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Aggregator

User Report: WIHS Upgrades Automation With ENCO

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago


The author is general manager and chief engineer of WIHS(FM).

Noncommercial, listener-supported WIHS/104.9 FM is a ministry of the Connecticut Radio Fellowship and broadcasts music plus local and national Christian programming to listeners in Connecticut, Western Massachusetts and parts of Long Island, N.Y.

I had worked at the station from 1985 to 1991, and returned last year as its general manager and chief engineer.

One of my first priorities is refurbishing all three of our station’s studios. The main objective is to update our technology, but also make the studios more aesthetically pleasing.

Phase 1 of the project was the upgrade of our on-air studio, replacing everything from the furniture and flooring to the audio console. At the heart of our technology overhaul was a significant upgrade to our ENCO DAD automation and playout system.

WIHS was a long-time satisfied ENCO customer, but our DAD deployment had not been updated in many years. The software was seven major versions behind the current release, and most of the hardware it was running on was well beyond the viable lifecycle for any computer platform. I felt like we were using the old system on borrowed time.

With our announcers familiar and happy with DAD already, we decided to stay on the ENCO platform for the upgrade. I wanted all of the equipment to come from ENCO so they could fully configure and test it before shipping it to us, making it mostly “plug-and-play” when we received it. We purchased everything turnkey from ENCO, from the mice and monitors to the workstations and network switch.

Rather than simply replacing the systems in our previous configuration, ENCO’s technical team re-architected our deployment to reduce our hardware requirements. Our old installation did not have a true server, and it had two workstations just running supporting utilities. By deploying a DAD server license on a new file server and consolidating those utilities onto it, we went from eight workstations down to five — a significant savings.

The upgrade went smoothly. An ENCO technician helped us migrate our existing DAD libraries to the new system and came to our station for final refinements and training.

Our staff members vary in their technical aptitude, but everybody has adapted nicely to the new system. We went on-air with our new ENCO deployment June 17, and it has made our playout extremely reliable and less prone to the usual issues associated with aging hardware.

Our station is roughly 60% programming and 40% music, and the DAD platform helps us by making program retrieval largely automated. The combination of the DAD DropBox utility (for watch folder monitoring) and enConveyor utility (for automating FTP and web downloads) lets us efficiently get programs into our system in ready-for-air formats with minimal intervention.

We are also in the process of deploying ENCO’s WebDAD for browser-based remote control of the DAD system. My intention is to be able to operate the station remotely, so I can give our on-air staff time off for major holidays or when we can’t find somebody to fill a shift. With WebDAD, I’ll be able to make any changes from home if needed, without requiring staff to be in the studio.

I have been pleased with both the new system and the upgrade process. The support and level of information we received from ENCO have been stellar, and we have peace of mind that we no longer have to worry about legacy equipment failing. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it again with ENCO.

Info: Contact Sam Bortz at ENCO Systems in Michigan at 1-248-827-4440 or visit www.enco.com.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

The post User Report: WIHS Upgrades Automation With ENCO appeared first on Radio World.

Steve Tuzeneu

Spotify Beefs Up Its Audience Network

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago

Spotify announced several developments related to its Spotify Audience Network, the audio advertising marketplace it introduced last winter.

The company has made Anchor podcasts in the U.S. eligible to be part of the Spotify Audience network. Anchor is a Spotify hosting platform intended to help creators monetize their podcasts.

[Read: Spotify Expands Audience Network]

Also, Spotify plans to introduce podcast ad buying to Spotify Ad Studio, its self-serve channel, beginning in the U.S. It said beta testers buying ads via Ad Studio include the company Two Men and a Truck.

Spotify also is joining the Global Alliance of Responsible Media, launching the ability to exclude sensitive topics. It says this will give advertisers more control over where their message is heard across the network. Spotify is the first audio company to join GARM.

And the company is adding new controls to allow advertisers to target their messages against relevant podcast topics.

The ad marketplace is now active in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada.

