Radio+Television Business Report

Locast, the donation-based broadcast TV-via-IP service that the Big Four television networks and the NAB despise for its unique weave-round regarding retransmission consent, has now entered its 29th market.

The service is now available in a city some refer to as “The Big Tomato.”

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It’s share price is now higher than where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in stay-at-home edicts and, with it, a sharp financial downturn on Wall Street, Broad Street and on stock markets across the globe.

With that positive momentum, Nielsen Holdings plc‘s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend.

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By Thomas Urban
Fletcher Heald & Hildreth

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For nearly a year, the world has battled a pandemic defined as Coronavirus-19 or COVID-19. This virus has caused enormous damage worldwide in terms of human life, health, and economic devastation. This destruction has been acutely felt here in the United States, with the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans and the long-term illness of millions, as well as severe economic loss due to factors beyond the control of those who have been affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic also has had a significant effect on the U.S. legal system.

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On February 12, 2020, a Seattle FM will officially kickoff a yearlong celebration of its 50 years serving the Pacific Northwest’s biggest metropolis with rock ‘n’ roll music — and a little talk, too.

Today an Entercom Communications station, KISW-FM 99.9 is celebrating its longevity in Seattle with “The 50th Anniversary Weekend.”

Special programming will pay tribute to the station’s legacy with stories and memories from KISW alumni; local civic, sports and business leaders; and bands and artists from both Seattle and around the world.

KISW debuted as an Album-Oriented Rock station on February 14, 1971.

Guests are set to include bands Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Greta Van Fleet, Heart, Alice In Chains, Disturbed, Judas Priest, athletes from Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, Kraken and Sounders, Mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkin​, singer-songwriter Sammy Hagar, and actors Joel McHale and Rainn Wilson​.

“There are only a handful of radio stations that can brag about thriving for 50 years in a particular format, and KISW is one of them,” said Jack Hutchison, SVP and Market Manager for Entercom/Seattle. “KISW is synonymous with Seattle. We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the many talented people who have been and still are part of this journey. They know the secret to our success has been to – first and foremost – recognize and immerse ourselves within the community. We’re not done, so stay tuned for the next 50 years. They are going to be fun.”

Dave Richards, Entercom’s Rock Format Captain, added, “To be able to celebrate a milestone like this is a rarity, and we don’t take that lightly. We celebrate this golden anniversary with everyone who has been along for the ride.”

Back in 1971, KISW was owned by Kaye-Smith, with Frank Sinatra a minority owner. Like many rockers, it started out with a progressive rock feel before evolving.

Over the years, personalities and shows like “Robin and Maynard,” “Langan and West,” “Crowe and West,” “Bob Rivers Twisted Radio,” Howard Stern, “BJ and Migs” and “The Mens Room” have helped KISW attract listeners.

Now, it is looking back as it sets to enter its sixth decade of service.

Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Home is Where the Connectivity Is 

It’s a trend Nielsen believes is important for brands and advertisers looking to stay in touch with consumers as their habits—and their habitats—shift.

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Comcast Advertising’s Agency Leadership Council (ALC) recently commissioned Advertiser Perceptions to find out how more than 300 cross-screen TV advertisers and marketers are approaching measurement in 2021.

The results are now here, and they examine advertisers’ and marketers’ openness to new providers, and what may be holding them back from moving more quickly on new measurement currencies.

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EUREKA, CALIF. — For local television viewers that wish to watch the local NBC and CBS affiliates, it’s been a difficult start to 2020. First, Altice USA-owned Suddenlink, the dominant cable TV services provider across Humboldt County, blocked its customers from viewing them in the absence of a retransmission consent agreement.

Then, as soon as that “blackout” ended, another one transpired, with AT&T-owned DirecTV preventing its subscribers from seeing the stations — owned by Cox Media Group.

The local Member of Congress is irate. And, he’s going so far as to seek the elimination of the so-called “UHF discount” in legislation he’s set to introduce — a new wrinkle to Rep. Jared Huffman‘s efforts in Washington to end retrans impasses such as these.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the world’s best-known audio equipment manufacturers has asked the FCC to reverse a decision made by the Pai Commission by reconsidering the merits it believes a dedicated UHF television channel for wireless microphone use would bring to its users.

Under former Chairman Ajit Pai the FCC declined to provide at least one “vacant” 6MHz UHF channel in each market for its exclusive use by wireless microphones.

It was tied to the FCC’s termination of a “vacant channels” rulemaking opened during its 600 MHz incentive auction.

Shure Incorporated disagrees with the FCC’s conclusions and rationale for terminating the proceeding. Now, with acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at the helm, it believes a change from Republican to Democratic leadership may be ripe for a relook.

