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Requested the substitution of UHF channel 18 for VHF channel 12 in the DTV Table of Allotments.

Requested the substitution of UHF channel 32 for VHF channel 9 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the DTV Table of Allotments.

Requests the substitution of channel 19 for channel 10 at Quincy in the DTV Table of Allotments.

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Requested the substitution of UHF channel 29 for VHF channel 12 in the DTV Table of Allotments

The Bureau enters into a Consent Decree with Slingshot Broadcasting Corporation

Triton Digital has expanded the reporting and categorization capabilities within its podcast platform, Omny Studio.

“To provide publishers with a more comprehensive view of the content published by their organization and/or networks, Omny Studio’s reporting functionality has been enhanced to include granular visibility into the total number of episodes and total minutes of audio content published,” iHeartMedia subsidiary Triton notes.

Triton added that its users can now see an overview of the tools that accompany the content, including ad markers, transcriptions, and Headliner videos. “This information can be compared to previous reporting periods and tracked over time, making it easy for publishers to trend both the creation and growth of their show portfolios over time.”

Additionally, podcasters using the Omny Studio platform can now add custom metadata fields to their content, including categories. “By utilizing custom categories, podcasters can increase the discoverability of their shows, helping them to appear in relevant user searches and as a result, grow their audiences,” Triton says.

“We are confident that these expanded and enhanced capabilities will provide our users with the insights and flexibility they need to continue to both create and share engaging content while growing their audiences.” said Mitchell Secrett, Omny Studio Product Manager at Triton Digital. “These latest feature releases further Omny Studio’s position as the leading enterprise-level audio management platform in the world.”

To learn more about the Omny Studio platform, contact OmnyStudio@tritondigital.com.

This is in response to Michelle Bradley’s commentary, “Even More to All-Digital AM.” Ms. Bradley’s observations are right on the money.

The problem is not knowing the end game for the AM revitalization initiative. If Chairman Pai inferred that FM translators are part of a transition or “bridge” as he said to a Kansas Association of Broadcasters gathering in 2016 and not permanent, then when do AM broadcasters flash cut to digital and turn their translator licenses in? What is the sunset date for analog AM?

Michi made the point that, “The automotive and radio receiver industry needs to make HD Radio, standard equipment, not a ‘luxury option’ like with some manufacturers.” So, when is the FCC going to step in and mandate HD Radio in all cars? It’s the only way this will happen.

I totally agree when she indicated that moving a translator 250 miles is only going to harm the opportunity for more, new LPFM stations. Repurposing low VHF for other uses is an idea whose time has come. The majority of TV broadcasters don’t want the band. Existing Channel 6 TV stations can either keep their channel or change it but the FCC should not license any more TV stations on Channel 6, particularly to LDTV (or give it away free as white space to parasites like Microsoft). Let AM broadcasters migrate to the expanded FM band (formerly Channel 6) if they don’t want to stay on AM, forego their translators and open the channels up to LPFM.

The truth is that the AM revitalization initiative was an Ajit Pai pet project. I don’t think the Democrats are onboard with giving more translators to AM broadcasters or in letting these broadcasters keep their translators indefinitely. In fact, the AM revitalization initiative might look entirely different once Jessica Rosenworcel is made permanent chairman and another Democrat-appointed commissioner is installed. That may be a good thing for the future of FM broadcasting.

Daniel Brown
Owner, Zebra Radio (Part 15), 1610 AM
Retired TV station owner

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

The post Letter: AM Digital – What Is the End Game? appeared first on Radio World.

U.S. stock markets fell on Monday, with the Dow Industrials dipping 54.34 to 34,327.79. The Nasdaq composite index was down 50.93 to 13,379.05.

How did media issues fare to start the week? AT&T was off 2.6%, while Discovery Inc. shares finished the day with a 5% decline.

The Discovery dip was a mild surprise, as shares were on the rise ahead of the Opening Bell on word that it was acquiring WarnerMedia in a blockbuster Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger. Yet, DISCA finished at $33.76, falling $1.79 per share on exceptionally heavy volume of 88.34 million against average volume of 15.2 million shares.

AT&T, which also saw exceptionally heavy trading volume, saw “T” slip $0.85 to $31.39.

Elsewhere, Urban One shares improved to $5.43, up 4%, as Saga Communications’ recent burst in share value appears to be fizzling. On Monday, a 7% decline put SGA at $21.84.

Also on the downturn is Audacy, which sits at $4.18 after a 4 cent decline.

Educational Media Foundation is primarily known as a buyer. Thus, it is rare when the owner of the KLOVE and Air1 Christian music networks decides to part ways with a property.

That’s just happened, in West Virginia.

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Early Monday, the big merger news in the cable TV industry became official: WarnerMedia is becoming part of Discovery Inc.

Interestingly, the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report shows a big decrease in the number of promotional spots for Discovery+, the OTT arm launched January 4.

Is the coming tax-free merger the reason, or a mere coincidence?

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Amid the self-promotional announcements from iHeartMedia, including podcast pitches, there’s a shining example of how a brand has taken to AM and FM radio and established itself as a top-of-mind job search source.

Indeed, the use of spot radio is a success story worthy of sharing with CMOs across the U.S.

As seen in the latest Spot Ten Radio report for the week ending May 16, Indeed is the big No. 1 among fully paid advertisers, topping Progressive, Babbel and GEICO.

