There’s a new Vice President and GM for Nexstar Media Group‘s FOX affiliate in DMA No. 139.
He’ll also oversee the operational agreements Nexstar holds with the Mission Broadcasting-owned ABC affiliate serving this market.
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Independent Out of Home (OOH) media specialist Talon is rolling out a new connected video offering that unifies over-the-top (OTT) and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising.
As such, Talon is joining forces with MadHive to connect digital audiences across two of the fastest growing advertising channels in the U.S. — OTT and DOOH.
Madhive joins Hivestack as a strategic partner to enhance its services and solutions to serve their current and prospective clients.
Talon will utilize MadHive’s proprietary platform to connect advertisers to premium connected TV (CTV) inventory and its end-to-end campaign planning tools for audience targeting, measurement, and attribution. “Combining OTT and DOOH makes perfect sense,” said Adam Helfgott, CEO of MadHive. “It allows buyers to plan, activate, and measure two rapidly expanding media channels that represent an even larger percentage of marketers spend. The cross-channel platform will deliver a more holistic picture of the customer journey by creating new currencies and insights on a single audience — all while simplifying brand workflow.”
DOOH domestic advertising spend is projected to reach $3.84 billion by the end of 2023, according to Statista. Further, eMarketer notes that U.S. programmatic DOOH ad spend doubled last year and is projected to reach $533.8 million by 2022.
“The growth of digital video is fueling the movement from in-home to out-of-home and we’re empowering advertisers to activate their cross-channel video strategy of reaching high-value audiences at scale, whether it’s a traditional managed service or a self-service approach,” said Jim Wilson, CEO of Talon America. “As marketers look for measurable incremental reach and the ability to tie campaign spending to business results, we’re enabling advertisers to start an OOH journey in-home. By bringing to market new solutions with MadHive and Hivestack, we’re connecting audience data across OTT and DOOH to deliver outcome-based campaigns as advertiser demand on each channel reaches new heights.”
Hivestack’s Supply Side Platform (SSP) will programmatically feed DOOH screen inventory to MadHive, that will serve as the demand-side platform (DSP) for activation across OTT and DOOH leveraging Talon’s Ada audience segments.
Believe it or not, students in Palm Beach County, Fla., are in their second week of school while neighboring Broward County welcomes students back on Wednesday.
In other parts of the nation, there’s still plenty of time to plan for the start of the school year. And, that led Walmart to bump up its spot plays at the TV stations tracked by Media Monitors.
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It’s a rarity these days — a Director of Engineering for a licensee of AM and FM radio stations.
Yet, a media company known for experiential marketing opportunities across the Empire State and its collection of radio stations has one. And, he’s celebrating 20 years on the job.
Tim Backer, who holds the Director of Engineering title at Galaxy Media Partners, joined the company on August 11, 1981.
He’s still with the company today.
“Many — if not most — broadcast stations don’t have engineers on site anymore,” said Ed Levine, President and CEO of Galaxy Media. “Galaxy not only has an engineer on site, but we have also had the same engineer for 20 years. Tim has and continues to be a huge part of the Galaxy Media Team. We appreciate all his hard work and dedication to our local company.”
In recognition of his two decades of service, Backer will receive a brand-new engineering vehicle of his choice for his 2am drives to remote engineering sites during the Central New York winters, Levine says.
Dear RW,
Cris Alexander’s delightful reminiscing on changes in audio processing (“Air Chains Then and Now” ) brought back memories of when I was hired by GAF Corp. in 1976 to rebuild and manage New York’s Classical WNCN, 104.3 FM.
We started with a blank sheet, and the first thing GAF’s chairman did was to retain the services of the legendary Dick Sequerra to handle all aspects of the audio chain.
The chairman was an audiophile, and had one of the amazing Sequerra FM1 tuners in his home. Of course, we had one in our main studio as an off-air monitor, too.
