Industry News

According to section “47 U.S. Code § 331” of the Communications Act, the Rules that the Federal Communications Commission enforces, it is the policy of the FCC to allocate channels for VHF commercial television broadcasting “in a manner which ensures that not less than one such channel shall be allocated to each state, if technically feasible.”

But, does that language require that station to focus on content for that state’s viewers?

A group of Capitol Hill Democrats say yes, and they want to use the language to help craft legislation that would force a Secaucus, N.J.-licensed station owned today by FOX to turn its attention away from the Big Apple and focus instead on the Garden State.

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The organization that represents some 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals has reached a tentative three-year agreement for a new contract with Telemundo.

It’s positive news for unionized employees, and comes four years after a trio of unfair labor practice charges filed against the NBCUniversal-owned Hispanic television network on behalf of certain telenovela actors by the labor union were settled.

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Happy Diwali … and earnings release day, Gray Television investors.

The broadcast TV station owner has finalized the date and time for the distribution of its Q3 2021 fiscal report card.

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As of October 25, the FOX brand won’t be known for solely news, sports, business news, and for reality programming including The Masked Singer.

It’s a new entrant in the growing desire to offer consumers more coverage of a subject largely free of political bias concerns — the weather.

Introducing FOX Weather, which will use FOXWeather.com and an app available via download from the Apple App Store and for Android-based phones, too.

“You’ll be able to read all the awesome web stories we’ve been writing over the past several months … Excited for everyone to see!,” Scott Sistek, a meteorologist at FOX TV Stations-owned KCPQ-13 in Seattle, Tweeted on Wednesday morning. 

The new service marks FOX News Media’s eighth platform under the leadership of CEO Suzanne Scott, as its original linear FOX News Channel network celebrates its 25th anniversary this week.

Who can viewers expect to see when they log on to FOX Weather? WABC-7 meteorologist Amy Freeze has joined FOX Weather as an anchor; her departure comes after the notable exit of Bill Evans from WABC-7 in late 2019.

FOX News Media President Sharri Berg said, “We have been working towards this moment for the last nine months and are thrilled to debut FOX Weather with our talented and innovative team, including Amy Freeze whose versatility and decades of experience are a great addition.”

A free service, FOX Weather will also be available on internet-connected TVs via FOX NOW, the FOX News app, and Tubi.

 Jim Thompson

The Broadcasters Foundation of America announced a succession plan for its presidency.

Jim Thompson has held the position since 2009 and will retire at the end of next year.

BFA announced a succession plan in which he and Tim McCarthy will serve as co-presidents starting Nov. 1 of this year and extending through 2022. Thompson will then “move into an active consultancy role.”

[Read: Broadcasters Foundation Asks for Your Help]

“The search committee unanimously chose McCarthy as the best candidate for the position, and the board of directors unanimously endorsed him and the succession plan,” the organization said in an announcement from Scott Herman, chairman of the organization.

Chairman Emeritus Phil Lombardo worked with the search committee both times.

Tim McCarthy

McCarthy most recently was with ESPN/Walt Disney Co. as senior vice president and general manager of audio play-by-play and general manager of New York and L.A. Radio. He joined ESPN in 1998 as general manager and president of WABC/Radio Disney/ESPN, and began his career in radio at WABC Radio in 1990.

BFA cited his philanthropic efforts for organizations like The Epilepsy Society of New York and The Voice of 9/11 Dinner.

[Read: Broadcasters Foundation Opens Grants to Those Affected by COVID-19]

Thompson was president of Westinghouse Broadcasting’s Radio Division, president and co-owner of Liberty Radio Group and general manager of KYW(TV) Philadelphia.

Thompson was quoted: “I cannot think of a more worthy task then helping our colleagues in their darkest moments.”

The foundation distributes money to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease or unforeseen tragedy. It grew from the original broadcast pioneers, founded by H.V. Kaltenborn.

 

 

The post Jim Thompson Plans His Retirement From BFA appeared first on Radio World.

