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In addition to owning a formidable portfolio of over-the-air television stations across the U.S., Atlanta-headquartered Gray Television is the parent of video production companies such as Raycom Sports, Tupelo Honey, and RTM Studios.

Now, Gray is seeking to better monetize its internal content production portfolio when presenting to CMO, brand managers and advertising agencies.

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An image from Sennheiser’s petition to the FCC, comparing traditional wireless mics and WMAS.

“When a new technology for wireless microphones comes along, it merits a close and careful look.”

That’s what Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said this spring in introducing a proposal to permit the use of Wireless Multi-Channel Audio Systems.

WMAS systems digitally combine multiple mic signals and use a more efficient operating protocol, which results in more mics being able to operate in the available spectrum. Sennheiser filed the original petition requesting the rule change, and other mic companies have given qualified support. Now the commission is taking comment via a notice of proposed rulemaking.

“These systems have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of wireless microphone operations,” Rosenworcel wrote in April. “So much so, that under the rules we propose here, three times as many microphones may be able to operate while putting the same amount of power over the air as a single wireless microphone does under our rules today.”

She noted that wireless mics are “ubiquitous,” from Broadway productions and small-town theaters to film sets, churches, stadiums and schools. “These airwaves are shared with a range of other wireless services, including broadcasting, aeronautical activities, Wi-Fi and unlicensed operations that use white spaces to expand the availability of broadband. Making sure all of these services can function at the same time without interference is a significant task.”

In 2018 Sennheiser filed a petition asking the commission to allow this use. “WMAS approximately doubles the capacity of a 6 MHz channel for wireless microphones that deliver the best audio quality, and triples the capacity for intercom quality,” it told the FCC then. “Most productions use a mix of device types, and will see improvement between these extremes (and will occupy fewer channels overall).”

Shure subsequently weighed in with support for an NPRM and suggestions of its own for how to go about it, as did Alteros, part of Audio-Technica. Among points of difference are how many mics they think should be allowed per 6 MHz WMAS channel.

The NPRM asks for public comment on allowing WMAS on a licensed basis in frequency bands where wireless mics already are authorized, including the TV bands, the 600 MHz duplex gap and in portions of the 900 MHz, 1.4 GHz and 7 GHz bands. It also explores using the technology on an unlicensed basis under Part 15.

The FCC noted that the technology is permitted in Europe under European Telecommunications Standards Institute standards.

“We do not intend to alter the existing spectrum rights — or expectations regarding access and availability of spectrum — vis-à-vis all the various authorized users, whether broadcast licensees, white space device users, the wireless microphone users themselves, or others, that share frequency bands with wireless microphones,” the commission stated.

Comment deadlines have not yet been set in ET Docket 21-115; they await publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.

[Read the NPRM text.]

 

The post FCC Explores More Efficient Wireless Mic Systems appeared first on Radio World.

Cumulus Media named Jeff Boden as vice president/market manager of its operation in Washington, D.C., which includes WMAL(FM) and WSBN(AM).

He succeeds the late Ken Roberts, who died in April.

Boden is the former VP and market manager for Alpha Media’s four-station group down I-95 in Fredericksburg, Va., and former president of Delmarva Broadcasting in Wilmington, Del.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

“The Cumulus appointment is a homecoming for Boden, who was president/general manager for Washington, D.C. stations WRQX, WMAL and WJZW from 2005 to 2012, when the stations were owned and operated by ABC Radio and later, Citadel Broadcasting,” the company stated. Boden has additional D.C. roots, having graduated from The American University.

The announcement was made by EVP Operations Dave Milner.

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

 

The post Boden Will Run Cumulus D.C. Cluster appeared first on Radio World.

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Issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $1,500 to FCR Broadcasting, Inc., for failure to timely file a license renewal application for FM translator station W287BE, Greenwood, Indiana

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RF equipment manufacturer ERI posted this pic on LinkedIn, showing work being done for the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, which has a project to increase the effective radiated power of KNWI(FM) to 100 kW.

