Radio+Television Business Report

Investors appear a tad nervous about the full reopening of the U.S. economy from the year-long COVID-19 pandemic.

And, if any setback occurs, companies with the most fragile profit plans are the most vulnerable. Is Entercom Communications among that group of companies? Tuesday’s Wall Street performance suggests the answer is yes.

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Following Monday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street, ViacomCBS shares topped $100 a share — an incredible feat for a company whose stock bears a 52-week low of just $11.85.

Now, the powers that be at Spongebob’s employer are responding to the incredible growth of ViacomCBS stock by initiating a mammoth $3 billion equity offering.

Specifically, ViacomCBS commenced concurrent offerings of $2 billion of its Class B common stock and $1 billion of its Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock.

Furthermore, ViacomCBS granted the underwriters separate 30-day options to purchase up to an additional $300 million of Class B common stock and up to an additional $15 million of Series A stock. In the latter, such a transaction would occur solely to cover over-allotments, if any.

ViacomCBS says it intends to use the combined net proceeds from the offerings for general corporate purposes, including investments in streaming.

Each share of Series A stock will have a liquidation preference of $100.00 per share.

And, unless earlier converted, each share of this Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock will automatically convert into a variable number of shares of Class B common stock on April 1, 2024 — subject to postponement for certain market disruptions or other events.

The conversion terms, dividend rate and other terms of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock will be determined at the time of pricing of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock offering.

ViacomCBS intends to apply to list the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “VIACP.”

Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint book-running managers for the offerings.

The announcement cooled off ViacomCBS’s hot growth on the Nasdaq market, with shares in VIAC off 5.7% at 2:50pm Eastern, to just below $95 a share.

Still, it was February 26 when shares were trading at $61.35. Across September and October 2020, VIAC was mired in the $28 range.

Then came the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and slow, steady improvement. When VIAC really began to rocket ahead was at the start of 2021.

Viacom’s shares are up 154% year-to-date, should today’s closing price remain in the $94.50 range.

Thus, The Motley Fool‘s reporting that ViacomCBS shares “crashed again today” is simply false, when one looks at the full trajectory of the company’s performance since Viacom and CBS Corporation reunified.

He’s been the VP/GM of the NBC affiliate serving Colorado Springs and Pueblo for the last decade.

Starting April 12, he’ll be overseeing a co-owned FOX affiliate in the fastest-growing portion of the Sunshine State, a place where he’s spent much time across his 30-year career.

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You’ve seen it. Your morning show hosts have likely discussed it.

That horribly embarrassing Zoom gone wrong has become the stuff of lore, likely to represent an indelible look at COVID-19 times in the decades to come.

How can you and your colleagues prevent a repeat of these Zoom fails? Veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal has some great advise to share on preventing you — or perhaps your more well-known team members — from becoming the latest social media humor vehicle.

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The company founded by Daniel Anstandig devoted to AI-driven audience engagement and sales intelligence tech platforms for media, has selected a new Chief Technology Officer.

Now in the CTO slot at Futuri is Jason J. Sosa.

This puts Sosa in a leadership position in which he will oversee Futuri’s product team and work cross-functionally to develop new features, technologies, and products.

Sosa is the founder and, most recently, CEO of Blackbox AI, an innovation advisory for platform development, remote work, and strategy. Sosa is also a recognized speaker, having participated in TEDx (4 times), MIT Enterprise Forum, and Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Buried within an asset purchase agreement filed Tuesday (3/23) with the FCC is the usual information reflecting the legal counsel representing both buyer and seller. For the buyer, the lawyer’s name is a very familiar one. However, there was one major eye-popping difference from prior filings featuring this attorney’s name — she’s at a new law firm.

So is a former colleague, as both communications law experts have set up shop at BakerHostetler.

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Its mission is simple: To re-purpose 600 MHz and other spectrum and rapidly deploy a world-class 5G network in the United States.

This could explain why the individual behind Landover Wireless, a 30-year veteran of the global wireless telecommunications industry, has decided to part ways with 20 unbuilt LPTV construction permits.

The buyer? An individual with a presence stretching from the Grand Strand through Georgia’s Coastal Empire.

Laurence Zimmerman and his Landover 2 LLC have struck a deal to send the unbuilt LPTVs to Jeff Winemiller, and his Lowcountry 34 Media.

The stations trading hands are as follows:

Winemiller, who is based in Beaufort, S.C., near Hilton Head Island, is paying $850,000 for the CPs; a $150,000 deposit has been made by the buyer.

