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ORLANDO — PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips digital signage, LED, and pro TV
products, software, and innovations, revealed at the recent InfoComm 21 conference that the Philips X-Line UHD videowall series in now available to customers across the U.S. and Canada.

The 49” and 55” Philips X-Line videowall range has been designed for continuous use in an indoor environment, automatically adjusting to changing lighting conditions, whether in natural indoor lighting or the full strength of natural sunlight.

With Direct LED Backlight technology and running on the latest software, Philips X-Line’s high-resolution setup and Pure Colour Pro technology for superior depths of black and high-brightness color levels, “ensures even the most detailed or complex content can be viewed with the crispest clarity, while its innovative Smart Insert technology and dedicated handles make installation and maintenance effortless,” PPDS says.

It continues, “With PPDS’ FailOver technology, displays will always remain active, switching automatically between primary and secondary inputs, ensuring that content keeps playing even if the primary source goes down.”

Bruce Wyrwitzke, Director of Digital Signage at PPDS, said, “There are a vast number of different videowall options available in North America today, so it was important for PPDS to offer a solution that didn’t simply follow what’s already there. Our teams have dug deep into researching and understanding the historic pains and frustrations experienced in specific environments, where portraying the right image and displaying content clearly is vital. The Philips X-Line range addresses those issues and provides the tools to help companies present themselves in the very best light and ensure they always stand out, whether that’s in a retail store, a corporate office, studio or somewhere else.”

X-Line videowalls offer a seamless visual performance, with a 3.5mm bezel providing a near seamless connectivity between panels, and the FHD (1920x1080p) resolution, offering native UHD on a 2×2 videowall, to command attention, with dazzling clarity and 500cd/m2 brightness.

 

A pair of readers react to Michael Saffran’s commentary “Radio, Stick to Your Knitting,” Radio World, Aug. 29.

Regarding Michael Saffran’s commentary “Radio, Stick to Your Knitting” in the Aug. 29 Opinion section:

Well said! Fads come and go, often overnight. If you thought format changes were a nightmare, being tied to a faded fad is worse.

Ideological advocacy can cost you as many listeners as it keeps, and is very unlikely to win you any more.

Gary Fisher
Rosewood Associates

* * *

Michael Saffran is correct. Businesses can shoot themselves in the foot when they go woke.

Why should I give my money to a company that is using it to promote political causes that I oppose? Or give my listening time to a radio station that uses it to lift its revenue? I have plenty of options.

Joseph Palenchar
Oakland, N.J.

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

 

The post Letter: Sticking to our knitting appeared first on Radio World.

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Radio syndication company Key Networks has partnered with Summit Technology Group to bring “an advanced routine and emergency weather reporting system” to radio stations for no additional barter.

ATMOS Weather Reporting was developed by Summit Technology Group that uses artificial intelligence to generate a script and natural text-to-speech synthesis to deliver a customized, localized weather forecast in a broadcast quality voice.

“The result is seamless, accurate and as personable as a real meteorologist,” Key Networks asserts.

Key Networks also notes that with ATMOS Weather Reporting, all advertising inventory is contained in the weather forecasts that are delivered, so stations can sell the forecasts to local sponsors and others.

Summit Technology Group President Paul Stewart comments, “Automated weather reports aren’t new to the broadcast industry, but with ATMOS, we’re able to provide a weather
report that sounds indistinguishable from a human speaker, and uses all the abbreviations inherent in our speech patterns. Best of all, stations can take control to adjust their reports based on their format and customize their virtual talent to suit their
listenership.”

Dennis Green, Chief Revenue Officer at Key Networks, adds, “Key Networks’ mission is to bring innovative products and services to the market that you cannot find anywhere else. Mission accomplished with ATMOS Weather powered by Key Networks. Stations will get precise and accurate weather forecasts without having to give up additional inventory outside the content. That is a game changer. This service works on any station in any format and you’ll want to sign up soon, as there is additional cutting edge technology coming that will provide even more localization to your weather forecast. Prepare to be wowed and provide your local listeners and advertisers with weather forecasts around the clock and branded as you desire. I’m beyond excited to get stations on board!”

Last week, Jeffrey Wlodarczak, the Principal and Entertainment/Interactive Subscription Services Analyst at Pivotal Research Group, gave Spotify a glowing assessment in his latest investor note.

