Industry News

One of the nation’s largest radio stations owners, one with a big stake in podcasting, has just lured a SHOWTIME Networks marketing pro to take on the newly created position of Head of Marketing for Podcasts.

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Joining Entercom Communications, owner of Cadence13 and Pineapple Street and the Radio.com streaming audio platform to promote podcasts is Brian Swarth.

He was previously SVP of Digital Media & Marketing at SHOWTIME Networks, where he directed all aspects of digital and social marketing including acquisition and CRM strategy, influencer marketing, interactive creative and production, multi-platform content development, marketing and advertising technology, digital marketing analytics and emerging platforms.

Once he settles in to his new role at Entercom, Swarth will lead and oversee all marketing and public relations for Entercom’s podcast division.

He reports directly to Chris Corcoran, Chief Content Officer at Cadence13.

Before joining SHOWTIME, Swarth was VP/Managing Director of Client Strategy, Media and Entertainment at Zemoga. Before that, he was Sr. Director of Strategy and Business Operations/Content Distribution at MTV Networks, where he steered expansion of MTVN and BETN content distribution and enabled the successful launch of the multiplatform premium movie service EPIX.

NBCUniversal‘s U.S. household addressable footprint is set to expand by nearly 40%, to 45 million households.

To accomplish this, it has agreed to a newly formed advanced advertising pact with one of the nation’s largest cable TV service providers.

Importantly, NBCUniversal says the deal makes its advanced advertising offering one of the largest offered in the market by a television publisher.

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SAVANNAH, GA. — Thanks in part to its ownership of the dominant CBS affiliate serving Georgia’s Coastal Empire, WTOC-11, and keeping a watchful eye on expenses, Gray Television enjoyed a 138% year-over-year net income rise as total revenue jumped 37% to $792 million.

Next year’s finish is poised to be even bigger, as Gray awaits approval of its $925 million acquisition of Quincy Media Inc.

While there are many positive takeaways from the earnings results, the bigger news from Gray is that for the first time in 13 years, a quarterly dividend is coming to shareholders.

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The author is owner of Airwaves Audio.

CLERMONT, Fla — I own a small production company called Airwaves Audio that does live TV and radio remote production. I’ve worked for several years with ESPN on shows like “Mike & Mike” and “Rusillo & Kanell” to cover events like the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball All-Star games. I also engineer large broadcasts with multiple stations for organizations like Disney. 

It’s a lot of coordination. In addition to handling the technical side, I manage the moving pieces to ensure everyone can be on the air when they need to be.

We started using Comrex equipment in the early 2000s. We tried it for the first time for a mass live broadcast from a Disney cruise ship.

We had made several attempts to connect an ISDN line to the ship, and it just wasn’t happening. So we set up 24 Comrex Access codecs, and ran them simultaneously over the ship’s internet back to the studio. It really saved our bacon on that job, and we never looked back. Comrex has been our number one IP audio codec choice since then.

As an engineer, my favorite part of Access NX Portable is the screen. While I sometimes have a headset and listen to every second of the broadcast, in most cases I set up the equipment, explain how to use it, and then step back. If I have to make sure everything is working during the show, it’s much easier to see the large Access NX screen than the smaller interface on the original Access. And the LEDs in the knobs make it easy for me to keep an eye on levels from a distance — it’s reassuring to know that no one is clipping and the audio sounds good. 

When I first took the Access NX Portable out of the box, I was struck by how it was organized. It’s done the way that I would do it. The channels are clearly delineated, and are color-coded and labeled. When there’s a problem, time speeds up and you’ve got to jump in and fix it ASAP. And I can do that with this because Access NX is so user-friendly.

When I’m out in the field, about 80% of the people I run into these days are using Access NX. ISDN was once the default, but that’s now all but gone. 

When I’m on a job, and I’m told that we’re going to be using a Comrex, I feel a sense of relief because I’m familiar with the software and the interface and I know what we’re getting into. 

I recently did the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. My client requested a somewhat elaborate setup, so I had to get there 5–6 hours ahead of time to get it done.

As I finished and sat down, I looked through the glass wall of the booth next to mine, and saw a couple guys with an Access NX. They got in the door and were set up in 10 minutes, and I was instantly jealous of how simple their day was going to be. If I had the choice, I’d always pick Access NX. 

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Chris Crump with Comrex in Massachusetts at 1-978-784-1776 or visit www.comrex.com.

The post User Report: Access NX Serves Airwaves Audio appeared first on Radio World.

Responding to record cold in Texas along with related consequences such as loss of power for days, the Broadcasters Foundation of America is making one-time emergency grants of up to $2,000 each to qualifying individual broadcaster industry employees based in Texas.

Broadcasters Foundation of America Vice President Peter Doyle explained, “Broken pipes, power outages, displacement, and more have brought devastation to many of our colleagues. The foundation’s Emergency Grant Program is set up with a streamlined vetting process that allows us to move quickly and get checks to those in desperate need. We’re asking every broadcaster in affected areas to help us get the word out to those who may need our assistance.”