In a petition filed the Commission, Shure argues that the wireless microphone community needs clear spectrum now more than ever. That’s because, it says, the 600MHz band has been reallocated to mobile phone use. Add to that the post-spectrum auction “repack” of broadcast TV stations, which moved many TV stations to the 500MHz spectrum.

“At the same time, broadcast, performance, and sporting productions continue to demand more channels of wireless microphones than ever before,” Shure said.

It added that the “alternative” frequencies identified by the FCC in 2017 for wireless microphone use at 900MHz, 1.4GHz, and 7GHz “fall far short of addressing the needs of wireless microphone users. These bands do not have the same characteristics and operational flexibility as UHF frequencies. Because these bands are occupied by licensed users in other industries, access to these bands for wireless microphone use is conditioned on sharing requests, which can be lengthy and ultimately denied.”

Further, Shure argued that the 600MHz duplex gap and VHF frequencies offer interference and other considerations that constrain use. “Together, these other spectrum resources are helpful but are not practical alternatives to UHF, and the certainty of having access to at least one vacant UHF channel is important to meet demand for wireless microphone use. The designated UHF channel would also be important for applications that include intercom, IFB and others.”

Ahren Hartman, Vice President of Corporate Quality, commented, “With the loss of 700MHz, 600MHz, and the DTV repack into 500MHz, we are at an all-time low for access to UHF spectrum. However, the need for open and clear wireless microphone spectrum is higher than ever before.”

RBR+TVBR Washington Bureau

Tru Optik, which offers “identity resolution” in the streaming media world for marketers and advertisers, has struck a new partnership with WideOrbit, the sell-side processor of premium digital and linear advertising.

To learn how this can benefit Radio as it grows its podcasting and streaming audio delivery business, RBR+TVBR spoke exclusively with John Morris, VP of Streaming & On-Demand at WideOrbit. He’s Adam R Jacobson’s guest in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: John Morris, WideOrbit” on Spreaker.

“Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks has resolved and withdrawn the lawsuit against Charter Communications.”

That’s the entire “official joint statement” released late Wednesday (2/3) by both companies, settling a matter that dates back several years for the broadcast media mogul.

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Of course, there’s a lot more detail to the matter that deserves explanation.

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From the 1970s through the start of the 1990s, radio broadcast stations from a “distant” locale could be received via cable television systems. It’s how Ulster County, N.Y. FM radio listeners were able to receive New York City-based stations some 90 miles north of the Empire State Building.

It seems that distant retransmission of radio broadcast signals by cable TV systems is still a thing, and the Copyright Royalty Board is seeking comment on a proposed royalty rates and terms settlement that also covers the distant retransmission of broadcast TV signals.

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Thank you, Georgia.

With ownership of the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, along with unaffiliated “Peachtree TV,” Meredith Local Media was one of several broadcast media company that saw bonus political dollars flow through the end of 2020 — thanks to twin U.S. Senate runoff elections.

Those extra bucks, along with non-election spot television advertising improvements from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, led Meredith’s broadcast TV arm to achieve a 141% year-over-year adjusted EBITDA increase in its fiscal Q2 of 2021.

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Sunday, February 29, is the final day for WGN America. It’s set to rebrand as NewsNation, the name of the prime-time news block that debuted in September 2020 as part of a systematic relaunch of the network under Nexstar Media Group ownership.

Its News Director won’t be around to carry out the network’s rechristening.

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Call it a reimagining of the annual mid-May dog-and-pony open bar parade across Midtown Manhattan called the Upfronts.

Or, you can call it, as NBCUniversal is, “a new annual gathering designed to offer a global view of the insights, stories, entertainment, and technology connecting consumers to businesses.”

However you spin it, “ONE21” is set to combine “the magic of the media and entertainment industry with the strategic insights and solutions of a platform developer conference.”

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He’s had a 46-year career in radio that included roles as CBS Radio/San Francisco SVP/Market Manager from 2005 through late 2017. He was also VP/National PD for the former EZ Communications.

In May 2018, he was lured to lead Cumulus Media’s Bay Area stations.

Now, Doug Harvill is ready to conclude his career in radio broadcasting.

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For two hours on Wednesday, with a second two-hour session set for Thursday, the 12-year-old Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) took to Zoom and conducted the first of its two virtual sessions comprising the 10th annual Cross-Platform Video Measurement & Data Summit.

What did Managing Director and CEO Jane Clarke, who hosted the event, have to share? For starters, the four “building blocks” to cross-media measurement were shared.

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NEW YORK — An advertising technology business providing media buying and media accounting products via a cloud-based SaaS platform has completed a series D financing initiative.

Led by data and analytics firm Ascential plc, the financial fundraiser provides up to $63.5 million in Hudson MX funding.

