Industry News

It may have been Public Radio Music Day on November 10, but today and on most days, the majority of NPR Member stations attract listeners for their progressive-leaning news and talk programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered. 

No wonder, then, that NPR would offer research in partnership with Edison Research that puts a magnifying glass on “the continued increased consumption of spoken word audio in the U.S. and the drivers behind the growth.”

NPR, naturally, is one of those drivers.

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NEW YORK — In 2019 while still under the ownership of The E.W. Scripps Co., Triton partnered up with an audio advertising company that built a Creative Management Platform specifically for radio and online spots.

It was a sign of confidence in New York-based Frequency, which relies on data from a variety of third party providers — such as location, weather, time, device type and content that’s being listened to — to build personalized audio ads.

Now, Frequency is getting an infusion of Dollorydoos, if you will, as one of Australia’s largest radio broadcasting companies is now a minority investor.

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As RBR+TVBR reported earlier this week,  the 12-year-old Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) will be getting new leadership within the first three months of 2022 as its CEO and Managing Director is retiring.

Ahead of her farewell, she’ll be co-hosting a special update webinar “on the four main building blocks of converged TV measurement that are needed to advance new solutions for complete cross-platform video measurement.”

It is an hourlong session scheduled for 1pm Eastern featuring Jane Clarke, who will soon depart CIMM; Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst at TVREV; and Jon Watts, Executive Director at Project X Institute.

They will provide an overview on the development of TV “Census-like” data; digital census data; cross-media panel or Linked TV & Digital panels; and ID resolution.

The webinar bears the title Demystifying Converged TV Measurement: The Four Building Blocks, and begins with an introduction from Clarke. Wolk and Watts will then share their insight on which companies are in each building block and those companies working to assemble all of the building blocks.

Questions will be taken following their discussion.

To register, please click here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k-dQ77cBRkW7dPy0tF_voQ. 

Helwin Leach, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)

A German broadcaster is being recognized for his support and promotion of the DAB+ standard.

Helwin Lesch of Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) was named the 2021 recipient of the WorldDAB Award for Outstanding Service. The award was presented at the online WorldDAB General Assembly meeting on Nov. 8.

Lesch has been a pivotal figure in promoting DAB+ across Europe, the organization said, having served for several years on the WorldDAB steering board. He is a founding member of the European Digital Radio Alliance and serves on the executive board of Digital Radio Platform e.V.

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“I am honored and at the same time grateful for the great support I have received from my colleagues in Germany and on the WorldDAB steering board over many years,” said Lesch. “Together we have indeed achieved a lot for DAB. Digital radio will help to ensure that radio continues to play an important role for people in the future and provides a common information base for discussions in our society.”

Lesch joined BR in 2002 and has been in his current role — head of the main distribution and controlling department of the BR production and technology directorate — since 2015. During his time at BR he also served as director of the main program distribution department and as director of the main planning and technology department.

Prior to joining BR, Lesch worked with the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting as a specialist consultant while simultaneously working as a signatory at the media company Bayerische Medien-Servicegesellschaft mbH.

Even though Lesch said he is no longer an active member of the WorldDAB Steering Board, he plans to continue to devote his energy to digital radio.

As a global industry forum responsible for defining and promoting DAB digital radio, WorldDAB provides professional broadcasters with knowledge and expertise on implementing broadcast digital radio.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Organization Honors German Broadcaster for Focus on DAB+ appeared first on Radio World.

Until now, listeners of Educational Media Foundation’s KLOVE Christian Contemporary network had two choices — an FM signal to the far north, near the border with Arizona; or a metro signal that sees its Primm, Nev., based tower boosted with a 70-watt signal off Arden Peak. Still, reaching much of metropolitan Las Vegas was a challenge.

Now, EMF is doing something about it, by swapping that far north FM for an FM translator with a transmitter just five kilometers west of the home of the NAB Show.

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iHeartMedia named Howard Greiner as the next area president for the Albany, N.Y., area, which also includes Poughkeepsie and Sussex, N.J.

He succeeds Kristen Delaney, who retires at the end of December. She has held that position for more than a decade.

