Radio World

The Federal Communications Commission is encouraging communications companies to read a federal security advisory about cyber threats from Russia, and act on it.

“The commission urges all communications companies to take the recommended actions to protect their networks from cyber threats, to detect and notify CISA of cyber threats impacting communications services and infrastructure, and to share threat information with CISA and other industry stakeholders, as appropriate,” it said in an announcement.

CISA is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

On Jan. 11, CISA, the FBI and the National Security Agency issued a joint cybersecurity advisory called “Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure.”

[Read More About Cybersecurity and Radio]

The document states, “Historically, Russian state-sponsored advanced persistent threat actors have used common but effective tactics — including spearphishing, brute force and exploiting known vulnerabilities against accounts and networks with weak security — to gain initial access to target networks.” The advisory listed vulnerabilities known to be exploited by Russian state-sponsored actors, and goes into details that your head of IT will appreciate.

According to the advisory, critical infrastructure organizations in particular should take certain immediate steps including patching all systems, prioritizing known exploited vulnerabilities; implement multi-factor authentication; use antivirus software; and develop internal contact lists and support.

If you think you aren’t “critical infrastructure,” remember the role of broadcasters in local and national alerting and in disseminating information about national events. Media companies are juicy targets for the black hat crowd in general, as numerous experts have told Radio World over the years.

Companies can report cyber incidents to CISA via https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/report or to the FBI via a local FBI field office via phone at (855) 292-3937, or via email at CyWatch@fbi.gov.

The post FCC Shares Cyber Warnings About Russia appeared first on Radio World.

GeoBroadcast Solutions is calling out iHeartMedia for comments made in an FCC rulemaking proceeding that would allow FM broadcasters to geo-target content to specific zones of their coverage area for limited periods of time.

In fact, GBS says iHeart “today offers a service available to only iHeart’s stations that enables advertisers to do exactly the same thing, namely, offer advertisers the ability to geo-target their ads including in larger markets.”

iHeartMedia in a series of filings on Docket MB20-401 vigorously argued against adoption of the geo-target technology, citing unresolved technical concerns as well as a fear that it could completely upend the radio industry’s business model.

“While GBS attempts to convince the commission that its proposal will help smaller and minority-owned broadcasters, the reality is quite the opposite. Instead, the station groups least able to handle increased competition and a downward pressure on advertising rates are small and less-well-resourced ones,” iHeart wrote in comments filed in 2021.

GeoBroadcast says iHeart is being disingenuous with its allegations and said the broadcaster’s business practices prove it.

[Previously: FCC Receives New ZoneCasting Data]

The GBS technology, which it brands as ZoneCasting, uses FM boosters to allow for hyperlocal advertising and content independent of the signals of the primary station within different portions of the primary’s protected service contour. GBS claims any resulting co-channel interference or self-interference is manageable and not detrimental to listeners.

Radio World reported earlier NAB and the Small Radio Broadcaster Coalition were among the groups who questioned the technical soundness of geo-targeting and asked for further vetting of the system.

However, iHeart has voiced a more economics-based argument against the technology. The broadcasters claim radio stations already face a challenging advertising environment due to the twin pressures of new competitors and an extended pandemic, and worry the FCC proposal could potentially exert even more downward pressure on the advertising revenue and fundamentally alter the radio industry’s business model.

Geo-targeting and specifically the GBS ZoneCasting technology run the “risk splintering the local advertising market and crippling local radio stations at the worst possible moment for the industry.”

Other large radio broadcast groups, including Beasley Media Group, Cumulus Media, Audacy and Urban One, also have urged the FCC to be cautious in possible adoption of the technology.

Now GBS, in a letter to the FCC, throws shade at iHeart and accuses the broadcaster of leading a campaign of “unsubstantiated opposition” even as it offers geo-targeting to clients.

The company points to iHeart’s AdBuilder website, which lets ad buyers purchase ads on iHeart stations. “One core feature of iHeart AdBuilder is that it prompts new and existing advertisers to select communities, on a map, where they would like to target their ads as one of the first steps in the process of creating an ad,” GBS states in the letter.

