Industry News

It begins with a low hissing sound, like air being let out of a thousand car tires. Within days, the noise is so loud that having a conversation outside is challenging.

Reality has exploded as millions of large black bugs — downright prehistoric, with orange wings and red, beady eyes — cover the trees, crunch under your feet, get caught in your clothing and stick to your hair.

While it may feel like yesterday, it has been 17 years since cicadas dominated the environment of millions of Americans. Since 2004, the Magicicada septendecim, cassini and septendecula species have been gorging on root sap and now they’re nearly ready to emerge from the dirt to munch on trees and gleefully mate.

Are you ready for some comic relief this spring? Aren’t we all?

Once soil hits 64 degrees, anywhere from mid-May to late June, our noisy neighbors of 2021 will emerge in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

For stations addicted to national collective contesting, this one-in-17 spectacle should encourage you to dream up unique local challenges that involve kids and families. During a time when one of the safest places we can be is outdoors, having fun with cicadas is a natural.

Here are a few idea starters:

Cicada Cuisine: Okay, so it’s not for everyone … but adventurous eaters know why cicadas have been called ”the shrimp of the land.” I was astonished at the number of cicada recipes available for soups, snacks, main dishes, desserts and even candy (like chocolate cicadas). Engage your listeners in the search for the best cicada recipe, along with gathering tips and cooking techniques. If your morning show is hungry and brave enough, perhaps the finalist creations could be sampled on-air and ranked for creativity, flavor, and yes, crunchiness!

Cicada Travel: Perhaps your area will be light on cicada numbers but close enough to a high-density region. If by late spring it’s okay to start encouraging travel, why not send a pair of listeners on a cicada scavenger hunt to an area where cicada cacophony rules. Sound levels can hit 100 decibels and have a nearly hypnotic effect. Your contest winners can record the sound for you and send video for your website. Maybe you have them go camping in a forest for the full effect.

Hunt and Gather: Cicadas shed their shells. These husks are brown and look terrifying, but, like the bugs, are totally harmless. Have kids gather and count the shells up to the number of your station frequency. Your junior entomologists take a pic or video of their collection and submit to win a cicada mask with your station logo.

Bug Me to Draw: It’s a perfect time to give away a VW Bug. Could be a new Bug or a classic Beetle. It might be easier to get a dealer to do it as a two-year lease. To enter, have listeners submit their best drawings or paintings of cicadas, put them on your Instagram feed, then do a random drawing from all the entries.

News stations, get your reports ready to roll so you’ve got plenty of stories to feed your cicada-swamped listeners.

Keep in mind that there will be people who initially freak out, so getting folks to understand that the creatures are harmless is a first step.

Sure, small trees and certain plants may need netting for protection. And folks will want to check the car and drive with closed windows since the crazy buzz of a cicada on a driver’s face or neck could cause an accident. But cicadas are really different and interesting and there’s a lot to talk about.

Could you find a local resident who has been around for four or more cicada events? Now that’s a story that a cicada sensationalist would surely enjoy.

The post Catch the Buzz With Listeners appeared first on Radio World.

A decision rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau helps clarify when a nonprofit broadcaster does (and does not) need to pay regulatory fees — even if that nonprofit’s translator is rebroadcasting commercial content.

Two North Carolina FM translators licensed by Radio Training Network (RTN) have license to rebroadcast programming of the digital WDCG(HD2) channel of WDCG(FM), which is licensed to Capstar TX. RTN filed a renewal application for the two translators in July 2019 but soon after saw an objection filed by Triangle Broadcasting, which said the translators were operating as commercial stations and that RTN had neglected to pay the associated regulatory fees.

Triangle said in its objection that the two translators are rebroadcasting the programming of a commercial station (the one licensed to Capstar, itself a commercial entity) and that broadcasting commercial programming is inconsistent with RTN’s charitable purpose. This is problematic, Triangle argued, because Capstar may exercise control over the translators and could have an ownership interest in RTN.

[Read: FCC Rejects Call to Let Two Licenses Expire Over Nonprofit Kerfuffle]

As a basis for its argument, Triangle pointed to the nonprofit entity Positive Alternative Radio (PAR), which pays regulatory fees for commercial translators.

This is not the first time Triangle has placed such an argument in front of the FCC. In one of its recent objections to the commission, Triangle claimed that two Georgia translators have been operating ostensibly as commercial stations because they rebroadcast commercial FM stations.