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The Albany region encompasses 17 stations in the three markets. Greiner will report to Dan Lankford, division president for iHeartMedia Community Markets.

Greiner has led his own consulting firm, and spent 18 years with Buntin Out-Of-Home Media, where he most recently was president/COO.

Send People News announcements, especially about executive leadership and engineering positions, to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Greiner Will Lead iHeart’s Albany Area appeared first on Radio World.

For months, the name Gigi Sohn has been discussed across the Nation’s Capital — first as a potential Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair, and today as a nominee for a Democrat seat as a Commissioner.

Unlike acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who returned to the Commission after a brief exit after a new nomination by former President Trump, Sohn’s stance on key issues such as Title II broadband reclassification — a.k.a. “Net Neutrality — make her a polarizing choice by the Biden Administration.

Now, according to unnamed sources who spoke with Bloomberg, Rosenworcel and Sohn are set to get separate nomination hearings in the U.S. Senate — a sign that a 2-2 deadlock at the Commission is on course.

The FCC — What Now?

 

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision allowing the FCC to adopt its media cross-ownership rule rewrite is months in the rearview mirror. Now, some are wondering if further deregulation for broadcast media is completely out of reach, given the Democratic leadership now at the Commission. Then, there is the contentious battle brewing in Congress over the fate of Gigi Sohn, the “Net Neutrality” advocate who Republicans will likely not support as a Democrat with the potential to undo many of the Pai Commission’s accomplishments. What’s to come in Washington matters to you, and Tuesday’s Forecast 2022 session focused on the FCC and Capitol Hill politics couldn’t be more timely. Moderator: Frank Montero, Co-Managing Partner, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth
Mark Fratrik, SVP/Chief Economist, BIA Advisory Services
Bob Mc Allan, CEO, Press Communication, LLC and PMCM TV, LLC
Justin Nielson, Senior Research Analyst/Broadcast Media, Kagan
Justin Sasso, President/CEO, Colorado Broadcasters Association
There’s still time for you to save a seat and join us at the Harvard Club in Midtown Manhattan for a Tuesday full of insight, information, observations and face-to-face conversation with key decision-makers and influencers in broadcast media.

JOIN US ON NOVEMBER 16 BY CLICKING HERE NOW.

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The Radio + Television Business Report is presently welcoming the broadcast technology community to communicate directly with key decision makers across the radio and television businesses.

With your support, we’re planning a superb pre-CES, pre-NATPE Miami and pre-NAB Show and Radio Show magazine with distribution on December 20.

With this in mind, it is a pleasure to connect with Jesse Foster to learn more about what lies ahead in 2022 for Multidyne in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jesse Foster, Multidyne” on Spreaker.

A promotional image shows an R&S radio communication tester.

Rohde & Schwarz announced that it has joined the Car Connectivity Consortium, or CCC.

This isn’t a story about radio broadcasting but it gives some insight into the evolving tech environment in cars.

The CCC seeks to “foster industrywide standards for communications between vehicles and smartphones.” Rohde is joining because of its interest in providing testing products and services to the automotive industry.

“In particular, the company will provide its solutions for the development and production of UWB devices and modules for automotive applications such as keyless vehicle access,” it stated.

The CCC recently launched a specification that enables compatible mobile devices to perform passive keyless access and start the engine via UWB in combination with Bluetooth Low Energy technology.

“UWB is a radio-based communications technology for short-range, high-speed spatial and directional transmission of data,” R&S noted. “It is likely to feature on a wide range of computer devices and IoT peripherals in the future.”

Rohde expects UWB will be used for many automotive applications such as remote access and gesture recognition. “For instance, the car can be parked or its trunk opened autonomously. Furthermore, with the UWB enabled Digital Key connection standardized by the CCC, access credentials to a rental vehicle can be shared or temporary access to in-car parcel delivery services can be granted via a mobile phone.”

 

The post Rohde & Schwarz Joins Car Connectivity Consortium appeared first on Radio World.

The filing window for applications for new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits has closed.

As such, the Media Bureau has placed a temporary freeze on the filing of any amendments to NCE FM new station applications submitted in the November 2021 filing window.

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