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Marketing analytics company LeadsRx’s LeadsRx Attribution product now supports multi-touch attribution (MTA) for national television commercials — including live, broadcast, and dual-feed cable programming.

The enhancement, says LeadsRx, “leads to greater accuracy in attribution results, which means buyers of TV advertising can better optimize their budgets and earn higher return on ad spend (ROAS).”

The new LeadsRx capability is available to provide support for national television spot logs that take into consideration the complexities of national advertising. The system automatically adjusts the time commercials air according to the type of feed, time zones, and daylight savings time considerations.

“Accurately measuring the impact of national television advertising has been a pain point for some time due to the existence of dual feeds,” said Adam Ortman, VP of Growth & Innovation at Generator Media + Analytics. “With this new methodology, LeadsRx is now able to better inform clients and help optimize their national TV ad budgets by providing a truer picture of TV’s impact across the country.”

Incorporating national television ads within analytics, such as MTA, is difficult due to the complexities of television. Commercials air at different times throughout the U.S. depending on whether ads are shown during live events (such as sports, concerts, etc.), on broadcast networks (such as the big three of ABC, CBS, and NBC), or on cable networks.

Adding to the complexity is the fact that some cable networks are shown live across the country, while others are aired twice a day (“dual-feed cable”), time zones are different, and some states (e.g., Arizona and Hawaii) do not switch to Daylight Savings Time.

National advertisers must take an analytic approach to understanding how various ad mediums are performing both as individual channels as well as in combination with other channels. The complexity surrounding national TV advertising compounds the issue of accurately measuring advertising effectiveness for brands that advertise across the country. The examples in this Nielsen Feed Pattern Guide shows just how confusing it can be to understand broadcast and dual-feed cable programming air times.

“By offering this solution, LeadsRx is using analytics to help national television advertisers and agencies representing advertisers to lower customer acquisition costs, increase customer lifetime value, and spot and eliminate wasted ad spend,” said AJ Brown, CEO and co-founder of LeadsRx. “Our customers have been clamoring for this kind of solution, and our team has worked hard to provide an MTA solution offering this capability.”

There is no extra charge to add the new feature, LeadsRx notes.

MadHive, described as “the enterprise software platform that powers modern media,” has a new Chief Product Officer.

Craig Berlingo will lead product strategy and development for MadHive’s suite of customizable ad tech software.

Prior to joining MadHive, Berlingo recently served as Head of Product at Telaria, where he grew the video exchange business from zero to $300+ million per year in gross revenue and oversaw the platform’s adoption by top tier publishers and partners such as Hulu, Sling, A&E, Cheddar, Pluto.tv, Adobe, Google, and The Trade Desk.

“There’s no question that advertising has reached an inflection point,” said Adam Helfgott, CEO at MadHive. “New policies from tech giants, a shifting regulatory environment, and the fragmentation of consumer attention across more devices and channels than ever are causing the entire industry to rethink how we target and measure advertising. Craig’s experience building billion dollar ad tech businesses will allow us to further accelerate our rapid growth trajectory as we push the industry forward.”

MadHive got its start helping the nation’s largest broadcasters transition to streaming. The company’s infrastructure-as-a-service offering currently powers local OTT reach extension for major broadcasters including Fox. The full-stack solution provides customizable tools to manage the entire campaign lifecycle, from the industry’s most accurate audience forecasting and targeting to cross-screen attribution against its proprietary OTT-first device graph. This holistic approach has led to adoption with agencies and DTC brands aiming to target more precise audiences beyond social media.

“MadHive has established itself as a leader in digital TV, with its end-to-end platform now powering efforts for both broadcasters and brands,” said Berlingo. “I’m looking forward to joining the team at this exciting time in the company’s growth, as we continue to scale the software that further simplifies how media is bought, sold, and measured across all devices and screens.”

 

Reaching over 2.7 million people each week, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is one of Australia’s most diverse entertainment companies, with audio and visual brands and content reaching Australians through radio, television and digital properties.

When it came time to build and flip the switch on a Network Operations Center for Commercial Radio, the first in Australia, SCA selected a U.S.-headquartered provider of resource management software to make it happen.

Specifically, SCA selected Xytech to deploy its flagship MediaPulse system for the operations center.

“Although we are still in the development process, there has already been a significant level of support from Xytech,” said Ben Fransman, Network Operations Manager at SCA. “Fully understanding the nature of our business, the team has been extremely helpful in outlining our goals for MediaPulse and working with us on addressing the complexities associated with this project.”

Southern Cross Austereo upgraded from ScheduALL to MediaPulse. This, Xytech says, was done to better provide stakeholders the ability to create bookings. The resource management solutions provided by Xytech’s MediaPulse “was exactly what we were looking for,” Fransman says.

The Network Operations Centre will manage work orders as well as confirm the booking and create the connection based on date, time and project collateral, including talent interviews, remote guests and cameras.

