Radio+Television Business Report

RBR+TVBR first learned August 19 that NEXTGEN TV was coming to Atlanta.

It is now known that that’s not the only new market now offering local viewers broadcast TV channels powered by the ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard.

Kansas City television stations KMBC-9 (ABC), KCTV-5 (CBS), KSHB-41 (NBC), WDAF-4 (FOX), KCPT (PBS), KCWE-29 (CW), KSMO-TV (MyNet) and KMCI-38 (“The Spot”) are all now available to Kansas City area viewers in the NEXTGEN TV format.

The E.W. Scripps Co. owns KMCI and KSHB, while Hearst is the owner of KCWE & KMBC; Nexstar owns WDAF; and Meredith Local Media is the owner of KSMO, pending the closing of the group’s sale to Gray Television.

Tuesday’s launch in Kansas City specifically involves KMCI-38 and KSMO-62, owned by the Meredith Corporation. These facilities, UHF digital channels 25 and 32, respectively, have converted to ATSC 3.0 transmissions.

This means that there are two ATSC 3.0 “lighthouse” stations in the market.

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the eight television stations.

— Adam R Jacobson, in Los Angeles

RBR+TVBR has learned that Comscore and the Media Rating Council are currently working to commence an audit of Comscore’s national and local TV measurement.

To confirm, the MRC has not officially started an audit. But, it has a statement on what’s to come.

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A Class A FM serving the city of Macomb, Ill., has a new owner.

The transaction is hardly a surprise, however, as the seller has been allowing the buyer to operate the facility, resulting in a change in the non-secular worship and praise programming heard on the station.

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Real-time engagement — digital experiences that are interactive, collaborative and shared through technology such as live video, live audio and extended reality (AR and VR) — is of increasing desire among U.S. consumers. People increasingly want RTE video or audio features in the apps they use. For example, buyers in a shopping app want to talk to sellers.

Can broadcast radio or TV benefit from this growing desire for “RTE,” something wholly different than Ireland’s government-funded radio and TV organization? An Agora survey may have some very interesting takeaways.

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MIAMI — Streamline Publishing’s annual event devoted to Hispanic audio opportunities for marketers, programmers and broadcast media ownership groups is moving forward with a hybrid format amid continued concerns over the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

The parent company of Radio Ink and the Radio + Television Business Report announced Tuesday (8/24) that the Hispanic Radio Conference will be presented this year in a manner that will allow those unable or not inclined to travel at this time to attend the event from the comfort of their home and/or office.

Commenting on the decision, RBR+TVBR Publisher Deborah Parenti said, “With so much on the table, we have decided to add a virtual component to this year’s event. All speakers and panelists are set to present from our stage at the InterContinental at Doral in front of a live audience, but with the addition of a virtual option that will allow those who may have reservations or restrictions on travel the opportunity to be part of the conference and participate in the conversation.”

Parenti continued, “This is an extremely important year for Hispanic radio and the conference agenda is set to tackle many of the issues facing it and the radio industry in general. Considering all of the pressing matters of the past year – from the pandemic and the subsequent economic issues that followed, to changes on Capital Hill, at the FCC, and pending legislation impacting broadcasters, the 12th Hispanic Radio Conference could not come at a more crucial time.”

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington will address attendees in a keynote address on the second day of the two-day conference. Other Washington notables confirmed as attendees is former House Member Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

In person and virtual registrations can be made here. If you are attending the conference live, be sure to register at the special hotel rate here.

LOS ANGELES — Buyers and sellers of linear television ad inventory now have a fully transparent solution enabling them to automate and expedite the activation of data-driven linear video inventory without changing existing workflows or technologies.

Be sure to follow RBR+TVBR on Twitter!

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No, Educational Media Foundation isn’t about to launch a Spanish-language Christian music station in Oklahoma’s second-largest market.

Rather, it is making a deal with David Ingles Ministries for a noncommercial band FM in Tulsa.

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Looking to upgrade those studio cameras to newer technology?

Who knew that a religious television outfit found on three MVPDs across the New York Tri-State area would provide a wholly different kind of inspiration than that it provides its viewers every day.

The Catholic Faith Network (CFN), a Long Island, N.Y.-based not-for-profit television organization that uses all forms of media to keep the Catholic community connected to their faith, is now future-proofed in the studio thanks to the addition of a trio of SK-HD1800 HDTV production cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai).

CFN is available on Optimum, Verizon FiOS and Charter Spectrum systems throughout the Five Boroughs of New York, and communities across Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, Orange, Putnam and Rockland Counties; Northern New Jersey, and in Fairfield County, Conn. Select cable and satellite systems nationwide also provide CFN to viewers. CFN’s programming includes live masses, talk shows, and topics ranging from faith and societal issues to health and cooking.

