Industry News

iHeartRadio introduced a voice-enabled “Request a Song” feature for Alexa.

Highlighting a partnership with Amazon, it says the feature lets listeners “communicate with their favorite DJs by requesting and dedicating songs live on the radio.”

On an Alexa-enabled device, the listener can speak to request and dedicate songs; Alexa will send the request to the station, where radio DJs can act on it.

[Read: For Radio, Audio Is the “New Now”]

The company says the feature is enabled by updates to Alexa’s voice AI. It says it is working on more interactive features including Q&As with DJs and show hosts, voice-driven polls and contests.

The feature was introduced first on stations in South Carolina, Arizona, Texas and Florida, with more planned.

The company posted a video with Chief Product Officer Chris Williams explaining the new skill, see it above. He calls the feature “a direct line to allow our audience to talk back, to share their thoughts and help influence what you hear on the radio.”

The post iHeart Adds “Request a Song” Feature in Alexa appeared first on Radio World.

For the first time, NBCUniversal will have an individual charged with leading a centralized data unit, and the development and implementation of the company’s enterprise-wide consumer identity and data strategy.

Taking the newly created role of Chief Data Officer is John Lee, and he will sit within the NBCU Global Advertising & Partnerships division. I

Lee reports to President and Chief Business Officer Krishan Bhatia.

Specifically, Lee and his team will develop NBCU’s first-party data strategy and create data-driven partnerships to support advertising, marketing, consumer experience and analytics use cases across NBCUniversal’s TV & streaming properties and the NBC News Group, as well as Universal Filmed Entertainment and Universal Parks & Resorts.

Working collaboratively across NBCUniversal as well as in partnership with Comcast and Sky, Lee will support teams within Advertising Sales, Marketing, Product, Operations & Technical Services, and more to prioritize the role of data in consumer experience and product development, monetization, and partnerships at the company, it said.

“Lee will combine his decades-long expertise driving customer experience, identity resolution, and data management with NBCUniversal’s commitment to creating a unified data platform focused on data interoperability, partnership, and privacy. Specifically, he will lead a team of data scientists, strategists, and developers who will enable and enhance monetization opportunities across NBCUniversal’s One Platform; develop an integrated audience graph; and bring the company’s market-leading identity capabilities, from the NBCU Audience Insights Hub to NBCU ID and more, to life.”

Lee added, “The next era of media and advertising will be defined by data and identity, and I am thrilled to join the team at NBCUniversal to build this future for our partners, the industry, and consumers. From theme parks to movie studios, digital and streaming to linear, NBCUniversal is poised to deliver a unified consumer identity vision that meets the needs and expectations of both consumers and marketers while maintaining the trusted relationships the company has built, creating new ways to generate revenue and scale investments with privacy in mind.”

Lee joins NBCU from Merkle, a Dentsu company, where he served as Global Chief Corporate Strategy Officer and led the development and execution of the company’s business vision, value proposition, and long-term planning.

AD-ID NOW STANDARD

Lee’s announcement came alongside news from NBCUniversal that Ad-ID is now its new standard for advertisers across One Platform, a partnership that the company boasts “brings a pristine viewing environment to consumers on every screen and offers marketers the highest-quality, most efficient and effective advertising solution.”

Local ad revenue in the United States is picking up and radio is participating in the trend, according to new data from BIA Advisory Services.

The research company said it has revised its 2021 forecasts for total U.S. local advertising revenues across media and business verticals to $142.4 billion, up $4.8 billion or 3.9% from its November estimates.

[Read: Brands that Cracked the Advertising Code in 2021]

“The projection is split between traditional and digital media but shows that the divide is narrowing, with traditional advertising only 8% ahead of digital mediums that include mobile, online, over-the-top, email and traditional media’s online ventures,” it stated.

The company quoted its SVP and Chief Economist Mark Fratrik saying, “There’s an acceleration in the market that couldn’t be accounted for last fall. The economy is growing and we’re observing money being spent to reach audiences through various media.”

For radio specifically, it said local advertising “will rebound somewhat to $11.7 billion in 2021 and $12.3 billion in 2022.” Of those numbers, digital platforms will contribute $940 million and $1.04 billion respectively.

OTT will grow 16% this year, “surpassing the trajectory of mobile as more consumers take advantage of various streaming services on their TV screens.”

Local TV advertising will decline to $16.2 billion in 2021 “but bounce up to $19.3 billion in 2022,” with $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion respectively coming from digital platforms.

“The revised forecast also sees a 5.6% increase in overall compound annual growth in U.S. spending in local ad markets and expects the amount to reach $157.1 billion in 2022 and $162.1 billion in 2023, while the digital media share will first leapfrog to 51% over traditional media by 2023,” BIA reported.