It posted details on its blog.

 

The post Spotify Beefs Up Its Audience Network appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

SiriusXM Fishes for Diversification

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago

In 2019–2020, Florida’s saltwater recreational fishing industry contributed $9.2 billion to the state’s economy. When COVID-19 finally wanes, that industry is likely to revive, as are saltwater recreational fishing industries off ocean coasts around North America.

For a diversification-minded technology company like SiriusXM, recreational fishing offers a natural business supplement to its core listening audience.

For decades, offshore fishing vessels have relied on radio for vital information. Today SiriusXM Marine is able to provide these craft with a Fish Mapping data service to identify areas in the ocean where the fish are most likely to be biting.

As an example of its activities in this area, SiriusXM announced this spring that it is now transmitting its Fish Mapping service to Furuno’s NavNet TZtouch3 line of multi-function displays (MFDs) equipped with BBWX4 SiriusXM Satellite Weather receivers.

“Furuno’s strong product line has always helped anglers get on the fish and catch them,” said Dean Kurutz, Furuno USA’s senior VP of sales, marketing & product planning, in the announcement.

“Now, with the advanced data provided by Fish Mapping, captains will have the ability to locate ideal fishing grounds by targeting specific species and sea conditions, maximizing their time on the water and helping save time and fuel.”

“Situational awareness” SiriusXM Weather and Fish Mapping on a boat helm

SiriusXM’s business case is based on providing listeners with a unique broadcast selection of entertainment, music and information audio channels.

Its North American satellite footprint covers from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts and adjoining waters. This is why “SiriusXM has provided key weather information for offshore anglers well beyond the reach of cell or internet signals for many years,” according to Geoff Leech, senior director of SiriusXM Marine Services.

“This information has provided anglers with valuable situational awareness while they are exposed out on the water.”

Initially, this weather service was voice-only. But eventually, under the name of SiriusXM Marine Weather, it was expanded to include weather and ocean data to onboard navigation displays made by Furuno, Garmin, Raymarine and the Navico brands Simrad, Lowrance and B&G.

These full-color displays allow boat operators to “see” the weather around them overlaid on top of their electronic navigation charts. The move made sense: Boat operators were willing to pay to access this data, and SiriusXM had the satellite distribution network in place to provide it to them.

SiriusXM Fish Mapping Plankton Front Strength and Sea Surface Temperature Front Strength help locate promising areas to fish.

So how did an information service for boats end up providing offshore fishing recommendations?

“One feature of SiriusXM Marine Weather that anglers value is Sea Surface Temperature data,” Leech replied.

“The areas where ocean surface temperatures change are often where bait fish find nutrients to feed on, and in turn the pelagic species of game fish feed on these bait fish. Knowing that many of our customers were already offshore anglers led us to develop Fish Mapping so we could provide additional fishing information for these valued customers.”

The Fish Mapping service costs $99.99 a month and includes SiriusXM Marine’s Weather information. The service can be suspended at no charge for up to six months each year.

The science

Fish Mapping works by identifying the qualities in areas of the ocean that influence the likelihood of finding desirable game fish such as marlin, tuna and wahoo, among others.

These ocean features include variations in sea surface height (upwellings of nutrients), surface/subsurface temperatures, “weed lines” — floating vegetation where fish congregate to find food and shelter, and where they are hunted by larger predator fish — and plankton concentrations.

SiriusXM Fish Mapping recommendations identify areas that oceanographers recommend for zeroing in on six target species.

At SiriusXM Marine Weather, “the data for our Fish Mapping service is provided by oceanographers from Maxar Technologies,” said Leech.

“Maxar is a satellite company that provides Google Earth imagery and other services including information to help find the best fishing conditions. The oceanographers at Maxar compile and analyze data from various sources and send it to SiriusXM to incorporate in our satellite feed for our Fish Mapping customers.”

