Industry News

The Federal Communications Commission now has officially proposed a number of rule changes “to improve the way the public receives emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions and radios.”

We reported earlier that the move was coming. The commission now has adopted both a notice of proposed rulemaking and a notice of inquiry.

The NOI is what is likely to grab the most attention among the general public; the FCC will explore the technical feasibility of delivering Emergency Alert System alerts through the internet, including streaming services, and whether it is feasible for EAS participants to use the internet to offer advanced alerting capabilities to the public.

That would be a major change in the nation’s alerting infrastructure.

More immediately, though, the NPRM asks for comments on several more immediate changes that the FCC wants to make.

The proposal would create a new mandatory alert class called “National Alerts” by combining the “Presidential Alerts” category, which is non-optional on devices that receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, with alerts from the FEMA administrator. In other words, mobile devices would not be allowed to opt out of WEA alerts from FEMA.

It would encourage the states to review their State Emergency Communications Committees and require SECCs to meet at least annually; among other things, EAS plans would no longer be publicly visible on the FCC website for security reasons.

If the changes are adopted, the FCC also would provide a checklist of information to be included in annual submissions of state Emergency Alert System plans and amend the process for commission review of those plans.

Government agencies would be allowed to report false emergency alerts to the FCC’s 24/7 Operations Center. And the proposal would require that EAS participants can repeat certain alerts over television and radio when the government alert originator requests it.

“The nation’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts help keep the public safe and informed and are of ever-increasing importance given the emergencies and disasters Americans have faced in recent years,” the commission noted in an announcement Wednesday.

“In 2018, however, a false emergency alert in Hawaii mistakenly warned of an incoming ballistic missile and highlighted the need to improve these systems. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 subsequently charged the commission with adopting rules to strengthen emergency alerting in various areas.”

The commission also asked for input on questions like whether it should adopt a National Security Event code.

We will report when the FCC comments system is opened for filings.

The post FCC Will Explore EAS on the Internet appeared first on Radio World.

A data driven, direct response agency with headquarters in Sheldon, Conn., and offices in Chicago has signed a multi-year agreement to become a new client of Nielsen’s National and Local TV measurement services in all markets.

Barrington Media Group signed the deal on Tuesday. It offers advertising services to clients in the insurance, healthcare, consumer products, and business services verticals.

David Hohman, Managing Director of Nielsen Media Demand Side at Nielsen, commented, “We are confident Nielsen’s measurement and planning capabilities will help support Barrington Media Group’s business objectives, furthering the company’s goals as a data and analytics agency that takes pride in campaign-driving insights.”

Not so long ago, Mike O’Rielly found himself the victim of a White House plan to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. A strict constitutionalist, the Republican FCC Commissioner found himself at odds with the Trump Administration’s desire to apply an eraser to a rule that states “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

O’Rielly’s nomination for another term as a Commissioner was rescinded. Enter Nathan Simington, who reportedly played a role in the White House plan to redo Section 230.

With Simington at the Commission, and Chairman Ajit Pai signaling a Section 230 rule review would commence, all eyes were on the Republican leadership at the FCC on when, not if, it would act at Trump’s behest.

Then came the November 2020 presidential election. Trump today is in Palm Beach, Fla. Pai has yielded the FCC’s Chairman role to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. With little chance of Section 230 reform coming under Rosenworcel’s watch, Congress has opted to act in what is being called a “bipartisan” show of support.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A longtime Washington, D.C. media executive known to many as “Andy O.,” has died at the age of 92.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!

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Reader Bob Meister wrote to Radio World with the following question:

In the Feb. 3 issue, a sidebar to the Vertical Bridge story, “Night Vision Issue Comes to Light,” concerned red LED obstruction lights and the need for IR emissions to allow night-vision visibility.

I have to wonder how the average tower owner — broadcast station or Vertical Bridge — is going to detect whether the IR emitter is actually operating.

With incandescent or visible LED lights, one can look up at the tower lights and determine they’re working, but not so with IR emitters, which put out light energy outside our visible range. You’d need the same night-vision goggles or some sensor to “see” the IR emission.

Most stations have some kind of automated system to detect tower light outages, but there could still be some smaller facilities that have a human do that inspection half an hour after local sunset. It’s hard enough to ensure such an inspection actually gets done every day; how are you going to get him/her to wear NVG to “see” the IR?

Tower light systems usually monitor the current being sent to each beacon and obstruction light, and sensors are adjusted to detect the average current expected on functioning illuminators. Since LEDs draw so little power, and IR emitters would only contribute a small fraction of the total power for each light, I’m not sure how one would actually monitor this IR activity at each point on a tower.

Like a lot of rules and regulations, it’s great for the FAA to require IR emissions on tower lights but nearly impossible to detect outages that would require FAA notification and a subsequent NOTAM.

