As Q1 2021 came to a close, so did Star Communications Inc.‘s intent to own an AM/FM combo and an FM translator serving a small West Virginia city situated between Charleston and Parkersburg.
The facilities have been sold, and await FCC approval before being handed to a new owner.
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It’s been nine months since Philip Falcone exited HC2 Holdings Inc. under a black cloud, with accusations that Falcone defaulted on loans leading to today’s efforts under new chief executive Wayne Barr Jr. to raise capital by divesting non-core assets.
For Falcone, he’s swiftly moved on, and in Q1 2021 became an active buyer of low-power TV stations through a newly created entity.
He’s at it again, and has just entered the Pacific Northwest’s biggest market.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — When it comes to texting and hand-held communications, there’s perhaps no group of National Capital Region residents more experience and savvy with such devices as the Gallaudet University student body and faculty.
This Northeast Washington institution has provided higher education opportunities to the deaf and hard-of-hearing for generations. While TV has been, along with print media, major services consumed by the hearing impaired, radio has been left out.
American University‘s NPR Member station, across town in Northwest Washington, has changed that — thanks to ENCO.
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To bring WAMU-FM‘s programming to all Washingtonians, the station deployed an enCaption4 captioning system from ENCO.
This generates live, automated transcripts of its on-air audio via the WAMU.org website — not so dissimilar to the audio transcripts of FCC open meetings found on the agency’s website.
As of today, live on-air captions remain in beta test. “We’re working to add live real-time captions to our radio broadcast,” WAMU says. “While we continue to refine this early release effort, please pardon our errors and inaccuracies.”
Interestingly, the caption feed is several seconds ahead of the audio streaming feed; this suggests the captions are synched with the over-the-air broadcast.
The inspiration for WAMU’s captioning project came when a deaf political candidate seeking office in Washington requested to appear on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show and wanted the broadcast to be accessible to all.
“At that moment, it stood out to us that we hadn’t been serving that important part of the population before and that there was demand for bringing our content to this audience,” said Rob Bertrand, WAMU’s Senior Director of Technology.
For that particular broadcast, the station used a service provider with live human transcription and live sign language interpretation for that particular broadcast. From there, Bertrand knew that a different approach would be needed to serve the hearing impaired community on an ongoing basis. “The timing of the content can be unpredictable, which means we can’t schedule a transcriptionist or sign language interpreter,” Bertrand said. “We realized there was now technology that would allow us to automate the process. Automated closed captioning has existed for television for some time. What if we could take the equipment used to generate captions for TV, and instead use it for radio to bring captions to our website?”
The enCaption4 was selected by Bertrand after learning of lots of positive feedback from broadcasters using it for television. “We did a demo of enCaption4, and our web development team came up with a way to present the captions it creates on our website,” he said.
How does it work?
Audio from WAMU’s Telos Alliance Axia audio-over-IP backbone is converted by an Axia xNode to an AES/EBU signal that serves as the input to enCaption4. Then, enCaption4 ingests the same on-air signal path being routed to WAMU’s transmitter and online streaming encoders, enabling live, 24/7 captioning of all of WAMU’s on-air content. The captions created by enCaption4 are then fed to the station’s website, where they are displayed in a dedicated transcription page.
As a pilot project until now, WAMU developed a small but loyal following, with roughly 150 people routinely watching the station’s captions for around 30 minutes per day. WAMU expects this to grow once the service starts getting promoted.
Furthermore, WAMU plans to upgrade its content management system to allow integration of its internal data sources with enCaption4, thus providing a dictionary that will further increase the accuracy of WAMU’s captions with the spellings of challenging local names and events.
The station also ultimately intends to integrate the captions directly into its core streaming player.
— Reporting by Brian Galante. Editing by Adam Jacobson.
Adam Jacobson is a 1994 graduate of the American University School of Communication.
It started off as a Generation Z and Millennial-focused news and information offering distributed strictly in the “over the top” (OTT) space. Then, it morphed into a MVPD-distributed cable channel.