This feed reaches boats up to 150 miles offshore. A SiriusXM receiver on the boat captures the signal, which is translated into images shown in large-screen format directly on the boat’s navigational display.

“Having onboard fishing-specific data showing the areas of the ocean where pelagic species of fish are most likely to congregate is seen as a true ‘game changer’ by offshore anglers,” Leech told Radio World.

“SiriusXM Marine Weather helps boaters stay away from dangerous weather so they can enjoy their time on the water, and Fish Mapping helps anglers find the best spots to fish, saving time and fuel.”

Happy customers

Finding that place where the fish are a-bitin’ is a constant question for fishing enthusiasts. SiriusXM’s Fish Mapping service harnesses science to answer this question, resulting in a lot of happy “fisherpeople,” if not happy fish.

“The ‘Fishing Recommendations’ are my favorite feature,” wrote Captain Greg Weaver of E-Fishing Sea Sport Fishing Charters in a testimonial sent to SiriusXM.

“In a recent trip, I headed out to the areas marked as recommended for wahoo. In addition to catching wahoo, I found that the area was productive with bait and I also caught tuna and marlin. Fish Mapping has already made a huge impact on where I take my charter customers.”

Dave Johnson, Mike Hatcher and Captain Tom Robinson of the fishing craft “Fixed Income” in Naples, Fla., told the company that after looking at SiriusXM’s Fish Mapping Fishing Recommendations feature on their Garmin plotter and seeing several recommended areas for wahoo, they aimed the Intrepid for one of the overlapping “fish bubble” areas about 80 miles offshore.

“We put two weighted wahoo flatlines out well behind the boat and two outriggers with skirts chugging over the wakes and trolled at 8.5 knots. We had our first wahoo on in minutes.”

Given its success in Fish Mapping, SiriusXM is understandably motivated to move into new areas beyond its core audio business.

“We are constantly exploring new and innovative services that would bring additional value to our existing and prospective subscribers,” said Geoff Leech.

The post SiriusXM Fishes for Diversification appeared first on Radio World.

James Careless

Paul Schafer Was a Father of Radio Automation

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago
Paul Schafer. Photo: Rob Schafer

This article was originally published in the June 8, 2016 issue of Radio World and posted to the Radio World website on June 10, 2016.

***

Radio World reported the passing of Paul Schafer earlier. This article is a more detailed story about his life.

Paul Schafer, who is called a father of radio programming automation technology, died this winter in Bonita, Calif., following complications from a fall. He was 90.

Schafer spent virtually his entire life in broadcasting, receiving his first FCC license as a teenager in 1942 and being hired to do on-air work the same year by WJOB in his hometown of Hammond, Ind. The following year he moved on to Fort Wayne’s WOWO where he had a chance to ply his engineering skills. After time out for World War II military service in the U.S. Army’s Signal Corp. division, he joined WANE in Fort Wayne, dividing his time between equipment maintenance, selling time and pulling air shifts. He eventually left Indiana for Virginia, where he was employed as chief engineer and assistant manager at Norfolk’s WNOR.

Schafer’s big career break came in 1951 with a move to California and employment at the network level as a summer relief engineer with NBC’s Hollywood broadcast operation. He worked with some of the biggest movie and radio talent of the day at NBC and later remarked that he had had a chance to be involved in “the last of the golden years in radio.”

Schafer poses with one of his transmitter remote control units in a 1950’s photo. Photo: Rob Schafer

Pioneered Transmitter Remote Control
It was during his stint at NBC that the FCC began to relax rules on transmitter operation, allowing certain classes of stations to operate without an operator at the transmitter site, as long as a licensed engineer could control and monitor operations from the station’s studio location. With the assistance of another NBC engineer, Bill Amidon, Schafer soon devised a remote control system that met commission requirements, and installed the first such unit at Oakland, Calif.’s KROW in 1953.

The introduction of this product marked the beginning of the Schafer Custom Engineering business. (Later the name was changed to Schafer Electronics.)

