Radio+Television Business Report

That’s a question noted Washington, D.C. communications attorney David Oxenford asks.

Oxenford shared details of a new joint letter posted on the Radio Music License Committee website in a blog post penned Friday by the Wilkinson Barker Knauer partner. In the letter, it is stated that GMR and the RMLC are discussing a settlement of their long-running litigation over the royalties that the commercial radio industry will pay for the public performance of music written by GMR composers.

GMR earlier this year extended their interim license offered to commercial radio stations once again. However, it came with “a substantial increase” in the amount that stations needed to pay to remain licensed during the litigation, Oxenford points out.

The new joint letter states that the interim license will be extended for another three months while the parties work on this possible settlement.  “Stations will not receive any direct notice about the need to extend their licenses from GMR,” Oxenford says.  Instead, stations are to go to the GMR website at https://globalmusicrights.com/interimextension to complete a form to remain licensed after the end of December.

The interim licenses have been signed because, over the last few years, GMR has been engaged in litigation with RMLC over whether GMR should be subject to any sort of antitrust regulation of the rates that it sets, Oxenford writes. “GMR has filed a countersuit over whether the RMLC itself violates the antitrust rules as a buyer’s cartel, by allegedly organizing all the buyers of GMR’s music to hold out for a specific price,” he explains.

A possible settlement would end any litigation. Is that on the horizon? “The joint letter looks like good news, as it indicates that some final resolution of GMR royalties may soon be at hand,” Oxenford concludes.

A marketing analytics and measurement company in the social media space has just been acquired by Comscore.

It’s a deal that closed on Thursday, and allows Comscore to expand both its Media Metrix and Video Metrix currencies.

How? Comscore bought Shareablee, allowing Media Metrix and Video Metrix to include Shareablee’s social media engagement and video insights.

This, Comscore says, “will bridge the industry gap of traditional digital and social measurement services that exists today.”

Integration plans call for Comscore digital products to benefit from Shareablee data, “allowing clients to broaden their digital footprint in products like Video Metrix with advanced social video insights, and for Shareablee clients to have additional advantages with curated views of Comscore digital data embedded in their Shareablee dashboards.”

Comscore plans to retain the Shareablee team after closing, with key members of Shareablee management, including Tania Yuki, Greg Dale and Jonathan Lieberman, continuing in leadership roles.

Shareablee provides analytics and intelligence to such clients as GroupM, ESPN, NBCUniversal and Vox Media.

— RBR+TVBR wire services

For 60 years until 2014, CBS Television Network coverage of the Fargo and Grand Forks, N. Dakota, area involved a broadcast facility that used the KXJB call letters. At that time, Gray Television shifted CBS programming to a digital LPTV facility and sold the former home of “KX4.”

The buyer? Ravi Kapur, the entrepreneur who has been snapping up low-power TV stations across the U.S. Kapur rechristened the station as KRDK-TV, and ownership of the COZI TV affiliate has had its challenges — namely, carriage on two MVPDs serving Fargo.

A fresh FCC decision will likely resolve that issue.

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For the last several years, a Texas licensee has been seeking to operate a Class A radio station at 92.7 on the FM dial. However, that hasn’t happened because another licensee, led by Roy Henderson, has been authorized to do so but never followed through with a shift to that frequency for a Class A FM at 106.1 MHz.

As such, the party that wants the 92.7 FM frequency wants the FCC to remove that channel assignment from Henderson’s company, and is even willing to construct a whole new Class A FM at 100.5 MHz to make it happen.

What does the Media Bureau’s Assistant Audio Division Chief, Nazifa Sawez, have to say about the request?

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Thursday afternoon commutes always tend to be particularly traffic-filled. On December 16, that was certainly no exception in Boca Raton, Fla. Thanks to the “snowbirds” and full-time residents, getting home from the office at 6pm took some time. Helping our Editor-in-Chief with the 30-minute commute home: Javier, a thirty-something Dominican who recently relocated to South Palm Beach County from New York City. Javier’s audio choice for his Lyft duties didn’t involve Spotify, or Pandora, or SiriusXM. It was a FM radio station. The timing couldn’t be better, given radio’s incredible delivery of millions of dollars in listener donations to charities galore during the 2021 holiday season.

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It’s a 5kw Class B AM facility that until its 2007 sale to Curtis Media Group was owned by CBS Radio. Before that, it was owned by iHeartMedia predecessor Clear Channel Communications and has served the Greensboro and Winston-Salem area of North Carolina since April 1930.

What does the future hold for this station? That’s up to Stuart W Epperson Jr.

A deal consummated on December 9 and submitted this week to the FCC for approval sees Epperson’s Truth Broadcasting Corp. putting together an asset purchase agreement for WSJS-AM 600 in Winston-Salem. FM translator W276DS at 103.1 MHz is included in the transaction.