Now, Newsy is headed to free-to-air television as a “DigiNet,” come this autumn.
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TORONTO — Exactly one year ago, he was named VP/Sales at Specialty Data Systems (SDS), following a 13-year stint as a senior sales manager at Wide Orbit.
Now, this familiar figure to radio station engineering pros is being mourned, as Jon Crossland has died. He was 68 years old. The cause of death was not released. However, SDS President Dave Cole said Crossland’s passing was sudden.
Crossland spent his formative years in Hood River, Oregon. Professionally, his Radio career includes a 12-year stint as a Regional Sales Manager with CBSI/Wicks Broadcast Solutions/Marketron. He also spent some 17 years in radio station management, and is a former Sales Manager at Entercom’s Seattle station group.
Circa December 1979, Crossland was in charge of KBFM-FM “B104” in McAllen-Brownsville, Tex.
— Editing by Adam Jacobson in Boca Raton, Fla.
The growth of iHeartRadio and the reboot of Radio.com as Audacy have certainly gathered the broadcasting world’s attention. What does this mean for TuneIn, which grabbed a significant share of the audio streaming consumer pot in the mid-2010s, only to see key U.S. radio broadcasting companies develop their own “walled gardens,” if you will?
A recent RBR+TVBR column on audio streaming prompted recently arrived TuneIn CEO Rich Stern to reach out, and he’s our guest on the latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: TuneIn CEO Rich Stern” on Spreaker.
PILOT, the innovation initiative of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), has revealed this year’s recipients of its annual media technology and innovation scholarships.
The awards, valued at $2,500 each, will be presented to four college students — two undergraduate and two graduate — for pursuit of studies related to broadcast or media technology and innovation.
The scholarship program was launched in 2019 and is administered in partnership with the Broadcast Education Association (BEA).
This year’s winners (and the schools to which they plan to apply their scholarships) are as follows:
Eligible academic areas for scholarship applicants include broadcast television or radio engineering and technology, broadcast content creation including sports and news production, web and online media, mobile media, media-related information technology (IT), multi-platform audience measurement and media technology research.
“The NAB is excited to work once again with BEA in presenting these PILOT scholarships to worthy students as they pursue careers in broadcast and media technology,” said Sam Matheny, the NAB’s executive vice president of Technology and chief technology officer. “Helping young people better understand our industry and its challenges will inspire fresh thinking to engage future opportunities.”
BEA Executive Director Heather Birks added that the partnership it has with PILOT “is dedicated to supporting the next generation of media innovators, and these scholarships will further our mission of fostering future leaders shaping broadcast radio and television.”
For further information, please visit nabpilot.org/scholarships.
A key provider of digital media tools and workflow products has purchased an application used around the world by broadcasters, production companies and post houses to streamline content creation workflows.
Genstar Capital’s Telestream is buying ContentAgent from Vecima Networks.
ContentAgent is an application used around the world by top tier broadcasters, production companies and post houses to streamline content creation workflows, built to automate common tasks such as camera card ingest for editorial teams and creating file-based deliverables such as broadcast masters and viewing copies.
“ContentAgent has done very well in the production and post production markets and we intend to bolster continued development and utilize its strengths as we continue to expand into additional markets including creative agencies and corporate enterprises,” said Dan Castles, Telestream’s CEO.
ContentAgent contains a graphic user interface and benefits for those in field production and in the post production process.
The ContentAgent team, based primarily in the United Kingdom, will be fully integrated into the Telestream family.
Existing customers can expect to see additional resources being deployed to support ContentAgent around the world, Telestream says.
LOS ANGELES — The maker of facility management software for broadcast and media companies has closed on its acquisition of Net Insight subsidiary ScheduALL.
The acquisition was first announced on February 24 by Xytech.
Xytech will continue to offer the MediaPulse facility management software and the MediaPulse Managed Cloud.
