Industry News

The author is executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

As you likely saw on a screen near you, a flurry of activity has been the calling card of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Appointments and executive orders were only the beginning. However, one cannot stress enough how radio must be a focus. Not only can radio be a player in the many initiatives the new administration is set to launch, but it also needs the president and vice president’s attention.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Off-Air]

Our relationship with audiences as Biden takes office that may prove to be most crucial to our place in Americans’ lives. As political divisiveness hits levels rarely seen in the nation, what can the new administration do to engage radio? A few things, really.

Ensure greater investment in rural, locally staffed, educational media. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is not likely to be on the chopping block like it was when former President Trump tried unsuccessfully several times to gut it. And though CPB does a great job, the new administration is seeing the decline of local news and culture sources that all Americans are witnessing. Biden’s team must put attention on how real radio in communities — radio that is not voicetracked from elsewhere and able to respond to rural needs and emergencies, radio whose service is rooted in education — survives amid the pandemic.

Help streamline filings. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, at points criticized for his deregulatory zeal, resigned Jan. 20, making way for Jessica Rosenworcel, to be named acting chair. It’s probable that Pai’s legacy of simplifying the multitude of filings we do will continue after his departure. While it is important not to decimate rules that protect the public and its interest in an inclusive broadcast space, the new administration can certainly support smoothing out the processes that can be onerous, especially for rural community broadcasters.

Put vaccine education dollars into radio. The new administration would be wise to learn on radio for efforts around coronavirus as well as vaccine education. Pres. Biden has made COVID-19 response a cornerstone of his first 100 days. Such a drive will require a massive education campaign placing radio at the center. Even as more polls find little trust in media, radio’s bond remains steady. Pew Research and other pollsters say Americans remain skeptical of the vaccine, and they’ll need to be persuaded through expert interviews and information radio stations can effectively deliver.

Ask radio to educate about extremism. With white supremacy a potent topic on the American agenda, the new administration may consider how radio can help Americans understand and address issues locally. We in media can also reflect on how we can better contribute to cohesion instead of handing the microphone to the worst among us. A new study slams TV news for amplifying the voices of hyperpartisans to shore up ratings, but not because they widely represent Republicans or Democrats. Give credit to executives at Cumulus Media, who warned its hosts to stop spreading conspiracy theories that have buoyed the latest tensions. However, the more the new president can do with radio in the form of public education, the better off the country will be.

The Biden administration should look at radio’s position of trust in communities. The new president’s vision can be strengthened by prioritizing our content service for this new chapter of U.S. history.

The post Community Broadcaster: How Biden Helps Radio appeared first on Radio World.

The author writes on radio from Stockholm.

In “DAB Advocates Celebrated Growth in 2020” and “Assembly Highlights Advances for WorldDAB,” WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon claimed that 2020 was a good year for DAB+. I am disputing that. Slanted or exaggerated information about DAB have circulated over the years. Unfortunately, such information has indiscriminately been accepted by publishers in Europe and the U.S. The journalistic mission should be to uncover fake news within the media industry.

Many might not realize that WorldDAB is an organization with the purpose to promote the “Digital Audio Broadcast” brand introduced 25 years ago in the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. Such a resourceful lobbying body will, of course, never tell us the full story complete with all the inconvenient facts regarding DAB. So, beyond the information barrage by DAB stakeholders, there are a lot of claims to question and investigate.

WorldDAB made some successful lobbying for an EU Communication Code requirement that car radio receivers in new passenger cars — not buses and trucks — must be able to receive “terrestrial digital radio. “But it is NOT a requirement “to receive DAB+.” This would be contrary to EU competition rules as there are also other system brands for terrestrial digital radio, e.g. the DRM system (established in India), HD Radio (used in the United States), Chinese CDR and the emerging global technology 5G Broadcast. In fact, the European Union has not recommended or defined DAB or any other system as standard for terrestrial digital radio. And probably never will.

Where are the DAB listeners, really? Introducing DAB in a country does not mean that listeners will abandon FM and broadband. Except for the U.K. WorldDAB has not presented any DAB listening figures. It is estimated that less than 1% of the world’s population today listens to DAB radio. In most countries “digital radio” is not DAB, it is radio on the internet.

After the fiasco in Norway the DAB stakeholders are smart enough to report only ”digital listening” which includes both DAB and on-line. Big attempts are made to hide the truth. But the Norwegian radio listener is not happy with the national transition from FM to DAB.

In neighboring Sweden DAB broadcasting still exists, but there are extremely few listeners. Why should they?