GBS writes further in its correspondence to the FCC: “In light of this current offering, the commission should view skeptically claims from iHeart and its allies that geo-targeting content could create negative economic consequences for broadcasters. The disconnect between the iHeart AdBuilder website and the rhetoric from iHeart and its allies simply reveals the thinly veiled goal of the largest radio group owners reinforcing and seeking to maintain their dominant position in the market by denying smaller broadcasters an opportunity to use technology to level the playing field.”

GBS acknowledges that the geo-targeting of the iHeart AdBuilder platform differs from the use of geo-targeting at the zone level achieved by using FM boosters. “iHeart’s solution offers different content within a radio market defined by an iHeart station’s footprint whereas FM booster targeting offers different content within a radio market as defined by where the booster is installed. Both solutions imply more targeted ad spend by allowing advertisers to address their targeted audience while increasing overall revenue to the broadcaster.”

The GBS letter, prepared by Covington & Burling LLP, concludes: “We hope that this information is helpful to the commission in considering how the current industry landscape could be impacted by the proposed rule, and the potential economic opportunities that it may unlock for broadcasters and small and minority businesses alike.”

Furthermore, as GeoBroadcast has pointed out throughout the proceeding, “if the proposed rules are adopted, any change in a broadcaster’s operations would be voluntary. Broadcasters can decide for themselves if providing geo-targeted content is economically beneficial.”

GeoBroadcast Solutions has conducted field testing of its ZoneCasting system at several radio stations in the United States and is implementing the technology at KSJO(FM) in San Jose, Calif. The station began participating in an FCC experimental operation of the FM booster system in October and will continue broadcasting localized weather, sponsored traffic, and news during short parts of the broadcast hour through February 2022.

The tech company’s FM booster geo-targeting system also is slated to be implemented at WRBJ(FM) in Jackson, Miss., which has also been granted experimental authority, possibly as soon as late January.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post GBS Says iHeart Is Being Hypocritical on Geo-Targeting appeared first on Radio World.

The Association of Public Radio Engineers Board of Directors is making available scholarships to help new public radio engineers attend the 2022 Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC). The scholarship program is also open to public radio engineering and operations personnel who haven’t attended PREC in five years.

The 2022 conference will be held at the Tuscany Suites in Las Vegas, April 21–22, immediately preceding the annual NAB Show.

Dan Houg, past president of the APRE Board of Directors, says “years ago I was a brand-new radio station engineer and a recipient of the APRE scholarship. I can attest to the impact attending the Public Radio Engineering Conference has on my ability to build and move our station forward. It opens contacts within the industry and provides connections with peers that persist as I go about my daily work.”

The scholarship includes a one-year APRE membership, the PREC registration fee, an Awards Dinner ticket, and three night’s lodging at the conference hotel.

Full details of the application process are available on the APRE website.

The post APRE Offers Scholarships for ’22 PREC appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast Partners has added 2wcom’s multi-channel cloud capability to SmartRadio, its cloud radio production service. It announced integration of MoIN software in SmartRadio.

“MoIN will enhance SmartRadio’s ‘audio playout as-a-service’ capabilities with encoding and streaming multiple audio channels simultaneously,” the company stated.

The announcement was made by Broadcast Partners CEO Robert-Jan van der Hoeven and 2wcom Systems CTO Leif Cipriani. The companies noted that they have been working together for some 15 years.

MoIN takes its name from “Multimedia over IP Network software.”

Radio World invites both users and suppliers to tell us about recently installed new or notable equipment. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Broadcast Partners Adds 2wcom MoIN to SmartRadio appeared first on Radio World.

Mackie introduced a portable streaming mixer that targets social streamers, gamers and podcasters.

The M•Caster Live Portable Live Streaming Mixer is pitched as a simple way to connect with a streaming platform. It retails for $259.

The mixer connects to the user’s smartphone headphone jack, or via USB to a computer running OBS or similar software. It can be powered with an external battery.

Features include preset-based ContourFX to shape the voice with a knob. The StreamFX voice changer lets the creator disguise their voice or do characters.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

M•Caster Live comes with a software bundle from Accusonus, including a perpetual license of the ERA Voice Leveler and De-Esser plugins, and a three-month All Access Suite subscription that adds audio repair tools such as Noise Remover, Voice Deepener, Mouth De-Clicker and Reverb Remover.