The seller is Curtis, but the licensee shown on the APA is related entity Crescent Media Group LLC.

A $625,000 purchase price has been agreed upon by the parties. Terms call for a $125,000 cash delivery at closing, pending any adjustments; the remaining $500,000 is represented via a promissory note.

Crescent, led by Donald Curtis, is represented by Brooks Pierce attorney Coe Ramsey. For Epperson, his legal counsel is Davina Sashkin of BakerHostelter.

WSJS will join a group of stations at include Christian Talk & Teaching WTRU-AM 830, Christian Full Service WPET-AM 950, and Gospel WPOL-AM 1340 in the Greensboro and Winston-Salem region.

NEW YORK — It’s been a busy week for Standard Media Index, with new data releases galore since Monday.

The latest info to come from SMI: Ad spend in November of 2021 grew 10% compared to the same time a year ago. The comparisons to 2019 are even rosier.

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Over the last two years, Spotify has taken great strides to “modernize” digital audio advertising and, in turn, “drive growth for creators and publishers while delivering impact for advertisers.”

This included the November 2020 acquisition of Megaphone, enabling Spotify to offer podcast publishers new ways to monetize their content. In 2021, new features for Streaming Ad Insertion, podcast ad buying in Spotify Ad Studio and the introduction of the Spotify Audience Network came to fruition.

With a commitment to continuing to help publishers around the globe grow their podcast businesses, Spotify has moved forward with the acquisition of an Australian podcast technology platform that the company says gives independent creators, publishers, broadcasters and brands “a cost effective, end-to-end platform to host, distribute, monetize and track on-demand audio.”

What does the purchase of Whooshkaa mean for publishers and advertisers, or for broadcast radio eager to thwart technology companies for stepping on its toes?

“With the integration of Whooshkaa’s broadcast-to-podcast technology into Megaphone, radio broadcasters will be able to more easily and quickly turn their existing audio content into a podcast and access Megaphone’s industry-leading, differentiated suite of tools and technology,” Spotify explains.

Thus, there is a big opportunity for broadcasters to grow their NTR through a platform powered by an on-demand audio source.

Megaphone is the podcast platform of choice for AdLarge Media, as well as The Wall Street Journal.

“Integrating Whooshkaa’s innovative broadcast-to-podcast technology means we’ll be able to bring even more third-party content into the Spotify Audience Network, helping advertisers to connect with even more audiences,” Spotify notes. “We believe we’re on the precipice of immense growth for the entire digital audio industry.”

He has spent the last 10 years as Electronics Research Inc. (ERI)’s Radio Account Manager for the Eastern United States and has been in the radio technology sector for nearly 50 years.

Now, Carl Davis is retiring, and his successor has been selected.

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The SVP of Distribution and Government Affairs for Hearst Television has been named to the NAB Television Board of Directors.

The appointment of Nick Radziul was made by Television Board Chair Perry Sook in accordance with NAB by-laws. The appointment is effective immediately.

Radziul joined Hearst in 2016 and is responsible for the broadcaster’s distribution rights agreements with all programming and distribution partners, including national program networks, multichannel video programming distributors, and television and digital syndication partners. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the ABC Television Affiliates Association.

Before joining Hearst, Radziul was VP/Strategic Transactions for CBS Corporation and served previously as Senior Counsel/Programming at Cablevision. He has also served as an associate at Davis & Gilbert LLP, focusing on media, advertising, corporate and entertainment clients, as well as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Radziul assumes the Board seat of Patrick McCreery, President of Meredith Corporation’s Local Media Group, which was recently acquired by Gray Television.

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. — “From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California” was a trademark phrase used by the late news anchor Jerry Dunphy. It signified the vast size of the Los Angeles DMA, which includes such High Desert communities as Barstow and Ridgecrest and Beach Cities bearing the names Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa.

Now, everyone in the nation’s second-largest market has access to NEXTGEN TV, the ATSC 3.0-powered digital broadcast standard. Making it possible across the Southland: Nexstar Media Group and FOX Television Stations.

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The U.S. Ad industry lost billions of dollars in potential ad spend during COVID-19 lockdowns, with the worst impact — to little surprise — coming in Spring 2020.

Now, an analysis by Standard Media Index illustrates just how steep the decline was.

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In late September, Diponti Communications was handed a Notice of Apparent Liability from the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau seeking a $7,000 fine.

Why? The Rhode Island licensee apparently willfully violated section 73.3539 of the Rules by failing to timely file a license renewal application and for apparently willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the Act by engaging in unauthorized operation of its FM translator after the license had expired.

The Media Bureau has ruled on the matter. A fine is being handed to Diponti, but it’s been reduced.

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A Washington-based Hispanic broadcast ministry has decided to spin an FM translator serving the eastern community of Moses Lake.

The buyer? A broadcast ministry that will retain the core values of the property.

