Aggregator

On January 16, 2018, a radio station licensee headed by Jason Zinzilieta and Janice Derks reached a LMA agreement with an entity led by the COO of member-manager Farmworker Educational Radio Network.

That involved two fully licensed properties and an FM translator serving the Prescott Valley of Arizona. Now, Zinzilieta and Derks have struck a deal to partially convert the lease to a purchase.

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

A OneMedia promotional image.

It may be a little early for radio groups or SiriusXM to get worried, but they might want to take a close look at what Sinclair Broadcast Group is doing in Seattle.

This month the company is launching ATSC 3.0 over-the-air delivery of four Sinclair radio stations in the market as part of its STIRR XT digital audio service.

OTA simulcasts of KVI(AM), KOMO(AM), KOMO(FM) and KPLZ(FM) will complement 15 digital audio channels already being delivered “over the top” as part of STIRR XT.

When it announced the plan a couple of months ago, Sinclair VP of Technology Strategy Michael Bouchard was quoted in the press release saying the technology “lays the groundwork for our future plans of enhancing the reception of terrestrial over-the-air radio services throughout the country, as NextGen TV is deployed by broadcasters everywhere.”

From a strategic point of view, the rollout — while initially modest — demonstrates Sinclair’s commitment to delivery of more than better-looking and sounding television via ATSC 3.0, says Mark Aitken, senior vice president, advanced technology, for Sinclair and the president of its ONE Media 3.0 business.

“One of the reasons we are doing this is because the automotive guys always ask: ‘Is there an alternative to digital radio [and] to SiriusXM that can be delivered via the ATSC 3.0 standard?’” he says.

While acknowledging it is “early in the game,” Sinclair is hoping these “Seattle 3.0” radio simulcasts — the first of many to launch in the broadcaster’s ATSC 3.0 markets — will pique the interest of automakers as they plan for the future, he says.

Automakers need a minimum of three years to add anything to what’s on the drawing board. The launch of STIRR XT OTA today just might be enough to nudge them into including 3.0 receivers in future models, he says.

“We think there is a real compelling reason to consider the inclusion of ATSC 3 receivers in cars,” says Aitken. “Once you’ve done that, all of the other opportunities for what can be carried in that digital spectrum open up.”

Frequently cited use cases for ATSC 3.0 in vehicles include delivery of in-car entertainment, map and navigation data and fleet-wide software updates for computer-controlled automotive tech.

NextGen TV hybrid service

Like ATSC 3.0 itself, the combined STIRR XT is a hybrid service — part OTA and part OTT, or “over the top.”

When the 3.0 radio simulcasts launch, only NextGen TV sets and gateway owners in Seattle will be able to receive them. However, in October 2020 Sinclair revealed early production samples of its Mark One smartphone with built-in 3.0 receiver. These phones and other expected 3.0 consumer devices will make mobile reception of OTA 3.0 digital audio a reality one day, says Aitken.

“We truly will be delivering radio broadcast content — just delivered over a different spectrum,” says Aitken. “It’s not FM; it’s television spectrum.”

Consumers access STIRR XT via the STIRR Radio broadcast app available universally on televisions labeled as NextGen TV sets. When consumers launch the app, they can navigate to STIRR Radio to begin enjoying OTT- and OTA-delivered digital audio channels, he says.

Sinclair has been in discussions with other broadcasters about simulcasting their radio stations over the air via ATSC 3.0 with STIRR XT in markets where the station group has no radio stations, says Aitken, who said the service at launch will be purely ad-supported.

XHE-AAC codec and ATSC 3.0

STIRR XT audio channels delivered over the top are being encoded using the Dolby AC-4 audio codec, which is specified to be used in North America as part of the ATSC 3.0 standard.

However, Sinclair has other plans for STIRR XT channels delivered over the air. Rather than AC-4, the station group will encode OTA audio channels using the xHE-AAC (Extended High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding) codec.

“We are working on integrating a broadcast app-delivered highly efficient radio audio codec, which is not technically supported in the ATSC 3.0 standard,” says Aitken. “But because this is all IP — and this is the magic of IP — that broadcast app will deliver a player for an audio codec that does not exist in the ATSC 3.0 standard.”

Motivating Sinclair’s choice of xHE-AAC for OTA-delivered STIRR XT is bandwidth efficiency, says Aitken. With xHE-AAC, Aitken predicts significant bandwidth savings.