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Saranac Lake, N.Y., is a small city in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains of far Upstate New York. In recent years, it has gained attention for the acquisition of a failed radio station, silenced by its licensee, by two foreign citizens. It has also received attention for a UHF channel that’s been the subject of a coverage battle with Comcast.

That channel is today owned by Gray Television. And, it serves the Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y. market. A petition Gray has just submitted to the FCC now brings the company the potential to fully complete, on par, with in-market competitor Hearst Television.

An Engineering Exhibit prepared for Gray by Chesapeake RF Consultants LLC, obtained by RBR+TVBR, confirms that it is submitting for regulatory approval an application that would give it a Construction Permit to operate WYCI-DT as a Distributed Transmission System (DTS) by adding another transmitter site to its current operation.

It’s a major move for Gray, and essentially makes the company a full player in the Burlington-Plattsburgh market. Furthermore, WYCI would enjoy an over-the-air signal as far north as Montréal, which historically has received Burlington-Plattsburgh “Big Four” TV stations on local cable TV systems.

Importantly, it puts Hearst on notice that it has a fight on its hands locally.

And, it’s a battle that is five years in the making.

WYCI, which has a PSIP of 40 and uses digital channel 34, in October 2016 was a property of Cross Hill Communications. The station’s then-owner wanted WYCI placed on Comcast’s Xfinity channel lineup across the Burlington-Plattsburgh DMA. Comcast protested, and fought a “must carry” request by filing a cable special relief petition (CSR) with the FCC. This would have allowed Xfinity to become exempt from a pending market modification of the station to Burlington-Plattsburgh.

At the time, WYCI was a RetroTV affiliate, purchased by Cross Hill in December 2013 from Donald McHone’s Channel 61 Associates LLC. It paid $225,000 for what was WNMN-TV.

Interestingly, Comcast in December 2016 abandoned its fight against Cross Hill and WYCI. Was it privy to a potential sale of the station?

On October 14, 2019, Cross Hill agreed to sell WYCI to Gray for $1.1 million. But, the deal came after Gray in May 2017 paid $29 million for the Burlington-Plattsburgh market’s CBS affiliate WCAX-3.

The 2019 sale of WYCI created a duopoly that passed muster with the FCC’s local ownership rules, and the Commission approved the deal in February 2020.

By that time, WYCI had shifted its programming by placing the Heroes & Icons multicast network on its DT1 signal. It is also a secondary MyNetwork TV station for Burlington-Plattsburgh.

THE COMING DTS BOOST

Now, WYCI is poised to employ a new antenna system to be side-mounted on an existing tower structure associated with FCC Antenna Structure Registration number 1003384.

No change to the overall structure height will result.

WYCI will continue to operate as licensed from “DTS site No. 2.”

The proposed antenna for DTS site No. 1 is an elliptically polarized directional Dielectric model TFU-16DSB-B/VP-R, with 30% vertical polarization.

The proposed antenna height above ground is 738.19 feet; the antenna HAAT is 1,735.6 feet.

With a tower site that’s a 90-minute drive to Rue Crescent in the heart of Montréal, effective radiated power of 200,000 watts would easily reach the city — let alone the entire Burlington-Plattsburgh DMA.

Mutual interference would be mitigated by “considerable terrain blockage,” Chesapeake RF Consultants notes.

For those familiar with the region, DTS site No. 1 will be built on Terry Mountain. It is where Hearst’s NBC affiliate, WPTZ-5, had its tower for some 40 years. It’s just 17 miles southwest of Plattsburgh,

When up and running, the signal will stretch as far into Vermont as Montpelier.

And, thanks to that mountainous terrain, it will enjoy coverage of the most populous areas of Montréal.

With WCAX and WYCI, Gray will compete against Hearst’s WPTZ and The CW Network affiliate in Burlington-Plattsburgh, WNNE-31. 

The two stations currently use a tower atop Mt. Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.

Hearst has owned WPTZ and WNNE since July 1998; the stations were previously owned by Heritage Media, and in the span of 12 months starting in 1997 were sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group, and then to Sunrise Television. Sunrise then engaged in an asset swap that brought WPTZ and WNNE into the Hearst family.

At the end of August 2020, Anthony Bucher and his Hitmaker Music Group LLC struck a deal giving it ownership of a pair of AM radio stations and an FM translator in the heart of Florida’s “Gator Country.”

Now, Bucher is officially the licensee of the stations in the Gainesville-Ocala market.

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A war of words has erupted between DirecTV owner AT&T and Apollo Global Management-controlled Cox Media Group in the wake of an impasse over a new retransmission consent agreement — a move that forced AT&T, by law, to block its subscribers from receiving any CMG-owned station.

On Tuesday (2/2), CMG pointed fingers at AT&T. Now, AT&T has fired back at the owner of such stations as KIRO-7 in Seattle, the market’s CBS affiliate and home to Super Bowl LV. 

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