Radio World submitted Bob Meister’s query to Richard Hickey, director, regulatory compliance at Vertical Bridge. Hickey replied:

Interesting questions with answers that may not be easily integrated by all tower owners.

First, FAA red lighting consists of L-864 medium intensity beacons and L-810 low intensity (“marker lights”). Red LED is the only technology without an IR signature.

The major manufacturers of red LED lighting started incorporating IR devices into their products soon after seeing the first safety bulletins from the CAF and FAA, including making the lighting controllers capable of sensing the additional current in the IR device circuit when combined with the LED string or quadrant. Vertical Bridge stipulated the requirement for IR signature in red LED lighting from all supply sources as soon as it was made available.

As Bernard Borghei of Vertical Bridge stated, the best way to determine if your red LED lighting system is NVG-friendly is to contact the manufacturer with the serial number, invoice number or even the product manual that came with the lighting.

Vertical Bridge has every lighting system in our total portfolio monitored through one of two NOC facilities, both manned 24/7/365, and both have been evaluated and approved by the FCC for QLI Waiver status.

In this scenario, the IR devices are monitored (current detection) and NOTAMs opened upon failure within the FAA guidelines. If a red LED in any position on a tower fails and we cannot verify the presence of IR in the other tower lights, we replace the failed lighting at that level and top lighting along with the lighting controller, if necessary, to ensure a compliant system within the current FAA/FCC guidelines.

Mr. Meister touches on a scenario commonly found at many tower sites, particularly broadcast, where site engineers are routinely checking on the tower(s) daily and many actually work at the site.

Visual monitoring is still accepted by the FAA and FCC (see FAA AC 70/7460-1M Chapter 4.4.7). The owner of a tower can have someone physically look at the lighting system once every 24 hours in each operational mode and log the results, maintaining a log covering the last two years, and opening any required NOTAMs immediately if the duration of the failure is (or potentially was) 30 minutes. Visual monitoring of IR devices may be possible using night vision goggles, binoculars or a night vision camera, but one would need to access all sides of the tower in order to see if all the lighting IR nodes were functioning properly.

A replacement controller with the proper monitoring abilities may be less expensive and would almost certainly facilitate the monitoring process.

This statement, also from AC 70/7460-1M, would seemingly apply to IR devices as well: “In the event a structure is not readily accessible for visual observation, a properly maintained automatic monitor should be used. This monitor should be designed to register the malfunction of any light on the obstruction regardless of its position or color. When using remote monitoring devices, the system’s communication and operational status should be confirmed at least once every 24 hours.”

The post How Do I Know the IR Emitter Is Working? appeared first on Radio World.

When the researchers at Edison Research and Triton Digital examined online audio for the 2021 edition of The Infinite Dial, the results suggested plateaus and areas of growth. For the record, the survey classifies AM/FM and internet only media as online audio.

The stats for monthly audio listening are one of the plateaus. In 2018, the numbers suggested 67% of Americans were tuned in. It increased one percentage point to 68% in 2019, and stayed there for the 2020 estimated figure, for a total of about 193 million listeners.

[Read: Data Says AM/FM Radio Still Leads in Automotive Environment]

When the monthly numbers are broken down by demographics, they suggest a plateau for the 12–34 group, a decrease from 76 to 72% over the past year for those 35–54, and a surprising increase from 42 to 46% for those 55+.

Weekly online audio listening numbers suggest fairly steady growth since tracking began in 2000. They plateaued in 2018 and 2019 at 60%, and grew just two percentage points to an estimated 62% for 2020.

Figures for average time spent listening to online audio, according to Edison Research and Triton, have had some ups and downs since data collection began in 2008. The Infinite Dial reports 16 hours, 43 minutes for 2018, dropping to 15 hours, 12 minutes for 2019, and partially rebounding to 16 hours, 14 minutes for 2021.

When it comes to online audio brand awareness, the survey suggests that Pandora continues to lead the pack with 83%, followed by Spotify with 76%, and iHeartMedia with 72%. Awareness does not always track with what respondents listened to however. When asked what online audio brands they listened to in the last month, they named Spotify, Pandora and Google Play (now known as YouTube Music) as the top three. That same ranking held for weekly listening to audio bands as well as audio brands used most often.

Listening to online audio has traditionally been a solo activity, with earbuds plugged into a smartphone or other device as the preferred method. With the coming of smart speakers, there is the opportunity to experience online media with others. But how many actually do this? Under the heading of Frequency of Listening to Audio With Other People, the data suggests an almost 50–50 split. 24% of respondents say they do so frequently, while 21% say sometimes. On the other side, 21% say never and 28% saying hardly ever.

The post Pandora, Spotify and iHeart Radio Lead in Brand Awareness appeared first on Radio World.

The U.S. broadcast station industry, in particular television companies, enjoyed record 2020 political revenue.

Now that those dollars are in the past, broadcast media has what Kagan analyst Justin Nielson calls “a transitional year” ahead.

