Industry News

MIAMI — It was a big gamble, one that Bill Siegel was called on to “evaluate and refine” in December 2019. A new English-language local newscast was in the works for South Florida — a 10pm newscast that would challenge Sunbeam Television’s long-dominant WSVN-7.

The E.W. Scripps Co. made the pledge in November 2019, with a spring 2020 launch date for a unique 30-minute newscast for Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Florida Keys.

Then came COVID-19, and another evaluation of the plan. Now, it has opted to move forward with multiple newscasts produced not by the recently acquired Scripps station’s own staff, but that by the Berkshire Hathaway-controlled ABC affiliate in Miami — its sole media property.

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The Media Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission has dismissed an objection filed against a Durham, N.C., FM translator. That objection claimed that the translator licensee should not be allowed to claim noncommercial educational exemption because the AM station being rebroadcast is owned by commercial organizations.

In its objection, Triangle Access Broadcasting alleged that the FM translator operator, Delmarva Educational Association who is licensee of W224DK, was not entitled to claim an NCE exemption for application and regulatory fees because the AM station they are rebroadcasting — WPTF in Raleigh, N.C., which is licensed to First State Communications — is a commercial station.

[Read: AM Station’s Spotty Operational Schedule Puts License at Risk]

Thus, Triangle argued, the translator is itself a commercial one. Triangle also argued that Delmarva shouldn’t be qualified to receive a nonprofit regulatory fee exemption. While Triangle recognized that Delmarva is a nonprofit entity, it argued that Delmarva disqualified itself from the nonprofit exemption because First State supplies commercial programming to the translator. According to Triangle, this gives First State an attributable ownership interest in Delmarva.

Triangle also alleged that Delmarva has failed to pay required application fees for the translator dating back to 2003. Triangle thus urged the commission to dismiss Delmarva’s application for failing to pay required fees and to cancel the translator outright unless the delinquency is resolved.

In response, Delmarva countered that its failure to pay a filing fee was inadvertent and it has since remitted payment. Delmarva also countered that the commission’s rules clarify that it is exempt from paying regulatory fees because it is a qualified nonprofit, tax-exempt entity under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue code.

Triangle acknowledged that even though Delmarva remitted payment, it questions Delmarva’s initial failure to pay during the licensing process. Triangle also maintained that Delmarva is not qualified for the nonprofit regulatory fee exemption because its operation of a commercial translator deviates from the “scope of its charitable purpose.” Added to this is the fact that Eastern Airwaves, a commercial entity that Triangle said co-owns First State, has exercised control over the translator. Thus it has an attributable ownership interest in the translator.

“[That makes it] improper for Delmarva to avoid regulatory fees based solely on Delmarva’s nonprofit status,” Triangle said.

But the Media Bureau disagreed. It said that informal objections to license renewal applications must not only provide well-supported allegations of fact but must also contain adequate and specific factual allegations. Triangle has not met this threshold, the FCC said.

For one, Delmarva acknowledged that it submitted the application without the requisite filing fees and went on to pay those fees. Secondly, the commission has already confirmed that Delmarva is a nonprofit organization. Finally, Triangle does not explain how First State or Eastern would have an attributable interest in the translator.

As a result, the bureau dismissed and denied the objection.

But the Media Bureau did find that Delmarva was remiss in its failure to pay the required application filing fees. It assessed the licensee a penalty charge equal to 25% of the filing fee for license of W224DK for a total of $17.50.

The post FCC Nixes Idea to Rebrand NCE Translator as Commercial appeared first on Radio World.

LAKE WALES, FLA. — The co-founder and Chief Executive of vCreative, who established the media workflow-focused technology company with her husband, is moving to the role of President Emerita.

This gives the couple more time to devote to weddings, grandchildren, “exploring the world” and perhaps enjoying their lakeside home in Central Florida a little bit more as Susie Hedrick assumes the CEO role.

The changes for Jinny Laderer and husband John Laderer, vCreative’s Chief Technology Officer, will come April 1. At that time, Hedrick will rise from President/COO. Hedrick joined vCreative in February 2019 after serving as SVP/Sales for North America at WideOrbit, overseeing successful TV, radio, network and digital divisions.

What does this change mean for the Laderers’ involvement in the company they created in 2007?

In her new role, Jinny Laderer will attend company executive meetings and industry events, providing “guidance and historical context to ensure that the vCreative legacy continues.”

She will also remain a Broadcasters Foundation of America board member and as an Honorary Trustee for Alliance for Women in Media. Mrs. Laderer also remains on the Nominating Committee for the National Radio Hall of Fame and says she will invest more time with the Mentoring and Inspiring Women (MIW) organization to help nurture the next generation of strong female leaders.

“The timing is perfect,” said Laderer, who has been based in the small town of Babson Park, due south of Lake Wales and Orlando’s theme parks, for the last few years. “While I remain committed to our company, the industry and its people, vCreative is now perfectly positioned for its next chapter under Susie’s leadership, which allows John and I the freedom to focus on our next phase of life.”

John Laderer will continue to serve the company in a consultative technical role.

After working at a small firm offering copywriting, production and voiceovers to agencies and advertisers, Jinny Laderer in 2005 teamed with John in creating SaaS technology enabling her to work remotely as a Creative Director for 8 radio stations while she simultaneously operated her production company, TLCreative.