The broker involved in this transaction: Greg Guy of Patrick Communications.

The legal counsel in this deal has its own bit of newsworthiness: While veteran Aaron Shainis of Shainis & Peltzman represented Landover 2, Davina Sashkin served as Winemiller’s attorney at her new firm — Baker Hostetler. She had been with Fletcher Heald & Hildreth as recently as January 2021.

The sale of the LPTV CPs for Zimmerman concludes a spectrum license play for Landover Wireless; Zimmerman acquired and developed national and regional footprints of 38 GHz, 3.5 GHz, 2.6 GHz and 1600 MHz/MMDS licenses across the last three decades and developed strategic relationships creating additional value in the spectrum assets.
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Zimmerman is also known for founding Advanced Radio Telecom Corp., which became Fiber Tower and was ultimately sold to AT&T; and National Wireless Holdings Inc. He was also an early seed investor and one-time largest individual shareholder of Winstar Communications, which became StraightPath and was ultimately sold to Verizon.

Programmatic video platform Tremor Video is close to bringing to market a new data-driven TV Intelligence offering that builds on the company’s Connected TV (CTV) and addressable TV measurement and cross-platform targeting efforts.

The product, the company says, allows advertisers to reach “the most relevant consumers with precision using a greater breadth and depth of audience data assets.”

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Impressions-based buying and selling in the television universe is an imperative for marketers today. And, broadcast TV is responding. But, what of the measurement needs for the media buyer and media planner putting the cross-platform mix together based on reliable data?

Comscore is devoting its short-term and long-term future to local cross-platform and says groups and agencies are shifting from talk to action.

EVP of Commercial Steve Walsh shares how Comscore is driving the way media and marketers are mastering the ability to match homes with the actual purchase behavior seen in those homes in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Steve Walsh, Comscore” on Spreaker.

As of today, the CEO at Nielsen is no longer holding double duty as the company’s Chief Diversity Officer.

That’s because the dominant audience measurement and consumer data company in the U.S. has selected a woman who joined the company in January 2020 to direct diversity and inclusion initiatives to hold the position.

Sandra Sims-Williams will take over CDO duties from CEO David Kenny, who has held the CDO title in addition to CEO since February 2019.

She will continue to lead Nielsen’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) team, working to develop a more inclusive culture for the company and increase diverse representation, while rising from Senior Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I).

Prior to joining Nielsen, Sims-Williams led diversity and inclusion efforts at Publicis Groupe as Chief Diversity Officer and has a deep background in diverse leadership development, retention programming, analytics and effectiveness, supplier diversity, multicultural talent acquisition, and corporate initiatives that drive diversity and inclusion cross-functionally.

Cloud-based software provider Radio Workflow is initiating a change in leadership that will see an industry veteran who became a partner in 2020 lead the company as CEO.

The Director of Sales and Director of Product will also hold key management positions at Radio Workflow, working in collaboration with chief executive Fletcher Ford.

Those individuals are Robert Maschio and Shane Zammit, respectively.

There’s other news from the “all-in-one radio management platform” maker.

Radio Workflow is expanding its operations with the opening of a sales and support office in two U.S. cities to go along with its existing centers in New Jersey and in Australia.

Offices in Billings, Montana; and Davenport, Iowa, are being added to the mix.

Radio Workflow says it is moving in this direction “to adapt to the growing need and success of the company’s browser-based traffic and billing platform.

Among the products Radio Workflow offers broadcasters is MyRadioDeals.com.

“I am very excited and proud to work with Shane and Bob every day,” Ford said. “They each have a level of commitment that is often overlooked in business. We all share a common goal, that goal is quite simple. Make the tools for broadcasters represent the real-world situation in which our industry is typically slow to adapt, apply, and execute change.”

The regional office for iHeartMedia in northern Ohio is on the move.

A 10-year lease agreement has been signed, and the company’s nine Cleveland radio brands will soon enjoy a state-of-the-art street level facility also housing iHeartMedia’s local sales, marketing, digital and Total Traffic operation.

By the time 2022 arrives, iHeartMedia/Cleveland will be housed on the ground floor of Six Six Eight at 668 Euclid Avenue in the heart of a downtown area that’s as hip as ever. The seven-story building is mixed use, and includes urban residential dwellings. It’s walking distance from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Major League Baseball club; Cleveland Public Square is just to the west. Its also close to a major commuter rail station, with direct service to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The move to Six Six Eight is thanks to a lease arrangement with K&D Group. 