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Susie Hedrick, the Chief Executive Officer at vCreative, last appeared on the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, in August 2020.

She’s returned today to discuss CES 2022 and Radio industry interest in this massive tech-focused event. Why is attendance important? Is this a learning experience for Radio, rather than an opportunity to show off Radio’s strengths to the tech universe?

Hedrick answers these questions in this 10-minute audio interview conducted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Susie Hedrick” on Spreaker.

She’s a 28-year Hearst Television veteran who since October 2017 has served as General Sales Manager for the company’s NBC affiliate serving Pennsylvania communities from Lancaster through Harrisburg and down to York.

Now, this longtime local TV sales pro is he station’s President/GM.

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The independent TV measurement and analytics firm founded by CEO Kristin Dolan has turned to a former M&A banker at Goldman Sachs in selecting its new President.

Most recently, he held principal roles at several fast-growing firms — including 605-owned ad tech, measurement and services firm Adscribe.

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It’s been talked about for weeks. Now, it is official. With Howard University-owned PBS Member station WHUT-32 as the “lighthouse” station, NEXTGEN TV is now available in the National Capital Region.

To help usher in the new era of broadcast TV in the Washington, D.C., market, LTN Global was brought in as a partner.

The media technology and video transport product maker “worked closely” with NEXTGEN TV rollout group Pearl TV, led by Anne Schelle, and WHUT to fuel the NEXTGEN TV rollout in Washington D.C. Specifically, it helped in “harnessing ATSC 3.0 technology to unlock immersive 4k viewing experiences.”

Working in collaboration with Howard University, LTN enabled the aggregation of HD-quality ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 feeds over its multicast network to support the NEXTGEN TV launch.

With WHUT as the ATSC 3.0 home, stations in the market now offering NEXTGEN signals include Sinclair Broadcast Group’s WJLA-7, TEGNA flagship WUSA-9, FOX O&O WTTG-5 and NBC O&O WRC-4.

We’re excited to be part of a truly revolutionary initiative in our hometown that brings the future of television today”, said Malik Khan, co-Founder and Executive Chairman of LTN Global. “We are committed to delivering the best and most reliable technology that shapes the broadcasting industry and we look to the incredible talent at Howard University to help us in our mission. The ATSC 3.0 and NEXTGEN TV revolution is in full swing with LTN having delivered ATSC 3.0 projects in just under 30 markets to date. We’re thrilled to see Washington D.C. joining other big cities in harnessing the benefits of this new era in television.”

Sean D. Plater, GM of WHUT and commercially licensed Adult R&B leader WHUR-FM 96.3, added, “By connecting the IP and broadcast television infrastructures together, we’re able to give viewers a better and more engaging content experience. Viewers across the Washington, D.C., region will be excited to not just watch, but also lean in and be
more engaged with their content.”

The owner of television stations in the Twin Tiers of New York and Pennsylvania and in the company’s home market of Erie, Pa., has just signed a fresh multi-year agreement for local TV measurement with Nielsen.

The deal signed by Lilly Broadcasting includes Nielsen Scarborough, and incorporates not only the Erie and Elmira-Corning, N.Y. stations Lilly owns but also “WSEE-CBS,” the satellite-delivered CBS affiliate serving Puerto Rico.

“In this new agreement, Nielsen’s data will support Lilly Broadcasting’s ability to identify growth opportunities for audiences and revenue in their local markets,” Nielsen says, noting that its data helps companies like Lilly to “optimize their news, programming, and promotion efforts to serve their communities and exceed advertiser expectations.”

Catherine Herkovic, EVP/Managing Director at Nielsen Local TV, commented, “Lilly is a valued client, and we are thrilled that they have chosen us to be their audience data and insights provider. We are looking forward to empowering Lilly to showcase their value to advertisers, as they inspire and inform the communities that they serve.”

Why did Lilly choose Nielsen as the provider of local research over Comscore or another audience measurement and data analytics company? COO John Christianson cites Nielsen’s “ability to account for the entire marketplace.”

With Nielsen under Media Rating Council review following the suspension of its accreditations on September 1, that’s a strong endorsement.

As part of MRC’s “commitment to provide enhanced visibility into the state of various ongoing audit processes,” the group led by George Ivie on Monday (12/14) updated the current Council status of Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) service. DAR, which had been in an accreditation hiatus period from September 2020 to September 2021, is currently undergoing a new MRC audit.

At this time, the official MRC status of DAR is “Not Accredited, In Process.”

Prior to its hiatus from accreditation, DAR was accredited by MRC for its measurement of desktop display and video Total Gross Rating Points, and for age/sex demographic breakouts for audiences age 13+. The current audit of DAR is being conducted in phases, and will include auditing not only of DAR’s previously accredited measurement of desktop activity, but also its measurement of activity from mobile devices and connected TVs (CTV).

