WASHINGTON, D.C. — CBS News has completed what it calls “several key appointments” in its M Street news hub, including the selection of a new bureau chief and giving the executive producer of its Sunday political talk program Face the Nation a wider role.
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FEMA’s new series of online IPAWS presentations might be of interest to broadcasters wanting a better understanding of EAS and alerting message origination.
The IPAWS Users Conference, which includes FEMA’s recap of the 2021 National EAS test last August, discusses the ever-increasing number of alert origination software tools available to alerting authorities. The presentations are intended to answer the questions of EAS stakeholders, according to FEMA, and provide alerting authorities with the tools and skills needed to create effective alerts and become confident IPAWS users.
The webinar features Al Kenyon, chief of FEMA’s IPAWS Customer Support Branch, in several segments. He targets upstream message importers, such as local emergency managers and law enforcement, and discusses the steps it takes to become an IPAWS alerting authority and the web-based training available for alert originators. The courses also cover several additional event codes that have become available.
[Related: National EAS Test Showed Improvement, FCC Says]
Kenyon, a former radio engineering executive with broadcast companies like Clear Channel, Jacor and Taft, discusses how local authorities can apply for FEMA Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) and the importance of renewing expired MOAs. Proficiency demos, officially called the “IPAWS Mandatory Monthly Proficiency Demonstration Program,” also are critical to the user’s ability to complete a task, according to Kenyon. “Practice, train, exercise, succeed,” Kenyon stresses in one of the webinar modules.
FMEA’s Jody Smith highlighted the new Technical Support Services Facility, including its training space.Meanwhile, Jody Smith, manager of the IPAWS technical support services facility, covers best practices for alerting authorities sending IPAWS alerts.
Smith in another segment gives a video tour of FEMA’s new Technical Support Services Facility, which offers training opportunities for alerting authorities. The new facility in Oxen Hill, Md., which is closer in proximity to FEMA headquarters, is still under construction, Smith said on the video, but is fully functional.
Dr. Amanda Savitt, a postdoctoral researcher with Argonne National Laboratory’s National Preparedness Analytics Center, is a guest on the IPAWS webinar and in one segment discusses the two-day Technical Assistance Workshops for alert originators she delivers through FEMA. The training focuses on improving a jurisdictions’ ability to communicate effectively to the public before and following a disaster, including tips for pre-scripted announcements and enhancing social media skills.
The IPAWS Users Conference online video presentations with accompanying slides are publicly available vai https://www.fema.gov/ipaws-users-conference-presentations-and-videos.
The post FEMA Hosts First IPAWS Users Conference appeared first on Radio World.
SBE Chapter 15 and the AES New York Section are teaming up on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. Eastern for an exclusive panel discussion about the AES’s new loudness recommendations for streaming and on-demand audio. The session will stream via Facebook Live on the SBE Chapter 15 Facebook page.
The panel will feature Bob Orban from Orban Labs, Bob Katz from Digital Domain Inc., and John Kean of Cavell & Mertz. David Bialik will moderate.
Audio Engineering Society Technical Document AESTD1008.1.21-9: Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution was released in September 2021 and was developed by the Study Group on Streaming Audio Loudness of the Technical Committee for Broadcast & Online Delivery. Katz and Bialik co-chaired the study group and Kean and Orban both worked on the document.
During the live stream, Orban will discuss TD1008’s Table 2, which provides recommended distribution integrated loudness levels depending upon station format.
There is no need to preregister; just join the Facebook Live stream via the SBE Chapter 15 Facebook page.
The post SBE, AES N.Y. Chapters Host Panel on Loudness appeared first on Radio World.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Media Bureau has announced that it “seeks to refresh the record” on proposed FCC rules intended to enable individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing to fully enjoy video programming through closed captioning.
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Automakers have long included traditional AM/FM radios in new vehicles at no charge, with broadcasters gladly nodding their approval.
But Fred Jacobs says the relationship between those parties is changing as automakers look to monetize the dashboard further.
Jacobs, founder of consulting firm Jacobs Media, wrote in a series of recent blog posts about how radio has fit into the dash historically and who will dictate its path to the future. He even contemplates a world where in-dash entertainment systems in new vehicles are no longer considered a standard feature.
Rethinking radio
Car manufacturers are making vital decisions right now about how entertainment will be consumed in the connected car in the ever-expanding Apple and Google in-car ecosystems. New in-vehicle dashboards with internet-based auto infotainment systems could potentially contain a new revenue stream for automakers, Jacobs says.
