Aggregator

On the evening of Thursday, Feb. 18, Ed Stolz was placed in jail. U.S. Marshals arrested him, as he was a fugitive, unwilling to surrender control of his three FM radio stations to a court-appointed receiver in lieu of unpaid music royalty payments.

Stolz was released from jail one day later. Since then, U.S. District Court of the Central District of California’s Eastern Division, which is presided by Judge Jesus Bernal, continues to hear from the receiver, Larry Patrick, about Stolz’s interference.

Stolz, meanwhile, has filed an appeal of Bernal’s ruling in yet another attempt to thwart the loss of his FMs.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

iHeartMedia is realigning its business operations by creating two new segments. The media company says it is making the adjustments to better reflect its increased focus on digital and improve visibility into the underlying performances of each segment.

The Mutliplatform Group will include the company’s 860 broadcast radio stations, Premiere Networks and its virtual and live events business. This group accounts for 75 percent of iHeartMedia’s revenue. Greg Ashlock will be its CEO.

The new Digital Audio Group includes podcasting and the company’s digital sites, digital services and digital advertising technology companies, including its pending acquisition Triton Digital. Conal Byrne becomes this group’s CEO.

“The company expects the Digital Audio Group will continue to grow as an increasing proportion of its business in the future,” it stated in its announcement, though it said the Multiplatform Group “remains the foundation business that has been at the heart of the company’s success, playing an important role in building its successful digital and podcasting businesses.

[Related: “For Radio, Audio Is the New Now”]

The divisions will report their financials separately and be run by different management groups, according to an iHeartMedia press release. Both segments will report to Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia chairman and CEO.

A separate Audio & Media Services segment includes Katz Media Group and software provider RCS.

Continued shift

“iHeartMedia is positioned to benefit in the continued shift of the broadcast and digital advertising marketplaces to data infused electronic platforms,” Pittman said during an earnings call Thursday.

The company reported fourth quarter 2020 revenue of $936 million on Thursday, a decline of 8.8% from a year earlier. It says it quarterly revenue deficits are narrowing as skittish advertisers return and the COVID-19 pandemic eases in parts of the United States. iHeartMedia previously reported a drop of 22% in revenue for Q3 2020 year-to-year.

iHeartMedia’s broadcast specific revenue was down 19% in Q4 2020 and down 26% excluding political, according to the financial report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company reported significant political advertising, totaling $168 million for the year, its best year on record. Digital continues to standout for iHeartMedia, according to Pittman. Growth in digital the final quarter of 2020 was 53% year over year, according to the company’s filing with the report.

For the year, the pandemic caused a significant decline in revenue of nearly 20% compared to 2019. Total revenue was $2.9 billion in 2020 compared to nearly $3.7 billion in annual results the year prior.

Pittman said the company hopes to return to 2019 revenue levels by the end of this year but a lot depends on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and the return of more advertisers.

Corporate expenses decreased 23.8% in 2020 compared to the year prior, according to the iHeartMedia SEC filing, resulting from cost reduction initiatives that resulted in lower employee compensation. In addition, the company’s modernization efforts delivered $50 million of in-year savings in 2020.

“The total operating expense savings resulting from our modernization initiatives and the operating cost savings initiatives that were developed in response to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic generated approximately $250 million of cost reductions in 2020,” according to the financial statement.

COVID-19 takes its share

Pittman on Thursday’s earnings call said: “Like every ad supported business we were hit by the pandemic. We responded quickly to the downturn and used this to speed up our adoption of new technologies and best practices while making lasting changes to our company’s operating structure.”

The company said it will continue to centralize resources into what it calls Centers of Excellence.

The company’s capital expenditures for the year 2020 were $85.2 million compared to $112.2 million in 2019. Those capital expenditures last year consisted primarily of investments in its programmatic platforms and IT software and infrastructure, according to the company’s SEC filing.