The iHeart/Cleveland cluster includes Sports Talker WARF “AM 1350 The Gambler”; News/Talk WTAM-AM 1100; Rocker WMMS-FM; Classic Hits WMJI “Majic 105.7”; Country WGAR-FM; Adult Hits WHLK “106.5 The Lake”; and Top 40 WAKS “96.1 KISS FM.” There’s also a pair of translators serving the African American community: Hip-Hop “Real 106.1” and BIN: Black Information Network at 99.1 MHz.

This move will bring more than 100 employees into the heart of Cleveland’s downtown business landscape.

“We are thrilled to return our broadcast and digital operations to the heart of our city,” said Keith Hotchkiss, President of iHeartMedia Cleveland. “Connecting our influencers, marquee talent and operation staff with the downtown business district will further drive the passion to serve the community we all call home.”

New office features will include five conference rooms, 11 studios featuring cutting-edge technology, eight service booths for news, traffic, and podcast creation, and phone audio sound via Sound+.

A marquee broadcast studio and mixed use podcast content creation room both face street level on Euclid Avenue. Studio designs are by Beneville Studios and AUX1 design.

“We are delighted that iHeartMedia will be locating their regional headquarters in downtown Cleveland,” said Joe Marinucci, President and CEO of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance.

It marks a return to downtown Cleveland for the stations “after many years,” and signals another Ohio renaissance that includes Dayton’s core downtown area, which has sprung to life since 2017 thanks to a restoration and rehabilitation project.

When anchor Shepard Smith joined CNBC in July 2020 to host The News With Shepard Smith, the network took the opportunity to completely renovate its 3,600 square-foot Studio B set.

This included the need for complete Martin LED lighting, on a rig. Ferri Lighting Design & Associates (FLDA) fulfilled that desire.

The new set is dominated by two massive LED video walls, including a five-panel display opposite the host’s desk that can be used to show multiple video feeds for remote guests and correspondents or combined to display one large image.

Additionally, the center screen can be moved up to 17 feet away from the wall via a motorized arm to draw focus to a specific element. In order to complement the light from the displays with precisely-calibrated illumination and reduce electricity costs, CNBC opted to replace the studio’s incandescent lighting with a modern LED solution. The network hired Ferri Lighting Design & Associates to equip Studio B with a complete Martin lighting solution including more than 200 Martin ELP CL ellipsoidal profile fixtures and 50 RUSH PAR 2
CT Zoom wash fixtures.

“We had previously talked about converting Studio A to LED, but budgets and COVID put that project on the back burner,” said Bruce Ferri, owner of Ferri Lighting Design & Associates. “When the Studio B project came up, I decided to move forward and make it an all-LED installation. The big reason is that most of the set is dominated by displays. When you use incandescent light, you have to color-correct the displays down to 3,200
degrees, but most displays are not designed to operate at that color temperature. The Martin fixtures allow us to work at a higher color temperature to match the displays.”

FLDA selected Martin ELP CL fixtures as the main light for illuminating talent and scenery, deploying a total of 226 in Studio B’s lighting rig. The leading color LED ellipsoidal fixture in its class, the Martin ELP CL delivers up to 6,900 lumens with a broad color temperature range of 2,000 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin and an RGBAL Luxeon Rebel LED engine for vibrant, saturated hues. A maximum Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 90 allows
the ELP CL to reproduce color naturally on camera, making it an ideal fixture for television studios.

ELP CL fixtures are configurable for beam angles of 19, 26, 36 or 50 degrees and compatible with third-party lens tubes as well as a wide range of accessories.

“The nice thing about the ELPs is that in addition to using them as lights for talent, we can use them as scenery lights because they’re full-spectrum,” said Ferri. “I’ve done other installations where the talent lights have been variable white with no color mixing, but as things change and all of a sudden you have too many talent lights and not enough scenery lights, you’re at a huge disadvantage. So, the nice thing about the ELPs is that I can
use them for both.”

To augment the main lighting, FLDA selected Martin RUSH PAR 2 CT Zoom fixtures as fill lights. Featuring 12 10-watt warm and cold white LEDs, the RUSH PAR 2 CT Zoom provides pre-mixed white light ranging from 2,700 to 7,800 degrees Kelvin with a CRI value of 90 for natural on-camera looks. The fixtures’ motorized 10-to 60-degree zoom allowed Ferri to achieve rich, balanced wash illumination even from long distances.

