TORONTO — One of North America’s biggest communications companies on Thursday released its third quarter financial results.
How did Rogers perform? Quarterly earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. But, its revenue fell short of Zacks’ expectations by a slim 1.04%.
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Two of the nation’s largest audio media content and distribution companies have set the days on which they will release their Q3 fiscal report cards.
For iHeartMedia, it will come on a busy day that also sees Saga Communications, Gray Television and TEGNA holding earnings call. For Audacy, their earnings call will come on the second Tuesday of November.
iHeart will issue financial results for the quarter ending September 30 on Thursday, Nov. 4. The company’s CEO, Bob Pittman, and COO/CFO Rich Bressler will host a conference call at 4:30pm Eastern to review the results. A business outlook will also be provided.
For the former Entercom, the company led by CEO David Field will report its 2021 third quarter financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, November 9. The company will host a conference call at 10am Eastern to review the results and “recent progress against its strategic initiatives,” Audacy notes.
Audacy stock in recent weeks has been sputtering, and is at $3.52 in early after-hours trading on Thursday (10/21). It’s year-to-date low of $2.96 came on August 19, and since then Audacy’s high has been $3.92, achieved in early October. By comparison, AUD topped the $5 mark in late April and surpassed $6.25 per share in February.
For iHeart, shares have enjoyed a year-long growth spurt, reaching $27.93 in late June. On Thursday, IHRT closed at $22.10. IHRT is up from $13.28 at the start of 2021.
Has COVID-19, and now the delta variant, crippled broadcast transaction values forever? It’s a tough question asked to top media brokers by RBR+TVBR in our Fall 2021 Special Report.
For some, station valuations for radio were sliding before the coronavirus cratered the marketplace. For others, there’s green on the horizon for both radio and TV broadcasters. Will the green — specifically, greenbacks — come in 2022?
A Forecast 2022 panel session featuring Guggenheim Securities Senior Advisor Drew Marcus could offer some clarity on the subject. Marcus will moderate a panel of investment specialists who are poised to take a hard look at 2021 and what lies ahead in 2022 and beyond for broadcast investments. It’s a “fact-based, tire kicking” session you won’t want to miss.
What did some of the nation’s leading media brokers have to say?
“A better story needs to be told about radio,” said Lou McDermott of Kalil & Co. “The only story I can tell is what I’m seeing transactionally, and that is radio groups that are successful and recovering from the pandemic are continuing to annualize growth. They are looking at properties that make sense for them. Offers are being made. And we’re positive.
We see signs of life. We have activity, and that activity is growing.”
Dick Foreman, President of media brokerage and consultancy RAFAMEDIA, like McDermott, believes the television dealmaking landscape is full of buyers. The problem, like in the automotive industry, is simple. “There is no inventory,” Foreman says. “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.”
Media broker Michael J. Bergner of Bergner & Co. sees the TV transactions landscape in a slightly different manner. “The traditional TV deal is dead,” he lamented when interviewed for RBR+TVBR’s Fall 2021 Special Report. “It’s just all about fill-ins. Everything is consolidated. If your livelihood is about being a TV station broker, you’re on thin ice.”
Secure your seat today at Forecast 2022, November 16 at the Harvard Club in New York. Space is limited. Don’t hesitate. CLICK HERE TO RSVP TODAYThe Federal Communications Commission is questioning whether a licensee of a station in Pennsylvania is qualified to retain his license — or if it should be revoked after he pled guilty to felony use of a communication facility and several related misdemeanors.
The chief of the Media Bureau has begun a hearing proceeding to determine whether 70-year-old Roger Wahl, licensee of WQZS(FM) in Meyersdale, Pa., should be allowed to keep his broadcasting license.
In July 2020, Wahl pleaded guilty to criminal use of a communications facility (the station is located in his home) and four related misdemeanors after he admitted to recklessly endangering another person, unlawfully disseminating intimate images and tampering with evidence.