As we told you earlier, the station, which serves Des Moines, Iowa, on 107.1 MHz, currently operates at 30 kW at 630 feet above ground level but is getting an upgrade.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

The stub for the new 995-foot tower was set recently, and the erection should be completed before the end of July, according to the ERI post. And it’s going to support a big antenna.

“The tower includes a free-standing 100-foot, 48-inch face, ERI Lambda Optimized FM Mounting System that will support KNWI’s new 10-bay High-Power Rototiller FM antenna,” ERI wrote.

ERI is managing the project; the erection is subcontracted to Tower King II.

Northwestern Media is using a Nautel GV30DN transmitter and HD MultiCast+ Importer/Exporter. It will feed a translator in downtown Des Moines and provide HD programming of its Faith Radio talk and teaching format to the Des Moines market, according to an earlier announcement from Nautel.

The project also includes a Slatercom/Dialight LED High/Medium Intensity lighting system.

Suppliers and users are invited to submit their project news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post KNWI’s New Stick Is Going Up appeared first on Radio World.

“SuperFrank” Copsidas has gained attention over the years for his television industry activity across New England.

Now, he’s decided to invest in a low-power TV station in a popular area of Texas due northwest of San Antonio.

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Some four years ago, Jimmy Johnson’s Johnson Broadcast Ventures reached an agreement to sell a Class C radio station serving the city of Roanoke Rapids, N.C.

However, some 17 months after the transaction was consummated, the deal cratered due to the buyer’s default on a Promissory Note agreed upon in order to get the sale in motion.

Now, Johnson has tried again, and has a new asset sale agreement in place for this AM facility.

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WOODBRIDGE, VA. — For seven years until 2012, he was President/GM of ABC Radio’s stations serving the National Capital Region.

Now, after leading Alpha Media‘s four radio stations in nearby Fredericksburg, Va., Jeff Boden is on an express VRE train heading north, and will be back in Friendship Heights to lead what are now Cumulus Media‘s radio properties serving Washington, D.C.

Boden is taking the role of VP/Market Manager, and will lead a much different group of properties than what ABC Radio ran until nine years ago. Gone are Smooth Jazz WJZW and Hot Adult Contemporary WRQX “Mix 107.3.” Today, the station group is comprised of Talk powerhouse WMAL-FM 105.9, and “ESPN 630” WSBN-AM.

Still, it’s a homecoming for Boden, who spent more than three decades in D.C. radio and holds a communications degree from American University.

And, it is bittersweet, as Boden is succeeding the late Ken Roberts, who unexpectedly passed away in April.

Commenting on Boden’s return to Jenifer Street in far Northwest Washington, Cumulus EVP/Operations Dave Milner said, “WMAL and WSBN are exceptional stations and demand an exceptional leader at the helm. Jeff is the perfect choice to take these D.C. stations into the future, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on the Cumulus Media team. His deep experience and relationships in the market, along with his past experience, make him our ideal choice. Jeff is respected and appreciated by those in and out of the company.”

Boden commented, “I am truly honored to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rejoin the exceptional team at Cumulus in Washington, D.C. It’s wonderful to come back to serve the local community and our advertising partners. I look forward to working with so many people I have known for years, as well as with newer additions to the team.”

— RBR+TVBR Washington News Bureau

Paid audio services have become a way of life for many Americans. Will more radio companies participate in the boom?

New data this week from Edison Research indicates that almost half — 47% — of us now subscribe to at least one such service. “This number is just over double what it was in 2015, when 23% had a paid subscription,” the company stated. It found that growth includes services like Spotify Premium, Apple Music, Pandora Premium or Plus, SiriusXM Satellite Radio and Audible.

[Read: Survey Says Full Speed Ahead for Mobile Devices and Apps]

Edison President Larry Rosin expects to see more such offerings, “particularly from radio companies.”