“We are excited to see what the future holds with the acquisition of ScheduALL complete,” said Xytech CEO Richard Gallagher. “These are two of the strongest companies in the resource optimization industry, and by joining forces, we are profoundly improving scale, offering even better solutions customers and are well positioned to take advantage of new technologies. We are thrilled to welcome ScheduALL customers into the Xytech family.”
Customers of both Xytech’s MediaPulse and ScheduALL will experience no service interruptions. This acquisition, Xytech says, allows it to tap into ScheduALL’s experience in the transmission market.
The pandemic has increased the importance of the personal vehicle and in-dash infotainment today, versus pre-COVID, a new study shows.
And, it appears this is especially true for Millennials and Gen Z.
So says a national CARAVAN survey conducted by ENGINE Insights. The survey was conducted on behalf of DTS. As such, it is no surprise that it is highly supportive of broadcast radio consumption while in the car.
Still, the findings are telling, regardless of the sample size or where the respondents came from.
According to the survey, radio is “indispensable/highly important” to seven out of ten vehicle owners, with nearly 80 percent of Millennials who participated in the study valuing radio in the dashboard more than their generational counterparts (Gen Z/GenX/Boomers).
“This new survey reveals key trends driven by the pandemic, including the rise in the importance of both the personal vehicle and in-dash infotainment, as well as a change in the kind of content listened to in-vehicle,” said Eric Corliss, Manager at ENGINE Insights.
He was particularly struck by some of the demographic data. For example, Millennials value radio in the dashboard highly, with 78% saying it is indispensable and that households with children are most likely to find their vehicle more important today — and to view it as a place of refuge.
Furthermore, these demos, along with Gen Z, are the most likely to place greater importance on dashboard entertainment/information today, versus pre-COVID, Corliss said.
Personal Vehicle Grows in Importance – Place of Refuge
The CARAVAN survey also finds that 47% of all vehicle owners feel their personal vehicle is more important than ever to them today versus pre-COVID, with only 6%saying their vehicle is less important as they no longer commute. Those who say their vehicle is more important now are equally likely to cite as reasons: a discomfort with public transportation or ride-sharing, and a perception of their vehicle as a place of refuge during these challenging times – and these numbers are even higher for those with children in the household.
The bigger takeaway: Nine out of ten vehicle owners participating as respondents say it is important to have radio in their dashboard, with over half wanting it as the anchor of their media diet.
Other key findings include that dashboard entertainment/information has become more important in the pandemic because of the ability to listen to music as an anxiety reliever, given all the bad news and stress in the world (especially true for Gen Z) and the ability to access local news/pandemic bulletins.
More than half say the kind of content they listen to in their vehicle has changed versus pre-pandemic.
Jeff Jury, GM for the Connected Car division of Xperi, comments, “Given how highly Millennials value today’s radio, its relevance to the vehicle dashboard is confirmed for decades to come. This study also reinforces that car owners are looking for a dashboard that offers infotainment content that is personalized, discoverable, and textually and visually-rich.”
Personalization Key
Four in five vehicle owners say it is important for their in-vehicle dashboard entertainment to be personalized to their particular tastes and interests and this is increasingly relevant to young consumers, Gen Z (91%) and Millennials (89%). Top reasons for the importance of personalization include not having to fiddle with controls while driving, too much content clutter and being used to having relevant content pushed to them on other digital platforms.
Then, there’s the peacocking. The DTS-sponsored survey finds that four in five vehicle owners say “no-cost listening choices are important and relate to the sentiment that, with so much great broadcast radio and free, discoverable content available, it makes no sense to pay.”
Those at Sirius XM and individuals privy to in-car use of Apple Car Play-friendly apps including iHeartRadio and Audacy (formerly Radio.com) may have something else to say about that.
That’s not to say digital consumption of radio isn’t important. Being able to continue listening to a radio station digitally when the vehicle has gone out of broadcast range is also important. And, compared to their older counterparts, Millennials and Gen Z place greater importance than older demographics on having content relevant to what they listen to “discovered” for them, and having rich visual/textual information about the artist and song they are listening to.
The NAB Show and SCTE are teaming up for a joint forum that will link the SCTE·ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta with NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology (BEIT) Conference in Las Vegas.