At the time of his sentencing in November 2020, the judge decided against jail time for Wahl due to his age and underlying health conditions that put him at risk for the coronavirus, according a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Wahl, the station owner as well as a disc jockey, pled guilty to secretly taking nude photographs of a woman inside her home using a concealed camera that had been installed in her bathroom. According to court documents, he also impersonated the woman on an online dating site, sent nude photos of the woman to at least one man whom he connected with through that site and solicited that man to have sexual relations with the woman without her consent. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one man from the dating site came to the woman’s address and was met by Wahl who solicited the man to rape the woman, according to authorities quoted by the Post-Gazette.
Once he learned an investigation was underway by the Pennsylvania State Police, Wahl was accused of tampering with evidence by deleting the nude photos from his mobile device and erasing the communications he made at the online dating site.
Initially, Wahl also pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy; after learning that that charge would require him to register as a sex offender, however, he withdrew that guilty plea and instead pled guilty to identity theft. He was sentenced to three years of probation, four months of electronic monitoring, and was required to pay $600 in fines as well as the costs of his prosecution and supervision.
Local sources also reported that Wahl was prohibited from hosting his morning show on WQZS for the duration of the electronic monitoring but has since returned to the airwaves.
Charges of this type — which in Wahl’s case include a third-degree felony, first-degree misdemeanor and several second-degree misdemeanors — raise the question of whether the holder of a broadcast license possesses the character qualities to remain a licensee. Following guidelines under the FCC’s Character Qualifications Policy Statement, the Media Bureau instigated a hearing proceeding in which an administrative law judge will serve as a presiding officer.
The commission has the authority to revoke a license when the character of an applicant is called into question, according to language within Section 312(a)(2) of the Communications Act. The Media Bureau started a hearing proceeding in this case because it considers any felony to be a serious crime. In some cases, certain misdemeanors may also be relevant when it comes to determining the character of a licensee. In this case, the bureau said it was necessary to evaluate Wahl’s character in light of the felony and multiple misdemeanor convictions.
[Read: FCC Hands Down Decision on Four St. Louis AM Stations]
“Furthermore, the fundamental purpose of the commission’s character inquiry is to make predictive judgments about an applicant’s truthfulness and propensity to comply with the [Communications] Act and [FCC] Rules,” wrote Media Bureau Chief Michelle M. Carey. “For this reason, we find that Wahl’s misdemeanor convictions directly implicate his character qualifications.”
If he chooses, Wahl has the opportunity to be heard by the administrative judge as part of the hearing proceedings. To do so, a written request must be filed within 20 days of the Notice of Opportunity for Hearing he received.
A hearing will commence from there to determine if Wahl has the qualifications to be a commission licensee and whether or not the license for station WQZS should be revoked.
The post Felony Conviction Leads FCC to Consider Revoking Station License appeared first on Radio World.
She has experience at the now-defunct Regent Communications, and joined Townsquare Media with that company’s acquisition of Regent more than a decade ago. Starting in Flint, Mich., this sales executive shifted to New Jersey and then returned to Flint in December 2013 after a year working for iHeartMedia in Chicago.
Now, after nearly eight years in her second stint at Townsquare, Zoe Burdine-Fly is flying off to Alpha Media.
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The year 2020 was a year like no other. A pandemic of global proportions will be written into the history books. So will actions tied to a summer of activism brought on by social unrest and renewed questioning of the “status quo.”
A call to action came to fruition as never before seen. And, CMOs and Brand Managers are paying attention as consumers watch and listen to how brands are reacting. Creative directors and media buyers are shifting greater focus and budget to better reach a more diverse audience. Yet, Hispanic advertising executives continue to lament that even with Census 2020 data in their hands, the ad spend versus the population remains out of whack.
What can your media company do? Ensuring someone sits in on an exclusive Forecast 2022 session devoted to the new American mainstream and how marketing and advertising must reach all consumers is a session definitely worth attending.
At Forecast 2022, Deborah Wahl, Global Chief Marketing Officer at General Motors, sits down with American Urban Radio Networks CEO Chesley Maddox-Dorsey for an exclusive conversation on GM’s commitment to increased minority media expenditures along with her thoughts on how broadcast media fits into GM’s marketing strategy.
