Radio+Television Business Report

It was a cavalcade of achievements that went on for hours. This included a review of the Media Bureau and Incentive Auction teams’ accomplishments since late January 2017.

All of the presentations, however, couldn’t overshadow the biggest takeaway from the Zoom-delivered highlight reel of The FCC’s Past Four Years: Ajit Pai, Chairman of the agency overseeing media regulatory policy in the U.S., has presided over his final Open Meeting before departing next week.

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Its broadcast properties include such CBS affiliates as WPEC-12 in West Palm Beach.

And, that affiliation — along with those for 12 other stations — won’t be changing anytime soon.

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It’s a big deal for attracting institutional investors, and Townsquare Media had previously announced that its CEO, Bill Wilson, would be presenting.

Now, two of its audio media industry peers have revealed they, too, will be presenting at NobleCon17.

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It’s well-known across broadcast media that Marc Pritchard, the well-respected and admired Chief Brand Officer at Procter & Gamble Co., believes in the power — and Return on Investment — of traditionally delivered radio and television.

In 2020, with some brands pulling back on their advertising activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, P&G increased its outreach to consumers, according to new data from Media Monitors.

Procter & Gamble aired 22% more spots in 2020 than in 2019.

Specifically, the consumer products goods giant aired 23,154,642 spots in monitored markets on radio, broadcast TV and cable in 2020. That compares to 18,913,975 during the prior year, based on iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors’ rankings of the top 100 advertisers for the year.

The data combines specific brands under the P&G family, including laundry brands Tide, Gain and Downy; Bounty paper towels; Febreze fabric softener; and, of course, Charmin bath tissue.

By specific brand, GEICO was again the nation’s No. 1, airing 6,984,053 instances – also an increase over 2019 – across local cable, broadcast TV and radio when combined.

BROADCAST TV

CABLE TV

When looking solely at radio, Progressive doubled its number of instances, airing 2,694,039 spots in 2020, up from 1,307,010 instances in 2019, Media Monitors data show.

P&G, when combined, was No. 2 at radio — suggesting that some 20 million of the company’s spots were in visual media.

Don’t be misled by the disparity. “The company increased advertising of its brands in all channels, but particularly in radio, where it increased the number of instances by 44%,” Media Monitors President/CEO Philippe Generali said of P&G’s activity in 2020.

Meanwhile, as the pandemic upended normal routines, an opportunity was created for some advertisers. Language learning app Babbel rode a wave of increased interest in online education, Generali noted. The company advertised more on radio, where it entered the top 10 at No. 5.

Interestingly, Allstate jumped to No. 6 from number 57, while Quicken Loans entered at No. 8, up from number 18. Allstate of late has largely been outside of the Spot Ten Radio weekly reports produced by Media Monitors.

RADIO

“There are many reasons for advertisers to be optimistic about 2021,” Generali said. “With the presidential election behind us, advertising inventory will increase. And now that vaccine distribution is underway, people should  soon be able to move about safely, creating more new opportunities for advertisers’ products and services.”

For nearly 20 years, a 50kw Class C2 FM serving Selma, Ala., has served local listeners — most recently as a Black Gospel-tinged R&B station.

In April 2012, however, the station’s license was canceled and revoked, only to be reinstated in November of that year.

Now, this station has largely escaped another FCC matter of importance.

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Noted broker Larry Patrick, Managing Partner of Patrick Communications, is also a licensee of radio stations. And, he’s poised to gain control of three FMs as a court-appointed receiver, and immediately facilitate their sale to VCY America.

There’s just one small problem. The individual who lost control of the trio of radio stations, Ed Stolz, is engaging in what Patrick’s legal counsel calls “willful interference with court orders.” Now, it wants the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge that’s been overseeing the case to send Stolz to jail until Patrick gets the properties and can sell them — per the court’s directive.

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By Mario Xavier Carrasco

America is often described as a “melting pot” of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures. Much to the dismay of Teddy Roosevelt (who in a 1916 speech noted “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism”), Americans have perfected naming each ethnic group within our borders distinctly, and those names have evolved.