This means investors and C-Suite leaders should keep those seatbelts fastened, and keep expenses under control while cash reserves are in a tight and locked position.

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A college radio station has been honored with a cluster of broadcast awards including Best Overall College Radio Station of the year.

WHPC(FM), based at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y., won the Best Overall College Radio Station Award as well as six other honors from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS), an organization with a membership of more than 1,000 nonprofit, education-affiliated radio stations and webcasters. Founded in 1940, IBS helps establish and operate noncommercial radio and webcast operations. The Abraham & Borst Best Overall College Radio Award is named for George Abraham and David W. Borst, the founders of IBS.

In all, WHPC 90.3 won seven national honors including the Best Morning Show for “The Nassau Morning Madhouse,” Best Station ID, Best Underwriting Announcement, Best Use of Social Media and Best College Radio Station Advisor.

“I could not be prouder of the work being done by the volunteers and staff here at WHPC, especially over the last year,” said Shawn Novatt, WHPC station director. “Even with the pandemic forcing all of us to broadcast remotely, we continued to thrive and provide our audience with the information and entertainment they expect from us.”

Nassau Community College’s radio station is home to approximately 120 volunteers, most of whom are NCC students. Its programming includes sports, entertainment and informational shows, including a variety of music shows. The station can be heard streaming on TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Streema, as well as on Amazon Alexa Google Home devices.

“WHPC has once again proven their excellence in broadcasting a diverse and entertaining variety of programs that serve the listeners in the community,” said Dr. Janet Caruso, associate vice president of Workforce Development, Lifelong Learning and Weekend College at Nassau Community College. “In addition to being an excellent source of entertainment, the knowledge and learning experience the radio station bestows among our students interested in the field provides them with a solid foundation for their future in the broadcasting industry.”

More information can be found at www.mediaconferences.org.

The post WHPC Honored as Best College Radio Station appeared first on Radio World.

In this issue, Buyer’s Guide looks at transmitters.

Find out why users of Nautel, GatesAir, Ecreso and Rohde & Schwarz chose the models they did; and read about recent introductions from Bext and Broadcast Electronics.

Also, the FM geo-targeting proposal from GBS hits some industry headwinds, with the NAB and several large groups expressing strong opposition to the FM booster system.

And health officials find that low-power radio systems can be a big help as they manage large-scale vaccination clinics.

Read it here.

The post Inside the March 17, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

SANTIAGO, Chile — El Conquistador FM, one of the most important radio groups in Chile, began with one station in Santiago more than five decades ago and today is nationally established with 50 stations in the country.

Alejandro Noemi Hauck, a well-known radio engineer at El Conquistador FM, operates three Ecreso FM 1000W transmitters, broadcasting in three cities, each deployed with SmartFM technology and a five-band audio processor.

While staying on air with the highest quality audio is vital, as for all broadcasters, Hauck also said cost savings and limiting energy consumption are increasingly important.

Multiple factors play into this such as system efficiency, reliability and cost of maintenance. Hauck said their legacy transmitters were not optimal in terms of total cost of ownership, so he looked for a solution that would better fit their needs while lowering operating costs and improving the quality of the signal.

Hauck said he had good experience over four years with the Ecreso FM 1000W, for its efficiency and reliability, so he jumped on the opportunity to use the newly released SmartFM technology.

Manufacturer WorldCast Systems says SmartFM is a sophisticated innovation for FM radio that enables broadcasters to reduce energy costs by up to 40%. The software, in Hauck’s words, “is incredible to see operate automatically according to the program content.”

After testing on-air programs at the edge of the coverage zone, he said he was surprised by the results and that SmartFM does not affect the listening experience. For El Conquistador, this represents a step forward for radio at a time when energy is expensive and businesses need to limit their consumption.

“SmartFM is a breakthrough innovation every FM broadcaster should deploy,” he told the manufacturer, saying that the improvement, activated through a software upgrade, is significant.

In line with its objective to deliver great sound, the broadcaster also uses the built-in five-band sound processor. According to Hauck, he replaced processors he was using from a familiar brand with WorldCast Systems’ solution. No additional hardware is required, and the result is amazing sound that can be personalized for a station.

In addition to reliability and great audio, Hauck said, the group saw power consumption drop noticeably. While Ecreso FM 1000W provided efficiency of up to 72%, with SmartFM they reaped the benefits of even higher efficiency and savings.

“I would recommend Ecreso for the audio quality, the very good transmitter performance and especially SmartFM, which is an impressive innovation,” Hauck said.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

Contact Tony Peterle at WorldCast Systems in Florida at 1-305-249-3110 or for international queries contact Christophe Poulain at WorldCast Systems in France at +33-5-57-92-89-28 or visit www.worldcastsystems.com.

The post User Report: El Conquistador Deploys SmartFM appeared first on Radio World.