Industry News

Some recent letters to the editor of Radio World:

 

Talk of AM Digital Is Futile

Re “AM Advocates Watch and Worry”: 

The topic of all-digital on the AM band has been rehashed and disposed of over so many years now, I’m surprised Radio World gives it space anymore. So once again:  

Akin to the flurry of interest in AM stereo and quadraphonic now long gone, there is no consumer demand for digital AM, and virtually no digital AM radio receivers commonly available to receive it, save for new car dashboards. 

New car penetration alone will not substantiate the argument for wholesale conversion from analog to digital AM transmission and transmitter plant conversions. The discussion is futile and moot. 

— from James B. Potter, Cutting Edge Engineering, Kimberling City, Mo.

 

How About an FM Translator Window?

Re “FM NCE Fiing Window Coming in 2021”:

It’s been more than a decade since the last NCE FM filing window, but I can’t even recall when was the last time the FCC allowed applications for translators in the reserved band. 

Once this round of NCE FM and LPFM apps are filed, shouldn’t the FCC consider a translator window as well? Isn’t the notion of decades between filing windows for any service absurd?

— from Harry Kozlowski

 

About Static Dissipaters

Mr. Persons, I’m writing regarding your article of regarding the lightning strike to KJRM’s broadcast facility (“What Happens When Lightning Hits”:

Nott Static Dissipator as shown in the earlier article

While I’m always fascinated by the effects of lightning strikes and enjoyed the article, I was concerned by your comments on static dissipaters. While these devices are sold in the North American market by several firms, they have no code support in either the U.S. or Canada, and have not been shown in the field to reduce the incidence of lightning strike.

There is no known method of consistently preventing lightning from striking, and static dissipaters of the kind you mention act no differently than a conventional lightning rod. As such, these devices are not approved for use on government or military facilities, and do not enjoy wider industry support in North America.

I’d be happy to pass along links to scientific studies, or put you in touch with expert scientists in the lightning protection field. Thanks for your consideration. 

— from Simon Larter, Dobbyn Lightning Protection, Calgary, Alberta

Mark Persons replies:

Dobbyn lightning terminals/lightning rods are Benjamin Franklin technology from 250 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, they are a good way to conduct lightning strikes to the ground. I prefer static dissipaters, which are multiple sharp points to “bleed off” static charges so the voltage between the sky and ground is less. That results in no lightning strike or a strike with less intensity. Static dissipaters are the same as having one hundred or more air terminals, not just the one that a tower traditionally has next to a top beacon. 

A station I did contract engineering work for years ago would be hit by lightning every summer with frequent damage to transmitters and other equipment at the base of their 380-foot tower. I was able to convince a new owner to spend a few thousand dollars to install static dissipaters the next time tower lights were changed. Fifteen years later, there hasn’t been one instance of lightning damage. Likely they’ve had a few strikes of lower intensity.

The post Letters: AM Digital, FM Translators, Lightning Dissipation appeared first on Radio World.

The technology of audio over IP makes possible things that prior broadcasters could only dream about. Radio World’s new ebook explores how AoIP is being used in new facilities today.

We asked expert users at Cumulus, EMF, Corus Radio, SiriusXM, Radio Zürisee and other organizations large and small to tell us about their use of AoIP for studio, remote and interconnection infrastructure, and what kinds of capabilities they’ve achieved with it.

We also invited manufacturers to tell us what they view as the most important trends to watch for in AoIP in the coming year. And we asked an expert installer to share his ideas and insights into technical terminologies.

Read it here.

The post The Real World of AoIP: A Radio World Ebook appeared first on Radio World.

Snapchat’s purpose on smartphones may still be questioned by some, despite Radio’s use of its social media platform to connect with listeners. Yet, there’s no question that Snapchat’s parent company has had one of the hottest stocks on the NYSE since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Tuesday’s close, it is more than $42 per share above its March 11 level.

At the closing bell, SNAP was priced at $51.23, up 6.2% from Monday.

With a recent high of $53.25, seen December 17, Snap Inc. is on a roll.

And, it came even as Election Day jitters put a sputter to SNAP’s meteoric rise in 2020.

As the novel coronavirus became a big threat on March 11, SNAP shares were valued at $8.91.

Prior to that, SNAP had reached the $18.38 level at the start of 2020, and came off a strong 2019 that began with shares in the mid-$6 range.

Kiss that growth goodbye.

SNAP is certainly crackling. Now, it’s ready to perhaps pop.

