Radio World

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“Completely one-sided.” That’s how Curtis LeGeyt describes the proposed American Music Fairness Act, or AMFA.

In a blog post, the new president/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters says the latest performance royalty legislation would “hurt the very artists that it claims to help by having a profound effect on one of their most impactful outlets: local radio stations around the country.”

The issue is active again on Capitol Hill, as we recently reported.

“Just like some artists, thousands of radio stations around the country are struggling in the aftermath of a pandemic. Stations across the country could pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in new royalties,” LeGeyt wrote.

“Even the AMFA’s ‘starter fee’ would absolutely impact their ability to pay salaries, utility bills and cover local news, and that the fee will only get larger in the years to come.”

The latter remark refers to a provision that small broadcasters would be limited to annual payments of $500 and qualified public, college and noncom stations would pay $100.

LeGeyt says the bill addresses only one aspect of what should be a broader discussion. “A system as complex as the music licensing regime that for years has allowed artists, record labels and radio stations to thrive, deserves a holistic look if it’s no longer serving the interests of those who depend on it.”

He repeated criticism of the artists and labels that he had made in his recent hearing appearance. “It’s hard to dance when you don’t have a willing partner. The record label execs who criticize local radio while at the same time asking for airplay for their artists refused to engage in meaningful negotiations and repeatedly rebuffed every proposal we put on the table.” Read his post.

Advocates for a performance royalty are vocal about what they perceive as the injustice of the longstanding exemption for radio stations. Michael Huppe, president/CEO of SoundExchange, has said the lack of radio performance rights to artists or labels “is one of the most egregious injustices that exists today in the U.S. music industry.”

The post LeGeyt Dismisses Proposed Royalty “Starter Fee” appeared first on Radio World.

Gordon Smith in an image from the 2021 State Leadership Conference.

Gordon Smith, who recently stepped down as president/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, will receive the NAB Distinguished Service Award in April.

“It is an honor to present him with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of the immense impact he has left on broadcasting in our country and around the world,” said his successor, Curtis LeGeyt.

The organization said that during Smith’s decade, the association “played a pivotal role on a number of significant issues affecting broadcasters, including the broadcast television spectrum incentive auction, preservation and modernization of the music licensing and copyright system, the ongoing transition to the NextGen TV transmission standard, reviews of media ownership rules and the increased dominance of tech platforms in the advertising marketplace.”

The award will be presented at the NAB Show Welcome session on April 25 in Las Vegas.

The award goes to a person “who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the American broadcasting industry.” David Sarnoff was the first recipient in 1953; Jim Henson is the most recent, given posthumously in 2020. Other recipients include Eddie Fritts, Cathy Hughes, Lowry Mays, Alan Alda, Dick Wiley, Jim Quello, and Robin Roberts, among others.

Smith is a former U.S. senator who practiced law in New Mexico and Arizona before returning to Oregon to direct the family-owned Smith Frozen Foods business in Weston, Ore. (His Twitter handle is @peapicker541.) He also served in the Oregon State Senate and was its president.

The post Smith to Receive NAB Distinguished Service Award appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartMedia Albany’s News Radio 810 and 103.1 WGY will celebrate the station’s 100th anniversary on Feb. 20.

WGY was founded by General Electric in 1922. Dame Media sold the station to Clear Channel, now iHeart, in 1999. “The Capital Region’s Breaking News, Traffic and Weather Station” will mark the occasion with a special broadcast and new podcast series.

According to a “list of firsts” on the station’s website, WGY was the first station in the state of New York; gave the first presentation of a radio drama in August 1922; was the first to broadcast at 50,000 watts (and at various times used two to four times that); aired the first World Series coverage, with WJZ; and made the first use of a condenser microphone.

[Read More Stories About the History of Radio]

Anniversary events kick off Feb. 20 with a live celebration of the brand’s history beginning at 1 p.m. Hosts and news anchors, past and present, and other guests will be on hand. A retelling of the radio drama “The Wolf” will be presented live from the Kenmore Ballroom in Albany, N.Y., [preceded by a lecture from Chris Hunter from the Museum of Innovation and Science. Music by the Musicians of Ma’alwyck chamber music ensemble will also be featured.

WGY kicked off its centennial year with a new podcast series, “Wireless: 100 Years of WGY.” The podcast, which features candid interviews with many familiar WGY voices, launched Jan. 31. It is hosted by WGY News Anchor Mike Patrick with new episodes released weekly.

Program Director Jeff Wolf was quoted in the announcement saying that leading the station into its next 100 years was an honor. “We’re looking forward to highlighting our first 100 years and commemorating important events in history throughout 2022.”

John Cooper, senior vice president of programming for iHeartMedia Albany, said WGY has had an impact on his life since the early 1960s. The anniversary of service to the community is an “amazing milestone,” he said.

“WGY became a trusted source of information that helped me begin and develop my business career,” said Howard Greiner, Area President for iHeartMedia Albany. “It is very meaningful to be a part of this celebration with great people, past and present, at WGY.”

For more information about the weekly podcast and the event at the Kenmore, visit the station’s website.

The post WGY Celebrates 100 Years appeared first on Radio World.

The IBC Technical Papers Committee has extended the deadline for its 2022 call for papers.

Proposals are now due by 12 noon EST (17:00 GMT) on Feb. 16, and the 300-word synopses must be submitted online.

[Previously: “IBC2022 Conference Opens Call for Technical Papers”]

“This year the competition is high. We are looking for original, non-commercial research on solutions to real-world problems faced by the international broadcast and digital media industry,” stated the committee.

For examples of the sorts of articles being sought, the committee recommends looking at 2021 technical papers currently available via IBC Digital.

The post IBC Paper Submission Deadline Extended appeared first on Radio World.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Radio World “Best in Market” and “Best of Show” Awards for spring 2022.

“All signs point to the NAB Show returning to an in-person format this year,” said Editor in Chief Paul McLane. “None of us knows exactly what the new normal in convention-going will be like, of course, but it will be so good to see old friends and make new connections again. Meanwhile companies that don’t plan to exhibit can participate in the award program through the Best in Market option.”