As our studios and offices were located in a building on Sixth Avenue, and the building’s foundation went straight down to the Sixth Avenue subway, the studios were built as rooms within rooms, with the inner rooms mounted on rubber dampers that resembled hockey pucks.
Sequerra hired WFMT Chicago CE Al Antlitz to design and fabricate the boards used in each studio. Their performance was far superior to anything available in the marketplace and greatly added to the very clean sound that he wanted to achieve.
Sequerra hoped to broadcast the way that the BBC did with its Classical channel, requiring the announcers (presenters) to ride gain, with no processing. AFTRA, the announcers’ union, mandated that wasn’t about to happen, so we ended up with the then-new Orban processors, which really were superior to anything else on the market.
As part of his passion for excellence, Sequerra went into the bowels of Manhattan and rebuilt the telco amplifiers going from our studios to the Empire State Building, unknown to New York Telephone, of course.
After the new Gates transmitter was delivered to our space in the Empire State Building, Sequerra spent three days tearing the transmitter apart and rebuilding it to his specs. The performance was just spectacular! My memory is not absolutely perfect here, but as I recall, with the Orban bypassed, the lines were clean to something in the –90 dB area.
There is no doubt that Dick Sequerra’s passion and expertise made WNCN the best-engineered FM station in the country. The programming team was led by a Julliard graduate, and the combination made WNCN a leader in the country’s Classical music FM stations.
Thanks for the memories.
The post Letter to the Editor: Air Chain by Dick Sequerra appeared first on Radio World.
There’s a new leader on the latest Spot Ten Radio report from Media Monitors.
And, it demonstrates that one auto insurance brand isn’t trimming its ad commitment to broadcast radio.
As shown below, Progressive is the top paid advertiser using spot radio to reach consumers for the week ending August 15. It’s thanks to just shy of 50,000 spots.
By comparison, Babbel saw a play count of 48,806 as Indeed accounted for 46,368 spot plays.
Nautel’s “Transmission Talk Tuesday” series continues this month with discussions on MPX over AES, Building with Raspberry Pi, and a special session on “Best Practices – Dashboard Presence.”
The sessions are designed to be interactive, with attendees contributing their thoughts and questions throughout each session.
Getting the sound from here to there, over AES or IP, will be the topic on Tuesday (8/17).
The Telos Alliance’s Kirk Harnack will join Nautel’s Jeff Welton to talk about the various forms of MPX delivery and will include practical examples of implementation in the field. microMPX will also be discussed.
An August 24 session will delve into Raspberry Pi. Welton will bring in Nautel’s Alex
Hartman, who will show some of the designs he has done using Raspberry Pi and Arduino
technology.
The last session of the month, taking place on August 31, covers a topic that is not normally discussed in technical sessions: how to configure your RDS for optimal presence on the car dashboard.
“In this session, we’ll discuss how what you put on your RDS can make a big difference in the appearance on the dashboard – and going forward, it will make a significant impact on your stations’ ability to work with hybrid radio,” said Welton.
Joining him is NAB VP of Advanced Engineering David Layer, and Lawrence Galkoff, General Manager of Radioplayer Worldwide Ltd.
All Transmission Talk Tuesday sessions begin at noon Eastern; pre-registration is required.
For more information and to register, visit Nautel.com/webinars/. Sessions are also posted online for those who are unable to join the live chats.
As with traditional Nautel Webinars, ½ SBE recertification credit is available for attending each session.
Marketron, the provider of enterprise revenue management and digital software solutions, will host a free webinar on August 25 demonstrating how broadcasters’ sales teams can leverage video, OTT, and CTV ads to increase the size and quantity of their digital orders.
During the live event, “Video Explosion! How to Sell More in 2021,” Marketron representatives will explain the differences between these critical digital tactics and how sales teams can use them to enhance the value of their proposals and capture a greater share of rapidly growing video advertising revenues.
