Radio+Television Business Report

Should a television station licensed to Opelika, Ala., offering content from diginets THISTV and NBCLX be given “must carry” status for the Atlanta DMA, something its owner believes should be enforced by DirecTV?

The Media Bureau of the FCC says no.

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LAS VEGAS — Despite the negative press, lines of CES 2022 registered attendees were seen at McCarran International Airport awaiting their official credentials on Wednesday.

At the same time, the NEXTGEN TV team was busily sharing three big stories involving the rollout of the ATSC 3.0-powered broadcast television technology — making Day 1 of the three-day affair a significant one for next-generation television.

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The second retransmission consent breakdown in two months transpired on Tuesday evening for TEGNA, with Verizon FiOS joining Dish Network as MVPDs presently preventing its consumers from seeing the broadcast TV station owner’s offerings in lieu of a fresh carriage agreement.

With those negotiations as a backdrop, TEGNA has selected the final day in February for hosting a conference call to discuss its Q4 and full-year 2021 fiscal results.

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Until March 2017, Hector Villalobos owned and operated three FMs and an AM serving agricultural areas tied to the Monterey-Salinas market. At the time, one of those FMs was sold. Then, Villalobos in September 2020 sold the two other FM stations.

Now, the AM has been spun, marking his exit from ownership of stations serving the picturesque region of Northern California.

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The latest quarterly broadcast station totals have been released from the FCC.

And, when one compares the numbers to the end of the third quarter of 2021, one big takeaway is obvious.

There are more broadcast radio and TV stations licensed in the U.S. than on September 30, but still much fewer than the total seen at the end of Q2 2021.

The total number of AM stations declined again, and is now down by 37 from July 1, 2021. This includes the surrendering of licenses by Crawford Broadcasting in Portland, Ore., and Saga Communications in Norfolk in addition to December 2021 actions recently reported by RBR+TVBR.

The FM station count is also down, however, a rather disconcerting reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic has had its challenges on some operations.

Meanwhile, the incessant growth of FM translator and booster stations hasn’t ceased, again. There are 345 more of this facilities as of the end of Q3 2021 and 1,052 more when compared to the end of Q2 2018.

And, once again, there are fewer LPFMs, the latest numbers show.

For the TV industry, there are fewer low-power TV stations, the latest FCC data show. This is likely a result of channel-sharing tied to the FCC’s post-spectrum auction repack process.

BROADCAST STATION TOTALS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021
(Compared to Sept. 30, 2021)

TOTAL BROADCAST STATIONS:  33,467 (up 65)  

All comparisons below to the end of Q3 2021

AM STATIONS                  4509 (minus 10) 
FM COMMERCIAL             6676 (minus 6)
FM EDUCATIONAL            4204 (minus 7)
TOTAL                          15,389 (minus 23)

UHF COMMERCIAL TV      999 (plus 1)
VHF COMMERCIAL TV       374 (unchanged)
UHF EDUCATIONAL TV      266 (plus 1)
VHF EDUCATIONAL TV      119 (unchanged)
TOTAL                            1,758 (plus 2)

CLASS A UHF STATIONS   351 (minus 3)
CLASS A VHF STATIONS    31 (no change)

FM TRANSLATORS & BOOSTERS 8,886 (up 95)
(up from 7814 as of June 30, 2018)

UHF TRANSLATORS               2434 (down 31)
VHF TRANSLATORS               641 (no change)

UHF LOW POWER TV             1488 (plus 35)
VHF LOW POWER TV             440 (plus 2)

LOW POWER FM             2,069 (down 12)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On October 1, 2021, television stations located in Iowa and Missouri were required to file applications for license renewal for terms expiring on February 1, 2022.

Four low-powered television stations failed to file license renewal applications and their licenses.

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WOODBRIDGE, VA. — For one woman who turned on her TV set this morning and attempted to watch the CBS Morning News, a disappointing message appeared instead of the visage of Gayle King. She couldn’t tune to the local CBS affiliate, WUSA-9 in Washington, D.C.

What happened? Her MVPD service provider, Verizon FiOS, has just become the latest cable entity to fail to reach a fair and equitable retransmission consent agreement with a television broadcasting company. In this instance, it involves Tysons-based TEGNA.

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On Wednesday, December 29, Max Media‘s WVHT-FM “HOT 100” in Norfolk was cheerfully promoting on Twitter its syndicated nighttime program, on until midnight. A day later, the host took to Twitter to note he was “just sitting in my radio studio taking phone calls.”

Today, the host is no longer available to take calls, and he’s no longer heard on HOT 100 or any affiliates. Westwood One, the national radio arm of Cumulus Media, has killed The Zach Sang Show.

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Comscore has brought to market what it’s heralding as “a true single-source unified cross-platform measurement solution.”

Once one wades through the marketing language in the company’s announcement, the goal from Comscore is for the new product to become the unified way people use Comscore (similar to audience measurement giant and rival Nielsen’s approach with ONE) to get holistic audience measurement.

