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The Georgia Association of Broadcasters named finalists for its 2021 GABBY Awards.

“This year’s awards will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 23. The finalists … will either receive a GABBY or Merit award for broadcasting excellence in various categories,” the association said.

 Finalists are listed on the GAB website.

Registration for the annual GABCON conference also is now open. The event will take place at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead.

 

The post GAB Announces GABBY Finalists appeared first on Radio World.

A low-power television station serving the capital city of Florida is being sold.

The buyer? It’s been broadcasting on television since 1992 and launched an international television network in 2016.

That offering is likely on the way for Tallahassee.

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Since 2018, she’s served as President/GM of TEGNA‘s ABC affiliate serving Louisville, WHAS-11.

Now, this longtime company local station leader is being promoted to the role of President/GM for TEGNA’s stations serving the Pacific Northwest’s largest market.

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Serving the Centralia, Wash., area is an FM translator at 99.7 MHz. It is a sibling to an FM translator at 102.1 MHz, sandwiched between Renton and Tacoma, Wash., and serving the southern portion of the Seattle DMA.

These translator twins are seeing an ownership adjustment. It’s not a “sale,” given the assignor and assignee.

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The rise of subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) digital platforms is not only attention-getting but increasingly lucrative for media companies seeking to capture the consumer that’s rapidly shifting from linear to digital content delivery vehicles.

Among the SVOD players making noise is Disney+, with discovery+, Paramount+ and Peacock among the newest entrants offering paid access to various shows.

Now, you can add an Allen Media Group-owned brand to the mix.

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Photo courtesy Dawnco

C-Band users, take note. The Federal Communications Commission released an updated list of earth stations this month.

Making note of this, the law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer says radio stations should review the list “to make sure that any earth station that you operate is included and that all of the details of its operations are correct.”

[Read: Repacking C-Band Earth Stations]

“The updated list (see a PDF version here and an Excel version here) reflects a variety of changes to earth station registrations, including address or coordinate corrections, registration/licensee name changes due to sales or other transfers, and the removal of earth stations that were reportedly inactive and unresponsive to FCC inquiries about their status,” the law firm wrote in a newsletter of the Vermont Association of Broadcasters.

The FCC’s public notice lists Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7–4.2 GHz band (C-Band) within the contiguous United States that the International Bureau has found satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-Band transition.

The post C-Band Users, Check Your Listing appeared first on Radio World.

On February 1, the radio station owner then-known as Entercom Communications revealed that “later in 2021” the Sports Format Captain for the entire company — and Brand Manager for one of its most iconic properties — will step down.

On May 12, the exact date for his departure from WFAN-AM & FM in New York and CBS Sports Radio was revealed.

Now, that day has come. As of July 1, Mark Chernoff will be succeeded by Spike Eskin at “The Fan.”

To commemorate his years of service at WFAN, which is the first Sports Talk and play-by-play-focused radio station in the world, Audacy on Wednesday officially unveiled “The Mark Chernoff WFAN Newsroom.”

The plaque reads: “Program Director 1993-2021. Influenced the sound of New York sports over four decades while nurturing the careers of many who traveled this space. Dedicated June 30, 2021.”

Among those saluting Chernoff can be seen in the above photo — (Top left to right): Craig Carton, Mark Chernoff, Al Dukes, and Eddie Scozzare. (Bottom left to right): Boomer Esiason, Jerry Recco, and Chris Oliviero.

The audience for terrestrial radio remains high. That’s a point made by many of the leaders of commercially licensed broadcasting companies over the last several years.

Here’s the bad news: A Pew Research Center analysis of MEDIA Access Pro and BIA Advisory Services data confirm that average radio revenue dropped “fairly sharply” in 2020.

And, for the all-news format, the dip in revenue was no different.

Or, are the numbers skewed?

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Bill Wilson

The Radio Board of the National Association of Broadcasters has a new chair. He’s Bill Wilson, the CEO of Townsquare Media Group.

He succeeds David Santrella, the president of Broadcast Media for Salem Media Group, who now becomes chairman of the association’s Joint Board of Directors, succeeding Jordan Wertlieb of Hearst Television.

John Zimmer, president and owner of Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri Inc., was elected Radio Board first vice chair, while Kevin Perry, VP/COO of Perry Publishing and Broadcasting, was elected second vice chair.

Collin Jones, senior vice president of corporate development and strategy for Cumulus Media Inc., was elected as the Radio Board’s major group representative on the NAB Board’s Executive Committee.