Now, another analyst is heaping praise on the streaming audio giant. And, that pushed the company’s stock past a major threshold in Monday’s trading.

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Getting engagement from your team members during an online meeting is a challenge. F

First, how to incentivize them to turn on their cameras is still a question without an easy answer. Second, how to keep them from multitasking while you run the meeting is a near impossible goal. Third, how to you make the meeting worth everyone’s time remains a key need.

Faced with the reality that remote teamwork will continue indefinitely, department heads and meeting managers are eager to find activities to bring teams closer together.

Rosemary Ravinal, the veteran public relations executive turned “Zoom” master, has some suggestions.

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Attention, noncommercial FM operators: A filing window for applications for noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits opens on Tuesday, just after Midnight ET.

It’s a seven-day window, closing promptly in one week.

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The FCC Media Bureau has issued a reminder that its previously announced window to apply for new noncommercial educational FM new station construction permits will be open from tonight — Tuesday Nov. 2 at 12:01 a.m. EDT — until next Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. EST.

The window is only for proposals in the FM reserved band, channels 201 to 220, which is 87.9 to 91.9 MHz.

Applications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340 in the Bureau’s Licensing and Management System. The commission will accept no more than 10 applications from one applicant.

“This means that a party to an application filed in the window may hold attributable interests in no more than a total of 10 applications filed in the window.”

[Read: Procedures Are Published for NCE FM Window]

The number of FM educational stations has almost doubled in two decades, from 2,140 in the year 2000 to around 4,200 at the most recent count.

A 2007 NCE window yielded approximately 3,600 applications, of which about 2,700 were mutually exclusive, meaning applications involved geographic or spectral overlap. The FCC in that round eventually granted approximately 1,330 CPs for new NCE service, according to commission data.

But in 2021, because of the number of signals across the FM band, observers have told Radio World that it is unlikely that applicants in this window will be able to identify full-power NCE opportunities except in relatively rural areas with smaller populations.

The post NCE FM Filing Window Opens appeared first on Radio World.

One is a Class C AM with 1 tower, emitting 630 watts of power. The other is a Class C2 FM with a Country format.

Both stations serve Palestine — the small city in Texas due southwest of Tyler, that is.

And, they’ve just traded hands in a transaction brokered by Media Services Group.

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“How worried should we be about the impact of supply chain disruptions on advertising?”

Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson, the respected Wall Street financial analyst house, offered some conflicting answers about the negative impact supply chain issues have ad on advertising demand in an investor note distributed Friday.

It seems he has more to say about the matter, and Nathanson has now shifted his concerns to the radio business and TV industry.

Will broadcast media revenue, led by broadcast advertising, see new and continuing challenges in 2022? A Forecast 2022 panel of experts are ready to engage in a provocative discussion about who is going to “show us the money” in the year to come.

Moderator: Jack Myers, Media Ecologist/Chairman, MyersBizNet
Leah Casterlin, Founding Partner, Media Fortitude Partners
Mark Gray, CEO, Katz Media Group
Steve Lanzano, President/CEO, TVB
Jen Soch, Executive Director/Specialty Channels, GroupM

 

This is one of a full day of insightful and exclusive panel discussions and keynote speeches scheduled for Forecast 2022. Don’t miss out! Save your seat by clicking here.

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Syndicator Key Networks is offering a weather reporting system for radio stations that uses text-to-speech synthesis and requires no additional barter.

ATMOS Weather Reporting was developed by Summit Technology Group and uses artificial intelligence to generate a script and text-to-speech that Summit says is indistinguishable from a human voice. It describes the customizable content as “seamless, accurate and as personable as a real meteorologist.”

All advertising is contained within the weather forecasts so stations can sell local sponsorships.

The announcement was made by Key Networks CRO Dennis Green and Summit President Paul Stewart.

Green said, “Stations will get precise and accurate weather forecasts without having to give up additional inventory outside the content.”

A sample is available at the Key Networks site.

 

The post Key Networks Adds ATMOS Weather Reporting appeared first on Radio World.

A South Dakota licensee is liable for a forfeiture of several thousands of dollars after allegedly failing to file a license renewal application on time.