With Catholic Faith Network expanding, CFN senior executive producer Sean Kennedy explains, “With our productions expanding and our existing Z-HD5000 models still going strong but over eight years old, we decided to double our roster of cameras by adding the latest and greatest HD technology. We didn’t go up to 4K because we wouldn’t really be able to take advantage of the extra resolution. We broadcast in HD, but some of our carriers even still down-convert our signal to standard definition.”

Before working at CFN, Kennedy and studio and production coordinator Bryan Butler worked for a high school sports network. There, they used twelve Hitachi cameras on the HD trucks. “We compared Hitachi picture quality side-by-side to more expensive alternatives, and nobody could tell the difference,” Butler says. “Despite constantly beating up those cameras while producing sports six days a week with many different operators, they withstood everything we threw at them without any issues.”

CFN purchased their new SK-HD1800 cameras in March. Setting them up went seamlessly. “We built the three cameras ourselves within 45 minutes from opening the boxes – more than 20 of them, from camera heads to lenses and teleprompters – to fully built,” Butler says. “Local Hitachi staff helped us wire in our new CU-HD1200 CCUs in the control room and commission the cameras. We were all done within two hours and shooting just three hours later.”

The CFN team points to the SK-HD1800’s global shutter sensor as one of their favorite features of the new cameras, and particularly valuable in their LED-intensive environment. Some of CFN’s sets are heavily monitor based — with a nine-by-nine monitor wall, monitor strip, and large standalone monitor – and also use a mix of generations of LED lighting.

“I do a lot of the set design in terms of lighting, and I’m dealing with a lot of different types of LED fixtures from various manufacturers,” adds TJ Katsoulas, studio manager at CFN. “With earlier camera technologies we could get rolling shutter artifacts from LEDs, so I would manually dial in the shutter to avoid issues such as banding. However, making those adjustments would affect my lighting. Now with the SK-HD1800’s global shutter I don’t need to worry about that, and it’s tremendous how much it has helped me in making my compositions what I want them to be.”

Katsoulas also highlights the SK-HD1800’s enhanced skin tone adjustments and notes that the ability to dial in and preset multiple skin tones has been very helpful when dealing with multiple people on set. “Other standouts from our upgrade include the RU-1500JY remote control units with their amazing LCD touchscreens, and the VF-PBM-307 color viewfinders, which our camera operators love,” he adds.

— Reporting by Brian Galante. Editing by Adam R Jacobson

The final stretch of the FCC’s Broadcast Incentive Auction, or spectrum repack, is in progress.

This will relocate displaced low-power TV (LPTV), TV translator and FM stations to new frequencies no later than September 5. And, Dielectric is preparing for “brisk business” over the next week as broadcast antenna and RF systems needs potentially increase.

Dielectric has developed a new strategy for low-power repack customers, anchored by its  Powerlite Series and an automated, high-efficiency production process.

“We revamped our production floor and workflow to accelerate the antenna manufacturing and shipping process during the challenging high-power repack phases,” said Cory Edwards, Director of OEM, Distributor and Southeast Asia Sales at Dielectric. “We shipped a total of 1073 high-power repack systems over 12 phases, accounting for 80 percent of high-power repack market share.”

While these workflow changes remain in place, the commercial quoting process for low-power antenna systems take a different path. Edwards notes that a great deal of collaboration takes place on the front end between Dielectric, the transmitter OEM, and tower owner to ensure the most cost-effective system for the LPTV station.

To ensure expediency, Dielectric has recalibrated its precision automatic pole machine, first commissioned for the high-power repack initiative. The machine is equipped with a Bridgeport head with an automated flex drill. The system is driven by Dielectric’s CAD package, which includes the appropriate custom programming for each low-power antenna. This ensures that low-power antennas can now be built quicker than was previously possible.

“The poles range from 15 to 25 feet long for lower-power slot antennas, and fit into a series of saddles on the machine,” said Edwards. “The CAD software, which automatically uploads once the design work is completed, tells the flex drill precisely where every slot and hole on the antenna should be located. We can finish an 8-bay antenna for an LPTV customer in less than an hour, compared to what previously took nearly a full business day, and antenna tuning times have improved by 50 percent, which means quicker deployments..”

Dielectric produced and shipped nearly 60 Powerlite low-power TV antenna systems in the recent months using this machine and automated production workflow, Edwards said. That includes “analog sunset” LPTV customers that faced an early July deadline. The company currently has about another 60 Powerlite systems in production for low-power repack projects, and anticipates bidding on up to 500 additional projects in the coming months.

Edwards adds that the Powerlite Series, which serves broadcast requirements of 6kW or less, packages all required RF components into a singular system. This further simplifies challenging deployment timelines for low-power stations, which typically lack the budget to outsource installation services.

