Industry News

Media technology manufacturer Lawo has given Sales Director Nacho Gonzalez additional commercial responsibility for the Brazilian market.

“Nacho draws on experience of over 20 years of sales experience in Latin America,” the company stated.

“Soon after starting at Lawo in 2013 as sales manager for the LATAM region, Nacho was entrusted also with Spain and Portugal.” He speaks Spanish and Portuguese and is based at Lawo offices in Germany.

The company said it has experienced “exponential” growth in the Latin American and Iberian markets in recent years.

Gonzalez was quoted in the announcement: “Last year has been particularly complicated for the audiovisual sector, which has led to technologies changing at a rate unthinkable months ago and forcing some companies to be more flexible and reinvent many traditional processes.”

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The post Lawo Expands Gonzalez’ Role in LATAM appeared first on Radio World.

Tieline has added another IP audio codec to its lineup called the Gateway-4, which it expects to begin shipping by the end of next month.

It described it as “a powerful DSP-based 1RU IP codec designed for live remote broadcasting applications, as well as STL or SSL links,” the manufacturer stated in its announcement.

“The Gateway-4 also includes support for AES67, ST 2110-30, AES3 and analog I/O as standard, and an optional WheatNet-IP card.”

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The Gateway-4 replaces the company’s Merlin and Genie STL audio codecs; it supports four full-duplex audio channels in 1RU to expand channel density by one compared with the older models. VP Sales APAC/EMEA Charlie Gawley said it is suitable for mission-critical broadcast applications requiring two to four audio streaming channels. Those who need more channels can choose the Gateway-8/16 multichannel codec, another recent introduction that replaced the Merlin Plus and Genie Distribution.

The new codec provides two stereo connections, or one stereo and two mono connections, or up to four mono full-duplex connections. Tieline said it also supports multiple unicasting to up to 20 endpoints and multicasting.

“For larger networks, the Gateway-4 is ideal for transmitter sites, remote trucks or rack-mounted remote kits,” Tieline said. “For affiliates and smaller stations it can be used to transport studio-to-studio links, or a stereo studio-to-transmitter link signal plus another stereo connection, or dual mono connections for remotes.”

Features include hitless packet switching using SmartStream Plus redundant streaming, and bandwidth aggregation using Fuse-IP technologies over internet connections; dual internal power supplies, dual LAN ports and dual AoIP ports; and an optional Gateway Euro ISDN module to integrate with legacy ISDN network infrastructure for primary or backup connections.

It is interoperable with other Tieline IP codecs and compatible over SIP with EBU N/ACIP Tech 3326 and 3368 compliant codecs and devices.

It is configurable through an embedded HTML5 Toolbox Web-GUI interface and is controllable using Tieline’s Cloud Codec Controller.

Info: www.tieline.com

The post Tieline Introduces Gateway-4 IP Codec appeared first on Radio World.

In fall 2020, Debra OConnell was elevated to President of Networks for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, thus leaving the role of President/GM of WABC-7 in New York open for her replacement.

ABC Owned Television Stations has just select that individual, and it is WABC’s News Director.

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Futuri is known in media circles for its AI-driven audience engagement and sales intelligence technology.

Now, it seeks to be known for its forthcoming suite of offerings for local, network, and cable television and digital publishers.

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In April 1958, just 3 1/2 years after the team won the 1954 World Series, the New York Giants baseball club moved to San Francisco from the Polo Grounds.

Now, a Nexstar Media Group local TV leader is moving from the Bay Area to the Big Apple.

Chris McDonnell has been promoted to VP/GM of WPIX-11 in New York, the former Tribune Media flagship that serves as the CW Network’s affiliate in Market No. 1.

Officially, he will direct WPIX under the terms of a local programming and marketing agreement between Nexstar and the station’s licensee, Mission Broadcasting.

As RBR+TVBR reported on Dec. 30, 2020, The E.W. Scripps Company is no longer the owner of WPIX-11. Mission became the owner through Nexstar’s decision to transfer its option to purchase the station to Mission.