A few years after the launch of the remote control system, the National Association of Broadcasters used it in an extensive field testing program to test the viability of remote control for additional classes of radio stations. The NAB ultimately convinced the FCC to further relax rules governing operation of broadcast transmitters.

First Radio Program Automation
In 1956, Schafer was approached by the owner of KGEE in Bakersfield, Calif., to see if he could devise a system to provide overnight programming content without the involvement of a human operator on duty, thus allowing the station to further economize on operational expenses, as transmitter control and logging had already been remoted by Schafer.

The delivery of a package built around Seeburg jukebox 45 rpm record changer mechanisms and some Ampex reel-to-reel tape decks for playback of commercials and station IDs marked Schafer Electronics’ entry into the program automation business. This first system would be considered crude in comparison to later automation packages delivered by Schafer, but it marked the launch of a completely new technology in the broadcasting industry.

One of the Schafer Custom Engineering mobile automation system showcases used to demonstrate the product outside of trade shows. Photo: Rob Schafer

Schafer and his engineering staff went on to develop increasingly more versatile and sophisticated program automation systems, including the Model 903 that appeared in the 1970s and became an industry standard. His name became synonymous with radio automation and his client base eventually grew to more than 1,000, with systems installed at radio operations all over the world.

Schafer’s automation systems were marketed by Collins Radio, Gates (later Harris and now GatesAir), RCA and others, as they had no similar products of their own. Schafer Electronics’ latest creations were a big part of the NAB Show for many years. However, Schafer was aware that not all broadcasters were able to attend such trade shows and outfitted several busses and motor homes with his systems and went “on the road” to demonstrate the value of program automation to management and engineering staff at smaller stations across the United States.

Schafer sold Schafer Electronics in 1968, but launched a new business the following year, Schafer International. In the mid-’80s he founded a third business, Schafer Digital, which was involved in the development of PC-based program automation and traffic systems.

Stereo FM Validation
Schafer was tapped by the FCC in the 1960s — when AM radio was still king — to assist the commission in proving the worthiness of FM to broadcasters through some intensive field testing of the newly-adopted U.S. FM stereo broadcasting standard. (Part of the testing involved transmission of a stereo audio pair by satellite.)

Paul Schafer received the Radio Engineering Achievement Award from the National Association of Broadcasters in 2002. He is shown with NAB’s Lynn Claudy.

According to Schafer, the NAB also had a hand in the testing and demonstrations, as that organization believed that the U.S. FM stereo standard should be adopted worldwide.

He was honored with the NAB’s 2002 Engineering Achievement Award and authored a chapter on remote control for one of that organization’s Engineering Handbooks. Schafer was also the owner of a number of radio stations. His family included five children

A private ceremony to celebrate Schafer’s life is planned for June 18.

The post Paul Schafer Was a Father of Radio Automation appeared first on Radio World.

James E. O'Neal

AI-Driven Insights, With A Focus On Advertising Performance

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — One of the leading privately held radio and outdoor media companies in the Pacific Rim has licensed Veritone, Inc.‘s AI-driven application that brings real-time insights into data-driven advertising performance.

Be sure to follow RBR+TVBR on Twitter for the latest Breaking News first!

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RBR-TVBR

Scripps Closes On Purchase of Two LPTV Permits

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

In mid-August, RBR+TVBR first reported on the purchase of construction permits for low-power television stations located in the Southernmost City in the United States and in the heart of the Coachella Valley, respectively, by The E.W. Scripps Co.

That deal, brokered by Bob Heymann of the Chicago office of Media Services Group, has just closed.

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Adam Jacobson

Cultural vs. Multicultural Insights: A Battle Of Meanings

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

There are several ways to employ “cultural insights” to help brands gain the right amount of intelligence to solve the larger questions surrounding the consumer — and the marketing campaign surrounding a brand.

With the right insights, marketers can create solutions for today, and also shape how their media buy looks. In this column, brand strategist Whitney Dunlap-Fowler offers her expert analysis of how the right cultural insights can be best used for one’s branding needs.