Two years later, vCreative was born. Today, its software is used by 19 of the top 20 broadcast radio groups, supporting more than 35,000 daily users.

In 2019, the Laderers sold vCreative to Banyan Software, an investment company with a unique buy and hold model.

Commenting on Jinny Laderer’s decision to hand chief executive duties to Hedrick, Banyan CEO David Berkal said, “Jinny and John built a strong and profitable software business with deep relationships. We have made a commitment to continue the Laderers’ people-first culture and the principle of trust that was built over many years. We 100% support Jinny and John as they step back from daily operations while retaining supportive roles in the company.”

Hedrick added, “Jinny and I share a kindred spirit. We both have a strong work ethic and passion for helping people and solving problems. Jinny will continue to have a strong influence on the company as we continue to innovate and grow.”

William W. McCutchen III a decade ago was described by the Waco Tribune-Herald as “the force behind Waco Entertainment Group LLC.

Based in the Los Angeles area, McCutchen in January 2010 acquired two Spanish-language FMs for $1.95 million from the now-defunct Border Media Partners. It was added to an FM in Sherman, Tex.

An Abilene property was also added to the mix. Now, the FCC has given its blessing on its sale.

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Vic Michael has been an active buyer of noncommercial low-powered and full-power facilities across the U.S. West, and in Hawaii, of late.

Now, he’s agreed to buy an expanded-band AM with an all-important FM translator at 94.7 MHz.

It serves much of the Cheyenne, Wyo., market.

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She’s widely known as a Partner with Wiley Rein LLP’s Washington, D.C. office, where she serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Telecom, Media & Technology group.

Now, this legal eagle is tacking on the title of Secretary and General Counsel of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

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Jörg Fries was named the new vice president of Broadcast, Amplifier & Media Solutions for manufacturer Rohde & Schwarz. He replaces Cornelius Heinemann, who has taken another role at the company outside of the Broadcast & Media Division.

He has been with the company for 25 years, most recently in the Wireless Multimedia segment.

[Read: R&S Celebrates Istanbul Tower Project]

“His appointment to head Rohde & Schwarz’s Broadcast and Media Division supports the strategic shift in its approach towards its core markets and reinforces the company’s intention of becoming more disruptive in production, delivery and distribution workflow management and software-centric products and systems,” the company stated.

In the press release, Fries said that among the most important trends in the market right now is “the rise of remote production based on a flexible, software-centric approach.” He said the company is focused on “increasing production efficiency in remote architectures, standardizing new workflows and establishing new technologies to enable a seamless transition to remote production.”

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

The post Fries to Head R&S Media Division appeared first on Radio World.

TORONTO — A provider of digital products to the radio industry has just added a longtime broadcast sales professional known for stops in the Big Apple as its Managing Director for Advertising and Research.

He’ll be tasked with ensuring that SoCast broadcast partners get the sales training, support and tools they need to become digital advertising experts.

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In India, where regulators have been working toward recommending a standard to digitize the FM band, Digital Radio Mondiale is presenting its case.

DRM has been conducting trials and demos since late February, when a digital radio transmission with three audio services and Journaline text information went live in Delhi alongside existing analog FM transmissions.

“The transmission is part of an extensive trial and demonstration of DRM conducted by Prasar Bharati and its radio arm, All India Radio (AIR), with the help of the DRM Consortium and its local and international members,” DRM stated in a press release. “The test was officially launched on Feb. 24 and 25 at the headquarters of All India Radio in New Delhi.”

The test was requested by regulator TRAI and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

DRM officials said a presentation to AIR’s committee showed DRM in the FM band on various car radios including line-fit, aftermarket, standalone receivers, mobile phones and tablets. A head unit from Mobis, upgraded for FM via firmware, was installed in a Hyundai Verna. DRM said, “The reception was found to be excellent for over 15 km radius with just 100 W of DRM power in digital,” including  5.1 surround sound test broadcasts on DRM.

The DRM for India Automotive Group wrote, “A whole automotive eco-system has evolved in India around DRM. It includes chipset manufacturers like NXP, Tier-1 receiver manufacturers and car brands like Hyundai, Maruti-Suzuki, Toyota and others. These companies have invested large amounts of money in digitizing car radios based on the DRM technology.”

It said 2.5 million cars on Indian roads have DRM receivers. “The India trial has been an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how the existing DRM transmissions in the former AM bands can be upgraded to support DRM in both AM and FM bands by a simple receiver firmware update (no change in hardware needed).”

Chairman Ruxandra Obreja said she hoped the results will “convince the Indian authorities that DRM is the right standard to upgrade All India Radio’s already established country-wide DRM services in the AM bands to the FM band.”

Consortium Vice President Alexander Zink listed the involvement of Technomedia for logistics and signal measurement; Gospell and StarWaves for providing consumer receivers; and Fraunhofer IIS, Nautel and RFmondial for content, transmission and professional monitoring receivers. NXP, Hyundai Mobis and Harman also supported the demo with FM-band upgrades to existing automotive DRM receivers.

The trial is to continue in Jaipur, where DRM hopes to demonstrate a transmission of up to six signals, which would provide up to 18 audio programs and six Journaline services from one FM band transmitter.

Xperi’s HD Radio FM system has also been tested in New Delhi.

The post DRM Makes Its Pitch for India’s FM Band appeared first on Radio World.