The “Best of Show” awards, from Radio World and other brands at its parent company Future, are chosen from companies that exhibit at the NAB Show in April and that submit nominations. The “Best in Market” is open to any company.

Participating brands include Radio World, Mix, TVTech, B+C, Sound & Video Contractor, NextTV and TVBEurope. Each publication announces its own winners’ list.

All nominees and winners will be featured in a post-convention Program Guide distributed to our readers. (Here’s a look at last year’s guide.)

The nomination page includes answers to frequently asked questions. Deadline for entering is April 8.

 

 

 

The post Nominations Open for Best of Show/Best in Market appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC clearly has been giving a lot of thought to the state of the Emergency Alert System.

The commission spent much of 2021 reviewing EAS for ways to tweak it, as mandated by Congress; and it has taken some steps, such as requiring State Emergency Communications Committees to meet at least annually and to submit plans for FCC approval. It is exploring other ideas such as internet alerting, as we’ve reported.

Another Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, opened at the FCC’s December meeting, deals mainly with video accessibility but has some radio implications. And a companion Notice of Inquiry asks about further changes that could affect EAS and radio much more broadly.

Better crawls
The EAS system consists of both the legacy broadcast infrastructure as well as an internet-based Common Alerting Protocol structure, which has better visual messaging capabilities.

In its NPRM, the FCC proposes first to clarify the visual crawl for legacy-based nationwide EAS tests — like the National Periodic test last August — by requiring TV stations and other video service EAS participants to use scripted text as opposed to constructing the visual crawl from the header code.

The crawl text would be “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency covering the United States from [time] to [time]. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”

In its notice the FCC asks a series of questions about that proposal, including whether for reasons of consistency it should also apply to CAP-based nationwide EAS tests, or whether doing so would limit the flexibility of CAP alerts.

The commission then also proposes to change the terminology for the nationwide test event code or NPT from “National Periodic Test” to “Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System.” The NPT code itself would stay the same but the name seen by the public would be clearer.

The commission pointed out that FEMA separately has recommended a change in terminology for the PEP originator code from “Primary Entry Point system” to “National Authority.”

[Related: The FCC Studies Internet EAS Alerting]

If both of these changes were adopted, the FCC said, the minimum required information in a CAP-based nationwide test visual crawl would change from “The Primary Entry Point system has issued a National Periodic Test for the United States beginning at [time] and ending at [time]” to “The National Authority has issued a Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System for the United States beginning at [time] and ending at [time].”

It wants to know, among other things, if these changes will make the visual message for CAP-based nationwide EAS tests more understandable and informative, or if other language would be clearer.

Polling IPAWS
All of the above is aimed at video service providers but sets the stage for consideration of additional changes with more relevance to radio.

The second major proposed step in the NPRM is to require EAS participants, including radio stations, to “poll” IPAWS, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System when they receive a legacy-based state or local area EAS alert, to confirm whether there was a CAP version available, and to process that alert instead. National Weather Service alerts would be included in this requirement. (NWS alerts are not currently sent on the IPAWS EAS feed.)

The goal is to promote the use of CAP and its capacity to provide matching visual and audio messages.

The FCC noted that EAS participants typically receive legacy and CAP versions of an alert at different times, and the rules don’t specify which version gets delivered. The rules do allow participants to check for CAP versions of state and local legacy EAS alerts but they don’t require it. Unless a station has programmed its equipment to check for a CAP version when it gets a legacy version, the equipment will process whichever is received first.

But CAP allows alert originators to relay enhanced text that can transcribe full audio messages, allowing visual messages that can match longer audio messages. And the FCC believes that any encouragement of the use of CAP versions is beneficial, because those alerts have more information, potentially including visual and audio messages that match.

The commission asks for feedback on that proposal, including whether it could be achieved via a software update and whether there are other ways to facilitate the use of CAP by alert originators with enhanced text that transcribes the verbiage in the audio message.

The FCC isn’t proposing to extend this proposed CAP prioritization mandate to nationwide EAS tests, which often are used to test performance in distributing a presidential EAN message under circumstances where only legacy EAS is available. But it did ask for comment on whether it should do so.

It also asks whether EAS participants should be allowed some minimum timeframe when polling IPAWS before determining that no CAP version is available. And it asked if its CAP prioritization proposal should include required monthly and weekly tests.

Longer view
Along with the NPRM proposals described above, the FCC issued a notice of inquiry, asking for comment on more steps that could improve the accessibility and utility of EAS. The commission uses NOIs as a way to create a dialogue about longer-term questions and possibilities that are not immediately on the table.

Again, much of the NOI’s discussion was about video yet it overlaps with radio interests.

The FCC points out that EAS is an audio-based system and that the legacy portion of the infrastructure was not designed with visual display of text in mind.

In legacy-based alerts, originators currently can generate an audio message that verbalizes the header code elements used to generate the visual message, so that the visual and audio messages match. But this approach may leave unused some of the two-minute allotment for the audio message. That extra time could be used to convey important information. But fully using the two minutes could mean that the visual information will not match the audio portion of the alert.

[Related: Carriers Report Success in National WEA Test]

So in the NOI, the commission asks whether legacy EAS should be modified to enable the distribution of enough text to transcribe the entirety of a two-minute audio message. This raises a technical question.

It notes that the legacy EAS uses AFSK modulation to convert data into audible tones, a process considered cumbersome. Using it to relay sufficient text to match the verbiage in a two-minute audio message theoretically would result in a tone that is roughly 30 seconds in length.

EAS participants have feared that longer alert tones could send listeners searching for the “off” button, or perhaps moving over to streaming providers, where there are no alerts (at least at present).

So the FCC asks: Would the public — not to mention radio and TV stations and other EAS participants — tolerate such a tone? Is there a better compression or modulation scheme that would deliver the necessary information, functioning across all EAS participant services and delivering live audio and maybe video? Is there a role for digital transmission standards such as ATSC 3.0 or HD Radio to improve EAS capabilities?

And last, the commission really goes broad.

It asks: Rather than focusing on ways to modify legacy EAS to relay text or CAP, would it make sense to use legacy EAS only for the Emergency Action Notification (EAN) and NPT, but require use of CAP for all other alerts?