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About the Broadcasters Foundation of America
The mission of the Broadcasters Foundation of America foundation is to improve the quality of life and maintain the personal dignity of men and women in the radio and television broadcast profession who find themselves in acute need. For more than 70 years, the Foundation has provided financial support to those broadcast industry professionals who have faced life-altering circumstances. We reach out across the country to provide an anonymous safety net in cases of critical illness, advanced age, death of a spouse, accident, natural disaster, or other serious misfortune. The Broadcasters Foundation of America is a 501(c)(3) public charity based in New York City, and it is the only charity devotedly exclusively to helping broadcasters in dire need. The staff consists of four full time employees and one part-time employee. The Board of Directors of the foundation is made up of high-level Broadcast professionals who have achieved tremendous success in radio and television and want to give back to the Broadcast community.

Expectations (report to the Co-Presidents)
• Commit to 3 days a week, ideally in office, some flexibility open for discussion
• Oversee cash flow for grants, general ledger activities, insurance, and payroll functions
• Provide monthly income statements, balance sheets, and other financial reports, for monthly Executive Committee and quarterly Board of Directors meetings
• Review and approve event contracts throughout the year
• Preparation of monthly and annual budgets
• Provide appropriate information to external auditors and assist in final preparation of year-end financial statements

Qualifications:
• Minimum of 4 years of general business accounting
• Understanding of SAGE accounting system strongly preferred
• Not-for-profit background preferred
• Proficiency in payroll processing (ADP) and financial statements
• Ability to converse with management M-F, 9a-5p EST (flexibility to be discussed)
• Ability to communicate with high profile board members

Salary is negotiable.
References will be checked, and a background check completed prior to hire.

Broadcasters Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Interested in learning more? Contact Tim McCarthy tim@thebfoa.org

In mid-December, Audacy Inc. shares earned an upgrade from Wall Street financial house B. Riley. The firm’s Daniel Day saw bad news for the audio media company “more than priced in” ahead of an earnings inflection for the coming year.

A better-known Wall Street analyst now shares that he sees things differently for the owner of Cadence13 and Pineapple Street, BetQL, the Audacy streaming app and AM and FM radio stations including KROQ/Los Angeles, WFAN/New York and WXRT/Chicago.

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Martin Miller in 2021 announced his decision to retire as president of New England Public Media. While he will continue to support NEPM by serving as an advisor to the organization in its ongoing fundraising and development efforts, its new President will take over on February 1.

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Assessing the true extent and impact of login/password sharing for Netflix and other SVOD operators is an important gauge of just how many people pay for what they watch. It is also challenging, S&P Global Market Intelligence‘s Kagan group notes.

A just-released Kagan Consumer Insights survey of U.S. internet adults sheds some light on “admitted login sharers.”

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The NAB is now accepting entries for the 35th annual NAB Crystal Radio Awards, honoring outstanding community service efforts undertaken by radio stations throughout 2021.

Winners will receive national recognition for their community service at NAB Show, scheduled for April 23–27, 2022 in Las Vegas.

Established in 1987, the NAB Crystal Radio Awards recognize local radio stations for their year-round commitment to serving communities. A panel of judges representing the broadcast industry and community service organizations will review applications and select 50 finalists and 10 winners.

Stations must submit an online entry through NAB’s member platform, My NAB, describing their community service efforts for the 2021 calendar year. The deadline for submissions is January 31.

Finalists will be announced in February.

Entry information is available here.

Michael J. Hayes was named an EVP and group head of Hearst Television in 2017, with operational oversight over a portfolio of Hearst markets.

Now, Hayes has earned a promotion.

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In late July, the FCC was asked to approve the sale of seven TV stations and four radio stations across five markets by Waypoint Media and related entity Vision Communications.

The transaction, which saw Kalil & Co. serve as the broker, has now closed, making Coastal Television Broadcasting Group LLC the owner.

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Among the first radio industry transactions of 2022 to await FCC approval is the sale of a radio station from the Estate of Robert Cummings Toole and Karen Toole to a Montana corporation.

The deal involves an FM that can reach the capital, Helena, and a FM translator serving a small mountain community.

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RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION

When it comes to creativity, sometimes remembering the past can spark ideas that can fuel innovation needed for today’s overcommunicated world. For the Radio industry, a Bauer Media brand with national coverage of the United Kingdom has just the type of inspired lightbulb moment needed to ignite some excitement into a rather staid media in need of a jolt.

Who knew that Bauer’s Absolute Radio would turn the clock back by more than 45 years to do something today that U.S. operators should mimic?

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SATELLITE BEACH, FLA. — USSI Global, the Space Coast-headquartered provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services, has selected someone from within to take the VP of Customer Relations and Business Development role.

This will see the 14-year company veteran now focus on expanding the manufacturer client base for installation and repair services within the company’s Digital Signage and Electronic Business and Consumer Solutions.

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Introducing a new offering from Nielsen designed to allow Connected TV operators and advertisers to better understand who is watching a show within the household.

Named “Streaming Signals,” the product is being heralded by the nation’s dominant audience measurement and consumer data analytics firm as a “first-of-its-kind solution” that unbundles household viewing.

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