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E.W. Scripps Company has closed on its sale of Triton to iHeartMedia for $230 million and exited the digital audio business.

Scripps will use the money to reduce its debt.

[Read: For Radio, Audio Is the New Now]

iHeart has said the deal establishes it as “the only company to provide a complete set of advertising technologies and measurement solutions for all forms of audio media.”

Even as iHeart expands its focus on audio, Scripps is moving the other way.

“The sale of Triton completes Scripps’ high-return exit from podcasting and digital audio,” it said in a press release. “It sold podcast company Stitcher in October. Scripps nearly doubled its return on investments in both companies, and now it is focused on growth strategies in the television business.”

 

The post Scripps Completes Sale of Triton to IHM appeared first on Radio World.

It began life centered on sports.

Now, a growing virtual MVPD has scored a carriage agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group that secures a home for the company’s newly created regional sports network — the home of the beloved Chicago Cubs baseball club — but not in time for Opening Day.

Sinclair’s Marquee Sports Network and fuboTV Inc., publicly traded on the NYSE, reached a deal that will bring Chicago Cubs game coverage to the live TV streaming platform “in the coming weeks.”

The regional sports network (RSN) will be available in fuboTV’s basic English-language channel package in the Chicago area and surrounding regions, including Indianapolis, Des Moines and South Bend, Ind.

Marquee Sports Network General Manager Mike McCarthy says the network is “thrilled” to have added fuboTV.

Ben Grad, fuboTV’s SVP of Content Strategy and Acquisition, added, “The addition of Marquee Sports Network to our leading sports, news and entertainment portfolio makes fuboTV a great streaming choice for Cubs fans, as well as other Chicagoans looking to cut the cord.”

It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball. And, no joke, every team except the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox will be in action, as the game was postponed due to rain in the forecast.

That’s good news for O’s fans, sort of, who subscribe to Dish and its Sling vMVPD wanted to watch the game. Had the game been played, they would have been “blacked out.”

Cough it up to another carriage agreement whiff between the direct broadcast satellite services provider and an owner of a cable or TV station.

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From our Who’s Buying What page: Triton Digital announced that Masima Radio Network, the largest radio network in Indonesia with 18 stations, has selected it for streaming and podcast services including delivery, monetization and measurement.

The brands of Masima Radio Network include Prambors, Delta, Bahana and Female Radio. Triton Digital has been acquired by iHeartMedia in a deal that was finalized this week.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

“Through this partnership, Masima Radio Network will utilize Triton’s audio streaming network for the delivery of its podcasts and commercial radio online,” the organizations said.

“In addition, Masima Radio Network will use Triton’s ad server to insert targeted audio ads into their content, as well as Triton’s audio advertising technology to monetize their inventory through both open and private marketplace deals.” Masima also will measure their listening audiences using Triton’s Webcast Metrics and Podcast Metrics measurement services and use Triton’s podcast platform, Omny Studio.

The announcement was made by Fitzgerald Salendu, digital content manager at Masima Radio Network, and Benjamin Masse, managing director, market development and strategy at Triton Digital.

 

The post Triton Signs Masima Radio Network appeared first on Radio World.

The organization that founded “Free Speech Week” has named former FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly as a senior fellow.

The Media Institute said O’Rielly will also become a member of its First Amendment Advisory Council.

The nonprofit organization describes itself as nonpartisan and “working to advance sound communications policy, freedom of speech, and excellence in journalism.”

“During his tenure at the FCC, Commissioner O’Rielly was known for his dedication to streamlining the regulatory process, eliminating outdated regulations, promoting competition and innovation, and defending the First Amendment,” the organization said.

O’Rielly, a Republican who was nominated to the FCC by Pres. Barack Obama, was a commissioner from 2013 to 2020. He is a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for the Economics of the Internet and principal at MPORielly Consulting LLC.

The announcement was made by The Media Institute Pres. Richard T. Kaplar.

 

The post O’Rielly Joins The Media Institute appeared first on Radio World.

Walt Tiburski, a veteran radio broadcasting sales and management leader and former station owner, has just announced his retirement after more than 50 years in the business.

From the shore of Lake Erie to the tranquil beaches of Southwest Florida, Tiburski’s seen a lot over the years, and he’s our guest on today’s RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by Dot.FM.

 

Streaming, Social, Podcast or Broadcast
– get a Dot.FM domain name by heading over to Get.FM today!

 

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Walt Tiburski” on Spreaker.

Entravision Communications Corp. appears to be turning an important fiscal corner.

Its stock price hasn’t been this high since mid-October 2018. Its “Fuego” Latin Pop format just expanded to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, Calif., respectively. And, as shared on March 11, its Q4 2020 results were highly positive.

Why, then, did the company disclose to the SEC on Wednesday that it couldn’t file its annual report in a timely manner to the financial regulatory agency?