Powerlite systems ship with Dielectric antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and RF components. The company recently added a 5kW tunable filter to the Powerlite Series, which Edwards says has helped Dielectric efficiently match specific transmitter power levels that have become more common with LPTV repack projects.

— Brian Galante, with editing by Adam R Jacobson

Dielectric will demonstrate its Powerlite Series, including its new 5kW Powerlite filter, at its 2021 NAB Booth (C7215) from October 10-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Nexstar Media Group has appointed a VP/GM for its broadcast and digital operations in DMA No. 167. This puts him in control of the market’s ABC affiliate and the company’s operational agreements with Mission Broadcasting.

Thus, he’ll also be overseeing operations of the local FOX affiliate.

Taking the role is Stephen Eaton. He reports to Traci Wilkinson, Nexstar’s SVP/Regional Manager for its broadcasting division.

Eaton has been GSM of KTVQ-TV in Billings, Mont., the CBS affiliate, since February 2016. Now, he’ll be across town, overseeing KSVI-TV, the ABC affiliate, and Mission-owned FOX affiliate KMHT-TV.

Prior career stops include a role as a Senior Account Manager at KUSA-9 in Denver.

JW Player, the leading video software and data insights platform, today announced it has appointed a Chief Technology Officer. The strategic hire, the company says, ‘will accelerate JW Player’s product innovation to meet the needs of a rapidly growing Digital Video Economy.”

Gaining the role is David LaPalomento.

“David has proven himself to be a visionary leader in both developing and scaling innovative video delivery products,” said Dave Otten, CEO and co-founder of JW Player. “I have no doubt that his expertise will strengthen our position as a leading force for innovation in the digital video industry. With his leadership, we will scale our engineering teams and bring new products to market that further empower customers with independence and control in the Digital Video Economy. We could not be more excited to have him on our team.”

LaPalomento enjoyed a decade-long tenure at Brightcove, where he led the overhaul of the company’s legacy data center-based architecture, replacing it with a scalable, cloud-native architecture. “His experience will be invaluable as JW Player rises to meet the explosive growth in demand for digital video since the pandemic began,” his new employer says.

JW Player’s data from over 12,000 publishers and broadcasters shows that video consumption has risen by nearly 50% since 2020 and by 28.6% since January 2021. “The growing demand has made it an imperative for organizations of all stripes, including fitness, e-commerce, sports and e-learning businesses, to develop a robust video strategy to engage their audience on the screen of their choice: web, mobile or connected TV,” JW Player says.

JW Player uses an API-driven video platform.

Two AV companies have done something that may be of interest to the broadcast industry. Last week, they agreed to a strategic partnership to offer “the most complete and most collaborative versions” of the Crestron XiO Cloud product. This adds new levels of control, management and rapid installation features to Philips displays.

PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips pro TV products, is now among the world’s first manufacturers to gain Crestron XiO Cloud certification.

The company says this “unique and highly collaborative partnership opens up incredible opportunities for a multitude of industries.”

With Crestron technology now embedded and compatible across almost all Philips professional displays (including pro TV, digital signage and interactive), PPDS has become one of the world’s few display manufacturers to support all four of Crestron’s key technology integrations, including its Control, Remote Management, Video Distribution and Unified Communications solutions, the company says.

Built on the Microsoft Azure platform, Crestron XiO Cloud integrates seamlessly with a
wide range of Philips Windows and Android digital displays and pro TVs.

In 2020, PPDS became a Crestron Connected Gen 2 certified and trusted partner. The first examples of the relationship included the launch and availability of a range of new products, including Philips B-Line and C-Line interactive displays.

Customers can purchase the Crestron XiO Cloud service on a monthly basis, with pricing based on the number of rooms and service options required.

There’s a new VP/GM for the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned FOX affiliate serving the Omaha-Council Bluffs market.

He will also oversee the market’s The CW Network affiliate, which Sinclair operates via a provision of services agreement.

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From big brick and mortar retailers to auto insurance specialist and a big Procter & Gamble Co. brand, there’s lots of strong activity at spot television for the week ending August 22.

The variety in advertiser categories is a welcome sign, even as Auto was absent ahead of the next end-of-month sales push.

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report shows that there’s little movement from last week, with respect to fully paying advertisers and the amount of commercials aired for each of them for the week ending August 22.

As shown below, Progressive, Indeed, Babbel, GEICO and Bank of America — along with Grainger — are committing to their radio budgets.

For Progressive, that translates to nearly 54,000 spot plays for the week ending August 22.

For No. 10 Grainger, roughly 30,700 spots were detected for the week.

NBCUniversal is urging all measurement companies to offer alternative means of tracking viewing across multiple platforms.

The request is in an open letter signed by Kelly Abcarian, the former Nielsen veteran who recently became EVP of Measurement and Impact for NBCUniversal.