For example, we dove into the names by which Hispanics prefer to identify. Responses ranged from “Latino/Latina” to country of origin, to the hotly debated yet emerging term “Latinx.”

We see a similar pattern among Black Americans, who do not identify with labels such as “African American” despite its use in the U.S. Census, media, and other databases.

But what about the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S.: Asians? As with Hispanics, marketing to Asians must be nuanced because of the complexity of their demographics. Hispanic audiences span 20 countries of origin.

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American households are cutting the cord on their cable subscriptions more rapidly than previously reported.

That’s according to fresh data from more than 2,100 U.S. consumers reviewed for the second Future of TV survey by The Trade Desk.

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The CEO of Townsquare Media will be presenting on behalf of the local media company at NobleCon17 – Noble Capital Markets‘ 17th annual investor conference.

Bill Wilson will take the spotlight at approximately 4:30pm Eastern on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

And, he’ll have a virtual podium, as the COVID-19 pandemic has led Noble to hold an online-only affair accessible at no cost by visiting www.noblecon17.com.

Additionally, a high-definition, video webcast of the presentation will be available from Jan. 20 on the equity investor relations section of Townsquare’s website.

The webcast will be archived for 90 days following the event.

Townsquare Media shares concluded Monday’s trading at $7.21 and were down 2 cents with seven minutes remaining in trading on Jan. 12.

On November 30, 2016, DirecTV gave birth to a virtual MVPD designed to provide a “skinny bundle” to consumers who weren’t interested in a costly monthly subscription plan. Branded as DirecTV NOW, it didn’t require a contract.

At first, consumers seemed to like the vMVPD. Then came a name change to AT&T TV NOW, and a decline in subscribers following a summer 2018 peak.

Now, AT&T TV NOW packages ‘”are no longer available for new customers.”

There’s no official notice — just a marketing note informing consumers that AT&T TV NOW has merged with AT&T TV.

While no new customers are being accepted, current AT&T TV NOW customers will continue to have access. However, there’s no indication for how long.

The move comes as industry chatter persists that AT&T will eventually sell DirecTV to Dish, creating a DBS scenario akin to the satellite radio arena, where Sirius and XM merged to establish a financially viable operation.

Meanwhile, the U-Verse platform AT&T operated in the TV space prior to its merger with DirecTV is still being phased out.

The end of AT&T TV NOW follows the end of Sony PlayStation Vue, a “skinny bundle” that had been a feature tied to the popular video game console.

Crossings TV can be found over the air on low-power TV station KBTV-8 in Sacramento; on Comcast Xfinity systems in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco and Seattle-Tacoma; and on Charter Spectrum systems in Los Angeles in New York — some of the nation’s biggest Asian American population centers.

Why did Frank Washington (pictured, below), founder and CEO of the Sacramento-based channel, and COO Daniel Sakaya, each decide to focus their careers and attention to the build-out of a television channel that offers a variety of programming targeting all of these different groups?

They share this, and more, in a fresh InFOCUS podcast presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Crossings TV” on Spreaker.

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) is extending the deadline to submit entries for the 46th Annual Gracie Awards at the regular rate.

The new deadline date for the regular rate is January 21.

But, AWMF is also offering “a further extended deadline” of January 28, although this will come at an additional cost.

The Gracie Awards, presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, celebrate programming and individual achievement by, for and about women in television, radio and digital media. Submissions from all facets of media are encouraged.

A SALUTE TO FIELD REPORTERS

Journalists have continued to work tirelessly on the front lines to provide coverage of the unprecedented events in the first two weeks of 2021, AWMF says.

“Due to the bravery of these storytellers and the timeliness of this important coverage, AWMF has added 10 new categories specifically dedicated to January 2021 Frontline Special Reports for on-air talent and programming in television, radio and digital media,” it says.

A full list of the new categories can be found here.

“We know the circumstances of the past year led to delivering content to audiences in ways we never expected, which is why we are more committed than ever to honoring the remarkable work that has been created by, for and about women,” says Becky Brooks, AWMF’s executive director. “As our biggest fundraiser of the year, the Gracie Awards enable the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation to deliver on its promise of furthering the connection, education and recognition of women in media, even during turbulent times.”