RTN countered Triangle’s objections by saying that it is a qualified, nonprofit, tax-exempt entity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code and is therefore exempt from paying regulatory fees on all of its licensed stations as laid out under FCC Rules.

According to RTN, the exemptions it receives are based on its status as a nonprofit entity. RTN said that as a nonprofit in the state of Georgia, it is fully recognized as a nonprofit entity and is permitted to generate business income as long as it primarily engages in activities that accomplish one or more tax-exempt purposes.

RTN added that its status as a nonprofit entity —  not the commercial nature of the programming it rebroadcasts — serves as the determining factor for assessing regulatory fees.

In its reply, Triangle argued that regardless of its nonprofit exemption, the FCC Rules also require broadcasters to adhere to another section of the rules, which provides that a noncommercial translator will only be used for the advancement of educational programming. The nonprofit exemption cannot be valid, Triangle argued, because RTN’s translator station is rebroadcasting noncommercial programming.

The Audio Division initially determined that even though RTN is a nonprofit entity, the translators are operating as commercial translators and thus RTN should be required to pay regulatory fees. RTN then paid those fees to avoid its application being dismissed but it said again that it should be exempt from paying regulatory fees on all of its licensed station, regardless of the nature of the translators’ programming.

RTN said that the programming and nature of the primary station are irrelevant in determining whether a translator is exempt from regulatory fees. The bureau erred here, RTN said, when it found that the nonprofit exemption applies only to nonprofit or noncommercial activity and argued that the nonprofit exemption applies to a licensed based solely on its status as a nonprofit.

The Media Bureau looked again at this case and in the end, agreed with RTN — the broadcaster is recognized as a nonprofit organization and is exempt from paying regulatory fees for the translators. RTN demonstrated that it meets the nonprofit requirements laid out by the commission, which is all that is required to obtain exemption from regulatory fees, the FCC said.

The commission said that operation of a commercial translator does not affect a broadcaster’s status as a nonprofit entity with either the IRS or the State of Georgia. The commission generally defers to the IRS on whether a licensee is complying with Internal Revenue Code.

The FCC also rejected Triangle’s argument that RTN should pay regulatory fees because another nonprofit, PAR, paid regulatory feels for translator stations rebroadcasting commercial programming. The FCC said PAR’s failure to claim nonprofit exemption is irrelevant in this case. Finally, the commission said that Triangle did not properly explain how Capstar, the commercial station, has any attributable interest in the aforementioned translator.

As a result, the Media Bureau rescinded the first Audio Division decision (in which RTN was charged regulatory fees) and it denied the objection filed by Triangle.

The post To Pay or Not to Pay appeared first on Radio World.

On the final day of the first quarter of 2021, Univision Communications offered an up-close look at the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2020 results.

It officially concludes the Vince Sadusky era of leadership at Univision, and a period in which Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Saban Capital Group lost a significant amount of money with their pricy investment in the media company just before the great economic downturn of the late 2000s.

The timing couldn’t be better for Univision. While Q4 revenue improved year-over-year, Univision swung to a net loss.

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Mark Tuesday, May 4 on your calendars.

That’s when the biggest broadcast TV station owner in the U.S. releases its first-quarter 2021 results.

Nexstar Media Group confirmed that date on Wednesday, setting 9am as the time when company leaders including founder Perry Sook will review the results.

The timing couldn’t be better for the company, as its stock began 2021 with a full recovery from the COVID-19 fueled dip it saw to end Q1 2020. In fact, Nexstar celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with NXST finishing at $160.37.

Nexstar shares have cooled off slightly since then and as of 11:30am Eastern on March 31 were at $139.60. Still, that’s within the record high range NXST soared to across Q1 ’21.

What’s in store for Nexstar?

“While we continue to operate in a dynamic environment, full year 2020 free cash flow was in line with our pre-pandemic expectations and 2021 is off to a solid start,” Sook said during Nexstar’s Q4 and full-year 2020 earnings call for Wall Street analysts and investors. “As a result, we are reinstating guidance and expect to generate pro-forma average annual free cash flow of approximately $1.27 billion over the 2021/2022 cycle which supports our view that Nexstar’s path to growth, expanded returns of capital and enhanced shareholder returns remains on plan.”