They will be joined by Doug Ray, Chief Product Officer, Global Media at dentsu Americas, who has been instrumental in the creation and launch of Project Booker, an initiative focused on African American-developed and -owned content that is being distributed on African American-owned radio and is leading the way in how the global media agency community is doing business with African American-owned media.
REGISTER NOW!He joined Nielsen in July 2016 as its VP of Finance, working his way up to SVP and Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer in December 2019.
Effective November 12, this C-Suite executive will no longer be a member of the Nielsen family.
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As traditional cable and satellite providers struggle to retain customers in the highly competitive and increasingly fragmented streaming media ecosystem, Black audiences, largely known as loyal cable and satellite television customers, are increasingly opting to cut the cord.
That’s the key takeaway from a new Horowitz study, released Wednesday.
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Virtual meetings will remain a major part of how we work for months, or perhaps years.
And, as longtime public relations professional and “Zoom” expert Rosemary Ravinal sees it, this will provide new opportunities for those who acquire the skills necessary to deliver world-class online presentations.
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With the final fate of his former FM radio stations still in limbo, as the FCC has not said yes to a transfer of control of the properties to VCY America from court-appointed receiver Larry Patrick, the most infamous licensee in the American West has moved forward with a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
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Nautel has introduced an online Factory Acceptance Testing program for new transmitters.
“A FAT is a set of predefined tests that many customers must witness being completed in real-time as part of project specifications,” the company stated in an announcement.
[Read: Transmitters Prepped for Turkey]
Test Supervisor Charles Andrews said restrictions on travel because of the pandemic have made it harder for clients to come to the factory.
Nautel said the test team can use online meeting platforms paired with virtual communications interfaces such as Teams or Team Viewer, to allow customers to witness transmitter testing in real time as part of their acceptance process.
“The Nautel AUI and multiple pieces of measurement equipment are employed along with a suite of cameras, wireless microphones and personnel to conduct the tests. Customers are able to communicate with their transmitter(s) via the AUI and view performance measurements throughout the final testing process,” it stated.
The company posted the video below to explain the process.
The post Nautel Introduces Online Testing appeared first on Radio World.
A broadcast company that says it is on the cutting edge of technology and the next generation of content delivery throughout the U.S. has just taken a big leap forward by selecting Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to power its next-generation ATSC 3.0 broadcast internet network — the potentially profit-generating benefit linked to what powers NEXTGEN TV.
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Gordon Smith, president/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, is one of nine people being honored as “giants of broadcasting” by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation.
Its list of giants was begun in 2003 and now consists of more than 200 broadcasters. The foundation will salute the new additions in an online ceremony on Nov. 9. (The nine additions are shown at bottom.)
“The Giants of Broadcasting celebration was created by LABF, a charity dedicated to preserving the past, reflecting the present, and informing the future,” the organization stated. “It was created to honor the remarkable creators, innovators, leaders, performers and journalists who have brought the electronics arts to the prominence they occupy today.”
Gordon Smith has led the NAB for the past 12 years. He will step down at the end of this year.
[Related: “The Broadcasters Foundation Honors Gordon Smith”]
Proceeds from the November online luncheon support the work of the LABF, including the Library of American Broadcasting, which is housed at the University of Maryland. It will also support student training and diversity initiatives of the International Radio and Television Society Foundation.
For event information email joyce@giantsofbroadcasting.com.
The 2021 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts honorees:
Emily Barr
President and CEO
Graham Media Group
Frank Boyle
President & CEO
Frank Boyle & Co.
Bob Costas
Hall of Fame sports broadcaster
Russell Perry
Founder & President
Perry Publishing & Broadcasting Co.