And if legacy EAS can’t be reasonably modified to allow alert originators to distribute text to transcribe a two-minute audio message, should the legacy EAS architecture be redesigned altogether?

The commission noted that in 2012, when it adopted CAP EAS rules, it kept the legacy EAS because of its resiliency in the face of a national emergency and because there was no fully CAP-centric system in place to replace it. It now asks whether those factors “remain as true and relevant today,” and whether EAS could be redesigned to keep the resiliency and automation of legacy EAS but with the functionalities of CAP.

First thoughts
We asked some EAS observers for reaction to all of the above.

Harold Price, president of manufacturer Sage Alerting Systems, said requiring stations to poll the IPAWS server as described in the NPRM is an “automatic seek-and-fetch of the CAP message when the broadcast EAS version is received first.” He said it raises the possibility of delays, including timeouts of alerts and message duplication errors.

“It is possible the legacy message will be generated and transmitted via a state relay system before it is sent to or processed by IPAWS.”

However, he continued, the requirement could result in better audio quality.

On the question of whether the legacy EAS might be redesigned to enable distribution of text sufficient to transcribe a two-minute audio message, Price and some others expressed doubt.

“There is little chance of improving EAS by stuffing long multilingual text strings down a 65-character-per-second pipe,” he said.

Ed Czarnecki, vice president of global and government affairs for manufacturer Digital Alerting Systems, said, “The existing protocol enables us to create that short standard EAS message. The question is whether and how EAS can support more text. I think it’s safe to say that nobody desires a solution that results in overly long tone bursts over the airwaves to carry all that text.”

Czarnecki noted the proposed change of the PEP originator code to “National Authority” instead of “Primary Entry Point.”

“A software update for all EAS devices could handle this. If adopted, I’d hope that this proposal will provide enough time to allow for such a change to be slid into a minor software update.”

Czarnecki said the NPRM asks several questions that may pose issues for the radio industry. “For example, they ask whether it makes sense to only use legacy EAS for the EAN and NPT and rely on internet CAP for all other alerts, which could signal a less relevant position for radio broadcasting in general.”

He also noted that the FCC didn’t exempt radio stations from the proposal that EAS participants poll IPAWS.

“I think there is some good logic behind this. One benefit would be giving radio stations with access to first-generation CAP audio, when available, compared to second- or even third-generation audio from a conventional EAS message,” he said.

“Another indirect benefit for radio stations with newsrooms is that the expanded CAP text may also provide more detail and a fuller ‘story’ than conventional EAS messages.”

He said the company’s DASDEC equipment already has the capability, which it calls Triggered Cap Polling.

“Another use case for the FCC’s proposal comes to mind: multilingual,” he said. “If a multilingual CAP message is available, the use of Triggered CAP Polling would prompt a station to seek out that CAP message and use its contents instead. That content could include optional additional languages, in the case of a Spanish radio broadcaster, or any other provided language.”

Czarnecki does not agree with the idea to use legacy EAS only for the Emergency Action Notification (EAN) and NPT and require use of CAP for all other alerts.

“We’ve noted many times, including in our own filings with the FCC, that legacy EAS provides a resilient backup system when CAP over internet is unavailable for any reason.”

He cautions, “The reliability of our public warning architecture could be dangerously compromised if the FCC allows CAP-only monitoring without radio-based EAS at least as a backup.”

He said EAS manufacturers also have reservations about the FCC’s question about whether the legacy EAS architecture should be redesigned altogether.

“Triggered CAP Polling adequately addresses this question. The full text can be contained in a CAP message. If EAS is received first, that triggers the EAS device to poll IPAWS for CAP, and uses that message instead. If CAP or the internet is not available in an extreme situation, then at least the basic EAS message can be issued.”

Manufacturers believe there may be ways that EAS can be improved without a costly architecture redesign. However, the feeling is that discussion within industry might be more appropriate at this stage.

Czarnecki said, “The questions posed in the NOI are appreciated in that they are far-reaching. We’re hoping to confer with other EAS manufacturers about various technical issues that these questions raise.”

Read the full proposal at https://tinyurl.com/rw-eas-4. File comments to the FCC at www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. To read others, enter 15-94 in the “Specify Proceeding” field.

Comment deadlines had not been set as of mid-January.

The post FCC Raises Broader Questions About EAS appeared first on Radio World.

From left: Ash Levitt, Bob Heil, and Steve Warford

Microphone manufacturer Heil Sound has new top leadership for the first time in its 56-year history.

The Illinois-based company said Bob and Sarah Heil have transferred ownership to current President/CEO Ash Levitt and Director of Operations Steve Warford.

“Sarah Heil has retired, but Bob will continue to do outreach work and product design within the amateur radio space under the title Founder and CEO Emeritus,” it stated.

The company said Levitt and Warford each began working with Heil Sound as teenagers, building and packaging products. “Levitt took a different career path in academia for a number of years, but continued to regularly consult with Heil Sound during that time. He returned to the company full-time in 2017 and assumed the role of president in 2020. Warford worked his way up in the company during his tenure and has been responsible for daily operations for the past several years.”

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

An Early Photo of Bob Heil

Bob Heil began his audio career as a teenager performing concerts as the house player on the Wurlitzer theater organ at the Fox Theater in St. Louis. According to a company bio he was also deeply involved in ham radio and began tinkering with electronics and electronic design.

He opened “Ye Olde Music Shoppe” in Marissa, Ill., in the early 1960s and found success catering to professional touring bands. Heil Sound was formed in 1966 to provide pro touring gear and systems, and system design and equipment for music festivals.

Among his innovations is the famous Talk Box used by Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton, the quadrophonic mixer for the Who, and modular mixing consoles. The company entered mic manufacturing in the 1990s based in part on the prompting of Bob Heil’s friend the musician Joe Walsh.

In its announcement of the transition, the company quoted Bob Heil saying, “My life has been about achieving great sound, whether on the concert stage or in the amateur radio world. … This company has been my passion but it is time for me to step aside.”

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

The post Heil Sound Has New Leadership appeared first on Radio World.

An image from Dielectric shows a scale model of an antenna and an HFSS virtual version

The National Association of Broadcasters supports the idea of allowing computer simulations for FM antenna directional patterns — as long as certain guardrails are in place.