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RBR-TVBR

Former Radio Executive Dale Weber Remembered

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

He was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2004, thanks to his time at a Top 40 giant in the Twin Cities and, later, at Nationwide Communications. Upon his 2002 retirement, he ran Saga Communications’ Champaign and Springfield, Ill., properties.

Now, the life of Dale Weber is being recalled by the radio industry, as the former executive has died.

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Adam Jacobson

As D.C. Democrats Push ‘My9’ Bill, ‘NJNN’ Is Spun

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

A group of Capitol Hill Democrats in both the House and Senate made it clear this week that they want legislation adopted that would force WWOR-9 in Secaucus, N.J., owned by FOX, to turn its attention away from the Big Apple and focus instead on the Garden State.

Interestingly, little was mentioned about the “New Jersey News Network,” operating on co-channel signals covering Northern New Jersey and the five boroughs of the City of New York.

Perhaps they knew about its sale, as that’s just been consummated. Who’s the buyer?

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Adam Jacobson

Saga Schedules Its Q3 Earnings Release

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

Add Saga Communications to the growing calendar of media companies that will be releasing their third quarter financial results during the first week of November.

Be sure to follow RBR+TVBR on Twitter, so you’ll get Breaking News as it happens.

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Adam Jacobson

A Ponca City Operator Doubles Up

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

Travel to the north of Stillwater, Okla., via U.S. Highway 177, and you’ll reach Ponca City. It’s home to the Pioneer Woman Museum, and a museum devoted to regional gasoline brand Conoco.

It’s also home to the broadcasting, news, sports, and media entertainment platform operating under the Ponca Post brand. Until now, two radio brands have been under Ponca Post’s operations. Soon, two more will be added to the mix.

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Adam Jacobson

Four Years Forward: Cord-Cutting’s MVPD ‘Pinch’

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

Here’s another warning to MVPDs from a global market intelligence organization regarding the continued wave of “cord cutting” inflicting harm on the cable and DBS service provider’s growth prospects in the near-term.

“Video cord cutting is expected to strip nearly $33.6 billion in annual revenue from traditional U.S. multichannel services” by the end of 2025.

That’s according to a report released this week by Kagan.

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Adam Jacobson

The Media Deal Street Beat: Another Forecast 2022 Top Topic

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

What’s the Deal? That’s a question we ask in the just-released RBR+TVBR Fall 2021 Special Report. The broadcast deal flow sank to a decade-long low in 2020, although TV M&A activity is strong. The trend seems to be cemented for 2021, unless a surprise mega-transaction for Radio emerges in Q4.

Is deregulation the deal ignitor needed for radio? Are over-leveraged, revenue-challenged media properties particularly vulnerable, and acquisition targets from cash-rich enterprises? The conversation is poised to continue at a Forecast 2022 session that’s worthy of every broadcast leader’s presence — and perhaps a financier or broker, too.

An esteemed panel of investment specialists will take a hard look at the status of 2021 and the future of 2022 for broadcast investments in this “fact-based, tire kicking” session.

With Guggenheim Securities Senior Advisor Drew Marcus as the session moderator, the transactions outlook will take center stage as Wells Fargo Securities Managing Director and Senior Equity Media/Cable Analyst Steven Cahall participates in a discussion alongside Noble Capital Markets Managing Director/TMT Christopher Ensley and veteran media broker Richard A. Foreman.

The morning session on November 16 at Forecast 2022 could see Foreman elaborate on commentary shared to readers in the Fall 2021 RBR+TVBR Special Report.

Richard A. Foreman, appearing at Forecast 2022 on Nov. 16, 2021 in New York.

Looking at the deal landscape, Foreman believes the radio industry has really been in a funk when it comes to transactions. “That’s created by a few buried issues,” he said. “You’re dealing with a technology today that is over 100 years of age that has withstood the hands of time greatly, but it is wearing. And, there are tremendous competitive products out there that really compete against it.”