Robin Roberts
Co-anchor, “Good Morning America”
President, Rock’n Robin Productions
Marion Ross
Emmy, Golden Globe nominated Film and TV Actress
Cast member Marion Cunningham. “Happy Days”
Neal Shapiro
President & CEO
The WNET Group
Sen. Gordon H. Smith
President & CEO
National Association of Broadcasters
Jordan Wertlieb
Senior vice president, Hearst Communications
President, Hearst Television
The post Gordon Smith Is Among the New Broadcasting “Giants” appeared first on Radio World.
The author is director, RF engineering at Shively Labs.
We all want to get the most value out of money spent.
RF system repair can be costly. However, a well-implemented maintenance program can greatly reduce the need for repairs — and when there is damage or degradation to a system, that program can detect and address the issue early, when repair costs are low.
One very useful tool in RF system maintenance is baseline measurements.
Taken at the time of acquisition or system commissioning, these provide a snapshot of the condition of the RF system. They can then be compared to later measurements and reveal trends in performance.
These measurements might include transmission line sweeps, transmitter operating parameters, forward and reflected power samples, thermal readings of filters, transmission line and connections, current and resistance measurements of deicer systems, RF spectrum measurements, pressurization and signal coverage.
The hardware between the transmitter output and the antenna radiator is the final stage of the FM transmission system. This part of the transmission system can contain RF switches; directional couplers; elbow complexes; band-pass, band-stop and notch filters; long transmission line runs; power splitters; “T”s; matching networks; feeder cables, etc.
It’s crucial to the delivery of signal to your coverage area to take the time to get this section right and then keep it right.
During antenna installation, the tower crew and site manager rely on manufacturers to show clearly the antenna position and orientation on the tower.
I’ve seen this exchange break down, resulting in antenna parasitic elements mounted in the wrong position, causing both high VSWR and poor coverage. Fortunately, it was a quick fix to correct the VSWR and signal coverage. Unfortunately, it required a tower crew and two engineers to visit the site.
If care is taken with the details during installation and the system is optimized, it’s at its best and should provide years of service.
(I left the “trouble free” part out intentionally. RF system maintenance … what can break? It’s just bent pieces of metal, right?)
Proactive mindsetJust about anything can happen to cause failure in an RF system.
Installing coax hangers.Antenna damage from wind, falling ice, lightning, tower work, vandalism, loose connections and aging components are just a few. When an engineer has multiple systems to take care of, something always seems to be in need of attention.
One way we have some control over such failures is regular system maintenance.
Have you ever checked site parameters after a significant weather event and found that some parameter had changed — not to the point of failure, but enough to prompt an investigation? Then upon a closer look you found damage that needed repair?
Or perhaps on a routine site visit, you discovered excessive heat on one or more components, and upon further investigation found an elbow that was nearly kaput — it would have failed catastrophically within weeks or days.
This is proactive maintenance and repair. If these near-misses haven’t happened to you, they likely will.
Had you been unable to check those readings after that storm and thus could not notice increasing VSWR, or had you not visited that site and noticed the hot elbow, the condition would have persisted, worsened and eventually failed, taking your station off the air.
That call usually comes at midnight on Super Bowl weekend.
Burns are visible where wire had been used to secure a flexible 3-inch line.Checking sites that have suffered through extreme weather events is a prudent practice. So are regular visits, even to sites that may be considered trouble-free. The periodicity will vary — more frequent for trouble sites, perhaps quarterly or even semiannually for more reliable sites.
Annual tower climbs are great if it’s in the budget, but when they are not possible, we come back to intimate knowledge of system performance and those baselines, and running history logs that allow us to review for any indication that a problem has started and at what rate it is changing.
This can be useful information when determining if you need to scramble to make a maintenance visit immediately or can schedule for a later date.
Sample issuesSome things to look for when inspecting for damage in the antenna:
In more complex systems, the power dividers and coaxial lines should be installed without undue mechanical stress on the components.
The coax should have the appropriate hangers and fasteners where they cross tower members or other antenna feed components. Consult the manufacturer for specific recommendations and best practices.
Antennas that have deicers systems usually have an external wiring harness to distribute AC power to each heating element within each radiator. The manufacturer will have the resistive values for each element and current draw to expect.