In fact, Indeed competitor ZipRecruiter may wish to increase its radio budget to better compete with its rival. While the job search category is burgeoning for radio, the spot differential as seen by Media Monitors suggests ZipRecruiter has room for growth — and for becoming a household name via AM and FM.

Warner Tillman is parting ways with an AM/FM combo that includes an FM translator and no less than four boosters designed to give that FM station coverage of Eastern Washington’s largest metropolis.

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DAYTON, OHIO — On June 21, 2007, a group of AM and FM radio stations were placed into the Aloha Station Trust.

Now, the final FM properties placed in this trust originally overseen by the late Jeanette Tully and now led by former Backyard Broadcasting head Barry Drake are being removed from the trust.

However, they’re not being sold. Rather, these “Big” Dayton-market properties are being donated.

Who’s getting WRZX-FM & WYDB-FM?

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Groups representing broadcasters and internet streaming companies are expressing reservations about how delivering EAS alerts through the internet would work and say the complexities of accomplishing the feat would be exceptional.

The FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry earlier this year to explore the feasibility of delivering EAS via the internet and how to leverage the capabilities of the internet to enhance alerting by radio and television broadcasters and cable systems. A review of comments from several groups indicates the complex nature of coordinating multiple technologies to offer advanced alerting in the United States.

The National Association of Broadcasters says “certain technical challenges and open policy questions make it extremely burdensome, and likely infeasible, to update the EAS system to enable alerts to consumers provided through the internet, including streaming services.”

[Read: FCC Will Explore EAS on the Internet]

NAB concludes “pure-play online content streamers are not well-positioned to participate in the existing EAS ecosystem for live streaming feeds or on-demand content.” The trade association adds that radio and TV broadcasters currently are very limited in their ability to offer any real enhancements to online alerts, according to NAB.

“We understand that the only online audio outlets that may retransmit EAS messages are websites and apps while simulcasting radio stations. Broadcasters may do so on their own website or through audio apps like TuneIn or digital media players like Roku TV,” NAB wrote in its comments.

NAB notes that “as a general matter, the streaming feeds at the broadcast station are originated upstream of the EAS encoder/decoder in the programming chain, meaning that an EAS alert is typically relayed only if it occurs while a station’s own programming is broadcast on-air.

“However, if an alert occurs during a commercial break in the on-air programming, when different content is inserted into the online stream, then the EAS alert is not usually retransmitted to the listener or viewer,” NAB commented.

The trade association urges the commission to report to Congress that EAS should not be extended to internet-based services at this time.

The Digital Media Association (DiMA) believes it may be it may be technically feasible to complete some, but not all, steps required for end-to-end transmission of EAS alerts through the internet, specifically, via the music pure-play streaming services offered by DiMA member companies.

“While receiving and processing EAS alerts may be technically possible, however, the national and global nature of these streaming services, which operate as apps on hardware devices or through websites relying on networks these services have no control over to transmit data, makes monitoring for, retransmitting, and delivering EAS alerts to end users infeasible, if not impossible,” DiMA wrote in comments filed with the FCC.

DiMA continues: “Further, for practical and technical reasons, doing so would not advance the purpose of the EAS. Music streaming services do not collect granular location data and, therefore, would not be able accurately target emergency messages to the relevant recipients. Rather than increasing the reach of EAS, streaming services’ involvement will duplicate and possibly interfere with activities of existing participants.”

The FCC in its notice of inquiry noted the apparent challenges of using the internet for EAS alerting, including the large geographic service areas of streaming services and how those companies would monitor alerts from state, territorial and local governments for EAS alerts in Common Alerting Protocol.

Digital Content Next told the FCC the group believes extending the EAS obligations to streaming services would be very complicated from a technical perspective given the number of devices and services where content is viewed or heard.

“For example, consumers can receive content from streaming services on a wide variety of phones, tablets, laptops and televisions. Each of these devices may utilize different kinds of software. Also, software is frequently updated by the device manufacturer, which results in additional diversification of devices,” Digital Content Next commented.

The group, which represents a wide-array of internet publishing brands, said ensuring that emergency alerts can be delivered, viewed and heard properly on the myriad combination of devices, software versions and platforms would be immensely complex. “In order to monitor for and deliver EAS messages, streaming services would need to make different adjustments for each kind of device, software and platform,” Digital Content Next wrote.

In addition, streaming services “generally lack local network architecture and are not geographically proximate to their customers,” and “streaming providers would have to reconfigure their technology to have the capability to properly deliver geo-targeted local emergency alerts,” the trade association said, whose members include Disney, Bloomberg and ESPN.

The FCC is looking at ways to modernize EAS infrastructure after a mandate from Congress to broaden the capabilities of EAS and WEA [Wireless Emergency Alerts] in the United States and improve reliability to prevent false alerts.

Reply comments to the notice of inquiry on the feasibility of updating EAS or to improve alerts through the internet are due June 14.

 

The post FCC Collects Feedback on Using Internet for EAS Alerts appeared first on Radio World.

The Director of Sales for a pair of Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations serving Asheville, N.C., and the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Clemson region of upstate South Carolina, is rising to VP/GM of the MyNetworkTV and ABC affiliates.

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What will emerge in mid-2022 as a new Discovery Inc., with WarnerMedia‘s assets merged into what will be a new company, is poised to surge past the company led by Bob Bakish and ultimately controlled by Shari Redstone and National Amusements, Inc.

That’s the biggest takeaway of the blockbuster Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc., announced early Monday, by S&P Global Market Intelligence’s TV Networks research analyst.

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