Thanks to these new digitally delivered audio options, combined with the pandemic, radio has had what Foreman called “tremendous sluggishness in revenue.”

When Foreman looks at the television deal-making landscape, he expresses confidence in the fact that there are buyers — including the mega groups and Byron Allen-led Allen Media Group. The key problem? “There is no inventory,” he said. “That’s it. Period. And the prices being paid for television are eight to nine times trailing cash flow. But, you can’t find anything.”

For more, be sure to be present November 16 at Forecast 22 in New York.
REGISTER NOW BY CLICKING HERE!
The venue is small. Demand is higher than usual. Don’t be left out due to a sellout!

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RBR-TVBR

Carriers Report Success in National WEA Test

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago

Here’s a story of interest to those who follow emergency alerting in the United States:

The FCC has now published the list of questions that it asked major wireless companies about the recent national test of the Wireless Emergency Alert system.

Answers from the companies to the questions were already available on the FCC website, but those answers make more sense now that the original questions are also publicly available.

The national WEA test was held in August concurrently with the national EAS test that involved broadcasters. The test would have been seen only by mobile users who had opted in on their devices.

The commission had sent letters to Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T ahead of time asking them to file voluntary comments about the performance of the test on their networks. (Read the letter.)

Among the questions it asked each to answer were: Did the carrier receive the nationwide test message and transmit it to its subscribers in all geographic areas where it offers WEA coverage? At what time, to the closest millisecond, did its gateway receive the alert from FEMA IPAWS, and when did it transmit the alert to subscribers? Were there complications with alert processing or transmission? What differences were noted in WEA performance between 3G, 4G and 5G networks?

The carriers’ responses are public; the links below will open or download their filed replies:

AT&T is confident the alert was transmitted to all geographic areas. The company said alert transmission to subscribers started 40 seconds after it received it from IPAWS. AT&T had employees in 37 cities enabling the test alert on a variety of Android and iOS devices and found a 99% completion rate, though apparently the test alert was received twice by some users. “We believe we understand the reason and are working with the vendor to confirm the cause of this duplication,” it wrote.

Verizon cited a 55-second turnaround time. It said it saw several cell sites restart at various times during the alert, so those sites were late to broadcast the alert, but it said customer impact would be minimal due to coverage redundancy. “The device would ignore the later alert broadcast of the restarted cell site as a duplicated alert because the devices had already received the same alert earlier from other available cell sites.” It also noted that it received anecdotal reports that some consumer handsets didn’t receive the alert, but said some users may have misunderstood how to opt into the relatively new State/Local alert category on their devices.

And T-Mobile said it had more 50 devices monitoring the test and that it had experienced no issues, even though real WEA alerts were issued in some parts of the country during the test. T-Mobile redacted some of the information in the public version of its letter, citing security reasons.

 

The post Carriers Report Success in National WEA Test appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

APM Studios Selects Content, Strategy Leaders

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

APM Studios, the podcast production division of American Public Media, has named a new Chief Content Officer while also putting a Chief Strategy Officer in place.

For Breaking News when it happens, be sure to follow RBR+TVBR on Twitter!

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RBR-TVBR

Peraza Joins Simington’s Office

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago

Office of FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington has made a pair of personnel announcements.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Marco Peraza will join the office as a wireline advisor and also advice on signal security issues. He previously served as a law clerk to Judge Michael B. Brennan on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Peraza also worked as a software engineer with Microsoft before going to law school. He will replace Carolyn Roddy who is joining the FCC International Bureau.

Erin Boone will take over the chief of staff position along with maintaining her position as a wireless advisor.

Send news of engineering and executive personnel changes to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Peraza Joins Simington’s Office appeared first on Radio World.

RW Staff

FM 90 Radio Unity Chooses Inovonics Processor

Radio World
3 years 8 months ago

From our Who’s Buying What page: Inovonics reported that the new FM 90 Radio Unity in India chose the 719N DAVID IV FM Broadcast Processor.