“Users can explore the Voice Changer plugin, adding fun effects to their projects, or search the music libraries of SFX and Music Cellar for high-quality, royalty-free sound effects and background music.”

Radio World invites both users and suppliers to tell us about recently installed new or notable equipment. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Mackie Rolls Out Portable Streaming Mixer appeared first on Radio World.

Member stations of the National Association of Broadcasters got a chance to hear from its new president/CEO on Thursday, Jan. 20, when Curtis LeGeyt spoke in a virtual “town hall.”

He identified three areas he’ll focus on, according to a meeting summary: winning policy fights to help broadcast businesses thrive; engaging in “business-oriented initiatives prioritized by the organization’s membership;” and “restoring NAB Show’s preeminent stature as a destination for the entire broadcast community.”

LeGeyt praised broadcasters for their work during the pandemic and promised to champion tools and resources they need to serve communities.

[Read More Articles about the NAB]

He spoke about his work on the Hill during his decade at NAB and the importance of stations being engaged with legislators and regulators. “You have the compelling story to tell about your stations work in their communities. And it is incumbent on all of us to ensure policymakers recognize the importance of our investigative reporting, emergency alerts and philanthropic efforts that local stations provide to their constituents,” he said.

Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Shawn Donilon talked about NAB’s legislative priorities including support for a law that would help broadcasters and other media in negotiating with “Big Tech” companies about how their content is shared. He also mentioned the Local Radio Freedom Act opposing a performance royalty on broadcast radio stations.

Donilon also gave an update on the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, which would provide news media with a tax credit for hiring and retaining local journalists, and on legislation to reestablish a diversity tax certificate program.

Presentations were also made by Rick Kaplan, NAB’s chief legal officer and EVP of legal and regulatory affairs, and Michelle Duke, chief diversity officer and president of the NAB Leadership Foundation. Duke highlighted a planned Broadcast and Community Organization Summit intended to strengthen relationships between broadcasters and community organizations that target diverse and underrepresented populations, as well as help broadcasters with diversity recruitment.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post LeGeyt Lays Out General Priorities appeared first on Radio World.

In the fall of 2021 Comrex announced a new service that will deliver conferenced audio from multiple contributors to the company’s hardware codecs in high quality. We asked Chris Crump, senior director of sales and marketing, for details. This story is part of our latest Buyer’s Guide on telco and phone system products for radio.

Radio World: What is Gagl and what is its main application?

Chris Crump: Gagl is a new cloud-based remote contribution service from Comrex. For those familiar with Opal, it works in a similar manner using a common web browser for remote guests to connect. However, it connects to a Comrex ACCESS or BRIC-Link codec in the studio instead of dedicated Opal hardware.

We created Gagl for morning shows, reporters and guest interview situations where high-quality, low-delay audio is required and interaction between up to five participants is needed.

Wherever there is election coverage round-robin reporting, a Friday Night Football live scoreboard roundup, a highly interactive afternoon drive sports show with remote hosts, a charity telethon with presenters at multiple remote locations, podcasts or just simple one-on-one guest interviews, Gagl is a great solution.

To connect, the guest/contributor just needs a computer or smartphone with one of the commonly available web browsers, a decent quality headset and a good Internet connection.

RW: What sets this apart from services someone might currently use for this application?

Crump: There are several free services and some paid that broadcasters and podcasters are using but one thing that stuck out to us was that audio quality tends to be an afterthought with apps like Zoom and Skype where video is the primary focus. As a result, audio tends to suffer. Automatic gain control and echo cancellation make the audio quality even worse.

So we decided to really focus on clean, low-delay, high quality audio. It is something that we’ve been doing for over 60 years now and where we think Gagl will excel.

Customers that already use our ACCESS and BRIC-Link codecs are very familiar with the dependability and superior audio quality these provide. Gagl combines a very simple-to-use guest contributor interface with the broadcast reliable hardware that our customers depend on every day.

RW: Is it available now? What does it cost?

Crump: Gagl will be available about the time this article goes to press. People will be able to sign up for a trial period prior to purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription. Current details on Gagl and a link to the subscription site can be found at https://mailchi.mp/49b8b94b6a97/gagl-updates.