For example, a stereo audio channel encoded with AC-4 requires 96 kilobits per second, while the same channel needs just 24 kbps when encoded using xHE-AAC, he says.

The extra efficient codec also puts Sinclair’s STIRR XT OTA delivery in line with what’s going on around the world in digital radio, he says.

“xHE-AAC is the audio codec that is part of the digital radio standard called Digital Radio Mondiale,” says Aitken. “It is deployed globally, and it is in fact the most efficient commercially available codec.”

Adopting the Digital Radio Mondiale framework in the STIRR Radio broadcast app ensures that all of the tools for radio functionality are already available, he adds.

The Seattle rollout of STIRR XT follows Sinclair’s initial deployment in Oklahoma City. Sinclair plans to make STIRR XT available in all of its ATSC 3.0 markets.

“The whole point here is that we are using STIRR as a backbone piece of our OTT-OTA convergence strategy,” says Aitken. “We are bringing to bear all of the tools and all of the assets that we can to step forward with a competitive foot with the services we can offer.”

 

 

The post Sinclair Readies ATSC 3.0 Radio Simulcast   appeared first on Radio World.

In our special Presidents’ Day edition of the RBR+TVBR Daily Headlines E-mail, readers first learned of a big transition at online music research pioneer TroyResearch.

Jonathan Little, the company’s longtime VP of Sales and Client Services, on Tuesday spoke with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson to share more about those changes in this new InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.fm.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jonathan Little” on Spreaker.

A low-power FM station in Marion, Ohio, has lost its license after failing to reply to Federal Communications Commission correspondence.

The station was WWGH(LP), which now has the dreaded “D” prefix added to its call sign, meaning deleted. For trivia buffs, the station call letters are a reference to Pres. Warren G. Harding, who lived in Marion.

The LPFM was licensed to the Marion Education Exchange. It had applied for license renewal, but after the commission sent the station a letter of inquiry requiring more information and never heard back, the license was deleted.

[Read: Georgia LPFM Agrees to Consent Decree and to Pay $10,000 Penalty]

“Although the [letter] directed MEE to respond no later than Jan. 7, 2021, MEE has filed no response,” wrote Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner. Failure to respond to official correspondence is cause for dismissal of an application.

The Marion Star website has a news account of the dispute that led to this situation. It involves program manager Scott Spears and allegations about his role and the makeup of the station board.

The FCC’s revocation letter did not discuss the underlying allegations that had been made about the station, simply that the license was being pulled for lack of response.

The newspaper quotes Spears saying that Friday was the first the station had heard from the FCC, that it was working on a formal response and planned to work with the commission on its investigation. The newspaper reported that the station remained on the air this weekend.

 

The post Ohio LPFM Has Its License Yanked appeared first on Radio World.

Sennheiser is looking for a partner to invest in its consumer electronics business so it can better focus on its professional markets.

“In our Professional and Consumer Divisions, we have four business units in total: Pro Audio, Business Communications, Neumann and Consumer Electronics,” said co-CEO Andreas Sennheiser, who was quoted in a company announcement.

[Read: Sennheiser Announces Layoffs Amidst Slowing Market]

“In all of these areas we see great potential for growth. At the same time, they are characterized by different customer groups, customer requirements, product life cycles and market dynamics.”

Co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser said that the company wants to concentrate its own resources on the three business areas in the Professional division and “are looking for a strong partner to invest in our consumer business.”

The announcement essentially is a sales pitch to potential partners: “The headphone market and the soundbar business in consumer electronics offer great growth potential — despite a highly dynamic market and strong competitive pressure,” the company wrote. “This is especially the case for the true wireless headphone market.”

It seeks partners to work in segments like premium headphones, enhanced hearing, audiophile and soundbars segments.

 

The post Sennheiser Plans a “Repositioning” appeared first on Radio World.

When it comes to serving Greene County, Tenn., just west of the Johnson City-Kingsport market, there’s perhaps no media group more locally focused than Radio Greeneville.

Radio Greeneville is the licensee of three radio stations and two FM translators. Now, the properties are being involuntary transferred into an estate. The reason? The stations’ sole owner has passed away.

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

Make it part of your routine to check ground connections like this UFER ground.