Many radio industry leaders believe it’s crucial that broadcasters engage with metadata service providers and automakers to keep over-the-air radio in the front of this dashboard discussion.
Analog and HD Radio, hybrid radio, dash visuals and in-vehicle voice interaction are part of the in-car focus of radio broadcasters in the United States. But the acceptance of the Android Automotive vehicle operating system by multiple automotive manufacturers, including Ford, GM, VW, Group PSA and Volvo, is a critical development when considering how automakers view the connected car.
ABI Research recently said it expects 36 million vehicles will be shipped with Android Automotive in 2030.
Jacobs says this is the perfect time for the radio industry to dig deep for the answers to many questions about its future.
“So, the idea that some automakers are rethinking their 90-year policy of radios solidly positioned in the center of their dashboards — now known as head units — should send shockwaves throughout the radio business from Napa to New York,” Jacobs wrote in the fall.
He argues that it would be a mistake to assume that traditional AM/FM radio will always be in the dash and offered as a free feature to car buyers. He said broadcasters who are oblivious to recent developments are putting future success at great risk.
“For nine decades, automakers have graciously included radios (first AM, then FM, now HD) as standard equipment on most of their vehicles — while not charging radio broadcasters a dime. Like any smart business, they are now looking for ways to monetize their dashboards, from payments from content creators (e.g. SiriusXM) to the data they have.”
Jacobs wrote: “Because it has always been considered standard equipment — like the glove box, rear-view mirror and turn indicators — inertia has kept automakers dutifully installing those car radios in dashboards.
“Take a moment and consider it from Ford, Toyota, Subaru or Volvo’s point of view. The only party generating revenue from those car radios in the dash are radio broadcasters. Radio stations and networks have been successfully monetizing them for nearly a century.”
And don’t think installing car radios and infotainment systems like Apple CarPlay or Android Auto doesn’t cost the automakers money, Jacobs said.
“Despite what you’ve heard, installing radios in cars doesn’t just cost automakers a buck or two. There are engineering, equipment, installation, quality control and other associated costs. And given the scale of being an auto manufacturer, you take your savings wherever you can find them.”
Watching Tesla
Jacobs likens it to “automakers doing radio broadcasters a big favor” over the years.
Getty ImagesBut recent dashboard evolution — including moves by Elon Musk’s Tesla, which Jacobs says is at the center of the movement to remove radio from the automakers electric vehicles — makes hybrid entertainment solutions a primary focus in which radio can be harder to locate.
Smart infotainment systems, which consider listener preferences in their displays, could ultimately push radio further down the list of entertainment options, he said.
Tesla for instance has a $1,500 upgrade package for older-model Teslas, Jacobs wrote, which does away with broadcast radio and satellite reception. And to get radio reception capability reinstalled on a Tesla will cost the owner another $500, Jacobs added incredulously. Nonetheless, he thinks the rest of the auto industry is watching Teslas’s moves closely.
“The other auto companies are begrudgingly taking notice. And they are slowly but surely incorporating Musk’s operating philosophies in their own companies.”
Loss of momentum
Radio broadcasters historically have struggled in their dealings with automakers, Jacobs told Radio World, because the broadcast industry is not monolithic.
“Like the audio industry’s 30-something OEMs, auto companies also are independent operators, each of whom has their own priorities and strategies,” he said. “It’s like herding cats.”
Jacobs acknowledged efforts by the National Association of Broadcasters in recent years to build ties with the OEM sector. But, he wrote: “As we know, the NAB has had a particularly challenging couple of years, between a new building, leadership changes, conference cancellations and other speed bumps.”
The most recent in-car developments coincide with what Jacobs perceives is a potential “loss of momentum” by the radio broadcast industry and their efforts to build relationships with the auto industry.
“Every company and organization has been rocked by the shifting media landscape, and of course, COVID. The disruption has been unprecedented, forcing most players to focus inward, rather than addressing existential challenges — like the car dashboard.
“Unfortunately, the automakers and their T1 partners have not been in neutral. They are in rapid development mode, trying to stay cutting-edge in dashboard technology. And they have challenges of their own, including the question of integrating expanded services from Apple and Google.”
Jacobs compared the recent situation to “a slow leak” directly tied to consumer acquisition of new (and later model) vehicles with more options and capabilities.