After a free 14-day trial period, Gagl customers will be billed at an introductory rate of $35 USD per month or $350 per year.

RW: Amazon Web Services had some technical issues that may be fresh in people’s minds. Is the cloud-based Gagl safe from problems like that?

Crump: A cloud service is basically an application running on someone else’s computer that uses the public internet. Given the litany of “blackhat” attacks, connectivity issues and power outages suffered by major service providers that we constantly read about, it is clear that no cloud service is immune from service interruptions.

We will certainly do our best to ensure the best results for our customers within the scope of what we can control. We’ve had very good results with our SwitchBoard Traversal Server over the years. As long as the power companies and ISPs hold up their end, we should be in good shape.

RW: What else should we know?

Crump: Comrex customers have overwhelmingly given our support team rave reviews. Technical support is free of charge and available in both English and Spanish. Gagl customers will enjoy access to our world-class support team to help them with hardware and platform-related issues.

More Info: www.comrex.com or +1 (978) 784-1776

The post Comrex Gagl Is a New Remote Contribution Solution appeared first on Radio World.

Steve Jones

Steve Jones has been promoted to CEO and president of Skyview Networks. He previously held the role of COO/president since joining the firm in 2019.

“Ken Thiele, founder and CEO, moves to founder and executive chairman of the board, where he will continue to engage in a high-level advisory role for the company,” the company said in the announcement.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Thiele credited Jones with diversifying and expanding the company’s business portfolio, “resulting in a substantial revenue and market share increase.” Jones worked earlier at Disney/ABC, leading business units at ABC News Audio and ABC News Digital.

He said that despite the pandemic, Skyview has been growing fast in network audio sales, syndication and distribution.

Jeanne-Marie Condo continues as executive vice president.

Skyview Networks describes itself as a “broadcast technology, syndication and national network sales solution company reaching half of all Americans weekly through 9,000 radio station relationships.” Its clients include ABC Audio, CBS Audio, Local Radio Networks, Alpha Media USA, JackFM, The Weather Channel, The Associated Press, Hubbard Broadcasting, Cox Media Group, professional and collegiate sports organizations and two state news networks.

Send news of engineering and executive personnel changes to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Steve Jones Is New CEO of Skyview Networks appeared first on Radio World.

TuneIn has released an initiative it hopes will attract “emerging content creators and educational and non-profit broadcasters.” It says these smaller content creators have great stories to tell, but are struggling to get discovered in today’s highly competitive audio marketplace.

“One of our aims with the launch of TuneIn On Air,” Chief Industry Evangelist Andrew Bock said in the announcement, “is to re-energize college radio stations and independent broadcasters around the U.S. by providing them with a simple and easy-to-use way to dramatically increase their distribution through digital audio.”

[Check Out More of IT Management Articles Here]

TuneIn On Air is intended to give those users “access to the same distribution tools as major broadcasters through the TuneIn platform.”

The service costs $249 per quarter for broadcasters with “specific offerings at reduced rates” for nonprofits and academic institutions. The company says the benefits to broadcasters of participating include TuneIn’s reach to connected devices and cars; access to performance analytics; and support for listener voice commands.

“Immediately upon joining TuneIn On Air, broadcasters will expand their reach to TuneIn’s 30 million United States-based listeners,” the company said.

“This new offering is aligned with TuneIn’s commitment to reinvent radio for a connected world by bringing radio distribution into the digital age and realizing its promise of an open platform for everyone.”

In late 2020, Richard Stern, former chief product officer of Audible, joined TuneIn as CEO. His stated goal for the company at the time was “to reinvent radio as a digital medium and continue to drive the live audio streaming revolution well into the future.”

The post TuneIn Targets College and Indie Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Amazon has introduced a code-free way to make a radio station’s stream discoverable via its Alexa smart speakers. Previously, stations had to go through a streaming aggregator, like TuneIn, or develop their own Alexa Skill.

With the new onboarding system, stations can provide their streaming URLs and metadata via a simple intake form. This will allow smart speaker users to access the station by saying “Alexa, play [station name].” Amazon says support can be included for a station’s alternate name, call sign, or frequency, as well as location-based search, to ease discovery.