The company is more optimistic about spending as it projects cap ex of $165 million to $185 million in 2021.

iHeartMedia’s fourth quarter results fell in line with most of the mega radio group owners in this country. Entercom reported earlier this week its 2020 revenues in the quarter fell 23 percent year-to-year. Cumulus Media fared a bit better reporting fourth quarter revenues in 2020 declined 13.1 percent compared to a year earlier.

iHeartMedia President/COO/CFO Rich Bressler said during Thursday earnings call the company projects “its first quarter 2021 revenue will be down 11 to 13 percent when compared to the year prior.”

The biggest commercial radio operator in the United States — which has been acquiring audio technology companies in the past couple of years and just announced the planned purchase of audio measurement company Triton Digital for $230 million in February — failed to make a significant dent in its overall debt in the quarter, according to the SEC filing.

As of Dec. 31, 2020, the company had just over $6 billion in total debt, virtually unchanged from the end of September.

Honeycomb investment

Also in February, Honeycomb Investments Ltd., an investment vehicle funded by Global Radio investor Michael Tabor, announced it had taken an 8.8% share in iHeartMedia, according to SEC filings. Honeycomb’s investors own Global, the largest radio and outdoor advertising company in the UK.

The investment totaled $117.6 million, according to several reports. Just last year the FCC gave approval to iHeartMedia’s petition to increase its foreign ownership beyond the 25% limit.

In its 10K annual report to the SEC filed Thursday, iHeartMedia said: “Honeycomb filed a Schedule 13D with the SEC reporting ownership of more than 5% of our voting stock and equity. Honeycomb acquired its interest without our knowledge or control, and we are fulfilling our obligations under the Declaratory Ruling and the FCC rules with respect to Honeycomb’s interest.”

 

 

The post iHeartMedia Announces New Operational Structure appeared first on Radio World.

United States recorded music revenues grew 9.2% in 2020 to $12.2 billion at estimated retail value.

It marks the fifth consecutive year of growth for the industry, as paid subscription services continued to be the primary driver of revenue increases, and reached a record number of subscriptions.

Streaming music’s share of total revenues grew to 83%.

Covid-19 affected the industry significantly through tour cancellations, retail store closures, and other disruptions.

Revenues from recorded music measured at wholesale value grew 8.9% to $8.0 billion.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The latest report from Nielsen offers new insights into podcast listening trends — particularly when it comes to tune-in trends and category ad spending among diverse audiences.

Study after study has found that after a decade of audience growth, podcasts have become an appealing and reliable advertising platform. With more than 1.7 million podcast titles available for listeners to choose from as of the beginning of 2021, podcasts are boasting a track record of strong listener engagement — offering advertisers a means of more personalized connection, the Nielsen report said.

[Read: Reports Offer Insights on the Podcast Listener]

Specifically, the February 2021 Nielsen report found that podcast advertising — and notably, those podcast ads delivered by the podcast host — were driving stronger brand recall punch than more traditional forms of advertisements. A series of podcast effectiveness studies by Nielsen has found that host-read ads drive a brand recall rate of 71%, a scenario that subsequently creates high levels of consumer interest, purchase intent and recommendation intent.

The result is an estimated ad spend that is expected to eclipse $1 billion this year, the report said.

The growth seen from podcasts is good news to everyone — consumers, content creators and advertisers, Nielsen said — but as the podcast landscape broadens, “content creators and advertisers will be increasingly tasked with ensuring that their programs and messages align with who’s listening,” the Nielsen report said. “And when we look at audience trends, creators and advertisers should be focused on where the growth is.”

Specifically, the report notes that Hispanic and Black listeners are leaders in podcast consumption. Black consumers are more likely to take action such as visiting a retail location for more information as a result of listening to a podcast, the report said, compared to 8% of all podcast listeners. Hispanic listeners, on the other hand, have gravitated to podcasts more than any other, as the reach among this group increased from 1.1 million in 2010 to 6.8 million in 2019. That represents a growth rate of more than six times.