The webinar, which begins at 1pm Eastern, features Jeff Ulrich, Marketron senior manager of digital transformation and enablement, and Mark Weidel, Marketron senior training and onboarding associate. Ulrich and Weidel will delve into the details of how broadcasters and sales teams can plan, prepare, produce and promote campaigns that leverage the latest video, OTT and CTV ad tactics to deliver stronger results for advertisers.
Ulrich is a 35-year local broadcast industry veteran, having held sales and sales management roles in both Top 10 and mid-sized markets, working closely with local business owners, ad agencies, media sales managers and salespeople across radio, television, print and digital media. In 2018 he was recognized by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) with its Education in Excellence Award.
Weidel has spent more than three-and-a-half decades in general management and directorial positions in the sports broadcasting and media management fields. The two Marketron experts will conclude the webinar with a Q&A, taking questions submitted by attendees during and after their presentation.
The National Association of Broadcasters on Monday distributed via email a request for attendee input for its upcoming NAB Show, which will see the NAB/RAB co-produced Radio Show staged at the Las Vegas Convention Center in October.
While the NAB reiterates that it welcomes the opportunity after a year and a half for “Coming Together, Safely,” it’s also asking its audience to weigh on potential mask and/or vaccination mandates for all participants.
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Founded in 2018, Desert Mountain Broadcasting has rapidly expanded through acquisitions to amass a stable of 12 stations and 3 translators in the Montana markets of Billings and Bozeman.
It’s poised to grow once again.
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Steve Tuzeneu is a longtime broadcast engineer and Workbench contributor, and the general manager and CE of WIHS(FM) in Middletown, Conn.
Steve had a problem: a lost satellite signal; but he was able to track the problem to wasps that had taken up residence in the feed horn.
After removing them and their nest from the throat of the feed horn, Steve wanted to stop them from coming back. Fig. 1 shows Steve’s solution: a plastic cap from a used can of aerosol glue. The cap happens to fit nicely into the feed horn, discouraging any insects from moving in.
Keep this solution in mind, especially if you suddenly lose your satellite signal. As a contractor, I once was called to a station that reported losing its satellite signal every evening at sundown. Yep, you guessed it: Bees had taken up residence; during the day they were mostly away from the nest, but at night they all returned, and their combined body mass was enough to disrupt the signal.
Whether it’s a plastic cap or a cut-down 1-liter plastic water bottle, Steve’s tip will save you a headache and maybe prevent you from getting stung.
Analog at the Edge
I got a followup from engineer Dale Lamm about the AoIP EAS adapter we discussed here in July.
“I’ll confess, when I first saw the tip about the AoIP/EAS interconnection, I thought it was an April Fool’s article that was somehow delayed,” he wrote.
Dale Lamm wasn’t sure at first that we were serious with our tip about the AoIP EAS adapter in the June 23 issue.The CATV F connector adapting to an RJ-45 Ethernet plug was something he had never encountered. A clever engineer from WETA found this adapter and used it to solve a problem that had nothing to do with CATV.
But where did this odd adapter come from in the first place?
It starts with someone who wanted to install a TV set in a room that had nothing in the wall but Ethernet category wiring. There was no RG-6 coaxial wiring in the room.
With a pair of these adapters, you take RF from the CATV distribution amp and send it on one of the twisted pair inside the category cable.
In the room, another adapter takes it to an F connector that is attached to the TV. The 100-ohm twisted pair is close enough to the 75-ohm RG-6 impedance for this to work. Obviously, use a direct category cable connection. Don’t expect to shove RF through a network router!
Looking closely at the picture in our original article, it seems only the first pair is used. Moving consumer S/PDIF to professional AES with this adapter solved a problem inexpensively.
Dale’s plant makes partial use of audio over IP but has a lot of gear with analog I/O. He was never a big fan of dongles with twin XLR connectors hanging off the back of a dense array of rack gear. He finds it easier to modify a LAN cable — cut off one end, fan out the four pairs and solder the left/right pairs to a couple of XLRs that plug into the analog gear.
Use some tubing or heat shrink to make it pretty and more durable. Running balanced analog through 10 or 20 feet of unshielded category cable is fine.
