Radio+Television Business Report

The controversy over “net neutrality” advocate Gigi Sohn’s nomination to the FCC is the talk of Washington — and will be a key topic of discussion tomorrow at Forecast 2022.

As American Enterprise Institute (AEI) nonresident senior fellow Daniel Lyons sees it, these nomination battles could be less frequent — and less important — if the focus of legislative decision-making was shifted from agencies like the FCC back to Congress.

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Attention, broadcast TV station owners and managers: Streaming growth has stalled, and the fight for streamers is now to retain subscribers.

That’s the big takeaway from research released late last week by Kantar, which says this fight for retention will be heightened between now and the end of the year. Can broadcasters perhaps benefit from this, in particular with their digital multicast and/or OTT offerings?

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A Class B1 religious FM serving Williamsport, Pa., is being spun.

The buyer is another broadcast ministry presently serving audiences along New York’s Southern Tier, and to the west in the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. As such, this deal is a natural growth opportunity for the soon-to-be new owner.

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In another sign that the local cable TV provider is far from that in 2021, an ACA Connects member serving a Kentucky town of some 3,600 residents to the north of Knoxville, Tenn., has decided to cease offering cable television services to new customers.

For existing customers, they won’t be left without alternatives — thanks to a partnership with DISH Network.

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DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — The 2022 New York Festivals® Radio Awards competition is now open for entries.

New York Festivals Radio Awards honors storytellers from around the globe. Since 1957 NYF has celebrated excellence and innovation across all genres and platforms, keeping pace with industry-wide developments and global trends.

“When we added nine categories for social justice content last year, radio producers and the global audio storytelling community responded with thought-provoking work,” said Rose Anderson, VP/Executive Director at New York Festivals Radio Awards. “This year, we are thrilled to announce the debut of our new trophy, the iconic NYF Tower in hand-polished Gold, Silver, and Bronze.”

2021 Social Justice medal winners included “Birds Eye View” (StoryProjects), “Racism Within” (SBS Australia), “Say Their Name” (DCP Entertainment), and “Bioneers Radio Series” (Bioneers).

To view the complete roster of 2022 Radio Awards categories, visit HERE.

2021 NYF Radio Grand Awards were I’m Not A Monster from BBC Panorama & FRONTLINE (BBC), The Hobbit, By J.R.R. Tolkien, Read by Andy Serkis (HarperCollins Publishers) and Weightless (DMC Studio Argentina). To view all the 2021 Radio Awards winners, visit HERE.

Molly Solomon, Executive Producer & President of NBC Olympics Production and Executive Producer for the Golf Channel received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The BBC earned the Broadcaster of the Year Award and TBI Media UK earned the title of Production Company of the Year.

Although the 2021 in-person NAB Show was cancelled due to pandemic quarantine restrictions, NYF pivoted with a 90-minute virtual ceremony Storytellers Gala featuring highlights and acceptances from 100 winning teams of men and women coming from their homes in 40+ countries.

The 2022 Storytellers Gala will take place at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas on April 26, 2022. This is the twelfth year of NYF’s strategic partnership with NAB Show. All NYF Radio Award winners have access to the multi-day event which is the world’s largest global gathering for the media and entertainment industry.

For the second year in a row, New York Festivals welcomes JusticeAid, an organization that promotes justice through the arts and public engagement, as a partner.

The NYF Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community. To view the 2021 winner’s Gallery, visit: HERE.

New York Festivals invites award-winning industry leaders from around the world to become members of their world-class Radio Awards Grand Jury. The 2022 Grand jury will be set in the coming months. Those jurors will include some of the most world’s recognizable voices and captivating content producers in the radio industry. Entries are judged on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of the medium.

All Entries in the 2022 competition will be judged online by NYF’s Radio Awards Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Award-winning entries will be showcased on the Radio Awards winners gallery.

The deadline to enter the 2022 Radio Awards competition is February 9, 2022.

As RBR+TVBR first reported on Wednesday (11/10), Meredith Corporation‘s Board of Directors signed off on a stock distribution move that effectively signals the coming closing of its merger with Gray Television and the immediate spin-off of Meredith’s National Media arm to the Barry Diller-fronted IAC.

The move put the wheels in motion on what would be the deal’s closing date — assuming regulatory approval would come.

That assumption has proved to be correct.

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A Class B AM serving the Gateway City as a Sports Talker since April 1993 is changing hands.

The transaction has been in the works for months, and led to the August resignation of John Hadley as General Manager over “poor communication” between him and the incoming owner.

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A hybrid return to normalcy offers a brighter outlook for film and broadcast station advertising, while posing challenges to momentum for subscription streaming, broadband and global pay TV amid persistent semiconductor supply constraints.