“The throw distances in that particular studio make using a traditional fill light impractical, because we’re trying to keep all of the lighting on the grid,” Ferri added. “I don’t like to hang lights down into the picture if I can avoid it, because I hate when you see lighting instruments break the plane of the set. So, in order to create a softer fill light, I turned to the RUSH PAR 2 CT Zooms. The fact that they can zoom means that we can tailor the beam
spread for the throw distance.”

Thanks to the ultra-efficient, all-LED Martin lighting rig, Studio B reportedly consumes only 10% of the power used by the neighboring Studio C, where Mad Money is broadcast from.

This eases the burden on the facility’s backup power system in the event of a power failure.

“They’re set up for incandescent fixtures, so they have plenty of power, but they’re still really happy with the fact that we’re working at a fraction of that capacity,” said Ferri. “And whenever there’s a hint of bad weather, they switch over to a generator backup so that they don’t lose power, which has happened in the past. Having an all-LED rig lets them devote less of the generator power to the lighting.”

After a short stint in a temporary studio, The News With Shepard Smith broadcast its first episode from the new studio on October 28, 2020. Shortly thereafter, viewers across the nation saw FLDA’s work during Smith’s coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election.

— Kirsten Spruch

A company known for cloud-based SaaS technology powering both broadcast and streaming TV is now making its cloud solutions available on Google Cloud’s platform.

It’s a promise from Amagi, and the partnership allows customers to deploy Amagi’s flagship cloud playout platform, CLOUDPORT, on Google Cloud to spin up 24×7 linear programming.

“By partnering with Google Cloud, we are expanding the choices for our industry to implement best-in-class cloud solutions,” said Srinivasan KA, co-founder of Amagi, which operates from New Yrok. “This partnership has come at a time when the industry is increasingly looking to virtualize operations and adapt to multi-screen viewing. Amagi and Google Cloud present an attractive option for customers to choose from, as they transition to cloud.”

Amagi manages 400+ channels with deliveries in more than 40 countries across cable, DTH, and OTT platforms. The company has a state-of-the-art cloud broadcast operations center that can support 1,000+ linear channels. Amagi clients include A+E Networks UK, beIN Sports, CuriosityStream, Discovery Networks, Fox Networks, NBCUniversal, Cinedigm, Tastemade, Tegna, VENN, Vice Media, and Warner Media, among others.

Last year alone, Amagi added close to 200 streaming channels on its platform. It has technical integration with leading Free Ad Supported Streaming TV (FAST) platforms: The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, Xumo, STIRR, Redbox, VIZIO, Plex, Sling, Tivo and more.

Quicklink, a provider of hardware and software solutions for video and audio contributions, has completed its professional contribution workflow with the launch of an all-in-one hybrid switcher: an end-to-end broadcast-grade solution which combines the power of the cloud and the effectiveness of a single hardware unit.

The STS410 (Hybrid Switcher) combines three main elements to allow the user to achieve a full production workflow. A rack-mount server is accompanied by software offering full tool integration.

“Quicklink’s STS410 complimented with the Quicklink Manager creates a complete end-to-
end workflow including tools such as conference and waiting/green rooms for multiple
participants, automatic cloud mix-minus, the ability to stream to multiple concurrent services such as Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo Live or RTMP, and simultaneously record the discrete individual channels and program output for post-production flexibility,” Quicklink says.

The cloud- based Controller enables control of scene and source selection from any location using any desktop, mobile, tablet device. Quicklink CEO Richard Rees said, “We decided to bring this innovative product to the market as we listen carefully to our customers and many find traditional switchers overly complicated and confusing to use. The STS410 is designed to be simple and intuitive to use, while still upholding the highest quality that we have come to expect from productions.”

Find out more and request a demo by emailing sales@quicklink.tv.

Broadcast audio tech entity Telos Alliance is now making available a virtual intercom platform that could be of particular use to broadcast media companies steeped in remote and on-the-go feed needs.

Introducing the Telos Infinity VIP Virtual Intercom Platform, which makes cloud-based media production workflows available on any device—smartphone, laptop, desktop, or tablet.

Users may also use third-party control devices, like Elgato Stream Deck, to control the Telos Infinity VIP.

Martin Dyster, VP of Business Development for Telos Alliance, comments, “The new Telos Infinity Virtual Intercom Platform is the next evolution of Infinity that, for the first time, puts fully-featured broadcast Intercom in the Cloud. This opens up a whole new world of virtual communications workflows, responds to customer demand for remote workflows, and aligns with Telos Alliance’s larger push toward virtualization across product lines.”