“NAB believes that computational simulation of FM directional antennas is already mature and can produce comparable accuracy to physical measurements, thus minimizing the potential for new interference,” it wrote in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

But it cautioned that “electromagnetic modeling software is complex, can be subject to manipulation, and limited by the accuracy and completeness of the input data.”

In November the commission opened an NPRM on this issue and proposed to permit the modeling. The change was urged in a joint petition from Dielectric, Jampro, Radio Frequency Systems and Shively Labs, all of which make antennas, as well as broadcaster Educational Media Foundation.

The most common reason to use a directional antenna by a commercial full-power FM station is to allow it to “short-space” to another FM station while maintaining contour protection to that station.

[Related: “Dielectric Expects FCC to OK FM Pattern Modeling”]

NAB wrote in its filed comments that the accuracy of computer simulation is “fundamentally dependent on the accuracy of the data input to the software.” So the association urged the FCC to require that full documentation of the underlying data and its sources be available to the commission and to “interested parties upon request.”

It wants the FCC to require the following: a statement of the qualifications of the people responsible for modeling; a complete description of the antenna system; limits of 15 dB max/min in the azimuth plane and of 2 dB/10-degree rate-of-change in the azimuth plane; and certification by a licensed land surveyor or equivalent that the antenna is oriented properly and installed at the correct height.

On other aspects, the NAB said the FCC should not require “in situ” measurements beyond ensuring the proper installation of the antenna. The commission should accept results from any appropriate electromagnetic modeling software. And, NAB said, absolute accuracy is not practically achievable, so the commission shouldn’t try to attain prediction accuracies that don’t materially affect the interference environment.

Click here to read the NAB’s filing in PDF format.

The post NAB Supports Directional FM Modeling appeared first on Radio World.

Ben Palmer

Planning for the 2022 NAB Show is ramping up, and Radio World is asking exhibitors about their expectations for what will be the first in-person spring show in three years.

Ben Palmer is president of Arrakis Systems.

Radio World: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend that radio professionals should be watching for at the show?
Ben Palmer: I think that there will be a great emphasis on flexibility and accessibility with technology. As we learned with the pandemic, it is important for your studio to be available to you at any moment.

RW: What will be your most important news or exhibit theme?
Palmer: We are excited to show off the new changes we have implemented with our APEX automation system, as well as updates to our analog and AoIP consoles. Specifically with APEX, we have added new cloud features that make it more robust and easier to manage remotely.

The Arrakis APEX Automation System

RW: How is it different from what’s available on the market?
Palmer: The cloud technology services that we are adding to APEX utilizes the latest in security protocols. I believe that this goes a step beyond what has been used by many other systems on the market.

RW: How has the lack of physical trade shows affected your clients or your own business?
Palmer: Sales have done well in spite of the lack of shows. While it has always been wonderful to meet face to face, we have still been able to maintain our relationships with our customers.

Arrakis Booth: N2338

The post Exhibitor Preview: Arrakis Systems at NAB Show appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC Media Bureau has finalized a filing penalty against the winning bidder of an FM construction permit for Hugo, Colo., reducing the fine to $1,000 and calling the error a “minor delinquency.”

ScarboroughRadio LLC, a winning bidder in Auction 109, failed to file a post-auction Form 2100, Schedule 301 long-form application until a couple of weeks after the deadline last September.

Applications can be dismissed outright in such circumstances, the commission pointed out; but an applicant can establish good cause if “minor, inadvertent” post-auction delinquencies don’t disrupt its auction process or undermine its goal of facilitating rapid implementation of service.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

In issuing a notice of apparent liability in December, the FCC waived the deadline, saying that Scarborough had complied with its other obligations, there was no indication of bad faith and the late filing was a minor violation. That meant Scarborough could go ahead with its plan to add FM service to Hugo.

But the FCC did propose a $3,000 fine in the NAL. Company principal Scott Scarborough then filed a response, noting that he is a first-time auction participant, and that after working with the Media Bureau staff on preparation of the long-form application, “it was his understanding that there was no more to be done, that the filing was complete and that there were no issues regarding late filing.”

The commission now has issued a forfeiture order. It said auction bidders were informed through various means of the rules for the post-auction long-form application; but, it continued, Scarborough replied to its NAL promptly, made its final payment and met the other relevant obligations.

“These facts, combined with the fact that Mr. Scarborough proactively reached out to bureau staff to complete the late-filed application, support Scarborough’s assertion that its late application filing was wholly inadvertent.” For this “minor post-auction delinquency,” the FCC settled on a reduced forfeiture of $1,000.

The post FCC Reduces Fine on Successful Bidder appeared first on Radio World.

The year 2021 was a quiet one for U.S. broadcast transactions, according to a new report, and radio station deal values were at their lowest point in at least 40 years.

According to a market deal recap, S&P Global Market Intelligence found that while broadcast station advertising revenue rebounded from the hit it took in 2020 due to the COVID outbreak, the station transaction market is sitting at near-historical lows.

Total TV and radio deal volume for 2021 was $4.72 billion. Radio represented only 4% of that; $190.2 million is the lowest value for radio transactions in the company’s records, spanning four decades.

The four largest radio station deals were driven by three of the country’s top-10 TV station owners.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

In June, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced the sale of its only radio stations to Lotus Communications for $18.06 million.

And late in the year, The Walt Disney Co. received $24.25 million for its remaining radio stations: VCY America will pay $9.25 million for KESN(FM) in the Dallas–Ft. Worth market, while Good Karma Broadcasting will pay $15 million for Disney’s AM stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, along with an LMA for Emmis Communications station WEPN(FM).

Of the TV/radio broadcast total, about $4.2 billion or almost 93% came from the top two deals and their spinoffs.

In February 2021, Gray paid $925 million to Quincy Media for two TV stations and two radio stations. In April, Gray then sold 10 full-power and three low-power stations from the Quincy acquisition to Allen Media Group for $380 million. In May, Gray then announced the acquisition of Meredith Corp. and its 16 full-power and 30 low-power TV stations for $2.82 billion.