[Related: Smart Speakers and How to Talk to Them]

“Previously, onboarding a radio station to Alexa could take a developer as long as three to six months. With this new service, radio stations can fill in the intake form quickly without any developer resources. This new way of accessing the Alexa Radio Skills Kit offers the same features and customer experience as radio stations who build their own RSK skills,” wrote Arun Krishnan on the Alexa Skills Kit Blog.

About half of all U.S. internet users own smart speakers, according to Comscore Plan Metrix Multi-Platform data, and about 94.2 million Amazon Alexa devices are in use nationwide.

As of December 2021, code-free radio onboarding for Alexa is “generally available,” according to Amazon, in the United States, as well as Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

To explore the code-free radio onboarding, Amazon says to email rsk-onboarding@amazon.com.

The post Amazon Offers Code-Free Onboarding for Alexa appeared first on Radio World.

How best can stations grow their business? Many would say that social media is the answer, due to its mainstream popularity and pervasive reach.

But others say that social media advertising lacks the effective content engagement and audience value of FM/AM radio. And advertising efforts can be made even more substantial when the two platforms are combined together in a cohesive marketing package, according to a new blog post.

[Read More Articles About Radio and Social Media]

A post by Cumulus Media | Westwood One Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard cited revelations from the 2017 book System1: Unlocking Profitable Growth, by John Kearon, Orlando Wood, and Tom Ewing of the “ad effectiveness agency” System1.

The authors found that growth is driven by increasing sales to new customers and light users, rather than attempting to increase the loyalty of an existing customer base. “Contrary to popular belief, targeting a wide audience and including non-users is not a waste of money. It’s a key driver of growth,” Kearon, Wood, and Ewing wrote.

Building fame is one of the best ways to build a brand, according to the System1 authors, who said that “fame is what gets a brand onto a person’s mental shortlist.” To do this, companies need “to build fame, target wide, touch deeply and be distinctive.”

But social media falls flat of that in some areas, said Bouvard. According to the 2021 Infinite Dial study by Edison Research, Facebook users in the U.S. have decreased 9 percent since 2017. Erosion is coming even more quickly among younger demographics with Facebook’s aged 12–34 audience down 28 percent.

To grow reach, marketers should consider adding AM/FM radio to a station’s social media campaign. Radio reaches new consumers that are unavailable on Facebook including 56 percent of those aged 18+.

The blog post also touched on the varying strengths of social media and radio ad strategies when calculating content engagement, concentration, audience value and all-around impact.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Effective Ad Packages Combine Social Reach with Listenership appeared first on Radio World.

The Texas Association of Broadcasters is drawing attention to a Federal Communication Commission proposal to mandate that broadcasters submit status reports following hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The FCC is weighing broadcaster participation in its web-based Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), which is activated in limited emergency situations. Reporting through DIRS has been voluntary since its establishment in 2007.

TAB in comments in its Jan. 19 newsletter encourages the FCC to “remain flexible” in how it collects reports for DIRS to ensure local broadcasters are not forced to neglect their audiences and operations during an ongoing emergency.

“Because local broadcasters have a long history of cooperating in emergencies to share resources, facilities and equipment to ensure all stations can stay on the air delivering important information, mandatory DIRS filings would provide little actionable information to the FCC,” TAB wrote.

[Previously: FCC Disaster NPRM Discusses Backup Power Requirements]

The FCC is reviewing comments in its “resilient networks” rulemaking proceeding. Broadcasters have been quick to dissent to this idea, expressing concern over the logistical challenges this reporting requirement could present.

TAB fears cluttering DIRS with mandatory station filings “indicating all is fine” would merely serve to distract from voluntary filings made by stations actively seeking FCC assistance in obtaining fuel for generators or access for station employees to their stations and transmitter sites in a disaster area.

“The FCC should instead focus its efforts on promoting broadcast station resilience in emergencies by working with state, local and other federal agencies prior to a disaster to ensure procedures and resources are in place so that a DIRS filing requesting fuel or help with employee access to a disaster area will lead to rapid governmental assistance to keep stations operating,” it wrote.