That’s according to the just-released 2022 Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) Outlook from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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In January 2020, the owner of a Class A FM in rural Kentucky offering listeners an Americana format passed away.

Now, the license of the station is formally being passed on to the deceased owner’s wife.

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TORONTO — One year ago, the owner of U.S.-based MVPDs Atlantic Broadband and some 23 radio stations across Quebec and Ontario escaped a hostile takeover bid that saw Rogers Media team with Altice USA for a $8.4 billion CDN offer that expired without execution.

Today, Cogeco remains a major media force in the markets where it owns stations, including Montréal. And, thanks to the ongoing recovering from a difficult pandemic, the company’s revenue grew by nearly 5% in its fiscal Q4. The problem? Adjusted EBITDA declined by 2.1% as Free Cash Flow tumbled by 34%.

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As 2021 comes to a close, the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) has taken a look back at TV advertising trends for the first half of the year.

What stands out from the VAB’s research is the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the TV advertising landscape.

How has revenue recovered from the onset of a pandemic that saw generally steep declines and where some categories continue to experience slower than hoped for rebounds? A panel of experts will come together Tuesday, November 16 at Forecast 2022 for a provocative discussion about who is going to “show us the money” in the year to come. Moderator: Jack Myers, Media Ecologist/Chairman, MediaVillage
Leah Casterlin, Founding Partner, Media Fortitude Partners
Mark Gray, CEO, Katz Media Group
Steve Lanzano, President/CEO, TVB
Jen Soch, Executive Director/Specialty Channels, GroupM The session is just one of several across Tuesday that you simply need to see for yourself. Secure your seat in Midtown Manhattan for Forecast 2022 by clicking here!

 

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A new report detailing Americans’ growing investments — time and money — in watching television has been released.

What’s the main conclusion? U.S. consumers are spending more money on TV subscriptions and the devices to optimize the viewing experience, and the chances of cancelling a pay TV service remain high.

But, are the findings biased based on the entity that conducted the research?

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The movers and shakers
The visionaries and prognosticators
The issues and opportunities
The ambiance

For 19 years, the Harvard Club has been the site of Forecast, the exclusive financial conference that brings together owners, CFOs, group executives, private equity, and Wall Street investors, as well as industry analysts, to discuss conditions and predictions for the coming year in broadcasting.

This is a distinct — some would say, elite — crowd. These are top-level decisionmakers. These are the people who will chart the course, write the checks, and set the criteria for broadcasting both as a business and as an investment in the coming year.

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE COMPANIES ATTENDING FORECAST THIS YEAR!

This is Forecast. This Tuesday, November 16, at the Harvard Club in New York City.

Do it for your business. Do it for yourself. And let’s not forget the fabulous luncheon and elegant Broadcast Leadership Reception. Classy perks we know you’ll enjoy.

Forecast – it walks the talk. See you there!

President/Publisher, Radio Ink & Radio + Television Business Report

It’s the biggest night in Latin music in the U.S., and Univision Communications has lined up a wide array of advertisers — including several luxury brands — as sponsors for the event.

Look for activity from Bulova, Frontera Wines and Old Parr Whisky, among others, on November 18 when Univision televises the 22nd annual Latin Grammy Awards.

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Television and cross-platform measurement, analytics and attribution company 605 has expanded its collaboration with one of the automotive industry’s data analytics firms.

As such, 605 will further integrate Polk Automotive Audiences and Polk Signals, including anonymized vehicle sales, within the company’s TV measurement and attribution products 605 PLATF0RM and 605 IMP4CT.

The partnership expansion, 605 says, marks another move in its growing commitment to the future of TV advertising, which encompasses the entire lifecycle of planning, optimization, attribution, and eventually, prediction.

“The addition of Polk Automotive Solutions will enhance the planning capabilities of programmers, advertisers and agencies that leverage 605 PLATF0RM by planning and measuring effective TV campaigns against a variety of Polk Automotive Audiences including ‘competitive owners’ and ‘in-market auto intenders,’” the company says. “Clients will benefit from the integration of Polk Signals in the optimization and attribution stages by leveraging 605 IMP4CT and the ‘always on capability’ to track real-time purchase signals of TV and to tie campaign exposure to vehicle sales.”

605 is founded by CEO Kristin Dolan. 

The expanded collaboration builds upon the companies’ previous agreement, which was announced in September 2020.

Spotify Technology S.A. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a company described as a “global leader in digital audiobook distribution.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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The E.W. Scripps Co. has created a position of VP of Emerging Products. And, the person holding the role will be responsible for Local Media digital “thought leadership,” vision, strategy, development and execution of non-linear opportunities for Scripps’ 61 television stations in 41 markets.

Taking the job? The former product, programmatic and data leader for Cox Media Group.

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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.