The Media Bureau at the Federal Communication Commission found that Seventh Generation Media Services — licensee of station KLND(FM) of Little Eagle, S.D. — is liable for a monetary forfeiture of $3,000. FCC Rules require that applications for broadcast station license renewals must be filed by the first day of the fourth calendar month prior to the license’s expiration date. In Seventh Generation’s case, that filing deadline was Dec. 1, 2020.

But the Media Bureau discovered that the application was not filed on time — not until March 22, 2021. When Seventh Generation was asked about the delay, the licensee said that its previous manager — who apparently would have been responsible for overseeing the renewal — quit her position and the current manager was unaware of certain passwords and policies.

[Read: Call Sign Deleted, Permit Revoked After LPFM Construction Snafu]

In its ruling on this case, however, the bureau said this was not a viable reason. As FCC rules state, the licensee is ultimately responsible for ensuring it complies with the FCC’s rules by filing a timely renewal application. Seventh Generation’s explanation that the current station manager did not have the password to access the FCC’s filing database and that the manager was not familiar with the commission’s filing requirement is not a valid excuse.

“The commission has been clear that ignorance of the law is not an excuse for failure to comply with commission rules and regulations, and we have held that loss of a database password does not excuse an untimely filing,” the bureau said in its order.

Taking all the factors into consideration, the bureau proposed a forfeiture of $3,000. The commission has the opportunity to raise or lower that forfeiture based on the individual circumstances. In this case, the bureau found that the station had been serving the public interest, has not seriously violated other areas of the Communications Act or the FCC rules and has found no other violations that could constitute a pattern of abuse. The bureau also noted that the licensee did file the application prior to the expiration of the station’s license, which would have been April 1, 2021.

The bureau has thus ordered Seventh Generation to either pay the $3,000 forfeiture within 30 days or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation.

 

The post Seventh Generation Asked to Pay $3,000 Forfeiture for Late License Renewal appeared first on Radio World.

Addressing COVID-19 misinformation has been a priority for public radio, and two Dallas stations are continuing that role with a new campaign called “Bring The Music Back,” as part of Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s larger misinformation initiative.

Over a series of several weeks, radio station KKXT(FM) and TV station KERA in Dallas will be running the “Bring the Music Back” campaign by sharing facts about vaccinations, COVID-19 and how audiences can best remain safe when they return to live music events.

[Read: After the Masks Come Off]

The campaign will feature first-person conversations in 20– to 30–second radio spots with local and national musicians who are discussing how the pandemic has affected their industry, the importance of wearing masks and good safety practices.

Spots available for stations to use, which can be found here, include social media videos, an explainer video, marketing materials and clean broadcast spots. The stations are operated by KERA, a nonprofit organization that operates one of the few noncommercial radio stations in North Texas, with the bulk of the radio station’s lineup produced and programmed locally.

 

The post New Public Campaign Aims to Bring Music Back Safely appeared first on Radio World.

In January 2022, the leadership of the nation’s leading voice for broadcast media on Capitol Hill and at the FCC will change. NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith will formally turn over the reins at the trade association to Curtis LeGeyt. Smith and LeGeyt have worked closely together for almost a decade; the transition promises to be smooth and cohesive.

As Smith readies to say goodbye to Inside the Beltway politics and LeGeyt picks up the mantle, where are we now and where are we going? An exclusive Forecast 2022 question-and-answer session is poised to present many answers — and insight — into the path ahead for the NAB under LeGeyt. You have to be there to hear what they have to say.

FORECAST 2022: LIVE AND IN PERSON A Conversation with Gordon Smith and Curtis LeGeyt

What are the front burning issues the incoming NAB CEO expects to tackle first when the New Year rolls around? How will new FCC leadership affect regulatory issues? And what parting words of advice does the former senator have to offer his successor?

Moderator Steve Newberry, formerly of the NAB, will be armed and ready with the key questions you want to have the answers to.

REGISTER NOW TO SAVE YOUR SEAT AT FORECAST 2022.

 

MIAMI BEACH — In late January 2020, the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) successfully staged its NATPE Miami conference. Even as concerns over the COVID-19 virus grew across Asia, there was little worry that a pandemic would sweep across North America.

Now, two years later, NATPE Miami is back. And, it will very much be an in-person event.

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