For the third year in a row, the average cash flow multiple for radio transactions remained stable at 6.6-times forward buyers broadcast cash flow. “In our estimates, only 25 full-power radio stations were sold based on their cash flow. That is, however, five stations more than in 2020.”

The post Radio Transactions Are at Near-Historical Lows appeared first on Radio World.

The author is a retired broadcast engineer who has been involved with advancing radio and television throughout his career, including for Qualcomm/MediaFLO, Harris, Nautel and ONEMedia LLC/Sinclair.

“I would like to see AM radio begin simulcasting on ATSC 3.0 signals. A single ATSC 3.0 transmitter could carry all of the AM signals in a market, in addition to TV programs.”

That was Dave Hershberger, quoted in a Radio World profile after his much-deserved receipt of the NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award.

I think his proposition is worth considering.

In my opinion, the ultimate broadcast engineering experience is still an AM directional antenna array. That said, I smile politely when I hear talk of “AM revitalization.” At this point I think a deliberate, clear-eyed look at our much-loved industry leads us to reinvention over repair.

Medium-wave spectrum is far from “beachfront property.” For reasons that have been well documented — poor building penetration, increasing noise, dwindling receivers, aging demographics — the most likely future for AM spectrum is that it will continue to lose value to the point where launching something completely new, like high-power all-digital, makes sense.

The state of deployment of ATSC 3.0 by Nielsen TV market, from the Advanced Television Systems Committee. Areas in orange have at least one station “on the air,” though most have more than one. Those in light blue have stations planning service soon; those in dark blue are coming later in the year, at which point NextGen TV will reach 75% of the viewing public in terms of USA population.

FM’s low-VHF spectrum is closer to “beachfront property,” but even high-VHF is considerably better. Note that originally, FM was promoted as a replacement for AM, it was not promoted as an additional service.

Broadcasters also distribute their linear content via unlicensed and unlimited internet. This is all IP, so there’s no limitation on what can be broadcast, how it is packaged or how much bandwidth it takes.

While OTA broadcast covers unpopulated areas well, streaming is now available in virtually every populated area, building, tunnel, venue, etc., and there are few limits to how big the “coverage area,” can be, up to and including the entire planet.

Besides 5G, tiny IP satellites are coming fast, covering the earth’s surface.

The single most important data point for broadcasters is ascertaining the audience. Our product is “eyes and ears,” a.k.a. “attention,” and we are not alone seeking and selling it.

[Read More Guest Commentaries Here]

When it comes to quantifying and qualifying the audience, OTA falls short of the internet. Interactivity, targeted advertising, non-linear and rich media are all impracticable within the current ecosystem.

That’s not trivial. Radio really can’t compete well with delivery that tells our customers exactly who is listening and can target advertising, alerts and other content.

Radio’s traditional exclusive sweet spot had been mobile. But streaming to smartphones, cars and portable “radios” with the present-day “carrier” access networks, even without 5G, is better in most ways than OTA.

FM chips in phones were never a viable option. But patrons expect that smartphone FM radio will work in any location — basement, elevator, office — where cell phones do but OTA FM cannot reach.

Selling points
So why should radio broadcasters be interested in ATSC 3.0?

First, NextGen Broadcast — and that’s what it is — is not just TV. Because it is IP-based, it can carry anything: linear radio and any data service, album art, or whatever … along with TV.

Second, OFDM on UHF runs circles around AM or FM in terms of coverage and penetration. Critical to this, is that like the HD/OFDM part of HD FM, single-frequency networks composed of multiple transmitters can push coverage into places otherwise unreachable by any other means other than the cellular carriers.

NextGen Broadcast on UHF is beachfront spectrum. No one is lining up to re-farm MW and VHF spectrum. There will be no auctions of radio spectrum.

Moving radio to NextGen Broadcast changes the ground rules.

For my entire career, it has been clear that the Venn diagram of radio and TV has two spheres that are destined to converge. The move to IP does exactly that.

In American radio, broadcasters ordinarily own and operate their own single-service transmitter (HD2, HD3 aside) and maybe some translators and streaming servers. NextGen Broadcast is a multiplex of services, radio, TV and data.

Some NextGen pioneers plan to aggregate their spectrum to move content between transmission systems; adjusting modulation/coding to maximize coverage, reach and capacity as appropriate for the individual services.

ATSC 3.0 can do that. Radio services could have a lease or other arrangement for access to a slice of NextGen multiplexes.

Currently, an FCC license is for 6 MHz of spectrum traditionally held by one entity. In NextGen broadcast, that license typically houses multiple “broadcasters.”

While one might not have to worry about tower lights or transmitter maintenance, “radio stations” likely would not be limited to those with a license and call letters. Regulations probably need to be updated, if for no other reason than rules enforcement reaches the spectrum holder and not the occupants.

There are other regulatory opportunities. For example, being IP, emergency alerting can be done once, collectively, for the whole multiplex.

NextGen has momentum
The current DTV transmission ecosystem is shifting to ATSC 3.0, with the first wave approaching completion with about 75% of the population covered by at least one NextGen Broadcast signal. According to some estimates, 2 million 3.0-capable TV sets will be in homes by Christmas of 2022.

If you think radio has challenges, look at TV. Current DTV is stuck with an ancient inefficient codec that can’t handle what today’s TVs can display and a modulation scheme (8-VSB) that can’t handle motion or support single-frequency network boosters.

It’s hard to imagine that in a decade, OTA TV will still be ATSC 1.0 in any sustainable way. Manufacturers are heavily invested in selling NextGen Broadcast throughout the world because that sells bigger, better TVs. They just have to be contemplating better “radios” too.

So how does that get NextGen Broadcast receiver chips into cars and smartphones?

For that, we have to look at the symbiotic relationship between ATSC 3.0 and 5G.

While most of the world’s connectivity traffic is unicast, the bulky part is broadcast. While the obvious 3.0 use case is the 700-pound gorilla of live linear radio and TV, there is also the anticipated distribution of data for self-driving cars and certainly things yet undreamed.

One can speculate that as the NextGen Broadcast infrastructure expands, discounted distribution and low-cost storage will be attractive for delivering more than the obvious popular movies and podcasts.