The worst lightning damage I ever saw happened in the month of February; and it was, in more than one sense, a perfect storm.

We were in the process of upgrading our Detroit FM facility, replacing a 1985-vintage Continental 27.5 kW transmitter with a much newer version of the same transmitter. The aux had long been an RCA BTF20, and our chief engineer had pulled it out of service in preparation for installing the new rig.

The new transmitter was at the site and still on the skid and wrapped in plastic. In other words, we had no working auxiliary transmitter.

In February in Michigan, we’re usually much more concerned about snowstorms and antenna icing than lightning; but this particular year, a warm weather system moved through and fired off a line of severe thunderstorms.

Vaporized

At that time I had been with the company for about a decade, and I was well acquainted with the propensity of that particular tower, a 500-foot Pirod free-standing Detroit landmark, to take “grand mal” lightning hits.

I had done everything I knew at the time to mitigate that. I had an array of ground rods at the tower base, and all transmission lines were bonded to that array where they departed the tower. It had been a good while since we’d taken a hit that produced damage.

When the storm system came through, BOOM! The tower took one of those grand mal hits, and the station was knocked off the air.

The air staff called the engineer, who took one look at the situation and called me. I caught the next flight from Dallas to Detroit.

Looking at the Continental transmitter, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Those familiar with that design know that it has two rows of seven panel-mount fuse holders in the middle of the front panel of the rightmost (power supply) cabinet. Every one of those fuse holders was … gone! Vaporized!

Looking behind the panel, the wires, some not in too good a shape, were still there, the ends turned into beads where the copper strands had melted.

It didn’t take me long to make an executive decision. There was no telling what other damage there was inside that transmitter, so for the moment I forgot about it and focused on getting the new-on-the-skid transmitter connected and running.

That took a few hours, and it wasn’t the prettiest installation, but it got the station back on the air.

Thankfully there was no other significant damage to studio equipment, although as I recall, a good bit of ancillary equipment in the transmitter room was blasted to smithereens and had to be replaced or bypassed.

Missing Connection

With that done, I started doing a post-mortem of sorts to try to figure out what had happened. After all, if it happened once, it could happen again.

I found that the strap connecting the main 3-1/8-inch rigid transmission line to the station reference ground (that array of rods I mentioned earlier) had been severed. Lightning evidently had hit the main antenna, which is on a pole on the top of the tower, and the current travelled down the rigid line right to the older Continental transmitter.

Some of the current no doubt flowed through the tower structure to ground, but evidently the path to ground through the transmitter cabinet had a much lower impedance.

The transmitter cabinet was connected to a safety ground that was eventually tied to the service entrance ground and whatever ground Edison provided. And evidently, enough potential was developed across the Bakelite (or whatever the material) panel-mount fuse holders that they vaporized. I found pieces of those fuse holders on the floor several feet from the front of the transmitter.

[Subscribe to Radio World Engineering Extra]

One side of most, if not all, of those fuses was connected directly to the incoming AC power phases, and (again, evidently) those phase conductors, which were shunted to ground with an LEA-Dynatech lightning suppressor, presented a lower impedance to ground than the safety ground on the transmitter cabinet. All the grounds were at one time tied together, but in the process of uninstalling the old RCA aux, somehow one critical ground conductor was disconnected.

We wasted no time repairing the broken strap that gave lightning current a place to jump off transmission lines before entering the building, and we brought in an electrician and had him bond all the grounds together so that the tower ground, station reference ground, service entrance ground and lightning suppressor ground were all at the same potential.

I can’t remember what all was blasted in that Continental transmitter, but we did fix it and it saw many years in auxiliary service.

Now Is the Time

The point of this sordid account … well, there are a couple of points.

First, a lightning hit can happen at any time, during just about any month of the year.

In Colorado where I live, we sometimes experience a phenomenon called “thundersnow,” where we get lightning and thunder during snowstorms. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else, but my guess is that it’s not uncommon anywhere it snows. Everywhere else, a passing weather system can fire off lightning just about anytime.

Next, the best way to prevent lightning damage is to give lightning a place to go other than into or through your equipment.

That means a jumping-off point where transmission lines, power conductors and control cables leave the tower. It also means a low-impedance ground, which is more easily achieved in some locations than others. Some soil types may require chemical rods (which you have to maintain). And it means keeping all grounds at the same potential, with heavy-gauge wire used to connect rods and bond everything together.

