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The author of this commentary is communications systems engineer with Xperi Corp.

As carmakers increase electric vehicle (EV) offerings throughout their lineups, the availability of AM radio to consumers is declining. This is because the effects of electromagnetic interference are more pronounced in EVs than in vehicles with internal-combustion engines (ICEs).

Although the character and severity of this interference can be difficult to model and predict, it is clearly more disruptive to AM radio reception, often causing annoying static and limiting coverage. As a result, some EV manufacturers have begun removing AM radios — but not FM — from their vehicles.

EMI can be suppressed in EVs using well-known mitigation techniques such as shielding cables and electric motors, installing filters and carefully locating electrical components within the vehicle. Within receivers, EMI can be limited by isolating and shielding antenna and RF sections, filtering connections and carefully grounding and placing receiver components.

EV manufacturers that have successfully controlled EMI using these methods continue to provide AM radio services in their vehicles.

Even when analog AM reception is degraded in an EV, it does not necessarily imply that AM HD Radio reception will be similarly affected.

AM HD Radio signals are naturally more resistant to EMI than their analog counterparts. Much of the noise induced on an analog AM signal accumulates over the channel and down the receive chain, passing directly onto the audio. But digital waveforms leverage bit regeneration to allow noiseless reproduction of the audio signal.

Fig. 1: MA3 digital audio coverage in an ICE vehicle

Furthermore, advanced digital signal processing and digital communications techniques ensure that AM HD Radio signals are more robust than analog AM signals. In particular, the coverage of all-digital MA3 core signals significantly exceeds that of analog AM, and the coverage of MA3 enhanced signals is on par with that of analog AM.

Recent field tests supported by Hubbard Broadcasting — using AM HD Radio station WWFD in Frederick, Md. — and NAB PILOT allow comparison of AM analog and all-digital MA3 HD Radio reception performance in ICE vehicles and EVs.

Not surprisingly, signal coverage in ICE vehicles was consistently better than in EVs, presumably because the combustion engine in ICE vehicles emits lower levels of EMI.

Fig. 2: MA3 digital audio coverage in an EV with effective EMI control

Fig. 1 shows MA3 coverage of an OEM ICE vehicle (ICE #2) with solid core digital audio coverage beyond the 0.5 mV/m contour.

However, some EVs also afforded extensive MA3 core digital audio coverage, approaching that of the ICE vehicles, as shown for EV #2 in Fig. 2. This performance can likely be attributed to the application of effective EMI mitigation techniques.

In all vehicles tested, whether ICE or EV, analog audio quality was significantly degraded at the core audio point of failure, corroborating analytical predictions of more robust MA3 core coverage.

When AM radio is included in an EV, its reception performance is highly dependent on the manufacturer’s dedication to EMI control.

Fig. 3: MA3 reception comparison for EVs with good (EV #4) and poor (EV #3) EMI control

Fig. 3 illustrates the potentially wide range of MA3 reception performance among commercially available EVs, as EV #4 digital audio coverage exceeds that of EV #3 by several miles (the length of the pink route is about 25 miles). This difference is likely attributable to superior EMI mitigation techniques in EV #3. Fig. 3 serves as a graphic reminder that automakers who devote sufficient resources to mitigating EMI need not remove AM receivers from their EVs.

In summary, recent analysis and field testing of AM radio reception in EVs lead to the following conclusions:

• EMI generated by EVs can significantly degrade the quality of AM signal reception. Fortunately, as demonstrated in multiple commercial EVs, this harmful interference can be effectively suppressed in both vehicles and receivers using well-known EMI mitigation techniques.
• AM HD Radio signals have been shown — both analytically and experimentally — to be less susceptible to EMI than their analog counterparts. AM all-digital signals are especially robust and provide broader coverage than AM analog signals.
• Automakers are currently removing AM radio services from EVs. They should instead control EMI emissions and offer the superior consumer audio experience afforded by AM all-digital HD Radio technology.

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

The post Control EMI, don’t dump AM receivers appeared first on Radio World.

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Issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $1,500 to Holy Spirit Oil Filled Ministry for failure to timely file a license renewal application for Station KERC-LP, Kermit, Texas

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For 11 years, he was a key member of the original team that launched “Univision Atlanta” in 2002. Now, he’s been named President/GM of the operation, while also taking similar duties for Univision’s Raleigh operations.

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Diamond Sports Group and  Diamond Sports Finance Company, indirect subsidiaries of Sinclair Broadcast Group, have commenced a private exchange offer to eligible holders of 5.375% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2026.

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How many people tuned to NBC’s telecast, or Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage, of Super Bowl LVI? 

A combined metric courtesy of iSpot.tv has been released.

According to results from iSpot.tv’s second-by-second cross-platform measurement, the NFL’s championship, which aired on NBC and Telemundo between 6:33pm Eastern and 10:09pm Eastern on Sunday, drew an “average minute audience” of 121 million viewers.