When it comes to the intersection of technology, regulation and business, anything can happen anywhere. However, NextGen Broadcast is designed to replace the world’s aging and imperfect OTA distribution. All of it.

This isn’t an incremental improvement.

As NextGen Broadcast transmission is lighting up, what is being distributed is, with few notable early exceptions, simulcasts of existing TV and radio content. That is not a typo. Audio services, including simulcasts of legacy radio stations, are being conveyed by NextGen Broadcast on the air now.

What’s next is the consumer side of the ecosystem. Clearly the first multi-millions of NextGen reception devices will be about simply making pictures and sound.

We radio broadcasters have “asks” that we might not have thought we could dream of. Dynamic (targeted) advertising and listener intelligence will need the devices to run apps that are built in or placed on the device by broadcasters. First-run NextGen TVs do some of that. Radio should be next.

Real opportunity
In a nutshell: After 20-plus years, and millions if not billions of dollars of development by hundreds of entities, NextGen Broadcast is authorized and on the air. Whether incumbent “radio” broadcasters take advantage of its capabilities and opportunities is an individual choice.

Some will stay the course, but others will enter a converged media world that is free of the major impairments and limitations we’ve been “improving” and “revitalizing” our way out of with limited success.

The combination of near-perfect distribution and the unlimited capabilities of OTA IP is a radio content provider’s Holy Grail. It might start with NextGen Broadcast simulcasts, but as a believer in radio, I think it goes much further. While we’ve been running toward revitalization, NextGen Broadcast has just tapped us on the shoulder. This is a tipping point that might take some of us by surprise.

Someday, I’d like to listen to radio in a hotel room again.

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

The post NextGen TV Is Tapping Us on the Shoulder appeared first on Radio World.

Vitec Group brand Joby has introduced a string of entry-level mics and lavs aimed at content creators, and the flagship of the new audio capture offerings is the Wavo Pro shotgun microphone, intended for use by storytellers, filmmakers and creators on the go.

The Wavo Pro is equipped with a hybrid analog/digital system to power onboard active noise reduction, a sound management app, and integrated second 3.5 mm mic input. Designed to pair with mirrorless camera hardware, Wavo PRO adapts technology from sister brands like Rycote and Audix for its feature list.

An active noise reduction system leverages onboard Rycote technology to process and clear sounds made by users in the process of operating gear, removing self-generated structural noise.

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LEDs in front and back of the microphone help provide users with real-time monitoring no-matter the orientation, but more in-depth monitoring is available via a simple, dedicated iOS and Android digital sound management app that connects to Wavo Pro via Bluetooth. The app provides creators with real-time and remote visual monitoring of sound input, independent dual-mode EQ, and customized, shareable sound setups.

A secondary mic input is provided on the microphone itself, allowing users to use multiple microphones for interviews or dual-channel recording. The mic also sports an onboard −10 dB safe track for mono or dual channel recording.

Helping ensure the microphone doesn’t bleed a camera battery drive, the Wavo Pro has an auto power mode to switch the mic on/off automatically together with the camera. Lastly, the mic pairs with the entire Joby content creation kit, including tripods, lights and mics.

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

The post Joby Wavo Pro Shotgun Mic Debuts appeared first on Radio World.

The Nebraska Broadcasters Association has joined the Society of Broadcast Engineers’ effort to bring new technical talent to the field of broadcasting through the SBE’s Technical Professional Training Program.

The SBE created the program at the beginning of 2021 in response to concerns about the ability to fill technical positions as current engineers age out of the workforce, as well as innovations in broadcasting technologies continue.

Launched in January, the NBA plans to cover the cost of TPTP enrollment for up to 12 enrollees, each accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for 2022. It has limited enrollment to one enrollee per dues-paying station employment unit.

[Related: SBE Launches New Training Program]

Jim Timm, president and executive director of the NBA, said many broadcast engineers are retiring faster than they can be replaced.

“Recognizing that many stations have a person or two on staff with some technical aptitude,” he said, “we feel the SBE’s TPT is an ideal way to help them expand their capabilities and potentially, groom some future engineers for NBA member stations.”

The Missouri Broadcasters Association launched a similar support program in 2021. Terry Beth Harper, director of member services for the MBA, agreed that finding replacements for those who have or are getting ready to retire can be difficult.

“Someone just starting out might find the right fit in the technical environment, and this program gives them a chance to explore that world a little deeper,” she said.

SBE President Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO, added, “The SBE continues to increase its education efforts, which includes the TPT. The Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Missouri Broadcasters Association have actively embraced the program, which will hopefully serve as models for other state associations to follow.”

[Related: Cummis Set to Take the Lead at SBE]

There have been 33 participants since the launch of the TPTP. So far, the fixed number of participants budgeted for by the SBE has not been met.

The cost of the SBE TPTP is $475. This includes a one-year SBE membership with SBE MemberPlus, a copy of SBE CertPreview, a copy of the SBE Engineering Handbook, enrollment in the SBE Mentor Program, and the SBE CBT certification exam application fee to be taken later.

The post Neb. Association Support for SBE Training appeared first on Radio World.

A Mississippi AM station finds itself liable for a monetary forfeiture of $7,000 after allegedly operating the station without authority.

Magnolia State Broadcasting, licensee of station WMOX(AM) in Meridian, Miss., was required to renew its broadcast license on Feb. 3, 2020, which was four months before the station’s license was set to expire on June 1, 2020. No application was filed on time, the Media Bureau said, and the station’s license expired. On June 5, Magnolia sought reinstatement of the station’s license, which the bureau treated as a petition for reconsideration. The bureau granted the petition, reinstated the station’s license and had the application formally filed on Sept. 25, 2021.

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But the Media Bureau said that Magnolia did not request special temporary authority to operate the station following the expiration of the station’s license. And because the station continued operating after the license expired, the Media Bureau said Magnolia was in violation of FCC rules. The licensee also failed to comply with the Communications Act by broadcasting for more than one day with an expired license.

The commission’s forfeiture policy establishes a base forfeiture amount of $3,000 for failure to file a license renewal application on time. The guidelines also specify a base forfeiture amount of $10,000 for operation without authorization. However, the commission can adjust the base amount upward or downward as it sees fit.