There are a lot of good resources out there dealing with lightning protection, including NFPA780, which is the National Fire Protection Association’s “Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems.”

Radio World has an excellent ebook available titled “Is Your Transmitter Ready for Lightning Season?”

Broadcast Engineering Conference papers have been presented on the topic. And of course there’s an excellent chapter on the topic in the 11th Edition of the NAB Engineering Handbook. A search of the internet will turn up numerous other resources.

Whether or not you get lightning in your area outside the usual thunderstorm season, now is the time to inspect your facilities and prepare. Forewarned is forearmed.

We still get the occasional lightning strike on that Detroit tower — we have experienced two in the past 12 months — but we seldom see any direct damage. Our excellent engineering staff in Detroit is well aware of the potential (no pun intended) for damage and makes a visual inspection of the entire ground system, including transmission line bonds, part of their routine.

That kind of thing should be part of every broadcast engineer’s routine, especially as we head into thunderstorm season.

In the new issue of Radio World Engineering Extra, Wayne Eckert, who spent many years protecting AT&T sites from lightning damage, will offer tips so that you can apply some of his techniques to broadcast studio and transmitter facilities. We would do well to pay attention to what he has to say.

Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB, is director of engineering for Crawford Broadcasting. Email him at rweetech@gmail.com.

The post Are You Prepared for Lightning? appeared first on Radio World.

Yes, it’s a Direct Broadcast Satellite TV service provider — one that’s involved in many retransmission fee impasses with broadcast TV companies.

But, it could also be TV’s ally in the widening of 5G, bringing more access to AVOD and streamed content created by broadcast TV. That’s why Dish‘s 5G expansion should be of note.

Dish is building what it calls the nation’s “first cloud-native, Open RAN-based 5G wireless network.”

As such, the company on Tuesday (2/16) said it has signed seven new tower agreements.

The agreements are with Harmoni Towers, Mobilite, Parallel Infrastructure, Phoenix Tower International (PTI), Tillman Infrastructure, Tower Ventures and Vogue Towers.

With these pacts, Dish has won access to more than 4,000 towers and wireless infrastructure assets.

Dish says the vendors will also provide a variety of services to help accelerate the installation of 5G radios on the newly acquired infrastructure.

“Securing strong tower partners is a key component of any network expansion, and is tremendously important for DISH’s rapid roll-out of a new, nationwide 5G network,” said Dave Mayo, Dish’s EVP of Network Development. “Each of these new tower partners will play an important role in bringing our network to life, connecting next-generation wireless service to American consumers and enterprises.” 

Many know him for his long tenure at KITS-FM in San Francisco, the Alternative station formerly known as “Live 105” and today called “ALT 105.3.”

But, few may have realized that he is also the co-founder of one of the nation’s most influential indie music club nights.

Now, Aaron Axelsen is leveraging his role in the creation of Popscene by landing a job as the head of a soon-to-launch audio division of FLOOD Media.

Axelsen will serve as the head of programming of the soon-to-launch audio division, a FLOOD entity under parent Anthemic Agency.

FLOOD Media founder and CEO Alan Sartirana said, “I’ve known and worked with Aaron for over 25 years and have always had a great deal of admiration for the work he did with Alt 105.3/Live 105 and Popscene. FLOOD Media’s mission is to tell the stories often overlooked by other traditional publishers and media outlets. We’ve seen tremendous growth over the past five years and the audio division was the next logical step.  I know Aaron will be on the forefront of the audio medium and continue to champion the best artists for discerning music fans all around the world.”

In his new role, Axelsen will oversee the programming and development of FLOOD FM, described as “a 24/7 digital indie, alternative and electronic radio station.” There’s also branded podcasting.

Axelsen will work alongside FLOOD Magazine co-publisher Randy Bookasta as part of the music and culture team.

“With FLOOD Media, Alan and team have built something truly special and I’m thrilled to be joining an ever-evolving team filled with top creatives and music industry leaders,” Axelsen said.  “I look forward to bringing my passion for new music discovery and experience of cultivating communities to such a reputable and trustworthy brand.”

Expanding into the audio universe, Anthemic Agency says FLOOD Frequency Modulations and FLOOD FM will offer a brand-new take on indie “radio” and podcasts, providing content that traditional radio outlets don’t.