With Peacock data included in the total, iSpot.tv seeks to get ahead of Nielsen in offering a gauge of just how many people watched the game’s dual-language coverage in homes and/or public venues across the U.S.

Among iSpot.tv’s key findings:

• Some 56% of U.S. Households tuned into the telecast on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock, reaching a total audience of 149.9 million people who watched all or some of the broadcast.

• The total linear average minute viewership was 98.1 million, including 2.9 million average minute viewers on Telemundo, which contributed to a total in-home reach of 134.5 million people on NBCU networks.

• The average streaming minute audience was 10.5 million viewers and 15.5 million total viewers, which includes sensor-level streaming viewership data from CTV, mobile and tablet consumption provided in partnership with Conviva.

• 70.1% of those streaming the Super Bowl came from “cord cutters” or  households without bundled pay TV service.

• The total Out-of-Home (OOH) average audience for the Super Bowl was 12.5 million, as measured via iSpot’s partnership with Tunity Analytics.

• The Super Bowl’s 81 national ads accounted for more than 40% of all TV ad impressions on linear TV for February 13.

• The average ad reached 106 million viewers, while the game generated 4.39 billion verified household ad impressions across all platforms in 216 minutes.

• During the Super Bowl, the commercial attention rate was 36% higher than the average across all networks and shows on the day, and the commercial completion rate was 98.6%

• iSpot’s Ace Metrix Creative assessment found ads increased purchase intent to 47%, while 60% of the ads were funny, 53% sparked curiosity, and 47% prompted nostalgia.

DRE DAY

The well-received halftime show presented by Dr. Dre and featuring the legends of hip-hop was a major attraction. In fact, it may have brought viewers who weren’t watching the game — a change from years where Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl” was a popular alternative to lesser-received halftime performances during the “big game.”

Viewership peaked during the halftime show, with an overall increase of 12% or 10.5 million net new average minute viewers.  

Meanwhile, iSpot.tv data also show the following:

• Ads that ran during the halftime show generated an average viewership of 116.8 million verified impressions for in-home viewing.

• The animated 2 minute NFL ad at 8:08 pm during the halftime show had the highest in- home audience at 119 million viewers across NBC, Telemundo and Peacock.

• The persistent attention to the telecast of the game afforded advertisers a completion rate peak of 99.5%, just before the start of the third quarter.

Taking a page from intimate Forecast conferences held each November in New York, the CEOs of the nation’s two leading radio station owners, which today position themselves as audio content creation and distribution companies, will join the head of the NAB in a NAB Show 2022 conversation “to discuss the evolution of radio, embracing change from the top and building a future-focused culture.”

Specifically, the NAB says Audacy Corp. President/CEO David Field and iHeartMedia Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman will discuss how they have “transformed” their business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a NAB Show session titled “Transforming Radio in the Audio Renaissance.”

The chat with Field, Pittman and NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt is scheduled for Monday, April 25 at 2pm Pacific at the NAB confab in Las Vegas. It will be the first conference and expo for the NAB in three years, if all goes according to plan.

The announcement came following LeGeyt’s appearance on Tuesday (2/15) at the Media Institute, where he was a featured speaker at the Washington think tank’s Communications Forum luncheon.

His prepared remarks focused on “the importance of local television and radio and our advocacy to protect broadcasters’ vital service.”

LeGeyt commented, “In my decade at NAB, I have never been more proud to represent this industry. Whether they are radio or television, small market or large, network or affiliate, I’ve seen that broadcasters’ public service commitment is the rule rather than the exception. In today’s media landscape, we are the antidote to social media disinformation and cable news politicization. We are serving our audiences with fact-based reporting, entertainment and information that binds communities together rather than dividing them.”

He then reiterated the NAB’s chief policy positions and what the organization’s efforts are focused on at this time.

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt (NAB Photo by Jay Mallin)

New NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt, appearing at The Media Institute’s Communications Forum, laid out four areas of policy that the association considers priorities — “where policymakers must focus to ensure broadcasters can compete and thrive in the current media environment.”

He said Congress should act to rein in what he called “the gatekeeping ability of the Big Tech giants who are stifling the economics of local news.” NAB supports passage of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which he said would allow stations to jointly negotiate the terms and conditions for their local content when it is accessed through the large tech platforms. “There is simply too much at stake if we don’t confront Big Tech’s online dominance.”

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Second, he said, lawmakers and regulators must modernize media ownership laws to reflect the realities of the marketplace. “A report released last Congress by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell noted that Google and Facebook control an estimated 77 percent of locally-focused digital advertising. Yet broadcasters still operate under a set of rules that pretend they only compete with one another,” he said.

LeGeyt said Congress and the FCC “must take a fresh look at whether these decades-old regulations are helping or impeding broadcast competition and media diversity.”

Third, he urged the FCC to reorient how it thinks about broadcast policy more broadly.

“It is imperative that the FCC recognize that the broadcast industry’s ability to function in the public interest is fundamentally premised on its economic viability,” he said. “This means the commission must consider whether each existing and new regulation will help or impede broadcasters’ ability to thrive in a media environment dominated by other platforms. It means embracing the tremendous consumer benefits of ATSC 3.0 and adopting policies that enable its growth. And it means the FCC working hand-in-hand with broadcasters, to help us attract leading talent from all backgrounds to ensure our stations better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve … But if broadcast regulatory reforms remain bogged down in all that could go wrong instead of all that could go right, we will not succeed.

And he urged support for the Local Radio Freedom Act, opposing a performance fee on local radio stations that he said would be “financially devastating” to broadcasters and hurt their listeners.

The post LeGeyt: We Must Confront Big Tech’s Online Dominance appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC on Tuesday (2/15) has moved forward with the adoption of rules that the agency says will “unlock” broadband competition for those living and working in apartments, public housing, office buildings, and other multi-tenant buildings.

It’s a move that could end favored-nation status for MVPDs who have exclusivity in such locales, bringing a major change in the dynamic of residential HOAs, office building management and apartment complex owners.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration have kicked off a new initiative designed to improve U.S. government coordination on spectrum management.

The Spectrum Coordination Initiative will involve actions by both agencies to strengthen the processes for decision making and information sharing and to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues.

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Who knew that a $24 accessory available through Amazon.com or Walmart could add so much diversity to the small screen?

A just-released Horowitz Research study finds that, as cable TV “cord-cutters” look for ways to stay connected to live and local programming, multicultural audiences are embracing over-the-air (OTA) antennas.

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For eight years, she’s held the role of VP/Political and Governmental Sales at Urban One. Now, Laura Clark is getting a promotion.

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Every day we get pitched stories about FAST Channels, AVOD and connected TV and, in nearly every instance, we reply with the same statement — how is this important to the broadcast television industry and how can they benefit?

That’s just one of several questions RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson asks Blair Harrison, CEO of OTT linear streaming platform Frequency, in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast.

Learn why FAST channels aren’t a threat to broadcast TV and, perhaps, additive, and why “streaming duplicates” may bring an important boost to your organization in this podcast!

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Blair Harrison” on Spreaker.

They were once radio stations owned by the late Ralph Carlson’s Holiday Broadcasting.

Now, an AM, an FM and an FM translator serving Moab, Utah, are being sold. The buyer is led by William Craig Knott.

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Engineering classes hosted by the Alabama Broadcasters Association will kick off again later this year.

The association will host the 2022 ABA Engineering Academy classes at intervals throughout the year, starting with radio engineering classes March 7–11 and Sept. 12–16. Another double set of classes will cover television engineering issues during April 4–8 and Oct. 3–7.

The classes, which run five days for each session, are open to anyone, not just ABA members, said Larry Wilkins, director of engineering services for ABA, who is a past recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award.

“Before we had to stop in-person classes [due to the pandemic], we had students from across the country, even Alaska,” he said.

Classes will be held in person at the ABA Training Center in Birmingham, Ala.

Day one of the radio engineering classes covers basic electronics. “It is important that someone who works in any type of engineering understand the basics,” he said. The class covers electricity, Ohm’s law, the components used in circuits and the various formulas used in broadcast operations.

Day two covers analog and digital audio basics, including digital audio workstations and processors. The class also covers microphone selection and proper placement. New this year is the introduction of loudness units full scale (LUFS).

“Since we have seen that several engineers are also involved in mixing live audio or recording, we spend some time on audio mixer setup and operation,” Wilkins said. The course includes time in the training center’s digital recording studio with a 32-channel mixing console and digital audio workstation.

Day three covers AM and FM transmitters and antennas, including directional AM arrays and HD Radio. The classes touch on basic transmitter site maintenance, as well as legal requirements.

Day four looks at station operation including installation of EAS systems, background on FCC rules and regulations, required paperwork and technical management as well as good engineering practices. Day five is reserved for those looking to take the SBE certification exam.

“We are aware that attending a class for four or five days will not create a ‘chief engineer’ but our goal is to cover as much of the technical operation [as possible] so that someone that is looking at getting into broadcast engineering can work under a seasoned engineer more comfortably,” Wilkins said. “Also, there may those at a station that would like to learn more about the technical side of the operation and [this] can help with basic issues that come up after attending the class.”

Over the years, he said, the association has seen a number of seasoned engineers attend classes, both as a refresher and as an opportunity to learn about new technology.

The ABA also started a monthly engineering webinar covering various technical subjects that parallel the engineering classes. Those attending the classes can receive credit when recertifying with SBE.

Registration for classes can be found at the ABA website. The association also offers a series of continuing educational classes on a variety of technical areas such as audio production, network protocols and data rates, among other topics. In addition, the association offers seminars throughout the year with special presenters, both in person and on the association’s YouTube channel, found at abaengineeringacademy.

The post New ABA Engineering Classes on Tap appeared first on Radio World.