Since 1995 82 million DAB/DAB+ receivers have been sold in the world. This should be put into the perspective that there are more than 6 billion FM receivers and now more than 2.5 billion smartphones. The sale of standalone receivers is decreasing while the smartphone/connected car will be the only future radio listening platform to challenge FM radio.

The BBC, a pioneer of the development of DAB in the 1990s, now regards the internet as the most important platform for radio and television of the future. BBC is already successfully testing 5G Broadcast in Scotland.

Attempts to include DAB in smartphones have not been successful. A DAB receiver consumes more energy than a corresponding FM receiver. This is a decisive reason for the lack of a global consumer market for DAB. The prospects that DAB will become a major radio listening platform in the U.K. or elsewhere are slim. So why even go on trying?

There are no signs of DAB ever being accepted in the world’s 11 largest nations among them China, India, United States, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Japan, which together muster half the world’s total population.

Today most standalone receivers sold including in-car radio are capable for both FM and DAB. In Sweden a new car is a connected car. In a well-covered mobile broadband country this provides superior diversity and sound quality for radio online also in your car.

FM is still available as a robust emergency alert system (EAS) in most countries (except Norway). Finland has recently passed a national law requiring FM for all new cars.

Some countries will go for other digital systems for terrestrial radio such as DRM and HD Radio with better geographical coverage than DAB. These systems use current frequency bands for FM (VHF II) as well as shortwave and mediumwave (HF). Investing in short-range DAB transmitters will be too expensive outside metropolitan areas. This is already on the agenda in Australia, India, Brazil and Russia.

FM will probably be retained for decades in most of the world’s 220 countries and territories. Norway occupies a world-unique position as the only country where FM has been replaced by DAB for its national network (FM is retained for local radio). Switzerland might follow suit 2023. In Australia DAB is established in metropolitan areas, but AM and FM will be retained. Among the countries that have previously tested DAB and/or declined public investment at national level are Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Portugal, Spain, Latvia, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Ireland and New Zealand.

Some digital technologies are short-lived. Remember the CD, the DAT cassette. And watch out; Switzerland last year closed its terrestrial digital television network.

During the quarter-century that DAB existed, the chances of a market breakthrough were significantly greater in the 1990s than today. Then the internet did not exist as a major media platform and DAB could attract with improvements as more channels than FM. Today, the system cannot offer the radio listener any competitive added value when mobile and fixed broadband are already established everywhere. And with FM retained as a global standard.

DAB tried to kill FM, but from behind came internet and killed DAB. There is a lot to learn from this. I look forward to read in-depth reports also based objective sources.

The post Is There Any Good Year for DAB? appeared first on Radio World.

Normally this is the time of year when technologists at the National Association of Broadcasters are finalizing their agenda for engineering and IT presentations at the spring NAB Show.

Those efforts have been pushed back, with the convention now scheduled for October. But Radio World checked in with NAB Vice President, Advanced Engineering David Layer for an update on the organization’s technology initiatives at the beginning of 2021.

He has been vocal recently about the coming impact of hybrid radios — radios that combine over-the-air and internet connectivity — and the consequent need for FM and HD Radio stations to register with RadioDNS. He expanded on that theme during this interview.

Radio World: How will COVID-19 impact how NAB funds technology initiatives going forward?

David Layer: I expect that in the near term we will be focusing our funding on technology initiatives prioritized by our board as we adjust to the new financial realities created by the pandemic.

RW: What are the highlights of current NAB PILOT projects?

Layer:  On the radio side, PILOT continues to work with Xperi and Hubbard to do a variety of all-digital AM radio tests, using of course Hubbard station WWFD, 820 kHz, Frederick, Md.

RW: What kind of tests, specifically?

Layer:  Possible test areas highlighted by Xperi and Hubbard in their most recent experimental authority application, filed in June of 2020, include expanded testing of the use of an HD2 multicast audio service — creating a second audio service in addition to the main program services, including experimentation with different audio bitrate sizes used, and audio formats, including parametric stereo. Also, the addition of different data services alongside data services already deployed now; testing of emergency alerts services and new advanced alerting services; testing the performance of MA3 vs. analog in different all‐electric vehicles; testing changes to the MA3 waveform by reducing the power level of the unmodulated pilot carrier level; and conducting building penetration tests of the MA3 all digital system vs. analog, and the MA1 hybrid system.

PILOT and Xperi also launched in October a collaboration focusing on radio implementation using Android Automotive, a new operating system that several auto OEMs have plans to deploy. We are working with Xperi and an international array of broadcasters to help build an engaging radio experience, continue to evolve the user interface and expand the hardware abstraction layer — the code that links the software and hardware in dashboard receivers.

RW: Can you summarize current activities of work groups of the NAB Radio Technology Committee?