The community radio station is in the tribal Narmada district.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

“The station launch is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-term vision for India to promote the empowerment of tribal youth,” Inovonics said in its announcement.

“System Integrator and Inovonics’ partner BECIL [Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd.] chose the 719N DAVID IV FM Broadcast Processor to integrate with the installation because of its audio processing capabilities and unique feature set.”

Inovonics DAVID IV 719N

BECIL provides radio and TV project consultancy, system integration and turnkey installations.

The station was launched on India´s 75th Independence Day. Inovonics noted that the station is near the 582-foot statue of statesman Sardar Patel, the tallest statue in the world and almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty.

Inovonics’ Regional Sales Manager is Mukesh Chaudhary.

Suppliers and users are both welcome to send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post FM 90 Radio Unity Chooses Inovonics Processor appeared first on Radio World.

RW Staff

Swiss Miss? FM Radio Fadeout on Schedule For 2023 Shutdown

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

COLMAR, FRANCE — If there every was a fairy tale town in Europe, the city of Colmar in France’s Alsace region may be the best example. Its old town, replete with a “little Venice” canal and numerous architectural treasures, is home to some 69,000 residents.

Here, FM radio reception is very good, with no less than 19 stations beaming from Mulhouse, a 40 minute drive to the south.

Travel another 10 minutes and you’ll reach Basel, Switzerland, a city of more than 171,000. Five Swiss FM stations can be heard, in addition to FMs tied to the large SWR regional broadcaster over the Rhine in Germany.

While that may seem small in number, the total number of FMs expected to be on the air in Basel in less than three years is zero.

Welcome to the next station to not only say goodbye to AM, but also to FM.

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Adam Jacobson

Broadcast Revenue Trends: A Forecast 2022 Focal Point

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

How has broadcast media revenue recovered from the onset of a pandemic that saw generally steep declines for Radio, and lesser dips for Television?

Is Automotive poised for a rebound, even as supply chain issues make used vehicles more valued than ever?

As the country continues to emerge from the pandemic, a Forecast 2022 session that includes the participation of TVB President/CEO Steve Lanzano is shaping up to be another provocative must-attend event.

Reviewing where the strong pockets of opportunity for broadcast advertising may be, Lanzano will be joined by GroupM Executive Director of Specialty Channels Jen Soch. Moderating the panel is Katz Media Group CEO Mark Gray.

Lanzano, whose organization last week staged the successful virtual TVB Forward Conference, spoke exclusive with RBR+TVBR for a conversation that exclusively appears in our Fall 2021 Special Report.

Of the big topics among TVB members, measurement is likely at the top of everyone’s minds, based on the discussion across the September 30 event. “Measurement is always either the top or top two sessions when we do our post-conference survey,” Lanzano said. “People love them and want more, and that’s why it is really the first major content session.”

With Nielsen seeking to work with the Media Rating Council on an accreditation hiatus, Lanzano hoped the audience measurement company’s issues will soon be somewhat more resolved than they were in late August. “We’ve been going back and forth with
Nielsen regarding accreditation,” Lanzano said. “We want BBO homes in but we want them put in at the right time, so we have good data.”

Cross-platform measurement, with one aggregated audience for content that is
deduped, “seems to be where the industry is going.” GroupM’s Soch likely has a strong view on that topic, setting Forecast 2022 up for a lively discussion.

DON’T WAIT! SECURE YOUR SEAT AT THIS LIMITED-CAPACITY EVENT TODAY.

Adam Jacobson

With Its Stock Jumpy, Salem Execs Prep for LD Micro Affair

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 8 months ago

Salem Media Group executives are gearing up for a presentation scheduled for October 13 at a key investor event of the fall season.

As they finalize what they plan on sharing, investors on Wall Street can’t decide if they should buy Salem, or make a quick profit by selling their stock.

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Adam Jacobson

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