The joint forum on October 12, 2021 will be the first live, bi-coastal collaboration between SCTE, a subsidiary of CableLabs, and the NAB.
SCTE and NAB have previously partnered to provide content for their respective events.
Joint sessions will include live, interconnected presentations and audience questions originating from both Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta and the BEIT Conference in Las Vegas, with hosts at each location to field questions and moderate the conversation. The dual-site event will also feature live panels and interactive discussions that explore timely topics, such as dynamic ad insertion, NextGen TV and more.
NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny and Chris Bastian, SCTE’s CTO, will open the event with a fireside chat on leadership over a link between the two venues. This conferencing approach will offer a unique educational opportunity for technology professionals, and create dialog between broadcast and telecommunications professionals, the NAB says.
“We are excited to offer this groundbreaking feature during the 75th BEIT Conference at NAB Show,” Matheny said. “We are thankful to SCTE for this collaboration and to be able to provide attendees at our respective events a truly innovative experience with expanded programming.”
Bastian added, “Our concurrent events present a unique opportunity to collaborate on this session which we believe will bring great value to both audiences. After the success of our virtual Cable-Tec Expo show in 2020, we know this type of interactive, virtual session has great potential to bring together new audiences and ideas.”
The dual-site event will be held at 10:00 a.m.–1:15 p.m. PT (1:00–4:15 p.m. ET) on October 12, 2021. The session takes place during the BEIT Conference in Las Vegas, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary at NAB Show, October 9–13, 2021, and SCTE·ISBE Cable-Tec Expo, October 11–14, 2021 in Atlanta. The program will conclude with networking receptions in both Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising remains a vital part of building brand awareness and plays an increasingly important role in advancing the consumer journey. That’s why Comscore has joined the DPAA and the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
The new alliances with two of the leading industry organizations come as Comscore accelerates its efforts to add OOH measurement to its cross-platform product suite.
The goal, Comscore says, is to help marketers drive market share and profitability through superior audience insights.
More than $9 billion is projected for OOH ad spend in the coming years. Comscore’s vision is to measure outdoor advertising platforms, cinema, and place-based distribution such as retail spaces, stadiums, office buildings and transportation hubs and make it available through traditional buyside planning and buying tools.
“The addition of out-of-home measurement is a natural extension of Comscore’s impressions-based currency that the media ecosystem relies on to drive better business outcomes,” Comscore CEO Bill Livek said. “With rapid changes in consumer consumption and the need to drive maximum return on investment for every ad dollar, marketers need a complete and unduplicated view of where their target audience is seeing content. This is why Comscore has an advantage in the market. We are the trusted source for superior audience insights across linear TV, OTT, desktop, mobile, and cinema and are now bringing the same measurement acumen to bear on outdoor and digital out-of-home at a time when America is starting to go out of home again.”
Andy Sriubas, Chief Commercial Officer at OUTFRONT Media, welcomed the move by Comscore. “Their data flows through the internal planning and buying platforms at major holding companies, independent agencies and leading third-party processors. It is time for out-of-home to take its rightful place beside digital, mobile, TV and OTT on the agency desk, through cross-media comparative value measurements.”
Comscore’s OOH efforts are being spearheaded by EVP Gary Warech, who most recently led the company’s Brand Direct, Brand Tracking, Pharma and Branded Content businesses.
Good Parts Media, an AdLarge company, has entered into a deal with Bonneville’s Denver stations for use of Prep Country, a member of the Good Parts Media portfolio.
Good Parts Media offers a family of prep products for multiple formats that content hosts use to connect with their listeners.
The Good Parts Media suite of show prep services includes Mr. Prep, The Hook Up, Locker Room, Mr. Laughs, Juicy Prep, and the aforementioned Prep Country.
The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) has selected who will deliver the opening keynote at its newly created NATPE Virtual: News Television event scheduled for April 20.
It’s Council of Foreign Relations President Richard Haass.