Layer: Two projects initiated by the NABRTC’s Next Gen Architecture working group are now in the testing phase and were discussed publicly for the first time during the 2020 Radio Show.

The first is the development of the Nielsen Audio Software Encoder, a software implementation of Nielsen’s Portable People Meter encoder that can now reside within an audio processor. Early tests of this new encoder were conducted by Nielsen using AM radio stations. Additional tests are planned on FM stations in the coming months.

The second project in conjunction with Xperi is focused on improving and simplifying the inclusion of Emergency Alert System messages into HD Radio multicast channels. Broadcast equipment manufacturer 2wCom is producing a “capture client” device and shipping in small quantities to broadcasters involved in this project for on-air testing as a last step towards full production.

RW: You mentioned NAB’s work on developments involving hybrid radio. How significant are the recent iHeart/Audi announcement and Radio.com/DTS Connected Radio partnership?

Layer: These recent announcements have been very exciting — 2020 will go down as the year when automotive hybrid radio arrived in the U.S. With consumers now purchasing vehicles with hybrid radios, it’s vitally important that FM and HD Radio broadcasters register with RadioDNS, the not-for-profit organization that develops standards used by hybrid radio manufacturers for accessing broadcaster content over the internet.

All FM and HD Radio broadcasters should do two things to ensure that their stations are taking advantage of the hybrid radio receivers in Audi and BMW vehicles: first, create a Service Information (SI) file, which contains the basic metadata information needed by the hybrid radio receiver and second, register their stations with RadioDNS.

RadioDNS does not charge any fees for this registration. Broadcasters can do these things themselves, or they can enlist the aid of service providers, some of which can assist broadcasters in these tasks free of charge. NAB and RadioDNS co-produced a tutorial back in July to help broadcasters do these things. It’s available for free on-demand right now.

RW: What do you think about the uptake or lack of it for all-digital AM, now that FCC allows that option?Are broadcasters poised to take advantage of it?

Layer:  One of the best things to happen in 2020 for radio broadcasters was the adoption by the FCC of the all-digital AM Report and Order, establishing the all-digital AM service in the U.S., which broadcasters elect to use voluntarily.

I expect the uptake to be slow at first and to accelerate over time as the number of consumers with HD Radio receivers increases, thereby increasing the number of potential listeners.

RW: The pandemic has pushed the adoption of “work from home” strategies by broadcasters. Do you expect that to continue?

Layer: Anecdotally that would seem to be the case. I think it’s widely acknowledged that the pandemic has accelerated acceptance of “work from home” by the broadcast — and other — industries. There is no reason to expect that broadcasters won’t continue to make use of remote working.

RW: Are there any other technology trends broadcast engineers at the station level should be tracking?

Layer: I’ll take this opportunity to once again urge FM and HD Radio broadcasters to register with RadioDNS and develop their service information (SI) file. Now is the time for radio broadcasters to support these modern radio receiver technologies — the automakers are watching. Radio broadcasters’ level of support right now will no doubt be a factor in the future development of car radios by automakers.

RW: Can you tell us about any new NAB educational opportunities for broadcast engineers?

Layer:  The NAB Leadership Foundation hosts a Technology Ambassador Program, and NAB updates educational opportunities at nab.org/education. We’re also excited to convene the industry in October at NAB Show, which will collocate with Radio Show and AES.

The post At NAB, a Focus on Hybrid and the Dash appeared first on Radio World.

The COVID pandemic may freeze some activities but the audio world hasn’t completely stopped.

One example is the Audio Engineering Society and its new president, Jonathan Wyner who started his term on Jan. 1.

[Read: 2021 AES Show Will Co-Locate With NAB]

Wyner is a familiar face to AES leadership having spent 30+ years in various roles including board of directors, board of governors and on numerous society committees.

As an audio professional, he has been a professional musician, audio engineer, author, technology developer and educator at Berklee College of Music.

“The AES is the most varied international assemblage of experts, thought leaders, researchers, manufacturers and practitioners of audio in the world,” said Wyner. “During our recent fall event we had attendees from 82 countries. Each of us has our individual interests and goals for our work, but a passion for audio ties us together. There are so many interesting and exciting developments taking place in the world of audio.”

Wyner takes over from previous president, Agnieszka Roginska.

The post AES’ Prez Wyner Starts Term appeared first on Radio World.

LOS ANGELES — Larry King, the famous radio and television talk show host who retired from CNN in fall 2010 yet continued to remain a Talk force across the next decade, has died at the age of 87.

He was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

CNN reported King’s death early Saturday (1/23) through his son, Chance. A statement on Facebook further confirmed his passing, from Ora Media, which Larry King co-founded.