“While much of this doubling of the numbers is the redirection of money that was going to physical music formats to music streaming subscriptions, there is also the trend of more people paying to avoid commercials,” he said.

He noted that the U.K.’s Bauer Media launched a subscription radio service that offers commercial-free versions of their radio brands. “I would think such efforts are likely to be launched in the U.S. as well.”

 

The post Paid Audio Services Boom in U.S. appeared first on Radio World.

For 39 years, Kagan has offered an up-close look at where broadcast radio and TV is heading, with respect to revenues and station valuations.

This continued on Thursday (6/17) in virtual fashion, as the 2021 Kagan Media Summit kicked off with a spotlight on the U.S. broadcast station industry from Senior Research Analyst Justin Nielson.

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A screenshot of a cell phone shows actual emergency messages on Jan. 13, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The background is a composite. (Screen image: Eugene Tanner AFP via Getty Images)

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted several changes to its rules for emergency alerting in the United States.

This order makes the changes we described in our recent story “Changes Coming in National Alerting.”

On the mobile phone side of things, the FCC doesn’t want people to opt out of receiving critical information, so it has combined the existing “Presidential Alerts” category, which is non-optional on devices that receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, with alerts from the FEMA administrator to create a new non-optional alert class called “National Alerts.”

On the EAS front, the commission is requiring State Emergency Communications Committees to meet at least annually and submit plans for FCC approval. Also it is encouraging states to review the composition and governance of their SECCs (or to form a committee one, if one doesn’t exist).

The FCC also plans to provide a checklist of information that should be included in annual state Emergency Alert System plans, and will tighten up its process for reviewing those plans. (We’ll report on that when the full order text is available but you can read the draft order that was released ahead of the meeting.)

The order also specifies that government agencies may report false emergency alerts to the FCC’s 24/7 Operations Center. And it clarifies how alert originators can repeat their alert transmissions.

Congress had instructed the FCC to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to adopt such rules.

“When alerts work well, we get the facts we require in an emergency,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. “But when they fail, they can cause fear and confusion and even panic.” She cited the 2018 incident when people in Hawaii got an emergency alert warning of a ballistic missile threat and were told “This is not a drill.”

Rosenworcel said the Hawaii incident led her to call for a system for reporting false alerts “so we can learn from our errors going forward,” and to urge the use of state emergency communications plans to promote best practices.

“This is progress. But there is still more to do,” she continued. “So today we are kicking off a rulemaking to discuss additional ways we can improve alerting, based on recommendations from our colleagues at FEMA.”

She also made note of the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts that is scheduled for August.

The post Emergency Alert Changes Pass FCC appeared first on Radio World.

In March and April 2020, the revenue picture looked rather bleak for Sinclair Broadcast Group. Today, things couldn’t be more different — and more positive.

Even with chip shortages hampering new auto inventory, squelching advertising dollars, Sinclair is hitting all cylinders. With mid-term political dollars on the horizon and sports betting revenue projected to be significant, Sinclair’s chief executive is excited about the “big uplift” that’s already underway.

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This week, one of the nation’s key advocacy groups for African American broadcasters  called on Members of Congress to support the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution that would “protect” AM and FM radio stations from “being forced to pay significant additional new performance royalties.”

The call to back the LRFA came from National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston, on a day when the U.S. House of Representatives voted 415-14 to make Juneteenth, or June 19, the nation’s twelfth federal holiday.

With President Joe Biden’s signature set to affirm Congress’ vote, and renewed attention to the African American community, we are pleased to share this encore RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, featuring Adam R Jacobson’s interview with Winston.

Listen to “RBR+TVBR INFOCUS: Jim Winston” on Spreaker.

A global designer and manufacturer of broadcast infrastructure has successfully collaborated with a PBS Member in the extension of its transmission reach by investing in a “future-proofed infrastructure” tied to an “Alternative Method of Education” initiative.

It’s just one more way educational, noncommercial television is serving the community, in particular across Arkansas.

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