Industry News

Until his June 2020 departure from HC2 Holdings Inc., Phillip Falcone was widely known across the broadcast media industry as a flashy big spender on low-power broadcast TV stations.

Then came accusations that Falcone defaulted on loans. His assets were frozen for failure to compensate his legal representatives. This followed by a 2019 court order that saw HC2 withhold some of Falcone’s salary in lieu of some $2.69 million in unpaid taxes to the City of New York.

All of that negative activity is firmly now in the past, as Falcone has reemerged as the head of a new entity that’s agreed to purchase two low-power TV stations in Los Angeles.

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Nautel has added two topics to its schedule of webinars about broadcast technology, scheduled for alternating Wednesdays in March.

On March 3 the company covers “All-Digital AM featuring the NX Series” to answer questions about the MA3 mode of HD Radio now that the FCC has allowed its use.

“Many broadcasters have asked what is involved in upgrading, what the different modes mean, and if there is any benefit for their particular situation.”

On March 17 a webinar will explore “FM Digital, featuring the Nautel HD MultiCast+ (HDMC+) HD Importer/Exporter.” Nautel cites discussion in the industry about the pros and cons of fixed-purpose embedded hardware vs. software implementations, especially involving HD Radio importer and exporter components.

“This webinar will review the evolution of HD Radio for FM, the development and features of the HDMC+, and will cover some of the capabilities of this powerful tool.”

Register at https://nautel.com/webinars. Nautel webinars qualify for ½ SBE recertification credit.

The post Nautel Plans March Webinars appeared first on Radio World.

In the state of Maine, cable TV subscribers were in a rather unique situation when it came to not only the channels they wanted — but also the individual shows they desired.

It was part of an a la carte package designed by the state government as part of an effort to seemingly benefit consumers, allowing them to enjoy channels through an “unbundle” by MVPDs.

A district court tossed the law. Now, a federal appeals court has upheld that ruling.

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LAKE WALES, FLA. — One of the top providers of media workflow software products to broadcast media companies across the U.S. has signed up Alpha Media as a client.

As such, the Portland, Ore.-based owner of radio stations will extend its vCreative vPPO service while adding the vTrade service across all of its properties.

vTrade was developed by Central Florida-based vCreative to provide media companies with the ability to easily track, manage, audit and report on trade inventory, eliminating the risk of financial loss due to wasted or expired trade.

A recently released feature in vTrade helps manage the creation and sales tracking for on-air auctions, coupons and/or vouchers.

“After using vPPO for nearly three years and knowing how it has improved our workflow, I was excited to see vTrade had been added to the family,” said Stephanie Ross, Regional Business Manager at Alpha Media. “The team at vCreative also added an entirely new component to vTrade that will make managing our auctions even better than before. From entering consignments, tracking sales, and printing vouchers with unique IDs, we can now easily and efficiently manage this complex area of our business.”

Mary DelGrande, SVP of Sales at vCreative, said, “We are thrilled to be continuing and expanding upon our partnership with Alpha Media. vCreative’s main objective is to continue to innovate and evolve. The adoption of vTrade and Alpha’s  renewed commitment to vPPO is proof that we are succeeding.”

CAMARILLO, CALIF. — Salem Media Group, the media company known for its Christian-themed and conservative Talk radio stations, has selected when it will issue its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 financial results.

The announcement came amidst a sell-off of Salem shares on Wall Street.

Salem executives will host a conference call to discuss its results at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific on Thursday, March 4 — one hour after it formally releases the numbers to the public.

It’s unusual timing, as Salem regularly selects 2pm Pacific, after the Closing Bell in New York has run, for its earnings call.

What will Salem executives have to share on the call? Analysts could be curious if the heir to Rush Limbaugh‘s legions of fans is one of Salem’s own talk hosts. Or, they could be hyperfocused on advertising trends against difficult year-over-year comparisons.

Whatever is on the minds of Salem’s investors, it isn’t clear. SALM was off sharply on Thursday (2/25), falling 14% to $2.7437 as of 2:42pm Eastern.

The dip ends a nice rally for Salem stock, which sat at $1.03 as recently as Dec. 21, 2020.

But, it must be said that Wednesday’s closing price of $3.19 marked the highest finish for SALM seen since September 2018.

How is 2021 shaping up for transactions, now that Kagan has analyzed 2020’s dealmaking? Are deals still in a COVID-19 fueled frozen state?

Those are just some of the questions Greg Guy, the managing partner for media brokerage Patrick Communications, answers in this latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

 Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Greg Guy” on Spreaker.

Heading into last night’s ViacomCBS’ Streaming Investor Day, MoffettNathanson‘s clients had two basic questions:

• What could the company say to possibly surprise us?
• How can we justify the move in Viacom’s stock price this year?

“At least now we have some clarity around the first question,” Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson and Analyst Robert Fishman noted Thursday, following a three-hour affair that offered a detailed look at the soon-to-relaunch Paramount+ OTT platform, formerly CBS AllAccess.

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One of the nation’s largest radio stations owners, one with a big stake in podcasting, has just lured a SHOWTIME Networks marketing pro to take on the newly created position of Head of Marketing for Podcasts.

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Joining Entercom Communications, owner of Cadence13 and Pineapple Street and the Radio.com streaming audio platform to promote podcasts is Brian Swarth.

He was previously SVP of Digital Media & Marketing at SHOWTIME Networks, where he directed all aspects of digital and social marketing including acquisition and CRM strategy, influencer marketing, interactive creative and production, multi-platform content development, marketing and advertising technology, digital marketing analytics and emerging platforms.

Once he settles in to his new role at Entercom, Swarth will lead and oversee all marketing and public relations for Entercom’s podcast division.

He reports directly to Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer at Cadence13.

Before joining SHOWTIME, Swarth was VP/Managing Director of Client Strategy, Media and Entertainment at Zemoga. Before that, he was Sr. Director of Strategy and Business Operations/Content Distribution at MTV Networks, where he steered expansion of MTVN and BETN content distribution and enabled the successful launch of the multiplatform premium movie service EPIX.

NBCUniversal‘s U.S. household addressable footprint is set to expand by nearly 40%, to 45 million households.

To accomplish this, it has agreed to a newly formed advanced advertising pact with one of the nation’s largest cable TV service providers.

Importantly, NBCUniversal says the deal makes its advanced advertising offering one of the largest offered in the market by a television publisher.

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SAVANNAH, GA. — Thanks in part to its ownership of the dominant CBS affiliate serving Georgia’s Coastal Empire, WTOC-11, and keeping a watchful eye on expenses, Gray Television enjoyed a 138% year-over-year net income rise as total revenue jumped 37% to $792 million.

Next year’s finish is poised to be even bigger, as Gray awaits approval of its $925 million acquisition of Quincy Media Inc.

While there are many positive takeaways from the earnings results, the bigger news from Gray is that for the first time in 13 years, a quarterly dividend is coming to shareholders.

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