Scripps purchased WPIX as part of its acquisition of eight television stations in seven markets from Nexstar. Those stations were being divested in connection with Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of Tribune Media in September 2019.

McDonnell has been VP/GM of news-intensive KRON-4 in San Francisco since 2017, and his move to WPIX suggests Nexstar will ramp up WPIX’s news department — one that is largely known as the weekend home of veteran Big Apple anchor Kaity Tong. 

During his tenure at KRON McDonnell and his team added new hour-long weekday newscasts at 3pm and 9pm, while he also orchestrated the launch of KRONOn.TV, a local 24-hour digital streaming news application.

With KRON-TV now producing nearly 20 hours of local news each weekday, WPIX could be poised for a similar ramp-up in a market where Spectrum News NY1 has come under scrutiny for changes since its time as a Time Warner Media property and where Optimum-distributed News 12 has a highly localized approach to its round-the-clock news coverage.

If anything, WPIX’s increased news coverage would be a competitor to CBSN New York, the all-news OTT offering produced by WCBS-2 in New York.

Before joining KRON McDonnell served as the President/GM of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises’ WSNS-TV in Chicago. He also handled sales and marketing for the Telemundo station and, before that, worked in sales management at NBC O&Os WMAQ-5 in Chicago, KXAS-5 in Dallas and at KNSD-39 in San Diego.

She’s been singled out by her new boss for her “extensive knowledge and experience” in the Atlanta market, along with her “winning attitude and impressive accomplishments.”

That’s what Debora Collura, GM of WGCL-46 and WPCH-17 “Peachtree TV”, has to say about the stations’ new Director of Sales.

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There are two new members of the National Association of Broadcasters‘ TV Board of Directors.

Concurrently, there is a new addition to the NAB’s Radio Board of Directors, and it is the person in charge of such radio stations as Easy 93.1 in Miami and K99.1 in Dayton.

Cox Media Group CEO Dan York and WDBD-TV in Jackson, Miss. VP/GM RaMona Alexander have been appointed to the NAB Television Board of Directors.

York succeeded Kim Guthrie in 2020, following Apollo Global Management’s majority acquisition of Cox.

Alexander leads a FOX affiliate at Channel 40 that, while owned by American Spirit Media, enjoys a shared services agreement with Gray Television. She also oversees management of WLOO-TV in Jackson, a MyNetwork TV affiliate licensed to Tougaloo College.

Additionally, Alexander is responsible for Program Acquisitions at American Spirit Media.

But, it is her experience at Gray Television that has been the hallmark of her career. Alexander began her career at WJTV-12, in Jackson, Miss.

Meanwhile, Cox Media Group SVP and Head of Radio Rob Babin has been appointed to the NAB Radio Board of Directors.

Babin recently assumed those duties from now-retired Bill Hendrich.

SANTA CLARITA, CALIF. — Tune to 1100 kHz in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California, and you’ll get a Spanish-language radio Class B radio station that serves as the Bakersfield affiliate of the Don Cheto radio program.

Will that continue, now that this AM with an FM translator is being sold?

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As the continuing COVID-19 pandemic will put a kibosh for a second-straight year on the annual alcohol-fueled parade of media buyers across Manhattan that’s become Upfront Week, media companies are already gearing up for what will be a zoom-fueled cavalcade of online sessions.

Among those companies is a newly reconstituted Univision Communications. But, ahead of its May 18 digitally delivered affair, Univision’s new CEO will team with Steve Mandala’s replacement in holding a virtual presentation to clients two months ahead of that event.

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In June 2020, he was promoted to Director of Marketing for Hulu, an ascension that came after roles as SVP of Growth Marketing and VP/Subscriber Growth at the Santa Monica, Calif.-based OTT platform.

Now, this former longtime Yahoo! global marketing executive is joining Discovery Inc. to serve as its Global Chief Marketing Officer for its Discovery Direct-to-Consumer unit.

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