[Read: Hershberger Honored With 2021 NAB Engineering Award]

On the TV side, Perry Sook, chairman, president and CEO of Nexstar Media Group, was elected as NAB Television Board chair. Lynn Beall, EVP/COO of Media Operations for TEGNA, was elected TV Board first vice chair. Pat LaPlatney, president and co-chief executive officer of Gray Television Inc., was elected TV Board second vice chair, while and Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, was elected third vice chair.

And Christopher Wood, SVP and associate general counsel for government and regulatory affairs at Univision Communications, was appointed to the designated TV network seat on the NAB Board’s Executive Committee.

 

The post Bill Wilson Is New NAB Radio Board Chair appeared first on Radio World.

Until today, Townsquare Media had separate digital content and radio content teams. Now, it is combining both units.

As a result, a new Chief Content Officer has been named. At the same time, additional responsibilities beyond his current programming duties are being given to Kurt Johnson, making him the company’s chief music industry liaison.

Jared Willig will hold the Chief Content Officer role. He’s a 10-year Townsquare Media veteran, and he’ll lead content strategy and execution across all platforms for 322 local radio stations, over 350 local websites and mobile apps, and Music & Entertainment brands XXL Magazine, Taste Of Country, Loudwire, Ultimate Classic Rock, ScreenCrush and PopCrush.

He will also continue to oversee AMPED, the monetization of the Townsquare brands’ digital platforms.

With Willig’s appointment comes the creation of the “Townsquare Content Team,” which Johnson will help lead under the new title of SVP/Content and Programming.

And, as aforementioned, he will continue to lead Townsquare’s music industry relations.

Jackie Corley, who had been overseeing Townsquare’s Digital Content team, widens her responsibilities to become the VP of Local Content and Programming.

Townsquare COO of Local Media Erik Hellum commented, “Given Townsquare’s multi-platform approach to entertaining and informing our audiences and our communities, we will no longer have separate central teams for broadcast and digital content, but rather one incredibly talented content team led by Jared, Kurt and Jackie.”

Prior to joining Townsquare in 2010, Willig spent almost 10 years at AOL as the GM overseeing entertainment brands such as AOL Music and AOL Radio, Moviefone, and AOL Television. Before joining AOL in 2001, he worked in online marketing at BMG Entertainment. Willig is also a former club and radio DJ in New York, Philadelphia and Central New Jersey.

Johnson is well known for his role from 2001-2011 as VP/Programming for CBS Radio in Dallas. He also served as OM of AMFM Inc.’s Philadelphia stations. Johnson is also the former Program Director of Adult Contemporary WLTW “106.7 Lite FM” in New York, and was PD of Active Rock WAXQ “Q104.3” in New York under Viacom ownership.

Corley has been with Townsquare since 2014, serving as Digital Managing Editor of Townsquare’s Mid-Hudson Valley properties in Poughkeepsie and Middletown.

This is one in a series of articles from the Radio World ebook “The Real World of AoIP.”

Radio World recently asked several manufacturers to identify the most important technical development or trend in the use of AoIP.

Doug Ferber, Tieline’s VP Sales, Americas, said that the most important trends in the studio are the widespread adoption of AES67 and Networked Media Open Specifications (NMOS), as well as the overall need for increased capacity for IP audio codecs.

“AES67 will make life easier in the world of AoIP with its promise of interoperability between competing audio via standards-based delivery without requiring specialized network equipment,” Ferber said.

“NMOS will provide a control and management layer in addition to the transport layer provided by SMPTE ST 2110 to also provide more straightforward interoperability between products so end users and service providers can build better systems.

“In addition to discovery and registration, device connection management and network control, NMOS will also feature audio channel mapping capability and interoperable security,” he said.

the most important AoIP trend Tieline sees is the need for more audio streams in a single rack unit.

“The move toward more centralized broadcast facilities and content delivery will require audio codecs to do more, or as we like to say in the AoIP world, have higher density. Radio station operations will continue to consolidate, and we think more content will be delivered from fewer locations so the audio encoders/decoders used will have to be equipped with more channels. These AoIP trends are reflected in the design of our new DSP-based codec, the Gateway.”

The post Doug Ferber on Trends in AoIP appeared first on Radio World.

The headlines are everywhere. Weekly online listening is at an all-time high. Sirius bought Pandora; iHeart bought Triton. Smart speakers continue to proliferate. Everyone is talking about audio.