The post Local Radio Ad Revenue to “Rebound Somewhat” appeared first on Radio World.

Paging Soohyung Kim.

TEGNA‘s board of directors on Thursday (7/22) declared a second bumped-up dividend payable to shareholders on Oct. 1, so long as they are stockholders of record as of market close on September 3.

TEGNA’s leader notes the move comes in recognition of the company’s strength. Yet, its stock price has moved steadily downward since mid-April.

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This is one in a series of comments from the ebook “The Real World of AoIP.” We asked several manufacturers to identify the most important technical development or trend in the use of AoIP.

The use of AoIP simplifies workflows and can support future upgrades, says AEQ Sales Manager Gustavo Robles, who expects the trend will continue.

“Based on AEQ’s experience with more than 40 years in the market and one of the most  extensive catalogue of AoIP solutions, and in view of the projects we have done in the past year as well as the point of view of our clients, we believe that the next step in AoIP technology will be the integration and standardization of control protocols, equipment, signals and clocks, both in audio projects and in audio and video applications,” he said.

He noted the adoption of standards like SMPTE 2110 and SMPTE 2022, on which AEQ is working and offering in new products such as the Atrium console and audio router X_core.

“In many cases, broadcast companies have both radio and television facilities,” he continued. “Being able to use common — or at least compatible — AoIP solutions greatly simplifies workflows and improves the possibility of growth or upgrades to their studios in the future.”

The global health crisis of the past year and a half will have a permanent impact. “It’s important to note that the migration of standard radio clients to VoIP has been very significant … coinciding with the terrible COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“End users have finally seen the great potential of AES67 technology, helping greatly in the ‘work at home mode’ mandatory at most program production centers in the world.

“New work habits that IP technology has made possible have come to stay and will establish themselves as a new industry standard.”

Read more opinions about trends in AoIP.

The post AoIP Supports New Work Habits appeared first on Radio World.

BIA Advisory Services has revised upward its 2021 forecasts for U.S. Local Advertising Revenues by 3.9% from its November 2020 estimates.

The projection is split between traditional and digital media. But, it shows that the divide is narrowing, BIA notes.

BIA now expects local ad revenue in 2021 of $142.4 billion, from $137.6 billion.

And, the new data show traditional advertising is just 8% ahead of digital media that include mobile, online, over-the-top, email, and traditional media’s online ventures.

“There’s an acceleration in the market that couldn’t be accounted for last fall,” said Dr. Mark Fratrik, BIA’s SVP and Chief Economists. “The economy is growing and we’re observing
money being spent to reach audiences through various media.”

Fratrik points to OTT as growing 16% this year, surpassing the trajectory of mobile as more
consumers take advantage of various streaming services on their TV screens.

Local television advertising this year will dip to $16.2 billion in 2021.

That’s possibly due to the record political ad dollars seen in 2020. Local TV ad dollars were bounce back next year, reaching $19.3 billion in 2022 — with $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion, respectfully, coming from digital platforms.

Local radio advertising will rebound somewhat, to $11.7 billion in 2021 and $12.3 billion in 2022.

The big takeaway: 2022 will see digital platforms for Radio inch past the $1 billion mark, reaching $1.04 billion.

The revised forecast also sees a 5.6% increase in overall compound annual growth in U.S.
spending in local ad markets and expects the amount to reach $157.1 billion in 2022 and $162.1 billion in 2023. The digital media share will first leapfrog to 51% over traditional media by 2023.

I’m the co-founder and a host of Vibez.Live in South Africa, an internet radio station that my fiancé Valerie Jacobs and I launched on April 1, 2019. We had many years of experience of commercial radio broadcasting in South Africa; but as internet penetration continues to grow across Africa we saw a new opportunity.

As a retro station, we broadcast music from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. But we don’t do that exclusively, and we have experimented a lot since we started. For example, recent months have seen us do something unique in South Africa by hosting a weekly “Trance Vibez” show in conjunction with Denon DJ SA and Midi Music.

Having used a variety of older equipment over the first 18 months of our existence, including an analog desk, we knew that we needed to upgrade to keep expanding and to benefit from enhanced capabilities.

We turned to Wild & Marr, Calrec’s partner in South Africa. We spoke with them in detail about Calrec’s AoIP-based Type R for Radio system. We were impressed and ordered and installed — with Wild & Marr’s expert guidance — a six-fader Type R with dual layer functionality, which gives us an extra six faders at the touch of a button.

We also added a Type R large soft panel with the feature sets preloaded for more control.

