Industry News

U.S. consumers have been resuming their pre-pandemic activities, including spending and listening, according to Nielsen Audio.

“[A] rising tide of optimism headlines the American experience as we continue to emerge from the disruption caused by the virus,” wrote Managing Director Brad Kelly. “Nielsen’s ongoing series of audio consumer sentiment surveys is reporting the highest levels of consumer confidence that we’ve heard since the COVID crisis began.”

The company has released its latest “Audio Today” report, focusing on consumer sentiment. The trend lines are sunny, though the data were gathered up through May and June, so they may not reflect the most recent concerns about coronavirus variants.

“Audio use is on the rise,” Kelly wrote. “It’s being driven (pun intended) by increasing levels of mobility and traffic on our roadways. Among the employed, two thirds are now working outside the home, up more than 70% since the height of lock-down in the spring of 2020. As a result, the AM/FM Radio audience just recorded its highest levels in over a year across Nielsen’s PPM markets. Radio remains America’s top weekly reach medium, and an essential part of the daily media diet for millions.”

Kelly said while listening migrated into the home during the past year via smart speaker or mobile device, Nielsen now sees an audience shift back to pre-pandemic habits, with in-car and out-of-home consumption increasing.

Nielsen Audio also reported that podcasting attracted new listeners, particularly from home, and that podcast consumption is on the rise. “The past 18 months have proven the resiliency of podcasts, despite the major life changes brought about by COVID-19,” the company stated.

Its updated charts for weekly reach and average quarter hour listening are shown below.

The post Nielsen Audio Cites “Rising Tide of Optimism” appeared first on Radio World.

The author is host of Walmart’s “The Bo Show.”

Walmart Radio was created in the late 1990s. It was discontinued temporarily in 2008, and Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs switched to playing CDs over their PA systems. But a CD can only hold so much music, and it hit the point where store associates knew what time of day it was based on the song that was playing.

In 2015, during a meeting with the CEO of Walmart, a store manager said that they really needed Walmart Radio back. It was reintroduced on the spot.

I am a manager in the corporate affairs and corporate communications team for Walmart and Sam’s Club, and my primary job is to oversee the radio aspect of our stores and clubs. I also host “The Bo Show,” which airs live in all locations on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoons.

We run it just like any other terrestrial radio show, except we syndicate in a retail environment. I do interviews with celebrities, shout-outs for associates, take calls from customers, and play games on the air — the kinds of things you’d expect to find on any national radio show. Additionally, my colleague hosts a morning show called “Live with Antonio,” and we’ll regularly do remote events along with other special programming.

Packing a Punch

I’ve worked in radio for over 20 years, and spent much of that time working in terrestrial radio. In that time, I’d used plenty of Comrex gear, and I really liked it.

During the pandemic, we realized that we needed to upgrade some of our equipment. The TV division of Walmart was using some Comrex stuff already, so the name was familiar. When it was time to shop for new equipment, I thought, “Hey, this is a good company, I know the stuff — let’s give it a try.”

During the pandemic, when the main office itself shut down, a lot of our associates began working remotely. Our stores were still open, though obviously with limited capacity; and we wanted to be able to do our show, even though we couldn’t be at the studio.

We owned a single Comrex Access 2USB unit, but that wasn’t enough to handle everything we needed to do since we were all about to be working from home. So we purchased several Access NX units, the newest portable IP audio codec from Comrex, so that we could give them to everyone who needed one.

We also needed a studio codec that could handle multiple remote connections at once. After bit of research, we chose the Comrex Access MultiRack, which can handle up to five connections with any kind of Comrex IP codec simultaneously. Once everything was installed, we were off to the races!

One of the things I like about the Access NX is that it’s small, but it packs a punch. It has a lot of bells and whistles, especially when you add the extra mixer.

I’ve used it with Wi-Fi, cellular networks and also with a hardwire connection through a cradle point. The battery lasts quite some time, so you can get through a good two- or three-hour broadcast on battery power alone when connected to the mixer. Without the mixer, it can last up to 5 hours.

Having used this gear for a year, I think it’s one of the best upgrades we’ve ever made. It was essential during the pandemic. We could connect from home, and I could also log into the user interface remotely if there was ever an issue. The flexibility on it is just amazing — it’s one of the best units I’ve used in my radio career.

Info: Contact Chris Crump at Comrex at 1-978-784-1776 or visit www.comrex.com.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

The post User Report: Versatility of Access Keeps Walmart Radio Flexible appeared first on Radio World.

Movo continues it surge into the audio equipment market with another microphone, a versatile USB desktop and smartphone mic, the UM300.

According to Movo, the UM300’s three-capsule array captures 48 kHz/16-bit broadcast quality sound resolution. It offers cardioid and omnidirectional patterns.

A single knob controls gain, headphone level and muting. It is compatible with Windows, Mac and along with Android smartphones.

[Read: Movin’ on Up With the Movo UM700]

Movo CEO Ben Halberstam said, “We noticed the low-quality audio and video that people were experiencing while using their built-in or outdated microphones during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and wanted to provide better solutions that won’t break the bank.”

At a price of $69.95 it would be easy to stock-up on a few for ENG and remote content production or hand-off to the interns without worrying about losing an “expensive” microphone.

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

Info: www.movophoto.com

The post Movo Ships Another Microphone appeared first on Radio World.

A 35+-year broadcasting industry veteran who has spent the last 21 years on Florida’s Panhandle has been selected to serve as General Manager of the four FM radio stations owned by John Caracciolo-led JVC Media.

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With the virulent Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus increasing the concerns of many that major conferences and expos of interest to the broadcast media industry won’t be staged, the Consumer Technology Association has made it clear that CES 2022 is moving forward — with the commitment of more than 1,000 companies to a live and in-person affair right after New Year’s Day 2022.

Among the on-site Keynote Speakers already being touted: The head of General Motors. 

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NASHVILLE — A Programming Operations leader has been chosen to oversee the Tennessee Titans radio coverage, which originates from Cumulus Media‘s hub in Music City USA.

It’s the man who will continue to serve as Program Director for “104.5 The Zone,” the company’s Sports Talk radio station serving Nashville.

That’s Paul Mason, who gets the additional duties at Cumulus/Nashville as the Titans NFL franchise inks a multi-year partnership extension with the company.

With WGFX-FM designated as the official radio home of the Titans, whose stadium faces downtown and Lower Broad, longtime Executive Producer Rhett Bryan remains in his
role with Titans Radio.

Cumulus/Nashville’s on-air content is under the direction of VP/Programming Operations Charlie Cook, the veteran radio industry figure.

Mason joined WGFX in April 2020.

The CBS affiliate serving the Hampton Roads region of Virginia has a new VP/GM.

It reflects a promotion for an individual who, since January 2019, has served as VP/GM of the ABC station serving Waco, Texas, and its E.W. Scripps Co. unaffiliated sibling in Bryan-College Station, Tex.

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TEGNA on Monday presented its second quarter 2021 earnings in a conference call for analysts and investors, during which President/CEO Dave Lougee and CFO Victoria Harker offered commentary on two subjects getting close scrutiny from many industry observers: retransmission consent revenue, and the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which just concluded.

Retrans and subscription revenue matters for TEGNA. With advertising trends downbeat for broadcast TV over the next five years, did NBC’s Olympic Games fall short not only on audience but also on ad dollars?

This InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, puts a spotlight on those key questions.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Dave Lougee and TEGNA’s Q2 Call” on Spreaker.

Entravision Communications Corporation, now an entity fueled by digital dollars, followed by broadcast television and broadcast radio revenue, respectively, is gearing up for its participation in an investor event set for August 19.

That follows an event held this afternoon with a Boca Raton, Fla.-based financial house.

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Broadcasters are working hard to try to get the FCC to reverse course on its plans to increase their user fees, in part to pay for the better broadband maps Congress has demanded of the commission.

The FCC pays for its operations through user fees–as well as auction proceeds when it comes to covering the expenses of conducting those.

National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith last week was on a phone conference with acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel to talk about the special appropriation of $33 million for the FCC to implement the Broadband Data Act, legislation that Smith and other NAB executives on the call said provided “no benefit whatsoever to broadcasters.”

[Read: Broadcasters Face Higher FCC Regulatory Fees]

They said that despite that, broadcasters would wind up fronting about 16% of what were costs unrelated to their operations. The FCC fees are based on how many full-time employees are used to regulate a particular service.

NAB has told the FCC that not only is making them pay some of the broadband mapping freight unfair, but that it violates statute, a point they reiterated last week, saying that passing along costs attributable to broadband does not square with the requirement that the FCC take into account factors related to which entities benefit from broadband mapping. “Had it done so,” they said, “the commission would have no doubt concluded that broadcasters – and more specifically the Media Bureau — are not involved in implementing the act.”

They invoked the pandemic, including the rise of the Delta variant, as reason that the increase would be hard to absorb, increases they can’t pass along to their audience–as say, could ISPs via their monthly bills.

The post NAB’s Gordon Smith Urges FCC to Reverse User Fee Hike appeared first on Radio World.