A coalition of state broadcast associations, including TAB, filed official comments to the FCC earlier: “DIRS certainly has its place and can be useful for broadcasters in certain situations discussed below, but imposing a universal mandatory filing requirement for broadcast stations would often interfere with getting emergency information out to the public more than it would assist with it,” they wrote.

The National Association of Broadcasters also is on record opposing any move to require broadcaster participation in DIRS, saying it would be “unduly burdensome” and could undermine the FCC’s goal of improving public safety by disrupting stations’ efforts to provide critical information following a disaster.

“Mandating DIRS filings would force stations to redirect their already-strained staff away from trying to maintain or restore service to fill out a government form,” NAB wrote in comments in December. “Many smaller stations simply lack the bandwidth to log in, assess their operational status, and complete DIRS reports in the midst of an emergency.”

NAB adds: “Alternatively, if the FCC still believes that DIRS should be mandatory, perhaps the onus should be on government to create and fund an automated system that identifies which broadcast stations are operating during a disaster.”

The FCC’s NPRM, released in October, also considers adding broadcasters to the Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework, which is a mutual aid framework developed by the wireless industry in 2016, Oscar Rodriguez, president of the Texas Broadcasters Association, wrote on TAB’s website: “The [Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative] is designed for monitoring and maintaining common carrier network infrastructure — not a one-to-many content provider.”

Comments to FCC Docket 21-346 can be viewed here.

The post Texas Broadcasters React to Possible DIRS Mandate appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters named Bradford Caldwell as vice president of member experience, starting Feb. 1.

The position is a new one created following the retirement of Senior VP of Member Services and Operations B.J. Corriveau in December. Caldwell will report to Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs April Carty-Sipp.

The announcement was made by NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt, who noted that Caldwell is a third-generation broadcast.

Caldwell is former chief financial officer of East Arkansas Broadcasters, which has 31 radio stations in Arkansas. He is a former member of the NAB Radio Board and a past chairman of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association.

The post Bradford Caldwell Joins NAB Staff appeared first on Radio World.

(Getty Images/natrot)

An important deadline is approaching for most radio broadcasters that stream sound recordings.

This annual required fee — known as a minimum fee and related statement of account — must be filed with SoundExchange by Jan. 31, 2022. Stations can pay the fee through the Licensee Direct online filing portal, according to a blog post by the firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth that calls attention to the deadline.

Most radio broadcasters must file a report of use informing SoundExchange of the recordings that a station uses. Each report must include sound recording usage information pertaining to two seven-day periods in that quarter with reports due no later than 45 days after the end of the relevant month or quarter.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

If a station owes more than the $1,000 minimum fee for the year, a station must file census reports on a monthly basis. If a station owes less than that minimum, they can file sample reports on a quarterly basis.

The fee for the 2021–2025 license term for commercial and noncommercial webcasters is $1,000. That was increased for the current license term by $500, as determined by the Copyright Royalty Board. In addition, the per performance fee charged in excess of that minimum fee is $0.0022 for 2022 for non-subscription services and $0.0028 for subscription services.

The rates and rules are different for noncommercial educational stations and public broadcasters affiliated with NPR, as the blog post lays out.

Read the full blog post from Fletcher Heald.

The post Deadline to File Webcasting Fee Is on the Horizon appeared first on Radio World.

François Gauthier

GeoBroadcast Solutions announced a partnership with Quebec-based Octave Communications to provide GBS’s MaxxCasting solutions to Canadian broadcasters.

Under the agreement, which GBS said is exclusive, Octave also covers associated MaxxCasting sales, field service and post-sales support.

“Octave and GeoBroadcast have had a long, collaborative relationship in the U.S. based around Octave’s market-leading Nomad HDR/FM Analyzer, which is a key tool supporting the implementation of its MaxxCasting system,” GBS said in the announcement.

Octave is an engineering consulting firm specializing in radio broadcasting, telecommunications and RF analysis measurement software. MaxxCasting is a synchronized booster system for FM broadcasters. GBS says it increases signal quality and PPM watermark decoding, and allows geographic targeting and fencing of radio screen advertising.

François Gauthier is president of Octave Communications.