A cause of death was not disclosed. However, CNN notes he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in early January 2021.

King hosted “Larry King Live” on CNN for more than a quarter century, and during that time interviewing presidential candidates, celebrities, athletes, movie stars and everyday people.

Before that, King became famous as a radio host, including many years in Miami.

“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster,” Ora Media said. “Additionally, while it was his name appearing in the shows’ titles, Larry always viewed his interview subjects as the true stars of his programs, and himself as merely an unbiased conduit between the guest and audience. Whether he was interviewing a U.S. president, foreign leader, celebrity, scandal-ridden personage, or an everyman, Larry like to ask short, direct, and uncomplicated questions. He believed concise questions usually provided the best answers, and he was not wrong in that belief.”

For Ora Media, King hosted “Larry King Now,” and “Politicking with Larry King.” The shows aired on Russia-backed RT America.

He was a survivor of cancer, a heart attack and a stroke. In addition to Chance, King is survived by his two other children, Larry Jr. and Cannon. In 2020 son Andy King, 65, suffered a heart attack and died. Weeks later, daughter Chaia King, 52, died after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Funeral arrangements and a memorial service will be announced later, in coordination with King’s family, who ask for their privacy at this time, Ora’s statement concluded.

A TRANSITION FROM CNN

At 76, King announced on “Larry King Live!” in late June 2010 that he would retire from the daily CNN program.

In making the announcement, he said:

Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. Twenty-five years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live. Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games. I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.

King also expressed pride in making the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. “With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders,” he said in 2010.

Days later in an interview with CBS, he was asked who his successor would be. “If it was up to me, I’d have Ryan Seacrest do it,” King told CBS News.

It was not up to him, and the job went to Piers Morgan. CNN made the announcement in September 2010.

In November 2013, after six decades, King returned to radio — the medium where he first became a star. On Veterans’ Day 2013, he launched 60-second vignettes through Cumulus Media stations also made available on the AARP website.

“Larry King Droppin’ In” was heard on such stations as WABC-AM in New York, KABC-AM in Los Angeles and WLS-AM in Chicago.

REMEMBERED BY CNN

CNN President Jeff Zucker, in a statement, saluted King, who he describes as “a scrappy young man from Brooklyn” who had a history-making career spanning radio and television.

His birth name: Lawrence Harvey Zeiger.

“His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him,” Zucker said. “We are so proud of the 25 years he spent with CNN, where his newsmaker interviews truly put the network on the international stage. From our CNN family to Larry’s, we send our thoughts and prayers, and a promise to carry on his curiosity for the world in our work.”

MAGIC CITY BEGINNINGS

King’s career in media began in earnest in 1957, when he took a job as a disc jockey at WAHR-AM in Miami, today WMBM-AM 1490 in Miami Beach. He lasted a year and then moved to WKAT-AM 1360 in Miami, a prominent talk station across the 1960s and 1970s that was also an early home of the late Neil Rogers.

In fact, Rogers’ regularly poked fun of King’s time in Miami, with a sound byte of King asking “Loan me $50” a regular part of Rogers’ show.

And, like Rogers, King would also work at News/Talk WIOD-AM 610, where he’d successfully fend off an arrest for grand larceny following accusations by ex-business partner Louis Wolfson.

On January 30, 1978, King’s radio career went nationwide, thanks to a syndication contract with Mutual Broadcasting System.

Editorial research by Dana Jacobson. Archival reporting by Carl Marcucci. Additional reporting from RBR+TVBR’s West Coast Bureau in Los Angeles.

GLOBE NEWSWIRE

HC2 Holdings Inc., the owner of low-power TV stations across the U.S. formerly led by Philip Falcone, confirmed Friday (1/22) that it is seeking to refinance all of its existing 11.500% senior secured notes due 2021 and a portion of existing 7.5% convertible senior notes due 2022.

As part of the proposed refinancing transactions, HC2 intends to, among other things, issue new senior secured notes and extend the maturity of a portion of its existing convertible notes by exchanging such existing convertible notes for new convertible notes.

The proceeds from the issuance of the new senior secured notes are expected to be used, together with other funds, to redeem in full HC2’s existing senior secured notes, repay the outstanding indebtedness under its revolving credit agreement, and pay related fees and expenses.

The proposed refinancing transactions are subject to market and other conditions, and the Company cannot make any assurances that it will complete any such transactions, in whole or in part, or as to the amount or timing of any such transactions.

The new senior secured notes and the new convertible notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, any state securities laws or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. The new senior secured notes are expected to be offered and sold only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act and to non-U.S. persons outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act, and the new convertible notes are expected to be issued in one or more private exchange transactions pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act.