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If you use the hanging dongle method, you’ll be soldering an XLR at each end of the interconnection. Dale’s method requires an XLR only at the analog equipment end, and results in less wiring congestion. Less dense rack wiring can save time troubleshooting in the future.
Note that LAN patch cables use stranded wire instead of solid if you’re concerned about flexure.
Someday, everything will be AoIP-ready or shrunken into a piece of software inside a server. For now, we all have to deal with analog at the edges of our facilities.
Ouch Ouch Ouch
Dale “Squeak” Porray, AD7K, really liked Bill Weeks’ submission about the LED replacement for fluorescent Circline bulbs but says the website link we gave may not have been right in some versions of the story. It is www.mpja.com for Marlin P. Jones Associates.
The site now has over 60 YouTube videos of the products they sell. Squeak has been dealing with them since the 1970s and says they’re a fine company.
Since we also were talking about Cat-5/6 Ethernet cables, watch the site’s YouTube video about the LAN RJ Plug Crimp Tool. It has a built-in cable continuity tester to check cables you’ve crimped, all for under $30. One notable feature is a ratchet release pin, very important!
Once while helping an engineer crimp cables, we took a break, but as we chatted, he inadvertently put his index finger in the jaws of the crimping tool and pressed down. CLICK — the jaws latched. And there was no release.
I drove him to the emergency room to get his finger freed. Since witnessing that, I’ve made sure that any latching pliers or crimping tools I use have a release pin. You can’t be too careful.
Bee a pal! Help fellow engineers by sending in your tips to johnpbisset@gmail.com.
John has spent over 50 years in broadcasting and is in his 31st year of Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.
The post Workbench: Invasion of the Bees appeared first on Radio World.
iHeartMedia has launched a new podcast network called Cool Zone Media with journalist Robert Evans. Cool Zone Media debuted today with the first episode of the new daily podcast “It Could Happen Here.”
Evans, who will serve as the head of content for Cool Zone Media, will be joined by the iHeartPodcast Network’s executive producer, Sophie Lichterman, who will become Cool Zone Media’s head of creative for the network.
“Remember when the world didn’t feel like it was coming apart? Neither do I,” said Evans. “Cool Zone Media won’t mince words: we are currently living through the collapse of the known and the birth of a new unknown. This new network will chronicle the journey and provide advice and access to those voices trying to build a better future.”
This September, Cool Zone Media will debut its second original podcast “Assault on America.” Written and co-produced by one of the United Kingdom’s leading independent podcast companies, Novel, the show will examine the events of January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
“We are excited to launch Cool Zone Media to help elevate vital political voices and viewpoints that are so often overlooked,” said Will Pearson, Chief Operating Officer, iHeartPodcast Network. “With a combined 100 million plus downloads across Robert’s current iHeartRadio podcasts, the appetite for this unfiltered brand of investigative journalism is clear, and we know Cool Zone Media’s content creators will inspire thought-provoking conversation as Robert and the team work to illuminate some of the most complex issues within the rapidly changing global political landscape.”
More podcasts and creators set to join Cool Zone media will be announced in the coming months.
FeiyuTech, a Chinese company focused on video stabilization technology, has unveiled a new line of tiny pocket-sized smart FeiyuPocket2 and FeiyuPocket2S Gimbal Cameras for outdoor, travel, action video and photography, social media video posting, and vlogs.
Based on the FeiyuPocket combination gimbal camera, the new next generation FeiyuPocket2 and FeiyuPocket2S lets users record professional anti-shake image stabilized video on the fly, everywhere they go. Featuring powerful intelligent shooting functions for both novice and professional photography users alike, including 4K/60fps high-definition high frame rate video up to 120Mbps, AI Anti-Distortion mode, Micro High-Torque Mechanical Anti-Shake Technology, 2.0 large aperture, 120° to 130° ultra wide-angle 6-glass high-definition lens for a wider field of view while shooting, built-in speakers, and support for extended external microphones. The FeiyuPocket2S is geared towards professional videographers and photographers and the FeiyuPocket2 is for more personal use.