This is one of the first installed MediaPulse systems in Australia since the ScheduALL acquisition, said Greg Dolan of Xytech. “Everyone at Xytech is really excited to see the confidence Ben and his team have placed in us and MediaPulse,” he said. “Our Managing Director in Australia, Tanya Kelly was really instrumental in this transaction, and I know she’ll be a great partner to Sothern Cross for years to come.”

Broadcast audio software tools developer Futuri Media has announced an update to its Post podcast creation system.

New tools include an in-app audio editor “designed to save production time, speed up distribution of timely content, and enable audio brands to quickly make simple edits to their on-demand broadcast content to keep people listening longer,” according to the company

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

Customizable widgets have been added that aids in branding embedded audio. Ad insertion has also been with improvements in ad marker and mid-roll capabilities.

Futuri adds that third-party destination publishing is better, chapter markers are enhanced and analytics deeper.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: https://futurimedia.com

 

The post Futuri Updates Post Podcast System appeared first on Radio World.

Brazos Valley Communications, Ltd. enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

The Bureau enters into a Consent Decree with Lincoln County School District

Identifies mutually exclusive applications submitted for Auction 111, announces a limited settlement period ending on November 30, identifies singleton and settled applications, and removes MX Groups from Auction 111

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Brazos Communications West, LLC enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

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In this NPRM, the Commission considers allowing FM and Low Power FM (LPFM) applicants using directional antennas the option of verifying the directional pattern through the use of computer modeling

Jill Crocker and Malayna McGhee of Ronald McDonald House, center, accept a check from Ross Turner, Ditch, Country Cory and Danni Bruns of Cumulus Memphis. The final amount raised was more than shown as donations continued to come in.

Working to help kids with catastrophic illness, “98.1 The Max” had a particularly good fundraiser this month.

The Cumulus station brought in about $533,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Memphis, a record for its local campaign.

WXMX(FM) plays “maximum rock.” It raised the money in less than 12 hours in a radiothon on Nov. 5. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis supports children with pediatric cancer and other catastrophic illnesses undergoing treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and their families.

Morgan D. Bohannon is vice president/market manager at WXMX. Danni Bruns is station program director and the cluster’s operations manager.

Submit business announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post The Max Raises Big Bux for Ronald McDonald House appeared first on Radio World.

Pierre Robert is baked into the radio landscape of Philadelphia, and now Beasley Media is celebrating him with a month-long 40th anniversary party.

WMMR(FM) will feature highlights of his career, “commemorating local radio’s iconic moments broadcast by a most unique, warm, and recognizable personality.”

Robert (pronounced “roh-BAYR”) is on the air middays in Philly. During his career he has done notable stints on overnights and in morning drive.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

“The award-winning radio host began his journey aboard his trusty microbus, Minerva, when he left his hometown of San Francisco in 1981 to look for a radio home in the City of Brotherly Love,” Beasley Media wrote in the announcement.

“Upon his arrival, there was a natural fit with ’MMR, the progressive rock ’n’ roll radio station located on Rittenhouse Square in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. The Philly-area listening audience has enjoyed 40 years of Pierre’s musical passion and positive outlook, with his diverse appreciation for all things rock ‘n roll including a vast knowledge of the music they all love.”

The company said he is well known for his interview style with rock artists, his concert coverage and his “Roaming Rock Microphone” on the concert scene.

Beasley Media has owned the station since 2016. Group Vice President of Talent Development and WMMR(FM) Program Director Bill Weston said, “I’ve never worked with a more beloved air talent.”

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Beasley Celebrates 40 Years of Pierre Robert appeared first on Radio World.

Commissioner Nathan Simington thinks the FCC should wait rather than make more changes to media ownership rules just now.

He calls it a strategy of “purposeful nothingness.”

Simington, a Republican who has been on the FCC for 11 months, came across as a big fan of radio when he gave a pre-recorded talk to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association last week. And he said he “loves” working with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and that they have “got a lot done together on a bipartisan basis, and I think we’ll get a lot more done.”

On the subject of the refreshed 2018 Quadrennial Review, he didn’t comment directly on specific proposals, but he seemed to suggest he would resist moves to tighten up rules under the expected Democratic majority. Using a baking simile, he asked, “How about we let the dough proof a while?”

[“Biden Renominates Jessica Rosenworcel; Gigi Sohn Also Gets Nod”]

He said that with a newly constituted full commission, “We risk whipsawing back into the pre-Pai world, or, worse, ratcheting further back in the other direction. … Broadcast groups whose market caps vanish into a rounding error of big tech media platforms have to be permitted the space and time to compete. To discover business models that differentiate their offerings and grow audiences. To create scale efficiencies that allow them the flexibility to compete with digital-only platforms. To sell their bread.”

On the power of localism in broadcasting, he said, “Radio broadcasters have expanded their role to become ombudsmen between local communities and institutions, and this is nowhere more true than it is in communities where the most common language is not English. … Google and Facebook don’t have stringers outside of city hall sniffing out corruption, hurricane evacuation routing, or staffing for informational access to local community resources anywhere in their product development path.”