While the Type R core has enough I/O for our current needs, we also purchased a Type R analog I/O box that provides an additional 16 mic/line inputs and six GPIO interfaces. Being able to add more surfaces on the same core was cost-effective for us.

In terms of other equipment, we use two pairs of Shure SRH840 headphones, two Shure SM7B microphones and On-Stage’s versatile microphone boom arms.

[Read more Radio World articles about audio consoles and mixers]

Moving into the digital realm has been great. Microphone levels and music levels are now easily managed and compressed, which previously was virtually impossible. And then there’s the sound quality, with our listeners experiencing a far more crisp, clear and fuller sound. On our first broadcast with this technology, we were impressed with the positive comments from listeners about the improvement.

Although it may appear daunting at first, the Calrec Type R is probably one of the most user-friendly digital broadcast desks I’ve worked on. It has a simple layout, supersmooth faders and crystal-clear touchscreen display. The sleek, compact, no-fuss design fits perfectly into our studio environment, taking up less space while still doing the job that other much bigger desks do. For broadcasters where studio or desk space is limited, the Calrec Type R with its Ethernet connection does away with the old spaghetti junction of cables found in conventional studios. That’s also a major benefit regardless of size.

We are very happy with this solution; it takes us to the leading edge of radio broadcasting.

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

Info: In U.S., Chris Fichera at Calrec/Group One at 1-310-927-7788; international, Anthony Harrison at Calrec at +44-7832-487565; or visit www.calrec.com.

The post Calrec Has the Vibez in South Africa appeared first on Radio World.

Mike Erickson on how to pick a broadcast processor. John Bisset on preventive maintenance, counterfeit circuit breakers and acoustic wall treatments.

Ron Schacht on why his AM station’s FM translator might be a net minus. Also, Paul Shulins on the services being offered by his new company.

And product news from SurferNetwork, Tieline, PromoSuite and WideOrbit.

Read the issue.

The post Inside the July 21, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

State emergency communications committees pay attention.

The FCC’s the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has announced that July 5, 2022, is the one-year deadline for filing State EAS Plans via the ARS online filing system, and the deadline for compliance with both the State EAS Plan content rules (Section 11.21(a)(1)-(7)) and EAS designations (Section 11.18).

[Read: Emergency Alert Changes Pass FCC]

The agency adds, “The ARS is an online filing system adopted in 2018 to modernize State EAS Plan submissions, and provide uniformity across State EAS Plans, in terms of both format and terminology, while affording sufficient flexibility to accommodate each SECC’s unique needs.”

The post State EAS Plan Deadlines Announced appeared first on Radio World.

In a game-changer for broadcast radio in the digital space, iHeartMedia has unveiled an interactive feature from Amazon Alexa designed to allow listeners of an iHeart radio station’s audio stream to make song requests and dedications — bringing a new level of interactivity to what’s largely been “FM” for two generations.

Introducing voice-enabled air personality interactivity with Alexa.

It’s available as of today for Alexa users who listen to Country WCOS-FM 97.5 in Columbia, S.C.; and Top 40s KZZP-FM 104.7 in Phoenix, WXXL-FM in Orlando and KHKS-FM “Kiss FM” in Dallas. More stations will launch their capabilities soon, iHeartMedia says.

“Ever wish you could talk directly to your favorite radio DJs? Now you can!,” boasts the iHeart literature.

For a broadcast media company that pioneered voice-tracking and the importation of air talent across multiple markets, the very idea of communicating with a “live on the air DJ” is perhaps a chuckle-inducing notion.

That said, radio stations across all ownership groups over the last decade have rarely seen listeners phone in to request a song.

Thus, iHeartMedia deserves applause for using the smart speaker — the leading at-home device for audio content consumption — as a tool allowing listeners to better connect with the radio DJs and stations they hear on the company’s radio stations.

How does it work? “One can simply use their voice to seamlessly request songs and even dedicate them to family and friends,” iHeart explains. “Alexa will then send the request to the station, where radio DJs can queue them for on-air playback in front of millions of other listeners.”

Consider it the 2021 version of a once-normal activity seen for any popular music station, minus the telephone.

“We’re excited that for the first time our listeners will be able to talk to us directly through Alexa,” iHeartRadio Chief Product Officer Chris Williams said. “This is a direct line to allow our audience to talk back, to share their thoughts and help influence what you hear on the radio.”

Song requests and dedications “are just the beginning,” iHeart says, noting that iHeartRadio “is already experimenting with the latest Alexa updates to deliver even more interactive features in the future.” This includes Q&As with on-air personalities and show hosts, voice-driven polls, and contests.