With the advancements in high-capacity 5G wireless technology, more and more people are choosing to broadcast live videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other sites, vlogs, and blogs to share their daily lives or promote their businesses.
Availability & Pricing
WinMedia has announced that it has expanded its distribution network in the United Arab Emirates in a partnership with Tek Signals, a full-service provider of systems engineering and technology consulting.
Tek Signals will represent WinMedia’s range of broadcasting software solutions for radio and TV to Emirati media and broadcasting customers.
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WinMedia International Sales Manager Jesus Vazquez Miguel said, “Tek Signals is the ideal partner to help us continue expanding our presence in Emirates.”
He added, “In addition to their deep knowledge of the local market, Tek Signals have a solid track record of expertise in the analysis, development, and installation of solutions for media operations. Working with Tek Signals, we’ll be able to make our products and services even more accessible to local customers and reinforce WinMedia’s reputation for excellence in the Emirati marketplace.”
Submit business announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post WinMedia Names UAE Distributor appeared first on Radio World.
The AM radio station formerly known as WMBI no longer has those historic call letters. It officially is now WXES.
That’s just one of the call sign changes reported by the FCC for the month of July, and probably the one involving the most famous call letters.
The station, which airs at 1110 kHz in Chicago, was acquired by El Sembrador Ministries from Moody Bible Institute of Chicago in July. Moody still owns WMBI-FM.
Moody had announced earlier that it planned to sell the AM station, which is considered one of the oldest noncommercial Christian radio stations in the country.
WMBI had been Moody’s flagship dating to 1926, and its call letters referred to the organization’s name. Moody had switched the station to Spanish-language Christian programming in 2012.
Here’s the list of 22 call sign changes in July (PDF).
The post July Call Sign Changes: WMBI Is Now WXES appeared first on Radio World.
Gray Television, like many companies, on August 6 revealed that it is requiring all new hires — full-time or part-time — to get a COVID-19 vaccine, effective Sept. 1.
RBR+TVBR has now confirmed that the broadcast TV station owner is moving beyond new hires by requiring all of its employees to get vaccinated. It’s a move that comes alongside an internal announcement from Urban One that it is doing the same at its multimedia operation.
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As of today, Gen Media Partners has rebooted its radio network sales and affiliate sales arm that until now was known as Sun Broadcast Group.
Introducing G Networks.
As GMP sees it, G Networks “will stand as a full-service network audio company providing clients, advertisers, and agencies with comprehensive and streamlined solutions in both Ad Sales and Affiliates.” It boasts more than 4,000 affiliates, and has preexisting offices located in New York, Chicago, Cleveland and West Palm Beach.
The shedding of the Sun name follows the late July exit of Danno Wolkoff as COO and Laura Wolkoff as Sun’s VP of Operations. Their departures came after the September 2020 departure of its founder, Jason Bailey. He founded Sun in 2008 and sold it to GMP in 2018.
Once the Wolkoffs exited, Warren Friedland stepped up from Managing Partner to take on the role of President. Once that was done, the Sun name was sunset by GMP.
He comments, “Evolution isn’t possible without change. It is with this ethos that we have upped the commitment and engagement for our G Networks radio division and are focusing on what is now vitally important to advertisers and stations in the current media environment. With an eye to the future, we intend to both invest and transform the future of audio.”
Rich Baum remains in his role as Chief Revenue Officer, while the Chief Development Officer role remains with Rich O’Brien.
She gave a big New York radio station a rebirth that directly brought it back to its roots as a top CHR/Pop station serving the Big Apple. Earlier, she played a key role in giving Houston a CHR/Pop outlet following the demise of two competitors at a volatile time for the format.
Now, after exiting the radio business for a record label role, this veteran talent is combining her skill set for at Global Media & Entertainment — the London-based entity that wants nearly 50% interest in iHeartMedia.