The Gracie Awards Gala, previously scheduled for May 2021, has been postponed to September 20.

The Gracie Awards Luncheon, previously scheduled for June, has been postponed to July 21.

The 2021 Gracie Awards entry eligibility air dates for the traditional categories are from January 1-December 31, 2020. New Categories are exclusive to January of 2021. Entry details, including pricing and updated categories, can be viewed at https://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies/call-for-entries/.

The application to judge content for The Gracie Awards is available until January 22. Learn more about Gracies judging and view the application at https://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies/judging/.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is accepting entries for the 34th annual NAB Crystal Radio Awards, honoring outstanding community service efforts undertaken by radio stations throughout 2020.

Winners will receive national recognition for their community service work during a special awards presentation hosted by NAB in spring 2021.

Established in 1987, the NAB Crystal Radio Awards nationally recognize local radio stations for their year-round commitment to serving communities. A panel of judges representing the broadcast industry and community service organizations will review applications and select 50 finalists and 10 winners.

Stations must submit an online entry through NAB’s new member platform, My NAB, describing their community service efforts for the 2020 calendar year.

The deadline for entry submissions is January 31. Finalists will be announced in February.

Entry information is available here or by contacting Tobi Hall.

The biggest licensee of radio stations in the U.S. has completed an exchange of warrants into shares of its Class A or Class B common stock.

Here’s what this means for iHeartMedia.

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The audio media giant on Friday announced that it had completed an exchange of iHeartMedia Warrants into shares of iHeartMedia Class A Common Stock, the company’s publicly traded shares, or Class B Common Stock.

This means that the total shares of Class A common stock jump from 65 million as of Dec. 31, 2020 to 110 million, following the exchange.

At the same time, the number of Class B shares rise from 7 million to 29 million.

How many warrants are outstanding? The exchange reduces the amount from 75 million to 7 million.

The exchange was authorized by a FCC Declaratory Ruling approving an increase in iHeartMedia’s authorized aggregate foreign ownership from 25% to 100%.

But, some shares of Class B Common Stock and Warrants were not converted into Class A Common Stock “due to current regulatory restrictions applicable to certain shareholders.”

That’s only a matter of time: iHeart expects additional conversions of Class B Common Stock and Warrants into Class A Common Stock to transpire in the near future.

Holders of iHeartMedia Warrants that were not issued stock in the exchange and have not otherwise sought to exercise their Warrants can request the exercise of their Warrants for shares of Common Stock by contacting the Computershare Call Center at 800-736-3001 within the United States, or at 781-575-3100 outside of the United States. Holders of iHeartMedia Warrants that were issued stock in the exchange can obtain updated account information from Computershare by logging into their Computershare accounts or by calling the numbers above.

PASADENA, CALIF. — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded the parent of the primary NPR spoken word station serving the Los Angeles market with a hefty 24-month grant designed to boost the level of content created expressly for younger and “underserved” audiences.

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Gray Television in late December 2020 moved forward with the submission to the FCC of a formal Good Faith Complaint against Frontier Communications in response to the MVPD’s failure to reach a new retransmission consent agreement tied to one of its legacy systems for an ABC affiliate serving Sarasota and Manatee Counties along Florida’s Gulf Coast, and two stations in South Carolina.

On Monday (1/11), Frontier filed its response with the Commission.

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MIAMI — One day after rival Univision Communications announced a series of major leadership changes in its C-Suite, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has revealed it is expanding its Revenue Strategy and Distribution business unit “to develop and
grow content monetization opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.”

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LG Display and Eyesafe, a low blue light consumer electronics industry specialist, have teamed up to roll out the first Eyesafe Certified television display.

And, they are using the virtual CES 2021 conference and expo to do so.

The new display, which will serve a 65″ OLED television model, was designed to meet Eyesafe requirements for low emissions of blue light and optimal color performance. The certification was conducted by leading independent testing and certification firm TUV Rheinland.