“The one-two punch of pairing a smartphone and being able to access satellite radio challenges broadcasters’ abilities to hold their own. Our research clearly shows driving a true connected car with a system like Ford SYNC or Chrysler UConnect has a direct impact on AM/FM radio’s ability to hold onto its consumption level in cars,” Jacobs said.
Google Automotive Services is locking down OEMs, Jacobs said, with a deep integration of its features, controlling everything from climate to the windshield wipers to, of course, the media system via voice.
And Android and Apple systems, which are being placed in cars with advanced voice command systems, seemingly make the radio tuner harder to find in new dashboard technology.
Jacobs told Radio World: “It is an imperative broadcast radio stays front and center on those auto display screens. Properly enabled radio station mobile apps appear on both CarPlay and Android Auto. And metadata support and dash display is more important than ever.”
Hybrid radio in connected cars will present radio broadcasters opportunities to “attract an audience outside of a station’s signal range,” Jacobs says.
Jacobs complimented Xperi Corp, licensee of HD Radio and developer of the hybrid radio DTS AutoStage platform, for its efforts making inroads in the world of automotive.
“They are connected with virtually every OEM in the world, connected to more than 10,000 radio stations.” He said the company has long had a presence in Detroit, which “is where auto business gets done.”
Xperi believes the DTS AutoStage system will help radio stations address many of the concerns Jacobs mentioned, including visibility in the dash, but that would rely on carmakers adopting it widely.
Jacobs included a call to action in his last blog in the series. He identified ways in which radio broadcasters could establish better presence in the auto community. The ideas range from a grassroots effort for radio stations to engage their local car dealers to utilizing big stars like Ryan Seacrest and Bobby Bones to promote the medium on a national level.
He also is vocal about the importance of managing the way your station appears to the listener.
“Radio stations have a tremendous amount of control over what appears on the screens of millions of cars and trucks. Problem is, they rarely do anything about it. If there was ever a radio content category that programmers, sellers and managers simply left in the ‘set it and forget it’ category, it’s in-dash messaging, better known as metadata.”
Regardless, Jacobs says radio broadcasters must work to solidify relationships with the auto industry: “It will require radio broadcasting’s leadership to set aside their differences and speak in one voice.”
“The car dashboard is a mini billboard”Quu recently commissioned Jacobs Media to gather feedback about metadata messaging and displays from American drivers. Jacobs interviewed 19 drivers about their reactions to a variety of simulated “radio stations” displaying metadata messages. Key findings:
In short, listeners like visual content that matches what they are hearing on-air. Conversely, they get confused or even annoyed when visual messaging is unrelated to what they are hearing.
Read more at https://myquu.net/news/, and scroll to “Jacobs Study on Ad Metadata.”
The post Jacobs: Treat the Dashboard With Urgency appeared first on Radio World.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — On Thursday, with CES 2022 at its height — and reportedly with attendance at some 75% under the CES 2020 total tally — signs that NATPE MIAMI could be in danger arose with the news that Univision Communications would be cancelling its Tuesday morning breakfast session as part of the Opening Day festivities for the National Association of Television Program Executives’ signature event of the year.
As of 7:15pm Eastern Friday, NATPE Miami was still a go, with press confirmation and registration information sent to reporters with a January 12 deadline to submit COVID-19 vaccination status to the organization.
Less than 24 hours later, the plug was pulled on NATPE Miami — a victim of Omicron.
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Radio World’s colleague Tom Butts, the editor of TV Tech, interviewed Curtis LeGeyt, the new president/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, who attended the 2022 International CES. This is an excerpt of a longer story that appears at tvtech.com.
“I think CES and [CTA President] Gary Shapiro and his team deserve a ton of credit, and I think the health and safety protocols here are proving to be very, very successful,” LeGeyt said.
“Everyone out on the CES show floor is masked, and there’s room for distancing. I’m very, very encouraged by the feedback I’m getting from exhibitors here and also what I’m seeing for myself. I think that’s gonna put real wind in our sails and makes me very encouraged for April.”
Despite the current omicron wave, LeGeyt is “100%” confident that the show will go on as scheduled.
“I think that this week demonstrates that there is a lot of pent up demand — both on the exhibitor side and the attendee side — for an in-person show where business actually gets done,” he said.
“They were able to pull this off in what I would consider to be the worst possible timing, and all signs indicate that we are going to be in a much, much better place from a health and safety perspective as a country in April.
“We are pacing very, very well in terms of both exhibitor and attendee interest in our show,” LeGeyt added. “Granted, it’s a little like comparing apples and oranges, but metrics wise, it’s really positive compared to even our previous ‘pre-COVID’ shows. And so we’re extremely optimistic.”