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Since the start of 2018, he’s been the VP of Broadcast Digital for Salem Media Group.
Now, this former USA Today Network/LOCALiQ Group Sales Director is adding SVP stripes.
Now SVP/Broadcast Digital is Jamie Cohen. He will now be called on to oversee all aspects of the digital operations for Salem’s local and National/Network digital efforts.
He reports to Salem Broadcast Media President Dave Santrella, who said, “Jamie has done a tremendous job building Salem’s digital enterprise for our local stations. Overseeing all aspects of our digital operations, both locally and nationally, will open more channels of opportunity and unify our efforts in reaching our audiences through digital avenues and monetizing our digital assets.”
Cohen added, “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and am bullish on our future. With the emergence of platforms like Salem Now, the Salem Podcast Network and other innovations, our audience has never been bigger. We have an amazing opportunity ahead of us and I can’t think of a better place to be.”
Cohen started his career at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as an account executive for its STLToday.com operation.
Last week, the FCC concluded “Auction 109,” a bidding contest that saw the government offer construction permits for 135 new FM stations and four AMs in St. Louis. As previously reported by RBR+TVBR the AMs attracted not even one single bid.
That said, some 38 FMs went unsold in the auction. For Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford, this presents one big question: Does this result say something about the FCC’s local ownership rules?
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As Oxenford points out, the FCC will have raised $12,344,110 from Auction 109. However, the bulk of the dollars are attributed to two properties. More than $6 million will go for a new Sacramento FM at 107.9 MHz, with iHeartMedia the company getting the chance to bring a station back on a signal once home to KDND-FM. The other big-dollar FM deal is one for just over $3 million, and involves a signal covering the northern portion of the Dallas metropolitan area.
Thus, the $12.34 million total could have been higher — if only those AMs in St. Louis and the 38 FMs were sold by the Commission.
What happened? Oxenford says, “The 42 channels that were unsold range from channels allotted to small communities in states like Wyoming or Alaska that were predicted to serve very few people, thus having opening bids as low as $750 that no one was willing to meet, to channels in somewhat bigger communities including channels in New York state and Colorado that had opening bids of $75,000, indicating that they would serve a substantial number of people.”
Why did the FMs in New York and Colorado fail to get a bid? “[T]he prices were apparently deemed too high to justify for companies looking for a business return,” Oxenford says.
But, he also ties the lack of bids for the FMs and the zero interest in the St. Louis-area AMs, to the FCC’s local radio ownership rules.
“Many of the unsold channels are in communities where there are already local broadcasters,” he says. “In some cases, I have been told that parties would have been interested in bidding on channels that went unsold but, because of the FCC’s ownership limitations, they were precluded from owning those stations. So instead of providing new service to the public, these channels will lie fallow providing service to no one.”
Thus, the argument that deregulation can help the broadcast media industry along with the brokerage community and, most importantly, local listeners appears bolstered by Oxenford’s reasoning.
The timing could not be better for the broadcast industry, even though current FCC leadership is hardly open to further deregulation of AM and FM station ownership.
Oxenford points out that comments on whether changes should be made to the FCC’s radio ownership rules are due to be filed at the FCC on September 2. “The results of this auction may well be instructive on the issues that the FCC will be considering,” he says. “In comments filed in 2019, parties talked about stations in their smaller radio markets that are essentially nothing but a transmitter and a computer – providing no real local service – when local owners who do cover the issues of importance to local communities are precluded from using these channels to provide new services, as the ownership rules do not permit such ownership. The radio industry has significantly changed since the 1996 Telecommunications Act which set the current radio ownership limits. No longer is owning a local radio station the dream of every amateur DJ or kid with an interest in electronics – many of those dreams are now fulfilled by digital channels. But there are still broadcasters who want to serve local communities. Perhaps the result of this auction and the other comments filed on September 2 will inform the Commission on the realities of the current audio marketplace – realities that can impact their assessment of whether the current radio ownership limitations remain in the public interest.”
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