Those interested in seeking aid may visit https://broadcastersfoundation.org/apply-for-help. According to a release, once at the webpage, choose Emergency Grants on the right to get to the Emergency Grant & Disaster Information Request Form. According to the release the foundation has heard from employees of Tegna, Nexstar, Radio One, Entercom, Fox and others.

The post Broadcasters Foundation Offers Aid for Texas Broadcasters appeared first on Radio World.

Fry’s Electronics has gone out of business.

“After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc. … has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” it stated on its website.

“The company will implement the shut down through an orderly wind down process that it believes will be in the best interests of the company, its creditors, and other stakeholders.”

It said it began the wind-down today, Wednesday. “It is hoped that undertaking the wind-down through this orderly process will reduce costs, avoid additional liabilities, minimize the impact on our customers, vendors, landlords and associates, and maximize the value of the Company’s assets for its creditors and other stakeholders.”

It said it was reaching out to customers with repairs and consignment vendors to help them understand what this will mean for them and the proposed next steps.

One veteran engineering told Radio World, “These guys were a great alternative to RadioShack, especially out west!  A shame to see them go.”

The post Fry’s Electronics Closes Its Doors appeared first on Radio World.

With 99 watts of power from atop the famed Sutro Tower, this FM translator emits enough of a signal to cover all of the city of San Francisco, lower Marin County and East Bay communities including Richmond and Berkeley, Calif.

Now, its use as an outlet targeting Asians has been solidified thanks to a newly consummated transaction.

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The Media Financial Management Association (MFM) has revealed the speakers for its two-day Media Tax Summit, scheduled for March 2-3.

The virtual event will be held from 11am-1pm Eastern on each of those days.

The summit was formulated specifically for media tax professionals. Its focus is the specifics of how technological advances, the evolving workplace environment, and recent and proposed legislation have converged to transform the expectations for, and responsibilities of, the media tax department. MFM has assembled expert speakers to delve into each of these topics.

The event is co-chaired by Sinclair Broadcast Group SVP/Tax Paul Nesterovsky, TEGNA Sr. Director of Tax Sean Hetzler, and Dan McGuire, a Partner for State and Local Tax with KPMG LLP.

The Summit schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 2, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET

CFO Panel – Expectations for Successful Media Tax Department

Moderator: Dan McGuire, Partner, State & Local Tax, KPMG LLP

Panelists: Lucy Rutishauser, EVP & CFO, Sinclair Broadcast Group; Stephen P. Gibson, VP, CFO, The Washington Post; others TBA

Federal Stimulus and Relief Legislation – Media Industry Impacts

Moderator: Louis Lazar, Tax Partner, PwC

Panelists: Paul Nesterovsky, SVP Tax, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Andrew Prior, Tax Policy Services, PwC US

March 3, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET

Intersection of Tax and Corporate People Strategy

Moderator: Sean Hetzler, Senior Director, Tax, TEGNA Inc.

Panelists: Jean Nechvatal, Vice President, Human Resources, Tribune Publishing; Kristin Hansen, Director, Human Resources, Hearst Television; John Montgomery, Partner, KPMG

Trends, Opportunities, and Threats in State Taxation

Moderator: Duane Dobson, Director, Ryan

Panelists: Stephanie Do, Senior Tax Council, Council On State Taxation (COST); Alexandra Sampson, State Tax Council, Hearst; Alesia Lewis, Global Head of Tax, The Washington Post

“We are excited about the experts and topics we’ve assembled for our inaugural MFM Media Tax Summit,” said Mary M. Collins, president and CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association. “Realizing 2021 will present unique challenges; our co-chairs have been deliberate in identifying media-specific challenges along with thought leaders to address them.”

Registration is free for MFM corporate members, $200 for each of the first two attendees from a non-corporate industry member organization and complimentary for each subsequent media industry registrant. Others, including those who work for companies that offer products, goods, or services to the media industry, must pay either the member rate of $100 (if they are members) or the non-member rate of $250 (which includes a one-year trial membership) for each Summit attendee. No refunds or credits will be given after February 26, 2021.

Registered participants are eligible to receive up to four (4) CPE credits toward their certified public accounting (CPA) license. MFM is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.

For more information, visit the MFM website.

Sinclair Broadcast Group on Wednesday was the latest owner of over-the-air television stations to release its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 results.

Sinclair’s performance was good: Earnings per share exceeded Wall Street analyst estimates, while revenue came in line with forecasts.

Why, then, were Sinclair shares down nearly 4% upon the release of the financial report card?

Sinclair Broadcast Group on Wednesday declared a $0.20 dividend payable March 24 to holders of Class A and Class B shares of record at the close of business March 10.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC today announced the winning bidders and the final bid totals in Auction 107— also known as the “C-Band Auction.”

Auction 107 net winning bids totaled $81,114,481,921 and gross winning bids totaled $81,168,677,645.  Twenty-one bidders won all of the available 5,684 licenses.

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