In language that would make any broadcast licensee proud, the commissioner talked about the “irreproducible technological advantage” broadcasters have thanks to their “durable, hardened communications infrastructure.”

“Let me ask you something. During a really bad storm — a tornado or a hurricane — what would you trust more to give you information on what you need to do or where you need to go: a hand-cranked radio or a cell phone? Stupid question, right? The radio. And even people not in broadcast know this. Why? Because everyone knows that your cell phone connection is the first thing to be knocked out, and your connection to broadcasters is, well, the last. That’s not to criticize cell phone carriers, of course. That’s just the reality of the situation.”

Simington said that in upcoming debates over media rules, “I hold out hope that I can urge my colleagues on the commission, and maybe even on Capitol Hill, to take full stock of the realities facing broadcasters. The enormous pressures they are under. And how we must preserve the industry prudentially. While I have no doubt that the full commission will be animated by a zeal to protect consumer interests, I will ask them to consider whether in 2021, broadcasters really wield the kind of power, whether nationally or in local markets, that justifies forceful application of rules drafted for a completely different competitive media landscape.”

[Read his full text.]

The post Simington Cautions Against “Whip-Sawing” Media Rules appeared first on Radio World.

Closing is on target for December 1. Yet, Gray Television has wasted no time in announcing that “several” of its current local-level general managers will assume leadership positions at broadcast TV stations it is poised to acquire from Meredith Corporation and retain after the National Media arm is spun off to Barry Diller’s IAC.

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The MMTC says it has some ideas about how the FCC can help influence the eventual rollout of 6G technology.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel praising her for her recent remarks about 6G, but offers its thoughts on several specific issues.

[See Rosenworcel Calls for 6G Initiative]

The letter, signed by MMTC and several other organizations including the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and civil rights groups like the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, urged the commission to take a series of steps to ensure the delivery of affordable and accessible services to communities of color, as well as to ensure inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses in building 6G infrastructure.

Wireless policy is necessary for economic and national security, the organization said, adding that there were unheeded signs during the early days of the 5G rollout, such as the need for additional mid-band spectrum and a lack of awareness about vulnerabilities in the nation’s supply chain.

“So let’s learn from what came before,” the letter stated. “Let’s acknowledge here and now that it is time to start thinking seriously about how we can better position ourselves for success with 6G. After all, in the age of ever-faster technical development, maintaining our leadership in high-priority emerging technology requires careful planning and execution.”

To do so, the organization asked the commission to take the following five steps:

1. Include a diverse group of engineers and demographers on the commission’s Technology Advisory Committee.
2. Direct the Communications Equity and Diversity Council to develop a plan for the training and inclusion of small, minority- and women-owned contractors in the 6G rollout.
3. Provide the Office of Communications Business Opportunities with the personnel and resources needed to conduct technical and entrepreneurial training for 6G.
4. Set a benchmark for the inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses during the 6G rollout.
5. Grant MMTC’s proposal to extend the cable procurement rule to all FCC-regulated technologies. This rule requires cable operators to encourage participation with minority and female entrepreneurs.

In Rosenworcel, the MMTC may have found a kindred spirit. During her speech in October to the wireless industry’s Americas Spectrum Management Conference, Rosenworcel devoted a portion of her remarks to the idea of paving the way for 6G and beyond. She cited developments that look ahead to 6G and called for an initiative that could offer recommendations on how to rollout 6G.

“If you think I’m too early on this one, think again,” Rosenworcel said at the conference. “Much like in the early days of 5G, the scrum for 6G is already intensifying.”

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post MMTC Calls for Proactive FCC Lead on 6G Rollout appeared first on Radio World.

A “deluge of ads” from expanded legalized sports betting and the return of midterm political ad spending in 2022 are expected to aid U.S. broadcasters’ rebound from the
pandemic. But, that is inclusive of Television. How is radio shaping up?

Justin Nielson, a Senior Research Analyst for broadcast media at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan group is poised to deliver much insight on Tuesday (11/15) at Forecast 2022 in New York.

Ahead of the event, which you can still register for here, Nielsen offered some top-line takeaways for where Radio revenues will likely be in a year. Nielson’s key insight: Radio station business is expected to bounce back from the pandemic-induced recession, but with an important caveat.

 

“Expected growth of 6.2% to $15.75 billion in 2022 is still only a partial recovery given the deep 23% decline in 2020, with revenues falling to $13.68 billion,” Nielson says. “Radio ads are predominantly local and focused on the auto, retail, travel and entertainment categories, which were heavily impacted by the advertising pullback.”

Radio also must compete with “multiple” streaming and on-demand options for music and talk and is “hindered” by the new hybrid or permanent work-from-home economy, which has greatly reduced commuting hours during prime in-car radio time.

This counters Nielsen data (no relation to Justin Nielson) that suggest radio’s consumption recovery is all but complete from the depths of pandemic-induced quarantines.

Despite those headwinds, Nielson of Kagan points to radio’s “lower ad cost, local audience and relatively high return on investment compared to other media.”

This, Nielson says, should help Radio maintain its share of the U.S. advertising market.