DAYTON, OHIO — Two weeks ago, in the evening hours, FOX affiliates KAYU-28 in Spokane, WHBQ-13 in Memphis and KOKI-23 in Tulsa; ABC affiliate KLAX-31 in Alexandria; the CBS and NBC affiliates serving Eureka-Arcata, Calif.; and the ABC, FOX, NBC and CBS stations serving Greenwood and Greenville, Miss., were all blocked from Suddenlink subscribers.

The reason: the MVPD owned by Altice USA couldn’t reach a fresh retransmission fee agreement with Apollo Global Management-controlled Cox Media Group for stations once owned by Brian Brady‘s Northwest Broadcasting.

That “blackout” continues. Now, a big CMG station in its founding DMA has a carriage problem. And, it is with a tiny service provider.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) has confirmed that the Committee’s formal organizational meeting for the 117th Congress will take place, remotely, on Tuesday.

The session will get underway at 1pm as a virtual event, owning to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, the Energy and Commerce Committee will adopt the Committee Rules and its six standing subcommittees, as well as announce subcommittee chairs, ranking members, and members.

This meeting will take place remotely via Cisco Webex video conferencing. Members of the public may view the meeting via live webcast accessible on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website. Please note the webcast will not be available until the meeting begins.

Additional information for this meeting, including the live webcast, will be posted here as they become available.

By Bruce Roberts
Special to RBR+TVBR

When stay-at-home orders first went into effect across the globe, radio broadcasters found themselves facing a changed landscape. Many stations were concerned about the hit they would take with the rise in remote work and the loss of drive-time listenership.

Even with significantly fewer people commuting to and from work every day, a Nielsen survey conducted in Spring 2020 found that 83% of Americans were listening to as much or more radio than they were before the pandemic.

Radio audiences are growing, and they’re as engaged as ever, but they’re also listening in new ways. Audio streaming services like Spotify and Pandora had already sparked a shift toward digital streaming and on-demand, but as more individuals tune in using smart speakers or mobile devices rather than car radios, digital platforms are becoming increasingly popular with audiences and increasingly important for broadcasters.

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AMSTERDAM — Earforce is a recording studio that handles a range of tasks. We do mixing and post-production, and periodically record music for use in documentaries and other media.

In the past few years, however, podcasting has become a large part of our business. We produce the sound and make sure everything sounds beautiful, but we also help businesses and other podcasters develop content.

Our goal is to help our clients reach their audience, and also share the stories they want to tell.

As an audio engineer, my responsibilities have extended as we’ve gotten more into podcasting. I have always done a lot of recording and audio production, but these days I also produce podcasts and help write scripts, in addition to whatever else needs to be done.

Many of our podcasts involve interviews and other conversations that we need to record. When COVID hit in March, we had a whole string of podcasts that were cancelled because the country went into lockdown. Many of our podcasters were afraid to come to the studio, or their companies wouldn’t allow them to visit.

We obtained the Comrex Opal phone/IP audio interface because of the pandemic, and it has allowed us to continue producing content.

We use it to allow guests to call into a podcast from their laptops, and sometimes we’ll also record conversations over a connection between two Opal units. Additionally, we’ll use it to monitor voiceover recording for commercial and ad reads — it allows us and our customers to listen in high quality and give notes while our voiceover talent is recording.

Opal is about as easy as a solution like this could be to use. Basically, you just click on a link, then click “connect” and it works.

We still sometimes have difficulty getting interview guests to understand it, but we also have difficulty getting people to plug in their headphones. Nothing is truly foolproof. I have a routine where I remind people to check their connections and remind them to click the button, and even though some handholding is required, we can always eventually get it to work.

Opal helped us keep some of our podcasts recording, that would have otherwise been cancelled. We do a podcast with the pharmaceutical company Springer Healthcare called “The GP in Corona Times” (title translated from Dutch). We called general practitioners throughout the Netherlands using the Opal, and recorded their stories about COVID and their patients. The audio quality was significantly better than it would have been were we to use a phone or Zoom (or a similar streaming service). Our host was also connected to the studio from home with Opal. We couldn’t have produced it without that equipment.

I think Opal is definitely worth buying. The price point is low enough that it pays for itself. Good audio is so important — if you hear something in high quality, even if you don’t know anything about audio, it just feels better to listen to. Especially these days with everything going remotely, the Opal definitely comes in handy.

For information, contact Chris Crump at Comrex in Massachusetts at 1-978-784-1776 or visit www.comrex.com.

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

The post User Report: Earforce Keeps Interviews Rolling With Opal appeared first on Radio World.