In its review of the facts and circumstances — including that Magnolia failed to file its license renewal application on time, continued to operate the station after the license expired and never filed an STA to operate the station after its license expired — the bureau proposed a final amount of $7,000.

Despite the forfeiture, the bureau found that Magnolia’s violation of the rules and the act do not present serious violations. The bureau also found no evidence that the violations constitute a pattern of abuse.

As a result the bureau agreed to grant Magnolia’s application as soon as this forfeiture proceeding is resolved. Magnolia has 30 days to submit payment.

The post Unauthorized Broadcasting Nets Miss. Station $7,000 Fine appeared first on Radio World.

Colleen Harper is stepping down from her role as the executive director of the Audio Engineering Society in March. Harper, a Certified Association Executive (CAE), has led the AES headquarters staff for the past three years, having started with the organization in January 2019.

During her time at the AES, Harper has worked with the Society’s volunteer leadership, members and industry partners to shepherd the organization through a period of radical transition due to the global pandemic.

“I care deeply about the AES, and I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished together,” said Harper. “The past three years have been a tremendously rewarding experience and some of the most challenging and enjoyable years I could have imagined. My decision to step down has been a difficult one, but I leave knowing that I have accomplished the goals established when I joined the AES. As I leave to pursue a new challenge, I am genuinely sad to leave the Society, its dedicated staff and leadership, and the wonderful community that has accepted me as one of its own.”

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“The AES has been privileged to have Colleen’s experience and unique skill set to rely upon during trying times,” said Josh Reiss, AES President. “Not only is the AES in the best financial position it’s been in for years, despite a global pandemic, but Colleen has also helped usher in forward-looking operational plans, procedures and practices that will further solidify the Society’s role as the world’s leading professional audio technological organization. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Board of Governors and the Society’s membership, we offer Colleen our sincere gratitude and wish her well as her career takes her in new directions.”

The AES Board of Directors will form a search committee to work with an outside search firm in the selection of Harper’s permanent replacement. Bill Foster, a veteran of AES leadership who served as Interim Executive Director during the search that led to the hiring of Harper, has agreed to serve again in that role following Harper’s departure in early March.

“Bill has proven his ability to see the Society through this type of transition,” said Reiss. “The Board of Directors has every confidence that he will once again provide the interim leadership needed. Colleen has set a high standard of performance that will be a perfect template to guide our search for her replacement.”

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Bauer Media Audio and Grupo Media Capital announced a definitive agreement for Bauer to acquire Media Capital Rádios.

This acquisition, which involves four of the 10 most-listened-to stations in Portugal, marks the entry of Bauer Media Audio into the Portuguese market, expanding its audio business to nine countries.

“I’m confident that under Bauer Media’s ownership, these stations will continue to thrive, be very successful and grow,” stated Mário Ferreira, chair of Grupo Media Capital, in a release announcing the deal. “… I would like to thank our talented teams for their commitment and contribution to Media Capital Rádios.”

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“We are very much looking forward to working closely with the talented team at Media Capital Rádios,” stated Bauer Media Group COO Paul Keenan. “We are committed to continuing to offer trusted news and great music and entertainment to Portuguese audiences, while bringing investment and innovation which will benefit listeners and advertisers alike.”

The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, encompasses the audience-leading Rádio Comercial; M80, the third most-listened-to station nationwide and the No. 2 station in the Greater Lisbon area, behind Rádio Comercial; youth-oriented Cidade FM; and two niche stations, Smooth FM and Vodafone FM. Bauer is also acquiring MCR’s extensive digital portfolio of 30 digital radio stations and more than 60 podcasts.

In the latest Marktest Bareme Rádio survey, MCR stations recorded a 38.7% audience share and a 54% weekly reach. Rádio Comercial logged a cumulative audience of 20.1% — the highest value ever recorded in the survey.

This announcement follows the 2021 acquisitions by Bauer Media Audio in Slovakia, Ireland and Finland.

The post Bauer Media Expands to Portugal appeared first on Radio World.

A view of the eruption of La Soufrière Volcano on St. Vincent, April 21, 2021. (Kingsley Roberts/AFP via Getty Images)

A global public awareness campaign hopes to convince the world’s nations to implement the Common Alerting Protocol.
Already in use in most of the developed world, CAP is an international standard for alerting systems that ensures the delivery of accurate, detailed and consistent alerts across all media in emergency situations.

As outlined in an online document “Call to Action on Emergency Alerting,” the campaign’s goal is “to ensure that by 2025 all countries have the capability for effective, authoritative emergency alerting that leverages the CAP suitable for all media and all hazards.”

According to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, a single CAP emergency message “can trigger a variety of public warning systems, increasing the likelihood that people receive the alert by one or more communication pathways.”

Heavy hitters
Support for this push is being provided by some big names in the international community. Endorsements have come from the likes of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Google.

AccuWeather and the World Meteorological Organization are onboard, as are the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and the World Broadcasting Unions.

[Related: Campaign Aims for Global Use of CAP]

“Broadcasters play an essential role in communicating the key facts of an emergency, mindful that everyone in harm’s way must understand what is happening and what actions to take,” said Michael McEwen, head of the WBU Secretariat.
“This is why broadcasters embrace the CAP standard. … CAP makes public alerting faster, easier, less error-prone and more understandable. CAP helps a broadcaster be certain that an alert is authentic and authoritative, and to cross-check alerts from diverse sources. CAP alerts can also be compiled on a map to show how different aspects of the emergency are evolving.”

Proven in action
The effectiveness of CAP system was demonstrated in April 2021 when the La Soufrière volcano erupted explosively on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Thanks to widespread and timely CAP alerts across all media, residents in the “red zone” were told to evacuate to safer areas.

Here’s how the prime minister’s evacuation order appeared on smartphones via CAP alert in St. Vincent.

The result: According to the Associated Press, “There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries.”

Dionne John, general manager of National Broadcasting Corp. SVG, said, “The CAP alert system was very effective during and after the eruptions. It proved to be particularly useful in alerting persons who were heading back to the red zone, whether to clean their homes or otherwise, whether it was safe to do so because of lahars and other elements. The media in turn was able to disseminate this information in a timely manner. I am positive that this may have contributed significantly to no lives being lost.”