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Add Beasley Media Group to the list of major radio companies to require employees to get vaccinated. Employees have until November first to get fully vaccinated.

“As a company, we have a responsibility to ensure a safe working environment on behalf of our employees and their families,” said Caroline Beasley, Beasley’s CEO. “Accordingly, we will be requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated by November 1 — excepting those with religious or medical accommodations. This policy will apply to new and existing employees alike.”

Beasley follows Cumulus Media, Gray Television and Urban One as publicly traded broadcast media companies requiring “the jab” for employees.

BIN: The Black Information Network, launched by iHeartMedia in 2020, is planning to expand local new coverage in January 2022.

Right now the iHeartMedia national audio news network, presenting news with a Black voice and perspective is heard in 32 affiliate markets.

The expansion plans have resulted in the promotion of three staff members.

Tanita Myers, previously Director of News Operations, is now Vice President of News Operations; Chris Thompson, previously Director of Network Operations, is now Vice President of Network Operations; and Lauren Crawford, previously Associate Editor, is now Senior Director of Digital and Social Strategy.

“We are incredibly proud of the growth and success of BIN during our first year,” said Tony Coles, President of BIN. “We are thrilled to continue our leadership in providing the most trusted news source for the Black community, offering even more local news coverage to the communities we serve. BIN’s success has been, in no small part, due to our dedicated and talented team. I look forward to seeing how Tanita, Chris and Lauren continue to grow within BIN, and I am excited to add even more experienced talent to our team.”

iHeartMedia indicates that the expansion of local news coverage will create new employment opportunities including multiple news anchor and reporter positions, a Managing Editor, and a Podcast Managing Editor.

— Rob Dumke

There is a new Senior Vice President and General Manager of Bally Sports West, Bally Sports SoCal and Bally Sports San Diego.

She returns to Southern California after more than a decade in Washington D.C., where she served as President/GM NBC Sports Washington.

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For nearly three-decades the best sellers and managers in the business have been honored with Radio Wayne Awards.

Here are the Radio Ink 2021 Radio Wayne Award finalists:

DIGITAL OR INTERACTIVE SELLER
Tiffany Cobb
Tidewater Communications
Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA

Michael Walden
Audacy
Chattanooga, TN

Cathleen Mingarino
Longport Media
Atlantic City- Cape May, NJ

Deana Poole
Beasley Media Group
Philadelphia, PA

Yoni Schwartz
Audacy
Philadelphia, PA

Ryan Dietrich
Beasley Media Group
Philadelphia, PA

STREETFIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Tich McWilliams
Tuned In Broadcasting
Nashville, TN

Rita Munoz-Dalati
Cumulus Media
Houston-Galveston, TX

Mandy Jo Choat
Williams Media Group
Enid, OK

Roger Nelson
Morgan Murphy Media
Spokane, WA

Kelly Greeley
Capitol Radio Group
Springfield, IL

Melanie Martin
Cox Media Group
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Paula J. Ingram
Forever Media
Altoona, PA

Steve Simons
Beasley Media Group
Philadelphia, PA

SALES MANAGER 1-2 STATIONS
Tom Hansen
Tuned In Broadcasting
Nashville, TN

Marta DeLisi
Beasley Media Group
Wilmington, DE

Shawneen Thompson
Howard University Radio
Washington, DC

Tim Gratzer
Cumulus Media
Houston-Galveston, TX

Stephen Tarpley
Nexstar
Chicago, IL

Jaime Frankel
Beasley Media Group
Philadelphia, PA

STU OLDS NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
Susan Isreal
Hubbard Radio
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL

Phillip Whisnant
Univision
San Diego, San Francisco & Fresno, CA

Pam Foley Crouch
Press Communications
Monmouth-Ocean, NJ

Amanda Health
Lotus Communications

April Brinks-Bailey
Beasley Media Group
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

DOS OR GENERAL SALES MANAGER
Emily Ward
Audacy
Atlanta, GA

Vince Gambino
Longport Media, LLC
Atlantic City- Cape May, NJ

Paul Blake
Beasley Media Group
Philadelphia, PA

Dawn Girocco
Cumulus Media
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX

Jason (JC) Campese
Cox Media Group
Orlando, FL

Nicki DellaPosta
Audacy
Chicago, IL

MARKET OR GENERAL MANAGER
Mac Edwards
Beasley Media Group
Detroit, MI

Trey Stafford
Saga Communications
Jonesboro, AR

Sabina Widmann
Univision
San Diego, CA, Las Vegas, NV & McAllen-Brownsville-Harlingen, TX

Jason Meder
Cox Media Group
Orlando, FL

Keith Lawless
Cox Media Group
Houston-Galveston, TX & Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Mary Menna
Beasley Media Group
Boston, MA