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The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC, (Gray), licensee of KAIT, channel 8, Jonesboro, Arkansas, requesting the substitution of channel 27 for channel 8 at Jonesboro in the DTV Table of Allotments. In support of its channel substitution request, Gray states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers, and also that the reception of VHF signals require larger antennas, relative to UHF channels.'' According to Gray, many of its viewers experience significant difficulty receiving KAIT's signal, and while there is small terrain limited predicted loss area, the viewers will continue to be well served by at least five other stations and receive ABC network service from another station licensed to Memphis, Tennessee.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by KVII Licensee, LLC, (Licensee), licensee of KVII- TV, Channel 7, Amarillo, Texas (KVII or Station), requesting the substitution of channel 20 for channel 7 at Amarillo in the DTV Table of Allotments. Licensee states that the proposed channel substitution for KVII from VHF channel 7 to UHF channel 20 would allow KVII to significantly improve its over-the-air service to the Station's viewers in the Amarillo, Texas, market. Licensee states that the proposed channel change from channel 7 to channel 20 would result in a substantial increase in signal receivability for KVII's core viewers and enable viewers to receive the Station's signal with a significantly smaller antenna. Licensee maintains that KVII, as a VHF channel station, has had a long history of dealing with severe reception problems exacerbated by the analog to digital conversion. The proposed migration of KVII from channel 7 to channel 20, Licensee contends, is in the public interest based on the enhanced signal levels that will be delivered to a large percentage of the Station's population without any predicted loss of coverage. Further, Licensee maintains that the change will result in an predicted increase of 9.44% in the Station's overall population and the staff has determined there is no loss of service. Licensee concludes by saying that the public interest would be best served by promptly granting its Petition with the specifications set forth therein so that Amarillo-area viewers may benefit from substantially improved over-the-air broadcast television service as soon as possible.

Cox Media Group named Jaleigh Long as vice president and market manager for Atlanta and Athens radio in Georgia.

“Long assumed the role in an interim capacity earlier this year and will now officially lead one of the industry’s most notable and successful radio sales organizations CMG Atlanta Radio (WSBB(FM)/News 95.5 WSB, WSB(FM)/B98.5 FM, WSRV(FM)/97.1 FM The River, WALR(FM)/KISS 104.1),” the company said.

[Read: Cox Names Rob Babin Head of Radio]

She joined CMG Atlanta Radio in 2014 as general sales manager and earlier worked for South Central Media and Susquehanna Radio.

The announcement was made by Rob Babin, SVP, CMG Radio.

Send People News to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post CMG Puts Long in Charge in Atlanta appeared first on Radio World.

The Bureau enters into a Consent Decree with Grace Life Church of Lake City Inc

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The Federal Communications Commission will decide in April whether to cap the number of applications that one entity can submit in the upcoming window for new FM reserved band stations.

As we’ve reported, the commission plans a window for new noncommercial educational FMs this year.

It had indicated that it wanted to cap the number of applications per entity, to avoid any kind of repeat of the 2003 translator window in which it was swamped with 13,000 applications, many from speculative filers.

Now, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says that at its April meeting, the commission will vote on a proposed cap of 10.

“Prior experience shows that the 10-application cap strikes the best balance of the commission’s objectives — providing a meaningful opportunity for applicants to file for new NCE FM stations in to expand service while, at the same time, deterring speculative applications and procedural delays,” she wrote in a preview of the meeting agenda.

[Read more about the FCC’s reasoning for a cap.]

The commission has said it is expecting a lot of interest in this window for several reasons: There’s no application filing fee; there are no ownership limits in the reserved band; there has not been a filing window for new NCE FM applications for over a decade; and the commission recently simplified and clarified the rules and procedures including how it treats competing applications.

The post FCC Will Vote on NCE App Cap appeared first on Radio World.

RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION

On Monday, RBR+TVBR learned of a big hire at Cumulus Media‘s Detroit operation. David Corey, one of the top programming executives who knows as much about Morgan Wallen and Maren Morris as he does about MacKenzie Porter and Alessia Cara, is now heading up WDVD-FM and WDRQ-FM.

Given the big news, our editor-in-chief grabbed his smartphone, opened up the TuneIn app, and selected the WDVD stream.

That’s when something stuck us: How did we know that we could stream WDVD on TuneIn, and not Radio.com or iHeartMedia?

We are certain that we’re not alone in this conundrum. It only begs the question: Why can’t the industry unite and support Radioplayer — which brands itself as “radio in one place?”

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Acting FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel‘s first two months on the job have proven to be inconsequential for those in the radio and the TV industries. With the Supreme Court set to rule in three months on the Commission’s appeal of its cross-ownership rule rewrite, Rosenworcel isn’t likely to bring up anything big for broadcast media for the near future.

That said, the April 2021 Open Meeting Agenda will see the FCC vote on a Public Notice that sets an applications cap for new noncommercial educational FM stations.

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