It is defined as “a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.”

That said, allegations, in today’s world, can create myriad concerns for the individual being accused of a crime, or inappropriate behavior. It can also present a host of challenges for their employer.

When the allegations involve a high-profile personality at a broadcast media station, extra scrutiny can only exacerbate the matter for the station’s local management and, ultimately, its owner.

What’s a market manager to do if a situation mirroring that of Hubbard Broadcasting in Chicago surfaces at their stations?

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Jim Thompson, President of the Broadcasters Foundation of America since 2009, will retire at the end of 2022.

A succession plan is in place, which sees Thompson and broadcast veteran Tim McCarthy serve as Co-Presidents through 2022, at which time Thompson will move into an active consultancy role.

The changes are effective November 1.

Thompson is well-known across the broadcast industry. During his 40+ year career, he was President of Westinghouse Broadcasting’s Radio Division, President and Co-Owner of Liberty Radio Group, and served as General Manager of KYW-3 in Philadelphia.

The BFA says its Search Committee unanimously chose McCarthy as the best candidate for the position, and that its Board of Directors unanimously endorsed him and the succession plan.

Scott Herman, Chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation, commented, “I have known Tim for almost 20 years. He is an outstanding leader and I look forward to working with him and Jim for a seamless transition. Jim has done a phenomenal job getting the word out about our mission and increasing the number of broadcasters we help. The entire Board and I are delighted that he will remain with the Foundation as Co-President and then as a Consultant.”

“Serving the mission of the Broadcasters Foundation has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” said Thompson. “I cannot think of a more worthy task then helping our colleagues in their darkest moments. The search committee and the Board have made an excellent choice in Tim — I know I will be leaving our mission in good hands.”

Chairman Emeritus Phil Lombardo added, “I worked with the search committee 12 years ago to bring Jim onboard, and I am pleased to again have worked with the current search committee to identify Tim as the best person to take on our mission of helping broadcasters in acute need.”

Commenting on his new role, McCarthy said, “I look forward to working with Jim and the entire Board to continue the important work of the Broadcasters Foundation. I have been in broadcasting throughout my career, and it is an honor to be in a position to give back by providing aid to those in our industry who need it most.”

McCarthy is widely known for his lengthy tenure at The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN Audio, and before that with ABC Radio under Disney ownership. He served as SVP/GM of  Audio Play-By-Play and General Manager of New York and Los Angeles, overseeing ESPN Radio stations in each market. He joined ESPN in 1998 as President/GM of WABC-AM in New York and for ESPN Radio and Radio Disney. McCarthy began his career in radio at WABC Radio in 1990, in an era when its Talk format was surging in popularity, fueled by local hosts including Bob Grant and the syndicated Rush Limbaugh.

The Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars in aid to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease, or unforeseen tragedy. Personal donations can be made to the Foundation’s Guardian Fund, corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be made through the Foundation’s Legacy Society. For more information, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, call 212-373-8250, or email info@thebfoa.org.

Yet another battle royale over retransmission consent fees is taking shape.

This time, it involves one of the nation’s two direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies and the company that Standard General, headed by Soo Kim, and Apollo Global Management seek to own.

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Vistar Media, a programmatic technology provider for the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising segment, has extended OpenRTB integrations to include audio-only out-of-home opportunities to marketers.

As such, The Trade Desk is the first omnichannel demand-side platform (DSP) to support this extension, allowing it to programmatically purchase audio inventory from networks such as Vibenomics.

An emerging category within the out-of-home media landscape, audio OOH “allows brands to influence consumers with engaging messaging seamlessly blended into a retail environment,” Vistar says.

Call it addressable advertising, radio style — but, minus the local radio station airing throughout a store.

“With the growth we’ve seen from both DOOH and Audio as separate emerging channels, it was the logical next step to expand our omni-channel offering into audio OOH,” said Maggie Mattingley, Senior Manager of Inventory Partnerships at The Trade Desk. “Through Vistar’s new audio capability, we continue to provide the best possible digital media available for advertisers and agencies to deliver a holistic digital advertising campaign.”