When asked if NAB would impose the same safety protocols as CES, LeGeyt said the association planned to follow CDC guidelines.
“I think that that’s going to be something that we continue to monitor between now and April because the health and safety guidance from the CDC continues to evolve,” he said. “But we will have a vaccination requirement consistent with what CES has done.”
LeGeyt also said that attending CES has given him more insight into how changes at the Las Vegas Convention Center will affect the April show.
“I think what I’m seeing at CES validates some changes that were already underway in terms of the format of our show floor,” he said. “The new West Hall is going to be a new venue for us in April, and I think it affords all kinds of opportunities for a little bit more of an innovative layout.
“Our designers were already taking advantage of that to basically ensure that, depending on what phase of the business cycle you’re in — whether you’re an exhibitor, whether you’re in content creation, whether you’re in distribution, or whether you’re in the business of monetization — that we’ve got a layout set up in a way to make this as efficient as possible for the attendees who want to be focused on the business partners who match their element of business,” LeGeyt said.
“I think this new layout with the West Hall just gives you a much, much more open and innovative way to organize the show floor and what this validates for me seeing in person is that the footprint that we’ve laid out is going to be a real win for both our exhibitors and for our attendees.”
He also commented that there was “a fairly significant presence of radio broadcasters out here.”
The post LeGeyt “100% Confident” About Spring NAB Show appeared first on Radio World.
The new year is bringing new responsibilities to four members of the Coleman Insights leadership team.
Eileen Genna is promoted to Senior Vice President, Business Operations; David Baird is promoted to Senior Vice President, Research Operations; Jay Nachlis is promoted to Vice President/Consultant & Marketing Director; and Meghan Campbell is promoted to Vice President/Consultant & Director, Qualitative Services.
“Beyond the insights we deliver to our clients, I’m most proud of how we’ve built an incredible leadership team at Coleman Insights,” said Warren Kurtzman, the company’s President. “Eileen and David’s promotions are a recognition of the enormous multi-decade contributions they have made to our success. In a shorter amount of time, Jay and Meghan have also had a tremendous impact for us and our clients, and I expect even bigger things from them with their new responsibilities.”
— Radio Ink
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — Like many News/Talk radio stations, syndicated programming takes up a lot of the lineup for an American General Media-owned property serving a picturesque slice of California’s Central Coast. There’s Markley Van Camp & Robbins in Rush Limbaugh’s former 9am-Noon slot. From Noon to 3pm is Dave Ramsey.
In drive-time, local hosts known across the region can be heard. Andy Morris has the First Look before he takes middays at the Country-formatted FM sister in the station group. From 3-7pm, Hometown Radio takes to the air.
It’s been on KVEC-AM, in recent years sporting an FM translator, for 30 years, leading to new recognition for host Dave Congalton.
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Schwab Multimedia has lost an appeal to the Federal Communications Commission in a case involving a planned AM station near Los Angeles for which it had a construction permit.
This is a “tolling” case, one that involves the FCC construction clock. The history is complex — the FCC’s summary is 2,500 words long, not counting many extended footnotes — but the upshot is that KWIF in Culver City was never built and, barring further developments, apparently will not be. Its call sign has now been deleted.
Levine/Schwab Partnership, which does business as Schwab Multimedia, had applied in 2004 to build a new AM station in the Los Angeles area. It eventually secured a CP in 2016 for the station at 1500 kHz.
That CP was challenged by the owner of another station, KSPA in Ontario, Calif., which is on a first-adjacent channel in the same market. KSPA since was sold, but the new owner has continued to fight KWIF.
Construction of KWIF didn’t get off the ground. Schwab submitted multiple “tolling” requests, asking for more time to build. Its reasons included the pandemic — it said a shelter-in-place order in California made it impossible for vendors to start work — as well as KSPA objections and, later, smoke from California wildfires.
And in the course of events, the original tower site became unavailable, the timing of which is part of the case complexity. In October 2020 Schwab asked to modify its CP because it had lost access to the site, which is now used by KABC; it proposed a site in Montecito Heights instead (formerly used by AM station KIIS). Schwab also sought to document its earlier efforts to construct.
But the FCC dismissed or denied Schwab’s various requests for various reasons. Schwab then filed an application for review.
The Media Bureau now has rejected that appeal on the grounds that the main cause of the construction delay was the loss of the original site, which the FCC said is not a circumstance that qualifies for tolling.