It’s an indirect shot at Entercom Communications and its KITS-FM, a former CBS Radio property. Axelsen was Program Director for two HD multicast stations tied to KITS, and was one of its most visible personalities from July 1995 through his April 2020 departure. At KITS, he hosted two weekend new music shows, indie and emerging artists-focused Soundcheck and EDM-driven Subsonic in addition to his weekday afternoon on-air shift.

Axelsen joined then-Live 105 after record industry stints, including a role from February 1993-November 1994 as an EMI Music Promotions and Marketing representative for the San Francisco Bay Area.

ORLANDO — Attention, media companies with apps and other digital consumer tracking software designed to build databases filled with viewer and listener data optimized for marketing and advertising solutions.

The Sunshine State is about to send a big Central Florida-sized thunderstorm in your direction.

Proposed statewide legislation just introduced and supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis would increase data privacy and security “and uphold the rights of Floridians over major technology companies.”

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

This document amends the FM Table of Allotments, of the Commission's rules, by reinstating certain vacant FM allotments. These FM allotments are considered vacant because of the cancellation of the associated authorizations and licenses, or the dismissal of long-form auction applications. Theses vacant FM allotments have previously undergone notice and comment rule making. Reinstatement of the vacant allotments is merely a ministerial action to effectuate licensing procedures. Therefore, we find for good cause that further notice and comment are unnecessary.

There’s a part of the U.S. where New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas meet.

Here, an AM/FM combo licensed to a husband and wife has been adjusted due to a death. The result: the wife will be the sole owner of the stations.

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

On November 4, Salem Media Group stock sat at 84 cents per share. As 2020 ended, the company’s shares finished December 2020 at $1.04.

Since then, SALM has been on the rise. Then came February 8. In the last seven days, Salem shares are up by 70% in value.

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

On Feb. 17, 2020, iHeartMedia shares were priced at $17.82. Then came COVID-19.

By the end of March, IHRT had shriveled to $4.87 per share. Questions about iHeart’s ability to see profits amid a flurry of advertising cancellations and “hold for now” calls arose. An early June rally fizzled just one month later.

Then came Election Day 2020. Since then, iHeart shares haven’t stopped growing.

The question is now is … now what?

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

It seemed inevitable.

Nexstar Media Group shares have over the last five years enjoyed progressive growth, with intermittent dips that have only served to fuel further increases in the broadcast media company’s stock price.

Even as shares dipped to nearly $50 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s stay-at-home restriction period, there was an underlying belief that NXST would rebound at some point.

That point is now. Nexstar shares begin Tuesday’s trading on the Nasdaq GlobalSelect market at a record high.

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

TORONTO — It’s over … at least for now.

Bell Media last week received much press attention across Québec and Ontario for a substantial reduction in force at its heritage Anglophone News/Talk AM in Montréal following major shifts at its Windsor operations that reach Detroit listeners.

Now, a staff memo from the company’s president has emerged, indicating that a significant cull of Bell’s employee roll has ceased. And, it impacts its TV network, too.

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

In 1997, he launched what is one of the first software systems designed specifically for online music research. How, he’s ready to call it quits.

What does that mean for Madison, Wisc.-based TroyResearch?

Its longtime VP of Sales is poised to launch a new service that picks up where Troy will conclude its operations.

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

The coronavirus pandemic-led macroeconomic downturn, to little surprise, impacted the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry portfolio in a negative way.

Furthermore, the increased rate of cord-cutting and significant delays in production of movies and shows have cast a shadow on the industry’s prospects, the respected financial analyst house notes.

Nevertheless, one broadcast TV company stands out as one with a stock to buy.

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

By John Wells King
Special to RBR+TVBR

The FCC’s Online Public Inspection File server for radio and television broadcasters has been “live” for nearly three years.

Much has been written about what goes in the OPIF, and when. And, the FCC provides a good summary at publicfiles.fcc.gov/about-station-profiles.

Little attention has been paid, however, to what comes out of the OPIF: the co-equal obligation to remove expired material.

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

Larry Morton and Greg Fess both worked at ill-fated Equity Communications, which fell into bankruptcy and saw its television holdings dispersed to numerous buyers.

Now, Morton is investing in an AM radio station with an FM translator serving an Arkansas market that’s home to Walmart’s corporate headquarters.

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