NATPE Virtual: News Television sees ABC News Transportation Correspondent Gio Benitez
Attendees can expect keynotes, fireside chats, and panel discussions covering news franchises, streaming, sponsorship sales, and different concentrations including “sensationalized breaking news,” politics, crime, health, financial, entertainment, sports, weather, special interests, and much more.
Notable companies participating in a variety of ways include AccuWeather, Axios, CNN, Newsmax, PBS and Tubi, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Also planned for the event will be the inaugural NATPE News Awards, honoring excellence in TV news reporting. Being recognized for excellence as an anchor is Greg Kelly. PBS Newshour is being honored for excellence as a news program.
NATPE President/CEO JP Bommel said, “News is at the core of the television experience, and we are thrilled to bring together such great minds as we dig into how the space is changing as the industry evolves.”
NATPE Virtual News Television is the next of a string of events being produced through NATPE VIRTUAL. To register, go to https://www.natpe.com/news/attend/
A trio of experienced local broadcast TV station leaders have been selected to oversee Nexstar Media Group‘s respective stations in Knoxville; Roanoke-Lynchburg; and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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He’s been a fixture at a group of stations in Los Angeles owned and operated by Audacy, the company formerly known as Entercom Communications. He stayed with the stations, which include “93.1 Jack FM,” “K-Earth 101,” KNX, “94-7 The Wave,” “97.1 Amp,” and KROQ, through Entercom’s tax-free merger with CBS Radio.
Now, this sales leader is heading north. He’s just been appointed VP/Market Manager of Cumulus Media‘s San Francisco-Oakland station group.
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Taking the post previously held by the retired Doug Harvill is Larry Blumhagen.
He’ll start his new role on May 3, putting him in command of Classic Rock KSAN-FM (107.7 The Bone), News/Talk KGO-AM, Sports Talker KNBR-AM & FM and Talker KSFO-AM.
In L.A., he was VP/Director of Sales at Audacy, prior to its corporate name change. He’d been with the stations for six years.
But, before that, he was CBS Radio’s GSM for San Francisco, and held the role from 2006-2015.
For nine years before that, he was GSM for the former CBS Radio (and Infinity) stations in Portland, Ore.
A 29-year radio broadcasting veteran, Blumhagen started his career as Account Executive for Henry Broadcasting/American Radio Systems.
“Larry brings a strategic mind focused on building successful sales organizations and positive cultures,” says Cumulus EVP/Operations Dave Milner. “Aligning his exceptional leadership abilities and deep knowledge of the San Francisco market with our talented team and strong brands is a winning combination.”
Blumhagen added, “I’m beyond thrilled to return to San Francisco and to join the
exceptional team at Cumulus Media. Leading these great brands forward while meeting the needs of both our listeners and advertisers will be an exciting journey. I’m fortunate to be stepping into Doug Harvill’s shoes, as I know first-hand that he is a man of deep integrity and immense passion for the industry.”
In Q4 2016, Viacom agreed to purchase Telefe, a major Argentine TV operation, for $345 million.
Now, the company that is today ViacomCBS is crossing the Andes to purchase a WarnerMedia asset.
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HC2 Station Group is committed to owning and operating television stations. It simply seeks to have fewer properties in its stable, and has been paring down assets in the broadcasting sector as part of a large capital-raising campaign led by Wayne Barr Jr.
In the latest divestment move from HC2, it is shedding a trio of LPTV permits under the HC2 Station Group licensee name and another three LPTV permits from HC2-held DTV America Corp.
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In October 2020, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group acquired MGM‘s over-the-air broadcast television networks This TV and Light TV, offered as digital multicast networks with national distribution, for an undisclosed price.
Now, This TV is getting a boost, bringing it to more U.S. locales.
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MIAMI — Until now, its collection of radio stations has been represented on a national level by Gen Media Partners, through its HRN Media Network.
That’s changing, thanks to an agreement signed this morning by this Hispanic media company’s COO, Albert Rodriguez.
What’s the new national representation firm for Spanish Broadcasting System?
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