The post GBS Inks Deal in Canada With Octave Communications appeared first on Radio World.

U.S. radio stations have reason to be happy with Procter & Gamble and Uncle Sam right now.

According to a new report from Media Monitors, P&G was the number one parent advertiser on U.S. radio in 2021 based on the number of spots run. The consumer products goods company allocated 9 million spots to radio, more than to local cable or broadcast TV, and aired a whopping 71% more instances year-over-year on radio compared to 2020.

The U.S. government, which held the top spot in 2019 and 2020, fell to number 2.

On a separate list of the top individual radio accounts, job search service Indeed was number one, jumping from the ninth position a year earlier.

Among other findings, Media Monitors said Progressive Insurance aired fewer spots in 2021, and that Babbel, the language-learning service new to the list last year, rose to number three from number five

Across all of radio, local cable and broadcast TV combined, Procter & Gamble was the top parent advertiser for the second year in a row, while GEICO was again the number one advertising account.

The two radio charts are shown below.

The post These Are U.S. Radio’s Top Advertisers appeared first on Radio World.

In a recent ebook, Radio World asked engineers to talk about how their own organizations have been affected by the pandemic.

Josh Bohn at WAPR(FM) in Selma, Ala., with the station’s modified Continental 816R-3C.

Josh Bohn says most radio broadcast clients of The MaxxKonnect Group are operating their businesses in person again but also continuing to employ a significant level of remote services. “Real-time voicetracking is showing up in places it previously hadn’t, as well as pre-produced shows being loaded remotely in near-real time,” said Bohn.

“A lot of remote functions will continue long-term with radio broadcasters. They have discovered that you don’t need salespeople sitting around a bullpen at the station when they can do the same thing from home, or their vehicle.”

MaxxKonnect is a technical services company that offers wireless connectivity and high-speed internet services, and it does broadcast integration work. Bohn is president/CEO.

The remote broadcasting infrastructures that his clients built out during the pandemic, he feels, will continue to be used in a lot of cases.

“Maybe not as a permanent, full-time solution, but I don’t see companies dismantling remote studios for talent that they built, or talent themselves getting rid of their home studios. It adds a layer of versatility that radio has now fully embraced and will be utilized.

“It’s also allowing broadcasters to downsize studios to save on real estate costs, and put more critical functions in the cloud.”

[Check Out More of Radio World’s Ebooks Here]

MaxxKonnect has quite a few integration projects in the pipeline. “A lot of capital dollars were put on hold during the throes of the pandemic, and companies are reinvesting in their infrastructure.”

General COVID precautions during projects are now part of its routine, including masks, more social distancing and general handwashing.

“With more talent working from home, studio projects are typically less hectic than they were pre-pandemic. Transmitter projects, of which we’ve got at least five scheduled currently, haven’t changed much unless we are directly interacting with the customer’s staff or other crews onsite.”

Bohn, who also owns WIEZ(AM) and its FM translator in Decatur, Ala., sees more cloud solutions being employed, including at his own company.

“Recently, with the assistance of Alex Hartman of Optimized Media Group, we installed redundant VM servers and a RAID server for our MaxxKonnect Group offices and the operations of WIEZ.

“In the near future, my plan is to virtualize many of the dedicated PCs we’ve got in our operation, as well as the DJB Zone automation system I’m running for WIEZ.” Some of his clients are working on similar setups for their back-office functions.

“We’ve also deployed a lot of MaxxKonnect Wireless units for remote studio setups due to the pandemic. Obviously internet access is the key component to any cloud-based solution, so multiple sources of internet are necessary. Diversification of those sources between wireline and wireless helps reduce the chances of any one failure taking out all your internet options.”

So what does a typical “hybrid” radio operation look like now?

“We see them from something as simple as VNC into an automation PC and file drop to insert items, to full-on AoIP via VPN with in-studio level functionality at the remote location,” he replied.

“I don’t know that there is a ‘typical’ hybrid operation in 2021. There are so many options out there when it comes to remote functions now, it makes it easy to be picky and get what you want from the a la carte menu!”

Bohn says good engineering practice after the pandemic looks a lot like it did before the pandemic, with an emphasis on backups, connection diversity and improving reliability.