The new 65″ OLED display ushers in a new era of advanced television displays that are designed for human health. LG Display expects many new Eyesafe television displays to come to market throughout 2021, as the television industry begins adopting Eyesafe Standards in an effort to communicate health and safety to end-consumers.

While the average number of hours spent in front of displays – which includes television screens, smartphones, laptops, and other digital devices – has been growing at an alarming rate in recent years, it has skyrocketed in the past year due to the global pandemic. In the U.S. alone, a recent Nielsen report indicates average screen time exceeds 13 hours a day.

The new display was the subject of an open letter issued by the Vision Health Advisory Board commending LG Display and Eyesafe for their leadership in bringing Eyesafe Certified Displays to the marketplace.

The Eyesafe Display Standard is developed in conjunction with over 250 leading ophthalmologists, optometrists, and engineers who have been conducting and analyzing clinical health and safety research on the impacts of exposure to high-energy blue light.

The LG Display television display has met the Eyesafe Display Standard requirements and will receive an AK Certificate (Certificate of Conformance) issued by TUV Rheinland, including the test report. Consumers can obtain information on certified products on the TUV Rheinland certificate database Certipedia, which helps facilitate consumers’ understanding of a product and enhance confidence in the purchase.

“Given the growing body of research around the breadth and scope of potential eye and systemic health impacts related to blue light exposure – amid a global pandemic which has forced many of us to adopt e-learning and work-from-home routines into our daily lives no less – the timing for the world’s first-ever Eyesafe Certified TV Display could not have been more timely,” said Davis Lee, a senior advisor to Eyesafe, the former Senior Vice President of LG Display and most recently the global head of monitors at Dell Technologies. “Through our partnership with LG Display, our mission is to work together to develop an array of display solutions that are designed to support consumer health, and we intend for the majority of the world’s brands to adopt Eyesafe.”

For more information on the LG Display television display designated as meeting the Eyesafe® Display Standard, please visit Eyesafe.com.

It’s a small world, after all, thanks to Zoom and the stay-at-home edicts some continue to endure across the globe as a result of the now 10-month old COVID-19 pandemic.

For some media organizations, this has increased the need for content — and, perhaps, breaking the language barrier. Guess what? Some 200 media organizations including the BBC now have access to a product that uses cutting-edge AI and hardware technology to offer verbal translation to English of content in a foreign tongue.

Introducing the M2 Translator Earbuds courtesy of TimeKettle, billed as the “world’s first offline” device of its kind. It’s been featured as part of the CES 2021 Innovation Awards, and via the American crowdfunding website Indiegogo has raised $770,792 toward its dissemination as a product with global reach and use.

Timekettle M2 translator boast multiple functions aside from translation, including phone calls, music listening, and access to a voice assistant.

Then, there is the Remote Mode capability, which allows up to 40 people to translate content from 40 languages simultaneously; this means people can enjoy group chatting and remote video calls via Zoom or Skype.

What about distinct accents? The device can detect 93 accents among the 40 languages it can translate — including 13 accents, allowing someone from Hawaii to easily communicate with English speakers in Timaru, New Zealand; Leeds, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Boston; Frankfurt, Ky.; and Odessa, Tex.; with ease.

Sound quality is provided by a Qualcomm aptx 5.0 technology.

The M2 runs off mobile devices, requiring iOS 11.0 or higher in an iPhone and Android 7.0.

It also requires Bluetooth 4.2 and above for tech specification.

HOW TO LEARN MORE

Time Kettle operates a U.S. office from an office building directly opposite the famed Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Perhaps it is fitting, as Time Kettle is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

General Questions: info@timekettle.co

After-sales Questions: support@timekettle.co

For Marketing/Branding: social@timekettle.co

For Business: dorothy.cui@timekettle.co

Address: 6922 Hollywood Blvd., 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Operation Hours: Monday – Friday 9:30AM – 6:30PM

Less than 24 hours after a major shakeup in its corporate ranks, Univision Communications has moved forward with its widely discussed plans to launch an advertising-supported streaming service serving Spanish-speaking U.S. Hispanics.

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