CAP also helps keep residents informed of emergency events such as forest fires, flooding and severe storms in Canada’s remote and rugged Far North.

“Standardized delivery of unattended alerts makes communities safer while making radio more relevant as a reliable last-mile delivery mechanism, especially when there are breakdowns with online media and smart phone outages,” said “Radio Rob” Hopkins, a radio engineer in Canada’s Yukon territory.

His company, OpenBroadcaster, manufactures open-source CAP broadcast appliances for the Indigenous community radio sector. “Although most agencies don’t know, authorized issuers of emergency messages have the ability to notify residents in Indigenous dialects,” Hopkins said.

Filling the gaps
For people in the developed world, widespread adoption of CAP is a fact of life. In the United States, for example, the federal CAP system “is an aggregation of more than 1,600 city, county and state level feeds across the country,” said Eliot Christian, CEO of Alert-Hub.org CIC, an NGO committed to taking CAP global.

Eliot Christian

In fact, “Seventy percent of the world’s population lives in a country that already has a national-level CAP system. Another 15%, based on population, live in countries that are actively working on deploying CAP right now.”

It is the remaining 15% — in some of the world’s poorest countries — who lack access to CAP systems. Those are the governments the 2025 CAP awareness campaign is trying to sway. “These are the countries that are most affected by disasters because they don’t have a lot of built-in resilience,” Christian told Radio World. “For instance, their people could lose their entire livelihoods in a single hurricane.

“So yes, it is the most vulnerable countries that are unfortunately the ones that have the least developed alerting systems,” he continued. “And yet it’s so easy to create a CAP alerting system, which is why the agencies supporting this campaign agreed that it was time to issue a Call to Action and to set a deadline, to raise awareness and try to cover that remaining 15%.”

To learn more about CAP and how to deploy it in your region, visit alert-hub.org.

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

The post Campaign Aims for Global CAP Adoption appeared first on Radio World.

Bauer Media Audio UK is migrating streaming audio listeners away from third-party listening services.

“Over the next few weeks you may experience some slight changes to your listening experience if you listen to us via a third party listening service such as Sonos or TuneIn, but have no fear! We don’t expect these changes to have any noticeable effect for the vast majority of our listeners,” according to a “Changes to online listening” notice the company posted to its stations’ websites.

With the move, Bauer is encouraging Kerrang!, Planet Rock, and Absolute Radio listeners to stream the station via the company’s website, its iOS or Android apps or via Radioplayer, an app backed by the BBC and British commercial broadcasters, including Bauer.

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“Digital audio has opened up an exciting new route for advertisers, alongside broadcast advertising, to access our valued audiences,” stated Shana Hills, digital chief operating officer for Bauer Media Audio. “Having invested in more personalized products to further this reach, we’re excited to take this step, which will unlock further potential for commercial collaboration and targeting, driving significant revenue opportunities.”

The move follows the integration of Bauer stations in the U.K. onto Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart speakers, along with the Planet Radio music service for Sonos systems.

According to the company, the shift to owned-and-operating streaming delivery will allow Bauer to offer enhanced services to commercial partners as well as more personalized listener offerings.

According to the Q4 2021 RAJAR results, over three quarters of listening to Bauer stations happens via a digital device (web, mobile, smart speaker or DAB), compared to an industry average of 65 percent.

The company said that move away from third-party stream aggregators is being enacted for all of its U.K. brands, but “there are no plans for similar moves in other territories.” Bauer Media Audio operates more than 150 brands across eight European nations.

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

The post Bauer Migrates Streams to O&O Platforms appeared first on Radio World.

Performance royalties are back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill.

The House Judiciary Committee held a virtual hearing about the proposed American Music Fairness Act.

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said that four years ago, the same committee asked the broadcast and music industries to work together to develop a proposal on the terrestrial performance royalty issue. He said NAB “worked for more than 18 months and offered numerous proposals to our industry partners behind closed doors that aimed to achieve that goal. … When our concepts were rebuffed, we came back to the table with new ideas time and time again.”

LeGeyt said, “Unfortunately, the music industry was unwilling to do its part in these negotiations. … [A]s a result, we find ourselves in this hearing room today debating a performance fee proposal that is strikingly similar to its predecessors.”

[Related: Hybrid Radio and the Royalties Question]

He reiterated arguments that broadcasters have made before: that a new royalty on local radio is “financially untenable for broadcasters of all sizes and unjustified as a matter of policy,” that there is a lot of support among legislators for competing legislation called the Local Radio Freedom Act, and that artists themselves frequently acknowledge the importance of radio in their success.

Among those weighing in on the other side was singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan.

She described herself as “a very big fan of radio and its place in music.” But she told the legislators, “Each of the songs that are precious and meaningful to you was a labor of love for the songwriters, the artists, the musicians and producers that brought it to life. … But when their music is played on the radio, artists don’t get paid, only the songwriters do. The radio stations benefit from the advertising dollars. But the artists that breathed life into a song, the featured artists, the singers, producers and studio musicians, are left out.”

Estefan said this can be particularly problematic for older artists whose songs still get airplay.

“It simply doesn’t make sense that artists are not being paid when their music is played on one specific platform: AM/FM radio. Why hasn’t this been rectified sooner? … Every industrialized country except the United States provides a performance right. … Artists respect broadcast companies; all we are asking is for them to respect us back.”

And in a filed statement, Michael Huppe, president/CEO of SoundExchange, said the lack of performance rights to artists or labels “is one of the most egregious injustices that exists today in the U.S. music industry.”

He said the proposed legislation grants royalties to music creators “while protecting small broadcasters by limiting their annual payments for playing music to $500, less than $1.40 a day. And qualified public, college and noncommercial stations would pay only $100.”

Hopppe specifically criticized iHeartMedia for declining to appear. “If iHeart seeks to continue denying music creators fundamental respect, they should have the decency to do it to their faces and explain their justification.”

You can watch the full three-hour hearing online.

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

The post Radio and Performers Are Back, Arguing Over Royalties appeared first on Radio World.