In addition, the report details that podcasting is also managing to withstand the effects of COVID-19. While the pandemic has altered traditional audio listening habits, when U.S. consumers were forced into lockdown, commuting to work decreased and audio consumption dropped. As the year progressed however, audio use — including podcasts — rebounded as consumers modified their media habits in the wake of life changes brought on by COVID-19.

The new Nielsen report also suggests that podcasting is ideal for brands looking to engage the right consumers with a well-tailored message as opposed to simply casting a big net and hoping for the best. “As the base of podcast listeners rapidly expands, those well-tailored messages depend on having a full understanding of who’s listening and to what,” the report said.

The report also tracks listening by age group, listening location, time of day, median age, median household income and gender breakdown.

 

The post New Report Reveals Podcast Trends Among Diverse Audiences appeared first on Radio World.

Bauer Media Audio said it plans to acquire Communicorp Group, pending regulatory approval.

“Through this transaction Bauer Media Audio enters the Republic of Ireland and extends its audio business to eight countries, further developing its position as Europe’s leading commercial radio operator with more than 55 million weekly listeners,” the organization stated in the announcement.

It said Communicorp is Ireland’s largest commercial radio group with a weekly audience of 1.75 million.

“The group comprises of Ireland’s only two national commercial radio stations Today FM and Newstalk, alongside local stations Spin 1038 and 98FM in Dublin, and Spin Southwest in Limerick, as well as leading digital radio sport station Off The Ball, digital audio exchange audioXI and aggregated listening platform GoLoud.”

The announcement was made by Paul Keenan, president of Bauer Media Audio, and Communicorp Chairperson Lucy Gaffney.

The Irish Times reports the sale is “understood to be for more than 100 million Euros.” It quoted Communicorp’s billionaire owner Denis O’Brien saying his decision was influenced by changing listening habits of consumers.

But in the announcement, Paul Keenan cited radio’s popularity in Ireland and said. Communicorp’s radio stations “are reaching record listening highs.”

Bauer Media Audio has broadcast radio, online services and podcasts also serving the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Slovakia. Its brands include KISS, Mix Megapol, Absolute Radio, Radio Norge, Radio Expres, Radio Nova, Radio 100 and RMF.

 

The post Bauer Media to Acquire Ireland’s Communicorp appeared first on Radio World.

Of the major publicly traded audio media companies operating in the U.S., Entercom Communications, iHeartMedia and Beasley Media Group have each reported their fourth quarter earnings. Saga Communications will offer its results on March 12.

Where is Townsquare Media? The results, which are expected to be positive, are still forthcoming and due the week of March 15.

While the company’s top executives will be participating in upcoming investor conferences, a top Wall Street blog believes the company’s shares are nearly half of their intrinsic value estimates.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Getty Images/Cavan Images

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a reminder that anyone involved in the change of ownership of a wireless communication tower must follow a certain notification process.

“This reminder is necessary because of inconsistent compliance with this process, and it reflects the importance of maintaining accurate records in the FCC’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) System, which functions to protect aircraft navigation safety,” it stated.

In February of 2019 the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau put out a notice announcing that the FCC was revising its ASR System with a new process for reporting changes in ownership of towers and other structures registered in the system. It made changes to FCC Form 854, Antenna Structure Registration, and the commission’s ASR website at that time.

“The ownership change application procedure is a two-step process that requires both the assignor (current owner of record) and the assignee (new owner of record) to take several steps,” the FCC now reminds us.

Those steps are to log into ASR, complete their respective portions of the application, and provide the signature of an authorized person.

“In the time since these changes were enacted, there have been a number of instances where ownership changes were not properly completed because one of the parties failed to complete the process. These failures made it difficult to identify the owner responsible for compliance with our Part 17 rules, led to complications in subsequent transfers, and resulted in other administrative inefficiencies.”

Part 17 of the rules covers construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures.