In Radio World’s latest ebook we explore the premise that, if radio organizations want to succeed in the new wider world of audio, streaming needs to be a bigger part of their business strategy.

We ask how broadcasters can better monetize their streams, improve sound quality and promote their streams more aggressively. And we explain key terminology.

Also, what information can data analytics give managers now about their listeners? How should streaming strategies overlap with deployment for smart speakers, apps and voice-controlled car infotainment systems? Do streaming and podcasting benefit or conflict with one another in a media strategy?

The ebook explores these questions through interviews and commentaries from thought leaders and technology suppliers. Read it here.

The post Streaming for Radio in 2021: A New Ebook appeared first on Radio World.

In this document, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project, the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission reinstates the rule changes that were previously adopted by the Commission in its media ownership proceedings but then vacated and remanded by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019. As such, the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule, the Radio/Television Cross-Ownership Rule, and the Television Joint Sales Agreement Attribution Rule are eliminated, and the Local Television Ownership Rule and Local Radio Ownership Rule are reinstated as adopted in the Commission's 2017 Order on Reconsideration. In addition, the eligible entity standard and its application to regulatory measures as set forth in the Commission's 2016 Second Report and Order are reinstated. Finally, the regulatory measures adopted in the Commission's 2018 Incubator Order are reinstated.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by VPM Media Corporation (Petitioner), the licensee of noncommercial educational television station WVPT (PBS), channel *11, Staunton, Virginia. The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel *15 for channel *11 at Staunton in the DTV Table of Allotments.

At an online ceremony this week, Sue Zizza accepted the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre from the National Audio Theatre Festivals.

Zizza was honored as a producer of award-winning audio theater for radio, the web and commercial release for more than 40 years, as well as an influential teacher of sound for radio, television and film, starting at Hofstra University in 1987 and continuing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Colleagues commented on Zizza’s extensive body of work and prolific output, and they roasted her mildly for an insistent work personality. One described her as “an ants in the pants artist,” another said, “You just can’t say no to Sue.”

Her fellow artist and Corwin Award recipient Brian Price commended her for helping to keep the flame of audio theater alive during the difficult years of the 1990s and early 2000s, before podcasting helped bring a wave of fresh interest in all things audio.

Zizza accepted the Corwin Award on Sunday during an online event.

Participants said she was a worthy recipient of an award named for Norman Corwin, “the grand master of American radio theater.”

Zizza is also owner of Radio Waves Studios with her partner, Dave Shinn. Among her recent work, she was commissioned to create a radio program to help celebrate UNESCO’s World Radio Day in 2021.

Sunday evening’s video conference also served as the conclusion of the ninth annual Hear Now Festival, which celebrates the work of “master storytellers.”

 

The post Colleagues Honor Audio Theater Innovator Sue Zizza appeared first on Radio World.

Delilah has purchased the AM radio station where her career began.

Her company announced that the syndicated radio host acquired KDUN in Reedsport, Ore.

The nondirectional station, which is licensed at 1030 kHz for 50 kW daytime and 630 watts at night, had been owned by Post Rock Communications. Terms were not announced.

[Read: Delilah Thrives on Instant Connection]

According to FCC records, KDUN has been silent since December for technical reasons. It received Special Temporary Authority to remain silent earlier this month, though the commission noted in the letter that the owner had failed to submit a request to remain silent for most of the first part of 2021.

“The transmitter is still housed in the same small wood structure, that is literally in the middle of a cow pasture on the banks of the Smith River,” her company said in a press release.

“Delilah is feverishly working to restore the site in order to be able to again be heard on ‘KDUN, the voice of the Oregon Dunes.’”

Her company related the story that when young Delilah Rene was in middle school, she won a speech contest that was judged in part by Jerome and Steve Kenegy, brothers who owned the local radio station. The contest winners were invited to the studios. “The first time she was in the studio, Delilah says she felt ‘at home,’ and her passion for radio was born.” She eventually took a job there before moving on to become a DJ and later a syndicated host.

[Read more about the history of KDUN.]

It said she hopes to help cultivate “local young talent who have a passion for communicating” but that “for now, getting the station upgraded and updated is first on her agenda.” The company said that other radio professionals including Smokey Rivers, Gary Nolan, Chris Mays and Jim Ryan “have stepped up to the plate in this endeavor” to help.

She was inducted into NAB’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

The post Delilah Buys the Station Where She Started appeared first on Radio World.

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