Goldman Sachs has raised its target price on the issue to $70 per share, with analyst Heath Terry predicting Snap Inc. will beat its own Q4 2020 guidance.

The $70 target is a 45% premium to Monday’s close.

 

On October 19, a broker release obtained by RBR+TVBR revealed that Ramar Communications had agreed to sell The CW Network affiliate in Lubbock, along with two low-power facilities, to Gray Television.

The deal required a closer look by the FCC’s Media Bureau. And, it has just given its approval to the deal brokered by Kalil & Co. VP Fred Kalil, giving it a common ownership waiver for the Texas market.

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The latest broadcast TV retransmission consent fee impasse appears to be brewing — this time in the Keystone State and in New England communities where Verizon Fios customers have access to cable television packages.

Verizon has started to notify its customers that they may lose “some channels” in the coming days, because of “unreasonable demands” by the stations’ owner.

That would be Hearst Television.

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As RBR+TVBR first reported via Twitter on December 23, the FCC, as expected, gave the green light — with agreed-to conditions — to Searchlight III UTD and ForgeLight‘s acquisition of a majority stake of Univision Holdings.

This set the wheels in motion on reaching a closing date before the end of 2020, as originally envisioned.

On Tuesday afternoon, the transaction was formally consummated.

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In July 2010, Curtis Media Group acquired a heritage 5kw Class B with 2 daytime and 4 nighttime towers that for much of the 1960s and 1970s offered a high-energy Top 40 presentation.

The station had been a Radio Disney O&O, taken silent in January of that year.

In recent years, an FM translator was added, and Sports Talk programming could be found. Now, the company led by Don Curtis is parting ways with the Triad duo.

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The lone radio stations within a 30-mile radius of a small Mitchell County, Tex., town have just been sold.

It’s an “Extreme” transaction — one that involves the owner of a Tejano station serving the Abilene market and the seller, Linda Baum, who owned the station with her late husband, Jim Baum (pictured, at left).

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SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — The COVID-19 health crisis has fundamentally impacted the lifestyles and routines of all consumers. Shelter-in-place orders are back in Southern California, along with a new 10-day quarantine for any out-of-area visitors to Los Angeles County. Work-at-home mandates are largely intact nine months later. This, a Parks Research/Applicaster study shows, has driven in-home video consumption to unprecedented levels.

Their research found that nearly 3 in 10 U.S. broadband households saw a usage increase of online video services. Furthermore, nearly 1 in 5 reported an increased use of pay-TV services.

Can this momentum continue into 2021?

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Subscription-free sports betting audio content is poised to reach more listeners on more devices.

That’s the promise VSiN and iHeartMedia are sharing, as the nation’s No. 1 audio media company has expanded its partnership with the Las Vegas-based sports information network dedicated to bettors and wagering statistics.

“Building on our success with podcasting and betcasting partnerships, VSiN will move its dedicated streaming radio station to iHeartRadio beginning on January 1,” iHeart and VSiN said in a joint release.

That will happen “just as the ball drops” at Midnight Eastern.

“Until then, the network will continue to air as a subscription service of SiriusXM, which has been VSiN’s live audio home since February 2017, more than 15 months before the Supreme Court ruling allowing states to legalize sports betting,” the companies said.

As of today, VSiN has offered multiple sports betting podcasts available for download on all podcasting platforms via the iHeart Podcast Network.

The agreement does not impact the select programming from VSiN that is syndicated for use on terrestrial radio stations across the U.S. via The Bet R Network. In its home market of Las Vegas, VSiN’s affiliate is Lotus Communications-owned KRLV-AM 920.

“We’re thrilled to build on the success we’ve had with iHeart on the podcasting and betcasting front to announce an expanded partnership that will help us offer a better product to a broader audience for free,” said Brian Musburger, founder and CEO of VSiN.

He was also upfront about the biggest concern regarding its dedicated audio channel’s presence on Sirius XM.

“We believe that removing the subscription hurdle on audio platforms will launch the critical next chapter for us on a technologically ubiquitous platform and set us up for 24/7 live programming in the very near term,” he said. “This not only allows VSiN to get to more listeners on more devices but also to capture more advertising revenue as legalized sports betting continues its rapid spread across the U.S.”

The new, expanded deal also sees iHeartRadio and VSiN collaborating on the development of new upcoming sports betting podcasts, while a “betcasting” product focused on English Premier League football (soccer) offers wagering content plus one live match to listeners each week.