But it also addressed Schwab’s pandemic-related arguments “in the interest of a complete record.” It said it also denied the review on the “alternative and independent grounds” that Schwab did not provide adequate evidence to support its claims that the pandemic was the cause of its failure to construct; and it said there were other issues with Schwab’s filings too.
“[T]he commission has determined that a three-year construction period provides ample opportunity for permittees to overcome unanticipated difficulties, including siting issues. Schwab does not claim that the pandemic caused its years-long site availability issues or explain how the pandemic could have disrupted construction, equipment delivery or arrival of crews at the original site at a time when Schwab no longer had the site owner’s permission to build there,” the FCC wrote.
It also laid out reasons for rejecting several other of Schwab’s arguments. For instance: “The commission has long held that permittees that seek additional construction time following a disaster must establish a material nexus between the disaster and failure to construct … Schwab did not adequately meet that burden.” It also said Schwab cited the shelter-in-place restrictions without acknowledging that communications facilities are exempt from those requirements.
Schwab made other arguments, all of which the commission rejected. The FCC’s detailed description is available here. In short the commission has denied the application for review from Schwab, dismissed its application to modify the unbuilt facilities of KWIF and deleted the call sign because the CP has expired.
A representative of Schwab Multimedia declined comment to Radio World.
The post FCC Says No to Appeal for a New AM in L.A. appeared first on Radio World.
Many broadcast media veterans may remember her as Jessica Reif Cohen. Today, she’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich, and still an influential Wall Street media industry analyst who ceremonially asks the first question on iHeartMedia earnings calls.
Now, in her role as a Bank of America Securities analyst and Managing Director, she’s giving a lot of love to Discovery Communications. Investors reacted, with the company’s shares soaring by more than 17% on Friday.
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In his first blog post as NAB president and CEO, Curtis LeGeyt put the mission of local broadcasting front and center.
“As I step into the role as president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, I will strongly advocate on behalf of America’s broadcasters and help fulfill their mission of providing trusted local journalism that keeps our communities safe, informed and connected,” he wrote on the NAB Blog.
LeGeyt noted that he has spent a decade at NAB, advocating for policies that benefit free, local broadcasting and the journalism that local broadcasters provide especially during times of crisis, natural disasters, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
While promising to continue to engage with Congress and the FCC on the vital local impact of broadcasters, LeGeyt also warned of the need for legislative action around “Big Tech” and the threat social media platforms pose as information gatekeepers.
“Broadcasters need a level playing field both to fairly compete for audience and advertising dollars with these tech behemoths, and to ensure we are fairly compensated when our locally focused content is accessed through their platforms,” LeGeyt wrote.
[Visit the NAB Blog to read the full post.]
The post LeGeyt Highlights Broadcasters’ Local Mission appeared first on Radio World.
Radio broadcasters, be warned. On-demand audio giant Spotify is rolling out a new advertising format that enriches podcasting by giving listeners a series of “Call-to-Action Cards” allowing them to learn more about an audio ad they hear.
It’s yet another opportunity for the audio industry, so long as legacy broadcast companies in the digital space follow suit.
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TORONTO — The owner of such radio stations as “Boom 97.3” in Toronto and “Live 88.5” in Ottawa, which has a presence in the U.S. via its audio channels found on such MVPD service providers as Hotwire, has finalized the approximately $46,642,450 USD acquisition of the largest in-store audio advertising network in the 50 states.
As a result, Stingray, based in Montréal, is now the owner of InStore Audio Network.
That’s the Gary Seem and Jeff Shapiro-led entity sold by Pop Radio LP for $59 million CDN.
Serving as the broker in the transaction is Richard A. Foreman and Associates.
InStore says it reaches some 100 million shoppers each week in more 16,000 grocery retailers and pharmacies across the U.S., including CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Safeway, Southeastern Grocers (Winn-Dixie), Ahold (Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford and Stop & Shop), Western New York-focused Tops Markets, Pennsylvania Dutch Country favorite Weis Market and Brookshire’s, with more than 180 stores operating in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
The total price paid by Stingray is subject to a specific earn out mechanism set forth in the purchase agreement.
“With this acquisition, Stingray expands its retail-based digital audio advertising footprint in the United States and reaffirms its position as a leading global provider of state-of-the art digital media solutions,” Stingray says.
InStore will continue until the continued leadership and direction of its current management team, Stingray says.
— Carina Newton, in North York
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