“Radio needs to stay relevant to stay profitable, and that’s a struggle if you’re off the air or operating in a reduced capacity,” he said.

“Engineers need to continue to be more IT-savvy to understand virtualization, the cloud, network diversity and infrastructure security — and still know how to fix the old tube backup transmitter. Broadcast engineers have always had to have a diverse skill set. That’s only changed in the fact that it’s getting more diverse.”

In the ebook “After the Masks Come Off,” Radio World asked engineers to talk about how their own organizations have been affected by the experiences of the past two years; whether they are applying cloud solutions or other types of virtualization; and what constitutes a typical “hybrid” radio operation now. It features comments from technical leaders at Audacy, Salem Media Group, Alpha Media, VPM, Cogeco Media, Educational Media Foundation, Second Opinion Communications, Burk and Shively. Read “After the Masks Come Off.”

The post Diverse Skill Sets Are More Important Than Ever appeared first on Radio World.

Joe De Angelis was promoted by iHeartMedia to the position of senior vice president of promotions for the iHeartMedia Markets Group, a newly created role at the company.

He’ll oversee promotions efforts for the company’s broadcast and digital brands and franchises.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

Part of his mission will be to “align promotional efforts across iHeartMedia markets by creating and spearheading iHeartMedia’s Promotions Center,” where he will be the promotions point person for clients and advertisers, as well as helping to develop promotional strategies to increase brand awareness for iHeartMedia stations.

He reports Scott Hopeck, division president for the iHeartMedia Markets Group, who called De Angelis “a natural leader and an exceptional collaborator” who oversaw marketing and promotions initiatives for the company’s New York City stations and national tentpole events.

De Angelis was director of marketing and promotions for iHeartMedia New York and has been national event brand manager since 2015.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post De Angelis to Create iHeartMedia Promotions Center appeared first on Radio World.

FCC Commissioner Simington gets to know radio (and vice versa). Two guys from StreamGuys talk about monitoring your audio streams.

Josh Bohn ponders radio workflows after the pandemic. John Bisset discovers something unpleasant inside an RF amp.

And James Careless tries out two worthy, affordable shortwave portables.

Read it here.

The post Inside the Jan. 19, 2022 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Bryan Jones

Telos Alliance recently introduced the Telos VXs, describing it as a virtualized version of its VX VoIP talk show phone system. Bryan Jones is VX product manager and senior support engineer. 

This story is part of our latest Buyer’s Guide on telco and phone system products for radio.

Radio World: What exactly makes the VXs “virtualized”?

Bryan Jones: The term has become somewhat ubiquitous to mean a number of different things.

All previous iterations of the Telos VX were delivered as some piece of hardware that required on-premise installation that often limits its use to that installation location. Telos VXs is virtualized to the extent that it’s delivered as software only, allowing the customer to define what virtualized really means.

“Virtualized” could mean the customer already has some on-premise solution, or it could mean that it’s fully virtualized and running on servers that are in the cloud and that there is no on-premise hardware. A cloud-virtualized solution might mean the VXs could be used across multiple markets from a single install.

Telos VXs is delivered as an OCI-compliant container deployed in the customer’s environment using products like Docker.

RW: What are the key benefits to a radio station of this design approach?

Jones: In short, VXs offers unprecedented scalability and flexibility. To some extent, in hardware-based iterations of ANY product, total capacity is gated by the hardware platform it’s delivered on. A smaller hardware platform means a product might not scale to the desired level, whereas a larger more robust platform might mean overpaying for hardware that will never be used or never needed. Virtualization allows the hardware to scale along with the needs of the facility.

RW: What about compatibility with existing AoIP networks, from Telos or other vendors?

Jones: Telos VXs fully supports Livewire and AES67, the same as our hardware-based VX products.

RW: What else should we know?

Jones: Other benefits of virtualization allow us to support a product for potentially longer periods of time because we’re not encumbered by the hardware the product is delivered on. The hardware is abstracted by the virtualization layer, allowing for future platform flexibility.

More Info: www.telosalliance.com or +1 (216) 241-7225

The post Telos Virtualizes VX VoIP System appeared first on Radio World.