It signed on the air April 20, 1945. Most recently, it has served as the originating signal for an Alternative format using a presently silent FM translator at 100.5 MHz to serve Macon, Ga.

Now, this AM is being sold by Creek Media. And, that’s good news for fans of this format.

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Its licensee name is Prairie Winds Broadcasting, but in its home market of Aberdeen, S.D., the state’s third-largest city, it operates as Hub City Radio.

Here, it owns six full-power radio stations and two FM translators. Now, a third FM translator is being added to the mix.

The seller? An entity that’s poised to assume ownership of Ed Stolz‘s former FM properties.

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LOS ANGELES — In July 2019, RBR+TVBR first shared the news that the cornerstone of 95-year-old broadcast ministry Moody Bible Institute was for sale.

Now, this daytime-only AM that shares a signal with a 50kw Class A News/Talker in Cleveland has been sold. The buyer will retain, albeit adjust, the Spanish-language evangelical programming presently on the air.

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New products from Tieline, Inovonics, Summit Technology Group, Ecreso and WideOrbit are featured in our Marketplace coverage.

Also, a conversation with Arianne Walker, chief evangelist for Alexa Auto.

We learn how the “Tiny Desk” series at NPR is working remotely during the pandemic. Xperi lays out its plans for the DTS AutoStage hybrid radio platform.

And as in every issue, John Bisset and your fellow readers share helpful tech tips from in the trenches.

Read the March 31 issue.

The post Inside the March 31, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Glensound named Marc Wilson as its new managing director. Gavin Davis, son of founder Len Davis and the former MD, remains as chairman.

“Marc is committed to further expanding Glensound’s diverse range of products, which include commentary units, headphone and microphone amplifiers, intercom and network audio systems, while also raising the company’s profile in its core broadcast market and adjacent sectors,” the company stated in the announcement.

Wilson was Glensound’s marketing manager for eight years, departing in 2016 and returning in 2019 as a director.

“This move was with the view of Marc becoming MD in due course, which he did at the beginning of February this year,” the company said.

Founder Len Davis, a former BBC engineer, started the company in 1966. He passed away late last year. The company recently has expanded its offerings in audio over IP products, and says it also is moving into other markets that use networking such as e-sports, live sound and commercial installation.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Glensound Names New Managing Director appeared first on Radio World.

The DRM Consortium reported the conclusion of its demonstration and trial of the DRM digital radio standard for proposed use on India’s FM band.

“It was highly successful and generated a lot of interest,” the consortium said in an announcement.

Trials in New Delhi and Jaipur were done for Prasar Bharati (All India Radio). Digital radio advocacy organizations are competing to be chosen for the digitization of the FM band in India; DRM argues that it is the best common solution for all radio bands there, in part because DRM is already used in India on the AM band.

“In Delhi, the [FM] trial demonstrated excellent results when transmitting a single DRM signal, multiple pure digital DRM signals side-by-side from the same transmitter (‘Multi-DRM’ configuration), and also using DRM’s simulcast option by putting on air both an analog FM and a digital DRM signal from a single transmitter,” the organization said.

“The Multi-DRM option proves DRM’s highly economic potential when it comes to frequency and equipment upgrades: A single FM-band transmitter with a bandwidth of 600 kHz can transmit six independent DRM signals (blocks) carrying up to 24 DRM services, e.g. 18 audio and six multimedia services. These can represent up to six independent broadcasters who remain in full control over their individual content and signal configuration.”

In Jaipur, the consortium sought to demonstrate that multi-DRM configurations with four or five DRM blocks, each capable of carrying three audio services plus a multimedia service like Journaline, can use white spaces between two existing analog FM services, while not affecting their reception.

It said the demonstration showed that the DRM standard, used in the FM band, is backward compatible and that the receiver ecosystem for both AM and FM band services is ready for India’s mass market, “based on in-country know-how buildup and chipset design and production over the past years, which in turn is enabled by DRM being an open standard with all specifications published. Even DRM receiver models made in China today are based on Indian technology and DRM chipsets.”

It also sought to show DRM’s capability of being received on off-the-shelf Android phones using the Fraunhofer DRM MultimediaPlayer Radio App.

The organization has posted a summary of the project and comments on its outcome.

The post DRM Concludes FM Trial in India appeared first on Radio World.