It’s available as a physical appliance, and users can also install systems of any size as Cloud services, both On-Prem and on platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.

Telos Infinity VIP is part of Telos Alliance’s strategy to offer new virtual audio solutions that further expand its growing virtual ecosystem. 

He joined Fox Corporation in 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel.

Now, he will oversee the company’s legal function as Claudia Teran remains Executive VP and Corporate General Counsel, as well as General Counsel of FOX Sports.

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Its Twitter feed brags that it is “the most engaging college in the nation by The Wall Street Journal, 5 years in a row!”

Soon, however, it will be minus a medium used since 1968 “to proclaim God’s Word to generations of listeners.”

That’s because its owner, a university in Iowa, is selling the 100kw Class C1 facility.

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A new NBCUniversal event that promised to “unite the power of the media and entertainment industry with the solutions focus of a developer conference” went off without a virtual hitch on Monday morning.

And, as hyped since early February, the global ONE21 gathering offered marketers a showcase of the insights, stories, technology and data into how the entire Comcast NBCUniversal Sky family sees commerce shaping the connection between content and advertising.

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Prior to mid-February, it would have been a major market coup for a Talk station in need of a boost. Today, it only begs the question of why, and for how long, the Talk station has committed to a show with an expiry date.

The Rush Limbaugh Show, starting today, is now heard on a Talk station in the biggest city in the U.S. by square miles. It was previously heard on a crosstown News/Talker that has prepared for life without Rush.

Has iHeart or program syndicator Premiere Networks?

Now in the noon to 3pm time slot on WBOB-AM 600 in Jacksonville, a 50kw Class B blowtorch by day from 2 towers with 9.7kw at night from five towers is The Rush Limbaugh Show.

The AM’s signal stretches from Gainesville up past Savannah, Ga., and to much of the Charleston, S.C., market. But it boasts an FM translator — W266CX at 100.1 MHz in southeast Jacksonville — that gives WBOB all-important MHz coverage.

The program as today continues on with pre-recorded snippets of the late Rush Limbaugh, with Brett Winterble, Todd Herman and Ken Matthews taking turns setting up the content. Premiere has indicated this will continue until a transition to a new offering to its affiliates.

For Cox Media Group‘s WOKV-FM, the dominant spoken word FM along Florida’s First Coast, that wasn’t good enough.

Local personality Mark Kaye, who 4 1/2 years ago shared with RBR+TVBR five reasons why Snapchat matters for Radio, officially replaced Limbaugh’s program by shifting to the Noon-3pm time slot on WOKV today (3/22).

Kaye had been previously hosting the 10am-Noon shift on WOKV, following his morning co-host role on Cox Top 40 sibling WAPE-FM. Kaye is no longer heard on the pop music station.

With Cox’s decision to move on from the late Limbaugh, WBOB had an opportunity. With local market rights to the show now available, should it benefit from the now-deceased host as long as it can?

The answer for PD Gary Walsh and WBOB owner Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corp. was a definitive “yes.”

“Rush Limbaugh is a pioneering force in broadcasting,” said WBOB GM Jonathan McClellan. “He redefined talk radio and shaped the conservative political message for our country. We value the future of his legacy, and we believe his talented team will
drive the momentum of the movement far into the future. We welcome this monumental
voice.”

To bring Limbaugh to WBOB, The Dennis Prager Show was bumped.

Thus, WBOB has elected to replace a living Talk host’s program with that of a deceased one … for now. What’s on the table for WBOB could very well involve what Premiere decides to offer once it fully moves on from Limbaugh.

WBOB’s owner, Chesapeake-Portsmouth, is led by Nancy Epperson. She has family ties to Salem Media Group. But the lone involvement Salem has with WBOB is as a syndicated programming source. Following Limbaugh, America First with Sebastian Gorka, syndicated by Salem, airs in the 3pm-6pm slot. Mornings at WBOB are helmed by veteran local talk host and journalist Ed Dean.

While WBOB has elected to invest in Limbaugh’s legacy as a path for growth, Cumulus Media‘s rival to Premiere Networks, Westwood One, is in attack mode. On May 24, The Dan Bongino Show will be launched as a Noon-3pm Eastern offering. And, the show will air in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., where WMAL-FM has been a key bastion for conservative Talk in the Nation’s Capital.