An ammeter measurement of each leg of the circuit, including the neutral, will give the first clues to the condition of the deicer system.
If the wiring harness was not installed correctly or fasteners have fallen away over time, the harness can hang in the high RF environment. This can cause reflected power issues at the transmitter and changes in coverage; it can cause currents to be induced into the wiring harness, and voltages large enough to cause arcing between the conductors of the wiring harness and tower members or other cables that pass in close proximity.
Visual documentationFinally, take lots of photos, photos, photos.
This is a great way to document how the antenna was installed and its current state. When you share photographs with the antenna manufacturer, they have very useful information to inform their recommendations.
With a single-radiator antenna it will be obvious when something is not quite right. On panel antennas, the multiple bays, multiple radiators per bay and numerous feeder cables can really mask a problem.
This article is from a Radio World ebook. Click image to read more on this subject.This brings to mind a recent incident where a station engineer noticed a slight increase in VSWR from 1.05 to 1.15. This occurred right after a tower crew had been working above the antenna, removing old TV equipment.
The engineer noticed the change and hired a crew to climb and inspect the antenna. They found that a cable had been caught at some point during the rigging and pulled sideways until it caused a severe kink at the point where it attached to the radiator input.
If the indications had not been heeded and the cable replaced, the next indication would have been loss of pressure, resulting from a coax burn. And we know what happens when we let the magic smoke out.
Ultimately, having an intimate knowledge of your system’s performance, both within the RF system and in the coverage area, will serve you well. This knowledge will allow you to prioritize your maintenance schedule by need, effecting maintenance to correct small problems before they become big expensive ones.
The post Tips for RF System Installation and Maintenance appeared first on Radio World.
Audacy has acquired “an exclusive, perpetual license” to WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming technology and the related assets and operations of WO Streaming — a cloud-based distribution and monetization platform for live and on-demand audio streams.
The acquisition, recently hinted at by Audacy, Inc. thanks to an SEC fiing, gives the company formerly known as Entercom control of the WideOrbit digital audio tech business.
President/CEO David Field says it “perfectly complements” Audacy’s organic investments to make the company’s digital platform a top choice for listeners, clients and partners.
Audacy will operate WO Streaming under the name “AmperWave.”
Importantly, the entire WO Streaming team, led by John Morris, SVP of Streaming, has joined Audacy.
While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the WO Streaming deal is directly tied to Audacy’s October 13 statement that it planned to offer $45 million in aggregate principal amount of subsidiary Audacy Capital Corp.’s 6.500% senior secured second-lien notes due 2027.
The “Additional Notes” served as what’s called on Wall Street an “ad-on offering,” and it was done expressly for Audacy to complete “a small digital acquisition” for approximately $40 million.
That would be the price tag of this WideOrbit deal.
In addition to its radio and digital audio products, WideOrbit is highly active in the broadcast and cable television space, in addition to programmatic TV buying. Led by CEO and founder Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit is now poised to focused solely on visual media.
Audacy Inc. said it has acquired “an exclusive, perpetual license” to WideOrbit’s digital audio streaming technology and the related assets and operations of WO Streaming.
It will operate the business under the name Amperwave.
“This acquisition gives Audacy control of its product roadmap to deliver enhanced consumer-facing streaming features for its 170 million monthly listeners,” the media company stated in the announcement, which was made by Chairman/President/CEO David Field.
WO Streaming is a cloud-based distribution and monetization platform for live and on-demand audio streams. Field said the acquisition is a complement to Audacy’s existing investments in digital audio.
In this deal, Audacy is purchasing technology and the assets and operations of WO Streaming, which is a separate business unit within WideOrbit. WO has other products including radio automation, traffic, business intelligence and sales services that are not involved in this transaction.
Audacy will operate WO Streaming under the name AmperWave.
“The entire WO Streaming team, led by John Morris, SVP Streaming, has joined Audacy,” it stated. A spokesperson declined to say how many people that entails.
The post Audacy Acquires WideOrbit’s Streaming Business appeared first on Radio World.
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