The first of the new audit’s reports, focused on Nielsen’s “Snapshot” Identity graph solution, which is now integrated into the DAR product, was delivered in November for
the MRC’s DAR audit committee’s consideration. Reports for additional phases of the DAR audit are scheduled to be delivered throughout the first half of 2022 (and likely into Fall 2022, for certain of the DAR CTV integrations).

Nielsen initially requested a hiatus period for DAR because of changes it planned to make to DAR’s measurement methodology in late 2020 and into 2021. This request was granted by MRC. Accreditation hiatus is a formal MRC status designation in which a service is allowed to temporarily step away from audits for up to 12 months to permit certain actions or service improvements to be implemented outside the normal audit and accreditation process.

MRC plans to issue updates on the statuses of other significant in-process audits in which we are engaged over the coming weeks and months, and additional updates on Nielsen DAR as events warrant.

Allen Media Broadcasting has signed a purchase agreement that will see the company led by Byron Allen acquire the FOX affiliate serving Montgomery, Alabama.

In an announcement released late Tuesday, AMG confirmed that it intends to buy WCOV-20, which uses UHF digital channel 22, from David Woods and his Woods Communications Corporation.

AMG will pay $28.5 million in cash for the station. This acquisition is expected to close in 2022.

Upon closing, Allen’s acquisition of WCOV will increase the number of broadcast television stations owned and/or operated by his Allen Media Broadcasting to 36 stations across 21 U.S. broadcast television markets.

The WCOV-TV digital signal is multiplexed, with channel 20.2 designated as Antenna TV, and channel 20.3 designated as THIS TV—the digital multicast network acquired by Allen Media Group from MGM in October 2020.

Allen Media Broadcasting’s purchase agreement for WCOV-TV also includes these additional television station assets and their respective digital subchannel affiliates:

• Troy, Alabama-licensed Cozi TV affiliate WIYC/channel 48 (48.1: Cozi TV, 48.2:MyNetworkTV, 48.3: Heroes & Icons, 48.4: Court TV/Mystery, 48.5: TBD, 48.6: Comet, and 48.7: Charge!)
• Montgomery, Alabama-licensed WALE/channel 17 (17.1: True Crime Network, 17.2: Laff, 17.3: Court TV, 17.4: Jewelry Television, 17.5: Movies!, 17.6: Heroes & Icons, and 17.7: Comet)

The Montgomery deal follows AMG’s acquisition of Honolulu-based KIKU-TV in September.

In August, Allen Media Broadcasting completed its $380 million cash acquisition of 10 local television stations in seven markets divested from the Gray Television transaction with Quincy Media. In a separate deal in July, 2021, Allen purchased Flint, Michigan’s ABC affiliate —WJRT-12—from Gray Television for $70 million.

In February 2020, Allen closed the deal to acquire 11 broadcast television stations from USA Television Holdings and USA Television MidAmerica Holdings for $305 million.

Allen’s purchase of broadcast television assets began in July 2019 with his acquisition of Bayou City Broadcasting, which included 4 television stations in Evansville, Indiana and Lafayette, Louisiana for $165 million.

In March 2018, Allen acquired The Weather Channel, serving Americans for nearly four decades, and voted the most trusted news network for 11 consecutive years, and the fifth most-trusted brand overall. In addition to The Weather Channel, Allen also owns 11 additional television networks and the free-streaming services theGrio, Sports.TV, HBCUGo.TV, The Weather Channel en Español, and Local Now.

Allen Media Group was founded by Byron Allen in 1993.

“WCOV-TV is an excellent asset and has been extremely well-managed for decades by the Woods family, who I’ve known for over 35 years,” said Byron Allen. “Over the past two years, we’ve invested approximately $1 billion to acquire best-in-class, top-tier, Big 4 broadcast network affiliates and we plan to invest significantly more to acquire additional ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX television stations with the goal of being the largest broadcast television group in America. All of our media assets work in concert to amplify our free-streaming services theGrio.TV, Sports.TV, HBCUGo.TV, The Weather Channel en Español, and Local Now.”

Woods commented, “The acquisition by Allen Media Group will allow WCOV, WIYC and WALE to become even more competitive in the future and well-positioned for the advancing world of broadcast television.”

Woods added that he had known Byron Allen since 1980, when he was a co-host of the NBC program Real People. “We have followed Allen as he started a small production company and worked hard in order to build a massive, diversified global entertainment company involved with numerous divisions, all of which revolve around consuming content on various size screens,” Woods said. “Byron Allen has a reputation for hiring the best executives in each of the companies he owns. We have observed his growth for over 40 years and admire what he has achieved. Byron Allen is a true American entrepreneur. We feel blessed to become part of the Allen Media Group family.”

Allen Media Group will add its thirteenth network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPANOL in 2021.