The commission is reminding all parties to transfers of ownership of registered towers that they must comply with the process in the Ownership Change Public Notice. 

“Further, we recommend that parties complete the change of ownership in ASR as part of the sales transaction, rather than leaving the ASR ownership change to be completed at a later date. If the ownership change application process is not properly completed by both parties, the ASR system will identify the wrong entity as the owner, which may result in the wrong entity being held responsible for a tower it no longer holds and may slow down future transfers of ownership for current owners. It could also impact aviation safety by preventing or delaying lighting outage reports from reaching tower owners and thus delay subsequent FAA notification and repairs.”

It noted that its Licensing Support Hotline is available on weekday business hours to help with the online application process at (877) 480-3201 option 2; TTY (717) 338-2824.

The post FCC Issues Reminder About ASR appeared first on Radio World.

A slide from the IABM report focuses on the audio supply chain. (Click here to enlarge.)

The pandemic has changed some priorities in the global audio business, according to IABM.

In its latest “Audio Sector” report, the association writes that pandemic lockdowns have had “significant and sometimes surprising” effects in audio, which it calls an “important, but sometimes unheralded” sector of broadcast and media.

IABM is an international trade association based in the U.K. It released the following takeaways; its full report is available to members.

It said:

• COVID-19 “has led to a realization of the importance of audio quality, as disruptions hit production standards.”
• The pandemic has “incentivized consumers to increasingly stream audio-only content,” prompting growth in areas such as podcasting.
• From a technology perspective, “audio virtualization and remote production deployments have accelerated out of necessity, while other trends such as immersive audio have slowed down.”
• Some audio business drivers such as the move to easy-to-use products have accelerated.
• Demand in live sectors such as music and theater has plummeted “while other buyers such as streaming, smaller audio content creators and some adjacent markets have increased investment.”
• The audio supply chain has been hit by the cancellations of events and productions more than it has been helped from new waves of spending from remote working, production, streaming and small audio producers.
• And “some audio technology suppliers have pivoted to cater to the needs of new segments, as well as to accommodate the health and safety requirements of the pandemic in some sectors.”

IABM quoted its Head of Knowledge Lorenzo Zanni saying that while live events took a back seat, and stay-at-home viewers accepted lower-quality video, “the importance of high-quality audio really came to the fore.”

He said the pandemic also saw a “huge increase in the streaming of audio-only content, particularly podcasts and audio books, particularly among younger audiences.”

 

The post COVID-19 Prompted Focus on Audio Quality appeared first on Radio World.

What’s next for remote audio?

Broadcasters invented whole new workflows when COVID-19 sliced through the industry.

But almost a year later, Radio World now looks ahead —  to ask what our industry’s new normal for remote audio will be, and how future workflows and infrastructure designs might be different because of the pandemic experience.

Find out what we learned from broadcasters like New York Public Radio, Saga Communications, Gimme Radio, the University of Southern Colorado, Los 40 Principales Granada, Relevant Radio and Silver Lake Audio.

And learn what manufacturers such as AEQ, Comrex, ENCO Systems, Lawo, Prodys, RCS, Telos Alliance, Tieline and Wheatstone are doing to support these new workflows.

Read it here.

The post Remote Radio Phase II: A Radio World Ebook appeared first on Radio World.

