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Bryan Jones

Telos Alliance recently introduced the Telos VXs, describing it as a virtualized version of its VX VoIP talk show phone system. Bryan Jones is VX product manager and senior support engineer. 

This story is part of our latest Buyer’s Guide on telco and phone system products for radio.

Radio World: What exactly makes the VXs “virtualized”?

Bryan Jones: The term has become somewhat ubiquitous to mean a number of different things.

All previous iterations of the Telos VX were delivered as some piece of hardware that required on-premise installation that often limits its use to that installation location. Telos VXs is virtualized to the extent that it’s delivered as software only, allowing the customer to define what virtualized really means.

“Virtualized” could mean the customer already has some on-premise solution, or it could mean that it’s fully virtualized and running on servers that are in the cloud and that there is no on-premise hardware. A cloud-virtualized solution might mean the VXs could be used across multiple markets from a single install.

Telos VXs is delivered as an OCI-compliant container deployed in the customer’s environment using products like Docker.

RW: What are the key benefits to a radio station of this design approach?

Jones: In short, VXs offers unprecedented scalability and flexibility. To some extent, in hardware-based iterations of ANY product, total capacity is gated by the hardware platform it’s delivered on. A smaller hardware platform means a product might not scale to the desired level, whereas a larger more robust platform might mean overpaying for hardware that will never be used or never needed. Virtualization allows the hardware to scale along with the needs of the facility.

RW: What about compatibility with existing AoIP networks, from Telos or other vendors?

Jones: Telos VXs fully supports Livewire and AES67, the same as our hardware-based VX products.

RW: What else should we know?

Jones: Other benefits of virtualization allow us to support a product for potentially longer periods of time because we’re not encumbered by the hardware the product is delivered on. The hardware is abstracted by the virtualization layer, allowing for future platform flexibility.

More Info: www.telosalliance.com or +1 (216) 241-7225

The post Telos Virtualizes VX VoIP System appeared first on Radio World.

When it comes to local audience measurement, Nielsen isn’t the only source for ratings and consumer data anymore. Entravision Communications recognizes this, as it is signing a new agreement giving it access to Comscore‘s “next-generation linear audience measurement service” as its local audience currency in one of its television markets.

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The Media Bureau announces that the Closed Captioning Display Settings Record Refresh PN was published in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted no later than February 17, 2022. Reply Comments must be submitted no later than March 4, 2022

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A SVP of Performance Sales and a VP of Performance Sales have been added to the C-Suite at the audio content creation and distribution company formerly known as Entercom.

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He started his career at WBT in Charlotte in 1952. Twenty-six years later he would become President of the Broadcast Division of Allbritton Communications, former owner of such stations as ABC affiliate WJLA-7 in Washington.

Now, many across the Nation’s Capital and around the U.S. are paying tribute to Thomas Cookerly, who has died at the age of 94.

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The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation has extended the final deadline to submit entries for the 47th annual Gracie Awards to January 27, 2022.

The Awards celebrate programming and individual achievement by, for and about women in television, radio/audio and digital media.

“We know the circumstances of the past two years led to delivering content to audiences in ways we never expected, which is why we are more committed than ever to honoring the remarkable work that has been created by, for and about women,” said Becky Brooks, President.

Entry information can be found HERE.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Judiciary Committee has set Thursday (1/20) to markup the Open App Markets Act. The bipartisan bill, introduced in August 2021, is focused on promoting competition in the app market currently dominated by Apple and Google.

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Sinclair Broadcast Group‘s annual Diversity Scholarship program is now accepting applications for the 2022 school year.

The primary goal of the scholarships is to help students from diverse backgrounds, who reflect Sinclair’s audiences nationwide, complete their education and pursue careers in broadcast journalism, digital storytelling, and marketing.

“Through our annual scholarship program, we hope to develop the next generation of journalists, and continue our commitment to increasing diversity in the broadcast industry to better reflect the communities we serve,” said Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s President/CEO.

The program has provided more than $100,000 in tuition assistance during the last six years.

Applicants must be a current college sophomore or junior at a four-year undergraduate college or university. Students from all 50 states can apply at www.sbgi.net/scholarship.

Deadline for submissions is Saturday, April 30.

With an eye toward improving streaming, CBS News has made several leadership appointments.

At the same time, there are new leaders in place at CBS Newspath, the CBS News-affiliated affiliate newsgathering service.

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As the video streaming market grows more complex and dynamic, the greater the value of audience measurement.

That’s one of the key points of a new thought leadership report from KANTAR. “Media Trends and Predictions 2022” looks at five key themes for the media industry this year.

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By Rob Dumke

New year, new MVPD impasse.

Last week, Dish subscribers across a slew of Midwestern states lost access to local television stations owned by Block Communications. As is the case with such disagreements, both sides are blaming each other.

