. We’ve already been able to build an improved listener base with a new, unique format, and the exit of WFWL will allow for the entrance of a more modern operation that can better service our listening area.”

WRJB WFWL Staff at Their 2019 Holiday Party

Powley noted that WFWL going dark will not affect any of CBS’s four full-time employees and the “handful of part-timers that help out.”

To mark the end of the WFWL era, the station will spend its last day on air celebrating the station’s history. Station Manager Ron Lane, who has worked at the station since he was a high school senior in 1959, told The Camden Chronicle that the station’s last day of programming would include comments from current and former WFWL personalities.

“We have such tremendous memories surrounding this station. It has been a pleasure to be part of it,” Lane told The Chronicle.

Send your station news and updates to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post WFWL Readies for Its Last Day on Air appeared first on Radio World.

Due dates have now been published to comment on the FCC’s proposed rule change regarding directional FM antenna patterns.

We reported earlier that the commission has opened a notice of proposed rulemaking to update its rules for applicants proposing directional antenna facilities for FM and low-power FM stations. The commission wants input on rule revisions allowing an applicant to verify a directional antenna pattern through the use of computer modeling.

The proposal was made in a joint petition by Dielectric, Jampro, Radio Frequency Systems, Shively Labs and Educational Media Foundation.

The NPRM asks specifically for help from “engineers, broadcasters, antenna manufacturers, and other interested parties” to help clarify some issues raised by the proposed rule.

[Read the full NPRM text.]

Now that the NPRM has appeared in the Federal Register, the FCC can set the comment deadlines. So comments are due by Dec. 30, and reply comments by Jan. 14.

Use the FCC online comment system, and type 21-422 in the “Specify Proceeding” field.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Comment Deadlines Set for FM Antenna Computer Modeling appeared first on Radio World.

If there’s one early hallmark of the FCC under acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, it is the Media Bureau’s seemingly aggressive approach to enforcing the Commission’s rules on the timely filing of a broadcast station’s TV issues/programs lists.

Over 2021, forfeiture notices in the thousands of dollars have been issued right and left by the Bureau. Now, two have been issued to a Mississippi licensee who may have to fork over a total of $38,000 in fines.

The stations involved aren’t even full-power facilities.

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International Sales Team named Anil Bhardwaj as its specialist in transmission, antennas and associated RF components.

IST Sales Force Manager Roland Schaller said Bhardwaj has experience in engineering, sales and law, including a law degree.

Bhardwaj has worked as a sales manager and sales director, with global relationships particularly in South Asia and the Middle East. His background includes stints at Jampro and GatesAir.

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“Anil is particularly known for his work in the RF field working with high-power broadcast transmission systems including the antenna arrays, however he has also successfully delivered numerous turnkey studio, CTI, server, storage, and broadcast automation platforms and systems,” according to the announcement.

International Sales Team is a network of broadcast and media industry sales professionals for hire and deployment.

Send announcements for People News coverage to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Bhardwaj Joins International Sales Team appeared first on Radio World.