Entercom Communications has unveiled a new programming leadership structure for its central programming team.   “This enhanced leadership team will supplement our premium content offering throughout our portfolio and ensure we have the premier collection of personalities engaging deeply with our audiences nationwide,” said Entercom Communications Chief Programming Officer Pat Paxton. “It will also allow us to best integrate the innovation of new products and content so we are continuously growing the impact and reach of our offering and super serving our 170 million listeners each month.”   Paxton will continue to lead Entercom’s programming department and will focus day-to-day on the management of its portfolio of market-leading brands. He will also continue to oversee Entercom’s brand research and marketing efforts.   Jeff Sottolano, Entercom’s EVP of Programming, will continue to manage Entercom’s industry leading collection of sports, all-news and news/talk brands. He will also be charged with growing Entercom’s content insights and analytics capabilities and overseeing its network and syndicated content development.   The big news: Dave Richards joins Entercom’s central programming leadership team as SVP of Programming, segueing from the role of SVP of Programming of Rocker KISW-FM in Seattle. Richards has been there for last 19 years and has developed programs like “The Men’s Room” and concepts like KISW’s annual “Live Day.”   In his new role, Richards will be responsible for original content ideation, talent development and coaching. He will spearhead Entercom’s efforts to support its expanding business portfolio, which includes Radio.com, Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios, through the generation of cross-platform content.   Michael Martin will continue to serve as SVP of Programming and Music Initiatives and oversee Entercom’s relationships with artists, management and record labels and lead its efforts to collaborate with the artist community on event, digital and social opportunities.   Entercom has also created an executive committee, with members who will collaborate to develop and oversee programming strategy across the company: Pat Paxton; Jeff Sottolano; Michael Martin; Dave Richards; Pam Russo, Senior Vice President and General Manager, RADIO.COM; Bill Smee, Vice President of News; Matt Volk, Vice President of Sports; Nikki Nite, Vice President of Programming and Brand Manager, Entercom Austin; and Reggie Rouse, Urban Format Captain, Entercom, and Brand Manager, Entercom Atlanta.

 

RBR+TVBR RELATED READS:

Entercom Head Touts DEI Task Force Work, and Urban League Plan Adam Jacobson Entercom Communications  President/CEO David Field has taken time out to take pride in the company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force. As he noted in an internal memo, the audio media company “has been hard at work this summer” developing action plans — and with “a big assist” from employees who provided input. Entercom Adds UWG Head To Its Board of Directors RBR-TVBR She currently serves as the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of UWG, a multicultural advertising and marketing agency. Now, she’s also a member of Entercom’s Board of Directors, expanding it to 11 directors.

It is exiting the digital audio business, as it is spinning Triton to iHeartMedia following the divestment of its radio properties, “with fantastic returns.”

It boasts “a powerful new national network business” thanks to its blockbuster merger with Ion Media.

This is the new path The E.W. Scripps Co. is speedily traveling forward on, and Scripps President/CEO Adam Symson says the transformation of the company makes it “exceptionally positioned for the growth of television.”

With that, Scripps released its Q4 and year-end 2020 results. How did Scripps do?

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Aside from former FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, there may be few people outside of Kansas familiar with the town of Ulysses. It’s to the northwest of Liberal, southwest of Garden City, and a 300-mile drive from construction-cluttered Denver International Airport.

Here, a group of eight radio stations are heading to a new licensee.

Why? The current operator defaulted on payments owed to the entity getting the octet.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Dan Gunter is principal of Alabama Broadcast Services LLC, a contract engineering firm headquartered in LaFayette, Ala. He saw a presentation that I did for the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s Engineering Academy in which I discussed infrared cameras made by FLIR.

Fig.1: The FLIR One Pro, bottom, is a thermal camera for smartphones.

Last year, Dan bought a model that plugs into his smartphone. He says it has more than paid for itself. (The FLIR One Pro costs about $400.)

Here’s what Dan wanted to share with Workbench readers. He was at a client site to check a Harris SX-5A AM transmitter that had repeatedly blown the silver-mica capacitor in the output third harmonic filter section. Those cost about $800 apiece.

Dan got the FLIR camera ready so he could quickly shut down the SX-5A, open the rear door and grab an IR temperature reading to see how hot the capacitor was getting. He attached the infrared camera to his phone and activated the app so he was seeing real-time IR imaging.

But in getting ready to inspect that transmitter, Dan happened to sweep the camera over the rear door of another rig, a BE AM5E, and discovered a potentially serious problem there. He saw a “hot spot” in the image indicating much higher temperatures at one of the twin cooling fans at the bottom of the BE transmitter’s rear door.