To be fair, the technology is likely in use at large retailers with a regional or national imprint, such as a grocery store chain.

In a recent visit to Tint World in Boynton Beach, Fla., Hubbard Broadcasting’s WRMF-FM was audible in the showroom; a nearby Hyundai dealer had sibling WEAT-FM “Sunny 107.9” on for customers.

Still, it presents a possible opportunity for Radio — unique streams to retail that it could use for its own addressable advertising opportunities.

“Exposing our unique audio inventory to omnichannel DSPs such as The Trade Desk to transact against Audio Out-of-Home is a logical next step in the growth trajectory for our network and the industry at large,” said audio industry veteran Paul Brenner, today an executive at Vibenomics. “The reach of our audio network combined with Vistar’s market-leading SSP capabilities helps the buy-side flex their programmatic spending, target specific market areas, provide brand support and measurement such as incremental lift and return on ad spend.”

For more information about Vistar, please direct inquiries to info@vistarmedia.com.

How has revenue recovered from the onset of a pandemic that saw generally steep declines and where some categories continue to experience slower than hoped for rebounds? As the country continues to emerge from restrictions and quarantines, what’s in store for 2022, the first full year after COVID-19? Where are the strong pockets of opportunity for broadcast advertising, and what are the challenges to growing its share? A panel of experts are preparing for a provocative Forecast 2022 discussion about who is going to “show us the money” in the year to come.

Moderator: Mark Gray, CEO, Katz Media Group
Steve Lanzano, President/CEO, TVB
Jen Soch, Executive Director/Specialty Channels, GroupM

TO REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND FORECAST 2022, SIMPLY CLICK HERE!

The author is editor in chief of Radio World.

Proving yet again that being of Irish extraction carries no immunity against Murphy’s Law, I signed off on your previous issue of Radio World, right, including its preview of the NAB Show, on Sept. 7 — only to learn on Sept. 15 that the National Association of Broadcasters had cancelled their event in the face of a resurgent pandemic and the pullout of major exhibitors. The collocated Radio Show and AES Show also were cancelled.

This news broke on our issue’s cover date but before many print readers would have read that show preview. 

Oh well. 

We knew of course that this might happen; but for weeks up to our deadline, the association insisted that the show was a “go,” and we proceeded on this assumption. I trust that attentive readers understood why they received an issue with a preview of an event that wouldn’t take place!

The inconvenience to me is minor. Harder hit are companies that intended to exhibit and had already shipped equipment to Las Vegas in anticipation; conference planners who designed sessions and panels; and broadcasters who had booked travel and were looking forward to doing some in-person networking again.

It was always an aggressive plan on the part of NAB to try to have a trade show this fall (plus another one six months later). But when it created the plan back in the early months of the pandemic, the chance that things would be well on their way back to normal by now seemed a safe bet. 

Obviously that’s not the case, with the variant causing cases to spike again in late summer and with Americans still arguing over sensible health precautions like masks and vaccines. 

In trying to have a show this fall, the association also no doubt was influenced by the fact that the loss of the 2020 show cost it a considerable amount of revenue. The annual convention is an engine that helps fuel NAB’s work as a lobbying force and broadcast advocate. So the decision to cancel a second time must have been particularly painful. 

Yet few people would be well served by a lightly attended event with many empty booths. And I confess to being relieved that I won’t have to sit in an airplane or mingle in exhibit aisles just yet. Thankfully, the situation seems to be improving now in early October.nation

Radio World believes in a strong technology marketplace. NAB Shows play a vital role in that. So here’s hoping that by springtime, you and I can start meeting in person safely again. 

It’s sobering to realize this though: When we do meet in April, it will have been three years since our industry last met in Las Vegas. Wow.

[Read the Sept. 29 issue of Radio World.]

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