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An FM translator in Puerto Rico — which allegedly violated FCC rules by failing to file a license on time and operating without authorization — was handed a $3,500 forfeiture by the Federal Communications Commission.

In 2018 the Media Bureau issued a construction permit to International Broadcasting Corp. for FM translator station W293DE in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The expiration of that permit — on Jan. 10, 2021 — came and went. According to the bureau, because the permittee had not filed a covering license application by that date, the permit simply expired.

According to FCC rules, “any construction permit for which construction has not been completed and for which an application for license has not been filed, shall be automatically forfeited upon expiration without any further affirmative cancellation by the commission.”

International filed a petition for reconsideration with the bureau, saying the translator had actually been constructed prior to the permit expiration date. The bureau pivoted and decided to treat International’s petition as a request for a waiver of the rules. The bureau granted the waiver, reinstated the permit and instructed International to file a covering license for the application, which was received on Nov. 22, 2021.

But that still left the matter of more than 10 months of unauthorized broadcasts during 2021. The commission said that not only did International fail to file a covering license on time, but it continued operating the translator without any special temporary authority before finally filing the appropriate covering license.

In cases like these, the FCC has the authority to issue a forfeiture penalty with a base amount of $3,000 for failing to file a required form and $10,000 for operation without authorization. That amount can be adjusted up and down based on the facts of the case.

In this situation, the commission found that a $7,000 base forfeiture would be appropriate due to International’s failure to file a covering license and its months of unauthorized operation. The bureau then reduced the forfeiture even further — to $3,500 — because of the translator’s nature as a secondary service.

According to the bureau, International’s pending application for the FM translator can be approved once this forfeiture proceeding has been concluded.

Currently, International uses the translation to relay WIBS(AM), Radio Caribe, which is also based in Guayama.

The post Puerto Rico Translator Handed $3,500 Forfeiture appeared first on Radio World.

The British government has frozen the country’s long-standing TV license fee for two years as it pushes for a new funding stream for the 100-year-old British Broadcasting Corp.

First levied in 1923, the license fee has evolved over time, but currently it is required to watch or record television programs in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, no matter how the programs are delivered (over the air, streaming, or satellite) and regardless of where they originate.

Under the new policy, the fee is frozen at £159 (about $216) for color television until April 1, 2024, then it would be allowed to rise with inflation until Mar. 31, 2028. It is envisioned that a new funding mechanism will be identified as part of the BBC’s Royal Charter renewal in 2027.

In a statement on the government’s move, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC Chairman Richard Sharp, called the freeze “disappointing.”

“We actively look forward to the national debate on the next Charter and, of course, all options should be considered. The BBC is owned by the public and their voice must always be the loudest when it comes to determining the BBC’s future,” Davie and Sharp stated.

With the two-year license fee freeze, the BBC is expected to need some £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in savings over six years to fill the funding gap left by the freeze. “If the BBC’s license fee income is capped at £3.8 billion, then costs have to be capped, or it has to increase its commercial income from £1.3 billion,” analyst Alex DeGroote told Radio World’s sister publication TVBEurope.

The BBC 2020/21 Annual Report breaks out how the TV license fee is spent in per month per household terms.

In 2021, some 25,208 households paid the TV license fee (including four households that paid a lower fee for having only a black and white television set), according to the BBC’s 2020/21 annual report. This raised some £3.75 billion (about $5.1 billion), according to TV Licensing, the agency that oversees administration of the fee. According to the BBC, TV license fee revenue made up about 74 percent of the corporation’s income in the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, 2021.

The original 1923 license fee covered radio receivers and it was expanded to cover television in 1946. In 2016, the BBC iPlayer app was incorporated into the TV license fee framework.

In 1971, the radio license fee was ended; however, the funds raised via the TV license fee continue to support BBC Radio. According to the BBC, nearly 17.5 percent of license fee revenue, about £654 million ($889 million), went to support BBC national and local programming. An additional 9.75 percent, nearly £366 million ($497 million), went to support the BBC World Service.

The post British Government Freezes TV License Fee appeared first on Radio World.

Until August 2021, he served as the Market President for iHeartMedia in Huntsville, Ala. That’s when he departed to form his own broadcast media company.

Now, the new entity has filed paperwork with the Commission for its first two properties.

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With the 2022 NAB Show now marking the “big return” for many a broadcast media technology vendor, CP Communications has perhaps emerged as one of the more active players of late. In this RBR+TVBR Winter 2022 Special Report preview, CP CEO Kurt Heitman shares his excitement about what lies ahead for the company in 2022 with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

The conversation is the centerpiece of the latest InFOCUS Podcast, where Broadcast Media comes to Talk. It’s less than 15 minutes in length — the perfect size to go with your morning coffee, afternoon walk, or evening wind-down. Listen now!

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Kurt Heitman” on Spreaker.