Measured with the FLIR One Pro, with a measurement “box” as defined in the FLIR PC software (Fig. 2), he saw that the cabinet over the blown fan was as hot as 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature was only 76.6 degrees in the area of the working fan.

Fig. 2: The back of the BE5E transmitter. Note the uneven color between the left and right fan grills.

Because these fans are behind a metallic filter in a recessed area of the door, they’re normally out of sight. And you would not see them in operation if you opened the rear door of the transmitter’s cabinet because, for obvious reasons, the transmitter must be powered down first (or the interlocks will shut it down for you).

Dan notes that this AM5E had a history of repeatedly blowing PA modules. The latest suffered a major burnout that charred the components beyond recognition on about a third of the circuit board, even melting the casing off a relay. That repair cost around $1,500.

So Dan began to investigate. He discovered that the “hot” fan was not running. In fact, he had to take a hammer and reshape the perforated metal portion of the door where the fan mounts, because it was pressing against the center of the rotating fan blade/spindle. This had apparently caused the fan to burn out. In looking at Fig. 3, the suspect fan is to the left, just above the copper strap.

Fig. 3: The left-hand fan was not working; Dan replaced it.

Before and after replacing the burned-out fan, Dan used the FLIR camera to measure the temperature of the transmitter’s cabinet. By replacing the fan, he decreased the temperature of the cabinet by around 15 degrees Fahrenheit in the areas adjacent to and above the PA modules. Dan suspects that the actual temperature of the PA modules and of the area inside the transmitter dropped by that much and more.

When he places his hand on the transmitter cabinet, it now feels to be at or very close to room temperature instead of noticeably warmer than ambient room air. The temperatures were notably different after replacement of the fan and resolving the fan motor binding issue, as seen in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: FLIR imaging shows both fans are cooling properly.

All this to say that Dan now makes it a habit to “scan” his transmitters, especially in the areas of air exhaust, intake and fans in order to spot problems such as blown fans or blocked air flow.

In the case of transmitters and transmitter rooms with lots of noise (I bet you’ve never encountered such a problem!), IR imaging can catch a lot of things that would otherwise be almost undetectable until the transmitter goes down.

We’ll tell you next time how his repair to the first transmitter turned out. Dan also said he is looking forward to producing more “how to” and technical videos on YouTube after a brief hiatus. We look forward to them.

Flashback

Last weekend I came across a YouTube video of The Seekers, in the Abbey Road studio, apparently recording their song “I’ll Never Find Another You” in 1964 (“There’s a new world somewhere, they call the Promised Land …”)

Posted by Rich963, it’s a pretty neat video featuring 1960s recording technology, though I noticed that the console VU meters weren’t moving for part of the video even as the group sang! A nice job of lip synching. Nonetheless it’s a fun peek inside a music recording studio of nearly 60 years ago.

As you watch, there’s one other apparent “flaw.” See if you can pick it up as you view the video.

John Bisset has spent over 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. John holds CPBE certification with the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Workbench submissions are encouraged, qualify for SBE Recertification, and can be emailed to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Workbench: IR Camera Spots a Dead Cooling Fan appeared first on Radio World.

Gray Television‘s Board of Directors has unanimously voted to expand the board by one seat.

To fill that extra chair, the board has elected the SVP/General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Georgia Power as an independent director.

That would be Sterling A. Spainhour Jr.

Like all Directors, Spainhour’s term will run through the next Gray Annual Meeting.

Spainhour’s resume includes roles at Southern Company, and was a partner at Jones Day for more than 20 years.

He’s also served as senior counsel for CNN.

 

.

.

.

Issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $1,500 to John Burdette for failure to timely file a license renewal application for FM Translator W268BM, Jasper, Alabama

.

Wennes Communications Stations, Inc. enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation