Discovery Inc., which is acquiring WarnerMedia‘s assets in a Reverse Morris Trust-fueled tax free deal, saw its stock slip by 21 cents in midday trading, to $31.26, on Monday.
Could a further slice of its share price be on the way, following a downgrade from an influential Wall Street watcher?
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On Monday (5/24), as RBR+TVBR on April 20 first reported would occur, Cumulus Media ceased analog broadcast transmissions for an AM radio station licensed for 1,000 watts from 1 tower located in southern Westchester County, N.Y. It’s now operating solely in HD Radio, with a Talk format including The Dan Bongino Show the centerpiece of what’s being branded as “AM1230Digital.”
While that transition points to a possibly rosier revitalization of the senior radio broadcast band in an era where Tesla electric vehicles do not come equipped with AM radios and most kHz-based properties benefit from FM translators to attract younger audiences, present-day challenges for some operators may be too demanding to even consider a future benefit.
No less than five AM radio stations in the last week have surrendered their respective licenses to the FCC. In one case, the move avoids a license revocation hearing. But, for the other AMs, it is simply a realization that FM and audio streaming are more viable options for local consumers.
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The author is chairman of Digital Radio Mondiale.
This often-rehearsed question resurfaces periodically, as radio is facing an uphill struggle against the digital giants ready to grab the dashboard. Hybrid radio is presented as a survival solution on the move, as cars remain a key driver of audio listening. The term, meaning many things to many people, is very fashionable just now, a bit like “digital,” “convergence” and the “multimedia” mantras of some years back.
Hybrid radio is a mixture of analog radio and digital broadcast sources, like streaming, or a mash between digital radio (mainly of the local variety) and IP-served radio services.
The current orthodoxy goes that, unless good old-fashioned radio or audio also gets all the “bells and whistles” offered by known digital companies and mimics the commercial streaming services provided by the Googles of this world, radio is doomed and will be eliminated from the automotive infotainment landscape.
[Read: Hybrid Described as Radio’s Best Chance]
In the U.S. car listening remains king and accounts for more than 50% of all radio listening. According to the recently unveiled annual 2021 Techsurvey Jacobs Media and Veritone, 58% of the 40,000 U.S. respondents listen to AM/FM radio in the car, 18% to satellite radio while personal music rates some 3%. Smartphones only come in second, after cars. But more interesting are the ranked reasons for radio’s enduring attraction: easy to listen to, familiar hosts, available for free (i.e. no money), while almost half the listeners agreed that being local is radio’s primary advantage.
Hybrid radio definitely addresses the challenge of “easy to listen to”: press a button or voice-activate your car radio and you are in business. If you leave the coverage area, an IP stream will ensure you can continue to listen to your favorite station or presenter, provided the station stream can be accessed and coordinated with the over-the-air broadcast service.
Hybrid can also paper-over the transmission gaps if your car is fitted with an analog or digital local coverage standard which is sometimes unavailable in the targeted coverage area.
And there are other positive considerations, too. Linking terrestrial broadcasting with IP ensures continuity and enhanced service, personalized and visually rich. This is all enabled by the metadata (song title, branding labels, ads, etc.) that accompany the audio on the mobile broadband connection. Above all, hybrid offers the attractive possibility of a back channel. If the hybrid receiver had, or will have in the future, an extra button for notifications: information, ads, tickets etc., these could be sent directly to your phone or email.
The two-way connectivity is the one thing radio has not been able to offer easily until now. The other is offering reliable data about who is listening to what and for how long. This is less of interest to listeners and more to advertisers and broadcasters. It is also the most valuable and remunerative information hybrid radio could provide.
[Read: Audi AG Launches Hybrid Radio in U.S. and Canada]
The proponents of hybrid radio stress that all these attributes, plus the podcasting possibility, are essential for radio’s survival and relevance on the new and flashy dashboards securing its place in the unequal battle with the apps, satellite and Big Tech services.
There are though some big caveats and questions on hybrid radio:
From my own DRM perspective, the simpler question is: why hook up with IP, using extra effort and costs, analog and digital radio, when at least one digital radio standard, DRM, fulfills and satisfies already many of the aspirations of hybrid? DRM already includes SPI and what RadioDNS offers. It can connect broadcast and online, benefits from Journaline to ensure rich services, interactivity and personalized content.
A DRM receiver, in car, on a cell or in the kitchen can carry useful information: logos, maps, pictures, weather, traffic, disaster alerts and education material, addresses and ads.
DRM broadcasters can transmit on any analog frequency (AM or FM) up to three audio channels and one data channel, saving both energy, spectrum and money. One or two , or all three audio channels can be flexibly reassigned to data, so that less audio and more data is presented to users by easily programming the “four digital lanes” of DRM on one 96 kHz (FM) frequency or on an existing AM frequency. RSS feeds can be presented on DRM receivers without the need to publish and give somebody else your streaming URL and metadata information.
Does this mean that the big hybrid radio push will suddenly stop? Of course not, radio needs modern digital clothes, future proofing but also a reality check. Why reinvent the wheel when digital radio, DRM, has everything to benefit listeners and broadcasters?
If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then hybrid is still a cute camel, not a horse yet.
The post Is the Car Dashboard Radio’s Next Battlefield? appeared first on Radio World.
MIAMI — If one were to pen a “History of U.S. Hispanic Radio’s Programming Greats,” names such as the late Bill Tanner or Billy Forquet, or perhaps David Gleason, Pio Ferro, Alfredo Alonso and Enrique Santos may come to mind.
Another longtime programming leader, one based in Los Angeles, is also on that list of veteran Spanish-language radio cognoscenti. And, he’s just joined Meruelo Media after a long stint at Univision Communications.
Haz Montana, who had been Vice President of Content for Univision Radio since September 2012 and, before that, the Operations Manager for its Los Angeles radio stations, has taken the role of VP/Audio Brands for Meruelo.
This puts Montana in a key role overseeing what comes out of the speakers for those listening to Rocker KLOS-FM 95.5, Classic Hip-Hop KDAY-FM & KDEY-FM, Hip-Hop KPWR-FM “Power 106” and the lone Spanish-language FM in the Southern California stable, KLLI-FM “Cali 93.9,” a reggaetón-focused station in a direct format battle with Spanish Broadcasting System’s KXOL-FM “Mega 96.3.”
Registration is now open for the in-person, all-informative 2021 Hispanic Radio Conference. For full details, and to lock in your seat at the special Early Bird rate, click here!
In a statement released late Sunday (5/23), Meruelo Media President/CEO Otto Padrón explained that “after an exhaustive national search getting to know some of this country’s most amazing leaders in our craft of audio,” the locally based, highly respected Montana chose to accept the position.
“Haz brings the right balance of audio art and hard science perfectly nested within his steady brand of leadership, personal values and the confident entrepreneurial spirit we energetically embrace here at Meruelo Media,” Padrón said. “These very essential qualities are must-have requirements to steer our team and legacy audio brands.”
At Univision, Montana most recently had direct oversight of three national audio brands, found across six markets where Univision owns radio stations.
Montana joined Univision as its L.A. radio operations manager in 2005, following a six-year run as Program Director of the former KSSE-FM “Súper Estrella” — a massively successful rock en español-influenced Spanish Contemporary station that rode the Ricky Martin-to-Shakira wave. He launched KSSE under EXCL Communications, continuing through Entravision and winning a direct format war with the former operator Big City Radio’s “Viva 107.1” in L.A.
Before that SoCal success, which saw him steer KLVE “Radio Amor” and KRCD/KRCV “Recuerdo,” Montana had already made his mark in Hispanic radio. From December 1995 through August 1998, he served as PD of SBS’s WRMA-FM “Romance” in Miami, then a ratings leader following its debut under prior ownership led by Russ Oasis.
Furthermore, from 1991 to 1994, he was a “mental weapon” for Critical Mass Media, extensively traveling to consult with radio clients in their programming and marketing decisions. That experience led him to WRMA, and a career in Hispanic media.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Montana began his career in 1984 at Goodrich Broadcasting, a Grand Rapids operator of Rock and Top 40 stations that today owns a R&B station in the market.
“Hip Hop, Rock, Throwbacks, Latin Rhythm, and passionate talent — this opportunity is a dream come true,” Montana said. “I’m honored to be starting today with Team Meruelo. Above all, I’m excited about chartering a bold path in this newly reimagined role.”
Montana, who has won numerous Radio Ink honors, will be based in Los Angeles and reports to Padron.
Montana recently completed a course on Digital Business Strategy from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
A plan has come to fruition that would see the issuance of senior notes due in eight years, and a series of senior notes due in 10 years, as a way the nation’s dominant audience measurement and data analytics company can prepay a series of term loans agreed to in June 2020.
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The author is executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.
This has been a wild week in the world of cryptocurrency. Hints that the U.S. government will tighten up regulations and China’s crackdown sparked a precipitous fall of Bitcoin prices over the last few days. While there has been a mild recovery, attention on the speculative nature of this buzzy digital money persists.
For noncommercial radio stations, many of which rely on donations, the realm of cryptocurrency may seem weird. Indecipherable terminology and cryptocurrency named after memes are among the sideshows. Yet, thanks to Elon Musk, cryptocurrency has seen mainstream media coverage and massive growth. Is it too risky for noncommercial radio?
Cryptocurrency is all the rage in the nonprofit world. There’s Crypto Giving Tuesday to accompany the annual day of giving. This week, NPR joined the cryptocurrency movement as a verified publisher with Brave. Brave, a secure internet browser based on the Chrome core, has set up a plan where a publisher can accept a form of crypto called a Basic Attention Token. Users can opt to “tip” a publisher with BAT coins, which can then be traded for U.S. dollars and other real currency.
[Read: Community Broadcaster: Urgent Action]
As public media goes, the move is astonishing. Remember, this is NPR we’re talking about, not a fly-by-night unit. It may not be Tesla (which walked back its own jump into the crypto world), but for the biggest name in public radio to accept donations in this manner is unique.
What might a noncommercial broadcaster need to know if managers or the board of directors wants to get into accepting cryptocurrency in your donation portfolio? First, it is essential to understand that the finance community’s concern is based on crypto’s volatility. At this writing one Ethereum, a popular form of cryptocurrency, is worth $2,800. Less than two weeks ago, it was worth $1,000 less. That’s a bigger swing than even the riskiest stocks, and unfortunately its worth can be affected by far more random forces, such as tweets or Reddit speculation. Cryptocurrency can be exciting, but it may not be something to base a radio station’s capital campaign on, for instance. Consider it a long-term account that could be incredible in 10 years, or could be worth very little.
Setting up acceptance channels for your noncommercial radio station is not as cumbersome as creating other accounts, but will require diligence and forethought. Crypto “wallets” and other repositories for your donations may require complex security protocols. If you lose your passwords or other “keys,” you could lose access to everything.
Your radio station may wish to visit with your bank to see if they deal with cryptocurrency or have vendors they interface with, or recommend. There are many service providers that will accept crypto for your nonprofit and automatically convert to cash, if your banking institution shies away from it.
Your station may also wish to experiment with donation platforms, which make the setup for accepting cryptocurrency donations seamless. The trading site Binance is among many that provide a means for noncommercial radio stations to engage.
Cryptocurrency has taken many hits this week, but the hype is not going away anytime soon. Noncommercial radio looking to expand donation choices for audiences have a fascinating option, surely.
The post Community Broadcaster: Going to the Doges appeared first on Radio World.
H&A has unveiled its new AC50 Studio Broadcast Microphone, primarily intended for use on podcasts, broadcast, studio, vocals, narration, fish pole use and instrumentals.
Featuring a cardioid pattern, the mic is top-address, eschewing off-axis noise, making it appropriate for broadcasting, podcasting or vocal performances. Inside the mic, along with the mesh shielding, the internal pop filter helps eliminate distortion and allows for instant control of plosives when talking close to the microphone.
[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]
A low-cut filter switch allows users to reduce low frequencies by –10 dB in order to maintain an overall flat frequency response when needed. The microphone features a shielded all–aluminum construction. With a dynamic capsule, it does not need phantom power.
The microphone ships with a mic clip, a standard mount adapter, and a molded ABS protective case lined with impact resistant foam for storage and transportation.
Available exclusively at Adorama, the H&A AC50 Studio Broadcast Microphone is available for $99.95.
Info: www.adorama.com
The post H&A AC50 Studio Broadcast Microphone appeared first on Radio World.
The owners of a Macy’s warehouse located on Gandy Blvd. midway between downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., have moved forward with buying the neighboring property due east of the facility facing the Selmon Expressway.
It’s a multimillion-dollar deal. And, it will see the relocation of iHeartMedia’s radio stations serving the Tampa Bay region.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the company will pocket $3.8 million from the real estate deal for 4002 W. Gandy Blvd.
The iHeartMedia/Tampa station group is comprised of Top 40 WFLZ, once Jacor’s famed “Power Pig”; Adult Contemporary WMTX “Mix 100.7,” Rock WXTB-FM “98 Rock,” Country WFUS-FM “US 103.5,” Hip-Hop/R&B WBTP-FM 95.7 “The Beat,” Sports WDAE-AM and FM Translator W237CW, Talk WFLA-AM 970, “Impact Radio” WHNZ-AM, “Throwback Tampa Bay,” and Tropical WRUB-FM 106.5 in nearby Sarasota.
According to the Times, Hillsborough County property records indicate the iHeartMedia facility was sold on April 29 to LBA LVF VII XII Company LLC. It shares an Irvine, Calif. address with the buyers of a 39-acre Macy’s warehouse property just to the west of the iHeart facility.
The Macy’s property sold in late December 2020 for $32 million.
Xperi subsidiary DTS and Cumulus Media have reached a deal that will see the integration of the audio media company’s AM and FM radio stations into a “connected car infotainment platform.”
That would be DTS AutoStage — described by Xperi as a global hybrid radio platform that’s currently coming to market in the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class series of vehicles.
The DTS AutoStage platform is open and available to all broadcasters at no cost, at this time.
Cumulus SVP/Technology Conrad Trautmann notes, “DTS AutoStage is helping elevate radio into the connected car future, while enabling our radio stations to benefit from economies of scale and service simplification.”
Cumulus station metadata will be represented in the DTS AutoStage in-vehicle infotainment ecosystem.
Among the content partnerships DTS AutoStage has with major broadcast groups and aggregators around the world are BBC, Bauer, Global Radio, NPO, Audacy, Beasley, Cox Media, Commercial Radio Australia, radiko, FM World, and Germany’s SWR.
With Urban One stock exploding in value on Thursday, it was only natural that some investors may want to cash out and enjoy a handsome profit.
That’s exactly what transpired on Friday, as UONE went on a wild ride that saw shares jump and quickly recede, leading to a 13% dip for the day.
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